Betty has always loved family life and she looked forward to marriage with tremendous ecstasy. Eventually she got married but did not enjoy one single day of her marriage. The reasons are not far-fetched. She is the type that wants her husband around her all the time. She is a in-the-home woman. But then she got married to a Military man because she loved Military weddings. It was just two weeks after her wedding that reality dawned on her. She had married a on-the-road man!
Her husband had to answer call of duty and he was gone for months.
The Bible clearly advises that when you want to go on a journey you should first of all take account and make plans.
A major question that needs to be answered as you prepare for marriage is the question of compatibility. Unfortunately, for most singles rather than look critically at these area, they’re busy concentrating on sexual compatibility, a flimsy excuse to indulge in pre-marital sex and satisfy the raging fire of lust in their soul.
Areas where compatibility issues needs to be critically examined include the following.
a. Intellectual compatibility Not a few marriages have been dissolved because of this issue. Marriage is about communication. The moment you are married to someone who is at a great intellectual distance as to the extent of inhibiting natural communication flow, it alters the whole configuration. The other spouse begins to look elsewhere to satisfy that need for intellectual discussions and before long, unholy alliance are formed which eventually becomes a distraction to the marriage. It is like meeting a legitimate need in an illegitimate way.
b. Cultural compatibility A lot of people would not want to hear about their children marrying from another tribe or ethnic group because of the experiences they have had. You see, the major problem is that people often advice others based on their experiences rather than on the principles of God’s word. I don’t see anything wrong in getting married from any tribe as long as you are led of God. You must however pay a lot of attention to parental consent. This is very crucial. What if your parents say an outright NO and you feel you are on the right path? Go to God in prayers. If it is really of God, He will sort it out Himself.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I will apply discretion in every area of my relationship as God helps me
PRAYERS FOR THE DAY Lord, I ask that you give me wisdom and understanding in my relationship in Jesus name.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Proverbs 11:29 [MSG]Exploit or abuse your family, and end up with a fistful of air; common sense tells you it’s a stupid way to live.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Have a hearty discussion with your partner today
The temperature of our marriage must be kept hot always. To achieve that takes a whole lot of work and attention. Our marriage is like a garden that needs constant touch and tending. Not so much of hard labour but those everyday tending, that is what will make affection increase in our marriage.
Here are some practical ways to increase affection in your marriage
1. Give undivided attention to your spouse It is disheartening when your spouse gives you little or no attention at all. You feel you don’t matter and your person is not relevant to your spouses’ life. You feel they can do without you and your input doesn’t count. This is not a good feeling and must be avoided if your marriage must work.
Learn to give your spouse your undivided attention. The best way to do this is by listening to what they have to say and looking at them eyeball to eyeball.
2. Take time to recreate together. My husband is a very busy man and I am grateful to God for his multidimensional ability in painstakingly using his initiative at his work. It is translating to food on the table. Despite his busyness, he still finds time daily to play and make us laugh.
When you are with someone you love, you should make the atmosphere lively and environment conducive to laughing, Playing, joking, making jests, telling stories, playing games together, etc. Just find something to do together.
Did you miss out on yesterday’s devotional, we’ve got you covered kindly go HERE. For KHC video Devotionals kindly go HERE
3. Respect each other’s space You have to respect each other’s space. Let your spouse be. During the lockdown, my husband was quite busy putting our services online and doing other ministry stuff to meet a particular schedule. Then he finished his work and all the tension seem to have disappeared, so he wanted to play. It was however a wrong time for me to play. I was praying and studying. He did play for some time but he respected my time to study and pray. We respected each other’s space and were willing to understand and help each other grow.
4. Be each other friend Being each other’s friend has to do with everything including being gist partners, cheerleader, number 1 fan, critic, prayer partner, jester, teaser, confidant, gossip, teacher, mentor, leader, you just name it. Just focus on each other. Do things that please each other. Follow the guiding words of 1 Corinthians 13. Love each other genuinely.
5. Be your unique self Your uniqueness remains your best selling point that endears you to your spouse. Of course, try to be an improvement of who you are but don’t loss your flavor. Your flavor is the taste your spouse can never get anywhere else. Do things that your spouse can remember with only you.
Avoid nagging, being unfriendly, cold, harsh, or abusive. Try also not to be lazy, it takes hard work to build a marriage.
6. Make Jeru trip a priority What Jeru trip does in marriage is that it cements the bonds between the couples together. It helps to reduce stress and tension in the marriage. If you know how to utilize this gift very well to your advantage, it can eliminate strife completely.
For some couples, after a good Jeru trip is the best time to discuss pressing issues. This is when your husband will listen to you well and give your his undivided attention. It is foolishness for any woman to deprive (or man, as the case may be) her husband Jeru trip. Denying him is not the solution rather it will complicate matters.
God bless your marriage.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I receive the grace to show affection to my spouse
PRAYERS FOR THE DAY Lord, I ask that you give me wisdom and understanding in my marriage in Jesus name.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Prov 11:29 (GW) Whoever brings trouble upon his family inherits only wind, and that stubborn fool becomes a slave to the wise in heart.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Have a hearty discussion with your spouse today
Focus on your marriage to make it work at all costs and against all odds. Lay the bed on your marriage well, so you can enjoy all the beauty in your own marriage. Learn all the principles you need to learn, drop all bad habits you need to drop. Break all pride, cockiness, selfishness, deception, and let your own marriage work.
If you are already separated, decide what you want, walk with God, and let him show you what next to do. Whichever way, God loves you and still wants the very best for you.
