Deuteronomy 11-12
Psalm 32
Luke 16

Do you remember sitting at the feet of your grandmother listening to stories from her childhood? Maybe even your father would put you on his lap and retell some family tale from a long time ago. The art of story-telling is as old as time and interwoven in the very nature of humanity. It is history, truth, and familiarity. One of my favorite quotes I found in a textbook introduction and it says “Literature makes visible the invisible and at times unfathomable reality that we are all connected.”

I love stories. This is why every month I bring people to the Wildfire Youth Group to share their stories with our teens. Every testimony is a story of God’s goodness.

This is a practice commanded to us in Deuteronomy 11:19-20. While that verse commands us to teach the commandments does not Jesus say the two greatest commandments are to love God and love your neighbor? How better to teach kids than through your life experiences and how God has rescued you. Jesus taught through story all the time, as seen in our Luke passage today!

If you have ever had a moment like David in Psalm 32 imagine the power that story has to influence. Psalm 32:5 says, “Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.’ And you forgave the guilt of my sin.” That is all of our testimonies. We sinned, we asked God’s forgiveness, and He washed us white as snow though our sin was red as crimson.

I encourage you to tell people how you have been saved by Grace. Parents, I encourage you to begin this practice in your home. Be open and vulnerable, allow your children to see imperfections and hurts. The more cracks you have the more the Light can shine through you. Remember, we have been called to be bold and courageous!

Many Blessings, friends;
Karissa