READ: JOHN 1:1-18; 1 CORINTHIANS 10:13; EPHESIANS 5:8-20

I am Ashva, knight of the Kingdom of Light! Although weak from my journey, I repeated the truth aloud to bolster my strength. The King had sent me to deliver a message to the bishop of the north. Then I was to travel on to the castle of the nearby rook and await further orders. But the mountain road was long and treacherous. My horse’s muscles quivered beneath me, and I knew it was time to rest. I scanned the valley’s perimeter for enemies of the Light before dismounting.

Snowdrop’s coat shimmered with sweat as she drank from the brook we rested by. I patted her neck and whispered soothing words. Suddenly, a reflection of something dark appeared on the surface of the water. Snowdrop snorted in alarm at the horse and rider standing across the brook. The gaunt horse was but a skeleton of itself, and smoke furled around the rider, creating a ghostly cloak. A knight from the Kingdom of Darkness.

I knew I should flee, but I stood frozen, watching the knight move cautiously through the water toward me. What is in his hand? Some kind of new weapon— no, it’s only a piece of fruit! Relief flooded through me and a gasp of laughter escaped my lips. All he did when he reached my side of the brook was hold out the fruit like a peace offering. My mouth watered as I imagined biting into the flesh, juices cascading down my throat, satisfying my hunger…

Snowdrop nudged my shoulder with a grunt of protest. Startled out of my reverie, I looked closer at the fruit. It was unlike any I’d seen in the Kingdom of Light. It is from the darkness, I realized. And I don’t belong to the darkness anymore. I am Ashva, knight of the Kingdom of Light! Our fruit consists of all that is good, right, and true. This is a trap. Whirling around, I jumped onto Snowdrop’s back, and we fled into the setting sun. • Savannah Coleman

• Today’s story is an allegory for the spiritual battle we’re waging against the powers of darkness. Like in the game of chess, our enemy is plotting to trick us (2 Corinthians 2:11). However, unlike in chess, our King is by far the most powerful player on the board. And there’s no question that He will win, because Jesus died on the cross and rose again, taking the punishment for our sin and triumphing over the devil and all his forces (Ephesians 6:12; Colossians 1:9-23). If we know Jesus, we are part of the Kingdom of Light, no longer bound to the sin and death of the darkness. How can remembering our identity—that we are forgiven, beloved, and made righteous by King Jesus—help us resist temptation, and repent after we sin?

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth). Ephesians 5:8-9 (NIV)

READ: ISAIAH 30:15-18; MATTHEW 12:15-21; ROMANS 10:9-13

I was struggling and needed advice. I thought my camp counselor from summer youth group camp might be the person to ask. So I wrote to the counselor, who I’ll call Libby, and explained my dilemma.

Years before, I had put my faith in Jesus for forgiveness, trusting Him to pay the price for my sins and make me pure before God. I believed Jesus had paid for the punishment I deserved. I believed He had risen from the dead. But I just couldn’t trust I had “done it right.” Did I ask Jesus in the right way to forgive me and lead my life? When I asked Jesus to wipe away my guilt before God, did I ask correctly? I felt I couldn’t be sure.

Here was Libby’s answer: Write it in a book. She suggested I pray and ask Jesus once more to rescue me from my sins and make me God’s child. I had done this already—several times. But I took Libby’s advice, told God again that I wanted Jesus to be my Savior, and wrote the date in a notebook. It didn’t help! I still anxiously wondered—Did I do it right?

Libby intended to guide me. However, what I’ve learned since then has brou...

READ: ACTS 12:1-17

Weeping believers gathered at the house of Mary, Mark’s mother. Only a few days ago, their beloved pastor had been martyred. And now, another of their pastors, Peter, had been arrested too. As Nicolas stood up, a hush fell over the group. “Brothers and sisters, shouldn’t we be praying for deliverance and boldness for Peter?”

“But we prayed for James, and he was killed,” a discouraged voice protested, “Why should we expect anything different this time?”

Kindly but resolutely Nicolas spoke again. “Don’t you remember how the Lord told us to never give up praying, even if we grow discouraged by the answers or how long it takes to get them? Just because God allowed Herod to kill James, that doesn’t mean He won’t save Peter this time. Let’s pray and see what He’ll do.”

With renewed hope, the believers began praying, wondering how God might intervene in such an impossible situation. There wasn’t a break in the praying. Some had to leave for work but returned in the evening. While they were gone, others stopped by. Those who couldn’t sleep came to pray through the night.

But, despite the innumerable prayers and tears offered during those long days, when they reached the night before the scheduled execution, nothing had changed. Long into the night, the believers were still desperately asking God to rescue their pastor. Nobody else paid attention when Rhoda got up to let another believer in to join their vigil. Then suddenly, she ran into the room laughing and crying. They could hardly understand her news: “Peter is at the door!”

Surely not. She must be imagining things. But when the hubbub died down, the knocking continued. Finally, someone opened the door. There stood Peter—free, without having denied the Lord! It was a miracle! The believers rejoiced that God had answered their prayers with a resounding yes! • Christina Joy Hommes

• Today’s story is how one author imagines Acts 12:1-17. God hears all of our prayers, and He answers according to His great wisdom and love. Can you think of a time God said yes to one of your prayers? What happened? Consider taking a moment to thank Him for this!

