Eleven important roles of a good Wife

 DEAR WIFE... 

1. If you want your husband to make love to you often, have a good attitude. No matter how sexy you look or dress, your husband will not find you attractive if you have a bad attitude 

2. If you want your husband to be eating with you, be pleasant to be around. No matter how tasty your food, it loses taste when being around you is stressful 

3. If you want your husband to be opening up to you sensitive and difficult information, learn to keep secrets and not to overreact. A man refrains from sharing too much when he is scared information will be leaked or be misinterpreted 

4. If you want your husband to be praying with you, stop acting as if your prayers are more powerful or you are closer to God than him. Allow your husband to pray his kind of way 

5. If you want your husband to be taking you out often, stop bringing drama and ruining dates with issues that should be dealt with at home. No man wants to go spend time and money at a venue where he will be emotionally drained 

6. If you want your husband to solve the issues in your marriage, stop seeing yourself as the angel and him the devil, stop attacking him or labelling him as "The agent the devil is using to ruin your marriage". See also your fault, show him you are on the same team and seek solutions, not finger pointing 

7. If you want your husband to come home early, be peaceful. The wife tends to own the home and so can easily make the husband keep off if she becomes harsh, uninviting and combative 

8. If you want your husband to be chatting with you and calling you up, be fun to talk to, make him miss you. If each time he calls you or chats you up it ends up with you starting a fight, reminding him of his wrongs or ordering him around he will avoid communication with you

9. If you want your husband to receive your suggestions and corrections then speak to him with a tone of love. If you come at him shouting, dictating at him or manipulating him he will harden up

10. If you want your husband to enjoy kissing you, then speak loving words, be gentle, be easy to talk to. Lips that speak words that hurt are not attractive to kiss

11. If you want your husband to do more sweet, romantic and special things; appreciate the little he does and he will do more. Complaining never inspires a man to do better but appreciation does....1

THE NEED OF THANKSGIVING IN WORSHIP!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2023.

SUBJECT: THE NEED OF THANKSGIVING IN WORSHIP! 

Memory verse: "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;" (Philippians 4 vs 6.) 

READ: Psalm 69 vs 30; 100 vs 4; Colossians 2 vs 6 - 7; 4 vs 2:

Psalm 69:30: I will praise the name of the LORD with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving.

100:4: Enter into His gate with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His Name.

Colossians 2:6: As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 

2:7: rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.

4:2: Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving.

INTIMATION:

The Christian works in thanksgiving for what God has done through His grace, acknowledging God’s goodness, which expresses your faith and confidence in Him. There is no powerful living apart from a life of thanksgiving which, of course, is the will of God for us. The Christian is zealous in the Lord because of his or her salvation that has come from the Lord through the offering of His Son Jesus Christ as a propitiation for our sins. 

God desires an attitude of thanksgiving, not just an act of it. Thanksgiving is an application for more. Being thankful for all the things He has done and is doing in your life is a pathway to receiving your petitions from Him. Therefore, when you have petitioned God for something, immediately begin to thank Him in trust and confidence that the thing you have asked for is on the way coming. The apostle Paul counseled all believers to give thanks in everything; for this is the Will of God in Christ Jesus for them (First Thessalonians 5 vs 18.)

The apostle Paul lived a life of thanksgiving and preached the same to all believers. In some of the passages we read today, his counsel on thanksgiving, as an integral part of worship, is clearly expressed. In our memory verse (Philippians 4 vs 6), Paul counsels all believers to be thankful for what we ask in prayer, and to continuously be thankful and grateful for what He has already done in the past, what He is doing now, and what He is going to do in the future, including answer to our petitions. 

Jesus, our Messiah and perfect example, lived a life of thanksgiving during His earthly ministry. He knows the power of thanksgiving when communing with the Father, and gave thanks to the Father always. For example; He gave thanks to God when He broke the seven loaves and fishes and fed the four thousand (Matthew 15 vs 36). He gave thanks to God when He took the five loaves and two fishes and fed five thousand (John 6 vs 11). He also thanked God for hearing Him at the tomb of the dead Lazarus (John 11 vs 41). And He gave thanks to God when He gave the bread and wine to His disciples at the Last Super. (Mark 14 vs 22 - 23).

