The dictionary defines restitution as the restoration of something lost or stolen to its proper owner. It can also mean recompense for injury or loss. Restitution can involve money being paid back in some cases.
Were there cases of restitution in the bible? Yes, and in the next few days, we will be looking at these cases one by one.
The first case we will be examining is the case of Mr. Zacchaeus
In the case of Zacchaeus, we see that his encounter with Jesus in Luke chapter 19 facilitated his restitution.
Luke 19:8 [TLB] Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “Sir, from now on I will give half my wealth to the poor, and if I find I have overcharged anyone on his taxes, I will penalize myself by giving him back four times as much!”
This means you cannot totally make restitutions without meeting with Jesus.
So my first assignment is to lead you to Jesus if you’ve not met him.
Say after me;
Lord Jesus, I believe you came to the earth and that you died for me. I confess and I acknowledge you as my Lord and personal savior. Come into my life today. Come and reign over my affairs. I surrender my all to you this day. Thank you because I am now yours, amen.
As simple as that, you are now one with Christ.
Now, your journey to making restitution begins. Amen
Congratulations!
Prayer: Lord, help me to make amends where necessary.
Action Point: Are there areas you need to make restitution? List them out.
We are still on things that are popular and prevalent but not necessarily of God.
4. We have to seek Prophet’s consent
This is another nonsensical pursuit. It is a waste of time. What you need to know is that there are prophets for profit. They are hungry and they need to eat, so they will always see something. These fake prophets have obfuscated the real and original prophets because people are readily drawn to deception.
Even when you give them three non-existent names, they will still see something! That spirit in them will not be able to identify that those are non-existent names.
In the Old Testament, the people will consult the prophet for direction because the Holy Spirit is only upon these prophets. But in the New Testament, the primary function of the prophet has moved from foretelling to forth-telling.
The Holy Spirit is now upon all believers, and you are supposed to be led by the Spirit of God individually. If your prophet or pastor confirms what is already in your heart, that is okay. I have done that for a lot of people, but pastors or prophets are not to be sought for direction on who to marry!
You are to decide, they can confirm! If a pastor insists you must marry somebody you dislike and you are not in love with, that is nothing more than emotionalism and manipulation!
5. I don’t really love him or her, but I need the citizenship
This is another wrong reason to get married. Getting married to an older person to get some papers? Don’t be that desperate; allow God to do what He wants to do in your life.
What if you are not supposed to be in that place according to God’s direction for your life? You would have sentenced yourself to a life of non-fulfillment and dissatisfaction.
You might end up having some Dollars or Pounds, but you will never have the peace of mind that way, and there is all likelihood that such marriages will not last!
You don’t have God’s support when you venture into such deals.
May God grant more understanding!
I pray for you, you will not miss it. God will surround you with His mercy!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I will follow God all the way. I choose to do it in God’s way.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray that God will help you stay true till the end
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. Hebrews 13:4 KJV
Yesterday, we started talking about money. I explained to us how money can be a defence in our marriage and shield us from several things.
This morning, I’ll love to point out a few areas we can discuss with our spouse about our finances.
1. Being transparent about our income.
Be as open and sincere as possible about letting your spouse know about our income.
2. Discuss paying of tithe.
Let it be an established rule in your home.
3. Discuss your family budget
Have a budget your home and family run on. Let every single aspect of your marriage be under a budget. The kids, parents, projects…etc
Did you miss out on yesterday’s devotional, we’ve got you covered kindly go HERE. For KHC video Devotionals kindly go HERE
4. Discuss about saving
This is so important. A particular percentage should be set aside regularly as savings.
5. Discuss about how to improve and make more money.
Start looking at having multiple streams of income.
6. Discuss about investments.
In the parable of the talent, the servant that invested his master’s money was commended. Get information about investment opportunities. Search the internet about money making ideas.
7. Discuss about your needs
When a woman’s needs are not met, she has a tendency of trying to sort herself.
