God has made it very easy for you. Focus only becomes effective when your attention and energy are on ONE thing! So what is that one thing? The moment there are two things, it is no longer focus. What is that one thing?
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. – Heb 12:2-3 KJV
So easy! Looking unto Jesus! That is as simple as you can see it. How do you look at Jesus? By looking at His word! Regularly! Continuously!
Why look at Jesus?
Because he is the author and finisher of your faith and your life! Your life is like a book and Jesus authored it! The book is not about to be written, it has been written and published. You are only acting out the script!
It becomes logical then to make sure you act well. You have to look at the author who is also the director of your life’s flick. Each chapter of the book is a portion and a season of your life. You have to keep on looking at Jesus and His word because the devil is always attempting to offer you what is never part of the script.
The moment you stop looking, focus is broken and there will be serious troubles, agony, and regrets.
How do I know that what God authored in the book are good things about me?
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. – Jer 29:11 KJV
Waoh! They are good stuff! I need to simply focus on Him!
Take a look at the message translation:
I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out–plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. – Jer 29:11 MSG
Glory to God! Make up your mind to focus on Him this year and see the result. There is joy set before you! God wants to take care of you! Seriously! Others may not know what is going on with your life, but God says emphatically, ‘I know what I am doing!’ He is the author!
When you focus on Him and His Word, you will come to discover a lot. There is a chapter He has authored about your relationship and courtship. There is a chapter He has authored about your marriage. As you focus on Him, you will effortlessly glide into His will and plan for your life! That is the benefit of focus!
There are some things you are going through that are never part of His original script because you have refused to focus on Him and probably compromised as a result.
However, despite every broken focus experience, if you make up your mind today to focus on Him, God can fast-forward, rewind, pause, stop, erase, cancel, add, rewrite, restore, and do anything for you! How will He do that? He is the author…not just that….but also the finisher! Glory to God!
He is the one that will finish the story! The devil does not have the final say! God does! Turn around today and decide to focus!
For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. – Isa 50:7 KJV
Make up your mind. Set your face like a flint never to compromise again. God will help you and He will save you from imminent shame! Be blessed!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I am focused. I will not be distracted.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray that God will give you focus and cause your face to be set like a flint
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Isa 50:7 AMP For the Lord God helps Me; therefore have I not been ashamed or confounded. Therefore have I set My face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Consciously disengage yourself from every distraction
Hi Champ, let’s dive right into today’s devotional, shall we? Today is about love and loyalty.
Today I will be talking to you about two great attributes the Famous King Solomon recommends in the book of proverbs. These attributes can be found in our focus verses for today.
Let’s see what the bible says.
Don’t lose your grip on Love and Loyalty. Tie them around your neck; carve their initials on your heart. Earn a reputation for living well in God’s eyes and the eyes of the people. –Proverbs 3:3-4 (MSG)
This verse identifies two things you shouldn’t lose grip on, two things you shouldn’t let go of, and two things you should hold on to for the rest of your lives. These things are Love and Loyalty.
What is Love?
This is when you truly and really care about someone or something, so much that you try very hard to take care of them and keep them safe.
Remember what the bible says about Love? It’s the greatest commandment of all, God’s instruction to us is to love our neighbour –those around us– as ourselves.
Let’s see what loyalty means…
Loyalty means being committed to our family and friends, and being committed means that we make promises and keep them. We do what we say we’ll do for the people we care about.
King Solomon says you should not lose grip of Love and Loyalty, he says they should be a priority to you so much that you carry them around always like you wear something around your neck, he says you write them in your hearts like you would write something on a piece of wood.
This will help you live a reputable life, a life lived for God. And by so doing, your good reputation will also be visible to everyone around you.
PRAYER: Father in Jesus name, teach me how to love others and be loyal at all times. Amen
ACTION PLAN: Do something really nice for someone today.
DECLARATION: I have love in my heart, I am loyal to my friends and family.
SINGLES – Dear Pastor, Can I Kiss My Fiancé or Fiancée?
