Month: April 2020

[The Glory Unveiled]

12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God–13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. ( John 1:12-13 )

The new birth is the only true birth that identifies us with our source. Originally and spiritually, we are descendants of God through Adam, although we can all physically trace our ancestry to human descendants. The disobedience of Adam inflicted upon the human race a nature that is opposed to the original plan and nature of God in us. So that the distortion of that original plan necessitated the need for a new genealogy which will graft us back into the family of God. When we consider Jesus and Adam, we will realise that they do not trace their ancestry to any man but God. In the Scripture above, we see that when one accepts Jesus as Lord, they disconnect from their human parentage and they are immediately grafted back into the family of God. We become born anew, by God. So that we can posses traits of God Himself. Any traits of the fallen man that finds expression in us after we have joined the family of God is an error that needs correction through the knowledge of God’s word. Now in Christ, we are heirs of God. We do not inherit nor exhibit the human nature but the God nature. The new life begins to transcend our formerly “normal” nature.

Prayer_Bead: My Father and my God, thank you for accepting me back into your family. I ask that may the life of God begin to superimpose the natural life and produce the fruit of your Spirit. Thank you in Jesus name.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

“I [Judas Iscariot] have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.” “What is that to us–the chief priests and elders?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.” ( Matthew 27:4)

The man who said, “Adulthood is spelt responsibility” couldn’t have said it any better. Each and every individual is responsible for their words and actions. Who we are right now is the compounding effect of the decisions we made along life’s journey. The things we say and do, paint vivid pictures of what we believe in. As such, every man is responsible for their beliefs. Beliefs are the ideas and ideologies that we subscribe to and give permission to influence the choice we make and are volitionally responsible for. Judas Iscariot made a decision that was unheard of in the whole of Israel up until that time–the betrayal of His master and teacher–but when he later regretted his actions and thought of making amends, the chief priest and elders taught him a lesson he probably learnt too late. They told Judas he was responsible for his actions. This speaks about the will of man. All humans have their free will, except in few cases where spiritual entities try to override the default operation of a person’s brain so that such a person does whatever the spirit entity wants to express. But we all have our free will, nonetheless. Often, we can identify irresponsibility when we begin to blame other people for our actions. When Adam and Eve were caught after eating of the forbidden fruit, they played the blame game too, shirking their responsibilities. But we must always be reminded that, we are responsible for everything that comes from us. Whatever it may be.

Prayer_Bead: Thank you Lord Jesus for reminding me that I am responsible for my actions. I pray that you guide me into making intentional decisions that are in sync with your will for me.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience. ( Hebrews 4:11 )

The seventh day was a day of sabbath (rest) to God according to the seven-day creation story. There was an analogical place of rest for the Israelites of old and there is a place of rest for the believer in Christ too. We enter into that day and place by pressing into it. No one stumbles into the rest of God. We press into it by obedience to the heavenly call. The people who couldn’t enter into the rest of God in the old covenant were those who disobeyed the [known] will of God for them. The rest of God is a place in the knowledge of God and a position in the fellowship system of the Holy Spirit that rewards our commitment, faithfulness, patience, endurance, faith, and our obedience. In the new covenant, the rest of God is Christ. And when we receive Him as Lord, we enter into the threshold of God’s rest. So that Christ in us is the hope of our glorification. For God has made Christ unto us, salvation, redemption, righteousness, holiness, even our wisdom. So that outside Christ we are only living in a beautiful Egypt–slavery–or walking through a wilderness that leads no where. Let us make every effort through the grace of God to enter that rest. The Israelites came out of Egypt by the grace of God but they needed a renewed mind and absolute trust in God to have access into that rest. Even Adam and Eve were in the rest of God [Eden] as long as they were obedient to the word of God to them. Obedience to God is an indispensable key to enter into the rest of God.

Prayer_Bead: Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for the grace of salvation. I pray that you usher me into your full rest as in Christ.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[the glory Unveiled]

For nothing is impossible with God.” ( Luke 1:37)

This is possibly the most “unbelievable” statement you could come across in the Scriptures. Superficially many people profess to believe that God is able to do all things and nothing is impossible to Him. But when situations challenge our resolve and beliefs, we come to that realisation that we didn’t really believe that statement. God is altogether other than anything that ever was and will be. He is altogether different from us. His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are unlike ours. He sees what we do not see and hears what we do not hear. The supernatural abilities of God, reserved for Him as God makes Him the defeater of all impossibilities. From our human scope, we see certain things as impossible, these are the things God has designated for His exclusive glory. God knows no impossibility. For instance, Lazarus dies and after four full days, Jesus comes on the scene to bring him back to life. The crowd would have thought that Jesus was crazy to attempt something as impossible as bringing a four day old dead man from the grave. But God knows no impossibility. Whatever we may be facing right now, that may sound like an impossibility is earmarked for God’s glory. Allow God to speak to it and His glory will emerge from it.

