YE3E.1 · Activity Page
Genesis 1:1-25
Psalm 95:1-6
Psalm 148:1-13
Psalm 148:5
Isaiah 40:21-26
Isaiah 42:11-13
Isaiah 45:5-12
John 1:1-5
SUPERNOVA - an exploding star a million times larger than our sun
BIOLOGIST - a scientist who studies life and all living matter
ANTIDOTE - a cure
J.K. Rowling probably never imagined how popular her books about Harry Potter would become. You know, the little orphan wizard who rides around on a broom stick and has a magic wand. All of these books were in the top ten adult list even though they are kids books! People were amazed at the incredible things that Happy Potter did. But have you thought about who it is that really did some incredible things? After all, Harry Potter is fiction. Let’s look at something far greater and more exciting!
Imagine a world where there is nothing: no land, no oceans or streams, no life, and no light. Genesis 1:2 tells us, "The earth didn't have a shape. And it was empty. Darkness was over the surface of the ocean. At that time, the ocean covered the earth. The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters" (NIrV Kids Devotional Bible). Then one day, the great God of the universe decided to create a world for you and me. He said, "Let there be light," Think about that. At God's command there was light. God thought, “This is good!” So He separated the light from the darkness. The light was day and the darkness was night. This was the very first day. Don't you think that was a lot of work for just one day?
Day Two of creation was also a very busy day! God created sky. Imagine what that means! Before God created the sky, there was no atmosphere, no clouds, no oxygen to breathe. Before God separated the sky from the water, the earth was like a huge fog. How would you describe what the earth was like before God separated the sky from the water on the second day of creation?
Have you ever created your own town or community in a sandbox complete with running water from the hose? Imagine digging out the channels for the rivers and streams, scooping out sand for the lakes and oceans, piling up mounds for mountains and hills and plateaus. What fun! That's what God did on Day Three. He created land, separating the waters so that continents and islands would appear. This is landscaping in a huge way! But that's not the only thing God did Day Three. He also created all the seed-bearing trees and plants.
Whoa! All of them? Yes! The fruit trees and pines trees, the maples and sweet gums, the tomatoes, spinach, carrots, peppers, celery and mustard and. . . Are you beginning to get the idea of just how much God created on Day Three? This is not just some easy landscaping project. This is awesome! Just think about all of the different seeds there are. Acorns are much different than pumpkin seed, which are very different than pine cones.
So God created all of the plants and their seeds and all of the things that each plant does. For instance, did you know that oftentimes where you find poison ivy growing naturally, you'll also find jewel weed nearby. It's a natural antidote to the poison ivy oil. Have you seen how jewel weed, explodes away from the plant? You can think of many examples of the neat things plants do. God not only created the ones you know about, but many more. In fact, biologists are still discovering new plants in the tropical rain forests around the world! Wow! Yes, Day Three was a very busy day.
If you were God, what would you have created next? He created something every plant needs. What do you think that might be? Plants must have sunlight to live. So God created the sun. He also created the moon and all of the stars! Think about the black holes, billions of galaxies, and exploding nebula. Scientists think that some supernovas actually exploded thousands of years ago. They think that because they are so far away, we're just now getting the light from the explosion. When you think of all that space and all of the stars God created in that space, that is a lot to do on Day Four.
On Day Five,God created the birds and all of the creatures in the sea. Dolphins and penguins, sea otters and falcons, chickens and octopuses, cardinals and sharks. How long do you think it would take for you to list all of the different kinds of birds and sea creatures? Imagine creating each one unique, different from every other creature in some way. Think about designing an eagle's eyes or a whale's blow hole, a pelican's bill or a manta ray's shape, or an emu's feathers or a turtle's shell. How amazing all of the flying and sea creatures are!
On Day Six, God created all of the land animals! Chimpanzees and duckbill platypuses, horses and dogs, pandas and lizards, elephants and giraffes, hippos and mountain lions, tigers and bears ... And again, you can spend all day thinking about the different animals, but God spent all day making them unique and wonderful in their own way.
Think about designing an elephant’s trunk or a kangaroo's pouch, a cow's digestive system or a cat's claws, a polar bear's insulating hair or a porcupine's quills. Amazing! Each one of God's creations makes sense. The creatures were given instincts and senses and abilities to help them survive and reproduce.
The plants were created to balance the animals so that they exist in a web each dependent on the other. And God created physical laws to make it all work. One of His laws is gravity. Can you imagine trying to walk to school if there was no gravity holding you to the ground? God's creation was done right! It wasn't thrown together like one of man's inventions which needs improvements almost immediately!
The creation shows God is wise and intelligent beyond words. It also show God’s sense of humor. Look at the way a duckbill platypus is put together. When it was first discovered, people thought it was a fake. Think about how foals play or how a kitten bats a ball of yarn. God created them to do that!
Harry Potter may have captured the imaginations of many adults and children around the country. But God's wonderful creation should capture your imagination even more. Spend some time exploring our world. And give God the thanks and the glory for the wonderful things He has done!
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you so much for creating our world the way that you have. Help us to see you in your creation and remember to praise you for the awesome things that we see.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
Sunday - Psalm 148:1-13
Monday- Isaiah 40:21-26
Tuesday - Isaiah 42:11-13
Wednesday- John 1:1-5
Thursday - Genesis I:1-10
Friday- Isaiah 45:5-12
Saturday - Psalm 95:1-6
Genesis 1:26-28
Genesis 2:4-25
Genesis 5:1-2
Psalm 8:1-9
Psalm 8:3-5
Psalm 139:13-17
2 Corinthians 3:18
Colossians 1:12-16
MAN - the human race, men and women
REPRODUCE - when animals have babies or plants make seeds
EXTINCT - no longer living. No animal or plant of that kind is still alive anywhere.
