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How to Lead Your Child to Jesus
Followed by, "Dear Little One," A
Letter to Your Child
by Tom and Katie Stewart
"Why did they put the nails in Jesus' hands and feet and put Him on a stick?"
These are some thoughts that may help you explain
the Atonement ("At-One-Ment") to your young child.
"Suffer the little children to come unto
Me, and forbid them not: for of such is the Kingdom of God"
( Mark 10:14).
For little ones, it is crucial to have a proper understanding of the Atonement that
they may come to the lap of Jesus. "Take
My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall
find rest unto your souls" (Matthew 11:29). The following
"letter" to your son/daughter uses the same basic concepts that we have
used for very young children. Using this "letter," together with this explanation
of the Atonement, may help you answer your child's questions. "And all thy children SHALL BE TAUGHT of the LORD; and great
shall be the peace of thy children" (Isaiah 54:13).
Our article, "Suffer
the Little Children to Come Unto Me- Or, Of Such is the Kingdom of Heaven"---New Window, gives good advice concerning bringing young children to
the LORD Jesus. It quotes C. H. Spurgeon's sermon , "Children Brought to Christ" ---New Window.
He stated,
"Parents! I do hope you are all endeavouring to bring your children to Christ by teaching them the things of God. Let them not be strangers to the plan of salvation. Never let it be said that a child of yours reached years in which his conscience could act, and he could judge between good and evil, without knowing the doctrine of the atonement, without understanding the great substitutionary work of Christ. Set before your child life and death, hell and heaven, judgment and mercy, his own sin, and Christ's most precious blood."
If our children are truly our inheritance from
the LORD, then we MUST bring them to the Saviour, WITHOUT FAIL. "Lo, children are an heritage of
[literally, inheritance from] the
LORD: and the fruit of the womb is His reward"
(Psalm 127:3).
The Promises of God are part of the Spirit's arsenal to secure the hearts, minds,
and souls of our children for Eternity. "So shall My Word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall
not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall
prosper in the thing whereto I sent it"
(Isaiah 55:11).
And, it does please the Almighty that we would "suffer the little children to
come unto" Him (Mark 10:14).
Concepts to Teach
Jesus is the Father's "Only Begotten Son" (John 3:16); and, the Father, Who is the "King of Heaven" (Daniel 4:37), rules the Universe, for His "dominion is an Everlasting Dominion" (4:34). God has established rules that everyone must keep. He said that you are to "love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind" (Matthew 22:37), and that, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (22:39). When anyone wickedly sins and breaks God's rules, God must punish him, just as firemen must put out fires. "Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him" (Isaiah 3:11). If God does not punish sinners, then no one will respect His rules. "And every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward" (Hebrews 2:2). You will never keep your father's rules, if you do not trust him. And, you will never trust your father, if you do not love him. Jesus said, "If ye keep My Commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father's Commandments, and abide in His love" (John 15:10).
Why did Jesus have to die with nails in His hands and feet on the Cross? Because the All Wise Father knew that it was the best way to forgive man for breaking His rules, and to give us another chance. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have Everlasting Life" (John 3:16). Since we all have sinned and broken God's rules, we deserve to be punished. "For the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). Jesus volunteered to suffer in our place. "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit" (1Peter 3:18). By suffering on the Cross, Jesus made it possible for the Father to forgive anyone who was truly sorry for breaking His rules. "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the LORD" (Acts 3:19).
Only Jesus could have suffered in our place, because only He was a perfect, sinless sacrifice. "But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot" (1Peter 1:19). If God forgave a sinner, who did not repent, then He would have to let sin come into Heaven. But, God will never let sin into Heaven, because sin hates God, hates the angels, and hates the Saints. "And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's Book of Life" (Revelation 21:27). Heaven is the place where Jesus is and love is. There is no more pain or suffering in Heaven-- only joy. "Thou wilt show me the path of Life: in Thy presence is fulness of joy" (Psalm 16:11).
You may ask,"Why did Jesus have to die such a horrible death?"
If Jesus simply fell asleep and never woke up, we would feel bad. And, if He suffered terribly on the Cross at the hands of wicked men, then we would feel even worse. "5 But He was wounded for OUR transgressions, He was bruised for OUR iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:5-6). But, if we realize that we should have been punished, and He should not have suffered, then we ought to be truly grateful that He took our place. Then, we ought to love Him with all of our heart, strength, and mind, if we thought about it, even a little. "Thanks be unto God for His Unspeakable Gift" (2Corinthians 9:15).
So, you see, what Jesus did on the Cross was to suffer because of all the sins everyone has committed. Jesus "hath poured out His soul unto death: and He was numbered with the transgressors; and He bare the sin of many" (Isaiah 53:12). This made it possible for God to forgive us, if we repent (are truly sorry), for breaking His wonderful rules of loving Him with all our heart, and loving everyone else as much as we love ourself, while reminding us that we must still keep His rules. "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation" (Hebrews 9:28). Jesus had to suffer so terribly, not only to show how bad sin is, but to make you truly thankful that He did it just for you, so that you would not have to suffer in Hell. "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (1Thessalonians 5:18). Not only will your love make you want to obey Him, but God's gift of the Holy Spirit will be working in you to walk in loving obedience to your Heavenly Father, to keep His wonderful rules. "And I WILL put My Spirit within you, and CAUSE you to walk in My Statutes, and ye SHALL KEEP My Judgments, and do them" (Ezekiel 36:27).
