A Little Boy SAVED!

This is a grandfather’s testimony of his grandson’s Salvation on April 16, 2007.
His name is Tyler, who turned 5 in December 31, 2007.
This is aimed to touch the heart of every unsaved individual reading this blog.
May you be blessed by Tyler’s Story!

Passage of Scripture (KJV): 2 Timothy 3:15

2 Timothy 3:15: “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

Tyler’s Story of Salvation:

It was the evening of April 16, 2007 (Monday) when Tyler accepted the Lord Jesus Christ in his heart—he was 4 years and 4 months old at the time. This is the true story of his Salvation:

Tyler became sick with a stomach virus around the middle of the previous week. He was continuously throwing up through out the weekend. It was a rough weekend, indeed. When Monday came, April 16th, I—his Lolo (grandpa) Manny—decided not to work simply to watch and spend time with him, and make sure he was okay. Through out the day, his tired, sick body visibly showed a lack of enthusiasm in his toys. It was unusual that he was not even interested in his trains, which are his favorites. After spending the day in constant prayer, he started feeling better that Monday afternoon.

Around six o’clock that Monday evening, he was silently watching television upstairs in the master bedroom of the house. As I interrupted his television time, I approached Tyler for a prayer and Bible study. I asked him to turn the TV off, which he politely obeyed. I sat down on the side of the bed, while he was leaning his back against layers of pillows. As we studied the Bible together, I decided to run him through the Gospel of Christ. I explained to him very slowly, and in a most basic way I could think of, the reason why Jesus died on the Cross, and how He died. He listened very carefully and attentively as I explained the Gospel to him. To average boys of his age, comprehension may be a little problem, but Tyler was so intelligent that he was interacting with me real well, as he asked questions from time to time. He was like a young adult listening as I explained to him very slowly the Story of Christ, and the 5-steps to go to Heaven. I read to him the relevant Scriptures including Romans 3:10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23a; Romans 5:28; Romans 6:23b; Romans 10:9-10; and Romans 10:13. I gave him basic examples that he could understand as I explained the Scriptures. After I explained to him the death of Christ, and how people can be saved and go to Heaven—he asked me a question, “Lolo, can I be saved and go to Heaven?” Then, I said, “Yes, of course! But you need to pray and confess to Jesus as it is written in the Bible (then I read to him Romans 10:9 again).” He followed up saying, “Lolo, I want to be saved now so I can go to Heaven when I die…can you please help me pray to Jesus?” I saw seriousness in his heart, so I asked him to kneel down with me on the side of the bed, and we prayed together for his Salvation. He repeated the prayer after me, with our heads bowed and eyes closed, as we asked Jesus for his Salvation.

When we finished praying, I explained to him that he has been born again and saved by the blood of Christ, and that he has become a true child of God. I made sure he understood that he has now a place in Heaven. Tyler was born again on April 16, 2007.

One year later from the time he was saved, Tyler has been growing in Spirit and becoming very blessed, week after week. April 16, 2008 was his first year of rebirth. Tyler has been enjoying his weekly Sunday School and Kids Worship Service at the Beacon Baptist Church in Raleigh, NC, where he is getting truly blessed with good character, good heart, thankful and prayerful habits, desire to memorize Bible verses, desire to pray for the Salvation of others, and desire to study the Bible with the family members.

Tyler is becoming a true picture of a born-again Christian boy, who is also gifted of many things, including talents in music. He started playing piano (with good, pleasant rhythm) at the age of 4, without any formal training. Now that he is 5, he can play the piano much better. He is truly amazing, that even experienced pianists are impressed of his talent. They thought Tyler is truly gifted. As grandparents, we are very proud of him! No doubt, God will use him in the future.

Absolutely, Tyler is a fruit of the seed his grandfather planted in 1996, when he accepted Christ in his heart. God is amazingly good, all the time!

If a little boy (like Tyler) could easily understand the Gospel of Christ, and did not hesitate to accept Christ in his heart – how easy should it be for an adult, who is much more mature mentally, to understand the reality of Christ. Thus, if you are an adult who hasn’t been saved by the blood of Christ by accepting Him as your Lord and Saviour, perhaps you may want to be like Tyler. Be a child! Accept Christ now, and let Him drive your life!

Remember what the Bible says in 2 Timothy 3:15: “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

This testimony was written by Manny H. Moe (Tyler’s grandfather, and founder of The Young Pigeons Ministry).

Challenge #7 – Understand the Teaching of the LORD’s Prayer!

Passage of Scripture (KJV): Matthew 6:5-13

Matthew 6:5: And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

Matthew 6:6: But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

Matthew 6:7: But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

Matthew 6:8: Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

Matthew 6:9: After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Matthew 6:10: Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Matthew 6:11: Give us this day our daily bread.

Matthew 6:12: And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

Matthew 6:13: And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Challenge:

Many Christians (nominal or real) have misunderstood the true meaning of PRAYER. Some thought that prayer is merely talking to God, or merely asking God about something. The Catholics thought that prayer is reciting the Rosary, which is not only useless, but also against the Biblical Doctrine. Matthew 6:7 says, “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.” Rosary is very CLEARLY “vain repetitions.” One man thought that as long as you have a good intent on what you ask God for, it is prayer. Wrong! People are being misled by their wrong understanding of the Biblical Doctrine. This challenge not only intends to correct this misunderstanding, but also hope to give a clear direction on “how to pray” straight from the Bible.

In any circumstance, the main foundation of our prayer must be based on what Jesus teaches in Matthew 6:5-13: the Lord’s Prayer.

The book titled “Answers” by Keith Piper defines “prayer” as follows:

• Prayer is asking specific things from God and receiving them.
• Prayer is worship addressed to the Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, and in the power of the Holy Spirit.
• Prayer is having two-way fellowship with God.
• Prayer is NOT just talking TO God, but WITH God.

