Marriage is a significant aspect of our lives that is meant to span our entire adult years, an enduring commitment till death do us part. To ensure a happy and fulfilling marriage, we must be content with our spouse and with ourselves. Here, I present two valuable tips to help you achieve this blissful union.
Don’t Miss These Two Crucial Points
1. Let Go of Past Mistakes
In any marriage, challenges are inevitable. We are all a work in progress and bound to face both current and past issues. However, dwelling on past mistakes is akin to unearthing old wounds, and it signals a lack of forgiveness towards your partner.
Forgiveness is a cornerstone of a successful marriage. You cannot move forward or experience happiness if you’re constantly revisiting past grievances. Make an effort to release the past and resist the urge to shame your spouse with reminders of their previous mistakes.
It takes considerable maturity to keep the past where it belongs. Remember, what goes around comes around, and you may need forgiveness in the future. Embrace forgiveness as a divine virtue, and let it permeate your marriage.
`As singles, forgive yourself as well despite your past mistakes. The important thing is not to repeat the same errors. Forgive yourself and love yourself, so that you can be loved appropriately
In today’s fast-paced world, the problem of neglecting one’s spouse has become increasingly prevalent. Many couples find themselves prioritizing others over their life partners, leading to a lack of emotional connection.
To maintain a strong bond with your spouse, it’s crucial to focus on each other with undivided attention. Cultivate a heart-to-heart connection that transcends mere words and draws you closer together.
Resist distractions, emotional affairs, and wandering thoughts that hinder your ability to focus on your spouse. Let your partner continually capture your spirit, soul, and body. After God, the next is your spouse! Regardless of anyone else’s physical attributes, your spouse is your one and only. The key lies in maintaining the integrity of your heart.
As singles in courtship, avoid sexual intimacy in your bid to prioritize each other. Sexual sins will only welcome confusion into the equation.
In conclusion, let us strive for a deeper understanding and stronger bonds in our marriage. May your union be blessed with lasting joy and harmony in the mighty name of Jesus.
As you read this, let every hurt and bitterness that you have towards God and man go, for it is an attempt of the devil to draw you into deception and depression. God is gracious! He is willing to stoop low to bless you. As a Father, He is full of compassion. When you begin to think about this, it is amazing how you will experience that compassion. God is good towards you. You are the work of His hands.
Rather than get bitter toward God, think about how His goodness and compassion will get you out of any mess.
As a single, you might have been abused or violated before you reached the age of accountability. Rather than give up and be regarded as part of the unfortunate statistics of sexual abuse, rise from that abyss, get out of the doldrums of yester-years, and look unto Him that is able to save to the uttermost.
He will embrace you and wipe the tears off your face. He will heal every wound, take all bitterness away from your heart, and bring out the best in you.
Think about it. Believe it. His tender mercies are over you. Respond to His love and experience the tender love of divinity coming upon your humanity.
You see, in order to enjoy that fullness of God’s love, you have to synergize with God and cooperate with His principles.
I see you rising from that problem that has kept you down for long. I see light dawning upon your soul. I see God’s word percolating every pressure and dismantling them.
His love is awesome. Thank him for His love. Forget about what you are going through, and dwell on what He went through for you! It changes the whole equation, and the devil will retreat. You will come to know that it is only by responding to God’s love that you understand how to love others and how to be loved!
I see you having victory!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I position myself to benefit from God’s tender mercies. Goodness and mercy are following me.
PRAYERS FOR THE DAY I uproot every root of bitterness from my life in Jesus Name.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY You are merciful, LORD! You are kind and patient and always loving. You are good to everyone, and you take care of all your creation. (Psa 145:8-9 CEV)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Make a list of all who have offended you in the past. Consciously let go and forgive them. It might not look easy, but do it all the same.
How To Make Progress In Your Marriage. Your past is your past because it happened in your ‘yesterday’. That yesterday could be 20 years, 30 days, 12 years and it could be a day ago. It becomes our past the moment we consciously put it behind us.
The past before our marriage too has to be dealt with in this manner. These include past relationships, past habits, those friends you used to have late night hang out with. Any thing that you know will be detrimental to your new status as a married man or woman.
The pains, hurts, challenges, shortcomings and weights of yesterday must be laid at the feet of the cross of Jesus. If we must experience the marriage that God has in mind for us.
Some people are holding so many people in unforgiveness. Some wives are holding so many people in their minds. Even people who they have no business holding in unforgiveness. Some are unfruitful because of holding unto the past.
In your marriage, you have to let the past go. The past is too heavy a weight to carry with your today. Your spouse will offend you not on purpose most of the time. But the onus is on you to let go of the past.
