Dear Friend,

The most precious story in all the world is the story of how God's Son loved us so much that He left His home in Heaven and came into the world to be our Savior.

What happened when God's Son came into the world? He was rejected. Even His own people, the Jews, rejected Him. The Bible says, "He came unto His own [His own people, the Jews] and His own received Him not" (John 1:11).

God allowed Satan and his evil spirits to stir up wicked men to crucify His Son. When Jesus was crucified, no doubt Satan and His evil spirits thought they had won a great victory. But they were never more mistaken!

Jesus was nailed to the cross about nine o'clock in the morning. He died about three o'clock in the afternoon. Jesus was buried in a new tomb, carved out of rock. His body lay in the tomb for three days. Then God raised His Son from the dead. Jesus came out of the tomb as the mighty Victor over Satan and his evil spirits!

Jesus is the Mighty Victor!

Jesus rose from the dead with a new, glorious resurrection body, a body that can never die. After His resurrection, He appeared to His believers many times over a period of forty days. Then He returned to Heaven, having defeated Satan and all his evil spirits. The Bible says, "Having spoiled [defeated] principalities and powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it" (Colossians 2:15).

Jesus is "Lord of All"!

When the Lord Jesus returned to Heaven in His glorious resurrection body, God the Father welcomed His Son home, and He gave Him the place of highest honor in Heaven.

What place is this? It is at the Father's right hand—the place of highest honor. The Bible says,

"…He [God the Father] raised Him [the Lord Jesus] from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come." Ephesians 1:20-21

The position which God has given to His Son is far above that of anyone or any power in the universe. The Bible says that God "has put all things under His feet." This means that every person and every creature in the universe is under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ.

God wants us to see the greatness of His Son. The Bible says, "…He is Lord of all" (Acts 10:36). This means that Jesus Christ is over everything in God's universe.

Dear friend, study this picture carefully. It tells the wonderful story of how God's Son left His home in Heaven and came down to this world to be born as a tiny baby.

When Jesus grew up, He humbled Himself to serve people. He said, "…I am among you as he that serves" (Luke 22:27). He even washed the feet of His disciples. Finally, He "…humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross" (Philippians 2:8).

Why did He do it? He did it because it was His Father's will.

Jesus went down, down, down to die on the cross for us. He was buried, but God raised Him up from the dead. Up, up, up Jesus went, back into Heaven itself. There God gave Him the place of highest honor in Heaven. The Bible says,

"Wherefore God also has highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth…And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Philippians 2:9-11

A Great Change has Taken Place!

When God's Son was here in this world, He was the poorest of men. He did not even have a home of His own. Except for a few people who believed in Him, Jesus was rejected. He was mistreated and hated by the religious leaders. Finally, He died on a Roman cross, forsaken even by His closest friends.

But a mighty change has taken place! God raised His Son from the dead and gave Him a glorious resurrection body. When Jesus returned to Heaven, God the Father gave Him the place of highest honor. God has made Him "Lord of all." This means that Jesus Christ is over everything in God's universe!

Where is Jesus today? He is seated at the right hand of God. He has all power in Heaven and in the earth. The Lord Jesus Christ has the highest place in God's universe.

Jesus is for me! The Lord Jesus loves His believers, and He is for us. This means that He wants only what is best for us. He always wants what is best for us.

Chapter Two
A Great Friend

The story so far…

Jared is a new Christian. His friends are watching to see if his beliefs are real. Someone made a mess in the yard he was tending. Jared thinks it was his friend Carlos trying to get him into trouble.

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"Jared." It was Aunt Emily calling from across the street. "Beth would like to see you."

Jared groaned. After cleaning up the flowerpots, all he wanted to do was be alone for a while. Usually seeing Beth had made him feel good inside. She seemed happy all the time, even though she was crippled and seemed so fragile. But today was different; he did not want to see anyone. Slowly he turned and walked across the street to see her.

