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Inspirational The message of the Bible represents the timeless truth of God. Understanding the meaning of the Bible is a challenge that faces every reader of the biblical text. The psalmist reminds us, “His truth endures to all generations” Psalm 117:2. Jesus said, “And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” John 8:32. Jesus Christ is the greatest person who ever lived. There have been great men and women whose lives have made an impact while they were here on earth. But the greatest of them does not hold a candle to the blazing brilliance of His life. His person, character, wisdom, love, and grace leap off the pages of the New Testament into the hearts of all who believe in HIM. 10 sue
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Text Rina Smit Images Michael Maherry & shutterstock.com
We are not supposed to be “Lone Rangers” Life is difficult for everybody. There are hard jobs, hard marriages, and hard
family dynamics. But some people compound their problems by ignoring basic principles that can help them get where they want to go in life. One of the principles is that we are not supposed to be “lone rangers”. We need other people around us to function properly. Each of us is part of a team. Whether we like to admit it or not, we rely on others and others rely on us.
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What matters most is not how we stand out as individuals but rather how we make the team better with our time, energy and spiritual gifts. When we make our team better, that same team gives back to us in our moments of need.
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If we embrace the gratitude of teamwork, we will become leaders who make others, and ourselves, better. True team players also become the greatest and most followed leaders. Remember the old childhood lessons? One was: “There is no I in team” Team is about working together. If you bring others in on each new effort you attempt, you will find that you will grow stronger with them. The best thing about teamwork is that you always have others on your side. There is something uplifting about having others around in both good and bad times. We need to be able to share our victories and defeats with the people around us. Being part of a team means you will never be alone. Being part of a team makes you more like Christ and more likely to do the kind of work He did, including reaching out to those in the greatest need. Jesus surrounded Himself with the disciples. Team is often defined as a number of persons associated in some type of joint or community action with a corporate goal. It is a group of people who are united by a cause. Team is all about relationship. Nonetheless, some people persist in believing the lie that they are totally independent. They don’t need anyone and no-one needs them. Whether we admit it or not, this is usually an easy way of getting ourselves off the hook when it comes
to helping others, since we don’t “owe” anybody anything. But life usually teaches us that such a view is a lie, and sometimes the lesson is painful. There is also an old saying that said: “It is lonely at the top’’. However, that is usually only true because those at the top stop letting others into their world. Not only is this exclusionary attitude short-changing those who close the doors and build the walls, but it can also have dramatic effect on the professional success of businesspeople that fall into this practice. When Jesus began His ministry, He formed a team. The twelve He chose each had special talents, distinct experiences, and unique motivations. When mixed together, their differences became their strengths. Jesus taught His disciples about individual responsibility and team play. When we stick the Name of Jesus on marquees in neon lights, we sometimes forget that He was a real person here on earth. A person, with real friends. Jesus shook hands, hugged those He loved, and taught mighty lessons in everyday ways. He got rocks in His sandals just like everyone else. In the way He humbly went about the work of His Father, He presented to us the importance of relationships with family, friends, and co-workers. Jesus was perfect, and He was still part of a team.
when they needed to be praised and when they needed to be taught a lesson. He began the book of 1 Corinthians by thanking and praising the members of the team. He then asked them to stop arguing because it was hurting the team. Over and over in his letters to the churches, Paul used the word “we”. Today, more that nineteen hundred years after his death, Paul’s life, actions, and words are still bringing new members to the team.
Jesus showed us through example how to nurture relationships if we want to have any hope of changing the world. He took the time to listen to the woman at the well and offer her a spot on God’s team if she was willing to give up her old lifestyle. He recruited new team members wherever He went. Could he have changed the world on His own? Sure, He had the power of ages at His beck and call! But Jesus came to teach the world how to live in relationship and work as a team, a lesson that quickly spread far and wide. Saul of Tarsus was incredibly arrogant. Before he was struck blind on the road to Damascus, he was sure he needed no one. His goal was to wipe out the
Consider something else about Paul. To many, he would have been thought of as an outsider. He was a citizen of Rome. He had worked for the government. He had once sought to punish Christians for their faith. Thus he would hardly have seemed suited to become part of a team that followed Jesus’ teachings. So those who came to know and accept Paul as not just a member of this team but also a team leader had to forgive him of his past transgressions. They had to open their hearts and trust him when he had once given them no reason for that trust. Teams are made of people who are not perfect and not exactly like you. In fact, a team is best when
The key is for all the members of the team to be seeking the same goal. Every saint has a past, but every sinner has a future. team that Christ had put together, and he was going to do it all by himself.
the members have different talents and different perspectives.
