Read: Psalm 119:9-16

Manuel looked up when Grandpa walked into the room. “Do you know where I left my glasses?” Grandpa asked as he reached for his Bible.

Grandma sighed. “Did you lose those glasses again? You had them on when you paid the pizza delivery man.”

“We didn’t order pizza today. That was yesterday,” said Grandpa. “Somebody else was here today. Now…” He stopped a moment to cough.

“Your cough doesn’t seem to be getting better,” Grandma said. “You’d better get more medicine.”

“I just got some,” said Grandpa. He paused and furrowed his brows. “Leo!” he suddenly called out, making Manuel jump. “That’s who came today!” Grandpa turned to Manuel. “Leo lives next door, and he picks up medicine for me.”

Just then Manuel spied Grandpa’s glasses lying on the table. “Here are your glasses, Grandpa.”

“Oh good, you found them,” Grandma said. “Now, if only I could find mine!”

Manuel grinned. “They’re on your head, Grandma!”

“Oh, look at that!” Grandma laughed. “I don’t remember putting them on.”

Grandpa put on his glasses and opened the Bible he was holding.

“Are you gonna memorize some verses, Grandpa?” Manuel asked.

Grandpa shook his head. “Not today, but we used to memorize whole chapters when we were kids.”

“That’s right,” said Grandma. “Sometimes when our eyes are tired now, we just say some of them together.”

“Wait a minute,” Manuel said with a puzzled look. “You can’t remember things that happened today—even just a little while ago—so how do you remember things you learned when you were kids?”

Grandpa smiled. “The things we learn as kids just stick in our brains better, I guess. The older you get, the harder it is to remember things. That’s why we encourage you to read and memorize God’s Word as much as you can now, while you’re young.”

Grandma nodded. “The verses I learned as a child have stuck with me all through my life. They’ve reminded me in difficult times that I belong to Jesus and that He’s always with me. That’s something I’ll never forget!”

–Agnes Livezey

How about you? Are you hiding God’s Word in your heart? One way to do that is by memorizing Bible verses. Try it now with today’s key verse. Read it over a few times, then shut your eyes and see if you can say it out loud. Try to do that with a different verse every day or week. But don’t just memorize the words—think about what God is telling you. Use His Word to help you remember His truth and promises.

Today's Key Verse: Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You. Psalm 119:11 (NKJV)

Today's Key Thought: Memorize Bible verses

Read: 1 John 1:5-9

“Ronan!” Mom called. “Can you take out the trash, please? I had to get rid of the old trash can, so you’ll just have to stack the bags in the garage for now.”

Ronan scowled. “Why can’t Daisy put it out for once? All she ever does is sit around and text her friends.”

Daisy scowled back at him. “At least I have friends!”

“Both of you, stop it!” said Mom. “Why do you kids have to fight all the time?”

Ronan didn’t say anything more as he grudgingly took out the trash.

When they pulled into the garage a couple days later, Daisy held her nose as she got out of the car. “Ugh! Something stinks in here!”

“It’s the trash!” said Mom. “Let’s move these bags out to the driveway. I’ll text Dad and remind him to pick up a new trash can on his way home.”

“Hey! Come back here and help!” Ronan called to Daisy, who was going into the house. “No wonder you didn’t get a part in the school play—they must have known you’d be too lazy to learn your lines!”

Daisy kicked at the bag he was holding. “Be quiet, dummy!” she yelled.

“That’s enough!” Mom said sternly. “You’ll both help.”

When they finished, Mom made them go to the kitchen and sit down. “Your attitudes remind me of that trash,” she told them.

“Sorry,” Ronan muttered. “Can I get up now?”

“No!” Mom pulled out a chair and sat down. “The way you’ve been acting stinks worse than the trash you took out of the garage today. Things like bad attitudes, selfishness, and jealousy hurt people Jesus wants us to love and drive them away from us. That’s why we need to confess those stinky sins to Jesus. He’ll forgive us and make us clean. He’ll also help us apologize to others for what we’ve done and replace mean, selfish attitudes with kindness and love.”

Daisy and Ronan were quiet for a moment, then they looked at each other. “I’m sorry,” they said in unison. That made them smile.

Mom stood up and grinned. “It smells better in here already!”

–Barbara J. Westberg

How about you? Have you noticed any trash in your life lately? Sins like meanness, gossip, laziness, selfishness, and unkind words can really stink up your life and hurt your relationships with others. Ask Jesus to take out the trash! When you confess your sins to Him, He forgives you and makes you clean. Then trust Him to help you tell others you’re sorry and replace unkind attitudes with His love.

