Today’s Reading:
Read 2 Corinthians 1-4
One of my favorite things to do is bake cookies. I’ve practiced baking cookies a lot over the years and because of that, I think I’m pretty good at it. I’ve had a lot of experience in baking cookies so I can even help others when they are learning to bake cookies. What is something you are really good at doing? Allow each member of your family the opportunity to think of something they do really well and then ask them to share about it. How did they learn how to do this thing? Could they teach someone else how to do it? How long have they been good at doing this one thing? When we have experience with something, it helps us be able to share that with others, doesn’t it?
Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth opened with a greeting from him but also with a word of encouragement. The church in Corinth had been facing a lot of struggles and challenges. Paul wanted them to know that he understood what they were going through. He had also had experience with challenges and had seen God’s faithfulness through those challenges so he wanted the church to know that God would be faithful in their circumstances as well.
Paul explained that we go through what we go through so that we can help others go through what they are going through. He reminded them that God comforts us in our struggles so that we can comfort others in their struggles. Paul also emphasized that struggles and challenges were a part of life but “everything is for your benefit so that, as grace extends through more and more people, it may cause thanksgiving to increase to the glory of God.” Paul wanted the church to know that there was purpose in their pain.
Application/Prayer:
Read I Thessalonians 5:18
“Give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for you in Jesus Christ.”
Today we read a lot about challenges and struggles. Paul explained how God can use those challenges to bring glory to him and we should be thankful for them. That is hard to do, isn’t it? Spend some time today being thankful for all that God has given you and for the challenges you are facing. Remember- we can trust God with everything we face – the good and the bad!
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