20th September 2026

Appreciation

"Give my son Solomon a loyal heart to keep Your commandments

and Your testimonies and Your statutes . . ."

1 Chronicles 29:19

Today's Bible Reading: 1 Chronicles 29:10-20.

How are we to love? We are to love as God loves us . . . we are to show acceptance and appreciation . . . [to] accept each other as God accepts us. Too many parents refuse to accept and appreciate their children for what they are. That is why millions of children, the world over, run away from home each year. A team of Oxford university researchers have concluded that the majority of these runaways were attempting to escape an unhappy family situation. They yearned to be appreciated.

The causes of delinquency, we are told, are broken homes, poverty, lack of recreational facilities, poor physical health, racism, working mothers, and so on . . . The experts never seem to mention the lack of love, or the lack of faith in God. Yet these are the two most important elements for an adolescent’s successful maturity.

How long has it been since you praised your children (or others) instead of criticizing them? David prayed for his son Solomon and daily praised him (v 19), and we are to praise our children daily (and others). I have found that praise goes a lot further than criticism. Everybody needs to be appreciated.

Prayer: It is so easy to criticize those close to me; but Lord, give me Your unreserved love so that they may know how deeply I appreciate them. In Christ's name. Amen.

19th September 2026

A Choice

“I have set before you life and death,

blessing and cursing; therefore choose life..”

Deuteronomy 30:19

Today's Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 30:15-20.

In the chapter before us, we have, what is often referred to as “Moses’ edict to the Israelites.” Just before Moses’ death and the Israelites’ entrance into the promised land, God wanted them to know that they had a choice. Moses said, “I have set before you life and death . . . . Now choose life” (Deuteronomy 30:19). They could follow God’s laws and live well, or they could turn away from Him and live with the consequences of “death and evil” (v 15).

We must choose how to live too. We can choose joy by believing and trusting in God’s promises for our lives. Or we can choose to focus on the negative and difficult parts of our journeys, allowing them to rob us of joy. It will take practice and relying on the Holy Spirit for help, but we can choose joy—knowing that “God works all things together for good, for them that love Him” (Roman 8:28).

Prayer: Dear God, giver of joy, please help me to choose to follow You and believe and trust You this day. In Christ's name. Amen

18th September 2026

No Beginning & No End

“Before Abraham was, I AM.”

John 8:58

Today's Bible Reading: John 8:48-59.

Before Abraham was, I AM: With this dramatic statement the Lord Jesus told them that He was the eternal God, existing not only during the time of Abraham but before into eternity past. Jesus claimed to be the great “I AM,” the voice of the covenant God of Israel revealed at the burning bush (Exodus 3:13-14).

The Lord Jesus did not begin in Bethlehem. The Bible says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). Jesus said that He existed before the foundation of the world. He was there when the moon and stars were flung out into space from the Father’s flaming fingertips. He was there when God created this planet. He has always existed. He is “from everlasting to everlasting.”

Prayer: You, Lord Jesus, who has always existed, came down from Heaven in love and saved me from the depths of my sin. In humble adoration I praise You, my Saviour and Lord.  Amen.