Bible Reading: Isaiah 64:4-8; Ephesians 2:10

Cecilia walked beside her mother on the way to an open house at her sister Kaylynn's school. "How will we find Kaylynn?" asked Cecilia.

"She said she'd be in her pottery class," answered Mom, "and she gave me directions to get to it." They soon found the place where Kaylynn was working, and they sat down quietly at the back of the room.

The class instructor was at his potter's wheel, demonstrating how to make a clay vase. The students watched and then began work on their own projects. "Kaylynn's good, isn't she?" whispered Cecilia, watching her older sister at work.

"Yes," said Mom. "The vase she's making will be lovely filled with flowers."

Cecilia sighed. "Ben plays baseball, Sienna sings in the choir, and Kaylynn makes pottery. But me, I'm like…" Cecilia gestured toward the instructor's table. "I'm like one of those ugly lumps of clay."

"Cecilia," said Mom gently, "the vase Kaylynn is making was a lump of clay like those. And so was the one the instructor is making. Those lumps are the clay the potter uses to make beautiful things."

Cecilia looked at the instructor. A tall vase was being shaped by his skillful fingers. "Imagine one of those ugly lumps ending up like that!"

"You know, we're all like lumps of clay," said Mom. "On our own, we can do nothing. But God is our potter, and He skillfully molds and shapes us into something useful and beautiful. We just need to be pliable and--"

"What does that mean?" asked Cecilia.

"Pliable? That means soft and easy to mold," explained Mom. "If the clay is hard, it's also hard to mold it, and if we are stubborn and our hearts are hard--if we insist on doing things our way instead of trusting God--then He needs to soften our hearts before He can shape our lives into something beautiful." She smiled at Cecilia. "You're not an ugly lump of clay. You're a pliable one. You know Jesus, who has softened your heart with His love. Just be patient, and little by little God will begin to show you who He's molding you to be."

-Tanya Ferdinandusz

How About You?
Is your heart pliable? Are you trusting God to guide you in what He wants you to do in your life? Maybe you feel less important when other people can do things you can't, but the important thing is to do what God wants you to do. He created you and loves you, and you can trust Him to shape your life into something beautiful. Let Him mold you into the person He wants you to be.

Today's Key Verse:
O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You our potter…we are the work of Your hand. (NKJV) (Isaiah 64:8)

Today's Key Thought:
Let God form you

Bible Reading: Romans 3:9-12, 21-23

Koen stood next to the wall, holding himself as straight as possible. His father made a chalk mark just above his head. When Koen stepped aside, Dad began to measure the distance from the floor to the mark. "Let me do it," pleaded Brock, Koen's little brother. Brock was studying measurements in school, and he had been measuring things all week.

When Dad nodded and moved to the side, Brock climbed on a chair to measure Koen. "Wow!" Brock marveled after a moment. "You're almost six feet tall already."

"What?" exclaimed Koen. "That can't be right." He looked at the stick Brock was holding. "What kind of measuring stick are you using, anyway?"

"It's one I made," Brock said proudly, holding up the brightly painted stick. "Dad was using the yardstick, so I made my own. I think it looks about right."

"Well, it's wrong," said Koen. "You have to use a regular yardstick, don't you, Dad?"

"That's right," said Dad. "An inaccurate measuring stick will give the wrong measurements." He compared the yardstick he'd been using to Brock's stick. "This one is definitely off by quite a bit. Sorry, Brock, but you can't just use your own ideas about how long a foot is." Dad shook his head. "You're not alone though. A lot of people use their own self-made measuring sticks."

"They do?" said Koen. "I don't know anybody who's made their own measuring stick--except for Brock."

"I wasn't thinking of an actual measuring stick. I was thinking of how many of us use our own ideas to measure how good we are," Dad explained. "We may expect to get to heaven because we think the good things we do outweigh the bad ones. But that would be measuring ourselves based on our own rules, not God's."

