Bible Reading: Exodus 20:7; Psalm 145:1-3; Philippians 2:5-11

Lily was ready to nail the sides of the box together. She held the point of the nail against the wood and tapped the head of it with the hammer. She tapped harder, missed, and hit her thumb. Startled by the pain, she yelled out a word.

"Lily!" Karen, Lily's stepmom, sounded mad. "Never use the name of our Lord like that again!"

Lily could see the blood collecting under her fingernail. "Sorry, it slipped out." She didn't understand what the big deal was. Besides, that really hurt.

Lily was making a keepsake box for her older brother Caden and his fiancée, Zoey. They could keep their special stuff in it, like tickets to their first concert together, or the dried-up flowers Caden had given Zoey for senior prom. Lily had her own keepsake box that her dad had made. She kept memories of her mom in it--some photos, a letter her mom wrote her right before she died, and her mom's turquoise bracelet.

Later that day, Lily was working on her homework at the kitchen table. She muttered a few words about how much she hated math.

"Are you calling to God for help, or just throwing His name around?" Karen asked.

Lily ignored her. Later that evening, Lily was looking through her keepsake box and noticed her mother's bracelet was missing. She immediately thought of her stepsister. "Sadie!" Lily hollered.

"Yeah?" Sadie appeared at the bedroom door. She was wearing the turquoise bracelet.

"That's my mother's bracelet!"

"I was only trying it on."

Lily was furious. "That bracelet is special. You can't wear it around like any old piece of jewelry!"

Karen walked up behind Sadie. "Sadie, you know better than to touch Lily's things."

Sadie took the bracelet off and handed it to Lily. "Sorry, Lily."

Lily nodded and held the bracelet close to her heart.

When Sadie left the room, Karen sat next to Lily. "Things we treasure should be treated with honor and respect, shouldn't they?"

Lily remembered her words from earlier. "Sort of like God's name?"

Karen put her arm around Lily and squeezed. "Yes, like the precious, holy name of our Lord. Jesus loves us so much He died and rose again to conquer sin and death and make us God's children. His name is special, and we should treasure it."

-Bonnie Carr

How About You?
Are you careful about how you use God's name? His name is precious and holy because it points to His greatness, power, and love. Don't use His name in a careless way. Use it to talk to Him and tell others about Him and to praise and thank Him for all He's done for you.

Today's Key Verse:
He rescued his people and made his agreement with them forever. His name is awesome and holy. (ERV) (Psalm 111:9)

Today's Key Thought:
God's name is precious

Bible Reading: Romans 12:10-18

"Can you help me line up my Noah's ark animals, Liam?" asked Liam's little brother Ethan. He looked at their sister. "You can help too, Maelie."

"Okay." Liam sat down at the table. "Anthony is such a pain," he said as he placed the toy elephants side by side. "He's always talking about his soccer team. Who cares?"

Maelie picked up the pigs. "He's that new kid in your class at church, right? He can't be worse than Mia. She thinks she's so great just because she gets good grades in everything! She won the Bible trivia contest at church last month and is still talking about it." Maelie set the pigs down.

Liam grinned. "Hey! You better not leave your pigs next to Mrs. Noah. I'm sure she won't like the smell!"

Maelie giggled. "I wouldn't have liked to be Mrs. Noah--living in a boat full of smelly, noisy animals! They probably fought all the time too."

"I like animals," said Ethan. "They didn't fight, did they, Mommy?"

Mom smiled. "I like to think they all got along--and Noah's family too. You'd think they'd be so thankful to be safe on the ark that they'd gladly put up with bad smells and loud noises--and also each other, even though I'm sure it wasn't easy to be stuck on a boat together for so long. But we aren't always like that with our family members, are we?"

Liam and Maelie looked at each other. "We're getting along just fine," Maelie said, confused.

