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MARRIAGE

Genesis 2:18-25

God in His goodness and mercy brought forth creation with a good thought. In all of His thoughts, there was no room for evil when He brought forth all of His creation. He confirmed His thoughts when He said in Jeremiah 29:11, ÒFor I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.Ó Do you remember that after each and every of GodÕs creation, God always take time to look at it and declared it good? Genesis 1:10, ÒAnd God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good.Ó All of GodÕs creations are good and nothing is evil. He is a good God. He created man and woman for the good purpose of working together by establishing an institution of leaving and joining and He stated in Genesis 2:24, ÒTherefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.Ó The institution of leaving and joining is what is now called marriage. It was a command from God and not a suggestion when He said man shall leave and join. Everything that God created was good and He must have seen it to be good when He gave His command of leaving and joining. Have you left to join or you are in the process of joining? If you have left and joined or expecting to be joined, always remember that it is of God to leave and join. The condition to have a leave and join institution work effectively is to be living in His command without any violation. Do you desire a blossom and blessed leave and join institution? He commanded, ÒÉthey shall be one fleshÓ. If you can become one flesh in the institution of leave and join, you are set for great exploit beyond your imagination on this earth. Likewise, if you have entered the institution and have not become one flesh as He commanded, you are set for all kinds of trouble. If you are sincerely joined, you will be naked to each other and shame will not have its way. To be naked is to be transparent; that is to have nothing be kept secret between each other. Where there is transparency, there will be transformation and transformation is what makes the institution get better from moment to moment. Genesis 2:25, ÒAnd they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.Ó Marriage is the institution of leaving and joining. To have a good marriage is to live in every one of His commands for marriage. This entails leaving and joining indeed and in truth, being naked (transparent) and allowing transformation to terminate shame. God is good so ask Him for the grace to enable you in your leave and join institution.

SECRET OF STRENGTH< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

Judges 16

The secret of strength is a secret to be kept by constantly dwelling in the secret place of the Most High God. God gave Samson an uncommon strength that no man could violate if he had not violated himself. Samson could not remain in keeping the secret of his strength and as a result, he became a victim of himself. SamsonÕs secret was the Word of God that was delivered to his parent before he was born. An angel of the Lord visited SamsonÕs parent and gave instructions in Judges 13:14, ÒShe may not eat anything that comes from the vine, nor may she drink wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean. All that I commanded her let her observe.Ó All the time that Samson was walking in the commandment of God that was given before his birth, he was untouchable and undefeatable. As Samson continued to dwell in the secret of the Lord for his strength, the presence of God was constantly present in each and every one of his moves. The Word of God is the secret of those who dwell in Him.  The Word of God is secret to those that have no time to seek Him in His Word. However, to those that seek Him, it is no longer a secret but a dwelling place. Samson needed to be constantly walking in the secret to avoid being swept down by the wicked ones. When Sampson decided to dwell outside of the Word of God, the secret of his strength, then the presence of God departed him. Judges 16:4-5, ÒAfterward it happened that he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. 5 And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, ÔEntice him, and find out where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and every one of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.ÕÓ Sampson fell for enticement. Delilah was the agent of the wicked one that caused Samson to lose the presence of the Lord. Is there anything that is causing enticement to derail you in your calling? Enticement will lead to pestering; pestering will develop to being pressed in every side to the point of giving in to the wicked oneÕs agenda. Sampson allowed enticement to have its way and he could no longer avoid being pestered and pressed to the point of revealing the secret of his strength. Judges 16:16, ÒAnd it came to pass, when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him, so that his soul was vexed to death.Ó Have you given yourself to any form of enticement? If you are ready to continue in His divine schedule for your life, do not allow any kind of enticement to come into your life or else God will come out of your life. To be out of His secret is to have fallen asleep. Also, to operate outside of His command is sleepwalking and being physically awake is not an indication of being spiritually awake. Keep His command, walk and dwell in your secret of strength and you will not be vulnerable to any grave of enticement.

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KISS OR CLING

Ruth 1, 2

Boaz was a relative of NaomiÕs husband (Naomi was the mother in-law of Ruth). He was described as a man of great wealth; not just ordinary wealth. The day that Boaz set eyes on Ruth, her story was wrapped with favor of God for good. Boaz put in place an uncommon protection and provision for Ruth. As a result of his favoring Ruth, she responded to the favor, ÒSo she fell on her face, bowed down to the ground, and said to him, ÕWhy have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?ÕÓ (Ruth 2:10) At any time that we undertake a noticeable action that glorifies God, Heaven will react on our behalf. In this life, there is no good work that will go unnoticeable before God. Ruth was consciously being sincere when she refused not to turn her back and go away from Naomi. Ruth genuinely and sincerely stood with her in her time of loneliness; at the time of her going back to her family after the death of her two sons. By RuthÕs act of sincerity, she positioned herself to encounter favor. When Ruth questioned such favor, she received an answer back from Boaz for the reason of her being favored. ÒRuth 2:11-12, ÒAnd Boaz answered and said to her, ÔIt has been fully reported to me, all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know before. 12 The LORD repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.ÕÓ In this world, there is nothing that goes unnoticed before God. If you have made the choice to be disrespectful or uncaring for your in-laws or elder, you will reap the fruit of someone that fails in obeying GodÕs commandment. What kinds of seeds have been sowing on your God given ground? Whatever you sow is what you will reap. It is impossible to sow oranges and reap apples. The two daughter in-laws of Naomi had decided to move with her back to her country after the death of her two sons which were their husbands. At first, both refused to yield to NaomiÕs offer for them to back. Eventually, Orpah accepted going back, but Ruth refused based on the reason of compassion. RuthÕs genuine heart and sincerity made her to cling onto Naomi while Orpah returned back just with a kiss. RuthÕs decision was rewarded when she met the great wealthy man, Boaz. Whatever you consider good, cling to it with sincerity and with a genuine heart and you will not end up empty. Sincerity is not stupidity; it is a special grace that will get you to where God wants you to be. RuthÕs sincerity took her to her promised land. Do not kiss your favor good bye, but rather cling to it.

