IT IS TIME TO GROW UP

But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen" (2 Peter 3:18).

God's word challenges us to grow in grace. That statement presupposes that in the first place, we have already been dealt a measure of grace by the Lord. That is the only sense whereby we can place the challenge to grow in grace into proper context. You already have grace, for God cannot ask you to grow in what you don't already have.

We know from Titus  2:11 that the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. Some have responded to this grace, others are yet to do so. For those who have responded to God's grace in Christ
Jesus, we are admonished not to receive this grace in vain (2 Corinthians 6:1). Here are a few things that you need to do.

First, you must nurture that grace by growing in it. The grace of God feeds on the word of God in order to grow. That is why Acts 20:34 labels the Scripture as the "word of His grace". The more we study and
meditate in the word of God, the more we can grow in the grace of God. Those who sit down to learn at the feet of Jesus grow in grace. The process of growing in grace must also involve prayer. The spirit of grace is also the spirit of prayer (Zechariah 12:10.

Secondly, we must walk worthy of the Lord, living lives that is worthy of the grace of God. While truly there is liberty for us through the grace of God, that grace should never be taken as an occasion for lasciviousness. In simple terms, those who have received the grace of God and desire to grow in it always run away from the things that displease the God of grace. As the Scripture says, we cannot continue in sin and expect grace to abound (Romans 6:1). The more we purge ourselves from all forms of uncleanness, the more we can grow in the grace of God.

Finally, the Apostle Paul also tells us from his own life example that one way to show you have not received the grace of God in vain and to grow in it is to labour abundantly in that grace (1 Corinthians 15:10). Labouring in that grace, serving the Lord acceptably with reverence and godly fear, and abounding in every good work, will keep you growing in grace and faith. Indeed, the purpose of grace is service and when grace is allowed to fulfil it's purpose, it grows. A major area of service is to keep on sharing the good news with those who are yet to respond to the grace of God.

Again, I leave you with this prayer taken from 2 Peter 1:2 -  May the grace of God be continually multiplied unto you through the knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Wrong Reasons to Get Married

People who want to get married must have genuine reasons. Many marriages and relationships end up in divorce and broken relationships. This is because the couples involved got married for the wrong reasons. Some who were able to fix their marriage went to marriage experts and relationship counselors for help. They did not go for break up advice because they want to keep their marriage. There are so many wrong reasons to get married. You see married and flirting couples all because they had no good reason to marry someone. If you want to get married and have said to yourself ‘when i get married divorce is not an option’ then consider the wrong reasons to get married discussed below. These wrong reasons to get married about to be discussed will help you determine whether you are getting married for the wrong reasons or not.

Wrong Reasons to Get Married

Sexual Satisfaction
Sexual satisfaction is one of the important factors that keep people happy in marriage and relationships. Sex also help keep relationships problems out of a relationship and marriage. However it should not be the only reason to marry someone. Once you no longer get that sexual satisfaction you become sex starved. You most likely will start looking else where to get sexually satisfied. This definitely will lead to relationship problems. This is one of the reasons we have many flirting married people. Some see lack of sexual satisfaction as a reason to get divorce. This is one of the wrong reasons to get married young people fall for in most cases.

You Have Been Dating For A Long Time
Should you marry someone because you have been dating for a long time then you married for wrong reason. This is one of the wrong reasons to get married many people fall for. If you know there are issues within you that has been keeping you from talking about the future with your partner why not get it clarified before getting married. Stop worrying about the years you have spent in courtship. Your focus should be on how you will spend the rest of your life with the person. Will your marriage be a paradise or hell? The answer to this question will be determined by the reasons you got married.

She is Having my Baby/He is The Father of my Baby
This is one of the wrong reasons to get married that is very common among youths. It is okay to make mistakes. However, it is worse to live continually in that mistake. The truth is that having children is not a criterion for a marriage to work. The fact that a baby is coming or is here does not mean a great marriage ahead. It is not to the best interest of the children if their parents subject themselves to all forms of abuse and convenience for their sake. The children are the ones to suffer most from an abusive relationship and divorce. It is better if both of you should come together and work out a better solution. The children are not the cause of the problem. Rather the problem came up because you married for one of the wrong reasons to get married.