8. Discuss about contentment.
This is very important. We are believers and our lives must be guided by scripture. Our lives do not consist of what we have. Let your spouse know that money is not everything. We have to learn to trust in God and not in riches. Let our driving force not be money but God, His kingdom and using whatever we have for His glory.
God bless our marriages
CONFESSION OF THE DAY We have money. Money doesn’t have us. We are rich.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, give us wisdom to know how to multiply whatever amount of money we have in Jesus name.
THOUGHT OF THE DAY Ecc 10:19 A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money answereth all things
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Discuss the points with your spouse
Yesterday, I started writing on things that are popular and prevalent but not necessarily of God.
2. He has to be ‘mobile’ (He‘s got to have a car!)
Well, this is good! Who doesn’t want the best of things and who wants to ‘suffer’ first? If your fiancée has a good car before marriage, great! You are blessed!
But to make this a criterion will be a great error. The important thing is to find out God’s plan for your life. His thoughts towards you are thoughts of peace and not of evil!
Are you marrying the car or the guy? What if something happens to the car? There are seemingly rich guys today who are on their way to being massively broke. But there are also guys who are seemingly broke today but are on their way to being unrepentantly rich!
As a lady, you need to follow your heart and you have to be able to “perceive!”
3. We have to be compatible in bed
You just want to satisfy your lust, simple! How do you measure this compatibility in bed? What would he or she do that will give a pass mark?
And if he or she is not compatible according to your judgment, what happens? Look for the next available person and jump in bed to measure compatibility? Compatibility in bed is a figment of the imagination, and that is why you keep measuring after the first “measurement”
It is high time we stop that deception. It is high times ladies woke up and stop being easily deceived.
If the lady was good in bed, you’ll say she is too exposed; she has slept with too many people. If she is naïve in bed, you’ll say she is Mummy’s girl! So, exactly what are you up to?
To be continued…
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I will follow God all the way. I choose to do it in God’s way.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray that God will help you stay true till the end
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. Hebrews 13:4 KJV
We know money is a major part of our lives as married couples. In fact, we make about 70% of our decision based on finances.
The house we live in, the area we stay in, how many kids we have, what school they go to, what type of clothes they wear, the type of food they eat, how comfortable the house we live in is, do we rent an apartment or buy one, what work we do, where we work, what part of the country we live in, what type of friends we have, the type of car(s) we have, what church we attend, our spiritual level…and it goes on and on.
Money is so important that it appears 123 times in the Bible.
Did you miss out on yesterday’s devotional, we’ve got you covered kindly go HERE. For KHC video Devotionals kindly go HERE
The only thing that can compete with God in our hearts is mammon or money. Every sin of covetousness, especially of material things is traceable to money issues.
Most Adulteries and fornications are basically traceable to money. For example, a beautiful lady or handsome who you get attracted to is attractive because she/he can afford expensive things that make her beautiful.
No one is attracted to an ugly and poor fellow.
Money is a defence! It can defend our spouse and marriage from falling if properly used
For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence: but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it. – Ecc 7:12
So as couples, it is important we talk about finances and guard against its adverse effect on our marriage because we can make money serve us at whatever level we are in. Money will answer and solve the majority of our marital problems.
A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money answereth all things. – Ecc 10:19
To be continued…
CONFESSION OF THE DAY We have money. Money doesn’t have us. We are rich.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, give us the wisdom to know how to multiply whatever amount of money we have in Jesus name.
THOUGHT OF THE DAY Ecc 10:19 A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money answereth all things
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Discuss the points with your spouse
This is one promise I want you to always remember as you grow older in life. The LORD has it all planned out. He has plans to take care of you till good old age.
Here is one of the promises you should hold on to in life;
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:19 [ESV]
Children, God says through his word that he will supply every of your need. That means you should always cast your cares and burdens upon Him.
Why do you need to worry yourself over basic necessities of life? With the above promise, you do not have to worry about anything because you have a father in heaven who is always ready to attend to your need.
