Those Little White Lies

Devotional for Kids

“Don’t tell lies to each other;” Colossians 4: verse 9 [The Living Bible]

There is no such thing as a little white lie. There is no such thing as a little sin. Either it is sin, or it isn’t. Either it is a lie, or it isn’t.

Cheating is a lie. When you copy someone else’s work and let your teacher think it is your work that is cheating. You are deceiving your teacher.

I admit there were times I wanted to cheat in school. The idea started with social studies. I’m terrible at learning and remembering facts; like historical events and geography. I always liked English and math because I could learn the rules and figure out the answer.

The answer to cheating is hard work. Study; ask for help from a mentor if you have a hard time understanding your school work. Make notes. Review them from time to time and especially before an exam.

Make a game of learning. Work with a friend or sibling. Have them quiz you. If you get the answer wrong, look it up. That will help you remember it better.

In the Bible there is a story about two brothers, Esau and Jacob. Esau was the older one. They were twins but they were very different. Esau was hairy while Jacob had smooth skin. Esau was a hunter and Jacob was a quiet man who liked to stay indoors. He became a good cook.

When their father, Isaac, was very old and knew he would die soon he called Esau to his bedside. He asked Esau to go hunt game and prepare it for him. Then Isaac would eat it and give Esau his very special blessing. With this blessing Esau would become the heir to the everlasting covenant between Abraham’s descendents and the Lord Jesus.

Now Isaac was blind. So while Esau went out to hunt food, his mother, Rebekah, helped Jacob deceive his father. Rebekah told Jacob to bring him two young goats and she would cook them for Jacob. She knew how to make them taste like wild meat. She also put the skins of the young goats on Jacob’s hands and neck. Then Jacob went into his father’s room pretending he was Esau.

Isaac was very suspicious and asked Jacob to come close to him so he could feel his hands. So Isaac thought it was Esau because his hands were hairy. He was still suspicious though and said he sounded like Jacob but he felt like Esau.

Then Isaac asked him, if he was Esau. Jacob lied. He said he was.

Isaac gave Jacob the special blessing for the oldest son. And then he ate his food. After he was done and Jacob left him alone, Esau arrived with his wild meat wanting his father to bless him.

So Isaac discovered that Jacob had lied to him but he couldn’t undo the blessing. It now belonged to Jacob.

Jacob paid dearly for his lie. Esau was so angry with him that Jacob had to leave home and flee from his brother. He was afraid that Esau might kill him. He never saw his mother again. You can read about Esau and Jacob in Genesis chapters 25, 26 and 27.

We also pay dearly when we lie; maybe not right away. We might think we got away with it. But somewhere, sometime later in life it comes to cause a problem in our life. The Bible says our sin (our lie) will find us out. When we lie we hurt ourselves

Memory verse for this week:

“If you want favor with both God and man, and a reputation for good judgment, then trust the Lord completely; don’t ever trust yourself.
“In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success.” Proverbs 3: verses 4, 5 and 6 [The Living Bible]

Going deeper for adults:
It seems to me that the lies we tell as adults have even deeper repercussions in our lives than the lies our children tell. As parents we have experienced how our mistakes can also negatively affect our families.
Fortunately God doesn’t leave us to our own devices. He says if we have wronged our brother we need to go to him and ask him to forgive us. We get a clean slate with our brother and with God.

Want to know more about how God can help you every day? Check out my new book The Lion Tree at www.ruthwillms.com.

Look for my new unpublished story, An Anniversary Surprise, at www.ruthwillms.com

Learning about Jesus-His extra-ordinary birth

Learning about Jesus

His extra-ordinary birth

Devotional for kids

“The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of God shall overshadow you; so the baby born to you will be utterly holy – the Son of God.” Luke 1:35 The Living Bible

Jesus had a very special birth. Jesus lived in heaven with his Father, God. But Jesus was also God.

God, the Father, decided to send Jesus to earth, to become a human being like us, so He could become our Savior. Because we all have sinned we needed someone to die for our sin; someone who had never sinned. God planned this so we can be with Jesus in heaven when we die.

The Bible says that the Holy Spirit, who is also God, came upon Mary. It’s like He planted the baby Jesus in Mary’s womb. Jesus didn’t have an earthly father like we do. After Mary became pregnant with baby Jesus, Joseph married her. Joseph took care of Jesus like He was his own son.

