Most times, we need to be reminded not just what to do, but what not to do in a relationship that will lead to marriage. God is clear in His word regarding the Don’ts. It is your ability to stay within the parameters of God’s word that will guarantee a great relationship that will lead to a wedding. Here are those things you need to pay attention to.
1. Do not stop praying for each other Hear this again and again, in addition to working on your relationship, you are going to need a lot of prayers. You are going to need that spiritual energy to sustain the relationship. The devil doesn’t want you to get married! He is going to do everything possible to throw tantrums and bring confusion into the relationship. When you pray constantly, you will not enter into his temptation and traps!
2. Do not ignore each other Stay in touch through calls and chats. If there is someone not to ignore, it’s your loved one! Ignoring each other will open the door for the devil to feed your souls with assumptions; and assumptions are the lowest forms of knowledge.
3. Do not stop buying gifts for each other. Gifts should not be one sided. There is nowhere in the scripture where it says it is the destiny of guys to buy gifts while the ladies collect. It should be mutual. You will always be creative with giving gifts to the one you really love.
4. Do not stop sharing spiritual truths. Talk to each other from time to time about your dealings with God. Whatever God is sharing with you in your personal closet, share the same with your spouse. This will enable you to be on the same page. In the coming days when you forget, your spouse is the one that will remind you.
5. Do not discourage each other Don’t wear each other out with criticism and discouraging words. Do not disparage each other. Rather, invest in each other’s esteem and build yourselves up in God. Say good words and prophesy unto yourselves! It works!
I will stop here today and continue tomorrow.
Have a blessed day!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I know the things to do to make my lover feel loved
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, teach me the things I need to know.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY 1 Cor 13:4 (AMP)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 Go through the devotional again and make plans.
There are several beliefs that are so popular and yet very wrong. They are as wrong as they are popular. Believing them is to the detriment of that believer.
This morning, I want to delve into some of them so you can roll them up as they come and throw them in the trash can.
Incidentally, some of them will be fed to us by precious family and friends around us. That is to the extent they know. And that is why we often believe them. However, you need to note, that irrespective of the source of an information, once it is in contradiction to the scriptures, simply throw them away.
Here is one of those beliefs;
Marriage is unnecessary in the real sense, I can just be a baby mama, have a few children and I will be okay.
Well there is nothing okay about the above scenario. It is in total contradiction to the institution of marriage that God Himself established.
Sleeping with a man because he is a celebrity or he has some money is a total departure to the principles and injunctions of the Lord as we know it.
Marriage is necessary. It helps you to contain sexual sins to a large extent.
Certainly—but only within a certain context. It’s good for a man to have a wife, and for a woman to have a husband. Sexual drives are strong, but marriage is strong enough to contain them and provide for a balanced and fulfilling sexual life in a world of sexual disorder.
1Co 7:2 (MSG)
Marriage is designed to contain sexual sins. Avoiding marriage while wanting to have children will sentence a person to a lifetime of adultery.
This is why a baby mama can often have children for more than one man. What can be more debilitating than that?
I will stop here this morning. See you tomorrow and have a blessed day.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I am decided for Jesus. I do things right.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Ask for the spirit of patience even as you keep on believing.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY 1 Cor 7:2 (GNT) But because there is so much immorality, every man should have his own wife, and every woman should have her own husband.
Betty gave her all to that relationship. It was the very first time she would fall in love and it meant a lot to her. She saw nothing other than a glorious wedding, a blissful marriage, and wonderful children ahead. She fantasized herself being with Bode, loving each other as married couples.
She nearly failed her exam at a time because she was in love. The love was like drugs to her. She thought about nothing other than Bode. Her friends told her to slow down but she told them they were jealous and it was because theirs weren’t working.
As time progressed, quarrels reared their heads. The love story began to develop unwanted twists that nearly ended the story abruptly. But she hung on.
