Chapter 3: Pure in Heart
Gayle walked through the house calling, "Nick! Nick!" She finally found him out on the back porch. "You will never guess what happened to me...to us. Callie showed me a way to travel through time. I saw my mom and dad and my sister Layna! It was incredible." She put her arms around his waist and drew near to his body. She put her head on his shoulder. Tears began to roll down her cheeks.
Nick put one arm on his wife's head and wrapped the other around her delicate frame. "Are you sure you did not fall asleep? Maybe you were just dreaming?"
"No, we were really there. We both saw the same thing. How could we have dreamed the same thing at the same time? It was amazing! The end to our strange journey was the only bad part. I was just about to see myself before I was going to die, but I couldn't. I just couldn't. I would probably look so wrinkled and old. At least I hope I was old. What if I looked the same? That would mean I am dying soon."
Nick chuckled. "You should have gone ahead and looked. Then you would know when you were going to die!"
"It's just too scary," Gayle said softly.
"It is not half as scary as it would be if we had never accepted Jesus as our Savior. Then our future would be bleak. We would only have eternal hell to look forward to. Since we have put our trust in His precious blood to cleanse us of our sins, we know that the death of these physical bodies is only the beginning of the eternal life God has granted us."
"Amen," Gayle agreed.
"Mommy, Daddy," Callie spoke to them through the screen door. "Will you have a tea party with Mr. Brown and me?"
Gayle and Nick looked at each other and nodded. Nick answered, "Yes, honey, we will be right there."
"We never know how many days we have left to live here with our loved ones. We might as well make the most of them."
"Yep," Nick said. He kissed Gayle on the nose. Then he opened the screen door for his wife to walk through. After they both entered, they sat on tiny chairs at a small table and drank pretend tea with Mr. Brown.
"Your father and I were just talking about the little trip we took," Gayle said.
Callie froze and stared at her dad. "You aren't mad, are you?"
"No, honey, I'm not mad." Nick said quickly.
Gayle continued, "Remember when we were at the cave and Uncle Lee was all old. Then he said there was someone he wanted me to meet?"
Callie nodded. "Then we left."
Gayle said, "Yes, that's right. Well, I had this sense that I was going to see myself before I was about to die, and I got scared. That's why we ran away, but your father reminded me we do not need to be frightened even of death because we trust Jesus for our Savior. Then we can go live in heaven."
Callie took a pretend sip of tea. "Have I trusted Jesus to be my Savior, Mommy?"
"That's a decision you make with your heart, Callie. Would you like to make that decision right now?" Gayle asked hopefully.
"Yes! How can I do that?"
Nick said, "Just repeat after me..." He bowed his head and clasped his hands, "God, I know I have done some wrong things."
Callie also bowed her head and slipped her hand in her father's folded hands. Then she repeated his words.
Nick continued, "I trust Your Son Jesus died on the cross for my sins and rose to live forever."
Callie repeated his words again.
"Thank You for saving me and giving me a future in heaven. Amen," he finished.
Callie repeated. Then opened her eyes. Much to her surprise, she and her dad were not sitting at the tea party anymore. To the west, they could see a swirling cloud. To the east, they saw a big crowd of people on a nearby hill dressed in strange clothes.
Nick could hardly believe his eyes. "Where are we?" He asked Callie.
A stranger walked up behind him and answered, "You're in Galilee! You must have come a long way to see Jesus speak." He slapped a hand on his shoulder.
Nick exhaled. "You have no idea. What? Jesus?" He grinned.
The stranger continued, "It was worth the trip. I heard He once turned water into wine. If He is as amazing as they say He is, He could really change the future of Israel!" The man waved to a woman then began walking in her direction.
Callie smiled. "I guess when we were praying, we were wishing to be with Jesus. That's how the time travel happens. It starts with a wish in your heart and ends with a swirling cloud like that one." She pointed to the funnel.
Nick's eyebrows furrowed. "How peculiar!"
"What about mommy?" Callie asked.
