I'm going to give you a tool that will help keep your black little soul out of hell. First, find yourself a Bible. Now don't get tense and huffy; hear me out. It can be your Granny's old tattered copy or a new one. I prefer one with a leather cover because it folds around and cuddles your hand. But if all you can afford is an inexpensive paperback, that's OK. For ease in reading, get one with a more modern version than the King James, but don't read it.
That's right; don't read it!
Place your Bible in the busiest room in your house and where it is always visible. Of course, you will have to pick it up occasionally to dust, but don't read it! The days will pass; but leave that Bible right where it is. Now here comes the good news. One day you are going to pick up that book and start reading because for some reason you have to and you don't know why. Maybe you or someone else that you care about is hurting. Maybe you just feel a need, or emptiness, but you know you're driven to read that book.
Don't stop after just a few words, read for a bit until all of a sudden you feel -- pow! It's almost as though a voice has said, "I've been waiting for you, kid."
This rarely happens in church, and besides, many of you reading this don't go to church. That's OK. Unfortunately, most people forget a sermon an hour after they hear it but these words, which you hold in your hand, belong to you and you'll remember them.
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Now flip through your Bible and your eyes will fall on specific verses that have meaning for you. Own them, memorize some, because you're going to need them for the rough times and they come to all of us. The twenty-third Psalm is a good start.
The constant support of the New Testament is great because it keeps telling you that with your choice of God comes the best fire insurance you will ever have.
Patricia Carter Harding
Willmar
