“GOD SAID, IT IS NOT GOOD THAT THE MAN SHOULD BE ALONE”

MEMORIZE: and the LORD God said, it is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. Genesis 2:18 

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalm 1- 5 

Our God is all knowing i.e. omniscient. Job 37:16 says, “Dost thou know the balancing of the clouds, the wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge?” God knew Adam before He created him. Jeremiah 1:5a says, “Before i formed thee in the belly I knew thee.” He knew what his needs were going to be so He made provisions for them. He knew Adam would need food so He created lots of trees in the Garden of Eden. He knew Adam would need to drink water after eating so He put a river in the midst of the Garden (Genesis 2:10). He knew Adam would not need clothes because His glory was going to be his covering so He didn’t bother to give him clothes. Whatever Adam needed, He created them either before creating him or after creating him. God in His wisdom knew that Adam was going to be alone in the Garden and would need a wife. The question is why didn’t He create a woman from the man immediately after He created the man? He obviously knew that the man He had created would be in need of a wife, why wait a while before giving him a wife? 

Adam went through several stages in his life and every man or woman reading this – especially single people- are presently in one of these stages. We find ‘stage 1’ in Genesis 2:7 – “and the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Adam – at this point – did not know where his life was going. He had no job or responsibility. God had not even showed him His purpose for his life. He was more like a floater in the Garden. At stage 1, God did not talk about giving him a wife because he was not qualified to be any woman’s husband. Then Adam moved to ‘stage 2’ in Genesis 2:15 – “and the LORD God took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.” Adam now had a job – he was responsible for dressing and keeping the Garden. If it was today, i would have said Adam was now earning salary. Yet at this stage, God did not give him a wife. He did not even consider it. Why? Although Adam was now gainfully employed, he still cannot be a husband because he had not learnt to walk with God. The fact that a man has a job does not mean he is a marriage material. The fact that he can put food on the table does not mean he is God's will for your life. Shortly after this, Adam moved to the next level, ‘stage 3’, in Genesis 2:16-17 – “and the LORD God commanded the man, saying, of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Adam now had a proper relationship with God. He was able to hear the voice of God and talk back to God. God was giving him instructions and he was following it. His relationship with God was growing. It was at this point God said, it is not good for the man, Adam, to be alone. Genesis 2:18 says, “And the LORD God said, it is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.” The man was already in ‘stage 3’ before God decided that it was not good for him to be alone. The time of waiting on God for a marriage partner is not a time to go from party to party hoping to meet a man. It is not a time to give your mobile number to every random guy that speaks to you on the bus. It is a time to work on your relationship with God. It is a time to develop your spirit man because you will need it in marriage. 

ADVISE: If you have a friend, a brother, a sister or child that is of marriageable age who is yet to be married, please do not put pressure on them. A lot of us indirectly put unnecessary pressure on single people and these causes them to fall into the wrong hands. The best way to help our single brothers and sisters is to pray for them not put pressure on them or remind them that they are getting old. 

PRAYER POINT: Father, please provide our single brothers and sisters with the bone of their bones and flesh of their flesh. 

twitter@BroOluwatoki 

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus. 

LET HIM DECIDE WHAT YOU WILL HAVE AND WHAT YOU WILL NOT HAVE

MEMORY VERSE: In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live.Isaiah 38:1

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalms 136-140, Proverbs 28

God is the only One who knows everything. Not only does He know the beginning from the end, according to Isaiah 46:10, He knows the end from the beginning. The Lord knew me long before my parents met each other. Jeremiah 1:5 says this: “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.”Many a time, it appears as if the devil knows a lot but he does not. Except something is revealed in one way or the other, the devil does not know it. Do you know he does not even know the thoughts of your heart? However, God knows what you are going to say even before you think of saying it. Psalm 139:4 says this: “For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.” Because of the volume of information before Him, He is able to guide you aright. He is able to tell you when to start something and when to stop. He is able to tell you when to hide from the enemy and when to attack the enemy. He is able to tell you when to invest and when not to. Because of the depth of riches of both of His wisdom and knowledge, He is able to give you the expected end He wants you to have (Jeremiah 29:11). He is also able to decide what you should have and what you should not have.

