Month: August 2020

[The Glory Unveiled]

But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. [ Galatians 1:15-16 ]

Our first response to any situation matters a lot. It is said that the first response that is given to an ill person in an emergency goes a long way to sustain or destroy that life. So whenever there is an emergency, whoever attends to the casualty or crisis is very critical as much as what they do. Because in that moment, the life of a person hangs in the balance. The first response also exposes the attitude of the one assisting. If apostle Paul, the author and speaker in the verse of scripture above had immediately consulted someone who probably didn’t know God’s call and mandate for him, he would most likely have missed his mark. This does not in anyway suggest that we do not need help, instead it suggests that we need help from only people or the person who can help us—the right people—and in this case, God. God who has called us into our purposes also has the right resources for us to realize those dreams and purposes. He would always make provision for the vision He gave us. There is a place for man’s help and there is a place for God’s input. If God would not lead us to an expected end, He would not lead us at all. So once you are led, it’s a sign that He would be with you every step of the way. Don’t give up, God’s got you.

Prayer_Bead: Father in heaven, redeemer of my days to come, thank you for the grace to stand with you with absolute devotion and peace. Order my steps in your ways.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will” ( Ephesians 1:4-5 )

One of the most fascinating thing about love is the fact that it provides before a need is realized. In other words, before there is a need, love makes provisions ahead of the need. So love has that element of anticipating the need of the loved before the need becomes a reality. God, who is the full expression of love in the beginning of time, even before the creation of the world itself chose us [in spite of all that he knew we would do wrong]. What does that mean in the light of the preamble we have seen? It means God out of love for us, before we were created and even our temporary abode was made, chose us to be holy [set apart] for him and blameless in his sight. In love, he predestined us for adoption to sonship status through Christ Jesus. Glory!!! God knew we were going to stray away even before he created us but because of love he put in place a contingency plan to redeem us back to himself; to our rightful status of sonship by his love. All these God did for us was in harmony with his will and pleasure. His “will” because he permitted everything that would happen to his creation and for his “pleasure” because in the end, God’s glory would be shown even more vividly to the praise of his name.

Prayer_Bead: Lover of my soul and source of my strength and life, thank you for your amazing love. I am who you predestined me to be in Christ. I live intentionally for your glory.

#GNews : Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. ( Isaiah 43:19 )

God is doing a new thing every day and every time. The imperceptible world is a place of eternal possibilities and glory. Anything is possible in that realm and can translate into ours. But before that can happen, we need to see it. Seeing it creates a reception in our spirit to accommodate what we want. We see not only with our optical eyes but in this case with the spiritual sense [of faith]. So the verse says, “see” because there is the need to see beyond what the physical horizon reveals into what is unseen but enduring. See what the Lord is doing for you. In the midst of all the huddles and prickles that may want to poke us out of the stage of life, there is a divine script playing in the background of these staged events called life. God is about making the impossible possible, a new chapter is about rolling in. But the question is, do you perceive it? Our ability to perceive creates a heightened sense of faith and anticipation for the move of God. It’s like the props for a staged drama. God is about to do a new thing, be in anticipation.

Prayer_Bead Ancient of days, the one who makes way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. Do a new thing in my life today. Mark my life as a memoir of your rich glory and power.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. [ Genesis 1:3 ]

Whatever God says is very important to us. In an apprenticeship setting, mastery comes by keen observation and application. No apprentice ever became a master by doing what they feel like doing. Their chance of success comes from their willingness to obey and if possible do and act like their master. In the beginning of time, our Master found Himself in a very chaotic surrounding, and instead of just doing nothing about it, he spoke the words above. Now, light is a very great advantage because it gives you an upper hand even before the competition starts. In darkness, there can be no victory and success. Light sets the stage for creation and orderliness. Looking carefully at the creation account, we would agree that God was very meticulous in His design and the execution of His thoughts. And because we are created in His likeness and image, we need to imitate His pattern. God spoke light fist. In our attempt to do anything worth doing, we need light [knowledge] first in order to see clearly the way forward. And then we need to be intentional about what we want to do. God was intentional about every detail of His creation, so that nothing happened haphazardly. Let us imitate the Father intentionally.

