Excerpted from Successfully Raising Grandchildren
by Kevin & Brenda Barnes
As a grandparent, your first responsibility is to let your grandchildren see the light of Jesus Christ in your life. You can only do that if you have Jesus living in you. That is, over the years you have had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ because at one point in your life you asked Him to forgive you of your sins and to be your Lord and Saviour. If you are thinking, "I can't remember ever doing that. Would you please tell me how I can make Jesus my Lord and Saviour?" I'm glad you asked.
Here is how you can have a genuine and strong relationship with Jesus Christ beginning right now:
1. You need to understand that you are a sinner. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Everyone in this world has sinned. You are not perfect, neither am I, so therefore, we can never be the perfect grandparents that we may dream of being. Once we understand that fact, we will be able to humble ourselves and receive God's help in raising or helping to raise our grandchildren.
2. You need to understand that everyone who dies without Christ will suffer punishment in Hell because of our sins. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: "For the wages of sin is death..." The penalty for our sins is spiritual and physical death in a place called Hell. Hell is a place of separation from God as well as eternal pain and suffering, and God does not want us to have to go through that forever.
3. You need to understand that only Jesus can save you from your sins. The Bible says in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
The Bible also says in John 3:16: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
The Bible tells us also in Romans 10:13: "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
If you believe the facts that were laid out above, and are willing to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, please pray the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I realize that I am a sinner in need of a Saviour. I thank You for coming down to earth to die for my sins. I now believe that You are "the Way, the Truth, and the Life." I believe that You died, were buried, and rose by the power of God. I ask You to come into my heart, save my soul and change my life forever. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.
Congratulations on letting the Lord Jesus become the center of your life. Now, with prayer and obedience to His Word, He will give you the wisdom, knowledge, strength and insight to help you raise your grandchildren for His glory.
As you let your grandchildren see Jesus in you, you are introducing them to Jesus in a positive way. Although we live in a great technological age with computers, iPods, iPhones, and other gadgets that as grandparents we may not fully understand, we need to take our grandchildren back to the basics of the Bible. We do that by letting them see Jesus Christ in us.
The history of our grandparents is remembered not with rose petals but in the laughter and tears of their children and their children's children. It is into us that the lives of grandparents have gone. It is in us that their history becomes a future.
--Charles & Ann Morse
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