Your Parents Like Her/Him 
If this is your reason to marry someone then you are getting married for the wrong reasons. Bearing in mind that marriage is between two people, this should not be the motivation behind your marriage or relationship. Your parents view of her/him may likely be different from your own view of the person. Their view has little to contribute when it comes to making the marriage or relationship work. You just have to put your feelings and happiness first. Then hope your parents approve of your union. If you go ahead with the marriage you most likely will be unhappily married. This is because your marriage is based on one of the wrong reasons to get married. It is based on a faulty foundation.

He/She Has Endured a Lot For Your Sake
He/she has endured so much for your sake. Probably has contributed a lot in making you a better person. The sooner you realize that you can never pay off that debt the better for you. This will be one of your very bad reasons to get married to that person. Especially if you don’t see your needs in marriage being met by that person. You should not pay her with marriage if your heart is far from it. Look for other ways of compensation other than marriage.

You Are Ripe For Marriage
It is good you you recognized that you are ripe for marriage. However it is not the only good reason to marry. The fact that you are ripe for marriage does not bring along the right person to marry you. Having all the good things one can think of, good job, cars and other valuable investments are not the best reasons to get married. If you are not marrying for love then you are getting married for the wrong reasons. It is a fact that when it comes to getting married there are no path put down for everyone to follow. We desire different things in life. Your desire and feelings should be your guide and not logic when it comes to marriage and relationship.

Your Peers Are All Married
This is one of the wrong reasons to get married most young people get trapped in. If you realize the agony you will face all your life for marrying the wrong person, you will understand that being the only unmarried person among your peers is no big deal. The follow the bandwagon approach should not apply when it comes to marriage if your happiness means anything to you.

You Are Having The Same Birthday Anniversary
It is okay to become friends with someone who shares the same birthday anniversary with you. You should not fall for this temptation when it comes to marriage and relationship. Marriage goes beyond birthday anniversary. Your future and happiness is at stake here. What is the usefulness of having the same birthday anniversary when happiness and comfort is far from your marriage relationship. You definitely are in marriage for the wrong reasons if this is your motivation.

To Maintain Family Ties
This is one of the wrong reasons to get married brought about by close families. Parents who want to maintain their closeness with another family arrange marriage for their children. Some with business empires do it to protect their wealth. They do this without putting into consideration the feelings of the people getting married. People who marry people based on family ties in most cases end up becoming unhappily married. Women who get married and men who get married must have a good reason to get married. They may end up becoming married and bored if their relationship is not based on love. It is certain that you are not living the rest of your life with your parents. Rather you will be sharing your bed with the person you married for the rest of your life. Having this in mind, your focus should be on finding the right person to marry you and not the right family or group.

To Get at Your Parents
Are your parents frustrating you at home? Putting pressure on you to get married. Or have they gone ahead to arrange marriage for you without your consent? In an attempt to counter the marriage arrangement you got married to or got pregnant for someone you have no real love feelings for. Then you are in marriage for one of the wrong reasons to get married. Your parents may feel bad and disappointed. However you will realize that you took a wrong decision when you discover that the person you got married to does not posses the qualities you desire in a partner.
There are many other wrong reasons to get married apart from the ones discussed in this article. Marrying for love is the best reason to marry someone. Some people who are in marriage for wrong reasons end up becoming flirting married couples or married seeking comfort and happiness.  Most married men who cheat and married women who cheat may have married for some of the wrong reasons discussed in this article. You should have a clear vision of what you want in marriage to avoid being unhappily married.

source:  http://realdeeplove.com

FIRST FROM US 'THE REAL STORY BEHIND VALENTINE'

This Valentine’s Day you will probably either send or receive a Valentine from someone. More than a billion are expected to be given away in the United States alone.  But just like many of our holidays, there’s a lot more behind it than just cards and gifts.  There’s a true life story. It’s a story that teaches us a lot about the true meaning of love, sacrifice and commitment.

