Esther School of Marriage

Dear reader, welcome to this week’s post on ESM 101: Marriage Can Be A Piece of Cake. We bless the Lord for this day and for His Word which He has given to us and which gives us grace. As we commence the class today, we pray the eyes of our hearts be flooded with light again. We pray for an understanding of grace and the depth of His love. We pray for the enablement for each of us to know the One true God practically for ourselves. Amen. Take some time to meditate on Titus 2:11-12 briefly. “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;” One primary focus of the grace of God is to teach us all things. We often hear people say things like “it is impossible to learn about marriage, it is only the ‘grace’ of God that keeps couples together.” Often times, one would realize that when people talk about the grace of God in th...

The 31 st chapter of Proverbs is the writings of a man talking about the instructions, ideals, and morals his mother taught him. King Lemuel’s mom first taught her son from verses 2 – 9 on how to be a good leader and how to become the kind of man that can attract and find the right kind of woman. Headship was not intended (when it was designed) to be used by the man to dominate or rule like a tyrant, it is rather the privileged position of trust and confidence, responsible for looking out for the rest of the body and making the best decision for the health and well being of the body. The Message translation of Proverbs 18 verse 22 defines a good spouse as equal to a good life. Among the several dictionary meanings of the word good is, “that which possesses desirable qualities or that which promote success”. How fascinating it is to see Proverbs 18:22 expounded this way: “he who finds a wife finds wealth & obtain favour of the Lord.” The Message translation of Proverbs...

Dear Reader, you can catch up on our discussions so far by going through the preceding blog posts. This isn’t a regular blog, it’s a school of the Spirit thus every post has got valuable content for you, we, therefore, encourage you to treat as such. Beloved, take a few moments to prayerfully consider the verses below: “… Let Us make man in our image, after our likeness...” Genesis 1:26 KJV “And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.” John 17:11 KJV The Scriptures above points us to the fact that God is a “Us” and that there is a kind of unity that make “us” (multiple persons) One. In marriage, two people ought to become One. “This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one. Since they are no longer two but one,”  Genesis 2:24 NLT,   Mark 10:7-8 NLT ...

With respect to our ongoing discussion of the first chapter of the book - Raising of sons by Ibidun Olude, the unwholesome interpretation of Proverbs 31 has been relatively responsible for the untold pain experienced by many ladies.  Undue emphasis has been given to the need for the female expression of God to be found as a Virtuous woman with little mention of the role of the male expression of God. Males ought to take their place in the program of God without females neglecting their role. More attention should be paid to the need for males to (through the guidance of the Holy Spirit) become the kind of man that brings out the best in the woman God has placed in his life. Who a person becomes, what a man is made into is dependent on the person he is following. We are all called to be followers of God (Ephesians 5:1). Becoming the Proverbs 31 hero is dependent on training a man to live by the Spirit. A man of the Spirit lives out a quality of life in consonance with the...

What exactly has cake got to do with a marriage, you may ask? I believe I can safely assume that we have all tasted a piece of cake before, well we may not all have made one but we sure have tasted one. In the same vein, we have all heard the phrase 'as simple as a piece of a cake' Now I have eaten and made cakes before and I can tell you that when people say 'as simple as a piece of cake' I ask what kind of cakes exactly. Well cutting the cake is sure a very easy task but baking it is not very easy. To get the precise and fantastic cake you want, your measurements must be accurate. This is to say the title of the book likening marriage to a piece of cake is not an attempt to trivialize the intricacies and the work a marriage requires but it is to liken the process of making a cake to a marriage. Marriage is a process of becoming one just like baking a cake is a process of a lot of ingredients becoming a delight to the eyes and the mouth. The thought the au...

In an attempt to interpret Proverbs 31, many have turned the qualities stated there to standards for women to live up to, in order to be regarded as Virtuous by the society. These standards have become stumbling blocks for a lot of women today. If a woman falls short of the standards of virtue highlighted in the text, is she then virtuous or not? The Word of God written in the Bible is true and makes free. Romans 8:32 highlights that the knowledge of the Truth makes free, hence, any interpretation of the scripture that brings into bondage (causes people to stumble) should be reviewed because it falls short of the standard of the Truth. Would you call a woman constantly striving to attain and maintain the society’s interpretation of the supreme standards of a virtuous woman free? Is such a woman free indeed? Thanks be to God, the giver of wisdom and revelation, as well as knowledge and understanding, who freely gives without sentiment to all those who ask of Him. Thus, as you p...

The book, Marriage Can Be A Piece of Cake, written by Ayo and Ibidun Olude , is aimed at resolving the many questions in the hearts of human beings concerning marriage. The title itself brings to mind a question:   can marriage really be a piece of cake? There exist various beliefs and sayings about marriage, some say they don't get it, some say they do, many others would rather not talk about it. Is marriage really a mystery? What is God's purpose for marriage is? These are some of the questions you can expect to find answers to as you diligently and prayerfully seek to know the truth of God's word here. The Lord who gives understanding is preparing hearts to receive His truth so that such people can be light to the World indeed. TESTIMONIAL FOR THE MCUBED FROM Ms. Tope Osuntogun Over the years I heard so many things about marriage, I read books, was given books, listened to sermons/teachings about the topic but it seemed to be that the more I looked...

The book, Raising of Sons by Ibidun Olude , has been widely considered a masterpiece for helping humanity refocus attention on the Creator’s original plan for His Male expression (i.e. the male gender). It puts forth the role  the female expression of God (the feminine gender) has to play in the proper development of the male, as well as the intent of God for the family system. Raising of Sons The book points to a major but often overlooked emphasis in the book of Proverbs, chapter 31. For many people, this area of the scriptures has been widely considered a call to women to rise up to societal expectations of the ideal virtuous woman, the qualities highlighted have been turned into standards of which many women have consistently fallen short for reasons unknown to them, despite trying hard to meet up. But, did you know there lies a clear challenge in the chapter for men? "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies" Proverbs 31: ...