Let me show you another scripture;
“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? – Matthew 6:25-27[NKJV]
Conclusively, God has us in his long-term plans. Let’s keep our fingers crossed and trust his timing
Prayer: Ask the Lord to supply all your needs. Amen
Action point: Are you worried about a thing? Cast your care on Jesus
Declaration: I refuse to worry because the Lord supplies all my needs.
This morning, we would like to set some things straight. There has been so much ignorance and wrong counsel.
There are things that are popular and prevalent but not necessarily of God. That something is nearly ubiquitous does not validate it. The voice of the people is sometimes reverberations and echoes of hell!
The voice of God is what stands any day, any time. The voice of man and the principles of man are often fraught with errors and casualties.
In God, there is nothing like Democracy, it is Theocracy. All of God or none of Him!
There are things that have been defined by the media and societal inclination; but as long as they are not founded in the word, they are as fickle as a flower that blossoms today and withers tomorrow.
You cannot build your life on such, or else when the storm rages; the wind blows and the rain falls, great will be the ruin of such building.
For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 3:11 KJV)
So, what are some of those things?
1. She Has To Get Pregnant Before Marriage
Some families will insist on this before they agree on any marriage. They want to be sure that the daughter they are bringing into the family is fertile or the guy that wants to marry their daughter is not impotent.
No matter how logical this looks, it contradicts the principle of God in terms of making the marriage bed undefiled.
Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. (Hebrews 13:4 KJV)
However you want to see it, what is wrong is wrong. When your marriage is therefore founded on disobedience, it cuts short the blessings of God. It is not the ‘fertility’ of the lady or the potency of the man that will guarantee the next pregnancy after marriage.
There are couples who are very okay and have nothing wrong with their bodies and yet it takes a while to get pregnant. So how many times will the poor lady be subjected to some sexual rendezvous all in a bid to get her pregnant? And if she doesn’t get pregnant, she waits for another man, while she is discarded like an unwanted element?
How about her self-esteem? Self-worth? And who says the woman is always the issue in the event of no pregnancy?
This idea is definitely not of God and not from God!
Don’t allow yourself to be subjected to such affliction! Learn to trust God because God cannot lead wrong! He may lead you round, but He will never lead you wrong.
May God grant more understanding!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I will follow God all the way. I choose to do it in God’s way.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray that God will help you stay true till the end
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. Hebrews 13:4 KJV
How To Fall In Love Again With Your Spouse. During the pandemic, it was recorded that in some places in China, there were more divorce cases than ever before.
Why was this? Husbands and wives were not used to being at home together. They were simply flat or roommates who just shared the house and essential commodities together.
The truth is that we may be used to our own space, being alone doing our own things, and being in control of our own time. It may first of all be awkward being home with the kids and your spouse, not just for a few hours but for weeks, so you have to learn to be very patient and determined to enjoy the time spent with your spouse.
When both spouses are at home with the kids, it is also a good time to bond well, so I am pointing out few ways to bond with your spouse and kids.
Did you miss out on yesterday’s devotional, we’ve got you covered kindly go HERE. For KHC video Devotionals kindly go HERE
1. Depending on what age your kids are, the younger ones will do well with playing around. Be creative and invent plays, do hide and seek, trust God for strength to roll on the carpet with them.
2. Cartoons are good. You can unwind with them watching and enjoying their world with them. Don’t let the cartoons be too much.
3. Do some intellectual talks and ask personal questions about their friends and special friends. Attend to their many questions.
4. Take time to teach your girls new dishes. For the boys, let them use their energy to help out in the house.
5. Play games with the whole family and it is the best time for drawing the quiet ones from their shell.
6. Be happy and content with what you have. Create fun out of what you have. Do a lot of teasing and rough plays. Never allow any member of the family to be moody
7. Be pleasant to your spouse and don’t do things that will spark up arguments.
8. Make sure you have sex as often as possible. This will keep the bond between you and your spouse. The tension will also reduce between the two of you.
