Bible Reading: John 9:1-7

Seth crept into the dark room. He switched on the lamp and waved his arms back and forth above the crib. Leah didn't notice him. She was blind.

"Hi, baby," he whispered. She turned her tiny head toward the sound of his voice. He patted her hand through the bars.

"What are you doing in here?" asked Mom, coming in from the hallway.

"I'm trying to make Leah see me," Seth said.

Mom spread a quilt on the floor. "I'm not sure she'll ever be able to see you, Seth. But she can hear your voice and feel your touch."

Seth sighed. "Why did God give her eyes that don't work?"

Mom lifted Leah out of her crib and laid her on the quilt beside Seth. "We don't always understand the ways of the Lord, but we know that He can use the bad things that happen to us for good."

"Blind eyes aren't good," said Seth.

"The Bible tells a story about a man born blind like Leah," said Mom. "People questioned Jesus about that man's eyes too." Leah gripped Seth's finger as Mom continued. "Jesus said the man was born blind so the world could see the great love and awesome power of God." Mom stroked Leah's cheek. "Then Jesus healed the man and he was no longer blind."

"Is Jesus going to heal Leah?" asked Seth.

"I pray for that every day," said Mom. "As we wait for His answer, we can pray that Leah will hear God's voice and that He will give her special eyes to see Him with her heart."

"I don't need eyes in my heart because my other eyes can see, right, Mom?"

"Everyone needs heart-eyes," said Mom. "We are all blind like Leah until we listen to God's voice and turn to Jesus."

"My Sunday school teacher says the Bible is God's voice," said Seth.

"She's right," said Mom. "God's Word tells us why we need Jesus to save us from sin. When God opens our eyes to its truth, we can see His great love for us."

Seth jumped up and bolted from the room. He returned with his Bible and plopped onto the quilt. "I think Leah will like the rainbow story."

Leah turned her face toward Seth as he read God's Word.

-Trine Grillo

How About You?
Are you able to see with the eyes of your heart? Seeing with your heart-eyes is more important that seeing with your physical eyes, because that's the only way to see God's great love for you. The Bible is God's Word, and it tells us who God is and what He did to save us. As you read and listen to His Word, trust God to open the eyes of your heart and help you hear His voice.

Today's Key Verse:
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you. (NIV) (Ephesians 1:18)

Today's Key Thought:
Listen to God's voice

Bible Reading: Psalm 16:2, 11; Philippians 1:6, 9-11; 1 Peter 3:10-11

Not another essay! Serena groaned to herself as the teacher wrote the subject on the board: What I Want to Be When I Grow Up. I hate writing essays. Besides, I don't know what I want to be. Serena sighed and wrote down the topic.

At home that evening, Serena complained about the assignment. "How do I know what I'll want to do when I'm older? I'm just a kid!"

Dad smiled as he lit a candle on the table. "You don't have to commit to any career right now, but it doesn't hurt to think about what you might enjoy doing. In fact, I think you're already doing that. Just a couple days ago you and your sister hauled me into your doctor's office to check my ears and blood pressure. And a couple days before that, you and your brother were talking about settling on the moon."

Serena grinned. "Maybe I will be a doctor someday. Or an astronaut. I don't know. But I can tell you what I don't want to be--an author. I don't like writing."

"That's okay, but who knows? That may change," said Dad. "Just remember that your career isn't the most important thing in life anyway." He pointed to the flame of the candle. "Someone once told me our lives are like a flame. Is a flame a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Well, it could be either one," said Serena. "It could light a fire to cook food or provide warmth--that would be good. But it could do really bad things too, like start a fire that burns down a house or injures someone."

Dad nodded. "Exactly. So, how is a person's life like a flame?"

Serena hesitated. "Because it could be used for either good or bad?"

