The message of faith is fast giving way to other popular messages, especially now. I think in my own opinion that we heard more of ‘how to live by faith’ messages than we do now.
Yet, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. As a single lady when I was in the university, we were taught how to trust and believe God for stuff. Then we listened to Papa Kenneth Hagin, the Copelands, Creflo and Taffi Dollars, Jerry Savel, Jesse Duplantis, and Bishop Oyedepo. We saw living by faith as a necessity and we had no options but to live by our faith.
It seems to me that as we got married and life began to happen to us, we allow the message of faith to slip by. At that time, we were working-class people, so we didn’t believe in God for stuff as much as we did before.
We simply waited for the next paycheck.
When we felt symptoms in our bodies, we simply notify our HMO, and we get free access to health care. We even felt it was our right to use the hospital since it’s deducted from our salaries.
The problem is that we are gradually losing our cutting edge in exercising our faith.
As believers, we need to exercise our faith daily.
For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. –Romans 1:17 (KJV)
Our righteousness in God is revealed by our faith. To live a righteous life, to live victorious over fear, a disease, attacks of the enemy, and much more requires faith.
We can never be too mature to use faith. We can never graduate from the school of faith. We have to live by faith. Our existence must be by faith.
Our prayers get answered by faith. We receive our answer to our prayers by faith. There are some issues that will happen in marriage that your way to experience victory will be only when you learn to exercise your faith.
To be continued.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I have faith in God, my words align with what I believe God for
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray and ask God to give the grace to be steadfast in faith
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. –Romans 1:17 (KJV)
Hello Champ, we are still on our wisdom series from the book of Proverbs, and there are quite a number of benefits of being wise. If you will agree with me, King Solomon was a very wise man; there is lots of wisdom embedded in his book.
Our focus verse for today is from Proverbs 3: 13-18, let’s see what the bible says!
Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who embrace her; those who lay hold of her will be blessed. –Proverbs 3:13-18 (NIV)
Wisdom is one of the best things you can get in life; a person who has wisdom will always be at the top.
Today I want to identify for you the benefits of having wisdom.
1. A person with wisdom is blessed; an example of a blessed man in the bible is Father Abraham.
2. Wisdom is more profitable than silver and gold, these are one of the most valuable things on earth, and the bible still says wisdom is more profitable.
3. You will have long life when you are wise.
4. Wisdom will bring riches to you.
5. Wisdom will make you honourable.
6. You’ll have peace if you have wisdom.
Now you see why you need to be wise. Continue learning from God’s word and keep listening to your parent.
PRAYER: Father in Jesus name, I receive the help of the Holy Spirit to be wise. Amen
ACTION PLAN: Read your Bible today
DECLARATION: I am wise, I am obedient, and I am a good child.
This is a major one! He was offered free intercourse, but he ran away! He refused to get bitter about God because of his experiences and did not allow depression and conflicting emotions to push him into the clutches of available compromise with Potiphar’s wife!
(7) As time went on, his master’s wife became infatuated with Joseph and one day said, “Sleep with me.”(8) He wouldn’t do it. He said to his master’s wife, “Look, with me here, my master doesn’t give a second thought to anything that goes on here–he’s put me in charge of everything he owns.(9) He treats me as an equal. The only thing he hasn’t turned over to me is you. You’re his wife, after all! How could I violate his trust and sin against God?”(10) She pestered him day after day after day, but he stood his ground. He refused to go to bed with her.(11) On one of these days he came to the house to do his work and none of the household servants happened to be there.(12) She grabbed him by his cloak, saying, “Sleep with me!” He left his coat in her hand and ran out of the house. – Gen 39:7-12 MSG
Joseph said; I cannot sin against God! He had the fear of God. This is one of the reasons he became the greatest in Egypt! From prison to a ruler! What Singles Can Learn From Joseph
You see, righteousness exalts! Never ever allow the devil to tell you that you are missing out because you are a child of God. Never envy those who don’t have a relationship with God. David made that mistake too and he envied unbelievers, but he said when he got into God’s presence, then he understood their ends.
Joseph ran away! This is what you do in the face of sexual compromise! That is not the time to start speaking in tongues when he or she has removed his or her clothes! Run away! Flee! That is why God created legs for you!
Don’t come around and say somebody seduced you. Run! Five minutes before the compromise, you will always know what is about to happen. Don’t wait there trying to see what will happen when all the angels have already fled so that their eyes will not behold evil!
What else will happen between a guy and a lady alone in the room, with no light and no candles around 9.00 pm? Run! That is how to preserve your destiny! Run! That is how to fulfill your destiny! Run! Pack out of the house, you are not yet married! Run away because your destiny is greater than the compromise you are entangled with! Free yourself by God’s Spirit and run!
