SINGLES – One Thing You Need To Know As A Single Continued from yesterday
There are a few reasons why you should make up your mind to continually give praise to God and to always learn to stir up the joy of the Holy Ghost in whatever circumstance you find yourself.
1. We are instructed throughout the scripture to praise God
Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. –Psalms 29:2 (KJV)
2. Rejoicing is a decision to make
Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation –Habakkuk 3:17-18 (KJV)
One Thing You Need To Know As A Single is that rejoicing before God should not be based on what we have or what we do not have. The writer above knows that despite the situation, all he needs to have a turn his situation around is that attitude of joy!
3. Joy affects prosperity
The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men. – Joel 1:12 (KJV)
Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant. –Psalms 35:27 (KJV)
Make up your mind never to allow your joy to wither! If you can maintain your joy in the midst of that relationship/life issue, God will surely make a way for you!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I am grateful for every little thing in my life.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Father, I ask in the name of Jesus that you give me the grace to praise and thank you at all times.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY I bless GOD every chance I get; my lungs expand with his praise. –Psalms 34:1 (MSG)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Choose a convenient hour during the day to just praise God and do that daily.
COUPLES – There are certain challenging situations that may arise in marriage. One of this is handling an affair. There are two sides to this situation; there is the part of the erring spouse and that of the other spouse.
In an affair or adultery, the bulk of the work lies on the spouse that had an affair, the responsibility is on him/her. The responsibility of the other spouse is just to be supportive and to forgive.
The erring spouse has the responsibility of being brutally truthful, sincere and repentant.
There are some scenarios that the spouse is under demonic influence and finds it difficult to be sincere or truthful. Prayers to God for healing by giving him/her a new and clean heart will be necessary; this is because to successfully handle an affair squarely requires sincerity and truthfulness.
Let’s see some practical steps in handling an affair.
1. Confrontation
The first step to handling an affair is confronting it. What you don’t confront, you can never change. The erring spouse should come to a place where he/she knows that having an affair is an attempt of the devil to steal, kill and destroy you.
You should call it a sin and not just a mistake; it is not confrontation when you still make excuses or when you explain.
2. Ask For Forgiveness
There is no forgiveness until there is a willingness to turn around from your sins. The erring spouse should acknowledge that he/she needs to be forgiven.
3. Seek Help And Support
That an affair has taken place shows that there are principles you don’t know, or there are principles you are taking for granted. You need to be educated and informed.
This is the time to search for books that talks about how to handle lust, how to handle affairs, how to set healthy boundaries, how to love and satisfy your spouse, etc.
What reading along this line does is that you get enlightened; when light comes, ignorance vanishes. It is also good to learn how you fell, because recognizing the pit-fall will help you avoid such next time.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I choose to honor my marriage vows.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Oh Lord, help me to Bea faithful spouse.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY I bless GOD every chance I get; my lungs expand with his praise. –Psalms 34:1 (MSG)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Follow the above steps of you are guilty.
Hi dear, yesterday I told you how that God watches you. God keeps watch over us his children and his angels are constantly watching over you and I.
The fact that God watches over us also means that he sees all that we do, and that means everything we engage in whether good or bad, the things we do in secret, and the ones that are open to everyone.
Take for instance, your parents might not know if you disobey them, or when you make faces at them when they correct you, but God sees you, and that is because he doesn’t turn his face away from you for a second.
For a man’s ways are in full view of the Lord, and he examines all his paths, the evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast. He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly. –Proverbs 5:21-23 (NIV)
I want you to pay close attention to today’s devotional as I will be shedding more light on our focus verse.
Asides that God sees you when you do good things, and of course bad things, another reason you shouldn’t get yourself involved in bad things is that, they will get you in trouble.
There is never an escape route after choosing to do something wrong, the truth will always be exposed and you will get in trouble. It’s even worse when you are caught in the act or you are found out.
See what the bible says;
the evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast.
If you continue disobeying what you are told to do, your actions will get you in trouble.
The only way out, and the solution to not getting in trouble is following instructions, and if you follow instructions, it shows that you are disciplined.
Choose to be a disciplined child at all times, obey your parents, do what is right at the right time, and you will be glad you did.
PRAYER: Father in Jesus name, I receive grace to do the right thing all the time; Amen
ACTION PLAN: Choose to be deliberate about what you say
DECLARATION: I am a good child, I am wise, and obedient.
There are a few things you cannot do at the same time. One of such is being a ‘Praiser’ and a ‘Complainer’ at the same time. You may feel justified or even have a seemingly legitimate reason for complaining, but the truth is that complaining does not solve the problem.