Prayer_Bead: Destiny changer, mountain mover, Jehovah of His own class, bring glory out of my seemingly impossible situation. Bring the sweetest wine out of the tasteless water of my life.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “The Christ of God.” ( Luke 9:20 )

Every Believer needs an independent understanding and relationship with Christ. If our knowledge of Christ is hinged on someone else’s revelation of Him, such knowledge will not stand the challenging realities of life. In the verse before the focus verse, Jesus had asked His disciples, who do men say I am? And they gave diverse responses. Isn’t it amazing how much of God we seem to know through the funnel of other people’s understanding of Him. And yet we know little to nothing from personal encounters. Compared to the earlier question, when Jesus asked his disciples, “who do you say I am?” the response became fewer. Strangely enough, our spiritual houses are built on the strength of our individual understanding of who Christ is to us and not what families or friends believe. So that he told Peter that, I would build My church (spiritual house) on that revelation of who you say I am. Its always been individual. Let’s pause and examine our understanding of Christ, is it worth building anything on? Is it rock solid enough to lay the next layer of revelation on? We need to know Christ experientially. We need to know Him for ourselves because only then can He build something that the gates of Hell cannot contend against.

Prayer_Bead: Father of all Lights and illumination, thank you for the revelation of Christ to my spirit. Please unveil Christ to the eyes of my soul and give me a rock solid understanding of Him.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his [Jesus’] glory and the two men standing with him. ( Luke 9:32 )

Many Believers all over the world may call and pray for the glory of God, organise retreats that capture the theme or read about it in the word of God. But even when the Lord should take us to the mountain top, to witness His glorious transfiguration, unless we are fully awake, we cannot see it. We are in a time and a dispensation where sleep is weighing down the majority of Believers. We pray for a lot of revivals and sometimes organise retreats to that effect. But in reality we see nothing. It is as if we are sleep talking. And we are not making meaning in expressing what we desire. The reason, according to today’s text is the weight of sleep. We need to wake up as the body of Christ because the bridegroom is here. From the Scripture above, we can deduce that, the glory had been on Jesus all the while that the three disciples were sleeping. But they could not see the glory of Jesus until they were fully awake. So until Believers are fully awake, they cannot see the glory of God. Irrespective of the number of years they have been in the faith. We must be awakened to the consciousness of spiritual realities. So much is happening around us, do you not see it? (see Isaiah 43:19). Let us awaken to the realities around us. Awake o sleeper.

Prayer_Bead: Thank you, King of glory. Open the eyes of my understanding to see and understand the knowledge of your glory. Drive spiritual slumber far away from me, in Jesus name.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. ( Mark 16:6 )

On the first day of the week after Jesus had been buried, three women went to anoint His body. Coincidentally, this was the third day after His burial. And on this same day Jesus had informed his disciples that He would be raised back to life. But shockingly, not one of the twelve disciples or even the inner three, including Peter the curious disciple came to see whether or not what Jesus said was true. They seem to have forgotten all about the words of Jesus. One would wonder how anyone of the disciples who followed the Lord Jesus so closely for all those three years could just forget about Him. But that is the case with many of us. In a crisis, in the silence of God’s tests we sometimes seem to forget all about the promises and kindness of God. Not knowing that in those silence is the sound of a new beginning for us. Even though the three women who went to the tomb of Jesus on the first day did not originally go there to see Jesus resurrect or whether He did, by their love and commitment to Him, they were blessed to be the first people to hear and carry the news of a new beginning. They carried the news of Jesus’ resurrection to the world, even to the original disciples. Jesus is risen! And as a result of His resurrection, we can now boldly say that we died with Christ and rose with Him, having a new life, even the life of God. The place where Jesus was buried could have been a symbol of pain and hopelessness to the many. But to the glory of God, that place after three days became the prove that He is risen and a monument of hope to the Believers then, even before they actually saw Jesus. May whatever used to be a mark of hopelessness and pain in our lives become the reason for our celebration in Jesus name. He is risen and so are we.

Prayer_Bead: Father in Heaven, thank you for Jesus. May the remembrance of His resurrection give me hope and refresh my faith. May the power that raised Christ come upon me and dwell in my mortal body, so that the resurrected life may be seen in me.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. ( John 19:30 )

Reading the account of Jesus’ death, anyone will admit how very cruel it was. Even the spirit of the man who is unimaginative can bear witness to the cruelty and the shame with which His death was carried out. And for the fact that He was not guilty of any crime, accused and betrayed by a friend and a student. He did not only endure such gruesome physical pains but also a very intense emotional pains. Amazingly, Jesus did not jump any stage of the predestined process for the redemption of man. He paid our price in full. Along the line, He could have employed His divine right as God even while persecuted. But no, he lived and acted as if He was not God, nor had any right to act independent of God. This is the intense of Jesus’ love for man. He followed the prescription inscribed by the will of the father as if He was preparing a pastry that demanded strict adherence to its recipe else the desired outcome would not be achieved. Undoubtedly, Christ has baked a perfect cake of redemption for anyone who believes in the price He paid in His flesh for us. It is finished indeed! He has done everything God would have required of us. Glory to God!

Prayer_Bead: Thank you dear Lord for the work of redemption which you have designed and executed for me. And because of that I declare even as you did that, it is Finished!

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.