Today’s Reading:
Read Joel 1:1-7; 15-20; 2:1-2,12-32;3:1-2,9-21
Let’s consider some actions and consequences. Throw a ball up in the air. If nothing interacts with the ball, what will happen? It will come down, right? What if I walk outside in the rain without an umbrella or anything to protect my head? I will get wet, right? There are things we know will happen because of actions that we take.
The prophet Joel’s message to the Israelites was filled with examples of consequences for their actions. He told them exactly what was going to happen because of their sin. Fortunately, the good news is, he also told them what would happen if they repented or told God they were sorry for their sin and stopped doing it.
Joel was a prophet whose message was for the Southern Kingdom of Judah. He reminded the people how God had sent locusts (kind of like grasshoppers) that had eaten their crops and destroyed their land. Joel told the people this same judgment would happen again because of the choices they made to not follow God’s directions in His covenant agreement with the Israelites. However, Joel’s news was not all bad news. Joel also promised the people of a future day when God would restore the land and give back what the locusts had taken. Joel’s message for the people was that God’s judgment was coming but also that God’s mercy would follow.God would restore His people and the land.
Read Joel 2:28-32. Joel prophesied of a time when God’s spirit would be poured out on all of the people. Jump ahead and read Acts 2:2-4. Everything Joel prophesied about for the Israelites came true! God kept His promise.
Application/Prayer:
Spend some time discussing actions and consequences. Parents, share a time where you made a choice or acted in a way that led to a negative consequence. How did you handle that situation? Can you share the good that came out of that experience? Thank God for the opportunities He gives us to learn from our actions and our consequences.
August Memory Verse:
“Listen, Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”
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:
August memory verse coloring sheet
August Fill-in the blank activity