Month: July 2020

[The Glory Unveiled]

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ( Genesis 1:3 )

Throughout the Genesis account of creation and the magnanimous exhibition of the attributes of God, there seem to be a missing link between the word of God or the intention of God and the performance [expression] of that thought in a tangible way. Whenever God said something invisible and wished that it became a reality perceptible to the soul of man by the faculty of the eyes or ears, He would employ another of Himself to carry it out. So that there is that missing link, one who worked behind the scene, translating the realities of the unseen realm into the seen realm while He himself is unseen. Almost all the envisible attributes that were made visible begun with the statement, “God said”, inferring that God was speaking to another person. The gospel of John discloses the identity of this entity who worked behind the scenes to make a beautiful scene of a chaotic earth in the beginning. In John 1:1-3, we discover that the one who was in the beginning with God and to whom God spoke was the word of God (the Christ) without form or flesh. But in the administrative processes of the God head, “the word without form” is the Holy Spirit and “the word in a form” is Christ Jesus. So that without the Spirit of God, Christ without form, nothing was made that was made. Likewise as Believers, if we want to call light into any dark situations of our lives, we need the ministry of the Holy Spirit. And then once He is behind our scene, He will make a scenery of every eyesore in our lives.

Prayer_Bead: Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient God, creator and sustainer of all things, thank you for showing me that the invisible performer is the Holy Spirit and that by partnering with Him, my life will be a scenery.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. ( Colossians 4:2 )

In the first verse of this chapter of scripture, the apostle Paul juxtaposes the earthly slave master to the Master in heaven who is master over all including the slave master. He does this to create the impression that in any case there is One who is always superior to us regardless of our position or power. And for that there is the need to relate well with people irrespective of the biographical gap. In relating this experience to our heavenly father, we would see that there is no one exclusive to the need to pray. Everyone needs to pray to God because God is master of us all. But the need to pray is not just because of the things we think we need but also because of the unseen realities that may plague us. Prayerfulness has a lot to do with being watchful and alert as Jesus told his disciples who were supposed to keep wake with him to watch and pray. He asked them to watch and pray so that they would not fall into temptation. This supposes that prayer is an insurance against falling into temptation. It also cushions us against the harshness of life and wicked men. But there is this thing about the habit of prayer that is demanded of us; commitment. Prayer always demands faithful commitment. In Romans 12:12, the apostle who penned down the words of our focal scripture also wrote that we should be joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer. Habits are developed by faithfully committing to any lifestyle. Let us develop the kingdom habit of prayer by devoting ourselves to prayer.

Prayer_Bead: Lord Jesus, Master of the universe, thank you for always listening to my prayers. I pray for the grace to commit to this kingdom habit of being in your presence always.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled ]

“Since the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, Israel, and there you have remained. Will not war again overtake the evildoers in Gibeah? ( Hosea 10:9 )

The children of Israel in their exodus to the promised land spent four decades to reach a destination that should have taken not more than 40 days on foot. In another place, Laban, the brother of Rebekah and Jacob’s uncle cheated him after he had faithfully served him. And because of that sin, Laban’s resources became stagnant. The weak animals came to Laban while the strong went to Jacob (Genesis 30:42 ). The house of King Abimelech experienced stagnation because he had taken Sarah, Abraham’s wife into his house. All the women of his household became barren because of the action taken by Abimelech, even though he did it ignorantly (see Genesis 20:18). In the new Testament, Ananias and Sapphira stagnated their walk with the Holy Spirit and truncated their lives because of sin (Acts 5:1-9). Our focal scripture above speaks about the stagnation of Israel because of a sin they had committed. Sin is the formula for stunted growth in the Believer’s walk of faith. Sin will always faithfully pay its wages. And usually, stagnation is part of the wage if not the bonus. To the evildoers in the Israeli camp, war was their reward. Sin always pays its due wages. But sin is only licensed to pay its wages when one mingles with sin. But thanks to God, the legal right of sin is destroyed by Christ, having died on the cross in our place as payment for the wages we owed. So that we are no longer slaves to sin but to righteousness by faith.