Continued from yesterday…
This is because it will always lead to something else! What you did the last time will not satisfy you the next time you meet, and before you know it, there will be a compromise.
If you are kissing someone who is not your wife somewhere and I bump into you as your pastor, what will happen? You will quickly apologize. Why? You are doing something out of place.
On the other hand, if I am kissing my wife somewhere and you bump into us, it is still you that will apologize because you are interrupting us and what we are doing is in place!
I can’t walk into a place now and then you grab my wife to kiss her and then tell me you are greeting her. I will remove my suit and fight you!
But candidly speaking, you may not find any scripture in the Bible that says kissing is a sin, but it will surely lead you into sin because of the law of progression. It is better to stay off.
After marriage, if you decide to kiss your spouse for a whole day non-stop, God will not frown at it, because your bodies belong to each other.
Don’t be deceived that since God says not to fornicate, kissing must then be a way out to relieve pressures!
You cannot kiss strangers you met two hours ago all in the name of expressing your love. The power of life and death lies in your mouth, so says the scriptures. You want to be careful then with whom you get entangled and lock that mouth with!
There are people you kiss and destinies are swallowed up! There are strange lips all over the place and that is why it is important you follow God’s order. I am a Pastor for close to twenty-five years and I can tell you my eyes have seen a little and my ears have heard enough to make them tingle.
Ladies, you cannot submit your lips to a guy as if you are submitting a sheet of paper in the examination hall. Your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost! Guard it. If the guy or the lady is hungry, must it be your lips that would be eaten? Honour yourself and honour God’s word so that God will honour you.
I have seen a guy who only kissed someone he met and he became mentally unstable from then. I have had to pray for a lady who practically lost her mind because of sexual sin!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY Lord, I receive wisdom to discern between positive and negative influences in my life and grace to avoid the negative.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY In Jesus’ name, I resist the power of negative influence over my life.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Rom 7:25 MSG The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Cut off your association with any person, place, or thing that is influencing you negatively.
As I listened to God’s Spirit to know what I will write this morning, I heard something about focus. So I believe the few words you are about to read are heaven’s message for you this morning.
And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. – Luk 9:62 KJV
Dear married couple, I write to you this morning on one ingredient you need, not only in your marriage but in life.
It is called focus! I like the definition that says “To concentrate attention or energy.”
In this contemporaneous world filled with mega distractions, there is no such time as this when this message becomes relevant.
When the devil wants to trap you, he brings distractions. The moment you are enticed and yielded, the focus is broken and the process of what God is trying to do in your life becomes delayed.
A child of God attending night parties for example will have his or her focus broken. There are things they do at night parties that you wouldn’t be able to share testimonies about, so there is no point wasting your time in such places. It’s just distractions.
There are ungodly friends that you keep that can break your focus. Many a life has been ruined by wrong associations.
When you engage in adultery, it’s a distraction and your focus will be broken. No matter how nice the person is, what is wrong is wrong!
The moment you put your hand on the plough, a process about your life and the plan of God for you begins and it is gradually unveiled. The moment you start to compromise, you tamper with that process! You are not supposed to look back. Looking back is not a kingdom mentality.
In the amours of a believer listed in the book of Ephesians, only the back has no protection! Why? You are not meant to look back!
The question is what do you focus on?
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I am focused. I will not be distracted.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray that God will give you focus and cause your face to be set like a flint
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Isa 50:7 AMP For the Lord God helps Me; therefore have I not been ashamed or confounded. Therefore have I set My face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Consciously disengage yourself from every distraction
Dear child, there is the key to long life and prosperity. Now one of the much-repeated words in the book of proverbs is a reminder to keep the words you have learned in a place that no one else can find except you, and that you never forget what you have learned.
This is why you have to protect your heart because that’s where King Solomon has instructed that you put the wisdom you have heard.
You have to protect your heart from bad friends and associations. It’s very important that you are mindful of what you see, what you hear, and what you think.
Remember the parable of the sower in the New Testament? After the sower had sown, some of the seeds were attacked. That’s what King Solomon is warning us about.
Let’s see our focus verse for today.