ORIGINALLY- at first
Have you ever finished a project for school and then thought, "It needs something else?" God created the universe. He created light, the sky, the sun, moon, and stars, and all plants and animals. But He wasn't quite finished with His creation. There was still something missing on the sixth day that was very much a part of what He wanted to do. He said,”Let us make a man - someone like ourselves, to be the master of all life upon the earth and in the skies and in the seas. So God made man like his Maker" (Genesis 1:26, 27 NIrV Kids Devotional Bible). God formed this man whom He called Adam, from the very dust of the ground. Then He breathed the breath of life into him. Adam became a living human being.
God brought all of the animals and birds to Adam for him to give them a name. But among all these animals there was not a suitable helper for Adam. God didn't even consider a dog to be a suitable helper, even though we call a dog "man's best friend!" God said that it wasn't good for man to be alone, and He would make him a helper.
To do this God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep. And while he was sleeping, God took out one of Adam's ribs and closed his side back up. God then formed a woman from Adam's rib. She wasn't made from the dust of the ground like Adam was. Adam now had a wife - "she was called 'woman' because she was taken out of a man. That's why a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife.The two of them will become one" (Geneses 2:24 NIrV Kid's Devotional Bible).
God put Adam in the beautiful Garden of Eden for him to live there and take care of it. It was full of trees that God had planted. He could eat the fruit from all of those trees except one. God gave Him a command. He said, "You can eat the fruit of any tree that is in the garden. But you must not eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die" (Genesis 2:16-17).
God created many incredible plants and animals, but there was something special about man. Genesis 1:26 says, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness." Hey! God didn't say that about any of the rest of His creation. Think how important you are to be made in the image of God! What does that mean? It means that, from the very beginning, man was meant to someday be part of the family of God. After all, the animals and plants all reproduced after their kind. That’s what God was doing too. He was making man after Himself. What does that mean? How are we like God? We have the ability to think and reason - and that's something that the animals can't do in the same way that we can. Another part of being made in the image of God is the ability to create. Oh, we can't create great things or give life, but we invent cars and computers and telephones.
Those are all pretty complicated. But just consider being able to do a little of what God has done! Think about the wisdom and love God had just shown in creating the universe. God intended that man would someday have that kind of wisdom and love too. That's another part of what being created in His image means.
There's something else for you to learn here in verse 26. It says, "Let us!" "Us" means more than one, right? Who is the "us"? Wasn't it just God who created the universe? It was God - the God family. God the Father created our world through the One who would become his Son, Jesus Christ, and they created us to be made in Their image. This is very important for you to understand. Jesus Christ, the One who came and died for our sins, was our Creator too.
One more thing that God said when they created man: "Let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." Psalm 8:6-8 says, “You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the sea." God intended that man would be in control of our world. That's exciting! But it’s pretty serious as well. Think about how we’ve taken care of it. Look around you in the cities and in the country. Too often we've made a mess of it. We've made so much of God's beautiful creation ugly. We've hurt some animals and caused others to become extinct. We've put pavement and concrete over so much of the land that we're affecting water, the weather, plants and animals, and ourselves. And if that isn't enough, now we've started rocketing our trash into space to get rid of it. Really! If you went for a short trip in a space shuttle, you might run into garbage. This is not the way God intended that we take care of the beautiful world He created.
God intended that all of the plants and animals multiply. God told man and woman to "be fruitful and multiply." God wanted them to have children. The neatest part about that is knowing that God wants us all to be His children! When you think about all of creation and what God has made for us, it makes us very thankful to God for what He has done! "I think about the heavens. I think about what your fingers have created. I think about the moon and stars that you have set in place. What is a human being that you think about him? What is a son of man that you take care of him? You have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings. You placed on him a crown of glory and honor" (Psalm 8:3-5 NIrV Kid's Devotional Bible). What an awesome God and Creator!
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for creating mankind in your image, giving him the earth and animals to rule over, and hope of being your children. Help us to wisely live on this earth and care for it as you intended.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
Sunday - Genesis 1:26-28
Monday - Psalm 8: 1-6
Tuesday - Colossians 1:12-16
Wednesday - Psalm 139:13-17
Thursday - Genesis 2:4-7
Friday - Genesis 5: 1-2
Saturday - 2 Corinthians 3:18
Genesis 2:1-3
Exodus 16:28-30
Exodus 20:8-11
Exodus 31:13-17
Exodus 35:1-3
Matthew 11:27-30
Matthew 11:28-29
Hebrews 4:3-5, 8-10
HOLY - set apart
LABOR - work
MEMORIAL - something to help you remember a person or event
ARRAY - impressive arrangement
REJUVENATE- to put energy back into again
BENEFIT - to help
What are you planning for your next birthday? Will your mom make you a homemade cake? Will you have a big party or a few friends for a sleepover? Or will your family just quietly wish you a happy birthday in the morning? Whether you have a big party, a small family dinner, presents or no presents, or just a birthday card from your grandmother, you will have a birthday some time in the next year. Why do you keep track of it? Why is it important? Everyone wants to know how old they are, until you get to be an adult. Your birthday is a memorial of the day you were born. It is an important event in your life that you want to remember every year.
The Seventh Day of creation week is like that. It is the day God wants us to remember. Why? What really great thing happened that day? Let's see what the Bible says: "So the heavens and the earth and everything in them were completed. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing. So on the seventh day he rested from all of his work. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy. He rested on it. After he had created everything, he rested from all of the work he had done" (Genesis :2 1-3 NIrV Kid's Devotional Bible).
What is it that God did on that seventh day of creation week? He rested. That was important enough that God blessed the seventh day and made it holy. What does that mean?
It means the seventh day is set apart. God rested on the seventh day, blessed it, and made it holy. But that was just the seventh day of creation week, right? No. This is where the memorial or anniversary comes in. You should recognize the Fourth Commandment given to Moses by God: "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maid servant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy" (Exodus 20: 8-11).
This is very interesting.Your birthday is important to you, and to your mom, but most of the world really isn't interested in what day you were born. But when God finished His work of creation, He rested on that day to make it holy.
Because God made it holy, He commanded all people everywhere to rest on the anniversary of the day He completed creation. He is God. He is the Creator of everyone. He commands everyone to take one day a week to recognize and remember that fact. It's the same day every week. It's not good enough to decide for yourself what day to rest on; God's already decided that He wants you to rest on the Sabbath.