"I guess she stayed at home because she did not pray at the same time as us. She will be alright. We will just stay a little while and tell her about the time we saw Jesus," Nick said in a sensational way.
"Yes," Callie agreed. She spoke in the same way, "The time we saw Jesus. Where is Jesus anyway?"
"Let's go find out." The two started walking down the hill. That's when they spotted a man in a long tan robe. People were all around him trying to touch him. His friends tried to protect Him from the crowd and held people back.
Tears ran down Nick's face. He was about halfway down the hill and had a perfect view so he sat and just watched. Jesus ascended a small nearby mountain. The echo gave Nick the ability to hear His Savior perfectly.
Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven..."
Callie sat next to her father. "What does that mean?" she asked.
Nick whispered, "He is blessing us."
"But we are not poor. Is heaven only for poor people?" Callie asked.
Nick answered, "He does not mean poor as in being needy for money and food. He means our ability to see we are in need of someone to save us and to give us eternal food for eternal life. That is what we did when we prayed."
"Oh," Callie said.
Jesus continued, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God."
Callie giggled, "We must be pure in heart 'cause lookâthere is God." She pointed to Jesus.
"That's right, Callie. The Father..." he pointed up. "And the Son..." he pointed to Jesus. "And the Holy Spirit (who lives inside of us) all make up one God." He patted his daughter on the back.
Jesus continued preaching for over an hour. He told the crowd to love their enemies, to give to the needy, and many other things. Then He and His disciples began to descend down the mountain.
Nick looked over at the swirling cloud, "I think we should leave. I am not sure how much longer that thing will keep spinning and take us home."
"Can't we go down to meet Jesus, Daddy?" Callie begged. "Please."
"You're right. How often do you get the chance to meet Jesus? Let's go!" They ran down the hill and climbed the mountain. They pressed into the crowd to meet Jesus.
After a long wait, Nick finally had the opportunity to speak. "Hello, Jesus, I really admire everything that You have done for us."
Callie said, "Yes, and I believe Your blood paid for my...."
Jesus said, "Shhhh, my little friend. We will talk later...maybe at your house for a tea party. You may not see me, but I will be there." He picked her up and gave her a big hug. "Go home, little one."
Callie and Nick reluctantly walked away from the crowd and up the hill. They held hands and stepped into the swirling cloud.
Then they were sitting at the tea party next to Callie's mother.
Callie reached over and gave her a big hug. "Mommy, we met Jesus!"
Gayle looked over at Nick.
Nick nodded, "It's true."
Callie poured another cup of tea. "This is for Jesus. He said He would be here even if we do not see Him."
Gayle smiled. "I am sure He is here because Jesus never lies and always keeps His promises."
Nick nodded again. "That's right. We can trust all of the promises we heard Him speak and all that we read in the Bible."
Callie said, "Then we should go read it."
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Nick agreed. "It is the best way to time travel without a swirling cloud!"
Callie said, "It was fun to travel through the swirling cloud, but you could end up somewhere really scary."
Gayle said, "So you will not travel through there anymore, right?"
"I will try to keep my promise," Callie said. In a low bear voice, she spoke for Mr. Brown, "Me too!"
Note to Readers
Perhaps you selected this publication because you are a Christian and love reading Christian books. That is a wonderful way to stay near to God. But maybe you are a non-Christian who chose this free ebook because it looked interesting. I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope it helped you to realize you are like the rest of us. You sometimes do wrong things and need someone to save you. Even though Callie is a fictional character, the path to accept God's free gift of eternal life through prayer is real. If you want to receive salvation, pray this prayer right now with all your heart: God, I know I have done some wrong things. I trust Your Son Jesus died on the cross for my sins and rose to live forever. Thank You for saving me and giving me a future in heaven. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Congratulations! I hope you grow closer to God by reading the Bible, praying daily, and gathering with other Christians. Another great way to make sure you stay focused on Jesus is to keep reading Christian books. If you enjoyed this free ebook, you might also like Adventures in Koba. Best wishes to you for your future. Stay blessed!
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