So Jesus, even as a baby, was God, but also man. That is why He understands us so well when we pray to Him. He knows what it’s like to have the problems we have. That is why He can help us when we pray to Him.

Going deeper for parents:

The reality of Jesus’ virgin birth is what our faith in Jesus Christ hinges on. As adults we might find it harder to believe this truth but it’s only as we embrace it that we truly accept Jesus as God’s Son.

Even Joseph had a hard time believing Mary as she told him. That is why God sent an angel to speak to him in a dream to confirm the virgin birth.

God has enabled us to believe too. As we read this account in the Bible we can ask Jesus to show us if this is really true. As we spend time in reading the Bible and seeking truth, His Holy Spirit gives us spiritual understanding to grasp the truth.

Memory verse for this week:

“If you want favor with both God and man, and a reputation for good judgment, then trust the Lord completely; don’t ever trust yourself.
“In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success.” Proverbs 3: verses 4, 5 and 6 [The Living Bible]

Want to know more about how God can help you every day? Check out my new book The Lion Tree at www.ruthwillms.com

Look for my new unpublished story, An Anniversary Surprise, at http://www.ruthwillms.com

In Search of Love

Devotional for kids

“I demand that you love each other as much as I love you.
“And here is how to measure it – the greatest love is shown when a person lays down his life for his friends
“And you are my friends if you obey me.” John 15: verses 12, 13 and 14 [The Living Bible]

I felt lonely as a child. I was almost five. I had 13 wonderful sisters and brothers to love me and take care of me. I had wonderful, caring parents who loved Jesus. They met all my needs.

I was never alone. I always had playmates in my sisters and brothers. There was always some excitement going on at our place. In fact, the neighbor kids loved to hang out at our place. It was kid friendly. We had a huge front yard and a thirty acre woods in the back.

At times I was still lonely. I wanted to be special and I felt like I was just one kid of fourteen. Now when I look back I realize I probably didn’t get very much alone time with either mom or dad. After all, they were busy caring for a houseful of kids. When I look back as a mom and grandma now, I don’t know how they kept up. I was lucky that my older brothers and sisters were there for me too. But I still had this lonely feeling deep inside.

All of that changed the week before my fifth birthday. My older sister, Clara, was hot on the revival trail. She had been to a Bible camp and she was determined to share Jesus with someone. Lucky for me, she picked me. I still remember exactly how it happened.

Clara told me a story about a boy Ralph, who had a two year old sister. His little sister’s name was Ruthie. That touched my heart. And Ruthie adored Ralph. Wherever Ralph hung out, and she was allowed, there was Ruthie. Fortunately he doted on her too.

One evening, after tucking his little sister into bed upstairs, Ralph was in the kitchen doing his homework. His parents were out and he was babysitting. It was late and he was getting tired.

Suddenly he smelled smoke. Then he saw the fire was coming from upstairs. His first thought was for Ruthie’s safety.

Now you have to remember that when the story was written not everyone had phones; we didn’t. And there was no 911.

Ralph ran up the stairs. He could hear his little sister call, “Walphie! Walphie!” Being only two, she couldn’t say her “r”.

This only spurred Ralph on and with no thought about himself, only thinking about his beloved sister, he crawled through the fire and smoke to Ruthie’s bed. He soothed her with words of assurance, telling her not to be afraid.

“Ralphie is here and I’ll take good care of you” he promised her.

He heard voices in the front yard below the bedroom window. Then he knew the neighbors had seen the fire and called the fire department.

Quickly he wrapped Ruthie in her blanket and dropped her into loving arms below. She was safe. He felt the searing burns on his arms and face. Mustering all his strength, he jumped, but became unconscious before he was caught below.

Ruthie was safe and had no ill effects from the fire. But in the hospital Ralph fought for his life. He died that night. Everyone said how lucky Ruthie was. She would have died but Ralph saved her. He gave his life for her life.

It wasn’t always perfect in our house with big brothers and little sisters. But I knew that any of my big brothers would do the same for me. Even if there were times they teased me or told me to get lost. They must have got tired of me bugging them or whimpering in their ear many times also.

Then my sister Clara told me that that’s exactly what Jesus did. He gave His life for me when He died on the cross for my sins. My sister explained that if I tell God I want to belong to Him, and ask Him to accept me and forgive me of all my sins, because Jesus died for them, I will become God’s child. He will always be with me and when I die I will go to heaven to be with him forever.