There's something else really interesting about this story. God rested. Now some people will say that God is God and didn't really need to rest because He couldn't get tired. However, the King James Version of the Bible says that God rested and was refreshed (Exodus 3l: 17). In any case, whether He would get tired or not, what we're told is that He rested. Resting means not working. That makes sense. Genesis 2: I says that "the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array." What God was creating was finished. So He stopped His work. God knew that people not only need to rest (to stop working), but they also need to sleep and get rejuvenated. It seems almost silly to mention this. Of course, we need to sleep. Of course, we need to rest. But sometimes people seem to forget that.
The miners of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in the United States often used mules to help cart the slag and the minerals out of the mine. Those mules were worked hard, seven days a week. They didn't live very long. Once the miners discovered that allowing the mules to rest one day out of the week made them live longer, the mules were rotated in the work cycle. Whether animal or human, the physical body needs to rest - otherwise it can't keep going. So, our wise God set aside a day once a week and commanded us to rest. Was it for Him that He told us to rest? No. It was really for our benefit. God said He made the Sabbath for man.
God took it one step further. Not only does He want us to rest from working on the Sabbath every week, but He also made it holy. He set it apart. And we are commanded to keep it holy. How do we keep the Sabbath holy? Well, we know we don't work. We also worship God, usually with other people who are worshiping God, and usually in church. Why do we do that? We worship God and go to church because there's another kind of rest that we need to learn about.We need to learn to rest in Him. That means we learn to take all our worries and concerns, problems and troubles to God. If we didn't have one day a week when we are reminded to rest, we might never learn to go to God in prayer and learn to rest in Him. How do we know this rest is the kind of rest God meant? Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Matthew I1:28-29).
Next Sabbath, remember that God rested on this day and made it holy especially for you. Enjoy the Sabbath and learn to rest in Him.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for giving me a day to rest, to remember that you made all of creation. You made the Sabbath to remind me to go to you with all of my cares and concerns.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
Sunday - Genesis 2: 1-3
Monday - Exodus 20:8-11
Tuesday -Matthew 11:27-30
Wednesday - Exodus 16:28-30
Thursday - Exodus 31:13-17
Friday- Hebrews 4:3-5, 8-10
Saturday - Exodus 35:1-3
Genesis 2:16-17
Genesis 3:1-24
Deuteronomy 30:19
1 Timothy 2:13-15
Revelation 22:1-2
BANISHED - not allowed to come back into a place
CHERUBIM - types of angels
CONSEQUENCE - the natural result of an action or thought
JUVENILE DETENTION - jail for kids
SINNING - disobeying God's command
Every day you have to make hundreds, perhaps thousands of choices. What should you wear? What should you have for breakfast? Should you make your bed before breakfast or after? What should you say to your mom when you walk into the kitchen? Many choices that you make are a matter of habit. They are the same choices you’ve been making every day for weeks. But one morning, you might decide to do things a little differently. You may choose to get up early and make breakfast for your parents and serve it to them in bed. Then you have all kinds of choices to make. What should you make? Should you actually serve it to them in bed or just call them when it's ready? Should you get your little sister to help or would she make too much noise and alert them to what you're doing before you're ready?
Other choices that you make are much more serious. You may choose to tell the truth when you're tempted to tell a lie to get yourself out of trouble. Or you may choose to shoplift with your friend because you want him to still be your friend. You may choose to obey your parents without complaining when they tell you to take out the trash. Or you may choose to play with your parents handgun when they're not home.
Each choice you make has a consequence. Making breakfast for your parents has a good consequence; they are in a much better mood, unless you made a horrible mess of the kitchen. Telling the truth makes people trust you. That's good. Shoplifting can get you into all sorts of trouble. A grocery store in St. Louis has a sign posted that advertises a free ride in a police car . . . if you're caught shoplifting. That's bad. Obeying your parents can earn you privileges because you're acting responsibly. That's good! Playing with a handgun can cause someone to be injured or killed accidentally. That's bad. In each case, the consequence can't be undone.
You can't undo a death or a ride in a police car to juvenile detention. You can't undo trust or extra privileges either, not unless you make another choice that causes negative consequences.
Well, you're not alone in the choices that you make. From the very beginning, people have been making choices. Right away in the Garden of Eden, God told Adam and Eve, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die" (Genesis 2:16-17). That's pretty straightforward. There are lots of trees in the garden. Just don't eat the fruit from one tree.
But the serpent told Eve that what God said wasn't true. "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." Now Eve had to make a choice. Was God telling them the truth? Should she eat of the tree when God told them not to? Would it be nice to be like God, knowing good and evil? She made the choice to eat of the tree when she was told not to. Genesis 3:6 says, "When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it." Then she made another choice. She chose to give some to Adam. Then he made a choice. Adam chose to eat the fruit that he knew he shouldn't eat.
Of course, it wasn't long before God found out what they had done. Then Adam made another choice. God asked him if he had eaten from the tree that he'd been commanded not to eat from. Adam chose to blame Eve for it. He could have chosen to just say, "Yes, I ate from the tree. I was wrong.” He didn't do that. He chose to blame Eve, or maybe even God because God was the One who made Eve for him in the first place. And Eve made the same choice. When she was asked, she blamed the serpent.
These choices had consequences. God cursed the serpent. The serpent would crawl on his belly and eat dust. He would also become the enemy of the woman and her children down through time. The woman would now find childbirth very painful and would be ruled by her husband. The ground would be cursed. And the man would have to work very hard to grow enough food to live. Those consequences have come down to us, today, from Adam and Eve.
There was one other consequence. God banished Adam and Eve from the beautiful Garden. He never wanted human beings to go back into the garden. So He placed cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way.
Why did He do that? "The LORD God said, ‘The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever'" (Genesis 3:22, 24). If Adam and Eve had been allowed to stay in the Garden, they could have eaten from the Tree of Life. Then they could have lived forever. Because they disobeyed God, there were consequences. Now the only way to eternal life would be through Jesus Christ coming to save the world.
