What’s not to like about Halloween?!
You get to dress up as any character you want to. And even when some kids dress up in monster or pirate costumes, you don’t have to be afraid…it’s just more Halloween fun.
But the rest of the year lots of kids are afraid of very real things like spiders, the dark, and bullies. And when something really scares you, it’s not funny! In fact, God’s book, the Bible, tells about lots of people who were afraid. One of them wrote down what he did when he was scared: “When I am afraid, I put my trust in [God]” (Psalm 56:3).
Who Can Help You?
Wouldn’t it be great to know that God is with you when you’re afraid? It’s possible for the kids who know God in a personal way through his Son, Jesus. In God’s book, the Bible, Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). The Bible also says that all who believe in Jesus become the “children of God” (John 1:12).
But there’s a problem. Since God has given us the ability to choose our way or his way, we naturally choose our way. “There is a way that seems right to a [person], but its end is the way to death” (Proverbs 14:12). The Bible also says that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God….the wages of sin is death” (Romans 3:23, 6:23).
Sins are mean attitudes, wrong things we do, and the bad things we say and think that displease God. We fall so far short of what God says is right that we could never be good enough to make up for our sins.
Will You Let God Help?
That’s where God’s sinless Son, Jesus, comes in. When he died on a cross, he paid the penalty that we could never pay. The Bible says, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us….the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord….Christ died for our sins…he was buried…he was raised on the third day” (Romans 5:8, 6:23, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
It’s like Jesus created a bridge from us to God and paid the toll for us to go over! But each of us must choose to accept his payment. God says that’s the only way: “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life” (John 3:36). So,
1) Are you convinced that you are a sinner in need of God’s forgiveness?
2) Do you believe that Jesus died for you on the cross, and that he is the only way to know God in heaven?
3) Will you accept God’s offer to forgive your sins and give you eternal life?
If that’s the desire of your heart, you may want to tell him in a prayer like this:
“Dear God, I believe that when your Son Jesus died, he took the punishment for my sins. I now believe he died for me, so I can be forgiven and have never-ending life with you in heaven someday! Thank you for making it possible for me to become one of your children!”
As one of God’s children, there will still be things that scare you. But in the Bible God says that he is ready to help you: “Fear not, for I am with you…I will strengthen you, I will help you” (Isaiah 41:10). God is always there to help his children to be brave and to live to please him.