My Son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. –Proverbs 3:1-2 (NIV)
Yet again the wise king is asking us not to forget what we are learning, we will always need in our daily lives, and we will always need to apply it in every, and any decision we make. If we forget how do we then know what is right and who not to associate with?
Also, he tells us where to keep the things we are learning, he says in our hearts. Do you know why he mentions the heart?
The heart is most time where you make decisions, the instructions have to be in your heart for you to always reach out to it when you need to make a decision about something.
King Solomon says if you do thisthey will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.
Long life and good health are a result of following wise instructions, what you learn in God’s word and what your parents teach you.
It will also bring you prosperity just like the Bible says. Prosperity means to be blessed, and successful at all times.
Do you want long life? Do you want to prosper? The key to this is, don’t forget the wisdom you learn!
PRAYER: Dear Holy Spirit, please help me not to forget what I am learning. Amen
ACTION PLAN: Decide to read your bible today.
DECLARATION: I have long life, I am prosperous, and I am a good child.
SINGLES – Dear Pastor, Can I Kiss My Fiancé or Fiancée?
A few days ago, on one of our WhatsApp platforms, a question was raised on the subject of kissing and we had several interesting comments. By the way, if you are single and yet to join our discussion hub on WhatsApp, do so HERE. There are discussions, questions, and answers you can learn from on a daily basis.
I have been asked several times about this issue. A lot of people believe there is nothing wrong with kissing. In fact, most people believe it is godly. The question is, ‘is it right or wrong?’
Before, I answer the question; let us look at the scripture that is often quoted to justify kissing in relationships.
Salute one another with an holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you. – Rom 16:16 KJV
All the brethren greet you. Greet ye one another with an holy kiss. – 1Co 16:20 KJV
Greet one another with an holy kiss. – 2Co 13:12 KJV
Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss. – 1Th 5:26 KJV
From the above scriptures, it looks like a kiss is not a sin, and sincerely, in the context of the above scriptures, it is not a sin.
What is the above context? It is a cultural context. A Jewish kiss is a form of greetings in those days. Nothing more! See an example here:
And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son. – Gen 27:26 KJV
The issue with us in this part of the world is that we don’t greet with a kiss. You can’t lock your lips with your fiancée for over thirty minutes and then turn around to say you’ve just been greeting her! What kind of greeting was that? What type of greeting were you doing that your heartbeats accelerated and your hands got busy?
The scripture above says to greet one another with a holy kiss. Now, the Jewish kiss may be holy, but I am not sure that the Nigerian kiss is holy!
To be continued…
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY Lord, I receive wisdom to discern between positive and negative influences in my life and grace to avoid the negative.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY In Jesus’ name, I resist the power of negative influence over my life.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Rom 7:25 MSG The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Cut off your association with any person, place, or thing that is influencing you negatively.
The word vessel means receptacle. It is talking about your spirit man. When you serve God, that is oil in your lamp. When you climb the pulpit to preach, that is oil in your lamp. When you preach in the bus, that is oil in your lamp. When you work tirelessly, that is oil in your lamp. All those are necessary and they surely have their place, but when you do all of that to the detriment of personal devotional time with God, you are being careless with oil in your vessel.
That you sing in the choir will not compensate for the time you ought to be in God’s presence in the morning. That you resume at the workplace very early every day of the week will not make God understand your prayerlessness. Nothing will ever replace the time you spend in God’s presence daily!
Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. – Mat 25:7 KJV
When they woke up, all of them trimmed their lamps, but sadly, the lamps of five of them were gone out!
You see, there comes a time when activities without priority on God’s presence will fail. There comes a time when energy and service bravado will fail! When the oil in the lamp goes out, it is the oil in your vessel that will save you!
When you are serving God passionately with your time, energy, and resources but are still embroiled in habitual sexual sins and other transgressions, you are just being foolish! Ouch! That hurts! But it is the truth!
It is the truth that will make you free. I am not here to tell you what you want to read or what appeals to your ears, but to declare the undiluted word of God!
