Monday, October 22, 2018

Your Marriage Is Your Primary Ministry

"that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed."   Titus 2:4-5 NKJV


Recently, I had watched a christian movie recommended by a very close friend and dear sister, and it ministered to me. I felt the Lord was trying to get me to understand something about ministry and patience and preparation.  For the most of this year, I have been going through a time of training and development for the assignment God has for me, and by His leading, I have taken some bold steps to prepare me for the Assignment.   So today my beloved sisters, I would like to share what the Lord has been ministering to me concerning Marriage and the home.  

As a wife and mother, I have strived to build my home, allowing the Lord to guide and counsel me along the way,  I have shared teachings centered around godly women taking care of their home, praying for their husbands, etc.  But it is only in recent times that I have come to know and understand how important the Christian home is to God,  to the body of Christ as a whole and the role it plays in our ministry to the Lord.   Over the years I have seen how many Christian homes had crumbled not because of adultery or money issues, but because many godly women with good intentions have neglected their responsibilities at home to do church.  What I mean by "doing church" is engaging in many activities in the local assembly that takes them away from their service at home.   The word of God reminded me in Proverbs 14:1 that we as women, it specifically says "wise" woman are the ones who build our homes.  The building and managing of our Christian homes which is an extension of the church, the body of Christ has been given to women by God as our number 1 assignment.  Yes, your marriage and home is your first and primary ministry unto God.  Your marriages and the way you hold them are a reflection of the way Christ loves His Church.  

Sisters,  the Lord God is not a God of confusion, He created marriage for a purpose and for that purpose to be fulfilled both the man and the woman have to play their role in the home and the family. The christian home is an extension of the church, so it is important your humble service to the Lord begins from there.  Even the world believes it, by this popular saying "Charity begins at home."
Like many of you, I have a calling upon my life, and I have waited on the Lord for years to release me to do the work.  I have received prophetic messages, word of knowledge, dream interpretations, open visions, etc. regarding my purpose and the assignment He has for me, and a lot of it involves me traveling around the world,  the mission fields teaching, counseling and doing outreach.   Sometimes I have found myself becoming impatient, asking God when will this great ministry take off because I have just been doing ministry part-time for years.  After all, He has spoken and all that keeps being revealed to me especially in recent months is to be patient,  I am still being prepared for the work ahead. One of the last prophetic messages given to me by a Man of God was that the Lord is taking me through a preparation process, I need to perceive how He is leading me.   And so when I watched that Christian movie the other day, my attitude towards my marriage and home changed.   I knew I could do better once I understood it to be my primary assignment.  

The movie showed two different scenarios,  both women loved the Lord and desired to do His work.  They were married with children and had a calling upon their lives, one sought God's leading and husband's permission, and the other did not.  She went ahead, and at the end of the day, there were consequences for the latter, but the former who followed the Lord's leading and guidance and listened to her husband, at the end of the day, everything fell into place for her.  Directed by the Holy Spirit, she faced the affairs of her home, her primary ministry and eventually, opportunities opened up to her for outside ministry work.  What a great lesson learned!!

Sisters, your primary ministry is your  loving and humble service to your husbands and children ,  keepers of the home, women of excellence who are caring, protective and supportive to your husbands and the children  God has entrusted in your hands,  godly women who  teaches her children the word of God, nurturing them and disciplining them with wisdom and care.  In Proverbs 31: 21-22, we are referred to as homemakers and also in our main text,  and are encouraged to be homemakers.   It states   "She fears not the snow for her family, for all her household are doubly clothed in scarlet.  "She makes for herself coverlets, cushions, and rugs of tapestry. Her clothing is of linen, pure and fine, and of purple [such as that of which the clothing of the priests and the hallowed cloths of the temple were made]."      In this ministry, your job is to create an atmosphere of the warmth of love for both your family and guests alike.  Even in times of difficulties,  you must be prepared and ready to embrace what comes next in  your life and that of your household; it is in those times that you will begin to develop the skills  (e.g., resilience, endurance, perseverance, etc.) that the Lord wants you to have as you also prepare for your outside assignments.   Beloved, the Lord has equipped women with the talents and spiritual gifts needed to establish and make fruitful your ministries, and your homes can be considered as a training ground to prepare you for the secondary ministry/assignment outside the home.  There is a time and a season for everything and the Lord who gave you the passion, the will and the strong desire along with the gifts to serve Him will reveal to you when the time is ripe to step out into other assignments and ministry work He has called you.  

 Beloved, as married women, the home is your primary ministry, the success in your home will determine your promotion in the mission field.  It is essential to understand your marriage and home as a ministry unto the Lord, handing it over to Him to help grow under His nurturing hand. He desires to bless the works of your hands, and your marriage is no exception.  Even though the Lord knows building a home in this fallen world can be quite challenging, as long as you are dedicated to keeping your homes, raising godly children and including God in every aspect of it, He will give surely give you good success.  Joshua 1:8b ESV. 

If you are reading this message today and you have neglected your ministry to your husband and children or husband, if no children yet, then it is time to repent and ask the Lord, your husband and your children for forgiveness.  Seek the Lord for guidance and wisdom in taking care of your home and also being able to balance your work life, responsibilities in your local church and your home life.   Your home must always come first in your service to the Lord.  If you hold a position of leadership in the church, in your workplace that requires being away from home for more than 8 hours a day, it is time to make a change, and the Lord shall help you do that in Jesus name.

