Month: June 2020

[The Glory Unveiled]

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. ( John 8:34 )

Stability and productivity are key instruments for measuring and checking growth. It’s a pointer to the height and position one has attained. As Believers, who are heirs of God, our stability in the things of God is paramount to our participation in the realities of the Kingdom. Many things may contribute to our soundness in the faith, our stability and productivity but instability is tied to a few things. One of which is trying to lay our own foundation; trying to do for ourselves what only Christ Jesus could do for us. In the verse of Scripture above, the root of instability and unfruitfulness is exposed. Implied in that scripture is the fact that, anytime someone assumes the position of irresponsibility and instability, they have been enslaved by a particular sin. Anyone caught in the loop of a sin that easily entangles them is slave to that way of life and such a person, without the freedom that Jesus gives cannot be productive in anything. They cannot be stable in the Lord. A slave in the natural sense has no personal sense of direction. They cannot decide to go in a particular direction and stick to it to the end. The reason is, when their master demands for their service, they give up every and any other thing just to please their master. It is also like that with any person enslaved by entangling sins (Hebrews 12:1). We only have freedom to be productive and stable when we are truly freed by the word of God.

Prayer_Bead: Father in Heaven, I give up my ways and my will. Free me from the sins that easily entangle me. Make me productive and stable in you.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir. ( Galatians 4:7 )

Slaves and sons are worlds apart in description and responsibilities as well as privileges. In Galatians 4:1, the heir who is not skillful is compared to a slave. So the unbeliever is a slave to the basic elements of the world but the born again child of God who is also ignorant of their rights and privileges is equally a slave because they cannot enjoy what is rightly theirs. We were not slaves by default but we became slaves by defect and then we are given the opportunity to be sons by effect (the effect of Jesus’ finished works). But then, there is an icing to the cake of this good news of the redemption of Jesus. We have been made heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. This position of heirship has given us the privilege to exercise the right of sonship. We share in the life of God and the creative ability of His word. We have the opportunity to receive from heaven by faith and to be given from heaven because of God’s love for us here on earth. Our position is one of advantage but without the appropriate knowledge, we could be disadvantaged even in the comfort of the promises of God. We are no longer slaves but hiers. Let us take our place and exercise our rights.

Prayer_Bead: Gracious Lord, Loving King, Shepherd of all souls, thank you for delivering me from the kingdom of darkness into your marvellous Light and making me Your heir.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices. ( Leviticus 18:3 )

The statement of today’s scripture verse was made by God to the nation of Israel after they were delivered from Egypt. One would wonder why God would still make such a statement after delivering the people from their worst nightmare—slavery. The past has the tendency to catch up with the present if the mind allows it. For this reason God was cautioning His people not to allow their minds to carry with them the Egyptian mentality [and ways of doing things]. And then He cautioned them against the future they were going into. Because they had just been delivered from slavery, it was easy for them to subscribe to any way of life that seem different from what they had experienced. But the future as promising as it may be, has its own giants to kill and challenges to fight. And so in order to minimise casualties, they were to obey only the LORD. The statutes of the Lord is the only anchor that can keep us afloat in an unstable world. In times like this when past experiences often pay impromptu visits to our present because our present realities feel threatened by present happenings, we need the sure word of God. We need a stabilizer, something to keep us awake and alert to ways ascribed by God. And this can only be God Himself. Let us live for God and we wouldn’t be bothered what the world around us is saying or doing.

Prayer_Bead: Father in Heaven, thank you for your love and your grace and for lighting my path with your words. Keep me from being distracted by my past experiences and from being destroyed by the promises of my future.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” ( John 5:6 )

Sometimes, after we have been in a particular situation for long, we tend to make that situation our new normal, whether it be a bad or good situation. The mind has the tendency to compromise; to be content with challenges that seem to have no expiry. The man Jesus spoke to in today’s verse of Scripture was a lame man who had been bedridden for thirty eight years. This man was definitely in need of healing but Jesus still asked him whether he wanted healing or he was comfortable with his circumstances. No matter what happens to us, we need to have a dream, a purpose, a desire that will forbid us from being content with problems and unfavourable circumstances. The persistence of some problems could actually prevent us from seeing the possibility of change. But the truth is this, with Christ, there is always victory at the end of every battle. The question to us who have been befuddled with a persistent predicament is this, do we want to be well? This question is necessary because our desire and mental perceptions contribute to the strength or otherwise of our faith which is necessary for the fulfillment of our heart desires and dreams. Let us continually confess what we believe and what we want.

Prayer_Bead: Jehovah Rapha, the Lord my healer, thank you for your healing and restoration. I declare the blessings of God that adds no sorrow upon my life.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.