Complaining is a negative attitude that will make things worse and leave you feeling sorry for yourself. It steals your joy, happiness and excitement. It can even repel people from relating with you.
You may feel your relationship is not what it ought to be right now. You might even feel your partner is not good enough, however one thing is certain, complaining will not solve the problem.
Start appreciating the good in them because what you appreciate will increase in value. Start praising God for that relationship.
Praise God in that situation. If you are hurting or have lost something, God is the reason you have not lost everything.
You might say God did not do everything you asked for, what about what God did that you did not ask for. Have a thankful, grateful attitude and you will see God step into that relationship.
God is still in the business of turning water into wine. Stay in joy, be a God ‘Praiser’ and he will turn your colourless and tasteless circumstances into joy, gladness and laughter.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I have a lifestyle of thanksgiving.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Father, I ask in the name of Jesus that you give me the grace to praise and thank you at all times.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY I bless God every chance I get; my lungs expand with his praise. –Psalms 34:1 (MSG)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Choose a convenient hour during the day to just praise God and do that daily.
Our part in the marriage covenant is to obey every instruction in the word of God. This should be your resolve, that your marriage before God is obeying Ephesians 5: 22-26, whether you feel like obeying or not, is not the issue. See what it says;
For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything. For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. –Ephesians 5:22-26 (NLT)
We also despise whatever we feel or think, which keeps us from obeying the scripture above, just as Jesus despised the shame of the cross. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Necessity is laid on us to carry our cross of fulfilling our marriage covenant.
The Bible says;
If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. –Matthew 10:38 (NLT)
We become worthy of the sacrifice of Jesus when we carry our cross daily and follow Jesus. We carry our cross by obeying Him despite how or what we feel like or don’t feel like doing to and for our spouse.
Our marriage is a responsibility that we must not fail to fulfill, it is spelled out in Ephesians 5: 22-26. What husbands should focus on doing as well as what wives should focus on doing, each party must focus on his/her part of the deal.
We owe our spouse to appropriately respond to our part in our covenant with them. To make sure we provide a conducive environment that will not leave our spouse vulnerable to the attacks and lies of the devil.
We owe our spouses to conduct ourselves in such a way that makes them comfortable in our presence; we do this by being submissive, loving, caring, forgiving, available, etc.
We owe our spouses to be covenant partners in all ways and all aspects of our lives and existence, whether spiritual, in the soul realm, or physically.
We owe our spouses to surround them so that we shut the door against the senseless and foolish sin of adultery and every form of emotional affairs.
I pray God grants us understanding.
God bless your marriage.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY: I will not fail God and my Spouse, I keep the covenant of marriage, and I am a good wife/ husband
PRAYER FOR THE DAY: Father in the name Jesus, I declare that I have the help of the Holy Spirit concerning my life and marriage
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything. For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. –Ephesians 5:22-26 (NLT)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY: Make a list of the things you need to make amends on and start working on them.
One of the things I want you to know is that God watches over us dutifully. Not only does God know our every step, there are angels that God has assigned to watch you every second, and their gaze doesn’t shift from us.
This is how you know that evil cannot come near you, because God watches over you all the time and there are angels at work for you as well little children.
Asides the fact that God keeps watch over our lives, what we do daily is also open to him; the time you wake up every day, when take your bath, God sees your breakfast time, when you get on a bus to go to school.
Let me make this more interesting. God sees you when you tell a lie. God sees you when you make faces at your teachers or tutors in school. God sees you when you gossip about someone to another person. He sees everything you do.
Let me show you what the bible says;
For a man’s ways are in full view of the Lord, and he examines all his paths, the evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast. He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly. – Proverbs 5:21-23 (NIV)
So you see, God doesn’t just see everything you do, he also examines them. Do you know what it means to examine something?
To examine means to inspect or study thoroughly to determine the nature or condition of something.
To God your actions are well examined, showing if it be good or otherwise. This is why you have to be mindful and intentional about what you do, and don’t do.
PRAYER: Father in Jesus name, I receive grace to do the right thing all the time; Amen
ACTION PLAN: Choose to be deliberate about what you say
DECLARATION: I am a good child. I am wise and obedient.
SINGLES-Three Things You Can Do In Your Relationship
3. There will be wrong mindsets to DISSOLVE.
There will be wrong relationships to dissolve. For example, you cannot be getting counsel on how to run your relationship/home from someone who has none! He could cancel your destiny in an attempt to counsel you!
