Author: Nathaniel Colt

Read about It

Read: Psalm 71:14–17; 1 Corinthians 2:1

Do you know what the word cattywampus means? How about the word bumfuzzle? These are long, interesting words that you might not know or use unless you grew up hearing or studying them. Words like this aren’t typically a part of our everyday conversations, and you don’t really need to use them to have a meaningful conversation.

Do you ever wonder what words you should use to tell people about Jesus? Maybe you are searching for some big, long, important words before you speak. Sometimes we feel like we can’t tell others about Jesus because we don’t know the right words to use. We may feel like we’re not smart enough or we don’t know all there is to know about God. Somehow this keeps us from telling others about who He is.

Here’s the good news, though: We don’t have to be skilled with words or know everything there is to know about God. We simply need to be willing to allow God to use us and speak through us to share about Jesus and what He’s done in our life. Psalm 71:15 says, “All day long I will proclaim your saving power, though I am not skilled with words.” The Bible is telling us that we can still talk about God’s power even if we’re not good with words! When we are willing to share Jesus’ story in everyday conversations, God will use us to draw people to Him. And they may want to have a relationship with God because of what we’ve told them.

Read about It

Read: Acts 22:12–21

In our Bible reading today, the apostle Paul was speaking. He had just been attacked by an angry crowd, and he was telling them about how God had changed his life. He explained how God had called him to be a witness for Jesus. Paul obeyed by believing in Jesus and being baptized in water.

But even after saying yes to following God, Paul still had some difficult situations. He had to continue listening for what God wanted him to do, where God wanted him to go, and who God wanted him to talk to.

Paul is a great example of what it means to follow God. God is always guiding us and helping us know what He wants us to do. However, not everything in life is easy or fun or comfortable. But when God calls us to do something, even if it’s hard, we can trust that He has already prepared the way for us. He will empower us and equip us to do what He’s telling us to do, but we must be willing to follow Him.

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Read: Ephesians 2:10

A composer, or a person who writes music, can write music for an orchestra—a big group of many different types of instruments. In an orchestra, each instrument has a specific part to play. The drums may have a rat-a-tat-tat that keeps the beat while the flutes play the whistling high notes. The tubas play the low bass parts, and trumpets may blast the melody. On their own, the part that each instrument plays may not make much sense. However, when every instrument plays together, the music becomes a beautiful song. It finally makes sense.

God is like a composer who writes different parts for each instrument to play. He has one big plan to bring people into a right relationship with Him, and each of us has a part to play in it. When we think about the plans God has for us, we might get confused as to how it all makes sense. In these times, we can remember that each of us plays one small part in God’s big plan—and that helps things make more sense! God designed us to do the good things that He planned for us long ago.

When we choose to follow Jesus, we are choosing His plans over our own. We are saying that we trust the plans and the part He given us to play, even though we may not understand it. As we allow God to use us, He works through us to share His love with others and bring Him honor and glory.

Read about It

Read: Psalm 33:11

As people get older, they often create something called a will. A will is a document listing what someone wants to happen after they die. It can have instructions on what to do with that person’s money, house, other belongings, and even medical decisions to be made after they are too sick to say what they want on their own. Wills are very serious. When we die, we can only hope that what’s stated in the will is carried out as we planned.

There’s only so much control we have over things after we die. Even when we make plans, situations can come up that we didn’t expect, and things can happen that we didn’t plan for. However, God sees and knows all things. That’s why we can trust that His plans are better than our own! He created time and has plans and purposes in place forever. Even though our life is only for a certain time here on earth, God has plans in place for generation after generation. We can trust that His plans are best. As we choose to follow Him daily with the time that He has given us, we can be part of carrying out His perfect plans here on earth.

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Read: Acts 9:11–13; Romans 8:28

Many times our parents or other grownups will tell us to do something that doesn’t always make sense. Maybe it’s to go to bed early, eat vegetables, or wait for something we really want. Sometimes they tell us to do things that might be difficult for us or things we don’t want to do. Most of the adults in our life are great people. We may not know about the plans they have set up for us, but we can trust the plans that good people have for us even though we may not understand.

In our Bible story, Ananias wasn’t sure about God’s plan at first. God had told Ananias to go and visit a man who he thought could choose to hurt him. However, Ananias trusted that God was good and His plans are good. Because of Ananias’s obedience, God used him to heal Saul.

God has plans for our life that don’t always make sense and can be confusing or difficult. But, because we know who God is, we can trust that His plans for us are good. That’s why we can trust His plans for our life! When we follow His leading every day, we can experience everything He has planned for us, and it will be better than anything we could imagine on our own..

Read about It

Read: Matthew 6:5–8

Prayer is talking to God; it’s not a public performance. Sometimes when we pray, we get so concerned about what others may be thinking that we forget to focus on the One we are talking to. God doesn’t care if you use fancy words or if you speak loudly. He doesn’t care if everyone in the room is looking at you because you drew their attention.

God looks at your heart. When you pray, you are talking to Him as your best friend. He wants you to come to Him not so others can see you, but because you trust in who He is. You can pray in a large group setting with others around, but it is just as important to pray on your own and spend quiet time with God. No matter where you are or who’s around, you can believe God will hear and answer your prayer.

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Read: Matthew 18:19–20

When we read Matthew 18:19, we might think that when we pray with other people for something, God is going to answer with exactly what we want. But when we pray and ask God for things, we want to be sure we know God is good so that even if He answers us differently from what we expect, we still trust in Him.

These verses talk about the importance of having people in our life to pray and believe with us that God can answer our prayers. We know that there is power in prayer and in encouraging one another to trust in God together. Together, we can agree that God is with us and never leaves or forsakes us.

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Read: James 2:14–17

Sometimes God allows us to see people’s needs so that He can use us to help them. Imagine seeing a kid at school who has torn-up clothes, no food for lunch, and holes in his shoes. You think, “I feel sorry for this kid.” But then you do nothing to help him. What good is it if you see a need but don’t do anything about it? That’s what these verses in James are talking about.

Our faith in God should lead us to pray for people and to see people where they are. God may also place it on our heart to help people. We can believe God will answer our prayers for other people, and sometimes we are part of His answer! Listen and be open as the Holy Spirit leads you.