JOIN THE JOURNEY JR.
Families Abiding in Jesus together
With shorter reading assignments and kid-specific focus areas, Join The Journey Jr. is designed to help parents disciple their kids and engage with Scripture in the best ways for their age.
This month's memory verse
There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
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He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm.
Acts of the Apostles 28
Paul on the Island of Malta
1Once we were safe on shore, we learned that we were on the island of Malta. 2The people of the island were very kind to us. It was cold and rainy, so they built a fire on the shore to welcome us.
3As Paul gathered an armful of sticks and was laying them on the fire, a poisonous snake, driven out by the heat, bit him on the hand. 4The people of the island saw it hanging from his hand and said to each other, “A murderer, no doubt! Though he escaped the sea, justice will not permit him to live.” 5But Paul shook off the snake into the fire and was unharmed. 6The people waited for him to swell up or suddenly drop dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw that he wasn’t harmed, they changed their minds and decided he was a god.
As we read last week, Paul faced some difficult circumstances on his final journey to Rome. Not only did he endure rough seas, but he also experienced a terrible storm that eventually left him shipwrecked. Thankfully, Paul and everyone aboard made it safely by swimming or floating on pieces of the ship.
That leads us to today’s reading! After the shipwreck, Paul and the others found themselves on an island called Malta, just south of Italy. For further study, check out this map of Malta. Let’s see what happened when Paul and the others arrived on shore.
“God, thank you for revealing your Word to us today and for giving us minds that can learn more about you. Thank you that you care not only about increasing our knowledge of you but also about transforming our hearts through the gospel. May our time in your Word today bring glory to your name. Amen.”