A Good Spouse, A Godly Spouse

Apostle Grace Lubega

2 Corinthians 6:14(KJV); Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

In every Christian marriage, a relationship with God is central.

As such, a good spouse is not necessarily a godly spouse. Goodness is not Godliness. What makes a person Godly is the covenant they have with the Most High God.

There are Christians whose benchmark for choosing a spouse is only goodness. As much as goodness is very admirable and important, it is not enough if both of you must fulfill God’s vision for your marriage. He may be a good man but if he does not have a covenant with God, you are setting yourself up for disappointment.

In the eyes of God, it is of no consequence how outwardly good a person is. By the standard of our theme scripture, if they are not in a covenant with God, they are of the darkness. Like the Psalmist says, every man at his best is vanity (Psalm 39:5). You as a child of light should not yoke yourself with him or her.

Why is all this so important?

Take the example of Abraham and Sarah. She asked her husband to get rid of her Egyptian maid and her son Ishmael. Abraham refused. God came to Abraham and said, “whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice.” (Genesis 21:12)

How about Rebecca and Isaac? When Isaac wanted to bless his son Esau, he did not realise that he was frustrating God’s will because the Lord had said to Rebecca when she was pregnant with her sons that the elder would serve the younger(Genesis 25:23). Because she had a covenant with God, she set in motion a series of events that ensured that Jacob, the younger received his father’s blessing in Esau’s stead(Genesis 27).

Godliness in a marriage is what will keep a spouse from straying off the track of divine purpose. If your spouse truly hears God, Godliness will ensure that in those dark moments when he or she neglects to listen to you, they will listen to God. If you fail to convince them in important matters, you have the assurance that God will convince them Himself.

Commit yourself to someone who fears God. 

FURTHER STUDY: Psalm 39:5, Genesis 21:12

GOLDEN NUGGET: Godliness in a marriage is what will keep a spouse from straying off the track of divine purpose. If your spouse truly hears God, Godliness will ensure that in those dark moments when he or she neglects to listen to you, they will listen to God. Commit yourself to someone who fears God. 

PRAYER: Abba Father, I thank You for this wisdom. Marriage is honourable because you are at the centre of it. I heed to this counsel in humility because it is Your will. My marriage and my children are blessed. Today, I choose obedience over mere emotions; I choose what the Word says over mere feelings, to the glory of your name, Amen.

God, My Habit

Apostle Grace Lubega 

Colossians 2:20-23(AMPC); If then you have died with Christ to material ways of looking at things and have escaped from the world’s crude and elemental notions and teachings of externalism, why do you live as if you still belong to the world? [Why do you submit to rules and regulations?—such as] Do not handle [this], Do not taste [that], Do not even touch [them]…Such [practices] have indeed the outward appearance [that popularly passes] for wisdom, in promoting self-imposed rigor of devotion and delight in self-humiliation and severity of discipline of the body, but they are of no value in checking the indulgence of the flesh (the lower nature). [Instead, they do not honor God but serve only to indulge the flesh.]

Negative habits and addictions usually plague people in vicious cycles that are characterised by episodes of intermittent progress followed by regression. 

Have you ever asked yourself why some habits are like slippery rabbit holes out of which some people attempt to climb only to be plunged right back in after a temporary period of success? Have you wondered why an alcoholic survives withdrawal symptoms, keeps away from the bottle for a time only to find himself one wretched day, drinking himself into oblivion as if his obsession was only mocking him with a reprieve?

The answer is in how people try to fight habits. They erroneously assume that fighting with mere willpower what you crave in the flesh strengthens your resistance against it. 

This is what our theme scripture calls self-imposed rigor and the severity of discipline against the body. Such an approach to bad habits places you in similar company with those saying “do not handle, do not taste, do not touch this or that.” Like the Bible has revealed, this has absolutely no value in checking the indulgence of the flesh. 

You may avoid what your body wants for a season. That desire will only jump in hot pursuit of you and soon enough, it will drag you right back into the mire of your carnal craving.

This world, with its opportunistic media and advertisements, is a true bonfire of temptations. Therefore, God deals with habits, not by taking away the habit or its temptation but by introducing you to a higher and far more superior source of pleasure. His Spirit is a higher pleasure. His Word is a higher pleasure. His presence is a higher pleasure. 

