Yesterday, we saw the dangers of letting your emotions lead you.
What other reasons are there to show you cannot fall in love anyhow?
2. You need to protect your heart The second reason why you cannot just fall in love anyhow or with just anybody is because of your heart. You have a responsibility to protect your heart. Your heart is a like a garden. Your heart is like a vineyard of precious fruits. It should be a secured place with the word of God mounting guard over it!
Philippians 4:7 (AMP) – And God’s peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
There is a peace that comes from following God’s word that becomes a guard to your heart.
There are generally two kinds of people trying to access your heart, which is like a garden. There are gardeners who will take care of you and there are scavengers who want to take care of themselves at your expense. It is an error to fall in love carelessly with a scavenger. A gardener wants to nurture you. A scavenger wants to puncture your heart. A gardener will pray for you. A scavenger will prey on you. It is your responsibility, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to protect your heart.
If you are already in courtship, make up your mind to protect each other. When both of you are selfless and consider the other first, you will release an unprecedented dimension of favour over your relationship. Avoid strife like a plague because it is a tool in the hands of the devil to wreak havoc. Forgive each other quickly; be committed to peace. Don’t allow hurt and bitterness to chart a course for your intended family. There is no way you won’t hurt each other sometimes but practice advance forgiveness. You need to go to your partner now and apologize even if you feel he or she is in the wrong.
It is not about winning an argument, it is about not losing your partner, so bury your ego and be matured. Let peace reign. As you obey this specific instruction of reconciling with your potential spouse, watch out for a fresh deluge of His blessings especially in your finances.
I pray for you today, may you be blessed! The heavens open over you in Jesus name! God will honour you and fill your mouth with laughter.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I will not fall in love helplessly
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray that God teaches you how to fall in love
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Proverbs 18:22 (NKJV) He who finds a wife finds a good thing, And obtains favor from the Lord.
1. After emotional involvement, reasoning faculty becomes biased After you fall in love with a person, the truth is that your reasoning faculty becomes biased in favour of that person, because of the deep feelings and emotional connection that often accompany the process of falling in love. If this is the case, it is wise then to be cautious about the person you fall in love with. For example, you want to be careful about developing a close friendship with an unbeliever, to avoid the possibility of falling in love with such a person. When you fall in love with such a person, you are going to close your eyes to the fact that such a person is not a child of God. You are going to turn a deaf ear to people around you who are warning you because you have fallen in love. So you see, you have to define your relationships.
One of the greatest humiliations one can be subjected to is in the hands of a wrong person you have fallen in love with but who is not in love with you! You will practically become a puppet, as it were, in the hands of a puppet master, wielding enormous power over your emotions, abusing you, and yet unable to disconnect…may you never be in that spot! It even gets worse when you become sexually involved with such a person and there are emotional ties. Have you ever being in a relationship with a person and everybody is warning you?
Your pastor calls you and says you are making a mistake. Your parents call you and warn you sternly about the person. Your closest friends call you and tell you something must be wrong with you. Deep down in your heart, even your conscience tells you that you are making a huge mistake. But you are in love…at such times, you really need to hit the pause button! Go and pray and ask God to help you. One of the ways you can pray is to first disconnect or distance yourself from that person so that your mind can be clear to pray.
I will conclude tomorrow.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I will not fall in love helplessly
If you have been in courtship for some time, the likelihood is that your lover/fiancé has at one point or the other probably told you, “You don’t respect me!”
You see, you need to understand that the way a man thinks and the way a woman thinks are so different and are miles apart. While the man is thinking, “She doesn’t respect me, the woman is thinking, He doesn’t love me!
One important thing you need to know about men is that they are logical and so tend to interpret most things from logic.
The logic is “I am the head of the house. The decision rests on me. The bucks stop at my table.”
A woman interprets things from a relationship point. Her thoughts are “If he really loves me, he wouldn’t do this or that, he would spend time with me and so on and so forth.
Now, if your fiancee ever looked you in the face and tell you, “You don’t love me,” you don’t need to argue at all. She is the one that is supposed to receive the love and she can’t feel it. Rather than get logical and rant about what you did last year and so on, be humble and try to understand what she is trying to say and what love means to her.
In the same way, if your fiancé tells you repeatedly that you don’t respect him, you don’t need to get hurt or moody over that and manipulate his emotions through silent treatment until he comes to apologize for saying what he feels. Rather than get hurt over that, simply try to enter his brain through loving communication to find out his concept of respect.
To one man, it could be as simple as genuflecting (bending the knee a little). He is simply “traditional” and he has seen his mum and siblings do that for his dad for thirty years. It has been tattooed into his brain and if he voices that out to you as what he wants, be smart enough to do it.
It wouldn’t reduce you, it will bring peace to your home and the surprising thing, after a while he wouldn’t demand that again because in his mindset would be the statement, “My fiancee respects me!”
To some other man, it is cooking a good meal. The important thing is to find out what your fiancé deems as respect and do it!
If you keep getting hurt over everything at your fiancé, after a while he would simply keep quiet and that would impact communication. You wouldn’t want to know the consequences of that.
Study your fiancé. Generally, men don’t talk until they are sure of what they want to do or the decision they want to take. Have you ever asked him about some pressing issues and he refuses to say a word? And you are hurt because he ignored you?
Let me tell you something, he didn’t ignore you. The reality is that he didn’t know what to say or what to do. The proper thing is to say, “Dear, give me some time to think about that.” But most times, when a man is confused, he will simply keep quiet and refuse to say a word. His ego would not allow him to own up and say something like, “Dear, on this issue, I am as confused as you!”
Here is the difference between a man and a woman
A man thinks his way into a decision
A woman talks her way into a decision.
So, there is always tension and difficulty in communication when a woman wants to talk her way into a decision that a man has not thought about!
Learn about him and there would be fewer conflicts. This is why a lot of marriages crack and most courtships dissolve.
In the same vein, study your fiancee and simply do what she wants as long as there is no scriptural contradiction. Find out the love language of your lover and speak it. Spend time with her and give her attention! And have peace of mind!
May God grant more understanding.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I understand my partner properly.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray for wisdom to understand your lover.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Eph 1:18 (KJV)The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Start speaking the language of your lover
You have been configured to live and survive by the help of the Holy Spirit and not by yourself. Each time you try to do it on your own, you will be frustrated.
Joh 14:17 KJV Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
It is by the help of the Holy Spirit that you will overcome the flesh.
