The Samaritan woman had met so many men… but then when she met the man, the lover of her soul, she couldn’t but express the difference that turned her life around!
The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, Come, see a man… -John 4:28-29 (KJV)
Respond to God’s love today. Refuse the emotion of guilt! You see the moment you have asked your father to forgive you, He forgives and forgets. The devil tries to bring guilt so that you can feel unworthy and thereby prevent you from coming into God’s presence boldly.
But you see, this issue is a family affair! If your earthly father has forgiven you of an offense, what else can the servant in the house say? You simply tell him to shut up!
That is the way you handle the devil. It’s none of his business. God forgave you, period.
Tell the devil to shut up, it’s between you and your father, it’s a family affair and it is settled! He should stop poke nosing.
The blood of Jesus handled it already! If he tries to remind you of your past, remind him of his future, it’s the bottomless pit! Make sure you stop sinning.
That is what God does not want, continuous and habitual sins. Grace cannot abound when sin continues! Only hearken to what Jesus said to that adulterous woman caught in the act.
… And Jesus said unto her, neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. –John 8:11 (KJV)
The fact is that you did something wrong.
The lie is that you will never be forgiven.
The truth is that you are already forgiven and it is forgotten! Embrace the truth today and let it set you free! Truth is superior to the fact!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY Sin will not have dominion over me. I am able to follow God’s injunctions. I put my body under. All my sins are forgiven. I am a new a creature
PRAYERS FOR THE DAY Lord, strengthen me in my inner man. Help me to comprehend with all the saints what is the length, breadth and height, and depth of your love for me.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY He touched my mouth with the coal and said, “Look. This coal has touched your lips. Gone your guilt, your sins wiped out.” –Isaiah 6:7 (MSG)
This type of conversation is not just limited to a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ answer. The wife’s or husband’s opinion is needed and necessary.
For example, ‘Are the children eating rice this afternoon?’ ‘I don’t think it will be the best option for them. They need more vegetables in their diet’.
It is important to note that, the question, what do you think about….is so important in husband-wife conversations.
Your husband or wife’s opinion matters and don’t want them feeling like they are not smart. If the wife is just accepting every decision made and is not really a part of the decision-making process and involved in the intellectual aspect of thinking through, there will eventually be problems later on in the marriage.
4. Emotional Talk.
‘Let me tell you how I feel’.
In this fourth level of Communication, we share our feelings. When our feelings are shared, we share ourselves because we are what and how we feel.
We are simply making ourselves vulnerable. When we share with our mate how we feel, the intention is not whether we are right or wrong. We mostly don’t want to be judged because of how we feel. We just need our spouse to listen, understand and accept that that’s the way we feel.
We kill intimacy when we are quick to judge the feeling. I am not saying we should not correct but first acknowledge your spouse’s feelings.
It is more difficult for most people to share their feelings than their thoughts. These are two very different things
‘I feel that guy is a thief’.
‘I feel the car will break down’
‘I am thinking the issue with the woman is not natural’.
When you share your feelings, you are expressive. When you don’t share your deepest feelings, a path of you is left hidden or covered.
When you share your feelings, you are vulnerable, open, unashamed, no inhibitions.
Couples should aim at growing together into this fourth level of communication, to enjoy a higher level of intimacy.
In our concluding part, I will be talking about how your marriage can move up on the level of Communication and you both can become intimate couples. The goal in every marriage should be to know each other and be as intimate with your spouse as much as possible.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY My marriage will be a blessing to many
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Oh Lord, teach me how to communicate effectively
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. –Jeremiah 33:3 (KJV)
Today we will be talking about overcoming fear. Appearances can look real but in actual fact are not. Your expectations are false but are looking real.
How do you stop yourself from being overwhelmed with all the pressure of fear?
See what the word of the living God says about fear.
2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
Just take a moment to stop everything and just pray.
Praying helps you to get an understanding of what to do or not to do.
Prayer is a tool to help you understand what is happening and how to deal with it.
The major thing is that you shouldn’t allow fear – any of your false expectations appearing real, to stop you from doing what you’re supposed to do.
God doesn’t want you to have any form of fear and even if you do, He asks you to release them all to Him. He can carry them all and has the solution to solving them.
