Being One Before Becoming One...

"Whoso finds a wife, finds a good thing, AND obtains favor from the Lord." - Prov. 18:22

BEFORE WE'RE EVER MARRIED... We MUST BECOME THE COMPLIMENT TO WHAT WE SEEK, meaning this... MEN... We MUST BE HUSBANDS BEFORE we have the audacity to look for, seek or find a wife. Which means consecrating and immersing ourselves in God, BEING MADE MEN IN HIM & BY HIM; NOT MARRIED TO ANOTHER PERSON, BUT MARRIED TO CHRIST. Consider this... It is NOT our responsibility to provide, pay the bills, etc. because we're the husband. But IT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY to provide, pay the bills, etc. BECAUSE WE'RE MEN. For it is written... "But if any provide not for his own, specially those of his own house hold, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." - 1 Tim. 5:8 (KJV)... AGAIN... "If anyone fails to provide for his relatives, and especially for those of his own family, he has disowned the faith [by failing to accompany it with fruits] and is worse than an unbeliever [who performs his obligation in these matters]." - 1 Tim. 5:8 (AMP) Fellas, WE NEED TO MAN UP, AND GET IN THE HOUSE OF GOD, and TAKE BACK OUR DOMINION. THE CHURCH IS IN DIRE NEED OF STRONG MEN TO BE EXAMPLES FOR THESE YOUNG, AND 40, 50 & 60+ YEAR-OLD BOYS IN THE CLUBS & STREETS.

LADIES... You're not exempt, so don't get TOO excited by thinking this is a "get on the men" kind of message. Take heed before this Word "bursts your bubbles." Not forsaking however, that some of you are already virtuous women... Nevertheless likewise, you MUST also BE WIVES BEFORE you can, or will be found; NOT MARRIED TO ANOTHER PERSON, BUT MARRIED TO CHRIST... YOU WILL NOT FIND A HUSBAND IN THE CLUB, BECAUSE NO MAN IN HIS "RIGHT MIND" IS LOOKING FOR A WIFE IN THERE... Okay... Now that you've swallowed that pill... YOU WILL NOT FIND A HUSBAND IN THE CHURCH, IF YOUR PURPOSE and INTENT IN GOING IS TO CURE YOUR LONELINESS BY FINDING A HUSBAND.

Now this one takes some extra effort BY APPLYING WISDOM & PATIENCE... THERE ARE GOOD MEN IN CHURCH. However, just as there are some "SEDUCTIVE SISTERS," (some Jezebels, Delilahs, and Potiphar's wives etc.,) IN THE CHURCH, THROWING THEMSELVES AT MEN... THERE ARE ALSO SOME "HOT & BOTHERED BROTHERS," TRYING TO LAY HANDS ON YA...... ALL THE TIME. Therefore, it can be easy "GETTING" A MAN/HUSBAND AT CHURCH, BUT YOU MIGHT FIND A FOOL... If you noticed, there's a common, repetitive mistake in this process... The mistake is YOUR LOOKING...***STOP*** IT IS PERFECTLY FINE TO DESIRE TO BE MARRIED, YET AS LONG AS YOU CONTINUE TO NOT ALLOW GOD TO WORK IN YOU TO THE POINT WHERE YOU FEEL LIKE YOU DON'T "NEED A HUSBAND," or "NEED TO BE MARRIED," BUT CONTENT WITH YOUR SINGLENESS IN CHRIST... "YOU WILL NOT FIND A HUSBAND"... AT ALL... For GOD PLACES US ON ONE ANOTHER'S PATHS. Personally, I don't feel a scripture's required to break that down... Just as He did in the beginning, just as He did with Ruth and Boaz, God's methods have proved to be the same. Even when He said, "Behold, I will do a new thing..." He went about it with the same methods... HIS WAY, NOT OURS... THE KEY IS TO KEEP HIM FIRST & FOREMOST IN ALL AREAS OF OUR LIVES, ENTERING HIS HOUSE TO FELLOWSHIP, PRAISE & WORSHIP HIM... And HE SHALL GIVE US THE DESIRES of our hearts. By now, most of us have succeeded in failure enough times to realize that IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN ON OUR TERMS... Now... Let it go, move forward, and rest on His promises.

"Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord." - Psalm 27:14 (AMP)

Marriage - Christ and the Church

In the beginning, God gave man AND woman, males AND females, dominion (authority, power & control) over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. (Gen. 1:28 KJV) however, GOD DID NOT give us dominion (authority, power & control) over other men & women. We're to love and respect one another, as is the will of God. That being said, a man or woman that does not first submit to God, CANNOT lead, and should not be submitted to.

"Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control." - 1 Corinthians 7:3-5 (NKJV)

“Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, SUBMITTING TO ONE ANOTHER in the fear of God.

Marriage - Christ and the Church

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” - Ephesians 5:17-33 (NKJV)