Hi guys!

Thought I would share this with you. Its a devotion taken from the Love Singapore booklet (40 days of devotions) which the church gave out a few weeks ago. Yesterday I was reading the booklet in the bus and I saw another man reading the book too! That was cool! This year I understand they had printed 55,000 copies. Imagine 55,000 Singaporeans praying together for the country, for the leaders, for loved ones, for themselves - we will surely see a changed nation... Hope that you will join in, too!

15th July
Exodus 20:12
12 “Honor your father and
your mother, so that you
may live long in the land
the LORD your God is
giving you.

Proverbs 20:20
If a man curses his father
or mother, his lamp will
be snuffed out in pitch
darkness.

Ephesians 6
1Children, obey your
parents in the Lord, for
this is right. 2“Honour
your father and mother”
— which is the first
commandment with
a promise — 3“that
it may go well with
you and that you may
enjoy long life on the
earth.” 4Fathers, do
not exasperate your
children; instead, bring
them up in the training
and instruction of the
Lord.

Often, it is our parents who know us most intimately.
They see us just as we are, warts and all. We tend to be
more guarded in public, but we show our real selves at
home. Little wonder then, that our relationships with our
family members are most prone to conflict and strain.
Against this backdrop, God commands that we honour
our parents. While we too have personal experience of
their bad tempers and short fuses, yet God says that all
that is irrelevant. The commandment does not come with
a condition. It does not say — honour your parents if they
have been kind, or good to you. We are simply called to
honour them, never mind what they may have or have not
done for us.

Why does God place such a high premium on a right
relationship with our parents? Perhaps it is because they
are the first forms of authority we come under in our life. If
we rebel against our parents from our youth, chances are
we will also rebel against other authority figures that God
will place over us in our adult life.

So by failing to honour the very people who gave us life,
more likely than not, all other relationships will go awry. This is also the only commandment that comes with a promise. Knowing how to honour the ones who gave you life sets you up for longevity of life and relationships with others. To honour is to ascribe value. To honour someone is to say, you are important to me, you have great worth in my eyes. What you say and how you feel matters to me. You express honour not just in words, but also in action.

Similarly, there are many ways to dishonour someone — through your body language, the way you talk to them, the way you talk about them.

Reflect

Reflect on your relationship with your parents. Have you dishonoured them in any way? Are you accessible to them? How often do they hear from you? Do you care, do you call home when they fall sick? Do you celebrate special days with them? Are they among your low-priority-person list? Do you see them as a social burden, a financial liability? Imagine your own children treating you that same way in your old age. Turn to God. Repent. Commit to change. Jot down the areas you need to act on. Pray over each item. Share with a trusted friend who will hold you accountable to your commitment.

Perhaps your parents have been abusive. You are a wounded soul and you find it extremely difficult to honour them. In fact, you hate them. Today, submit this painful issue to the Lord. Turn to Him for healing. Obey His word: love, forgive. Pray for your abusive parents now. Repent of all vengeful attitudes toward them. Guard against despising them as persons. Rather, go by the opposite spirit — treat them with courtesy and respect. Your godly behaviour might just melt their hearts and turn them around — to God!