Kids Bible Devotional for January 23, 2024
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Focus Verses
I Timothy 1:12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry. (KJV)
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But it looked so real.
In 2008, the BBC aired a news report that a camera crew filming in the Antarctic witnessed penguins as they were flying to South America for the winter. They even showed film footage of the penguins soaring high in the air. Later, the BBC confessed that it was only an April Fool’s joke. The pictures of the penguins in flight had been done through special effects. It obviously looked real enough to fool a lot of people though.
The story itself could have been a practical joke, but it does make a good point about not always believing what you see and hear.
Today's Devotion
“Ah, man. I’m so dead,” John groaned, dropping his lunch tray onto the table next to his friend, Simon.
Simon swallowed the bite from his burger then glanced at John. “Uh, Oh. You must have bombed your report.”
John held up the red-lined sheet of paper. A “D” was scrawled across the top.
Simon let out a soft whistle. “Yep, you’re dead. Since your parents are going to kill you anyway, can I have your video game system? Mine’s about to crater.”
“Get serious, Simon,” John retorted. He dropped his head onto the table with a thump. “What am I going to do?”
“I’m not sure. Where’d you mess up?”
With a long sigh, John raised his head and flipped to the last page of the report. Simon scanned the teacher’s comments.
“Looks like your sources were bad,” Simon said. “Let’s see what you had.” He ran down John’s list of references. “Dude, you listed your neighbor Mr. Schwartz as your only source?”
“Well, the report was over Europe, and Mr. Schwartz did grow up there.”
Simon rolled his eyes. “He’s also claimed to have been a spy for Germany in World War II, but he’s been in the United States since he was ten. The guy’s a nut.”
John held up a hand. “I know. I know. Dumb move. But the teacher did say he’d give me over the weekend to rewrite the report for a new grade.”
“Wait a minute. Isn’t this the weekend of the big meet in California?”
“Yeah.”
“And aren’t you the team captain?”
John nodded.
“What are you going to do?” Simon asked.
John shrugged. “I guess I can’t go.”
“I got an idea,” Simon said, snapping his finger. “You can write it on the way. I’ll let you borrow my laptop.”
“There’s no way can I do that on a van full of screaming players.”
“Doesn’t Michael’s mom still follow the van in her own car? You know she’ll let you ride with her if you asked.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” John said.
“Tell you what. I’ll meet you at the library with my laptop. I’ll even help you pick out reliable books to take with you.”
John patted Simon on the back. “You know what? You’re a good friend.”
“No problem. But I still want your game system if your parents kill you,” Simon said, laughing.
Wrap Up
It’s always a good thing to depend on trustworthy sources. Paul told Timothy in the opening of his first epistle to him (I Timothy 1:1-20) that there were those who claimed to be religious experts, but they did not know what they were talking about. Paul, on the other hand, had been given his knowledge from God at an extreme sacrifice.
Wouldn’t you agree that when it comes to our walk with God, it’s important to know who to trust for guidance?
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