Today’s Reading:
Read Matthew 4:1-22; Mark 1:12-20; Luke 4:1-30, 5:1-11; John 1:35-2:12; Matthew 13:54-58; Mark 6:1-6; Luke 5:1-11
John 3:16 is a verse most of us have memorized, right? Based on what you remember from that verse, answer these questions:
Who does God love? (the world) What did God give? (his one and only son) Who should not perish? (Whosoever believes in Him) Instead, what will they have? (everlasting life)
Most likely you knew those answers because you have memorized that verse. You have hidden God’s word in your heart. Jesus also memorized verses and had God’s word hidden in his heart.
As Jesus began His ministry, the Spirit led him to the wilderness where he spent 40 days. While he was there, Satan came and tempted him. With each temptation that Satan tried to trick Jesus with, Jesus was able to use God’s word to fight against Satan. (Read Matthew 4:4; Luke 4:8 and Luke 4:12) God’s word is powerful and Jesus used God’s word to help him defeat Satan.
Jesus also used God’s word to help the people he was teaching see who He really was. Jesus taught in the temple and read from a scroll. A scroll is how the Israelites or Jewish people would have had the scripture, or the Torah written down. Jesus read from Isaiah 61:1-2, a prophecy about the coming Messiah. When Jesus finished reading, he announced to the people that the Scripture had been fulfilled.
Application/Prayer:
Choose a verse to memorize as a family this week. Commit to hiding God’s word in your heart so that you have the power of God’s word when you are fighting off temptation- just like Jesus did.
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:
October memory verse coloring sheet
October Fill-in the blank activity