Author: Nathaniel Colt

Read about It

Read: John 1:24–28

Pharisees came to the Jordan River to question John. “What right do you have to baptize?” they asked. However, John was confident in his purpose. He did not argue or try to prove his authority. He simply told them his job and immediately pointed them to Someone greater than him. That was Jesus. John took the attention away from himself. Instead, he put the attention on Jesus!

God has a purpose for each of us in His work. But, our highest purpose is this—we need to point people to Jesus. Whether it is singing on a stage, preaching a message of hope, creating a work of art, running a race, being a good friend, or doing chores, all these things have one purpose. We do them for God’s glory! We do them to bring attention to how good He is! When people have questions, we can answer confidently as John did. We can turn people’s eyes from us to the Savior of the world!

Read about It

Read: Luke 5:10–11

Simon Peter and his friends knew about catching fish. They had boats and nets. They knew how to sail on the sea. Then Jesus came and gave their lives new meaning and purpose. Jesus knew that Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John could be fishers of men. What does that mean? Because Jesus changed their life, their new job was to “catch” people and tell them how wonderful Jesus is! For Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John, this miracle moment was just the beginning of their mission. They left everything to follow Jesus! In the same way their lives had been changed, they now could tell others who needed to hear about Jesus.

Jesus can give your life a new, different meaning. Jesus helps us to start thinking differently. We get to see how good He is. We can start to understand how much He loves us. Our life becomes a journey with Jesus! This good news is for us, our friends, our family, and our neighbors. Now is the time to share this good news to make a difference in others. Let’s leave the old behind and get on a new mission for Jesus!

Read about It

Read: Luke 5:7–10

A miracle happened! Simon Peter did what Jesus asked. Then, the huge catch of fish weighed his boat down so much that it almost sank. This was a huge reason to rejoice. Simon Peter fell on his knees before Jesus. Simon called himself a sinful man. He also realized how amazing Jesus was. Simon Peter’s life had changed in an instant because of Jesus.

There are lots of blessings, or good things, we will receive in this life. However, none of them will ever compare to following Jesus. What the world has to offer us may seem great. It could make us very happy for a short time. But, if we follow Jesus like Simon Peter did, we will see God’s miracles at work in our life. Following Jesus is the greatest life because He is always with us and He is always there to help us.

Read about It

Read: Luke 5:4–6

Simon Peter had already made himself available to Jesus. But, Jesus had even more in store for Simon Peter. The night before, Simon Peter, his brother Andrew, and his friends James and John did not catch one fish. (We know that Peter’s brother Andrew was there from other places in the Gospels like Mark 2:16.) Not a single one! This meant that they would not get any money for their families from selling fish. After a long night with no fish, the last thing they wanted to do was to go back and try again. Yet Simon Peter did what Jesus asked. This encounter with Jesus made Simon Peter want to try one more time. Because Simon Peter chose to say yes to Jesus, he got the biggest catch of fish in his life!

Sometimes what Jesus wants us to do doesn’t make sense to us or is a challenge. You may feel a nudge to talk about Jesus to someone you don’t know. You may have a thought to pray for someone who has hurt you. You may have an idea to raise money for missionaries or may even feel a call to be a missionary to a country far away. Jesus wants us to say yes. When we do, we know that God will use our yes to reach more people for Jesus than we can imagine. Our yes to Jesus’ call in things great and small makes the biggest difference of all.

Read about It

Read: Luke 5:1–3

Simon Peter was doing his job as a fisherman. Scrubbing and cleaning nets was hard work! But then, he had an encounter that changed everything. Jesus told Simon Peter to push his boat into the water so that others could hear His teaching. Simon Peter could have said no because he was too busy. There were many other important things that this hard-working fisherman had to do. Instead, he made his boat and his heart available for Jesus.

There are always many things we can be doing. Homework, chores, and practices fill our daily routine. Most of these things we need to do are necessary and good! When Jesus speaks to our heart, we must be willing to put down our nets like Simon Peter did and make our life available for what Jesus wants from us. Making a difference starts with being available. Like Simon Peter, we let Jesus use what we have to do great things

Read about It

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.

Read about It

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.