Philippians 3:1 Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.

This month in prep school we started the Salvation series! During the 1st lesson, one of our students commented that we had already taught them about salvation. While this was a true statement- do we ever truly understand what we are taught, and are we able to teach it to others after hearing it just 1 time? How about 2 times? Or even 3 times? You get the point. Repetition is a necessary part of learning. When learning the words to a song or studying for a test at school, you must listen to the song or study the facts over and over again, right? Well, we need to do this even more when learning all of the wonderful things about God and His plan for salvation. God knows everything and it takes dedication to learning His Word for us to understand even a little bit of what He knows.

Romans 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!

God has a plan for each and every one of us. After we are born again and saved, accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, there are specific things He requests of us. First, what is God’s will for all people?

1 Timothy 2:3-4 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

God wants all people to repent- to admit that they are sinners and that they need a savior, and then accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. After that, He wants us all to LEARN about Him. We do that by reading our Bibles and learning from a Pastor whom God chooses for us. God will tell your parents whom that man is and you will, most likely, be taught in a prep school like ours, from prep school teachers who are learning from that Pastor. You will also learn from your parents, obviously ☺.

As we learn about the Lord and all the many ways He loves and protects us, we grow to love Him, more and more. What do you want to do when someone loves you and you love them back? You want to tell others all the wonderful things about that person and all the wonderful ways they express their love to you. So, that’s what God asks us to do next. This is called the “The Great Commission”…

Matthew 28:19-20 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

So, in order to be saved, learn about God, and then share the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others, we know that we need to read our Bible, learn about His Word from our Pastor (parents and prep school teachers, too), and pray. So, do we do that once a week or on Sundays only? How often do you think you should read your Bible and talk to God?

Matthew 4:4 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

1 Thessalonians 5:17 pray without ceasing.

We should be reading our Bibles and talking to God EVERY day!! We NEED His Word. We NEED to pray. We need to do both every day. As you read His Word daily, He will help you to understand it and get to know Him. As you talk to Him every day, you will learn to trust Him as you watch the Lord answer prayers for both you and others.

As with anything in this life we need to do for our health- breathing, eating, sleeping- we do it repeatedly! In the same way, anything in this life that brings us happiness- spending time with family and friends, laughing, playing games- we do it repeatedly! So, we must also read His Word and pray repeatedly for our spiritual health and happiness.

Like the Apostle Paul said in our opening verse, it is no trouble to those who teach God’s Word to you (Pastors, parents, prep school teachers) to repeat the same topics over and over again. Repetition is a necessary part of learning, and learning His word is a safeguard (protection) for you.

Ephesians 6:13-18 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.