Your friend who is not in a relationship cannot be counseling you a week to your wedding. Friendship is by choice, not by force. Do not be apologetic about it, because it is about your destiny.
If your best friend is living a sinful life and you know, after trying to correct him or her and refuses to bulge, it is better to dissolve such relationships so that he won’t dissolve your destiny.
The Three Things You Can Do In Your Relationship are Solve the problems, resolve the quarrels, and dissolve the relationships that can ruin you. If you are single and courting, and you are constantly involved in sexual affairs, it is time to dissolve such because laws of cause and effect will soon take it’s course.
Here at Kisses and Huggs Club, we do not compromise! You cannot outrightly disobey God and expect his protection, favour, and blessings. Dissolve every homosexual relationship before it ruins you. Lesbianism is direct disobedience and affronts to God.
Dissolve it and run to God!
Those friends with whom you revel and frolic in sexual adventures, watching pornographic films and having group masturbation, run away from them and for your life and dissolve those relationships.
The friends who are trying to get you into sleeping with wealthy men in exchange for money are out not to help you but to ruin you. Dissolve those relationships.
After you have dissolved them, ask God to help you. Don’t ever think God will ignore you or punish you. God is not a taskmaster; He is a merciful and loving father.
The moment he sees you are calling on him and turning a new leaf, he will embrace you with His everlasting arms and restore you to a place of dignity. He will never condemn you.
God wants to save you. As you read this and feel some conviction, do not waste time, call Him now. He will visit you, cleanse you from every iniquity and make you new inside out.
You will come to discover, that true joy, fulfillment, direction, hope, and living by grace that comes from Jesus, the lover of your soul! This year will be a glorious year in Jesus name. Three Things You Can Do In Your Relationship
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, strengthen me in my inner man to do the impossible this year.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY True wisdom and real power belong to God; from him we learn how to live, and also what to live for. –Job 12:13 (MSG)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Dissolve everything that needs to be addressed
Apart from the fact that marriage is a wonderful relationship with the one you love, there is also the responsibility part. There is something always there to remind us of this truth. Yet for some of us, our flesh, stubborn self, ego, revenge, tit for tat, strife, and unforgiving spirit keep us constantly on loggerheads with our spouse.
When you view your marriage from another perspective, from the perspective of Covenant, it will change the way you approach your marriage.
My husband, during one of our midweek services, taught along this line. It was such a blessing and it changed my perspective about my marriage forever.
God is cutting a new covenant with His people. To God, our marriage is about the covenant and not just about our spouse.
And I will give them one heart and one purpose: to worship me forever, for their own good and for the good of all their descendants. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good for them. I will put a desire in their hearts to worship me, and they will never leave me. I will find joy doing good for them and will faithfully and wholeheartedly replant them in this land. –Jeremiah 32:39 – 41 (NLT)
More so, God was in Christ when He cut a new covenant with us by His blood. Jesus became both the offering and the offerer when He had to fulfill the demands of the law to set us free from death and its consequences. Jesus took the cross, suffered great agony, and endured such shame and pain that He might see us free.
When you begin to see your marriage as a vital part of you, and that Jesus paid the price for you, you will have no choice but to sit up.
Just like the Israelites, Pharaoh wanted to negotiate them out of taking their children, livestock, and all that belonged to them. They were wise enough to know that God was giving them a total and complete deliverance that include all they had.
Your marriage to God is all about the covenant. There is a higher purpose; there is a more important agenda in the father’s heart, which is total deliverance.
Jesus didn’t just die for our spirits not to be lost in hell. He died for everything about our lives; our health, children, marriage, finances, mental health, emotional life, everything.
We owe God to respond back in gratitude, faithfulness, and obedience to our part of the covenant.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY: I will not fail God and my Spouse, I keep the covenant of marriage, and I am a good wife/ husband
PRAYER FOR THE DAY: Father in the name Jesus, I declare that I have the help of the Holy Spirit concerning my life and marriage
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: And I will give them one heart and one purpose: to worship me forever, for their own good and for the good of all their descendants. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good for them. I will put a desire in their hearts to worship me, and they will never leave me. I will find joy doing good for them and will faithfully and wholeheartedly replant them in this land. –Jeremiah 32:39 – 41 (NLT)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY: Make a list of the things you need to make amends on and start working on them.
Do you know you can be specific in the place of prayers? Yes, you can. Let’s take a look at the story of Ade. Ade mentioned his prayers to his mum as they drove home from school.
‘God should help me in my coming school examinations,’ Ade said.
‘That’s an empty prayer request,’ she said. ‘Be specific about what grades you want in each subject’
Ade wondered why he should. God said His plans for us are good. God should know what grades to give him.
