Bible Reading: Romans 3:21-24

"Mom, where's Rudy?" asked Joel as he came in after school, looking for his dog. "She's not in the yard."

Mom sighed heavily. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, Joel, but after lunch I found the gate open, and Rudy was gone. I drove all around the neighborhood, but I couldn't find her." Joel groaned and covered his eyes, and Mom squeezed his shoulder. "Rudy's name and owner information are on her chip and collar tag," she said. "Maybe someone will find her and call us."

Time moved slowly that evening, and Joel couldn't concentrate on his homework. He kept waiting for the phone to ring. He was upstairs when a call finally came. Mom's voice sounded excited, and Joel bounded down the stairs, two at a time. "Did someone find Rudy?" he asked anxiously.

"Yes!" Mom said as she picked up her purse and keys. "She's at the animal control center." As they drove to the center, Mom explained what had happened. "Somebody saw Rudy running around loose and called animal control. They sent a truck to pick her up and take her to the center, so now we have to pay the required fee to get her back."

Joel frowned. "We have to pay money?" Mom nodded. "But she belongs to us!" said Joel. "We'd be buying our own dog back."

Mom smiled at Joel's look of disbelief. "We have to redeem her," she told him. "The word redeem means to buy back, and buying our own dog back is a good picture of what God did for us. He made us, so in that sense we belong to Him. But our sin separated us from God, so He had to redeem us--to buy us back by paying for all the wrong things we've done."

Joel nodded. "I learned a verse about that. God didn't redeem us with money. He redeemed us with the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ."

"Yes," said Mom. "Because Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sin, we can be forgiven and truly belong to God."

Soon they arrived at the animal control center, picked up Rudy, and were on their way home. Rudy was so excited she could hardly sit still. "Rudy's glad to be redeemed," Joel said as he patted Rudy's head. "And so am I!"

–Pauline Youd

How About You?
Have you been redeemed? Jesus paid a big redemption fee--His own precious blood--so your sins could be forgiven and you could belong to Him. If you've never trusted Him as your Savior, do it today and He will redeem you. (To learn more, click the "Good News!" button in the right column of this page or go to www.keysforkids.org/goodnews.)

Today's Key Verse:
You were not redeemed with…silver or gold…but with the precious blood of Christ. (NKJV) (1 Peter 1:18-19)

Today's Key Thought:
Jesus died to redeem you

Bible Reading: 2 Corinthians 2:14-17

"Oh no!" exclaimed Mom when she heard a wail from upstairs.

"I bet Katelyn broke something again," said Timothy. "Kate!" Mom called. "What's the problem?" There was no reply, so Mom headed up the stairs with Timothy following close behind. As they reached the top step, Katelyn appeared at Mom's bedroom door.

Timothy wrinkled his nose. "What's that smell?" he asked.

Katelyn's eyes filled with tears. "I was dusting your room like you asked me to, Mom. When I was moving things on the dresser, I accidentally knocked over your perfume--that bottle Aunt Carol gave you. It didn't break, but I guess it wasn't shut tight, and some spilled out. I'm sorry, Mom! I didn't mean to do it."

"Don't worry," said Mom gently. "It was an accident."

"Ugh!" said Timothy, holding his nose. "Why does it smell so bad?

"It doesn't smell bad!" said Katelyn. "It smells good--it's just a bit stronger than it's supposed to be because I spilled it."

Timothy made a gagging sound and pretended to fall to the floor.

Katelyn grinned at her brother. "In my class at church last week, my teacher said Christians should always give off a nice scent--and that includes you, Timothy!"

Timothy looked horrified. "There's no way I'm letting myself smell like that!"

Mom laughed. "I don't think Katelyn's teacher was talking about perfume, Timothy. She was talking about the fragrance of Christ. Right, Katelyn?"

Timothy looked puzzled, but Katelyn nodded. "She said Christians fill the world with the good news of Jesus. She said that's like a sweet-smelling fragrance."

"So, how do we do that--without smelling like this," Timothy asked, pointing toward the spilled perfume.

