Dear Friend,

The most wonderful thing in all the world is knowing that you are a child of God. We will find out how to become a child of God in this lesson, but first let us answer some questions.

"What does it mean to be saved?" It means that God has forgiven you of all your sins; He has made you His child.

"Can I be saved by being good?" No, you cannot. Being good may keep you out of trouble, but it can never take away your sins. Jesus is the only Person who can take away your sins. He died on the cross to take away all your sins.

"Can I be saved by keeping the Ten Commandments?" No, you cannot. No one, except the Lord Jesus, has ever kept the Ten Commandments perfectly. We have all sinned. We all need a Savior.

"Can anyone be saved?" Yes, they can! Even little children can take Jesus as their Savior and be saved. Jesus loves children! He said, "Let the little children come unto Me…" (Mark 10:14). If you are old enough to know that you have done wrong things, then you are old enough to be saved.

Now we are going to find out how to be saved. Look at the steps below. Start at the bottom and read each step.

Now let us talk about each step and the Bible verse that goes with it.

I have sinned.

"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23

God says that every one of us has sinned. If you want to be saved, you must see that you are a sinner and you must be truly sorry for your sins. Do you know that you have sinned? Are you truly sorry for your sins? Do you want to stop doing them?

God loves me.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16

Whom does God mean when He says "the world"? He means everyone. That includes you and me. You can say, "God loves me!" Say it right now—"God loves me!"

Christ died for me.

"God commends [shows] His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

Because God loved us and wanted us to be saved, He sent His Son to be our Savior. The Lord Jesus died for sinners. He died for you, and He died for me. You can say, "Christ died for me!" Say it right now.

I receive Him.

"As many as received Him [the Lord Jesus], to them gave He power to become the sons [children] of God, even to them that believe on His name." John 1:12

To become a child of God, I must come as a sinner to the Lord Jesus and receive Him as my Savior. God has given the Lord Jesus to me to be my Savior, but I must receive Him; that is, I must take Him as my very own Savior. When I take the Lord Jesus as my Savior, I become a child of God.

"How do I take the Lord Jesus as my Savior?"

You take Him as your Savior by inviting Him into your heart. Your heart is like a house with a door. The Lord Jesus said,

"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man [anyone] hears My voice, and opens the door, I WILL COME IN…" Revelation 3:20

When you believe that Jesus died for your sins and you invite Him to come into your heart, He comes in. He becomes your Savior. You are saved. You are a child of God.

The Lord Jesus is knocking at your heart's door. He wants to come in. He says, "Let Me come in so I can forgive you of all your sins and make you a child of God." Will you invite Him to come into your heart? If you are not sure that you have already done this, you can do it right now.

Because this is just between you and the Lord Jesus, it will be best if you can go to a quiet place where you can be alone for a few minutes. So, right now, before you read the next part, find a quiet place where you can be alone with the Lord Jesus.

Now you are ready to talk to the Lord Jesus. Here is a prayer that will help you. Say it quietly to the Lord:

I have everlasting life.

"He that believes on the Son has everlasting life…" John 3:36

What does the Lord Jesus say that He will do when you ask Him to come into your heart? He says, "I will come in." Does He keep His word? Yes, He does! If you asked Him to come into your heart, and you really meant it, He came in! If Jesus has come into your heart, you are saved. You are a child of God. You have everlasting life. The Bible says, "He who believes on the Son has everlasting life…" (John 3:36).

Would you like to thank the Lord Jesus for coming into your heart? You can do this right now. Just pray and tell Him, "Lord Jesus, I thank You for coming into my heart and making me a child of God."

The story so far…

Maria tried to tell Susan about God's forgiveness and that she must tell Miss Wilson about the lies. When Susan found out about this, she became very angry with Maria.

Chapter 6
A Spoiled Notebook

The next morning Maria found Miss Wilson waiting for her. Maria began to explain to her teacher all she had done. She told her about tearing up the list and telling lies to cover up what she had done. Then she admitted to persuading Susan to lie too. "Please do not blame Susan. It was all my fault, Miss Wilson, and I am very sorry for what I have done," Maria finished.

