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Jesus told them a parable about the need to always pray and not lose heart: “There was a judge in a certain town who did not fear God and did not care about people. There was a widow in that town, and she kept going to him, saying, ‘Give me justice from my adversary!’ For some time he refused, but after a while he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God or care about people, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice so that she will not wear me out with her endless pleading.’” The Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. Will not God give justice to his chosen ones, who are crying out to him day and night? Will he put off helping them? I tell you that he will give them justice quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“Can we have ice cream?”

At our house, that’s one of the most common questions ever. The freezer usually has something tasty in it—fudge bars, popsicles, cookies & cream ice cream (the best one, if you ask me!), or even Oreo ice cream sandwiches.

But usually, ice cream comes after real food. Why? Because if hungry kids eat ice cream first, they’ll never touch their dinner!

One hot summer day, the kids were outside riding bikes, running with the dog, and making up all kinds of imaginative games. And then came the questions—over and over:

Finally, I opened the freezer, grabbed the bowls and spoons, and scooped it up. Their persistence paid off.

That’s exactly what Jesus is teaching about prayer. In Luke 18, he tells the story of a widow who kept asking a judge for help. The judge didn’t care about God or people, but he finally gave her what she wanted because she wouldn’t stop asking!

Now here’s the important part: God is NOT like that judge. God cares about you. God invites you to call him Father and ask again and again—just like kids ask their dad for ice cream. Persistent prayer isn’t bugging God—it’s what faith looks like!

At the end, Jesus asks a big question: “When I return, will I find people still praying with faith?” In other words: Will you keep asking, even if the answer takes time?

Dear Jesus, thank you for inviting me to pray to you again and again and again . . . Help me not to give up, but to trust that you always hear me and love me. Amen.

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I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence that we have before him: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we also know that we receive the things we have asked from him. 1 John 5:13-15 (EHV)

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Does your family ever play pranks or tricks on each other. Maybe it’s something funny like:

They’re harmless little tricks as everyone tries to one-up the others. At first, everyone laughs. But after a while, you start wondering, “Should I open the door? Will someone jump out at me? Is there a hidden trick that’s going to surprise me?”

A game that started with giggles ends with everyone feeling a little nervous, wondering what’s coming next, waiting for the next trick.

Sometimes people feel that way about God—like maybe he’s tricking them or not telling the truth. “Am I really forgiven? Does Jesus really love me? Does God really hear my prayers?”

That’s where John speaks up in the Bible. He writes: “I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life . . . if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us” (1 John 5:13-14).

Did you hear that? John doesn’t say, “I hope you know” or “Maybe you’ll know.” He says: “You may know.” That means you can be sure!

God isn’t playing a prank. His promises are solid. His truth is unshakable. And that gives us confidence—a bold trust that Jesus is always with us.

Lord Jesus, thank you that you never play tricks with your promises. Help me to be confident in your forgiveness and to trust that you always hear my prayers. Amen.

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[Jacob] got up that night and crossed over the ford of the Jabbok. Jacob was left alone, and he wrestled with a man there until daybreak. When the man saw that he could not defeat him, he touched the socket of his thigh, and the socket of Jacob’s thigh was dislocated as he wrestled. The man said, “Let me go. It’s daybreak.” Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” Then he said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob.” Then he said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have fought with God and with men, and you have won. Genesis 32:22,24-28 (EHV)

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Have you ever heard of sportsmanship? It’s not about the rules of the game—it’s about how you act as you play. Do you play fair? Do you shake hands after the game? Or do you brag, cheat, or get angry?

Now imagine this: in today’s Bible story, Jacob wasn’t just playing soccer or basketball. He was wrestling . . . with GOD!

Here’s what happened: Jacob was traveling home with his family. He knew his brother Esau was coming with hundreds of men, and Jacob was afraid. The last time he saw Esau ended horribly. Esau wanted to kill him. Jacob was afraid for his family. So he spent the night in prayer. Suddenly, a man came and wrestled with him all night long. But this was no ordinary man—it was God in human form!