In the third century, the Roman Empire was ruled by Emperor Claudius II Gothicus. He was nicknamed Claudius the Cruel because of his harsh leadership and his tendency for getting into wars and abusing his people. In fact, he was getting into so many wars during the third century that he was having a difficult time recruiting enough soldiers.

Claudius believed that recruitment for the army was down because Roman men did not want to leave their loves or families behind, so he canceled all marriages and engagements in Rome. Thousands of couples saw their hopes of matrimony dashed by the single act of a tyrant. And no one seemed interested in standing up to the emperor.

But a simple Christian priest named Valentine did come forward and stood up for love. He began to secretly marry soldiers before they went off to war, despite the emperor’s orders. In 269 AD Emperor Claudius found out about the secret ceremonies. He had Valentine thrown into prison and deemed that he would be put to death.

As Valentine was awaiting execution, he fell in love with a blind girl, who happened to be the jailer’s daughter. On the eve of his execution, with no writing instruments available, Valentine is said to have written her a sonnet in ink that he squeezed from violets. Legend has it that his words made the blind woman see again. It was a brief romance because the next day Valentine was clubbed to death by Roman executioners.

St. Valentine gave his life so that young couples could be bonded together in holy matrimony. They may have killed the man, but not his spirit. Even centuries after his death, the story of Valentine’s self-sacrificing commitment to love was legendary in Rome. Eventually he was granted Sainthood and the Catholic Church decided to create a feast in his honor. They picked February 14 as the day of celebration because of the ancient belief that birds (particularly lovebirds, but also owls and doves) began to mate on that very day.

It’s surprising to know that Valentine’s Day is really founded on the concept of love in marriage. On This Valentine’s Day, what are you doing to keep the love in your marriage burning? While giving a gift and card, having a candlelight dinner, and sharing special words of love are all important, the true spirit of Valentine’s Day needs to last throughout the year.

Here are some ways to bring more love into your marriage:

• Schedule priority time together. Pull out your calendars and set a date night every week or two just to spend time together and talk. (Note: movies don’t count.)
• Laugh together. When was the last time you shared a funny story and chuckled with each other? Loosen up and laugh freely. Live lightheartedly!
• Play together. Find a hobby or activity you both enjoy—fishing, bowling, tennis, hiking, or biking.
• Be romantic together. Send your spouse a note of encouragement in the mail every once in a while just to say “I love you.” Spend one or two weekends away each year, just with your wife. (No buddies allowed.)

While Valentine’s Day is a good time to put a spark back into your relationship, the only way to fan the flame of a good relationship is for every day to be a Hallmark moment.

What are you doing to fan the flame of love in your marriage?  Please share your comments with me.

source:    http://www.markmerrill.com

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THIS YEAR!

And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God;
and they stood at the nether part of the mount" (Exodus 19:17).

Connecting with God, meeting with Him and enjoying a meaningful and dynamic relationship with Him is the most important duty of all living. While it is good and desirable to have access to the blessings of God, gaining access to God Himself and not just to the things of God must be our real priority in life. It is a share waste of time if we do all the religious stuff and did not meet with God, and if we don't adjust immediately, that waste of time could result in a waste of life.

For this reason, it is very important that we emphasise that the primary responsibility of every minister, irrespective of his calling is to link people up with God. Indeed, the primary duty of every Christian is to connect the rest of humanity to the Lord our God. Remember that He has given us all the ministry of reconciliation (2Corinthians 5:19-20). Moses realised this and ran a ministry that did not just connect the people to the man of God, but a service that humanity to Divinity. That is the example God wants us all to follow.