Someday, you and I will get to see the Tree of Life. God is giving us that opportunity today. If we choose to follow Him today, if we choose the ways of God in our lives everyday, then someday we'll get to see what God kept from Adam and Eve. Someday, if we choose Jesus Christ as our Savior, the consequence will be eternal life. That’s good!
The Bible says, "Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations." This is a great tree! The leaves are for the healing of the nations! I want to see that tree! Don't you? What choice will you make today?
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for allowing me to make my own choices. Help me to always choose you and your ways in my life.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.
Sunday - Genesis 2:16-17
Monday - Genesis 3:1-7
Tuesday - Genesis 3:8-13
Wednesday - Genesis 3:14-19
Thursday - Genesis 3:21-24
Friday- Revelation 22:1-2
Saturday - 1 Timothy 2:13-15
Genesis 4 - 6:8
Genesis 6:5-6
Psalm 7:9-11
Psalm 90: 8-12
Proverbs 3:1-4
Ephesians 4:30-32
2 Timothy 3:1-5
VICIOUS - savage, dangerous, violent, intense
GENERATION - al of the offspring who live at the same time from a common ancestor
ANCESTOR - someone in your family who lived before you
DECREED- stated, passed a law
FOREFATHERS - people in your family who lived before you
CENTURY - one hundred years
Jenna ran into the kitchen, waving her arms and calling to her mom, "Hey, Mom, guess what! Tracie's going to let me have one of her puppies! I've got it all picked out! I want the one with the mask across his face." Mrs. Williams sighed and thought about last evening's conversation with Jenna's dad. AfterJenna had gone to bed, they had decided to let her have one of Tracie's puppies even though Mrs. Williams wasn't sure it was the right decision. "Tracie's going to bring it over this afternoon! I've already got a name picked out: Pirate, because of the mask, you know!" Jenna called over her shoulder as she excitedly headed down the hallway. She was already thinking of where to put Pirate's bed.
Several weeks later, Jenna knew she was going to have to talk with her parents. She really dreaded it. Pirate was not a small puppy anymore; he was rapidly growing into his name. He'd torn up several of her shirts, even her favorite Pokemon one. He'd started chewing on her dad's motorcycle seat, but Jenna stopped him before there had been too much damage. Still, Mr. Williams hadn't been very happy about al of those teeth marks. Last week, Pirate chewed up her brother's sneakers. Jeremy wasn't back from summer camp yet, so she hadn't told her parents about that crime. But the worst of Pirate's behavior was the biting. She'd convinced her friends, Tracie, Sarah, and Kayla not to tell about Pirate biting them. He had bitten each of them at different times and on different days.
She didn't know how much longer she'd be able to keep him from attacking the postman, the delivery men, and other visitors to the Williams home. He just turned so mean with people outside the family. She worried about what Pirate was going to do to her brother, Jeremy. Jenna knew, deep in her heart, that she wasn't going to be able to keep Pirate. And that made her very sad.
This story makes us think about today's memory verse: "The LORD saw how bad the sins of all people had become on the earth. All of the thoughts in their hearts were always directed only toward what was evil. The LORD was very sad that he had made human beings on the earth. His heart was filled with pain."
What had happened to make God feel like this? What had people done? Genesis 4 tells us the story of Cain and Abel. These brothers were the first two children of Adam and Eve. When it came time to give an offering to God, Cain brought some of his field produce and Abel brought the fattest firstborn lambs from his flock of sheep. God appreciated the gift Abel brought. We're not told exactly why God appreciated Abel’s gift. Perhaps because it was generous and recognized God as the Giver of everything. However, God didn't like Cain's gift. Again, we're not quite sure why, but we do know that Cain really didn't have a very good attitude in giving the gift to God.
Attitude is very important when offering a gift to God. Not only did Cain start out with a bad attitude, his attitude got even worse when he saw that God didn't like his offering. In fact, Cain got so angry that he killed Abel! And then he buried him so that no one would know! When God asked about Abel. Cain lied! But God knew what had happened.
If what Cain had done wasn't bad enough, five generations later Can's great-great-great grandson killed a man for just injuring him! He seemed to be proud of the fact! Yes, human beings got really evil very quickly.
The book of Genesis doesn't tell us all of the violence and destruction. It just tells us about these two sins.Then, in chapter 5, there's one really interesting comment. Genesis 5:23-24 tells us, "Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away." We don't know what that means, but it does seem to tell us that there were not many people who walked with God. Most people didn't think it was important to love and obey God.
God noticed that Enoch loved and obeyed Him. This was so unusual God told us about it in the Bible. We know that Enoch was special. People were really rotten. They were so bad that God didn't want to let human beings live anymore. He was tired of putting up with their actions.
God was sorry that He had made human beings because they had done such awful things. At that time they were so bad that God was ready to completely wipe out everything that He had made - human beings, animals, creatures that moved along the ground and birds. And He set the date. God gave mankind 120 years to turn themselves around. After that, it would be too late. How does that make you feel?
But think! People weren't just evil back in the days of Adam and Eve. They have been bad ever since. People's sins get worse as time goes on.The Bible tells us that many people are going to get really evil again right before Christ returns. "There will be terrible times in the last days. People will love money. They will brag and be proud. They will tear others down. They will not obey their parents. They won't be thankful or holy. They won't love others. They won't forgive others. They will tell lies about people." (2 Timothy 3:1-3a, NIrV Kids Devotional Bible). Yes, many people are going to be doing really bad things again. In fact, many already are.