And guess what? Jacob won! Jacob won in his wrestling match against God, because Jacob had God in a wrestling hold that God could not break. He told God, “I won’t let you go unless you bless me.” Jacob wasn’t being rude—he was holding God to his promises. God agreed. Jacob didn’t have God in a headlock, but in a promise-lock.

So why did God pop Jacob’s hip out of place? Was God being a sore loser? Nope! God often gave people a physical sign to remind them of his promises (like the rainbow after the flood, or Samson’s long hair). Jacob’s limp was a sign he would never forget: God keeps his promises.

So when you’re worried, or when life feels like a wrestling match, you can “wrestle” with God in prayer—holding on to his promises and not letting go. And you can be sure: God always keeps his Word.

Lord Jesus, thank you for always keeping your promises—for staying true to your Word and treating your people with grace. Teach me to trust you will always do what you say. Amen.

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When [Jesus] entered a certain village, ten men with leprosy met him. Standing at a distance, they called out loudly, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” As they went away they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice. He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, thanking him. And he was a Samaritan. Jesus responded, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give glory to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Get up and go your way. Your faith has saved you.” Luke 17:12-19 (EHV)

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Have you ever heard someone say “Go!” in different ways?

One time, Jesus said “Go!” but it wasn’t “Go away.” It was to ten men with a terrible skin disease called leprosy. They cried, “Jesus, have pity on us!” and Jesus said: “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” Why the priests? Back then, if your skin disease was gone, the priest was the one who could say, “Yes, you’re healed. You can be around people again.”

Here’s the amazing part: As they were going, Jesus healed them! All ten were healed, but only one man came back to say thank you to Jesus. He knelt at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. That man understood Jesus’ “Go” wasn’t “Go away”—it was “Go, I will heal you.”

And guess what? Jesus still says “Go” to us:

Jesus’ “Go” is never to push you away. It’s always an invitation with a promise: “Go . . . and I will be with you.”

Thank you, Lord, for telling me to “GO”—not to push me away, but to invite me close to you. Help me trust your promises and always come back with thanks. Amen.

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And he who provides seed to the sower and bread for food will provide and multiply your seed for sowing, and will increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you may be generous in every way, which produces thanksgiving to God through us. 2 Corinthians 9:10-11 (EHV)

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Quick question: What’s one food you ate today?

Maybe it was pancakes, pizza, or goldfish crackers. Maybe it came from the grocery store, your lunchbox, or even a drive-through. No matter where you got it—food doesn’t actually come from a box or bag.

We know lettuce doesn’t grow in plastic wrap, burgers don’t pop out of cardboard boxes, and bread doesn’t grow on trees. Lettuce grows in a field, wheat grows and gets baked into bread, and cows eat grass until they’re old enough to become burgers. That’s called a harvest.

That’s the idea Paul is talking about in God’s Word today: A harvest. But instead of a harvest of FOOD, God is talking about a harvest of GOOD WORKS.

It works the same way. In a FOOD harvest, God gives seeds, rain, and sun so plants grow. In a GOOD WORKS harvest, God gives you faith through his Word, and the Holy Spirit helps you grow as a Christian. Listen to the way Paul describes it: “God is able to make all grace overflow to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will overflow in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8). Think of it like this: God wants to feed your faith, water your heart, and grow you into someone who produces a good harvest for others.

What does that harvest look like?

That’s God’s harvest in your life!

Lord Jesus, water my faith so that I may produce a harvest that brings honor to your name. Help me to serve you with joy, so that this harvest may be seen in the way I interact with friends and family. In your name, Amen.

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God spoke to Noah. He said, “Go out of the ark—you, your wife, your sons, and your sons’ wives with you. Bring out with you every living thing of every sort that is with you, all flesh, including birds, livestock, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, so that they may swarm over the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” Noah went out with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives along with him. Every animal, every creeping thing, every bird, and whatever swarms on the earth went out of the ship, species by species. Noah built an altar to the LORD and took from every clean animal and every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. The LORD smelled the pleasant aroma. The LORD said in his heart, “I will never again curse the soil anymore because of man, for the thoughts he forms in his heart are evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike every living thing, as I have done. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” Genesis 8:15-22 (EHV)

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Have you ever ridden a roller coaster or a really crazy ride at the fair?

