Bible Reading: Luke 15:11-32

Ayden found his little brother Felix in the kitchen, standing in a mess of raw eggs.

"What happened?" asked Ayden.

Felix shrugged. "I wanted to see what would happen if I dropped a carton of eggs."

"You're in trouble."

Felix hung his head. "I know."

Mom would be down any minute. Ayden thought about helping Felix clean, but he didn't want Mom to think he was involved. "You'd better clean up before Mom sees."

Felix started cleaning. Ayden slipped into the other room. After a few minutes, Mom walked into the kitchen and gasped. Ayden couldn't help but listen.

"Felix, what's going on?" Mom asked.

"I dropped a carton of eggs. On purpose." At least Felix was honest. He sniffled. "I'm really sorry, Mom. I know I shouldn't have."

All was quiet. Then Mom said, "I forgive you."

Ayden peeked around the corner. Mom was on her hands and knees, helping Felix clean! This couldn't be happening. It wasn't fair.

Ayden stormed into the kitchen. "Why isn't Felix in trouble?" He avoided Felix's gaze. "I'm the one who always does what I'm supposed to. Why don't I ever get the attention?"

Mom gestured for Ayden to join them. He dragged his feet as he walked over. "I love both of you," Mom said. "Always. Whether you mess up or not." She kissed Ayden on the forehead, then Felix. "Felix was honest with me, and we can celebrate that. Just like we can celebrate that no one will dump eggs on my floor again. Right?"

Felix blushed. "Right."

A story from church came to Ayden's mind--the prodigal son. The younger son went off and made a mess of things, but when he came home, his father celebrated. The older son was angry his father hadn't celebrated him, since he'd been around all along. The older son had missed the point.

Ayden didn't want to miss the point. Mom loved him, and she loved Felix. And God also loved both of them. Jesus died for their wrongs so they could be God's children, and He would always love and forgive them, no matter what.

Ayden hugged Mom. "Can I help?"

Felix grinned. "Yes, please!"

Ayden grabbed a paper towel, and they got to work.

–Becca Wierwille

How About You?
Have you ever felt like Ayden--upset someone else has been forgiven when you've been doing the right thing all along? We don't have to worry about others receiving more love or forgiveness than us. We all mess up--we all sin by doing wrong things. But God loves us, no matter what. He offers His forgiveness to each of us, and He always celebrates when lost sinners are found.

Today's Key Verse:
"My son," the father said, "you are always with me, and everything I have is yours." (NIV) (Luke 15:31)

Today's Key Thought:
Trust that you are loved

Bible Reading: Psalm 19:7-11

"Hey, Mom, what are you doing?" asked Londyn as she and her mother stood in the linen aisle at the store.

Mom held a cloth napkin up toward the light. "These napkins have some flaws in them, so they cost less than regular ones. When I hold them up to the light, I can see what's wrong and whether or not it's a serious problem."

"How can you tell?" Londyn wanted to know.

"With the light shining through the material, I can see if there's a weak spot." Mom pointed to one of the flaws. "Most of these aren't bad, and I think I'll buy some."

After family devotions that evening, Londyn showed her dad the new napkins. "Light is very helpful," Dad said as Londyn held a napkin up to the light and pointed out a small flaw. He grinned. "Does this remind you of anything from our devotions tonight?"

"Actually, yeah!" said Londyn. "The verse you read said that God's Word is a lamp to our feet."

Dad nodded. "And a light to our path. When we examine our actions in the light of His Word, the flaws in our lives show up."

"Flaws?" asked Londyn. "Like what?"

"Well, remember when you were angry with Vera and wanted to get even with her?" asked Mom. "We looked up Bible verses that gave light on the subject, and you were able to see that trying to get even with her was wrong."

Londyn nodded. "The verses said to repay evil with good. At first I didn't want to do that, but I trusted God to help me, and I'm so glad I did. Vera is one of my best friends now."

"That's great," said Dad. "Sometimes there may be parts of our lives that we'd rather not hold up to the light of God's Word because we're afraid we'll have to change what we're doing. We forget that hanging on to our sinful ways is hurtful to both us and others. That's why the Holy Spirit speaks to us through the Bible and uses it to shine light on what we're doing wrong--so we can confess our sin and trust Him to help us change our behavior."

"Right," said Mom. "Then we'll be able to experience more joy and peace in our lives."

–Lyndel F. Walker

How About You?
Are you willing to let the light of God's Word show any flaws in your life? Pay careful attention when you read the Bible or hear it explained by teachers or parents. Ask God to shine its truth on your life and show you anything that needs to change. When you discover flaws in your life, confess them to Him and accept His forgiveness. Then trust Him to help you correct your wrongs and show His love through your actions.

Today's Key Verse:
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (NKJV) (Psalm 119:105)

Today's Key Thought:
Walk in God's light

Bible Reading: Matthew 6:19-21

Cecilia molded a huge sand castle on the beach, trying to make it like the castles she saw in movies. She made soaring towers and dug a deep moat all around it. Then she noticed that the ocean's waves were coming closer and closer. "Help, Dad! The water's going to wash away my castle!"

Dad shook his head. "It's no use. The tide is coming in, and the waves will come a lot higher before they go back down."

Cecilia didn't want to believe that. She dug a wide trench all around her castle and built a sand barrier to protect it. But water soon crashed over the barrier and filled the trench. The waves splashed against the castle, pulling it apart with watery fingers. "It took me a long time to build that," said Cecilia, "and now it's gone!"

"Well, just be glad it's only sand," said her sister, Ember. "Sometimes people lose real houses in fires and storms, don't they, Dad?"

Dad nodded. "When I was young, the house I lived in with my parents was badly damaged in a storm, and I lost a lot of my personal possessions. It was very hard, but it also helped me learn an important truth."

