March 25-31 is HOLY WEEK.  Each day this week we will add an additional passage from the New Testament that walks us through what happened the week before Jesus was crucified. 

Today’s Reading:

Read Judges 6:1; 6:7-14; 7:2-8- Lessons on Faith 
Read Matthew 21:19-22; Mark 11:24-25 

Parents, as you start today’s reading, turn all the lights out in your home.  As a family, discuss how to solve the problem of the dark house.  How do you solve that problem?  Flipping a light switch on is your best bet!  What do you believe will happen when you flip the light switch to the on position?  You have FAITH that it will turn a light on!   

In our reading in Judges today, we met a man named Gideon.  Gideon was one of God’s chosen people, the Israelites.  He lived in a time when “The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.” But God had chosen Gideon to help lead the Israelites back to Him.  An angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and told him that God had chosen him.  At first, Gideon questioned that calling.  He did not have a lot of faith in what he was hearing, and he asked for a sign that God would do what he said he would do.  God gave Gideon the signs he needed, and Gideon led his people to defeat the Midianites.  Gideon’s faith was not perfect- it was weak, and he questioned God.  But Gideon did have faith- and imperfect faith is better than no faith at all!  God blessed Gideon. 

In our reading about the week before Jesus’ crucifixion, Jesus taught a lesson about faith to his disciples.  As Jesus traveled through Jerusalem before celebrating Passover, he saw a fig tree. Remember how your family decided to solve the problem darkness in your house?  You had faith that if you turned a light switch on, the light would come on.  Think about this with the fig tree.  If a fig tree is growing, what kind of fruit do you expect to see on it?  A fig, right? The same way you expect a light to turn on when you flip a switch, you can expect a fig to grow on a fig tree. 

 Jesus walked by a fig tree with only leaves and no figs.  He actually destroyed the tree because it wasn’t producing fruit.  When his disciples saw the miracle Jesus performed, they asked how it could have happened.  Jesus taught them that the miracle happened as a result of a prayer made in faith.  Jesus told his disciples to “have faith and do not doubt.”  Jesus also reminded them that whatever they asked for in prayer, with faith believing, they would receive. 

Application/Prayer:

Can you think of other things we have “faith” in – like the light switch turning a light on, or a fig growing on a fig tree?  Brainstorm a list with your family.  (a chair holding you when you sit in it, the refrigerator keeping things cold if it is plugged in, etc.). What is something your family is asking the Lord for in this season?  Thank the Lord for HIS plan for your life today.  Ask Him to help you trust His call in your life, no matter what that plan might be and even if it doesn’t make sense to you.  Ask God to help you have FAITH that whatever God calls your family to do or however He answers your prayer, you can trust in HIS plan! 

March Memory Verse:

He answered, “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

Matthew 4:4