"When we're helpful, kind to others, forgiving, patient--in other words, when we rely on Jesus to help us treat others with the same kind of love He has shown us--we become channels of His love to those around us," Mom explained. "The Bible refers to that as the fragrance of Christ--and that's a scent both guys and girls should spread around. Does that make sense?"

Timothy grinned at his mom. "Yeah, that does make sense--but no one should be making scents like this perfume!" he said as he covered his nose and mouth. "I'd much rather give off the fragrance of Christ."

–Tanya Ferdinandusz

How About You?
What kind of scent are you spreading around? Are you filling your home, school, and neighborhood with the fragrance of Christ by what you do and say? It's not always easy to love others the way Jesus does, but He promises to work through you so others will be drawn to the sweet-smelling fragrance of His love in your life. Trust Him to help you show others who He is through your words and actions.

Today's Key Verse:
For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved. (NKJV) (2 Corinthians 2:15)

Today's Key Thought:
Spread the fragrance of Christ

Bible Reading: John 10:1-5, 14, 27-30

"Brielle, I have a surprise to show you," announced Dad one morning. "Remember the bird's nest I showed you out here?" Dad pointed to a large plant that hung outside the window. "The five eggs in it have all hatched."

Brielle's eyes grew wide as her father lifted her onto a chair so she could peek into the nest. "Where are the baby birds? I don't see anything but a pile of fuzz and twigs in there."

"Watch," said Dad as he cracked open the window. He made clicking noises with his tongue, and suddenly five tiny heads popped up out of the fuzz.

"Oh, I see them!" squealed Brielle. "They have their eyes closed." Gradually the heads sank back into the fuzz. "Do it again, Dad," begged Brielle. So Dad made the clicking noise again, and the five heads popped back up.

Brielle and Dad visited the birds every day. Soon their eyes opened, and they got new, larger feathers. But they eventually stopped responding to Dad's clicking noise. "They know I'm just fooling them and that I'm not really one of their parents coming to bring them dinner," Dad told her when she asked him about it. Then he added, "We're kind of like those baby birds. We have to learn whose voice is whose."

"But I know when it's you telling me something, or when it's Mom," Brielle assured him. "Or Grandma or Grandpa, or Mrs. Jones, or whoever."

"Yes, but we have to be able to identify God's voice too," Dad said.

"How do we do that?" asked Brielle.

"By learning about God from the Bible. He will never go against what He says there. The more we learn about who God is, the easier it becomes to recognize His voice."

Brielle thought for a moment. "Well, I know God loves people because He sent Jesus to die for us, so He will always tell us to love people too."

"It sounds like you're learning to recognize God's voice already," said Dad with a smile. "Other voices we hear might tell us to do whatever we want, but God's voice reminds us that only Jesus can satisfy our hearts and fill our lives with hope, joy, and peace. He's the one who feeds our souls with His love, and we need to learn to recognize His voice and do what He says."

–Pauline Youd

How About You?
Do you recognize God's voice when He speaks to you? In today's Bible reading, Jesus refers to Himself as the good shepherd and those who know Him as His sheep. Sheep recognize their shepherd's voice, and as you grow in your relationship with Jesus, you'll learn more about Him and what His voice sounds like. Get to know Him better by reading and studying the Bible, and listen to what He says.

Today's Key Verse:
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. (NKJV) (John 10:27)

Today's Key Thought:
Learn to recognize God's voice

Bible Reading: Ephesians 2:1-10

"Mom! Mom!" called Wyatt one morning. "Look what happened!" He clutched a glass jar with holes punched in the lid and some twigs and leaves on the inside.

Mom and Emily, Wyatt's little sister, went to see. Mom took the jar, and they peered through the glass. "Oh, cool!" said Mom.

"Cool?" wailed Emily. "How can you say that? Wriggly's dead! He's all closed up in that dead piece of skin. He's not even moving!"

"It's okay, honey," said Mom. "He's just beginning the next phase of his life. I know you liked Wriggly as a caterpillar, but this is all part of God's plan for caterpillars. You knew this would happen. We talked about it, remember?"

