Can I have a snack?

Peyton has the cutest way of saying things that make me stop and think for a minute.

Example: Everyday after supper she always asks “Momma, did I eat a really good supper?” In which I respond with a yes or no. Then she proceeds with, “If you eat a really good supper you can have a snack. Can I have a snack?”

Brett and I have probably heard this for at least the last 6 months now. But the other day something hit me. How many times do we say that to God? Not those exact words maybe but something along the lines of “God, I am such a better person than I was 6 months ago. Surely that’s good enough to get into heaven.”

I cannot count how many times I have heard someone say “I’m doing better than I was.” Or “So and so does this and I don’t do anything near as bad as that.”

Here are two scriptures that instantly come to mind.

Romans 10:8 -

“…because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

John 14:6 -
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”

So that’s how we get into heaven. There’s no special prayer or no ceremony that saves us. Just the simple act of believing that God sent His son Jesus to die for our sins. End of story.

So why do we think that the “good works” will save us?

Ephesians 2:8-9 –

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not on your own doing; it is the gift of God not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

 Simple as that. Being good and doing good things absolutely cannot save us. Yes, we are supposed to “be good” and do good things but we still must believe.