• Even when God’s answer is no, He hears us and He cares. How can this encourage us to keep praying? (If you want to dig deeper, read Luke 18:1-8; Romans 8:28-39; 1 Peter 5:7.)

So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. Acts 12:5 (NIV)

READ: MATTHEW 11:28-30; 14:25-31

I don’t want to doubt, But sometimes the questions, They’re stronger than I want them to be. I don’t want to ignore, The many works, the many ways, You’ve proven yourself already. I want to be strong, But sometimes it’s all too heavy, I feel like I’m carrying a great load on my own. I don’t want to doubt, But sometimes I feel like Peter on the water, And everything I face is more than I can handle. God, take my doubt, Turn it into faith, Let me believe that you will act. God, take my doubt, Even when I struggle, when life is hard, Let me see you. God, take my doubt, When I’m held by you, strengthened by you, I know that I’ll be okay. • Emily Acker

• Like Jesus reached out to save Peter when he was sinking beneath the waves, Jesus reaches out for us (Matthew 14:31). He came to rescue us from sin and death by dying for us and rising again. Can you think of a time you felt overwhelmed, and Jesus helped you? What was that like?

• Throughout our lives, we will all have doubts related to our faith. Thankfully, whether we’re doubting because we’re going through something difficult or we simply have questions, God invites us to open ourselves up to Him and tell Him all about what we’re thinking and feeling. It can be so freeing to be honest with Him. He is never surprised or dismayed, and His love for us remains strong and sure. Consider taking some time to talk to Him now.

Pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Psalm 62:8 (NIV)

READ: PSALM 63; 1 CORINTHIANS 2:10-12; 1 PETER 2

Do you long to deepen your relationship with God? Does your soul hunger and thirst for Him as David described in Psalm 63? I don’t know about you, but since I trusted Jesus to be my Savior before age five, I’ve known I need to go deeper with God and continually mature in my faith.

Although I’ve been a follower of Christ for over thirty years, I still desire to grow in my faith, study the Word accurately, and allow the Holy Spirit to move His knowledge from my head to my heart. Sometimes, I’m still surprised by the things I don’t yet know, or the times I realize I haven’t had an accurate view of something in Scripture.

Growing up in church, I often heard, “The Bible is God’s love letter to us,” “The Bible is God’s instruction book for our lives,” etc. Recently, I was astounded to learn that I’ve been thinking about things a bit backward: first and foremost, the Bible is a book about God Himself. It dawned on me that we live in such a me-centered culture that we’ve even made the Bible about us instead of about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, our three-in-one God.

Beyond this, the Bible is God’s story—with the themes of Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration running throughout it. God created the world. Then Adam and Eve sinned, thus the Fall. But through Jesus’s death on the cross for our sins and His resurrection from the grave we can have redemption. And one day when Jesus returns, all will be restored. However, these four themes are not only in Genesis, the Gospels, and Revelation. They’re also woven through all the books and stories in the Bible—we just need to train our eyes to look for them.

Upon learning these things, I decided to read my Bible cover to cover in a new way. Instead of my typical prayer, “God, what do you have to say to me today?” I pray, “God, show me who You are.” I thought I had grasped the depth of God’s heart, understood His love and justice, etc., but I realized I had only scratched the surface. As I read, underlining each name of God and His character traits, He has opened even deeper wells to show me who He is. • Savannah Coleman

• Can you think of a time you realized you had misunderstood something in the Bible? How did God help you understand it better? None of us will ever “arrive,” no matter how much knowledge we obtain about God or how well we utilize that knowledge. There will always be opportunities to dive deeper. So let’s suit up and get our flippers on!

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? Psalm 42:1-2 (NIV)

READ: PSALM 10:14; JOHN 1:12; ROMANS 8:14-23; HEBREWS 4:14-16; JAMES 1:5

What do marshmallows and missing dads have to do with each other? In one study in the 1970s, researchers asked a group of preschoolers if they wanted one marshmallow right then or two marshmallows a few minutes later. Some kids snatched one marshmallow right away, and others waited so they could have two. As they grew up, the kids who waited for two marshmallows generally made better life choices than those who ate one right away. And researchers found a pattern: children who ate their marshmallows right away—and later made poorer decisions in life—very often had a more unstable home life, and many did not have a dad at home.

If you don’t have a dad at home, you may be thinking, “I make wise decisions all the time, thank you very much.” I know. I get it. That study irritates me too, because I grew up without a dad, and I’d like to think of myself as wise. But the scary truth is, as an adult, I might make wiser, stronger choices if I’d had a dad at home when I was a kid.

But the good news is, God is faithful, and He wants to be our Father. Because of Jesus’s death and resurrection, we can have a restored relationship with God, and that means we have full access to our heavenly Father’s love and wisdom.

