Month: May 2020

[The Glory Unveiled]

For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. ( 1 Corinthians 2:2 )

Usually, we are influenced by our environment; the people and things around us. We learn what we are surrounded by and continuously imbibe. The statement in the verse above was made by apostle Paul, after his conversion. He was who he was before his encounter with Christ on the way to Damascus because of the influence he had before that time. He was schooled to think against the Cross. He was always in the company of people who hated the people of Christ (Acts 7:57-59; Acts 8:1 & Acts 9:7). The apostle had a rich experience from his past about the power of association and influence. And so in his new found world, he has resolved to know nothing outside the boarders of Christ because in his old world, that resolve made him very powerful for the wrong course. In that regard, he has purposed to know nothing but Jesus Christ. As Believers still living in this secular world, we need to make the kind of resolution the apostle made and stick to it. There are certain things we must resolve never to permit into the confines of our heart and mind. We need a rigid system against all forms of ungodliness. The things we permit to influence us are the things that make us. As such we must be intentional about our environment and the people we surround ourselves with. Let us resolve to open ourselves up to the influence of the Holy Spirit above all else.

Prayer_Bead: My Father and my God, the Influence of the Cosmos and the Order of nature, thank you for the grace to know you alone in a crooked and perverse world.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. ( 1 John 4:20 )

Love in our day and time seem to have lost it’s true meaning and purpose. We profess and confess the love of God often than we can actually keep count. From the scripture, we see that saying we love God is not as important as loving our neighbours. This is because our love for God is measured against our love for our neighbours, the people we see all around us. We are created in the image and likeness of God, so to say that we love God but not the people who look like God is a contradiction. “I love God” has now become a religious cliché. One that has taken over our everyday religious discourses. But if we profess the love of God so frivolously but then meet the image of God [our neighbours] and we can’t extend love to them, then the things we say about our love for God are just like sounding cymbals–empty noise. Love is to be practiced. It is a practical venture. We do not love because we say we love. Instead we love because we do love. Love is what we do for others that we would want them to do for us mostly because we cannot do it ourselves or sometimes just to give them that assurance of care and affection. Let us not love in words but in deed (1John 3:18).

Prayer_Bead: Father of all creation, the expression and revelation of love, thank you for the understanding from your word, help me to love my neighbours.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[Unveiling His Glory]

When Pharaoh’s horses, chariots and horsemen went into the sea, the LORD brought the waters of the sea back over them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground. ( Exodus 15:19 )

The Egyptian army had been chasing the Israelites down to the bank of the red sea. Before the red sea, the Egyptians seem advantaged as they were pursuing a nation made predominantly of weak men with slaves mentality. Suddenly the two groups, the Egyptians and the Israelites came to the bank of the red sea. At this point they were facing the same crisis. And even though they came before the same crisis, the Israelites were still more scared because of their servitude mentality. There are times, when even the seemingly mighty faces the same crisis as the weak [Covid-19 tells it well]. But then, it was right there at the mouth of the red sea that the Israelites would see their unknown advantage which was God. There is no general formula for getting out of a crisis. The way out of a crisis was always individualized. But the surest way out of a crisis is by revelation. So then the time came to walk by revelation (faith) rather than by sight. The Israelites walked right through the sea as if they were walking on dry ground. The Egyptians, thinking the way out of a crisis was a universal formula walked after the order of the Israelites but they were swallowed up by the sea. Here is our lesson, in a crisis, don’t imitate your neighbour, whether they are friends or enemies. Stick to revelation, inspiration and the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer_Bead: God of all creation, whose oceans roar out His glory and whose rivers cry out His praise, thank you for giving me the secret to getting out of every crisis.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[Unveiling His Glory]

28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” 29 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ( Matthew 14:28-29 )

Peter, the disciple, believed that the words of Jesus had the power to sustain itself. In other words, when Jesus spoke, the words would be carried out to the letter. There was always a performance of the things he spoke. So to the disciple, the surest way to know if it was Jesus who was walking on the water was for the person to ask him to come (verse 28). And if he was able to go to the person then it was Jesus. He trusted the word of Jesus. This very disciple had seen for himself, Jesus speaking to a fig tree and then it withered, he spoke to the waves of the sea and it was calm. So he had every reason to believe that the words of Jesus could sustain him on the water if it was Jesus. His bold attempt out of the boat reiterates his conviction and faith in the words of Jesus. Because if it was not Jesus, he was going to drown. But to trust that the words of Jesus could keep him afloat meant he truly trusted Jesus’ words. Unfortunately, most of us seem to have come to a point where the words of people are not taken so seriously. This is probably largely to the deceptions and falsehood that has coated our everyday words. But one thing still stands out, Jesus’ words will not fail, though the heavens and the earth may pass away (Mark 13:31). Hold unto His words to you. His words give meaning and life to our existence. His words carry the power to do what it says. He is not a man to lie.

