Thursday, 9th December, 2021
Bible Reading: Matthew 5: 33-37
Memory Verse: When you make a promise, say only “Yes” or “No.” Anything else comes from the devil. Matthew 5:37 (CEV)
On December 2, 2012 Spanish athlete Iván Fernández Anaya was competing in a cross-country race in Burlada, Navarre. He was running second, some distance behind race leader Abel Mutai – bronze medalist in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the London Olympics. As they entered the finishing straight, he saw the Kenyan runner – the obvious winner of the race – mistakenly pull up about 10 meters before the finish, thinking he had already crossed the line. Fernández Anaya quickly caught up with him, but instead of exploiting Mutai’s mistake to speed past and claim victory, he stayed behind and, using gestures, guided the Kenyan to the line making him the first to cross the finishing line. “He was the rightful winner.
He created a gap that I couldn’t have closed. I didn’t deserve to win it,” says 24-year-old Fernández Anaya. “I did what I had to do. He was the rightful winner. He created a gap that I couldn’t have closed if he hadn’t made a mistake. As soon as I saw he was stopping, I knew I wasn’t going to pass him.” The gesture has made him a better person and not necessarily a better athlete. Abel Mutai is a honest athlete.
Quote about Honesty
1. Read the Bible. Work hard and honestly. And don’t complain – Billy Graham.
2. To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved – George Macdonald.
3. An unjust acquisition is like a barbed arrow, which must be drawn backward with horrible anguish, or else will be your destruction – Jeremy Taylor
4. I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man – George Washington.
5. Safety and happiness can only come from individuals, classes, and nations who are honest and fair and kind to each other – C.S. Lewis
6. An honest heart loves the Truth – A. W. Pink
7. An honest heart seeks to please God in all things and offend Him in none – A. W. Pink
Prophetic Decree: Receive a heart that strives after the the fullness of the image of Christ, in Jesus name.
Prayer Focus
1. Faithful and ever truthful God, I thank You.
2. I bind and cast out every lying spirit, in Jesus name.
3. Holy Spirit, please help me to be honest even when it hurts, in Jesus name.
4. I bring my flesh under the control of the Spirit of God, in Jesus name.
5. I receive the grace to tell the truth at all times, and in all ways, in Jesus name.BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Romans 8-10
