God hates divorce. It is not always God’s best option.
Here is the scripture:
“I hate divorce,” says the God of Israel. God-of-the-Angel-Armies says, “I hate the violent dismembering of the ‘one flesh’ of marriage.” So watch yourselves. Don’t let your guard down. Don’t cheat. Mal.2:16 MSG
I must however be quick to say that there are genuine instances where divorce is recommended. God intends that a man and woman should be in marriage as long as they are alive, but He has also made exceptions and this is what we want to look at from the scriptures.
When people remarry under the circumstances that we will be looking at, they should not entertain any condemnation again from the devil.
1. The Question of Marital unfaithfulness The first exception for divorce that God made has to do with unfaithfulness. This has to do with adulterous sin or any other sexual sin.
But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery:and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery. (Matthew 5:32 KJV)
When there is marital unfaithfulness and sexual sin is involved, the marriage covenant is broken. As a result of this, the other spouse is freed. There have been cases where the spouse is willing to forgive and move on especially in instances where he or she has indirectly contributed to the spouses’ infidelity. But in cases where the spouse is unrepentant from the unfaithfulness, divorce becomes valid.
The reasons are obvious. A man or woman who is sexually and unrepentantly promiscuous can bring home a sexually transmitted disease. This cannot be God’s will. I once watched a documentary of seven women who all tested positive to HIV and the disease was already at an advanced stage. In each of the instances, the woman had been faithful, but had been unfortunately married to an unfaithful man who transmitted the disease! They faced their deaths because they were married to sexually irresponsible men!
2. The Question of Abandonment or Desertion The next scenario is when the spouse is unsaved and really wants to end the marriage. This often plays out by the uninterested spouse walking away from the marriage and abandoning his or her spouse. In such cases, the spouse is not obligated to stay.
But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace. (1 Corinthians 7:15 KJV)
When the person abandoned gets remarried, it is not considered adultery. I have had to handle cases where some women’s husbands have abandoned them for upward of ten years! The emotional trauma and sense of isolation is tremendous and some of such women have gone on to become women of easy virtue because of the obvious vulnerability. When a spouse walks away for some five to seven years, something is definitely wrong somewhere. He keeps promising he is going to come back, but he might never! You need to answer the questions above.
3. The Question of Intense brutality which can be physical, mental, and or sexual abuse This is another valid reason for divorce. It is not easy to live with a man who you are not sure of his love for you. Having to live in the same house with a man who can strangle you and end your life before daylight can be very crushing. When either spouse has been brutalized, this is often seen as equivalent to ‘desertion.’ It is often called constructive desertion.
When your life is no longer safe, when you have been battered over and over again, it is not worth it in such marriages. Not a few women have lost their lives in the hands of abusive spouses. If your spouse attacks you physically and then apologizes and stops, please kindly embrace him back. It is not appropriate to jump to a conclusion and head for divorce because of a mistake he makes after you aggravated him.
But talking candidly to men, never raise your hand against your wife. It is not manly and it is not godly. That woman was given to you so that you can protect her, not end her life. I know some ladies can be very sharp-mouthed and extremely rude, but when you see her as one with you, you will patiently resolve all issues rather than resort to violence.
When your spouse forces you into sexual sins and into perversions, don’t keep quiet. Seek help and seek counsel. Ask him questions.
In conclusion, I will still tell you that divorce is never the best! Do all you can to fight for your marriage until it becomes absolutely impossible to continue in that marriage! This also means that such flimsy excuses as irreconcilable differences, lack of love, incompatibility, different career goals, and so on are not valid grounds for divorce.
For singles, you can prevent divorce by not rushing into a marriage with a man you don’t know. You don’t go into marriage haphazardly; you go into it deliberately, intentionally, and consciously following God’s plan and injunctions.
Happy new month!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I ask the right questions.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, help me to ask the right questions
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Mal 2:15 (GW)Didn’t God make you one? Your flesh and spirit belong to him. And what does the same God look for but godly descendants? So be careful not to be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.
Why is this so important? If you don’t love yourself, it is not possible for any other person to love you the way they should. They will only be using you rather. It is important to deal with this. You have to love yourself. You have to accept yourself. Loving yourself is key!
