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Listen while you read: "There Is A Happy Land"1
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Matthew 28:19-20 – Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (NIV)
Every year at the end of May, the frogs from the pond behind us crawl out of the water to mate, unaware of the high mortality rate for those that cross the road. I never fail to remember the first year that we lived here at frog time! Our grandson, Keegan, was three years old and was so fascinated with the frog drama! His mission was to save the frogs, and so he donned a towel for a cape and called himself "Frog Man"! As we walked down the road, he would take each frog and carry it to the side of the road to save it. After a bath one evening, he wanted to go out to save the frogs, and his mother explained that he had just had a bath and that she didn't want him to get dirty. With all the sincerity that he could muster, he explained, "Don't you think that the frogs want me to be clean when I rescue them?" This young man took his job very seriously, since he was Frog Man!
A few days later, after all of the frogs had been saved, he decided that he wanted to be Bible Man! Fortunately, he still had the cape from when he was Frog Man, so it worked out well! I remember sitting in a restaurant talking with this thoughtful-beyond-his-years three-year-old when he asked, "Why do people do bad things? Don't they know Jesus?" His grandpa agreed that they probably don't know Jesus if they do bad things! "Why doesn't someone tell them about Jesus?" At that, Bible Man came up with a plan! He would take his Bible and show people what it says about Jesus. Then, they will be saved and not do bad things anymore! How right he was! People need to know Jesus, and we, like Keegan, need to tell them.
You might think that going from Frog Man to Bible Man was a stretch, but if you think about it, is it? Frog Man set out to save these unsuspecting frogs from certain death while they aimlessly wandered into the road, while Bible Man wanted to proclaim the gospel to everyone so that they could be saved from spiritual death, no more to wander. Frog Man carried his frogs to the other side of the road so that they would be in the right place and be safe, while Bible Man, through Scripture, carried people to the safety of Jesus' arms so that they could live with Him forever and be eternally safe!
The Bible tells us that we must go into all the world and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, so as for me, I want to put on my cape and head out to bring salvation to lost souls, like Keegan saved lost frogs.
Prayer: Lord, give us boldness to put on our invisible capes and go out into a hurting world to share the truth of the gospel. Amen.
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About the author:
Jeanie Nihiser <jnihiserj@gmail.com>
Geneseo, New York, USA
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Thanks for the heartwarming story, Jeanie.
Wonderful devotional. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for a delightful story to challenge us to evangelize.
Good one! Amen Jeanie.
Blessings.
Love this story, Jeanie.
Thank you.
Blessings.
My husband was a missionary with the Methodist Church of Brazil. His mission was to love people into the Kingdom of God.
I understand the message you are saying here. But I also know that Christians do bad things too — yes. Even when they know Jesus.
Your grandson had the right idea. I appreciate your prayer especially as it is something I want so much in my own life. Thank you for writing and keep writing.
Good morning, Jeanie.
What an amazing story of this little evangelist!! May we all strive to be more like him. I am curious as to what he is doing now.
God bless.
Good morning, Jeanie,
What a delightful message, thank you for sharing! I hope your grandson Keegan is still staying active, healthy, and well.
Blessings to you and yours!
Many thanks Jeanie for your delightful and very meaningful devotional today. Your little grandson was very thoughtful and caring at his young age and had great ideas of spreading God’s word. Blessings for sharing about the thoughtfulness of your grandson at such an early age and about the frog situation.
Jeanie,
As a grandmother of eight, four of whom are boys, that story made me smile. Hopefully Keegan has followed his idea of telling people about Jesus. Keegan had good family teachers obviously.
Thank you.
Hi Jeannie,
Yesterday evening I attended a Share Word Global event ( formally the Gideon’s). I pretty much had made up my mind on the way home that I was going to join the group. And lo and behold, look what the devotional is this morning.
Thank-you!
Good morning, Jeanie,
I enjoyed your story of your grandson, Keegan. What a special boy to think about at 3 years old to save the frogs and other people. I am sure at three I had no idea there was something I could do to help others.
Definitely a great message to remember that we can share our hope in Jesus Christ with others. What caught my eye this morning was the use of the phrase “hurting world”. I have been thinking about that very much because close to home and far away it seems that so many people are “hurting” in some way. I think of the children in the war zones, sometimes in their own homes and how much of their childhood is taken away from them. I don’t understand why we have to be that way.
Thanks for sharing. Blessings.
Thank you, Jeanie, for this precious story that should make all of us work harder for the Lord.
Good morning, Jeannie.
Thank you for your good devotional.
Blessings.
Thank you for sharing this delightful devotional with us. Truly, just as Jesus said, we must have faith like little children. Blessings.