daily bible verse

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The Ten Commandments: Number Five

3rd – 4th September

Weekend Edition

The blessings of parents

“Honour your father and mother. The you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”

Exodus 20:12

Honour you father and mother

For some, commandment number five makes hard reading. Perhaps your parents have been abusive, exasperating or even not around in your life. Maybe you ask yourself the question ‘how can I honour my parents when…..’. Well firstly, there is hope. If you are a child of God, then know that your heavenly Father only has good for you, only has plans to prosper you and not to harm you (Jeremiah 29:11). The Psalmist also says of God, that He is the Father to the fatherless (Psalm 68:5). He is a good Father and He loves us, His children unconditionally. If you have had a bad or painful experience with your earthly parents, know that your Heavenly Father, is going to restore your hurts and pains. He only has good for you and will lovingly and gently restore and heal you.

Parenting is a hard job. The responsibility to bring someone into this world, raise them, care for them, teach them moral values, provide for them, give them an education, food on their table and a roof over their head, is an enormous task. It is for this reason that God saw it fit to include ‘honouring your parents’ in the guidelines for healthy and spiritual living. Honouring your parents, although it may be hard to do sometimes, is a healthy and spiritual discipline. Paul, in Ephesians 6:1 also alludes to this and says, “Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do.” In addition, this is the only commandment with a promise of blessing attached to it. Even Jesus, hanging on the cross, made sure that when He had died, His mother would be taken care of. Moreover, it is God that gives us the grace to honour our parents, accept them for who they are (faults and all), and love them with the same love that God loves us with.

There is a huge blessing in honouring our parents. As you work out how this looks in your own life, may you find God’s strength, healing, grace and empowerment to honour them as part of your daily spiritual disciplines.

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The Ten Commandments: Number Four

2nd September

Sabbath Day Principle

“Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work; but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. . . . ”

Exodus 20:8-10a

Keep the Sabbath day holy

What is the ‘Sabbath day’ and how can we keep it holy? Well, Biblically or according to Jewish law, the Sabbath was and is commonly know to be held on a Saturday. It literally implies, as per the law given to Moses, that no-one should do any work or labour on the Sabbath, including livestock, servants and even foreigners living among Jewish people (read the rest of verse 10). This principle originated when God created the world. He made the world in six days and on the seventh day He rested. Of course God in His supreme nature does not need rest, but rather He was demonstrating the spiritual discipline of setting time aside for rest and communion with God.

Yet how can we make time in such a busy world to take a Sabbath day? Did Jesus? Jesus often had many conflicts with the over-zealous and religious Pharisees as to what a ‘Sabbath’ looked like. Jesus was often condemned for doing miracles on the Sabbath day, which would have been classed as ‘work’. Yet Jesus’ actions were demonstrating a principle rather than a black and white rule. Of course Jesus did not come to break or change the law but to fulfil it; in other words, show us how we can practically live out God’s guidelines in our lives. What Jesus did do, was to regularly separate Himself from His disciples and from the crowds and carve out time that He and the Father could commune and He could rest in the Spirit.

Friends, if Jesus knew that taking time out to be still and rest in God was important and necessary, then how much more should we make it a discipline in our lives. A challenge for us all is to implement a ‘Sabbath day principle’ into our daily lives, to carve out time to rest and refresh in God and to make it regular. Let’s not get so caught up in our daily lives that we forget to make time for Jesus.

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The Ten Commandments: Number Three

1st September

Oh My…….God?

“You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse His name.”

Exodus 20:7

Don’t take the Lord’s Name in vain…

“Oh my God!” David shouted. “Yes,” God replied, “How can I help?” “Errr, well I was .. I.. just dropped my favourite cup……” David nervously said, “I didn’t actually think You would reply…”.

Imagine if the above conversation was real. Imagine if God really did answer when everyone called out His name. Sadly, the name of God is often used as an expression of insult, surprise or anger rather than to converse with God. The funniest thing, is that half of the people who use Jesus’ name as a curse word don’t even believe He exists. So why has Jesus’ name or God’s name been turned into such a common curse word? Sadly because everything that God has created to be good, the enemy has distorted.

So why do we cry out for God? Because there is hope in God’s name, because there is power in His name and because there is comfort in His name. In fact, as Paul says in Philippians, Jesus has been given the Name above all Names, that at the Name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. It is in Jesus’ name that many are healed, saved and delivered. It is in Jesus’ name that storms cease, needs are met and chains of addiction and sin are broken. It is in Jesus’ name that we have authority over every evil in this world. There is power in the name of Jesus. Power to bring hope in hopeless situations and life where there is none.

