christian singles forum

WHAT IS THE STATE OF OUR YOUTHS TODAY? - GBENGA KOLAWOLE

2011-09-08T14:47:00.005+02:00

What is the state of the church and Youth today?

I cannot answer all the questions but let me share some of my thoughts with you. A survey was done in America recently about the future of the evangelical movement. The conclusion was that the church is losing her youth to the world and that most churches will be empty in the future. We are not attractive to our youths.

It happened in Europe now it is hitting America. If we don't do something about it, it will happen in Nigeria, probably starting in the homes of the affluent whose kids study abroad and have access to DSTV, foreign films etc. Today in Europe you find empty Cathedrals with a few old women struggling to keep the doors open. Many churches are selling their properties to developers for smart flats with high ceilings. In some cases, Muslims with petrodollars are buying former churches to convert them into mosques.

Who are we losing our kids to? We are losing them to MTV, Channel O and other music channels. The founder of MTV was quoted as saying we own 14 year olds. Have you watched some of these musical videos with your kids before? Some of the favorite artistes are Tupac (rapper now dead) 50 cents (Nigerian Breweries brought him some years ago) Snoop Dogg (This Day brought him sometimes). Channel O is available at Mr. Biggs Outlets. Our youths have been invaded. These artistes have become role models. 50 Cents was an ex-prisoner who has made good rapping. Have you seen any of his musical videos? He sells sex, beautiful women, good times, Jewellery, fast cars etc. You don't have to stay up to one hour in any Mr. Biggs before 50 Cents comes up. We have others like Whitney Houston / Bobby Brown, Janet Jackson etc.

Most teenagers who cannot recite 3 lines of scriptures have memorized all the songs of Madonna, Janet Jackson, 50 Cents or that of their favorite artistes. I understand Snoop Dogg was surprised that the crowd at This Day Concert could sing along with him on most of his songs.

Who are we losing our kids to? Hollywood, Nollywood, Big Brother Africa etc. I found out the favorite one for the teenage girls was channel E. They also loved watching Jerry Springer and cheaters. Most teenagers today can give you a lecture on the love life of stars of Hollywood. They talk about Spice girls, the Paris sisters, Footballers wives etc. It is true that these Channels have a PG rating but they discuss issues that are adult issues. Channel E also has programs such as "The girls of the Playboy mansion" also rated family. Your teenage boys and girls are being treated to soft pornography, being taught that adultery and divorce is not a big thing, which is the stuff Hollywood is made of. Your young teenager is not innocent anymore. They dance differently nowadays. We felt blues was the height of it in our days. They now have another kind of dance that is practically close to making love on the dancing floor without removing their clothes.

Do you know what some of them do with their cameras on their mobile phones? They send X-rated pictures of themselves to their boyfriends / girlfriends. In Europe young girls go out with the intention of getting drunk. Many have their drinks spiked and raped. A few months ago, a young Nigerian from a prominent Nigerian family was jailed for raping some British girls by drugging them.

Do you know what internet sites your children are viewing? Young girls visit chat rooms where older men lure them into harms' way. Who do you think are most likely to join secret societies and clubs on Campus?

With all these activities going on in the lives of the teenagers and our youth, the church is losing out. Many of you do not want to hear what I am talking about. Why? You have a good kid. Really? I know of a young girl who was impregnated recently in one of the popular Christian Universities in Nigeria. The parents are respected elders in the church.

We are talking of teenagers here, many below 15 from affluent people. I understand some teenagers also are in the habit of sniffing glue. Please parents watch your children. Let us be honest, the world today is getting more attractive than the church.

Please, lets make the church relevant mostly for our youth. We need to have a vibrant youth church that engages these Youths every time.

God bless the Youths

Gbenga Kolawole

Youth Pastor

Salvation Model Area

NATIONAL YOUTH CONVENTION 2011

2011-08-30T18:03:00.000+02:00

WHO I ASPIRE TO BE? By Pastor Gbenga Kolawole

2011-07-21T13:44:00.002+02:00

SUCCESFUL INAUGURATION

2011-07-21T13:34:00.000+02:00

WELCOME

2011-07-07T03:25:00.000+02:00

Hi,

Sequel to the successful Special Youth Summit, we have decided to inaugurate a youth fellowship to be called TRANSFORMED YOUTH FELLOWSHIP. It will be interdenominational in it's operation.

