“Show me your friend and I will tell you who you are” is still a valid saying; one which you must pay attention to if you must succeed in life. So today we will continue with our series on warning signals to watch out for in friendships. Here is another signal.
2. When you hope and pray your parents or guardians don’t find out where you have been. Friends that corrupt mostly advise you to give a false account of your whereabouts to parents or guardians. In other words, they tell you to lie.
For instance, they encourage you to buy a skimpy outfit which you know your parents won’t allow on you. They teach you how to hide it at home. Show me your friend. Is he/she like this? Even when your parents find out about the skimpy dress and forbid you to wear it, these kind of friends will again teach you how to sneak it out of the house for a party or an outing which you know will keep you late outside. Once more, they tell you what lie to tell to your parents.
Another way is you come home late from school and lie that you were at the library, studying for a test or exam. All the while you were playing football with friends or watching a PG movie at one of your friend’s house. They, of course, told you to say that. Show me your friend!
You hope and pray your parents don’t find out or catch your lie.
You need to let go of such friends because they are gradually helping you to become a liar. The bible tells us that the devil is the father of all liars. How can a child of God be friends with the children of the devil? You need to end your friendship with friends that teach you to lie. Show me your friend.
John 8:44 (NKJV) You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.
One downside of this is that, once your parents find out the truth, they won’t trust you anymore. They won’t believe anything you say again even when you are saying the truth.
So, check your friends again, and remember the saying: Show me your friend, and I will tell you who you are.
Prayer: Father in Heaven, help me with good friends. I don’t want friends that will teach me to lie, I want friends that will help me grow to know you more. Amen.
Action point: Stop being friends with anyone who encourages you to tell a lie, especially to your parents.
In today’sdevotional, we’ll be looking at two very important things every wife should do to their husbands, lets’ delve in.
1. Respect your husband Respect is actually a virtue of the heart. It is a value system you place on your husband based on the understanding and acceptance of his headship position. Respect could be verbal, physical, and definitely attitudinal.
You need to respect your own husband. That’s an assignment, you must never fail at. In respecting him, you need to know what respect is for your own husband.
You don’t define what respect is to your husband, your husband defines to you what respect is to him according to God’s word.
You are to specifically ask him what you can do that will make him feel respected. It could be the way to talk, how you serve his food, how you take care of the home, how the kids are cared for, how you sacrifice for him, how you treat his stuff, how you get interested in his business etc.
Don’t assume or guess, ask him, you might be surprised at how simple things could be a big deal for your husband.
2. Pray for your husband One of the greatest ways you can fulfill your assignment as a helpmeet is to pray for Him. Be his intercessor.
Pray for and about every single part of your husband’s life. Nothing is too big or too small to escape your talking to God about.
Pray for him when he is at his best as a father, husband and when he is doing well. Don’t wait for things to get not too good before you start praying. Keep your prayer bank full and God will honour you.
Your husband will also love you more.
There are some issues that God just steps in and defends you without you having to struggle for in your marriage. It’s a spiritual thing and he will just love you more without knowing why. I enjoy this a lot because I keep praying for my husband always.
Helping him is essentially praying for him. He is the head, you are the heart, the engine, and the power room. Never stop praying for him, no matter what.
God bless your marriage.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I love my spouse
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, help me to love more
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;” (Hebrews 12:15, KJV)
Psa 92:1-2 KJV It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night,
I love this scripture a lot! It is a good thing! What do you do that translates into a good thing?
There are four things mentioned.
To give thanks unto the Lord
Sing praises unto God’s name
To show forth His loving kindness in the morning
To show forth His faithfulness every night
It is good as a child of God to learn to do these daily! Why must we do these? It’s because it is good to do them. Just like when you say it is good to eat good food. It is good to have your bath…the same way, for your spiritual health, for your victory in life; it is good to these things.
Rather than complain about your partner, give thanks unto the Lord. Rather than nag at him, give thanks unto the Lord. Rather than sulk over being jilted or abandoned, give thanks unto the Lord.
Then it says, sing praises unto God’s name. You don’t need to be on key to do that. You can even sing along with your tab or phone.
Rather than listen to Lady Gaga or Beyonce, sing praises unto God’s name. Rather than sing some secular songs whose lyrics are negative, sing praises unto God’s name!
Then, learn to shew forth His lovingkindness in the morning! How do you do that?
Message translations says:
Psa 92:2 MSG To announce your love each daybreak…
Common now! You show forth His loving kindness by announcing His love each morning! You’ve got to come to a place in God where you refuse to wake up with some heaviness because of what happened the previous day or what is ahead of you in the new day. You see, praising God is not what you do with how you feel or you will not be able to do anything. Refuse to wake up into some sad state of heart. Refuse to wake up on the wrong side of the bed. I have checked my bed severally and I also told my wife to check, there is no wrong side! Both sides of the bed are right sides; whichever side I wake from, I am good to go! You see, our bed is laid with the sheets of praise! It’s got to be good!
In the morning, the first thing to do is not to hiss and shake your head in some regrets! Stop waking up with a frown. Did someone fight you in your dream? Learn to praise Him like your life depends on it because your life depends on it!
