Arise and Shine

Arise, Shine; for your light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.  "The Lord shall be thy everlasting light and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.   Isaiah 60:1:20b KJV

 by. Kemi Olubiyi

 When we look all around us today, especially at the body of Christ, which we can relate to as believers; we see so much depression, frustration, sadness, anger, distress, and so on. There is so much evil in our society today that it takes the grace of God for us not to get caught up in the affairs of this world. We, as Christian women, try to put our faith in the Lord, daily trusting Him to be the best wives, mothers, daughters, and workers that we can be, and I am here to tell you today that the Lord sees all your hard work and also sees the stress of everyday life that weighs you down. And so, therefore, He is reminding us today in His word, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavily laden, and I will give you rest."  Matthew 11: 28 KJV.

 

 Is not our God awesome? He knew there would be times when we will be down and distressed, and we would need His word to lift us right back up. The above verse is one of those words He has provided to comfort us in times of trouble. The Lord has assured us in His word that He will give us rest and ease our pain when we look unto Him, the Author and Finisher of our faith.

 

 Sisters, arise and shine this day, for your light has come; who or what is this light? It is our Lord Jesus Christ; He is our everlasting light. In Him, there is no darkness, no more pain, hurt, or distress. Allow the glory of the Lord this day to shine in your lives. Let the Lord take away your cares and burdens that weigh you down and let Him be unto you this day an everlasting light. 

 

 The Light of the Lord shall overshadow every darkness in your life as long as you permit Him to do so. I am not saying trying times will not come; they surely will; Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself experienced it while on earth, but He is assuring us this day that He will see us through and our days of mourning, of sorrow shall be over because He shall be our everlasting light that outshines the darkness and destroys everything that tries to steal our joy.

  

To God Be The Glory!!!

The Praying Wife

1 Peter 3:1-7, Ephesians 5:24, 33, 6:18

by Kemi O.

1. Who is the Praying Wife?

She is simply "The woman who communicates with God (i.e intercedes) on behalf of her husband and her home regularly.

The praying wife is a godly woman who values her marriage and would do whatever is necessary for ensuring the peace of God and the joy of the Lord dwells continuously in her home.

The praying wife is a woman that prays consistently for her husband regardless of whether she feels like it or not because she knows the importance of prayer. She is praying at all times with a joyful heart. 1 Thess 5: 16-17

2. Why should you pray for your Husband?

i. We as wives have been given the legal and spiritual authority by God to stand in the gap for our husbands. As long as you are the legally married wife of your spouse, you are operating according to the will of God for your life and that of your husband’s. Eph 5: 31, Gen 2:24.

ii. We are equal partners in God’s gift of new life. 1 Peter 3:7 New Living Translation.

iii. Because out of reverence for our Lord Jesus Christ, We are required to pray for the well being of our husbands.

iv. Because God has made the husband to be head of his wife, the priest of the home as Christ is the head of the church. 1 Corin 11:3, Eph 5:22-23.

v. Because it shows an act of true and genuine love for your husband. There is no greater way of showing one’s love than to pray for him regularly.

vi. Because praying for your husband brings God’s presence into the center of your marriage. As a woman, you recognize that you need God’s grace and strength to build a lasting marriage.

vii. Because praying for your husband brings him good and not evil. His life is enriched by God when you pray for him. Proverbs 31:11-12

viii. Because praying for your unbelieving or backslidden spouse and living a godly life, can win him over or back to the Lord. ( Salvation, Restoration) 1 Peter 3:1-2

3. The Benefits of Praying for your Husband.

i. It causes you to have favor with your husband as you trust God for whatever you desire for your husband and marriage. See Esther 4:15, 5:1-14

ii. You, as the wife, gain your husband’s trust and praise. Proverbs 31:28.

iii. It brings about peace and happiness in the home. I Tim 2:1-2.

iv. It makes your husband feel loved and honored when he is aware that you spend time interceding on his behalf and also to know he can depend on you to lift him up in prayers when he is spiritually weak.

v. It makes your husband feel more connected to you on a spiritual and emotional level. Mark 10:8

( I have to give credit to my husband for these particular points while preparing to write this article, I asked him what goes through his mind when he hears me praying for him or knows that I am praying for him, and the above two answers were his response).

vi. It gives you front row view or first-hand notice of God’s hand at work in his life.