"We need to go by what He tells us in the Bible, don't we?" Koen said.

Dad nodded. "And the Bible says, 'All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.' We all fail to measure up to His perfect standard. That's why we need forgiveness. It's why we need Jesus to remove our sin and give us His righteousness, or goodness. God says it's only through faith in Jesus, the perfect Son of God, that we can be saved and have eternal life."

-Mary Rose Pearson

How About You?
Do you look at your life and think you're not so bad? You can't use your own measuring stick to get into heaven. God's standard is perfection, or what the Bible calls righteousness. Everyone falls short of this--no one is perfect. But when you trust in Jesus, who died for your sins and then rose again to save you, He covers you in His righteousness. Trust in Jesus today! (To learn more, click the "Good News!" button in the right column of this page.)

Today's Key Verse:
I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. (NLT) (Philippians 3:9)

Today's Key Thought:
Only Jesus measures up

Bible Reading: James 3:1-12

Kaylee threw down her phone and fell back on her bed.

I can't believe Emma isn't inviting me to her party. I thought we were friends!

Just then Mom walked into her room. "Kaylee, please make your bed and take your laundry basket to the laundry room."

Kaylee groaned. "I don't feel like doing it right now, Mom. You're on the way to the laundry room, so why don't you take it yourself."

"Kaylee! Do not talk to me like that. We each have chores we have to do. One of yours is to make your bed and pick up your room."

"I'll do it later," Kaylee said.

Mom frowned at her. "Kaylee," she said in a warning tone.

Kaylee got up and started to smooth out her sheets. "I'm not sure why I talked back to you. I guess I felt angry because Emma just told me I wasn't invited to her party." She sighed as she fluffed her pillow. "Emma's attitude sometimes changes for no reason, and she can really hurt my feelings. One minute she's talking about all the fun we had at youth group, and the next she's telling me I'm not invited to her party. It's like her words turn instantly rude!" She looked at her mom. "But then I just did the same thing to you, didn't I? What makes us change like that?"

"Sometimes feeling disappointed or mad can make us want to hurt others," replied Mom. "We need to watch what we say when we feel upset or hurt. And if we do sin with our words, we should ask for forgiveness right away--from both God and the person we hurt." Mom put an arm around Kaylee. "Remember that Jesus loves you, me, and Emma all the same. He forgives us when we hurt others with our words, and He'll also help us speak in a loving way, even when we feel upset."

Kaylee nodded. "I'm sorry, Mom. I guess I was upset at Emma and took it out on you." She sighed. "I was really looking forward to Emma's party. Now what am I supposed to do?"

"Well," said Mom, "Jesus forgives us when we hurt others, and He also helps us forgive others when they hurt us."

-Christine Collier

How About You?
What kind of words come out of your mouth? Does it change depending on how you feel? Are you more likely to say rude or mean words when you feel disappointed or upset? When we say hurtful words in response to feeling hurt ourselves, it only makes things worse. If you've hurt someone with your words, ask them to forgive you, and ask Jesus for forgiveness too. Then trust Him to help you show His love to others through your words all the time.

Today's Key Verse:
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up. (NIV) (Ephesians 4:29)

Today's Key Thought:
Watch your words

Bible Reading: Luke 10:25-37

Daniel usually loved going to science club at the library. Since he was homeschooled, it was fun meeting other kids his age and getting to learn with them. But lately, Daniel had been coming home from science club feeling down and irritated.

"Daniel, what's going on?" Mom asked when she picked him up outside the library. "I've noticed that you don't seem to be yourself after club anymore. Is something bothering you?"

"Someone is bothering me, not something!" Daniel replied in frustration. "There's a new boy named Oliver at club who believes that the world and everything in it was accidently made by some big explosion, not by God. He talks about it all the time, and I hate it. I wish he wasn't there!"

"That's challenging, Dan, and I can see why you're feeling frustrated. But do you know that Oliver is your neighbor?"