Prayer_Bead: Father of Light, thank you for the illumination you have brought into my soul. Teach me to honour your holiness and reverence your name.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing. ( Psalms 34:10 )

Those who seek the LORD lack no good thing indeed. You see, usually, we interpret life by our understanding and expectations. But the scripture says that God’s ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not ours because He is not a man. Any man or woman who seeks God lacks nothing for all things are in God. The scripture again says that by Him are all things made and for Him they exist. In Him is the fullness of all things. Nothing good dwells outside Christ. So that means anything we desire and even pray for which seem good to us but cannot be found in the stores of God, is evil camouflaged as good. There are those with the notion that believers live pathetic and miserable lives. Such folks believe that nothing good comes to people who pursue God. But you know what? Such people are led by their appetites, they have made their stomachs gods unto themselves. And then, like the deception of Satan that robbed Adam and Eve of their estate and blessings are the words of such people in the ears of Believers who are actually partaking in the heavenly provisions of God. Their words become poison to the hope of these faithful people. “Even the lions may grow weak and hungry but those who seek God lack no good thing”. This statement emphasizes the certainty with which God is determined that anyone who seeks Him would lack no good things. The new testament reechoes this truth I’m Matthew 6:33 as “Seek the Lord and his righteousness and every other things shall be given.”

Prayer_Bead: Father of all living things, thank you for the revelation from your word to me. I acknowledge that when I find you, I’ll lack no good thing. So help me in my journey to the secret place.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. ( Colossians 3:2 )

The verse of scripture for our meditation today carries in its belly the weight of the chapter. The chapter opens with a profound statement, thus it says, [paraphrased] “we have been raised with Christ who is seated in heaven at the right hand of God”. So since we have been raised with Christ, it means we are seated in Christ with God in heaven. And if we are seated above by faith—as a reason of the position of our spirit—in His finished works, then our minds which is the gate between the spirit and the soul must be fixed on the things seen from the eye view of Christ in heaven above. Our position in Christ with God demands that our minds be set on things above. Why? The true testimony that we are seated with Christ in heaven is given by the things that our minds are set on. The position of our minds is a translation of the location of our spirits. If we set our minds on earthly things, it is a witness that our spirits are not seated in heaven with Christ. It also goes to mean that we did not [yet] die with Christ as we should or might be confessing. The mind defines the true position of the man. Is our spirit seated with Christ? Have we been raised from the death unto life? Is our mind set on the things that Christ perceives in heaven? The life we now live is by faith in Christ. Our physical faculties have no power in themselves to operate. Though we might be exposed to earthly things by reason of these physical gates, we must choose what we give our minds to as a result of what we allow through the gates of our eyes and ears. Today, let us set our minds and hearts on the things above where Christ is seated. And remember that your thought is refined by the system that made you.

Prayer_Bead: Spirit of my spiritual faculties, lover of my soul, thank you for the grace to be seated with God in Christ Jesus, help me to keep my mind on things above.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ ( Jeremiah 6:16 )

Crossroads are usually thought of as a place of no rescue; a destination where no further consequential move could be made. It seem to many of us that when we come to the crossroads, it means a stop and that our world’s come to an abrupt end. But actually, crossroads are opportunities for seeing perspectives in the roads ahead of us. In the verse of scripture for our meditation, it says to look from the crossroads. This means crossroads offer the platform to see at different vantage points. Like the eye view of an eagle perched on a tall tree is a man standing at a crossroad. But here is the incongruity in all of it: Crossroads inspire fear and discomfort in many people when they come face to face with the fact that a choice has to be made from many alternatives. That brings to mind what it most vividly describes, a crossword puzzle. But the scripture also warns that, “there is a way that seems right to a man but the end is death and destruction” and for this reason there is the need for discernment. The scripture above says we should ask for the ancient path; the good way and walk in it. Anytime we see crossroads, we must see them as opportunity to the place where we really ought to be. Yet there are those who would flee from crossroads and assume their world has ended while others would stubbornly want to take their own path without discerning the will of God when there is an ancient tested and proven path for them to follow. Are you at a crossroad? Ask God for the ancient path that leads to rest.

Prayer_Bead: Ancient word, ever true, guide the course of my life. Lead me to the place of rest as I stand at my crossroads in all aspects of my life.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. ( 1John 4:4 )

Every reality in Christ and for that matter in the word of God is enjoyed or engaged when we come to fully comprehend and are persuaded that what we know is truth. But unless that happens, whatever we confess or read in the word will just be a statement of fact. The scripture actually says all things are ours, but is that statement real in every believers experience? The honest answer is no, that is not the case with every Believer. Our christian and spiritual experiences are defined and limited to the ambit of God’s character and nature revealed to us by Christ through His finished works. The truth is that, the Spirit of Christ in us is greater than the powers and influences of the cosmos but this truth becomes reality only when we encounter this word as reality; when the person of that word becomes real to us in experience. Anyone can profess that “greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world” but it would take more than a loud voice to experience this truth as an everyday reality. The sign of one who has translated this truth into reality is one who is living the overcomer’s life. Such a person is not a slave to the systems of the world because the Spirit that overcame the grave dwells in them. The Spirit of Christ continually makes them live above all the troubles of life by offering them the peace that surpasses every way of knowledge. The Lord Jesus Himself in the spirit of this reality said that the devil comes but has nothing in Him. We have overcome the world in Christ, now let us manifest it.