It is impossible to answer the question,
"Why did they put the nails in Jesus' hands and feet and put him on a stick?",
without explaining the Atonement of the LORD Jesus
Christ. "And I, if I [Christ] be lifted up from
the Earth, will draw all men unto Me"
(John 12:32).
Since the essence of Christ's Atonement is His suffering, we cannot answer the question
without attempting to explain why Jesus suffered and died for him/her. "Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from
the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ" (Acts 17:3).
If your child can ask that question, then he/she has the moral agency to receive
the answer. "While
ye have Light, believe in the Light, that ye may be the Children of Light" (John 12:36).
And, if your child has yet to resolve the reason for Christ's suffering, death,
and resurrection in his/her own very young mind, then he/she has yet to believe
the Gospel. Jesus preached, "The time
is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the Gospel" (Mark 1:15).
Remember, you are leading a little one to Christ; that is, you are not simply giving
him/her facts, hoping that he/she will not reject your explanation. "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when
he is old, he will not depart from it"
(Proverbs 22:6).
Our children have been given as an inheritance from the LORD, and we have been entrusted
to deliver them to the arms of Jesus, without fail. "And
that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee
wise unto Salvation through Faith which is in Christ Jesus"
(2Timothy 3:15).
Raising our children for our LORD Christ, is a Christian parent's ministry of "life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?" (2Corinthians 2:16).
Sooner than most people think, we will be standing before the Almighty to give account
for the children He has entrusted to us. We pray that you, as well as we, may present
our children to the Saviour before His Throne. "Behold I and the children which God hath given me" (Hebrews 2:13).
May the "Only Wise
God Our Saviour" (Jude 25) grant you the Wisdom to help your little one's understanding,
that he/she may have the required simplicity of childlike faith in the Atonement
of Jesus, that brings us into Heaven. "Verily
I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child,
he shall not enter therein" (Mark 10:15).
Maranatha!
Fellow parents in Christ,
Tom and Katie Stewart
"4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6 And these Words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up" (Deuteronomy 6:4-7).
.
THIS IS WISDOM
from the Book of PROVERBS
(1)- The love of Jesus and what He did for us on the Cross is so pure and
true, that the younger a child is, the easier he is to teach.
"He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth
him chasteneth him betimes (early)" (Proverbs 13:24).
(2)- The little child understands this much easier than an adult.
"Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not
thy soul spare for his crying" (Proverbs 19:18).
(3)- If they have already sinned, then they are in danger of hell.
"Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child;
but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him" (Proverbs 22:15).
"Withhold not correction from the child" (Proverbs 23:13).
"Deliver his soul from hell"
(Proverbs 23:14).
A command.
"A child left to himself bringeth his mother to
shame" (Proverbs
29:15).
Related Material:
Topical Links On
Salvation ---New Window
And now, the "Letter"...
.
Dear Little One,
We want your Mommy or Daddy to read this to you.
This is your very own letter.
This is a story of hearts called,
.
"GOD IS LOVE"
"He that loveth not knoweth not God; for
God is LOVE"
(1 John 4:8).
1. The Heart of Jesus
The heart of JESUS
starts this story, because His heart is completely full of LOVE
.
The BIBLE
is GOD's way of talking
to us, and the BIBLE says that
"GOD is LOVE".
His heart is so full of LOVE that He wanted to help all the PEOPLE
of the EARTH
.
John 3:16 "For
God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth
in Him should not perish, but have Everlasting Life."
.
And JESUS wants especially
to help YOU, Little One.
John 15:12
"I have loved YOU."
JESUS let bad men put Him
on a CROSS
with nails in His hands
and feet, because He LOVED YOU, Little One.
His BLOOD from the CROSS is His LOVE and it covers
your heart and makes it full of LOVE for Him.
John 15:13
"Greater love hath no man than this, that [Jesus] lay down His Life for His
friends."
2. The Black Heart of Sin
Sin hates God.
Job 21:14 "Therefore
they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of Thy ways."
God punishes those that hate Him.
Exodus 20:5
"I the LORD thy God
[punish]... them that hate Me."
.
You
see, Little One,
whenever you sin and do something
that you know is bad,
the BLACKNESS
of sin
covers your heart.
Proverbs 4:19
"The way of the wicked is as darkness."
BLACK hearts are ugly because
they do not have any LOVE for JESUS in them.
Micah 3:2 "Who hate the good, and love the evil."
BLACK hearts are ugly because
they do not want the LOVE-FILLED BLOOD that
JESUS has saved-up just especially for them, when He died on that CROSS.
1John 3:16 "The love of God, because He laid down His Life for us."