Having to start your day by asking God for forgiveness daily can be very frustrating, especially when you know you are going to commit the sin again.
Self-condemnation comes once we violate God’s principles. This self condemnation will surface at unexpected times. Most times, young folks get involved in premaritalee before marriage in order to express their freedom or liberty.
In the end, the purpose is defeated, because the very freedom they seek to express will be lost to emotional captivity and slavery. Freedom from a guilty conscience will be gone.
Years ago, a lady sat before me. She was genuinely troubled. She felt God would never forgive her because she was involved in pre-marital sex. She wept bitterly.
She said she has asked God to forgive her severally and she was not sure God heard her.
Another lady actually lost her mind after indulging in this same act because she believed she had committed an unpardonable sin. She couldn’t recognize anybody again.
She embraced the devil’s lie that she has committed the unpardonable sin because of pre-marital sex. She was talking gibberish and making faces. When we were called (alongside another pastor) to pray for her, all our attempts failed until we started to address the issue of guilt by the Spirit of God.
As we began to speak to her about God’s love and kindness, that demon left her, she calmed down, sobered up and tears began to flow. It was only then she was restored. It was then she told us what really happened. The negative emotion of guilt is a terrible experience. Guilt can be so real to the point of being suicidal.
When troubles ganged up on me, a mob of sins past counting, I was so swamped by guilt I couldn’t see my way clear. More guilt in my heart than hair on my head, so heavy the guilt that my heart gave out. –Psalms 40:12 (MSG)
I’m swamped by my bad behavior, collapsed under gunnysacks of guilt. –Psalms 38:4 (MSG)
You wouldn’t want to live with guilt all your life for violating God’s law. However, no matter how guilty you feel right now; God can always send help if you call upon Him and trust in His Word. That’s the way out.
It could be a sin of fornication or adultery or any form of sexual perversion, the blood of Jesus took care of all!
Then I let it all out; I said, “I’ll make a clean breast of my failures to GOD.” Suddenly the pressure was gone– my guilt dissolved, my sin disappeared. –Psalms 32:5 (MSG)
I want you to know that there is a lover of your soul that is different from any lover who might have disappointed you. You might have been disappointed by men, abandoned by men, used and dumped by men, treated shabbily by men…but when you meet the man, He will restore your soul!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY Sin will not have dominion over me. I am able to follow God’s injunctions. I put my body under. All my sins are forgiven. I am a new a creature
PRAYERS FOR THE DAY Lord, strengthen me in my inner man. Help me to comprehend with all the saints what is the length, breadth and height, and depth of your love for me.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY He touched my mouth with the coal and said, “Look. This coal has touched your lips. Gone your guilt, your sins wiped out.” –Isaiah 6:7 (MSG)
So we learned how important communication is in marriage. Not just anyhow communication but husbands and wives should dedicate time and attention to proper and effective ways to communicate with each other.
It can’t be over-emphasized, that Intimacy in marriage can only be brought as we grow from one level of Communication to the other levels.
There are five levels of Communication. I started with the first level yesterday, which is Hallway talker. Today, I am continuing:
2. Reporter’s Talk
This level is a step further than the first. Here, the conversation moves from general talks to talking or giving facts or information about events. It is a reported kind of talk.
Here more information is given, but still, this kind of conversation does not promote intimacy. In level two communication, we do not express our opinions, thoughts, or how we feel about the subject matter.
If you are at this level two communication, your aim should be to move up and climb the steps of effective communication so that intimacy could be engendered.
Remember, level two communication is summarized; Just give me the facts.
3. Intellectual Talk
In this conversation level, your spouse is given the freedom to think differently. This is an amazing gift to give each other in marriage.
It is recognizing the fact that each one of you is a unique individual with a different perspective, viewpoint, and way of reasoning.
Marriage is trying to bring our way of thinking into alignment without suffocating the uniqueness of each other’s thinking. Two becoming one is choosing the best of our different thinking patterns and or merging our different opinions till we arrive at the best alternative.
When we recognize our weaknesses and strength and know that each one of us has a role and part to play and that neither of us is superior to another. We will honor each other and give each other the opportunity to air their opinions.
To be continued…
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY My marriage will be a blessing to many
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Oh Lord, teach me how to communicate effectively
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. –Jeremiah 33:3 (KJV)