POSITIONAL VICTORY< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

Judges 6:11-40, 7

The land that the Lord gave the children of Israel became a raiding ground for their enemies to thrive because of their sin. As a result of their situation, they went back and cried to God for deliverance from the forces of enemies that had made them captive on their God-given land. Among many men in the land that could have been used by God to bring forth deliverance, it was Gideon who God called on.  GideonÕs father was a Baal worshiper, but yet God called on Gideon for the assignment of delivering His people. When God decides to bring forth deliverance, He will choose the least expected, the list qualified or the last among the least in the eyes of man for His assignment. When God is at work in your life, neither you nor any force will be able to work against His work in your life. Has the Lord been laying a call on you? God will not give you a vision that is not heavier than you, but the one that is heavier than you will have to commit every move unto GodÕs hand. When Gideon was approached for the assignment of delivering his people unto salvation, he responded to God, ÒO my Lord how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my fatherÕs house.Ó 16 And the LORD said to him, ÔSurely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.Õ 17 Then he said to Him, ÔIf now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who talk with me.ÕÓ(Judges 6:15-17) Gideon wanted confirmation that God had called him for the assignment. He did not just ask for confirmation, but he repeatedly asked God in various ways for the confirmation of the assignment. God assigned a son of a Baal worshiper for the deliverance of His people from bondage. Has the Lord been calling you, but you are yet to accept because of your past or your background history? He is God and He can move and unmove as He chooses. God called Gideon and He backed Him up with power demonstration because when He calls you for His assignment, He will back you up and He will go before you. Gideon, with great fear, attempted not to answer the call, but God positioned him on the ground where every plan was presented unto him. God led him to hear with his ear how the enemies were going to fall in his hand. GideonÕs plan of fighting with great numbers was declined by God. Although they were up against thousands of enemies, God reduced the numbers of Gideon soldiers to just three hundred because Gideon was able to gain a position of victory before numbers fought the battle. Ask God today to position you for victory against everything that is representing enemies in your life. 

NOT OVER YET< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

Judges 11

It is not over. It will not be over and it cannot be over until God Himself pronounces it over. He alone is the Almighty God; the Great I Am that I Am; the only One who inhabits eternity. He is God that works in His own timing; not the timing of man. 1Timothy 6:15-16 describes Him, ÒÉHe who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, dwelling in an unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.Ó  Does this sound convincing enough to you that although it may be cloudy now, the sun will shine again at the timing of God? Can you actually get it now that indeed nothing is impossible for Him to do? All the work of His hands and the testimonies in His Word as documented in the Scripture are enough for every acclaimed believer to hold on to. Jephthah, the Gileadite, was referred to as a mighty man of valor, but before he became a mighty man of valor, he was a castaway among his brothers because he was the son of another woman. Jephthah was driven out by his brothers and, Òthen Jephthah fled from his brothers and dwelt in the land of Tob; and worthless men banded together with Jephthah and went out raiding with him.Ó (Judges 11:3) To his brothers, he was worthless and none of them wanted to have him as part of the family. He was rejected and condemned as a non-entity but to God there is always hope in life. When the people of Ammon made war against the children of Israel, the same Jephthah who was driven out of the city became the one to be sought after for his help. Judges11:4-6, ÒIt came to pass after a time that the people of Ammon made war against Israel. 5 And so it was, when the people of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. 6 Then they said to Jephthah, ÔCome and be our commander, that we may fight against the people of Ammon.ÕÓ How sweet can it be for someone who was driven out of his fatherÕs land by his people and later be sought for by the whole nation for help? JephthahÕs case was discouraging and depressing at the beginning, but the latter part was strengthening and encouraging. Has it ever been in your situation that all hope is lost? In your turning left and right you have encountered nothing but roadblock. All who are closest to you have become farer away. Jephthah, by the hand of God, turned out to be the light in darkness for the people of the very land where he was driven out by leading and delivering the people out of the hand of their enemies. With God, you never can tell when or where He will show up concerning your case. Hold unto God and He will hold you up unto Himself in Jesus Name.