Today’s Reading:
Read Galatians 4-6
Pop quiz! If you plant an apple seed, what will grow? An orange tree or an apple tree? What kind of fruit would you expect to see on that tree? Bananas, peaches or apples? In fact if you plant an apple seed, an apple tree will grow and it will produce apples. In Paul’s letter to the Galatians, he outlined for them a special kind of fruit that they should produce as Christ followers. (Not apples, I promise!)
Remember the Galatians were having a hard time understanding how to become followers of Christ. Some Jewish leaders had come and taught them that they had to follow the Jewish law as a requirement of being a Christ follower. Paul’s letter to the Galatians was helping them understand the truth about what was needed to become a Christ follower, and it did not involve following the law.
Paul explained that when Jesus died on the cross and rose again, He fulfilled the law, and we don’t have to live under the law anymore. He also explained that Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to be a presence in our life to help us live like Jesus would want us to live. Paul described the fruit that believers would bear as the “fruit of the spirit” in Galatians 5:22. Christ followers would live a life that was full of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control.
As believers in Jesus, we are NEW CREATIONS. Our lives will reflect Him as we show others love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control.
Application/Prayer:
Challenge each member of your family to choose a fruit of the spirit attribute to focus on in their life. Have each family member ask God to help them find ways to demonstrate love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control. For a visual, draw a picture of your favorite fruit and write the fruit of the spirit on it to remind you what you’re going to work on!
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