Ring the Bells of Heaven!

This old hymn has been running through my mind since last night, when Ammah Grace came to us and said, "I want to know that I know God."  At the end of our time of going through Scripture, talking, and praying, she knew.  She had repented of her sin and trusted Christ as her Savior.  I shared with her Luke 15:10, which says that there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels when a sinner repents.

There was a lot of rejoicing in our house, too. :) 

Ring the bells of Heaven! There is joy today,
For a soul, returning from the wild!
See, the Father meets him out upon the way,
Welcoming His weary, wandering child.

Glory! Glory! How the angels sing:
Glory! Glory! How the loud harps ring!
’Tis the ransomed army, like a mighty sea,
Pealing forth the anthem of the free.

Ring the bells of Heaven! There is joy today,
For the wanderer now is reconciled;
Yes, a soul is rescued from his sinful way,
And is born anew a ransomed child.

Ring the bells of Heaven! Spread the feast today!
Angels, swell the glad triumphant strain!
Tell the joyful tidings, bear it far away!
For a precious soul is born again.

~William O. Cushing

God is working mightily through the Behold Your God Bible study we're doing on Sunday nights right now.  We're just starting week 3, and I have about 5 blog posts in varying stages of completion just from the study we've done so far. :)  He's working in all of our hearts in different ways, and it's been neat to see how He prepared Ammah Grace for this study before we ever started it, and then has used it (among other things) to convict her of sin and bring her to salvation.

Bro. Gary cleared his schedule this morning to meet with us, and her baptism is scheduled for March 16.  (Friends and family, we'd love for you to be there...message me for more info!)  She will be the first person to be baptized at Grace Baptist Lavaca, and as I told Bro. Gary last night, "We are praying that she will be the first of many more!"  (Ammah Grace's message to Bro. Gary was that he needed to clean the spiders out of the baptistry, which he has promised to do! :))

Bro. Gary said it seemed appropriate that Grace would be the first to be baptized at Grace. :)  As I thought more about that, I realized that the first part of her name has taken on new significance as well.  I shared a bit here about the process of naming her and the goosebumps I got when we discovered after the fact that her name means "God's people". 

Because of the unbelievable outpouring of prayers, practical help, financial blessing, and other support from "God's people", without which we would never have made it through those days, we knew that her name was God-given and perfect for her.  How much more appropriate now that she is truly one of God's people  herself! 

We realized this morning that now Ammah Grace has two birthdays in February...her physical birthday (she just celebrated her 10th 10 days ago), and her spiritual birthday. 

God is so good, and we are so thankful.  

 

Do you know God?  Not just know about Him, but know Him?  If you have any doubts, please feel free to message me using the box at the right.  I'd love to chat with you about knowing Him.  Or for more information, see this post and this website.