Take a cue from Joseph. But if I leave him, he won’t give me money again! If I leave him, he won’t pay my school fees again, and so on and so forth. That was also the place Joseph found himself. He ran away, and then seemed to land in the prison! But God did not leave him and that is the important thing. Righteousness will eventually exalt you and give you a better platform than exchanging your body for some paltry sums!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I am a dreamer. I will not stop dreaming!
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray that God will give the strength to say No in the face of compromise
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Gen 39:2 KJV And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.
Marriage is the place where you will have to come to terms with the practicality of forgiveness. In other relationships, forgiveness is also essential but it may not be as that of marriage.
In marriage, you will have to forgive for the relationship to be healed. You and your spouse cannot avoid each other. You live together, have children together, for the sake of peace and progress, forgiveness is very necessary.
The standard of the Word of God is so high. That’s why it is a narrow road that leads to heaven.
The Bible does not mince words when we are told to love our enemies. Hmmm. I thought we should love our friends and well wishers and stay clear and avoid our enemies.
The bible tells us to love them, and bless those who curse us. That is pretty hard. A hard pill to swallow. I believe that is why we have to live in the spirit so we do not gratify the lust of the flesh.
We need Holy Ghost power. We cannot do it in our own natural strength.
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; – Matthew 5:44 KJV
Our differences will most often act as threat to our marital union and our mandate as couples. It will pose a problem to our becoming one.
The natural man tends to be selfish and only one that is submitted to Christ and His word can love genuinely.
It is easier for women to hold on to hurts and have difficulty in forgiving. Women hurt deeply essentially because they are emotional being and because they analyse more.
Whichever way, let God be true and every man a liar. The standard of God’s word must be followed. A different gospel is not for men and another for women. We are to follow and obey the same word.
We should allow the Holy spirit to rightly discern the situation and analyse it for us.
God is not saying we should not be hurt, angry or need time to heal. We should do that and then get over it and move on.
That’s where power lies. That’s where victory begins. The Word says we should be angry but we are not permitted to sin.
We sin when we over analyse. There is a spirit way to analyse things that instead of being bitter, we become better.
When we allow bitterness, we open the door for other demons to enter our lives and afflict us. Disobedience opens the door for the enemy of our souls. We open the door for sicknesses, diseases, poverty, disfavor etc.
Joseph could have wasted his life being bitter. He could have lost years by being bitter. He could have lost opportunities. But he choose to enjoy where he was on his way to being better and to where God was taking him to.
Joseph saw his brothers who sold him into slavery and he analysed the situation well by the help of the Holy spirit.
He said what they meant for evil, God used it to preserve many lives. Can you allow that situation to become a tool in the hands of God?
I’m not saying it will be easy. That’s what taking up your cross daily and following God is about.
Couples, learn to give that situation to God. You are reviled, persecuted, unjustly treated, abused, afflicted, cheated etc. Surrender it to the Lord. Give it to Him.
Allow the Holy spirit to make you see what it really is. Until Joseph saw correctly, he could not forgive and forget.
Jesus was able to pass through the cross because he saw well. For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross.
He could say father forgive them,for they know not what they are doing.
God is able to turn things around and make your mess a message that will liberate thousands.
Don’t fight your spouse, forgive and move on. Learn what you are to learn. Don’t be afraid of being misjudged or treated unfairly. Jesus was wrongly and falsely accused. He shut His mouth and didn’t answer back. It was tough, but at the end, He was justified and glorified
Ask the Lord to help you see well and He will come to your aid.
There’s a way to be expectant as children. Do we all remember the story of the blind man in the Bible?
And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou son of David, have mercy on me. – Mark 10:47-48
What if the blind man had not asked what the surrounding ruckus was about? What if he had just continued begging and minded his business?
Something in him must have stirred him up to ask what was happening. He probably had been nursing a desire to have his sight, and when he heard that Jesus was around, it aroused his expectation.
Quickly, he opened his mouth and screamed the most he had ever done in his life. He knew it was now or never.
He had to have heard of the acts of Jesus to have done what he did. Even when they tried to shut him up, he screamed the more. This was the day he had been waiting for, and nothing or no one would stop him from getting what he wanted.
This was the same Jesus that had been healing people, and someone wanted him to shut up. He gave it his all and never regretted doing so.
Are you expecting to have what you are praying for? Are you listening to the voices telling you your prayers won’t be answered? Allowing people or circumstances to shut you up?
Be like that man and scream the more. Jesus is ready to command you be brought before him. And when you get in front of Jesus, know what you want.
You will never regret calling on Jesus.
Prayer: Lord, give me an expectant heart. Teach me to expect answers to my prayers. Amen.
Action point: Visualize your prayers as answered. See yourself in the light of prayers answered.
Declaration: I am expectant. My miracle will not pass me by.