Prayer_Bead: God of creation who by the words of His mouth framed the earth and by whose words gave live to everything in it, speak a word to me in Jesus name.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright. ( Genesis 25:34 )

One may know the price of a thing but not it’s value. Esau priced his birthright at the cost of a lentil stew. But he didn’t exactly know the value of that birthright. He didn’t ascertain the worth of what he was carrying as a firstborn child. And because he didn’t know the value, he abused [despised] it. Dr. Myles Munroe always said that, when the value of something is not known, abuse is inevitable. Esau only knew the price of his birthright, Jacob knew the value. He knew that getting that birthright would give him the right to have what belonged to Esau naturally [by birth]. In our individual private lives, we play out these twins. The value we place on the things or people  in our lives and the price or cost of getting such things or the people come into our lives are not one and the same. The cost of a thing does not always expose the true value of the thing. For a example, a very valuable ornament [which is ideally] supposed to be sold expensively could be sold at a very low price. Maybe because the seller knows the buyer or because the seller is in dire need of money. In that case, the cost will not determine the value of such an ornament or jewelry. But God has actually tagged our value to the price on us. We are valued at Christ Jesus to the glory and praise of God. So that it took the cost of Christ to pay for our sins. We must endeavor not to lose the valuable things God has for us because we mistake their price for their worth. You are worth everything. Esteem yourself.

Prayer_Bead: Heavenly Father, open my eyes to the true value of the things you have given me. Help me to appreciate all that you have given me.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel–all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him.” ( 1Kings 19:18 )

Sometimes when we come to the crossroads, where all hope seem lost and nothing seem to be working, God preserves remnants of hope for us in the shadows. When it seems that there are no jobs, God still preserves jobs unknown to us for us. When it seems no man or woman is available [or interested in you] God still has a “remnant” for you. When it seem you’re the only one left in a perverse and crooked generation, God still keeps His remnants. No matter the economic turbulence, the social unrest, God is keeping something going for you in the background. Elijah felt alone, He felt abandoned, he felt His family was killed but God kept a company for Him. Elijah had given up on life, he wanted God to take his life because he thought he was the only prophet left (see verse 4). Don’t give up on life yet. God has preserved [opportunities, blessings, grace, jobs, breakthroughs] for you. When it seems all hope is lost, when it seems that the only option is to flee to the mountains, that is when to call upon God. Because sometimes, that may be your kairos moment. That very moment is when God will announce His supplementary plan to you. It is never too late when God is your travelling mate. Even though it may seem that all the other prophets were killed, in reality God hid some people for Himself. In the same way the crisis we see is just an illusionary representation what really is. God is keeping all that we think we have lost. He has preserved it all for us. Nothing is lost. Chill, relax give God praise.

Prayer_Bead: Jehovah Jireh, the Lord my provider, thank you for your provision and preservation.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

So I have come down to rescue them [Israel] from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey–the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. ( Exodus 3:8 )

It seem that God does not see obstructions [impossibilities, blockades, thorns, battles, giants, troubles etc]. The Israelites had been in captivity for 400 years. It seem then that the only freedom they knew was hardship. And then came a word from God saying He was going to get them out of slavery into freedom. This news sounded too good to be true and too powerful to be ignored. So the exodus begun to the land that was to be flowing with milk and honey. No sooner had they started the journey than they wished to go back to the only “freedom” [slavery] they had known–Egypt. We all know that when the 12 spies were later sent to scout the land, they gave a complete report of the opposite of what they had been dreaming to see. They also discovered empirically that the land was inhabited. One would wonder, did God not see these? God did not mention the real challenges they were going to face. He didn’t tell them of the giants in the land, he even didn’t mention the sacrifices they would have to make to enter the land. Like the Israelites, often when God calls us into the land of our destiny, He does not disclose the sacrifices we need to make and the giants we need to slay in order to possess the land of promise. But we must arm ourselves with this mentality, that there is a price to pay, a sacrifice to make for the land flowing with milk and honey. The next time you read or hear a sweet promise from God, pray for grace to pay the price because the price is inevitable. And with God on our side, we don’t see the obstructions stopping us.

Prayer_Bead: Lord of lords, God of gods, King of kings, thank you for the promise of my land of milk and honey, please give me grace to pay the price and make the requisite sacrifices.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

In him [Christ Jesus] and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. ( Ephesians 3:12 )

When Adam and Eve sinned through disobedience to God’s counsel, they hid themselves because they lost the freedom and confidence to approach God (Genesis 3:8-10). The barrier of sin had put them in that situation where they could not boldly meet with God even when God came looking for them. And from their time until the realities of the Cross of Christ crystallized, all of humanity became victims of their error. But thanks to God, at the Cross a remedy was made available to us by which our relationship with God could be restored. But even though the remedy is available, many are still held behind the curtains of condemnation as a result of ignorance [unawareness]. They are still unable to approach the Father of all Lights. The reason is found in the verse above. We come into fellowship with God only in Christ. And through our residence in Christ by faith, we are able to confidently approach God. There is no other substitute for this statute. There is no way around it but through this institution. So Romans 8:1, says there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ. “In Christ” is the only grounds that permits freedom and access to God. And in Him, we are shielded against the world’s system that is designed to fight our relationship with God. We have access now to God in Christ through faith. Glory!

Prayer_Bead: Father of all creation, lover of my soul, thank you for the grace to come to you in Christ and through faith in Him.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.