Author: Nathaniel Colt

Read about It

Read: 1 Peter 3:13–16

If you were trying to learn how to play a new sport, what would be the easier way to learn: have someone yell the rules at you or have someone show you how to play? Obviously, it would be the second option!

The world is watching how we live if we claim to be a follower of Jesus. At times, they may ask us why we do things differently or why we believe in Jesus. It’s important for us share about Jesus in gentle and kind ways, being an example of Jesus’ love for them. As we make daily choices that follow Jesus and show His love by the way we treat others, they will be able to see Jesus in us. God will use our life as a living example of Jesus’ love and others will want to know about the hope we have.

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Read: Psalm 40:9–10

Fear can keep us from doing many things. Maybe being afraid of spiders can keep us from walking barefoot. Being afraid of meeting new people can keep us from making new friends at school. Being afraid of what other people may think can keep us from telling other people about Jesus.

God knows that we have fear—and He is ready to help us. When we know Jesus, we have one of the greatest gifts that other people need to know about! We can’t allow fear to keep us from speaking about what God has done in our life. So, go on, be bold, and tell everyone around you about the good news of Jesus!

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Read: Acts 17:32–34; Romans 10:13–17

Have you ever missed a birthday party because the person forgot to invite you? If you had known about it, you would have made sure you were there! That’s because birthday parties are fun.

God has invited us to be part of His family—the best invitation we could ever receive! The invitation is for everyone, but some people don’t know about it yet. They could go their whole life missing His invitation, and that’s worse than missing any birthday party. That’s where we come in. Jesus told us in Matthew 28:19 to make disciples of all nations—and that means His invitation is for everyone! But how will they receive this invitation?

That’s the question Romans 10:13–17 asks us: How do people receive God’s invitation to be part of His family? Because we invite them! Think about it: Someone invited you to be part of His family, too! In our Bible story, God used Paul to invite the people of Athens into God’s family. Some of them even accepted His invitation!

God is looking for people who are willing to go and the share the good news of Jesus with people who don’t know and have never heard. There are many people in our life—family, neighbors, friends at school, people we see around town—who don’t know who Jesus is. When they hear about how good God is and what He has done in our life, they may want to know more and want to know the love of Jesus for themselves.

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.

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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.

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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.

Read about It

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..