"Now I know some of you haven't accepted Jesus. I want you to come up here and pray with me and accept Him as your savior."
Each sunday we did this and we would celebrate anyone who went down to the front as we believed that they were choosing Jesus for their savior and then they were saved. Now as a child I didn't ask questions about this practice but I found it beautiful. People who were genuinely ready to love Him and accept Him walked down, met the pastor and He prayed for them. As we finished singing we stopped and were introduced to the person who now was to proclaim Christ and we waited a Sunday or two for them to be baptized so we could celebrate again. The words might change but the message was the same:
Come forward.
Accept Jesus.
Jesus Saves- let Him save you.
I remember the Sunday I walked up. I was nervous as I knew all eyes were on me but I knew God loved me and I believed Jesus lived, died and was buried and rose again from the dead. I knew He shed His blood to pay the price for me sins and I knew that if He died for me, I needed to live for Him. I was 9 years old and while I couldn't tell you all the theology behind what I believed I with my child-like faith was certain about the truth of Jesus.
As an adult and now a catholic I see the priest call us to the altar every mass. All of us.
I grew up learning Catholics believed they could worked for their salvation and was told it's a gift you can't earn. Now as a Catholic I see how untrue that is- Catholics believe it is a gift too! Each day that I can attend mass I kneel and as a choir we say "Lord I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the words and my soul shall be healed." These words echo the words of the Centurion in Luke (7:1-10) asking for the healing of his servant. Just as the slave was healed we too ask to be healed despite our sin and failures. We know this is a gift as catholics and we please Jesus with humility.
We as a church are called:
Come Forward
Accept Jesus.
Jesus Saves- let Him save you.
As I approach the Eucharist, I know I'm approaching the throne of God. I bow and accept the gift and grace of Christ that He freely gives in the divine mystery of the sacrament. I leave my heart there with Him and wait for the next time I can come forward and accept Jesus knowing that He alone saves and knowing that His love alone will help me.
Friends: whether your catholic or protestant we all have some sort of alter call. Some sort of opportunity to come forward and accept Jesus. I pray that as we accept Him that we will see how beautiful He is and how loving He is and none of us are worthy of the love He so freely gives us. I'm so thankful that every day the opportunity to come forward and accept Jesus is available in the Catholic Church and every day I rededicate my life to Him, asking each day for Him to guide me and grow me in holiness.
Friends. Let's not become complacent to accept Jesus. Let's accept Him everyday, in every deed, in every word. Let us not simply stand for Him once, but give our lives to Him. Let us see in just a few verses early in Luke 6 as He says
"Why do you call me "Lord Lord" but not do what I command? I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, listens to my words and acts on them. That one is like a person building a house who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock, when the flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it because it had been well build. But the one who listens and does not act is like a person who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, it collapsed at once and was completely destroyed." - Luke 6: 46-49
Let us be a people that come to Him, listens to Him, and acts accord to His words.
Let us all remember :
Saved by GRACE, through FAITH, for good works. We can not separate these.
So friends:
Come Forward
Accept Jesus.
Jesus Saves- let Him save you.
<3
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