Daily Bible Reading - Term 1 Week 7

Week 7: Mercy Instead of Destruction

After a heavy week, this week turns toward mercy. The theology readings ask why God didn't simply end a sin-spoiled world, and how he planned to save it instead. The story mirrors that shift, moving from hard questions to a moment of being found.

This week's readings:

- 30 Second Theology — "Why did God not destroy the world which sin spoiled?" (Genesis 6–7) and "What was God's plan to save us?" (Luke 19:1–10)

- The Greatest Story Ever Told — "The Question" and "Lost"

Day 1 — Why Did God Not Destroy the World Which Sin Spoiled?

Reading: 30 Second Theology, "Why did God not destroy the world which sin spoiled?" (Genesis 6–7)

Even in judgment, God makes a way through, Noah, the ark, a promise to preserve life. Mercy runs through the story even at its most severe moment.

Journal prompt: Where have I experienced God making a way through a hard situation instead of letting it end me?

Prayer: God, thank you for choosing mercy even when judgment would have been fair. Help me trust your mercy today.

Day 2 — What Was God's Plan to Save Us?

Reading: 30 Second Theology, "What was God's plan to save us?" (Luke 19:1–10)

Jesus seeks out Zacchaeus, someone written off by everyone else, and says he came to seek and save the lost. God's plan to save isn't distant; it's personal and specific.

Journal prompt: Do I believe God's plan to save includes me specifically, the way it included Zacchaeus?

Prayer: Jesus, thank you for seeking out people no one else wanted to seek. Thank you for seeking me. Help me trust that today.

Day 3 — The Question

Reading: The Greatest Story Ever Told, "The Question"

Someone asks a question that presses at what's really going on; a search for understanding in the middle of an unfolding story.

Journal prompt: What's a question I've been sitting with about God or my faith that I haven't asked out loud yet?

Prayer: God, thank you for welcoming honest questions. Give me courage to bring mine to you instead of avoiding them.

Day 4 — Lost

Reading: The Greatest Story Ever Told, "Lost"

Someone goes missing, and the search for them becomes the whole focus of the story for a moment — a reminder of how much it matters when someone is lost and found.

Journal prompt: Have I ever felt "lost" spiritually? What helped me feel found again?

Prayer: Lord, thank you that you go looking for what's lost. If I feel far from you right now, come find me.

Day 5 — Integration

Reading: No new reading — look back over the week.

This week showed a God who chooses mercy over destruction and who seeks out the lost by name, both in Scripture and in the story unfolding day by day.

Journal prompt: This week I read about God's mercy and his plan to seek and save, and I watched someone be searched for and found. Where do I need to trust that God is seeking me out this week?

Prayer: God, thank you for this week. Thank you for mercy instead of destruction, and for seeking me when I'm lost. Carry that hope into the week ahead.