"Yes," said Dad. "Life is a precious gift from God, but it's meant to be lived in relationship with Him. That's why we need to trust in Jesus. Even though Christians still make mistakes in life and do things that are wrong, Jesus forgives us and works through us to do good things. You don't need to know right now what you want to be when you grow up. Just know that, no matter what career you have, Jesus will use your life for good because you trust in Him."

-Mary Rose Pearson

How About You?
Do you know what you want to be when you grow up? You don't need to decide right now, though it's not too early to start thinking about it. What's really important isn't what you do but who you know. Do you know Jesus? Do you have a relationship with Him? If not, you can know Him as your Savior today. (To learn more, click the "Good News!" button in the right column of this page.) Then trust Him to guide your steps and use your life for good.

Today's Key Verse:
Your goodness and mercy will be with me all my life. (ERV) (Psalm 23:6)

Today's Key Thought:
Trust Jesus to use your life for good

Bible Reading: Jeremiah 29:12-13; 1 Peter 3:12

"Grandma, you're on mute. You have to tap the little microphone icon to turn your sound on," ten-year-old Samara instructed her grandmother over the video call. "I can see your mouth moving but I don't know what you're saying," Samara said in frustration. She was eager to tell her grandmother about her dance recital. "Let me call you back and see if that will turn your microphone on."

She ended the call then tapped the video call button again. After a few rings, her grandmother picked back up.

"Can you hear me now? I think it's working this time," Grandma said.

"Yes! I can hear you! Grandma, did you see the video Mom sent you of me dancing?"

"Oh yes, you were wonderful, honey! I can't believe how well you can dance!" Grandma and Samara talked for nearly an hour about her recital, and at the end Samara was so happy she could share her experience with her grandmother even though she didn't live nearby.

She tangoed into the kitchen and gave Mom her phone back. "I heard you had some trouble hearing Grandma at first. I bet she was frustrated when you couldn't hear her," Mom commented as she worked on her computer.

"Yeah, it was hard to talk when I couldn't even hear her!" Samara said as she nibbled on a snack.

"That reminds me of you the other night, when you didn't want to pray because you thought God couldn't hear you. But prayer works a lot better than a video call! God always hears you when you pray." Mom always found a way to make a lesson out of anything.

Samara thought about that, then said, "But what about everyone else praying? I bet He gets pretty busy listening to everybody's prayers."

"Because He is infinite, God has the ability to hear all their prayers and yours too." Mom clapped her laptop shut. "God is never too busy to listen to your prayers, Samara. He loves you--He sent Jesus to die for your sins so you could be His child forever! He's not far away from you like Grandma is--He's always with you. You can talk to Him anytime." Mom gave Samara a hug. "So, do you think you'll try talking to God again?"

Samara nodded. "Yeah, now I know God will always hear me!"

-Dylan Kraayenbrink

How About You?
Do you ever wonder if God hears your prayers? What if He's too busy doing something else, or what if you're not praying hard enough? God is never too busy for His children--He loves you and is always happy to hear from you. He is with you all the time and will always listen when you pray. You can talk to Him anytime and trust that He will hear you.

Today's Key Verse:
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer. (NIV) (1 Peter 3:12)

Today's Key Thought:
God always hears your prayers

Bible Reading: Genesis 3:1-6; James 4:7

During their vacation by the sea, Lena and her family visited an old lighthouse in the area. "What does a lighthouse do, Daddy?" asked Lena's little sister Arianna.

"It shines light far and wide, so ships out at sea are guided to a safe place to dock," Dad told her.

"Yes, but do you know what some people used to do long ago?" Mom pointed out toward the sea. "Can you see those rocks way over there? Well, sometimes men called wreckers would light their lamps and swing them over there near those rocks. The ships' captains would think that was a safe harbor, and then they'd end up on the rocks."

"That's horrible!" said Lena. "Why would anyone do that?"

"Well, after the ship crashed into the rocks, the wreckers would steal the cargo," said Mom. "Ships often carried gold in those days."

"I'm glad there are no wreckers now," said Arianna.