We want to be able to have young, dynamic and vibrant youth s who are on fire for God, TRANSFORMED BY GOD AND READY TO TRANSFORM THEIR WORLD.

They will become change agents anywhere they are. To be a part of this group, you can start by subscribing to this blog so you can always get an update on events and happenings among our youths.

Meanwhile, I have a gift for the first ten subscribers, it's my e-book titled 'WHAT LOVE IS NOT' It's a list to watch out for and follow when somebody says he or she is in love with you. They are signs you should watch out for in any relationship you are into. Don't miss it.

You can always contact me for your questions.

Ayotunde

Christian Courting in a Secular World

2010-09-28T14:29:00.001+02:00

Christian Courting In A Secular World

The courting world might be an unsettling place for these hoping to carry on to robust Christian convictions. Once you find somebody that sparks your pursuits chances are you’ll discover that dating whereas living in response to your faith and beliefs takes a little bit work. It may be done although and listed below are a number of methods to hold on to your Christian religion whereas dating today.

Find a Potential Mate to Date Who Shares Your Faith

This goes deeper than shared religion. You’ll want to be courting solely somebody who shares your stage of dedication to your religion in Christ. Someone who has similar objectives and ideals in relation to household, worship, and dedication to Christ goes to be a better match for you and will likely be more understanding of your desire to dwell and act in line with your beliefs

Discuss Limits, Expectations, and Needs with Every Different

As your Christian courting relationship progresses there’ll come a time when you’ll both need to sit down down together and talk about your limits, your desires, and your goals concerning intimacy and the physical nature of your ongoing relationship relationship. You’d be stunned at how many dating-and married–couples are supposed to like each other deeply but know very little concerning the hopes and dreams of their partners.

Open communication is the key to any profitable courting relationship however is very important if you find yourself attempting to stay and date above the methods of the world. When you have a Christ-centered relationship you’ll nonetheless face the same temptations that different dating-couples experience. The difference is that you may be in a much better position to withstand temptation if you are in settlement on firm relationship boundaries.

Pray Together As a Christian Singles Couple

There is a smart old saying: “The household that prays together, stays together.” This is additionally true for couples, whether or not courting or already married. Praying together solidifies your union, strengthens your commitments to one another, and affirms your collective dedication to God. Any recipe for relationship success in terms of Christian relationship relationships must embody God as an integral a part of the relationship. Remember that long hours of praying alone together can usher in physical temptation. So keep your prayers together quick and in a semi-public place for the sake of relationship purity earlier than marriage.

Worship Together As a Christian Singles Couple

Make certainly one of your regular dates attending church services together. Take part in Bible examine groups together. Construct a relationship jointly throughout the safety internet of your Christian faith. As you grow to be more committed to at least one another and to God you possibly can expand your dating experiences to more secular activities if you want but there is nothing fallacious with holding a Christ-centered relationship as your primary focus. In any case, a Christian dating relationship is sort of a triangle with God at the high and the person and woman at every nook of the base, the nearer a man and lady get to God, the closer they get to one another as they move up the triangle.

Encompass Yourselves With Positive Christian Couples

There may be little or no that can compare to fellowship with different Christian couples who share your dedication to Christ with regards to helping you stand your moral floor while dating. There are a lot of temptations that you will face as a Christian couple dating in at present’s world, a fallen world that views dating and morality far in a different way than Christians do.

The secular world through which we reside might not be ideally suited for Christian dating however it’s nonetheless attainable to carry true to Christian beliefs and set your self aside from worldlier courting practices. Change into beacons of life for one another and replicate your commitment to Christ by your courting deeds in addition to your words.

God Is The Best Matchmaker or Relationship Service There Is When It Comes to Bringing Two Christian Singles Collectively

Perhaps you haven’t yet met the one which God wants you to marry. Do not allow anxiety or desperation to put you right into a courting stress cooker. Calm down and belief God to convey dating success as you mature in Christ. Get pleasure from each stage of your Christian life. If single, enjoy singleness, retaining in thoughts that sometime you will probably have far much less free time with a partner and probably children to love and care for.