Prayer_Bead: Father in heaven, thank you for the Spirit of Christ, resident in me. I pray for the grace to experience the reality of all Christ overcame for me to enjoy.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

Yet he [Abraham] did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. ( Romans 4:20-21 )

Abraham, the father of faith teaches us by his attitude towards God when he was promised a son [the nations] that true faith is tied to an anchor. Whenever a boat is left at sea, though stationed, it would be carried away by the waves of the sea unless it is tied to an anchor. In the same manner, faith needs a kind of anchor that will keep it stable and unwavering. Because when faith is unstable, it is similar to unbelief. The verses before our focal verse creates an imagery of the waves of a storm, things that should have otherwise discouraged Abraham; reasons for him to doubt and waver at the promises of God. But as explained earlier, boats tied to anchors are not tossed by raging seas and faith securely anchored is not perturbed by waves of unbelief. “Abraham was fully persuaded”….that statement is a snapshot of his anchor. He was not just believing that maybe what was promised could happen but rather, he was “fully” persuaded that God had the power to do what he had promised. What gave him that absolute assurance? Upon what was that anchor pinned? His faith was anchored on the sovereignty of God’s word. He believed that God had the power to do whatever He promised to do. Today, let us invest our trust in the word of God so that we too can have a solid anchor for our faith being fully persuaded that God has power to do what He says He will do and so that we would be strengthened in our faith and then we would not waver in our faith.

Prayer_Bead: Our Father and God who is able to do exceedingly far above what we ask or think, thank you for the assurance through your word. I give you glory for you are able to do all things.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

“Now may the Lord’s strength be displayed, just as you have declared: ( Numbers 14:17 )

Throughout the Exodus of the Israelites, God had always listened to Moses. It was as if God was always ready to hear Moses say something and He almost did it before Moses got to actually ask for it [we see an example even in the account recorded in our focal chapter where God had wanted to destroy the unbelieving Israelites]. The assembly; congregation of the people of Israel would cry and wail but the response they needed from God usually didn’t come promptly. In fact, it took them hundreds of years to cry and pray to God for deliverance before Moses was given to them. In the wilderness, they would cry unto God on their own but it would amount to nothing. But whenever Moses called out to God, God responded to him almost promptly. It was as if Moses had a special dial or God’s private line with which He contacted God. From Moses’ relationship with God, we can assume that God is more concerned about who was in communication with Him than what was actually being communicated. The speaker was more important than what they were saying to Him. For this reason, Moses was jeolously protected by God, even from his own siblings so that they dared not speak against Moses though he was the youngest. In some other place God defended Moses before the Israelites when Korah and his group opposed him. Moses mattered to God so much that his words and everything about him mattered as well to God. If our words would strike any cords in the institutions of heaven, we must first consecrate ourselves as vessels distinguished and set apart for God, like Moses. And then not only will our voices matter to heaven and earth but our very existence.

Prayer_Bead: God of Moses, Father of lights, lover of my soul, saviour and lord of my life, consecrate me and set me apart for your use. Make me an essential entity in your kingdom agenda.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” ( Numbers 13:31 )

Twelve men had been sent to spy on the land of milk and honey; the promised land, to find out how the land was and the kind of people who dwelt in it. Upon their return, ten of the people gave a bad report, one that promoted fear and doubt. And because they were the majority, their message of fear went throughout the assembly like wild fire. On the other hand, two men; Caleb and Joshua reported that the land was good, flowing with milk and honey. And that they were able to take possession of the land by the help of God. Now, fear always lurk in the neighborhood of faith. And usually, fear makes the most noise. Ones faith could be as gigantic as a mountain or as tiny as a mustard seed but fear will always lurk in the shadows of uncertainty and doubts. And if one does not silence fear, faith will die by the noise of fear. Fear sees impossibility where “possibility” is the household name but faith sees possibility even where “impossible” is the household name. Faith thrives in an environment of fear when faith puts fear to silence by screaming hope and possibilities while the opposite happens when fear infiltrates the heart by making noise and announcing doom and doubt. Faith must always speak up if fear would dissipate. Anytime faith takes a walk with fear on a journey to hope, faith does not reach that destination. Fear is a mirage but it can seem very real. Faith is reality, but it can seem very illusionary. Let your faith speak up. Silence your fears.

Prayer_Bead: Father in Heaven, God and father of the spirits of all humans, thank you for the bread of life, the substance of our walk with you. Teach me to silence my fears.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.