Author: Nathaniel Colt

Read about It

Read: Mark 2:1–12

The enormous faith of his friends made a huge difference in the paralyzed man’s life. But there were a group of people who weren’t happy about what Jesus did. Some religious teachers were angry because Jesus forgave the man’s sins. Rather than seeing the miracle taking place, they could only see what they thought was Jesus breaking the rules. They thought it was blasphemy that Jesus was doing what only God can do! These men didn’t realize Jesus was God, even when the man who was paralyzed got up and walked. While the faith of the friends led them to be amazed and praise God, the hard hearts of the religious teachers just caused them anger.

God is greater than we can imagine. He does miracles and wonders. He also goes beyond what we hope for and doesn’t go by our rules. The religious teachers spent a lot of time studying who they thought God was, but they never recognized Jesus when He was right before them. Having faith means that we trust God to do what only He can do. When we see miracles and God answering prayer, let’s celebrate as the first thing we do! Let’s rejoice in what God is doing in our friends, family, and us. This way, our faith in God grows and builds confidence in others!

Read about It

Read: Matthew 18:20; Mark 2:1–12

Four friends were not going to stop until they got their friend to Jesus. They had enormous compassion for their paralyzed friend. But they also knew where they could get answers. Yet, they couldn’t get into the house when they arrived where Jesus was. Did that stop them? No! Searching for a way to get to Jesus, they dug a hole in the roof to lower their friend down to Him. Not only did they have to fight through the crowd and dig a hole, but they also had to do it while carrying around an adult man! Holding up their friend while trying to get to Jesus wasn’t easy. Still, these friends didn’t let anything stop them. Because of this, the man who was paralyzed was healed on that day!

These four friends showed so much love for their friend. They might have had many other things to do that day. Maybe they were tired from carrying him around. Of all the feelings that they had on that day, faith and love were the ones that won!

Do you have a friend who needs healing? Is there someone you know who needs an answer from Jesus? If there is, be the friend who steps up and joins your faith with theirs. Encourage and strengthen them. Like these four friends, don’t give up and keep going until Jesus answers. The Bible says in Matthew 18:20 that when two or three are gathered, God is there among them. Powerful things can happen when we have faith for our friends!

Read about It

Read: Deuteronomy 31:1–8

The Israelites had wandered in the wilderness for forty years. Now, the time had come to step into what God had promised. The land that God had promised to give especially to them was now within their reach. Walking into this fantastic new adventure was what they had dreamed about for years, but taking this promise would not be easy. There were still battles to fight. There were still storms on the way. But the Israelites had the promises that God had given them. God told them several times to be strong and courageous. He reminded them repeatedly that He would not fail or abandon them. They knew that victory was theirs with promises like these on their side! All they had to do was to trust God to do what He said He would do.

Sometimes, we need to hear things many times for them to stick. Maybe a parent has told you to do something several times before you do it—like taking out the trash or cleaning your room. Sometimes, a teacher needs to explain something more than once before you feel confident with it. Guess what? Taking a while to catch on to something is normal and natural. Often, we won’t be confident the first time, but with repetition, we’ll begin to be strong and courageous in completing  our instructions.

The Israelites had to hear certain messages from God repeatedly to reinforce them. You can know that God will always remind You that He is faithful to do what He promises. Let’s keep declaring and speaking His promises so we can walk into the amazing plans God has for us!

Read about It

Read: Psalm 91 (Want to read the story about Paul? Acts 27:1, 7–11, 20–26, 30–44)

Psalm 91 makes it clear that when we trust and love the Lord, He will keep us safe and protected. Does this mean we will never have trouble? No. We can see in Paul’s life that we can have difficult and uncertain circumstances sometimes. We often want to solve the problem and get out of the storm. Remember, the sailors tried to escape and figure it out without God! However, instead of looking for a way out, we need to look to God. Psalm 91 tells us to trust in Him and love Him, and He will keep us safe. That’s a promise for all of us!

How can we then actively live in God’s promises? Reading aloud promises, like those found in Psalm 91, can reinforce our trust in the Lord. Every day, whether in a storm or not, we can turn to God first. We can spend time in His Word and pray for His daily strength, protection, and guidance. When other people go through difficult times, we can remember God’s promises and pray for them! Most of all, we need to hold tight to what God says. The enemy comes to try to take away our faith in God, so we must keep on believing, declaring, and taking in the Word of God. Remember, the way to see that God’s promises are true is to see them tested through storms. Let every trial be an opportunity to trust God more!