What about you? Are you like Enoch, who walked with God? Is loving and obeying God the most important thing in your life? Does it make you kind of sick to see how evil some people are? It’s worth thinking about. Our life depends on it.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for creating us and for being so patient with all of us despite how bad some people are. Please draw me closer to you and your Son, Jesus.You are my life and my salvation.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
Sunday - Genesis 4:8-11
Monday - Genesis 6:5-7
Tuesday - 2 Timothy 3:1-5
Wednesday - Psalm 7:9-11
Thursday - Proverbs 3:1-4
Friday- Ephesians 4:30-32
Saturday - Psalm 90:8-12
Genesis 6:9 - 7:24
Matthew 24:37-39
Romans 8:28
Romans 8:37-39
Hebrews 11:7
CALAMITY -terrible thing that happens
RIGHTEOUS - without guilt or sin
ACKNOWLEDGE - to admit that something is, i.e. that God lives and is in control
When your mom buys grapes at the store, she brings them home. Then she washes them in the kitchen sink with soap and water to get the pesticides and dirt off them. And she picks out the bad ones from the good ones. The good ones are saved to eat! Yum! The bad ones are thrown away. That makes sense! Why would anyone want to keep rotten grapes?
When you are writing a story for school and it's just not going very well, sometimes your dad will help you pick out the one sentence that is really good. You write it down on a fresh sheet of paper. Then you crumple up the first sheet of paper and throw it away. It is a mess and it's no good to you anymore. But you have a new piece of paper in front of you. You know what you're going to write about, and you start over again.
When God created this world, people became evil very quickly! Do you remember last week’s lesson? God decided to destroy all human beings and then start over. This was kind of like the rotten grapes and your story for school. God told Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth." How was God going to destroy the people? He was going to send a great flood that would cover the entire earth. Everything would drown.
But why did God tell Noah this? Because Noah had a special relationship with God. The Bible says that Noah found grace in the eyes of God. "Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God" (Genesis 6:9.) That doesn't mean that Noah was perfect or that he never sinned. It does mean that, like Enoch, Noah had a good relationship with God. He asked for forgiveness for his sins. He listened to God. He did what God told him to do.
It's a good thing that Noah did what God told him to do because it saved his life! Remember, God was going to destroy the whole earth, everything that lived on the dry land. But God decided to save Noah. God told Noah to build a boat - a big boat called an ark. The ark would be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. Okay, so how big is that? Well, imagine a boat that is as long as one football field and a half of another one! It was 75 feet wide. That's 25 yards - you know, like a 25 yard dash. And it was 45 feet high. That would be about like a four-story building! This was a big boat!
But God wasn't finished with the directions that He gave Noah. God told Noah to build rooms. He also had to build three levels in the ark and put a roof on it. When he was finished, Noah was supposed to coat the inside and the outside with pitch.That would waterproof the ark so that it wouldn't leak and sink. But why did Noah need such a big boat? Why did it need three levels? And why did it need rooms? Noah and his family certainly wouldn't need that much space!
God was going to save Noah and his family, and God was also going to save the animals. Noah needed the room to take two pairs of every kind of unclean animal, seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, and seven pairs of every kind of bird on the ark. God also told Noah to take every kind of food and store it on the ark, for both his family and for the animals. Think of all that food!
Noah was certainly going to have his hands full building this huge ark and getting it ready for the Flood. Then he had to gather all the food that the animals and his family would need.
Thankfully, Noah didn't need to go find all the animals. They came to him. Can you imagine the animals all arriving to come onto the ark just before the Flood? What a sight that must have been!
As Noah worked, it seems certain that his neighbors and all the people around him made fun of him. What was Noah doing building such a big boat? But Noah knew that everything and everyone who wasn’t in the ark when it started to rain would drown. God could no longer put up with how evil everyone had become. Everyone would drown in the coming flood except Noah and his family. Then he would repopulate the earth with that one family.
It's really something to think about. Our loving Heavenly Father has a lot of patience with us. He gives us a lot of time to learn to walk with Him and to do His will. The people who want to do His will, who want to please Him, and who believe that He is their God are special to Him.They are the ones God will be good to when He is angry towards everyone else. God saved Noah from the Flood that killed all the rest of the people who were alive at that time.This doesn't mean that everything will be perfect for Christians. After all, it wasn't a lot of fun feeding and cleaning up after all those animals in that ark. That was a lot of hard work.
But Noah and his family knew that this was what God wanted them to do. And it's the same for you. If you love and obey God nothing will happen to you that He doesn't allow, because He loves you. So if something bad does happen (maybe not exactly like a huge Flood), you should ask God what lesson He wants you to learn. Do you think Noah and his family learned a lot while they were building the ark? Do you think it was hard for them when bad people laughed at them for obeying God and building the ark? Noah and his family must have learned a lot about praising God and waiting for God to show them what to do. When the rains started, you can bet they were very glad that God was in control of their lives. They were very happy that they had listened to Him.
Can you praise God for being in control of your life no matter what happens? Why do you think that God allows people to laugh at us and for us to be uncomfortable? Our loving Heavenly Father wants us to live with Him for eternity. He knows exactly what it will take for us to do that. He knew these people had to go through a Great Flood to do it. Whatever you go through, remember this promise, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you that you are in control of my life, that you love us and are willing to save us. Help me to trust you always.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
Sunday - Genesis 6:8-11
Monday - Genesis 6:12-16
Tuesday - Genesis 6:17-22
Wednesday - Genesis 7:1-6
Thursday - Matthew 24:37-39
Friday - Hebrews 11:7
Saturday - Romans 8:28, 37-39
Genesis 7:6 - 8:16
Psalm 5:8-12
Psalm 9:8-10
Psalm 31:5-8
Psalm 37:5-9
Proverbs 3:5-6
Romans 8:28
1 Corinthians 10:13
James 1:2-4
EXASPERATION - a feeling of frustration
INCLINATION - leaning toward a thought or action; favor for one thing more than another
Carrie sighed as she glanced at the rain hitting her bedroom window. It had been raining for a week now. A whole week! She was tired of sitting inside reading books and playing Monopoly with her little brother. Even helping Mom bake cookies had gotten a little old. "How long is it going to rain?" she asked herself in exasperation. Just as soon as she could get outside, she was ready to plant flowers in her own little flower bed. She wanted to roller blade with her best friend, Theresa. She would even be happy to take the dog for a walk. Anything! She just wanted to get out of the house. Suddenly, Carrie thought of a time when it rained for a much longer time than just a week. It was the Great Flood when God destroyed the entire earth.
