Topic: Relishing Marital Harmony (2)

Dear Reader,

You are welcome to another time of refreshing. We shall be looking at the topic: ‘Understanding’ as a vital key to relishing marital harmony. It means being able to comprehend your spouse’s behavior; being aware of his or her feelings; tolerant and forgiving. It can also mean a friendly and harmonious living. For every relationship to stride above difficulties, there must be adequate understanding between spouses. The Bible says: “And with all thy getting get understanding” Proverbs 4:7.

Many have great marriage plans but lack understanding of themselves or their partners and so they disagree. Until you are in harmony with yourself, you can never enjoy marital harmony. How much of yourself do you understand? If you don’t have a good understanding of yourself, there is no way harmony can be your portion in marriage.

Another aspect you must get understanding is in the area of male and female difference. It is important for male and female to understand and appreciate the peculiarities, which make your personalities. For instance, women enjoy: Companionship, Responsibility, Affection, Compliment and Compassion; while men enjoy: Respect (person/people/assignment), Presentable wife, Appreciation and Good food. Without an understanding of this, you might be laboring in futility. You must understand what marriage is and what marriage is not. There are several people who are married, who lacks the understanding of what marriage is all about. There are others who are not married, they want to get married but lack the understanding of what marriage is all about.

What then is marriage?

It is a union of a man and a woman in an exclusive, God-ordained, lifetime relationship. If you have this understanding no matter the challenge you face in your marriage you know that you and God are up to it. Marriage is a perfect union with imperfect practitioners. If you have an understanding of this, it will help you to enjoy harmony in your marriage.

A wise man once said, “because God is the author of marriage, there is nothing you can add to it, all you need is to believe it and practice it”; and as you practice it, it will begin to work for you. It is a perfect union, God makes no mistakes, but the practitioners are imperfect. This will help you to walk with your spouse in marriage to enjoy harmony.

Marriage is not just a means of getting what you desire, it is a means of meeting the needs of your spouse in marriage. It is God’s mystery for earthly dominion. “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth” Gen 1:28. One will chase a thousand, and two will not just put thousand to flight but ten thousand. That’s God’s mystery for earthly dominion! So, when you get into marriage, you have a potential of minimum being ten times over better in all areas of your life. That shall become your testimony!

Marriage is not the source of joy and contentment, God is! If you walk together with God in your family, He will begin to unfold to you via His Word and begins to manifest Himself in your home. I see God beginning to manifest Himself in your home much more than ever before.

Your understanding of your spouse

For you to have harmony in your home, you need to understand your wife or your husband. You must get to know that everything about God is unique. There are no two people on planet earth that are the same exactly.

You are unique and peculiar; so is your spouse and children. You are not a carbon-copy of anyone, you are original and so is your spouse. You must understand your spouse’s background if you must enjoy marital harmony. Understand his or her background, likes and dislikes, what makes him or her happy and what affects his or her mood.

And for those who are yet to be married, before you say ‘yes, I do’ to any man or lady on the altar, ask yourself, how much of him or her do you really know? Someone met me some years back, they were married three months before then, and as that time both of them were fed up ready for divorce. I asked a simple question, “How much of your spouse did you know before you got married? To be able to understand your spouse effectively, two things must be in place;

1. You must be sensitive. Never you walk around with your eyes closed. Your mind is sound; be sensitive.

2. Communicate effectively. Communication is the life-blood of any relationship. Learn to communicate effectively with your spouse and when you know how to do this, it will help you to understand who your spouse is. You need to ask questions. The disciples of Jesus were around Him, they didn’t only listen to His teachings, whatever they didn’t understand they always asked and Jesus never told them shut up, He always answer their questions. So, rather than assuming that you understand, ask questions. Communicate so you can have a better understanding and when communication is effective, you are laying a solid foundation for marital harmony. Understanding is what is required to have an outstanding marriage.

You need wisdom to build your home and God is the source of that wisdom. If, peradventure, you are not born again and you want to accept Jesus as your Lord and personal Saviour, then say this prayer in faith: Dear Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me my sins and cleanse me with Your Blood. I accept You as my Lord and personal Saviour. Make me a child of God today. Thank You for delivering me from sin and satan to serve the living God and thank You for accepting me into Your Kingdom.

Congratulations! If you prayed this simple prayer of faith with me, you are now born again and a child of God. He loves you and will never leave you. Read your Bible daily, obey God’s Word and seek Christian fellowship (John 14:21).