Get a Date tonight through christian singles dating just by clicking on http://www.dating-christian.org/

WORK THE WAIT- STEPHANIE VOIDLAND

2010-09-24T16:41:00.000+02:00

The following article is located at: http://www.kyria.com/topics/spiritualformation/theologyspiritualissues/mind0709.html

Work the Wait

How I make the most of God's delays

by Stephanie Voiland | posted 7/09/2008

When will I get my turn to hang a white dress in my closet?" I mumbled as I hung up my fourth bridesmaid dress last summer. A single 29-year-old, I'd watched friend after friend join the ranks of "Mrs."; I couldn't help but wonder, How much longer, God?

As I contemplated my life's many delays, I realized I don't like waiting—and I'm not very good at it. But I wanted to grow during my waiting seasons rather than become bitter or lose faith. So I asked God to show me how he's working through these divine delays.

Reminders of Redemption

Sometimes, a wait seems to have no apparent reason. The delay is simply the product of a sin–ravaged world.

My friend Tiffanie, after finishing grad school, spent months searching for a job. As leads failed to pan out into paychecks, she became discouraged.

Yet, much to my admiration, Tiffanie refused to anesthetize the waiting ache. For three months, she fasted from TV because she believed God had "given me the time (whether I asked for it or not) to reflect on what I have and where I'm headed."

Strangely, it's in the bleakest waiting moments that God's intervention manifests itself
most clearly.

Throughout those agonizing months, God showed up in ways more profound than a job offer. She was looking for a way to support herself; God taught her a new level of dependence on him. She was desperately waiting for a potential employer's phone call; instead, God spoke into her soul's quiet places. She was searching for a genie–god to provide instantly for her needs; God blew her away by revealing he's much better and bigger than she'd ever dreamed.

Eventually, Tiffanie landed a job, and she was grateful for the answered prayer. But she was even more grateful to learn God meets us through the waiting journey in ways beyond those originally asked or imagined. And he lovingly reminds us he can redeem any situation.

The Timing of Trust

Strangely, it's in the bleakest waiting moments that God's intervention manifests itself most clearly. Sometimes, those miracles are glamorous. We receive the perfect job, the physical healing, the necessary funds—and the wait is over.

But other times, God does the miracle in us.

Not long ago, as I was sitting down to dinner with my parents, they received a phone call from a hospital: "Your son's been in an accident … . Can't give details … . Come as soon as you can … ." In a trance, I stumbled to the car with my parents and sister. Those two hours on the way to the hospital were the longest of my life. I wish my immediate reaction had been peace, communion with God, or some other super–spiritual phenomenon. But the feeling in my gut was more like numbness and nausea. My mind churned with questions: Is he going to survive? Will he walk again? Waiting for details unknown and out of my control was terrifying.

Somewhere between my parents' home and the hospital, however, a remarkable thing happened. Ever so subtly in that night's uncertainty, the Holy Spirit crept into my personal waiting room. I was still terrified. But underneath that layer of fear, I found myself standing on an infinitely solid truth, one no car accident could steal. I didn't know what we'd find when we arrived at the hospital. But I knew whatever it was, God would still be God.

My circumstances hadn't changed. Yet in the midst of waiting, I'd learned a new kind of trust. And this learning, in itself, was almost like a miracle.

Thankfully, my brother walked out of the hospital a week later with merely a row of stitches above one eye and a scar over his left lung. I walked away with a fresh perspective on what it means to trust God without knowing the outcome. Waiting seasons are still painful. But deep within me, God is at work, assuring me he won't waste my heartaches. That even if he doesn't make my situations better, he'll somehow make me better through them.

A Compassionate Presence

Often a wait seems long when life doesn't unfold according to our agendas. But sometimes God has amazing reasons for a delay.

I learned that great lesson about waiting from the story of Lazarus's resurrection (John 11). Jesus was good friends with Lazarus and his sisters, Martha and Mary. Christ even crashed at their place occasionally. So surely when he heard Lazarus was ill, he'd rush to his side and heal him! Instead, we read this haunting sentence: "Although Jesus loved Martha, Mary and Lazarus, he stayed where he was for the next two days" (verses 5–6). My knee–jerk reaction is to cry, "Hello! Why were you waiting? That's not love!" Martha and Mary were slightly more diplomatic, but they expressed the same sentiment: "Lord, if only you had been here" (verses 21 and 32).