Gal 5:16 KJV This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
That is the solution to overcoming the lust of the flesh right there. You have to walk in the Spirit. You want learn to put your body under? You have to walk in the Spirit. You want to be able to resist sexual sins and say No to sexual sins? You have to walk in the Spirit. You want to be able to know God more and understand what He is leading you to do? You have to walk in the Spirit. You are frustrated with having to repeat the sexual sins you just confessed the day before and at the point of giving up? You have to walk in the Spirit. You want to be able to hear God? You have to walk in the Spirit.
The question is “what does it mean to walk in the Spirit?”
The keyword here is “walk” In the original language from which this word is translated, the Greek word is “peripateō”
It means “to tread all around, to live, deport oneself, follow (as a companion or votary): – go, be occupied with, walk (about).”
The implication here is that you should be around the person and the things of the Spirit. When you deport yourself to the Holy Spirit and follow Him as a companion, you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
See it better in Amplified translation:
Gal 5:16 AMP But I say, walk and live [habitually] in the [Holy] Spirit [responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit]; then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh (of human nature without God).
You have to be responsive, be controlled and guided by the Holy Spirit!
The next question is probably “why is it so important to walk in the Spirit? Why can’t I just be? It’s right there in the scriptures. Read it slowly and absorb it.
Rom 8:5-8 AMP (5) For those who are according to the flesh and are controlled by its unholy desires set their minds on and pursue those things which gratify the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit and are controlled by the desires of the Spirit set their minds on and seek those things which gratify the [Holy] Spirit. (6) 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]. (7) [That is] because the mind of the flesh [with its carnal thoughts and purposes] is hostile to God, for it does not submit itself to God’s Law; indeed it cannot. (8) So then those who are living the life of the flesh [catering to the appetites and impulses of their carnal nature] cannot please or satisfy God, or be acceptable to Him.
You see, if you don’t walk in the Spirit, you cannot please God. And if you don’t please God it means you are not in faith!
Heb 11:6 KJV But without faith it is impossible to please him…
You see the connection right there. Being in faith, which comes by hearing the word, and walking in the Spirit, which comes by a conscious relationship with the help of the Holy Spirit, are essential for a victorious Christian life. This is how you can position yourself for the fullness of God’s blessings over your life!
This is how to walk down the aisle by walking the spirit. Through walking in the spirit, you will have direction, locate your spouse and settle down in marriage
I pray for you this year that you will indeed experience the fullness of God’s blessings and marital direction in Jesus name.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I choose to walk in the spirit.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, help me to walk in the spirit daily
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Gal 5:16 AMP But I say, walk and live [habitually] in the [Holy] Spirit [responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit]; then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh (of human nature without God).
1. Singles have all the time in this world. They don’t know the meaning of “busy.” When I hear singles say they are busy, I just smile. They should wait till they are married. A married couple lives busy lives, especially when the kids start arriving.
Lesson – Do all you want to do now, don’t postpone anything. Stop making statements like you will serve God more after marriage. You are going to get busier. I read the whole Bible many times over as a single in one or two months. As a married man, it takes me like six months to do that, and not as frequently as I used to do it. Married couples, make sure you strike a balance in your life. God first, your family, and then your work.
2. Most of the time, singles simply live for themselves. They are accountable to no one and they can go anywhere when they want. An ideal couple lives for each other, placing each other’s desires above all. There has to be a lot of plans and consultations.
Lesson – Singles, live deliberately and not irresponsibly. Make sure you have a mentor or an authority figure you defer to. Married couples, learn to carry along one another in decisions, you are no longer single.
3. Singles who have jeru trip constantly end up confused in their soul and get the relationship broken, because they are violating God’s principles. When God’s principles are violated, the soul enters into confusion. Married people who have jeru trip constantly WITH EACH OTHER and who remain faithful to each other are bonded the more. Jeru trip within marital sanctity is healthy for a couple and it is a marital glue.
Lesson – Singles, don’t slow yourself down with jeru trip or any other sexual sin. Don’t dip your hands into sin, only to come and conclude that there is a generational curse somewhere. Married couples, never deny each other, don’t unwittingly open up yourselves for devil’s attacks in your sexual life.
4. Singles who abstain from jeru trip before marriage and stay clean in other areas of their lives will have God’s favour, blessing, and grace working for them. They will know the true joy and blessings that follow obedient children of God. Married people who deny each other jeru trip or use it as punishment or reward are outrightly living in disobedience and God will not answer their prayers.
Lesson – Singles, there is a blessing in following God. There is a blessing in refusing to compromise. God will honour you for that. Married couples, you can keep the devil at bay by being faithful to your spouse.
5. Singles who double date are rehearsing for adultery. Whatever you rehearse for a long time, you become an expert at.
They are sowing wrong seeds into their lives, and the harvest would not be desirable. Married couples who are adulterous or into extra marital are deceived, and they are sowing seeds of regrets and pain. Adultery is not only sinful, see what the scriptures say about it:
Pro 6:32 AMP But whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks heart and understanding (moral principle and prudence); he who does it is destroying his own life.
Here is Message translation
Pro 6:32 MSG Adultery is a brainless act, soul-destroying, self-destructive;
Be wise and let these lessons sink!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I am a wise single. I learn all the lessons I need for my advancement.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Ask for wisdom to apply all the above lessons rightly.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Prov 6:32 (GW)Whoever commits adultery with a woman has no sense. Whoever does this destroys himself.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Take these lessons to heart
1Co 6:19 MSG Or didn’t you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit? Don’t you see that you can’t live however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price for? The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you.
Now we have the power to put the body under, and not the body putting us under! Now, sin shall no longer have dominion over us, our bodies don’t have to lord it over us again. When my body cries for alcohol, by the power of the Holy Spirit, I say No! When my soul tries to instruct me to falsify figures, I say No by the power of the Holy Spirit. When my flesh wants some jeru trip or adulterous flings, I can say No way by the power of the Holy Spirit that indwells me. The old man in me who was used to sinning and compromising has been crucified with Jesus and the new man, the new creature, the new species that I have become gains ascendancy over the old man!
Now, you understand why you need to be baptized with the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues.
It is not just about speaking one weird language you don’t understand, it is about having victory in this world! Your life is built up, and the home of your life rises like a gigantic edifice as you learn to pray in the spirit!
Jud 1:20 AMP But you, beloved, build yourselves up [founded] on your most holy faith [make progress, rise like an edifice higher and higher], praying in the Holy Spirit;
What a love! There is only one way to handle this love. This is not the kind of love one rejects or will regret. If you are thinking, you will know it is unwise to reject the stretched-out arms of your maker. The one that can end your life with a breeze like when you put out a candle and yet has not done so! The one that has been faithful to you when you have been so unfaithful, and yet He keeps blessing you! That is the one to revere!
That is why death is not to be feared. Jesus conquered death and took the keys away! Death is no longer an ending for a believer; it is actually a beginning, a simple transition. You are no longer bound by the fear of death, because death lost its power over you when you accept Jesus as your Lord and personal savior!
1Co 15:55-58 MSG (55) Who got the last word, oh, Death? Oh, Death, who’s afraid of you now? (56) It was sin that made death so frightening and law-code guilt that gave sin its leverage, its destructive power. (57) But now in a single victorious stroke of Life, all three–sin, guilt, death–are gone, the gift of our Master, Jesus Christ. Thank God! (58) With all this going for us, my dear, dear friends, stand your ground. And don’t hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort.
Be free from that fear that has been holding you captive now in Jesus name!
All these for you! God decided to reach out to you, heaven kissed the earth on your behalf, you are no longer to live hopelessly and helplessly, lost in a maze of sin and iniquity, but to live a victorious life, enraptured and enamored in His incredible love for you! You have woken up this morning again. The devil has lost over you again and He will keep losing because of God’s love over you! God loves you like no man will. You will not be able to find that kind of love and acceptance in man, the emptiness you often feel in your soul will never be satisfied by another man or woman, not with jeru trip or dope, not with money or fame, not with political power or influence but by the unexplainable and un-debatable love of God!
The only thing required for us to do is to respond to His unparalleled love over us. How do you respond to His love for you?
Accept Him. Serve Him. Talk about Him to others. Live for Him. Walk with Him. Seek His face. Support His work. Be His friend. Stay away from compromise. Talk to Him daily.
That love will keep you safe. It will guide you. It will protect you. It will stay with you. God will forever be committed to you until it is completed!
This morning, I am enraptured in that love. Like billows, it sweeps over my soul, will you join me in a few minutes and just lift your hands, worship Him, talk to Him, surrender all and tell Him how much you appreciate the love He has for you. As you do that, you will experience burdens practically being lifted, your eyes get teary, and it’s okay, because of this unrepentant love that the lover of your soul has for you! Take a few moments…and just worship Him…as you experience His touch of grace and anointing over every storm of your life…yes, it’s his peace that comes with responding to His love…it’s Shalom, nothing missing, nothing broken!
CONFESSION FOR TODAY I embrace and celebrate the love of God.
PRAYER FOR TODAY Lord, help me to understand your love for me.
THOUGHT FOR TODAY 1 John 3:1(ERV) The Father has loved us so much! This shows how much he loved us: We are called children of God. And we really are his children. But the people in the world don’t understand that we are God’s children, because they have not known him.
The contradiction that man is constantly subjected to is that he is a spirit but he lives in a body. He is more conscious of his body because of the five senses and he is prone to be less conscious of the spirit realm, and yet he is supposed to get strength from the spirit, not from the body.
It was a dilemma that God resolved by sending the one and only son He had, Jesus Christ, to take our place.
I remember the first time I watched the film, Jesus of Nazareth (not even as brutal as Passion of the Christ), I couldn’t handle the kind of love Jesus had for humanity. As the big spikes were driven into his palms and legs with a gigantic, wicked-looking hammer, tears welled up within me. I was just nine years old! I asked my mum why he had to die, and my mum, who wasn’t born again at the time simply said, “He was crucified so we wouldn’t have to die.” He took our place!”
That answer made it worse for me as I began to wonder what kind of love that was. I went and hid at the back of the door and I wept there silently. They looked everywhere for me for hours, but I stayed there, weeping silently.
Finally, my mum located me, and tried to cheer me up, that He resurrected after all! That didn’t console me. My young mind couldn’t handle the wickedness meted out to Jesus, and come to think of it, He was innocent! I determined I would be His friend.
Uhhmnn…Jesus, the one who loves us, took our place, took the disordered mess of humanity and cleared it on our behalf, took sicknesses and diseases on our behalf so that we might be healed!
Rom 8:1-3 MSG (1) With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. (2) A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death. (3) God went for the jugular when he sent his own Son. He didn’t deal with the problem as something remote and unimportant. In his Son, Jesus, he personally took on the human condition, entered the disordered mess of struggling humanity in order to set it right once and for all. The law code, weakened as it always was by fractured human nature, could never have done that. The law always ended up being used as a Band-Aid on sin instead of a deep healing of it.
This was God’s answer to our failing and frail humanity. He sent his son, who is as much God, to come and die for us. After he was resurrected, Jesus told us that the Holy Spirit will come and indwell us!
That sounded crazy! The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity will now live in our body! Our body becomes the temple of the Holy Ghost! Divinity is domiciled in humanity!
1Co 6:19 MSG Or didn’t you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit? Don’t you see that you can’t live however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price for? The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you.
What does this mean to us as believers and how does it concern our relationships?
Join me as I conclude tomorrow.
CONFESSION FOR TODAY I embrace and celebrate the one who loves me.
PRAYER FOR TODAY Lord, help me to understand your love for me.
THOUGHT FOR TODAY 1 John 3:1(ERV) The Father has loved us so much! This shows how much he loved us: We are called children of God. And we really are his children. But the people in the world don’t understand that we are God’s children, because they have not known him.
I saw on our Facebook page a comment where somebody said that all men are liars. She said there are no truthful men. It was the same thing Elijah said at a time when he told God that all the people are compromised except him, but God told him there are still 7,000 men who have not bowed to Baal!
The truth is that you will always attract what you believe. A person’s life will always move in the direction of his most dominant thoughts. If you believe all men are liars, that is who will be attracted. It is one of the basic laws. If you believe there are faithful men and there are, you will be found of such people.
I understand a bit where the lady that commented might be coming from. It is possible she has had several negative experiences with men and I feel for her. But you see, experiences will not nullify the truth of God’s word!
This is the lesson here, never allow your experiences to overshadow the truth of God’s word in your life!
Back to our devotional:
Yesterday, I showed you two kinds of men you should run away from.
1. The man I am not in love with 2. The man that tells lies
3. The man that is unfaithful Well, I have heard some ladies say things like every man is unfaithful. There is no man that doesn’t have other ladies out there. That is not true and that is a justification and encouragement of adultery. That concept is from the pit of hell.
If all men cheat on their wives, then what have we been teaching? Where is the place of the delivering power of God? Where is the place of renewal of mind by God’s word?
I don’t cheat on my wife and I don’t have any lady out there and I know I am not alone!
If I were a single lady, I will run away from a guy who is already rehearsing for adultery during a supposed courtship. I will not accommodate or manage iniquity.
But pastor, if I am too hard, will I get a spouse? You see, it is not about being hard; you shouldn’t be hard on anybody because you are not perfect yourself, but you should seek to obey God! That’s all. Follow God! I am sure God does not want you involved with a guy who wants to marry you and who has still has other girlfriends and you know! God is not in that kind of arrangement!
4. The man that doesn’t love God If I were a single lady, I will not get involved with a man that doesn’t love God. If he doesn’t love God and has no regard for God, it will invariably affect you one way or the other.
But Pastor, what if I want to change him? You are not a “changer” You are not the Holy Spirit who convicts! Listen to me, there is something about a family that loves God.
Now, I have to balance this out here. What about those that are already married? Pastor, are you saying I should leave my spouse? NO! Is there still hope for things to be made right? YES!
There could even be situations where you got married as an unbeliever. Now you got born again. Do you leave your spouse? No! You step into intercession and the place of prayers to trust God for your spouse as well. And believe me, God will answer a heartfelt prayer for your spouse, because God is not only interested in individuals, He is also interested in families.
Never give up on God, because God will never give up on you!
Shalom!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I know how to love correctly.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, help me not to fall in love with the wrong person. Teach me when to run away.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Don’t turn your back on wisdom, for she will protect you. Love her, and she will guard you. Prov 4:6 (NLT)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Take an inventory of your love life. Run away when neccessary.
No matter how long you have been single, never walk down the aisle because you are desperate to settle down.
When you are desperate, you are apt to make a lot of mistakes! The first thing you need to understand is that being single is not a disease. Yes, there are times you might need to work on some attitudes because wrong attitudes can actually make a man to run away! For example, extreme and unnecessary anger can make a man run away! That’s the truth. So as a lady, work on your attitudes and character.
However, no matter how single or how long you have been “singled” there are some men I will have nothing to do with if I were you.
You see, it is BETTER to remain single than walk down the aisle with a wrong man! Trust me, I am a counselor, and I can’t count how many times young ladies have called me and they want out of their marriage. Some of them have only been married for weeks and they are asking me if I know any good lawyers!
If I were a lady and single, these are the men I will run away from.
1. The man I am not in love with
Ladies, don’t get involved with the man you are not in love with! It is not going to work. Even the one you are in love with, there would still be issues, but because you are in love, the issues are quickly resolved.
But when you hate his guts deep down inside you and you only got hooked because of pressures from friends and families, issues can quickly become compounded and the fact that you don’t love him will haunt you for life.
When you marry the one you are not in love with, each time you wake up in the morning, and you see his face, your mistakes will stare you in the face and I tell, you, the absence of true joy in a marriage can be debilitating.
There is no point getting hooked up with an old, pot bellied man that you detest so much but got hooked up with because of pressures.
2. The man that tells lies
One of the most unfortunate choices a lady can make is to choose a confirmed, habitual and impulsive liar. Dear daughter, don’t ever make that mistake, or else you won’t enjoy that marriage. How can you live with someone you cannot trust? That is an affliction in itself.
You know he is lying and the liar knows that you know he is lying, what kind of life is that? Even in the little times he is telling the truth, you are unable to trust him because you don’t have an idea when he is telling the truth. As a matter of fact, if you are not a good believer, you might start telling lies as well in order to get back at him.
What about the possibility of giving birth to children who are liars because of transference of spirits? You see, at the end of the day, you always discover that it is not worth it! Run away from pathological, compulsive of obsessive lairs!
To be continued.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I know how to love correctly.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Dear daughter, pray that the Lord helps you not to fall in love with the wrong person.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Don’t turn your back on wisdom, for she will protect you. Love her, and she will guard you. Prov 4:6 (NLT)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Take an inventory of your love life as a daughter.
The indication of intense tests and trials in your life is not necessarily because there is a curse somewhere or because God dislikes you. It is actually because of a glorious future that you cannot see, but the devil can sense. This is why it is sometimes important to always ask God to show you a glimpse of your future. You see, the devil wants to be weakened and discouraged, but you must not be ignorant of his devices.
Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices. (2 Corinthians 2:11 KJV)
You have to be alert and be spiritually awake to disallow the devil from taking advantage of you.
The devil only fights what he fears. Assuming, you are planning a meeting, for example, whose impact is going to raze down hell as it were, the devil will throw all kinds of tantrums at such times to cause distractions and discouragement. You must not allow such at those times.
Assuming you are closest to a major breakthrough, for example, financial breakthrough, the devil already has an idea. It is not as if the devil is omniscient, but he is experienced, having being around for thousands of years!
So, his device is to cause distractions and to make you lose that breakthrough.
When Job was closest to his miracle, his wife told him, “curse God and die!” In order words, stop trusting God and give up! That is the devils tactics! He wants you to see God as unfaithful and the moment you yield to that, your miracle actually dies!
There are three things you must take note of at such times.
1. Stay away from sin and don’t break the hedge. When somebody breaks a hedge in a group, sometimes others in that group can be affected.
2. Stay close to God’s word and keep praying
3. Disallow the spirit of fear because it is not from God.
If you can take note of these three things, you will always come out victorious.
You see, what you are going through is not because God hates you, it is because God loves you, wants to do a great thing in your life, but the devil doesn’t want you to enjoy it!
So, be alert in the things of the Spirit and refuse to be discouraged. Understand that Praise is waiting for God in your life.
Finally, what do you do while you wait for the salvation of God as regards that miracle after identifying that you are going through specific attacks from the devil?
Here are few things you can do
1 Prayerfully read Psalm 91 daily
2 Bless you food as Holy Communion and take it regularly at such times of get Communion emblems to use. Taking the communion will always arrest the negative trends in your life.
3 Be full of praise at what God will do.
4 Believe that whatever is lost will be found. Believe that just as it was told Saul, that the asses which were lost have been found, that whatever has been lost will be found. Believe in restoration and that all things will work out together for your good.
