*DOMINION MANDATE DAILY DEVOTIONAL*

THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2020

*PRESENT HER TO YOURSELF*

*BIBLE READING: EPHESIANS 5:25-29; 1 CORINTHIANS 11:7-9; 2CORINTHAINS 11:2; ISAIAH 61:10*

*That He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, Ephesians 5:26-27 (NKJV).*

One of the ills that have befallen marriage is that intending couples spend so much time, finance, and energy preparing for their marriage event while forgetting the journey that lies ahead of them. This is why many husbands and wives give up on their marriages eventually.

Once the wedding garments and ornaments are removed, the job of grooming begins. Most of the time the husband gets weary and leaves off nurturing his wife. This is because traditionally, women are trained to be more marriage ready than men. The job of grooming in the home was assigned to the husband; he is to nurture his wife.

Why should a husband groom his wife? According to the book of Ephesians, he has to groom her as Christ grooms the Church so that he can present to himself the kind of wife he wants, the way Christ will present the Church to Himself.

In Ephesians 5:27, Apostle Paul said in order to present this glorious wife that is a beauty to behold, there are things that ought to be removed, which he called spots and wrinkles, (wrong character, attitudes, and habits). It is by faith, discipline, love, and perseverance that all these can be removed. You remove spots by tender love, but wrinkles by tough love.

Just as Christ is still at work on His Bride that He wants to present to Himself, a husband must remain in the marriage laboratory working on his wife with skill in order to present to himself that masterpiece of his dream wife.

Apostle Paul said that a wife is the glory of her husband, which means that whatever the husband is, his wife will reflect same (1 Cor. 11:7). Husband, examine yourself when you think that the qualities your wife is reflecting is contrary to you. God has handed over to you one of His most fragile and prized treasures, handle her with awe. Work on her like a master artist, so that she like Sarah, will command the attention of Kings and other women.

*ACTION POINT
As a husband, do an honest appraisal of your marriage and begin to develop capacity to build your wife into that dream spouse you envision.

*PRAYER
Father God, You are the Master vine dresser, please help me to fulfill my responsibilities in my marriage in Jesus name, amen.