Today’s Reading:
Read 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, 15-18; 12:9-11; 13:11-13
Start today off by singing the song Jesus Loves Me. After you have sung the song through, talk about what this phrase means: “They are weak, but He is strong.”
Paul faced a lot of challenges as He traveled as a missionary and shared the good news of the Gospel. It was not always easy for Him. He used examples of things he faced to encourage the church at Corinth. He wanted them to believe that they could trust in God to handle whatever circumstance they faced. He reminded them that they needed to be careful to “take every thought captive.” What do you think that meant? Paul wanted them to be careful to not allow their thoughts to lead them away from what God’s plan was in their life. He wanted them to focus on the things God would want them to think about.
Paul also shared a personal story about his weakness. He knew there were some things he could not do. He knew there were some struggles he faced. However, he wanted the church at Corinth to know that when he was weak, that was when he trusted in Jesus to provide for him and to be his strength. Paul wanted them to know that they could do the same thing.
Read 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 – “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.’ Therefore I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and in difficulties for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Paul believed that Jesus was where his strength would come from.
Application/Prayer:
Have you ever had a hard time picking something up because it was too heavy for you? What would have made it easier for you to pick that heavy item up? What if someone came alongside of you to help you? That help would have given you more power and strength to pick up the heavy item. Imagine that the challenges we face in life are like that heavy item. They are too heavy for us to pick them up by ourselves. Jesus is our strength when we are weak and need help facing the challenges in our life. Trust in Him today! Thank him for being strong when you are weak.
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