Monday, February 4, 2013

What Are You Afraid Of?

I help teach children's Sunday School and Childeren's Church. One of the students that I've been teaching since she was five years old asked Jesus to be her Lord and Savior one Sunday when one of the other teachers had the class. This young lady is now ten years old and she was so excited when she asked Jesus to save her from her sins. She told everyone in church that day.

And then, someone who probably had good intentions, did the unpardonable: he or she (we don't know who it was) told this precious little ten-year-old that she would have to give up everything. She would no longer be able to listen to the same music, watch the same movies and TV shows, dance, hang out with the same people, etc. My precious little student went home and cried for two days because she thought she was going to have to give up everything important to her. She thought she would no longer be able to be herself. If she couldn't be herself, who was she supposed to be? Was she no longer allowed to have any fun? She wasn't sure she wanted to be a Christian. It's been about two months now and her attitude has changed. She is being hateful to her little brothers. She is becoming defiant and self-centered (more than before). I can see her struggling. The Lord wants to save her from her sin and Satan is pulling at her to keep her where he wants her. I am afraid for the person who told her this. Scripture tells us in Matthew 18:6; Mark 9:42; and Luke 17:2 that it would be better for that person to have a millstone hanged around their neck and be cast into the sea than to offend one of these little ones. To offend doesn’t mean just to belittle or criticize; it also means to cause to stumble. The person who said these things to this precious child that God wants to claim for His own has caused her to stumble in her budding faith. May the Lord convict that person and bring them to repentence.

Are you afraid to give your heart to the Lord? Are you afraid of the changes He will make in your life? Let me ask you this: Are the things you possess, the "toys" you have, the position, status, prestige, money, friends worth more than the adventure that awaits the child of God? You can only be God's child if you offer Him everything.  I can tell you that in my over 30 years of being a Christian, I have NEVER heard a true Christian say they were sorry for giving their hearts and lives to God's control. GOD IS LOVE. EVERY GOOD AND PERFECT GIFT COMES FROM GOD. James 1:17. God promises He will never leave us or forsake us. He is available to help us 24/7. He never is too tired or too busy. Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that He has a purpose and a plan for us. He promises to take our mistakes and turn them around for good. He promises to give us an abundant life! He promises joy, and peace, even in hard times. He teaches us to be more loving, generous, kind, compassionate, willing to help others, takes our problems and helps us work through them. There is nothing too hard for Him, no mountain too high. The weather and elements are subject to His power. He promises that if we have faith the size of a grain of mustard seed, one of the smallest seeds in the universe, He will give us whatever we ask as long as it's for the right reason.

What are you afraid of? Don't let the devil rob you of all that God has waiting for you. God repairs relationships, heals the broken-hearted, gives joy instead of depression, peace instead of worry. He never makes anyone give up anything. He lets us make our own choices. But when we fall in love with Him, our desires change (over time).  Oh, He's a WONDERFUL GOD, FAITHFUL FRIEND, WONDERFUL COUNSELOR, MIGHTY GOD, EVERLASTING FATHER, AND THE PRINCE OF PEACE. GOD LOVES YOU, RIGHT NOW, RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE. IF I'M WRONG I HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE BECAUSE THE END WILL BE THE SAME. IF YOU ARE WRONG IN NOT TRUSTING HIM, YOU HAVE EVERYTHING TO LOSE.

For God so loved YOU, that He gave His only begotten Son, that if you believe in Him, you will never die (your soul), but will live forever in Heaven with Him when this life is over. John 3:16. If you refuse Him, your soul will spend eternity in torment, suffering in hell. Luke 16:19-31. We can't earn salvation. If we could be good enough then Jesus left heaven, came to earth, and died the most cruel death of anyone, for nothing. Yet He chose to do all of that because of His great love for us. Romans 3:10-18 tells us plainly that we are not good in God's eyes. Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."
Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages (what we earn) of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Romans 10:9, 10, and 13 says, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
Galatians 2:16 says, "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." We cannot take credit for our salvation. Only God, through the blood of Jesus Christ, can save us. God will not give us any reason to be filled with pride because He alone gives us our talents, abilities, intelligence, makes our bodies and minds work, etc.

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