Burning Bushes

"We had a Bible story about Moses in my class at church today," Autumn told her family at dinner. "We learned that God talked to Moses from a burning bush. Our teacher says God still speaks to people."Wesley jabbed his fork into a potato. "Maybe, but not through anything as interesting as a burning bush." He grinned. "I'd like to see one of those--and I don't mean the kind that has red leaves in the fall. I mean one that's really on fire!""Yeah!" said Autumn. "Imagine one of Mom's best bushes on fire and God speaking to us out of it!"Mom laughed. "Make it a bush way at the back of the yard, will you? We don't want to burn the house down!""You know, it doesn't require a real burning bush for God to speak to us," said Dad. "That bush was just what got Moses's attention. It was when he stopped what he was doing to check it out that God spoke to him. Today God speaks to us through His Word, the Bible, and He often uses a different kind of burning bush to get our attention. The situations we face in life can help us turn our attention toward Him so we can listen to what He has to say.""Like when Grandma died when I was little?" asked Wesley. "I had never really thought about death before, and it scared me. But then the pastor at Grandma's funeral talked about Jesus and how we don't have to be afraid of death because He died and rose again to save us from it, so I decided to trust Him as my Savior!" Dad smiled and nodded. "The situations God allows in our lives to get our attention can often be difficult ones," he said. "God can use them to help us see how much we need Him." "He uses people to do that too--like the pastor at Grandma's funeral," said Mom. "He got Wesley's attention by sharing the message of God's love when he needed to hear it.""Right," said Dad. "And when Wesley trusted in Jesus, He received the Holy Spirit, who lives in us and gives us wisdom and understanding as we read and listen to God's Word."Autumn grinned. "That's even better than a real burning bush!" -Tanya Ferdinandusz