4. What to Pray for in your Husband’s life.

As a wife, you know that what affects your husband positively affects you and your marriage and so it is essential to pray for every area of his life according to the leading of the Holy Spirit. The following are some things you can pray for:

i. Pray for his spiritual growth and relationship with God. 2 Peter 3:18, Colossians 1:9-10

ii. Pray for the calling upon his life.

iii. Pray for him to be an effective leader in the home, work, and ministry.

iv. Pray that he will be faithful to the marriage and that the Lord will safeguard his heart from succumbing to the lust of the flesh. Hebrews 13:4, Proverbs 6:32

v. Pray that he will be a good provider and an excellent father to your children. Psalm 127:5, Romans 12:11, Proverbs 23:24-26,

vi. Pray that he will be a good steward of what God has given him and your home. It is important for him as the head of the home to manage your finances wisely.

vii. Pray that he will excel in his job, business, education ( if in school).

viii. Pray that God will use him to speak words of encouragement and wisdom that will build you up to be an excellent wife and mother for him and your children.

ix. Pray that he will be a man of integrity, honor, and humility.

x. Pray that he will live a purpose driven life.

xi. Pray that God will keep him always in perfect health and that he will not do anything to defile his body ( the temple of the Holy Spirit). 3 John 1:2, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.

xii. Pray that he will put God first in everything he does. Colossians 3:23-24

5. Praying for your Husband even when it hurts.

Beloved, I must honestly confess that when my husband and I quarrel or let’s just say have " a difference of opinion" or when he has done or said something that profoundly hurts, the desire and thought of praying for him is far from my mind. I do not even feel like being in the same room let alone praying for him. I am confident some of you can agree with me on that.

Nevertheless, we should remember that he is still human and like us, the tendency to disappoint or cause hurt whether intentional or not is possible, there will definitely be times when trials will come, but God is still in control because He is in the center of the marriage. And so, no matter how hurt or disappointed you are, you should not cease praying for him. 1 Thess 5:17. Even scripture admonishes us to love and pray for our enemies, how much more praying for someone whom we love and share our lives with. Matthew 5:44.

Therefore, instead of dwelling on the hurt or pain, do not bear a grudge, but report him to God, the one who made him the head of you and gave him authority over your household. 1 Corin 11:3, James 5:9, Phil 4:6. Never give the enemy the opportunity to gain a foothold in your life by allowing the pain or hurt to consume or overwhelm you, thus leading you to sin with your words and actions, but go to the Lord in prayer pouring your heart out and looking unto Him for healing. And the Prince of peace will begin to work on your behalf as long as you do your part to let go of the anger and bitterness, forgiving your husband and let the Lord take complete control of the situation. Mark 11:25, Exodus 14:14.

In conclusion, I will say the wife that prays is a tool in the hands of the Lord to safeguard her marriage against the devices of the enemy. Sisters, you can choose this day to be a tool in the hands of God or a weapon in the hands of the Devil. See Proverbs 14:1.

Praying for your husband per the will of God can never lead you down the wrong path. For the words that come out of your mouth has life in it to either make or break your husband and marriage. Proverbs 18:21, 1 Peter 3:7

The praying wife is a woman on call 24 hours a day; she is one that is vigilant, always on alert because at anytime she may feel the need to pray for a particular issue according to the leading of the Holy Spirit. She is indeed a woman led by the Lord and is willing to do whatever necessary to safeguard her marriage.

Beloved, may the good Lord empower each of you this day to be " The Praying Wife" in your marriage and the Lord will strengthen and equip you as you make that commitment today in Jesus name.

Shalom.

Responding to God's Love

John 3:16

by Dr Charles Stanley

God has to be true to Himself.  People are foolish to entertain the hope that He will ignore justice and sacrifice holiness in order to allow unbelievers into heaven.  Living a mostly moral life will not satisfy a righteous Judge.

As much as the Lord loves us and desires to save us from our sins, He can not deny His holiness by accepting sin in His presence.  The Father is pristine perfection - a holy Being who, by His very nature, must condemn all sin.  Therefore, it is the height of egotism to think that God will bend both His law and His nature to welcome one whom still bears the stain of wrongdoing.

There is not one person who's good enough to enter heaven on his or her own merit.  Everyone of us needs Jesus.  The stain of sin is washed clean only by the sacrifice of God's holy and blameless Son.  Those who believe in Christ are forgiven their wrongs and cloaked in His righteousness ( 2 Cor:5:21).

Let me make it very clear that trusting Jesus is far more than giving  intellectual assent to His existence- that's something even the Devil acknowledges.  A true believer enters into a relationship with the One who loves his soul enough to save him from eternal punishment.

Those who remain tightly wrapped in their mantle of sin cannot hope to sneak into heaven.  God's holy nature demands perfection, and since we can't provide this for ourselves, the Lord has given it to all who believe in Him.  He has exchanged our filty rags for a cloak of righteousness (Zech. 3:4).

Loving One Another.

By Kemi O.
Beloved,  A very Happy Valentines Day to you and your loved ones.  As we celebrate this day, Let's  remember the greatest lover of all, Our Father and God who first loved us that He sent His only begotten Son to die for us in other to live eternally with Him and to live a glorious life here on earth while awaiting His return.

Spread His love unto others around you today. Pray for someone, hug someone, show kindness to someone, bless someone, help someone and the good Lord, the God of LOVE will reward you greatly.