When God does some things, we - mere mortals- question Him as if He does not know what He is doing. May God have mercy! When He tries to take some things away from us, we fight Him and many a time, He lets us have our way not because He is weak but because He hates to force Himself on us. Hezekiah became a king at the age of twenty- five. By the time He celebrated his thirty –eighth year birthday, He had successful turned the heart of a whole nation back to God (2 Kings 18). He walked before God with a perfect heart. God saw some things in his future and decided to take him home early. Isaiah 38:1 says this: “In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live.” God wanted to take Hezekiah home early to avert what was going to become of him but he refused and the Lord kept him alive. Few months after, pride enter into his heart and he began to boast about his wealth before the servants, of the king of Babylon, who were sent to greet him after his recovery (Isaiah 39).Three years later, he gave birth to a son called Manasseh. This boy, when he became king, destroyed everything Hezekiah had built. In his 55-year reign, he single-handedly turned the whole nation back to idols. He rebuilt all the high places his father had destroyed. Not only that, he turned the house of the Lord into a place to offer sacrifices to idols. At the end, he destroyed his father’s legacy. Hezekiah's perfect record before God was tarnished in the remaining 15 years he spent on earth.

THOUGHTS OF THE DAY: If you had all the information God has, you will make the decision He makes.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please let me never have what you do not want me to have.

twitter@BroOluwatoki

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

IT IS NOT GOOD THAT ‘THE’ MAN SHOULD BE ALONE

MEMORY VERSE: And the Lord God said, it is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. Genesis 2:18

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalms 76-80, Proverbs 16

I hear a lot of people, especially brothers, say it is not good for a man to be alone. Please, where is that written in the bible? Genesis 2:18 says: “And the Lord God said, it is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.” It is not good for ‘the’ man, not ‘a’ man, to be alone. ‘The’ man referred to in Genesis 2:18, was a particular man previously spoken about in the preceding verses. This man, which we now know as Adam, had met some criteria before the Lord said it is not good for him to be alone. Except you, single brother, meet those criteria, I think it is good for you to be alone. Sisters in Christ, the fact that a brother has beards does not mean he is ready for marriage.

There are few things you need to know about ‘the’ man who God was referring to when He said it is not good for the man to be alone. Firstly, God had formed the man. Genesis 2:7 says: “and the Lord God formed man…..” The man was a new creature i.e. a born again. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says: “therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.” Sisters, it is not wise to marry a brother who has not given his life to Christ. The bible even says, “ be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion with darkness (2 Corinthians 6:14).” The same applies to brothers too. Also do not marry a baby Christian or a fellow who has just given his or her life to Christ. When Simon the Sorcerer accepted Jesus, as his personal Lord and Saviour, the church rejoiced. On the day of his baptism, everyone danced for joy. Bro Philip, his father in the Lord, beamed with smiles throughout that day. Within few weeks , he became personal assistant to Bro Philip. The bible said, “he continued with Philip (Acts 8:13).” Unknown to everyone, Simon had a hidden agenda – he was after something. He wanted the power of God so he that could do business with it. When he observed that through laying of hands people received the Holy Ghost, he offered money to buy the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:9-24). All these while, the church thought Simon was genuine but he was not. So sister, let us watch that brother who has just given his life to Christ to see if he is genuine. The same applies to brothers too. Secondly, the man was in Eden. Eden stands for God’s presence or a place where God comes to fellowship with man. It is good for a man who does not have an altar – a place where he talks to God in prayer, study the word of Word - to be alone. Thirdly, God gave him a work – to cultivate and keep the garden. Genesis 2:15 says: “and the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and keep it.” It is good for a man who does not have a job to be alone. Without a job, how can he provide for his family? Besides, God first gave Adam a job before He gave him a wife. To cultivate means to grow something. God told Adam to grow or develop the garden i.e. everything around him. To cultivate the garden, Adam needed to first cultivate himself i.e. develop a skill. It is good for a man who has not developed any skills or who is not working on himself to be better to be alone. To keep means to protect or preserve. If a man cannot keep something e.g. a job; If he is always changing jobs every two weeks, it is good for him to be alone. A man who can not keep a job most likely cannot keep a marriage.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: I see the bibles some brothers carry , it is all torn. Some of it do not even have a cover. If one cannot keep a bible – the word of God – I wonder if they will be able to keep a relationship.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please make our brothers, especially those who are yet to marry, real men. Please make them men who will love Your word, study Your word, practice Your word and keep Your word in their hearts.

twitter@BroOluwatoki

WATCH OUT FOR THIRD PARTIES

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden. Genesis 3: 1-2

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Proverbs 7-10

God loves family. He loves children dearly. The bible records that when the disciples forbade parents from bringing their children to Jesus, He told them; “suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 19:14)”. He loves mothers so much that He compared the way He comforts to the way mothers comfort their children. Isaiah 66:13 says as one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. He loves fathers to the extent that He associates Himself with them. Psalm 68:5 says a father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.