"Yeah, Emily," said Wyatt. "When the time is right, caterpillars like Wriggly weave a chrysalis around themselves, and then they change."

"Oh, right," said Emily. "I forgot."

"The chrysalis is what you see around Wriggly now," said Mom. "In a way, he dies as a caterpillar while he's in the chrysalis. But in a few weeks, you'll get to see him as a new creature. He won't be a caterpillar anymore--he'll be a butterfly." Mom smiled. "It reminds me of when a person becomes a Christian," she added. "We're spiritually dead when we're born into this world. But when we place our faith in Jesus, we become part of God's family, and we're changed. We become alive in Him. Wriggly will be more beautiful when he leaves that chrysalis, and our new life in Christ is much more beautiful and free than the old one was."

Wyatt grinned. "And we didn't even have to spin a chrysalis!"

Mom laughed. "Nope--God does the work in us. He gives us the Holy Spirit, who transforms us and makes us new."

"When Wriggly comes out of the chrysalis, all new and beautiful, do you think I should give him a new name?" asked Wyatt.

"That might be a good idea," said Mom with a smile. "I don't think I've ever seen a wriggly butterfly!"

–Lyndel F. Walker

How About You?
Did you know that without Jesus, you're spiritually dead? But the good news is that you can be alive! Jesus gives new life to those who trust Him as their Savior. When you trust in Him, He gives you eternal life that starts that very moment! God says you actually become a new person when Jesus gives you life through the Holy Spirit. Trust in Jesus today, and He will give you a new, beautiful life. (To learn more, click the "Good News!" button in the right column of this page or go to www.keysforkids.org/goodnews.)

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 gives new life

Bible Reading: Matthew 4:18-22

Ruben sighed. He wished a fish would take the bait on his hook. At last the bobber began to jiggle. "I've finally got

a bite!" Ruben jerked the pole quickly, but there was no fish, and most of the bait was gone.

"That must be the big one that got away," Grandpa said with a chuckle as he handed Ruben a fresh worm to put on the hook. "Don't give up. Try again."

A little later, Ruben pulled up his line again. "I got one this time!" He took a fish off the hook and put it in the pail of water.

"You sure did!" said Grandpa. "Let's see how many more we can catch."

After Ruben and Grandpa caught several more fish, Grandpa put the oars in place and rowed for shore. "Jesus talked to His disciples about fishing," Grandpa said as he pulled on the oars. "Some of them fished for a living, so they understood fish talk. Do you remember what Jesus said they should do?"

"He told them to fish for people." Ruben grinned. "But how do you do that, Grandpa? People don't eat worms."

Grandpa laughed. "That's true. So you need to offer them a different kind of food--spiritual food. You offer them the Bread of Life. That's what Jesus called Himself, remember? He's the only one who can satisfy our souls and give us true life."

Ruben thought about that for a moment. "People don't always bite though."

"No, they don't," said Grandpa. "Some don't want to hear about Jesus at all. Others are like fish that just nibble--they're curious at first, but lose interest after a while. But…" Grandpa's eyes sparkled like the water around the boat. "Other people are like the fish we caught. They want to know all they can and eventually decide to trust Jesus as their Savior." He pointed to the fish in the bucket. "We kept on fishing even though they weren't biting at first, right? And it paid off. We need to keep fishing for people too."

Ruben grinned as he admired the fish they had caught. "So even when it seems like they're not biting, we have to keep telling people about Jesus."

–Carolyn E. Yost

How About You?
Do you fish for people? Do you share your faith and tell others about Jesus and how much He loves them? It can be frustrating when people don't seem to want to listen, but don't give up. Let others know what He's doing in your life--maybe by mentioning a prayer that was answered or a Bible verse that helped you during a rough time. Most importantly, keep praying for those who don't know Jesus and showing them His love.

Today's Key Verse:
"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will send you out to fish for people." (NIV) (Matthew 4:19)

Today's Key Thought:
Fish for people