"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." -- Romans 10:9-10
Several weeks ago, I asked Brandon when he was going to become a believer in Christ and be baptized. He told me he didn't know. We didn't talk about it very much, but I did tell him that when he becomes a Christian, I would not only be his Daddy, but I would also be his brother in Christ. I said this, in part, because I believe Brandon has already exhibited faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of his sins; I believe God has been working in his life for some time.
A couple of weeks ago, just before bed, Brandon came into the office where I was studying and told me, "Daddy, I'm ready to confess Jesus as my Lord and Savior." I was thrilled to see God answer my prayers in this way; I had talked with him, but I intentionally did not put pressure on him to make a decision. He came to me on his own after thinking about things, and he answered God's call.
He makes me think of Samuel. Samuel was a boy who had been dedicated to God by his mom and dad after God answered his mom's (Hannah) prayer for a child. Samuel heard the voice of God and thought it was Eli, the priest. Three times he woke up Eli, and finally Eli realized that God was calling Samuel.
All Eli did was point Samuel in the right direction. And that's all we have done for Brandon. I believe this is one of the best ways to teach children the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are called to love them and teach them, but not pressure them. God doesn't NEED our help, but he does allow us to help point our kids to Christ.
If you're interested, we have used several tools to help point Brandon to Jesus. Here are some:
- The NIrV Discoverer's Bible for Young Readers - Brandon spends time reading his Bible (almost) everyday
- The Jesus Storybook Bible - This Bible helps us see how Jesus relates to every story in the Bible
- A Catechism for Boys and Girls - At one point, Brandon had all of section one and much of section two memorized, and he still remembers the main idea of the answers for many of the questions
~ Todd ~
1 comment:
That is awesome, brother! I pray that your daughter follows in your son's foot steps. I pray that the Holy Spirit works in Brandon's life such that all will know he is no longer yours and Heather's son, but is a child of God whom we can all call brother.
Thank you for allowing us to rejoice with you in your sons profession.
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