Prayer_Bead: _ Gracious Lord, Source and sustainer of all things, thank you for the opportunity through your word to intentionally imitate you._

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

GLORY NEWS BROADCAST
[The Glory Unveiled]

Then Haman took the apparel and the horse and conducted Mordecai on horseback through the open square of the city, proclaiming before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.
( Esther 6 : 11 )

God is a master craftsman. He is the engineer and the artisan of events, seasons and times. He sees from both sides of the ocean of events and He weaves circumstances to follow the scripts He has written for our lives. David said it is written in the book concerning him…and Jesus in almost similar words also said He had come to fulfill what was written concerning him. The story is recorded about Haman, a man who sought to disgrace a young Jewish man called Mordecai and his entire tribe. To Haman, he had woven a beautiful story with a solid plan to move the King into disgracing and banishing the Jews in the land. At first, it seem everything was working according to plan, but then the master craftsman decided to pull a fast one on Haman and then suddenly what he wanted to disgrace Mordecai with rather brought him grace. And the interesting thing was that, it was this same Haman who announced it. It was his own voice that proclaimed it. Imagine the imagery when Haman gracefully drove the man he wanted to disgrace. God is behind the wheels of events, just stick close to Him. Everything is carefully and intentionally planned to favour us. This artistic display of God’s omnipotence is shown in different places throughout Scripture, to mean that God can and would do same for us too. He would decorate our lives with its events; the good, the bad and the ugly.

Prayer_Bead: Father in heaven, the Lord who acts intentionally and powerfully, thank you for what you’re about to do with all the situations of my life.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD. ( Exodus 34:29 )

Anyone who has been with the word of God long enough becomes identical with the nature of God which is the glory of God. When we behold him, we become like him. Anytime we speak with the LORD, in the fellowship of prayer or the study of the word, we become radiant like God. The word of God that we collide with in the place of intimate fellowship cleanses us and makes us radiant (Ephesians 5:26). Moses became glorious because he had been with the King of glory. We become identical to whatever we associate with for a long time. So the reason why we don’t look like what we want is probably because we don’t stay too long with what we want. Do you want to be a journalist, for example? Stay with scripts, events and the news. Read more, learn about the rules of language and communication. You cannot be watching how to do makeups or fishing everyday if you want to become a journalist or a preacher or some other profession. Your passion must reflect skills and activities that has bearing on what you stay with most of the time. Every great man was once in the secret place of his or her greatness and calling. Nothing just happens. Another lesson we could squeeze out from the verse above is the fact that Moses didn’t know himself that he was radiant. This describes humility and commitment. If we would become glorious in the area of our calling and purposes, we need to be committed and humble too.

Prayer_Bead: King of glory, thank you for the opportunity to be committed to my calling and purpose. Teach me the secret to the secret place of light and illumination.

#GNews : Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD. ( Exodus 34:29)
Anyone who has been with the word of God long enough becomes identical with the nature of God which is the glory of God. When we behold him, we become like him. Anytime we speak with the LORD, in the fellowship of prayer or the study of the word, we become radiant like God. The word of God that we collide with in the place of intimate fellowship cleanses us and makes us radiant (Ephesians 5:26). Moses became glorious because he had been with the King of glory. We become identical to whatever we associate with for a long time. So the reason why we don’t look like what we want is probably because we don’t stay too long with what we want. Do you want to be a journalist, for example? Stay with scripts, events and the news. Read more, learn about the rules of language and communication. You cannot be watching how to do makeups or fishing everyday if you want to become a journalist or a preacher or some other profession. Your passion must reflect skills and activities that has bearing on what you stay with most of the time. Every great man was once in the secret place of his or her greatness and calling. Nothing just happens. Another lesson we could squeeze out from the verse above is the fact that Moses didn’t know himself that he was radiant. This describes humility and commitment. If we would become glorious in the area of our calling and purposes, we need to be committed and humble too.

