Proverbs 13:13

Proverbs 13:13
Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded.

BIBLE MEMORY TUNE

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DEVOTIONAL
If you jump, you might go up into the air for a second, but you're going to land back on the ground. It's because there is a "law of gravity." What goes up must come down. If you wanted to be higher off of the ground, you could climb on a table, but if you didn't have a chair or step stool to climb down, you'd need to jump. And no matter how much you wished the result would be that you would float in the air, you wouldn't. You would fall to the ground. (& hopefully land on your feet!) If it weren't for the mighty engines on airplanes, they couldn't stay in the air either. They need to use the commandments of flight and landing that they've carefully studied and learned, or else when they came back to the ground it would cause much harm, and possibly death. It's just the way it is. It's the law of gravity. If anyone had a bad attitude about the law of gravity and said, "It's a dumb law! I don't care what anybody tries to teach me. I'm going to the top of this tall building and I'm going to jump off because I want to FLOAT!"
That very dumb person would not float. They would be destroyed. It doesn't matter how much they dislike the law. It doesn't matter if the law doesn't feel fair. Nothing matters except acknowledging that despising the law of gravity and pretending like it doesn't exist will get one killed.
But people who respect, or fear the commandments of gravity, those people get to enjoy the rewards of flying in airplanes, skydiving, even space travel!
The same is true with the Word of God; people who refuse to follow the law of God's Word, those who despise it destroy themselves. And those who respect (or fear) the commandments enjoy the rewards of an enjoyable, peaceable life.

THOUGHTS OR DISCUSSIONS

What happens when you drop objects of different weights at the same time?
What happens when you drop objects of the same weight at the same time?
When you jump do you stay in the air without support?

PRAYER AND COMMITMENT

Tell God that you will respect and follow the commandments of His Word.

This devotional is written by Denée Richardson. You can read her other blogs here.

Proverbs 12:1

Proverbs 12:1
Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof [is] brutish.

BIBLE MEMORY TUNE

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DEVOTIONAL
There is an old, famous quote that says, "Knowledge is power."
If you don't know the rules of a game, not only can you not win, neither can you even play. But if you have someone teach you the instructions you can enjoy the game!
You can enjoy life if you KNOW how to live life. But if a person doesn't know how to properly live life, there are only two things to do about that; one is to find people who can give you the instructions. The other is to be a brat and to behave in a way that is destructive.
Sadly, people in our world do the second choice all of the time. That's why we have police officers, and jails and courts. Those people who refuse to hear the instructions of how to live life hurt themselves and everyone around them by behaving in mean, brutish ways.
But people who love the instructions can enjoy life because they have the secret power to win: Knowledge!

THOUGHTS OR DISCUSSIONS

Do you like to play games?
What is your favorite game?
Would you still like to play if somebody always changed the rules?
Why do the rules need to remain the same?

PRAYER AND COMMITMENT

Tell God that you're glad he wrote the instructions down in the Bible so that nobody could change the rules.
Ask God to give you a hungry heart for instruction. 

This devotional is written by Denée Richardson. You can read her other blogs here.

Proverbs 1:8

Proverbs 1:8 My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:

BIBLE MEMORY TUNE

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DEVOTIONAL
When our fathers (or pastors, or grandpas, or others) take time to teach us something, we must give them our full attention and HEAR what they are saying. If we do not fully understand their instruction, we should ask them questions. We should pay close attention to instructions as it will put us further ahead in life.

We must never ignore or disobey our mom's rules. Her law is to helps gain an excellent reputation. If we will not disrespect her by ignoring laws, and if we pay attention when someone is giving us instruction, we will be very blessed in life.

THOUGHTS OR DISCUSSIONS

When is it hard to pay attention to instruction?
What can you do to eliminate distractions, or focus on the instructions?
What is one of your mom's laws?

PRAYER AND COMMITMENT

Tell God that you need his help to understand instruction, and that you commit to honoring your parents.

This devotional is written by Denée Richardson. You can read her other blogs here.

Proverbs 8:6

Prov 8:6 Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips [shall be] right things.

BIBLE MEMORY TUNE

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DEVOTIONAL

What we speak is VERY important! It's even more important than what we eat. There are reasons why what we speak is so important:

1. Other people are hearing us. We have the power to encourage them, make them feel happy, and help them live life better.

2. Our words are like tools such as hammers, & nails, or cranes, or wood, & metal. All the things a builder would need to put up a skyscraper. Our words build us and others into strong people.

3. Our talking could be destructive like a wrecking ball. If we do not purposefully use words to build, our words will hurt people's feelings. We could cause ourselves and those who hear us to be torn down, defeated and destroyed.