I pray that God will strengthen you in your inner man today to rise above every distractions and discouragement in Jesus name! You have wisdom in identifying the plans of the devil over your life.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I am not ignorant in identifying the devices of the devil
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, I reject every antics and devices of the devil. I have wisdom in identifying the plans of the devil over my relationship.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY After all, we don’t want to unwittingly give Satan an opening for yet more mischief––we’re not oblivious to his sly ways! (2 Corinthians 2:11 Message)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Take Communion and read Psalm 91
There is something you should completely avoid. What can that be? It is called pride!
The reason why pride is such a dangerous sin can be found in some of these verses.
But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. (James 4:6 KJV)
Obviously, this won’t be a good place to be. When the Bible says God resisteth the proud, what that means is that God Himself will oppose and hinder a proud man.
Again you find the same thing here
Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. (1 Peter 5:5 KJV)
In the Old Testament, Nebuchadnezzar became proud, and he was humbled, he became an animal.
In the New Testament, Herod made a prideful statement, he was eaten from inside out.
Pride is not a good commodity that should be found with you.
Do you want God to help you in life? Be humble!
It is such a thin line between humility and pride. If you are a humble person, and you know it, then you are no longer humble! Humble people don’t say it or flaunt it, others identify it in them and talk about it. The day you talk or boast about your humility, you already lost it, because you are now proud of your humility!
The greatest problem a proud person has is that he never owns up that he is proud. His pride will not allow him to own up that he is really proud, and even when he sometimes discovers, he is still proud of his pride! This is something you should completely avoid as a single.
A lot of people have lost opportunities of a godly relationship because of pride! The picture of the person they wanted to get married to, is far from those that are showing up, so they keep on rebuffing opportunities that come their way. The problem is that after a long time, they always end up with just anybody because they suddenly wake up to the reality that age is no longer on their side.
‘My husband has to be handsome like my pastor!’ Ask your pastor’s wife to show you her husband’s picture before they got married. You will almost want to tell her that she took a risk!
I have always told people, the most important factor in deciding who to get married to is God’s direction.
Physical attraction is very important as well, but that is not all to it. People change over time!
People change over time! In fact, some people get handsome, the older they get! While it is different for some, the older they get, the more they lose their rhyme and the magic!
You want to marry a Joseph? Would you have said yes to him while he was a slave in strange land, his destiny unsure and his dreams almost bothering on a psychological absurdity? Would you have married him when he was in the prison, sentenced to an indefinite prison life, together in the king’s maximum prison with hardened criminals convicted of murder?
My point is that what people are now, is not what they were before! I always tell men of God, they need to come together and do a thanksgiving service to God on behalf of their wives for saying “yes’ to them!
Have you seen the picture of the great man of God, Bishop Oyedepo as a single? You wouldn’t want to say Yes! But as a lady, you should be able to discern God’s direction even when it doesn’t look like it!
Almost every lady will want to marry a man as successful in ministry or as wealthy as Bishop. But Bishop said all he had then was his mouth and his vision!
The woman in the scripture says, I perceive this is a man of God!’
You know, but there is something about being humble enough to follow God’s plan for your life!
God sees ahead and sees what you cannot see. In His wisdom and love, He seeks to lead and direct us, if we are willing to obey and stay humble, we will enter into our wealthy place and we will be fulfilled not only in marriage but in life as well.
Ask yourself, am I really proud and hindering God’s plan unknowingly?
How do you know if you are proud? Here are a few tips:
You have an exaggerated opinion of yourself.
You have an opinion of everything and anything.
You are critical of almost everything and anything.
You have a problem with accountability. You are accountable to no one.
You see yourself as superior to your friends.
You are not submissive to any authority figures, including your pastors and parents.
You sometimes think you don’t need God, it is God that needs you!
Ask God to help you. Ask Him to open your eyes and show you all you need to know about yourself. Be humble enough to do that so that you will not delay yourself! As married couples, stay humble, so that you will not hinder God’s blessings! A lot of marriages have issues because the couple is proud and would refuse to apologise for offences for many days! Apologise quickly to each other! Be humble.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I will stay humble for God to lift me up. I choose to completely avoid every form of pride.
PRAYERS FOR THE DAY Pray against the spirit of pride and ask God to help you completely avoid it.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. (James 4:6 KJV)
ACTIONPLAN FOR THE DAY Write down things to completely avoid.
When they woke up, all of them trimmed their lamps, but sadly, the lamps of five of them were gone out!
You see, there comes a time when activities without priority on God’s presence will fail. There comes a time where energy and service bravado will fail! When the oil in the lamp goes out, it is the oil in your vessel that will save you!
When you are serving God passionately with your time, energy, and resources but are still embroiled in habitual sexual sins and other transgressions, you are just being foolish! Ouch! That hurts! But it is the truth! It is the truth that will make you free. I am not here to tell you what you want to read or what appeals to your ears, but to declare the undiluted word of God!
When you are seen as a spiritual person and others are even looking up to you yet you know you are empty when it comes to a personal relationship with God, you are being foolish! Ouch!
If you are a pastor that only read your Bible to preach, that is oil in the lamp and nothing more than foolishness! Ouch! You don’t read Bible to preach alone, you study it to live!
If you are a lady in the protocol or ushering in church, always prompt and active, and you don’t know what it means to practice the presence of God, neither do you read your Bible regularly, you are not being wise! Ouch!
If you are the most active in church and yet you live with a boyfriend or girlfriend, that is utter foolishness.
Mat 25:12 KJV But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
When they wanted the door opened to them, Jesus simply said he doesn’t know them! Is it possible that one can think He knows God and God does not know that person? Yes, I think it is possible.
Let us all get back to getting oil in our vessels regularly. That is how you won’t make mistake in your relationship.
That is how you will know the right person.
That is how not to miss your “bridegroom” That is how not to miss your spouse. That is how the ‘virgin’ in you will not miss it! The time when you are supposed to be ready and meet your ‘bridegroom,’ or your ‘spouse to be’ is not the time to go look for extra oil! It should have been in your vessel all the while!
Mat 25:10 KJV And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
When you’ve still not learnt how to prioritize your time, and you still don’t value God’s presence, you are still caught up with deceit and sexual sins, the implication is that you are not yet ready and the door of marriage can be shut! It is only those that are ready that will go with him into the marriage! The reason why there is a delay for some people when it comes to marriage is simply lack of oil in the vessel. It can literarily shut the door of marriage!
Oil in the vessel! That is how to keep your relationship.
Make up your mind this morning to be wise!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY Lord, I receive the wisdom to rule in the affairs of this world.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray that God will give you wisdom to stay in His presence
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Mat 25:5 KJV While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Cut off your association with any person, place, or thing that is influencing you negatively.
