Bible Reading: Luke 15:3-7

"Stryker! Where are you?" Zion tried to hold back the tears as he searched the barn for his beagle pup. Zion had made the mistake of opening the front door before he'd placed Stryker in his harness. Now Stryker was gone.

"Stryker, come here!" Zion looked in each of the open stalls, hoping to see that cute white snout and those curious brown eyes peek out through the hay.

"Did you find him?" Dad walked into the barn carrying a rain poncho and two flashlights.

"He's not in here, Dad." Zion wiped at his tears with his sleeve. "Where could he be? It's getting dark outside, and it's starting to rain."

Squatting down to Zion's height, Dad looked him in the eye. "I don't think Stryker's gone far, Zion. We've got a big farm, and he's a little pup. But don't worry. We'll keep looking until we find him."

Zion nodded, wiped his eyes once more, and followed Dad down the path toward the pond. The rain pelted his poncho, and the wind kept tugging his hood off his head, but Zion was determined not to go home without Stryker.

Two hours later, Zion and Dad found Stryker huddled beneath a thicket of pine trees at the far end of the cornfield. His coat was covered with mud, but his tail beat a steady rhythm on Zion's chest when he scooped him up in a hug.

"Come on, buddy." Dad took Stryker in his strong arms. "Let's get home so we can all get warm and dry."

"You know something, Dad," Zion said as he followed his dad home. "What we did tonight for Stryker is a lot like what God does for us."

"You think so?"

"Sure." Zion looked at the moon that was now peeking out from behind the clouds. "God loves us so much that He doesn't want us to be lost and without Him. Jesus came to find us and save us."

"That's right," said Dad.

As they reached their front porch, Zion smiled as he opened the door. "It feels really good to be loved that much, doesn't it, Dad?"

His dad smiled back. "It sure does."

-Vickie Price Taylor

How About You?
Do you ever feel lost or alone? God loves you, and He doesn't want you to be lost. He sent His Son, Jesus, to save you from sin and give you an eternal home with Him. He promises to always be there for you. You don't have to be lost and alone anymore. Trust in Jesus today. (To learn more, click the "Good News!" button in the right column of this page.)

Today's Key Verse:
The Son of Man [Jesus] has come to seek and to save the lost. (CSB) (Luke 19:10 )

Today's Key Thought:
Jesus came to find you

Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 13:4-7; Ephesians 4:2

"Your move, Tim," said Mom after she placed a wooden tile atop the precarious stack.

Timothy picked a tile from the bottom of the tower and carefully wiggled it out. The stack swayed for a second before tumbling over, sending blocks all over the table.

Mom began gathering the wooden pieces scattered across the table into a pile. "I got a call today from Adam's mom. She said Adam got in trouble today for fighting with a teacher. She told me your name came up once or twice. What happened?"

Timothy stooped down to grab a wooden tile beneath his chair. "I know Adam is my best friend, but he's been so moody lately. Today he blew up when Mr. Green took his comic book. I told Adam he should put it away before Mr. Green saw him goofing off, but he didn't listen. I think Mr. Green heard me, which is how he found out about the comic book in the first place. Adam was really mad at me."

"How about one last round before we call it a night?" Mom asked, stacking the wooden tiles into a tower on top of the table. "It sounds like Adam is going through a rough time. When I talked to his mom, she told me that her divorce was just finalized yesterday."

Timothy pulled a piece from the middle of the tower and moved it to the top. "I don't know what to do for him. I don't even know if he wants to be my friend anymore."

"It sounds like he needs a friend now more than ever," said Mom. "Adam's situation is a lot like this game." Mom picked up the piece that Timothy had just laid on top. "With everything he's going through, Adam probably feels like someone is taking tiles from his tower. But a good friend who's supportive and patient can put some stability back in his life." She slowly put the tile back in its hole.

"So you're saying I should be patient with Adam, even if he doesn't like me right now?" asked Timothy.

"It isn't just me who says it," Mom said. "God is always patient with us, especially when we don't deserve it. And He wants us to show love and patience to others."

-Josh Mosey

How About You?
Are you patient and kind with your friends, even when they aren't being very nice to you? Life can be hard, and sometimes it feels like someone is taking tiles from our towers. Those are the times when we need good friends the most. Jesus is that kind of friend--one who shows us patience and love when it seems like everything is tumbling down around us. Trust Him to help you be a good friend like Him.

Today's Key Verse:
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. (NKJV) (Proverbs 17:17)

Today's Key Thought:
Be patient with your friends

Bible Reading: Genesis 1:27; Psalm 139:13-16; Romans 5:6-8

"Good morning," Mrs. Fields said to her class at Potter Christian School. "Mason, can you remind everyone what special thing we're going to do today?"

Using his communication device, Mason answered, "We're going to Potter's Woods to pick wildflowers."

"That's right," said Mrs. Fields. "We'll leave after morning recess."

When the recess bell rang, Cody, a new member of the class, stayed behind while the other kids filed out of the classroom.

"Did you have a question, Cody?" Mrs. Fields asked.

Cody nodded. "How can Mason pick wildflowers if he can't walk or use his hands?"

"He can do lots of things, Cody. He has a special chair to help him go places and a special device to help him talk. He'll let us know if he needs our help."

"Okay. Since I can do everything by myself, I'll help Mason if he can't do something," Cody said.

"Thank you, Cody, that's very kind of you. But don't forget that even though you can do many things by yourself, everyone needs help sometimes. We all have different abilities because God made each of us special. Think about the flowers we're going to pick. Do you think they'll all be alike?"