9. Be very patient with your spouse as it may take some time for them to adjust to being with you. Pray for the Holy Spirit to help you and teach you to meet your spouse’s needs.
10. Give attention to your spiritual bonding. Take time to play together and read your bible and have bible discussions together.
11. Ensure finances don’t cause you to get frustrated. I know it’s difficult but please try. Trust in God together for open heavens. Do a lot of cuddling and please help each other do house chores.
I hope these few tips will go a long way to help you bond well with your family.
God bless you family
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I am a loving spouse.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, teach me how to love my husband/wife well
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Eph 1:18 [GW] Then you will have deeper insight. You will know the confidence that he calls you to have and the glorious wealth that God’s people will inherit.
Hello dear, trust you had a good night’s rest! Today, I will be sharing with you a very important topic. We’ll be talking about obedience!
What is obedience?
Obedience means to do whatever is asked of you out of respect and love for whoever gives the instruction.
It is always good to obey whatever you are told to do. Obedience isn’t doing part of what you are told to do, if you do that it’s counted as disobedience.
As God’s child, he wants you to be obedient at all times, and in all things.
Do you know that Adam and Eve disobeyed God and they were sent out of the garden of Eden? Disobedience always comes with bad consequences.
Not only do you have to be obedient to God, but you also have to obey your parents, teacher, and everyone above you.
When you disobey these people, just like Adam and Eve you will be punished for your wrong acts.
Why you should always be obedient?
1. God loves obedient children and he desires that you obey him at all times
2. Disobedience brings punishments. There is always a punishment for every act of this obedience
3. Your parents will always be proud of you. If you obey your parents they will always be happy with you and also proud of you.
4. God commands that you are obedient. It is God’s commandment that you are obedient at all times.
5. There is always a reward for obedience.
Prayer: Dear Lord, help me to be obedient at all times. Amen
As they sat before me in the office, I counseled them and then explained a few things.
1. While you were on campus, you gave access to the devil in your life when you flouted the rules of the fellowship. That deception was the loophole that the devil capitalized on to have an inroad into your life. You see, one degree away from truth is falsehood. When you start telling lies, you are dancing on the terrain of the devil because he is that father of all lies.
2. You had no mentor or pastor over your relationship. There will always be issues you wouldn’t be able to handle alone. Mentors are supposed to save you from the tormentors of life.
3. God is never mocked. All the time you combined ministering with deceptive lifestyle, it was only the mercy of God that kept you alive. You were sowing the wrong seeds that would later haunt you.
4. The compromise you had then has destroyed trust between the two of you. And up till now, that trust is still missing. You now need to do something about it so that you don’t crash your marriage eventually. No marriage will survive without trust.
5. You asked God for forgiveness and He forgave you, but both of you have refused to forgive yourselves.
6. You need to forgive yourselves and allow the trust to be rebuilt again in your life. If you keep on being victims of your past, your past will control you.
7. As a married couple, find someone to mentor both of you.
8. And now, an important point. Consciously build trust again. You do that by constant communication. Never hide anything from each other again. Be open; be naked and not ashamed. Don’t allow secrets to be discovered. That will rupture trust the more. If anybody is disturbing you, open up immediately. If he or she has to discover, then trust is ruptured the more.
9. Pray together regularly. You cannot ignore that.
10. Relax together. Talk a lot. Go on outings together. Spend time together and rebuild that trust!
I see you come out victorious.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I will not be a victim of the past arrows
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray that God will help you to heal from wounds of past arrows
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Eph 1:18 [GW] Then you will have deeper insight. You will know the confidence that he calls you to have and the glorious wealth that God’s people will inherit.
A devourer is anything that eats up greedily or a voracious eater. It can also be defined as anything that consumes for nourishment. Devourer is used in the Bible to describe anything that seeks to steal, kill and destroy. It particularly seeks to waste resources, years, food, time, and anything of benefit.