Miss Wilson was quiet for a moment. Then she said softly, "I am sorry that you do not see your grandmother more often, Maria. If I had known before, I would have let you be a part of the singing group so you could see her. I know it was difficult to come and tell me what you did. It took a lot of courage to share what you have done. I will forgive you. I hope you will not lie or do anything like this again. You can tell Susan it is all right."

"Oh, thank you, Miss Wilson," Maria said, smiling and very relieved. "And I promise to try hard from now on."

Maria was eager to talk to Susan, but Susan was not at school all day.

At home that afternoon Maria looked for Steven, but she could not find him anywhere. Suddenly she saw him coming across the park with Captain close at his heels. "What have you been doing?" she asked.

"Getting rid of doubting Thomas," Steven answered with a grin.

Maria looked so puzzled that Steven laughed out loud.

"Did your Sunday School teacher tell you about what happened when Jesus rose from the dead?" Steven asked, sitting down on the step.

Maria sat down beside him. "She told us that Jesus came out of the grave three days after He was crucified. Lots of people saw Him, but I cannot remember how many."

"As many as five hundred at one time," Steven said. "I told some of the boys at school that Jesus had risen from the dead and they laughed at me. They said I was a sissy to believe all that. Then I began to wonder if it really was true. So after school I went over to talk to Mr. Warren.

"Mr. Warren said I had doubts just like one of Jesus' disciples named Thomas. The other disciples told Thomas that Jesus was alive again. But Thomas did not believe them. He said he would not believe it until he put his finger into the nail prints in Jesus' hand. After a while Jesus came and said to Thomas, 'Thomas, come and put your finger in my hand. Do not doubt any longer. Believe!'"

"Oh," Maria sighed. "Thomas must have been ashamed."

"I am sure he was," Steven agreed. "And so was I when Mr. Warren got finished telling me the story. I asked Mr. Warren if I could take Jesus as my Savior right then. He said I could. So I did and now I know it is all true."

"Steven!" Maria shouted. "I am so excited for you! It is amazing that Jesus is living now and He helps us when we ask Him to!" Then she told Steven about how Jesus had given her the courage to talk with Miss Wilson. Now, she felt better because she had done the right thing by telling her teacher.

"Wow!" Steven said. "Now I understand why it is so important to know Jesus was raised from the dead. It is because He is alive today that He really can help us do the things we should. You know you still have to talk to Mother about the sweater."

"I know," Maria answered. "Not tonight though because Mommy and Daddy said they have to be gone again."

The next day Maria worked hard on a school project in her notebook. She knew Miss Wilson would be pleased when she saw how neat it was. Susan was not at school in the morning. After lunch Maria came back early to finish her notebook. As she entered the hall, she saw Susan run out of the classroom and through the side door. "Susan, wait!" Maria called. But Susan dashed on without turning her head.

"Maybe she forgot something," Maria thought. She sat down and opened up her notebook. Then her eyes grew wide with dismay. There were big black lines and smudge marks all over the pages. Maria's heart began to thump painfully. "Oh, what will Miss Wilson say?" she whispered. "Will she believe me when I say I did not do this?"

As Miss Wilson came into the room, she asked to see Maria's notebook. There it was, full of those dirty smudges. "I did not do this, Miss Wilson," Maria said, "Honest, I did not do this."

"Now, Maria, I do not want you to lie to me again." Miss Wilson said sternly. "You better stay after school and do your assignment over again."

"She does not believe me," Maria thought, going back to her desk. "But someone did do this. Who would have wanted to get me in trouble with Miss Wilson?" she wondered.

Then Maria remembered Susan had come running out of the classroom. At first Maria thought she had picked up school work she had missed for being absent, but maybe she had another reason for being at school. "I bet Susan did this," Maria told herself angrily. "Just wait until I see her again!"

After school Maria stayed and worked on her school assignment. She was so angry she kept making mistakes which upset her even more. At last she put down her pencil and closed her eyes.

"Dear Lord Jesus," she whispered, "please help me to forgive Susan for what I think she did. And help me now to finish my school work." Maria sighed and finished her work.

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