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Writer's pictureJonathan George

Burden of Proof

Kids Bible Devotional for October 24, 2024


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Focus Verse

Acts 4:21 So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done. (KJV)


Jump Start

If jumping to conclusions was an Olympic sport, there’d be a lot more athletes in the world.

Today’s prosecutors rely heavily on the burden of proof before they’re willing to go to trial. Their job is to convince a jury beyond any reasonable doubt that alleged criminals in their cases are guilty. The stronger the evidence, the stronger their case.

Yet, so often, we draw conclusions based on our own gut feelings or strongly held beliefs. These were possible reasons why so many in Israel refused to believe Jesus was the Messiah. Despite all the good He did and the many miracles He performed, some could not believe a lowly carpenter-slash-teacher from Nazareth was their promised Deliverer. And because of this, they missed the biggest miracle in all of Israel’s history.

In many ways they found it easier to believe Jesus was a schemer and a blasphemer than to accept Him as God in flesh. The religious leaders even felt that Jesus’ disciples were schemers too, and they persecuted them every chance they got.


Today's Devotion

Aaron and Ryan rode along the trail in the woods to finish up the treehouse that had been working on. When they arrived, they found that half the lumber had been stripped away. Even the pile of boards stacked against the tree was gone.

They brought their bikes to an abrupt stop. “What happened to our treehouse, Ry?” Aaron asked, dismayed.

“We’ve been robbed. Who would do such a thing?” Ryan responded.

Aaron gritted his teeth. “I have a good idea. Declan!”

“You think Declan did this?”

“That bully knew we were building this treehouse. He made fun of us for doing it. And, you know what? I saw him building a doghouse the other day. I bet he stole our boards. We should go over there and tear that doghouse down, and take our lumber back.”

“Are you sure Declan did this?” Ryan asked.

“Well, no. Not exactly. But who else could have done this?”

“Could have been anyone, Aaron.” Ryan turned his bike around.  “Come on. Grandpa has a bunch of lumber beside the barn. He said we could use as much of it as we wanted. Maybe we can even convince him to haul it over here for us on his side-by-side. Luckily, whoever did this didn’t take much. We can rebuild it in no time.”

Aaron peddled his bike beside Ryan. “Yeah, you’re right. I wasn’t happy with that wall anyway. I saw a video the other day that explained what we did wrong.”

“That’s the spirit, Aaron,” Ryan said. “This time, we can make it better.”


Wrap Up

It is in our nature to want justice and fairness. Yet, we need not look any further than Jesus to know that humankind is not always capable of these virtues. Jesus was falsely accused of crimes He did not commit. We tend to do the same.

In our pursuit of fairness, we sometimes forget grace. We jump to conclusions, and judge others without cause. For this reason, God said vengeance is His. God knows when punishment is required. We do well to protect our hearts from allowing anger and bitterness over an injustice to rob us of our peace with God. Sometimes we must learn to let some things go, move on, and let God sort it out in His own, perfect way. It's not easy, but it’s the gospel way.








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