Today's Key Verse: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 (NKJV)

Today's Key Thought: Confess sin and be clean

Read: Isaiah 53:4-11

“Mom, I don’t understand this verse,” Alec said. “It’s Second Corinthians 5:21. ‘God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.’ I know it’s talking about Jesus, but what does it mean when it says He was made to be sin for us? Jesus never sinned, did He?”

“No, He didn’t,” said Mom. “That’s why He was able to save us by taking our sin upon Himself. Let’s see if I can find a way to help you think about it.” She pulled up a picture on her phone. “Here’s a picture of a leper—a person who has leprosy. It’s a contagious disease mentioned often in the Bible, and it can still be found in some parts of the world today.”

Alec looked at the picture and frowned. “That poor man. He doesn’t have any fingers or toes, just little stumps!”

“Yes,” said Mom, “and he’s blind too. If you saw this man, what would you do for him?”

Alec thought about it. “I would give him a drink of water and some food.”

“But he’s dying,” said Mom. “Would you love him enough to get down beside him and take him in your arms and tell him that if he trusts in Jesus, he’ll go to heaven?”

Alec hesitated, then nodded. “But I’d want to wear a mask so I wouldn’t get sick.”

“But what if, in order to really help him, you had to get sick?” Mom asked. “What if you had the power to allow all of his sickness to flow into your body and let all of your strength and health flow into his? Would you do that?”

Alec cringed at that idea. “I don’t think I could do that,” he said. “He has such a horrible disease!”

Mom nodded. “Yet that’s what Jesus did for us, Alec. He never sinned, but He took all our sin upon Himself and died on the cross to take our punishment. That’s what caused Him to suffer so much—not just the physical pain of the crucifixion, but bearing the huge weight of our sin.”

Alec thought it over. “I think I’m beginning to understand.”

–Harry C. Trover

How about you? Have you ever thought about what Jesus did when He died for your sins? He suffered great shame and horror by taking your sin upon Himself. He took your place on the cross so you could spend eternity in heaven with Him instead of hell—He loves you that much! Accept His sacrifice for your sins and trust Him as your Savior. (To learn more, go to Have You Heard the Good News?)

Today's Key Verse: God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV)

Today's Key Thought: Jesus took your sin upon Himself

Read: Ephesians 1:4-6

Audrey sat on the front steps, lost in thought. She’d had a rough week. She failed her math test and skinned her knee, and one of her best friends had moved away. Why is God letting all these things happen to me? she thought. It almost seems like He doesn’t care about me anymore.

Audrey glanced up when her puppy came bounding out onto the front porch. “Hello, Shamrock,” she said. But Shamrock didn’t seem interested in her—he was too busy gnawing on something. “Hey, that’s mine!” Audrey exclaimed, grabbing a wallet from the puppy’s mouth. “I just got this, and now you’ve ruined it!” She looked the torn-up wallet over and sighed. “Maybe Mom can fix it.”

Mom came out onto the front porch and examined the wallet. “Hmm, this is pretty torn up. We’ll probably have to throw it out.”

“But it’s still good,” said Audrey. “It’s just a little torn.”

“This wallet has been through a lot,” Mom said. “Are you sure we shouldn’t throw it away? It’s too torn and dirty to be worth anything.”

“Mom, just because it doesn’t look so good doesn’t mean it isn’t worth anything. If we fix it up, it will be as good as new.”

Mom smiled. “You probably feel a lot like this wallet right now, don’t you?”

Audrey gave her a puzzled look. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“I know this wallet is still good, and with a little TLC, I can fix it up,” Mom said. “I just wanted to help you see that your life is like this wallet. I know this week has been rough for you. But even though you’ve been through a lot, you’re still valuable. You belong to Jesus, who came into our broken world and gave His life to save you and make you His, and He’ll always be there to help you through life’s difficulties. His thoughts toward you will never change, no matter how torn up you feel.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Audrey said, giving Shamrock a hug. “I’m glad I’ll always be valuable to Jesus. And I’m glad you can fix my wallet—things are already starting to look up!”

–Norah Varner

How about you? Have you ever felt like God has turned away from you? Do you feel like you can’t do anything right? Jesus loves you so much that He died and rose again to save you, and He’ll never leave you. No matter what has happened to you or what you’ve done, His thoughts toward you will never change. He will always love you and care for you.

Today's Key Verse: This is my comfort in my affliction: Your promise has given me life. Psalm 119:50 (CSB)

Today's Key Thought: You’re valuable to Jesus

Read: John 13:35; Romans 1:14-16

“Happy birthday!” Ivy said when she arrived at her friend Rennah’s birthday party. Ivy’s family had moved recently, and she’d been praying for new friends. Now she had some.