In order for us to understand the true foundation of PRAYER, as it was taught by the Lord Jesus Christ – I have broken down the Lord’s Prayer for easy understanding.

PART I.

Our Father which art in heaven,

• The very key in any prayer is SALVATION, as prayer is ALWAYS toward OUR FATHER. We cannot call Him FATHER unless we are His Child.
• Salvation gives us genuine BELIEF that OUR FATHER is in primarily in HEAVEN, where we will spend eternity when we die.
• Even CHRIST (the SON of GOD) called onto HIS FATHER, as HE said, “ABBA, FATHER” while praying at the Garden of Gethsemane before He was arrested. (Mark 14:36)
• No one has the right to call Him FATHER unless he was a Child of God. The Bible says in Galatians 3:26: “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” Only when you accept Christ that you will be a Child of God, then you can earn the right to call OUR FATHER in HEAVEN.

Hallowed be thy name.

• “Hallowed” (adjective) means “Holy,” “Consecrated,” “Sacred,” “Revered” – it points toward GOD’s Name. Holy is HIS NAME! Whether it points to JEHOVAH, YAHWEH, ELOHIM, etc. – HIS NAME is indeed HOLY!
• This is a phrase of EXALTATION of God.
• Lifting up the NAME of OUR FATHER is indeed an important element of every prayer because HE is HOLY!

Thy kingdom come.

• Again, this line also relates to SALVATION. The New Testament has mentioned several times that being SAVED (being BORN AGAIN) through the GRACE of GOD by FAITH of accepting CHRIST is our ONLY WAY to the KINGDOM of GOD, which is in HEAVEN.
• John 3:3 says: "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
• Matthew 6:33 says: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
• To me, Matthew 6:33 is very clearly saying that ALL the things we ask for will not be given to us if we don’t seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness FIRST.

Thy will be done in earth,

• “Believing completely (totally)” is the key phrase here. Logically speaking, acceptance of Christ in Salvation proves our total belief in GOD (OUR FATHER) as our SALVATION is from HIM through CHRIST.
• Believing in OUR FATHER’s will and believing His GODness make us believe that HIS WILL be done in earth where we’re at. OUR FATHER is a POWERFUL God. HE can do everything HE wishes, even the most impossible things all combined.
• As we pray, we always need to keep in mind that it must be HIS WILL and not OURS that we must respect. We must keep our FAITH that HE knows BEST. No matter what, HE is GOD!

as it is in heaven.

• If we totally believe the WILL of OUR FATHER in earth, we must also believe that HIS WILL in earth is exactly the same as IN HEAVEN.
• Again, this line also relates to SALVATION. Only when we are SAVED that we will believe in HEAVEN.
• This also means that we should RELY to the WILL of OUR FATHER, as His WILL here in earth is the same as in HEAVEN.

PART II.

Give us this day our daily bread.

• Prayer is a DAILY chore, as a minimum.
• Daily bread is not just food that we eat. It includes ALL our needs (materials and spiritual). Specifying our need when we pray is an important teaching of our Lord, although OUR FATHER knows what things we have need of before we ask Him (Matthew 6:8).
• Asking OUR FATHER what we need on a daily basis is what Christ expects us to do.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

• Forgiving: How forgiving are you?
• Before you ask for forgiveness from God, make sure you have forgiven others, even those who had done wrong to you. No matter how serious it is.
• Think about this and ask your own self this question: How could God forgive me, if I myself could not forgive others?

And lead us not into temptation,

• CHRIST knows what we are made of. We are made of flesh. We can always be tempted. This is why we must always ask God to keep us away from any temptation.
• Temptation leads to sin.
• We should strive to remain holy, as God is Holy.

but deliver us from evil:

• CHRIST knows the works of the devil: to kill, to steal; and to destroy.
• This is also why the Bible teaches us the whole Armour of God: The Bible says in Ephesians 6:13: "Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."

PART III.

For thine is the kingdom,

• This part should always remind us that God owns the Kingdom, the Heaven, which we all have to have the desire of going when we leave the world we now live in (that is, when we die).
• The question we should ask ourselves is, “Where shall we go when we die?” There are only two possible places where our soul could go when we die: Heaven or Hell
• John 3:3 very clearly indicates that our only way to go to Heaven is Salvation to Christ. We need to be born again to go to Heaven. Otherwise, Hell is the only alternative…not Purgatory that many Catholics claim. Purgatory is not in the Bible.
• Catholics defend purgatory by quoting 2 Maccabees 12:40-45 (an Apocrypha book from the Douay-Rheims Bible, which is the Catholic Bible) where a “sin offering” is offering for dead soldiers who had committed the sin of idolatry. This not only contradicts the Bible, but also contradicts the Catholic teaching, because idolatry is a mortal sin that would confine a person to hell. The Book of Maccabees has never been regarded as inspired by Jews or Christians.

and the power,

• Psalms 147:5: Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.

and the glory,

• Psalms 24:10: Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.

for ever.

• Eternity – John 3:16 – relates (again) to Salvation first, then everlasting life. Very clearly, it says “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.”

PART IV.

Amen.

• Affirmation of the truth of statement
• Confirmation of belief
• How could one affirm the truth if he has not accepted Christ. The Bible says in John 14:6: Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
• To affirm the truth requires believing in Christ through Salvation Only, and not believing through religion and tradition. To be saved, one must follow Roman 10:9, which says “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
• Be saved now: ADMIT your sins; CONFESS your sins with your mouth to Christ; BELIEVE and ACCEPT CHRIST in your heart as your Saviour and Lord; and then say -- “Amen.”