The straw that broke the camel’s back was when Betty discovered that Bode was cheating on her with three different ladies, one of them being her best friend.
Her heart was shattered, scattered, and battered.
“All men are scum!” She said.
She went from anger into hurt and then bitterness. From there she entered acute feminism and she was beginning to sing that “marriage is not for me”
Have you ever find yourself in this kind of scenario? I have a word of the Lord for you this morning.
Even though you are hurting and bitter, God will heal your soul! Yes, He promised that!
HE RESTORETH MY SOUL: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Psa 23:3 (KJV)
He would not just heal your soul which is battered, He will restore it and reset it! Then He will now lead you into His God’s ordained plan for you maritally.
So when you are hurting, don’t stay in that hurt, go to God and let God do only what God can do.
I pray for you, healing and restoration will come to your soul in Jesus Name!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY My soul is restored in God.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Pray for your emotional healing
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Ps 23:3 (AMP) He refreshes and restores my life (my self); He leads me in the paths of righteousness [uprightness and right standing with Him — not for my earning it, but] for His name’s sake.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Take your hurting heart to God
Betty has been praying to God for the right man for a few years. Her expectation of her prayers being answered had driven her into some relationships that never worked out. You know how you had prayed and then the next person that showed up seemed like the right person, only for the person to heavily disappoint. Betty wasn’t happy at all. On some days, she would wake up with depression. At other times, she would think something was wrong with her.
What could be wrong with Betty?
There are those seasons in life that it looked like prayers are not working. At such times, it looked like prayers are bouncing off the ceiling back at you. At such other times, it might look like God has gone on holiday to the Bahamas.
It looked like your prayers to settle down in a marital relationship is being ignored. You were serving God in all ways you could and yet others who were not “serious” with God seemed to get their suitors and settle down quickly.
What exactly is happening?
Does God really forget someone? And if He does, should it be me?
Let’s take a look at the scriptures:
But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
Isa 49:14-15 (KJV)
The truth is clear here. God will never forget you. He has you in mind. It may look late, but it will eventually be the latest.
It may look like it’s taking long, but God will cause all thing to work out together for you. Keep trusting, keep believing and rest in the assurance that He has not forgotten you!
Good morning!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I am not forgotten. My prayers are answered.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, comfort me and make me stronger
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Isa 49:15 (MSG) “Can a mother forget the infant at her breast, walk away from the baby she bore? But even if mothers forget, I’d never forget you — never.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Refuse to be bitter or angry.
Back then, as a young man in the university, I had just fallen in love. It all looked so unique because that would be my first and incidentally, the last. I remember how I was giggling all over the place, because I was in love.
Next thing I felt like doing and which I did was to introduce her to all loved ones, friends, family and all who matter to me. It was just a natural course of action.
If you are in a relationship and your partner is reluctant to introduce you to family, then something might not be at par.
“Oh’ let’s keep it between ourselves for now.” “I don’t want anybody to know about us now.” “Give me some time, I am not ready to let my family know anything now.” “I will take you home when we are close to wedding. For now, let’s keep it low.”
While some of these statements might be genuine, a lot of them are symptomatic of non-commitment in the relationship.
You see, falling in love is not supposed to be like joining a secret cult. I believe it’s a joyful thing and whenever anything joyful happens, you want people who matter in your life to know about it.
The moment things are hidden and coded and you are just been shielded from family despite repeated promises of wedding, care need to be taken.
It is even more intense if your relationship is hidden from your pastors! The person who is hiding usually have issues with accountability or has ulterior motive and is not ready to really be committed.
The person knows telling more people will make it difficult to pull the carpet off when it is time to take off.
So, when he or she is getting secretive, you might need further counseling to get to the root of it.
Have a great day.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I choose to do it right and not secretly.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord, help me to make the right choice.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY 1 Cor 14:40(NKJV)Let all things be done decently and in order.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Be careful of any lover who wants to love you secretly.