When you immerse yourself in these higher pleasures, you can walk away from that bottle or narcotic drug even if it danced before your eyes with all the allure of an enchantress. His higher pleasures are what fortify your resistance in the face of temptation. 

Never fight a habit by trying, in your own strength, not to do it. Allow God to make Himself your habit. Every negative habit will bow to Him who is the most pleasurable habit.

Hallelujah! 

FURTHER STUDY: Psalm 16:11, Ephesians 5:18

GOLDEN NUGGET: Never fight a habit by trying, in your own strength, not to do it. Allow God to make Himself your habit. Every negative habit will bow to Him who is the most pleasurable habit.

PRAYER: Loving Father, thank you for this great and marvelous Word. Your Word says that in your presence is fullness of joy and on your right hand are pleasures forevermore. I embrace Christ my ultimate pleasure. You indulge me with wisdom, I am intoxicated by Your Spirit and high on Your Word. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

In The Kidron Moments – 3

Apostle Grace Lubega

John 18:1(MSG); Jesus, having prayed this prayer, left with his disciples and crossed over the brook Kidron at a place where there was a garden. He and his disciples entered it.

Kidron was a filthy place. It was a burial ground and was where unclean items from the temple were dumped (2 Chronicles 29:16). 

Why then does Jesus Christ travail and sweat blood in Gethsemane, a garden located in Kidron yet Kidron is associated with such negativity? 

By analogy, Kidron is a representation of sin and the state of a person’s life. There are men and women caught up in the slimy pits of the Kidron of weakness and addiction and are suffocating from the stench of their personal failures.

God wants you to know that He is with you even in your filthiest moment. 

It is tempting to think that God is repelled by us when we fall short of His glory; that in disgust, He turns away from us when we are overcome by weakness in the flesh. 

That is not the God of grace. It doesn’t matter how terrible your sin, how foul smelling your weakness or how sickening and nauseating your flaws. It might be that you cannot stand yourself and wish you could crawl out of your own skin. Self-hatred might be your constant companion because of your constant failures.

The person of grace is not wrinkling His nose and turning away in revulsion. Instead, He is spreading His arms wide open for you because He is earnest in His desire for your transformation. 

There is nothing you will ever do that will cause Him to turn away from you. No sin is too dark for His redeeming love. 

Never let the devil convince you that God is revolted by you because of what you have done.

Embrace His grace and allow His loving kindness to draw you into true repentance. He still cares and is holding onto you.

Hallelujah!

FURTHER STUDY: Psalm 103:17; Romans 8:35-39

GOLDEN NUGGET: There is nothing you will ever do that will cause God to turn away from you. No sin is too dark for His redeeming love. Embrace His grace and allow His loving kindness to draw you into true repentance.

PRAYER: Father, I thank you for this Word. You have loved me with an everlasting love and wrapped me in the arms of Your grace. This same grace gives me strength to overcome weakness; to live holy and righteously and to be pure as You are pure. To the glory of Your name, Amen.

In The Kidron Moments – 2

Apostle Grace Lubega

2 Samuel 15:23 (KJV); And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over: the king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over, toward the way of the wilderness.

Kidron was the epitome of filth, decay, and uninhibited foulness (2 Chronicles 29:16). 

King David, pressed by life’s storms, betrayed by friends and teetering at the edges of loss found himself having to pass over this place of despicable waste. 

Many years later, Jesus Christ, weighed down by the intensity of divine purpose and burdened by the reality of an impending crucifixion knelt in Gethsemane, found in Kidron (John 18:1), asking the Father to take away from Him the cup of suffering (Luke 22:42).

The similarities here cannot be overstated. Both David and the Lord Jesus were at Kidron and both were at their lowest moments. 

Why did the Lord have to go through a somewhat similar experience to David’s? Why is a David-like Kidron moment part of the story of Christ’s suffering?

God wanted you and I to know that He understands what it feels like to be caught up in those low and wretched moments. If you are trudging your way across ‘Kidron’, this serves as a reminder to you that He has been there too. 

Truly, He is the High Priest who sympathizes with our weaknesses(Hebrews 4:15). The Message Version of this very scripture says He is not out of touch with our reality. He has been through testing and experienced it all. 

If you feel betrayed, He was betrayed. If you feel rejected, He was rejected by His very own. If you feel hated, He was hated without cause. If you feel unfairly criticized, He was criticized even when He healed, raised the dead to life, and fed many. 

