Head: Know God’s Word | Heart: Love God | Hands: Follow God’s Way  

Read Acts 14:19-28

Head

After healing the crippled man, some Jews came and convinced the crowds that Paul was wrong. They threw stones at him and dragged him out of the city thinking he was dead. However, he got up and went to another city. Despite being stoned for talking about Jesus, he continued to preach about the Good News in several cities. He encouraged other believers to stay true to the faith saying, “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” They gathered the church together in Antioch and told all about what God had done through them.

Heart

Following Jesus isn’t an easy life, but it’s so worth it. I am incredibly thankful that we don’t have to worry about being stoned or physically harmed because we follow Jesus. However, we may face persecution in other ways like being ridiculed. Other people may not understand why we live the way we do. They may make fun of us or be excited when we mess up. That’s really hard. It may seem like those who aren’t following Jesus have an easy life, but the truth is going through life without Jesus would mean we wouldn’t have peace or hope. We wouldn’t have a purpose in life and we would be empty. Jesus offers us peace, hope, purpose, fulfillment, and eternal life. Following Him is worth it!

Hands

Talk with your family about a time when you faced hardship and God helped you. Remembering how God has been faithful helps us have hope and peace for anything new we have to face.

Prayer: Dear God, You are faithful. You are my ever-present help in times of trouble. You lead me and guide me. You comfort me. Thank you!