June 3 | What are you aiming for?

Today’s Reading:

Read Proverbs 21-24

Have you ever played “Pin the Tail on the Donkey?” If not, let me tell you about it! There is usually a poster of a donkey without a tail hanging on a wall. Your job is to take a “tail” and pin it on the donkey where it belongs. The trick is – you’re blindfolded! You can’t see what you are aiming for. It makes it a little difficult! The good news is that in following God’s plan for our lives- we don’t have to do it blindfolded! Instead, we can know exactly what we are aiming for.

Proverbs 21:21 says, “The one who pursues righteousness and faithful love will find life, righteousness and honor.” There are some big words in that verse. Let’s look at them. First, pursue. What could that mean? It means to follow after or aim for. And then the next big word is righteousness. An easy way to understand that word is to think about being Christ like. Jesus was righteous – he sought after God and did what God asked him to do. So, the verse is telling us to aim to be like Jesus in all we do. Our reading today gives us some wisdom on how to do that!

Proverbs 21:23- Reminds us to guard our tongue. We need to watch what we say to others.
Proverbs 21:28 – Reminds us to be good listeners.
Proverbs 22:6- Reminds us that even as children we can learn to follow God!
Proverbs 22:9- Reminds us to love others generously.
Proverbs 23:12- Reminds us to listen to wise counsel.
Proverbs 24:17- Reminds us how important it is to be kind.

Aren’t you glad God gave us what we need to know how to pursue righteousness? Different from the silly Pin the Tail on the Donkey game, we know what we are aiming for!

Application/Prayer:

Play a game of “Pin the Tail on the Donkey” with your family. Thank God for giving us clear directions on how to live like He wants us to!

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.