‘It is good to be specific in your prayer requests to God,’ she said further.
Mum is right. Imagine if the blind man in yesterday’s story (Luke 18:40-41) asked for blessings?
The question is, what exact blessing did he need right then? What was the most important thing he needed? To see. And how did Jesus reply? Jesus said, “Jesus said to him, Then see! You are healed because you believed.”
Being specific aids your expectations regarding your wants. You have a view of the expected results in your mind and expect nothing less.
So, stop saying vague prayers and tell God exactly what you want. The blind man got what he wanted.
At once the man was able to see,… – Luke 18:43 (ICB)
SINGLES-Three Things You Can Do In Your Relationship
When I started courtship with my wife years ago (1996), it was on the campus. We lived in the same compound, it was a very large one with several buildings there and there was the guy’s section and ladies’ section. So I had the opportunity of going over to her hostel and then we will walk down to the fellowship venue.
Immediately, I discovered that she did her things very slowly. This aggravated me because I was quick in doing everything. At the time, I had not read any books on temperaments and didn’t know that our differences were to balance out each other.
I started complaining and what delivered me was the book, Spirit-filled temperament. Your partner or spouse is not meant to be like you. What do you think the world would be like if everybody was like you?
Today, we are still very different in the ways we do things. I wake up with a start, with my eyes bright and my feet landing on the floor, ready to go.
My wife wakes up gradually, in stages thinking and sorting out her day, meditating and praying before her feet hit the floor. Interestingly, our first and last boys are like her. Our second boy is like me, he wakes up with a start. The catch is that you must accept your differences, work on your weaknesses and maximize your strength.
When two people come together in a relationship or courtship, there will always be issues. This is largely due to the fact that opposite attracts and of course, different backgrounds.
In marriage, where two people are living together, each with his or her ways of doing things, there will always be issues in relationships and marriage.
There will always be challenges. There will always be something to sort, discuss, solve or resolve. When two people live together, this is expected. It is for this reason that communication becomes important in any relationship and marriage.
Once communication becomes defective, there will be assumptions, and an assumption is the lowest form of knowledge, so naturally, there will be wrong conclusions. The wisdom then is to keep on talking and never keep malice with your, fiancée or friends.
1. There will be problems to SOLVE.
It simply means to find the solution to a problem or question. For example, attitudinal tendencies can become problems. There can be attitudes that have been picked up while your fiancé/ fiancée is growing up. These can form into habits that can become lifestyles.
Once there is a negative attitude, then you simply have a negative lifestyle. What do you do with such? You are to confront and solve, not deny or pretend that they are not there. Never ignore a bad attitude, solve it head-on.
2. There will be quarrels to RESOLVE.
To resolve means to reach a conclusion after a discussion or deliberation. With two different people in a relationship, there will be disagreements. But as Papa Kenneth Hagin said, you can disagree to agree! Resolve every disagreement.
Remember you are to complement each other not compete. Don’t bite or attack each other lest you swallow up yourselves, so warns the scripture. Don’t internalize unnecessarily, or else there will be an explosion one day. Resolve issues quickly, talk over them and avoid strife.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I am not confused. I have the mind of Christ.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, strengthen me in my inner man to do the impossible this year.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY True wisdom and real power belong to God; from him we learn how to live, and also what to live for. –Job 12:13 (MSG)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Solve and resolve every issue in your relationship.
As couples, we are not meant to do marriage without God. He instituted marriage and there’s a picture in His heart, there is a purpose in His heart that needs to be accomplished.
The day you start neglecting God and treating His word with contempt is the day you begin to experience hardship in your marriage.
God’s word is His covenant with us ratified in the blood of Jesus. The word contains all the covenant terms and conditions.
All the requirements of the covenant must be satisfied. When we fulfill our part of the covenant, we automatically enjoy the blessing of the covenant.
That is why the scriptures say I have hidden your word in my heart that I may not sin against you.
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord , that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord : But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord , I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. –Jeremiah 31:31 – 33 (KJV)
To enjoy the covenant blessings of marriage, you have to have respect for the word of God. Not only respect it but follow it to the letter.
Your obedience becomes your proof of respect. So Bible says;
Husbands love your wives and wives submit to your own husbands. –Ephesians 5: 23 – 29 (KJV)
That’s the covenant requirement, whether it is convenient or not you have to obey and do just that.
That’s having respect unto the covenant. Jesus had to do the covenant requirement even though it wasn’t easy.