Because He loves marriage – the union of two people (man and woman) in holy matrimony, the the first institution He created was marriage. Adam and Eve had a perfect marriage. They were open to each other. They kept no secrets from each other. Genesis 2:25 says and they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. To Eve, Adam was perfect. To Adam, Eve was the most beautiful woman he had ever set his eyes on. They enjoyed the Garden of Eden (blessing of the Lord ) together. There was peace in their marriage, the bible did not record any account of Adam beating up Eve or Eve cursing Adam until Eve (the wife) started listening to the voice of a third party (serpent). Genesis 3:1-2 says now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden.

Eve ate of the forbidden fruit and offered some to her husband which he ate. From that day, they began to have problems in their marriage. First of all, they realized that they were both naked , Adam no longer felt comfortable around his wife, Eve on the other hand started keeping things from her husband. That was how they both started keeping secrets from each other. Not only that, Adam began to see faults in Eve, before they knew it , the blame game started. When the Lord asked Adam if he had eaten of the forbidden fruit, instead answering yes or no, he blamed his wife. At the end, they were both banished from the Garden of Eden. In your marriage, watch out for third party influence. If your marriage is going to succeed, you need to cut out as much as third party influence as possible. As brides of Christ, if our relationship with Him is going to blossom and grow, we need to cut out third party influence i.e. voice of the devil. Any one encouraging you to compromise or do anything outside the bible is a third party and you need to cut them out or else it will cause you your relationship with Him.

ACTION: Let us remember those that are experiencing challenges in their marriages that the Prince of peace will declare peace in their marriages.

Bro Samuel – Reaching the world for Jesus.

AND THEY SHALL BE ONE FLESH

MEMORY VERSE: therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh, Genesis 3:24

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Judg 10, Acts 14, Jer 23, Mark 9

How can two individuals from different academic background, family background, different cultures become one? How can two people with different mentalities, different life experiences, different perspective to life, different ambition, e.t.c become one? It takes more than flowers for them to become one. It definitely takes more than the chemical reaction in the brain or physical attraction for them to become one. It takes a lot of things like determination, patience, endurance and most importantly God.

When God created Adam, Eve was not there and when God created Eve, Adam was fast asleep so both of them had little or no knowledge of each other. When Adam met Eve, he had challenges understanding her and when Eve met Adam, she had a challenges understanding him also. The reason for this was that they were not created together or they were created differently. Yet Adam and Eve came together and became one despite these challenges. How did they do it? Despite the fact that there were challenges understanding each other and meeting the needs of each other, there was no record of God coming down to earth to settle fight between them, how did they manage to live in peace and harmony?

For two people to become one there are few things that need to be in place. For a brother and sister to become one there must be agreement between the two. Amos 3:3 says can two walk together except they agree? Many agree to come together but they do not agree to become one. When two people become one, my money becomes our money; my vision becomes our vision ; my resources becomes our resources, e.t.c. No one owns anything, everyone owns everything. Secondly, both of them must be humble. It takes humility for a woman to submit to her husband and it also takes humility for a man to love his wife (Ephesians 5:22-33). Thirdly, there must be communication. Communication is very essential because the only way to let the other party know how you are feeling is by talking about it. In a relationship don’t ever expect the other party to know how you are feeling, if you are not happy say I am not happy at least the other party knows and he can do something about it. Fourthly, there must be forgiveness. Disagreements are inevitable in relationships, people close to you will offend you but you must forgive or else bitterness will set in. Fifthly, praying and studying the bible together. The devil finds it very difficult to penetrate into a marriage where the husband and the wife are always praying together, studying the bible together, praying in tongues together e.t.c. sixthly, there should be no secrets. Openness and transparency in marriage helps unite couple together and build trust. Lastly, avoid third parties. One of the great dis-services you can do to your marriage is allowing a third party opinion in your marriage. The third party could be your friends or in-laws. Whatever happens in the relationship, settle it between yourselves. Once you allow third parties in your relationship, it becomes a union of three not two .Remember two is a company but three becomes a crowd.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please give me the wisdom to run my marriage in a way that is pleasing to you.

I Do

Malachi 2:16 says For the LORD, the God of Israel, says that he hates putting away: For one covers violence with his garment, says the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that you deal not treacherously.

I have always wondered why people are quick to say “1 do” when exchanging marriage vows.Many say it without the understanding of the word I DO.According to Ephesians 5:25 when a man says “i do” what it means I will  love you with everything i got and if need be i will die for you . I DO also means regardless of your past , i take you as  part of me , no matter what you do i will forgive and forget because Jesus Christ forgave the church and He is still forgiving the church when they make mistake.

According to Ephesians 5:24 , when a woman says “I do ” , what it means is as from today my submission to you(husband) will be total whether it is convenient or not. You will be my head just like Christ is the head of the Church. The most important part of the body is the head and without the head the body is dead.As highlighted in Ephesians 5:23 , Christ is the head of the church. We are the church. The most important thing to us to day should be Christ not our business or education.Our submission to Him should be total whether it is convenient or not.

