Today’s Reading:
Read Esther 1-5
If you were the King or Queen for the day, what would you do? Take turns sharing with your family what your day would look like if you were chosen to be royalty!
Esther was one of God’s chosen people, the Israelites, who did not return to Israel when the other Israelite refugees did. She lived in a Jewish community in a Persian city named Susa. The Persian King, King Ahasuerus, decided he wanted a new queen. The women from the community were invited to participate in something like a beauty pageant for the King to decide who the next queen would be. Esther was chosen to be the next Queen. Esther had the chance to be the queen and God used her in that role!
At first, she hid the fact that she was Jewish from the King. Esther’s cousin, Mordecai, uncovered a plan to kill the King. He reported it and saved the King’s life. Unfortunately, a man named Haman who was one of the King’s officials did not like Mordecai and he became jealous of him. So much so that Haman planned for Mordecai to be killed. Mordecai also planned for the entire community of Jewish people to be killed on a certain date and he even got the King to sign a decree to make that a law. Esther chose to use her position as queen to try to save her people. God used Esther in a special way. It was clear that He had put her in the position she was in for “such a time as this.”
Application/Prayer:
Esther’s choice of what to do as Queen was probably much different than your imaginary choice of what you would do as a king or queen. Have you ever been in a situation where you had to stand up for something you believed in, even if it wasn’t the popular thing to do? ) Mom and Dad, this might be something you can share a story about with your kids. )Standing up for the right thing is important even though it isn’t always easy. Esther was brave. Ask God to help you to be brave and stand up for what is right just like Queen Esther did.
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