A pastor could successfully connect people with their miracles and blessings, but if that does not translate into a vibrant relationship with God, then such a pastor has failed in his core assignment. Similarly, we may succeed in connecting people to our church denomination so that they become good church people. But if that does not translate into an evidently dynamic relationship with the Lord, then we have achieved nothing of eternal significance. Too often, we need to be reminded that the fact that a man is a good Baptist or Catholic or Pentecostal or Anglican or Methodist does not necessarily mean he is a Christian, let alone a good Christian.

Then we must be careful to ensure that in the way we live our lives and conduct our ministry, we do not create hindrances in the way of the people getting to experience the true and living God. Just as Jesus cautioned the disciples when they were preventing the little children from coming to Him, I hear the Lord saying to us, "Allow the people to come to Me". May we not fail God in Jesus mighty name.

EVIL,BAD, AND WORST 'HYPOCRISY'

"You can't keep your true self hidden forever; before long you'll be
exposed. You can't hide behind a religious mask forever; sooner or
later the mask will slip and your true face will be known. You can't
whisper one thing in private and preach the opposite in public; the
day's coming when those whispers will be repeated all over town" (Luke
12:2-3, The Message BIBLE).

Hypocrisy is bad and detestable in every respect. It was one thing that Jesus condemned very harshly in the lifestyle of the Pharisees. Jesus also warned His followers severally against living in hypocrisy like the religious leaders of those days. A life of pretence is unbecoming of a child of God. Friend, you must labour to be true to God, to yourself, and to your neighbour.

But the scene today is hardly any different from what it was in the days of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Perhaps the situation today is worse than it was in those days. Now we have pure bred satanists standing on the altar of the living God as ministers of the gospel. We have armed robbers pretending to be saints, serving as workers in the church of Christ. There are pastors and elders having two wives in separate cities, the one not knowing the existence of the other, while the church sees the man as having only one wife.

It is to no purpose to live a life of pretence, for, sooner or later, truth will come out. Remember that a lying tongue is but for a moment. If you speak in darkness that which is unbecoming you, and is inconsistent with your public professions, it shall be heard in the light some day. Some way or other it shall be discovered, a bird of the air shall carry the voice or report the deed, and your folly and falsehood will be made manifest.

Friends, be sure that the iniquity that is concealed with a show of piety will be discovered, perhaps in this world, as it was in the case of Judas and Simon the sorcerer. But if not now, at furthest in the great day, when the secrets of all hearts shall be made manifest (Romans 2:16). If men's religion prevail not to conquer and cure the wickedness of their hearts, it shall not always serve for a cloak. The day is coming when hypocrites will be stripped of their fig leaves.

YOU ARE DUE FOR TESTIMONY

And Jethro said, Blessed be the LORD, who hath delivered you out of
the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath
delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.
Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing
wherein they dealt proudly he was above them" (Exodus  18:10-11).

Surprises, surprises, surprises. That is what I feel in my spirit right now about you. As you read this message, I want you to believe God with me that your testimony is about to break forth, your deliverance is about to be effected, and that your story is about to change permanently for the best.

I do not know your situation or what you might be going through right now, but I have a conviction within me that God has a solid programme of divine intervention packaged together for you and your loved ones. I have a feeling right now that you will soon have another story to tell, and this time around, it will be cheering news.

I can imagine how excited Moses would have been, telling Jethro his father-in-law the wonderful things the Lord God did for him and the children of Israel: how that God punished the Egyptians with terrible plagues, favoured the Hebrews by turning over the wealth of Egypt into their hands, taking them through the mighty Red Sea as on dry ground, destroying the Egyptians who attempted to pursue them into the sea, and many other wonderful things that only the Almighty could do.

Now I see you in the place of Moses telling others of the wonderful works of God in your life. I see you telling others how the impossible has become possible in your life, how the difficult turned out to be easy, how your health has greatly improved, how your business suddenly turned around, and how your dreams have become realities - all because Jehovah intervened in your affairs.

And just as Jethro rejoiced with Moses and the children of Israel, I see your family, friends and neighbours rejoicing with you, thanking God on your behalf. I see people rejoicing with you as it was in the case of Elizabeth, who gave birth to John at an old age. I see even your unbeliever friends acknowledging the greatness of the God you serve because of what they see Him do in your life.

