If you’re not aware, one of the most important aspects of our Family Camp Program is our family devotional curriculum. We build these devotionals in-house as part of our 8-year journey through scripture. And for this post, we wanted to share a taste of that with you! If you weren’t able to join us for Family Camp this summer as we wrapped up the Old Testament, I hope this will give you a picture of what took place while also being a blessing to your family. And if you did come to Family Camp, I hope you’ll enjoy reflecting on some of the key points we covered!
This devotional includes some basic instructions, but please feel free to modify whatever you’d like so it fits your family’s needs.
Start by having a member of your family read this summer’s theme verse
Read: Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Say: The closing books of the Old Testament are filled with messages from Prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Micah. They each came to God’s people with a unique word from the Lord, but they all had a unified message. Their message was that God loved His people, wanted a relationship with them, and was calling them to live life in the way He instructed. God wanted others to come to know Him through the way His people were living. He wouldn’t let injustice go on forever.
This is where the idea for our theme of Rise of the Remnant comes from. God warned Israel that if they continued on in their idolatry and hypocrisy, His judgement would come. But He also promised that He would raise up a group of people who would carry on the good story He’d been writing through humanity since Genesis 1.
One thing that would characterize this remnant, and something that God has consistently called His people to, is the message of Micah 6:8. It’s what He wanted then, and what He still asks of us today.
Ask:
- What does it mean to act justly? How can we practice this in our community?
- What does it mean to love mercy? How can we live this out with each other?
- What does it mean to walk humbly? How can we exhibit this in our personal lives?
Read: Mark 12:28-31 – One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
Say: When Jesus came on the scene, He also called on God’s people to be a Holy remnant who would bring God’s love to the world by focusing on two simple — yet incredibly challenging — things. Loving God, and loving people. And when we consider the messages of the prophets throughout the Old Testament, and the ministry of Jesus and the apostles in the New, it really does seem like that’s what it’s always been about. And yet we can still have such a hard time living that out!
Ask:
- What’s one way you can focus on loving God and loving others this week?
- How would the world be different if we were all able to live in a way where the main focus was loving God and loving others?
Pray: God, thank you so much for creating us in Your image and for calling us to be Your representatives here on earth. Forgive us for the times when we’re unjust, prideful, and hateful. Please fill us with your Spirit so that we can become more like Jesus every day. Turn us into people who are characterized by loving You and loving the people around us. Thank You for sending Jesus so He could show us how to live and then die and rise again for us. We love You, and it’s in Your name that we pray. Amen.
