“If God gives everybody what they deserve, I’m in trouble,” says Caleb, 9. Aren’t we all! Romans 2:6-7 says that God “will render to each one according to his deeds: eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality.” That sounds scary at first. Who can say […]

“If I messed up like Peter, I’d probably hide under my bed and hope Jesus didn’t notice,” says Ella, 10. “Or maybe I’d bring him cookies first. Then, I would apologize.” That might have been tempting for Peter, too. After all, he had denied knowing Jesus three times on the very night Jesus was arrested. […]

“If Jesus made me breakfast, I’d hope for chocolate chip pancakes,” says Ella, 9. “And maybe a side of heavenly bacon.” It’s a fun thought, but what Jesus served on the shore of the Sea of Galilee after His resurrection wasn’t sweet or crispy. It was bread and fish. But what makes this meal amazing […]

“Jesus is the only way to heaven because he is the only Messiah and the only true king,” says Claribel, 10. At the time of Jesus’ birth, Caesar Augustus ruled the Roman world. He was considered divine during his lifetime and was called the Son of God. Before Rome ruled the world, a Greek named […]

“Be a peace maker and not a mean maker,” says Kaira, 10. Words that come too quickly out of our mouths are the main way most people become “mean makers.” “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit,” (Proverbs 18:21). The words we speak […]

“Being spiritually blind doesn’t mean that you can’t see,” says Sophia, 10. “It means that you don’t believe in God.” When Jesus gave sight to a man born blind, it started a debate among Jerusalem’s religious establishment. After cross-examining the healed man and his parents, religious leaders couldn’t deny the miracle. Because Jesus healed the […]

“Some people are troubled by the things in the Bible they can’t understand,” said Mark Twain. “The things that trouble me are the things I can understand.” This was the case when the religious leaders heard Jesus teach in Jerusalem. Jesus’ teaching threatened their religious tradition, which caused them to plot his murder. Jesus told […]

“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you,” wrote Lewis Smedes. I’ll never forget the video I saw of a session where a counselor urged a woman to forgive her mother. With great effort, the woman tried several times to utter words of forgiveness. Her entire face and […]

“Smile at me,” says Sofia, 5. I wonder how many of us can imagine God smiling at all? To imagine God smiling requires that little five-letter word called “grace.” Most of us know instinctively that we fall far short of the kind of righteousness needed to cause God to smile. When we think of our […]

“If you had a bad day and had a timeout, God would forgive you,” says Hayes, 6. Hayes, you’re thinking like me. You need a lot of grace for life’s truth timeouts. In Jesus, we see the perfect balance of grace and truth. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld […]