Read: John 3:16; Colossians 1:13-14

As Jana sat at the dining room table doing her homework, she looked out the window and saw a beautiful butterfly. It was flying from flower to flower, getting nectar. Jana loved how gracefully the butterfly floated through the air and then landed on a flower for some nectar.

“How’s your homework coming?” Mom called from the kitchen.

“It’s coming!” Jana replied. She looked away from the window long enough to get another math problem done. When she looked back up—“Oh no!” Jana ran out the door. “Try to be nice and still, butterfly. I’m going to try to get you out of this spiderweb.”

Mom dashed into the dining room when she heard the commotion. She smiled as she watched Jana gently rescue the butterfly and set it carefully on a flower in their garden.

“Now you’re safe. I saved you from that spider,” Jana said softly. She stood back and observed the butterfly as it began to flutter around again. She was thankful she’d been able to rescue it in time. “I rescued that butterfly from a spider’s web,” Jana said as she walked back inside.

“I saw that. I’m sure the butterfly is really happy to be out of that web.” Mom smiled. “It reminds me of how happy I am to have been rescued too.”

“You were rescued?” Jana looked at her mom in surprise. “How?”

Mom took a Bible from the shelf and flipped through its pages, then began reading. “‘For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.’” She looked at Jana. “Jesus rescues us from sin when we trust Him as our Savior. He paid the price for our sins on the cross and then rose again so we could be given a new life and spend eternity with Him.”

Jana looked out the window and watched the butterfly again for a long moment. “Mom, I think I’m ready to ask Jesus to be my Savior.”

Mom held Jana’s hands, and they prayed together. “Thanks for praying with me, Mom,” Jana said. “Now I’ve been rescued too!”

–Lisa Fuller

How about you? Have you trusted Jesus as your Savior? The Bible says that our sin—our selfish desires and the wrong things we do—is like a web that we can’t break free of ourselves. We need to be rescued, and God loves us so much that He sent His Son, Jesus, to save us. When you trust in Him, He will rescue you and give you a new life of freedom with Him that will never end! (To learn more, go to Have You Heard the Good News?)

Today's Key Verse: For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. Colossians 1:13-14 (NLT)

Today's Key Thought: Jesus rescues us from sin

Read: Proverbs 3:5-6; Hebrews 13:20-21

“I can’t wait to taste maple syrup!” Brady said, smacking his lips.

Mom laughed. She was chaperoning his field trip to the nature center to see how maple syrup was made.

As they trudged behind their group, Brady sighed. “I wish I was invited to my teacher’s wedding.”

Mom was surprised. “Why do you want to go?”

Brady frowned. “What if I get married someday? I need to know how to do it!”

“If you do get married, it won’t be for a long time, Brady,” said Mom.

Brady bit his lip. “But what if I’m not ready when the time comes?”

The group stopped in front of a large sugar maple. They watched a man drill a hole in the tree and tap a wooden peg he called a spile into the hole. After several seconds, the sap began to drip, and the class formed a line to get a taste.

“What do you remember about the temperatures needed to collect sap?” Mom asked Brady.

“It has to be twenty degrees Fahrenheit at night and forty-five degrees during the day, in the spring.”

Mom nodded. “God cares an awful lot about the details in preparing trees for maple syrup–making, doesn’t He? But He cares about people even more than trees. He sent Jesus to save us so we could be His children, and He’ll prepare us for whatever He has planned for our lives—like getting married or having a job. We can have confidence in His timing.”

Brady caught a drop of sap on his tongue. “This isn’t very sweet.”

“They still have to boil it before it turns to syrup,” Mom explained. “Preparing maple syrup is a process—and being prepared for the things God wants for us is a process too. We don’t have to know everything right away. See that little sapling?” Mom pointed to a tree no bigger around than Brady’s thumb. “It’s got a lot more growing to do before it can give sap for syrup. And you’ve got a lot more growing to do too.”

Brady smiled as they were handed samples of sweet golden syrup. “Let’s have maple syrup for dinner!” he said after tasting it. Mom arched an eyebrow, and Brady grinned. “You know, to remind us to be confident in God’s timing.”

–Pearl Allard

How about you? Do you worry about your future? Are you afraid you won’t be ready if you ever get married, attend college, or work at a job? You can have peace knowing that God cares about you and promises to be with you through life’s every step. He will prepare you for whatever He has planned for you in the future. You can be confident in His timing.

Today's Key Verse: Trust in the Lord with all your heart…and He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)

Today's Key Thought: Be confident in God’s timing

Read: Luke 16:10-12; 1 Corinthians 4:2

It was a warm day, and Dad had just finished digging up the garden plot so he and Eliza and Jeremiah could plant sweet corn. “Hey, look!” exclaimed Eliza, bending over a corner of the plot. “An earthworm! We learned about earthworms at school. They eat dirt.” She picked it up and waved it under her brother’s nose. “Doesn’t that sound yummy, Jeremiah?”

“Ew, gross!” Jeremiah batted at the worm in front of his face. “Cut it out!”

“Okay, you guys,” said Dad. “That’s enough of that. But you’re right, Eliza, in a way, earthworms do eat dirt. As they move through the soil, it passes through their bodies and gives them nourishment, and the quality of the soil is also improved. Millions of acres of the earth’s topsoil are loosened in this way, allowing all kinds of good things to grow. As Christians, we can learn a lot from earthworms.”

Eliza gave her dad a puzzled look. “What do earthworms have to do with Christians?”

“Well,” said Dad, “since they live underground, we don’t see earthworms working—and like Jeremiah, we may think their job sounds unappealing—but they keep at it anyway. That worm you’re holding is a good example of a faithful worker. Because he and all the other earthworms out there do their jobs faithfully, lots of people benefit from the things that are able to grow.”

“But Dad, a worm doesn’t decide to be faithful,” said Jeremiah. “It just does what earthworms do.”

“That’s right,” said Dad. “Earthworms are faithful because God made them that way—and He does the same for us as Christians. Jesus gives us the ability to faithfully serve Him, even in hidden places—places where no one notices or praises us, doing tasks that aren’t always fun or rewarding. In those times, we need to remember that we’re serving Jesus and depend on Him to help us be faithful in doing our work, trusting that He will use it to help others grow.”

Eliza looked at the worm squiggling in the palm of her hand. Then she put it down and smoothed dirt over it. “Thanks, faithful friend,” she said. “Keep working so we can have lots of good sweet corn!”

–Christi B. Kehn

How about you? Are you depending on Jesus to help you be faithful in the things He has given you to do? Trust Him to give you the ability and strength to do what He wants you to do—even when those things are difficult or others don’t seem to care. Remember that you are serving Jesus and trust that He will use your work to bless both you and others.

Today's Key Verse: A faithful person will be richly blessed. Proverbs 28:20 (NIV)

Today's Key Thought: Be faithful