With our limited vision, Mary, Martha, and I couldn't see God sometimes doesn't give us what we request so he can give us something better. Jesus said the death of Lazarus "happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory for this" (verse 4). Granted, a healing would have been amazing. But Jesus had a bigger plan that couldn't occur without Lazarus's time in the grave.

While waiting for this plan to unfold, Mary and Martha must have taken comfort in one small action of Jesus. It would have been easy to miss, since it fell somewhere between their initial grief and Jesus' most astounding miracle. The moment is easy for us to overlook too, since it's recorded in the Bible's shortest verse: "Jesus wept" (verse 35). He hurt because he saw Mary and Martha's pain.

He doesn't orchestrate broken bodies and hearts as some sort of spiritual boot camp, while he stands aloof shouting orders. He doesn't insist we get over our waiting ache. Rather, he aches and walks with us to help us navigate our fractured world.

The flesh–and–blood God, who shed real tears, was with Mary and Martha. And when we feel alone in our wait, he promises the same: "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5).

I'd still like a white dress to hang in my closet someday—preferably someday soon. But now as I wait, I'm careful not merely to mark time, so preoccupied with what's next that I miss out on what's now. I'm striving to wait well. And part of waiting well, I've learned, is being open to God's lessons about redemption, trust, compassion, and his higher purposes along the way.

Until I see God face–to–face, I'll always wait for something. Or rather, Someone. And as I long for earthly things, I'll allow them to point me to the deepest longing in my soul. He's the One I await.

Stephanie Voiland, an editor and TCW regular contributor, lives in Illinois.

I believe this article has blessed you. Wait and see the salvation of the Lord.

Pastor Ayo

BBC News - Tiger Woods ex-wife Elin Nordegren 'went through hell'

2010-08-26T09:59:00.000+02:00

BBC News - Tiger Woods ex-wife Elin Nordegren 'went through hell'

WHERE IS THE PLACE OF VIRGINITY TODAY?

2010-05-30T07:39:00.000+02:00

BIBLE IN A YEAR: 1Kgs 5 -7

GOD’S COMPANION?

MEMORIZE: “And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach” (Mark 3:14)

READ: Mark 3:13-15

Israel was a nation that upheld the virtues of chastity. A lady was expected to remain a virgin until marriage. In fact, on the first night of their honeymoon, the bridegroom was expected to verify the claim of virginity of his wife. And if the proof was not there, that marriage was regarded as a fraud. The issue of virginity was beyond the family.

It was of national importance. Today, most nations of the world do nothing to encourage virginity. Rather, they allow very permissive and liberal laws that ensure that at the end of the day, no virgin is left. In some countries, the statistics of rape is rather alarming. Imagine having a rape victim out of every four ladies, age not withstanding.

Why won’t it be so when ladies are allowed to dress suggestively and sometimes in the nude? Christian leaders, families and Christians communities must not only rise and condemn this madness in the guise of fashion, but also ensure that everyone under their power of influence are brought up to rebel against it.

There were many virgins in Israel but only ten were chosen. God has chosen you as His servant for some reasons. According to today’s reading, you were chosen for companionship. One relationship where companionship is a very strong force is the marriage institution.

God likes being in company of His loved ones. In the Garden of Eden, He frequently visited Adam before the fall because He needed his company. If you are a servant of God but have no time for Him, your ministry cannot give the desired harvest. At best, you will be peripheral in your knowledge of your Caller and Commissioner.

Years after being called into ministry, many ministers have remained strangers to the Lord. True companionship facilitates mutual knowledge: God will get to know you intimately and you will get to understand the God you work for. Before He can entrust you with great Kingdom assignments, He must know you. Are you God’s companion?

Is it boring for you to spend an hour or two daily in His presence - just to keep Him company? If you must excel in ministry, Get to be in His company from today. Your first assignment as a minister of God is to be with Him. Are you with Him today?