Just thinking about all that water made her shake her head. It was hard to understand how water could cover everything. Maybe she should not be so impatient for the rain to stop. After all, it could be a lot worse.
Why did God flood the entire earth with water? Why did He completely wipe out all life on land - except for those on the ark? Remember: "The Lord saw how bad the sins of all people had become on the earth. All of the thoughts in their hearts were always directed only toward what was evil.The LORD was very sad that he had made human beings on the earth. His heart was filled with pain. So the LORD said, ‘I created human beings on the earth. But I will wipe them out. I will destroy people and animals’. . .” (Genesis 6:5 NIrV Kids Devotional Bible). Imagine a society where every thought was only evil all the time!
People must have been pretty bad for God to be sorry that He created them. In Lesson 6 we learned that Noah walked with God. Because he did, God decided to use Noah to save the land animals, Noah's family, and Noah himself. Noah built an ark to hold the animals that God sent to him. When Noah, his wife, his three sons, and their wives and all of the animals were all on
the ark, God shut them in. Then it began to rain. Not only did it rain, but all of the springs at the bottom of the ocean burst open. God also opened the windows in the skies. You’ve never seen a rain like this one! Think about it raining for forty days. This wasn't just a gentle rain but such a heavy rain that the Bible says the windows of heaven were opened. And remember, it wasn't just raining, the springs at the bottom of the ocean burst open! Not a trickle! Not a fountain! They burst! That's a lot of water. Think about how tall Mt. McKinley and Mt. Evert are. There was enough water to cover even them to a depth of more than twenty feet! (Genesis 7:20). Of course, everything that lived on the land died.
Has anyone ever told you that Noah and his family were on the ark forty days and forty nights? This could be one of those trick questions. Read Genesis 7:24 carefully. Did you notice what it says? It rained for forty days and forty night. Noah and his family were on the ark much longer than forty days and nights. Keep reading. "The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.” What? That's five months! Imagine floating on the water for five months. Noah and his family cared for all of those animals for five months - in the ark! Do you think that was an easy job?
Thankfully, God sent a wind to begin to dry up the water. Exactly five months after the rain started, the ark came to rest on the top of Mount Ararat. But there was still too much water for anyone to leave the ark. Noah, his family and the animals had to stay put for a while longer.Three months later, the tops of the mountains could be seen! Forty days later Noah sent out a raven and a dove to see if the water had gone down enough for everyone to leave the ark. The dove couldn't find any place to rest, so she returned to the ark. Seven days later, Noah sent her out again. She brought back an olive leaf! Can you imagine how Noah and his family must have felt when they saw that olive leaf? Even though the dove brought back an olive leaf, Noah waited seven more days. Then he sent out the dove again, and she didn't come back.
Five months after the ark had come to rest on the top of Mount Ararat, Noah took the covering off the ark. He looked out and guess what he saw? He saw dry land! But Noah still waited. What do you suppose he was waiting for? He was waiting for God. God had just saved them from being destroyed with the rest of people. Don’t you think it made good sense for them to wait for God to tell them they could leave the ark? Almost two months later, God told Noah that everyone could leave the ark. Noah, his family, and the animals had been in the ark for almost a year!
What if Noah hadn't waited for God or if Noah had left the ark too soon? There would not have been any dry ground for them. They could have been in mud up to their knees! What did it mean for the dove to bring back an olive leaf? It meant that plants were again growing. The earth needed time to grow plants for the animals to eat. If they had left the ark too soon, they would have starved. But most important, Genesis 7:16 says that God shut Noah and the animals in the ark. Noah's family needed to trust that God would let them out again when He was ready. Noah saw that the ground was dry a month and a half before God said they could come out. They had to have the faith that God was in control and would take care of them. They just had to wait.
You will never experience a flood like Noah did. But you may go through some pretty scary and dangerous things in your life. What will you do? Will you walk with God like Noah did and trust Him to protect you from the disasters? Or will you decide that you are ready to do whatever you want to do? Will you wait on God even though it looks like you could do something else? But
most important, when something awful happens to you, will you trust God to take care of you? Christians don't always have good things happen to them. Sometimes we may have to go through some pretty bad things. Will you always trust God? It's important that you do. It could save your life.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Please help me to learn to wait on you and to trust you.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
Sunday - Genesis 7:11-14
Monday - Genesis 7:17-22
Tuesday- 1 Corinthians 10:13
Wednesday - Psalm 5:8-12
Thursday - Psalm 9:8-10
Friday- Psalm 31:5-8
Saturday - Psalm 37:5-9
Genesis 8:15 - 9:17
Psalm 77:5-11
Psalm 111:2-6
Isaiah 41:9-10
Romans 8:28
2 Corinthians 6:17
2 Corinthians 7:1
2 Peter 1:2-4
2 Peter 3:4-10
CONTEND - to struggle with
SACRIFICE - making an offering to God
FRANTIC - highly excited with strong emotion
CURSE - statement of evil or misfortune to come upon someone or something
CREATURES - animals
DISASTERS - something that causes wide- spread destruction and distress
Look at the rainbow!" Julie excitedly called to her family. "Ooo! I can see all the colors!" she sighed contentedly. She was thinking that one of the best things about a summer rain shower was the beautiful rainbow that formed in the receding clouds. Seeing a rainbow always made her feel really good.
God placed a rainbow in the sky as His promise that He would never again destroy the earth with a flood. Won't that promise make you feel really good every time you see a rainbow? Do you remember from the last two lessons how the people of the earth were very wicked? They lied and stole from one another. People hurt and killed each other. Even all of the thoughts of their hearts were evil all the time.
God was tired of putting up with mean and harmful acts. He decided to destroy everything that lived on the land with the Great Flood. Noah didn't join in with the bad guys. He trusted and obeyed God. Because Noah did obey God, He saved him and his family, along with the land animals and birds.
