Pilate once asked the question, “What is truth?” The media today is doing all they can to keep our heads spinning . . . “Your truth” . . . “My truth . . .” Is there no truth that stands above all others?

The world says no, but true Christians know in their hearts that there IS truth. It is God’s Truth. It is the one truth we can count on, stand on, and the one truth we must defend, even with our lives if necessary. This truth is found in every word and on every page of the Holy Bible.

With a solid foundation in God’s Word, we can recognize false teachers and false prophets. Without this foundation in God’s Word, we are vulnerable to feeling-oriented discernment which can be wishy-washy, fickle, and easily deceived. Regularly spending time in Bible reading and Bible study is indispensable for Christians who take their faith seriously.

Our children also need this foundation more now than they have ever needed it before. Who is teaching them? The public education system is increasingly determined to wipe out any trace of Christian beliefs and morality as they push the sexual alphabet soup on our children as early as kindergarten, and are deliberately causing gender confusion. Christians can’t take this lightly. We can’t look the other way. We must take a stand for our children’s sake.

And we must teach them from the Bible. It isn’t enough to take them to Sunday school when it’s convenient, and it may not be enough even if you take them every Sunday. There is much variation in the curriculum used as well as the quality of instruction. Too many times Sunday school classes and youth groups focus so much on entertainment that little or no Bible learning takes place. It may take more than “getting them in church” to give them a solid foundation in God’s Word.

Who taught Bible to you? Do you feel you have a solid grasp of the Bible? Or do you get by on a few Bible stories you remember from childhood? I recall visiting a small country church one morning when I was in high school and being impressed with how much those youth knew about the Bible – things I had no idea about – and I had been brought up in the church as a pastor’s daughter in my youngest years before my father left the ministry. That little country church knew how to teach Bible to their youth. Some churches do, but most need to catch up. Meanwhile parents need to become proactive in teaching their children.

Perhaps you are one of many parents who feel they don’t know enough about the Bible to teach it. The amazing thing is that you don’t have to know more. You can learn it together with your child. It is never too late to begin. I was already a parent before I became painfully aware of how shallow my faith had been as I was growing up and how little I knew about the Bible. In fact, my most recent teaching at that time came from a pastor who taught things like “You can prove anything with the Bible,” and “There’s no such thing as Hell. A loving God wouldn’t send anyone to Hell.” Another attitude he taught was that the Bible was too difficult for the common person to understand without a lot of background, so I didn’t bother to read it at all for many years.

Those beliefs brought me to the depths of despair in my young adult life, but praise God, a desperate fear of my downward slope and depression gave me the determination to get back into church and find out what was missing in my relationship with God. Fortunately, in the process, I discovered that I could read the Bible, it did make sense, and there were themes that were consistent throughout the Bible. It was all true. I’m also thankful for a close knit Bible study group that held me up and challenged me weekly. I think of how much grief I could have been spared if I had been taught the Bible in a systematic way gleaning the truth out of the many rich stories and teachings.

Where and how does a beginner start to take on the Bible as serious study? Start with a translation that is easy to understand, and for younger children look for the translations written in language that is simplified even further. Begin reading in Genesis and Matthew. Both Old Testament and New Testament have great value. With younger children consider looking up favorite Bible stories to hold their attention, then add in more later to connect the dots for the bigger picture. I’ve attached a downloadable starting list of great Bible story choices from Genesis and Exodus along with the passage references to help find them. I wanted to include more, but time prevented me from doing so. I may add additional links to this post at a later time.

Great Events in the Bible and Where to Find Them – Genesis and Exodus

Take the time to learn and teach God’s word while there is still time. You will not regret it.

Post by Janice D. Green, author of The Creation; Jonah, the Fearful Prophet; and Baby Jesus . . . Messiah! Published by Honeycomb Adventures Press, LLC.

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