Yet when he became Paul the apostle, he immediately wanted to become part of a team.
The key is for all the members of the team to be seeking the same goal. Every saint has a past, but every sinner has a future.
You don’t have to look far to understand what team meant to Paul. He wrote letters explaining it. In those letters, he thanked his team for their support and hard work. He provided them with game plans for how to better play the game of life. His writings to the churches might have singled out some for special thanks, but they also included this vital message: “You are one body.” What is a group of people who are one body? A team, of course. M
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You can tell, in Paul’s writings, that he took the time to get to know his team members. He understood
When Paul was Saul, he had the ‘god of your world” complex. That complex has destroyed more successful people than any other single attitude. Scores of entertainers, politicians, businesspeople, and even preachers have taken a quick plunge simply because they thought they knew everything and weren’t willing to listen to anyone else. Rather than live by the law, they believed they had the right to make their own laws. This same concept has destroyed countless families too. Take a moment and look around you. Who are the happiest people you know? They’re people who work with others, not above others.
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They’re people who not only offer answers but also ask questions. They are men and woman who grow with the times rather than hide from a changing world. The happiest people recognize that they don’t know everything and that God didn’t make them more special than anyone else. Therefore they are curious, eager to have others teach them, and not afraid to admit either their ignorance or their mistakes. They will open their doors and accept people who look different, think different, and come from different backgrounds. It is people who embrace teamwork. rm
The best thing about teamwork is that you always have others on your side. There is something uplifting about having others around in both good and bad times. We need to be able to share our victories and defeats with the people around us. Being part of a team means you will never be alone.
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Text Nevil Norden Images Shutterstock.com
Nevil Norden
My Lion Nature Malcolm Crank said:
“The power of God is given to enable us to do a spiritual thing in a spiritual way in an unspiritual world.” In the Bible God compares the righteous person to a bold lion. Proverbs 28:1 (MLB): “The wicked flee when there is no one pursuing, but the righteous are as fearless as a young lion.” To the believer this is possible, because in Christ Jesus God offers us a right standing before Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says: “For He (God) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (Jesus).” In that sense, Jesus gives us His lion abilities and His lion nature.
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These abilities enable us to become bold and fearless and to live a victorious life. Fear is the opposite of faith. A fearful person is normally a faithless person, but a fearless person is a faith-filled person.
Faith-filled people are fearless people. As a faith-filled person, you become positioned for a miracle, because faith pleases God. Hebrews 11:6: “But without faith it is impossible to please Him (God)…” Boldness has a stroke of genius, a release of power, a door of freedom, a door of opportunity and it speaks a word of faith without fear. To be a Christian in the true sense of the word is to be bold. Boldness is not the absence of fear, but the willingness to trust God regardless of a fearful situation. Now, the challenging question: What does it mean to be “as bold as a lion”? In essence, it means four things: Being a person of confidence. This is a person of assurance. No place for doubt. Confidently I can now declare: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). My confidence is not in myself, but in Him who
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began the good work in me. Philippians 1:6 (AMP): “And I am convinced and sure of this very thing that He (God) who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ.” Being a person of courage. This speaks of fearlessness in the face of danger. David, a young shepherd boy, faced Goliath, a giant and a welltrained fighting machine. David’s courage was rooted in the God he served and his deed of courage saved a nation from slavery. Being a fearless person. This is God’s ability in me to constantly deliver me from any form of fear. God’s love has been poured out in the heart of true believers by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. That love constantly gives the believer hope and hope is the door to faith. Biblical hope is the expectation of future good. Fear is a spirit and only love can break the power of that spirit. Yet that love needs to be God’s love that has become a reality in the heart of the believer. 1 John 4:18: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear…” God’s love in Jesus Christ is perfect love as God paid the penalty for all my sin when Jesus died in my place on the cruel cross of Calvary. God’s love doesn’t kill; it gives abundant life – a life abundant in quantity and superior in quality.