Lena nodded. She shuddered as she studied the sharp, cruel-looking rocks.

"Actually, we still need to watch out for wreckers," said Dad. "But I don't mean the ship-wrecking kind. Satan is a wrecker--a master wrecker. He makes evil things look attractive and appealing so we're tempted to go after them."

"Like what?" asked Lena.

"Well, how about greed?" said Dad. "While it's not wrong to be rich--in fact, the Bible says everything we have is a gift from God--Satan wants us to love money more than we love God. He wants us to be willing to do anything to get what we want, even if it means hurting others, so he may try to make having lots of money look really good to us. We need to remember that it's Jesus who satisfies our souls, not anything we own."

Mom nodded. "Pride is another thing Satan tries to disguise as good. I used to think it was good for me to try to do everything myself, but Jesus reminded me that He didn't save me from sin so I could do life on my own. I needed to depend on Him for help."

"Good example," said Dad. "Ships often got wrecked on those rocks out there, and Satan tries to lead us astray with his false lights. We need to keep our eyes on the one true light--Jesus--and trust Him to lead us to safety."

-Tanya Ferdinandusz

How About You?
Is Satan trying to make something bad look good to you? Remember that he is a life-wrecker. He wants to lure you away from God's truth and His path for your life. Don't let him fool you. Remember that you belong to Jesus and that He loves you and promises to help you. Let His light guide you, not the false lights of Satan.

Today's Key Verse:
Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. (CSB) (2 Corinthians 11:14)

Today's Key Thought:
Don't listen to Satan

Bible Reading: 2 Corinthians 13:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:15

Danar was silent as he rode home from his first pencak silat competition. He had been looking forward to the Indonesian martial arts competition and had even won third place, but now he found it hard to celebrate.

His father looked at him. "You've been awfully quiet, Danar," Ayah said. "What's the matter?"

Danar sighed, then blurted out, "I gave up my free time and rode my bike really far to go cheer Budi's soccer game last week, and Ucok's mathlete the week before. They both said they were coming today, but they didn't show up. And they didn't explain why either." Danar glanced at his phone, but there were no new messages.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Danar. It hurts when people don't show up for you."

Danar crossed his arms. "Well, I'm never going to show up for them again!"

Ayah frowned. "Danar, have you heard the saying 'An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind'?" Danar shook his head. "It means that trying to get back at people for the ways they hurt us doesn't help anyone, because everyone does hurtful things," Ayah said. "We all make mistakes and sin against God and one another. Each one of us would deserve revenge because everyone is guilty." Ayah turned to look at Danar. "If Jesus had followed the practice of an eye for an eye, do you think anyone would be saved?"

"No," Danar said. "We all deserve to be punished for our sins, but Jesus took the punishment for us. We learned a verse about that at church--'While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.'"

Ayah nodded. "And He tells us to forgive others when they hurt us."

"I know. I just don't understand why my friends didn't even bother to tell me they weren't coming." Danar looked dejected.

"Why don't you try to talk to them? Maybe something happened," said Ayah.

"All right." Just then, Danar's phone beeped. "Ayah, Budi just texted me, and Ucok is in the hospital! He got into a bicycle accident on his way home from the park. He was playing soccer with Budi--they must have forgotten about my competition." Danar looked at his father. "Can we go to the hospital now?"

"Sure thing." Ayah made a turn for the hospital.

-Ruth Setyadi

How About You?
Do you sometimes feel that people treat you badly? Do you wish you could get back at them? It may seem like the fair thing to do, but the Bible tells us not to seek revenge. Instead, we need to remember God's love for us and surrender our desire for revenge to Him. We're all guilty of sinning against God, but instead of punishing us for our wrongs, Jesus died for us. Trust Him to help you forgive others when they hurt you.

Today's Key Verse:
God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (NIV) (Romans 5:8)

Today's Key Thought:
Don't take revenge