He was tempted in ALL ways but without sin. 

Today, He wants you to know that betrayal does not mean you yield to bitterness.

Rejection does not mean that you nurse an eternal grudge against those who do not see your worth.

Criticism does not devalue your truth and neither should it silence His message on your lips.

Keep believing. Make forgiveness your anthem. Stay on the course of love. 

His name be praised!

FURTHER STUDY: Hebrews 4:15, John 18:1

GOLDEN NUGGET:
God understands what it feels like to be caught up in those low or wretched moments. Rejection does not mean that you nurse an eternal grudge against those who do not see your worth. Criticism does not devalue your truth and neither should it silence His message on your lips. Keep believing. Make forgiveness your anthem. Stay on the course of love.

PRAYER: My loving Father, I thank You for this precious Word. You are no stranger to pain, sorrow or suffering. You are the High Priest intimately acquainted with our afflictions. You walked a mile in my shoes and showed me the way of love, of forgiveness, and of faithful endurance. I follow after Your pattern every day of my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Pitching Tents – 2

Apostle Grace Lubega 

Hebrews 11:8-9(AMP); [Urged on] by faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and went forth to a place which he was destined to receive as an inheritance; and he went, although he did not know or trouble his mind about where he was to go. [Prompted] by faith he dwelt as a temporary resident in the land which was designated in the promise [of God, though he was like a stranger] in a strange country, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs with him of the same promise.

Tents in the scriptures are an analogy of the temporary nature of a man’s situation when seen through the eyes of faith. 

The spirit of faith functions mightily in men who know how to pitch tents. That is what we see in the life of Abraham, the father of faith. As our theme scripture reveals, he lived in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs with him of the same promise. 

Abraham left the comfort of his father’s house, his family, and his home country.

This tells us that tents are not pitched in familiar places.

When God deals with men of faith, He takes them away from anything they may rely on in the flesh; whether it is friends, family, or anything that spells security.

If you feel alienated, and out of your comfort zone, consider these moments as an opportunity to pitch a tent. 

FURTHER STUDY: 2 Corinthians 4:18, Genesis 12:1

GOLDEN NUGGET:

When God deals with men of faith, He takes them away from anything they may rely on in the flesh; whether it is friends, family, or anything that spells security.

PRAYER: Father, I thank you for this wisdom. Thank you for the things that you are doing in my life, for the separations and the consecrations and for the wilderness experiences. Every day, I grow in faith in the knowledge that greater things are to come. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Pitching Tents – 1

Apostle Grace Lubega

Hebrews 11:8-9(AMP); [Urged on] by faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and went forth to a place which he was destined to receive as an inheritance; and he went, although he did not know or trouble his mind about where he was to go. [Prompted] by faith he dwelt as a temporary resident in the land which was designated in the promise [of God, though he was like a stranger] in a strange country, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs with him of the same promise.

Tents in the scriptures represent the testimony of faith for men that see greater visions in and by God. 

When a man pitches a tent, it is a statement to the realm of the spirit that his present situation is not permanent and that he trusts God for greater things.

This was the story of Abraham and the patriarchs. The Bible says that they lived in tents as temporary residents in the land designated for the promise. 

Abraham was wealthy in his own right and could have put up a more permanent structure. However, through the life of Abraham, God wanted to set a pattern for the church.

The instruction in this pattern is that men of faith pitch tents when they receive the Word of God. 

When such a man pitches a tent, he in essence is saying that he knows that God is not done with him and that he sees a much brighter future.

“Arrivalism” is a burden of men that can’t dream the God dream.

It doesn’t matter how much success you achieve. You must have the wisdom of a man who pitches tents; who constantly tells God that he expects and is hungry for more. 

God wants to do exceedingly abundantly above what you will ever expect. Learn to pitch tents!

Hallelujah!

FURTHER STUDY: Ephesians 3:20, Deuteronomy 32:15

GOLDEN NUGGET:

When a man pitches a tent, it is a statement to the realm of the spirit that his present situation is not permanent and that he trusts God for greater things.

PRAYER: Father, I thank you for this wisdom. Thank you for the great things that you have in store for me. I know that you are not done with me; that the future has precious and unimaginable things. I choose to pitch tents in the knowledge that greatness awaits me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Understanding God’s Mind Through Patterns – 2

Apostle Grace Lubega 

1 Timothy 1:16 (KJV)  Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.

There are a series of events in the scriptures that form patterns that instruct us on the ways of God.

