Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Psalm 23:6

If you are hosting your VBS in June, you are likely inundated
with rainbows—those formed after the spring rains
or those featured in storefronts and in parades. The former
are a reminder that God is a promise keeper. After the flood
that was sent in judgment on the wickedness of mankind,
God gave the beautiful rainbow as a sign of his promise
to never flood the earth again. The latter come from those
who shake their fists at their holy Creator, determined to
live their lives on their own terms, building their faith on
the shaky ground of man-made morality.

Our kids are caught up in the undercurrents of this new
morality—they have friends who are “out,” friends who
are furries, friends who are whatever they choose to be.
Once they become emotionally involved, it’s more difficult
to say with certainty, “Thus says the Lord.” For example,
a friend said, “But what about Steve, who is like an uncle
to my kids? How can I tell him his lifestyle is wrong when
he’s so fun to be around?” This is part of that moralistic,
therapeutic deism worldview—if there is a god, he wants
people to be happy in whatever they do and can’t lay claim
to their lives.

Yet the real rainbow shows us there is a personal God—
the one who created us in his image—who has defined
right from wrong. Anyone who rebels in any way is under
his wrath (Proverbs 6:16–19) and needs to repent of sin
and trust in Jesus for salvation. In the days of Noah, God
showed his wrath on sin and his provision of salvation
from judgment through the ark. And he showed—through
the rainbow—his mercy for those who walk in newness of
life. For us, this personal God has given his personal revelation
through his Word and provided his personal salvation
through the Word, Jesus Christ. These promises, found
in the Bible, provide a sure foundation on which we can
stand and proclaim with boldness the need for all to repent,
receive salvation, and walk the right path with their gentle
Good Shepherd.

Today, as you share with the children, evaluate your own
foundation. Are you tossed to and fro by every “new” idea?
Does your position on right and wrong change based on
your involvement with others? Or do you stand firm on the
unchanging Word of God, evaluating each teaching in light
of what Scripture says, then sharing the true gospel with
those around you who need to hear it?

May we pray with the Puritans that the Lord, our promise
keeper, would continually remind us that his Word is
sure and we can trust it. We look forward to the fulfillment
of all his promises in that future time when his children
will surely have a place in his courts forever.

Glorious Jehovah, my covenant God,
All thy promises in Christ Jesus are yea and amen,
and all shall be fulfilled.
Thou hast spoken them, and they shall be done,
commanded, and they shall come to pass.
Yet I have often doubted them,
have lived at times as if there were no God.
Lord, forgive me that death in life,
when I have found something apart from thee,
when I have been content with ephemeral things. . . .
Help me to leave my concerns in thy hands,
for thou hast power over evil,
and bringest from it an infinite progression of good,
until thy purposes are fulfilled. . . .
Grant me a distinct advance in the divine life;
May I reach a higher platform,
leave the mists of doubt and fear in the valley,
and climb to hill-tops of eternal security in Christ
by simply believing that he cannot lie,
or turn from his purpose.
Grant me the confidence I ought to have in him
who is worthy to be praised, and who is blessed for
evermore.
— Arthur Bennett, The Valley of Vision
(Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2005), 132.