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"Wow!" Randy shouted as Father lifted a new bike from the car. "A bike for me?"

"It is for both of you," Father said. "You must share it."

"I'm first," Debbie cried eagerly. "Hurry, Dad, show me how to ride it."

Randy held on to the handlebars. "I'm the oldest, Debbie. So I should ride first."

"It's girls first." Debbie tugged at the bike. "Can't I be first, Dad?" she begged.

Father took the bike and leaned it against the wall.

Then he said, "Children, there is a verse in the Bible that says, 'Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.'" (Romans 12:10)

"What does 'honoring each other' mean?" Debbie asked.

"It means to put the other person ahead of yourself," Father explained. "The verse tells us we should be kind and loving to each other and honor others by letting them be first."

"Oh," Randy said. "Okay, Debbie, you can go first."

Debbie was thinking. She looked at Randy and shook her head. "I don't know how to ride yet. I guess I'd better watch you for awhile and then Dad can help me."

Father smiled. "Go ahead, Randy," he said.

Quickly Randy jumped on the bike. He began to ride up and down the driveway. Then he rode down the back lane. He had learned to ride on Peter's bike, but this was more fun. At last he had a bike of his very own!

In a few minutes Randy came back. Father helped Debbie get on the bike. With Father teaching her, Debbie soon learned to ride. The children took turns riding the bike until bedtime.

The next morning Debbie woke up early. She remembered the new bike. Slipping out of bed, she dressed quietly. If she hurried, she could go for a ride before Randy got up. She could ride and ride!

Debbie wheeled the bike from the shed and climbed on. Up and down the lane she rode. What fun! Suddenly a big black dog came bounding toward her. He was barking loudly. It made Debbie afraid. As she tried to turn away from the angry dog, the bike tipped over, knocking her to the ground.

Just then Randy came running from the house. "What are you doing, Debbie?" he called. "Have you broken our bike?"

"I--I--don't know." Debbie's voice trembled as she brushed the tears from her eyes. "That big dog scared me and I fell and skinned my knee. I'm going to get Mom to bandage it."

Randy chased the dog away. Then he looked at the bike. "The handlebars are twisted," he said. "Dad can fix it. I'll take it to him."

When Father had straightened the handlebars, everyone went in for breakfast. While they ate, Debbie told them what had happened. "I wanted to ride all by myself, Dad. Was that wrong?" she asked.

"It is not wrong to want to do something by yourself," Father said. "But until you can manage the bike better, I don't want you to ride on your own, Debbie."

"How did you get outside so early?" Mother questioned. "Did you remember to read your Bible and pray this morning?"

Debbie hung her head. "No, I forgot," she said. "I'm sorry, Mother, really I am."

"Yesterday," Father told them, "we were talking about putting others before ourselves. But we will find that hard to do unless we remember to put God first of all. We should put God first in our heart, in our time, and in our money -- in EVERYTHING."

Randy looked puzzled. "How can Debbie and I put God first when we are taking turns on the bike?" he asked.

"It is this way," Father answered. "The Bible says, 'Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.' That means we should love God best of all and put Him first in our lives. When we do that we will want to please Him by being kind to others and by putting them ahead of ourselves."

"When we read the Bible and pray early in the morning, are we putting God first in our time?" asked Debbie.

"Yes, that is one way we can do it," Mother said. "Here is a verse that will help you: 'O God, You are my God; early will I seek You.'" (Psalm 63:1)

Debbie liked the verse. "I am going to write it on some paper and put it up in my room," she said. "It will help me to remember."

"I will too," Randy said.

"It is time for our family Bible reading now," Father told them. He read to them from Luke 14. It was a story about Jesus.

Jesus taught the people to be unselfish. He said that when they went to a wedding feast they should not be proud and take the best place for themselves. If they did that, the master of the house might come and ask them to give their place to someone more important. That would make them feel ashamed. Jesus said they should always take a more humble seat. Then if the master came and moved them to a better place they would be happy. Jesus wanted the people to learn to put others ahead of themselves."

"That is like the verse, 'take delight in honoring each other'," Randy said.

"Yes," Father agreed.

"Here is a little rhyme you can learn," said Mother. "It will help you remember who should be first.

"First, I'll live for Jesus
Who died to set me free.
Next, I'll live for others
and last of all for me."

The children sang the little rhyme to themselves as they wrote out the words of Psalm 63:1. Then they ran outside to play with their new bike.

You have now learned the story your hand wants to tell you. Let us go over it again. Hold out your hand. Begin at the thumb and go to the little finger. Say the story out loud.

1. I HAVE SINNED. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23

2. GOD LOVES ME. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16

3. JESUS DIED FOR ME. "Christ died for our sins." I Corinthians 15:3

4. I RECEIVE HIM. "As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name." John 1:12

5. I HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE. "He who has the Son has life." I John 5:12

Now that you know the story, you can tell it to your friends. This is one way you can help them to take the Lord Jesus as their Savior. Another way you can help is by telling them about these lessons.

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Questions for this Lesson