April 6-12, 2025

Heart Preparation:
Take a moment to prepare your heart to enter into relationship with you. You are about to read the Words of eternal life. There is a purpose behind the passages you are going to read this week, God has a message for His people. Pray that your mind would be focused and your heart would be opened to His Word. 

Week’s Reading for April 6-12:
• Sunday, April 6 — Judges 19-21
• Monday, April 7 — Ruth 1-4
• Tuesday, April 8 — 1 Samuel 1-3
• Wednesday, April 9 — 1 Samuel 4-8
• Thursday, April 10 — 1 Samuel 9-12
• Friday, April 11 — 1 Samuel 13-14
• Saturday, April 12 — 1 Samuel 15-17

What to Expect:
As you read through the passage this week, you will finish the book of Judges with a civil war among God’s people as they continue to do what is right in their own eyes. You will read the entire book of Ruth and see themes of the cost of disobedience, of God’s sovereignty, of faithful living and of redemption. Then you will begin 1Samuel with the patience and obedience of Hannah and her son Samuel contrasted with the disobedience of Saul as Israel waits for a godly king.

Things to Look For:
As you read this weeks reading, notice how when there was “no king in Israel”, the people couldn’t keep perspective that God was their King; that they were to be different from those around them. When times got hard most would look for an escape or a quick easy fix, just as we do today. Then in 1 Samuel, Israel pushes the fact that they want a king at any cost so they could be just like the other nations; so God gives them their choice in Saul. But a godly king will be waiting in the wings, David, one anointed by God that will usher in the lineage for Jesus the King and Priest and true Redeemer.

Personal Insight:
As I read this weeks reading, the themes of obedience and disobedience stand out to me in times of relativism. With the advances in technologies, especially in the medical field, the boundaries of right and wrong seem harder to distinguish and we say we value ethics and patience but do not work to cultivate these values into virtues. I have to remind myself multiple times not to think I can rush God and make things happen even if it seems like the results will glorify God and I might have had to sacrifice certain things to get those results. 1Samuel 15:22 “… To obey is better than sacrifice..” comes to mind at times like that; a continual reminder that yes, God is The Redeemer and he will complete His plan but that His will is for me to deny myself and be obedient.


This weeks devotion was prepared by Jennifer Westervelt. Jennifer serves in the Nursery as well as teaching Sunday School to the 3rd-5th graders.