Today’s Verse—Romans 10:9–10
Say with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord.” Believe in your heart that
God raised him from the dead. Then you will be saved. With
your heart you believe and are made right with God. With
your mouth you say that Jesus is Lord. And so you are saved.
Eugene Meltsner had come a long way. When he first arrived at Whit’s End, he was a scientist first and a human second. Eugene believed that everything could be explained through science. Faith was something people relied on only when they hadn’t truly examined the scientific evidence.
But in the Odyssey episode “The Time Has Come” (album 25), Eugene came to a crossroads in his life. He had lost a lot of things—Whit’s End was closed, Whit had left for the Middle East, and Eugene’s girlfriend, Katrina, had broken up with him because she was a Christian and he wasn’t.
And possibly worse than anything, he realized that his knowledge was failing him. A spiritual battle was going on around him, and he wasn’t equipped to fight it. Evil men had taken over the lives of many people in Odyssey, and Eugene was powerless to stop it.
Jack Allen suggested that Eugene take a look at his life in Odyssey to see what lessons he had learned over the years. So Eugene programmed the Imagination Station to review his past. What he found was the inevitable conclusion: Jesus had been pursuing Eugene for a long time. And Jesus, not Eugene’s own intellect, was the One who would save him. He came out of the Imagination Station and asked Jack the question, “What must I do to be saved?”
If you want Jesus in your life, if you believe in your heart that He died for your sins, and you want Him to be the Lord of your life right now, the best thing to do is talk to your parents about it. You can also talk to your pastor or a Sunday school teacher.
Loquacious Learning with Eugene
Did you know that John Newton, the author of the beautiful hymn “Amazing Grace,” was at one time a brutal slave trader? But a near-death experience caused John to seek God’s mercy and forgiveness. People come to Jesus in many different ways. My wife, Katrina, was informed about Jesus by Connie and Whit, and later that day, she became a Christian. For me, it was a much longer process, but to borrow the colloquialism, “It was worth the wait.”
This is a prayer you can pray together: “Dear Jesus, I know that I sin. And I know that because I sin, I am separated from You and will die one day. But I also know that You died to forgive my sins and take them away forever. Please forgive all my sins right now. I give You my heart, my life, my actions, my attitudes, everything. I want to one day live with You in heaven. Help me to be the follower You want me to be. Amen.”
If you prayed that prayer, consider the Bible verse that says “There is joy in heaven over one sinner who turns away from sin” (Luke 15:10). The angels are rejoicing. And you should be too. You’ve made the best decision you will ever make.
Daily Challenge
Part 1: If you made a decision for Jesus today, tell three adults about it and ask them to pray and celebrate with you. Part 2: Make index cards with one word from the theme verse on each card. Shuffle the cards and then put them in verse order.
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Salvation Theme Memory Verse—Ephesians 2:5
[God] gave us new life because of what Christ has done. He gave us life even when we were dead in sin. God’s grace has saved you.