DAILY HOPE DEVOTIONAL: SEPTEMBER 16 BEING UNEQUALLY YOKED (2) SCRIPTURE: DEUT. 22: 10; 2 CORINTHIANS 6: 14 – 15

Yesterday devotional gave simple descriptions of what “yoke” and “unequally yoke” mean by the contexts they are used in Deut. 22: 10 and 2 Cor. 6: 14 – 15. It was said that, Christians not to be “unequally yoked” with unbelievers covers other areas apart from marriages between Christians and non-Christians. Apostle Paul talked of “unequally yoked together” in term of relationships between Christian non-Christian who differs in moral and religious believes that is capable of changing the Christian’s faith by compromising. He released this admonition to people, the Corinthian Christians, who started adopting the sinful cultures they left from the unbelievers because of the social and political gains they were promised to enjoy. We can understand the tones from Apostle Paul using words like “agreement”, “fellowship”, “harmony” as well as “touch no unclean things…”

In marriages, Christians can save themselves from further troubles and agony by not marrying unbelievers no matter the promises given by the unchristian partner. Doing so means “unequally yoking together.” The unbelievers do not have the fear of the Lord. They do not respect the Christian ethics and norms. All their desire will be how to cause the Christian falls from Christianity completely. In marriage, there are 90% chances that darkness can overcome the light of the Christian, which is here said to be faith in God and Christ. Stories abound of many Christians, who married unbelievers and ended up in regrets and sorrows. Some went into the marriage with the belief that they will change the unbelieving partners. This they never did, rather were drawn back from God.

Christians can be “unequally yoked together” by picking friends from the unbelievers and allowed themselves compromise, to the extent of turning completely from God so as to please their unbelieving friends. Unbelieving friends can make you do what they do so to belong, convince you to fornicate or involve in adultery, as well as following them do other indecent things. Any of these if done amounts to “unequally yoked together.” When you turned from good Christian into armed robbery because your friend demanded that, you have traded your righteousness for the person’s wickedness and have become “unequally yoked together.” Following worldly friends to native doctors to acquire magical power, get married to a millionaire or getting pregnant as a Christian are indication of “unequally yoking together.” We Christians can keep friendships with unbelievers, but must resist them when it comes to turning us against God and Jesus Christ by being what or who they are.

PRAYERS:

1. Pray, asking God to fill you with Spiritual ability to separate from all friends who cause you doing evil all the time, in Jesus name.

2. Pray and ask God for the kind of grace given to Joseph, which made him resisted the master’s wife despite the good promises the woman gave him, in Jesus name.

POSITIVE CONFESSION:

By faith, I draw the grace to resist sins by peer group influence or by unbelievers who are my friends today. Hallelujah

bishopubaudenyi@hopealivechurch