We must learn to embrace the truth of how to let go of the past like the prodigal son did.
And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! – Luk 15:17
The Bible says, he came to himself. We must come to ourselves every now and then about our past hurts and offense.
And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. – Luk 15:20
He arose, he took step in dealing with his past. He didn’t leave it as an intent, he did something, he took action.
Until you take action to deal with your past, don’t expect God to grant you the freedom He has in store for only those who let go of the past.
But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: – Luk 15:22
May God help us to let go of our past in Jesus name.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY My past does not slow me down
PRAYERS FOR THE DAY Oh Lord, heal me from my past
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. – Heb 13:4 (KJV)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Put the above points to use.
They were in love with each other the moment they set eyes on each other, and they expressed their love for one another. However, the executives of the fellowship were not allowed to initiate a relationship or be in courtship while in the office unless they have started a relationship before assuming the office. So, they had to keep the relationship secret.
However, they were so much in love, and in no time, they began to get physical. They haven’t gone all the way yet, but it was like they got involved in everything apart from actual penetration.
It wasn’t a good time for them, because they would ask God to forgive them and they would be there again. Eventually, they went all the way and they compromised. It was difficult for them because everybody looked up to them. They began to live in deceit. They needed help but they didn’t know who they can talk to without being seen as the greatest and the most monumental disgrace and disappointment to Christianity!
After a while, the deception went to another level. Bode’s conscience became seared and he believed the lie that God must be overlooking what he was doing since he would still operate under the anointing. Bode would sleep with Terry and then would still preach on fornication. He was a walking error…and he didn’t know.
Terry could not handle that level of deception. Eventually, she went to seek help, and both of them were summoned over the holidays and restored back to their fellowship with God. They stopped from that time on till they eventually got married, but a wrong seed has been sown into the foundation of their marital journey and that is what is haunting them six years after marriage.
Terry believed that Bode would still compromise at any opportunity because he could accommodate deception while he was the president of the fellowship. Bode believed, that since Terry could not stop him then and be strong, she is still probably weak and vulnerable and he keeps searching her phone suspiciously all the time.
To be continued tomorrow…
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I will not be a victim of the past.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray that God will help you to heal of the past
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Eph 1:18 [GW] Then you will have deeper insight. You will know the confidence that he calls you to have and the glorious wealth that God’s people will inherit.
A Happy marriage happensby consistent deliberate efforts from both spouses. Marriage is an important part of our lives which is meant to last all of our adult years. That is we are meant to be in a marriage with our partner till death do us part. And for most of us, that’s a long time.
One thing we don’t want to do is to be unhappy throughout our married life. We want to be sure we are happy with our spouse and happy with ourselves.
Here are 10 tips that will help us achieve this.
1. Never bring up the mistake of the past.
In marriage, there will be issues. We are all still a work in progress and still in the days of our flesh. There are bound to be resolved issues (issues in the past), present issues and, some issues to deal with in the past.
Bringing up past issues is like digging a grave and exposing things that should have been buried. It shows you have not fully forgiven your spouse.
Forgiveness is so important in marriage, you cannot afford to joke with it.
You cannot be digging at the past and expect to move forward or be happy.
Get rid of the past as much as possible. Make sure you resist the temptation of shaming your spouse by referring to things of the past, no matter how difficult it seems.
It takes a lot of maturity to keep your mouth shut and not refer to past mistakes.
What goes around comes around. You might be the one that needs to be forgiven next. There might be a mistake you will do in the future that also requires forgiveness. Remember, to err is human. To forgive is divine.
Let’s include some divinity in our marriage.
2. Never neglect each other. Focus on each other.
The issue of focus has now become so obvious in marriages that it needs to be addressed squarely. You see couples that prefer others to their spouse.
When they go out with their spouse, they are not used to themselves. There is no connection. They are just like any other person to them, apart from the fact that they are living together, bearing each other’s name and probably wearing the same clothes.
There should be a heart-to-heart connection. A connection that is beyond words that keep drawing you close to one another.
We have to consciously work on focussing on each other. That focus is essential to our marriage.
Avoid all forms of distractions, emotional affairs, wandering thoughts, that prevent us from focussing on our own.
Let our spouse ever catch our attention spirit, soul, and body. Let us work on focussing our minds on our spouse. No matter what anyone wears or their physical attributes, our spouse is our spouse, period.
It is about our heart. Let work on having the integrity of heart.
I will stop here this morning.
May God grant us more understanding in Jesus mighty name.
God bless our marriage.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY My marriage will work.
PRAYERS FOR THE DAY Lord, give me an understanding for my marriage in Jesus name.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY EPH 5:28 ESV In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Have a hearty discussion with your spouse today
