Wednesday, 14th February 2024
Bible Reading: Romans 12: 1-2
Memory Verse: Promise me, O women of Jerusalem, not to awaken love until the time is right. Young Women of Jerusalem. Song of Solomon 8:4 (NLT)
The origin of Valentine’s Day is a complex one with its roots in both Christian and pagan traditions. According to the Catholic Church, there are at least three different saints named Valentine who were martyred on February 14. The most famous of these is Valentine of Rome, a priest who was executed in 269 AD for performing secret marriages for soldiers who were forbidden to marry by the Roman emperor Claudius II. Another story claims that Valentine was imprisoned for refusing to renounce his Christian faith, and while in prison fell in love with the jailer’s daughter. Before he was executed, he sent her a letter signed “From your Valentine,” which is said to be the origin of the modern-day valentine card.
In addition to its Christian roots, Valentine’s Day is also associated with the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, which was a fertility festival celebrated on February 15. By the Middle Ages, Valentine’s Day had become a popular day for lovers to express their affection for each other. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Valentine’s Day became increasingly commercialized, with the exchange of cards, flowers, and chocolates becoming commonplace. Today, Valentine’s Day is celebrated in many countries around the world as a day to celebrate romantic love. The last statement is worthy of note, “…a day to celebrate romantic love.” If you are a teenager or young adult and your preoccupation on a day like this is to put yourself under self-imposed pressure in order to impress “your babe or boo”, please have a rethink.
Romantic love (eros) is scripturally founded only in between married couples. Dear Youths, please don’t wake up love until the time appointed. Don’t ignite the fire of love when you are meant to be digging deep in destiny discovery and mapping a career path for yourself. Dear Married, your wife and children are more than a Val to you. A man who can hardly provide for his home is spending on a side chick because of Val’s day! Don’t you think he is under an evil influence? Many will become grossly indebted on a day like this. Many hotels and brothels will abhor fornication and adultery on a day like this.
The destinies of many young ones will be slaughtered on the altar of sugar daddies, sugar mummies, boyfriends, and girlfriends on a day like this. Dear, don’t feel intimidated if you are leaving on a campus and there is no one dying to hang out with you. Believe me, you are not making a mistake. There is nothing really special done a day like this that cannot be done on any other day when you finally locate the divine partner for your life. Why the hype? Why the fuss about Val’s day? Jesus, the lover of your soul is more than a Val to you. Stay consecrated. Preserve your purity. Remember Dinah (Genesis 34).
Quote: Love is the foundation of the Christian faith. But to who, when, where and how requires reasoning and maturity.
Prophetic Decree: The world system shall not erode your Christian faith, in Jesus name.
Prayer Focus
1. Thank you Jesus my greatest lover.
2. The spirit of the age shall not weather my convictions about sanctity, in Jesus name.
3. O Lord, please fortify my convictions about daily presenting my body as a holy sacrifice, in Jesus name.
4. My destiny shall not be slaughtered on the altar of festivities, in Jesus name.
5. O Lord, baptize this generation with the true understanding of love, in Jesus name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Leviticus 5-7