With this, you are guaranteed all-round rest and peace in Jesus’ Name! Call or write to share your testimonies with me through [email protected], 07026385437 OR 08141320204.

For more insight, these books authored by me are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all Living Faith Churches and other leading Christian bookstores: Marriage Covenant, Making Marriage Work, Building A Successful Home and Success in Marriage (Co-Authored)

“Please click to read other inspiring articles by Pastor Faith Oyedepo”

Pastor Faith Oyedepo is the wife of Bishop David Oyedepo, the founder of the Living Faith Church Worldwide a.k.a. Winners’ Chapel, and Senior Pastor of Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, Nigeria.

Topic: Who Is In Your Company? [TREM Devotional Wednesday June 13, 2018]

“Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.” – Pro. 11:14

It is important you carefully choose who your friends are because your friends have a part to play in your fulfilment of God’s plan for your life. No one is an island. You cannot stay on your own and live on your own, counsel yourself and decide on your next line of action all by yourself. You need people. You need people who will speak into your life and influence you. But the quality of those people matter in your fulfilment of destiny. It has been rightly said that you are the average of the 5 people you hang around the most. If all your friends are those going nowhere, where do you think you will find yourself.

The scripture says where no counsel is, the people fall. Right away you know that you need counsel, but much more importantly, you need wise counsellors. If you are in a wrong crowd, if the wrong people speak into your life, then you are in trouble. Stop and think for a moment who are those in your circle of influence? Who are those who speak into your life? Are they good counsellors? Are they God-fearing? How have they fared in their personal lives? Are they people you are proud of? The popular adage says “show me your friends and I will tell you who you are” and remember “birds of the same feather, flock together”. Who are those around you?

Don’t be sentimental about this, if the people around you will not help you on the path to destiny, please change company. You cannot afford to hang around the wrong crowd now, because the time is short. Stop take a review and make the necessary changes and I believe the Lord will help you make the right choices. The 1st half of the year is almost over, what have those around you added to your life and what have you added to theirs.

Further Reading: Acts 4: 8 – 31

Daily Bible Reading: Morning- Ezra 6-8; Evening- John 21

“If you missed yesterday devotional click HERE to read TREM’s Daily Devotional by Dr. Mike Okonkwo’’

Written by Dr. Mike Okonkwo; Is the Presiding Bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM); a versatile man of God with over 30 years of dedicated service unto the Lord.

Topic: Get His Approval [DCLM Daily Manna Wednesday June 13, 2018]

Text: Genesis 11:1-9 (KJV)

Key Verse: “And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth” (Genesis 11:4).

MESSAGE:

The building of the tower of Babel by fallible men is x-rayed in today’s text. The builders of the tower were seemingly unstoppable. They had the zeal, materials and everything that was needed to accomplish the task. But like it is said that man proposes, God disposes. Their plan fell through. Immediately after the flood, the descendants of Noah were bound together by a common language. With their common language, they migrated to Shinar.

Their decision to build a tower was against the will of God to multiply and repopulate the entire world. God was evidently left out of the plan to build the tower. They wholly depended on their skills and never bothered to seek God’s approval. Their common language, which ordinarily should be a blessing to them, turned into their disadvantage. The best way to stop misguided man was to confuse their speech. Being unable to communicate instructions and dreams to one another, the inhabitants immediately gave up their common goal and set out across the world in accordance with God’s original plan.

This outcome teaches about the danger of self-will. Any project by a child of God that does not enjoy God’s approval is doomed to fail. Those who rely on their beauty, handsomeness, level of education, wealth and other physical endowments in total disregard for God, will always have disappointment at the zenith of their achievement.

No one can be smarter than God. It is always in our own interest to table before Him the projects we propose to undertake and seek His divine approval. He never says no, if a proposal reflects His will. He may make one or two adjustments to make the best of the project. But when He says no, it means the project is not viable. We must learn to align our plans with God’s will.

Thought For The Day: No amount of skills can qualify a project that God does not approve.

Bible Reading In One Year: 1 Kings 8; 2 Chronicles 5

If you missed yesterday devotional, please click to read Deeper Christian Life Ministry, DCLM Daily Manna HERE

DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.

Flatimes’ Notice Board: Until you are born again, God ever abiding presence will never be with you. You must be born again to enjoy continuous victory. Please say the displayed prayer below in faith:

Lord Jesus, come into my life. I accept You as my Lord and Personal Saviour. I believe in my heart You died and rose from the dead to save me. Thank You Lord for saving me, in Jesus name Amen.

