Month: May 2020

[The Glory Unveiled]

When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. ( Genesis 22:9 )

All the way through scripture are records of situations that demanded a leap of faith. Anytime it seem that God was making a demand on us that we could not “ordinary” meet, He was calling on us to take a leap of faith. Most of the time, to act in faith will mean that we thrust out into the deep without a deep revelation nor a full understanding of why. It means to take a step even when the stairs are not fully in view. Abraham took a leap of faith to attempt sacrificing his only son. Queen Esther leapt in faith to approach the King who had not asked for her (see Esther 4:16); this in their day and time was a punishable offense. But she was willing to go all out in faith regardless of the outcome, saying if I perish, I perish. The apostle Peter also leapt out in faith when the Master Jesus asked him to come to Him on the water. Peter probably thought of the laws of nature he would probably have to ignore in order to take that first step just as Esther had to ignore the laws of Shushan that demanded that no Queen visited the King unless called upon. Abraham while he bound Isaac up had to ignore the opinions of the people around him to move out in faith. A leap of faith always requires of us to ignore some laws that may work against the actualisation of that goal. Leap out in faith today. Hang on the promise of God, don’t look on the laws of life that are screaming “impossible!” at you. It is possible.

Prayer_Bead: Lord Jesus, Author and Finisher of my faith, take away my unbelief, fears and doubts. Help me to take a bold leap of faith.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit. ( Galatians 3:14 )

Abraham, the man of faith [as verse 9 of the same chapter calls him] earned that name on the ticket of walking in obedience to what he had not yet seen. Without faith [absolute trust], Abraham could not have obtained the promises of God. The premise on which God entertains us is that of faith (Hebrews 11:6). The new covenant, established with better promises closes up everything in Christ Jesus, so that without coming into Christ by faith, we are exempted from the privileges of the promise. It is not enough to confess the promises over our lives just because we attend church and fellowship with Believers. Just as no one can use another person’s passport or visa to access passage into a foreign land, likewise we cannot enjoy the promises of Christ because of our relationship with another person who has access into Christ. We need to come into a personal relationship with Christ Jesus from which we are qualified for the promises. By faith we receive the manifestation of the promises of God. But this manifestation is carried out by the Holy Spirit so that once the demands are met, there is a supply of what was promised, regardless of what challenges or threats may be posed. Do you have a working personal relationship with Christ?

Prayer_Bead: Spirit of Truth, thank you for the revelation of your promises and access to it by faith in Christ. Lead me into the full expression of faith.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. ( John 6:63 )

Words carry with them realities that transcend the discerning of the flesh. The Holy Spirit gives life. And so we are alive not because our bodies are able to perform the seven or so basic life functions–movement, respiration, growth, excretion, nutrition among the rest. We are alive or begin to live when we become one with the Spirit that gives life. Life is given through intimate fellowship. Just as life is given to a new born baby through intercourse–the fusion of two people as one until there is a release of life force. In our participation of this life, we receive His life by becoming one with Him through His words. Anytime a word proceeds from God, it is as an arrow shot with potent force. God’s words to us is spirit. So that we benefit from it by discerning the spirit of it and not the letter. Often the letter may be bitter, impossible, ridiculous or just what we think it could be. The Spirit of God in us gives life to the word of God to us but anyone without the Spirit profits nothing from the word of God. The word will seem to count for nothing because the flesh becomes the reception. But we have opportunity to speak the word of God to any and every situation until we see the results promised. With the right protocols and rules of engagement, the spoken word of God gives life to any situation. Let us engage the spirit of God’s word.