Bring all the tithes (the whole tenth of your income) into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now by it, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer [insects and plagues] for your sakes and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground, neither shall your vine drop its fruit before the time in the field, says the Lord of hosts. – Mal 3:10-11
The antidote for rebuking the devourer according to the Bible is paying of tithes. The Devourer is to be rebuked, not cried over or ignored but rebuked. Your tithe forms a basis and gives you a voice to effectively rebuke the devourer.
Did you miss out on yesterday’s devotional, we’ve got you covered kindly go HERE. For KHC video Devotionals kindly go HERE
Non-payment of tithe gives the devourer the license to devour anything valuable to you, from your health, children, marriage, finances, time, relationships, career, opportunities, to peace of mind.
Some people argue about the tithe. Some even say it is an Old Testament law that should not be obeyed. There are different arguments about the issue of tithing, especially on social media.
One thing is sure. If you are a faithful tither, the blessing you enjoy from it will not make you want to stop paying it. Your tithe is the first 10% of any income that comes your way and God commands us to pay it as a sign of honor to him.
You pay your tithe by being in awe and reverence of God, you do it first thing when you receive the income. That is honor.
When we put and keep our faith alive in the covenant of tithing, we set in motion the protective power of God in staying the hands of the enemy to waste or destroy from us.
You rebuke the devourer by speaking boldly and commanding the devourer to take its hands off everything you hold dear. You command sicknesses and diseases not to come near your abode.
Is it that we are paying God so that we don’t experience the devourer? Not exactly! It is a covenant principle and covenant practice. You do your human part and then God does His part.
As we obey this instruction, may God hear us in the day of trouble, and may the name of the God of Israel defend us in Jesus name.
God bless our marriages
CONFESSION OF THE DAY We rebuke every devourer over our finances
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Oh Lord, I rebuke the devourer over my health
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Mal 3:11 [BBE]And on your account I will keep back the locusts from wasting the fruits of your land; and the fruit of your vine will not be dropped on the field before its time, says the Lord of armies
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Declare God’s promises over your life
Learning prayer by observation is one great way to learn how to pray. At home, listen to how your parents pray. Notice the following:
Their choice of words.
What they use to pray.
Where they pray.
Do they sit or stand always, often, or once in a while?
Do they hold hands?
Do they pray in the Holy Ghost? How often?
Do they shout or mutter to themselves? When do they raise their voices? What do they do then?
Do they pray at night? How often? What time at night?
Do they pray in the morning? How often? What time in the morning?
This list is just a way for you to see how prayer is done. What you notice might not be how you would want to do yours, but it would certainly help you to pray.
At church, watch how people pray. Sure, you will see tons of differences there. Again, you are not meant to follow everything you see. The Holy Spirit can give you your own way to pray. He will supply you with the words to use. That is how unique you are to God.
Watching and listening to fellow Christians praying is meant to point out to you where you need to improve, how to improve, what to stop doing, and what to continue. You learn, unlearn and relearn.
The bible says we should not abandon the gathering of brethren. I believe this is to help us grow spiritually. Part of spiritual growth in Christianity is praying. When in the presence of other brethren regularly, we grow our prayer muscles.
Iron sharpens iron as the bible says, so, if you want to learn how to pray, one sure way to do that is to watch and listen to other believers when they pray. Be a sponge and soak what you see. Also, as a sponge get ready to be squeezed – flushing out wrong perceptions about prayer, building your prayer muscles for more spiritual growth, and learning new ways and things about prayer.
They were in love with each other the moment they set eyes on each other, and they expressed their love for one another. However, the executives of the fellowship were not allowed to initiate a relationship or be in courtship while in the office unless they have started a relationship before assuming the office. So, they had to keep the relationship secret.
However, they were so much in love, and in no time, they began to get physical. They haven’t gone all the way yet, but it was like they got involved in everything apart from actual penetration.
