You may have seen this picture circulating on the Internet over the years. It is not me, but it easily could have been because the Lord Jesus Christ made Himself known to me when I was very young.
On a summer day when I was 6 years old, my mother was preparing the Sunday School lesson for her class with a flannel board. She asked me if I wanted to watch her practice her Bible story and of course I did. As she taught God's truth that day, I knew that I had done wrong things, I needed to be forgiven, and I needed help to live like I should. I wanted Jesus to live in my heart so the bad things I had done would not be held against me and so I would have a Helper to do better. I told my mother these things. We talked about it and she led me in prayer, asking God to forgive me and asking Jesus to live in my heart. I immediately felt so much better and I wanted others to know about Jesus. I began by inviting my little friend across the street to come to church with us.
You may think that for an adult at my age, I have stated my salvation experience perhaps too simply; but that is exactly what happened. When a person accepts Jesus Christ as their Savior, no matter what their age, the same thing takes place.
I lived for the Lord as best I knew how in the years that followed, which was made considerably easier since I was raised in a strong Christian home where we were members of good Southern Baptist churches wherever we lived.
When I was 13 years old, an admittedly trying stage of life, new thoughts, impressions, people, and ideas began to invade my relative peace thus far. At the time I questioned if I really was a Christian, so I went forward once again in my church, and was baptized a second time. Now in looking back as a mature adult, I realize that I had fallen prey to the thought that if I had bad thoughts then I could not possibly have been a Christian. Now I know that this happens to everyone. It is not the thoughts that are sin but the dwelling on them and the acting on them that is sin. God helps us with those things when we ask Him.
My life has had the ups and downs that are common to humanity, but God has blessed my trust in Him countless times. I know I have been spared much grief and heartache by the adherence to Bible reading and teaching; and when the hard times have been allowed by God into my life, He has comforted and instructed me all along the way. The older I become, the more I see that God does not let any experience I've had to go to waste.
When we are saved for all eternity, God puts the Holy Spirit into our very bodies, which is a confirmation that we belong to Him. He gives each of us a spiritual gift to be used for His honor and glory. My spiritual gift appears to be encouraging others. One reason I blog is to encourage my readers in their relationship with Jesus Christ.
If you would like to know more about how to be a Christian, click on this link, which explains it very well. http://4laws.com/laws/english/flash/
When I write articles related to faith in God, you can access them by looking to the column on the left side of this page and clicking on "Faith." If anything I've said or shared is a help to you, I would enjoy hearing from you in the area below the posts where it says, "Comments."
