second step in their devotions, children hear how God took care of His people in the Bible. The Talking Step Learning takes place when there is interaction. After hearing God’s Word, your children will have the opportunity to talk about ways in which they can apply God’s truth to their lives. The Praying Step Children can be guided in the development of their relationship with the heavenly Father. Your children will learn to talk with God as they would talk to a friend. Encourage your children to memorize the short Bible verse that ends each devotion. Each verse relates directly to the theme of the devotional, and memorizing it helps keep the lesson with your children. May your children’s devotional time be a time in which they act on God’s truth and grow in understanding of how God cares for them. Paul J. Loth, Ed. D.
God Gave Adam a Beautiful Home Genesis 2:8-17
The Thinking Step Do you like your home? Why? What is your favorite room? What do you like to do there? The Listening Step Adam was the first person God made. God made a beautiful place for Adam to live. He gave Adam a nice home. The Garden of Eden was Adam’s home. It had many trees. It even had a big river. When Adam got hungry, all he had to do was eat something from one of the trees! God thought of everything. Every beautiful tree was in the garden. Every tree with tasty fruit was there, too. And the river gave the trees plenty of water. God let Adam take care of everything. God took good care of Adam. The Talking Step Name all the things God has given you. Why did He give them to you? The Praying Step Thank You, God, for all You have given me. Thank You for taking such good care of me. The earth and everything on it belong to the LORD. The world and its people belong to him. Psalm 24:1 God Gave Adam a Wife Genesis 2:8-25
The Thinking Step Do you ever get lonely? Why? What do you do when you are lonely? Do you ask God to help you not be so lonely? The Listening Step God made Adam. He was the first man. God gave Adam a beautiful garden. The prettiest and the best trees were there. God filled the garden with birds and animals. God brought all the animals to Adam. He let Adam name each one. But Adam was lonely. God knew Adam needed someone who was like him. So God gave Adam a wife. Adam named her Eve. Adam was not lonely anymore. God took care of him. Adam and Eve were very happy together. The Talking Step Name a time you were lonely and God helped you. What did God do? Thank God for giving you a family and friends to help you not be lonely. The Praying Step Dear God, thank You for giving me a family and friends to help me not be so lonely. Help me remember that You are always with me. A friend is always a friend, and relatives are born to share our troubles. Proverbs 17:17 God Protected Cain Even Though He Disobeyed Genesis 4:1-15
The Thinking Step When was the last time you disobeyed your parents? Did they still love you? Did they take care of you? Why? The Listening Step Cain was not happy. Gain and his brother, Abel, brought offerings to God. God did not like what Gain brought. God liked what Abel brought better. That made Cain angry. Cain became so angry he killed Abel. “Where is Abel?” God asked Cain one day. ‘‘How should I know?” Cain said. “Am I supposed to look after my brother?” God knew what had happened to Abel. He knew Cain had killed him. So God punished Cain. “This punishment is too hard!” Cain pleaded with God. “Anyone could kill me.” So God protected Cain. He put a special mark on Cain so anyone who saw him would not kill him. Cain disobeyed God. He did a very bad thing. Even though God punished Cain, He still protected him. God kept Cain safe. The Talking Step Name a time you disobeyed God. Did He punish you? How? Did God still take care of you? Why? The Praying Step Dear God, thank You for taking care of me. Thank You for always watching over me no matter how I might disobey