You now see why God will not shift grounds. He is a God of covenant, not a sentimental God.
If He could turn His back on Jesus when He was on the cross because He cannot behold sin and because He was carrying the sin of the whole world, God will turn His back on anyone who treats His covenant with contempt.
Let’s begin to respect the covenant God has with us. Let’s begin to do what the word says despite what our body wants or what our flesh is saying.
God grant us more understanding.
God bless your marriage.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I honour God’s word and covenant in my life, and marriage
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Father in Jesus name, strengthen me to honour your covenant all the days of my life.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Husbands love your wives and wives submit to your own husbands. –Ephesians 5: 23 – 29 (KJV)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Take time to search out what God says about marriage
One of the greatest assets you have as a child is your heart and that equals your mind. So, you must learn how to guard your heart. Your heart is where your imaginations come from, that’s where all the creative things you think about come from. That’s even where your will to do good or bad is.
As God’s child, it is important that you pay very close attention to your heart. I have taught you here that staying away from people that make you disobey the word of God and your parents is very important if you want to continue being a good girl/ boy.
Today I want to show you more of what God says about keeping your heart from the book of Proverbs.
Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil. Proverbs 4:23-27 (NIV)
The bible says you should guard your heart because it is the wellspring of life. Everything you do in life begins from your heart. This is why God is concerned about your heart, God wants you to be a good child, he wants your mom and dad to be proud of you, God wants your friends to be able to actually call you a good friend, God wants all these good things, and more for you.
I like this verse because it doesn’t just stop by telling us what to do, it goes further to tell us how we can actually guard our hearts.
1. It teaches us that one of the ways to guard our heart is by watching what we say, don’t tell a lie, and do not speak badly about another person, keep corrupt sayings/slang away from our mouths.
2. Also, this verse talks about our eyes, keeping our gaze on godly things, reading your bible daily, do not join your schoolmates or neighbours in watching things that are not godly.
3. The last thing mentioned here is, to watch where you go and the things you do. Be careful of the activities you get involved in, be sure to tell mom and Dad before going anywhere or trying something new.
That’s all for today!
PRAYER: Father in Jesus name, I receive the help of the Holy Spirit to guard my heart in Jesus name; Amen
ACTION POINT: Ask God for Wisdom
DECLARATION: I will not speak corrupt things, my mouth only declares good and godly things, and I walk in the right path all the time
We are just a few weeks to the next half of the year, I know that there are things you wish had happened before now, but I know there are still unanswered prayers.
This morning, I bring you a word from the Lord. God yet surprise you this year!
Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. –Amos 9:13 (KJV)
God can still give that astounding result. This year God can still surprise you in your relationship. This is the year that God will establish you in His plans in the area of relationship.
I want you to go into the remaining half of this year with renewed hope, and vigour. I want your faith to be strong because it is still your year!
I want you to forget about past unpleasant experiences and trust God for the new because he can surpass your expectations!
I want you to read the above verses in The Message translation!
“Yes indeed, it won’t be long now.” GOD’s Decree. “Things are going to happen so fast your head will swim, one thing fast on the heels of the other. You won’t be able to keep up. Everything will be happening at once–and everywhere you look, blessings! Blessings like wine pouring off the mountains and hills. –Amos 9:13 (MSG)
Yes, I come in the name of the Lord and in the power of the Spirit this morning to declare to you that things are going to happen so fast….yes because it is your year to pursue, overtake, and recover all without fail. It is a year wherein you will cease in your own strength and tap into the synergy between the humane and the divine!
Things will happen so fast, that your head will swim! My God! You won’t be able to keep up! As you are sharing one testimony, another has happened. God will visit you like never before. He will reward your faithfulness. The time to favour you is now, yea, it is the set time.
Good things will be happening at once. In the area of relationships, academics, jobs, careers, open doors and so on…grace heaped on grace…
Everywhere you look and turn into…blessings!
Believe it! Don’t doubt it. When you take God’s word as it is and run with it, it becomes your experience, because His words are so powerful!
I returned and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong… -Ecclesiastic 9:11 (AMP)
It is not about your intellectual prowess or your business acumen; it is about the favour of God upon your life.
Thank God for the dignity of labour, but there is a difference between favour and labour!
God’s favour will distinguish you. It will set you apart.
God will favour you! He will satisfy you with His favour!
