Devotion
Children, Love Your Parents
Chipo Biti
As children of God we aren't just called to obey our Father in Heaven. We are called to obey our earthly parents too. Our parents have been placed as our guides, our teachers, and the people we are to submit to.
Parents have the responsibility of raising their children up in the right way - which is the way of the Lord. One way that we express our love of God is in obeying our parents and respecting them.
This can be a little tricky if you are a believer and your parents are not. In such circumstances respect them and still love them. You do not need to treat them harshly or coldly. How will they be ministered to if you are antagonistic towards them? In such circumstance you have to be weary of what you choose to listen to and what you do not listen to. If any of their instructions are not of God, lovingly decline. Just because you and your parents have a difference in beliefs, it does not mean that you need to cut them from your life.
Prayer
Pray for them, minister to them when you can, and continue to love them. Continue to hope that they will become compelled to give their lives to Christ.
This command is for people who have loving, godly parents. Anyone who has not had the opportunity to have such parents, or have come from abusive homes, can find the love of a father and mother in God. God can heal you of all the pain you have gone through and give you the strength to move on from your terrible experiences. He will also guide you when you have children of your own.
The main essence of this commandment is to love our parents with the love of God. When we do so, we are doing a godly thing.
Night Prayer
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
Inspiration
We despise the thought of a pile of dirty dishes in the sink. The outside is easy to clean; it's the caked-up residue on the inside that's so difficult to remove. Jesus compares the scribes and Pharisees with dishes that have been wiped clean on the outside while dirty inside. The Pharisees took exceptional care of their outward appearance and neglected their inward spirits. We are guilty of allowing our hearts to be left filthy as well. We look and act as we should while our souls are full of darkness. We must continue to converse with the Holy Spirit daily and trust His guidance to cleanse our sinful nature.
Prayer
Dear God, Please forgive our sinful nature. We yearn for cleansing from within, so we are genuine witnesses to Your name. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