Thanksgiving magnifies the Name of the LORD (Psalm 69 vs 30), and opens the gate of the court of the LORD (Psalm 100 vs 4). It also, multiplies what we have received (Second Corinthians 9 vs 12). For instance, when Jesus lifted up the bread and fishes and gave thanks it multiplied that thousands were fed by the meal of a child. Also, the power of thanksgiving in prayer helps us abound in Christ, drawing our life-giving strength from Christ (Colossians 2 vs 7). The more we draw our strength from Him, the less we are fooled by those who falsely claim to have life’s answers. If Christ is our strength we will be free from human regulations.

The lifestyle of thanksgiving is an evidence of a grateful heart. If a person is grateful for what he already has, it is an indication that the individual is mature enough to receive other blessings. But if a person is always complaining about what he has now, why should the Lord bother to give him anything else to crab and gripe about. 

When we realize how far God had to send His Son in order to redeem us from condemnation, we respond with a life of thanksgiving. Our good works, therefore, are works of thanksgiving, not works of merit. Christians are motivated because of what they already have in Christ. Prayer and petitions (supplication) are to be made in a spirit of thanking God for all that He has done in our lives. When one truly understands the grace of God, He or she will respond in thanksgiving for all that God has done through Jesus. 

Prayer: Abba Father, there is none like You. Your steadfastness never seizes, and Your mercies never come to an end. Your compassion never fails. I will forever remain thankful to You for all Your great and wondrous works in my life. What You cannot do for me let it remain undone, and what You cannot give me may I never have it, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

When God Swears by God

 Since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” (Hebrews 6:13–14)

There is one Person whose worth and honor and dignity and preciousness and greatness and beauty and reputation is more than all other values combined — ten thousand times more — namely, God himself. So, when God takes an oath, he swears by himself. 

If he could have gone higher, he would have gone higher. Why? To give you strong encouragement in your hope. What God is saying in swearing by himself is that it is as impossible that he will break his word of promise to bless us as it is that he will ever despise himself. 

God is the greatest value in the universe. There is nothing more valuable or wonderful than God. So, God swears by God. And in doing that he says, “I mean for you to have as much confidence in me as it is possible to have.” For if more were possible, Hebrews 6:13 says, he would have given us that. “Since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself.” 

Now this is our God, the God who is reaching as high as he can reach to inspire your unshakable hope in him. So, flee to God for refuge. Turn from all the superficial, self-defeating hopes of the world, and put your hope in God. There is nothing and no one like God as a refuge and a rock of hope.

THE TRUE WORSHIP!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 22, 2023.

SUBJECT: THE TRUE WORSHIP!

Memory verse: "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him." (John 4 vs 23.) 

READ: John 4 vs 23 - 24:

4:23: But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.

4:24: God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.

INTIMATION:

Worship is paying great honor to; to love and admire very greatly. You worship because you know the worth of what you worship. You worship God because you know who He is. When you catch the revelation of God and His worth, the appropriate response is to reverence Him in worship. The truth about God is revealed in His Word. 

According to our memory verse, Jesus is saying in this most profound statement that one must know the word of God in order to worship the God of the word. True worshipers worship God after the spirit and according to a knowledge of the one true God.  Ignorance of God’s word leads to one worshipping a god who is the creation of one’s mind, and such is the spirit of idolatry. 

It is in consonance with the true worship that Jesus gave us the greatest commandment of God, “And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength...” (Mark 12 vs 30.) Worship must be based on the truth of Scripture, not our opinions or feeling about God. To "worship in truth" means to worship God as He is truly revealed in the Bible. 

Your worship is acceptable to God when it’s in truth and in spirit. In truth because of the self-revelation of God to you in His Word, and in spirit because it involves the totality of you—coming from the inside of you. Therefore, true worship is according to the word of God and from the heart of man. 

“God is Spirit” means He is not a physical being you can see, and is not limited to one place. He is present everywhere, and can be worshiped anywhere, at any time. It is not where you worship that counts, but how you worship. Your worship must be genuine, and acceptable. Genuine worship is spirited. You must engage your real you, and your real you is in your spirit. 

Made in God's image you are a spirit that resides in a body, and God designed your spirit to communicate with Him. Genuine worship is your spirit responding to God's Spirit—Holy Spirit—Who in turn responds with help. The Holy Spirit prays for us (Romans 8 vs 26), teaches us the words of Christ (John 14 vs 26), and tells us we are loved (Romans 5 vs 5).

The Bible, in First Corinthians 2 vs 11 says, "For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God." The things of man are known to the spirit of man, and only the spirit of man can genuinely worship God acceptably. It is not just a matter of saying the right words; you must mean what you say, engaging your inner self in all you do. 

