The youth and I were studying scripture the other day and I'm feeling led to share this exercise with you. Exercise: Read Isaiah 41:1-5; Ephesians 5:1 Highlight or underline parts of the verses that made you feel something, parts you were stuck on, or words you keep going back to. Bible Study Notes: Isaiah 41:1 "Listen to me in silence". Youth: "In the quietness of our minds is where we meet God" Youth: "How do we renew our strengths? What does judgement mean? We will be judged by the things we do. The bible says there are no sins greater than the other but does that mean we will all be judged the same? Read Matthew 7:2 Verse 2 says "He gives up nations before him so that he tramples kings underfoot" Youth: "It made me think about how Jesus died on the cross for our sins." (Notice how each of us read the same scripture and it speaks to us in different ways. As you read the bible, ask the holy spirit to give you fresh eyes to see the words and help you understand it how God intended for us to understand the scripture. Not in your interpretation, but His. Isaiah 41:4 Youth: "Reminds us that the Lord has been in all generations from the beginning and will also be here for us in the future" Ephesian 5:1 The words that stuck out to me were: 'imitators' 'children', sacrifice. Youth: "God is not asking us for burnt offerings and instead the last part of the verse is telling us how God loved us so much that he sacrificed for us to have a relationship with him." Can any of us ever repay God for what He did for us? Youth: "No" Youth: "Well, you can try by going to church" Youth: "Yes, by talking to someone else about church but that still does not make God love us less. Scripture tells us that everyone falls short of God's mercy and we will even when we imitate Christ. He was the only perfect one among us that will ever walk this earth and when God is calling us to imitate him, we can look at Luke 14:13-14, do good for someone without the expectation of them paying you back. That's how we can imitate God and His sacrifice. He knew that we would not be able to repay Him but because He loves us so much, He still sent his son to die for our sins. Children - notice how children react, how they love, how they feel so much joy, how they walk in love! That is how God wants us, our hearts to be, to feel joy in His presence, to be curious to learn more the way children are curious to learn about everything. While you read the bible this week, highlight and underline the things that stick to you. What tools or methods do you use to focus on scripture during your quiet time?

Call the people you love. Leave them a voicemail if they don't pick up; send a voice recording, or write them a letter. Tell them you just want to pray for them for three minutes, and nothing else. Don't ask for anything in return. Tell them to have a blessed day. If you can do that for the people you love, you can also do it for those who hurt you. Call the people who hurt you. Leave them a voicemail if they don't pick up; send a voice recording, or write them a letter. Tell them you just want to pray for them for three minutes, and nothing else. Don't ask for anything in return. Tell them to have a blessed day. Or just spend thirty seconds praying that God softens their hearts and heals yours in the process too. How do you feel? The Found Sheep 02.16.22