Being a daring person. A daring person dares to obey and act upon God’s Word. These four qualities are different from each other, yet they work together in unity. When the Jewish nation had to possess their Promised Land, God spoke to their leader, Joshua, and said to him: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). God’s abiding presence will give you courage and if you believe His promise that He will never leave or forsake you, you will be kept from terror and discouragement. Ephesians 3:12 says that in Him “we have boldness”. I love the boldness of King David. In Psalm 51, after David was confronted for his sin of adultery with Bathsheba and for murdering her husband to cover it up, he cried out to God – not just for pardon, but for purity; not just for comfort, but also for cleansing. Although David’s heart was crushed, he knew that God is a God of mercy, so he dared to ask God for a restoration of joy and to once again experience God’s presence. True brokenness restores your lionlikeness. In a children’s church meeting, as a little girl of five was listening to the story of David, boldness rose up in her heart. When she went home she
confronted her daddy who was a heavy drinker. She said, “Daddy, because of your drinking, I never have a loving daddy with a lap to sit on and I’ve had enough of daddy’s drinking.
The next moment Jesus shocked them by saying: “… before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58).
I need my daddy.” She rebuked the spirit of bondage that had enslaved her dad and declared that the bondage to alcohol was broken over him.
I am the bread of life. (John 6:48)
Her father was struck by her boldness, but most of all by her authority in Jesus’ Name. He got up from his chair and poured the rest of the contents of the Brandy bottle down the drain and to his surprise he
I am the door. (John 10:9)
Jesus boldly declared who He was:
I am the living bread. (John 6:51)
I am the light of the world. (John 9:5)
God is a God of mercy, so he dared to ask God for a restoration of joy and to once again experience God’s presence. never touched the bottle again.
I am the resurrection and the life. (John 11:25)
We need a bold generation. We need a generation of bold young lions.
I am the good shepherd. (John 10:11)
Faith in God’s forgiveness, as demonstrated through Jesus, will restore your boldness. In a church in Belgium there was a young girl who had been rejected by her parents.
I am the true vine. (John 15:1)
She always looked down and hardly spoke a word to anybody, yet she kept coming to church as if drawn by an unseen force. She heard the words of Jesus spoken from the cross of Calvary in Luke 23:34:
Real, bold, Biblical living is never filled with the unholy trinity, ‘I’, ‘me’ and ‘my’. It is never egotistic, offensive and ugly. In Romans 8:29 we read that Jesus was the firstborn among many brethren.
“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” Those words cut right into her heart and softened her hardened heart. All of a sudden this girl looked up, got up in this church and said loudly:
Therefore, in Him we have the ability to overcome, to reign over sin and to be more than conquerors in this life!
“Lord Jesus, forgive my parents for rejecting me!” There was a total silence in that church for about thirty seconds. Then all the people stood up and started cheering and clapping hands. Boldness returned when the forgiveness was spoken and the stronghold of rejection was broken. Boldness comes from within, for Matthew 12:34 says: “… for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” The people of Jerusalem said of Jesus in John 7:26: “But look! He speaks boldly and nothing to Him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?” Jesus was confident wherever He went and He was fearless in the face of men’s threats. One day, as He stood before the Jewish people, they began exalting their father Abraham. M
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I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)
(All Scripture references have been taken from the New King James Version, unless where otherwise specified.)
A Word from Nevil Norden Since the
establishment of Living Word in 1986, it has been my and Rina’s desire that Living Word will be and stay a true renewal congregation. It is our desire to truly have people hungry for the Living Word of God and to see the Word grow in strength (Acts. 19:20). www.lewendewoord.co.za +27 12 845 8300
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Do you realise how valuable you are? Text Rina Smit Images Shutterstock.com
As a result our gifts stay undeveloped. Sometimes we allow disappointments and failures to steal our confidence, and again, our treasures remain buried. Insecurities and low self-esteem can convince us that we have nothing special to offer. We live in an age in which it is easy to miss our destiny. Too often we measure ourselves against the standards of our time, sometimes without realising it. If only we could comprehend how much we matter to God, we could look at the world around us, and at eternity itself, with an utterly new vision. God did not create you to be ordinary. He never called us to be average. We were never called to be
Despite the discouragement you’ve had, regardless of the hurts, challenges, or insults you’ve experienced, God already equipped you to achieve your destiny. We were called to be great men and women of God. If you are following God by faith, every once in a while He will lead you to a moment where He will call you to take a step and try something you can’t do. When you try things you can’t do, you get a chance to see what God can do; you get to see God’s miraculous power take over. God said to Joshua, “I want you to take the first step.” Taking the first step into something you can’t do is always the hardest step, and requires complete trust in the power and goodness of God. Stir up your gifts on the inside. God is saying, “I will take you
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within us. YOU too have gifts to share with this world. They are buried treasure within you, laying dormant, waiting to be discovered. Your full potential has not been released yet. Your Godgiven divine destiny awaits you. Too often we procrastinate or we allow negative thoughts and selfdoubt to discourage us from chasing our dreams.