Wisdom is powerful. In life, you are either operating in foolishness or wisdom. That is why the scripture talks about the wise virgins and the foolish virgins who went out to meet the groom. It is such a thin line that one can easily cross the line from wisdom to foolishness when care is not taken.
In the case of the five wise virgins and five foolish virgins, they were all born again and they all were expecting the bridegroom. They all go to church. They all have their lamps with them and the scripture says the word of God is a lamp unto our feet.
They all had oil in their lamps. We know that oil is a type of the Holy Spirit. They all know something about the Holy Spirit. They were all spiritual to an extent. We know that the parable is talking about believers because the scripture says
Mat 25:1 KJV Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
What made the five virgins foolish? The scripture tells us.
Mat 25:2-4 KJV (2) And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. (3) They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: (4) But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
You can be attending service, be a worker, be all over the place, and yet be operating in foolishness! The foolish took their lamp but no oil. The wise took OIL IN THEIR VESSELS plus the oil in their lamps.
The word vessel means receptacle. It is talking about your spirit man. When you serve God, that is oil in your lamp. When you climb the pulpit to preach, that is oil in your lamp. When you preach in the bus, that is oil in your lamp. When you work tirelessly, that is oil in your lamp. All those are necessary and they surely have their place, but when you do all of that to the detriment of personal devotional time with God, you are being careless with oil in your vessel.
That you sing in the choir will not compensate for the time you ought to be in God’s presence in the morning. That you resume at your workplace very early every day of the week will not make God understand your prayerlessness. Nothing will ever replace the time you spend in God’s presence daily!
Mat 25:7 KJV Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
What happened after they trimmed their lamps?
What is the implication of having oil in the lamp and in the vessel? How does this concern your love life? How is it connected with you meeting your groom?
I will tell you tomorrow. Don’t miss it.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY Lord, I receive the wisdom to rule in the affairs of this world.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray that God will prepare you for your groom
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Mat 25:5 KJV While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Cut off your association with any person, place, or thing that is influencing you negatively.
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. 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 spouse, fiancée or friends.
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 spouse 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.
There will be quarrels to RESOLVE. To resolve means to reach a conclusion after a discussion or deliberation. If two people live together and both of them are thinking, there will be disagreements. But as Kenneth Hagin said, you can disagree to agree! Resolve every disagreement. Remember you are to complement each other not compete.
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 home from someone who has no home! He could cancel your destiny in an attempt to counsel you!
Take decisions. 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 the laws of cause and effect will soon take their course. You cannot outrightly disobey God and expect his protection, favour, and blessings.
May God grant you understanding.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I am not confused. I have the mind of Christ. 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 Job 12:13 MSG “True wisdom and real power belong to God; from him we learn how to live, and also what to live for.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Solve, Resolve and Dissolve
Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works: (2 Timothy 4:14 KJV)
Here we see Paul extremely hurt by whatever Alexander the coppersmith has done. Judging from Paul’s tone, whatever harm Alexander has done is probably either towards him or towards the church of God.
Paul later said,
Of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words. (2 Timothy 4:15 KJV)
In Weymouth New Testament translation, it says,
Alexander the metal-worker showed bitter hostility towards me: the Lord will requite him according to his doings.
Now, in life, we will meet with a lot of people that will do us much evil. There will be several metal workers who want to use their metals on you! We will meet with a lot of people that will try to harm us.
We might have experienced deep hurts and wounds from those that jilted us. We might have gone through bitter experiences from people who used us and then dumped us. We might have encountered people that insulted our intelligence and tried to play smart on us. We might have been met people that promised heaven and earth and later abandoned us. We might have experienced the greatest levels of betrayals, wherein, the closest friend of ours betrayed us.
Those kinds of experiences are deep seated, the hurts are strongly rooted, the bitterness breathes within, live magma, waiting for an opportunity of a volcanic eruption, to cause untold damage and harm.
In all of these, we must learn from Apostle Paul. We must learn to sheath the sword like Apostle Paul did.
Yes, he was hurt, and he actually verbalized it when he said, “Alexander the coppersmith did me MUCH evil…”
No doubt he was hurt and must have gone through a very painful, heart wrenching experience…but in all of these, he simply said,
“…the Lord reward him according to his work!”
In as much as this is not what the flesh wants to do, I believe this is the best attitude to take when you have been deeply hurt!
Commit the situation into God’s hands. Let God judge the matter! Let God fight for you. When God fights for you, you have the privilege of dealing with your enemy without lifting a finger and without bitterness, and God also compensates you! That is the beauty of it!
Did you see the classic film, “Woman thou art loosed” by Bishop T.D.Jakes?
That lady that was raped and had her innocence taken away at a tender age still ended in jail because she took laws into her hands by shooting the man that hurt her! The prison experience would probably get her bitter than ever!
But you can choose to let God handle it. When you allow God to judge the matter, you let go of the hurt in your heart and await a compensation that only God can bring.
I want you to hand it all over to God. The guy, the lady, the man, the woman, who did you much evil, hand it over to God. Don’t go on with any hurt! Let God reward them according to the works of their hands. That is when it is sweetest!
As you do that that, you will receive healing for every hurt and wound, and God will compensate you heavily! Were you abandoned? Thank God you knew him or her before marriage! If he didn’t go, how will the right person show up!
I pray for you this morning, God will compensate you heavily for every harm, hurt or evil in Jesus name!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I refuse to be bitter
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, help me to let go of all hurt
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. (Luke 6:28 KJV)
Yesterday, we considered a few things to note about pressures.
We discussed that;
1. Pressures come to everybody 2. Nobody can put pressures on you unless you allow that person.
Let’s conclude this morning.
3. You can stop the pressures when you want to When you really want to stop the pressures, you simply stop seeing the person in question. You press the ‘disconnect’ button. You stop picking his or her call. You see, the moment communication lines are kept open; the pressures would keep coming! You say somebody is putting pressure on you and yet you are ‘flashing’ the person with your phone? Who is really putting the pressures?
4. Be sincere with yourself. Do you really want to stop the pressures or are you enjoying it? If you want to stop it, you won’t be like Samson, rather you will follow the example of Joseph.
What was the difference?
Joseph ran away at the face of sexual pressures. Samson thought he could handle the pressures, but he lost his life eventually. Look at what Delilah did to Samson:
And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death; (Judges 16:16 KJV)
That is what I call pressure! But he didn’t run away. He thought he could handle it. He was wrong.