Decide that your life will be different in the remaining half of the year! Decide to enjoy all that God has for you by staying away from any form of sin and disobedience. Let your obedience be fulfilled so that the fullness of His blessings can become yours!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY This year will be a great and fulfilling year for me. I will succeed this year in Jesus name
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, I dedicate the rest of this year to you in Jesus name, and I pray that all your plans and purposes for me this year come to pass in Jesus name.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it? There it is! I’m making a road through the desert, and rivers in the badlands. –Isaiah 43:19 (MSG)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Pray, Praise, and Set Goals.
I am sure Peter must have settled a lot of quarrels for many wives. Many felt invaded or, cheated, and that it’s just not fair being a woman.
They felt they had no rights and they are being trampled upon. Apostle Peter must have had compassion for them. Trying to solve their problems; which varied in dimensions, and seemly complicated.
He, by the Holy Spirit’s inspiration, gave this one all-purpose solution. If every wife follows this instruction they will solve all their marital issues and problems.
I got to a point in my life where I realized this very truth.
The instruction is in 1 Peter 3: 1-6, it is what I call the Honor code for all wives.
In like manner, you married women, be submissive to your own husbands [subordinate yourselves as being secondary to and dependent on them, and adapt yourselves to them], so that even if any do not obey the Word [of God], they may be won over not by discussion but by the [godly] lives of their wives, When they observe the pure and modest way in which you conduct yourselves, together with your reverence [for your husband; you are to feel for him all that reverence includes: to respect, defer to, revere him–to honor, esteem, appreciate, prize, and, in the human sense, to adore him, that is, to admire, praise, be devoted to, deeply love, and enjoy your husband]. Let not yours be the [merely] external adorning with [elaborate] interweaving and knotting of the hair, the wearing of jewelry, or changes of clothes; But let it be the inward adorning and beauty of the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible and unfading charm of a gentle and peaceful spirit, which [is not anxious or wrought up, but] is very precious in the sight of God. For it was thus that the pious women of old who hoped in God were [accustomed] to beautify themselves and were submissive to their husbands [adapting themselves to them as themselves secondary and dependent upon them]. It was thus that Sarah obeyed Abraham [following his guidance and acknowledging his headship over her by] calling him Lord (master, leader, authority). And you are now her true daughters if you do right and let nothing terrify you [not giving way to hysterical fears or letting anxieties unnerve you]. -1Peter 3: 1-6 (AMP)
The instructions here are very profound, yet simple and well spelled out.
I want to admit it won’t come naturally to obey this. You will only obey when you give heart to it, study it and spend time meditating on it, study every word and prayerful soak them onto your spirit.
I pray God grants us strength to be doers and not hearers only deceiving ourselves.
God bless your marriage
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I am a wise wife, I obey the scriptures, and I honour my husband
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, please work on my heart not to reject your word at any point in time
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, 2 when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. 3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. -1 Peter 3:1-3 (NIV)
Dear precious one, we are still on our wisdom series from the book of Proverbs, and we are looking at how God’s word gives healing today. King Solomon has a lot of wisdom to share with us and lots of secrets to unveil too.
Today we will be learning something new, different from what we have been learning before now.
Let’s look at our focus verse for today.
My son, attend to my words; consent and submit to my sayings. Let them not depart from your sight; keep them in the center of your heart; for they are life to those who find them, healing and health to all their flesh. –Proverbs 4:20-22 (AMP)
One of the finished works of Jesus on the cross of Calvary is healing, God desires that we, his children live in good health all the days of our lives.
If you are familiar with the story of Jesus, you will see that he healed a lot of people in the short time that he lived on the earth.
Jesus went about healing the sick and even raised the dead. This shows that God is interested in your health, and that of your family, and friends.
See what the bible says here;
Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. –3 John 2 (NIV)
Thanks to King Solomon who has shown us that one of the ways to have good health is to have God’s word in your heart. The bible says the word of God is life to them that find it and healing to their health.
Take out time every day to search God’s word, read your bible stories and learn what God’s word says concerning you and your family. Even if it’s a verse you are able to learn in a month, it’s a good start, as long as you keep at it.
Tell your parents to help monitor you and make sure you are committed, with time you’ll realize it’s fun to learn from the bible.
PRAYER: Father in Jesus name, I pray that I am committed to searching your word every day. Amen
ACTION PLAN: Pick a verse you like and memorize it.
DECLARATION: I am a wise child, I have the wisdom of God.
SINGLES-How To Prevent Instability in Relationships
You see, the kingdom of God is perpetuated, lived, and enjoyed on the platform of consistency. It is not about what you have been doing, it is about how you have been consistent!
For example, you give today, but you stop tomorrow. Then you give again, and then you refrain. You pay your tithe for three months and then you miss the next two months.
