29th August 2026

Welcoming Foreigners

"[God] defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow,

and loves the foreigner. ”

Matthew 4:20

Today's Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 10:17-20.

In 2021, as thousands of Ukrainian women and children arrived at Berlin’s railway station fleeing war, they were met with a surprise—German families holding up handmade signs offering refuge in their homes. “Can host two people!” one sign read. “Big room [available],” read another. Asked why she offered such hospitality to strangers, one woman said my Saviour Jesus Christ once needed refuge, and she wanted to help others in such need. 

In Deuteronomy, God calls the Israelites to care for those far from their homelands. Why? Because He is the defender of the fatherless, the widow and the foreigner (Deuteronomy 10:18), and because the Israelites knew what such vulnerability felt like: “for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt” (v 19) Empathy was to motivate their care. 

But there is another side to this too. When the widow at Zarephath welcomed the foreigner Elijah into her home, she was the one blessed (1 Kings 17:9-24), just as Abraham was blessed by his three foreign visitors (Genesis 18:1-25). God often uses hospitality to bless the host, not just the guest. 

Welcoming strangers into your home is hard, but those German families may be the real beneficiaries. As we too respond to the vulnerable with God’s empathy, we may be surprised at the gifts He gives us through them. 

Prayer: Dear God, give me a heart as big as Yours for the widow, the fatherless, vulnerable and the stranger. In the name of Your Son, I ask. Amen.

28th August 2026

A Day of Good-News

". . . This day is a day of good news . . ."

2 Kings 7:9

Today's Bible Reading: 2 Kings 7:1-16.

In 2 Kings 7:9, we encounter a powerful moment in the Old Testament, a moment that resonates with the message of Good News that we find in the New Testament through Jesus Christ. The context of this verse is a earnest one – a city besieged by an enemy, its people are starving, and four lepers sitting outside at the city gate. These lepers made a remarkable discovery; the enemy camp had been abandoned, and the 4 lepers found an abundance of food and treasure.

Their response to this discovery holds a profound lesson for us today. The lepers realized that what they had found was not meant to be hoarded or kept to themselves. They recognized that it was a day of good news – a day of deliverance, provision, and blessing. In their understanding of this truth, they knew that they had a responsibility to share this good news with others, with the people of their city.

In the same way, as Christians, we are recipients of the ultimate Good News – the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He came to save us from our sins, offer us forgiveness, and give us eternal life. Today is indeed a day of Good News because Jesus saves.

Just like the lepers, we must recognise that the Good News we have received is not meant to be kept hidden or kept to ourselves. Instead, we are called to share this incredible message of salvation with others. We are called to be witnesses of God's grace and love, telling the world about the hope and redemption that can be found in Christ, and Christ alone.

Prayer: Thank You, Father God, that we have a Gospel to proclaim-Good-News for all mankind. Help me to play my part. In the name of Jesus I ask. Amen.

27th August 2026

Meekness And Happiness

"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

Matthew 5:5

Today's Bible Reading: Matthew 5:1-5.

In His characteristic way the Lord Jesus was saying something quite shocking and revolutionary to His listener with these words, “Happy or Blessed are the meek.” He was saying something quite the opposite of our modern concept of the way to happiness. We say, “Happy are the clever, for they shall inherit the admiration of their friends”; “Happy are the aggressive, for they shall inherit a career”; “Happy are the rich, for they shall inherit a world of friends and a house full of modern gadgets.” Jesus did not say, “Be meek and you shall inherit the earth.” He, more than anyone else, knew that meekness was a gift of God, a result of rebirth. Jesus was not issuing a command in this Beatitude nor saying, “You ought to be meek, that is the way to live.” No! He was saying that if we want to find the secret of happiness, that if we want to enjoy living, then “meekness” is a basic key. May we seek from God the meekness that only He can give, for in such hearts is found the blessedness that the world can never offer.

Prayer: May I truly reflect Your meekness in my life, Father God. In the name of Jesus I ask. Amen.