Today’s Reading:
Read Romans 5-8
Wrap a box in fun wrapping paper to use for your reading time today. (Wrap an empty box, trust us! It’s part of the plan!) Let everyone in your family have some fun with the wrapped gift. Pass it around. Explore it. How big is it? What is inside? Spend some time talking about what each person “hopes” the gift is.
Paul’s letter to the Romans was full of HOPE. Paul was hopeful that one day he would be able to actually visit the church in Rome and not just write letters. Paul encouraged the believers that they could have HOPE in what Jesus had done for them on the cross. Paul told the people that their HOPE should be in the glory of God. They should live life striving to bring glory to God in everything they did. Paul even told them that HOPE would not “disappoint us because God’s love (had) been poured out in our hearts.” Paul wanted the Romans to be hopeful!
Earlier in his letter Paul had explained to the Romans that even though everyone – the Jews and the Gentiles- had sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, they could have HOPE. In Romans 6:23, Paul said, “The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ.” Through Jesus, even though everyone had sinned, they could still have HOPE in the GIFT that Jesus offered to everyone of eternal life.
Application/Prayer:
What are you hoping for? Romans 8:24 says that hope that is seen is not hope at all. We hope for what we do not see. When you think about the gift your family explored earlier, I’m sure your hope is that it has some amazing gift inside of it. Have you seen it? No! But you’re hoping it is something amazing. Open it.
What was inside the box? Was it empty? That might seem disappointing. But consider this, before you opened the box, were you hopeful? You had big ideas of what could be inside. The gift you received was HOPE. You can’t always see it or touch it, but you can feel it. Paul told the Romans that we hope for what we do not see- “we eagerly wait with patience.” The Israelites had hope that the promised Messiah would one day come. When Jesus came, he fulfilled that hope. Now, we wait patiently for Jesus to return. Just as Jesus fulfilled the hope of the Israelites, He will fulfill our hope as well! Thank Him for that today!
December Memory Verse:
I have treasured your word in my heart so that I may not sin against you.
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:
December memory verse coloring sheet