The second alive~

And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them,

and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it,

he was indignant and said to them, "Let the children come to me;

do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.

Mark 10:13~14

So this was a beautiful night. One that we will never forget.

But first, a little history...

Kennedy became a Christian a few years ago. It was around this time of the year. Easter and springtime and she began to realize the gravity of her own sin. We talked to her many times about it. She would come to us with questions. We would answer them. She'd make statements about God's Word or the Lord and we would agree with her. We knew that He was calling her to Himself. That His plan was to redeem her. It just took time to get to the appointed time. But we knew it was coming and of course, we welcomed it. One night, she got out of bed, and came in to Jase and I sitting on the sofa. Broken over her sin, she told us that she could wait no longer...she must repent and be saved. We smiled as we had been expecting it and while we never told her to wait or that she shouldn't do this yet, we didn't overly encourage or manipulate her at any time. Kennedy is a pleaser. And we wanted it to be a genuine outpouring of what God, and God alone, was doing in her life. It was beautiful. In her own words, with no help from Jase or I, Kennedy repented of her sins and expressed faith in Christ.

Fast forward to the last few months. Sydney has been asking those same questions. Wanting and needing the same answers. Mostly, she would ask on the way to school or some other time in the car. We had some wonderful talks and you could see how these Truths were taking hold in her. Truthfully, we believed that God had already done the work in her heart. He had quickened her to life and was calling her to repentance. It was just all in His timing.

And like her sister, she awoke and came to our living room. Sat on our sofa. And told us that she wanted to be a Christian.

I adore my husband. I love how he handles things like this. He began to talk to Syd like he would any other time. He asked her questions...to gauge her understanding and where she was in her thinking.

"Syd, do you want to be saved or do you need to be saved?"

"I want to be saved. I don't need to. I want to."

"Okay."

"Well, wait a minute. No, I need to be saved. I really need to."

"Why do you think you need to?"

"Because I can't do this by myself, dad. Because I sin."

"You do?"

"Yeah."

"How do you sin?"

Her eyes welling with tears. "I lie. And sometimes, I'm mean to Joel."

"That's right, Syd. You sin. And we sin. So we need Jesus to forgive us and help us not to sin and to live for Him.

"So what do I need to do, dad?"

"Well, you need to repent. Even though you will still sin, you need Jesus to forgive you and God's Spirit to come live in you so that you can live a life that pleases Him. And you need to trust Him. That's what we call faith."

Eyes tearing again. "I do trust Him, dad. I really do trust Him. I love Him."

And when the Gentiles heard this,

they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord,

and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.

Acts 13:48

"Well that's wonderful, Syd. You can pray and tell Him that."

"Can Kennedy come down here with me?"

"Sure." I went upstairs and to wake Kennedy up.

"I'm not sure what to say, dad."

"It's okay, Syd, just talk to Him. It doesn't matter how you say it. There are no magical words. You can just talk to Him."

And all on her own, by the work of the Holy Spirit, Syd's sweet voice whispered out~

"Dear God, I'm so sorry. I sin and I need you to forgive me. Please help me live for you. Thank you for dying on the cross for me. Amen."

It's the second alive, it's the second alive

It's the second waking up.

It's the second alive, it's the second alive

It's the second waking up.

Let go, let go

And come to life.

Take a walk

In the burning heart of God.

We come alive,

when we lose our lives.

Take a walk

in the burning heart of God.

~Charlie Hall

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.

The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

2 Corinthians 5:17