It wasn’t a good time for them, because they would ask God to forgive them and they would be there again. Eventually, they went all the way and they compromised. It was difficult for them because everybody looked up to them. They began to live in deceit. They needed help but they didn’t know who they can talk to without being seen as the greatest and the most monumental disgrace and disappointment to Christianity!
After a while, the deception went to another level. Bode’s conscience became seared and he believed the lie that God must be overlooking what he was doing since he would still operate under the anointing. Bode would sleep with Terry and then would still preach on fornication. He was a walking error…and he didn’t know.
Terry could not handle that level of deception. Eventually, she went to seek help, and both of them were summoned over the holidays and restored back to their fellowship with God. They stopped from that time on till they eventually got married, but a wrong seed has been sown into the foundation of their marital journey and that is what is haunting them six years after marriage.
Terry believed that Bode would still compromise at any opportunity because he could accommodate deception while he was the president of the fellowship. Bode believed, that since Terry could not stop him then and be strong, she is still probably weak and vulnerable and he keeps searching her phone suspiciously all the time.
To be continued tomorrow…
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I will not be a victim of the past.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray that God will help you to heal of the past
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Eph 1:18 [GW] Then you will have deeper insight. You will know the confidence that he calls you to have and the glorious wealth that God’s people will inherit.
We cannot claim ignorance of the times we are in. The spirit of fear is upon the people and men everywhere are left mere hoping it will not get to them. We need more than hope to navigate these times. We need to engage the promise of protection. We need faith in God’s word.
It becomes our responsibility to declare and confess God’s word over members of our household.
We don’t have to claim to be ignorant of the devices of the enemy. We cannot afford to be careless with our lives or members of our household. We have to switch into the defensive mode.
We have to engage with weapons like our biblical prayer of faith, daily pleading the blood of Jesus on our house, taking communion, and everyday prayers for God’s mercy to prevail over judgment.
Did you miss out on yesterday’s devotional, we’ve got you covered kindly go HERE. For KHC video Devotionals kindly go HERE
Now, the best psalm for such a time as this is psalm 91. You have to read it meditatively. Take time to study this portion of the Bible. Read it in different translations and see what God has promised us. Fill your heart with this scripture and pray it.
God is faithful to His word. His word works
The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe. – Pro 18:10
There is safety for us, if we learn to trust in the Lord. We take hold of His names and we run into it literally.
Let us see psalm 91 in The Passion Translation.
When you sit enthroned under the shadow of Shaddai, you are hidden in the strength of God Most High. He’s the hope that holds me and the Stronghold to shelter me, the only God for me, and my great confidence. He will rescue you from every hidden trap of the enemy, and he will protect you from false accusation and any deadly curse. His massive arms are wrapped around you, protecting you. You can run under his covering of majesty and hide. His arms of faithfulness are a shield keeping you from harm. You will never worry about an attack of demonic forces at night nor have to fear a spirit of darkness coming against you. Don’t fear a thing! Whether by night or by day, demonic danger will not trouble you, nor will the powers of evil launched against you.
Even in a time of disaster, with thousands and thousands being killed, you will remain unscathed and unharmed. You will be a spectator as the wicked perish in judgment, for they will be paid back for what they have done! When we live our lives within the shadow of God Most High, our secret hiding place, we will always be shielded from harm. How then could evil prevail against us or disease infect us? God sends angels with special orders to protect you wherever you go, defending you from all harm. If you walk into a trap, they’ll be there for you and keep you from stumbling. You’ll even walk unharmed among the fiercest powers of darkness, trampling every one of them beneath your feet!
For here is what the Lord has spoken to me: “Because you have delighted in me as my great lover, I will greatly protect you. I will set you in a high place, safe and secure before my face. I will answer your cry for help every time you pray, and you will find and feel my presence even in your time of pressure and trouble. I will be your glorious hero and give you a feast. You will be satisfied with a full life and with all that I do for you. For you will enjoy the fullness of my salvation!” – Psa 91:1-16
We are kept by His mercies in Jesus name.
God bless our homes.
