Bible Reading: 1 Peter 5:8-10

Editor's note: This story's subject matter may not be suitable for young children.

Tayla watched her mother in the mirror as she clasped a necklace around Tayla's neck. They were getting ready to go to a funeral.

"Mom, you've been really quiet this morning," Tayla pointed out.

Mom smiled weakly. "Funerals are always difficult, but this one will be especially hard."

Tayla knew what her mother meant. She had been to only one funeral in her life, and it was for her great-grandmother. Today they were going to a funeral for Jessica, a girl from church. Nobody had told Tayla much about what happened to her--all Tayla knew was that Jessica had taken her own life.

"I just don't get it, Mom," said Tayla. "I thought Jessica was a Christian. How could she do something like this?" Tayla's eyes started filling with tears. She was friends with Jessica's younger sister Summer, and Jessica used to take the two of them out for ice cream when Tayla went over to their house. She seemed like a nice, normal teenager.

Turning Tayla around, Mom hugged her tightly. "Sometimes things happen that we don't understand, but nothing is ever out of God's hands," Mom assured her.

After the funeral service ended, Tayla hugged Summer goodbye and then climbed into the car with Mom. "Mom, is Jessica in heaven?" asked Tayla.

"I don't know, honey," said Mom. "If she truly trusted Jesus as her Savior, she's in heaven."

Tayla was still upset. "I just don't know why she did it."

"Sometimes even Christians listen to the wrong voices," said Mom. "The Bible says that the devil is like a lion, looking for those he can devour. He doesn't want us to believe God's promises--he wants us to believe his own lies, and that's always very, very dangerous." Mom squeezed Tayla's hand. "Always remember that God promises to be with you, Tayla, no matter what. Jesus died and rose again to save you from sin and death and to give you eternal life. Because of Him, you always have hope, even when things seem hopeless. Run to Him when you face pain and difficulties, and run away from Satan's lies."

–Emily Tenter

How About You?
Has Satan been telling you lies? The devil wants to hurt people by telling them God won't forgive them for things they've done or that there's no way out of a difficult situation they're facing. Don't believe it! Jesus died for our sins so we could have life, and He promises to be with us in everything we face. Stand firm in God's truth, and if you or someone you know is having trouble fighting Satan's lies, talk to a trusted adult immediately.

Today's Key Verse:
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (NIV) (John 10:10)

Today's Key Thought:
Run from Satan's lies

Bible Reading: Hebrews 5:12-14

"Harper sure drinks a lot of milk, doesn't she?" said Layla one day as she watched her baby sister. "You'd think she'd get tired of it."

"Maybe she does," replied Mom. "Shall I fix her a peanut butter sandwich or offer her an apple?"

"No!" Layla laughed at Mom's joke. "I just think milk all the time sounds boring, but I know Harper can't eat sandwiches or carrots or stuff like that. She isn't big enough yet. She doesn't have any teeth to chew with."

"You're absolutely right." Mom smiled. "But before too long she'll be able to have soft foods, like cereal and mashed bananas."

"But it'll be a long time before she can have hamburgers, won't it?" asked Layla.

"Yes, it will," said Mom. "She's got a lot of growing to do before she'll be big enough for that."

Dad held up his roast beef sandwich. "Well, I'm glad I'm big enough to have this," he said with a grin. "But you know what, Layla? Just like human babies slowly grow big enough to eat different things, baby Christians do too."

"Baby Christians?" asked Layla, looking puzzled.

Dad nodded. "When a person first trusts Jesus as their Savior, they're like an infant. Older Christians have to help them understand the milk of God's Word--the easiest verses and stories. Then, as a new Christian grows spiritually, they need the meat of God's Word--the deeper truths of Scripture that are harder to understand."

Layla thought for a moment. "What stage do you think I'm at?" she asked. "I don't think I'm at the milk stage anymore, but I'm probably not quite ready to start chewing the meat of the Bible either. I'm probably at the mashed banana stage, and that sounds pretty gross!" Layla wrinkled her nose.

