Potted Plants Can’t Answer Prayer

Bible Reading: Acts 16:25-34

Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with your entire household. Acts 16:31

Kelly sat across from her friend Angelica. Even though Kelly and Angelica had grown up in the same church and attended the same Bible camps, Kelly had accepted a new religion that saw Jesus only as a good man among many good teachers.

“Don’t worry about me,” Kelly told Angelica. “We each have the faith that’s right for us. Christianity isn’t all there is. The important thing is that you believe.”

“I guess,” Angelica said. She paused, then started again, speaking slower. “I guess it’s not that big a deal what you believe, as long as you believe it enough.”

Whoops, girls. It is a big deal what you believe.

A teacher once said to his class, “I believe in the power of faith. I’ve seen it change lives.” That sounds cool, but it isn’t what Christianity teaches. That teacher rightly says how important it is to believe. But he leaves out how important it is to believe in the right thing or the right person.

Here’s a quiz. Take a vote.

You want to hit a home run to win the game. Would you put your faith in

(a) your lucky batting glove?

(b) batting lessons from Sammy Sosa?

You want to cure a cancer that lurks inside you. Would you put your trust in

(a) a sugar pill?

(b) medicine proven to fight cancer?

You want to get to heaven. Would you rather rely on

(a) the potted plant in your living room?

(b) the Savior who died for your sins?

Can you see it? Just having faith in any old thing isn’t enough. What counts is believing in a person or thing that actually has the power to do what we need done.

We can have faith no greater than the size of a freckle. But if we put that faith in the right person-Jesus Christ-then faith will bring us forgiveness for sin and a home in heaven. Why? Because it rests in the One we put our faith in.

Christian faith is never fuzzy. It’s focused on the real truth of what Jesus did for you. Faith in anything else-no matter how hard you may believe—can’t save you!

TALK: Say it in your own words: What’s the difference between having faith in faith—and faith in Jesus?

PRAY: Pray for friends and neighbors who put their faith in anything other than Jesus.

ACT: Share the truth of this lesson with a friend who doesn’t know Jesus.