CONFESSION OF THE DAY My family is protected by the mercies of God
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray for protection from all evil
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Ps 91:10 [NET] No harm will overtakes you; no illness will come near your home.
You should learn to guide your thought pattern. Let’s take a look at a relay race. Have you ever watched a relay race before? Four people in a team will have to complete a set amount of distance, each covering a distance before passing the baton to the other person.
This continues till the last person takes the baton and finishes the race. The last person holds all the chances of the team either winning or losing the race.
Now, imagine your THOUGHTS, WORDS, and ACTIONS as members of a relay team. Who do you think will start the race? Who will be in the middle and who will end the race?
Be careful about what you think. Your thoughts run your life. Prov. 4:23 ICB
Your THOUGHTS will definitely start the race because they are what inspires or fires up the rest. Their speed is an advantage to the team. They birth the whole process and come from deep within you.
If you don’t teach them to run within the lines of the racetrack, they will run the race as they like and hamper the chances of the team winning the race.
Prayer: Lord, help my thoughts, words and actions start and finish their relay well in my mind, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Action point: Check your thoughts always, watch your words, don’t jump into acting instinctively. Pray about these three areas.
The home of the Johnson’s has always been tense. Like the humorously wicked characters in Tom and Jerry, they fought constantly. By the way, if you have two boys in the house, don’t allow them to watch Tom and Jerry too often, otherwise, they wouldn’t like themselves!
Bode and Terry Johnson never trusted each other. They were born again, tongue-talking, demon-chasing believers, but they are usually suspicious of each other.
They have been married for six years, yet the issue of trust is still a big deal. The other time Bode traveled out of the country for about three weeks, they still fought on the phone on issues that bothered on trust. They were constantly checking on each other, about who they were with, who visited them, who they visited, and so on until they got on each other’s nerves.
Bode was there, wondering about who his wife might be with at work. Terry too never had peace of mind because she never seemed to know what Bode was capable of doing.
Trust is fundamental to the success of a relationship or marriage, but here they are with their trust for each other in question.
In situations like this, there is usually a source of the fears they have for each other. Something has happened in time past that keeps the trigger of suspicion on all the time.
As they sat to be counseled, I began to probe into their past and beginning from where and how they met each other.
First of all, both of them had come from a home where either of the parents cheated at least once. Whether they agreed or not, they both came into a relationship with some attitude from defective parental examples.
They were both born-again Christians when they met. As a matter of fact, they met in the fellowship. Bode was the president of the fellowship while Terry was the prayer secretary. Both posts were pivotal and they are practically the leaders of the fellowship.
What else did I find out about Bode and Terry?
To be continued tomorrow…
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I will not be a victim of the past.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray that God will help you to heal of the past
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Eph 1:18 [GW] Then you will have deeper insight. You will know the confidence that he calls you to have and the glorious wealth that God’s people will inherit.
Wives ought to respect their husbands as a service to the Lord. That is the order of God. To make something worthwhile of the marriage institution, we have to follow His order.
Only when we follow God’s order do we experience the fullness of God’s blessings.
Husbands are commanded to love their own wives. This commandment does not exclude any husband. You are to take that wife of yours and love her, obeying God.
Love means several things to several women. Husbands are to love their wives based on what the wives see as love. You have to learn and speak your wife’s love language.
For example, you don’t give your wife flowers for her birthday when she loves chocolates. You have to love your wife not based on what love means to you but on what love means to her.
Women have basic needs and it is part of the husband’s responsibility to see to it that he meets these basic needs.
However, we should note that our husbands will never to able to fill the void in our hearts meant to be filled by God.
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God is love and to effectively love your wife, you have to know God. The Bible says those who walk with the wise will be wise and the companion of fools shall be destroyed. So if we walk with God, we are guaranteed wisdom. It will simply rub off on us.
Every husband has a mandate in their life to love that woman. Love her with all your heart and let your love be genuine.