How to focus on your own marriage
1. Focus on yourself You are a vital part of that marriage. Discover yourself. Who are you? What are your desires, what makes you come alive, what makes you enjoy living? Love yourself. Be a happy you.
2. Focus on your spouse As a married person, the most important human being on earth is your spouse. Begin to treat him/her as such. Let nothing absolutely come in between that. Let the whole world know, your spouse is so important to you.
Some people treat their wives like ‘one kobo’ and expect her to treat them like ‘ a million dollar’, it ain’t gonna work that way.
Seize every opportunity to let everyone know this one human being is number one on your list.
3. Focus on God Now, it will be very foolish to want to focus on yourself and your spouse and leave God out. It can not work. God is the center that holds the pieces all together. God is the vital force that crowns all our efforts with success.
4. Focus on your strength You have strengths. Whether it’s your beauty, your home-making skills, your intellect, your being jovial, whatever it is, focus on it. It’s your selling point in your marriage. Don’t let go of your strong points.it is what will make your spouse keep coming back to you.
Did you miss out on yesterday’s devotional, we’ve got you covered kindly go HERE. For KHC video Devotionals kindly go HERE
5. Focus on minimizing your weaknesses Don’t ever make the mistake of pretending your weaknesses don’t exist. Don’t ignore them. Your weaknesses have the potential of destroying the marriage you are building, so destroy your weaknesses before they ever destroy your marriage.
6. Focus on satisfying yourselves Why should you spend your energy, time, money on trying to please or satisfy another man’s wife? That’s called wastage.
Don’t go into an unprofitable venture. Ask yourself, if I satisfy her, how does it add to me or make my own marriage better?
Tend your own garden. When it’s harvest time, you won’t go and harvest on another man’s farm. It is not your own, so focus and build your own marriage.
He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread: but he that followeth vain persons is void of understanding.
Pro 12:11
God bless you and bless your marriage.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY My marriage is blessed
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, teach me to embrace your love
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Isa 49:16 (GW) I have engraved you on the palms of my hands. Your walls are always in my presence.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Register, pray and plan to attend camp meeting now
Recently at our church, I taught on “What It Really Means To Jeun Soke! Below is a two-minute snippet from the message, which is a summary of today’s devotional. Kindly watch in two minutes before reading.
Why would these two women decide to boil their children and eat? What could lead to this?
And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give thy son, that we may eat him to day, and we will eat my son to morrow. So we boiled my son, and did eat him: and I said unto her on the next day, Give thy son, that we may eat him: and she hath hid her son.
2Ki 6:28-29 (KJV)
There was a loss of all sense of decorum and the norm, all because of intense hunger and famine. The reality is that a good man can easily become a nasty individual as a result of a famished soul.
Did you miss out on yesterday’s devotional, we’ve got you covered kindly go HERE. For KHC video Devotionals kindly go HERE
Dear husband and wife, it is not just wrong, but it is risky to be without food in your soul. It can lead to boiling of posterity. May that never be our portion in Jesus name!
The reason we often relate with our spouse without mercy or compassion is because we have not eaten well. Our spirit man is famished and it is causing us to misbehave and freely explore the absurdity.
Make up your mind as husband and wife, to eat well. You have to. It’s a decision you have to make. Your spiritual diet will often decide whether your seed or children will survive or not.
Dive into God’s word and Jeun Soke! Not just once daily and but as many times as you can. Keep eating that word, because that is where life is!
Good morning!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I will not starve my spirit man
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray for strength to stay with the word
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Jer 29:11 [AMP]For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
Good morning, married folk out there. God bless your marriage. God is committed until your marriage becomes all it has the potential to become.
Your marriage can work out beautifully well. You can enjoy and have that dream marriage you always desire. Don’t for once ever feel it can never happen.
If you believe it can never happen, gosh, you just announced it won’t happen. Don’t give up, but be willing and obedient to do and give your marriage all it takes to make it work.
You know married couples should begin to have this attitude of ‘my marriage is personal and I got to make it work’.
You know while growing up, my dad will always say this proverb, ‘ as you lay your bed, so you will lie on it’. Then, I would wonder, why is he worried about how I lay my bed?
I don’t have a care about how my bed is, once I hit the bed, I don’t have enough time to notice how it is, I just sleep.
Did you miss out on yesterday’s devotional, we’ve got you covered kindly go HERE. For KHC video Devotionals kindly go HERE
Later, I realized it’s not just about my physical bed, but it’s about life generally. Talking about our physical bed, it’s very good to learn to make our beds well and train our kids to do so too.
Someone said, laying your bed before leaving the house every morning gives you a sense of achievement. It may look small, but somewhere in your sub-conscious you feel good, you have at least a good, well laid bed…lol
For us married, the bed is also very important.
Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.
Heb 13:4
My husband will jokingly say, the bed is the most important furniture to the couple. I want to agree with that.
The bed is the legalized furniture for love making. Of course not the only furniture, several others have joined in the quest for ‘orgasmic’ love making.
Now, talking about focusing on your marriage, you have to decide what you want your marriage to look like. No doubt there are a lot of factors that may want to stand against this but you have to stand your ground. Stand your ground to live a worthy legacy for your children and generation yet unborn.
How exactly do we focus on our marriage?
I will show us tomorrow.
God bless our marriage.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY My marriage is blessed
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, teach me to embrace your love
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Isa 49:16 (GW) I have engraved you on the palms of my hands. Your walls are always in my presence.