That will not work because of unsteadiness. You must make up your mind and set your face like a flint. Yes, when you find yourself in sexual sin, and you repent genuinely, God will forgive you. But then if you keep going back to the same sin habitually, you are not being sincere and that could affect a whole lot of things.
You read your Bible for days only to miss it for some days. That is what is called inconsistency and it is a ‘waster’ of time and energy because all done in unsteadiness is more or less wasted.
Make up your mind to be steady this year. Don’t be like Reuben who thought the blessings of God is automatic, had the effrontery to take his father’s wife to bed, but at the end of the day lost his place in destiny!
I want you to succeed this year. I want all our members on KHC to succeed and I pray for you all the time, wherever you are around the world. I have a passion that you make it and do it right.
I have a passion to see your destiny bloom forth, and that is why I keep paying the price from my end here to bring you the fresh word of the living God every morning, which if you adhere to is guaranteed to see you through and keep you unstained. The word of God is that powerful!
That is why I admonish you this morning, I beseech you with the strength of my call, be consistent this year.
My desire is that you prosper and that you shine and excel in your chosen field. Don’t stop reading your Bible daily. Don’t stop praying daily. Start from this day onward.
Don’t go back into sin. If there is any sexual weakness, confront it and master it because sin shall not have dominion over you! Pay the price for your destiny! You will rejoice at the end of the day! How To Prevent Instability in Relationships
I see God’s help being made available for you as you make up your mind. Even now, I can sense fresh divine energy for you as you make a resolve this morning. I know you can sense the same thing because there is no distance in the spirit realm.
You can leave that sexual sin. You can leave those bad friends. You can stop seeing that man. You can stop seeing that lady. You can decide today. You can take charge of your destiny! You can make up your mind as Joseph did!
Be rejuvenated this day! Be freshened anew. Like the dew of heaven, it settles on you today as you make up your mind! Peace of God over you now, Shalom! Nothing missing, nothing broken! How To Prevent Instability in Relationships
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I am steady. I am consistent.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray that God will give the grace to be consistent.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Reuben, you’re my firstborn, my strength, first proof of my manhood, at the top in honor and at the top in power, But like a bucket of water spilled, you’ll be at the top no more, Because you climbed into your father’s marriage bed, mounting that couch, and you defiled it. –Genesis 49: 3-4 (MSG)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Study the word ‘consistency’
In the early days of our marriage, I get angry very easily. It was a kind of subdued anger, not enough for me to raise my hands against my wife!
I have never done that and will never do that, no matter what! That is not a manly thing to do! It is unscriptural, and your prayers will be hindered when you raise your hands against a lady.
But, I used to be impatient. I am a quick person but my wife takes her time. I wanted to change her. When I am angry, I start lecturing my wife. After a while, I just had to change because the lecturing thing was not working. I had to learn early in marriage, to calm down when I am angry and then discuss it.
Over the years, I have come to learn to smile at some of the things that get me bothered and aggravated and looking back at those years, I wondered why I had to be angry in the first place! We were not meant to be the same way! A book on temperament I read was what delivered me!
If you are married to someone with an anger problem, here is some advice for you.
A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. –Proverbs 15:1 (KJV)
A gentle response defuses anger, but a sharp tongue kindles a temper-fire. –Proverbs 15:1 (MSG)
Don’t get angry together and at the same time! Learn to calm down for each other! Get books and read and deal with that anger so that you don’t end up raising angry children who will take the anger to another level.
He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city. –Proverbs 16:32 (KJV)
A few things to do if you have problems with anger
1. Pray about it and ask God to help you by His Spirit
2. Seek help from your pastor or mentors
3. Stay in God’s word. Your soul can be restored when you meditate regularly on God’s word
4. Get good books that address the weakness and study
5. Discuss with your spouse and look at how you can deal with the weakness
6. Learn to keep quiet when you are angry. You often say things you will regret later, but the words, like swords could have done harm.
7. Do not make quick decisions while you are angry. Your sense of judgment is warped at such times.
8. Forgive easily. Don’t be revengeful and stubborn. Let God handle the situation for you.
9. Don’t allow anger and hurts to push you into sexual sins because you want to get back at your spouse. That will complicate issues for you.
10. Don’t listen to someone who appears ‘nice’ and wants you to sin when you are hurting badly. It is usually a trap of the devil to complicate issues when a ‘nice’ person suddenly shows up when you are at loggerheads with your spouse. Be careful!
