An angry person is one to avoid. Two angry people are dangerous people! Simeon and Levi in the scriptures are brothers, but the Bible says their father placed a curse on them because of their unrestrained violent emotions.
Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel. –Genesis 49:5-7 (KJV)
They were of like tempers, dispositions, and manners, bold, wrathful, cruel, revengeful, and deceitful, and joined together in their evil counsels and evil actions which resulted in the cruel and barbarous slaughter of the inhabitants of Shechem.
If only one brother was angry, the other could have calmed his brother. But both were angry at the same time, so their anger fuelled one another!
Message translation of verse 5 says:
Simeon and Levi are two of a kind, ready to fight at the drop of a hat. –Genesis 49:5 (MSG)
As an individual, you must learn to restrain your anger and learn not to react at every provocation so that eventually when you are married, your home will be a habitable place for your children. What happens when my spouse is angry and raises his/her voice at me?
The answer is here;
A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. –Proverbs 15:1 (KJV)
Learn to talk softly. You will be amazed! Don’t raise your voice back in anger! Just talking softly will make the anger will be defused. Learn this as singles and you will be saving yourself a lot of headaches.
That is the way Message translation puts it.
A gentle response defuses anger, but a sharp tongue kindles a temper-fire. –Proverbs 15:1(MSG)
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY My heart will guide my mouth, and my lips will promote instruction. Jesus has been made unto me wisdom, and I will keep myself under control.
PRAYERS FOR THE DAY Give me the grace to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Make no friendships with a man given to anger, and with a wrathful man do not associate, -Proverb 22:24 (AMP)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Try and identify your anger triggers and to seek help
In the things of God, you are expected to grow. Just like physical food makes us grow, develop and have strong bones, the same way, your spirit man or the inner man ought to grow.
You see, when you start out in God, you may be twenty five years old, but you are actually a spiritual baby. That is why the Bible talks about the milk of the word and the meat of the word.
The more you search God’s word, attend Bible studies, learn to pray, the more you will grow and master your situations and circumstances.
Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge. – Proverbs 23:12 (KJV)
Relationships or marriages do not work out because you are a Christian! It works out because you know what to do! Being born again ensures you make heaven, but what ensures victory on earth is to know what to do in specific situations and your ability to draw wisdom from God’s word.
If marriage is an institution, learning is inevitable! As a matter of fact, your success in that marriage is predicated on your ability to learn principles and apply them.
Knowledge of God’s word will set you free. What you know can push to the top of the ladder. What you don’t know can get you demoted. So, it is in the things of the spirit. No wonder the devil does all things possible to make sure you don’t study God’s word!
Ever wondered why your eyes are so bright when you are watching a film and you are so alert but you start to doze when it comes to God’s word? The one that studied God’s word through the night and the one that made calls talking sweet nonsense would not have same result at the end of the day. One is sowing to the flesh and the other to the spirit and there will be a distinguishing!
Learning from God’s word constantly is a must if you will have victory. There are three processes involved here.
1. Knowledge acquisition.
Knowledge is the accumulation of facts. Read wide. Search for answers. Don’t just assume. Assumption is the lowest form of knowledge. The difference between you and the person you admire is what that person knows.
2. Understanding.
Understanding is the arrangement of facts. Now, you have read, but you must process the facts and sort them. Meditate on them.
3. Wisdom.
It is the application of knowledge. When you apply what you have learnt, that becomes wisdom for you. That is why Pro 23:12 says ‘apply your heart unto instruction…’
To be continued…
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I keep at self-development. I search for knowledge daily
PRAYERS FOR THE DAY Lord, give me a heart that pants after your word daily.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction: but he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured. – Proverbs 13:18 (KJV)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Decide to build a Marriage library. Get books and materials on marriage and learn as much as you can.
Betty is so frustrated in the relationships she had been involved with. She seems to have the knack for attracting the wrong people all the time. From deceivers to casanovas and then out-rightly wicked people, she kept having broken relationships. At a time, she began to think that there might be a curse lurking somewhere.
Andy had similar experiences in the hands of what he can only describe as strange women. They kept ripping him off, collecting his money, and eventually eloping just at the times commitments were about to be initiated. He didn’t know what to do again. He seems locked up in the pit of confusion with no flicker of light or hope?
Is there ever a way to know the right person as a child of God? Is there ever a way to avoid the wrong man or woman? Will God lead? If God leads, how? How can I be kept from ungodly people, deceivers, and liars?
Sometimes, you don’t even know which Pastor to talk to because there are so many charlatans who call themselves Pastors but will readily take advantage of naive ladies and end up abusing the abused! It’s pathetic and heart-rendering!
Let us get into the scripture to see some verses in answers to avoiding wrong people in relationships. The truth is that if you are able to avoid the wrong people, you will not waste time and resources on what will not eventually work. You will not be dissipating your energy on wasteful and useless relationships.
(10)When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; (11)Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: (12)To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things; (13) Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness; (14)Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked; (15)Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths: (16)To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words; (17)Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.(18) For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.(19)None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life. (20)That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous. – Pro 2:10-20 KJV
In verses 10 and 11, the Bible says that you will be protected and preserved from falling into the wrong hands.
Verse 12 says ‘it will deliver you from the evil man.’ This means wisdom and knowledge will help you not to say YES to the wrong man.
Message translation of verse 12 says,
‘They’ll keep you from making wrong turns, or following the bad directions.’
That is very profound. It will keep you from making emotional decisions.
Message translation of verse 14 says it will deliver you from ‘These losers who make a game of evil and throw parties to celebrate perversity’ That is, you will be kept away from men that are out to deceive you.
