LOVE

Among the different definitions of love I've heard, I stuck to this one which is (Love is defined as a strong affection you have for a person) for a long period of time.

All thanks to God for His word that makes men wise, I can't imagine how I intend living with people with that kind of definition in mind.

I know you would be surprised. Yes!

Love isn't just a feeling.

Can you imagine you eating just when you feel like, or taking your bath just when you feel like or when there's a strong feeling within you to do those things.

That's how it is with love.

You can't just describe love as a feeling.

It is a commitment.

John.13.34 - A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

This was an instruction Jesus gave to his disciples as regarding their way of behavior towards each other.

We are to love as He did. Now imagine Jesus loving us just when He felt like it.

If love was to be just a feeling, obviously Jesus wouldn't not have left Heaven talk more of dying for us.

God was interested in seeing us reflect his image again. He was committed to giving us a better life. He wanted us to be with Him in Heaven that's why he went all the way and gave all that was required even though it meant giving us His son.

You can't love as God loves with just a mere feeling in your heart.

Feelings vanish even change.

You must be interested in seeing your fellow human become the best of themselves.

You must be committed to seeing them successful at the things they do.

The love of God is what makes you reach out to souls that are perishing in Sin.

One of the things I've learnt is to live my life by the rules of the Bible.

1 Corinthians 13 gives us the real definition of Love and 1 John 4 tells us God is love.

Anything outside the Biblical definition is not of God and the Bible never defined it as a feeling. 

Love requires HARD WORK.

PRAYER:

Dear Lord teach me to love just as you do.

Give me genuine love.

#myexperience

#jayob

#jayexperiences

MY INSECURITIES

I was always feeling out of place, 

I always wanted to get recommendation from others.

I wanted that feeling of belonging to a certain group of people. 

I needed people to approve of things before I did them and as such I didn't have much motivation for anything I wanted doing. A little criticism and I've backed off from that course of action. 

I wanted to be perfect and get everything straightened out.

If I wanted to embark on a project, I wanted all the information at my hand and the whole idea planned out such that I had the end of the project in view.

I had fears of the future.

I feared veering off into anything that would dampen my future or truncate my plans.

I couldn't trust anyone, because I never felt anyone could do anything or feel anything like I did.

Later on at some point in my life, this verse of the Bible became real to me -Ps.127.1 - Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

There was just something I couldn't know or do.

Then God taught me how to trust Him.

He taught be to bring my fears to Him.

He taught me to unburden my heart to Him so much so that He would help me to carry them.

He taught me to trust His heart even if I can't feel his hand.

He taught me that, I must not know everything about what He's called me to do but each step of faith I take will bring me closer to Him.

He boosted my confidence in Him and constantly assures me of who I am and what He has called me to be.

1Sam.2.9 - He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.

Everything cannot be done by your self. 

But God has offered His way. His word is right.

He would make you complete and confident if you are willing to let him take care of everything about you.

Prayer point.

Dear Lord, I thank you because you are able to carry all my cares and burden. I thank you because you are interested in every part of my life, even the ones that seem minute.

I bring my entire life into you care and I ask that you please align my life to your will. I ask that you grant me the faith to trust you even when I cannot see the path you are asking me to tread upon. I choose to trust you completely with my life.

AMEN!

#7 Prayer is the watch word.
As I come to the close of the Proverbs 31 woman review, I want you to nderstand that the virtuous man or woman safeguards themselves with prayer.


Prayer is the conduit through which we talk to God about those graces we neeed. It's the means of talking to God. 
You MUST make it a daily habit to ask God to load you with the virtues He wants you to have. You must tell Him to secure the blessings He has given you.
You must tell Him a lot of things that can't be enumerated.


Luke 18:1- And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; 

PRAYER POINT
*Dear Lord, clothe me with the garment of prayer.

#5 Meekness and Quietness are the most important virtues that decorates the life of a virtuous man or woman
1Pet.3:4- But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.
Meekness and quietness are of great value to God. It makes a person beautiful in the sight of God.

When we get ourselves filled up with our own achievements, giving little or no chance for the glory of God to be seen in us, we become proud and God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.
Quietness is not the attitude of not talking  in the pubic, but being still to listen to every instruction God gives without arguing or trying to add logic to it.

Ps.46:10-Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. When you are humble and quiet in spirit (you're still and not rash in making decisions) you  tend to be more beautiful in the sight of God.


#6 Laziness is not a part of the story
You can't achieve anything good by being lazy. Even eating require you putting in some efforts. And so it balls down to the spiritual aspects of our lives.

You don't pray once and sit down, expecting the Holy Spirit to pour the entire virtues into your life and then hand you a certificate for being a virtuous man or woman. It comes through hard work. The Bible says, strive to enter in. You don't sit down to fight, you must be daily claded in the armor of God to fight against  the devil. At some points it requires burning the midnight candle which the devil will try to off.

Being a virtuous person require you outgrowing the current state of your mind that is contrary to God's word and growing into the mind of Christ. Growth doesn't happen once, it takes time and needs consistency. There's no room for procrastination and sluggishness, else the devil will keep bringing you back to the same pit you are trying to leave.