Friends, as we go about our day to day lives, let us give back the honour to Jesus’ name. Let us remember that we carry Jesus’ name as our banner. Let us, in love, challenge those who mis-use God’s name and use it as a platform to share the power of His name with others. Jesus is hope. Jesus is peace. Jesus is love. He is not a curse word.

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The Ten Commandments: Number Two

31st August

Who is YOUR God?

“You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods.”

Exodus 20:4-5

You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image. . .

The second of the commandments, given to Moses, is often overlooked by most. We can kid ourselves, by saying ‘I don’t bow down to any idols or images so i’m safe from this one!’ Yet with that attitude we sadly miss the point. What was God really trying to say? Well or course, in it’s literal interpretation it does mean, don’t worship any other gods or any other images besides the One True GOD because in Moses’ day there was a lot of idol worship, Baal etc. ,(in fact as these commandments were being written, at the base of the mountain the people were making a golden image of a bull and worshipping it, see Exodus 32). But if we are to interpret this guideline in today’s society, then we should understand idols as ‘anything that is put in the place of God in our lives’; literally put, anything that becomes number one in our lives, other than God Himself.

If God is not number one in your life, then what is? Church, family, a football idol, children, money, a spouse or even food? It is not wrong to wholeheartedly love something or someone. Yet when it starts to take the place of God in our lives, our priorities for living holy and righteous lives become secondary to satisfying who or what is number one in our lives. If we keep God as our priority, as our number one, He gives us His love to be able to wholeheartedly love our children, families, and spouses. If God is number one, then our lives are lived for Him, which means we carry His presence with us in our schools, homes, and work places. It is then that God is made known to the nations through us, all because He is number one in our lives. Our characters become ‘God-like’ because we are giving and spending more time with Him.

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The Ten Commandments: Number One

30th August

Who is God?

“I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. You must not have any other god before Me.”

Exodus 20:2-3

Sadly the Ten Commandments are often seen as a list of rules, a list of do’s and don’ts. Yet rather than looking at them like a list of rules and regulations, why not look at them as guidelines as how to live life in its fullness. The Ten Commandments were often quoted by Jesus, Paul and other New Testament writers. In fact, Paul said that He did not know what sin was but by the law. Over the next few days we will be exploring the richness and fullness of the Ten Commandments and see how we can practically and prayerfully implement them in our daily lives. Today we start with the first commandment.

You must not have any other god before Me

God, through Moses, graciously led His people out of the land of Egypt and out of slavery fulfilling His covenant to the people of Israel. God knew that the people’s hearts would and could easily forget who He was and what He did for them. So He gave them this commandment so that they would remember Him and the great things He did for them by liberating them from the hands of their oppressors. Sadly, we too can often forget all that God has done for us and forget His position and place in our lives. We too need reminding of who God is and how great He is. Today’s challenge is to search your hearts and ask yourself ‘who is God’? Has my image of God been changed by secularism, corrupted by materialism, or weakened by lies? Have I forgotten the goodness of my God, His favour and blessings, His love and kindness, or His grace and mercy? Let us search our hearts and declare who our God truly is!

My God

His grace is remarkable
Mercies are innumerable
Strength is impenetrable

He is honourable, accountable, and favourable


Unsearchable yet knowable
Indefinable yet approachable
Indescribable yet personal

He is beyond comprehension
Further than imagination
Constant through generations
King of every nation1

1Written by Spoken Word Artist, Isaac Wimberley, http://isaacwimberley.com/all/the-word-lyrics/

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The Power Of Worship

29th August

 

“And whenever the tormenting spirit from God troubled Saul, David would play the harp. Then Saul would feel better, and the tormenting spirit would go away.”

1 Samuel 17:23

Did you know that before David had defeated Goliath, he was already serving in the palace as Saul’s armour bearer. In fact, even before serving in the palace, David was anointed to be King of Israel by Samuel. After David was anointed to be King, the Spirit of the Lord came strongly (powerfully) upon him. David was a blessed man. One of his many gifts was his ability to play the harp. Yet when David played the harp, it was more than just music; it was spiritual warfare.

The bible tells us that Saul, after disobeying and rejecting God’s leading, was rejected himself as King of Israel by God. In fact, so much so, that God allowed a spirit of depression and fear to torment Saul. Yet when David played the harp, this spirit would leave Saul and bring him peace. There was a power and anointing in David’s harp playing. The question that remains is can we have that same victory in our worship today? Of course we can. We worship and serve the same God David did. We have the same Spirit living in us. When we worship God, through prayer, through music and through song, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, we can also begin to experience victory over depression, fear, doubt, addiction and so much more. When we worship in the Spirit, we meet God’s tangible presence. And it is there, victory is won. Let us remember that, when we lift God up in praise!