PRAYER POINT: Father ,Let my submission to you be total today.

Victim of lies

Monday 20 August                                   Bible in one year: 2 Kings 23-25

Memorise: Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto hananiah the prophet,Hear now,Hananiah; The Lord hath sent thee;but thou makest this people trust in a lie. Jeremiah 28:15

Read: Jeremiah 28:15-17

 Although some people love to believe in a lie,yet God's standard remains . If you enjoy being flattered, you are a lover of lies. Your self-deception will soon land you into trouble ( Proverbs 29:5). Beyond lying to on another, lying has assumed another frightening dimension. How? Lying is now a common feature in the house of God. In fact, lying has become a big money spinner in the house of God. Since people love to hear lies, they flock around those who will tell it to them. If instead of hearing the undiluted Word of God you prefer to run from one prophet to the other;you are a lover of lies and you may soon be a willing victim of deception. Lying in the name of the Lord is a grievous offence. Worse still is giving a pack of lies which you brand prophetic declarations from the Lord. We all know that genuine men of God are revered, so satanic agents and merchandising prophets are also seriously engaged in the business of deception in order to get reverence from people.

If you a lover of visions, beware or else you will become a victim of lies. Any prophetic declarations that has raised your hope, coming from merchandising prophets and pastors will surely disappoint you (Jeremiah 28:15). In some places, when a  lady wants a particular man as husband, all she needs do is "settle" the prophet or prophetess and later in the service  the leader will go into acrobatics. At some point, he will say, "thus says the Lord, Brother so and so , Sister so and so is your wife". Thereafter , the sister will pretend to refuse it or even feign tears asking :" How could God be so unfair to me? Why this particular brother?" Meanwhile , the men at the centre of it all does not know that he is an unwilling actor in a script written be the church leader and the lady. Those of you who go to your pastor to pray for you  and tell you who to marry, if care is not taken , you will become a victim of lies. You are simple lazy. No pastor or prophet should tell you who to marry. They are to pray along with you  , counsel and guide you using the Word of God. If you fail to pay the price to hear from God on that matter, you may be deceived. God can use your pastor or a genuine prophet of God to confirm what He had already told you. Many homes have been established on falsehood and that is why things are falling apart and the centre can no longer hold.

KEY POINT: Some pastors are seriously into match-making. They have taken over from the Holy Spirit. Match-Making remains God's prerogative and He has not delegated it to any any pastor.

Excerpts from Open Heavens by Pastor E.A Adeboye.

Trusting in your looks

Monday 6 August                                                Bible in one year: Joshua 1-3

Memorise : Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain : but a woman that feareth the Lord , she shall be praised .Proverbs 31:30

Read: Ezekiel 16:14-15

The expectations of believers sometimes fail because they are based on the wrong foundation. Expectations that are presumptuous would most likely fail. So also would expectations based on physical qualities such as an individual’s good looks, stature or charm. If you expectation for a husband or a good home is based on your beauty, it may be dashed. There are many ladies who are not beautiful but they are married to good husbands and there are many pretty ladies who earlier thought marriage would be the easiest thing for them; in fact, they become so choosy that today that have aged, but are without husbands. If you think beauty or handsomeness will give you a good home, you should have a rethink. Take a man like Absalom. As a man he was described as being beautiful. His kind of beauty was the type that would make any pretty lady green with envy. Apart from Lucifer, Absalom was another personality described as being perfect in beauty. Most ladies would fight to have him as a husband. But at the end they would have regretted that decision.

Imaging what he did? He murdered his half-brother who raped his sister, he spearheaded a rebellion against his father and toppled him, he openly slept with his father’s concubines and he planned to kill his father but for God’s intervention. At the end he died prematurely .His wife became a widow too. His three sons and daughter became fatherless. They lived the evil tag of being the children of a rebel who died shamefully (2Samuel14:25-27). If you think you are too beautiful or to handsome to marry the fellow God has chosen for you as a life partner, make no mistake, you will end up marrying the Absaloms and Jezebels of this world. Some men are equally languishing in regret in the confines of their homes because instead of going to the Match Maker and creator, they failed to pray effectively. They believed   their physical attractiveness would pull sisters to them, and they would find a good wife from among them. Any partner you get from God is the best you can ever have, no matter how imperfect the fellow is. Go to the Lord today!

PRAYER POINT: Father, in any way I have trusted in my looks and physique, have mercy on me. From today, I put all my trust in you.

Open Heavens by Pastor E.A Adeboye