Oh, how I myself eagerly await your testimony so that I can join in the praise of the Lord our God! Well, may be we all might as well begin to bless and worship Him right away, knowing that faithful is He who has promised.

IT IS STILL AVAILABLE...

"For You, Lord, will bless the [uncompromisingly] righteous [him who
is upright and in right standing with You]; as with a shield You will
surround him with goodwill (pleasure and favor)" (Psalms 5:12,
Amplified Version).

I am excited to announce to you this day that God's blessings are ever available for the sons of men. From age to age, God remains the same loving, benevolent and providential El-Shaddai, and from east to west,
among all races and colours, God has never ceased to release precious blessings upon all His creation.

Now, favour is in the air. I can smell it all around. God is set to compass you about with divine favour and goodwill among men. When favour is at work, labour becomes pleasure and fruitless labour is completely eliminated. In fact, little labour would yield much profit and sometimes profit comes without any labour. Doors open on their own accord, even impossible doors that one would never expect to open.
Blessings so clearly undeserved are received from the most unlikely sources.

Divine favour is what would make a slave like Esther to become the queen ahead of the freeborn, and make a prime minister out of a foreigner and a prisoner like Joseph, when noble citizens of Egypt were in abundance. Favour can make the last become the first among the lot, and make the least qualified to be the preferred choice of the judges. May unusual favour locate you this week in the mighty name of Jesus.

But then we are made to understand that this favour we are talking about is reserved for the righteous. And as we can see from the Amplified Version of the Bible quoted above, the righteous that is being referred to here is not just the fitfully righteous, rather, it is the "uncompromisingly righteous". The challenge before us therefore is to get committed to consistent righteousness which of course is possible by the help and power of the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember He came and took upon Himself our sins that we might take on His own righteousness.

Friends, let me assure you that the Lord Jesus Christ is very much committed to helping you become righteous and stay consistently so because He wants you to be blessed with all the blessings of the Father. If you allow Him, He will deal with the sin question in your life and enable you by His Holy Spirit to live a life that is pleasing to God. His shed blood still cleanses from all unrighteousness and His holy words still inspire as well as empower men unto holy living.

AMAZING CREATIVITY 'GENESIS TO REVELATION'

Our journey began at Genesis through Exodus. On the way, we saw Leviticus recording the Numbers of people at Deuteronomy, while Joshua was waiting at the beautiful gate for Judges to see Ruth calling loudly "Samuel, Samuel". At a stage, the, first and second Kings of Chronicles were coming to visit Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther for the misfortune of Job, their brother. Then they noticed that Mr. Psalms was teaching his children Proverbs concerning Ecclesiastes and Songs of Solomon. This coincided with the period that Isaiah and Jeremiah were engaged in Lamentation for Ezekiel and Daniel their friend. By that time, Amos and Obadiah were not around. Three days later, Hosea, Joel and Jonah traveled in the same ship with Micah and Nahum to Jerusalem . More also, Habakkuk visited Zephaniah who introduced him to Haggai a friend of Zechariah whose cousin is Malachi.

INTERMISSION:

After 400years Matthew, Mark and Luke decided to visit John who Acts before the Romans because Paul wrote the letters to the first Corinthians and Second Corinthians who have been saved before the Galatians. Actually the Ephesians church is very close to the wonderful people of Philippians who since Colossians caught the gospel fire decided to strengthen the first Thessalonians to get across to the second Thessalonians whom you know are patiently expecting the rapture. After some years the Two Timothy met Titus also part of Paul's letter meant to strictly warn Philemon and the Hebrews concerning the last days before James a disciple of Peter who held on to the second epistle of Peter because the church is becoming weary. John suddenly appear three times before Jude in a powerful REVELATION to complete the power filled messages of the bible.

By A.T. Joel and Bro Emmanuel Tobi Awodele