When you are seen as a spiritual person and others are even looking up to you and yet you know you are empty when it comes with a personal relationship with God, you are being foolish! Ouch!
If you are a pastor that only reads your Bible to preach, that is oil in the lamp and nothing more than foolishness! Ouch! You don’t read Bible to preach alone, you study it to live!
If you are a lady in the protocol or ushering in church, always prompt and active, and you don’t know what it means to practice the presence of God, neither do you read your Bible regularly, you are not being wise! Ouch!
If you are the most active in church and yet you are living in adultery, that is utter foolishness.
But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. – Mat 25:12 KJV
When they wanted the door opened to them, Jesus simply said he doesn’t know them! Is it possible that one can think He knows God and God does not know that person? Yes, I think it is possible.
Let us all get back to getting oil in our vessels regularly. That is how you won’t make mistakes in your marriage.
Oil in the vessel! That is how to keep your marriage together. That is how to run your home!
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the church!
Make up your mind this morning to be wise!
Selah!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY Lord, I receive the wisdom to run my home.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray that God will give you the wisdom to stay in His presence
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Mat 25:5 KJV While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Cut off your association with any person, place, or thing that is influencing you negatively.
Hello, young “wisdom Scholar” it’s been an exciting time of learning from the King, Solomon. Without doubts, it’s been wisdom all the way.
Let’s pick up from where we spotted yesterday, shall we?
…understanding shall keep thee: To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things; Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness; Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked; Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths: -Proverbs 2:11b -15 (KJV)
The bible says once you have wisdom, understanding will keep you.
Understanding implies being able to process wisdom in a way that becomes simple to you.
It’s important that you not only know wisdom but also understand what you have learnt, so you can apply it to your everyday life.
What will this do for you?
1. It will keep you from evil people, just like the bible says. It will keep you from ungodly friends and people that will make you do evil things.
2. It will also deliver you from a person that lies and speaks evil of other people; like gossip.
3. Wisdom keeps you on the path of uprightness, where you do what is right at all times.
4. It will prevent you from walking in darkness; that means you will walk in the light of God’s word always.
5. Wisdom will help you recognize the kind of friends you shouldn’t associate with.
This is enough reason to search for wisdom as God’s children, and how can we get this wisdom? It’s by reading and meditating on the word of God –the Bible– all the time.
Make a commitment today as children, to always read your bibles and listen to your parents. Obey God’s word, and what your Mom and Dad tell you all the time, this is what proves that you have learned wisdom and have understood it.
PRAYER: Father in Jesus name, help me to obey your word and my parents always. Amen
ACTION PLAN: Choose to always obey every instruction given to you by your parents
DECLARATION: I am wise, I understand wisdom, and I know the right thing to do at all times.
It will probably bring more. You have one more life to manage. If you cannot manage yours and you venture into marriage, it will be a disaster. When the children start coming, there will be more pressure. Learn to take pressures head-on by casting your care on Jesus and refusing to worry as the scripture advises.
5. Marriage is not all about lovemaking.
Ask somebody who is married. Yes, sexual intercourse is a marital glue, a healing balm in the soul for couples, and a blessing that keeps couples together. But it is not like you think intercourse in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Average couples actually make love twice or thrice in a week. However, the more frequent it is for married couples, the better for them.
6. Your spouse will neither be a magician nor is he the Holy Spirit.
He will be a human being with his own issues. You will always need God. He might be very anointed on the pulpit and filled with God’s glory while she is ministering in the choir, but at home, he or she is a human being with all the weaknesses complete. Learn to separate the office or position of your spouse from his or her person at home.
7. Marriage is not all about kisses, flowers, cinemas, cakes, chocolates, and vacations alone.
It is about cooking, pampers, crying babies, working, paying school fees, and so on. It is about budgets, plans, strategies, and divine wisdom. It is about submission to your husband who you sometimes think is hard, insensitive, and unloving. It is about loving your wife who you sometimes think is stubborn, does not want to be corrected, and can nag from morning till the next day. Few Things Marriage Will Not Do For You
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I keep on praying over my relationship in season and out of season.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, let your grace rest upon my relationship in Jesus name
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Php 4:6 KJVBe careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Decide to be a happy single
Wisdom is powerful. In life, you are either operating in foolishness or wisdom. That is why the scripture talks about the wise virgins and the foolish virgins. It is such a thin line that one can easily cross the line from wisdom to foolishness when care is not taken.