"I was referring to a different family," Mom replied. "Like Noah and his family, we've also been saved. Jesus has saved us from sin and death, and all those who trust in Him are part of God's family. Yet I've been listening to you grumble about your family members and complain about things Anthony and Mia do that annoy you. But don't we all do annoying things at times? We're blessed to have lots of brothers and sisters in Christ--everyone who knows Him is one of His children. Instead of grumbling, we should be thankful to be part of God's family and to have eternal security in Jesus. We should love one another as He loves us."

-Tanya Ferdinandusz

How About You?
Do other people sometimes annoy you? Do you grumble and complain about them when they do? The Bible tells us to love all people, but especially those who are fellow believers. God's family is like Noah's ark--it contains all of God's children, even those we don't always get along with. But we have all been saved by Jesus and are loved by Him. Live in harmony with your brothers and sisters in Christ by being patient with them and showing them love.

Today's Key Verse:
Love one another deeply as brothers and sisters. (CSB) (Romans 12:10)

Today's Key Thought:
Love one another

Bible Reading: Galatians 5:22-26; Hebrews 12:1-3

"Look! Here they come," said Isabella's dad. He pointed down the street past the next few parade entries.

Isabella could hear the beat of the drums from a block away. She searched for her brother. All the students in his middle school marching band were wearing matching uniforms with hats pulled down low over their foreheads.

"They all look alike," Isabella said. "How will I find Max?"

"He'll be in the row with the other trombone players," said Dad.

As the band got closer, the drum major turned around and marched backwards, facing the band. He blew a whistle, then waved his baton in the air. The band started playing a song. He turned and marched forward again, never missing a step.

Left, right, left, right. Isabella tried to match the tempo with her own feet. "Look, Dad," she said as she marched in place. "I'm practicing for when I get older." Isabella spied her brother as his row passed in front of her. "Hi, Max!" she yelled, waving. He stared straight ahead, playing his trombone and marching in time with the music. Isabella's feet lost their rhythm, and she stopped marching. "Dad, why didn't Max look at me?" she asked, disappointed.

"Max needs to stay focused on the drum major so he knows how to march and when to play," Dad explained.

Isabella grinned. "That's sounds like what we talked about during devotions last night! We talked about how we need to stay focused on Jesus and trust Him to help us show His love to others."

Dad nodded. "Just like a drum major leads the band, Jesus leads us in living out His love. He gave us the Holy Spirit, who helps us keep in step with who Jesus has made us to be as His children. Then we won't be led astray by things that distract us or tempt us to sin."

"Like Max didn't let anything distract him?"

"Right," said Dad. "He stayed focused on the drum major and trusted him to lead him and the rest of the band in what they needed to do."

Isabella heard another band coming. "I want to practice keeping in step," she said.

"With the bands?" Dad asked.

"With Jesus," Isabella said, and she started to march.

-Marie Cleveland

How About You?
Are you marching to the beat of Jesus's love in your life? To keep in step with Jesus, first trust Him to forgive your sins. (To learn more, click the "Good News!" button in the right column of this page.) Then His Holy Spirit will live in your heart and guide you in your new life with Him. Trust Jesus to be your leader, and keep your focus on Him.

Today's Key Verse:
Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (NIV) (Galatians 5:25)

Today's Key Thought:
Keep in step with Jesus

Bible Reading: Psalm 51:7; Galatians 5:16; Ephesians 4:22-24

Shearing the sheep was a big deal around the McMillian ranch. It only happened once a year, and Landon loved watching his dad and some of the hired hands shear the sheep. Landon was always fascinated with how still the sheep would stay as they were turned onto their backs. They seemed so relaxed.

Once the shearing was done, the sheep were led back out to the pasture, and the wool was gathered up into big bags and sent off to the mill to be cleaned and processed. Soon the wool would be dyed into many different colors and turned into beautiful pieces of clothing and other items. The sheep were always so full of energy after they had that heavy wool taken off it was as if they were little lambs again.