Finally, it says, to show forth His lovingkindness in the night! Every night! That is what it says! Don’t let the last thing you do in the night be listening to News or watching some Home videos that can break homes! Don’t fall asleep on some music that can dirty your spirit.
One translation of that verse says
Psa 92:2 BBE To make clear your mercy in the morning, and your unchanging faith every night;
Ruminate and meditate on that unchanging faith of God every night! Never lose hope. Hold on to God’s word and believe that the following day will be your day!
You see, when you consciously and deliberately learn to start and end your days like these, it does something to you. It positions you in a place where you are strategically ready for what God wants to do in your life. It helps you to cooperate with God’s plan for your life!
When you learn to do these daily, there are two things that will happen in your life.
Psa 92:10, 12 AMP But my horn (emblem of excessive strength and stately grace) You have exalted like that of a wild ox; I am anointed with fresh oil. The [uncompromisingly] righteous shall flourish like the palm tree [be long-lived, stately, upright, useful, and fruitful]; they shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon [majestic, stable, durable, and incorruptible].
In verse 10, your strength will be exalted. Your productivity will be maximized. Your result will be assured. Your victory will be certain.
In verse 12, you will flourish. You will succeed. You will grow and expand. You will be durable and incorruptible!
Get ready for some victory as you listen to GOD on this, as you start your day with Him and end with Him. Before you do this for long, you will surely see the hands of the Lord on not just your relationship and marriage, but in your business and every area of your life!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I will praise God in the morning and in the night. I will not give in to depression. My victory is ascertained.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Oh God, teach me how to praise you all day long and have victory.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY O Lord, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep (Psalms 92:5 KJV)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Decide to praise God today
Walk in the spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. It is in marriage that you can best apply this scripture. There will be many opportunities in marriage to fulfill the lust of the flesh. Our flesh wants to rise big time whenever our spouses do something that we consider unpleasant.
All works of the flesh as described in Galatians 5: 19-21 especially enmity, strife, jealousy, anger (ill temper), selfishness, divisions, envy can all be seen in marriages.
In marriage, we are tempted to pay back evil for evil, tit for tat and it is easier to go by the rule of a tooth for a tooth and an eye for an eye. In marriage, it is easy to enter into strife, to be angry at our spouse, and be bitter against them.
In my twenty-one-plus years of marriage, I have come to note that it is always easier to nip things in the bud before they get out of hand. It is always easier to apologize on time before things get out of hand. It is always easier to talk things over than to let them linger and become bigger.
Galatians 5:22 (Amp), ‘But the fruit of the Holy Spirit (the work which His presence within accomplishes) is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness, gentleness (meekness, humility), self- control (self restraint, continence)
When we allow the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives, the resultant effect will be a Spirit-controlled marriage. That is where the Lord wants us to get to. That no matter what happens or whoever it is that is at fault, we are Spirit-controlled. Our lives are controlled and influenced by the Holy Spirit.
This can only happen when we begin to acknowledge the Holy spirit’s presence in our lives individually. When we learn to put our bodies under and allow the Holy Spirit His rightful place.
May God bless our marriage.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I am Spirit Controlled.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, help me acknowledge the Holy Spirit’s place in my life
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Gal 5:16 (MSG) My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit. Then you won’t feed the compulsions of selfishness.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Begin today to acknowledge the person of the Holy Spirit.
Dear child, friends can be signposts guiding and directing you towards God or a river between you two.
They affect your walk with God either in a good or bad way, as well as your relationship with your parents.
There are certain signals to watch out for when choosing friends. Even if you are friends with some people right now, use these signals to assess your friendships.
Dear child, note also that these signals do not mean you have to be hateful or snobbish towards people you shouldn’t be friends with. It’s not a license for you to declare them bad or otherwise.
These signs are just a guide steering you towards wisdom.
One signpost to watch for is
1. Pretense:
Dear child, do you have friends that you have to pretend to like what they do, where they go, what they say – basically, everything about them?
This is a warning sign. You are not supposed to pretend to like your friends and they shouldn’t do so too. A healthy friendship is one where both parties have true feelings for each other and can tell the truth.
There is no restriction on the truth. No fear of a reprisal attack or any attack whatsoever when the truth is spoken. The truth here is spoken in love and not to hate or judge.
Dear child, you pretend to like them because you want to feel among them. You know they smoke, yet you want to be friends with them knowing fully well the health risks of smoking, forgetting also that your parents won’t be happy with you if they get to know. Maybe you just don’t care if your parents find out.
You know, also, that God hates sin and says He dwells in our bodies. He wants us to keep our bodies pure and holy for Him.
“Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Lord?’
By joining them, you’re turning your back on both God and your parents; the two most important relationships you should cherish.
Dear child, friends are good but gaining friends at the expense of losing a right standing with God and your parents is not advisable. The thing is, friends can abandon you anytime, but God and your parents can’t because you are their responsibility.
Ask yourself today, do I pretend to like my friends?