But, it is one thing for a series of events to form patterns and it is another for a man to be a pattern in himself.

As our theme scripture paints, Paul became a pattern of revealing God’s mercy and Grace to the sinner, and this was for the sake of those who would come after.

Not only Paul, but our father Abraham is a pattern of faith, Enoch a pattern of walking with God, Daniel a pattern of prayer, David a pattern of a godly heart, Solomon a pattern of wisdom, and above all, Christ the pattern of the God kind of life.

The spiritual realm has respect for men that are patterns. 

That is why the evil spirit asked the sons of Sceva, “Jesus I know and Paul I know, but who are you?” (Acts 19:15).

Men can only live for so long in the body, but patterns are eternal.

God has called you to be a pattern. Everything about your life can become an instruction. A life divinely lived reveals far greater truths than any sermon preached.

Find your course and walk it well, your pattern will become clear.

Hallelujah!

FURTHER STUDY: 1 Corinthians 4:16 Hebrews 6:12

GOLDEN NUGGET:
God has called you to be a pattern. Everything about your life can become an instruction. A life divinely lived reveals far greater truths than any sermon preached.

PRAYER: Loving Father, I thank you for this truth and for who you have made me be. Thank you for my authority in the realm of the spirit, for my sound, and for the crown that I carry. My life is an example, for this generation and the generations to come. 
In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Understanding God’s Mind Through Patterns – 1

Apostle Grace Lubega

1 Corinthians 11:1(AMP); Pattern yourselves after me [follow my example], as I imitate and follow Christ (the Messiah).

Understanding how patterns work is a key element in spiritual growth. These patterns form the basis of instruction.

The Bible is full of patterns. 

For example, In Genesis, we see the patterns of creation. In these, we see the pattern of light as it comes to manifestation, the power of the Word in shaping substance. The pattern of redemption can be traced from the Garden of Eden to the sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham, to the Passover lamb, all the way to the death of Christ at Calvary. 

Another pattern is impartation. There is a pattern in how the Patriarchs blessed their sons, how Paul related with Timothy, and how Christ dealt with the apostles. 

With every pattern of scripture is a revelation of the heart and wisdom of God pertaining to the maturation of His seed.

This is very critical in how you study the scriptures. If you never look at the scriptures through the lens of these patterns, you will continually miss vital instructions from God and never appreciate how He works with us.

Patterns will teach you how we grow; how we build ministry and how we sustain success.

Hallelujah!

FURTHER STUDY: Romans 15:4, 1 Corinthians 10:11

GOLDEN NUGGET: With every pattern of scripture is a revelation of the heart and wisdom of God pertaining to the maturation of His seed.

PRAYER: Loving Father, I thank you for your Word. Thank you for its precepts, lines, and verses that point me in the way that I should go. By the Word, my paths are straightened and my focus is sharpened. I learn from the Patriarchs and the great men of old. I receive understanding from how they lived their lives and how You dealt with them. I grow and mature as I pattern myself to eternal truths. In Jesus’ name, Amen

The Persevering Spirit

Apostle Grace Lubega 

Hebrews 10:39(KJV); But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

The devil can fight hard, but he cannot fight for long.

When you understand this as a believer, you will learn to endure through situations. 

Life can throw all kinds of challenges at you. Like Job, in the scriptures, you may be battered by bad news from all sides all at once, but you must understand the great law of perseverance.

Perseverance is the difference between the man whom history remembers and the one who history rejects; the one who wins and the one that almost wins; the one who attained victory and the one who gave up one step away from victory.

The persevering Christian has this mentality; I am closer than I think. This is what causes them to never draw backwards or to give up.

You must live such a crazy life of faith that even the devil gets tired of afflicting you in that area because he knows you are a tight nut to crack. 

Hallelujah!

FURTHER STUDY: 2 Timothy 2:3, Proverbs 18:14

GOLDEN NUGGET: 
The devil can fight hard, but he cannot fight for long

PRAYER: Father, I thank you for this truth. I thank you because I am strengthened in my inner man every day. I can never faint in the day of adversity because I understand the law of perseverance. It doesn’t matter what comes at me, I stand strong in faith. To the glory of your name, Amen.

In The Kidron Moments

Apostle Grace Lubega 

2 Samuel 15:23(KJV); And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over: the king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over, toward the way of the wilderness.