1. Discover your potentials One of the ways to love yourself and overcome self-hate is to discover your potentials. If you have not discovered your potentials, you will keep on comparing yourself to another, who in the real sense may be envying you! Your gifting and natural talents are an indication of your potentials and a pointer to your purpose in life! You have to discover what you are created for.
Listen to me, when you discover your potential and the reason you are on this earth, you will love yourself. All the negative feelings of self-hate and self-rejection will vapourize! Nobody is created for fun. We are all created for a purpose!
Your potential or natural talents may not even be in vogue now, but just stay with it! That is part of loving yourself.
In the seventies and early eighties when we go out to play football, our parents would reprimand us and tell us to go and read our books! Today, parents are buying footballs, and telling their wards, you must know how to play this thing! Why? Footballers are heavily paid today!
Some twenty years back, comedy is not a profession as it were in Nigeria. Today, they make millions in the hour! What are your natural talents? You’ve got to discover them because that is where your prosperity is!
2. Develop your potential After you have discovered your potential, the next thing to do is to develop it. Organise your potential for productivity. Equip your potential for profit. How do you do that? Get information about your potential, gifts or talents. Read books on them. Get all you need on it and be adequately informed.
3. Deploy your potentials The next thing to do is to package your potential and deploy it. Step out on it! Start something today. A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step! Stick out your neck and move on! A wet swimmer is better than a dry boat-sitter!
4. Be passionate about what you do Be passionate about your assignment. You see, when you are busy with all these, you will not have time for self-hate or self-rejection or not loving yourself appropriately. The proof of desire is always in your pursuit.
A young man that wakes up by 9.00am has woken up too late. By that time, several people have made their first million for the day! Approach life with passion. Commit to your potential. Write the vision and make it plain that he that readeth may run with it. After you have prayed and prayed, then step out so that God can bless the works of your hands.
Don’t be like the pastor who wanted to organise a crusade. He prayed like no man’s business. Morning, afternoon and night, he was praying and groaning. But he didn’t make a single flier neither was he on T.V or Radio! So on the day of the crusade, all of heaven was aware, but nobody knew except him on earth. The result? The crusade ground was jam-packed with angels, but not a singe human! Warrior angels, praise angels and so many were there, because heaven was aware. But not a single human being knew! Even though he has prayed, and made tremendous power available, his spiritual efforts were not complimented with adequate publicity.
You see, if God will help you, you must be doing something for him to help!
Don’t be like a man who wants to get married but has no job and has no intention of getting one. The wife is supposed to be a help-meet. So, what was she coming to help you with?
5. Be full of praise Finally be full of praise. Be grateful to God for the gift of life! Why would you complain about a simple headache? Don’t you know that it is only people that have heads that can have headache? So thank God for giving you a head first!
You got depressed because your result in school was not that good? Don’t you know the other child whose destiny has been retired to selling and hawking oranges is wishing that he had the kind of opportunity you have? You are sad because you are not yet married? Thank God for your time of singleness and enjoy it because some married people wish they can just be single again to correct a lasting mistake!
It is when you come to God with an attitude of praise, that the heavens open over you to satisfy the desire of your heart!
Wake up with praise and gratefulness in your heart and not with complaints and murmurings. Go to bed thanking God for the day and not with emotions of regret. Then, you are qualified for God’s hand upon you afresh and you can love yourself the way God loves you.
Shalom!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I love myself. I am loving in my approach.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, teach me how to love and appreciate myself
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Psalms 90:14 O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Be loving to yourself by taking yourself out
Apart from the points we discussed yesterday, how else will a man show his love for you?
Let’s go…
4. He will never raise his hands against you. A godly man that truly loves you will not lift his hands against you. Ladies, hear me and hear me well, if he is already donating slaps to you and you are gladly receiving them in love, it won’t stop after marriage. In fact, he will take it to the next level, and turn you into his punching bag. But he said ‘he will change!’ Why can’t he change now? Marriage doesn’t change anybody! In fact, it amplifies who you are because there is pressure of living with somebody now.