We must speak of EXCELLENT things! And we must strive to make every time we open our lips to speak that we are choosing to talk about right things!

THOUGHTS OR DISCUSSIONS

We can use the scripture's list of right things to think about as a guide for right things to speak about. Go around the room answering these questions one by one, as found in Philippians 4:8

• What is true?
• What is honest?
• What is just?
• What is pure?
• What is lovely?
• What good report have you heard?
• What virtuous thing have you seen or heard about?
• What person or thing can you compliment or praise?

PRAYER AND COMMITMENT

Tell God that you will make your speech to build people up, and that you will not use your speech to tear people down.

This devotional is written by Denée Richardson. You can read her other blogs here.

Proverbs 2:13

Proverbs 2:13 Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;

BIBLE MEMORY TUNE

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DEVOTIONAL

When we speak good things, behave with kindness and love, present ourselves as modest & separate people, we are walking in the paths of uprightness. The paths of uprightness are well-lit by the Word of God. The Bible is our flashlight.

We do not ever want to be sneaky, or to lie, or to dress and behave in ways that do not please the Lord. If we choose to do wrong things, then we are choosing to walk in darkness.
One night, after you've already turned out the lights and are snuggled up in bed, you may realize you need a book or a glass of water, or something from the other side of the room. If you do not turn on a light you might trip over something and hurt yourself. Walking in the dark can feel scary because you do not know if you will bump into something. It is dangerous to walk without a light.

People who do not stay on the path of uprightness are choosing to walk in darkness. That's when people hurt not only themselves, but also the people who love them. We turn on the Bible-flashlight by obeying the Word of God. Let's stay on the bright, wonderful path of uprightness!

THOUGHTS OR DISCUSSIONS

Have you ever tripped on something in the dark?
Have you ever used a flashlight to see better? 

(As an additional means of helping children remember this lesson flashlights may be given to each child. You may choose to write the word, "Bible," on the flashlights.)

PRAYER AND COMMITMENT

Tell God that you always want the Word to light your path.
Ask God to make you aware if you're ever drifting toward the ways of darkness.

This devotional is written by Denée Richardson. You can read her other blogs here.

Proverbs 3:5

Proverbs 3:5 

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

BIBLE MEMORY TUNE

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DEVOTIONAL

If somebody told you the sky is green & the grass is blue, you would not believe them. At least, I HOPE you would not believe them! Because we know the sky is blue, and the grass is green.

We are smart! We know the difference in fantasy and reality. 

Buuuut, sometimes we get too smart for our own good. Sometimes we are looking at something, and we know what the usual outcome is. For instance, if someone has a bad disease that could kill them, we "understand" that the sickness is dangerous enough to take that person away from us. That can feel very scary. 

Because we do not want to be a servant of fear, we must be quick and ready, however, to remember, "God is a healer. God sees me and will take care of me." 

Especially when life is not going well, it can feel hard to not lean on our understanding, but instead to trust that God is at work for us. We must trust that He works all things out for our good. God can see how the story will end IF we will surrender to His will and do things God's way. But if we get too anxious and fearful and try to fix things ourselves, we may make the situation WORSE.

So the next time you're in a situation where the news is bad news, don't lean on that bad news. Instead "Trust in the Lord!"

THOUGHTS OR DISCUSSIONS

What's your favorite Bible story about it SEEMING like the outcome would be bad, but God helped it turn out better?

(Elisha & the widow. Gideon's army.)

PRAYER AND COMMITMENT

Tell the Lord that you will trust him to work out your life and all the situations for the good. 

Ask God to help you do what is right.


This devotional is written by Denée Richardson. You can read her other blogs here.

It's Nearly Time

I've been slowly but surely churning out a weekly devotional that I hope will be an enjoyable supplement to a Bible Quiz team's weekly meeting, or will be enjoyed in a daycare or school, or will be a tool for parents with their children. I will begin posting the devotionals on the 1st Monday of 2015. 

My "babies" are old now and writing these devotionals have made me feel just as purposeful & excited as I was when I was a young mommy investing the seed of God's Word into my kids' fertile heart. I loved sharing The Bread of Life with them then, and it's awe-inspiring now to see what lovely, strong, fruit-bearing trees they've become.

Disclaimer:

Perhaps I'll be able to get one of my fruit-bearing trees to do some editing for me for these devotionals, as my grammar & editing are atrocious. Or I may be able to beg some editing favors from friends. But I've decided to get the ideas available, even in their raw form. Or else the deed might not be done at all. And that would be a waste.

Thanks for enjoying God's Word with me. Thanks for allowing me to enter the sacred garden of your children's spirit. I shall ever be aware of the value and honor to be there.