I will leave you with the words from a Christian actor & minister   " A married woman must humble herself and take care of her home. She must build her home before she can build the church of God and the nation."

I pray this message has ministered to you!!  If it has, please share with your fellow sisters and friends.

Monday, August 27, 2018

God is Interested in Your Everyday Life

"The Lord directs the steps of the godly.
    He delights in every detail of their lives."  Psalm 37:23 NLT


Not too long ago, I was sharing with a client of mine who comes in for counseling & prayers how God is not just interested  or pleased with us when we do "spiritual" things such as reading our bible, engaging in prayer sessions, attending church service or bible study but also everything else in our lives.   It took me some years as  I matured as a believer to realize that and when I did, everywhere I went, whatever I did, He was always on my mind. I was conscious of His presence.  I shared how if I happen to misplace my car keys and blurt out "Lord help me find my keys."  Without really going on my knees to ask Him,  I would hear that small soft voice leading to where it was or a just a thought will drop in my spirit.   I will find myself heading in the direction where I last saw the keys.  That is God for you.

Beloved, God is very concerned and interested in the things that concern us. He is interested in waking us up in the morning so that we are not late for school, work or that appointment. He is interested in driving with us to work, running errands, to a sporting event, etc..  He is concerned about us when we are tired, sad or troubled and is there to give us comfort and encouragement.  He enjoys watching us do chores around the home, e.g., laundry, cooking, cleaning and also when we sit down at the table as a family or couple eating and talking about how our day went.  God enjoys every detail of our lives and is not happy when we do not involve Him in it.  After all, He is our Father, a loving one for that matter.  

Scripture tells us in our main text today that He orders the steps of the godly, that is you and me, and he delights or takes pleasure in every human activity we perform on a daily basis, except for sin of course.   Like any parent, who enjoys watching their children grow into matured and responsible young men and women, so does our heavenly Father, who also delights in seeing us progress, seeing us succeeding in life as a result of the  diverse talents, abilities and spiritual gifts He has given us to be used here on earth for His glory.   What displeases Him is when we do not appreciate all that He has given us and enjoy the life He has given unto us for a season.  Psalms 33:15 states. "
He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works "  According to John Gills exposition of the Bible, it means He forms or molds the hearts of his people anew for himself.   He forms Christ in them, and every grace of his Spirit; he builds them into one, and knits and unites them together in love, and makes them like to one another; for as face answers to face in the water, so do the hearts and experiences of the saints one to another.  He also understands all they do and carefully observes their activities.   Beloved, it brings joy to the Father's heart when we value and appreciate all that He has given us, and He also wants us to be conscious of His interest in our everyday lives. 
Do you know the Lord also takes pleasure in you when you enjoy His creation, the entire universe?  He loves watching you and me admiring nature, the stars, and space in general, the flowers, the trees, the animals, the mountains and valleys, the oceans and seas, the grasslands, etc.  He has given us all the five senses to enjoy these things.  And guess what, every time we enjoy the rest of His creation, it is an act of true worship when we show our gratitude for it.  

Sisters, our God created us in His image and likeness for His enjoyment and His good pleasure. He has also given us the rest of creation for our enjoyment as well.   As you enjoy all that the Lord has provided for you, allow Him to also enjoy every part of you by intentionally including Him in every activity of your life.  As you do so, He will continue to bless and keep you secured under the shadow of His wings.
For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.  Phil 2:13 KJV

Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Working together as One Body

" For as in one body we have many members,[a] and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.Romans 12:4-5 ESV


Like any business or organization, the body of Christ, the global church within its individual local assemblies have to work together in one accord to fulfill the purpose and vision of the church.  We are called to walk in holy fellowship together, breaking bread, sympathizing with, and serving each other until Jesus returns for His bride (the Church).    It baffles me when I see the lack of teamwork, lack of unity in the church. 

 Everyone wants to do their own thing, you see individuals in the church trying to hoard all the work; taking on many duties for the wrong reasons and you also see some that do not want to do anything, but come to church, sit in the pews, give their tithes and offering and leave.  They do this without even being concerned about what they are contributing to the house of God or the body of Christ aside from their financial gifts which we are encouraged in scripture to give. We can't stay idle, we have to keep busy working for the Lord until his return.  1 Corinthians 15:58  

 In the body of Christ, we are told in the above scripture that there are many members and we have been given diverse gifts and talents in order to use for service in the offices/positions we are to hold in the church.  Apostle Paul beautifully illustrates how various members of our human frame are all useful and honorable in their allocated place; all designed for a specific task, so the church is one body, consisting of many members, and each is suited to be useful and comely in its proper place.

Friends, regardless of what congregation you attend or denomination you belong to, all of us (believers) make up the global/universal church where Christ is the head and so no matter where you find yourself, be ready to work together with the brethren to fulfill the purpose of the church of Christ.  I encourage you today if you are not doing so, to find your place in the body of Christ and begin to utilize the gifts and skills you have been given to serve alongside other believers in your local assembly or in your community and the Lord will bless and strengthen you as you do. 

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