Family Devotions and Bible Readings

S     Acts 20:35 ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’

O     The temporary pleasure that we receive from acquiring possessions pale in comparison with the blessings of giving. By giving instead of receiving we receive the blessings of helping someone, the blessings of knowing tha...

S     Isaiah 5:20 What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter.

O     This sorrow is part of the six sorrows that Israel suffered. This sorrow was due to the people calling good evil and evil...

S     Proverbs 25:28 A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls.

O     A person who lacks self control is as unstable, defenseless, easily attacked, easily dominated, and easily conquered as a city with broken-down walls. In today’s terms we could see this as a hou...

S     1 Thessalonians 5:5-6     For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don't belong to darkness and night. So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be sober...

S     Ephesians 5:8     For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!

O     When living in darkness, we have no other choice than to love the shallow living of full darkness. Our desires, our intentions, our goals, and our thoughts...

S     Ephesians 5:1   Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.

O     We are to walk on God’s footsteps, following His example, behaving as He behaves, loving as He loves, being gentle as He is gentle, and forgiving as He is forgiving. We must behav...

S     Psalm 4:4 Don't sin by letting anger gain control over you. Think about it overnight and remain silent.

O     As we get angry, we should maintain control of our lives, of our emotions. We should never let our emotions take control over our thinking. The Psalmist even says that we shoul...

S     Ephesians 4:21-22     Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception...

S     James 2:13     For there will be no mercy for you if you have not been merciful to others. But if you have been merciful, then God's mercy toward you will win out over his judgment against you...

S     Luke 6:36     You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.

O     God wants us to imitate Him. Not to desire to be Him, but to imitate Him. He wants us to imitate Him because as a perfect, pure, and holy God, He always does what is best. If He wants us to imitate...