ACTION POINT: If you can keep God company, all the good things of life and ministry will be your guests.

We need to ask our youths today where is the place of virginity today. Pastors are told to preach safe sex so that the young ladies will not get pregnant and disgrace the church.

May God help the church, we must stand for the Word of God.

WHEN GOD CHOOSES FOR YOU

2010-04-15T08:44:00.000+02:00

http://openheavensdevotional.blogspot.com/2010/04/when-he-chooses-open-heavens-devotional.html

WHEN HE CHOOSES
Thursday, April 15, 2010
MEMORIZE: “He shall choose our inheritance for us, the Excellency of Jacob whom he loved” (Psalm 47:4)

READ: John 15:15-16

Moses was grazing Jethro’s cattle one day when he encountered the burning bush. One thing about this bush is that it was divinely chosen. God looked through all available bushes around and picked on this particular one just as He decided to locate the Redemption Camp on its present site. If given the privilege of determining the location of our camp ground, it would never have been in its present location.

I would have preferred a location much closer to Lagos. But if I were to choose the location as a tribalized leader of the church, I would have chosen a bush very close to my origin at Ifewara. Thank God His choice prevailed. For those believers who obtained their spouses from God, if asked to make that choice personally, they would have chosen someone else and would have missed God’s divine destination.

Has the Lord had to choose for you on any matter? Appreciate Him for His choice and wisdom. You could never have chosen something better! God’s choice may not look like the best. If it is a job, it may not necessarily offer you the fattest remunerations. If it is a spouse, the fellow may not necessarily be the most handsome or beautiful, comfortable, etc. Yet, if it is God, it is the best.

“Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you” (John 15:16). God still chooses for His own today. When God chooses somebody for an assignment, it does not necessarily mean the fellow is the most qualified. Infact, usually, God chooses the least qualified so that flesh will not rob Him of His glory.

If the Lord chooses a husband for you, it is not because he is perfect but because He is about to take the fellow through a process of change that will make the person your ideal partner. If God has chosen your partner but the fellow falls far below your expectations, as long as he or she is a bonafide child of God and is living to please God, leave God with the remaining details.

By the time He is through with the fellow, you will understand why God made that choice in the first place. When God chooses someone, several activities follow in quick succession. For instance, God’s choice of this burning bush culminated in the death of an Egyptian who knew nothing about the bush just to connect Moses with the bush. Because the Lord has chosen you, He will cause everything to work in your favor.

WHEN GOD CHOOSES FOR YOU

2010-04-15T08:40:00.001+02:00

BEFORE YOU SAY I DO - T.D JAKES

2010-03-14T18:24:00.001+01:00

This message will bless you. Let me know your responses.

You have a part to play in getting your partner

2009-10-22T20:45:00.000+02:00

PART OF THIS PROCESS?

Gen. 2: 21; “And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof”’

Marriage is a great institution that has criss-crossed nations, tribes, academic and social-cultural goals and affiliations. Not too many married couples are finding marriage pleasant. A brother was planning for his wedding sometime ago and he went to tell some of his customers who were directors of an engineering company. They told him they were fed up of their experience with marriage and were looking for a way out, while he was taking steps into it. Several homes were broken with the highest divorce figures coming from the West. Many couples are living in hell. In fact, if you want to describe the torments of hell, just say the situation in hell is comparable, though far worse than what obtains in their homes. And they will get the message. Yet originally, God designed the family to be an extension of Heaven. It is my prayer that whatever your family has lost or is missing which should give you heaven on earth will be divinely supplied.

In this passage, Gen. 2:21-24, although Adam was asleep when God was working on Eve, he however made some certain inputs. He contributed a rib. As a searching single, you have to make a sacrificial contribution for your Eve to come out. The size of your contribution will determine how your finished product- your wife will be. That contribution could be in the area of prayer, fasting, sowing seeds into the type of home or partner you want. It could also be to what extent you have prepared. Sister, if you want a good home, are you prepared to be a good wife? As married couples you will need to make sacrificial contributions in order to have your desired home. Turning a house into a home is the responsibility of both partners. Proverbs 14:1 says the woman who sees herself as a builder and commits herself to building her home is wise. If you build your home, you will enjoy it. If you pull it down, you will regret it. Are you building or pulling down your home? Moving house into home is a process. It takes time. Give it what it takes.