Do you remember how long Noah was on the ark? Over a year! After all of that time being on the ark, how do you think Noah felt when God gave the rainbow as a promise? Had it not been for the promise God gave with the rainbow, Noah and his family might have gotten a little frantic the next time it started raining. But let's pick up our story again and find out more about God's promise.
God told Noah that all the people and animals could come off the ark. Noah took some of every clean bird and clean animal. He sacrificed them to God on the altar he made. When God smelled the offering, God said, "I will never put a curse on the ground again because of human beings. I will not do it even though their hearts are always directed toward what is evil. Their thoughts are evil from the time they are children. I will never destroy all living things again, as I have just done. As long as the earth lasts, there will always be a time to plant and a time to gather the crops. As long as the earth lasts, there will always be cold and heat. There will always be summer and winter, day and night” (Genesis 8:21-22 NIrV Kid's Devotional Bible).
What a fantastic promise! God knows from a child our hearts are always directed toward what is evil. He knows that we all sin! God knew all this, but still He promised never to destroy all living creatures with a flood. God called His promise a covenant with Noah, all of Noah's descendants, and all of the creatures who were with Noah in the ark. God said, "I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the water of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth" (Genesis 9:11). God told Noah that He would put a rainbow in the clouds to be the sign between Himself and the earth. God said, "Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting Covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth" (Genesis 9:16).
Now, do you see why we should all feel good when we see a rainbow in the clouds? It's a reminder to us, to the animals and to God of His promise. God doesn't take His promises lightly.
The Bible tells us that a long time ago God made the world. People forget things like this because they wanted to. Then God destroyed the earth with the flood and God promised not to do that again. But does that mean that God won't destroy the earth again? Does that mean that people won't be killed in what we call natural disasters? No. Someday God will judge the earth and everything in it. Ungodly people will be destroyed. God will keep His promise and He won't destroy the earth with a flood again. He will destroy the earth with fire! Why do you think He will do this? He will destroy the earth with fire because people are wicked and evil just like they were before the Great Flood.
Does this scare you? It doesn't have to. Remember the story of Noah. He walked with God and God saved Noah because he had a special relationship with God.
What about you? When the time comes for God to destroy the earth with fire, will you have a special relationship Him? When God looks down from heaven, will He see that you believe and obey Him as Noah did? Will you walk with God? Will you live by His commandments and accept Jesus Christ as your Savior? Look at the promise in your memory verse - if you know that He is your God. It's your choice.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Help me to understand what it means to walk with you and to have a special relationship with you. Thank you for your promises to me.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
Sunday - Genesis 8:18-22
Monday - Genesis 9:11-16
Tuesday- Psalm 77:5-11
Wednesday- 2 Peter 1:2-4
Thursday - 2 Corinthians 6:17, 7:1
Friday - Psalm 111:2-6
Saturday - 2 Peter 3:4-9
Genesis 8:21
Genesis 11:1-9
Proverbs 3:5-6
Luke 14:28-30
Romans 12:1-3
Romans 12:2
1 Corinthians 3:9-16
1 Corinthians 7:14
2 Corinthians 5:17
Ephesians 2:8-10
2 Timothy 3:1-4
"BON JOUR" - good day
"RÉPÉTEZ" - repeat
"S'IL YOUS PLAÎT" - please
"LA PORTE EST VERTE" - the door is green
MORTAR - cement for holding bricks together
CONFUSED - to be unable to think clearly
SUPERVISOR - the person in charge of a project
CONFORM - to act like the people in the world around you
“Bon jour, classe." "Bon jour, Madame.” Ben was tired of repeating the French phrases over and over again. "Répétez, s'il vous plaît: La porte est verte." "No," thought Ben, "the door isn't green. It's brown!” As Ben lost interest in the French words for different colors, his mind began to wander. After all, it's pretty easy to repeat words without ever really thinking about what you're saying. First Ben thought about the soccer game after school. Then he imagined telling his friends, "La porte est verte." They’d just laugh at him . But, what if he could only speak French. What if he didn't speak any English! They wouldn't laugh then. They probably wouldn't even be his friends. What a horrible thought! Why did there have to be different languages anyway?
A long time ago, after the Great Flood, the sons of Noah had many children.And his children had many children as well. Soon, there were a lot of people spreading out across the countryside. Everyone spoke the same language. They moved to a plain and decided to build a city.
These people decided to build a tower that would reach to the heavens. They wanted to do this to make a name for themselves, and not be scattered all over the earth. That doesn't sound like a bad thing to do, does it?
They used brick instead of stone to build their city. Tar was used for mortar. The bricks were baked a long time to make them really strong. They were going to make the first skyscraper! That's a mighty construction project!
But look at what God thought about the project! “But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. The LORD said, ‘They are one people, And all of them speak the same language. That is why they can do this. Now they will be able to do anything they plan to. Come, let us go down and mix up their language. Then they will not understand each other.’ “ (Genesis I 1:5-7 NIrV Kid's Devotional Bible). So God scattered them all over the whole earth. This put an end to building this city.This city was called Babel becauseGod mixed up the languages.
Why did God mix up the languages and scatter the people all over the earth? What was wrong with building a city and a tall skyscraper? It seems to have something to do with what is wrong with human beings in general. Do you remember in Genesis 8:21 that God said that human beings' hearts are always directed toward what is evil from childhood?
The Tower of Babel was not going to be for good. The people wanted to show how awesome they were instead of how awesome God is. God didn't want the people to become so evil that He would have to destroy the earth again. So, God's solution was to make the people all speak different languages.Think about how frustrating it would be if you were working on a project and all of a sudden you couldn't understand what the person next to you was saying. Your supervisor couldn't give you instructions any more because you wouldn’t understand what he was saying. How confusing!
But this shows how self-centered people were. They did not stay and try to work things out and find some way to communicate with each other. They scattered all over the world.
What can we learn from this? Obviously, building the Tower of Babel was not what God wanted the people to do.They had not asked God if they should build that tower and city. The first thing we should always do is to go to God in prayer and ask Him to show us what we should do. God knows what is best for us; we just need to ask Him. Do you remember your memory verse from Lesson Seven? It said "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:5-6).
