“You are my hiding place; you will save me from trouble. I will sing aloud of your salvation, because you protect me.” Ps. 32:7 GNB

“Thou art my hiding-place; thou wilt preserve me from trouble; Thou wilt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah” Ps. 32:7 ASV

The key word this morning is; ‘God is your hiding place’. As you go through the day, the Lord says ‘He will give you a song of deliverance’. Therefore, be sure that He will save you from trouble, and He will encompass you with songs of deliverance. Whatever your mission today; may be you are going for an exam, an interview, a business deal, to your normal place of work, or you are going for a ministration. You might even be envisaging a confrontation in the course of the day. As you face the day, this should be your word of confession. ‘I will sing victory song today, in Jesus name’.

The Bible says, ‘and they shall return unto Zion with singing, and everlasting song shall be upon their lips’. As you face the market place today, determine to save yourself from the battle of anxiety, because the Lord says He will save you from all trouble. He will encompass you with songs of deliverance. For every battle you might be facing, God is saying to you that at the end of the day, you will sing the song of victory. That is my prayer for you, and so shall it be, in Jesus name. Go in peace, and be blessed.

1. The first blessing for honouring your parents is long life.

Exodus 20:12 says:

‘Respect your father and your mother, so that you may live a long time in the land that I am giving you.’

This is Gods promise; when you respect your parents, you will have long life. Determine to esteem your parents highly.

2. The second blessing is that honouring your parents will lead to an improved character.

Proverbs 1:8-9 says:

⁸ my son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: ⁹ for they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.

This talks about beautification, it means when you honour your parents by listening to their instruction you will be beautified. Your life will be beautified. This is also a challenge to parents to raise their children in the ways and admonition of the lord. This way you ensure your instruction to your children are pleasing to God.

Your life will be long and beautified when you honour your parents. Lord help every child, to mend our ways and live in a way pleasing to you, by honouring our parents. O Lord, prosper every life today and let your name be praised forever in Jesus’ name. Amen.

 ‘Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.’ Proverbs 20:20

 ‘If you curse your parents, your life will end like a lamp that goes out in the dark.’

Proverbs 20:20 (Good News)

The word “curse” here means to despise or esteem lightly. Each time you despise or esteem your parents lightly you curse them! Many lives, especially of young people, are ruined because of their attitude towards their parents. Often times, one despises one’s parents in one’s mind and so no one knows but you. God however knows our hearts and He is the judge of all men. Every act of disrespect towards your father or mother is a destructive seed for your future, you do not want this type of seed in your life. It is wisdom to honour your parents.

Make the decision to honour your parents today. Do not wait until you have plenty of money before supporting your aged parents. In fact, even if your parents have more money than you do, it is honourable to give to them according to your available resources. This is part of honouring them; and God loves it. Decide to turn around your attitude towards your parents, and the God of heaven will bless you and your children. He will bless all you do and your days will be long on the earth.

Father I pray that grace and mercy will be available to everyone reading this now; in Jesus’ name. Amen.

 ⁸My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: ⁹for they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck. Proverbs 1:8-9

The Bible teaches us to honour our parents. If you take heed to the instructions of your parents that is one way you honour them, and it will be well with you. Exodus 20:12 says: ‘Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.’ This is the first commandment with a promise. It simply mean esteeming your parents highly, not on the grounds of merit but, because merely because God said so.

If you obey this commandment you not only honour your parents but you also honour God. Determine today to listen to your parent’s instruction. Determine today to esteem your parents highly. Take Good care of them, speak kindly and gracious words to and about your parents. Visit them if you are no longer living with them and be involved with their welfare. Do this and it shall be well with you. You might just want to send your parents a text right now, or give them a call.

As we go out today let grace and mercy attended to us. If anyone has trouble with their parent, Lord give them wisdom to resolve it in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. God bless you.

 ⁹Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: ¹⁰so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine. Proverbs 3:9-10

 ⁹Honour God with everything you own; give him the first and the best. Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over. Proverbs 3:9-10 (Message)

The word honour here means to esteem, to make weighty, or to have great regard for. What the Bible is saying here is esteem God with your substance, esteem Him highly. Let God be the focus of honour in your life; with your wealth, your children, your career, your talent, your energy, your time, and your spouse. Give God all your honour and ‘your barns will burst’. Be faithful even with your little, esteeming God in all you have. This is wisdom, and as you do this it will be well with you.

Make it your life’s principle to pay your tithe faithfully, and give generously; knowing that you are only a custodian of all that you possess – all we have has been freely given to us by God. Listen to Him as He guides you in the way to spend what you have. This is the way to keep your barn full and continuously bursting!

As you go through today keep it at the back of your mind to honour God with all you have. Father, may your grace and mercy go with your people today. May it be well with everyone reading this devotional now, in the name of Jesus. Amen. God bless you.

‘The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.’

Proverbs 12:15

One of the characteristics of a fool is not to listen to good advice from those with more experience, they believe they are always right. Fools also do not take heed to the word of the Lord. We should avoid acting like a fool. Look inwards today and think about the different areas where you believe you know everything. Is this attitude foolish? Have others counselled you and you disregard their counsel, thinking you know it all? I must say, this is a sign of foolishness.