mediocre. He did not bestow gifts so that they could go undiscovered or grant potential that would be unfulfilled.
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Every one of us has secret dreams and desires along with seeds of greatness implanted
somewhere that you’ve never been before. I will open new opportunities. I will give you new ways to increase. Are you prepared?”
May you grow daily in the knowledge, and joy, of how much you matter to HIM! I encourage you to expand your vision for life.
God didn’t create us to be victims of a challenging world. He created us to be conquerors. God has given us the ultimate gift, Himself, to guide us when we’re lost, counsel us when we’re trying to make a difficult decision, teach us to succeed, comfort us
Remain faithful. Live with expectancy. Remember we are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.
Remember we are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience. when we’re in pain and ultimately give us the power to conquer seemingly impossible obstacles. If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes. The implications of our identity in the eyes of God are staggering. We have legal access to walk in greater manifestations of the anointing until we come to the fullness of the measure of the stature of Christ. M
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Carve your name on hearts and not on marble. Do all the good you can, to all the people you can, in all the ways you can, as long as you can. The greatest of all insights are that we can’t be tomorrow what we don’t do today. That is why today or the present matters so much. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13 rm
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The secret
of a successful relationship Text Pastor Olivier Kizika Daniel Images Shutterstock.com
The alarming divorce rates, the disintegration of families, with its consequences, the urban solitary lifestyle, are just a portion of a rather bleak picture that our “advanced societies� represent.
A society must have dynamics that guarantee its progress i.e. its collective philosophies, its beliefs and values. In the 18th Century in Europe before the industrial revolution, first came the philosophical revolution.
The progress of a society cannot be measured only by economic growth and better conditions of living.
It was a time of the formulation of great theories on democracies and free societies. America was born
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human relations that ensure our sustenance and survival as a race.
While striving for these ideals, let us not forget that what enhances our life is not just the pay cheques, but also the fact that we can benefit from each other as humans.
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At the core of every blossoming and developing society there’s need for strong and solid
at this time and the French revolution also happened around the same time. Belief precedes behaviour, as concept comes before the product and values pave the way to valuables. A society or person that pursues products and valuables while compromising on values and principles is doomed to fail. One of the great legacies of this historic philosophical revolution of the 18th century is the promotion of human rights. We cannot be indifferent to the fact that thanks to the promotion of human rights we have made strides when it comes to justice, equality, dispensing fairness and mitigating abuses of all kinds. However, this is my shocking statement: God does not promote human rights! But rather, God promotes human values. The only right we have as Christians is what He gives to us, not what we proclaim for ourselves. He owns us, and He only gives us freedom as a margin to manage our lives. Regarding the other person as having value will sustain and build strong human
marriage you have the right to divorce, but don’t you value your children enough to consider their welfare? Society gives rights to women to terminate their pregnancy through abortion, but God says, before rights comes human value. If you consider the worth of the life that is in your womb, you will not attempt to kill that destiny. The biblical concept of forgiveness is the giving up of your right to pay back and let God judge! God does not promote human rights; He promotes human value and worth. The ideal of equal rights across the board for all is an illusion. Reality tells us that the persons who can afford good lawyers can get away with almost anything. Politicians who are in theory civil servants feel like they have more prerogatives and privileges than the masses, therefore the practical application of rights is never equal. But when it comes to human worth and value, no one can dare think he is more valuable than the rest of us.
