They thought I was going to let them play with the toys while I taught them a lesson.

But surprise!

I told them that they each had one minute to think about how the toy in their hand somehow related to Jesus Christ.

(I had grabbed all the toys at COMPLETE random, so I didn’t have anything in mind for them!)

After the youth moaned a bit and then realized I was totally serious, they started to think.

A minute later, they each took a turn to share.

I was AMAZED!

They talked about Jesus being the one who keeps them safe through life’s ups and downs, much like the roller coaster toy they were holding.

They talked about how Jesus helps them spread the gospel, just like a stretchy silly tube.

They talked about how Jesus helps them feel comforted in a crazy world, much like the fuzzy soft spots on the stuffed unicorn.

Jesus is everywhere, and His applications are endless.

I feel like as my relationship with Jesus matures, I discover new ways that He has helped me.

He has been my shepherd.

My light.

My motivation.

My peace.

My corrector.

My love.

“When Jesus came into the coasts of Cæsarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

“And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

“He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

“And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:13-16)

Who do you say Jesus is?

Sure, what do you know about Him, but more importantly, who IS He to you?

I can picture Jesus asking each one of us this same question that He asked Peter. And I think He really wants to know the answer in our hearts right now! 

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Whom say ye that I am?  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

It’s a big question.

I’m gonna bet that if you are reading this post from a scripture study account, you want to be like Jesus.

But is there anything you want more than that?

Maybe you just want to have friends and fit in.

Maybe you want your kids to be better behaved.

Maybe you want a better job.

Maybe you want your rough trial to end.

These are honestly all fine to want.

But when we want them MORE than we want to be like Jesus, we’ve started focusing on trying to save our own lives rather than turning to Christ to be saved.

Jesus even warned:

“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it:

“and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” (Matthew 16:25)

Of course, we all want to improve our lives.

Finding ways to make our own situations and relationships better is a great goal.

But anything that causes us to focus on “saving” our own lives MORE than turning to Christ is something that should be removed.

And anything that causes us to focus on the Savior is something that we should keep!

One interesting thing I’ve noticed though:

Losing our selfish views of our lives by focusing on the Savior more, can actually sometimes give us what we originally wanted for ourselves as a by-product!

We might become more well-liked BECAUSE we are developing Christlike attributes.

We might earn more money BECAUSE of our righteous desires to bless other people.

We might feel more peace during our trials BECAUSE we are willing to give them to Jesus.

But no matter the result, when we really turn to the Savior, we will always find our true purpose in life.

And gain a Glory that is more amazing than anything the world could even pretend to offer!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post More than Jesus?  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I was going through a time in my life where I felt really lonely.

I was venting to a friend, and she asked me this question.

Boom.

Immediately, ideas, comfort, and perspective came to my mind!

Have you ever noticed that before?

It’s sometimes a lot easier to coach other people through their hard times than ourselves.

We can see the little tender mercies that other people may have missed!

We can offer them an eternal perspective!

We can give advice for how they can improve the situation!

But when we are going through the tough time, doesn’t there seem to be a lot more self-pity?

“I don’t need comfort because I should be able to figure this out in my own.”

“There’s nothing I can do to make this better.”

“This isn’t fair, and I’m not sure why I have to endure this.”

One of the most transformative experiences is when we start to realize that all these things we “believe” ACTUALLY and LITERALLY apply to our own situations.

In one of the most tender and vulnerable interactions in all of scripture, a father approaches Jesus and asks Him to heal his son.

“Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

“And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief”. (Mark 9:23-24)

Elder Bednar has commented about one possibility for this father:

“He may have believed in Christ generally but not believed Christ specifically and personally.”

What a sweet admission, for this man to tell Jesus that he needed help to believe with even greater conviction.

To make the transition from “Jesus heals everyone!” to “Jesus can heal my son.”

We usually only find out where we are at when we need the help and the miracle the most.

Do we believe in Jesus AND do we believe that Jesus can actually make a difference in our lives, no matter the circumstances?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Help thou my unbelief first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

In all reality, I was asking “for a sign”. ⁣

You can expect one of those in the temple, right?!

But guess what happened instead?⁣

After I waited and waited and prayed and prayed, the thought finally came to my mind:

“I’ve already given you all the signs. You just haven’t noticed them yet.”

And IMMEDIATELY my mind was filled with all the little miracles and answers that had already been given to me over the previous days and weeks!

I just hadn’t paid attention.

Or I was looking for something so much bigger that I dismissed the smaller, less impressive promptings along the way. ⁣

The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus, asking for a sign to show that He really was the Savior of the world. ⁣

Jesus responded:

“When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. . . O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” (Matthew 16:2-3)

Jesus was telling them that they had already been given many signs that He was the Messiah. The “signs of the times” were everywhere, and yet they still wanted something bigger.

But I love that our Savior is still so loving and kind that He will point out many of the signs that we have missed.

He still gave the Pharisees an example.

And He brought all my answers to my remembrance that day in the temple.

How do we recognize the signs?⁣

Keep the Spirit with us at all times.

Make time for pondering.

Meditate. Journal. Reflect.

ASK Him to bring signs to your remembrance that you may have missed. ⁣

When we slow down and reflect, it’s humbling to see that the Lord has given us more help than we even realize!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Seeing the signs first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.