file: /pub/resources/text/Our.Daily.Bread: db940916.txt
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OUR DAILY BREAD                            Friday, Sept. 16, 1994
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READ: 1 John 3:10-23



                          "VALUE HUMAN LIFE"


                        "You shall not murder."

                            Exodus 20:13


The Jews clearly understood that the sixth commandment refers to 
murder -- the malicious taking of human life. It doesn't forbid 
governments to use the death penalty or to wage war. This 
commandment deals solely with private morality.

Exodus 20:13 is based on the divine truth that human life is 
sacred and that we must protect and preserve it. Every human being 
bears God's image. Even an embryo is marked with a unique identity 
from the moment of conception. Life is God's most precious gift, 
and only He has the right to take it. Abortion, euthanasia, and 
physician-assisted suicide must all be viewed in the light of 
God's right to our life.

Jesus brought the sixth commandment to everyone's doorstep when He 
said that to be angry at someone without cause makes us guilty of 
murder (Mt. 5:21-22). And John wrote, "Whoever hates his brother 
is a murderer" (1 Jn. 3:15). This makes us all murderers in 
desperate need of God's forgiveness and mercy.

Thank you, Lord, for Your love and forgiveness. Help us by Your 
Holy Spirit to love others as You have loved us, and in so doing 
to value life, protect life, and enrich life as a gift from you.

- Dennis J. Dehaan

POINTS TO PONDER

What did John mean when he said that if we hate someone we are 
murderers? (1 Jn. 3:15). How does this truth help us to forgive 
those who hurt us?

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
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ANGER is just one letter short of DANGER. 

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ezekiel 19-21

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