Nehase 26 — September 01

Moyses and His Sister Sara

Moyses (say it MOH-ses) and his sister Sara grew up in a good and very rich family. When their mother and father went home to God, the two of them had to decide what to do with everything they owned.

Moyses wanted to become a monk and spend his days quietly praying and growing close to God. He told Sara, "I want to give my whole life to God." Sara was brave. She said, "Whatever you do for God, I want to do for God too! We have the same mother and the same father."

So Moyses gave away all his money to people who were poor. Then he helped his sister go to live with other women who loved God, in a place called a convent, near the big city of Alexandria. Moyses went to live with the monks. Both of them spent ten happy years learning to pray and to love God more and more.

Later, a ruler who did not love God was unkind to Christian people. Moyses sent his sister a letter to say he wanted to stay faithful to Jesus no matter what. Sara read it and said, "Then I am coming too!" She traveled to her brother, and the two of them stood together and told everyone, bravely and out loud, that they loved Jesus.

Cruel men hurt Moyses and Sara because they would not stop loving Jesus, and the two of them died for their faith. They stayed true to God even when it cost them everything. They were not afraid, because they knew God was bringing them home to heaven, where they live with Him forever.

Whatever you do for God, I want to do for God too — we have the same father and the same mother.— Sara, to her brother Moyses

More Friends of God We Remember Today

On this day we also say a happy hello to some other saints who loved God with all their hearts.

We remember Abba Ammon, and a brave man named Elias with his sister Eudoxia (say it yoo-DOK-see-uh), and a holy father called Abuna Jacob. Long ago they each gave their lives to God in their own special way.

It is good to remember so many friends of God at once. They show us that loving God is for everyone: brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, the young and the old. We ask all of them to pray for us.

Agabus the Soldier and Thekla the Nun

Two more brave friends of God belong to this day: a soldier named Agabus (say it AG-uh-bus) and a woman named Thekla (say it THEK-luh). Thekla was a nun, which means she gave her whole life to praying and loving God.

They lived when a ruler named Lulianus did not want people to follow Jesus. Even so, Agabus and Thekla would not stop loving God. Men were unkind to them, but the two of them stayed strong and kept their eyes on heaven.

Both of them died for their faith, holding on to Jesus to the very end. God welcomed them into heaven the way a loving father welcomes his children home. Their story reminds us that being brave for God is always worth it.

Sara, the Wife of Abraham

Today is also a special feast for Sara, the wife of Abraham, from very long ago in the Bible. She was a kind and good woman whom God loved.

Once a king wanted to take Sara away from Abraham, but God watched over her. God told the king, "You must not touch this good woman," and the king gave her safely back to Abraham, along with many gifts. God always takes care of His people.

When Sara was already very old, God told Abraham some surprising news: Sara was going to have a baby boy! Sara laughed inside her tent, thinking, "Can this really happen to me now that I am old?" And God gently asked, "Is anything too hard for God?" Then the baby was born, and they named him Isaac. God had kept His promise!

Many years later, when Sara was very old, she went home to God in peace. Long, long afterward, from her family came Jesus, the Savior of the whole world. That is why we remember Sara with so much joy today.

Is there anything too hard for God?— Genesis 18:14