Heartless worship is not worship at all! It is an insult to God. He wants all of you. He is not interested in halfhearted commitment, partial obedience, and the leftovers of your time. He desires your full devotion, and complete commitment.

Acceptable worship should be a lifestyle. It ought not to be a part of your life; it should be your life. Worship is not just communion, It is your whole life given for service to God, and His pleasure. God is worshipped continually, and in any place. God should be praised at all times; at work, at home, in battle, in jail, and even in bed! Every activity can be transformed into an act of worship when you do it for the praise, glory, and pleasure of God. (First Corinthians 10 vs 31.)

But how is it possible to do everything to the glory of God? It’s by allowing God's love so permeate our motives that all we do will be to His glory. By doing everything as if you were doing it for Jesus and by carrying on a continual conversation with Him while we do it. You can keep as a guiding principle, asking, "Is this action glorifying God?" Or "How can I honor God through this action?" 

When we worship, God looks past our words to see the attitude of our hearts. The Bible says, "Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." (First Samuel 16 vs 7.) Therefore, your heartfelt worship is what God accepts and responds to.

Prayer: Abba Father, I praise You with my whole heart, and all that is within me bless Your Holy Name. O Lord, let Your Word dwell in me richly in all wisdom, that I may worship You acceptably with grace in my heart, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

The Key to Spiritual Maturity

 Solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. (Hebrews 5:14)

Now, this is amazing. Don’t miss it. It could save you years of wasted living. 

What this verse is saying is that if you want to become mature and understand and appreciate the more solid teachings of the word, then the rich, nutritional, precious milk of God’s gospel promises must transform your moral senses — your spiritual mind — so that you can discern between good and evil. 

Or, let me put it another way. Getting ready to feast on all God’s word is not first an intellectual challenge; it is first a moral challenge. If you want to eat the solid food of the word, you must exercise your spiritual senses so as to develop a mind that discerns between good and evil. This is a moral challenge, not just intellectual.

The startling truth is that, if you stumble over understanding Melchizedek in Genesis and Hebrews, it may be because you watch questionable TV programs. If you stumble over the doctrine of election, it may be because you still use some shady business practices. If you stumble over the God-centered work of Christ on the cross, it may be because you love money and spend too much and give too little. 

The pathway to maturity and to solid biblical food is not first becoming an intelligent person, but becoming an obedient person. What you do with alcohol and sex and money and leisure and food and computers, and the way you treat other people, has more to do with your capacity for solid food than where you go to school or what books you read.

This is so important because in our highly technological society we are prone to think that education — especially intellectual education — is the key to maturity. There are many Ph.D.’s who choke in their spiritual immaturity on the things of God. And there are many less-educated saints who are deeply mature and can feed with pleasure and profit on the deepest things of God’s word.

The Gravity of Gratitude

 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful . . . (2 Timothy 3:1–2) 

Notice how ingratitude goes with pride, abuse, and insubordination.

In another place Paul says, “Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking . . . but instead let there be thanksgiving” (Ephesians 5:4). So, it seems that gratitude, thankfulness, is the opposite of ugliness and violence.

The reason this is so is that the feeling of gratitude is a humble feeling, not a proud one. It is other-exalting, not self-exalting. And it is glad-hearted, not angry or bitter. Bitter thankfulness is a contradiction in terms.

The key to unlocking a heart of thankfulness and overcoming bitterness and ugliness and disrespect and violence is a strong belief in God, the Creator and Sustainer and Provider and Hope-giver. If we do not believe we are deeply indebted to God for all we have and hope to have, then the very spring of gratitude has gone dry.

So, I conclude that the rise of violence and sacrilege and ugliness and insubordination in the last times is a God-issue. The basic issue is a failure to feel gratitude at the upper levels of our dependence.

When the high spring of gratitude to God fails at the top of the mountain, soon all the pools of thankfulness begin to dry up further down the mountain. And when gratitude goes, the sovereignty of the self condones more and more corruption for its pleasure.

Pray for a great awakening of humble gratitude.

THE IDEAL CHRISTIAN ATTITUDE IN HARD TIME!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 22, 2023.

SUBJECT: THE IDEAL CHRISTIAN ATTITUDE IN HARD TIME!

Memory verse: "So that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure,” (Second Thessalonians 1 vs 4.) 

