Today’s Reading:
Read Malachi 1:1-2:2; 2:5-12; 3:1-6, 16-18; Malachi 4; Psalm 50
Have you ever forgotten something really important? Maybe it was your mom’s birthday and you forgot to get her a gift! (Oh no!) Maybe you forgot to bring a homework assignment that was due to school. (Also, oh no!) Think about that time and try to remember what it felt like in that moment when you remembered the very thing you forgot! I get a sinking feeling in my stomach when I do this. What about you?
In our reading today, God was having to remind the Israelites of all that they had forgotten! Malachi was writing 100 years after the Israelites were allowed to return to Jerusalem. The temple had been rebuilt. Unfortunately, things were still not going well with the Israelites and like their ancestors (the people who had lived before them), they were forgetting what God had done for them. Most importantly they were forgetting the covenant promise that their people had made with God. Their worship was not sincere. They were not valuing the temple like they were supposed to. They were not following the law that Moses had given them. God saw all of this and told the Israelites that they needed to change!
God also promised some things in His message in Malachi. Malachi 3 talked about a messenger who would come to prepare the way for the Messiah who was coming. The people needed to prepare themselves for what was coming. God’s promise of a Messiah in Malachi 4 was the “son rising with healing in his wings.” God had a plan for His people, and He wanted them to remember it.
Application/Prayer:
Spend some time today remembering. Think of prayers that God has answered. Make a list of ways God has provided for your family. Remember to thank God for all that He has done for you. Ask Him to help you never forget how He provides for you.
September Memory Verse:
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know him,and he will make your paths straight.”
Using the daily reading prompts from George H. Guthrie’s Read the Bible for Life, here’s how to use this devotional:
- Bring your Bible! Your kids need to see that everything you are reading to them or learning about comes from an actual Bible!
- Each day starts with a reading prompt. Read the selection as a family. If your kids are readers, encourage them to read along with you.
- After you’ve read the passage, read the short devotional thought that goes along with each passage.
- Prayer and application are important any time we read God’s word! After each devotional, there is a challenge to help apply what your family has read that day.
- There is a reading for six days of the week. The last reading of the week is a Gospel Conversation Prompt to help you connect the reading from the week with God’s plan for salvation.
Other Resources:
September memory verse coloring sheet