Joseph was pressured too! Look at the scriptures:
She pestered him day after day after day, but he stood his ground. He refused to go to bed with her. (Genesis 39:10 Message)
He stood his ground, and eventually ran away! That is what you do at the face of pressures. Run! Don’t bother to speak in tongues or spiritualize it, just run away!
Are there people around you that you need to run away from? Are there some Delilahs, some Amnons and some Mrs Potiphars? Wicked men? Evil men? Strange women? Liars? Impostors? Deceivers? Manipulators? Think about it! You have a responsibility to protect your life and destiny by the decisions you make and the people you give access to! Selah!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I am not under undue pressures. I have liberty in God.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Ask God to give you strength to handle pressures.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me:and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out.(Genesis 39:12 KJV)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Disconnect from people putting pressures on you
Pressures can come from different sources. Pressures can come from the devil, they can come from your friends, they can come from your environment, and they can come from within you.
Here are a few things to note about pressures.
1. Pressures come to everybody Everybody experiences one form of pressure at one point or the other. From the pews to the pulpit, from the laity to the clergy, from the janitor to the archbishop, from the person that got born again yesterday, to the one that has been in the faith for twenty years! As long as you are human, you will experience one form of pressure or the other.
The fact that pressures come to everybody is also an indication that tells you that you are not in that alone. There are no custom made pressures, and there is no pressure that you are facing that somebody, somewhere has not faced before.
Here is the scripture:
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. (1 Corinthians 10:13 KJV)
Even Jesus Christ had pressures! That is why the Bible says
We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all––all but the sin. (Hebrews 4:15 Message)
2. Nobody can put pressures on you unless you allow that person. Everybody that is putting pressures on you, be it sexual, physical or mental, you have allowed them one way or the other.One of the greatest gifts that God has given you is the gift of time. 24 hours that you live yesterday was time spent, but it was also a portion of your life that can’t be relived again. Those hours are gone into oblivion. The question is who have you given access to in your life, directly or indirectly?
Anybody you spend time with and listen to, you have just given them access into your life and permission to carry out whatever ulterior motives they had.
The moment you spend time with that unbeliever, you have just given him access to put pressures on you. The moment you go out on date with your boss who is married, you have just given him access to put pressure on you. The moment you report your spouse to your colleague or your boss at work, you have just given him or her permission to put pressures on you! The moment you keep spending time with that fellow all in the name of being taught tutorials, you have just given such a person access into your life.
I will show you more ways to handle pressures tomorrow.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I am not under undue pressures. I have liberty in God.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Ask God to give you strength to say NO at the right times.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me:and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out.(Genesis 39:12 KJV)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Disconnect from people putting pressures on you
There are two things in life that are so important and pertinent that if you can have them, you are good to go. They are two things you need in relationships, marriage and life. They are the two things you need at work, in your school, in your business and in every sphere of life.
The Presidents of nations will pay millions to get these two things and the common man will desperately search for them. What are these two things?
These two things have caused not a few to dabble into the occult and some other terrains that are dangerous.
People are willing to pay millions for these two things. Some die in their bid to get them and some even lose their lives when they fail to get it right. Some have committed suicide at their inability to have these two things.
Everyday of our lives, we are trying to answer these two questions. We make decisions based on our projections on these two things.
What are these two things?
1. Profitability or fruitfulness 2. Direction or Navigation
That is the summary of success in life. The young girl wants to know who to fall in love with. That’s direction. She also wants to know whether it will last or be fruitful and then lead to marriage. That’s profitability.
The young man wants to know which career to follow or business to do. That’s direction. He also wants to know whether it will eventually make him rich. That is profitability.
The minister of God wants to know what God will have him do. Is it a church or an itinerant ministry? That’s direction. He also wants to know whether the church will grow or the itinerant ministry will prevail. That is profitability.
And it goes on like that all through life. We are constantly tying to search and check. Will it prosper? Is it the right direction?
Life without a compass can be frustrating. One can be lost in the meandering paths of life without a navigation system. There is nothing as tiring as proceeding on a journey without direction. And after you have direction, what will I do when I get there? We are all in a race, so says Apostle Paul, but then to where? Speed in the wrong direction can be a tragedy of life.
God gave me a scripture that answers with all finality what I have been discussing with you this morning. Direction and Profitability!
Here is the scripture.
Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. (Isaiah 48:17 KJV)
This scripture nailed it all.
I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit – Profitability.
I am the Lord thy God which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go – Direction.
In studying some of these words in Hebrew from where they are translated, I saw some beautiful truths.
The word “teacheth” is “lamad” and it means amongst other things, “to diligently and expertly instruct” Do you believe God is an expert enough to teach you in your relationship, marriage, career, business and so on?
And then, the word that interested me most and caused an explosion of revelation within me is this. The word “Profit” is “yaal” and it means to “properly ascend,” to be “valuable” and “useful”
I know you have ascended a little in life, but we are talking about “to properly ascend!” God is about to expertly and diligently instruct you to properly ascend and to be valuable and useful!
And then He says He will lead you in the way to go. The right man to get married to, the right lady to go after, the business to choose and the career to settle with.
Get ready as God teaches you to profit and also leads you in the way to go! When you have these two things; success is inevitable!
I see God teaching you and leading you! It is difficult in the natural realm to have these two together. A good teacher may not know how to lead. A good leader may not know how to teach. But in God, we have both! You will succeed. God will lead you. He will teach you. You will no longer be confused! The light of God dawns upon your soul right now.
From this morning, you know what to do and where to go. You will no longer draw a blank, God is your teacher and you leader. From this morning, you will no longer be lost in the maze and turns of life that leads nowhere, you will have direction and you will profit! Why? God said so! Go ahead and speak that into your life!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I am led and taught by God.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray that God will lead you to your right partner.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Isa 48:17 (BBE) The Lord who takes up your cause, the Holy One of Israel, says, I am the Lord your God, who is teaching you for your profit, guiding you by the way in which you are to go.
If you are a member of KHC, get ready to move! Yes, I hear the Spirit of God say, in areas of your lives where things have been static and stagnant, there is about to be a rumbling, and a movement that will turn every captivity around and put an end to disappointments!
Let’s take a look at this scripture that the Lord woke me up with.
And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more forever. (Exodus 14:13 KJV)
Moses was asking the people to stand still here. And some of you have stood still for a while.
