Are you walking with Jesus every day?

Since I was a child and accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior at a VBS meeting in Lansing, IL, my faith and walk with Jesus has grown each day. Yes, there have been times that I have walked in the flesh and not in the Spirit, but He has held me in His hand and never let me go….ever!

Growing up, we lived next door to the most wonderful Grandparents anyone could wish for! Our Grandma, especially, loved being around us kids. We would spend weekends at her house playing board games like War and Rummy and dice games like Bunco . She was so much fun! She enjoyed being with us kids and she would laugh so hard at us and her belly would bounce up and down when she laughed and when we saw that, we’d laugh all the more and that would make her laugh all the more! On and on it went until we were breathless. We would always come home from school and run straight to her house and tell her all about things that happened at school and see what she was cooking for dinner! She loved hearing our stories.

She was also a great cook!! We loved eating at her house. We would watch her make homemade breads and rolls and pies and homemade egg noodles. I can still see her cutting and tossing the dough in flour. She would get flour all over the front of her apron. One day I was at their house and my Grandpa was getting ready for work (he worked in the steel mills in East Chicago along with our Dad). He was dressed for work and sat down in a chair and immediately jumped up and yelled! He turned around and his pants were wet from sitting in the ‘slop bucket’ she had set on that chair waiting to toss it in the garden. Us kids thought that was so funny! Obviously, he didn’t though! Our little Grandma was only 4’11” inches tall and almost as round. Our Grandpa always teased us and said she had her dresses made by “Omar, the Tentmaker”. Not nice but it was kind of funny to us kids at the time.

The main thing about our Grandma is that she loved Jesus with all her heart! And she taught her Grandchildren to do the same. She was always reading her Bible and telling us about Bible verses. Her faith was infectious! At times, as kids, we would get embarrassed when we were out with her at the store or laundromat as she would just go right up to strangers and ask them, “Do you know my Jesus?” If they said no, she would proceed to tell them right there all about Him and all He had done for her all her life. Now, as an adult, I treasure those memories and they are a guide for my life.

As I grew up and matured and began dating in High School, the faith that she and our Mother taught us began to really grow in my heart. I got my own Bible as a pre-teen for Christmas one year and I was excited about that. It was my first very own Bible! Black cover and a zipper with a cross attached. It had my name engraved on the front in gold and gold gilt edges on the pages, with the words of Jesus in red! So I began reading and Jesus became real to me as I read His Story. That faith and background has sustained me all through life’s ups and downs. The more I read His Story and His Book, the more my faith has grown. He has carried me through so many of life’s trials. If you don’t know Him personally, I want to urge you to get a Bible and begin reading. Start at the New Testament in the Book of John.

“How to Experience New Life in Christ”

1. Believe that everyone is a sinner (that means you and me personally). We have been separated from God by our sin. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23
2. God so loved the world that He gave His Son to die for us. “But God commended His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romas 5:8
3. Death means separation from God. Eternal life comes by trusting in Jesus Christ to save you. “For the wages (payment) of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23
4. In order to begin your new life in Christ (be saved), you must believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins and declare that you accept Him as your Savior. “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” Romans 10:9
5. This is God’s promise to you: If you accept Jesus, He will accept you. “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:13
6. If you would like to accept Jesus as your Savior from sin, pray the following prayer: “Dear God, I know I have sinned and I want to ask for your forgiveness. I believe that Jesus died for my sins. I now accept your free offer of eternal life. I will follow Jesus as my Savior and try to obey Him in all that I do. Thank you for giving me new life now! In the Name of Jesus I pray, Amen.”