If you are courting a man that beats you regularly, that is nothing more than courting disaster. Deliver yourself like a roe out of the hands of the hunter and fly away before you become a prey. I know there are soul ties because of sexual involvement which is disobedience in itself, but the reality that you might be beaten all the days of your life should severe any soul ties and make you wake up! It is not God’s plan for you to be in a relationship where you are being physically abused consistently!
5. He will not draw you into sexual perversion. A godly man that truly loves you will not pull you into the world of sexual perversion where unimaginable things are being perpetrated. Don’t allow yourself to be treated like a jeru trip object, because you are not one.
He will not suggest to you things that you know are ungodly. He will not satisfy his lust at the expense of your relationship with God. He will not be asking you to send nude pictures. For what purpose would that be? He will not pull you further into the miry clay of sin where you keep slipping into iniquity. He will pull you up. He will be an encourager. He will be a positive motivator. Don’t settle for less.
6. A godly man that truly loves you will be accountable. He is not the alpha and omega of his life and home. He has mentors and authority figures over him that he is submissive to. Ladies, never get involved with a guy who has no authority figures over him. Anything could happen, and there would be nobody to talk to.
7. A godly man that truly loves you is a giver. He gives and he supports God’s work. He does not argue about paying tithes. He gives to God and he gives to you! What if he has not started work? Giving has nothing to do with the amount, it has a lot to do with the gesture and the heart!
May God grant you more understanding in Jesus name.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I will not fall in love with the wrong man.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray that God leads you to the man who will love you genuinely
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Ask questions about your relationship and take decisions.
1. He will truly support your dreams and vision. Not a few women have had their dreams and vision suffocated and swallowed up because of unnecessary intimidation.
A man that truly loves you will truly support your dreams, vision and aspirations knowing fully well that you are one. What is the point of a lady serving God with so much zest and energy on her youthful and campus days and after marriage only to be permanently domiciled to kitchen and baby nursing affairs only? Yes, I know you have to take care of your family and you should but that doesn’t mean you should come to a place where you are not even lifting a finger in your local assembly. I also know that this situation could arise as a result of your own inability to properly transition from a single lady to a married woman and might not have anything to do with your husband.
If you find yourself in this situation, what to do is not go and put up a fight with your husband, but to lovingly discuss with him how you can strike a balance and be useful to God, even as a wife and a mother. I know there are also situations where you might have to blend with your husband, so I am not saying here that you should have a completely independent spirit wherein rather than be a helper to your husband, you eventually become a distraction.
2. He will truly be a lover boy to you only A godly man that truly loves you will be a great lover of you only. He is not going back and forth and getting involved with other ladies. He is focused on you. Being godly does not mean being unromantic.
A godly man that truly loves you does not come around to tell you that he has so many girlfriends but you are his first choice, as if he is filling a university admission form. He will not play games with you. He will not toy with your emotions and he will not manipulate you with logic. He knows how to take care of you and how to bring out the best in you. Ladies, do not stay with a man who sleeps around and even tells you to your face, that he would stop after marriage. Don’t subject yourself to that kind of affliction, even if he gives you a million bucks every month! You are not for sale!
In marriage, he will focus on you and will not be distracted. His love for you will keep him zipped up even in the face of pressure.
3. He will truly protect you. A man is supposed to be a protector of the lady. In courtship, he doesn’t want you to compromise your virtue, nay, he wants you to please God, so he is willing to wait. In marriage, his love for you will be evident in how he provides, pampers you, and prays for you. He wants the best for you. When there are issues, he tries to treat you gently, because he knows you are his wife.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I will not fall in love with the wrong person.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray that God leads you to your rightful partner
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Ask questions about your relationship and take decisions.
We started looking at this topic yesterday. We mentioned some things about the right woman.
1. She will truly love you. 2. She will truly and regularly intercede for you. 3. She will truly add to you and not deplete you.
What other ways can you know the right woman for you?
