JANUARY 19, John 10:27-29

As Kim said goodnight one evening, her mother noticed that she seemed a little upset. “I want to ask you something, Mom,” Kim said hesitantly. “After I gave my life to Jesus last month, I was really happy for a while. But I have sinned lots of times since then – like when I got angry at Jason tonight. I asked God to forgive me, but I am sure He isn’t very happy with me. And what about the times I sin without realising it? And what if I forget to ask God to forgive me? Am I still saved?”

Mother sat down on the bed. “Jesus’ death paid for all our sins,” she said. “And when Jesus was talking about believers being in God’s hand He said, ‘No man is able to take them out of My Father’s hand.’ God won’t disown you after you put your trust in Him.”Kim didn’t look quite convinced, and Mother pointed to a porcelain doll on Kim’s shelf. “I see that you have cleaned up that doll,” she said. “Tell me again where it came from.”

Kim smiled. “You know, Mother,” she replied. “When we were at Auntie Emma’s house, she was cleaning her stuff and was going to throw it away. It was covered with dust, but I cleaned it and then dressed it in new clothes. It looks great now, don’t you think?”

“Yes, it does.” Mother nodded. “It is beautiful, so enjoy it while you can. Your room gets quite dusty at this time of the year, you know. Soon your doll will be covered with dust, and then I suppose you will throw it away.” “Throw it away?” asked Kim. “No, even if the doll does get dusty, it could never look any worse than when I got it. Anyway, I would never throw it away after all the work I did to get it cleaned up. I will just clean it whenever it needs it. I want this doll.”

Mother smiled. “I thought you would say that,” she said. “Baby, God loves you much more than you love that doll. So He is not going to just ‘throw you away’ – not after all He has done for you.”

Thought: Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Saviour from sin? Do you want to trust Him today?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for loving me and forgiving all my sins. May I continue to always trust You and obey Your Holy Word. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.