Devotions
Practice 6
How Does God See Me? As a patient
All the people recognized him. They knew he was the crippled man who always sat by the Beautiful Gate begging for money. Now they saw this same man walking and praising God. Acts 3:9-10a
How much is a clean, spotless $20 bill worth? How much is a dirty, crumpled, wrinkled, stained, torn $20 bill worth? Both are, of course, worth the same amount. Even crumpled and dirty, the bill has the same worth.
All season long, we've talked about how God is like a Doctor. God heals us and wants us to be well. Last week, we saw that we are sick and that we have broken ourselves through sin. Today, we go back to the story we read at the beginning of the season. A man couldn't walk, so he sat outside the temple and begged for money. He was broken, and he needed help. Do you remember what happened to this man? God healed him. This shows us that this man was still loved. Just like the crumpled and dirty $20 bill, the broken man was still valuable to God.
The great news is that so are we!! Yes, we have broken ourselves through sin, but God tells us that we are still worth something, and He comes to heal our hearts and souls. He has just the right tools and tape and medicine. The Great Physician wants us to be His patients so that He can fix us.
(additional for 5 th and 6 th grade):
Last week we had to choose to admit or confess that we are broken. For some of us, this was difficult. For others of us, this was easy, because we're very aware of how messed up we are. That's why today, I want to challenge you to admit that you're valuable. No matter how broken you are or how badly someone else has broken you, God still sees you as valuable. Each of us must make the choice to recognize that we really are worth something to God.
This week at home:
Pray for your child, with your child. Ask God to work in his/her life and to use them for His kingdom. Thank God for making your child valuable.
Talk with your child about ways that they are valuable. Ask them how it feels to admit that they are valuable to others, and especially to God. How does this change their lives?
Know that you are valuable to God, no matter what your past or how broken or messed up you are. He still wants to be your Great Physician and wants you to agree to be his patient. He has a purpose for you in His work and His kingdom. If this is a new concept to you, and you would like to talk to someone about it more, please feel free to talk with any of our Upward staff or coaches.
Practice 7
How do I begin a relationship with God? Come to the Doctor
Then anyone who asks the Lord for help will be saved. Acts 2:21
When people are very sick and need to get well, they go to the hospital. When you are admitted to the hospital, you receive a special bracelet. This bracelet marks you as a patient in the hospital. We are not going to send you to the hospital, but today at practice you received a bracelet that is a different kind of symbol. By wearing this bracelet, you are saying that you are a patient of the Great Physician. You are saying, I know that without Jesus my heart and soul are broken, so I am asking Him to fix my heart and soul.
The RED STAR goes to the player who plays the best defense. When you think about it, it's a whole lot easier to get people to play offense than defense. Everyone loves to score, but very few people love to do the dirty work that keeps the other team from scoring.
Like playing defense, going to the hospital requires some dirty work that no one wants to do. The biggest example is paying the bill. We all want to get healthy, but sometimes getting healthy can be too expensive. Thankfully, when it comes to our hearts and our souls, Jesus has already done the dirty work of paying our bills. He went to the Cross and was killed so that we could come to God and have our hearts and souls fixed. He stood in our defense so that we could be healed.
Now all we have to do is come to the Doctor. We have to check into the hospital so that we can be healed. The bill has already been paid. So will you check in and let God work on your heart and your soul? You do this by admitting that you are broken that you sin and then coming to God and asking Him to heal you.
This week at home:
Talk to your child about making a decision to check in and let God heal them. Older children (5 th and 6 th grade) will have a better understanding of needing to be healed than younger children. Checking in means making a choice to follow Jesus with their lives this is what it means to be a Christian.
If you are a Christian, talk with your children about when you realized you were broken and decided to check in and make a choice to follow Jesus with your life.
If you are not a Christian and/or don't know what it means to check in, or if you have made your own decision to check in and let God heal you, please talk to any of our Upward staff or coaches, and they will be happy to talk with you some more about this.
Practice 8
How do I build a relationship with God? Constant checkups
But the truly happy person is the one who carefully studies God's perfect law that makes people free. He continues to study it. He listens to God's teaching and does not forget what he heard. Then he obeys that God's teaching says. When he does this it makes him happy. James 1:25
Being a kid can be tough. You have chores, school, homework and other responsibilities. But one of the toughest things for kids is going to the doctor for a checkup. The doctor pokes and pulls and gives you shots. But usually, after the doctor visit is all over, you get some kind of surprise a sticker or a lollipop, or ice cream with mom or dad. The doctor and mom and dad want your attitude to feel as happy as your body does after a checkup.
We go to the doctor for checkups because they help us grow and stay healthy. At a checkup, the doctor makes sure that our body is working right and helps us if anything is going wrong. At a checkup, the doctor prepares us for the future challenges our body might face so that we can go through life healthy and happy.
The GREEN STAR stands for the growth we experience when we learn about Scripture during our Chalk Talks. Just like we go to the doctor for regular checkups that help us grow, we need regular checkups with God for our spiritual growth. Reading the Bible, praying, learning about God with friends, going to church, and many other things can help us check up with God. When we do these things, God can make sure our hearts and souls are healthy and working right, and He can help us when things are going wrong. James tells us that in the end we become happy just like we are when we get a surprise after the doctor's visit.
This week at home:
Talk about ways your child can choose to study and learn about God. For younger children, talk about things you already do (go to church, family devotionals, reading bible stories) that help your child study and learn about God.
Say prayers with your children sometime during the day (just before bedtime is a good time), and begin giving them some time to silently talk with God on their own during these prayer times.
