Bible Reading: Isaiah 64:6-7; Ephesians 2:8-10

"All right!" Oliver exclaimed as his mom presented him with a pair of bright new sneakers. "They're just what I wanted!"

"I'm glad you like them," said Mom. "But let's try to keep them clean. Save them for school or when you're out with your friends. You have plenty of old shoes to wear when you're in the yard or playing basketball at the park."

"Okay, Mom," Oliver said as he put on the new shoes.

He did remember to be careful with them for a while, but one day when he came into the house, he left a trail of muddy tracks through the kitchen.

"Stop right there, Oliver! Oh, your new sneakers--they're a mess!" Mom pointed to his mud-caked shoes.

"I'm sorry, Mom," said Oliver. "I forgot I had them on. Mrs. Alberts needed help in her garden, and I guess I went a little bonkers with the garden hose."

Mom sighed, shaking her head. "It was nice of you to help her, Oliver, but in spite of your good deed, your shoes are still dirty."

"Yeah." Oliver looked down at his feet and sighed. "They look pretty bad." Then he smiled. "It's kinda like the verse we learned at church last week. My teacher said it's easy to think that the good things we do can cover up the wrong things we've done. But the verse we learned says our good deeds are like dirty rags--or in this case, dirty sneakers. They can't make us clean."

"That's right," Mom said. "Nothing we do can ever clean up the sin in our lives. That's why we need Jesus." She bent over to help Oliver pull off his dirty shoes. "Jesus promises that when we confess our sins to Him, He will forgive us and wash us white as snow."

"Can you forgive me too, Mom?"

Mom smiled. "Of course I'll forgive you, Oliver."

"I'll try to be more careful." Oliver looked at his muddy shoes. "Will you make my sneakers clean again?"

"Not as clean as Jesus can make your heart," said Mom. "But I'll do my best. Bring them over to the sink and I'll check the cleaning supply cabinet."

–Nathan Runyon

Bible Reading: Luke 6:27-37

After their bikes were stolen, Ryder and Zach asked all their friends and neighbors to be on the lookout. They prayed about it too--and Dad even prayed for the person who had taken the bikes.

As they were praying together a few days later, Ryder's thoughts wandered. I wish I could get my hands on whoever took my bike, he thought. He'd have a black eye and a bloody nose and--

Ryder opened his eyes just then and noticed the words on a plaque hanging on the wall: "Forgive one another as the Lord forgave you." He struggled with his thoughts and feelings. He felt like getting back at the person who had taken his bike, but he knew Jesus wanted him to forgive.

Later that week, Ryder looked out the window to see Bryn, a girl from his class at school, standing outside with a man next to her. What's Bryn doing here? he thought. Then he noticed she was holding on to a red bicycle.

"My daughter has something to say to you," the man said when Dad and Ryder came to the door.

"I think this is your bike," said Bryn. "I saw a man putting a blue bike in his truck in front of your house. This one was standing there too, but when I came along, he took off. I meant to just borrow it and bring it right back, but then I scratched it and was worried you'd call the police. I'm sorry. I'll pay for it."

"You're the person who stole my bike?" Ryder felt a rush of anger as he looked at the long scratch on his new bike, but then he remembered how he'd once made fun of Bryn at school and made her cry. He'd later apologized, and she'd forgiven him. I need to forgive her, he thought, because she forgave me--and because Jesus forgave me too.

"It's okay, Bryn," Ryder said. "I forgive you."

As Bryn and her dad walked away, Ryder happily pushed his bike into the garage. As he did, the long scratch caught his eye once more--but this time it didn't make him angry. Thank you, Jesus, for forgiving me for all the wrong things I've done, he prayed, and for helping me forgive Bryn.

–Evelyn J. Behrens

Bible Reading: Psalm 19:7-11

As Ryder and Zach set plates and forks on the table for lunch, a dog started barking outside. "There goes Sarge again," said Ryder. "He's always barking."

"This bark sounds different than usual," said Mom. "Maybe one of you boys should go check it out."

"Aw, Mom, we're busy," said Zach. "Besides, Sarge barks at everything--squirrels, people, cars. You name it, he barks at it." Since Mom didn't insist, no one checked to see why Sarge was barking.

When Zach and Ryder went out to ride their bikes later that afternoon, they stopped and stared at the empty garage. "Where are our bikes?" asked Zach.

"I don't believe it!" cried Ryder. "They're gone! Who would have the nerve to come into our garage in broad daylight and take our bikes right out from under our noses?"

"After all the work we did mowing lawns to buy those bikes," said Zach. "Now this!"

The boys rushed into the house. "Our new bikes are gone! Someone stole them!" Everyone hurried out to see for themselves.

Dad returned to the house to call the police department and report the loss. When he came back outside, he stopped to pet Sarge. "Didn't we hear Sarge barking a couple hours ago?" he asked. "He was trying to warn us, and we didn't listen to him."

That evening Dad read aloud from Psalm 19. "Warnings are important," he said after he finished reading. "Today Mom warned you boys not to ignore Sarge's barking, but you did. Sarge was warning us about the bikes getting stolen, but we didn't listen. In this psalm, we see that God speaks through His Word not only to teach us about who He is and how much He loves us, but also to warn us about sin."

"You mean how sin separates us from God, and only Jesus can free us from sin and give us eternal life?" asked Zach.

Dad nodded. "Yes, the Bible definitely warns us about sin in that way. But it also warns those who already trust in Jesus about the consequences of sin and how disobeying God can create huge messes in our lives. Let's be sure to listen, knowing that Jesus will always forgive our wrongs and help us obey Him."

–Evelyn J. Behrens