READ: GENESIS 1:26-31; COLOSSIANS 3:17; 1 THESSALONIANS 5:11

I grew up around gamers. I remember spending hours of my childhood curled up on the couch watching my older brothers, Tony and AJ, play Legend of Zelda. I admired their skill and problem-solving abilities, and I often wished I could play as well as they did.

Many people look down on video games, considering them a waste of time at best and a corrupting influence at worst. But is that always true? It’s true that we can sometimes spend too much time and money on video games, and it’s true that some games contain questionable content. But did you know video games are also one place we can reflect God’s image?

We are created to create because we are created in the Creator’s image (say that five times fast). This allows us to make incredible works of art using all kinds of different mediums. Since the beginning of time, we have been painting, sculpting, writing, singing, and directing plays. And now that artistic expression can be found in developing video games.

Video games can actually tap into our good, God-given desires and abilities to be creative and to solve problems. Many games require strategic planning skills— including resource management, cooperation, and persistence—and all of these skills are vital to the kingdom of God. And many games are played alongside other people, creating a wonderful opportunity for community and connection.

I’m not saying everyone should play video games. I’m just saying that God can be glorified in all our hobbies, including video games. Even though our world is broken by sin, Christ died and rose again to save us from sin and death. He redeems our creativity. So, if we’ve put our trust in Him, we are free to serve and glorify Him in our daily endeavors. As the Creator, God loves beautiful art, and He loves a problem well-solved. And He loves it when we have fun!

So, as Christians, we can think carefully about any art form we create or consume, including video games. And as we enjoy the creativity, strategy, and cooperation found in video games, we can give praise to the Originator of all creativity, strategy, and cooperation, who loves us more than we could ever imagine. • Taylor Eising

• Where do you see God’s creativity in video games or other things you enjoy doing? Consider taking a moment to thank Him for this!

So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31 (NLT)

READ: JOHN 17; ROMANS 8:34; HEBREWS 7:25; 1 JOHN 2:1

All of John 17 is a prayer that Jesus prayed to the Father on the night before He was arrested. He prayed for several things, but the most prominent theme was His concern for His followers. In these 26 verses, Jesus uses the pronouns they, them, and those 47 times. Jesus was praying for the disciples. But the shocker comes in verse 20, when Jesus says, “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message…”

Do you believe the old, old story of the good news of Jesus Christ? Then this verse is talking about you. Jesus prayed for you on that awful night, just before He was led away to die on the cross for your sins. All the things Jesus prayed for His followers are also for you:

• To be protected (verse 11, 15)

• To be unified (verse 11, 21-23)

• To have the full measure of His joy within us (verse 13)

• To be holy, or sanctified (verse 17, 19)

• To be with Jesus and see His glory (verse 24)

• To be filled with God’s love (verse 26)

Two thousand years ago Jesus prayed for you. And did you know that Jesus is also praying for you today? This wonderful truth is found in Romans 8—that Jesus rose from the grave, ascended into heaven, and is now at the Father’s right hand praying for you. Paul writes in verse 34, “Christ Jesus who died— more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.”

Jesus prayed for you then. Jesus is praying for you now. How great is that? • Daniel Dore

• Have you ever thought about the fact that Jesus prayed for you on the night before He died on the cross? How does this make you feel?

• Read Romans 8:31-39. What do you think Jesus is praying for you today?

[Jesus said,] “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message.” John 17:20 (NIV)

READ: GENESIS 12:1-9; HEBREWS 12:1-3

I grunted as I gazed through the viewport. Black space. Tiny white dots in the distance. Nothing new here. I side-eyed my dad. This was his fault. He acted like he knew where we were going. As he looked up from the blinking lights of the console, the silver commander’s tattoo on his bald scalp gleamed in the near darkness. “Still not speaking to me, Tai?”

I fingered one of my braids. He’d named me Tai—Swahili for eagle. I was born to fly, he always said. Born to explore the unknown. Though I wanted to continue my silence, I caved. “I’m concentrating. You gave me the helm after all.” It was what I’d aced in flight class. “How do you expect me to calculate the entry trajectory if I don’t know where to go?”

Dad laughed like I’d said something hilarious. “I gave you the vector to the jump point. We’ll make planetfall then. Just follow the coordinates.”

He acted like this was no big deal. But we were in the middle of nowhere space. I wasn’t sure our tiny ship could make it to the planet he claimed was in Rho Quadrant. I’d left everything behind in Gamma Quadrant. All because Dad claimed there was a planet that might have water—a precious commodity back home. Now there was no chance of me applying to advanced flight school when I turned eighteen—and maybe little chance of us surviving at all.

I broke the silence again. “There are too many unknown variables. What if we overshoot wherever we’re going?”

“Do you trust me?”

I took in a breath. I knew what he meant. I tensed my grip on the controls, then slowly let out my held breath. He’d always been there for me. He’d never let me down before.

“Jump point ahead,” I said. It was now or never. “Throttle up.”

The ship shook as it made the jump. Seconds later, there it was in front of us: a small, blue planet. That meant water. Maybe this would be a good place after all. • Linda Washington

• Today’s allegorical story echoes Genesis 12:1-9, when Abram—who was later called Abraham—heard from God, “Go…to the land that I will show you” (verse 1). God invited Abram to trust Him—to believe that God was good and loving and that He would provide like an attentive father. Why do you think Abram followed God?

• Later in the Bible, we see God’s goodness, love, and provision on full display when Jesus gave up His life for us on the cross. Because of Jesus, we can become God’s dear children. There may be times when our Father calls us to follow Him without knowing where we’re going, like He called Abram. Have you ever experienced something like this? What happened?

• Why can we trust our heavenly Father no matter what? (Hint: read Matthew 7:9-11; Romans 8:32-39; Philippians 4:12-13)

• As Christians, we know we will one day be raised from the dead to live with Jesus forever. What kind of life do we have to look forward to in eternity? And how can our confident hope for the future affect the way we follow Jesus now? (If you want to dig deeper, read Philippians 1:19-25; Hebrews 11:8-16; Revelation 21:1-7)

But I trust in your unfailing love. Psalm 13:5 (NLT)