We all need the Saviour

Daddy led Evan in the sinner’s prayer today. He’s understanding sin and the outcome of sin, and the sacrifice and redemption by Jesus. And he is ready to ask Jesus to forgive him of his sins and to come into his life.

Over the last few months he’s been asking about hell and why Jesus let the soldiers crucify Him and why He has scars in his hands. And we’ve been explaining God’s redemption to him.

I think it is very important for Christian parents to explain God’s salvation to the children and to pray with them, not just thanksgiving or petition prayers, but to ask Jesus into their lives. Teaching in children’s church, I give a salvation call every few months. And every time, there have been children who wanted to ask Jesus into their lives and to save them. I think we must not take for granted that our children have prayed that. We need to teach them to pray, because prayer is our weapon for warfare. And it starts with surrendering our lives to Jesus. And we need to lead and guide them into that prayer to give their lives to Jesus.

Even in my class of 11 and 12 year olds, there are some who have been in church almost their whole lives and have never asked Jesus into their lives. Just because no one has asked them if they wanted to. I first saw the gospel presentation when I was 6, and I totally understood and believed that Jesus did that for me; He went through the pain and suffering, and went to the cross for me. But it wasn’t till I was 11 that someone led me in the sinner’s prayer, even though I’d been attending children’s church for a while already. It’s no one’s fault. We just have to remember to ask the children if they have said the sinner’s prayer and not take for granted that they have.

Jesus said to let the little children come to Him. He also said for us to come to Him like little children. So they are not too young to come to the Saviour and enter into a relationship with Him. We all need the Saviour.

Amazing Grace that saved a wretch like me

Just thinking about the amazing grace of God…

Have had this song in my head for a few weeks now, probably since I saw Amazing Grace the movie. And I led the song (Amazing Grace, my Chains are Gone version) in cell last Friday. My husband also talked about the grace of God in his sermon at cell. We are indeed saved by His amazing grace. Good works can’t save us. Good tries at being perfect also can’t save us. Nor can chanting or repeating prayers.

“But for the grace of God, there goes I.” Dwight L. Moody once said that as he watched a drunk man stagger down some steps. But for the grace of God, where would we be today?

Ephesians 2:8 tells us that we are saved by grace, through faith, not by our own works, that any man should boast. Besides being saved by grace, everyday of our lives is peppered with God’s beautiful, amazing grace. The fact that we can wake up to a bright new morning each day is by His grace.

Yesterday, I taught on being thankful to the kids in Sunday School. We have to be thankful for the good things and bad. Many times we forget to say thank you even for the good things that happen in life. And of course when the going gets rough, we just get angry and bitter and shake our fingers at God. We forget that God knows what is best for us, and that it is sometimes by our bad decisions that we end up in situations we don’t want to be in.

The illustration we used in the lesson was so good. I gave sweets to some children but not to others. Only one out of the eight that received sweets said Thank You! Exactly what I was hoping to get through the ‘experiment’! So often we take good things that happen to us for granted and forget to say Thank You. I also shared with the kids the story of us trying to make Caleb eat vegetables. It is a terrible ordeal for him. But we, as his parents, know that it is good for him, and essential for his good growth and good health. So sometimes God dishes out sweets, and other times, vegetables. But we can trust in knowing that He knows what’s best for us.

“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me

I once was lost, but now am found

Was blind but now I see.”

I thank God for His grace that found me and saved me. But for the grace of God, where would I be?