In the Bible, lots of people didn’t have an earthly father, such as Esther and Joash. A cousin raised Esther, and God chose her to become queen of a pagan nation and save her people from slaughter. An aunt raised Joash, and God raised him to power as the youngest king of Judah ever, even enabling Joash to throw off the yoke of a tyrant. While Esther and Joash may have lacked an earthly father’s guidance, God worked through them in situations that required His extraordinary wisdom. You can read their stories in the book of Esther and in 2 Chronicles 22–24.

While having a father on earth can be a tremendous blessing, having a heavenly Father is an even better one. Through Jesus, we can enjoy the love and guidance of a Father whose wisdom is available to all who ask...even to those who prefer their marshmallows now. • Holland Webb

• Why does everyone—whether they have an earthly father or not—need Jesus in order to make truly wise decisions? (Proverbs 2:6; Romans 3:10-24)

• Even though earthly fathers are imperfect, every believer in Jesus will always have a perfect heavenly Father. Does it comfort you to think of God as your Father? Why or why not?

A father to the fatherless…is God in his holy dwelling. Psalm 68:5 (NIV)

READ: MATTHEW 11:28-30; JOHN 16:33; PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7

Fall is a season of change. You may notice the leaves changing from crisp green to brilliant red to crunchy brown. You might observe café menu boards switching from fruit smoothies to pumpkin spice lattes. But the biggest mark of change is often the start of the school year.

Every first day of school, I remember walking into the building with a strong grip on my backpack straps and my heart pounding like a banging gong. I didn’t want to feel nervous, but there were so many things to worry about. What if I didn’t have the same lunch hour as my friends and I ended up alone? What if my teachers weren’t understanding and my grades suffered? What if I had to go out of my comfort zone with presentations or group projects?

The Bible tells us over and over again not to worry. And honestly, as someone who has struggled with anxiety, that can be difficult to hear. Doesn’t God know how many things there are to worry about? And change, which inevitably means facing unknowns, is the definition of anxiety-inducing.

When I find myself spiraling into anxiety, I have learned to take deep breaths and remember Jesus. He’s with me, and He knows what I’m going through. He faced more than I’ll ever have to face, and while He often knew what was ahead, that didn’t make it any easier for Him. Jesus still had to experience the betrayal of friends, times of loneliness, and ultimately death on a cross. But then He rose again and made everything right.

You may already know you have a notoriously strict teacher or zero classes with friends. Come to Jesus with your burdensome worries and rest in His gift of peace. Even though you will experience challenges this year, Jesus will never leave you to go through them alone. • Hannah Chung

• What kinds of changes are you anticipating in the near future? As we experience change, it can help to remember that one thing will always stay the same: Jesus and His love for us.

• How are you feeling about the start of a new school year? Whether you are excited, anxious, overwhelmed, or all of the above, consider sharing your feelings with Jesus. Spending time with Him is the best way to prepare for a new season of life.

• When we’re facing changes or unknowns, how could it give us confidence to remember that Jesus already overcame death to offer us eternal life with Him, that He is more powerful than any changes we will face, and that He is with us no matter what?

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8 (NIV)

READ: LUKE 23:32-34; EPHESIANS 4:26; PHILIPPIANS 1:6

Anger flowed through me as I pinned my friend against a tree, her feet dangling two inches above the ground. My older brother, a football player, could barely pull me off Cathy. I don’t remember what I was angry about, but I do remember how anger controlled me.

I read the Bible and prayed daily, and I loved Jesus, but anger was a part of me as well. I’m not talking about righteous anger, the kind Jesus demonstrated when He drove the money changers away from the temple (John 2:14-17). No, I mean the kind of anger described in James 1:20: “Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.”

Two years after I pinned Cathy against that tree, God started pursuing me about my anger. Finally I asked myself, “Why are you so angry?” I truly didn’t know. Later, God made it clear to me that my anger came from harboring unforgiveness in my heart. As I lay face-down before God, tears streaming down my face, I turned the whole sordid mess over to my Lord.

That wasn’t the end of my struggle with anger, but it was the beginning of the end. I would give my hurt over to the Lord, and then I would take it back. I did this again and again. But, the quicker I would give it back to the Lord, the easier it became to leave it all at His feet. As He slowly taught me to let go of my unforgiveness, I felt anger lose its grip on me.

If anyone has the right to harbor unforgiveness, it’s our heavenly Father. After all, we were responsible for nailing His perfect Son to a cross. Yet God extends mercy and grace to us without measure. In fact, it was through Jesus’s death and resurrection that God made the way for our sins to be forgiven. So, as Christians, we have no right to cling to unforgiveness. Instead we can come to Jesus with all our anger and trust Him to do His work in us. • Bonnie Haveman

• Can you think of a time you felt overwhelmed by anger? What was that like?

• Anger is not a sin in itself, but sometimes we give in to temptation more easily when we’re angry (Ephesians 4:26). If you struggle to control your anger, who is a trusted adult you could talk to about it, such as a pastor, parent, counselor, or youth leader?

• Can you think of a time you were angry and didn’t know why? Consider asking God to show you what is (or was) making you angry. You can bring Him any hurts, confess any sins that come to mind, rest in His sure forgiveness, and ask Him to guide you in how to move forward (1 John 1:9).

Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Colossians 3:13 (NLT)