Some people think they are the most important person in their relationship. They feel if everything can just favour them and be exactly the way they want things to be, everything will be alright.
Generally, human nature is that of selfishness and the different temperaments clearly show this.
All the temperamental weaknesses are based on physical or emotional selfishness. It’s either you want to have it your own way, you hurt others without care or you’re just overly sensitive.
You hurt easily and don’t seem to be able to control your extent and duration of hurt. Interestingly, opposite will always attract, and so we usually find the one that hurts getting attracted to the one who easily gets hurt, akin to the predator and the prey, needing the other for survival.
Some others feel their fiancé/fiancée is the most important person in the relationship. They try their best to give their partner all they need almost to the point of pampering them. Their partners become their focus and obsession.
This will work for a while but soon you will discover that no man can fully satisfy the needs of another man, there is a downside to everything. Man in himself is not wired to sustain himself, not to talk of another.
Both parties require a common focus. They both require a common source of strength, encouragement, joy, power, grace, inspiration, direction, and fulfillment. It is only God that is qualified to take this place. He is the most important person in our relationships.
As we seek to please Him, serve him, worship and obey Him, we become better and bring out the best in our partners. Our relationship with God gives us the required wisdom to be a loving person in a relationship. His principles and person impact us with the grace needed for success.
Don’t put the cart before the horse. In the natural anyone who does that is considered ‘sick upstairs’. It looks like the highest form of foolishness, yet we want to do that in our relationships and expect things to work.
If you’re in a relationship now, the best thing you can do for yourselves is to begin developing your relationship with God. Make Him your focus. Courtship time is not the time for all play and fun. It’s the time to build a solid foundation of a qualitative relationship with God.
If you are not born again, get born again and consecrate yourself afresh to a lifestyle of fellowship and worship. This is wisdom and it’s your ticket to a blissful marriage.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I acknowledge you Lord as the Lord over my life. You are my focus and my obsession. My relationship will work.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Father, in Jesus name I ask for a heart that loves and worships you.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY As long as you grab for what makes you feel good or makes you look important, are you really much different than a babe at the breast, content only when everything’s going your way? –1Corinthains 3:3 (MSG)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Make a commitment to spend time daily in prayers, worship and reading God’s word. Also start attending a good bible believing church.
4. Attach Pain To The Experience Of Having An Affair
Until an affair is associated with pain in the mind and the brain, a thorough work is not done. The erring couple must have several quiet moments of self-talk and deep ruminating of the issue. That’s why depending on the situation, the erring spouse must be left alone to have some sober reflections.
These sober reflections are necessary for certain positive conclusion to be made. Also, a lot of prayers are needed in this period. The support of the other spouse is also needed by not criticizing, nagging and not showing rage or irritability.
A lot of love, emotional support, care and reassuring words should be given to the erring spouse at such times as this.
A spouse should come out of this ordeal stronger, better and bigger, ready to help those on the same predicament. That’s the way God organized things in the kingdom. What you have overcome, you have the Grace to help set others free from.
5. Change The Environment
It might be necessary to change that environment where the affair happened. However, this may not always be possible. If you can’t change your environment, you can at least change what you do within that compromising environment.
If you have lunch breaks together alone with a particular lady, you have to change this. Note that an affair is not necessarily sexual, it could be an emotional affair. Don’t be deceived, an emotional affair is as serious as a sexual affair, in the sight of God, they are the same.
But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. –Matthew 5:28 (NLT)
6. Make Sure You Don’t Play The Blame Game.
What has happened has happened. Don’t cry over spilt milk, don’t wallow in self-pity. That is the devil’s domain; you don’t want to cooperate with the devil to make your freedom difficult. You must embrace Gods free gift of forgiveness and obey all His principles. Don’t go to the extreme of condemning yourself.
David committed adultery and murder, yet God called him a man after his own heart. God restored him, and he was one of the most famous kings on earth.
Don’t doubt Gods love, when He says He has forgiven you, He means exactly that. Embrace His love and His forgiveness.
I believe you have found these steps helpful. May God enlighten our darkness in Jesus name.
God bless your marriage!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY My marriage is blessed and fruitful
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Ask for the grace to be a good spouse
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY I bless GOD every chance I get; my lungs expand with his praise. –Psalms 34:1 (MSG)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Put the above points to practice
COUPLES – How To Show Respect To Your Spouse – Part 2
What are the practical ways to show respect to yourselves in marriage?