Read about It

Read: Acts 27:20–26, 30–44

The storm continued to rage all around the prisoners and crew. They all were afraid as the storm continued. Some sailors decided to try to escape in lifeboats, but Paul told the commanding officer and the soldiers not to. People would die if those sailors left. God’s protection was for all of them on that boat.

Then Paul told everyone to eat. For two weeks, as the rain fell and the waves crashed, the crew had been so worried that they hadn’t eaten. They needed to eat, even in the face of this danger. After having a meal, they threw cargo overboard to make the ship lighter. What then? The following day, just as Paul had said, the shipwreck occurred. This was their chance to get out of the stormy waters. The ship ran into a shoal, which is a ridge of land underneath the water. The prisoners and crew held onto planks of wood and made it to shore—all 276 people. God kept His promise! Everyone on that boat survived, even with a shipwreck!

How could Paul encourage the people on the boat through the storm? First, he knew that everyone had to stay on the ship. When facing trials, we often try to figure it out on our own. Like the crew, we try to float away in lifeboats and solve our problems. But God says to stay in the middle of His promises and let Him protect you. Second, Paul knew everyone needed to stay healthy and nourished. At first no one ate, which made things worse for them. Taking care of our physical needs—good food, exercise, rest, and fun—can help us stay strong during a challenge. Finally, Paul knew they had to trust that God would provide a way to shore. The storm didn’t stop, but God made a way to escape it. He will always provide a way for you when you trust in Him!

Read about It

Read: Acts 27:1, 7–11

Like most heroes of faith in the Bible, Paul knew that following Jesus sometimes led straight into a storm. Paul was already in a rough spot. He was a prisoner on his way to stand trial in Rome before Caesar, the emperor. Paul knew this was where God was leading him. On his way to trial, Paul saw that continuing the journey meant serious danger. It was the wrong time of the year to be sailing. Paul warned the ship’s officers that there was trouble ahead. Shipwreck, loss of cargo, and danger to their lives was ahead if they kept going. The officer in charge of the ship did not listen, so off they went. Sure enough, a storm hit, and everyone was afraid. But Paul stood before them and proclaimed that trust and courage in the Lord would protect them. He declared that God had promised safety for them even though they would be shipwrecked.

Sometimes we see trials and danger ahead, and sometimes we don’t. We don’t expect someone to get sick, hurt, or die. Problems and challenges come. Friendships are broken. A pet dies. We may lose things important to us. These are all storms of life that we don’t want to go through. But, we can declare God’s promises instead of giving in to fear or despair! We may not always know exactly what will happen, but we do know that God is good. He is faithful and has promised He would never leave us. When Paul saw the storm around him, He trusted in God more than what he knew the storm could do. Storms will happen in our life, and that is for sure. But what gets us through the challenge is holding tight to God’s promises. We can always trust Jesus to lead us through the storm!

Read about It

Read: John 11:21–44

Death seems like an impossible situation. Jesus can change things, though. Martha knew that God would give Jesus whatever He asked for. She also said that Jesus was the Messiah. Martha knew He had the authority. Some people questioned why Jesus didn’t heal Lazarus. But Jesus had told Martha that Lazarus would rise again. Was there a limit to Jesus’ authority? Absolutely not. His friends pain moved Jesus’ heart. He felt their sorrow deeply. He knew they had faith in Him, so Jesus showed up in power. With all power and authority, He called Lazarus to come out of the grave. On that day, the impossible became possible.

You may think something in your life can’t be fixed, like it’s dead. This feeling doesn’t have to be a death, but it could be the feeling you have when a bad situation seems like it will never get better. Maybe someone in your family is sick. You may have lost a friend. The person you are praying for to know Jesus still hasn’t chosen to follow Jesus. You may have given up on a dream. Coming back to life seems like the most impossible thing of all. In the Bible, you see that nothing is impossible with God. He has all power and authority to bring the dead back to life! When you keep trusting in Jesus and asking and praying, He hears you, understands your feelings, and will comfort you. Trust that He loves you—that is the greatest miracle of all! And keep believing that He can do the impossible!