Prayer_Bead: Spirit Divine, gracious and Everlasting Father, thank you for the life giving Spirit I have received. Let your Spirit profit me in all things. Give life to the dead situations of my life.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. ( Romans 12:9 )

Love in these days and time, is a very rare commodity. Yet without love–or any other kind of love except the love of God–the very foundation of the earth fails to stand. Naturally, we are created to love and to be loved so that if we are prevented [whether by ourselves or circumstances] we begin to malfunction. Another problem with the kind of love that is nurtured in many of us today is one of insincerity. To this, many say they have been fooled, hurt or disappointed many times and would not wish to be entangled in any “sincere” love loop again. But dear reader, the truth remains undiluted and unchanged. The fact that you or anyone you know has had a bad experience of love is not a yardstick for your insincerity in love. We must remember that God judges motives. Love, the Bible says must be sincere, not leaving room for determining conditions. That explains that we are to love everyone, sincerely in truth of heart and motive. Where there is insincerity, evil can be done to the other persons in the love relationship. But where love is sincere, goodness is expressed even to the most unlovable person. Let us cleave to this kind of love.

Prayer_Bead: Lover of my soul, thank you for the grace to love anyone unconditionally even as Christ loves me. Help my love to be more sincere.

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[The Glory Unveiled]

And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. ( Romans 13:11 )

We have journeyed so far on this pilgrimage that many have become complacent and unconcerned about the road signs that are intended to guide our movements. But in today’s devotion, Christ by the Holy Spirit is giving us a wake up charge. What we are to do pertains to the the times of our present course. Gone are the days when slumber was tolerable and a few blemishes were ignored because somehow they did not immediately attract attacks. But we are about to take a new course and somehow God is giving us an opportunity in the abundance of His grace to make amends and to prepare ourselves for what lies ahead of us. It seem that current conspiracies and world events, has opportuned us to prepare ourselves in knowledge and prayer while we wait for the coming of the Lord like the five wise virgins in Matthew 25. Preparation had always preceeded every great awakening. We cannot walk sluggishly into a new territory. What is the sign that our salvation is nearer than before? It is the beginning of persecutions. Because somehow in the wisdom of God, He will draw us unto Himself through persecutions. But unless we are prepared now to be able to stand the persecutions of tomorrow, we cannot endure what will come, and then there will be a falling away of many who do not have enough oil in their lantern (spirit) as the five foolish virgins. We need to make time, consciously, to prepare for the next phase of our journey. We need to be fully awake to the things of God and walk circumspectly. Let us wake up and trim our lamps! (Matthew 25:7)

Prayer_Bead: Shepherd and Overseer of our souls, thank you for this wake up call. Quicken my prayer and Bible study life. Give me understanding of the times that I may number my days.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” ( John 4:10 )

O what great opportunities we miss because we do not know how to discern the gift—plan, will, intention, desire—of God. The Samaritan in the text of Scripture above failed to discern Christ and that almost led to her missing the opportunity of Salvation (see the earlier verses). Having a relationship with God through Christ and a fair understanding of the plan of God for us is the basic ingredient for receiving anything from God. It is not enough to know a few promises in the Bible and yet not have a working relationship with Christ. It is just like knowing [reading] about the assets of a wealthy man but not knowing him/her in person. The fact that you know about their assets does not guarantee that they would give you anything when you ask them. But knowing the person very intimately and not knowing what they have too will discourage or blind you from asking them. So both elements of knowing the person and what they can offer stand tall in the practicality of today’s scripture. We need a relationship with God and we need to know what He has made available for us in Christ. If we know these two, all things will be ours (1 Corinthians 3:21).

Prayer_Bead: Father in Heaven, thank you for the grace to know you and to understand your promises, let your living water well up in me.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. ( 2Peter 1:4 )

The things that have been given to us that pertain to life and godliness by God’s divine power were given through his great and precious promises. So that in order for us to walk in good health or financial freedom for example, we need to harness the power of His promises pertaining such matters. It is as if God has hidden all that we need and will ever need in His promises, so that without His promises [which are yes and amen] we cannot enjoy such privileges even though we may be born again. In addition to such privileges of a prosperous life, we also get to participate in God’s nature. Now, the nature of God is like a realm, a reality that is attainable. And yes, even though attainable, we attain that reality only on God’s terms and conditions [as in the case of Adam and Eve] . And then when we appropriate His great promises and are given access to His divine nature, we can escape the corruption of this world. This is as a result of the fact that the nature of God is void of corruption. But the mystery is this, all the promises of God that guarantee these blessings and access into the divine nature are hidden in Christ. So that outside Christ, we come into that crisis of not knowing what the divine nature entails. Let us learn Christ that we may come into the rest of God, even His divine nature.