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The Lord Keeps His Children

27th-28th August

Weekend Edition

“But the Lord is faithful; He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.”

2 Thessalonians 3:3

God is faithful. He truly is. He has committed and promised Himself to those who follow Him. We, His children, His bride, His church are joined through the covenantal sacrifice that Jesus made. The sacrifice that said, ‘I forgive you’, even if you don’t deserve it; ‘And because I forgive you, You and I are One’. And 100%, all the time, God is faithful to that covenant. He loves us with unconditional love. And it is this love towards us that strengthens us and guards us from the enemy.

It is very interesting that Paul uses the words strengthen and guard in the same sentence. Not only does the Lord protect us or guard us from the evil one, but He also strengthens us to withstand the evil one’s attacks and strengthens us when we fall down. He restores, renews and uplifts us. This is the covenant He has made to us His children. This is how much He loves us. Rejoice this day that God is faithful towards you and to the covenant He made towards you. Rejoice that He strengthens and guards us from the evil in this world. Rejoice that victory is yours in and through Him.

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Thank YOU

26th August

“All my heart will give thanks to You, Eternal One. I will tell others about Your amazing works”

Psalm 9:1

(The Voice)

More than powerful intercessions for others, more than daily supplications for our needs, thankfulness is what really has the power to transform your prayer life. Throughout the Bible there are countless times through many of the prophets and believers lives where they are going through or about to face hardships and their prayer is this…’Even if…. I praise you and thank you’. It is something so simple yet so often overlooked in our prayer lives. We can list all of our needs, and prayer until we can’t pray anymore, yet forget to thank God for the simple things in our lives; For family and friendships, for our own salvation, for Jesus’ gracious work on the cross, for food on our table, for clothing on our back, for a roof over our head and many more things.

Thankfulness should be the key to our prayer lives. Moreover, we can in faith, thank God already for the requests we do have. Thankfulness can be prophetic too. We can boldly declare, through faith, that what we are praying for will come to pass by thanking God for the answered prayer already.

This morning challenge yourself to spend the first few moments of your day thanking God for your life. You will be surprised how many things God brings to your mind to be thankful for and how many things we can look forward to being thankful for. Thankfulness; an attitude of gratitude for our past, present and future.

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Kind Words

25th August

“Kind words are like honey – sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.”

Proverbs 16:24

Have you ever been in a situation where you are feeling down, discouraged or lonely and someone comes over to you and says something nice to you that completely transforms your day. This is the power of kind words said in love and truth. They are, as the writer of proverbs says, ‘sweet to the soul and healthy for the body’. In fact it has been proven that encouraging and kind words are beneficial for health, for children’s learning and for longer life. Moreover, there are proven cases were a kind word has stopped someone in the very act of suicide. Of course the opposite can be said of un-kind and slanderous words. They can cause more damage than physical violence sometimes.

Friends, as children of God, it is imperative, as Paul says to make sure our conversation are ‘seasoned’ with Godly salt (God-like vocabulary), kind and uplifting words and encouraging statements. Even if you yourself are feeling down, encourage someone else and see the change it makes in your own being. Kind words are truly like honey; They can stop depression, stop negative emotion and stop hateful thoughts. Kind words move in the opposite spirit of negativity, hate and sorrow. Let us challenge ourselves this week to, daily, give a kind word to someone and see the change it makes in them and in you.

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He Lives In YOU

24th August

“Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.”

Ephesians 3:17

The 1994 Disney Film ‘The Lion King’, is famous for its many emotional and powerful ballads. Yet there are only a certain few that made it onto the musical theatre production, one of which is the song ‘He Lives In You’1. The song states that Mufasa (Simba’s father), will always live on in Simba to support and guide him leading the pride. Although this song probably has roots in Animism (as in the gods and ancestors live in everything) there is also a Christian truth to it too. God lives in us, He watches over us and guides our lives.

In fact, it is Christ living in us, according to Paul’s letters to the Colossians, that is the hope of glory. Christ living in us shows the world that salvation is for all. It gives us, who believe, the assurance to boldly share the Good News with others. It is through faith that we believe and accept the message of salvation and it is through our roots in God’s love that we keep strong. Christ, the creator and ruler of the world, live in US. Christ living in us, gives us the comfort to know that He is for us and not against us, that He is willing us on, and that He is always watching and guiding over us. He will never die. He is eternal. And He live in Us.

1He lives in you
He lives in me

He watches over
Everything we see
Into the water
Into the truth
In your reflection
He lives in you
Music and Lyrics by Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, and Lebo M, 1994; Lion King