FROM: OPEN HEAVENS, A DAILY DEVOTIONAL.

Be Patient as you find your partner.

2009-10-19T19:00:00.000+02:00

BE PATIENT

James 5: 8 “Be ye also patient: stablish your hearts; for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh”

Read Hebrews 6:13-15

“And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man” Gen. 2: 22.

When God finished the product He was making for Adam, He brought her to him. Some believers are so much in a hurry to get their partner. Some would say, “If God does not give me my life partner by such a time, I will backslide”. Who loses? Is God the one in need or you? The truth is, it takes time to turn raw materials into a finished product. Go to a plant where brand new cars are assembled and you will appreciate all the efforts that go into producing just one car. Not all ladies are from the Lord. Proverbs 19:14 says, “House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: a prudent wife is from the LORD”. If you want your partner from God, as you make your sacrificial inputs, be prepared to wait on Him. Adam did not rush God. He allowed God to handle it and when He was through, Eve came. If you are looking at your age, thinking you are getting too old and unwilling to wait until God is through, you may be courting trouble. If a product is to be made, it has to undergo several processes in probably different machines. It has a set time too. But if you want to bring it out in a hurry, it will have to skip some stages in the production process and turn out to be a defective product. Impatience of some believers has made them rush out their partners before God was through. Yet, today they are complaining about the individual. Be patient!!!

Another thing in this passage is that God led Eve to Adam. Whoever says a sister cannot identify her partner first? Although to avoid looking cheap, she may not want to bell the cat but pray until he too receives from God. However, God can lead the woman to the man, as much as He can lead the man to the woman. Both men and women have access to divine guidance. Are you a sister trusting God for your heaven-sent partner? God will lead you to him. You will not miss God’s best for your life. Go to God and ask. Let Him be your focus. Make the necessary seed inputs and be expectant. The Lord will visit you.

PS: Those who cannot wait on God before embarking on a project end up being caught in the machinery of delay after take-off.

PASTOR E.A ADEBOYE

FROM OPEN HEAVENS – A DAILY DEVOTIONAL

YOU NEED PATIENCE - SINGLE AND MARRIED

2009-09-26T21:35:00.000+02:00

FOR THE SINGLE AND MARRIED

BY PASTOR E.A ADEBOYE

RUTH AND OFFERS

Rom 2:7 “To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality” Also read Ruth 3: 8-10

Ruth was an outstanding lady right from the time she had an encounter with the God of the Jews. She loved God and His people to the point that she gave up her people and nation just like Abraham. And like Abraham, by so doing, she was responding to a divine call. As at the time she was about to leave, Orpah, her sister-in-law, also of Moab, called her aside and asked: “Do you really mean to go with Mama Naomi back to her place?” Yes, she replied,” why? Or have you been brainwashed by the teachings you have been receiving?” Orpah asked with probing eyes. “I believe all we were taught because I have found out that the God of the Jews is real. Why should I continue in Moab and starve myself of more knowledge about this God?” Ruth replied. Orpah was shocked; she stared at her sister-in-law in surprise, “you mean you will forsake your people and their religion and follow the strange God and the customs of the Isrealites? You must be a fool! Have you considered the reality of what mama Naomi said: that there is no guarantee of having another husband or hope of a better life in Isreal, while there are several men to choose from in Moab?”

“Husband or not, I am going with our mother-in-law to her country, people and will serve her God. She has offered me what nobody else in Moab could. I cannot afford to lose this golden opportunity. Do you care to join us?” Ruth asked. “Keep your decision to yourself. I am better off in Moab than any place else. Bye, Orpah said and left.

Ruth went with Naomi to Bethlehem. She had no hope of a suitor because Jews were not expected to marry Gentiles. But over a period of time, people saw that she was a true believer in the Almighty God. Her life and conduct were exemplary. Before long, suitors started coming. But she turned them down as she waited for God. Then he came. When a believer is refusing to accept the offers of the world, it is because there is a better offer for the fellow. Are some individuals asking your hand in marriage, but while praying God says no? It is because He has reserved your Boaz through whom your destiny can be actualized. Also, we learn that in order to get God’s best, patience is inevitable. To get God’s best; you may have to turn down man’s offer. Don’t jump at any offer. If Ruth had done so, she would have been history rather than making history. Pray about all offers.

