5-Day Bible Reading Plan and Devotional Guide
Theme: Come to Jesus — Receiving the Kingdom with Open Hands
Based on the sermon from Mark 10 and the celebration of child dedication at Free Methodist Church
Day 1: The God Who Blesses
Reading: Mark 10:13-16
Devotional:
Jesus did not simply wave at the children from a distance. He took them in His arms, placed His hands on their heads, and blessed them. This is the God we serve — not aloof, not distant, not too busy. He is the God who stops, turns, and moves toward those who come to Him with nothing to offer. The disciples thought they were protecting Jesus from interruption. But Jesus saw something the disciples missed: a picture of the kingdom itself. Today, consider what it means that the Creator of all things makes time for you. You are not an interruption to Him. You are the reason He came.
Reflect: When did you last approach God with the simple, open-handed trust of a child? What tends to get in the way?
Apply: Set aside five minutes today to sit quietly before God with open hands, literally or figuratively, and simply ask Him to meet you where you are.
Day 2: Empty Hands, Full Hearts
Reading: Ephesians 2:8-9, and Isaiah 64:6
Ephesians 2:8-9 teaches that salvation is entirely a gift of God’s grace received through faith, not something earned by human effort or merit. Isaiah 64:6 reminds us that even our best efforts fall short of God’s perfect standard.
Devotional:
Augustus Toplady captured it well when he wrote, “Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to the cross I cling.” The sermon reminded us that grace, by its very definition, cannot be earned. The moment we arrive at Jesus clutching our reputation, our church attendance, or our moral record, we have already misunderstood the gospel. The rich young man in Mark 10 had full hands and left empty. Blind Bartimaeus had nothing and received everything. Grace is not a reward for the deserving. It is a gift for the desperate. The kingdom of God belongs to those who know they cannot purchase it.
Reflect: Are there areas of your life where you are still trying to earn God’s favor rather than simply receiving His grace?
Apply: Write down one thing you tend to rely on as your spiritual resume. Confess it to God today and ask Him to replace self-reliance with childlike trust.
Day 3: The Shepherd Who Gathers
Reading: Isaiah 40:11, and John 10:11-15
Isaiah 40:11 portrays the coming Messiah as a shepherd who tenderly gathers his lambs and carries them close. John 10:11-15 reveals Jesus as the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep.
Devotional:
The prophet Isaiah, centuries before the birth of Christ, painted a portrait of a shepherd gathering lambs in his arms and carrying them close to his heart. When Jesus bent down in that crowd and lifted those children, Isaiah’s vision became flesh. This is not a God who manages His people from a safe distance. He is a God who enters into the mess, the noise, the dust, and the chaos of ordinary life and gathers the vulnerable to Himself. Whatever you are carrying today — fear, grief, uncertainty, exhaustion — you are not too heavy for His arms. He has carried far more.
Reflect: In what area of your life do you most need to be gathered and carried right now rather than left to manage on your own?
Apply: Read Isaiah 40:11 slowly three times today. Let the image of being carried settle into your heart. Bring one specific burden to God in prayer and ask Him to carry it for you.
Day 4: Pray Without Ceasing for Those You Love
Reading: Psalm 51:1-5, and Deuteronomy 6:6-9
Psalm 51:1-5 acknowledges the reality of inherited human sinfulness and our complete dependence on God’s mercy. Deuteronomy 6:6-9 calls parents and communities to weave the teaching of God’s word into every rhythm of daily life.
Devotional:
The sermon was honest: children are not spiritually innocent. They are born into the same human condition as the rest of us, in need of a Savior. This is not a reason for despair. It is a reason for faithful, persistent, daily prayer. The greatest gift you can give the people you love is not opportunity, comfort, or security. It is prayer. As the sermon said, “You cannot give to your children what you yourself do not have.” Your own living faith, your own daily walk with Jesus, your own open-handed dependence on grace, becomes the atmosphere in which the next generation encounters the living God.
Reflect: Who in your life are you called to pray for consistently? Are you praying for their eternal wellbeing as earnestly as you pray for their earthly wellbeing?
Apply: Write the names of three people you love on a piece of paper. Commit to praying specifically for their faith and their encounter with Jesus Christ every day this week.
Day 5: The Cry That Stops Jesus
Reading: Mark 10:46-52
Devotional:
Blind Bartimaeus had no credentials, no introduction, and no appointment. He had only a desperate cry and the conviction that Jesus was worth crying out to. The sermon described it beautifully: his cry arrested Jesus. It grabbed Him. Because desperation, when it is directed at the right person, is never wasted. Jesus stopped. Jesus asked. Jesus healed. And Bartimaeus received far more than restored sight. He received the one who is Himself the light of the world. This is the invitation that stands open to every person who has ever felt unseen, overlooked, or beyond help. Cry out. He hears. He stops. He turns toward you.
Reflect: Is there an area of your life where you have stopped crying out because you assumed God was not listening or that your need was too small or too great?
Apply: Today, pray with the words of Bartimaeus as your model: bring your most honest, most desperate, most specific need before Jesus. Do not polish it. Do not qualify it. Simply cry out and trust that He hears.
“For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” — Mark 10:45