Also, Jesus didn’t stay dead like Ralph did. Jesus rose from the dead and met with his disciples. After a number of days He went to heaven. So we can have a relationship with Him as we pray to Him and read His Word, the Bible. I accepted Jesus that night.

Now I wasn’t lonely anymore. Jesus was always with me. I knew He loved me in a very special way. After all, He gave His life for me. I could talk to Him anytime, anywhere. Today I still have this special relationship with Him and belong to Jesus.

Jesus died for everyone in the whole world, including you. The Bible says, “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son so that anyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” [John 3:16, The Living Bible]

You can ask Him right now to accept you because Jesus died for you too and He will forgive you of all your sins. When you do, tell someone, like your mom and dad. If you go to Sunday school or a Bible club, tell your leader. He or she can encourage you and help you learn more about your new life in Jesus.

Going deeper for adults:

What more can I add? This applies to adults as well as kids.

If you make the decision to accept Jesus, please leave a comment at the end of this devotional to inform me. I won’t display the post but will pray for you.

Memory verse for this week:

“If you want favor with both God and man, and a reputation for good judgment, then trust the Lord completely; don’t ever trust yourself.
“In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success.” Proverbs 3: verses 4, 5 and 6 [The Living Bible]

Want to know more about how God can help you every day? Check out my new book The Lion Tree at www.ruthwillms.com

Look for my new unpublished story, An Anniversary Surprise, at www.ruthwillms.com

Are you bullying others?

Devotional for Kids

“I don’t understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I can’t. I do what I don’t want to – what I hate.
“I know perfectly well that what I am doing is wrong, and my bad conscience proves that I agree with these laws I am breaking.
“But I can’t help myself, because I’m no longer doing it. It is sin inside me that is stronger than I am that makes me do these evil things.” Romans 7: verses 15, 16 and 17. [The Living Bible]

Wow! These are strong words and you probably don’t want to admit that this describes you sometimes. Do you know that a preacher wrote this about himself? He was an apostle of Jesus who everyone in the Christian church looked up to.

The apostle Paul wrote these words and he wrote a lot of books in the Bible to teach us how to live for God. He admitted that he felt like we all do sometimes; he did wrong things, he sinned, because he couldn’t help himself.

As God’s child we are very lucky or blessed. We have God to help us. When we feel angry, frustrated and neglected we can go to God because we know He loves and understand how we feel. The best thing is that in spending time with God in praying and reading the Bible, His Word, we even feel better after. We can tell Him how we feel and ask Him to change our hearts.

What should we do if we are angry or frustrated? If we are taking our frustrations and anger out on others by calling them names or hitting or hurting them in some way, we are bullying them. We might be doing that because we want to be in control or we just feel better after taking our frustration out on someone else.

If you feel angry a lot, talk to an adult you can trust, like your parent or teacher. They will help you plan ways to deal with your emotions in a way that doesn’t hurt other kids.

Talk to God. Tell Him how you feel, and what happened to make you feel this way. Ask Him to put right feelings of love, compassion and forgiveness in your heart and mind.

There are physical ways of getting rid of your anger and frustrations too/ Go for a walk or a run. Play hockey, basketball or your favorite sport. Go for a swim. Punch a stuffed garbage bag. Sing to quiet your mind.

Learn to be a good athlete, join a drama club, study to be an A student. When you excel in something people respect you and give you attention. This builds your self esteem so you feel good about yourself and gives you confidence that you can handle your life better.

In Genesis 4: verses 6-7 God asks Cain, “Why are you so angry? Why is your face so dark with rage?” Then God says, “It can be bright with joy if you will do what you should! But if you refuse to obey, watch out. Sin is waiting to attack you, longing to destroy you. But you can conquer it” [The Living Bible]

You have a choice. Cain chose to ignore God’s advice to stop being angry and he chose to kill his brother. That reminds me of the shootings and violence that happen in schools sometimes. You probably would never do something that extreme but even hitting, and punching and putting others down by name-calling makes God sad because it is sin.

God doesn’t leave us alone in handling our sin or wrongs; He says if we confess our sins He forgives us through Jesus. He makes us strong to do His will.

Going deeper as parents:

Our example has a huge effect on our kids. When we put others down by yelling at them, punching them or bossing them we are teaching our children to do the same.