If you just prayed the prayer of salvation online please send your testimonies and prayer request to [email protected], 07026385437 OR 08141320204.

Topic: The Decision to Confront Negative Patterns/Habits. [Seeds of Destiny Wednesday June 13, 2018]

Scripture: And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. Genesis 32:26b.

Thought For The Day: The road you choose in life determines the place you will end.

Previously, we saw that one key to dealing with negative patterns and habits in our lives is identifying them. It is important to know that these patterns are not dealt with by just identifying them; beyond identifying them, there is another step to take – the decision to confront them.

So, the second key to dealing with negative patterns/habits is deciding to confront them. You must make up your mind to confront the identified negative patterns of your life and family. It is important to decide to confront the negative patterns or habits of your life because decision determines destination. The road you choose in life determines the place you would end; change is not a matter of chance but choice. Nothing changes by chance; things change by choice and where there is no choice, there is no chance.

After identifying the negative pattern/habit, decide to put an end to it.
It is important to know that people make choices and choices, in turn, make the people. For example, when someone enters the University with the determination to come out with a first class grade, he would give it all it takes in order to come out with that grade. When other students go for parties or oversleep at night, he would not join them because of his decision to come out with a first class grade. He would study hard and be diligent in his conducts. At the end of his University education, he would come out with the first class grade because he had decided to give it all it took.

So, in dealing with the negative patterns or habits of your life, determine to deal with them and at the end, the choice will make you by ending the negative tendencies or habits in your life.

So, there is power in decision and decision power is transformation power.

Remember this: The road you choose in life determines the place you will end.

Assignments:
1. Determine to change the negative patterns in your life and family.
2. Trust God for a Divine Encounter, like Jacob to break the negative cycles and patterns of your family.

Prayer: O LORD, I ask that You strengthen my will and decision to confront every negative tendency and habit in my life, in Jesus’ Name.

FOR FURTHER UNDERSTANDING, GET THIS MESSAGE: DEALING WITH NEGATIVE TENDENCIES AND HABIT.

Daily Bible Reading: 1 Kings 11:1 to 12:19, Acts 9:1 to 25, Psalm 131:1 to 3, Proverbs 17:4 to 5
Amazing Fact: The leg bone of a bat is so thin that no bat can walk.

Today In History: 13/06/1825 – Walter Hunt patented the safety pin. Hunt then sold the rights for $400.

Quote: By the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have been redeemed from the curse of the law because Jesus has been made a curse for us. Culled from FINALLY FREE FROM SINGLENESS by Dr (Mrs) Becky Paul-Enenche.

“If you missed yesterday devotional, please click to read Seeds of Destiny by Pastor Paul Enenche“

Today’s devotional was written by Pastor Paul Enenche of the Dunamis International Gospel Centre (DIGC), headquartered at Abuja, Nigeria, with Pastor Paul and Becky Enenche, as the Senior Pastors. It is a power-packed arena where God’s Presence, Principles and Power are at work for the salvation, healing and restoration of human destinies and dignities

Flatimes Notice Board: Until you are born again, God ever abiding presence will never be with you. You must be born again to enjoy continuous victory. Please say the displayed prayer below in faith:

Lord Jesus, come into my life. I accept You as my Lord and Personal Saviour. I believe in my heart You died and rose from the dead to save me. Thank You Lord for saving me, in Jesus name Amen.

If you just prayed the prayer of salvation online please send your testimonies and prayer request to [email protected], 07026385437 OR 08141320204.

Topic: Humble Love [Our Daily Bread 13 Wednesday June, 2018]

Read: Philippians 2:1–11, Bible in a Year: Ezra 6–8; John 21

The greatest among you will be your servant. Matthew 23:11

When Benjamin Franklin was a young man he made a list of twelve virtues he desired to grow in over the course of his life. He showed it to a friend, who suggested he add “humility” to it. Franklin liked the idea. He then added some guidelines to help him with each item on the list. Among Franklin’s thoughts about humility, he held up Jesus as an example to emulate.

Jesus shows us the ultimate example of humility. God’s Word tells us, “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant” (Philippians 2:5–7).

Jesus demonstrated the greatest humility of all. Though eternally with the Father, He chose to bend beneath a cross in love so that through His death He might lift any who receive Him into the joy of His presence.

