Chapter One
Dear Diary . Something is been bugging me since yesterday.
We were in Sunday school, and the lesson was
about being a Christian. Mrs. Johnson asked us
to think about when we became a Christian. I
don't get it. I've always gone to church! But
Gabrielle said when she was seven, she asked her
mom to pray with her, and that's when she invited
Jesus into her heart.
Alicia said she became a Christian two weeks
ago when Pastor Samuelson asked people to
come forward who wanted to give their lives to
Christ. And when Janie asked me when I
became a Christian, all I could think of was, "I
don't know."
I'm totally confused!
* * *
Good news! You don't have to be confused. You can
know beyond all doubt if you're a Christian. But
before we chat about that, take a few minutes
to take this quick quiz, okay?
1. You're a Christian if
a. you go to church and invite your friends.
b. you know right from wrong.
c. you've asked Jesus into your heart and are following
him.
2. You're not a Christian if
a. you don't read the Bible every day.
b. you've never confessed your sins and asked
Christ to come into your life.
c. you get angry.
3. Christians
a. will go to heaven when they die.
b. can never know for sure if they'll go to heaven.
c. need to give a certain amount of money to the
church over a period of years to make sure
they'll go to heaven.
4. If you're a good person,
a. you're a Christian.
b. God will love you more.
c. you'll probably still mess up.
Let's compare answers. The correct answer for the first
question is C. Going to church doesn't make anyone a
Christian. And lots of people know right from wrong (even
Satan knows that!). A true Christian is someone who has
confessed her sins, asked Jesus into her heart and is following
him.
If you chose B for the second question, you're right!
Forgetting to read your Bible yesterday or getting angry
because someone stole your lunch isn't a sign of not being
a Christian. Christians are still human, and we're packed
full of emotions. We'll still get angry (although God wants
to help us with that), and we'll still be forgetful.
What about the third question? I hope you chose the
first answer. Isn't it exciting that you can know for sure that
you'll spend eternity in heaven with Christ?
The correct answer for the last question is C. Being a
good person doesn't make you a Christian. And even good
people will still fail. Becoming a Christian is done on faith.
Let's open your Bible and check out what God has to say .
and we'll keep chatting about being a Christian for the next
few pages, okay? After all, becoming God's girl is all about
following him . and that means understanding this whole
thing called Christianity.
Read Psalm 139:13-14. Who created you?
List some words that pop into your mind that describe
how God feels about you as you read this Scripture. Here
are a few ideas to get you started:
valuable
God's in love with me
special
Read John 3:16 to find out how much God loves you.
Write the verse here in the space provided and memorize it.
My Memory Verse
Dear Diary .
This is blowing my mind! I thought being a
Christian was just being a good person. I'm
beginning to realize that there's more to it than
that.
I'm a good person, and I go to church with
my family. And I thought since my parents are
Christians, I was automatically one, too. I still
don't have it all figured out yet, but I'm super
excited about becoming God's girl! I think I'm
finally on the right track.
* * *
Ready for some mind-boggling truth? Here it is:
There's nothing you can do to
make God love you any more
than he does right now.
Let's personalize it, okay? Repeat after me: "There's
nothing I can do to make God love me any more than
he does right now." Let's say it again: "There's nothing
I can do to make God love me any more than he does
right now."
(Continues.)
