Thursday Morning Scripture (Wk45/2021) – Ephesians 5:15-21

Be Imitators of God

15 Therefore see that you walk carefully [living life with honor, purpose, and courage; shunning those who tolerate and enable evil], not as the unwise, but as wise [sensible, intelligent, discerning people],

16 [b]making the very most of your time [on earth, recognizing and taking advantage of each opportunity and using it with wisdom and diligence], because the days are [filled with] evil.

17 Therefore do not be foolish and thoughtless, but understand and firmly grasp what the will of the Lord is.

18 Do not get drunk with wine, for that is wickedness (corruption, stupidity), but be filled with the [Holy] Spirit and constantly guided by Him.

19 [c]Speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, [offering praise by] singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;

20 always giving thanks to God the Father for all things, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

21 being subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Ephesians 5:15-21 (AMP)

Lion Bites – Global Prophetic Alliance – 17.11.21 – Prodigals Come Home

Many of you are living like the prodigal son, not that you have walked away from me or your faith but that you are finding yourself in the pigpen surrounded by your sin, shame and mistakes.

You feel stuck here in the mud, but I am waiting for you to come running home. I am waiting for you to turn up to me in your mess and the stains of the mistake, and I am ready to embrace you.


I want to cover you in my love and the kisses of a Father who welcomes you home. I want to give you a ring on your finger that tells the world you belong to me. I have the robe ready to put on your shoulders to remove all the pain of the past. All I need you to do is come to me, start running towards me, and I will meet you.


You do not need to be perfect or held together to come before me. I love you where you are, and I am calling you back to find me in my house once again. You are not displaced; you have been found and called by me. Child come home.

“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father.”But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.”The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’”But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

Luke 15:17-22 (NIV)

#lionbites

Wednesday Morning Scripture (Wk45/2021) – Ephesians 5:1-14

Be Imitators of God

1 Therefore become imitators of God [copy Him and follow His example], as well-beloved children [imitate their father];

2 and walk continually in love [that is, value one another—practice empathy and compassion, unselfishly seeking the best for others], just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and sacrifice to God [slain for you, so that it became] a sweet fragrance.

3 But sexual immorality and all [moral] impurity [indecent, offensive behavior] or greed must not even be hinted at among you, as is proper among saints [for as believers our way of life, whether in public or in private, reflects the validity of our faith].

4 Let there be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse [obscene or vulgar] joking, because such things are not appropriate [for believers]; but instead speak of your thankfulness [to God].

5 For be sure of this: no immoral, impure, or greedy person—for that one is [in effect] an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God [for such a person places a higher value on something other than God].

6 Let no one deceive you with empty arguments [that encourage you to sin], for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience [those who habitually sin].

7 So do not participate or even associate with them [in the rebelliousness of sin].

8 For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of Light [live as those who are native-born to the Light]

9 (for the fruit [the effect, the result] of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth),

10 trying to learn [by experience] what is pleasing to the Lord [and letting your lifestyles be examples of what is most acceptable to Him—your behavior expressing gratitude to God for your salvation].

11 Do not participate in the worthless and unproductive deeds of darkness, but instead expose them [by exemplifying personal integrity, moral courage, and godly character];

12 for it is disgraceful even to mention the things that such people practice in secret.

13 But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light [of God’s precepts], for [a]it is light that makes everything visible.

14 For this reason He says,

“Awake, sleeper,

And arise from the dead,

And Christ will shine [as dawn] upon you and give you light.”

Ephesians 5:1-14 (AMP)

Lion Bites – Global Prophetic Alliance – 16.11.21 – Tuesday

You have lamented the division in the land, the barriers that separate those in your cities, your towns, and villages. You are aware of the hate that spews online between factions, and you cringe at the words and attitudes which separate and divide the communities you inhabit. And yet, I long to heal the barriers in your heart towards those I have brought into the family alongside you, your brothers, and your sisters. Before I can work through you, through my people to bring about reconciliation between nations and in nations; before I can remove the lines that divide, the barriers that separate in your land, let me bring healing to your hearts so that you can love your brothers and sisters in Christ as I do.

Will you let me heal the wounds you have received at the hands, and from the mouths, of those within your church family? Will you let me heal your eyes so you can see each other through eyes of love and not judgment and criticism? Will you let me gently remove the barbs and the walls of self-protection, and soften the rough edges, so that I can meld your hearts together? Will you let me mould you into a safe space for me to bring the broken, the lost and the hurting? Will you let me make you into a loving, tight-knit family that reflects the heart of love that exists within our relationship as Father, Son and Holy Spirit?

I pray for them all to be joined together as one even as you and I, Father, are joined together as one. I pray for them to become one with us so that the world will recognise that you sent me.

John 17:21 (TPT)

A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

John 13:34 (NIV)

Activation

Ask God where in your heart there are any barriers to those in your church family, first in your immediate context, in your local congregation and then in the broader context of the global church family.

#lionbites