Today’s Reading:
Read John 3-5
Choose someone in your family to go into a room where the light is off and flip the light switch to the on position. Before the family member completes the task, discuss with your family what will happen when the light switch is flipped to the on position. Once you’ve agreed upon the result of the action, allow the family member you chose to complete the task of flipping the light switch on. What happened? Was your family right about the result you predicted?
More often than not, when you flip a light switch to the on position, the light in the room will turn on. Because of that, we can trust that we know the result. We can have faith and believe that the light will turn on when we flip the switch. The accounts we read about today that Jesus had with Nicodemus, the woman at the well, the royal official, and the lame man Jesus healed demonstrate that same aspect of belief, faith and trust. We can believe that what Jesus said He could do, He would do. Just like turning on a light switch!
Nicodemus wanted to learn from Jesus. He wanted to understand what Jesus was teaching. Jesus explained having faith in God’s plan. We don’t know if Nicodemus ultimately chose to believe what Jesus taught him, but we do know that Jesus clearly explained what believing in God’s plan for eternal life required. The Woman at the Well was surprised by Jesus’ teachings. Jesus revealed himself to her as the Messiah and was able to help her believe by telling her things about her past that he shouldn’t have known. She believed quickly and rushed to tell others. The Royal Official had heard all that Jesus had done and he believed that Jesus could heal his son just by saying the words. And the lame man acted on his belief in Jesus when he immediately stood up when Jesus told him to.
Application/Prayer:
Discuss with your family what you believe about Jesus. Talk about who you believe He is, what you believe He did for us, and what happens as a result of that belief. Thank God for sending Jesus so that we don’t have to be separated from God anymore. Our belief in Jesus and what He did for us on the cross is what makes it possible for us to have eternal life with Him. Thank God for that today!
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