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.
Against contrary opinions, respect in marriage is mutual. People are of the opinion that respect for the husbands is a big deal. Yes, it is. Just as men do not want to be disrespected in private or public, so also do women need a dose of respect.
Men can readily tell what a bruised ego is and in this part of the world, an average man will not tolerate being disrespected in any form, method, shape, or size. In other to have a relationship that is healthy and mutually beneficial, respect has to be mutual.
Some of us don’t even know when we are being disrespected. The gospel of men’s dominance has been preached for so long that women feel they are not worth much, that they are just worthless, less than good, helpless, weaker vessels.
Contrary, women have tremendous strength, ability, knowledge, wisdom, and great dexterity. It takes great strength to be a mother and give birth to a child. To keep a home, multitask, submit to your husband and stay married. All these take great strength.
But if we are going to have a healthy marriage relationship, we would know that submission to one another in the fear of God is essential. A man not submitted to Christ is a difficult man and hard to submit to.
This is not teaching or telling wives not to submit to their husbands. It is addressing the fact that marriage is meant to be mutually beneficial to both the husband and the wife.
What are the practical ways to show respect to yourselves in marriage?
I will write about that tomorrow.
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.
SINGLES – Practical Tips To Make Your Fiancée Happy – Part 2
Continued from yesterday…
4. Respect;
As singles, treat her with respect. Don’t ask for sexual intercourse, for that will be asking her to compromise her virtue, and that is not respect. Protect her, and she would love you dearly. Treat her with dignity and you will have her heart and make her happy.
5. Abuse;
Singles ladies, if you are in a relationship and you are not being treated well, don’t hesitate to back out. It is your life and it is your decision. Don’t stay in a relationship because of self-pity. If you are being verbally abused or physically abused, don’t ever think he will change after marriage; it’s really going to get worse. A word is enough for the wise. Don’t walk blindly into a marriage when you can see all the wrong symptoms.
Don’t go into a marriage with a man who tells you he will quit dating other girlfriends after marriage. If he can have them now, he will keep having them. Have a good self esteem and trust God to give you the best. Don’t marry a man or woman who doesn’t love God and who does not value God. That would be a costly mistake. It is better to end such relationships. A broken heart is still better than a broken life.
Selah!
For you reveling in sin because of ungodly affairs, I pray that God will give you the energy to end that relationship!
For those whose relationships are of God, I pray for you this day that God will give you the wisdom to make that relationship work. Practical Tips To Make Your Fiancée Happy
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I receive wisdom to understand my partner and to love him/her more and make him/her happy.
PRAYERS FOR THE DAY I break free from all wrong mindsets about marriage in Jesus name.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. (Mal 2:15 KJV)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Surprise your partner today. That does not include kissing, petting, sex etc. Reserve those till after marriage.
If you are not married, don’t demand for sexual gratification. If there is respect, you won’t want his/her virtue compromised to satisfy your own lust. Real love and respect is waiting.
2. Communication
Don’t discuss your past, inadequacies and failures in great detail at the inception of the relationship. Some details are better left until there is acceptance, trust and understanding between the two parties.
However, basic issues like health status, genotype, family history and some other crucial issues need to be discussed as early as possible. If he/she finds out years later, mistrust can easily rear up its heads.
3. Chastity
Don’t start kissing someone you met two hours ago. Don’t end up in a car or in corner in a sexual encounter with a total stranger. That is gross irresponsibility and indiscipline. Moreover, you will be offending God.
4. Emotional Needs
Do not depend on one another for the fulfillment and satisfaction of every emotional need. Your partner is not the Holy Spirit. Participate in activities outside your romantic relationship. Don’t be parochial. Be creative and be open to ideas that will further move your relationship forward. Learn, read books, attend seminars together.
5. Selflessness
Guard against selfishness. Both sides should be involved in giving. Love should be reciprocal. It is not a one way affair, it is a song done by a duet. In marriage, there are no spectators; both are actors striving to get better and sowing energies and time into the marriage to make it work.
Stop quarreling everyday of your courtship. Follow the principles of God and stop every compromise. Make sure your foundation for marriage is rightly laid.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY Our love is rekindled daily. I love my spouse and I am committed to our marriage.
PRAYERS FOR THE DAY Lord, open my eyes and show me what I know not.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Gal 6:7 GNB Do not deceive yourselves; no one makes a fool of God. You will reap exactly what you plant.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Talk to God. Pour your heart to Him now
If you are married, never deny him/her in bed. It should not be used as a reward or punishment in marriage. Always be there for him or her because if you are not, he or she becomes vulnerable to others outside who may be putting pressure.
2. Communication
Don’t hide anything from your spouse. Be very open. The moment you start hiding things, you are opening the doors for the devil. Whatever is covered would never be healed. Iniquity is perpetuated in the atmosphere of secrecy.
3. Chastity
As a married person, don’t play with infidelity. Don’t hang out with colleagues discussing your home and marriage. Respect the marital covenant you have with your spouse. Don’t be too fast giving up on your marriage because of personal differences and opinions that will surely show up.
4. Emotional Needs
Do not manipulate your spouse with emotional antics. Your spouse cannot satisfy ALL your emotional needs. Some of the emotional emptiness you feel are as a result of deep emptiness in the soul that can only be satisfied with God and His word. No wonder the scripture says, ‘He restoreth my soul!’
5. Selflessness
Cover the back of each other. Avoid tit for tat! In marriage, you are one. When you fight or hurt your spouse, in reality, you are fighting or hurting your destiny. Don’t shoot yourself in the leg. Put your ego aside and apologize quickly.
Be very sincere, and run away from deceptive tendencies. Let your spouse trust you any day any time. Learn to say sorry and forgive quickly. Think about it, if God stops forgiving you when you ask Him to, how would you have survived it? Work together as one and your progress will be ensured.
I pray for you this morning that God will give you the wisdom you need in your marriage, family, home, career, work, business, and other endeavors in Jesus name!
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY Our love is rekindled daily. I love my spouse and I am committed to our marriage.
PRAYERS FOR THE DAY Lord, open my eyes and show me what I know not.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Gal 6:7 GNB Do not deceive yourselves; no one makes a fool of God. You will reap exactly what you plant.
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Talk to God. Pour your heart to Him now