4. She will truly behave appropriately How do I mean? A lady that truly loves you will not aid and push you into sin. In courtship, she will not demand for jeru trip neither will she ‘supply’ it when it is being demanded. She will behave in a spiritually appropriate way. She will not trap you or manipulate you. She will not become a spiritual nuisance or distraction to you. I know guys can be forceful, manipulative and stubborn sometimes, but when a lady wants to say No, she knows how to say it.
In marriage, she will behave appropriately. She will not defraud her husband! That’s what the Bible calls it. When you deny your husband in marriage, it’s fraud!
Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency. (1 Corinthians 7:5 KJV)
This doesn’t mean husbands should not allow their wives to rest, right?
Don’t go and tell your wife, ‘Pastor Dunamis said even if it is five times daily, you should be good to go!” In reality, never sex-starve your husband. It is not supposed to be a tool of punishment or reward.
5. She will be truly faithful. A lady in courtship that truly loves you will not double date. She will not live in deception. She will not be caught in betwixt the triple operation of greed, money and sex. She will remain faithful. That is all about fearing God.
In marriage, she will not cheat on you or hide things from you. Do ladies who are believers cheat on their husbands? Yes. How do I know? Through counseling! It starts with emotional affairs, nursing secret desires and keeping it away from your spouse. You see, iniquity is perpetuated in the atmosphere of secrecy. The power of iniquity is broken when it is exposed. When you are capable of hiding things from your husband, well, you don’t love him like you should, and a seed of adultery can be planted, because all it takes is your ability to do things and hide them.
Well, if you find some defects in your courtship, you might want to lovingly discuss them and make adjustments. You might also want to talk to a mentor or a counselor. You might also want to pray and ask God for wisdom. I pray that God will give you wisdom on how to make it right in Jesus name!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I know the right person to marry
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Ask that God leads you in the right direction
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Prov 18:22(KJV)Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the Lord.
1. She will truly love you. How do you know a woman truly loves you? She will submit to you. Submission is not being subservient or being oppressed, it is a conscious effort of allowing the man to have the final say as the scripture suggests.
One of the most effective ways to influence your husband is to submit. One of the fastest ways to aggravate a man is to remain stubborn and non-submissive. A man is not supposed to lord it over his wife, he is supposed to relate with her lovingly while she respectfully submits. Being submissive is not being muted, she should be able to offer suggestions and use her initiatives, howbeit, the man should have the final say. When you mute your wife, you have just silenced your helper!
2. She will truly and regularly intercede for you. A woman is a womb-man, and that is what differentiates her from a man. She has the capacity to conceive and then birth. All the confusion in this generation ought not to be. Male and female created he them! Not male and male or female and female. God did not create Adam and Steve. God did not create Eve and Eva. So there should be no issues. A woman is created with a womb, not one acquired through the trans-gender process.
She has a womb. She has the same capacity in the spirit realm and she wields tremendous spiritual power if she has a relationship with God. Just like she is endowed to birth in the natural, she is empowered to intercede in the spirit realm. I am not saying men should not pray, because the scripture says men ought to pray, but I am saying a woman can birth things in the spirit realm. If she truly loves you, she will not walk away because of challenges, she will take it up in the place of prayers.
Have you seen the scripture in Hebrews that says –
“Women received their dead raised to life again…?” (Hebrews 11:35a)
It means a woman can take what appears dead and gone and bring life into it again.
3. She will truly add to you and not deplete you. A woman not only births, she is also a multiplier. A woman will always multiply what you give her. Give a woman some ingredients and there goes a pot of delicious stew. Give a woman a house and she makes a home out of it. Give a woman spermatozoa, and she brings forth a baby months after. She is just a multiplier. That is why the scripture says a woman shall compass a man. That is also why the scripture says a woman is a helper to her husband. Not a distraction. A wife; not a knife. A wife helps; a knife cuts and lacerates. There is a difference!
When a lady that loves you comes into your life in marriage, she will add to you. He that findeth a wife findeth good and obtaineth favour! She will truly add favour to your life when she truly loves you. And that is why men should be careful about the kind of seed they plant in a lady. If you sow the wind, she will take it, press down shaken together and give you a whirlwind. If you sow stress into her life, she will give you frustration. Be careful because she is a multiplier!
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
