Remember when one of your friends sneaked up behind you when you weren't looking and yelled, "Boo!" You nearly jumped out of your skin! For just a moment you were scared. Then you laughed when you saw who it was. It was just a trick to scare you!
But when Halloween first started a long time ago, the truth is that lots of people were really afraid of ghosts and the devil. They believed scary creatures were roaming around on Halloween night who could hurt them.
Are you ever afraid of things? Sometimes I am. And when I am, I remember that Jesus told his friends not to be afraid because he is stronger than anything in the whole wide world (John 16:33).
The Bible, God's special book to us, says that Jesus is God's Son who came to earth to live. He never did anything wrong. But Jesus knew that you and I had done wrong things that God his Father would have to punish. Those wrong things are called "sins."
Jesus loved us so much that he was willing to die on a cross and take the punishment for our sins! That made it possible for God to forgive us because Jesus died for us. The Bible says, "God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son [to come to earth to die], that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
You don't have to be afraid anymore. Jesus didn't stay dead. Three days later he came back to life! That proves that he is stronger than death or anything else that you may be afraid of. Jesus can help you learn how to please God, and someday he wants you to come to live with him forever in heaven.
Would you like for Jesus to forgive your sins and give you eternal life? If you believe that he died for you and came back to life, you can tell him in words like these:
Dear Jesus, I know that I have done wrong things that you had to die for. I believe that when you died you were being punished for my sins. I want your forgiveness. Thank you for coming to take my place so I can learn to please you now and live forever in heaven with you someday!
When you know Jesus, you don't have to be afraid of bad and scary things around you. Jesus made this promise to all who believe in him: "I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5). And that's the truth!
