Baby Day

This Sunday at Bethel Church of the Nazarene is Baby Day. This will highlight some of the newest followers of Christ in our church community. Although they have not truely accepted Christ in their hearts (yet), they still come to learn and hear the words from the Bible. They are active paricipants in the church and are shown unconditional love, as Christ did for us. Come and celebrate the wonderous blessings that they are and share in the joy that they bring into all of our hearts.

I ran across an older article about leading children to Christ by Cindy Baston (copyright 1998). I always wondered about this subject and she give some interesting insight. Enjoy.

Leading Children to Christ by Cindy Batson

How do we know when a child is ready to receive Christ? Are there signs? Should parents bring up the subject, or do we wait for the Holy Spirit to speak to a child's heart? These are some of the questions a parent asks.

Our daughter Courtney accepted Christ as she was approaching her seventh birthday. Let me share what led up to her decision. Courtney comes from a Christian home; her father is a pastor. From the time she was an infant, she attended Sunday school, church services, Vacation Bible School, and many other church activities. She listened as we read Bible stories, helped her to memorize Scripture verses. She was exposed to Christian records, musicals, movies, and plays. For her to believe that Jesus died for her and to ask Him to be her Savior was a natural step.

One day Courtney began to ask probing questions. She asked, "Will everyone be saved when Christ comes again? What is the meaning of baptism?" I answered her questions one by one, and shared the simple gospel message with her. I could see that the Lord was speaking to her. I wondered if she could really understand these things. Quietly I prayed that the Lord would continue to speak to her.

Within a few days Courtney attended a special service in our church. As we entered the building Courtney said, "Mommy, I'm ready to ask Jesus to be my Savior, because Jesus is coming soon, and I want to be ready!" Her eyes were bright with excitement. She had a big smile on her face. The service was about to begin, so I told Courtney that if the guest evangelist gave an invitation, she could go to the altar to accept Jesus as her Savior. Courtney sat very still and listened as the speaker preached on being ready for the return of Christ. When an invitation was given, Courtney raced down the aisle to the altar. She was the only one to respond that night. Willie and I prayed with her at the altar. That night Courtney eagerly asked Jesus to enter her life.

You may wonder, "Can a young child understand the meaning of salvation?" Here is where we are misled. We think that a child must "understand" rather than "believe" the message of salvation. Where does it say in the Bible that we must "understand" in order to be saved? It does say, however, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved." Salvation is God's gift to us, isn't it? Have you ever noticed how quickly a child will accept a gift? He happily reaches out and accepts it, without wondering what he needs to do to earn it.

Parents should be ready to present the gospel and not be afraid to repeat the message often. Remember to pray for your children. Ask the Holy Spirit to prepare their hearts, just as adult hearts are prepared. Children should never be forced into accepting Christ; on the other hand, when a child is ready, we should not reject their decision by saying, "You're too young," or "You don't understand everything."

After a child becomes a Christian, remember that he needs to be discipled. It is important to praise the child for his decision, and rejoice with him. Encourage him to tell others of his conversion experience. When Courtney accepted Christ, she called her grandmother the next morning to give her the great news.

Children can be led to Christ. God made the message simple so that even a child could hear and respond. Take every opportunity to present this wonderful message to your children while their hearts are eagerly open.

(Cindy Batson is a wife, mom, and teacher. She is married to Willie Batson, who is Director of Family Builders Ministries.)

2 Corinthians 5:17. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Stumbling

This past weekend I went on the Bethel Men's Retreat to Horsethief Reservoir, which is up by Cascade, ID, and had a great time relaxing with the guys. It was a great time to sit around the campfire, eat a lot of food, fish on the lake, and get to know the other guys at church. I realized that I am not alone in this process. There are other guys in the church, whom I have never talked to, that are going through some of the same problems that I am going through. At the same time, as men, we are not expressing our feelings but conversing with a common jocularity. There is the overwhelming sarcasm and lack of seriousness to each statement, and then it is back to talking about hunting, fishing, and killing. That's the way it is with guys, we sometimes just can't get serious with each other. We put up our walls in order to protect ourselves from being hurt or exposed. We somehow want to feel like we are invincible to the worlds problems. God would tell us otherwise. We need to lay it all out there at the foot of the cross and come to him.

This weekend felt like it came crashing down upon itself when I got back to Nampa. I had been praying about a position at a charter school for weeks. I had prayerfully considered a position teaching Life science and Biology at this charter school, and had applied to the position with the confidence that God was leading me in the right direction. I had conversations with the Director of Operations and got my application in as soon as possible (since they needed to fill the position). He was very encouraging and supportive of my prospects for the teaching position and said that I would be a good fit for the charter school. And that was the last that I had heard from him on the matter. I had received no news for two weeks. I was then told, informally, that the position had been filled by another person. I was dumbfounded. I began to question whether I had prayed about it enough and whether I was cut out for teaching. I had let the enemy in and work on my heart. I had started to think and say things that I would later regret.

When I get up in the middle of the night, I have to faintly search for any glimmer of light to find my way. I go stumbling through the dark to find my way and search for the light. Any light, no matter how dim can guide me on my path in the darkness. In this season of darkness there is a light that continues to shine on my path, leading me forward, and directing me in the right direction. The light is leading me away from the charter school (although it may lead me back) at this time, but I trust that God will continue to direct me in this journey. I am prepared for any trip that He is taking me on. May God continue to lead and direct your path this week.