Today’s Reading:
Read Galatians 1-3
Imagine being in class and listening to the teacher give instructions on how to complete an assignment. Now, think about what would happen if you didn’t listen or got confused and instead of asking the teacher to help you understand, you chose to ask a friend who had not been listening well. The friend’s instructions will most likely be different and confusing, right? As the New Testament believers were spreading the gospel to other regions, confusion happened as well!
The church in Galatia was a church that Paul and Barnabus visited on their missionary journey. The people who lived in this region were not Jewish. They were not descendants of Abraham. Remember, the Paul and Barnabus were traveling outside of Jerusalem to spread the good news of Jesus, just as Jesus had commanded the apostles to do in Acts 1:8. As the non-Jewish people, the Gentiles, became Christ followers, there was some confusion among them as to what they needed to do to be saved. Paul’s message had been clear. Anyone who believed in Jesus and accepted His gift of salvation was a believer. However, some of the Jewish religious leaders believed that in order to accept the gift of Jesus’ salvation, it was also a requirement to follow the Jewish law- even if you were not a Jew. It got confusing!
Paul wrote the Galatians a letter to help them understand that in fact as new believers they did not have to follow Jewish tradition and law. Jesus had come to fulfill that law. Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Song of God…” (Galatians 2:20) Paul wanted all believers to know that there was nothing they could do to earn their salvation. Following the law was not going to make them Christ followers. Their faith in what Jesus did on the cross for them was what they needed to possess in order to be Christ followers.
Application/Prayer:
Sometimes it is hard to know the right thing to do, isn’t it? Ask God today to help you be able to hear His voice or sense His leading when you have a choice to make. Read Proverbs 3:5-6 and thank God for His promise to make our paths straight when we trust in Him alone!
November Memory Verse:
“The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God remains forever.”
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:
November memory verse coloring sheet
November Fill-in the blank activity