Beyond rights, let us see value in the other person. Let us consider the potential in each individual we come across . relations, which is the acid test of an “advanced” society. In South Africa we have overcome apartheid and we have been given human rights, but we are yet to value each other. The way you treat something depends on the value you place on it, not its rights! The one you value, you will respect and protect. We are promoting human rights, yet today you can be shot for a cell phone, because there’s no discourse on human value! We are drowning in the ocean of rights whereby every tendency, impulse and vice is permitted so long as it is within our right to do so. The militants of human rights erode the pillars of morality and ethics, let alone spirituality. What about our values as human that distinguishes us from beasts? Your boss at work pays you because he respects your human right, but if he valued you more he will pay you more. Rights are necessary to safeguard mutual respect and fairness in dealing with each other, but value is far better.
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People can become selfish by insisting on their rights; but valuing others will promote better relationships. If you are having problems in your
For human rights, people fight but for human value God sacrificed His Son to show how much we really mean to Him. Beyond rights, let us see value in the other person. Let us consider the potential in each individual we come across with. Human beings judge and assess you by your performance, but God will deal with you based on your worth and potential. That’s why He never gives up on you. Even after many mistakes He still believes in you and your value. The secret of a successful relationship is simple: put value before rights. Value promotes ethics but rights promote liberties. This trend can lead to the legalization of suicide, euthanasia and the cloning of human. In its inception, the universal declaration of human rights was almost synonymous with the promotion of human dignity and value. But we need to understand that unregenerate humans are inherently immoral, inclined to excess and vice. As long as the mind is creative, as long as people have personal preferences, the rights and liberties we claim will be endless. In the process we are tempering with ethics and
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Does the decriminalization of prostitution or the legalization of euthanasia (the so called “mercy killing”) promotes our human value or reinforces our rights? Think about it. When God gave the law to the Israelites, it elevated them above all peoples, it imparted special value and dignity on them as God’s people. For this reason, in biblical times, they were not to abase themselves in marrying foreigners or adopt their ways. This is not a case of restricted liberty, but rather restraining you to high standards and values! God knows that natural tendencies are always downward and prone to compromise. Therefore by law, you are expected to maintain high values in keeping with your worth as a human being even more so as a child of God. In today’s secular humanistic world, laws and ethics are determined by a collective conscience of the majority through what is viewed as normal and acceptable. We basically have a system in place that says: the majority can’t be wrong! Whatever the majority comes to believe as normal and acceptable, that’s what is valued and promoted.
The ethics and principles of the past generation, which were mostly inspired by spiritual truth, have been replaced by what the majority decides in their quest for more freedom and rights! New tendencies and ideas are creeping in through the media, arts and education into our culture, therefore the collective conscience of the majority is bribed and shifted from what used to be right or wrong. Democracy is said to be the rule of the majority. What if the majority is wrong, corrupt and deceived? As the world progresses, there will be a continuous quest for more rights and liberties. What is our place as human beings created by God in His image, endowed with worth and value, that He did not hesitate to sacrifice His Son for our redemption? The Bible says the Sabbath was created for man and not man for the Sabbath. That means, before any law or right, God places value on human beings as being precious. We need a revolution in the society, a fundamental change on what we promote, what we defend and what we pursue. Value someone today. FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT WATCHMAN CHURCH 00267 713 72524, 00267 723 51913
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My question is should we make laws to reinforce our rights or limit them? We have the choice to reinforce our rights, I mean any right, or we can choose to promote human value instead?
50 years ago you could easily believe someone on his or her words. But today, you can’t even lend a thousand Rands to your cousin without him signing on a piece of paper!
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human value.
Text Rina Smit Images Morguefile.com / Shutterstock.com / Akiane Kramarik
How blessings can come from honouring According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia, honour (from the Latin word honos, honouris), is the evaluation of a person’s social status as judged by that individual’s community. Accordingly, individuals are assigned worth and stature based on the harmony of their actions, code of honour, and that of the society at large.
Honour can be analysed as a relativistic concept, i.e. conflict between individuals and even cultures arising as a consequence of material circumstance and ambition, rather than fundamental differences in principle.
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Alternatively, it can be viewed as nativist, that honour is as real to the human conditions as love, and likewise derives from the formative personal bonds that establish one’s personal dignity and character.