Understand her person and cherish her. You cannot love your wife and maltreat her. You cannot love her and belabor her with house chores without offering a helping hand.
Care for her and be sensitive to her needs and feelings. You also have to correct her because love does not seek your wife’s destruction. As a husband, it is your duty to also forgive her because love covers a multitude of sins.
In fact, 1 Cor 13, the love chapter, should be the manual for all husbands
May God pour the love of God into every husbands’ heart for their wives in a new way in Jesus name
God bless your marriage.
CONFESSION OF THE DAY I seek to understand my spouse
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord I receive grace to understand my spouse more
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY 1Pe 3:8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Be patient to understand your spouse
Have you ever heard the words patience is a virtue? Well, you might think it is a cliché, but it is not. Patience is indeed a virtue; be patient. Patience is something you need in life to move forward.
But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control; and here there is no conflict with Jewish laws. – Gal 5:22-23 [TLB]
Patience is one of the fruits that we see when we are recreated in Christ.
It is patience that will not allow you to hit back your classmate when he/she hits you.
It is patience that will make you overlook talking back to your brother because he said some harsh words to you.
Children, let the Holy Spirit control your life. Let him direct you.
Let us see another translation of our anchor scripture as I conclude this morning.
God’s Spirit makes us loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled. There is no law against behaving in any of these ways. – Gal 5:22-23 [CEV]
It is God’s spirit that makes us patient. If we don’t have the spirit of God in us, we won’t be able to exhibit this all-important fruit.
I hope you have been learning from this topic.
We will continue tomorrow.
Prayer: Ask the Lord to help you to be patient. Amen
Action point: Are you patient with those around you? If not, start learning it now.
Declaration: I am a patient being because my God is patient.
Valentine’s day is here and it will go. But there is a decision you must make, do not let your destiny go with it.
How shall we do Valentine and then life is crystallized into agony afterward. Don’t lose it. You are a child of God, remember that.
Demons of lust, adultery, compromise, and all other sexual perversion are on overdrive today, do not cooperate with them.
Today, the atmosphere would all be set. Your body would literally crave for it. But you would be making the greatest mistake of your life if you listen to your body.
A strong desire does not authenticate that which is desired. The voice of your body is not superior to the voice of your spirit. The spirit ought to take ascendancy and not the body.
This is what Apostle Paul was saying here
But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. – 1Co 9:27 (KJV)
Your body would scream for compromise, but don’t listen to it, for decisions taken in the flesh will always lead to some form of death.
For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. – Rom 8:6 (KJV)
The amplified version expatiate further
Now the mind of the flesh [ which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit ] is death [ death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter ]. But the mind of the [ Holy ] Spirit is life and [ soul ] peace [ both now and forever ]. – Rom 8:6 (AMPC)
Don’t go to areas that are already set to trap you. Evening parties, clubs, guest houses, love gardens, and hotels. Any meeting in such places today would end in regrets.
On the other hand, while at home, do not stay behind closed doors with a lover or intending lover. It takes a closed-door to close up your destiny.
Don’t drink. Things happen when you drink.
Don’t be deceived by that deceptive statement, let’s just touch ourselves, we won’t do much! Dry humping each other will end in some wet humping and could drown you.
Be vigilant. Stay close to God’s word.
Whether you have a Val or not, find an evening church program and attend.
Thankfully, today at Shouts of Grace Center in Ibadan, if you are around, you can join us as we take a dive into teachings on sex and relationships. Also, we have a valentine’s dinner for singles. You can check HERE for more information.
Stay with God, you will have the victory and the last laugh.
Let me end my admonition with this scripture in The Message Translation:
Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You’re not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It’s the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does. – 1Pe 5:8-11 (MSG)
Be blessed. Be safe. Stay spiritual!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I will not miss it in marriage.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, open the eyes of my understanding.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Eph 1:18 [GW] Then you will have deeper insight. You will know the confidence that he calls you to have and the glorious wealth that God’s people will inherit.
