July 3 | God's Message for His People

Today’s Reading:

Read Hosea 1:1; Hosea 4:1-13; Hosea 5

As you begin your time together, each family member should write a note to another family member and put it in an envelope. The note can be about anything- a message of “I Love You”, a request for help with a task, an encouraging word- you choose!

It’s fun to get a special note, isn’t it? The prophets in the Old Testament had “special notes” from God that they were sharing with the Israelites. Unfortunately, because of the choices that the Israelites were making, the notes or messages that the prophets shared were not always fun to read!

Hosea was a prophet who lived in the time of King Jeroboam II (the King of the Northern Kingdom, Israel). His message to the people from God was a serious one. God had allowed Israel to make choices. Those choices separated them from God. Because of that separation, Hosea warned the people of the consequence of their choices.

Read Hosea 5:15

“I will depart and return to my place until they recognize their guilt and seek my face, they will search for me in their distress.”

The Israelites knew that God expected them to worship Him only and not to worship any false gods. Time after time, Israel disobeyed. The actions of the Israelites did not match the actions that God had commanded for them to pursue. And, the Israelites were trusting in the political leaders and not in God. They had turned their back on the covenant that God had made with them as His chosen people.

Application/Prayer:

Open the note that your family member wrote for you. Take some time to thank God for the family member who wrote it to you. Thank God for His Word which is His message to us. It may not come in an envelope, but we can read a message from God every day. That’s a big deal!

July Memory Verse:

“Truly I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life.”

John 5:24

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.