No devils in you

In this week's Gospel (Mark 1:21-28), Jesus met a grownup like that. He was mean and couldn't seem to be good, and people were scared of him -- so Jesus helped him out.

Jesus and the Apostles went to the temple (like church) to teach, and they met a man with a devil inside him. "You're from God! Have you come to destroy us?" the man yelled. Jesus said, "Quiet! Get out of him!" The devil came out of the man, and he was okay. Everyone watching was amazed Jesus could do miracles and listened to Him.

The man Jesus met had been like that for a long time -- so long that people had stopped expecting him to be good. He only remembered how to be bad. When he saw Jesus, he even teased Him.

It feels terrible to get a time-out or be sent to your room, but sometimes, those things help you calm down. If you just sit quietly by yourself for a while, you might feel a little better and remember that you don't want to be bad.

In a way, Jesus gave the man He met a time-out. He made the man calm down so he could remember how to be good, and all the meanness went out of the man. It was such a big change, people said it looked like a devil left the man!

Once you feel better, it's easier to be good. You can play without hurting people and pay attention to your Mom. The people at the temple learned that when no one was being mean, they could look around and see who Jesus really was. When the time-out was over, they could get close to God!

PRAYER FOR THE WEEK: Jesus, help me calm down when I need to. Amen!