Don't let COVID-19 kills the relationship of you and your spouse!

 

Silence

1.   Put on your “brakes” and stop for a moment of silence

2.   Wait for God. Breathe deep for God's peace and feel His presence. Exhale your worries.

Praise and Thanksgiving

1.   Think through your day, all the times that made you smile

2.   Thank God for all those moments, and for all those people

3.   Sing a song to praise God (you are welcome to use "Father, I adore you" which I have been singing every morning for the past 20 years or your own choice to praise God)

          Father, I adore You, lay my life before You, how I love You.

          Jesus, I adore You, lay my life before You, how I love You.

          Spirit, I adore You, lay my life before You, how I love You.

      

Confession and Repentance (Subjective Shifting Devotion Method https://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/2009/08/count-down-5-subject-shifting-devotion.html

1.  Pray for the Holy Spirit to shine on you that you are able to discover your sins and be willing to repent:

     “Dear Holy Spirit, shine your light into the places of darkness in my life. Show me my sins, everything that blocks me from encountering God and having Jesus as my Lord. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”

2.  Through the Holy Spirit, examine yourself for a short silence and then pray:

     "Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for our sins and being victorious over death and sin. I confess my sins to you(pause, to tell Jesus what the Holy Spirit has shown you). Forgive my sins by your blood and help me follow you. Holy Spirit, fill me that I may be able to receive your gifts to love God and His people. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen."

3.  John Stott's daily prayer of Christlikeness (Christopher J.H. Wright, Cultivating the fruit of the Spirit. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2017, 13)

(Please click this link to see how God used John Stott to change my life:https://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/2009/07/

           "Heavenly Father, I pray that this day I may live in your presence and please you more and more.

             Lord Jesus, I pray that this day I may take up my cross and follow you.

             Holy Spirit, I pray that this day you will fill me with yourself and cause your fruit to ripen in my life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control."

    

    The link to today's Time with Abba passages:   http://api.pastoralcareschool.org/twa/

    Time with Abba passages: (Psalm 57:1-6, Joshua 21:1-22:20; Luke 20:1-26; Proverbs 13:15-16)

    Today's key passages: 

    

       Then the Lord said to Joshua: 2 “Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses, 3 so that anyone who kills a person accidentally and unintentionally may flee there and find protection from the avenger of blood. 4 When they flee to one of these cities, they are to stand in the entrance of the city gate and state their case before the elders of that city. Then the elders are to admit the fugitive into their city and provide a place to live among them. 

     13 So to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron (a city of refuge for one accused of murder), Libnah,

     20 The rest of the Kohathite clans of the Levites were allotted towns from the tribe of Ephraim:

21 In the hill country of Ephraim they were given Shechem (a city of refuge for one accused of murder) and Gezer,

38 from the tribe of Gad,

Ramoth in Gilead (a city of refuge for one accused of murder), Mahanaim, 

Joshua 20:1-4; 21:13, 20-21, 38 

Let's have a time to be still and give the Holy Spirit space to speak through the passages we have just read. Offer this time to Jesus as you listen to Him. 

   

     My Listening

    The topic I received today from Jesus is:  Don't let COVID-19 kills the relationship of you and your spouse!

    Recently we have quite a number of our brothers and sisters sharing their deep feeling of fear to catch COVID-19, of death and of the coming of the end of the world. This anxiety makes them to have bad mood and temper, causing arguments and sometimes a kind of intentional and unintentional hurting to each others.

    I had an example to give thanks to which happened recently when some of our people sharing of how they received from the passages of "cities of refuge". They were being reminded by the Holy Spirit of their sins. One of them shared:
    "I am confessing my sins because I have bad temper recently and always hurting my spouse. When my spouse wanted to get away to the "city of refuge" and I chased her and hurt my spouse with my words! I am wrong!"

    What Satan wants is to kill the relationship of husbands and wives through COVID-19! May we all wake up and be willing to let the Holy Spirit to shine on us that we can be able to see our sins and repent! That we can sacrifice everything we have to love our spouse! That those who want to chase and kill to repent, and for those who are being chased to forgive and love that this wicked and cunning plan of Satan will be destroyed!

    There were six cities of cities of refuge, if you want to know more about "cities of refuge" please click this link:
  

       https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cities_of_Refuge

    

     Dear Lord Jesus,  

     Help us to be willing to sacrifice everything we have to love our spouse so that this wicked and cunning plan of Satan will be destroyed. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

    

     

      Reflect on these questions:

     1. What inspiration have you received from today's catch and what have you heard from Jesus now?

      

      2.  What is your next step to be more closer to Jesus?

    

      Family Corner:

     Find an opportunity to share with your family the importance of today's message. 

     

Please click this link for the video version of this blog:   https://youtu.be/SLFmVZN1q1c

     To know, learn and practice the method of Time with Abba, please click this link: https://www.pastoralcareschool.org