He Loved Us

Today’s Daily Bible Reading is from Ephesians 2:4-9. In Ephesians 2:4, Paul says, “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,” God is merciful, He loves us so much He demonstrated His great love for us while we were still dead in our sins He made us alive in Christ.

God showed His compassion toward us by giving us a way to have forgiveness for our sins. If it wasn’t for His love and compassion for us, we would all be on our way to hell. Thank God for His love, grace, and mercy toward us.

By His grace we are saved. Only through God’s unmerited favor can we be saved. God raised us up with Christ to sit in heavenly places, so He could show His abundant grace and compassion to us through Jesus Christ. It is by grace we are saved through faith. It is a precious gift of God. It is not anything we can do by ourselves or by our own works, so we have no reason to boast in ourselves. We can only boast about God and His great love for us, which He expressed through His Son, Jesus Christ.

When someone gives you a gift, do you open it right away? Are you excited to see what is inside the package? What would happen if someone offered you a gift, but you never opened it? It would be there for you to enjoy, if you would open it and take advantage of the gift inside. That is often how we look at God’s gift of salvation. It is there for us to receive if we are willing to accept it. God is not going to force it on us. We have to receive it willingly. Have you accepted God’s gift of salvation for your life?

Daily Bible Reading:

Ephesians 2:4-9

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, by grace ye are saved;

6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Things to think about:

Are you thankful for God’s mercy?

What does the Scripture mean when it says, “By grace we are saved?”

Have you accepted God’s gift of salvation?

Prayer of the Day:

Dear God,

We thank You for this Scripture which reminds us how much You love us. It tells us about Your grace and mercy toward us. Help us to realize what a precious gift You gave us through Your Son. Help those who haven’t accepted this gift of salvation to do so today. Help those of us who know Jesus as our Savior to appreciate the gracious gift You gave us. In Jesus’ precious name, we pray. Amen.

Daily Bible Verse:

But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,- Ephesians 2:4

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–Excerpt from God Is Love ~ Deborah H. Bateman

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Featured Book:

God Is Love

by Deborah H. Bateman

About the book:

God is Love is a Daily Bible Reading Study by Deborah H. Bateman. It contains 19 daily devotionals on Scriptures about love from the Bible: including God’s love for us, the love relationship between a husband and wife, love and honoring our parents, and much more.

This devotional would be great for either a personal daily devotions or group Bible studies, including small groups, and Sunday school classes. Each devotional contains a brief commentary by the author, the daily Bible Scripture, a prayer of the day, and several questions for personal reflection or group discussion.

In God is Love, Deborah strives to show you not only what love is, but that love comes from God, as well as the love of God surpasses all imagination. Her goal for you as you read this book is that you would realize how much God loves you.

Benefits of reading God is Love
• You will learn what love is
• You will learn about different kinds of love
• You will learn how much God loves you
• You will learn of the sacrifice made by God because of His love for you

Available on Amazon

Get your copy now!

Have a blessed day,

Deborah

Recipe for Life

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PS. Thank you for coming to DeborahHBateman.com to study the Bible with us. Please come back again tomorrow and invite your friends and family to join us for Bible Study.

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Honor Your Father and Mother

Today’s Daily Bible Reading is from Ephesians 6:1-4. This Scripture reminds us that we should honor our father and mother.

This is the first of the Ten Commandments that has a promise attached to it. The promise is that “it may be well with you, and you might live long on the earth.”

Deuteronomy 5:16: “Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.”

What do you think it means to honor your parents? Maybe to love, obey, respect, and cherish them. This Scripture starts off by telling us we should obey our parents as their children because it is right. I don’t think we are only supposed to honor our parents as children, but all the days of our lives. Ephesians 6:4 gives direction to the parents that they should bring their children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Both as parents and as children we have a commitment to each other.

My parents have both already gone to heaven to be with the Lord, and I miss them very much. Those of you who are fortunate enough to still have your parents here with you, spend as much time as you can with them and treasure every moment. How I would love to be able to sit down and have a conversation with my parents and to visit with them.

Our parents are the first ones who love us and teach us what love is. Love should be unconditional between a parent and their children. As children we should return that love and respect to our parents. We may not always agree with everything our parents do. They aren’t perfect and neither are we, but we can love each other in spite of our differences.

Some parents may not treat their children in the way that God intended them to, but that doesn’t negate our responsibility to honor them as our parents. We may have to ask God to help us forgive our parents for some of the things did or didn’t do.

If you are a parent you probably haven’t done everything right, either. You have probably made mistakes and wrong decisions concerning your children. This Scripture teaches us that we should honor our parents and God will bless us for doing so.

Daily Bible Reading:

Ephesians 6:1-4

1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.

2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise:)

3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Things to think about:

What is the promise God gives us for honoring our parents?

What does it mean to honor someone?

Should we only honor our parents when we are children or should it be a life-long commitment?
Should we only honor our parents if they treated us well and loved us the way God intended for them to?

Prayer of the Day:

Dear God,

We want to thank You for the parents You gave us. Forgive us of the times in our lives when we haven’t honored our parents. We know You blessed us with them and for that we are grateful. Help us to always honor them. In Jesus’ name, we pray. We love You, LORD. Amen.

Daily Bible Verse:

Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise:) – Ephesians 6:2

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– This is an excerpt from God Is Love by Deborah H. Bateman

Christian Music Video:
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PS. Thank you for coming to DeborahHBateman.com to study the Bible with us. Come back again tomorrow. Please invite your friends and family to join us for Bible Study.

Featured Book:

God is Love

By Deborah H. Bateman

About the book:

This devotional would be good for personal daily devotions or group Bible studies, including small groups, and Sunday school classes. Each devotional contains a brief commentary by the author, the daily Bible Scripture, a prayer of the day, and several questions for personal reflection or group discussion.

In God is Love, Deborah strives to show you not only what love is, but that love comes from God, as well as the love of God surpasses all imagination.

Available on Amazon

Get your copy now!

Subscribe to Deborah H. Bateman to receive
Daily Bible Reading Lessons in your inbox.

Have a blessed day,

Deborah

Recipe for Life