"Hi, Jared!" Beth said with a soft voice and a big smile. Jared's anger seemed to melt away as soon as he saw her. "I saw that boy turn over the flower-pots. It was not your friend, Carlos."

"What do you mean it wasn't Carlos?" Jared asked Beth with a surprised look. "I guess I was so mad I didn't think it could be anyone else."

Jared slumped down in a chair with a deep sigh. "I lost my temper with Carlos, Beth. I shoved him and yelled at him. I think he is right. Being saved didn't last after all."

"Oh, Jared, of course it does," Beth said with assurance in her voice. She smiled as she continued, "Daddy told me that being saved does not mean we will never do wrong things again.

"We still have that old sinful self inside of us. We will do things we know we shouldn't do. That does not mean we are no longer Christians. But when we are sorry for our sins, we can ask Jesus to forgive us. The Bible says in 1 John 1:9 that He will forgive us and cleanse us. You are sorry about losing your temper, aren't you, Jared?"

"Oh, Beth, I feel terrible about getting so mad at Carlos," Jared said sadly. "He is my best friend."

"Thanks for talking to me about all this." Jared continued, "You may be my cousin, but you are a great friend. I feel better already. It must be great to have Christian parents to explain things to you."

"Yes, it is," Beth answered back. "My parents are great. I am praying for your parents. I am also going to pray for that blond-haired boy who turned over those flowerpots."

"ALEX!" Jared exclaimed. "Carlos has dark hair, but Alex has blond hair."

Jared felt bewildered. He said goodbye to Beth and headed for home, grateful he had talked to Beth. As Jared walked across the yard he wondered why Alex would want to turn over Mrs. Bennett's flowerpots.

When Jared reached his room, he started to drop onto his bed, but instead, he knelt down beside it. "Dear Lord Jesus, I am sorry I lost my temper this afternoon. Thank You that I still belong to You. Help me to show Carlos and Alex that belonging to You does make a difference in my life. Help them to be saved too."

The next morning, Jared finished his chores quickly. He wanted to go apologize to Carlos.

When he got to Carlos' house, Jared saw Carlos' sister Lisa swinging in the back yard. She was two years older than the boys and liked to boss them around, so they avoided her whenever they could. Today she looked sad, so Jared headed for the back yard. "Hi, Lisa," he said. "Is Carlos around?"

"No, he isn't," Lisa said with a scowl. "He has taken up with that Alex Simons, and it is all your fault."

"Do you mean because I got mad when they pulled that trick on me?" Jared asked.

Lisa nodded with a scowl. "Yes. Carlos told me that you had been saved, and by the way you acted all week, he thought maybe you had the real thing. Then he said Alex played a joke on you and proved to him that you were not any different than before. Carlos does not like people who pretend to be better than others."

"I know," Jared said earnestly. "I am going to find Carlos and Alex now and tell them I am sorry. I asked Jesus to forgive me last night and I know He did. I hope Carlos and Alex will too."

Lisa's eyes opened wide in surprise. "Do you mean you are still saved, even though you did something wrong?"

"Yes," Jared answered. "I did not understand it at first either. But when we are saved, Jesus gives us everlasting life. Carlos told me you were saved, but that it didn't last long. I guess you just did not understand, like I didn't at first."

"Yes," Lisa's voice was troubled. "I was so happy at first. Then I did some things I knew were wrong. I thought that made me unsaved again so I just gave up. When Carlos told me about you, I hoped it would last and then maybe I could find out what to do. That's why I was so mad at you for getting angry yesterday."

"I'll tell you what," Jared said eagerly. "My cousin Beth can tell you a lot of things and her mother can answer your questions, too."

Lisa shook her head. "Mom said I had to stay home today. But I will go meet Beth as soon as I can."

"That's great, Lisa. I will tell Beth to be looking for you soon. Oh, do you know where Carlos is?"

"He is at Alex's house." Then Lisa added, "Be careful, Jared. I think those boys are headed for trouble."

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