Today’s Reading:
Read Ezra 7-9
Think of a place your family has gone on vacation recently. What do you remember about it? Was it hot or cold there? Were there mountains or a beach? Was it crowded or quiet? Spend some time remembering a place. Make a list of all you remember. Sometimes if we go back to a place where we have visited before, it might seem different than it was when we visited the first time. Things change, don’t they?
Today’s reading is about Ezra returning to Israel. Ezra was a scribe. His job was to study the law and help other people understand it. Ezra returned to Israel to be sure that the people living there understood all that God’s law had instructed them to do. Sadly, when he returned, he realized that many people were not following God’s laws. They had forgotten all the promises that their ancestors had made with God when they agreed to the covenant God made with them. Ezra returned to Israel to teach the Israelites what they needed to know about following God’s laws. Things had changed with the way the Israelites were living. God sent Ezra to help them know how to turn back to Him.
Application/Prayer:
Celebrate today that even though things may change in our lives, God never does! We may go back to visit a favorite vacation spot that looks different the second time around, but with God we know that nothing with change with Him. He is the same yesterday, today and forever! Thank Him for that truth today.
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