You have fasted. You have prayed. You have done all you know to do. Things have stood still for a while. The man was not forthcoming. You couldn’t seem to find the right lady. The business has not been buoyant. Currency that is meant to flow stood still. Admission to higher institutions seemed pending.
But I love the next statement!
“…for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more forever.”
The failure you saw in the past months, you will see them no more!
The disappointments you saw in the past months, you will see them no more!
The abandonment, the jilting experiences, you will see them no more!
The strings of tragedies, the premature loss of loved ones, you will see them no more!
The reality of poverty and lack intertwined, you will see them no more!
The depression and despondency, the literal emotional upheavals, you will see them no more!
The rejection, the seemingly trail of curses, you will see them no more!
The delay, the disfavor, the loss of opportunities, you will see them no more!
Look at the next verse:
The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. (Exodus 14:14 KJV)
You see, this year, God will fight for you! That is why He is saying Press forth! You want to ask, how will I press forth? Where are the resources? How will I do it? God says, keep shut your mouth and stop asking questions of doubt, I have got your back covered! Glory to God!
And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: (Exodus 14:15 KJV)
Here God said, Look Moses, the people have stood still for a while, stop crying to me, take some action! Press forth! Go forward! Stop complaining and making doubtful statements, move!
Message translation says “…order them to get moving!”
I come in the name of the Lord and by the Spirit of God this morning and proclaim to all KHCites, “Get moving!” There is divine energy to move right now!
But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. (Exodus 14:16 KJV)
Press forth this year! You will go on dry ground. The ground will not swallow you. This year, you will not slip under the ground. The ground has been solidified for you! The ground of marriage, the ground of business, the ground of academic achievement, the ground of professional careers, have been made ready for you!
Get moving this year. Write that book. Publish that material. Start that business. Start that blog! Press forth! Get married! Begin the idea!
The sea has been divided for you. The hindrances have been disgraced. The obstructions have been divided. The sea has been “unsead” That courtship that is almost becoming everlasting because of funds, you are about to press forth because God will supernaturally provide!
Get ready this year to Press forth!
Press forth into your destiny. Press forth into God’s plan for your life! I come with a trumpet in my mouth this morning, and I blow upon all KHCites, PRESS FORTH!
Quit looking back. The sinful and oppressive lifestyles of Egypt, should be relinquished. No more frolicking with demons of iniquity! No more locked in the false embrace of a guy or lady, no more covered with the sheets of sexual perversion, it is a new day!
It is a new day for you! Press forth!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I am pressing forth this month! No more disappointments!
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, I receive energy to press forth in Jesus name
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY God will fight the battle for you. And you? You keep your mouths shut! ” (Exodus 14:14 Message)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Write down areas where you need to look beyond disappointments and press forth!
One of the greatest challenges that a man will face is how to care of his wife. This is not because a man is reluctant to do so, but simply because the definition of care in a man’s brain is sometimes exact opposite of how a lady defines care. I am not talking about when you’ve just fallen in love. Mostly at that time, your eyes are not open to reality then. At the times when you’ve just fallen in love, everything he does is okay and everything she does is okay!
A woman sees C-A-R-E as availability, attention and some good money! A man often sees C-A-R-E as money, money and money, and that is where the problem is?
Didn’t I just send you money? How can you say I don’t care? Didn’t I just send you to Dubai? You see, a woman that truly loves you doesn’t mind going to Dubai, but she doesn’t want to go alone! She wants to go with you!
I know there are some women who see C-A-R-E as money, money and money! This isn’t a genuine love, and at the end of the day, they are still frustrated despite the money because the real need is never met!
This is the bane of ladies who are of marriageable age, but refuse to love and be loved appropriately because of some man who is giving them money or who rents an apartment for them somewhere.
You call them big girls, but they are really small inside! The big girls are not the ones spending some ill-gotten money that they accumulated from using their bodies as a commodity; the big girls are the ones who refuse to compromise in the face of provocation, who decides to stand up for God!
If you are engaged to a lady who never asks for your time and attention but only wants you to send her money, you should really be worried! She is probably getting the emotional fulfillment somewhere else and you are just a tool in her hands, to get money!
On the other hand, if a lady never stresses you for money but only asks that you call regularly and be there for her, she really loves you! Though, there could be an extreme of this as well, when the lady in question is overly needy because of past experiences and self-esteem issues.
So how do you take care of lady? Be there for her. Take care of her by spending time with her. But, I have to provide for her, so I am busy and I have to be away! Yes, but you have to create time out of no time, to be available for her. May you not get the money and then lose her!
You need to understand that it is a need of hers! Initially she might not complain because the money is always there, but after a while, she would rather let you have her than the money having her.
Why do you think some rich women get depressed? Haven’t you seen ladies living in palatial mansions who are so unhappy and depressed?
Money answereth all things…that it can answer!
Like it is often said, can money buy sleep? Nay, it may buy waterbed, not sleep!
Can money buy a good heart, nay, it may get a beautiful face, not necessarily a good heart. One of the worst things that can happen to a man is a stunningly beautiful face sitting on an evil heart! Conversely, one of the greatest tragedies that can happen to a woman is a stupendously rich man and a handsome face sitting on an abusive, egocentric and violent man!
His money buys your body, your mouth and your mind! You can’t even think for yourself, that is not marriage! Sadly this is where a lot of ladies find themselves! A lady called me sometimes ago weeping profusely; that she has all the money but she cannot spend! She was living in a prison!
It is for this reason that when you are talking of a relationship or marriage with a person, the most singular important factor is God’s choice for you!
And then some people will come up with some funny ideas like; what if God gives me somebody I don’t love? What you don’t know is that God is not man, that arithmetic or geometry will never be.
That God will lead you to somebody you hate all your life? It never happens like that! You will always love what God offers because He gives you the best! Yes, initially you may not cooperate with God’s plan because of selfishness and greed, but when you come to embrace God’s plan, you will see the wisdom of God, and you will be full of praises to God!
Only God knows the man or woman that will last the whole journey with you. Only God knows the one that will pack his or her load along the way. Only God knows the one that might pull the trigger on you five years later. Only God knows the one that wouldn’t mind using you for some ritual… because God looks into the heart…while you are looking at the bank account and the face! You see why it is important you follow God’s direction?
What if you are already married and you feel you made a mistake? Stay there and correct that mistake, with prayers, good attitudes, wisdom and a lot of maturity, God can heal your marriage and make it good!
May God help us all!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I am not confused. I am being led of God
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord lead me into that place by your side.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. (Psalms 5:3 KJV)