In the case of the five wise virgins and five foolish virgins, they were all born again and they all were expecting the bridegroom. They all go to church. They all have their lamps with them and the scripture says the word of God is a lamp unto our feet.
They all had oil in their lamps. We know that oil is a type of the Holy Spirit. They all know something about the Holy Spirit. They were all spiritual to an extent. We know that the parable is talking about believers because the scripture says
Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. – Mat 25:1 KJV
What made the five virgins foolish? The scripture tells us.
And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. – Mat 25:2-4 KJV
You can be attending service, be a worker, be all over the place, and yet be operating in foolishness! The foolish took their lamp but no oil. The wise took OIL IN THEIR VESSELS plus the oil in their lamps.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY Lord, I receive the wisdom to run my home.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray that God will give you the wisdom to stay in His presence
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Mat 25:5 KJV While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Cut off your association with any person, place, or thing that is influencing you negatively.
Hi Champ, it’s another exciting time to dig into God’s word. Let’s look at the benefits of having wisdom. There is a lot to learn from the wise king, Solomon.
It’s always exciting to read the book of Proverbs. Let’s learn something new today!
When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things; Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness; Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked; Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths: Proverbs 2:10-15 (KJV)
In our verses today, King Solomon identified for us one of the reasons we should be wise and have wisdom.
First of all, he identifies for us where wisdom should be located in our lives. The wise King says wisdom should be in our hearts.
This means that, beyond knowing what God’s words say, we should also put it in our hearts and live by God’s principles
He also tells us that knowledge should be pleasant to us. You know how you feel when mummy comes home with a bowl of ice cream? That’s how you should feel about knowledge!
What happens when we have wisdom in our hearts and knowledge is pleasant to us?
The Bible says;
1. Discretion will preserve you.
Do you know what Discretion is? It is the ability to always think things through and act in the right way.
Everyone needs discretion in their lives, especially children of God like you and I.
This is because we should always seek to please God. If that’s our aim, then we have to carefully think through what we do, this is because our decisions matter at all time, and how we decide to do what we do matters as well.
We live in a dissatisfied generation. Those who are short in height wished they were taller. The white is tanning their bodies trying to get dark, the blacks are bleaching trying to get white. The young are tinting their hair white, the old are dyeing their hair black.
Singles are posing with wedding ring, those married forget to wear it, those with beards are shaving off, those with none are using methylated spirit to grow some!
Today, I have a story to tell. Are you ready for it? Here we go. Once upon a time, (time – time), when I was single, I looked forward to marriage. Now that I am married, I missed the time I was single! End of story!
Singles will hardly believe that because all in their mind is to get married so that everything can change. I have been happily married for twenty two years and here are a few things I have learned that might bless you if you are still single.
1. Marriage will not make you happier.
Be happy before marriage. Marriage has no power in itself beyond the two people involved.
2. Marriage will not change you.
Change begins inwardly. Marriage is not a change agent. Marriage will not improve your attitudes, it will expose them. Marriage does not eliminate your weaknesses, it will amplify them. Start working on your attitudes and weaknesses before marriage.
3. Marriage will not cure loneliness.
There are several married people who have their spouses with them by the second, but are extremely lonely. Loneliness is more of a state of mind than availability of people around you.
The loneliest people in the world are sometimes the ones with large number of fans and crowd around them. Only God’s word can cure the root cause of loneliness. Few Things Marriage Will Not Do For You
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I keep on praying over my relationship in season and out of season.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, let your grace rest upon my relationship in Jesus name
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Php 4:6 KJVBe careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Decide to be a happy Single
Every wife should get to a point where no matter how loving and romantic and cordial they are with their spouses, they still give God His place.