We imitate Jesus’s humility when we seek to serve our heavenly Father by serving others. Jesus’s kindness helps us catch a breathtaking glimpse of the beauty of setting ourselves aside to attend to others’ needs. Aiming for humility isn’t easy in our “me first” world. But as we rest securely in our Savior’s love, He will give us everything we need to follow Him.

Prayer: Beautiful Savior, I am Your servant. Please help me to live in Your love and be a blessing to someone today.

We can serve because we are loved.

If you missed yesterday devotional, please click to read “Our Daily Bread Devotionals HERE”

This message was written By James Banks [Our Daily Bread Ministries.]

Topic: Blessings by the Bushel [Kenneth & Gloria Copeland, Wednesday June 13, 2018]

And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you. – Mark 4:24

How many blessings are you going to receive from the Word of God? It depends on how many you expect to receive. When God measures them out to you, He’ll be using your measuring stick, not His own. He always works that way.

Two people can hear God’s Word about healing, for example. One will measure it with faith. “Praise God, by His stripes I was healed!” he’ll say. “I believe that with all my heart, and I’m going to keep on believing it until I receive my healing.”

The other will measure it with skepticism. “I don’t care what Bible verses he comes up with,” he’ll say. “I just don’t trust that preacher. I’ll give this healing stuff a try, but I doubt very much if anything’s going to come of it.”

Both of those people will get exactly what they expect. God will measure to them just as they measured the Word. One will get healed…the other won’t.

I must warn you though, sometimes measuring the Word with faith is hard. Years ago, when Gloria first read the scripture, “Owe no man anything,” it was tempting for her to measure it as a curse, not a blessing. We were living in a terrible little house at the time, and she wanted a new one more than just about anything.

How were we ever going to buy a decent house without borrowing? It didn’t seem possible. So, to her, it was as if that scripture had said, “Gloria, you can’t have a new house.”

But she refused to measure it that way. She grabbed the devil by the throat and said, “Look here now, you’re not going to cheat me out of my house.” Then she started believing that somehow God could provide her with a house debt free. Sure enough, He did.

If you want to receive blessings by the bushel load, start going to the Word with a bushel basket. Put a big measure of faith in the hand of God. He’ll fill it to overflowing and give it right back to you!

Scripture Reading: Luke 8:1-18

If you missed yesterday devotional, please click to read “Kenneth and Gloria Copeland’s Daily Devotional Here’’

This message was written by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, the leader of the Kenneth Copeland Ministries (www.KCM.org) that specializes in teaching principles of bible faith – prayer, healing, salvation and other biblical topics.

Topic: Effortless Fruit [Andrew Wommack Wednesday June 13, 2018]

John 7:38 “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”

Text: John 7:37-41

These rivers of living water are referring to the Holy Spirit and the effects He produces in the life of the believer. Galatians 5:22-23 says, “the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.” These qualities should flow out of us as an artesian well. They should not have to be pumped. They will flow as we conform our thinking to God’s Word.

Jesus speaks of bearing fruit in John 15 and declares that “. . . without me ye can do nothing” (Jn. 15:5). This fruit is the product of the Holy Spirit, not our effort. However, since “he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit” (1 Cor. 6:17), then this fruit of the Spirit is also what our born- again spirit produces. Our spirit always has these attributes regardless of what we feel in our emotions. Failure to understand this has caused many Christians to think they would be hypocrites to express joy when the truth is, they are depressed. However, it’s only our soulish part that gets depressed. Our spirit is always bearing the fruit of “love, joy, peace, etc.”

For a person who is seeking to walk in the Spirit, it is actually hypocritical to let our soulish emotions dominate our spiritual emotions. The truth is, our spirit is never depressed, just our soul. Those who understand this have the choice of letting their soul depress them or letting the Holy Spirit, through their born-again spirit, release the joy and peace spoken of here.

The “fruit” is not produced by the believer, but by the Holy Spirit, as we live in union with Him. Our part is to yield and trust; God’s part is to produce the fruit.

If you missed yesterday devotional, please click to read Andrew Wommack’s Daily Devotional HERE

This message was written by The Association of Related Ministries International (ARMI) is an extension of Andrew Wommack Ministries (AWM). ARMI is a unique partnership committed to providing resources to help like-minded ministers succeed in a spirit of excellence and to draw from the experience and expertise of both the AWM and Charis Bible College staff. (www.awmi.net).