Today’s Reading:
Read Daniel 1-3
Let’s build something today! First, grab a sheet of paper and a pencil. Draw out exactly what you might want to build. Second, make a list of the steps you would need to take to build what you have drawn. What supplies do you need? What tools would make it helpful? Next, put your plan into action. Build what you’ve planned.
Following a plan makes accomplishing a goal a lot easier, doesn’t it? Today we read about a young man named Daniel and his three friends. These friends lived in Judah when Judah was taken captive. King Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian King, wanted these friends to be a part of his army. To do that, they had to follow a plan that was NOT what God would have wanted them to do. Daniel knew the right choice to make and even though it was hard, he stood up for what was right. He asked the King’s officials for permission to follow God’s plan and not the King’s. The official was nervous, but he agreed. In the end, Daniel and his friends were more prepared to be a part of the army then the other men because they had followed God’s plan.
Daniel’s friends followed Daniel’s example and when the King wanted them to bow down to a statue of himself, they refused. The punishment was to be thrown into a fiery furnace. They knew what the consequence of their action would be, but they trusted God to take care of them. And He did! The men were thrown into the fiery furnace but when the King looked, there were 4 men and not 3. God had come to be with them and keep them safe.
Daniel and his friends made the right choice and followed God’s plan. They trusted God with the result. King Nebuchadnezzar started to follow God after all that he saw happen with Daniel and his friends.
Application/Prayer:
Ask God for the courage to follow God like Daniel and his friends did. The best way to follow God’s plan is to know His plan. Ask Him to show you what His plan for you is. Read Proverbs 3:5-6. Thank God that trusting in His plan will help you know the way you should go.
September Memory Verse:
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know him,and he will make your paths straight.”
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:
September memory verse coloring sheet