Do you feel the need to be in control or in charge all the time? God says to humble ourselves and put others needs ahead of ours. We need to look at things through God’s eyes, seeing His perspective.

Ask God to work the fruits of His spirit in you, found in Galatians 5: verse 22. “..when the Holy Spirit controls our lives he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” [The Living Bible]

Memory verse for this week:

“If you want favor with both God and man, and a reputation for good judgment, then trust the Lord completely; don’t ever trust yourself.
“In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success.” Proverbs 3: verses 4, 5 and 6 [The Living Bible]

Want to know more about how God can help you every day? Check out my new book The Lion Tree at http://www.ruthwillms.com

Look for my new unpublished story, An Anniversary Surprise, at http://www.ruthwillms.com

What does God have to say about bullying?

Devotional for Kids

“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials for we know that they are good for us – they help us learn to be patient.
“And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady.
“Then, when that happens, we are able to hold our heads high no matter what happens and know that all is well, for we know how dearly God loves us, and we feel this warm love everywhere within us because God has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” Romans 5: 3-5 The Living Bible

Everybody in the whole wide world has some kind of problem. Rich people, people in powerful positions, like the president of the United States, the popular athletic kid in your school, and even the person who gives you a hard time.

The person who tries to bully you may have bigger problems than you. Because he doesn’t know how to handle them he takes it out on you. Sometimes bullies look so big and strong, but underneath all that show, they can be scared wimps with poor self esteem. So they act tough.

What can you do to protect yourself from bullies and to help other kids who are being bullied? If you have been reading my other devotionals you already know my first answer. It’s always prayer. I’ve learned it works. It helped me as a kid and it’s my first line of defense as an adult. It’s through prayer and reading your Bible that God can tell you how to deal with your problems, like bullying.

There are lots of stories about bullying in the Bible, but the one that comes to my mind is about David and Goliath. Goliath thought he had it all together. No way could an ordinary soldier or kid like David, conquer him. Were he and his army in for a big surprise!

David had God on his side and it was God who gave him the idea of using his slingshot and five small stones. It was God who gave the Israelites the victory that day by making that little stone hit that small unprotected spot on Goliath’s forehead.

Don’t ever under estimate your power and ability when you have God on your side. In the Bible in 2 Chronicles chapter 16 verse 9, God says that His eyes search back and forth across the whole earth, looking for people whose hearts are perfect toward him, so He can show His great power in helping them. If you are God’s child this means you. You may not always be perfect but God looks at you through Jesus who died for your sin.

You should always tell your parents or teacher or leader of the group in which you are being bullied what’s going on. Sometimes they can stop it; other times they can teach you how to handle it. Bullying that hurts you physically should always be stopped immediately.

It isn’t good for your parents or even your teacher to fix all your problems because then you will never learn how to deal with people. This is all part of learning people skills too. And it’s as you learn to handle your difficulties that you grow confident and knowledgeable in all things of life; that’s what makes you mature and capable.

I was blessed with a big brother in school and I was tall for my age. My brother, Ken, was the tallest and strongest kid in my school. Although he never took advantage of it, kids knew they couldn’t mess with him. It’s good to have a big brother or friend around that the other kids know will stand by you and protect you.

Sometimes bullies pick on kids that have poor self esteem or look like they won’t fight back. You don’t have to be popular, or extra good looking, or be funny or tough to win over bullies. The Bible says, “My strength comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.” [Psalm 121: verse 2]

You can be strong and confident because you know God loves you unconditionally. In the morning as you pray, ask God to prepare your day and give you wisdom so you know how to handle each situation and problem. You have a big God – the same one who helped David conquer Goliath- he can handle your giant bully too.

Going deeper as parents:

We need to be available for our children and sensitive to their needs. Talk with your child; ask him how things are in his world. Bullied kids can be so intimidated they won’t even tell their fears to their parent or teacher. Ask their siblings or classmates how your child is getting along with others.

Talk to the bully’s parents. Most parents want to stop undesirable behavior in their kids and will seek help for their child. But sometimes a parent will be in denial and become angry with you for even suggesting that their “sweet” child is a bully. Sometimes they will say your child deserved being bullied because he’s a wimp and needs to grow up.

We can’t fix every problem for our children but we can help them avoid them and handle them in the best way possible. Sometimes the bullying only ends with a move or when the school year ends, no matter what we do.

