Love and Bless, Don't Curse
Month 9: Guard Your Heart — Becoming Like Jesus · Memory Verse
Today's Scripture
Read together: Matthew 5:44 & Romans 12:14
44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, — Matthew 5:44
14 Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse. — Romans 12:14
Memory Verse
“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,”— Matthew 5:44 (BSB)memorize this week
📖 Bible-in-a-Year (optional)
Today's reading: Daniel 7–9
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time. (Daniel's visions and his great prayer for his people.)The Heart of It
Today we slow down and tuck Jesus' words deep into our hearts. Look at the four things He asks. Love your enemies. Bless those who curse you. Do good to those who hate you. Pray for those who mistreat you. Notice they're all actions, not feelings. Jesus doesn't command us to suddenly feel warm toward someone unkind. He tells us what to do. And when our hands choose to bless, our hearts often follow. That's why hiding this verse inside us matters so much. When an unkind moment comes, we won't have to figure out what to do. The Spirit will bring this verse right back to us.
The apostle Paul said the very same thing to the church in Rome: "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse" (). To "bless" means to speak good over someone and want God's good for them. To "curse" means to wish them harm. The world says, "If they hurt you, hurt them back." But a guarded heart refuses to pass the meanness along. We become a stopping place. Unkindness comes in, and blessing goes out. That takes more strength, not less. This is the courage of Jesus living in ordinary kids and ordinary dads.
Around the Table
"Bless" means saying something nice and wanting good for someone. We bless — we don't say mean things back!
Let's do it: Say a blessing out loud over someone in our family: "I hope God gives you a happy day!"
Loving, blessing, doing good, and praying are all things we do, even when we don't feel like it.
Let's talk: Which of the four is hardest for you? And which one could you try this week?
Paul echoes Jesus: "Bless and do not curse." A strong heart breaks the chain of paying meanness back with meanness.
Let's go deeper: Can you say all of from memory? Give it a try.
💬 Conversation Starter
If someone says something mean about you, what's one blessing you could say back instead of a mean thing?
🛡️ Defending the Faith
Two writers give us the same striking command to bless the people who hurt us. Matthew was recording Jesus. Paul was writing to Rome years later. Yet they agree. That kind of agreement across the New Testament shows one consistent message, not made-up legends ().
For Dad · Go Deeper
Memory work is not busywork. It's loading the heart's "ready ammunition" for the moment of testing. says, "Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You." When you're cut off in traffic or insulted online, what comes out reveals what's stored inside. So this week, model it. Let your kids hear you bless someone who irritated you. Do it out loud, by name, in prayer. Blessing instead of cursing isn't weakness, and it isn't pretending nothing happened. It's the strength of a heart that trusts God to handle justice (), which frees us to love. The verse they memorize from your lips will outlast almost everything else you teach.
Draws on: Paul David Tripp, A Shelter in the Time of Storm.
Let's Pray Together
"Father, write this verse on our hearts so it's ready when we need it. When others are unkind, help us bless instead of curse, and trust You with the rest. In Jesus' name, amen."
Meanness can come at me, but blessing is what I'll send back out.