Bible Reading: John 15:9-15

"Amen," whispered Grandma after Aspen knelt at her side and asked Jesus to be her Savior. "Now you'll always have a friend close beside you," said Grandma, giving Aspen a warm hug. "You won't see Him, but He is real and He's right there with you. Talk to Him every day, and read some verses from your Bible each day too. Then ask Him to help you understand what He's saying to you."

Aspen nodded. "He'll be with me all the time, right? He'll be my friend?"

"He absolutely will," Grandma assured her.

Aspen sat thinking to herself for a moment. Then she glanced at her grandmother. "Grandma, do you remember my friend Dayken?"

"Dayken!" Grandma exclaimed with a laugh. "You mean the imaginary friend you had when you were five years old?"

"Yes." Aspen laughed too. "Back then, Dayken was my best friend, even if she was just pretend. I couldn't see her, but I really felt like there was someone for me to play with all day long. When I had Dayken, I was never lonely."

"Did anyone ever laugh at you for having an imaginary friend?" asked Grandma.

"Yeah, sometimes. But I didn't care. Dayken was important to me, even though I knew she was make-believe. Of course, after a while I grew out of what Mom called my 'Dayken phase,' and I stopped pretending she was real." She thought for a moment. "But you just said that now I'll have Jesus with me all the time. That will be much better because He's real--not just an imaginary friend, right?"

"That's right, and you'll never get too old for your new friend Jesus," Grandma assured her. "People may not always believe in Him, and they might even laugh at you for believing you have a friend no one can see, but He is very real and alive. As you grow older, you'll see Him at work in your life. He'll be the best real friend you'll ever have. And even though you can't see Him now, He's promised that one day you'll see Him face-to-face!"

-Phyllis I. Klomparens

How About You?
Did you ever have an imaginary friend? That can be fun for a while, but it's only make-believe. Jesus is real, and He wants to be your best friend. Trust Him to be your Savior. (To learn more, click the "Good News!" button in the right column of this page.) He'll always be there for you, and one day you'll meet Him face-to-face.

Today's Key Verse:
I have called you friends. (NKJV) (John 15:15)

Today's Key Thought:
Jesus wants to be your friend

Bible Reading: Psalm 121

Stella nervously clasped her hands together as the plane taxied down the runway. She had been excited when her parents said she and Brayden could fly by themselves to see their grandmother. But now Stella was nervous. She looked at her brother, who was eagerly watching the ground rush by.

After they were airborne, Stella still didn't relax. "Do the engines sound funny?" she asked. "Should we be flying so high? What if there's another plane in the clouds?" Brayden tried to assure her that everything was fine. "Are you sure?" she asked. "I think they should try to stay away from the clouds."

"Why don't you just go to the cockpit and take over the controls?" Brayden finally asked her. "You seem to think you know more about flying this plane than the pilot does." Stella scowled. "The pilot knows what he's doing," said Brayden, "and I think this is really cool!"

"Me too," said Stella, but she was very glad when they were finally back on solid ground.

"Did you have a good flight?" asked Grandma when she met them at the airport.

Brayden nodded. "I did. But Stella was so nervous she could hardly sit still. I told her she should take over for the pilot." He grinned. "I'm glad she didn't though, because then I would have been the nervous one!"

"I guess so!" said Grandma. "I'm afraid we all lack trust in our Pilot from time to time."

Stella looked surprised. "Are you afraid of flying too, Grandma?"

Grandma shook her head. "I wasn't talking about the pilot of a plane. I meant Jesus, the Pilot of my life. I sometimes feel afraid when things in my life are hard or seem uncertain, but then I remember that Jesus is in control and that He promises to be with me and use my life for good no matter what happens. Trying to make my life work without Him would be like you trying to fly a plane." She gave Stella's shoulders a squeeze. "I think Brayden enjoyed the trip a lot more than you did, Stella, even though you were just as safe as he was. When we trust Jesus to be the Pilot, knowing He has saved us and promises to work everything out for good, our life trips are much better too."

-Hazel W. Marett

How About You?
Are you enjoying your trip through life? Or do you constantly worry about things you have no control over? Remember that Jesus loves you and died to save you so you could live with Him forever. Then trust Him to take you safely through all of life's dark clouds, even when you can't see how things could turn out well. He knows what He's doing and promises to be with you. Trust Him and enjoy the peace He gives you.

Today's Key Verse:
God, you give true peace to people who depend on you, to those who trust in you. (ERV) (Isaiah 26:3)

Today's Key Thought:
Trust Jesus with your life

Bible Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:1-2, 6-9

The long procession of cars moved slowly from the school auditorium to the little country cemetery. When they arrived there, Evelyn stood between her parents, holding a damp, wadded tissue. She struggled to keep her tears from overflowing again as some final words were spoken.

"Today we mourn the loss of Allison, our beloved daughter, sister, and friend," said Pastor Drew. Allison's parents and brother huddled closer together beside her grave, and several other people in the group dabbed their eyes. "But in our grief and sadness, we can take comfort knowing that she is in the presence of Jesus," Pastor Drew continued. "Just think of how wonderful it is for her now. The illness that caused her so much suffering is no longer hindering her--her pain and sorrow are gone."

For as long as Evelyn could remember, she and Allison had gone to school and church together. They learned about Jesus when they were little and both trusted Him as their Savior. But now Allison was gone, and Evelyn's heart was sad and lonely. The morning sun shone in a clear blue sky, and a breeze scented with pine trees brushed the upturned faces of Allison's mourning classmates. Each carried a brightly colored bottle of bubbles.

The minister's quiet words broke into Evelyn's thoughts. "These bubbles are a picture of the freedom Allison's spirit has today. The Bible tells us that the body is laid to rest in the earth, but the spirit of the person who trusts in Jesus goes to be with Him. Allison's spirit is already at home with Jesus. And like all those who belong to Jesus, she is looking forward to the day of resurrection and the new, eternal body she will receive that will be free from sin, sickness, and death. Because of that promise, we have hope knowing we will see her again."

The pastor lifted a bubble wand loaded with suds and held it for a moment. "Let's release our bubbles together in celebration of Allison's life and the joy she now has in the presence of Jesus." A moment later, all eyes were raised skyward as a clear, sparkling cloud danced in the autumn breeze.

"Goodbye, Allison," Evelyn whispered. She smiled through her tears. "I'll see you again someday."

-Phyllis I. Klomparens

How About You?
Have you known someone your own age who has died? Perhaps you wonder what it would be like to die. It's natural to be afraid of the unknown, but Jesus promises that Christians will never be separated from Him--not even in death. If you trust in Jesus, you don't need to be afraid of dying. When your body dies, you will go to be with Him, and one day He will resurrect all Christians and we will live with Him forever.

Today's Key Verse:
We are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. (NLT) (2 Corinthians 5:8)

Today's Key Thought:
Christians live forever with Jesus

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