But there was a problem at Rennah’s party. “Okay, you guys,” Rennah said when they were ready to play the first game. “Here’s what you do. Everybody has to draw a slip of paper from this basket. When it’s your turn, you have to do what it says.” She began to pass the basket, and each girl pulled out a piece of paper.

Ivy eagerly unfolded her slip of paper and looked at it. Oh no! she thought. Doing this would be wrong, but if I don’t do it, everyone will laugh at me. Ivy tried to think of a way out. Maybe I could trade with somebody—but then I’d be asking someone else to do it. What am I going to do? She silently asked Jesus to help her know what she should do. Then she heard her name being called.

Ivy took a deep breath. “I’m supposed to draw a picture of who I think is the ugliest boy at school and have you guess who it is, but I—I can’t do it.” The room became very quiet. “I don’t like to look at people that way,” Ivy continued. “I feel like I’d be treating someone God created and loves very badly if I did that.”

After a moment, Rennah shrugged. “That’s okay. We’ll skip you. Jasmine, you’re next.”

The next day at school, Serena, one of the girls who had been at the party, came up to Ivy. “I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said at the party,” Serena said. “I’m a Christian too, but I don’t usually let people know that because I’m afraid they’ll make fun of me. I probably would have just done what was on that slip of paper and then felt bad about it afterward.” She paused. “I’m glad you didn’t do that. You reminded me that I need to let people know I belong to Jesus and show it in the way I treat others.”

Ivy was surprised. “Thanks, Serena.” She smiled. “Wanna join me for lunch?”

Serena nodded, and the girls continued talking on their way to the cafeteria.

–Bernard Palmer

How about you? Are you afraid to let others know you’re a Christian? Do you think they’ll make fun of you for doing what God says is right? People might respond negatively, but Jesus will help you. He took your sin and shame on Himself to give you eternal life. Because of Him, you have nothing to be ashamed of! Let others know you follow Him and see His love in your life.

Today's Key Verse: I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Romans 1:16 (NKJV)

Today's Key Thought: Let others know you follow Jesus

Read: Ephesians 2:8-10

“I wish I never came to your house for spring break,” Miles told his cousin Jonathan. “Since you became a Christian, all you say is ‘Don’t do this’ and ‘Don’t do that.’ Next you’ll be complaining about the picture on my t-shirt and telling me to dress in a choir robe!” Miles stomped outside, letting the door slam behind him.

When the house grew unusually quiet, Jonathan’s dad came into the living room. “Where’s your cousin?” he asked.

Jonathan told his dad about the argument. “I was only trying to get Miles to act more Christian,” he said.

Just then a male robin flew to the driveway and began attacking the side mirror of Dad’s truck.

“Hey, look at that!” Jonathan exclaimed. “That bird’s a fighter!”

“You’re right,” said Dad. “If he keeps that up, he’ll wear himself out. I’d better go put the truck in the garage.”

Once the truck was out of sight, the bird flew to the lawn and tussled with another male robin on the grass.

“Why are those birds fighting?” asked Jonathan.

“They’re fighting to claim nesting territory,” Dad answered. “The fight at the mirror was also over territory. When the robin saw his reflection, he assumed an intruder was challenging him. After I put the truck away, the bird left to chase a real robin.”

“Well, that makes more sense,” said Jonathan. “He wasn’t going to get anywhere fighting his own reflection!”

“Right,” said Dad. “That’s why it’s important to chase the real robin in Miles.”

Jonathan looked at his dad. “You want me to chase birds?”

Dad laughed. “No! What I want you to do is fight real battles. Miles’ problems are deeper than his actions. He needs Jesus. While Miles is here, I’ve set certain limits for him. But rules won’t change his heart—only Jesus can. Instead of expecting Miles to act like a Christian, let’s show him Christ’s love. He needs to know Jesus died for him and trust Him as his Savior. Only then will he be able to live as a Christian.”

“Okay, Dad. I’ll go find him and tell him I’m sorry for making him upset.”

“Good,” said Dad. “But first let’s pray and ask Jesus to help us show Miles His love.”

–David J. Belleau

How about you? Have you wished a non-Christian friend would act more Christian? Even if you could get them to change their behavior, you wouldn’t be able to change their motives. Only Jesus can change a person’s heart. Pray for your friend. Show them God’s love through your actions. Then, if they ask what makes you different, tell them how Jesus changed you.

Today's Key Verse: Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT)

Today's Key Thought: Only Jesus changes hearts

Read: 2 Thessalonians 3:3-5

With a big sigh, Peyton dropped her books on the table and flopped into the chair beside her mother.