Prayer_Bead: Father of all creation and giver of life. Thank you for calling me into fellowship with you through Christ Jesus to participate in your divine nature.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. ( Colossians 3:14 )

Love is probably the most talked about subject in all genres of music, books and most art works. Even nature has its own narrative of love. And yes, love is a great virtue that should not be traded for anything else, because without love; genuine unconditional love, other virtues such as kindness, humility, patience, self control, lose their true essence and value. Love, in the verse of scripture is metaphorically used as a binding tape or substance. And just as glue or any adhesive tape keeps two or more things together, we need to bind all the virtues we have with love. Before this very verse, the apostle Peter mentions virtues that a believer should possess. But then we discover in our verse of reference that those virtues in isolation are not enough. The profile of love, recorded in 1 Corinthians 13 tells us from the various descriptions that true love is unconditional. If anyone claims to love, they should not be held back by anything or anyone. Their resolve is and should be hinged on nothing but Christ. The other virtues we crave and pray for get their value from love. Let love bind together the nature of God in us.

Prayer_Bead: Thank you Father for your Love and the grace to love as Christ does. Bind all my virtues together in the unity of love.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. ( Acts 4:24 )

The tremendous power made available to the praying man or woman cannot be ignored. But it seems that we are not exposed to the full artillery of prayer. Prayer is said to be the master key in the famous Sunday school hymn. And we cannot agree more because each time situations make us feel locked up or stucked, prayer always brought the rescue. Nothing unnatural and significant ever happened in the Bible without prayer being made to heaven first. Any and every time something happened on earth that God had something to do with, men had to pray first. Like the Lord Jesus, anyone who meant business with God should not and cannot be separated from prayer. Prayer must become part of their very human fabric. We are born with the inherent nature to connect to the supernatural. Scattered in the verses of the Bible are records of God communing or wanting to commune with man. And the medium of interaction is prayer. Jesus, while on earth prayed constantly because He had to communicate with the Father; setting an example for us to follow. In the verse above, the church was hindered by the Sadducees and so the Believers had to communicate to the headquarters in Heaven for deliverance.

Prayer_Bead: Thank you Father for lending Your ears to our prayers. We ask that you protect the Church from unreasonable men.

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[The Glory Unveiled]

Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. ( Genesis 45:5)

This single verse of Scripture exposes so much about Joseph. One of which is his mental attitude. Joseph has a kind of mental attitude that allows for God to use him and do through him what He did. The statement was made by Joseph after his brothers came to know that the brother they had sold some years earlier was the very person they were standing before. And not just that, he had saved them from starvation. His siblings didn’t have the understanding he had. So they felt they had done a great evil against their brother but Joseph thought that it was God who had sent him [through slavery] ahead of his brothers to secure for them what they would need. Joseph’s conviction on the matter was deepened by the fact that he had seen in his boyhood, a vision of what God would do in his life. Beloved, whatever God told us in the most ridiculous places or circumstances, let us hold unto it with our very last breath because God is not a man to lie. He will honour his promises and confirm His words to us. So that after we have known the will of God for us, we need to develop the conviction that everything, including the bad, the ugly and the meaningless things will work for our good. Everything was staged to bring Joseph to where he finally was. Likewise, with a firm resolve to hold unto God’s word, we will be brought to our place of rest.

Prayer_Bead: God of infallible words, thank you for your promises to me. Strengthen my resolve to trust your plans for me.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.