Daily Devotional

One night I woke up at 2am with a start!  A thought struck me, “I should do a Bible Study for my grandkids.” Musing on the thought I drifted back to sleep. In the morning I awoke thinking about my 2am idea and promptly dismissed it. “My grandkids would not come!”, I thought to myself!

The next night I awoke again in the wee hours of the morning. The thought that I needed to do a Bible Study for my grandkids captivated my thinking. Why not ask my daughters? They will probably say no! They are so busy! Back and forth I argued with myself before I fell back to sleep. In the morning I decided to go ahead and ask my daughters. Much to my surprise all three daughters said, yes! They all expressed thankfulness that I would be willing to do this.

That day I came to the realization that my “thoughts” in the middle of the night, were prompted by the Holy Spirit’s direction. I felt humbled and grateful for the Holy Spirit’s intrusion into my sleep. It probably was the only time I was quiet enough to listen to His prompting! Ugh.

The next night, once again I woke up in the middle of the night. The thought came to me, that I should teach my grandkids’ first lesson on Death, Hell, and Heaven. Wow—heavy teaching for my grandkids! I prayed, “Are you sure, Lord?” In the morning, I realized the Holy Spirit picked the topic. Who was I to question?

The day arrived! My eight grandkids, ages 10–15 years old, greeted me at the door with hugs. As my little locusts devoured the dinner, they chattered together enthusiastically. I learned all kinds of things listening to their chatter! Next, my grandkids expectantly settled into comfy seats in the living room with their new journals I got for them to write in.

Wearing an ugly, old tattered robe, I dove into the lesson. I spoke about our earthly body. I taught about how when we die, we shed the old body for a new body. I dropped the tattered robe to the floor and put on a white, new robe to signify our new body we wear in Heaven.

I will never forget the look on their faces as I journeyed through the lesson on Death, Hell, and Heaven. Especially, my oldest grandson whose expression proved he was listening intently. At the end of the lesson, I gave an invitation to all my grandkids to accept Christ.  Much to my surprise, my oldest grandson said, “Yes, I want to accept Christ.” Humbled by God’s great power, I directed all my grandkids to bow their heads.  I lead my precious grandson through the prayer to accept Christ. Next, I lead some of the grandkids in a prayer to rededicate their lives to Christ. Dismissing the group to dessert, I sent my grandson into the next room to talk to his PA about his decision to accept Christ. It was a glorious time to watch him tell his mother, aunts, and uncles when they arrived to pick up his cousins.  

I shudder to think I almost missed this momentous opportunity to teach my grandkids and lead my grandson in his prayer of salvation!! Gratitude welled up inside me for the Holy Spirit’s determined prompting! My praise to the Lord was on my heart when I fell asleep that night.  That night I did not wake up in the middle of the night—but if I ever do, I hope I will listen the first time!
 

PARENTS & GRANDPARENTS:

• Review and discuss the verses.
• Don’t ever assume your kids/grandkids are Christians, just because they grow up in a Christian home and attend Sunday School and AWANA.
• Repetitiously, talk about your faith in Christ and how you came to the decision to accept the free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ!
• The Holy Spirit speaks to your heart throughout the day…but also, at night!
• The Holy Spirit might even wake you up in the middle of the night! Listen!

New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation