VIRTUOUS BRIDE

Memory Verse: Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies, Proverbs 31:10.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Lev 1, John 20, Prov 17, Phil 4

The word ‘virtuous woman’ is loosely used these days without many really understanding what it means to be a virtuous woman. Proverbs 31:10-31 paints a clear picture of a virtuous woman. A virtuous woman is a woman that her husband can trust with his life. One thing with trust is that you don’t buy it, you earn it. Not only that, a virtuous woman is a woman that always does her husband good and not evil all the days of her life. A woman that does her husband good will do everything possible to always make her husband happy. A virtuous woman is a woman who the fear of the Lord is deeply rooted in her. She is hardworking not lazy, the bible actually says she rises at least an hour before everyone at home to prepare breakfast. Because she conducts herself in these ways, her children will call her a blessing. Her husband will praise her and the work of her hands will speak for her wherever she goes.

Many of us have read Proverbs 31:10-31 and thought God was speaking to ladies alone. Many have thought the qualities listed are for women alone. It will amaze you that God was actually speaking to the church /believers (men and women) – the supposed bride of Jesus. It is a virtuous lady that grows to become a virtuous woman. Without a virtuous spinster, you cannot a have virtuous bride because it is a virtuous spinster that becomes a virtuous bride. It is this virtuous bride that gets married and becomes a virtuous wife. This virtuous wife matures and becomes a virtuous woman. It is impossible to be a virtuous woman without first been a virtuous lady. 

We all know that the coming of our Lord Jesus is at hand and He is not coming for just brides but virtuous brides. As virtuous brides, the qualities highlighted in Proverbs 31:10-31 must be evident in our lives. Jesus must be able to safely trust us with Kingdom assignments. We must do Him good all the days of our lives i.e. do everything to please Him at all times. How can we do Jesus good? By doing what He commands. John 15:14 says you are my friend if you do what I command. Not only that we must ensure that we are not against Him. Luke 11:23 says He that is not with me is against Me, anyone who does not gather with Me scatters. If you are not witnessing about Jesus, you are not gathering with Him which means you are scattering what He is gathering. As virtuous brides we must be very hard working and as a matter of fact we must be ready to wake up early to have a quiet time with Him. Proverbs 8:17b says only those who seek Him early will find Him. Also as virtuous brides the fear of the Lord should be deeply rooted in us. When we conduct ourselves in this manner, before Father in heaven He(Jesus) will heap praises upon us. 

QUESTION: Can Jesus measure you against the standards expected of virtuous brides and praise you before God the Father? If not ask Him to help you today.

HOW FAR?

MEMORY VERSE: So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Psalm 90:12 

 

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Lev 25, Ps 32, Eccl 8, 2 Tim 4

 

Proverbs 29:18a says where there is no vision, the people perish. The simple interpretation of this verse is where there is no ambition, the people become a nobody. Where there is nothing to achieve, the people amount to little or nothing. Where there are no goals, the people will not plan and those who fail to plan are simply planning to fail. The question is what are your visions in  Christ? How many souls do you intend to win for Christ before He calls you home? How many missionaries do you intend to sponsor to go and preach  before the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ? How many churches do you intend to build for the Lord? How many TV programmes or radio programmes do you intend to sponsor for Jesus? How many evangelism outreaches do you intend to organize? How many less privilege children or widows do you plan to assist? How many cities do you plan to take for Jesus?

 

One thing I have learnt in life is that those without vision end up serving those that have vision. It is those without goals that work for people with goals. Whilst those with goals and visions are resting, those without goals will  be working and laboring. Today get yourself a goal! Think of something major you want to do for the Lord  this year. Think of the contribution you want to make to the body of Christ before the Lord calls you home.

 

Psalm 90:12 says teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. When we all started this year, many of us had goals – personal goals, family goals, spiritual goals e.t.c. The question is this, how far with those goals? Have you started to work on them? Or you have shelved them? How many of those goals you wrote down at the beginning of the year have you achieved? We are in the fourth month of the year, how many souls have you witnessed to? How many follow ups have you done? How many people have you invited to church? How many souls have you brought to Christ? How many lives can you say the Lord has used you to bless? What efforts have you made so far to witness to that member of your family that is yet to give his or her life to Christ?

 

QUESTION : What have you achieved for Jesus this year?

SEEKING THE LORD EARLY

MEMORY VERSE: I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. Proverbs 8:17

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Lev 24, Ps 31, Eccl 7, 2 Tim 3

Proverbs 8:17b says those that seek Me early shall find Me. From studying this verse, we come to the conclusion that it is possible to seek God and not find Him. Not only that , it is also possible to seek Him late. If you seek Him late, He may be gone. It is good to always get to church on time. If service start by 10am , God would have been there by 9.30am to bless His people. If you come by 11am , well God help you. The question is this, what does it mean to seek God early? When you careful study the bible, you will notice that the Lord’s Day starts in the evening and ends in the morning. This is why you see the bible saying ‘so the evening and the morning were the first day (Genesis 1:5); so the evening and the morning were the second day (Genesis 1:8) e.t.c. Seeking God early could mean seeking God in the early hours of the morning. I feel sorry for Christians who are too lazy to wake up at night to pray. As a Christian you should not be playing with night vigils at all.

Seeking the Lord early could also mean serving the Lord from a tender age. Ecclesiastes 12:1 says remember now thy creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them. Don’t spend your youthful age chasing after women or following after men. Don’t spend your youthful age partying and clubbing. Joel 2:28 says And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. Only the youths have vision. They are strong and are able to chase after things unlike the old men who tired and weak.The youths are like battle-ax in the hands of God and with them , He brings down kingdoms of darkness.

Seeking the Lord early could also mean serving God before problem arises. There are many who only remember God when they have challenges. God is out of the question when everything is running smoothly. God is not someone who you turn to only when you have challenges, He is God and He is to be worship whether you are going through a challenge or not. Do not wait for the enemies to attack before you run to God. Do not wait to encounter challenges before you begin to fast and pray.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please as i seek you early help me to find You.

COOPERATING WITH GOD

MEMORY VERSE: If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land, Isaiah 1:19

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Lev 23, Ps 30, Eccl 6, 2 Tim 2

God has good plans for you. Jeremiah 29:11 says for 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. According to Psalms 40:5, the plans of God for your life are too much to number. He wants you to prosper and be in good health just as your soul prospers, 3 John 1:2. He also wants you to have eternal life, that was why He sent Jesus to die for your sins, John 3:16.Whether the enemies like it or not , the plans of God for your life will come to fruition. Isaiah 43:13 says when He decides to do a thing; there is nothing anyone can do about it. According to Psalms 33:8-9, all He needs to do is just say the word and it is done.

Isaiah 14:27 says for the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall dis annul it? And His hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back? When God decides to bless you, no witch or wizard or demon or man can stop Him except you. The only one who can stop God from blessing you is you. One thing with God is that He will never bless anyone against their will . Instead of forcing His way into your heart, He will stand by the door and knock. You are free to answer and if you decide not to, it is up to you. Just remember that if He knocks on the door of your heart and there is no response, when you knock on the gate of heaven, there will be no response. That will not be your portion in Jesus name. I know once He knocks , you will hear Him and open the door to Him.

For those lovely plans God has for you to come to past , you need to cooperate with God. Isaiah 1:19 says If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land. Without your willingness and obedience, there is very little the Lord can do to assist you. To be willing means readiness to get to God's destination for your life using His own route. There are several who want to get to God's destination for their life using their own route. The only disadvantage in doing these is that, one never get to God's destination using his route. Also for the plans of God to materialize in a life, there must be total obedience - 100 percent not 99.9 percent. God will never reward incomplete obedience. If God begins to reward incomplete obedience , it means He is encouraging incomplete obedience and He will never do that. If God begins to reward wickedness, what is then the incentive for living a life of holiness.

PRAYER POINT: Father as I cooperate with You , please bring your plans to fruition in my life.

GOD’S ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE NAKED

MEMORY VERSE: Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them. Genesis 3:21

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Lev 22, Ps 28-29, Eccl 5, 2 Tim 1

BIBLE STUDIES: Genesis 3:1-21

After Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruits and their eyes were opened; they discovered that they were naked. When they heard the voice of God in the garden, they ran to hide from the presence of God. After the Lord had thoroughly addressed the issue of their disobedience, He made tunics of skin to clothe them i.e. cover their nakedness. It is true that Adam and Eve were the architects of their own misfortune. They became naked as a result of their disobedience to God. It can also be argued that they became naked because they refused to listen to the counsel of the Lord .The Lord warned them not to touch the forbidden fruit but they refused and ate of the fruit. Adam became naked as a result of following the multitude to do evil. He knew that eating the fruit was forbidden, but because his wife gave it to him, he ate it.

Because Adam and Eve disobeyed God, the glory of the Lord that was a covering unto them departed. There are one or two lessons to learn from this, the product of disobedience to God is shame. So also the product of obedience to God is glory. Proverbs 3:35 says the wise shall inherit glory but shame shall be the promotion of fools. Not only that, failure to follow godly counsel exposes us to unnecessary hardship. Adam and Eve failed to follow God’s counsel and the ground was cursed for their sake.

When you study this passage carefully, you will come to the conclusion that Adam and Eve were not only physical naked, they were also emotionally naked.The reason why they hid from God was because the mistakes of their past was made known to God. Their terrible past, their misdeeds , the errors of their past , things they did out of foolishness , their wrong decisions came to God’s knowledge. What do you when people’s terrible past comes to your knowledge? What do you do when you become aware of things people did out of foolishness before they met the Lord? What do you do when you become privy of the wrong decisions a fellow took in the past? Immediately God became privy of the past of Adam and Eve, He covered them up. He did not laugh them to scorn, He did not look down on them, He did not even call them names. If for one reason or the other you become aware of a person’s past especially in the church of God, do not segregate them. Don’t turn the stories of their past to a topic of discussion amongst your friends. If you cannot pray for them, don’t compound things by using it to preach or refer to it when addressing a gathering.

PRAYER POINT: Father , in every area of my life I have become naked as a result of disobedience to you, please forgive and cover me up.

PROFITTING FROM WISDOM - A WISE SON MAKES HIS PARENTS GLAD

MEMORY VERSE: A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish man despiseth his mother. Proverbs 15:20.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Lev 22, Ps 28-29, Eccl 5, 2 Tim 1

Psalms 111:10 says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. According to Proverbs 16:6, it is by the fear of the Lord men depart from iniquity. A fellow who fears the Lord will do anything to bring joy to his parents. You can be a worker in the vineyard of God, you can be faithful in the payment of your tithe, you can even evangelize, you can do all these and much more but if you are not looking after your parent it means you do not regard God. There are a lot of benefits in making your parents glad. When you honor your father and mother as the Lord commands, it will be well with you, Ephesians 6:2-3. Iif you are not in talking terms with your parents or you do not honor them as the Lord advises, you are only courting problems. There are many believers who are struggling today and they don’t know why. If you are struggling in any endeavor, you better check your life and see if you are making your parents glad. Sir, it does not matter how hardworking you may be; if you do not honor your parents prospering will be difficult.

Also honoring your parents brings long life and prosperity, Deuteronomy 5:16. Do you know that when you lie to your parents you are dishonoring them? Whether you believe it or not, anyone lying to his father or mother is dishonoring his parents. They asked you have you done your assignments and you said yes when you are even yet to start them. Because you don’t want to do the house chore, you tell your parents you have to do some assignments or you have test on Monday. These are lies and they have consequences. Many even lie to get extra pocket money. All because you do not want your parents to ask you for money; you tell them you are out of work when you are actually full time employed, it is still a lie. I know you are a wise fellow and I know you will repent immediately.

Proverbs 3:35 says the wise shall inherit glory. Daniel 12:3 says that those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the firmament. Do you know that the prayers of your parents are very potent? The prayers of your parents carry more power than that of men of God. Do you know that if your father or mother tells you,’my son it shall be well with you’, even the devil cannot change it? When you study your bible very well you will notice that no pastor or prophet prayed for Israel and Isaac yet they became very mighty. The Lord blessed these men because their parents prayed for them. Do everything possible to earn the prayers of your parents. If you are not in talking terms with your parents you better settle with them as soon as possible.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please forgive me for dishonoring my parents. Please let it be well with me.

LUST - SIGN OF DANGER AHEAD PT2

MEMORY VERSE: for all that is in the world, lust of the flesh, and lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world.1 John 2:16

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Lev 21, Ps 26-27, Eccl 4, 1 Tim 6

BIBLE STUDIES: 2 Samuel 13:1-21

In part one of these series, we highlighted the difference between love and lust. One of the major differences between love and lust is that, lust is impatient but love is patient. We learnt that lust often leads to unwholesome actions to fulfill one’s desires with no regard to the consequences. In 2 Samuel 13:1-21 is an unfortunate story of Ammon and his sister-Tamar. The spirit of lust entered into Ammon and he raped Tamar. At the end of the day Ammon was murdered. If we carefully study this story, we will see that the end of lust is always a sad one. Untimely death, shame, loss of favor, disappointment, unhappiness, e.t.c. are all end results of lust.

There are two types of lusts – lust of the flesh and lust of the yes. 1 John 2:16 says for all that is in the world, lust of the flesh, and lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world. What is lust of the flesh? It is an evil desire for the things of the flesh or desire for things which are forbidden. The desire doesn’t have to be for sex; it can be for any pleasure. Lust of flesh is a sensual and impure desire. The lust of flesh employs our sense of tasting, smelling, touching and hearing. Examples of lust of flesh are overeating, laziness and slothfulness, fornication, adultery, oral sex ,pornography, online sex, gambling, given to drugs – marijuana, cocaine, heroin e.t.c, homosexuality, homosexuality and so on . Romans 13:14 says but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts there of.

What is the lust of the eyes? It means having an inordinate desire for something that someone sees. The lust of the eyes employs our sense of seeing. It was the lust of the eyes that put Eve Into problem in the Garden of Eden. This also resulted in not only in her spiritual death but the spiritual death of her husband- Adam. The bible records that the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, Genesis 3:16. Watch what you feed your eyes with because the enemy could use it to destroy you. The enemy used the organ of sight to reap Eve of her destiny. Eve who used to live in heaven on earth, now began to live with weed, thorns and wild animals. The end of all lust is untimely death as we see in the case of Ammon. The death may not come physically,it could come financially, spiritually, maritally or materially.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please rid me of carnality.