In preparing for a successful marriage, money is not the most important thing.
Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold. – Pro 8:10 KJV
When you have instruction, money will eventually come.
Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life. – Pro 4:13 KJV
Another translation says:
Hold tight to good advice; don’t relax your grip. Guard it well–your life is at stake! – Pro 4:13 MSG
Dear couples to be, hold on tight to wisdom, because your marriage is at stake.
Dear wife to be, beauty is not the only thing you need. Beauty without gumption is ugliness! Sound practical knowledge is essential.
As a jewel of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion. – Pro 11:22 KJV
Message translation says
Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful face on an empty head. – Pro 11:22 MSG
Now that you are still single, keep on developing yourself. The Bible says ‘he that findeth a wife…’ Not he that findeth a sister or babe! He that finds a wife!
How do you become a wife without being asked out? By developing yourself and knowing what it takes to be a wife. A wife material is what every man is looking for.
Dear husband to be, you will eventually become the head of the house and give direction to your wife and ultimately your children. Are you ready? Are you currently learning? Are you ready to give the necessary and right leadership not only to your future wife but to your future children as well?
There is no special anointing that comes on you on your wedding day…but you have a whole life on your hands from that day! Keep at self-development.
I pray for you this morning, that the heavens be opened over you and that every door that seem closed, may it open this day of its own accord in Jesus name!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I keep at self development. I search for knowledge daily
PRAYERS FOR THE DAY Lord, give me a heart that pants after your word daily.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Pro 13:18 KJV Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction: but he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Decide to build a Marriage library. Get books and materials on marriage and learn as much as you can.
Husbands, are you hurting your wife? Do you care for her emotional well-being? Or are you just focusing on what gives you fulfillment which is your job?
Do you leave your wife lonely, vulnerable and unhappy? Are you really concerned about her as a person or you just want her to be well behaved so you can have some peace and concentrate more on your job?
Do you really love her, cherish, appreciate adore and affirm your wife or you are too busy for that? Do you understand her inner struggles, unfulfilled aspirations, dreams and depression triggers?
Are you secretly cheating on her thinking that nobody will discover? Do you know that the scripture says one day will come when your sin will find you out? Even if you run to UK or USA, the ‘sin’ will collect visa too and will appear like James Bond!
Remember God has a marking scheme, and the marking scheme says, ‘Husbands, love your wife.’
Wives, are you submitted to your husband’s desires? Do you respect him even when his decisions seem hard to follow? Do you go your own way while you leave him to go his own ways? Do you spend ‘your own’ money the way you want without having the attitude that it is ‘our money?’
Are you really a loving couple or strange bed fellows? Do you seek to appreciate him? Do you make yourself available as a suitable help, adaptable to him or you are busy and consumed with just your own self?
Are you selfishly drawing or demanding attention for self without being selfless? Do you realize deep down in your mind that you can deceive somebody for a long time, but you cannot fool God for a second? That is why the scripture says God is not mocked!
Remember that if you fail in your marital assignment, you have failed in a major area of your life and destiny. But when we do fail, His mercy covers for us and he helps us in our weaknesses. He turns our failures into glory.
Thank God for grace, because God is a God of second chance. While grace is not a license for habitual sins, grace will embrace you if you make a mistake. He teaches and trains us while on the assignment. He gives us several tutorials and allows the Holy Spirit to show us some of the questions in the examination. He allows the Holy Spirit to enter the examination hall with us and help us out! What a God!
If you find yourself floundering in any areas, you have a father who will always embrace you and help you. Turn to Him and talk to Him. He has listening ears and He will not condemn you. He will rather embrace you in His everlasting and loving arms and turn your life and home around.
I pray that God will give you more wisdom in Jesus name.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I will make a success of my marital assignment. I will love my wife. I will be submissive to my husband.
PRAYERS FOR THE DAY Let every crisis area in my marital assignment receive healing in Jesus name.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Eph 5:33 (AMP) However, let each man of you [without exception] love his wife as [being in a sense] his very own self; and let the wife see that she respects and reverences her husband [that she notices him, regards him, honors him, prefers him, venerates, and esteems him; and that she defers to him, praises him, and loves and admires him exceedingly]. [I Pet. 3:2.]
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Ask your wife how you can love her better. Ask your husband in what ways you can be the wife of his dreams.
In the things of God, you are expected to grow. Just like physical food makes us grow, develop and have strong bones, the same way, your spirit man or the inner man ought to grow.
You see, when you start out in God, you may be twenty five years old, but you are actually a spiritual baby. That is why the Bible talks about the milk of the word and the meat of the word.
The more you search God’s word, attend Bible studies, learn to pray, the more you will grow and master your situations and circumstances.
Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge. – Proverbs 23:12 (KJV)
Relationships or marriages do not work out because you are a Christian! It works out because you know what to do! Being born again ensures you make heaven, but what ensures victory on earth is to know what to do in specific situations and your ability to draw wisdom from God’s word.
If marriage is an institution, learning is inevitable! As a matter of fact, your success in that marriage is predicated on your ability to learn principles and apply them.
Knowledge of God’s word will set you free. What you know can push to the top of the ladder. What you don’t know can get you demoted. So, it is in the things of the spirit. No wonder the devil does all things possible to make sure you don’t study God’s word!