The cars climb the first, big hill: Clack, clack, clack . . . creak . . . your stomach is already nervous.

You’re buckled in, the harness is holding you . . . but are you sure? You wiggle it, just in case. What if it pops open?!

Then, suddenly—WHEEE!! The car zooms down the hill, through loops, upside-down twists, and corkscrew spins. You feel sick, queasy, terrified! What’s going to happen next?

And then—it stops. The roller coaster glides back into the starting area, safe and sound. You’re back on solid ground.

That’s kind of what the flood may have felt like for Noah and his family. The sky opened up, rain poured for 40 days, water exploded up from under the earth, giant waves crashed everywhere. The ark rocked, tipped, and spun. But through it all—God kept Noah’s family safe.

And just like a roller coaster coming to the end, the ark came to rest on a tall mountain called Ararat. When Noah and his family stepped out, the whole world was fresh and new. Imagine: just eight people and a whole bunch of animals to start the world over again!

The first thing Noah did wasn’t to unpack or build a house—he built an altar to worship God. He thanked God for protecting him through the biggest storm the world had ever seen.

When you look back at your life, think about the times God has taken care of you too. If he’s done it before, he’ll do it again. God’s blessings in the past give us courage and joy to worship him today.

Dear Jesus, sometimes life feels scary and upside-down. But you never let go of me. Thank you for my home, my family, and all the blessings I don’t always notice. Help me to trust you and thank you every day. In your name, Amen.

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The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” Luke 17:5

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

It’s your night to do the dishes. But just before dinner, a friend calls to invite you over. You ask your brother if he’ll do the work for you, and surprisingly, he agrees. “Sweet! I owe you one,” you say. “Don’t worry about it,” he shrugs.

Does that sound familiar? Or is your family the kind that keeps score? “I did the dishes last night!” “You never took out the trash!” Sometimes it feels like everyone is keeping a giant scoreboard in their head. And honestly—it gets tiring, doesn’t it?

Wouldn’t it be better if we could just help each other without asking, “What’s in it for me?” Jesus tells us something like that in Luke 17. He says we should forgive others again and again, even if they mess up in the same way more than once. We should serve without expecting anything back. And when we’ve done what we were supposed to do, Jesus says we should think, “I just did my job.”

That’s not easy to hear. Because our brains like fairness. We like to keep track.

The disciples thought it was hard too. They begged Jesus: “We need more faith!” They knew they couldn’t love, serve, and forgive like that all by themselves.

But Jesus surprised them. He said that even faith as small as a tiny mustard seed could do amazing things. Why? Because the power doesn’t come from us. The power comes from whom our faith is in. A little faith in a big God is more than enough.

When we hear God’s Word, we’re reminded of how Jesus served us, forgave us, and gave his life for us without keeping score. The more we remember that, the more our faith grows. And the more we grow, the more we start asking, “How can I help?” instead of “Who owes me?”

Faith doesn’t just help us do the hard stuff. It helps us do it with joy.

So let’s pray like the disciples: “Lord, increase our faith!” Let’s trust that God will grow faith in our hearts and help us serve, forgive, and love—not because we have to, but because Jesus already gave us everything.

Dear Jesus, please increase our faith, so that we can see those around us who need our love. Help us to help others willingly, because you do the same for us. Amen.

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By his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. 2 Thessalonians 1:11b

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Paige wanted to be good. She really did.

As her mom put her little brother in the grocery cart, Paige promised herself: “I won’t beg for candy. I won’t run down the aisles. I’ll try to be helpful.”

But by aisle four, she was already pouting. Her brother was getting noisy, and Paige’s feet wanted to zoom. She almost grabbed a bag of gummy worms—so tempting!—until she remembered her promise.

Paige stopped, took a deep breath, and whispered, “Jesus, help me be good.”

Somehow, she made it through the store. She even helped load groceries and smiled at the checkout lady.

That night, Paige’s mom tucked her in and said, “You were such a helper today. I saw you trying really hard, and I’m proud of you. Tonight, I’m going to thank Jesus for helping you.”