Cody shook his head. "My sister's class had a field trip to the woods yesterday, and they found all kinds of different flowers."

"I'm sure they did," said Mrs. Fields. "Flowers don't all look the same, but they're all beautiful. That's true of people too. We're all beautiful in God's eyes. He loves us all so much that He sent His Son to do what none of us could do ourselves--Jesus died and rose again to save us from sin. We all have equal need of His help, yet He created each of us with special abilities so we could help one another in different ways."

"So Mason has special abilities too?" Cody asked.

Mrs. Fields nodded. "Cody, like most of the class, you can do some things Mason can't do, but as you get to know him, you'll be surprised to see all he is able to do--even some things you can't do." She smiled. "I'll tell you one thing he's very good at. He spreads the joy of Jesus with his cheerful and loving attitude."

-Beverly B. Papizan

How About You?
Do you sometimes need help doing certain things? Because we live in a broken world, we all struggle with different things in our lives, but Jesus did what none of us could do--He died and rose again to save us and make us whole. Because of Him, we can use the different abilities God gave us to point others to Jesus. God says you are wonderfully made. He created you in His own image and gave you special abilities that you can use to help others.

Today's Key Verse:
When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. (NLT) (Romans 5:6)

Today's Key Thought:
There is beauty and ability in everyone

Bible Reading: John 3:1-8; Romans 6:3-10

"Look at the wind!" exclaimed Clover as she stood at the window. "The trees are swaying back and forth, and some of the branches are breaking off."

"Wow! It's really blowing hard!" said Beau as he came into the room. "I've never seen so much wind!"

Dad joined them at the window. "You can't really see wind," he reminded them. "You can only see what it does."

"It's making that garbage can roll down the street," Clover remarked.

The three of them watched in silence for a few minutes, then Dad said, "Jesus compared the blowing of the wind to becoming a Christian. We can't actually see the wind, and we can't actually see Jesus coming into somebody's life."

"It's His Spirit that comes in, isn't it? And spirits are invisible," said Beau. He looked at Clover. "That's why you still look the same," he told her. "You still have freckles, just like before you trusted in Jesus at Bible camp last summer." Beau loved teasing his sister about her freckles.

Dad smiled. "We see what the wind does though, and we also see what Jesus does in a person's life. He changes that person. When someone becomes a Christian, they have a new desire to obey the Lord and show His love to others--and not do things that aren't pleasing to God."

Clover nodded. "I still do bad things sometimes, but I don't want to," she said. "When I know I've done something wrong, I ask Jesus to forgive me and trust Him to help me not do it anymore. Before I was saved, I didn't really care very much."

"Yeah," said Beau. "And you don't get mad anymore when I tease you about your freckles. That's no fun."

Clover grinned and made a face at him, then cringed as a rather large branch cracked and fell off a neighbor's tree. "I'm glad the wind doesn't always blow this hard."

"I am too," said Dad. "But I'm even more glad that Jesus is always in our hearts. Even though we can't see Him, we know He's there to help us live in a way that shows how He's changed us."

-Matilda H. Nordtvedt

How About You?
Are you different from the way you were before you became a Christian? Can others see the change Jesus has brought into your life? If you were saved at a very young age, you may wonder if you changed at all. God says you did, and He's continuously working to make you more like Jesus. Trust Him to help you grow in your obedience to Him and in your love for others.

Today's Key Verse:
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 changes you

Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:26-31; Galatians 6:9-10

"Why do we have to pick up Mr. Cook?" asked Brady. "The nursing home is a long way from the park."

"If we don't pick him up, he won't get to come to the church picnic," Dad answered as he drove. "Since we pick him up on the way to church each week, we can bring him to the picnic too. It's a small thing we can do for the Lord."

Brady thought about that. "It seems like a funny way to do something for God. I mean, God could take Mr. Cook to the picnic on a flying carpet if He wanted to. He doesn't really need our help, does He?"

Just then they arrived at the nursing home. Mr. Cook was waiting outside just like each Sunday when they picked him up for church. But today he had a small brown bag, which he waved in the air. "I remembered it was a picnic," he said. "I brought some lunch."

At the park, Mom spread their lunch on a picnic table. She had brought ham and cheese sandwiches, potato salad, carrots with dip, lemonade, watermelon, and chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Brady saw Mr. Cook open his bag at the end of the table and take out a bologna sandwich. Mom motioned for him to move closer to all the food. "Don't eat all by yourself," she told him. "Come on! Put your lunch with ours and we'll share. There's plenty to go around."

Mr. Cook grinned and scooted over. He carefully placed his sandwich next to the ham and cheese sandwiches. He might as well not have bothered with that, thought Brady. Who's going to eat it? They prayed and began to eat. To Brady's surprise, his little sister immediately reached for the bologna sandwich.

Dad leaned toward him. "Brady," he whispered, "we help God in much the same way Mr. Cook is helping us. God has all the power and all the resources, but He invites us to join Him in building His kingdom. He doesn't need our help, but He wants to bless us by allowing us to participate in the work He's doing. He will use whatever efforts we have to offer to work in people's lives and point them to the love of Jesus."

-Catherine Runyon

How About You?
Do you feel like God doesn't need your help? He's all-powerful, but He wants you to be a part of the work He's doing in the world. He'll use your small efforts to help more people know about Jesus and His love for them. The Bible tells how God used a boy to kill a giant and how one boy's lunch fed over five thousand people. Look around you and find ways you can be a helping hand for Jesus and show others His love.

Today's Key Verse:
God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty. (NKJV) (1 Corinthians 1:27)

Today's Key Thought:
You can serve God