“Something wrong?” Mom asked, closing her laptop.

“It’s Mila,” Peyton replied. “You know—that annoying girl in my class. I can’t help it—I just don’t like her at all.”

“I know it can be hard to love some people, especially those who seem to make life more difficult,” said Mom. “But Jesus loves them, and He wants us to love them too.”

“I know!” said Peyton. “But I don’t think I’ll ever be able to love Mila the way I’m supposed to.” She sighed. “God must be getting pretty annoyed with me.”

Mom laughed. “I don’t think God’s annoyed with you, honey. He’s always patient and loving with His children. Ask Him to help you remember that so you can treat Mila the same way. Dad and I will pray about it too.”

“Okay,” Peyton said. “I just hope God doesn’t give up on me.” She stood up. “Can I make some chocolate chip cookies, Mom?”

“Sure,” said Mom. “Need any help?”

“Nope! I can handle it.” As Peyton got out the ingredients, her four-year-old brother burst into the kitchen. “Hey, buddy! Want to learn how to make cookies?” Peyton asked.

“Yeah!” Otto jumped up and down in excitement.

“You know, Peyton, teaching Otto to make cookies will take some patience,” Mom said.

“That’s okay,” said Peyton. “I’ll give him all the help he needs.”

“You won’t get annoyed with him and give up?” Mom asked.

“Of course not! I know he’s little and needs extra time to learn things.”

“Well, you don’t think God is less patient than you are, do you?” asked Mom.

“Um…no,” Peyton said, a bit confused.

Mom smiled. “Just like you’ll be patient with Otto as you help him learn to make cookies because he’s your little brother and you love him, Jesus will be patient with you. He loves you so much He died to save you, and He will patiently teach you to love others. He’s not ever going to give up on you. Trust Him to help you learn and grow to be more like Him—no matter how long it takes.”

–Rhonda Brunea

How about you? Are you impatient with your spiritual growth? Are you frustrated that you find it difficult to love people or resist doing things you know are wrong? Don’t give up. Jesus knows you have a lot to learn. He loves you, and He won’t give up on you. Trust Him to be patient and give you strength as you grow to be more like Him and show others His love.

Today's Key Verse: He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6 (NIV)

Today's Key Thought: Trust God to be patient

Read: Philippians 3:10-11; 1 Peter 1:3-9

“Who’s that guy on TV?” Ashton asked.

“That’s the father of the boy who went missing last year,” Dad said.

“Oh yeah, I remember that. He went missing on a camping trip, and they never found him. It’s so sad.”

Dad nodded. “I can’t imagine what his family must be going through. It was a story we heard on the news and quickly forgot about, but it’s been their everyday reality for the past year.”

“We should pray for them,” said Ashton.

“That’s a great idea,” said Dad, and they prayed for the missing boy and his family.

On Sunday, Dad glanced at Ashton on the way home from the Easter church service. “You look like you’re thinking about something pretty hard.”

Ashton shrugged. “I was just thinking about what Pastor Edwards said—that Christians celebrate Easter every day, not just once a year. What did he mean by that?”

“Well, think of it this way,” said Dad. “If we heard that the boy who went missing had been found and was okay, how would we feel?”

“I’d be happy to hear that!” said Ashton.

“Me too,” said Dad. “But would it change our lives?”

“Well, no,” said Ashton. “We didn’t know him, so even though we’d be happy for him and his family, we’d probably forget about it after a while.”

“Right,” said Dad. “We didn’t have a relationship with him, so it wouldn’t change our day-to-day lives very much. But if his family got the news that he was alive and safe, their lives would change a lot, wouldn’t they?”

“Yeah,” Ashton said. “Because they know him and love him.”

Dad nodded. “That’s how it is with us and Easter. For many people it’s just a yearly holiday that quickly passes by, but for those who know Jesus, it’s our everyday reality. Because we have a relationship with Him, His resurrection gives us new life and affects every part of our lives. When we sin, He forgives us. When we’re hurting, He is with us. When we experience difficulties, we can find strength and joy in His promise to make everything right one day and to put an end to sin, sadness, and death forever.”

Ashton smiled. “I’m thankful we have Easter every day!”

–Courtney Lasater

How about you? Did you know that Easter is an everyday reality for those who trust in Jesus? It’s more than just a holiday that comes once a year. Jesus died and rose again so we could have a relationship with Him that lasts forever, and that means our new life with Him starts now. If you trust in Him, you can celebrate Easter every day! (To learn more, go to Have You Heard the Good News?)

Today's Key Verse: Just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. Romans 6:4 (NIV)

Today's Key Thought: Easter is an everyday reality