"What truth?" asked Cecilia.

"That all earthly possessions are a little like that sand castle," Dad said. "They won't last. I realized there's something much more important than earthly things, and anyone who has it will never lose it. Do you know what it is I'm talking about?"

"I know," said Ember. "It's Jesus, isn't it?"

"Yep!" Dad said. "He saves us and gives us eternal life, and that gift will last forever. Instead of focusing so much on earthly treasures, we should store up treasure in heaven."

"How do we do that?" asked Ember.

"Well," said Dad, "the most important thing is to trust Jesus as our Savior--He's the only one who can save us and give us eternal life. Then, as He works in our hearts and teaches us to live as children of God, we'll start to care more about what He wants than what we or other people want. The things we do to serve Him--and the things we give up to do it--will build us treasure in heaven."

–Daryl B. Knauer

How About You?
Where are you storing your treasure--on earth or in heaven? It's easy to chase after all the things this world can offer you, but they don't last--you can't take them with you when you die. But Jesus offers us eternal life with Him, and that treasure lasts forever! Build true treasure by trusting in Him and sharing His love with others. (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:
Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven. (CSB) (Matthew 6:20)

Today's Key Thought:
Build treasure that lasts

Bible Reading: Psalm 119:1-8; Galatians 5:13-18

"Hey, August," Dad said at dinner. "Remember that home run you hit in the baseball game today?"

"Of course!" August grinned. "I practically blasted that ball right out of the park!"

"It was quite a hit, all right," said Dad. "When you reached third base, it looked like you would have just enough time to beat the ball to home plate, and Coach Tim motioned for you to keep going. I wondered if you would slow down and look around to see where the ball was and then decide for yourself whether to go on or stay at third."

"I wanted to look, but Coach Tim is always telling us we have to trust him and just follow his directions, so I ran for it!"

"And it's a good thing you did. Taking time to look around would have cost you a run," said Dad. "Now--who would like to compare that to living the Christian life?"

August and Ryker looked at each other. "It's like you said before," August answered. "We need to listen to God."

Dad smiled. "Right, but this time it goes a little farther. Sometimes there's something we know God wants us to do, but we hesitate. We may feel the Holy Spirit urging us to do something at a particular moment, like show someone kindness or speak up about something that's wrong, but we don't trust Him enough to immediately obey Him. We want to wait and decide for ourselves whether or not to do it."

"But if August had done that in the game today, he wouldn't have made it home," Ryker pointed out.

"Right," said Dad. "And if we don't obey God right away, by the time we make the decision, we may have missed the Lord's timing. We need to obey God as soon as we know He wants us to do something. Even though it may feel hard or scary, we have the Holy Spirit in us to give us strength so that we can display His goodness and love in everything we do."

"So is God telling you to use my home run as another example in your Sunday school class tomorrow?" asked August.

Dad thought about it a moment. "You know, I think He is!" He smiled. "Maybe He'll use it to show someone else how important it is to trust and follow Jesus."

–Carolyn Gaston

How About You?
Are there times when you know the Lord wants you to do something but you hesitate to obey? Perhaps you know He wants you to speak to someone about Jesus, be kind to a new student, or help someone with a task. When you know He's prompting you to do something, don't hesitate. Obey Him immediately so you can point others to His goodness and love.

Today's Key Verse:
I am doing what the Father told Me to do so the world may know I love the Father. (NLV) (John 14:31)

Today's Key Thought:
Obey God immediately

Bible Reading: Proverbs 2:1-9; John 14:26

"How did you like our game today, Dad?" asked August when he and Ryker got in the car after their baseball game.

"It was great!" said Dad. "Do you mind if I use you guys for an example in my Sunday school class tomorrow? Our lesson is about our Christian walk with Jesus, and you gave me some good examples. Can you boys figure out what they are?"

Ryker and August looked at each other and shrugged. "Umm…because we were on the winning team?" August guessed.

"Good thought!" said Dad. "With Jesus, you're on the winning team too. He defeated sin and death when He died on the cross and rose again. But I had some other things in mind. One of them was something Ryker did."

Ryker grinned. "Something good, I hope?"

"Yes, something good. I noticed that while you were waiting for your turn at bat in the sixth inning, some boys in the bleachers were calling out to you just as your coach came up to say something."

"Yeah. Those guys are on my soccer team at school, and they wanted me to come over to the fence and talk to them," Ryker explained.

"Well, I'm glad you didn't let them distract you and miss what your coach wanted to tell you," said Dad. "It's important to listen to him."

"Right," said Ryker. "Coach Tim always tells us that too. But why did that remind you of Christians? I don't get it."

"That's the way we need to listen to God," Dad explained. "He talks to us through His Word, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit helps us understand what it says and how we should apply it to our lives. Sometimes we don't pay attention to Him because we're so busy doing our own thing. Other times we might be distracted by what other people are saying or wanting us to do."

"So if we're so easily distracted, how can we be sure to listen to Him?" asked August.

"I think I know!" said Ryker. "By taking time to read the Bible and pray?"

Dad nodded. "That's one way to listen to God's voice. He also speaks to us through His church--His body of believers. As we worship and learn about God together and share our struggles with one another, the Holy Spirit speaks to us and guides us in His truth and love."

–Carolyn Gaston

How About You?
Do you listen to the Lord? He speaks to you through His Word and teaches you its truth through other Christians such as parents, pastors, and teachers. Be alert to what God is saying. When it's different from what your friends or other people tell you, be ready to say no to them and yes to God. Listen to Him and trust Him to guide you in your walk with Jesus.

Today's Key Verse:
We must obey God rather than people. (CSB) (Acts 5:29)

Today's Key Thought:
Listen to God