Thursday, 4th November, 2021
Bible Reading: Hebrews 13:4, 1 Corinthians 14:40
Memory Verse: There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. Proverbs 14:12 (NIV)
Cohabitation is the state of living together and having a sexual relationship without being legally married. There are campus ladies who practically live in a guy’s house. She cooks for him, washes his underwear and clothes without being married to him. There are other women whom in the name of “we-shall-soon-get-married” or “after all, we are engaged” have become part-time house wives. There are still married people who have eloped with another person, or another person’s spouse. These are all transgressions against God’s laws.
We must all develop the virtue of patience. Our God is not the author of confusion. Meg Jay in her article for The New York Times in 2012 titled, “The Downside of Cohabiting Before Marriage” said: “Cohabitation in the United States has increased by more than 1,500 percent in the past half century. In 1960, about 450,000 unmarried couples lived together. Now the number is more than 7.5 million. The majority of young adults in their 20s will live with a romantic partner at least once, and more than half of all marriages will be preceded by cohabitation.
In a nationwide survey conducted in 2001 by the National Marriage Project, then at Rutgers and now at the University of Virginia, nearly half of 20-somethings agreed with the statement, ‘You would only marry someone if he or she agreed to live together with you first, so that you could find out whether you really get along.’ About two-thirds said they believed that moving in together before marriage was a good way to avoid divorce. But that belief is contradicted by experience. Couples who cohabit before marriage tend to be less satisfied with their marriages — and more likely to divorce — than couples who do not. These negative outcomes are called the cohabitation effect.”
Sister, where is your honour? You mean your parents invested in you for over two decades only for you to shamelessly pack into a man’s house without following due diligence? What you don’t know is that you will be worst for it when the chips are down. You have just sent a wrong signal to the guy that you are of an inferior material. You are cheap. You are only worth a penny or nothing. C’mon, give yourself some dignity. Give yourself some pride. Let him come, pay your bride price, meet your family members, receive the blessings of both your parents and your pastor, and marry you honourably. Things must be done decently and in order. Why are you in a hurry, anyway? There is no marriage without its attendant challenges.
Don’t wait for what you call love (which is actually lust) to clear off your eyes before you see reality. Brother, I know you are on a mission of “random sampling”. The same way you sampled the juice of your past girlfriend, you intend to sample this as well. Where is the fear of God in your heart? Why make a false commitment to marry a young lady whom her parents have invested heavily on only to dump her after using her. Know for sure, your sins will not go unpunished. What goes around must surely come around. What you won’t eat, don’t smell. Develop self-controlled.
Quote: You are not married until you’re truly married. Don’t modify sin.
Prophetic Decree: I reject any demonic alternative against your marriage, in Jesus name.
Prayer Focus
1. I repent of any way I have defiled my marriage bed, in Jesus name.
2. Covenant blood of Jesus, please wash me clean today, in Jesus name.
3. I cast out every spirit of promiscuity, in Jesus name.
4. I receive the spirit of purity and holiness, in Jesus mighty name.
5. I plead the blood of Jesus against the altars of my father’s house promoting sexual sins in my life, in Jesus name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Matthew 22; Mark 12