It’s important to teach your children life skills and people skills so they feel competent and confident. Build a strong relationship with your children. Spend time with them and know them. Know their friends and how they spend their time.

Pray together with them. Read to them how God was faithful to our heroes in the Bible and gave them strategies. They will find new strength in your and God’s unconditional love.

If we have a close relationship with God it plays out in every area of our life. It grows His character and wisdom and way in our thoughts and then in our lives. It makes us who we are. It makes us competent in all areas as we learn His principles and then apply them.

God’s word says that His people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. As we spend time reading His Word and praying situations through us learn His principles and gain His wisdom on handling life His way.

Role play strategies with your child on how to handle bullies without escalating the conflict so he doesn’t get hurt. Tell your child to avoid being alone with the other child. Inform him how to get support from the other kids to place peer pressure against the bully’s behavior.

Be your child’s advocate. Find out all the information you can by first talking with your child, but also talk with his teacher and friends and other students who observed the bullying. Ask the teacher and principle for adult intervention. If they don’t become involved, write the superintendent. Don’t tolerate bullying and don’t teach your child to tolerate it.

What about you? Do you feel like you can’t help your child because you are being bullied? Yes, adults too are bullied.

The strategies I’ve written about also apply to you. Find a counselor or mentor to help you look at the situation from God’s perspective. God says we are to acknowledge Him, put Him first, in all our ways and He will direct our paths. The action and responsibility falls on us but He is faithful as we obey. He works it out.

Memory verse for this week:

“If you want favor with both God and man, and a reputation for good judgment, then trust the Lord completely; don’t ever trust yourself.
“In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success.” Proverbs 3: verses 4, 5 and 6 [The Living Bible]

Want to know more about how God can help you every day? Check out my new book The Lion Tree at http://www.ruthwillms.com/

Look for my new unpublished story, An Anniversary Surprise, at http://www.ruthwillms.com/

How can I like my teacher if he doesn’t like me?

Devotional for Kids

“Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders.”
1 Peter 5:5 NKJV

“You younger men, follow the leadership of those who are older. And all of you serve each other with humble spirits, for God gives special blessings to those who are humble, but sets himself against those who are proud.
“If you will humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, in his good time he will lift you up.
“Let him have all your worries and cares, for he is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you.” 1 Peter 5: verses 5 to 7 The Living Bible

Do you ever wonder if your teacher doesn’t like you? Do you ever think he or she is being very hard on you? Do you feel like he or she is not fair to you sometimes?

Do you know what? Everyone at times thinks this of the person over them, be it their teacher, their employer or even their pastor. Often it comes down to personality. It helps a lot to get to know your teacher, even personally, and let him get to know you. Maybe there is someone in his life who is giving him a hard time and your personality reminds him of that person.

Teachers can be wonderful. They were always my heroes in school. I just loved school and I loved my teachers. I didn’t like summer holidays as a kid in elementary. Now, when I look back, I realize I had first class teachers. I think teachers have an awesome job and most of them became teachers because they love kids and understand them. Maybe I’m a little prejudiced, because I was a teacher.

I went to a small country school, only two classrooms. Can you imagine that? The good thing about that was that my teacher got to know most of the kid’s families. We had the teacher over for dinner and sometimes we even attended the same church. Sometimes we played baseball together in the evenings. We had the same beliefs so we understood where each person was coming from.

Maybe you can get to know your teacher better and build a relationship with him by joining a club or team that he sponsors. Maybe you can hang around him at recess or lunch or even after school, and just chat with him. It doesn’t hurt to let him know that you don’t understand why he gives you certain assignments or does things a certain way. Most teachers want to know their students better so they can help them grow.

The number one way to get along with your teacher is to respect him. You may not like the assignments he gives you, but he is your teacher, and in charge of what you need to learn to get through the educational system. The Bible says to “submit to your elders” – this also means someone who is over you, not just older.

Although we need to submit and work with our teacher we need to be careful to never let him bully us. If your teacher puts you down or hurts you physically or speaks disrespectfully to you, tell your parents. Sometimes you will need an adult to intervene for you.

If you are a follower of Jesus, you always have someone who cares about you and loves you. Some people don’t like us to tell them all our problems but God is just waiting for you to tell Him about everything that bothers you. He is “watching everything that concerns you.” And He cares about it. He listens to your prayers and then He teaches you how to handle that problem and grow to be like Christ.

