PRIORITY CHOICE
Part 6 of 12 Celebrating Scripture Series
1Peter 2:1-3
“Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”
“Hey Cassie, can I borrow a quarter?” 10-year-old Jeremy asked his school class-mate at the swimming pool.
“OK Jeremy, here ya go” Cassie said, flipping him a quarter. “That won’t buy much. A hot dog costs a dollar.”
“Right. I’ll eat at home—this is for one of those tubes that hold a couple swallows of fruit drink. Thanks!”
Swallowing drink is a good pick-me-up after hours in the hot sun. When thirsty, a drink becomes top priority (pri-OR-i-tee means concern). The opening Scripture lists all kinds of things believers stop doing after becoming God’s kids. Malice (MAL-is means hateful, or spiteful), hypocrisy (hip-KROS-i-see means insincere, two-faced), deceit (de-SEET means dishonest), envy (EN-vee means jealous), slander (SLAN-der means insulting)—all behaviors we’re to avoid.
When believers choose to read God’s Word, we grow up in our salvation. Those behaviors listed above fade away, and righteous living takes their place. After reading God’s Word gets our attention, we’re hooked. We begin to crave it. God’s hoping that we open our Bibles and begin lapping up the pure spiritual milk of His Word every day.
We eat food when our stomachs grumble with hunger. We don’t often miss a meal, but how often do we neglect our spirit? Spiritual growth is as important as physical growth—since one day—our bodies will die. Why then, do we “forget” to feed our spirit, that never dies? When we choose to read the Bible every day, that becomes our priority, and we grow into spiritually-mature adults.
The promise is that once you begin “tasting” God’s milk, sipping—or reading a small passage of Scripture—you’ll develop a hunger for it. Your craving won’t be satisfied with simple reading. Soon, you will meditate on passages and ask God questions when His Word doesn’t make sense.
Daily Bible reading will never feel like an “obligation” (ob-li-GA-shon means duty). Instead, hunger for the Word will growl until you feed it. You’ll learn stuff about God that will rock your world. Learning more about God will become a delight. You’ll choose to make Bible reading your priority!
Take Home Nugget
As you grow into a spiritual adult, you’ll become a walking treasure. You’ll know what to expect from God. You’ll grow to know His character, His ways. These treasures can never be stolen from you.
We’re all accountable for how we spend every day.
Lets choose carefully, and not waste mindlessly away.
J.D. Griffith
A personal, private lesson experience with our staff
Written for www.Biblestudyforkids.com
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