Little Sins Grow
Bible Readings
Take a few minutes to read the Bible verses listed and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you in how this verse applies to you this week.
Memory Verse
“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (CEV)
Can you think of a time when you REALLY wanted to do something you knew was wrong? How did you stop yourself? Maybe you didn’t stop, and so you ate someone else’s cookie, or said hurtful words, or stole someone else's stuff!
The Apostle Peter compared temptation to a hungry lion. “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). With a predator like that around, you’d want to have a good alarm system.
The good news is that God gave each of us an inside alarm called a conscience. This internal voice helps us weigh right from wrong. When tempted by sin, we can listen to our conscience and ask God’s Spirit to help us choose what’s right. The more often we do this, the more Satan’s power fades. But when we don’t listen to our conscience and instead choose to do what is wrong—it’s like walking straight toward a lion with a warning siren blaring in our ears. Things are gonna get worse, fast! Think about the temptations you face in your life. When do you feel most tempted to choose what is wrong? How can you better pay attention to your conscience in those moments?
Prayer
God, my protector, help me listen and follow the inside alarm you’ve created in me. Help me choose what is right, even when Satan is prowling around tempting me to sin. Amen.Related Resources
Ron VandenBurg
Senior Producer of Children’s Ministry at ReFrame Ministries
Ron VandenBurg joined the ReFrame Ministries team in 2014. He plans and develops projects specifically for the spiritual formation of children. Before coming to ReFrame, Ron taught middle-school for 27 years. Ron completed a M. Ed. degree in Teaching, Learning and Development at Brock University. Ron and Rachel have three fantastic adult children and one grandchild and reside in Ontario.