Bible Reading: Psalm 12:5-7

"He said he was going to help us." Sammy frowned. "How could Uncle Riley say that and then change his mind? We need help if we're going to move!"

Mom held a finger to her lips. She nodded to the open window. "Look at our babies getting their first meal."

Sammy peeked out the window. In the branch of the tree right outside, there was a nest with baby birds that had just hatched. A big bird was feeding each of the babies with something out of her beak. It was cool to watch.

When the meal was finished, Sammy looked to his mom. "Without money from Uncle Riley, we're going to be stuck here forever."

"I was excited when he said he was going to help," Mom said. "But we can figure things out without him. It will just take a little longer. We're going to be okay."

"How can he make a promise and then change his mind?" Sammy moved to their brown couch and sank down onto it, running his finger along a tear in the fabric. "We were counting on him doing what he said he would do."

"People are like that sometimes," Mom said. "They make promises and then don't keep them."

Sammy crossed his arms. "It's not right."

"No, it's not." Mom looked at him. "You know who isn't like that? God. Every promise He makes, He keeps."

Sammy frowned. "It doesn't always feel like it."

"It might not," Mom said. "But it's true. It's like those baby birds. I heard them chirping when their mom left them this morning. They were probably worried that she wouldn't come back. But she did come back, because she knows they depend on her to feed them and take care of them. Our heavenly Father is much more dependable than a mother bird, and He promises to take care of us."

"What if He doesn't?" Sammy asked.

"He will," Mom said. "The Bible tells us that God keeps His promises. When we were lost in sin, He promised us a Savior, and He fulfilled that promise through Jesus. And Jesus promises that even though life is full of difficulties, He will always be with us and help us. Other people may fail us, but God never will."

–Emily Acker

Bible Reading: Ephesians 4:17-24

Preston jumped from seat to seat in the back of the school bus. He joined in with the boys who were pestering other kids and laughed loudly when rude gestures were made at passing cars. After he and the others ignored several warnings, the bus driver pulled over and wrote down their names. Preston felt ashamed--and he felt even worse when he found out his parents would be contacted.

"I heard from your principal today," Mom said when Preston got home. "We'll have to talk about it later. Right now go get your homework done."

Preston was relieved when his behavior wasn't mentioned at dinner. When they finished eating, Dad turned on the news. The screen showed a man who'd been found wandering the streets. He couldn't remember anything about his past--not even his own name. "Authorities believe this man has amnesia," said the reporter. "Anyone with information that may help identify him should notify the police."

"He doesn't know his name?" Preston asked. "That's hard to believe!"

"They think he may have received a very hard blow to his head, or that something shocking happened and the man's brain reacted by blocking everything out," explained Mom.

"Oh, that's so sad!" said Preston's little sister, Mia.

"Can a person really forget who he is?" asked Preston.

"We wondered the same thing after Mom got a call from your principal today," said Dad. "It sounded like you might have been suffering from spiritual amnesia on the bus. You seemed to have forgotten who you were."

"Preston has amnesia?" asked Mia, looking at her brother wide-eyed.

"Well, he seemed to forget that he is a child of God," said Dad. "Preston--just like all Christians--has the Holy Spirit inside him. Because of God's presence in us, we're able to do what is right and show others the love of Jesus. If we forget that and start acting out of selfishness instead of love, it's kind of like we have spiritual amnesia--we've forgotten who we are in Jesus." Dad turned to Preston. "Could anyone on the bus this morning have identified you as belonging to Jesus?"

"I--I guess not," said Preston. "I'm sorry."

His parents smiled at him. "We forgive you," said Dad. "And Jesus will forgive you too."

–Nance E. Keyes

Bible Reading: Acts 4:13-20

Topher brought Mexican jumping beans to school today," said Tiernan at dinner one evening. "They look like regular beans, but they move all by themselves. Topher wouldn't say what made them move--he said it was a secret. But I looked it up and found out. I don't know why Topher didn't just tell us. It's no secret!"

"So what makes them move?" asked Tiernan's sister Ariel.

"Moths," said Tiernan. "Mexican jumping beans are three-celled bean pods that house moths. The jumping is caused by the moth larvae moving inside."

"Ew, gross!" Ariel put down her knife and fork. "Well, now I've lost my appetite."

When dinner was finished, Dad got out his Bible for family devotions. "Tiernan's story about the jumping beans made me think of something," he said. "Like Tiernan said, the reason they move isn't a secret, but there is something we often keep secret even though we shouldn't. Just like how the moths in the bean pods makes them jump, we have something in us that makes us choose to do the things we do, but we often don't tell anyone what it is."

"Well, what is it?" asked Tiernan. "I don't know either."

Dad smiled. "It's the love of Jesus in our hearts. For example, I remember when you ate lunch with the new boy at school who didn't know anyone and your friends later asked why you didn't sit with them. What reason did you give them?"

"Um, well…I just told them I knew him from math class," replied Tiernan.

"And when I was so sick, God gave me a miraculous recovery," said Dad. "But I wonder how many of us told our friends that God had answered our prayers?"

"I didn't," admitted Ariel.

"It's almost as though we're keeping it a secret that we know Jesus," Dad said, opening his Bible to the fourth chapter of Acts. "Tonight, let's read about some men who didn't keep it a secret that they knew Jesus. How about reading it for us, Tiernan? Read verses sixteen to twenty."

After Tiernan finished reading, Dad said, "Peter and John couldn't keep themselves from telling others about Jesus and how He died and rose again to save them. Let's join them by telling everyone what He's done for us too."

–Nance E. Keyes