Sin and BLACK hearts cannot
live in Heaven with JESUS because they
have NO LOVE for Him.
Hebrews 12:14
"Holiness, without which no man shall
see the LORD."
If you do something that you know is bad, then that is sin.
James 4:17
"Therefore to him that knoweth to do good,
and doeth it not, to him it is sin."
If you sin, the reason you sin is that you do NOT
LOVE JESUS.
John 14:15
"If ye love Me, keep My Commandments."
3. The Red Heart of Love
Heaven is a place of
LOVE because "GOD is LOVE".
Nehemiah 1:5
"LORD God of Heaven... for them that love
Him and observe His Commandments."
Sin makes JESUS so very sad.
He knows that BLACK hearts do
NOT LOVE Him.
John 14:21
"He that hath My Commandments, and keepeth
them, he it is that loveth Me."
His LOVE-FILLED BLOOD
will wash away all that sin and BLACKNESS and give us peace, if we will only
LOVE Him and obey Him.
Colossians 1:20 "Having made peace through
the BLOOD of His CROSS."
Because you sin, you need to be sorry that you hurt
JESUS , and promise Him that you won't ever do that bad thing again.
Psalm 119:16
"I will not forget Thy Word."
Ask JESUS to forgive you, and
He will. He LOVES you.
1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, He is Faithful and Just to
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Then your BLACK heart would
be a CLEAN WHITE
heart, just
like His CLEAN WHITE heart.
Revelation 7:14 "Made them white in the BLOOD."
4. The Clean White Heart
JESUS has a CLEAN WHITE heart that has NO SIN in it.
1Peter 2:22
Jesus "did no sin."
The CLEAN heart of JESUS cannot live together with BLACK hearts. In all of Heaven, there
are no BLACK hearts.
Revelation 21:27
"There shall in no wise enter into [Heaven] any thing
that defileth."
JESUS suffered terrible pain
on the CROSS and died for YOU so
that YOU would not have to suffer in Hell.
His LOVE-FILLED BLOOD from the CROSS washes away
all your sins, and makes your heart a CLEAN
WHITE heart, if you LOVE Him.
If you do NOT LOVE Him, YOU will have to suffer for your own sins, Little One. We deserve
to suffer for our own sins, but JESUS had no sin.
He didn't deserve it, yet He suffered anyway-- for YOU-- and for all of us.
Isaiah 53:5 "But [Jesus] was
wounded for OUR [sins]."
Since we all have sinned and broken God's rules, we deserve to be punished.
Romans 6:23
"For the wages of sin is death."
JESUS volunteered to suffer in our place.
1Peter 3:18
"Christ... suffered for sins, the Just
for the unjust, that He might bring us to God."
But, if you will LOVE JESUS and obey
Him, then you can live in Heaven with Him, when He comes to get us-- which is VERY
SOON, maybe even today.
Revelation 3:11
"Behold, I come quickly."
If we LOVE JESUS and we want
to be with Him in Heaven forever and ever, we must NOT hurt Him with sin.
Hebrews 6:6
"They crucify to themselves the Son of
God afresh, and put Him to an open shame."
5. The Ready Heart
JESUS is coming to take Home
to Heaven ONLY those who really LOVE Him.
Hebrews 9:28 "Unto them that look for Him shall He appear... without sin
unto Salvation."
.
Little
One, make sure
that you LOVE Him and obey Him
by doing whatever your parents
tell you that JESUS said to do.
Ephesians 6:1 "Children, obey your parents in the LORD: for this is right."
And remember, if we LOVE JESUS with all
of our hearts, then we will NOT miss
our HOUSES
,
our COMPUTERS,
our CARS,
and all of our "stuff" when we get to Heaven.
.
GOD'S PEOPLE do NOT LOVE these things.
They LOVE GOD.
Colossians 3:2
"Set your affection on things Above, not
on things on the Earth."
.
And
we will be
VERY HAPPY PEOPLE
because we will be
with our DEAR JESUS
Who LOVES us so much.
1John 4:8 "for
God is love."
GOD bless you, Little One, and all of your family.
From your friends,
Mr. Tom & Mrs. Katie
JESUS said, "Ye are My friends, if ye do
whatsoever I command you" (John 15:14).
.
Related Topics:
The
Very First Account of the "I Love You, Jesus" Day
---New Window
graphics and story by Katie Stewart
in our "Stories" section
An illustrated "story-reminder" for every
young person who loves Jesus.
"And he was called the friend of God" (James 2:23).
Five animal friends have a terrific idea. They invent a holiday! They wish to make
a special occasion just for telling Jesus how much all of them love Him. The party
is also to be a surprise that they want to share with a human friend, their boy,
Jonas. This special day reminds us that every single day should be "I Love You,
Jesus" Day.
Please join Koala, Leopard, Teddy, Bunny, and Raccoon
as they encourage each other, and Jonas, to Love Jesus!
"Exhort one another daily, while it is called To
day"
(Hebrews 3:13).
and
---New Window
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