Ever wondered why your eyes are so bright when you are watching a film and you are so alert but you start to doze when it comes to God’s word? The one that studied God’s word through the night and the one that made calls talking sweet nonsense would not have same result at the end of the day. One is sowing to the flesh and the other to the spirit and there will be a distinguishing!
Learning from God’s word constantly is a must if you will have victory. There are three processes involved here.
1. Knowledge acquisition.
Knowledge is the accumulation of facts. Read wide. Search for answers. Don’t just assume. Assumption is the lowest form of knowledge. The difference between you and the person you admire is what that person knows.
2. Understanding.
Understanding is the arrangement of facts. Now, you have read, but you must process the facts and sort them. Meditate on them.
3. Wisdom.
It is the application of knowledge. When you apply what you have learnt, that becomes wisdom for you. That is why Pro 23:12 says ‘apply your heart unto instruction…’
To be continued…
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I keep at self-development. I search for knowledge daily
PRAYERS FOR THE DAY Lord, give me a heart that pants after your word daily.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction: but he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured. – Proverbs 13:18 (KJV)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Decide to build a Marriage library. Get books and materials on marriage and learn as much as you can.
I am very persuaded that when you are not living right and following God’s principles, there are a lot of things you are missing and then you make yourself vulnerable to the antics of the devil.
I can prove this to you from the scriptures and from several experiences my ears have scraped from phone calls from every continent on this earth! It is the same everywhere, tales of regrets the moment compromise has been entertained.
You see, the devil knows you are a child of God. He knows you want to make heaven. He cannot access your life until you allow him. You allow him the moment you buy into his suggestions, temptations and traps.
He sets specific traps that are unique to your weakness. And this is what you must realize! Before someone starts winking at you for extra-marital affair, the devil ensures you have been fighting your spouse thereby making you vulnerable!
Everything that happens is of spiritual significance! Nothing just happens! Before you take that action, ask yourself, is this moving me towards God or away from God? There is no middle ground!
But it also applies to you: every husband must love his wife as himself, and every wife must respect her husband. –Ephesians 5:33 (GNB)
When you were single, you were at the preparation stage, but now that you are married, you are at the performance stage of your married life. You are at the center stage and heaven’s spotlight is on you.
Your performance in marriage will either allow you to be marked right or wrong. God gave you the marital assignment and He is going to mark your script.
Dear husband and wife, it is not what you feel or think is right that you do that will earn you a pass mark in your marital assignment but what God requires according to His marking scheme (the Bible).
To be continued…
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I will make a success of my marital assignment. I will love my wife. I will be submissive to my husband.
PRAYERS FOR THE DAY Let every crisis area in my marital assignment receive healing in Jesus name.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY However, let each man of you [without exception] love his wife as [being in a sense] his very own self; and let the wife see that she respects and reverences her husband [that she notices him, regards him, honors him, prefers him, venerates, and esteems him; and that she defers to him, praises him, and loves and admires him exceedingly]. –Ephesians 5:33 (AMP)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Ask your wife how you can love her better. Ask your husband in what ways you can be the wife of his dreams.
You cannot do it your own way! You belong to God! And you should sound that to the ears of anybody that wants you to compromise, desecrate your body, and jeopardize your destiny.
It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; -Galatians 5:19 (MSG)
“But Pastor, there is nothing I can do again and I cannot stop when he or she has already removed his/her clothes! I mean, when I am already seeing nakedness before me!”
“Who says you cannot stop? You can!”
“Pastor, I mean she is already touching my body and all that”
“Okay, let’s assume his name is Buddy. So you are ready to compromise and she goes like: “Oh Buddy, I really appreciate you. I never thought anybody will still love me and accept me. Thanks for loving me. Ever since I have been confirmed positive, I never…”
You see, at that point, whatever was hard would go flaccid instantly! Will Buddy stop or not? He will quickly escape for his life. You see the point. The scripture says “Sin shall not have dominion over you!”
In a scenario of compromise, what the scripture advises is for you to “flee” Flee means “to run away as in terror” That is how to escape such.
When the Bible says “run”, don’t say “let’s reason together!
Tongues will not help you at that time, only your feet will do. Save yourself from this untoward generation and run to God for help.
Joseph ran away from Potiphar’s wife and he preserved his destiny, He became a Prime Minister. Samson didn’t run and he had his eyes gouged out, he died with his destiny unfulfilled and cut off in the midst of his days.
If you are already compromised, run to God, our father of all mercies and He will surely embrace you and forgive you.
The part that I like so much about God is that He will forgive and forget! Your iniquity will I remember no more! He will simply forget you ever did anything, when you come before him genuinely and sincerely.
Embrace his love and mercy today, it is the best option you have. I pray today for you that God’s mercies will surround you and He will envelope you in His everlasting arms!
CONFESSIONFOR THE DAY I am delivered from the spirit of mammon. I am free from lust. I am freed by God.
PRAYERS FOR THE DAY I destroy every yoke in my emotions, body and my mind by the power of the Holy Spirit and in the name of Jesus.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY What the sinful nature does is clear. It enjoys sexual sins, impure acts and wild living. –Galatians 5:19 (NIV)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Study on “My body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.”