God deserves the first place in our lives and He wants to have all of our hearts, minds, energy, and best of our beings. God is a jealous God and He will not share His glory with any other man, not even our husbands.
Our husbands no matter how much they love us, they cannot love us like Jesus. They cannot die for us. That’s why Jesus is the lover of our souls. He alone can love deeply and extravagantly.
If our husbands are godly, God will reveal to them how to love and treat us. But that also depends on how well they can receive from the Lord.
Our spouses at the very best are still ‘human’. They are not given to meet all our needs. They can only try. God wants our attention, focus, love and worship.
You cannot beg to be loved. Rather, look to God to meet your deepest emotional needs.
Most spouses’ don’t even understand their wives. We are so wired differently. So sometimes, they are not being wicked, they don’t just have a clue on how to love us the right way and that is when God steps in. He wants to meet all our emotional, spiritual, social, and physical needs. He knows us because He created us.
There are some of our needs that we don’t even understand or can articulate in the right way or with the right words, making it difficult for even our husbands to try to meet.
So take the frustration off your husband and off your marriage. Let your spouse do what he can do and allow God do what He can and wants to do.
Don’t let your esteem or self worth come solely from your spouse. Your self worth should come from God.
You are very special to God. You worth so much to Him. You are royalty. You are the apple of His eyes. God will go all the way to protect you.
For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called. For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God. – Isaiah 54:5 – 6 KJV
The scripture is telling us that thy Maker is thy husband. God is not just trying to be our husband or writing an application to be our husbands.
We have to receive this words, believe it and walk in the light of it. We have to mediate on it so much until it becomes real to our hearts. God is saying we are Mrs God. What a privilege! We are not just His princesses, we are married to Him.
He is our maker. He understands us. He knows our wiring because He put them there. He knows what words to speak to us per time.
We are married to the Almighty, all powerful, the wealthiest being on the earth and in heaven. Hallelujah! Its so comforting and refreshing to know God finds you so lovely, flawless and gorgeous.
Some other women are being treated harshly by their husbands. They are oppressed, bullied and abused. God wants you to shift your focus from the hurt you are experiencing. Give that hurt to God your husband. He knows how to fix it. God is introducing Himself as the Lord of hosts. You are Royalty, her Royal Majesty.
Never forget that. Find a way to always remind yourself that. I always wear a tiny chain around my neck to remind me that I am royalty. I am loved by God.
I will get into what it means to have God as your husband tomorrow by God’s grace.
God bless our marriage.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I enjoy the love of God in my marriage.
PRAYERS FOR THE DAY Father I receive help to be all you desire me to be.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Isaiah 54:5 For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Say to yourself: God is my husband
Today we will be looking at showing gratitude to your parents. Parents can be wonderful. They can be overbearing as well. They can reel out commands, rules, and guidelines. They tell you what to do and what not to do. They tell you when and when not to watch the TV.
To you, it seems as though they were over children. They just grew into adulthood one day.
Well, I have good news for you. Your parents love you. They love you so much they want the best for you. The rules and laws they give you are to bring out the best in you, not necessarily to restrict you.
They want to see you excel in your studies and in life. They want you to become a successful parent someday.
So the next time they tell you to wash your clothes, for example, know that it’s for your own good. They don’t want you to be a dirty person. When your clothes reek of sweat and are dirty, people will not want to associate with you and you could get teased or mocked at school by your mates. This could affect your self-esteem, making you withdraw from others.
Even the Bible encourages us to keep clean as it portrays the state of our hearts before God.
Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Wash and make yourselves clean. Isaiah 1:16 NIV.
Again the Bible tells you to obey and honor your parents so that it might be well with you.
Ephesians 6:2-3 GW “Honor your father and mother, that everything may go well for you, and you may have a long life on earth.” This is an important commandment with a promise.
SINGLES – Three Types Of Men Ladies Need To Know About
Continued from yesterday…
2 SCAVENGERS
They capitalize on the weaknesses of ladies with low self esteem. They weaken already weak ladies. They take advantage of their weaknesses.
They have a way of locating needy ladies and low self esteem ladies who will offer their body endlessly in order to get love which will forever remain elusive.