I leave you with this today 

 ⁷ Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. ⁸ But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

⁹ God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. ¹⁰ This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

¹¹ Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. ¹² No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.  1 John 4:7-12 New Living Translation.



May the warmth of God's love surround you now and always.

Shalom!

Safeguarding Your Home.

"They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and my elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them.  Isaiah 65:22-23 KJV



It is sad to see what is happening in a lot of christian homes today and it has moved me so deeply that I decree this today in your lives my dear friends and fellow daughters of Zion. For His words says in  Job 22:28a "You will also decree a thing, and it will be established for you".

This year, you shall be a wise woman that builds her home Proverbs 14:1. You will not build or make your home for another to inhabit in Jesus name.  All your years, months, weeks of  laboring (toiling) for a successful home and marriage shall not be in vain.   Where you have planted, no other woman or women shall eat.  Too many marriages have been destroyed by acts of adultery, lies, financial issues etc  and so it is time for us to take our homes back from the grip of the enemy. 

As the Lord has stated in His word, you will enjoy the works of your hands for several years to come and Your spouses and children shall continually be blessed of the Lord for the rest of your years.

Sisters, hold on to the one who makes all things new and the one who created the institution of marriage and declared it "Good" and it shall be well with you and your home.  As I have decree this in your lives, so shall it be established in Jesus name.  Amen

Whether you have a peaceful home/marriage or you are currently facing challenges in yours , do claim this now and the Lord will fulfil His words in your lives in Jesus name.

God bless you and continue to serve Him with all diligence.   

Becoming One

"Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall become united and cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. (Amplified version)  Gen 2:24
By Joyce Meyer


The minute two people marry, they are legally joined together.  Experientally, though, they do not immediately "become one" when they say, "I do"; they simply begin the process of becoming one (Genesis 2:24).  As the process works itself out, each partner should hold marriage in honor and esteem the relationship as worthy and precious.  They should treat each other as being very valuable.

Note in Genesis 2:24 a three-step progression that demonstrates how to become one: (1) Leave. Sometimes a wife clings excessively to her mother and mother's opinions about what  she ought to do, or a husband runs to his father for advice. when the couple should be trusting and leaning on each other.  If two people are married but have not left home (both physically and mentally), they need to do so.  (2) Cleave.  In practical terms, the word cleave means to stick to each other like glue.  (3) Become one. Becoming one means the complete union of body, soul and spirit-and again, this takes time.

If both people in a marriage relationship are born again, then the spiritual union is in place.  The most difficult part of the "becoming one" process is usually the uniting of two souls- the joining of two minds, wills, and sets of emotions.  Most marital problems in the arena of the soul result from strife over lack of communication, sexual misunderstanding, money, goals, and the disciplining of children.  All of these things need to be worked out in the soulish realm of the marriage union, and in order to become one in that area, a husband and a wife need to give their issues to God and say, " Father, change my mind or my will if I'm wrong. " God is the One who will bring them into agreement with His will and purpose.  If each partner is willing to be brought into agreement with the other, they no longer try to force each other to be someone they are not, but realize they need each other to be exactly who God created them to be.  They no longer pick on each other's weaknesses.  Instead, they partake of their strengths, they enjoy one another, and they enjoy the process of becoming one.

Enjoy your life

Genesis 1:31
by Joyce Meyer


When God completed His six days of creation, He took time to look over everything and He saw that "it was very good and He approved it completely" (Gen 1:31).  God took time to enjoy the work of His hands, and we should do the same. In our passion to possess more and more, we often fall into the trap of working, working, working -and we never enjoy the fruit of our labor.  Sometimes we would simply take time to relax and enjoy what we have accomplished.

The writer of Ecclesiastes said it is the gift of God for man to find enjoyment in all of his labor (Eccle 2:24).  I have always been a hard worker.  A few years ago, I realized I was working hard but not taking time to enjoy what I was doing.  I made a decision to include enjoyment in my life.  I no longer just "do" conferences; I enjoy them.  When my house is clean and pretty, I take time to look at it and enjoy it.  At the end of a year, I go over my calendar and remember the various things I have done, and I enjoy the sense of accomplishment.  I look at what God has enabled me to do and I say, "It is good."

Many people feel worthless, insecure and unacceptable, but God looked at everything He created, including man, and said, "It is very good." He approved it completely.  God knows everything about each of us, and He loves us unconditionally.  God approves of us; He may not approve of everything we do, but He does approve of us as His beloved children.  I encourage you to make a decision to not only enjoy the labor of your hands, but to approve of and enjoy yourself as well.

Choosing to enjoy and accept myself is one of the best decisions I have ever made.  God does not create junk.  He is good, and everything He does is good.  We cannot believe that God created us and also believe we are worthless.  Begin to accept and enjoy yourself where you are, and God will help you get to where you need to be.