Paige smiled. She wanted to be good—and she knew God had helped her.

But what about the days that don’t go so well? The times we fight with siblings, talk back to parents, or just forget to do the right thing? That’s when it feels frustrating, because no matter how hard we try, we don’t always get it right. Sin makes us want to hide from God.

But here’s the truth: God doesn’t ask us to do it alone. He invites us to come to him, like Paige did, and ask for help. That’s why the apostle Paul prayed for God’s power to help people carry out the good things they wanted to do.

The desire to do good comes from faith in Jesus. And faith grows when we spend time with him—listening to the Bible, praying, singing, or worshiping. God’s Word teaches us how to be kind, helpful, and generous. And right now, as we’re hearing his Word, God is growing our faith too!

Dear Jesus, thank you for the gift of faith. Help us to love one another even when it is hard, just like you did. Teach us to go to you whenever we need help with our thoughts, words, and behavior. Amen.

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And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you. 1 Chronicles 29:17b

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Grandma and her grandson Jared spent the afternoon baking cookies together. The kitchen smelled amazing, the counters were covered with cookies, and Grandma’s heart was full. She was thankful just to spend time with Jared. But then something happened that made her smile even bigger.

Jared looked at all the cookies—chocolate chip, peanut butter, sugar cookies, all his favorites—and said, “Grandma, can we take some of these to Maria? Her mom is in the hospital, and I think these cookies would make her smile.”

Wow. Grandma’s heart melted. She had just seen something even sweeter than cookies: Jared’s generous heart. He could have thought only about himself, but instead he thought about someone else.

Here’s the cool part: Jared knew the cookies weren’t really “his.” Grandma had invited him, bought the ingredients, helped him mix the dough, and pulled the trays out of the oven. The cookies were Grandma’s gift. Jared just wanted to share them.

That’s what King David saw in God’s people in today’s Bible reading. David had given gifts for the temple, and then the people gave too—not because they had to, but because they wanted to. David was filled with joy. He prayed, “Everything comes from you, God, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.”

That’s the secret of giving: it all starts with God. He gives us everything we have—food, family, friends, toys, even life and forgiveness through Jesus. And when our hearts are full of thanks, we want to share.

Like Jared and like the people in David’s time, we can reflect God’s generosity. Whether it’s cookies for a friend, money in the offering, or time spent helping someone, when we give with joy, we show God’s love.

Dear Jesus, we know every gift we have comes from you. Please help us be kind and generous toward you and others, the same way you have been kind and generous to us. In your name we pray. Amen.

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“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.’” Luke 16:25

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Imagine getting your math test back and it’s covered in red marks. You didn’t study, and now you’re stuck with a bad grade. You ask the teacher, “Can I get a do-over?” But she says, “Nope. I told you what to study.”

In today’s Bible reading, Jesus tells a story about a rich man who wanted a do-over—not on a test, but on his whole life. He had everything he wanted—money, food, comfort—but he didn’t listen to God and didn’t care about the poor man outside his gate. After he died, he finally realized he was wrong. But it was too late. There are no do-overs after death.

Jesus told this story to warn us. If we love money more than God, we risk being separated from him forever. That’s what happened to the rich man. But the poor man, Lazarus, who had nothing in this life, was taken to heaven. Everything flipped—the rich man was in pain, and Lazarus was filled with joy.

Jesus had said before: “Blessed are you who are hungry now . . . Woe to you who are well fed now” (Luke 6:21, 25). He didn’t mean it’s wrong to enjoy nice things. He meant don’t ignore God. Don’t cling so tightly to stuff that you forget about him.

Here’s the good news: while we’re alive, God gives us mercy. We can repent. We can hear his Word. When we say, “Jesus, I’m sorry,” he gives us forgiveness and a fresh start. That’s grace. That’s God’s real “do-over.”

But don’t wait. Don’t put it off. Be “rich toward God” now—listen to his Word, grow in faith, and trust Jesus every day. Then, you’ll never have to wish for a second chance in eternity.

Heavenly Father, thank you for your mercy and forgiveness. Help me treasure your Word and trust in Jesus each day. Keep me close to you until I reach the joy of heaven. Amen.

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