Going Deeper as parents:

As adults we too have people over us, like managers and employers, and pastors and church leaders. Hopefully we have learned people skills and strategies to cope with our differences in a Christ like manner.

Building a personal relationship with them, whenever possible, helps a lot. If you understand where a person is coming from and they know where you stand, it is much easier to accept them.

God says to humble ourselves. This is hard to do sometimes, especially when there is a clash of personalities and we insist we need to be true to ourselves. The answer is simple but it is hard to live. Jesus says to submit to those over us; work with them. And don’t forget a ton of prayers. Our prayers move God to work in both our heart and that other person’s heart to conform to God’s way, even if our difficult person doesn’t know Jesus.

A lot of people, even our best friends, get tired of us dumping our problems on them at times. It’s great to know that Jesus is just waiting to hear about all our problems. I imagine Him hanging on our every word, though He knows all things about us before we tell Him.

Just as we as parents watch over all that concerns our children, God is watching and supporting us.

Memory Verse for this week:John 3:16 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son so that anyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” [The Living Bible].

Want to know more about how God can help you every day? Check out my new book The Lion Tree at www.ruthwillms.com

Look for my new unpublished story, An Anniversary Surprise, at www.ruthwillms.com

Second Chances

Devotional for Kids

“But if we confess our sins to him, he can be depended on to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. [And it is perfectly proper for God to do this for us because Christ died to wash away our sins.]” 1 John 1: verse 9 The Living Bible

Have you ever messed something up? Something that was very important and you didn’t get a chance to fix it or try again? That really hurt, didn’t it?

Sometimes we make wrong decisions because we don’t have all the facts. Often we don’t get a chance to try again; at least not for awhile, and we have to live with the consequences of our poor choice.

Sometimes we choose to have something right now- we don’t want to wait- and we hurt the long term result. For example, you have quite a bit of money saved up for that iPod you want to buy but your close friends are going skiing this weekend. You’d like to go. Your parents just took you last weekend but they give you the OK to join your friends. They say this time you’ll have to pay for it yourself though. So if you decide to go you will have to save for that iPod again. You need to think that over carefully.

The Bible tells us about a man named Samson. Maybe you have read about him or heard about him. If you haven’t, you can read about him in Judges chapters 13 to 16.

Samson was the strongest man ever. God had given him extra ordinary strength for a very special task. He was to rescue his people, the Israelites, from the Philistines.

He was so strong that once he pulled the city gates with the two gateposts, right out of the ground. Then he carried this load on his shoulders to the top of a mountain. His enemies, the Philistines, wanted to know what made him so strong so they could capture him.

Samson made the mistake of trusting a Philistine girl, who betrayed him. He loved this girl, Delilah, but obviously she didn’t love him but only pretended to. She joined forces with the rest of the Philistines wanting to know his secret; why was he so strong? She nagged and nagged him until he couldn’t stand it any longer.

Then he told her the truth; if his hair was cut he would lose his great strength. While he was sleeping she brought in a barber to cut his hair. She let in the Philistine men and woke him up, calling, “Samson the Philistines are here to capture you.”

Samson woke up and thought he would shake himself free of his enemies, not realizing his hair was cut. It was too late. His strength had left him and the Philistines carried him away. They gouged out his eyes and tied him with chains making him grind grain in prison. But his hair began to grow again.

One day when his hair was long, the Philistines were having a big celebration at their temple, where they worshipped idols. They brought Samson into the temple to entertain them. He couldn’t see,so he asked the boy who was leading him to place his hands against the two pillars that held up the temple.

Samson prayed that God would give him strength again. God gave him a second chance and heard his prayer. With all his might, Samson pulled on the pillars and the building came crashing down. Samson got to conquer his enemies but in so doing he also died with them.

Do you know that when we sin, even after we accept Jesus as our Savior, God gives us a second chance? We try to obey God and do what the Bible teaches but sometimes we still fail. We will always fail at something while we live on earth. We will only be perfect in heaven. God knows us and understands us and accepts our weaknesses.

So through Jesus He has made a way for us. He says if we confess our sin He will forgive us. He forgives us because Jesus died on the cross for that sin and all our other sins. In fact, we don’t only get a second chance but many. Each time that we sin and turn to Him, and ask for His forgiveness, because of Jesus, God forgives us. That is truly something to be thankful for.