Message translation of verse 15 says it will deliver you from people that are ‘Traveling paths that go nowhere, wandering in a maze of detours and dead ends.’ That is, you will be kept away from jobless, visionless, directionless men. This is how to avoid wrong men.
Further down in verse 16, the Bible says ‘To deliver thee from the strange woman!’ This is awesome. You don’t want to get involved with a strange woman. Solomon married strange women and they turned his heart away from God.
Whether you are a man or woman, you are protected. But notice it all boils down to the fact that wisdom must enter your heart and knowledge must be pleasant to your soul. Go after wisdom. Stay in church and learn. Buy books and study.
The key to all this seems to be in verse 10, …when wisdom enters your heart. If wisdom can only enter my heart, I can avoid evil men and strange women. I can be kept from time and resources-wasting relationships.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I will go after wisdom. I will locate the right person
PRAYERS FOR THE DAY O Lord, help me locate the right person
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY And here’s why: GOD gives out Wisdom free, is plainspoken in Knowledge and Understanding. (Pro 2:6 MSG)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Start searching for knowledge of God’s word now.
It’s possible to be a proverbs 31 woman, join us as we unravel her qualities and what made her stand out in her generation
14. She overlooks offenses and labels them as distractions
It is wisdom to overlook offenses. She has mastered the art of knowing how to treat offenses and anything that causes bitterness.
15. She is unstoppable even with a delay
She knows how to ride upon the wind of delay to make progress in life. She realizes that delay is not denial.
16. She is generational in thinking. Not living for today
She understands that her seeds are meant to be generational. Her seeds of time, money, service and work of her hands are to go into her future to cause a change.
17. She stands with her husband in thick and thin.
She has learnt how to abase and abound. She does not leave her husband when the wind is contrary. She is faithful and committed to her husband. She is the angel sent to her husband.
Did you miss out on yesterday’s devotional, we’ve got you covered kindly go HERE. For KHC video Devotionals kindly go HERE
18. She is Royalty personified in looks and words.
She makes Jesus attractive to all that see and hear her. She carries herself with dignity and honor. In everything she does, royalty is part of her.
19. She sees to the welfare of her parents because she knows this can affect her own marriage negatively
She balances her love life between her parents, her children, and her husband. Everybody has a fair share of her love
20. She loves her children through her husband and not vice versa. She is first a good wife before being a good mother.
She knows the right order of things in God. She knows her calling is first to her husband before her children
21. She is a team player who knows how to keep her boundaries
She knows very well her complementary roles and functions in it well. She understands boundaries and knows how to keep them.
May God give you more understanding.
God bless your marriage.
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I am a virtuous woman
PRAYER FOR THE DAY Lord Jesus, help me to be an award-winning woman
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Proverbs 31:11[NLT]Her husband can trust her, and she will greatly enrich his life.
The Proverbs 31 woman is certainly a superwoman; I used to think no woman can beat her record. Sometimes I used to feel like it is impossible for one person to have it all figured out as she does. Then, there was a time I just concluded that it cannot be a real contemporary woman of our time.
At another time, I didn’t like to read about the proverb 31 woman because she showed me how inadequate I was. All these different emotions and thoughts went through my mind at different stages of my twenty-two years marriage experience.
Now, I think I am wiser and more secure. When I read Proverbs 31, I read with the mind of; ‘it’s possible, let me glean wisdom, work and walk towards becoming better.
Here is wisdom to glean. Please do read through proverbs 31.
1. She is 100% committed to her husband’s vision.
We are to reorder our steps if you love your kids more than your husband. The right order is to be 100% committed to your husband. You have a covenant responsibility towards him. You are to care for your children.
2. She watches and prays over her entire household like Mother Hen.
Be like a watchdog. We have a male and female Caucasian dog, and it is amazing that it is the female that is always barking and restlessly watching the gate. Why? Because of her puppies, she has her little ones to protect.
3. She makes a giant out of every dwarf that lives under her roof. She also does not dim people’s star
She brings out the better of everyone, not only her children but everyone that comes in contact with her.
4. She invests more than she spends. Nothing diminishes in her hands. She is too busy-minded.
Don’t be a consumer alone. Don’t be a CAN (Consumer Association of Nigeria). Try and create wealth, produce something, multiple things. Do business.
Did you miss out on yesterday’s devotional, we’ve got you covered kindly go HERE. For KHC video Devotionals kindly go HERE
5. She is hard working. No room for idleness or gossip.
Being a woman is not synonymous with being a gossip. Be productive, use your time wisely. If you are not caring for the children, be tending the home, care for your husband, pray in tongues for creative ideas, a woman has her plate full, there is a lot to do. Make no room for gossip.
6. She fears God, serving faithfully, tithing dutifully, assisting the less privileged.
She takes her services to God seriously. She knows that God is at the center of everything and he is the one that holds it all together.
7. She does not refuse her Husband Jeru trip for whatever reason.
She is fully aware that Jeru trip is a core course at the university of marriage. She does everything, yet does not neglect and take with levity her roles and duties. She doesn’t fail in her core course.
I will continue tomorrow by God’s Grace.
May God bless our marriage
CONFESSION FOR THE DAY I receive strength to be who God has made me to be
PRAYERS FOR THE DAY Pray for a submissive heart
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY After all, we don’t want to unwittingly give Satan an opening for yet more mischief – we’re not oblivious to his sly ways! (2Co 2:11 MSG)
ACTION PLAN FOR THE DAY Decide to work on your marriage