Dad laughed. "It's not gross at all--no matter what stage we're at, we need the spiritual nourishment of God's Word. As you learn more about Jesus and His promises in the Bible, the Holy Spirit will use the truth of God's Word to feed you spiritually and help you grow. So keep digging into God's Word and growing in the Lord."

–Cathy L. Garnaat

How About You?
Do you listen to Bible stories and look for lessons they're teaching? Are you ready to listen to sermons at church and learn from them? Do you read God's Word for yourself? Don't get discouraged when you don't understand everything. As you read and listen to the truth of God's Word, the Holy Spirit will help you understand more and more as you grow in your relationship with Jesus.

Today's Key Verse:
Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (NKJV) (2 Peter 3:18)

Today's Key Thought:
Grow in the knowledge of God

Bible Reading: Colossians 1:9-14; Hebrews 12:1-2

Kyla sank down onto the bed, exhausted and upset. "I can't do it."

"Patience," her mom said quietly. "You'll get there eventually."

Kyle shook her head. "I'm not going to," she said, staring over at the door to her hospital room. "I'm not going to be able to walk, and then I'm not going to be able to leave here. I'll be here forever."

"You won't be here forever."

The next day, Kyla worked with a therapist again. This time, she walked even less than she had the day before and then was too tired to go on. Tears filled her eyes as she was helped back to her bed.

"Sweetheart…" Mom pulled her chair close to the bed. "You just need to be patient and keep trying."

Kyla shook her head. "I prayed, Mom. I prayed that God would help me do it this time."

"I'm sorry that things didn't work out the way you wanted," Mom said. "I prayed that you would stay safe, yet you're in a hospital bed. I prayed that you would recover quickly, but things are going slowly." She sighed. "I think God is using this situation to work on us. On both of us."

Kyla frowned. "Why?"

"Maybe to teach us patience," Mom said. "And to help us remember that Jesus is with us and is still at work even when bad things happen." She reached over and ran her fingers through Kyla's hair. "I remember when you were first learning to walk--my baby trying to grow up. You got so frustrated when you fell. And I got frustrated too. I wanted you to get better balance so I wouldn't have to worry about you falling and hurting yourself. It took a lot of tries, but you got better, and I learned to be patient. Eventually, you got it figured out. I believe you'll do the same this time around."

"I wish I could just pray and then be done. Be out of here," Kyla said.

"I know," Mom said. "But healing takes time. I think we need to keep praying and trust Jesus to help us be patient. He endured death on a cross to give us eternal life, and He'll help us endure every trial we go through."

–Emily Acker

How About You?
Have you ever been in a situation where you felt like God was trying to teach you patience? It can be hard to endure difficult things that happen in life, but Jesus promises to help us. He is always at work, even when things aren't going well, and He can use those situations to do good things. Trust Him to be with you in the trials you face in life and to endure them with patience.

Today's Key Verse:
Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. (NIV) (Psalm 27:14)

Today's Key Thought:
Endure trials with patience

Bible Reading: John 10:1-10

"Hey, Taj," whispered Caleb after the two boys had gone to bed. "I forgot the lures Dad gave me to bring along tomorrow. I left them in my room." The boys were going on a fishing trip with their church group early the next morning, and Caleb was spending the night at Taj's, who lived a few houses down from him.

"Let's run over to your house and get them," said Taj.

"It's too late," replied Caleb. "Everybody will be sleeping."

"We'll just sneak in so we don't wake anybody up," said Taj. "If we don't do it now, we might forget in the morning." After thinking it over, Caleb agreed.

The boys quietly left the house and hurried to Caleb's home. As expected, the house was dark. "I'll pry the screen off my bedroom window," Caleb whispered. "That way we won't wake anyone up."

Caleb carefully removed the screen and started climbing in as quietly as he could. He had one foot through the window when a voice yelled, "Stop!"