Going deeper with parents:

These thoughts apply to us as adults as much as to our children. Our mistakes may leave us with deeper scars but God has the same remedy for our sins as for our children. If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us too and give us a clean start.

Memory Verse for this week:John 3:16 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son so that anyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” [The Living Bible].

Want to know more about how God can help you every day? Check out my new book The Lion Tree at www.ruthwillms.com

Look for my new unpublished story, An Anniversary Surprise, at www.ruthwillms.com

The Merciful Fisher

Devotional for Kids

“One day as he was walking along the beach beside the Lake of Galilee, he saw two brothers – Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew – out in a boat fishing with a net, for they were commercial fishermen.
“Jesus called out, ‘Come along with me and I will show you how to fish for the souls of men.’ And they left their nets at once and went with him.”
Matthew 4: verses 18 and 19

Alberta is one of the lucky Canadian provinces to have a family holiday in February. Our family took advantage of it on Monday and spent the day ice-fishing.

My brother-in-law is an avid fisherman and a sportsman in other outdoor activities, like hunting and trapping. My sister and he make their home in Rocky Mountain House where moose, deer and elk, among other wild animals, roam their front yard. Ice-fishing with him isn’t just a fun experience; it’s a full day adventure.

First he drills the holes in the ice for us and then he sets up our private tents so the cold and wind can’t get at us. In this cozy little tent we sit in comfortable chairs while dangling our lines in front of us, watching for the fish to bite. Ed, my husband, and I, and our kids and grandkids, who joined us for the day, are all wimps. We claim we don’t know how to put the maggots on our hooks and we definitely don’t know how to take the hook out of the fishes’ mouth. So my sister and her husband graciously do these chores for us.

Everybody got bites in the first few minutes except my granddaughter and me. I don’t know why my granddaughter failed to catch even one fish but I know why I failed. I enjoyed watching the little perch come nosing around my hook. As soon as I thought he was getting ready to bite I kindly pulled up my line. He missed his breakfast but I also saved his life.

I love to eat fish but I couldn’t bear the thought of hurting his tender mouth. My kids call me the ‘kind fisherwoman’. I was only being merciful. Fortunately for me, Ed, my husband, caught his allowed number of fish within an hour, so we had lots to eat.

Jesus compares our fishing for perch to telling our friends and others about Jesus. When we have shared the gospel with someone and they accept Jesus as their Savior, we become fishers of men, or people. Jesus wants us to have fun ice-fishing and He knew His disciples, Peter and Andrew, had to fish to make a living. But He also wants us to think seriously and spend time with people in their lives. He wants us to share what we have experienced with Christ so our friends and the people in our lives can also know about Him and become His children.

Unlike ice-fishing, fishing for Jesus doesn’t bring pain and death. When we introduce our friend to Jesus, he or she experiences the best joy in the world and eternal life. Although they will have to die some day they will live forever in heaven with Jesus.

I missed out on the experience of catching my quota of fish on the weekend but I’m thankful that God has helped me to be a fisherwoman for Him. If you ask God to show you who to pray for especially, because you want to share Jesus with them, God will also give you the experience of being a fisher for Him.

Going deeper for parents:

I believe being a parent is the best job in the world. It is our responsibility to mold our impressionable child to be the best he can be. In some areas we are personally involved while in other areas we carefully choose an instructor or mentor.

I also believe that our biggest responsibility is caring for our child’s soul. We as parents can have the strongest impact in helping our child learn about Jesus and then choose to become His follower.

I was so blessed to introduce both of my kids to Jesus. I pray for each parent who reads this devo that you will be the fisher of your kid’s soul.

Memory Verse for this week:John 3:16 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son so that anyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” [The Living Bible].

Want to know more about how God can help you every day? Check out my new book The Lion Tree at www.ruthwillms.com

Look for my new unpublished story, An Anniversary Surprise, at www.RuthWillms.com

Jesus Loves You

Devotional for Kids

“For I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels won’t, and all the powers of hell itself cannot keep God’s love away. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, or where we are – high above the sky, or in the deepest ocean – nothing will ever be able to separate us from the love of God demonstrated by our Lord Jesus Christ when he died for us.” Romans 8: verses 38 and 39 [The Living Bible]

You might wonder if God really cares much about you. After all, He has all these rules outlined in the Bible, like the commandments. Rules like, we must not covet. That’s a hard one. When our best friend scores all the goals in hockey and we have a bad day, it is hard not to wish we were like him. Or our best friend aces the test and we get a C; how can we not be jealous and not want that A plus for ourselves?

