Category Archives: devotional

Kids Back-to-School Devotion: Prepared as a Squirrel

Posted on by
Reply

Always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks you about the hope you have. 

– 1 Peter 3:15 (NIrV)

What’s the busiest animal in the woods? If it’s autumn, it has to be the squirrel. These animals know that when fall comes around, winter is right behind it, and they have to be prepared.  

Guess how many nuts a typical squirrel buries every fall. Ten? A hundred? 

Try a thousand or more! These industrious little critters pack away as many snacks as they can to keep them going all winter long. No doubt about it, when it comes to being prepared, squirrels are tough to beat.  

In the same way, God wants us to be prepared too. Not by burying nuts in the ground, but by hiding His word in our hearts. Psalm 119:11 says, “I have hidden your word in my heart so that I won’t sin against you” (NIrV).

When we read the Bible, memorize it and think about it, God uses it to help us to learn to live His way. There’s no better way to prepare for a back-to-school season than storing up Bible verses in our heads and our hearts!

In 2 Timothy 3:16, a follower of Jesus named Paul said that the Bible:

  • Teaches us what’s true
  • Corrects our mistakes
  • Trains us to do what’s right

In fact, Paul said, “By using Scripture, the servant of God can be completely prepared to do every good thing” (2 Timothy 3:17, NIrV).

One of those good things Paul is talking about is telling other people about Jesus! 

Jesus’ friend Peter said, “Always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks you about the hope you have” (1 Peter 3:15 NIrV). That means we need to learn what the Bible says about Jesus so we can share it with others. We can also tell people the difference Jesus has made in our lives. 

By learning the Bible and hiding it in our hearts, we’ll be better prepared than even the busiest squirrel in the forest. Nuts and seeds may make a tasty winter treat for animals, but when it comes to people, you can’t beat storing up God’s Word!

Memory Verse Cards

Start practicing hiding God’s Word in your heart with these Printable Acorn Memory Verse Cards. Just print them out, cut them apart and work on memorizing one a week as a family.

Prayer

God, thank You for the Bible. Please help me to learn it and live it so I can be prepared to share Your love. Amen.

Talk About It 

  1. What do squirrels do to prepare for winter? Why do you think squirrels work so hard?
  2. What are some things the Bible can prepare us to do? (love God and love people, do what’s right, tell about about Jesus) How can we store up God’s Word inside of us? (Read the Bible, memorize it, think about it)

More Back-to-School Devotions:

This is part two of a four-part series of back-to-school devotions. You can check out Part One here.  

Sign up for Jason’s True Tale Trail newsletter to catch the rest of the series.

Recommended Resources:

If you’d like more resources to help your kids think about the reasons for the hope we have in Jesus, check out the following books:  

Talking to Your Kids About Jesus by Natasha Crain

Cold Case Christianity for Kids by J. Warner Wallace

Kids Back-to-School Devotion: Content as a Camel

Posted on by
1

I can do all this by the power of Christ. He gives me strength

– Philippians 4:13 (NIrV)

Have you ever carried a backpack to school? Depending on how much stuff was inside, you were probably glad to set it down. But imagine if you had to carry it around all day, everywhere you went. What if you even had to sleep with it?

Now you know how a camel must feel. They carry a backpack with them everywhere they go. It’s called a hump. In fact, some camels have two! 

However, camels don’t seem to mind toting that hump around because what’s inside it is what helps them survive when things get rough.  

You see, when camels eat, they store fat in their humps. Then, when they are traveling in the desert, where there’s not much to eat or drink, their bodies turn that fat into the food and water they need.

What’s inside them gives them the strength to keep going no matter what. 

The same thing is true for friends of God. We don’t have a hump full of food, though. We have something even better. A heart filled with the Holy Spirit!

The Holy Spirit is God who comes to live inside us when we begin following Jesus. He can help us to be content and keep praising and serving God even on our worst days.  

Throughout this school year you’ll face plenty of ups and downs. Some days you may ace a test, laugh with friends, get along with your teacher and be on the winning team. Other days you may flunk a test, fight with friends, get in trouble in class and lose the big game.

Those hard days may feel like you’re in a desert, but if we trust in Jesus, He will give us what we need to not just survive but thrive!  

A friend of Jesus named Paul said,” I have learned the secret of being content no matter what happens” (Philippians 4:12, NIrV). What was Paul’s secret of being content? 

“I can do all this by the power of Christ. He gives me strength” ( Philippians 4:13, NIrV). Jesus will give you strength too if you turn to Him, ask for His help and learn to trust Him no matter what.

Prayer:

God, thank You for helping me on my best days and on my worst. Please help me to be content and keep following You even when life is tough. Amen.

Talk About It:

  1. What are you excited about for this next school year? Is there anything you’re worried about or something that makes you nervous or afraid? Can you think of some hard days when God has helped with in the past?  Do you think we can trust the same God with our future?
  2. What are some things we can do to stay close to Jesus and learn to trust Him on good days and bad days? (Read the Bible, worship, pray, spend time with other friends of Jesus, write down or a draw a picture of some of the times God has helped you in the past).

This is part one of a four-part series of back-to-school devotions. Sign up for Jason’s True Tale Trail newsletter to catch the rest of the series.

Check out another back-to-school devotion, Keep Your Eyes on Jesus.

Kids Devotion: Love Puts Others First

Posted on by
1

Download the Others First Coloring Sheet here.

Bible Verse: “Value others more than yourselves. ” – Philippians 2:3b (NIrV)

If you have a brother or sister, you know how important the word first can be.  After all, siblings can be really competitive.  Maybe you’ve heard some of these phrases around your house or at school:

  • I want to go first.
  • I get first pick.
  • Let me have the first piece.
  • No fair! Why is she always first?

All this wanting to be first causes fights, jealousy and hurt feelings. Worst of all, it gets in the way of loving others. 

The Bible, however, talks about someone who went first in a good way! Jesus! He loved us first before we loved Him. Now we get to give that love away.

1 John 4:19 says, “We love because he loved us first” (NIrV). 

Jesus put others first in all kinds of ways. He served others and did the jobs no one else wanted to do. He spent time with people no one else liked, and He told people the truth about God even when He knew it would get Him in trouble. 

Of course, the biggest way Jesus put others first is when He gave up His life on the cross so we could become forgiven friends of God. He loved us first, and now it’s our turn to love others by putting them first too. 

In Philippians 2:3, a Jesus follower named Paul said if you want to be like Jesus, you should, “Value others more than yourselves” (NIrV).

How do you do that? Let your brother have the first piece of cake. Let your sister pick the first toy. Let someone else go first in the board game or be first in line at school.

They may be confused why you are being so kind and loving. If they are, just point to the Bible and explain, “Jesus did it first!”

Take the You First Challenge:  For a whole week let others go first and see what happens.

Prayer: God, thank You for loving me. Please help me to love other people by putting them first even when it’s hard. Amen.

Sign up for the True Tale Trail newsletter for more family devotions, Bible podcast episodes, activity pages and more.

Check out my new picture book, Where’s God? A Psalm 139 Story.