Caleb froze as he recognized the figure of his father towering in the shadows, holding a baseball bat. "It's me, Dad!" Caleb called out. "Me and Taj!"

Dad flicked on the light. "Caleb? Taj? What's going on here? Why are you sneaking in through the window?" Caleb gulped. He knew he and Taj had a lot to explain.

The next day, the boys told their church group leader what had happened. "My dad thought we were burglars," said Caleb. "He was pretty upset. I'm definitely never doing that again."

"You boys trying to climb in through the window instead of using the door reminds me of our lesson last week," said Mr. Bates. "Do you remember what name we learned for Jesus?"

"Um…oh, I know," said Taj. "He's called the door because it's only through Him that anyone can enter heaven."

"Right," said Mr. Bates. "You couldn't sneak into your house, Caleb, just like we could never sneak into heaven. It would be impossible, and we've done nothing to deserve spending eternity with God. But Jesus offers us the incredible gift of salvation--He died on the cross so our sins could be forgiven and we could become God's children. He's the door, the only way we can enter into eternal life."

–Jan L. Hansen

How About You?
Are you trying to sneak into heaven--to get there without trusting in Jesus? You can't do it. On earth, a person might be able to sneak into a house and get away with it. But the only way to be saved and enter God's eternal kingdom is through the Door--Jesus Christ. Trust in Him today! (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:
I [Jesus] am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved. (NKJV) (John 10:9)

Today's Key Thought:
Jesus is the door to eternal life

Bible Reading: James 3:13-18

"Are we going to invite Bea to our party Friday night?" Valentina asked her friend Jane as they sat on Valentina's bed, going over their party plans.

"No way! We don't want the teacher's pet at our party." Jane looked at the list. "Looks like we're inviting all the girls in our class except Bea."

Valentina put a finger to her lips. "If my parents find out, we'll have to invite Bea too. Keep it quiet, will you?" Valentina slipped the list into her desk drawer, and the girls went down to the kitchen.

Valentina's dad greeted them with a puppy in his arms. "Look what I've got."

"A puppy!" Valentina took the puppy and cuddled him under her chin. "Can we keep him? I'll take care of him--I'll teach him good doggie manners!" Then she thought of their other dog. "Has Roscoe seen him?"

Dad smiled. "No, Roscoe hasn't seen him yet, but yes, we can keep him--if Roscoe will let us, that is. Let's go see."

When they opened the porch door to go out, a collie came bounding across the yard. Suddenly he stopped and growled deeply. "Come on, Roscoe. Don't act like that," said Valentina. "This puppy wants to be your friend." The puppy whined, but Roscoe growled again. "Stop it, Roscoe!" Valentina frowned. "Why is he being so mean, Dad?"

"Because he's jealous. Roscoe doesn't want you to have another pet."

As the girls looked at each other, they both suddenly realized they had been acting just like Roscoe because they were jealous of Bea. We need to replace jealousy with love, Valentina thought, remembering a lesson she'd recently heard at church. Jesus loves us so much He gave His own life for us, and because of that, we can love others instead of being jealous of them.

"I think the two dogs can learn to be friends," said Dad. "But for now, you'd better take the puppy inside."

The girls took the puppy to Valentina's room. "I think I'll name him Shadow," said Valentina. "Here, hold him for me a minute." She handed the puppy to Jane, then pulled out the list for the party and added Bea's name. "Guess what, Shadow?" she said, patting the dog's head. "On Friday you're gonna meet all the girls in our class!"

–Barbara J. Westberg

How About You?
Have you let jealousy creep into your life? Maybe you envy someone who always has the right answers in class or a brother or sister who gets a lot of your parents' attention. If you're jealous of someone, ask God to help you see all the good things He's put in your life. Remember that Jesus died for you, and trust Him to help you replace jealousy with love. Then do something nice for that person.

Today's Key Verse:
Where there is jealousy and selfishness, there will be confusion and every kind of evil. (ERV) (James 3:16)

Today's Key Thought:
Don't be jealous