Building A Glorious Home (4) by Pastor Faith Oyedepo

Topic: Building A Glorious Home (4)

Dear Reader,

For the past weeks, by the help of the Holy Spirit, we have been exposed to some basic truths that will help us to build a glorious home. As you apply yourself to these truths, you will experience a turn-around in your life and family, in Jesus’ precious name.

To conclude the series of this month’s teaching, I will be sharing with you on Commitment. Commitment is the backbone for a glorious home and wherever commitment is lacking, parasites will set into that home.

Commitment is a choice of the wise. A glorious home won’t drop from heaven; it only becomes the portion of those who deliberately get committed to the success of such home.  A glorious home is not a product of chance or luck.  It is not even a product of prayer; so, you don’t have to stay in one corner and say, “Lord, give me a glorious home.” Rather, it is a product of labour.

What fuels love in marriage is commitment. Remember the wedding vows? Those are promises or commitments that both parties made to each other. On the wedding day, man and his wife promised to love and to cherish each other. All of this is made possible when they made a covenant or an unconditional promise to do so. Therefore, a marriage is based on the covenant that the husband and wife made to each other on their wedding day. This covenant was the result of the commitment to each other. So, a Christian marriage is ultimately founded on commitment.

The covenant is not conditional. It is not based on whether the husband or the wife behaves or looks at issues in a certain way. It is not conditional on the couple’s happiness or sex life. Love can remain, if the commitment to the marriage remains. Happiness can be sustained if the commitment is maintained and acted upon. This raises a very important point regarding the marriage commitment. Marriage involves a lot of work!

Commitment will keep you pursuing your spouse and working to establish and maintain a fulfilling marriage relationship. Regardless of the bad times or the good times, commitment will keep you stable, hopeful and working to make things right. Of course, it is a lot more effective, if the husband and wife are committed to the marriage. If only one is committed, then he/she will experience a whole new set of problems and frustrations.

The Fuel of Commitment

Another very important aspect of a Christian marriage is not only a commitment to each other, but also a commitment to God. Commitment can cause love to be fueled, but what fuels commitment? What will keep you committed to your spouse during the bad times, as well as the good times and through troubles and disagreements? The power of God! The Holy Spirit can empower you to continue in your commitment to your spouse, regardless of the circumstances. Without the Holy Spirit fueling us and helping us, we would only be able to rely on our own energy to remain committed, which is very much influenced by the circumstances around us.

Therefore, the husband and wife in a Christian marriage must be dedicated to living a life pleasing to God, and according to God’s ways. That is, living a life in Christ with each party striving to fulfill God’s purpose for their marriage. This will enable the husband and the wife to rely on a “force” outside of them, to sustain them in their marriage. We are always accountable to God. As such, we are to ensure that our marriage remains a Christian one that is vibrant, strong and a ministry in itself to others.

A commitment to God is crucial in every aspect of Christian’s life and greatly in the case of a marriage relationship. Sensitivity to the Spirit of God is necessary to keep us going when things just don’t seem to be going right with our marriage or our marriage is frustrating and letting us down. If you can’t turn to God for help, then you are indeed in a lot of trouble. Your only recourse is marriage counsellors, which I have been told are not very effective, pertaining to Christian belief (not that they are bad). It is a great thing to know that God is looking out for you and He will help you if you turn to Him. So, we must remain committed to God so that we can remain committed to our Christian marriage.

Your commitment to God is the foundation of your commitment to your marriage. To be committed to your marriage, you must first of all be committed to God. To be committed to God is to be born again, and you do so by confessing your sins and accepting Jesus as your Saviour and Lord. If you are ready for this new birth experience, please say this prayer: “Dear Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You today.  I am a sinner. Forgive me of my sins and cleanse me with Your Blood. Deliver me from sin and satan to serve the living God.  I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Make me a child of God today. Thank You for accepting me into Your Kingdom.”

If you prayed this simple prayer, you are now a child of God. He loves you and will never leave you. Read your Bible daily, obey God’s Word and seek Christian fellowship (John 14:21).

Congratulations! You are now born again! All-round rest and peace are guaranteed you, in Jesus’ Name. Call or write, and share your testimonies with me through contact@faithoyedepo.org; OR 07026385437 and 08141320204.

For more insight, these books authored by me are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all Living Faith Churches and other leading Christian bookstores: Marriage Covenant, Making Marriage Work, Building A Successful Home and Success in Marriage (Co-Authored).