The second thing God wants us to learn is that we're not to live the way the world lives. When we think like God thinks we will be able to test what God wants for us (Romans 12:2). What does it mean to not live the way the world lives? Well, you can't love what the world loves: R-rated movies, football games on the Sabbath, Halloween parties, getting drunk, doing drugs. In 2 Timothy 3:2-4 we have a list of the awful deeds that people in the world do. "People will love themselves. They will love money. They will tear others down. They will not obey their parents. They won't be thankful or holy. They won't forgive others. They will tell lies about people. They will be out of control. They will be wild. They will hate what is good" (NIrV Kid’s Devotional Bible). Wow! What an awful list! You can't be like that! You can't do these things!
But what does it mean to think like God thinks? God's Spirit will help you think like God when you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior. The Holy Spirit begins to work in your life, changing you into a new person. You are a new creation.The old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5: 17) That new person doesn't even want to do those awful things listed in 2 Timothy 3! But it takes time for the Holy Spirit to work. You won't be perfect all at once. As you grow like Christ, you'll learn to recognize what God wants you to do.
The Tower of Babel was a mighty big project! But really, when you think about it, the construction of a new person in Christ is more amazing! You are the mighty construction project! After all, God is finishing the process of creating you in His image.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Please teach me how to not conform to the ways of this world. Work in me so that I will always follow you, and choose actions pleasing to you.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
Sunday - Genesis 11:4-9
Monday - 2 Timothy 3:1-4
Tuesday - Proverbs 3:5-6
Wednesday - Romans 12:1-3
Thursday - Ephesians 2:8-10
Friday - 1 Corinthians 3:9-16
Saturday - Luke 14:28-30
Genesis 12:1-8
2 Chronicles 20:6-7
Isaiah 41:8-9
John 15:12-14
John 15:12-15
Hebrew 11:8-10, 13-16
James 2:23
James 4:4
TEMPORARY - something that will not last very long
PERMANENT- something that lasts forever
INHERITANCE - something you get from your parents, usually money, when they die
Sammie could hardly wait to call her best friend Jessica! Her parents had finally given her permission to travel with Jessica's family on a camping trip. The long hours in the car would fly by! They'd talk. They'd play games. They'd giggle. Most importantly they would be together the whole trip - without their older brothers!
Jack and Dave were also excited about their travel plans.Jack could definitely see that it was good having his little sister Sammie and Dave’s little sister Jessica in the same car. They would be far away from them! That was the deal! The two girls would ride with Jessica's family. The two boys would ride with Jack’s family. What fun it would be to spend some time with his
best friend without having his little sister tagging along! "How very wonderful it is," both Sammie and Jack were thinking, "to have your very best friend going camping with you!"
Best friends! The person you trust. The person you want to be around. The person that knows all your secrets. A true friend is very special!
Did you know that there's a very special friendship in the Bible? It is the friendship of Abraham and God! The kings of Israel knew of God's friendship with Abraham. Isaiah referred to Abraham as God's friend. Even James, in the New Testament, calls Abraham the friend of God. What does it mean to be God's friend? Well, Jesus Christ tells us. In John 15:14 Jesus said, "You are my friends if you do what I command." So, what did Abraham do?
God told Abraham to leave his country, his people, and his father's house. He told Abraham to go to a place that He would show to him. And Abraham went! Hebrews I 1:8 tells us: "Abraham had faith. So he obeyed God. God called him to go to a place he would later receive as his own. So he went. He did it even though he didn’t know where he was going. Because of his faith he made his home in the land God had promised him. He was an outsider in a strange country. He lived there in tents..." (NIrV Kid's Devotional Bible). Wow! Talk about doing what God tells you to do! Abraham didn't know where he was going. He had to leave his family and all the places that he knew! And then, when he got to the place God showed to him, he lived in a tent! A tent - for the rest of his life! That was another hundred years!
The fact that Abraham lived the rest of his life in a tent is really important to us. Abraham was very wealthy. He could have built a beautiful house. But he didn't. Abraham knew that his life would only last a short while. That means he knew his life was temporary. Abraham was waiting for God to give him a permanent place to live. Hebrews 11:10 says, "Abraham was looking forward to the city that has foundations. He was waiting for the city that God planned and built" (NIrV Kid's Devotional Bible). Abraham longed for a better country - a heavenly one. As he lived his life, he anxiously waited for God to set up His Kingdom on this earth. And he was willing to live in a tent until
that time came.
Do you remember from Leviticus 23:42 that all Israelites were supposed to live in tents during the Feast of Tabernacles? Do you remember why they were to do this? It's because one of the things the Feast of Tabernacles shows us is that life on this earth doesn't last forever. We may live to be 90 years old, but from God's point of view, that's not a very long time. Our lives are temporary. Our bodies will last for maybe 70, 80 or even 90 years. But we won't live forever as physical human beings.
God has something better planned for us at Christ's return. Abraham knew that God had something better planned for him too. Christ went to heaven to prepare a place for those who are not ashamed to love Him and keep His commandments. What a place that will be! No more pain or sorrow. No more tears! No more crime! A place where everyone follows God's ways! That's the heavenly country that Abraham longed for! So, do you long for God's Kingdom?
You've learned a lot in the past nine lessons about how bad the world around you is. You've learned how important it is for you to live your life like God wants you to. You've learned that you must trust God to direct your life, and you must choose to follow His ways in your life. Did you know that when you choose God's way, you are choosing God to be your friend? Do you remember that Jesus said: "You are my friends if you do what I command" (John 15:14). Are you God’s friend?
Dear Heavenly Father,
I want to be your friend. Please work in my life so that I long for your ways and your commands, and not the things of this world.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
Sunday - Genesis 12:1-4
Monday - 2 Chronicles 20:6-7
Tuesday - Isaiah 41:8-9
Wednesday - John 15:12-15
Thursday - Hebrews 11:8-10
Friday - Hebrews 11:13-16
Saturday - James 2:23