So we might tend to think we aren’t keeping God’s rules too well. Surely He doesn’t think too much of us on those kind of days. Wrong.

He loves you all the time. Even if you have not made that commitment to be a Christian and give Him your life, He still loves you. And if you have accepted His way of salvation, you are always the apple of His eye, no matter what you do. If you sin you still need to repent and ask for His forgiveness but He never stops loving you.

Going deeper for parents:

As adults, we too yearn to be loved unconditionally by someone. Our friends will let us down at times since they are only human. Even our spouse or parents disappoint us at times and reject us even if only momentarily.

It is good to know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that our Savior loves us with an everlasting love. He says he will never leave us or forsake us. We can bask in His love.

Memory Verse for this week:
John 3:16 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son so that anyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” [The Living Bible].

Want to know more about how God can help you every day? Check out my new book The Lion Tree at www.ruthwillms.com.

Hiding God’s Word in Our Hearts

Devotional for Kids

“I have thought much about your words, and stored them in my heart so that they would hold me back from sin.” Psalms 119:11 The Living Bible

How can we store God’s Word in our heart? We can do that by memorizing it. You might think ‘but that’s too hard’ or ‘I don’t have time for that’. Actually it comes down to your attitude.

You probably know all the names of the players in your favorite sports team, like the Flames in Calgary. You know who stars in your favorite movies. You remember your favorite authors so you can read all the books they wrote.

It’s the same in your relationship with God. As we get to know Him better and love Him more deeply we think about Him and His ways a lot more. It’s great to read the Bible and know where to find certain verses that tell us how to handle our problems. But what do you do if you’re busy at school or playing basketball or at your ballerina class?

Let’s say that the kid next to you yells at you when you fumble or someone steps on your toes? You can’t stop what you’re doing and pull out your Bible and look for a verse to tell you what to do.

If you had memorized Luke 6: verses 27 and 28 the Holy Spirit would remind you what to do.

“Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Pray for the happiness of those who curse you; implore God’s blessing on those who hurt you.” [The Living Bible]

No, they’re not a real enemy to you but they sure didn’t treat you like a friend.

We can’t follow God’s way if we don’t know it. If you wanted to play basketball your coach would be sure you knew all the rules. It’s the same for a Christian in the game of life. The Bible is our rule book.

Memory Verse for this week:

A good verse to start with is John 3:16.

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son so that anyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” [The Living Bible].

Going Deeper: For Parents

Just as we crave love letters and memorize them as we are dating, we desire to know God’s Word constantly as we grow in our love relationship with Him. When we memorize certain verses they will be there in our minds when Satan attacks us.

Jesus used Scripture when Satan attacked Him in the wilderness after He had fasted forty days and nights and was hungry. You can read about it in Matthew 4: 1-10.

God’s Word, as it is hidden in our heart, helps us to know what to do in all of life’s situations as they come to us. It keeps us from sinning, it helps us counsel our friends and children when they have a problem, it enables us to meditate on Jesus in all of our activities of life.

In the middle of a situation God’s Holy Spirit brings that verse to our remembrance. Sometimes He brings a verse to my mind that I didn’t even know I had learned.

I was feeling very over loaded. I was operating a dayhome 12 hours a day, five days a week; driving out of town each second weekend to help a sick family member; taking college correspondence classes; and serving on a church committee. One morning I just crashed. I couldn’t even make breakfast for Ed, my husband. I went back to bed, thinking all I needed was sleep. I hadn’t slept for several nights.

Then in the quietness of my heart came these words: “You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest.” Psalm 139:3 [The Living Bible]. Although the Holy Spirit brought those words to my mind I don’t remember ever memorizing that verse. But God’s peace stole over me and I knew it was time to prioritize my obligations.

A helpful way to memorize Scripture is to write the verse on a small card, including the reference, so you know where to find it in the Bible. Keep the card with you and read it several times a day. I like to put it on my fridge. Then the whole family sees it and it speaks to them too. Ask God to reveal to you how it applies it to your life.

Memory Verse for this week:

John 3:16 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son so that anyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” [The Living Bible].

Want to know more about how God can help you every day? Check out my new book The Lion Tree at www.ruthwillms.com.

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