October 27: CHILDREN

Believe it:

Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” Acts 2:38-39

Live it:

We can learn three lessons from today’s text.
1. Our good decisions help our children, too. We can identify the advantages of submitting our lives to Jesus: forgiveness (takes care of our past) and the Holy Spirit (power for now and the future). Through an act of obedience to God and a covenant with our Creator, we can change the trajectory of our families forever. Even if your ancestors did not have the best life, your family’s trajectory can be changed.
2. God is calling parents—and their children, too. You may have children who have yet to make decisions for Jesus. Parents are responsible for making decisions themselves, and should invite their children to make positive choices. Sometimes parents worry about not forcing the decision to be baptized onto their children, which is an appropriate approach. Yet, as parents, we have a responsibility to present that choice and should give ample thought to the eternal implications of discouraging or standing in the way of the decision your children would make.
3. The best gift you can give your child is to allow God’s Spirit to change your own life. Birthdays and Christmas are traditional times for giving gifts to our children. Consider that most gifts we give end up broken, outgrown, or forgotten. Not so with the gift of salvation. By changing your way of life, you are giving your children the most beautiful of all gifts.

Share it:

If you know of a young person who has yet to make a decision to surrender or return to Christ, invite him/her to the meetings.

My prayer today: for children of an appropriate age to follow Jesus in baptism

-Pray that they will receive Jesus as their personal Savior.

-Pray that their family will accept your invitation to attend the meetings.

from God’s City, My City