"No, he's not!" Daniel responded. "He lives on the other side of town and goes to the big elementary school there."

"I'm not talking about where Oliver lives, Daniel. In the Bible, Jesus taught His followers to love all people as if they were good neighbors and to show them kindness and respect. And He used a story about a Samaritan man to do it."

"I remember that story. But I never understood what a Samaritan was or why it was important that he helped the man who got robbed."

"In Bible times, Samaritans didn't believe everything that God's people, the Israelites, believed," Mom explained. "Because of this, many of the Israelites looked down on the Samaritan people and didn't want to have anything to do with them. Yet Jesus used a Samaritan man as an example of how to show love to people who are different from us. Like the Samaritan, we need to treat those who are different from us as neighbors because Jesus loves them so much He died for them too. Can you think of some ways you could treat Oliver like a neighbor?"

"Well, I guess I could try talking to him and asking him questions," said Daniel.

"Exactly!" said Mom. "And who knows? Maybe you'll have the opportunity to tell Oliver about who God is and how His creation shows His power and goodness. Let's pray and ask God to help you be a good neighbor to Oliver."

-Ashleigh Awosika

How About You?
Do you find it challenging to be around people who are different from you? If you know Jesus, you can be a good neighbor to all people and show them His love, no matter their backgrounds or beliefs. At His crucifixion, Jesus was able to love and pray for the very people who were hammering nails through His hands and feet. When we struggle with loving others, Jesus will help us. Trust Him to help you love everyone like He does.

Today's Key Verse:
Love your neighbor the same as you love yourself. (ERV) (Luke 10:27 )

Today's Key Thought:
Show God's love to everyone

Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:31-33; Philippians 2:5-8

Dawson scowled as he climbed into the car after basketball practice. "What's wrong, Dawson?" Mom asked. "Did your practice not go well?"

"No!" Dawson responded. "We split into teams for a practice game, and my team won by four, and I scored twenty-eight points! But instead of congratulating me, Coach lectured me after the game. He said I was hogging the ball and taking risky shots. He's going to sit me out half of our game this Friday so the other guys get to play more." Dawson shook his head. "It's not fair, Mom! I'm the best player on our team! I should be on the court."

Mom started driving home. "Do you remember when Dad was offered that high school teaching job last year?" she asked.

"Sure," Dawson replied. "But he turned it down because he likes teaching middle school better, right?"

"Actually, your dad has always wanted to teach high school," Mom explained. "But to take the job, our family would've had to move. You would've had to switch schools in the middle of the year, and I would've had to quit my new job at church. Your dad and I didn't think it would be a good fit for our family, so he turned down the job."

Dawson looked confused. "So Dad turned it down because of us?"

"Yeah," said Mom. "You know, Dad's decision reminds me of a verse in First Corinthians that says not to seek your own good, but the good of many. The Bible tells us that life isn't about making ourselves happy--it's about knowing Jesus and sharing His love with others. Even though He's God, He became human and died for us so we could have eternal life with Him, and He wants to help us show that same kind of love to others. But in order to do that, we have to think about others and how our actions affect them."

Dawson was quiet for a moment. Finally, he sighed. "I guess I could share the ball more with my teammates. Coach thinks it'll help them play better if they have more time handling the ball."

Mom smiled. "Sounds like you're starting to think about the good of many, Dawson. And you know what? That kind of thinking might just make you a better player yourself."

-Amy Tol

How About You?
Do you make decisions based only on what will make you happy? The Bible makes it clear that life isn't all about you--it's about Jesus and sharing His love with others. Friends, family members, neighbors--they all need God's grace, just like you do. And when you make decisions that help them instead of only thinking of yourself, you show them what it's like to be part of God's team.

Today's Key Verse:
Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God…For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved. (NIV) (1 Corinthians 10:31, 33)

Today's Key Thought:
Seek the good of many