Kidron carries strong significance throughout the scriptures. 

It is in the brook Kidron that the Levites dumped the unclean things they found in the temple (2 Chronicles 29:16). 
The Kidron valley was a burial ground for common people. 

It was not an admirable place; it was a place of darkness, death and all sorts of waste.

The writer in our theme scripture was deliberate in pointing out that King David found himself having to go over the brook Kidron. This was not a place for a king to be seen. However, the situation in his life had reduced him to this state.

Our Lord Jesus Christ also experienced the Kidron moment, because the Garden of Gethsemane is located in the valley of Kidron(John 18:1). In this moment, He sweated blood and even cried to the Father, that if it be possible, the cup of suffering be taken away from Him.

Kidron moments may come, but it is important to remember that they are not there to stay. 

Those around you may think that you have come to the end of your rope; your life and your abilities but never forget who is with you and for you. 

In Kidron, the temptation to give up and abandon the path of purpose may be very strong but hold onto the author and finisher of your faith.

God is with you. Like David returned and claimed His kingdom, so shall all that you lost be restored to you. Like Christ overcame death and claimed eternal victory, so shall all the things that seem dead in your life come to life again.

Hallelujah!

FURTHER STUDY: Psalms 23:4, Matthew 26:36-46

GOLDEN NUGGET: Kidron moments may come, but it is important to remember that they are not there to stay. God is with you. Like David returned and claimed His kingdom, so shall all that you lost be restored to you. Like Christ overcame death and claimed eternal victory, so shall all the things that seem dead in your life come to life.

PRAYER: Loving Father, I thank you for this Word. You are my anchor, my hope and my firm foundation. You are the peace in the storm and the solid ground when mountains tremble. It doesn’t matter what I go through, I live in the blessed assurance that I have overcome. To the glory of your name, Amen.

The Surety Of Joy – 2

Apostle Grace Lubega 

Psalm 30:5(KJV); For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

God has promised us that joy will always come to us. The joy question is not a matter of “may or might”. It is an absolute in the equation of your victory.

How then does joy come? 

What makes joy an absolute in the storms and fires of life?

The Bible reveals that it comes in the morning. 

Across scripture, morning is synonymous to when a person receives revelation and the Word of God. 

Therefore, the guarantee that joy will come is when you receive the revelation of the Word of God concerning your situation. 

When you receive His Word, you can dance through adversity and rejoice despite your pain. 

You can smile through persecution and celebrate through trial and travail.

That is why men and women of the Word are consistently overflowing with joy no matter what they face in life.

Hallelujah! 

FURTHER STUDY: James 1:2, 1 Peter 1:6-8

GOLDEN NUGGET:

The guarantee that joy will come is when you receive the revelation of the Word of God concerning your situation. 

PRAYER: Father, I thank you for the precious gift of your Word. It is my anchor and strength. Through the Word, I scale mountains and go through valleys. I seek understanding and revelation in all situations because it is the guarantee of my victory. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Surety Of Joy – 1

Apostle Grace Lubega 

Psalm 30:5(KJV); For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

Joy is a guarantee for every believer who chooses to trust in God.

It does not matter what valley you go through; what storms rage against you; what fires burn through your life or what rivers you have to cross. God has determined that your end will always be joyous.

He says, “weeping may endure for a night...” 

In the mind of God, pain, suffering or affliction are an issue of “may.” They are not the general rule of life. They are not the standard expectation of the child of God.

He further says, “…BUT joy cometh in the morning.” 

There is no qualification on the possibility of joy. Joy comes in the morning! 

Regardless of what you are facing, live with this blessed assurance, joy comes. Yes, you may be in pain but joy comes. Yes, you may be battling with disappointment but joy comes. Yes, your heart may be bleeding because of betrayal but joy comes. 

Hallelujah!

FURTHER STUDY: 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, Psalm 94:19

GOLDEN NUGGET:

Regardless of what you are facing, live with this blessed assurance, joy comes. Yes, you may be in pain but joy comes. Yes, you may be battling with disappointment but joy comes. Yes, your heart may be bleeding because of betrayal but joy comes. 

PRAYER: Loving Father, I thank you for this truth. Thank you because Joy is my portion; it is my end; my destination. Because of this truth, I know that my future is brighter than the mysteries of the present. In Jesus’ name, Amen.