"We got a good yield of wool this year," Dad told Landon's mom as they sat down for dinner.

Dad prayed, and then Landon, talking so fast that Mom could hardly understand him, told her all about the exciting day of sheep shearing. "The dirty, heavy wool just came right off in big layers, and the sheep looked so clean, and it almost looked like they were smiling. They must be happy to have all that old wool off them."

"You know, you're right, Landon, and that reminds me of us as Christians," Dad said.

"What do you mean, Dad?" Landon asked.

"Well, before we were saved, we were carrying the heavy load of our sin. But when we trusted in Jesus, He removed our sin and made us clean, and He gave us a new life. That means we need to throw off our old, sinful nature--the way we thought and acted before we knew Jesus--and put on our new nature. We do that by trusting the Holy Spirit to renew our thoughts and attitudes and make us more like Jesus."

"That's really cool, Dad!"

For the rest of the night, Landon thought about what his dad had said. He was so thankful that Jesus had forgiven his sins and washed them all away. Just like the sheep, Landon felt cleaner and lighter. Before going to bed, he prayed and asked the Lord to help him remember to let the Holy Spirit renew his attitude each day.

-Lisa Fuller

How About You?
Has Jesus removed your heavy load of sin? Once you become a Christian by trusting in Him, you begin a new life. Jesus removes your sin and gives you the Holy Spirit, who guides you in living your life. As you follow His leading, you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves. So today, be mindful of your new life in Christ, and let the Holy Spirit guide you and renew your thoughts.

Today's Key Verse:
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (NLT) (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Today's Key Thought:
Jesus gives us new life

Bible Reading: 2 Timothy 1:6-11

Jase raced into the garage where his older brother was working on his car. "Cole! Come quick! Hunter fell into Mrs. Scott's pool and she can't get him out!"

Cole grabbed a broom from the corner and shot out of the garage to help the small neighbor boy. Jase ran after him and watched his brother jump into the pool and swim to where Hunter was thrashing around. Cole got Hunter onto the broom and pulled him to the side of the pool, where Jase and Mrs. Scott lifted him out.

That evening, Jase couldn't stop talking about Cole's daring rescue.

"I should teach you some life-saving techniques before I go back to college," said Cole. "Too many people think they can just jump in the water and swim to someone who's drowning, but that's the worst thing you can do. The person will just pull you under. First you should see if there's a way to pull them out without getting in the water yourself. If you must jump in, make sure you have something for them to grab on to."

"Like a broom!" said Jase. "I wonder if any of the neighbors laughed when they saw you sprinting down the street holding a broom."

"They can laugh all they want," said Cole. "I grabbed the first thing I saw that would help me save Hunter."

"You know," said Jase, "this reminds me of Pastor Lee's sermon last week. He talked about how people made fun of Jesus when He died on the cross, but Jesus knew dying for our sins was the only way we could be saved. It's like we were drowning in sin, and Jesus jumped in to rescue us." Jase sighed. "Sometimes I'm afraid my friends will laugh at me if I talk to them about Jesus. But you didn't care what anyone would think when you grabbed that broom to rescue Hunter, and Jesus came to save us even though it meant He would be laughed at as He suffered and died."

Cole smiled. "I struggle with the same thing sometimes--I'm afraid my college friends will laugh if I talk to them about my faith. Maybe I should put that broom in my dorm room to remind me how much we all need to be rescued by Jesus."

-Vicki L. Reinhardt

How About You?
Are you afraid people might laugh at you if they find out you're a Christian? Do you think your friends might tease you if you try to talk to them about Jesus? That could happen, but remember what Jesus went through to save us--He was publicly ridiculed and then nailed to a cross for our sins. We all need Him to rescue us, and those who don't know Him need to hear about Him. Trust Him to give you courage to share your faith with others.

Today's Key Verse:
Woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! (NKJV) (1 Corinthians 9:16)

Today's Key Thought:
Tell others about Jesus