Addedum: The impatient will most likely miss God’s best. Ask God for grace to patiently wait on Him.

FROM: OPEN HEAVEN- A DAILY DEVOTIONAL.

Finding the right partner in relationship

2009-09-21T22:34:00.000+02:00

HIT IT RIGHT. FOR SINGLES

BY PASTOR E.A ADEBOYE

1 COR. 14:26-33

"For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints" 1 Cor. 14:33
God is interested in guiding His children in all areas of life, and in marriage particularly. As a searching single, it is important to crosscheck with God, what you have heard or seen in visions or dreams and be certain it is God before you say "God says". Believers should be more sensitive to the spirit to prevent from being misled by a voice or dream. It is wrong to tell a sister "God is leading me to you" when it is the flesh. How can God lead four or five brothers to the same sister? How can three sisters be fighting over one brother and all claim God led them? God is not the author of confusion! A particular brother so dreaded approaching the wrong sister in marriage to the point that he took time to settle it on his knees. Even after God led him in different ways, he exercised restrain and asked and received confirmations. Thereafter, he asked the Lord to go and tell the sister that he was her husband. he prayed on this until the Lord told him she had already known and even stated the day she knew. By the time he approached her, she told him the Lord had earlier informed her.

Beloved, are you not tired of approaching different people and not one is the right person? Are you not tired of saying "God says" when merely acting on lust? Are you not ashamed of being repeatedly turned down by your hit and miss tactic? Your inability to get it right suggests a high degree of prayerlessness, lack of openness to God and insincerity. A sister went in the company of an invited minister to a certain church. Before they left, several brothers were already asking him if they could approach her for marriage. He laughed and told them she was not only married but also had three children. How disappointed they must have been. If you are not ready to seek God's face in marriage, you may have to encounter shame, disgrace and disappointment. Stop being lazy. take time and seek the Lord and when He answers you and you eventually approach that individual, you can be sure you will not miss God's best.

FROM: OPEN HEAVENS, A DAILY DEVOTIONAL.

2009-09-18T15:18:00.000+02:00

HOW GOD GUIDES

- PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

James 3:17- 18. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

When God guides you concerning His choice in marriage, even if you could not recognize your partner at first sight, He will use other ways to get you to know the fellow. He can speak to you through the inner voice or witness (1 Kings 19:12). If you are too noisy or too busy to listen inwards, you may not hear this voice. He can also use the audible voice. (1 Sam 3:4-7). This voice is loud enough to arrest your attention, or get you thinking was around the corner talking to you. God can also use dreams and visions. Ensure you subject whatever you hear or see to the written word of God. If it goes contrary to the Bible, then there is no light in it (Isaiah 8:20). God cannot contradict His word.

Another way that God guides is through the peace test (Jas 3:17). If you think of taking the person in question as your wife or husband, how do you feel deep inside you? if you feel disturbed, then it’s most likely the wrong choice. But if you feel an inner peace concerning the fellow, he or she might just be the right partner. One most reliable way God can lead you to your partner is by giving you specific scriptures, or using scriptures to answer you. While praying on the issue, a verse or two could drop in your spirit. Write them down and check them up to know what they are saying.

Each of these ways could be manipulated by Satan, hence you must judge them by the Bible and prayer. Another way God guides is by using others to confirm what He has already told you. In this way, He can use different people- known and unknown to confirm the choice. When several unrelated people are saying the same thing, God could be behind the message. In addition, He can use children, whole families or prayer partners to confirm the fellow. Usually, these people will only be confirming what God has already told you. Similarly, never allow anybody to decide for you. God can also guide you through a word of prophesy. How sensitive are you to God’s leading? As you submit to Him today, He will lead you to your rightful partner in Jesus name. if you desire God’s will, you will surely get it, pray for it.

From: Open Heavens; a daily devotional

2009-09-18T07:49:00.000+02:00

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