June 28 | Incomplete Obedience is Disobedience

Today’s Reading:

Read II Kings 14:3-4; 14:24; 15:3-4,9,18,24,28,34-45

Consider this story and discuss it as a family:

Suzie had a fun day playing in her room. She pulled every toy out that she had and enjoyed pretending that her room was a toy shop. It was a fun day, for sure! When it came time for bedtime, Suzie could not even get in her bed because the toys were everywhere. Suzie’s parents told her that her responsibility was to clean up her room. They expected her to put away what she had played with in the day. As Suzie looked at the room, she was overwhelmed by the mess. She chose to put away some of the toys, but not all of them. She shoved some under her bed and hid some in her closet. When her parents came into her room to say goodnight, her room looked clean. But was it? Had Suzie been completely obedient?

Today, we read about several kings of both Judah and Israel. Some of them clearly did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. Some of them did some of what God had asked them to do, but they left the high places where idol worship would happen and they didn’t stop the people from burning incense and making sacrifices to false gods. They were not following God completely.

Just like our story of Suzie and her room, the kings lack of total obedience was actually disobedience.

Application/Prayer:

Spend some time discussing the hypothetical story of Suzie. Parents, use this as a teachable moment to share with your kids the importance of completely following God with our whole hearts. Thank God for his forgiveness and ask Him to help you be completely obedient to Him!

June Memory Verse:

“Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”

Romans 12:2

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.