PRAYER POINTS
*Dear Lord decorate my life with the virtues that makes me beautiful in your sight.
*Grow in me the virtues of a meek and quiet spirit.
*Help me to outgrow those characters contrary to your will and help me to be dilligent in my work with you.

AMEN!

#itzjayob
#myexperience

#3 It takes sincere prayers to be a Trustworthy person.
     One of the most striking lessons I gained was the ability of the virtuous woman to gain the trust of her husband. Proverbs 31:11. If there's any thing that's necessary in any relationship, its the ability of both partners to trust each other.

You can only be trusted when you've got quality to offer. Quality time, information, products, services and such like. As much as as some of the ideas and things of this world seem to be qualitative, the best of all quality comes from Heaven and it takes prayers to access them. (Proverbs 31:14).

How does it feel whenever you present an idea, it's been taken because there's this confidence people have in you that your ideas are the best when practiced?
What about people coming to empty their hearts to you because your words aren't destructive but comforting?
Being trustworthy is a virtue from God and His Spirit can grow that virtue in us.

#4 A Virtuous Man or Woman is a rare gem.
     One of the books I read on the Proverbs 31 Woman describes her as a person that exists in a class of her own. She doesn't do what others are doing and isn't attracted by what attracts others. That's a priceless quality to me.

Anything of value isn't found just anywhere, you've got to search for it. Gold isn't found on the floor. It's hidden in the earth and you've got to dig deep to get it in specific places. So it is with a Man or Woman of virtue, they are hidden in God and it takes someone that's connected to God to find them.

They don't fit into just anything, they don't follow just any idea, but are led by the principles of the Bible and directed by the Spirit of God. (Romans 8:14).


PRAYER POINTS
*Dear Lord as I grow daily make me the person you can recommend to others and won't disappoint you.
*Grow in me the virtue of being trustworthy.
*Keep me under your canopy.
*Help me to abide under your wings.
*Preserve for the right person.

One of  the things I love doing is making a review about my life and trust me it helps a lot. There are times we need to sit down and ask ourselves questions about the mistakes we've made, the decisions we took that affected our lives and lots more. A moment of reflection is necessary in the life of a christian.

Part of what i would be doing for the next seven days is to share one of the cogent points God made me to understand in the month of June which is the 'Proverbs 31 woman'.
I've been reading the proverbs 31 chapter of the Bible time and again but it never made much sense as it did in the month of June.

First I began by reading a blog post made by Mrs Pearl Akazue on what it really means to be a Proverbs 31 woman, thereafter we held a prayer challenge which lasted for 13 minutes for 13 days and the prayer was centered around telling God to make us the Proverbs 31 woman.
It was intriguing, I never wanted it to end. But although it did I learnt to always go back to God and pray to Him to mould me into that kinda woman.

So I would be sharing so me of the lessons I learnt and I hope you would be blessed by it.
P.S Don't rush while reading it! Take your time and absorb every part of it. It applys to the male folks as well because it takes a virtuous man to find a virtuous woman.

#1 Being a virtuous woman is a goal that can only be achieved by the help of the Holy Spirit.
    There are many theories that say that the Proverbs 31 woman cannot be fully achieved in one person. But its not true. It's God's word and only His Spirit can work out those virtues in s if we are yielded to his instructions. The Proverbs 31 woman is a typical example of the Bride of Christ and hence we all want to be the Bride of Christ, we have to allow His Spirit to work it out in us. It may not be easy due to certain lifestyles we are accustomed to and we would have to drop. But "...if ye be willing and obedient ye shall eat the good of the land..."

#2 It goes beyond keeping to moral values.
      In being a virtuous man or woman, merely sticking to certain vales and rules can't help in making you the kind of person God wants you to be.
Telling yourself or people around you ' I won't lie, I won't be lazy, I would speak nicely, I would be quiet...' can't do the work alone. There are times you would get tired of abiding by rules, you would  want to loosen up a bit and just free yourself. But when God's Spirit is working out those virtues in you, it becomes your habit. It becomes a part of your daily life and that's beyond sticking to moral values.

#itzjayob
#myexperience

PRAYER POINTS
*Dear lord by your Spirit mould me into the kind of person you want me to be.
*Help me to be obedient while you work out those virtues in me.
*Give me the grace to drop those habits that contradicts your ways.
*Dear Lord, by my strength alone I can't become that which you desire, but by your Spirit mould me such that my daily habits conforms with your plans for my life. 

Hello buddies!
Happy new month to you all. We're hoping for a better scenerio in this remaining part of the year.
So while warming up for the month of July, let me ask you some questions,
what have you learnt so far in the last half part of the year?
What were the mistakes or the right steps you took that has shaped your life's journey so far?
It is very important to take note of important milestone in our lives so as not to repeat journeying in a circle.

 For the next seven daysI  would be sharing some important tips that has me helped so far and has shapened my life.
I enjoin you all to read along
#itzjayob
#myexperience