If we don't teach our children to follow Christ, the world will teach them not to.
GOD IS HOLY (Day 13)

Because GOD IS HOLY, only He can make my heart clean.

Preparation: Read this summary of Genesis 1-3.

In the beginning, God made the world and everything in it. He made light and water, the clouds and the sky, the plants and the trees, the sun, moon and stars, and every animal there ever was. The last thing God made was a man and a woman, Adam and Eve.

God loved spending time with Adam and Eve. In the evening, He would walk with them in the garden and talk about their day. They had nothing to hide from one another because God, being perfect, had made Adam and Eve perfect.

But one day, something dreadful happened. Adam and Eve disobeyed the one thing God had told them not to do. It was the first sin, ever, in the entire world. That night, when God came to walk with Adam and Eve, they were hiding from Him. They were sad, afraid, and ashamed because of what they had done. God was sad, too, because He could not spend time with Adam and Eve anymore. Their sin had separated their friendship with God. He banished them from the perfect garden He had made for them.

Read the Bible Memory Verse below.

BIBLE MEMORY VERSE
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.. (Revelation 4:8)
Can you imagine what a perfect world must have been like? We were made to be friends with God. But when Adam and Eve sinned, the entire world changed. It was no longer perfect and clean because of dirty sin. Sin separates us from our perfect and clean God.

In our last devotion we learned that every sin has a very serious consequence. Do you remember what the consequence is for every sin? Review Romans 6:23.
  • What is the consequence for every sin? (death).

We have a sin problem! But since God is perfect, He never changes. He still wants to be our Friend, just like He wanted to be friends with Adam and Eve! So He made a way to fix our sin problem so we can be friends again.

Read John 3:16.
  • Why did God give Jesus, God's only begotten Son to die for us? (He loves us)
  • Does God want anyone to perish? (No!)
  • Since Jesus died and paid our consequence for every sin, what does God make available to us? (everlasting life)

Not only did Jesus die. God proved He is the Biggest and the Strongest by bringing Jesus back from the dead!

Read this summary of God's Good News for us in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4.

"For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ
died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried,
and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:"

Because God is Perfect, He has the perfect answer to our sin problem! Maybe you've heard this before. A lot of people know these things, but that's not enough. You must say "Yes" to Jesus!

Jesus gave you the best gift ever when He paid the penalty for your sin! He saved you! What are you going to do with that gift?
Imagine someone gave you a present, but you never opened it. Does the gift do you any good? No! Jesus' gift to you works the same way. It's not enough to say you believe in His gift. It's not even enough to be happy about the gift. You have to choose to reach out and accept His gift and trust that it becomes yours!

Do you believe that Jesus, God's only Son, died for your sin and rose from the dead like the Bible says? If you said yes, you can accept His gift to you right now!

God said in Romans 10:13, " For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

You can call upon God through prayer, telling Him that:
  1. You are a sinner and need His Son, Jesus to save you from your sins.
  2. You need Jesus to lead your life this point on.
  3. You believe that He died to pay the consequence of all your sin.
  4. You believe that He rose again from the grave.

The Bible is clear, that we are saved by faith in Jesus and what He did for us. A prayer is not what saves us. A prayer is our way of telling God Who are faith is in. You can talk with God in prayer right now, or ask someone to help you.

WHY DOES THIS MATTER:
Because God is Holy and I am not, only He can fix my sin problem. That's why Jesus, God's perfect Son, is the only answer to my sin problem! I must accept His gift in order to be saved from the consequence of my sin.

TAKING ACTION:
Talk to God and thank Him for His perfect gift of Jesus! Thank Him that you can have a relationship with Him forever--now and in Heaven!

If you just prayed today to accept God's gift of eternal life, that is amazing! Please reply to this email and share your great news! Someone from Florence Baptist Temple will contact you to provide you some more information.

Today, you may not be ready to pray this prayer to God. That's OK. Just keep reading about God every day. If you have some questions about God or the Bible, please reply to this email and someone from Florence Baptist Temple will contact you to answer your questions. If you have not done so already, have someone read with you the attached booklet about God called, " 4 Keys 4 Kids".
adapted from Discover God 4 Kids
A Sample Prayer to Conclude Your Time
Dear God, You are to be praised forever and ever. Yours is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on the Earth is yours. With You in control, we have nothing to fear. Help us to trust You with every detail of our lives. We adore You and thank You for being a great God, filling our lives with Your purpose. Amen.