Tag Archives: faith

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

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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

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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.

No Day at the Beach

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“The Lord will fight for you. Just be still.” – Exodus 14:14 (NIrV)

Have you ever had a bad day at the beach? Maybe you got sunburned or got sand in your eye. Maybe it rained or someone kicked over your sand castle you’d been building for hours.

Normally the beach is supposed to be a fun place, but sometimes things happen that ruin a perfectly good day.  

Take the Israelites, for instance. In Exodus 13 they were having a great day. They had spent 400 years enslaved by the Egyptian empire, but now they were free! God had answered their prayers for help and sent Moses to rescue them with God’s power. God forced Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to let His people go.

: No Day at the Beach

Now, THAT was a great day! For about five minutes.

Then, Pharaoh changed his mind. He realized that without the Israelites, he wouldn’t have anyone to do all his work. So, the Egyptians chased after Moses’ people and caught up to them near a place called the Red Sea.  

That was no fun day at the beach! The Israelites were stuck. The Red Sea was in front of them. Pharaoh’s army was closing in behind. The people were terrified! What were they going to do?  

Nothing! In fact, God told them to chill out. You see, this was all part of God’s plan. 

Moses said, “The Lord will fight for you. Just be still” (Exodus 14:14). God sprang into action and protected them with a cloud and fire to keep the Egyptians away. 

Meanwhile, Moses raised his walking stick above the water, and God did something even more amazing! He split the Red Sea in half! God made a dry path that led right through the waves! 

Moses and the Israelites safely crossed over to the other side. When Pharaoh’s army tried to follow, however, they were washed away.  

Sometimes in life we may feel stuck like the Israelites. It looks like one impossible problem is in front of us and another one is right behind. We may get scared, anxious and all worked up. 

That’s when we need to remember Moses’ words, “The Lord will fight for you. Just be still.”  

No problem is too big for our God. He already solved our biggest problem when He sent Jesus to rescue us. Jesus defeated death, sin and Satan! 

The rest of our problems? They’re nothing that God can’t handle. We just need to turn to Him, trust in Him, and He will make a way through whatever challenge we face.

Prayer

God, no problem is too big for You! Please help me to remember to turn to You and trust in You no matter what. Amen.

Talk About It:

  1. Is there any problem in your life right now that makes you feel stuck or overwhelmed?  Let’s talk to God about it!
  2. Do we know anyone who’s dealing with hard stuff too? How can we encourage them, serve them and remind them that God can make a way?

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