MEMORISE: “Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” – 2 Timothy 2:22 (KJV)
READ: Proverbs 6:23-28 (KJV)
23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
24 To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
25 Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.
26 For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adultress will hunt for the precious life.
27 Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?
28 Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Leviticus 14-15
MESSAGE:
Building healthy relationships and getting close to people – especially fellow believers is good. All relationships, however, must be clearly defined and never allowed to become a source or platform for sin.
For example, the Pastor can know the name of a sister in the Church and the department she works in – that is an expected level of intimacy. Her friend in that department can know her house, parents, place of work, likes and dislikes – that is another level of intimacy. However, due to a higher level of intimacy between spouses, her husband is expected to know more about her than anyone else.
There is a level of intimacy that a brother should never have with a sister he is not married to and vice versa. When you notice that you are getting so close to someone that you can hardly go one hour without thinking about that fellow, you need to cut that relationship.
When you notice that if a colleague who is a member of the opposite sex does not come to the office, you are not yourself that day, there is fire on the mountain that must be addressed immediately before it destroys you.
Many people have fallen into adultery and fornication because they had a seemingly harmless relationship with a ‘friend’. Any friend who knows you more than your spouse could easily become a home breaker. Any friend you feel more comfortable talking with than you do talking to your spouse is a potential enemy. No one should know you better than your spouse.
If someone of the opposite sex is trying to know you more intimately than they should, be firm about letting them know their limits.
A man does not need to know where any woman he is not married to shops for her underwear – that information is not for his ears. Any woman who is not a man’s wife doesn’t need to know what particularly excites him – that information is for his better half only.
My people in Nigeria say that when a handshake is beginning to get to the elbow, it’s time to pull back.
KEY POINT: Set boundaries for every relationship you are involved in. Don’t get too intimate with the wrong fellow, thereby finding yourself in hell.
Open Heavens 2023 Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer’s Ministries.
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