READ: James 1 vs 2 - 4; First Peter 1 vs 6 - 8:

James 1:2:My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 

1:3: knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 

1:4: But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

First Peter 1:6: in this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,

1:7: that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 

1:8: whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory:

INTIMATION:

Fires of hard times are the life’s difficulties we experience as we live for Christ. All believers face trials when they let their light shine into the darkness. They will experience troubles because they are trying to be God’s people in a perverse world. Believers must understand, therefore, that life’s trial is an occasion for joy when it comes as a result of one’s commitment. 

When Christians continue their outreach, regardless of persecution and hardships, they stand as models for others to follow. Christians must accept trials as part of the refining process that burns away impurities and prepares us to meet Christ. And the many trials are occasions for spiritual growth and development of character. They must acknowledge that the proving or testing of their faith produce a character that is able to endure trials. 

God uses Satan’s work against him. Consequently, trials or persecution manifests that God is going to use Satan’s work to accomplish something that is good in the life of every believer (Romans 8 vs 28). We should note that the candidates for heaven must be tried in the fires of hard times in order to prepare their characters for eternal dwelling. 

As gold is heated, impurities float to the top and can be skimmed off. Likewise, our trials, struggles, and persecutions refine and strengthen our faith, making us useful to God. Then we can count it all joy when we have to endure many trials. It often takes hard times to determine if one has a genuine faith. It is for this reason that Christians count it with joy when they fall into various trials. They count it with joy because they understand the good that comes from such trials.

Instead of asking, “Why me?”  Christians should respond to suffering with a new sets of responses with the following grounds of strength: (1) Confidence that God knows, plans, and directs their lives for good. It’s hard to calculate sometimes, but God always provides His love and strength for the believer. He leads them toward a better future. (2) Perseverance when facing grief, anger, sorrow, and pain. They express their grief, but they don’t give in to bitterness and despair. (3) Courage because with Jesus as Brother and Savior, they need not be afraid. He who suffered for us will not abandon us. Jesus carries us through everything. 

The key of surviving life’s difficulties is in patience, faith and joy in the Lord. When faced with crushing troubles, we should have faith in God because it pleases Him, and be patient, knowing that God uses the trials of His children for their good and for His glory, for He will not forsake His people (Deuteronomy 4 vs 31). 

The godly life in Christ brings about persecution because Satan will rise up against all that God represents in this world. God is fair and just, and will give us patience in our suffering because He has not forgotten us. In His perfect timing, He will relieve our suffering and punish those who persecute us. 

The apostle Paul said in Romans 5 vs 3 - 4, “And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance, and perseverance, character, and character, hope.” Paul tells us that in the future believers will become what God has predestined them to be, but until then they must overcome. This means that they will experience difficulties that will help them grow. 

Christians rejoice in suffering, not because they like pain or deny its tragedy, but because they know God is using life’s difficulties and Satan’s attacks to build their character. The problems they run into will develop their perseverance, which in turn will strengthen their character, deepen their trust in God, and give them greater confidence about the future.

Your troubles may be an indication that you are taking a stand for Christ. When you do so, you are experiencing the privilege of showing that you are worthy of God’s kingdom (Second Thessalonians 1 vs 11). As believers, their calling from God is to become like Christ; be patient in suffering, and have faith in God to actualize, at the long run, His purposes in their lives. Becoming like Christ is a gradual, lifelong process that will be completed when they see Christ face to face (First John 3 vs 2). 

Some people say that troubles are the result of sin or lack of faith, but that is not always true. Troubles may be part of God’s plan for believers. Their problems can help them look upward and forward, instead of inward (Philippians 3 vs 13 - 14), they can help us build strong character, and they can provide them with opportunities to comfort others who also are struggling (Second Corinthians 1 vs 3 - 5). 

We must acknowledge that the proving of testing of our faith produces a character that is able to endure trials. It is also an opportunity for our faith to be proved genuine and strengthened. As believers we should react to various trials and temptations that we all encounter in life with endurance, steadfastness, and patience. We are to let these things do a thorough work in us so that we will come through them stronger and better than we were before.

The things that will bring despair in the lives of the obedient would be the trials through which they must go in this life. All Christians have reason to rejoice in the hope they have of unending existence in the presence of God. It is this hope that takes them through the trials of this life. 

Prayer: Abba Father, in all things I give You thanks, knowing that Your thoughts for me is of good and not of evil, to give me a future and a hope. I will rejoice in any situations I find myself because I know my Redeemer lives. Endue me with the spirit of endurance, steadfastness, perseverance and hope anchored in You in the face of life’s trials, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!