Author: Nathaniel Colt

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Read: Galatians 5:13–15

Imagine what you would do if you had a whole day free to do whatever you wanted. We could all think of some fun ways to spend that time. You might think of some ways to treat yourself. Paul wrote to the church in Galatia to remind them that the freedom they have in Jesus should not be used to do things that are wrong. He knew that we should use our freedom in Jesus to serve and show love to others.

It’s not bad to treat ourself on occasion. But God wants us to use our time in a way that we are blessing and serving others. When we are tempted to use our time on the wrong things, we should think about these verses. Then we should ask ourself if there is anything we could do to love and serve others instead.

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Read: Isaiah 58:6–10

Have you ever given away something that was important to you? It can be hard to make sacrifices to help others. Isaiah was writing these verses about seven hundred years before Jesus’ birth. Isaiah encouraged the people living in Israel to show their love and devotion to God by helping those in need. Everything he was telling them to do would involve some kind of sacrifice for them, but Isaiah was telling them to do it for God.

Following Jesus means we put the needs of others before ourself. It can be difficult to make sacrifices to help others, but we know that God will always take care of us. Isaiah listed ways we can help others, but that is just the beginning. There are so many ways that God can use us to help others in need.

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Read: Matthew 20:24–28

Do you know what you want to be when you get older? Some people have smaller ambitions, but others want to be a big leader. Is it wrong to want a position of leadership? Jesus didn’t say it was wrong to want those things, but He made it clear that if we want to lead then we must serve people.

When we ask to lead in God’s kingdom, we are really asking to be a servant. Many people in the world want to lead so they can rule over people, but God wants us to help people. That means we can all be leaders if we choose to help others. So is it wrong to want to be a leader? Only if you don’t want to be a servant.

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Read: Matthew 20:20–23

Have you ever used your parents to pass on a message for you? Maybe you were too nervous to ask a question yourself, so you had them ask. James and John may have used their mother in a similar way. She asked for something from Jesus for them. They wanted to receive a high honor in His kingdom. But did they even know what following Jesus would require of them?

It’s funny to think that James and John thought they could handle this suffering when they didn’t seem to even have the courage to ask Jesus the question on their own. Jesus didn’t correct them for their question, but He did make it clear that following Him would involve great suffering for those two.

It’s possible that we might go through hard times for following Jesus, too. And like James and John later did, our trust in Jesus can help us make it through whatever problems come our way. Rather than asking for fancy titles or positions, let’s ask Him to help us follow Him no matter the cost.

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Read: 2 Timothy 4:1–5

Imagine if you had the cure to one of the worst diseases. Do you think you would keep the medicine a secret? No, we would do everything we could to spread the cure so that more people could be saved from the disease.

In these verses, Paul was writing to encourage his friend Timothy to be ready to preach the truth of God at any time. Whether people receive the message or not, Timothy needed to share the truth and good news of Jesus.

Today, there are many people who aren’t interested in hearing the truth. But does that mean we should stop sharing the truth? No, the truth of God is the only way for people to be saved. So even when it’s hard, we must keep speaking the truth to everyone we meet.

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Read: Romans 16:17–20

Have you ever been taught the wrong way to do something? It can be frustrating and time consuming to have to relearn to do things the right way. Paul told the church in Rome to watch out for people who didn’t speak the truth. He knew that these false teachers could teach the people the wrong way to follow God.

We must also be careful that what we are being taught is the truth found in God’s Word. This means that we must know God’s Word and we must also speak the truth to others. We don’t want others to lead us away from God, and we don’t want to lead others away from God.

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Read: Acts 14:11–15

The crowd saw something spectacular. They couldn’t understand how the man who had always been crippled had been healed. They decided that there must be something extra special about Paul and Barnabas. The man with crippled feet listened to Paul preach and God healed him. But the crowd saw the healing and seemed to completely miss the truth about the true God.

If the crowd had listened to Paul and Barnabas, their lives could have been forever changed. God is all powerful and it is by His power that the man was healed. If we want everything that God has for us, then we should turn from worthless things, listen to and turn to the living God. He alone has the power to heal sick people and do miracles!

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Read: Acts 14:8–10

Have you ever seen someone’s face light up with excitement? Maybe that is what this man looked like listening to Paul preach. Life would have been so hard for this man who had been crippled since birth. He would have had to depend on others for everything. Doctors didn’t have any hope of him being able to walk. But when he heard Paul preach, he was full of faith.

Faith comes from hearing the Word of God. Paul preached the truth of God’s Word, and the crippled man had the faith he needed to be healed. When we listen to and speak the truth of God’s Word, we will be full of faith to believe for the impossible.