I rebuke every spirit behind anger and wrath in your life, marriage in Jesus name. I pray for God’s help over you in Jesus name.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I am calm. I am not an angry person.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray that God will give the grace to resist unnecessary anger
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go –Proverbs 22:24 (KJV)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Read a book on dealing with anger
Dear Child, do you know that you too can shine? There is a passage of the Scripture that talks about you shining brighter and brighter.
But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. 4:19 The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble. – Proverbs 4:18-19
Who is the Just?
1. Whoever has received Jesus Christ as Lord and saviour
2. A person that obey God’s word
3. A person that reads the Bible diligently
4. A person that prays all the time
5. Obedience to your parents is one of the proof of being just.
It’s a choice to be called just or wicked, the Bible clearly States the difference by showing us what happens to the just and the reward of the wicked.
The Bible equates being just with having light and being wicked with Darkness.
SINGLES-How To Prevent Instability in Relationships
What is the number one enemy you should fight and resist in the remaining half of the year? It is instability!
In the scripture below, Reuben who happened to be Jacobs’ first son was described in such a way as to conclude that a great destiny lies with him.
Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power: –Genesis 49:3 (KJV)
The Amplified version puts it this way:
Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the beginning (the firstfruits) of my manly strength and vigor; [your birthright gave you] the preeminence in dignity and the preeminence in power. –Genesis 49: 3 (AMP)
Those adjectives show he is a man that has been endowed and endued with greatness by virtue of his position in the family. He is a man fortified for the future, with everything he needs to succeed at his beck and call.
However, the next statement in Jacob’s mouth is a complete contradiction of the aforementioned qualities. It was almost bordering on a curse, a weakness of his that led him into an abomination and then the damning consequence of his transgression;
Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch. –Genesis 49: 4 (KJV)
Another translation puts it this way:
But you are as unsteady as water. So you won’t be first anymore. You had sex with your father’s concubine in his bed. You lay on his couch and made it ‘unclean.’–Genesis 49: 4 (NIV)
You see, Reuben committed a sexual sin. But that is not even what I want you to see. I want you to see the root of it all and How To Prevent Instability in Relationships. Why would he go and do something like that?
Why would a young girl be double dating? Why would a respected woman stoop low to sleep with her subordinate? Why would a choir leader in church sleep with choir members in church?
Reuben had a weakness he refused to confront. He had an attitude to life that was wrong and yet he didn’t deal with it until the attitude pushed him into dangerous terrains.
It is a weakness of being unstable or being unsteady!
It is the number one enemy to fight in the remaining half of the year if you notice such in your life. Why is this so?
To be continued
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I am steady. I am consistent.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray that God will give the grace to be consistent.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Reuben, you’re my firstborn, my strength, first proof of my manhood, at the top in honor and at the top in power, But like a bucket of water spilled, you’ll be at the top no more, Because you climbed into your father’s marriage bed, mounting that couch, and you defiled it. –Genesis 49: 3-4 (MSG)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Study the word ‘consistency’
There is nothing that kills marriages faster than what I want to write about today. Anger! In the verses below, Simeon and Levi are brothers, but their combination was a tragedy! Both of them had anger problems. What was the eventuality? They were divided and scattered!
Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel. –Genesis 49:5-7 (KJV)
That is exactly what happens to two angry unrepentant people in a marriage. That marriage cannot survive it. Look at the way the Message translation puts it:
Simeon and Levi are two of a kind, ready to fight at the drop of a hat. I don’t want anything to do with their vendettas, want no part in their bitter feuds; They kill men in fits of temper, slash oxen on a whim. A curse on their uncontrolled anger, on their indiscriminate wrath. I’ll throw them out with the trash; I’ll shred and scatter them like confetti throughout Israel. –Genesis 49:5-7 (MSG)
One angry person can curse a lot of havoc, not to talk of two angry couples!
Are you the type of person that is ready to fight at the drop of a hat? You need to consciously and deliberately start working on that anger problem because it can ruin precious opportunities.
There is a place for a level of anger because we are all human. There is also a place for righteous indignation. But the type of anger that is dangerous is the one that lingers unnecessarily and makes you do things you will later regret.
This type of anger is almost a stupid one because you know you will eventually regret your words and actions!
Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools. –Ecclesiastic 7:9 (KJV)
Message translation is quite interesting:
Don’t be quick to fly off the handle. Anger boomerangs. You can spot a fool by the lumps on his head. –Ecclesiastic 7:9 (MSG)
I once heard a man of God in one of his messages, where he said he used to have anger problems until he read the above scriptures.
To be continued
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I am calm. I am not an angry person.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray that God will give the grace to resist unnecessary anger
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go –Proverbs 22:24 (KJV)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Read a book on dealing with anger
