Every morning before starting school, we spend time as a
family worshipping the Lord through song and dance, and then we talk about
whatever the Lord has placed on our hearts to talk about. Sometimes we pray for things on our hearts,
sometimes we talk about our feelings, sometimes we share pictures God may be
giving us so that we can discuss/pray into the meaning of them. Who knew that this morning was going to be a very
special day for our family and 3 youngest children…..!
After worship and prayer, we began by reviewing the Bible
verse we’ve been talking about this week: John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever
believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” After Josh had them repeat it a few times, I asked
them who the “Son” was referring to. I
don’t want to take for granted and assume that they already know. It’s good to ask probing questions to affirm
one’s understanding of something. I then
felt led to explain to our kids what “perish” meant and the difference between
that and eternal life. When we receive
Jesus into our life, even when we die physically on this earth, we will live forever
with Him in Heaven. As we were about to
move on, I had these thoughts going on in my head: I’m sure my children have already received Jesus. They go to church. We’ve talked about it. There’s no need to ask them now………..But then
Holy Spirit prompted me to ASK them if they believe in Jesus and have received
Him into their lives/hearts.
Christian seemed unsure if he had or not. Gracie and Josiah said no. I went on to tell them that receiving Jesus
into one’s life is a personal choice that we must all make at some point –
there is no right or wrong age for when we do it, there is no right or wrong
way for how we do it. Why? Because God looks at the heart and not at our
religious approach or traditions. I told
them that if they ever want to receive Jesus into their life to let Mommy and Daddy
know and we’d help them, or they could just ask Jesus into their lives on their
own. Growing up I know how detrimental it
is to make decisions for yourself and not based on others’ expectations of you,
so I said nothing further and didn’t want them to feel pressured or manipulated
into making the choice today. Right as
we were about to move on, Christian says, “I
want to receive God/Jesus into my heart TODAY!” This was a bold decision for Christian
because often times he tends to shy back and fears the “unknown” – like what it
will look like to allow Jesus to live in Him through the Holy Spirit – but I am
so proud of him for choosing to be bold and be an example for his younger brother
and sister! I mean, his whole face lit
up and he was grinning from ear to ear when he said it!! When Gracie and Josiah realized what was
happening, they too decided to receive Jesus into their hearts!! I will briefly mention, so as to not exclude
Jade, that she gave her life to the Lord already when she was younger and has
been seeking after Him ever since! Josh
helped the kids to vocalize their decision to God through prayer (a simple
conversation with Him). Of course,
joyful tears were streaming down my face!!
I expressed to the kids how they just made the best decision
of their lives!! I shared with them how,
ever since they were born, I’ve prayed that they would all know Jesus at a
young age – and when I say “know”, I’m referring to having a personal
relationship with Him. I shared with
them how Mommy didn’t understand fully what this meant until I was almost 25
years old, and even then God took me on a long journey of discovering who I am
as His daughter! I shared with them how
angels and a cloud of witnesses in heaven were rejoicing over them at that very
moment!! They just smiled!
We’ve been praying over our kids that they would see angels
and that God would speak to them in their dreams, amongst other things. We invite angels into their rooms and into
our home every night. Jade began to
share how she’s seen angels before. She
said one time she saw a very large angel laying in our bed in Pemba, Mozambique
2 years ago. It was during the first few
weeks when we were there and our entire family was sleeping in one room. She said we weren’t laying in the bed at the
time, just the angel was, and his feet hung way over the bed….he was VERY
large. She then shared how she saw
another angel at our old rental house that we just moved out of. The angel was standing in the corner and its
wings were encircling our entire home.
Then Christian said one day he saw Jesus. We asked when that was. He said at the hospital. We asked when he was at the hospital, and he
said, “When I was a baby I saw Jesus in
the hospital.” We asked what Jesus
looked like, and he said Jesus had brown hair and was wearing a white “thing”
(he didn’t know what to call it) and that Jesus looked a little older than
Daddy.
I love how our kids are learning that they can have a close
relationship with God/Jesus/Holy Spirit NOW, and that they’re not far away or a
figment of the imagination like many think. For those reading this whom haven’t made the personal choice
to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, it’s never too late! God loves you right where you’re at, and He
wants you to experience His love like never before. That is the gospel in its simplest form. Many have accepted the idea of Jesus or
teachings about Jesus but still don’t know Him.
Some live in bondage of fear, offense, lies, bitterness, unforgiveness, hurts,
pride, control, etc., but God’s word promises us an abundant life – a life full
of peace, love, joy, patience…..FREEDOM!!!
His word also says that we shall know the truth and the truth will set
us free!! When you know Jesus, it
transforms your life and you are free to love Him no matter the cost! For me to love Jesus, it cost me my pride, it
cost me giving up my right to be right, it cost me surrendering my life to Him –
oh yes – there is a cost. It will
require you to let go of things, but in the end it is so worth it. At some point the Lord is going to have me
type up my testimony, my story, but until then I will leave you with this………………
Psalm 118:24 - Today is the day the Lord has made, let us be
glad and rejoice in it!! Thanks for rejoicing
with us!!
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