Prayer_Bead: King of glory, thank you for the opportunity to be committed to my calling and purpose. Teach me the secret to the secret place of light and illumination.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

8 “When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, LORD, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple.
9 “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. ( Jonah 2:8-9 )

God’s grace, mercy and loving kindness is available to as many people as would depend on Him. The Bible speaks of the grace God said was sufficient [available] for apostle Paul during his trying times. Apostle Paul wouldn’t have know that grace was available and sufficient for what he was going through if he didn’t depend on God for help. If he had turned to a [worthless] idols for comfort he would have forsaken the grace that would have been given to him. Even in times when it seem our very lives are slipping out of our very souls, we need to still raise prayer to God as Jonah did. This shows that he depended on God ultimately, problems and crisis notwithstanding. In good times, it is just too easy to say “I love God”. The true test of our allegiance and love for God is seen when we are faced with a life threatening predicament. God’s grace is available to each one of us as humans but our ability to enjoy it lies in the disposition of our will. God’s grace cannot run out but it is possible to forfeit it. We forfeit the grace of God upon our lives or available to us when we cling to anything other than God and make more time for them than God. The time to run to God is when we are faced with challenges. It is unwise to run away from God when troubles come our way. Because real trouble is any place away from God. So let us run to God instead of running away from Him when challenges knock on our doors.

Prayer_Bead: Gracious Lord, Everlasting Father, thank you for the grace to trust in you at all times and to cling to you in all situations.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. ( 2Kings 5:11)

Perceptions control our general outlook on life. It is like a lens through which we see the world; a filter through which all our life’s realities are viewed. So that what we see through the lens of perception is not or may not really be what really exists. So we could say its a realty distorter because perception alters reality. Naaman had been suffering from leprosy and when the time came for him to be healed, his perception of how the healing and deliverance should be carried out robbed him of the healing he would have instantly enjoyed. In that moment, if he had just taken the man of God’s instruction without filtering it through the lens of his perception, he would have been immediately healed. Like Naaman, we all have invisible filters that translate what we see as reality. Unfortunately, like Naaman’s filter, our views are distorted through the warped lens of our perception. But there is another filter; the word of God which is able to show the true nature and appearance of what we see. It portrays things the way they are supposed to be. Whenever God speaks a word to us, two things happens which determine what outcome we experience. When we hear the word and allow the desires of the flesh and the world’s systems to filter it through our perception we would not experience what God’s word promises. But on the other hand, when we filter the things of God with the word of God, then we would see clearly God’s love and plans for us.

Prayer_Bead: My Father and my God, perforate my thoughts with your word and filter through my beliefs, that I may perceive things as you would.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

Be on your guard [constantly alert], and watch and pray; for you do not know when the time will come. ( Mark 13:33 )

This year, 2020 has taught us a lot of lessons. One of the major lessons of this year is the fact that we should be on our guard; we should be constantly alert. We do not ‘know’ when the “time” will be. The Bible says in Deuteronomy 29:29 that the secret things belong to God, but those He revealed are for us and our children so that we may follow all the words of the law. Also Proverbs 25:2, says that the glory of God is to conceal a matter and to search it out is the glory of Kings. Because we do not naturally know all things, we need to search them out. The word of God itself in its entity is like a precious treasure concealed in a field [Matthew 13:44]. It takes unearthing the field to find it. Most of the words are concealed mysteries that take more than just casually reading through the pages of the Bible to unravel them. The physical world we see around us is only a shadow of a bigger world beyond the reach of the physical eyes. So being alert and on our guard means being perceptible to the things around us especially the ones that are not seen by the ordinary eyes. When Jesus asked his disciples to watch and pray in Mark 14:38, he Himself was alert. And so his spiritual senses were open to what was going to happen to him. Elijah was also so spiritually alert that when he was surrounded by an army, he didn’t panic because he saw beyond the human enemy army to angelic beings that were ready to fight for him. In times like these when the devil roams about seeking to devour ignorant people, we need the antennae of our spiritual pinnacles heightened. And this can only be achieved in prayer; in continuous persistent prayer because the culture of prayer, makes us alert.

Prayer_Bead: God of the night watches, protector and defender of the defenseless, thank you for the grace to constantly be on my guard through persistent prayer.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.