Actually, this is a thing of the heart that shows up in attitude. You really don’t have to accept or follow every other person’s opinion about anything. But a disposition of ‘I know it all,’ a disposition that does not give consideration to ideas expressed even by those obviously more matured and more experienced than yourself is foolish. This is kind of attitude must be avoided. Begin right now to take stock and repent s needed.

Listen to the counsel of the wise and righteous, or you risk acting in foolishness. I pray that the Lord grant you the wisdom you need to face the day and prosper in it in the name of Jesus, Amen.

‘If you are weak in a crisis, you are weak indeed.’ Proverbs 24:10 (GNV)

‘If you fall to pieces in a crisis, there wasn’t much to you in the first place.’ Proverbs 24:10 (MSG)

The mark of the strength or commitment of a relationship is not how well they are doing when times are good, but rather how well they are doing when times are bad. It is in the time of crisis that the measure of your real strength will show. If you lose control of your emotions and begin to talk negatively like someone without hope, and even begin to ‘curse God’ during your trying times, it shows you never had faith to begin with.

‘If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.’ (KJV). Those who cave in, give up, and quit when faced with adversity were never strong to begin with. But if in such challenging times you do not quit but pray to God for strength while exercising patience, God will surely give you the wisdom to overcome your adversity.

This is one reason why you must endeavour to know your God – walk with Him on a daily basis; spend time to meditate on the Word and build up your faith. Then you will be able to firmly resist the devil and do great things for the Lord, even in times of crisis (Daniel 11:32). I pray that your strength will not fail you in Jesus’ name. Amen.

¹⁵A nagging wife is like water going drip-drip-drip on a rainy day. ¹⁶How can you keep her quiet? Have you ever tried to stop the wind or ever tried to hold a handful of oil? Proverbs 27:15-16 (GNT)

^15-16 A nagging spouse is like the drip, drip, drip of a leaky faucet; you can’t turn it off, and you can’t get away from it. Proverbs 27:15-16 (MSG)

Nagging spouses are difficult to deal with. They are a nuisance, finding fault in everything and everyone; and yet, they are an integral part of the home you can’t do without! They are usually complaining or showing sudden impatient irritation, especially over some trifling annoyance. If you are this nagging person, calm down, pray about it, and ask God to help you. You will need to learn to bring up the issue of your annoyance for discussion in a positive way.  You do this in order to create a positive atmosphere in the environment you are in – at home or even in the larger community. The thing I’ve notice here is that, only you can help yourself! You might even be wondering “how come ‘they’ don’t notice the problem? It’s plain to see!”

As you read this, do not point to anyone else you think it refers to; just consider how it affects you and learn from this wisdom. When nobody is seeing your point, calm down, pray about the issue and develop an attitude that will help both you and others to live in harmony, while you maintain the truth you know. I hope this helps you. If you want peace in your home calm down and stop nagging. May God give you wisdom in Jesus’ name. Amen.

‘An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression.’ Proverbs 29:22

The fact of the matter is that anger causes people to transgress. ‘People with quick tempers cause a lot of quarrelling and trouble’ (GNT). If you find that anger is one of your weaknesses you must address it, pray for God’s help, and take specific actions to combat your anger; spend time in the Word and tell yourself you can change.

The CEB version says ‘angry people stir up conflict’. Conflicts are bound to happen both in the family and in the marketplace. This is because we are all wired differently, and that means we will respond to comments or situations differently. Someone’s behaviours might actually make you feel angry! The question is, what do you do? The answer is, ensure you do not respond to the situation in anger. That will stir up the conflict that already exist! Rather, calm down, think through and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you to respond in ways that will lead to resolving the existing conflict (and I am sure that is what you really want).

‘Angry people stir up a lot of discord; the intemperate stir up trouble.’ (MSG). Professional persons lose everything when they are supposed to be going for the gold because of anger. Leave anger out of your dealings in life, else, accept the consequences; ‘…a furious man aboundeth in transgression.’ May God give you wisdom to exercise control over your temper. It will be well with you today in Jesus’ name. Amen.

‘He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.’

Proverbs 25:28

 ‘If you cannot control your anger, you are as helpless as a city without walls, open to attack.’

Proverbs 25:28 (GNT)

People with no self-control puts themselves in jeopardy. Anger should be dealt with calmly and rationally. Step back, think through the way you are going to deal with the issue that you are angry about. Make no decisions in anger. Decisions made in anger can hurt you and the ones you love, and also destroy years of hard work.

‘A person without self-control is like a house with its doors and windows knocked out’ (MSG). When you lose your temper, you are vulnerably exposed, and you stand the risk of losing everything you have worked hard to gather. Long standing relationships can be destroyed within seconds because inappropriate utterances are made in anger! The key thing to note here is not that you are angry; even God has reasons why He could feel angry – even with His children – sometimes. The point to note is that you should be able to control your temper when you are in an angry mood – no matter how legitimate your feeling is at the moment! Self-control is a fruit of your regenerated spirit, meaning that you have the capacity to control yourself at any time, if only you would yield to the caution and prompting of your spirit man. God will give you the necessary grace and wisdom to restrain yourself at all times.