In many countries the term honour can also refer to an award given by the state. Honour is a primal code of behaviour that defines the duties of an individual within a social group. Margaret Visser observes that in an honour-based society “a person is what he or she is in the eyes of other people”. For us to honour other people, is to treat them with respect and recognize their value. If we look at the 10 commandments of the Lord in the Bible, before He says: “you shall not commit murder; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal”... He says: “Honour your father and mother, that your days may be long in the land the Lord your God gives you”.
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It is the only commandment with a reward. I think it is pretty important if it is addressed before murder and adultery. Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honour your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” Ephesians 6:1-3. Unfortunately, we live in a day in which honouring or even respecting your elders seem to be lost. When I was growing up, we were taught to say “Yes, ma’am” and “No, sir,” not only to our parents, but to anyone who was an adult. It was called respect. Even though society has changed over the years, God’s Word hasn’t.
The last verse in the old Testament says: “And He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse”, Malachi 4:6. We need to realize that this is not a one-sided curse or problem, but it has several layers. It’s true that God says to all sons and daughters that we are to honour our fathers and mothers. But there is, once again, the flip side. “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4. “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands love your wives and do not be bitter towards them.
The commandment to honour your mother and father sounds simple. So simple that it’s hardly given any notice, especially when compared to some of the other Ten Commandments. But if we look closely, we will see how important it is to all our lives.
Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. Colossians 3:18-21. We all need to work on this together. Why? So it can be long and good for us while we are still on the earth.
Honour your father and mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you. Exodus 20:12.
When Jesus was hanging on the cross dying, He asked one of the disciples to take care of His mother. We can’t begin to imagine the agony, physically and spiritually, that He was going through at that
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honour your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: It’s only fair to remind you that for every up there is a down, for every north there is a south. In this case we need to look at the other side of the coin to see how important God’s Word is here. Honour your father and mother, and it will be well with you. Don’t honour them, and it will not be well with you. Honour your father and mother, and you will live long on the earth. Don’t honour them, and well, you fill in the blank. By ignoring this one commandment, one can release a curse that will block the blessing of God from your live.
If this is your case, decide to forgive, decide that even if you cannot say that you love them, you will honour God by honouring them the best you can, and God will honour you and break the curse off you and your family.
There are more levels of spiritual blessings. What about those over us in authority here on earth? “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you” Hebrews 13:17.
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This kind of love is an emotion, but honour is an act of obedience. It’s sad to say some parents haven’t earned the love of their children by their actions.
moment. Yet with all that Jesus was facing, He still remembered His mother.
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Notice that God did not command us to feel love for our parents. You cannot command someone to feel love.
We live in a society that teaches us to disrespect people in authority. We don’t need to agree with the things they do, but we should still show respect. “The faces of elders were not honoured” Lamentations 5:12. Respect your elders; used to be a common admonishment that parents gave their children. It all starts at home. Children should be taught to also respect those in authority in society. And also respect the man or woman of God. Hebrews 13:17. Obviously, God was not talking about giving blind obedience to just anyone; but if you have decided that God has put a man or woman into your life as a shepherd, “let them do so with joy and not grief.”
It is not always easy to treat people around us with respect according to their actions, but the best way to be able to do that, is to realise that God created everybody with the same love, in His image with purpose and destiny, and then try to think what is inside and not what we see on the outside. Look at the life of David. When Saul was still king, and did all the wrong things, even direct unto David, he chose not to disrespect him. There is great reward in honouring. Do we honour to get reward? No, we honour by realising that the greatest price was paid for us all.
Jesus loves you and me so much that He came to bless us in every area of our lives. Jesus loves you and me so much that He came to bless us in every area of our lives. “I have come that they may have life, and they may have it more abundantly” John 10:10. He shed His precious, redeeming blood, so that you and I can have an abundant breakthrough life. There are more scriptures to read about honouring in different levels of society: 1Timothy 6; Ephesians 6:1-3; 1 Peter 2:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:12; 1 Timothy 5:17-18.
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Start praying for people around you in all levels of society. Don’t speak out the wrong things and the problems you see, start speaking to the potential and call that forth. If you treat people with respect, recognize their value and honour them not for what they do, but for whom they are, honouring will become a natural part of your fibre, the curse will be broken and blessings will be released. rm
e 10 ssu