The scavenger is not looking for love or romance, he is simply looking for intercourse, and he will feign love and care to get what he wants. The day he stops getting that, he moves on, and the lady is left heartbroken.
What the scavenger does not know is that life is all about seed, time and harvest! He has unwittingly sown bad seeds and the harvest will spring up in time.
How do you avoid a scavenger? Learn new creation realities. Know who you are in Christ. Meditate on his word and develop God-confidence.
What do you do as a single if you find yourself here? Stop offering your body! Your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost. Start over and get out of all ungodly relationships
3 GARDENERS
These are the real men and I know this is where you belong! They cultivate their women, make them blossom, fruitful and bring out the best in them.
Ladies, you are like a fruitful vine, tender, yet full of great potentials. You have the responsibility of watching where and who plants you.
The environment (relationship) you agree to get involved with determines whether you will blossom or not.
Is the guy you are going out with a hunter? Is he always draining you financially, telling you it’s ok, promising to marry you? Is he a scavenger? He knows your story of abuse, low self esteem, that you have been deflowered and he feels he is the next person to sleep with you?
Make sure you do not enter into a relationship until you can vouch that the guy is a ‘gardener’, ‘a real man’, a ‘groom’, someone who will cultivate you, lead you and take you on a journey of self discovery and self confidence.
You can do it by God’s grace, if you trust and seek his help.
Always remember this, the wisdom you need to resolve the present issue lies with God.
I pray for you this day that God will surround you with His love.
Ladies, you will blossom in Jesus name. You will burst forth with full manifestation of your gifting in Jesus name.
Men, receive grace and wisdom to be the best that God has called you to be over your wife and your home! Three Types Of Men Ladies Need To Know About
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I will not fall into the hands of a hunter or scavenger. I am a a fruitful vine.
PRAYERS FOR THE DAY Father I receive help to be all you desire me to be. I refuse to be the object of abuse of any man.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY ‘Thy wife shall be like a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house’ Ps.128:3
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Get yourself out of any abusive relationship. Seek advice and help where necessary.
There are different types, kinds, shades and forms of trouble in life and of course in marriage. Some of these troubles we face in marriage are due to our carelessness most of the times, while others are just the devil wanting to stir up issues.
Whichever way, God has told us how to handle troubles in His word.
I must admit that there are some troubles or challenges that are so bigger than us. There is no way we can come out of them successfully without God intervening.
King David, even though he was God’s beloved Psalmist, faced different situations way bigger and stronger than him. The good news is that God brought him over them all.
When troubles comes, at whatever season in our marriage, if we are believers, we are assured victory.
Some challenges are spiritual and must be dealt with by engaging in spiritual warfare. Whether they are in-law issues, financial, child birth, barrenness, betrayal, infidelity issues, health issues or we just noticed some resistance on our way, or there are constant quarrels between us as couples that really has no basis, or any other attack on our marriage, it calls for spiritual warfare.
That is the time we should deal with and take charge of whatever strange oppressive spirit from the devil that wants to destroy our marriages.
We must know how to intercede for our marriages more than anything else. We fight on our knees.
The bible says
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; – 2 Corinthians 10:3 – 5 KJV
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. – James 4:7 KJV
Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. – Luke 10:19 KJV
Our major work is to bind the wrong spirit behind such issues and loose the power of God. We come against the different spirits causing troubles for us and not allowing us to enjoy peace, love and joy in our marriage.
Some problems are not with the third party, but with our spouses. You have to learn to take charge and exercise authority over such anti peace, anti unity spirit. All they are after is to cause division, disunity, distress and fight in the marriage.
Also praying for the eyes of the understanding of the other party to open is important.
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, – Ephesians 1:17 – 18 KJV
By the time you have engaged in spiritual warfare, God promised victory. The victory may not come the way we we want, but victory is sure and peace will be restored into our marriage.
God bless our marriage.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY My marriage is blessed.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Ask for wisdom to handle marital troubles
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. – Luke 10:19 KJV
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Take authority over the devil.