1. Know that your spouse is so very special before God. Your spouse is bought with the precious blood of Jesus. Jesus would have come to die for your spouse alone.
2. Do not yell at your spouse. You may be angry but never yell.
3. Allow freedom of expression. It is okay to be different. That’s why you married in the first place. Men and women are meant to be different.
4. Let your spouse feel safe, secure, and trusted by building mutual respect.
5. When you have opposing opinions which will happen most times, you listen. Your listening shows respect.
6. Respect that your spouse is worth listening to. He/ she has something vital to bring to the table.
7. Allow healthy space when it is needed, it shows respect. Let your spouse be by him/herself, have her own friends, her own things etc
8. Do not control one another. Your relationship is unhealthy when there is the slightest control. God asks us to love, not control. Jesus never controlled the church.
9. Both spouses should admit once they are wrong and sincerely seek forgiveness. Swallow your pride and admit you are wrong and apologize.
10. Never treat one another shabbily, in private or public. Show appreciation for every little thing your spouse does. Don’t take each other for granted.
God bless our marriage.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY my marriage is blessed in all ramifications.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray that God will enable you to pay the price for the fullness of His blessings in your home.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Heb 13:4 [AMP]Let marriage be held in honor (esteemed worthy, precious, of great price, and especially dear) in all things. And thus let the marriage bed be undefiled (kept undishonored); for God will judge and punish the unchaste [all guilty of sexual vice] and adulterous.
Dear child, today I write to you on behalf of your mom and Dad. Mom and dad loves you. They want you to always know that they care about you, and they love you from the depth of their hearts.
One of the proofs of their love for you is that they have chosen to expose you the God’s word and the love of Christ at a very tender age, taking you through these devotionals every day is evidence of this fact.
I know you sometimes feel they don’t love you, especially when you are scolded for doing something wrong.
I am about to shock you!
The fact that they scolded and correct you is proof of how much they love you!
I know you won’t believe me, so I will be showing you what the bible says about correction and scolding, you will agree with me that the bible is the ultimate truth. Let’s see what our focus verse for today says.
My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth. –Proverbs 3:11-12 (KJV)
Let me make this verse a lot simpler for you.
The bible is saying first of all that God corrects us as his children when his corrects come, we should pay close attention and take it as a warning, and that God corrects those he loves, as parents correct a child they are proud of.
So you see God corrects us, and so do our parents. The role of mummy and daddy is to let us know when we do something wrong and help us do better, even if we get flogged for it.
It’s a child that is loved that gets corrected, today embrace every scolding and correction that comes from your parent, and always strive to do better to make them proud of you.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, help me to accept corrections at all times. Amen
ACTION PLAN: Tell your parents how much you love them
DECLARATION:
I love my mum and Dad, I cherish their sacrifices.
Hi Champ, let’s dive right into today’s devotional, shall we? Today is about love and loyalty.
Today I will be talking to you about two great attributes the Famous King Solomon recommends in the book of proverbs. These attributes can be found in our focus verses for today.
Let’s see what the bible says.
Don’t lose your grip on Love and Loyalty. Tie them around your neck; carve their initials on your heart. Earn a reputation for living well in God’s eyes and the eyes of the people. –Proverbs 3:3-4 (MSG)
This verse identifies two things you shouldn’t lose grip on, two things you shouldn’t let go of, and two things you should hold on to for the rest of your lives. These things are Love and Loyalty.
What is Love?
This is when you truly and really care about someone or something, so much that you try very hard to take care of them and keep them safe.
Remember what the bible says about Love? It’s the greatest commandment of all, God’s instruction to us is to love our neighbour –those around us– as ourselves.
Let’s see what loyalty means…
Loyalty means being committed to our family and friends, and being committed means that we make promises and keep them. We do what we say we’ll do for the people we care about.
King Solomon says you should not lose grip of Love and Loyalty, he says they should be a priority to you so much that you carry them around always like you wear something around your neck, he says you write them in your hearts like you would write something on a piece of wood.
This will help you live a reputable life, a life lived for God. And by so doing, your good reputation will also be visible to everyone around you.
PRAYER: Father in Jesus name, teach me how to love others and be loyal at all times. Amen
ACTION PLAN: Do something really nice for someone today.
DECLARATION: I have love in my heart, I am loyal to my friends and family.
