This devotional

All Hyde Park students will be doing the same devotionals throughout this week, so you can talk to your friends and family about what you are learning. We’ve designed this book to point you back to God each day. It is only through HIS strength that we are able to go and serve. Each day, read the devotional and answer the questions to help you process what you are learning. Use the prayers to reflect on what God is teaching you as you serve.

Contents

If you know anything about music, there are pedals on instruments like a piano or electric guitar that you can press down. As long as you are holding this pedal, the note goes on and on even if you stop pressing the key or strumming the chord. Sometimes you might hear someone say they need food to sustain themselves. We all need this! Food fuels our bodies and keeps us going.

The Lord sustains you. Yes, you still need food in your body. You still have to sleep at night, but the Lord is the one who keeps you going. He created you, and He sustains you. God gives us the power to do everything we do every day that we are alive!

Philippians 4:11-13 says, “... for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all things through him who gives me strength.”

Psalm 55:22 says , “Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.”

Wow. Content in every circumstance! We cannot do this on our own. The verse tells us that we need strength from the Lord. HE sustains us. It is God who keeps us going.

Where can you see that God has sustained you when something has felt hard?

Where could you trust God to help you feel content this week?

Lord, we know that we need you every moment of every day. Help us see how you sustain us. Let us remember we don’t have to be strong on our own. You will give us everything we need to make it through this day.

Help us shine your light to those around us as we remember you sustain us today and every day. Thank you for giving us everything we need. Amen.

But, what is love...really? How can I love ice cream, and also love my mom? That isn’t the same type of love. Scripture tells us that the greatest and most important commandment is to "love God with all of your heart, soul, and mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself"

(Matthew 22:37-39). This means we should:

1. Love God

2. Love other people

God's love for us is perfect. It is unconditional, unchanging, sacrificial, and we can't earn it. God loves us...and He couldn't love us any more or any less. This is the power we need to be able to love others. God’s love sustains us. It helps us know we are loved no matter what! This gives us the secure hearts to love those around us. So we have to start here. First we have to realize we are loved by God, and love Him.

The Bible tells us in 1 John 3:19 that "we love because He first loved us." Jesus went first! He shows us examples all over the Bible of how to love others. We can’t just decide to be really loving people any more than we can decide to like a vegetable we’ve always avoided! We need a bigger reason. God gives us that reason by showing that He would give up his own son to save us. This is His love that went first. This is how we get our hearts ready to love others. Jesus loved us, so we are free to love others.

In both of these situations love is an action verb. It is something we DO. We love God, and we love others. Take a few minutes to think of specific examples…things you can actively DO to love today.

What can you DO today to remind your heart of your love for God? How can you grow that love?

What can you DO today to show your classmates love? How can you show more love to your family at home?

Father, thank you for loving us. You went first to show us the way to love others.

Thank you Jesus for showing us through your life how we can love other people.

Help us see your love for us in creation, in our families, in our friends, and in your word. Let our hearts be filled with your love so we can love others around us. Amen.

You might be totally fine, and then a thought comes along and suddenly you feel afraid. Here’s an acronym for fear: False Evidence Appearing Real. There is an amazing story in Matthew 8. Jesus and his disciples were traveling across the sea when a violent storm came over the waters. Scripture says that the disciples thought they were going to die. Jesus was asleep. The disciples woke him up and he replied, "Why are you fearful, you of little faith?" Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea. And there was a great calm.

Please hear the heart behind Jesus' words. Jesus does not shame his friends for being afraid. The storm was very REAL. What was FALSE, was that the storm was in control. They had Jesus in the boat! HE created the waves, the sea, the clouds, the rain. The storm was real, but Jesus was in control. The power of Jesus sustained his friends through their fears. Fear is real, but Jesus is bigger than our fears.

"For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgment."

2 Timothy 1:7 Instead of fear, God has given us a spirit of:

1. Power - because of Jesus we can talk to the creator of the universe!

2. Love - in Jesus we are loved perfectly and have the ability to love others.

3. Sound Judgment - in Jesus we have the ability to know what is right and what is wrong…..what is true and what is false.

What makes me feel afraid?

What do you think God wants you to do when you feel afraid?

Jesus, thank you for showing us how you are in control. You are bigger than everything we fear. Help us see the false evidence in our fears. Point out how these things keep us hopeless, but you have given us all our hope in you. Help us turn to you when we feel afraid. Thank you for calming our storms. Amen.

know to be true. Remember yesterday when we talked about how fear emphasizes things that aren’t true? Joy fights fear. When we are happy because everything is great in our lives that is fine, but isn’t that what everyone does? When we show joy no matter what is going on around us, this is different. This makes those around us look to see what makes us different.

"Then it was said among the nations, 'The Lord has done great things for them. The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.'" Psalm 126:2-3

Psalm 16:11 says, "You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever."

Joy can sustain you. Joy can keep you going when things are hard. Joy can make you smile when things are amazing. Joy can carry you through good times and hard times. When you see all the things the Lord has done for you, your heart should be overflowing with joy.

Joy does not mean the hard stuff goes away. Joy is not something we have to search for, but something we choose. This is true because joy starts with what we

The joy of God is ready...waiting for us to embrace it, walk in it, to truly live in the joy that God desires for us. Joy is not found in our great experiences or in the absence of them. Joy is found in God's presence. Joy is found in understanding that Jesus gave up everythingHe gave up his LIFE- so we could have life forever in heaven. This is what is TRUE. This is what helps us choose joy.

What truth can you celebrate this week? Where can you choose joy?

How can knowing what God has done for you help you find joy?

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13 Jesus, let us see all you have done for us. Let this fill our hearts with joy so that no matter what is going on around us, we can show our hope is in you alone. Amen.