Month: April 2021

[The Glory Unveiled]

Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace of King Xerxes. ( Esther 1:9 )

”A house divided against itself cannot stand” is very well exemplified in this verse of Scripture. The King Xerxes gave a banquet (verse 5) for all the people of the land of Susa. But interestingly, the Queen also gave a banquet for the women in the palace. The question is, are the women not part of “all the people in Susa”? This means Queen Vashti did not submit to the authority of the King. She had her own private agenda outside the plan of the king which was independent of the king’s authority. Her disloyalty to her husband and the king was verified when she finally disobeyed a direct request of the king which is a command for that matter. She became complacent as a result of her association with royalty through marriage. And so she disobeyed her husband again but this time in the capacity of King. What she didn’t realize was that, she could disobey her husband but not her King. Familiarity is a drug that drags you to the dungeon of rejection. God is our King and Father. He may ignore our negligence and childishness as Father, but as King, He will judge our every action. This is why it is a dangerous thing to undermine God or become familiar with Him. Just as Queen Vashti lost her Royal position (verse 19), any believer who undermines the authority of God lose some position or rank that they had been occupying. Let us hold steadfast to the word of God. And He will decorate our lives with the beauty of His glory.

Prayer_Bead: Father in Heaven, King of my heart, thank you for the grace to be in your presence today and everyday. Help me to continually obey your word and your voice. In Jesus name.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. ( Romans 6:13 )

The Lord Jesus did not only die for some part of us. We died by faith with Him and we were brought back to life through His resurrection. And because Jesus died for us, we owe our lives to Him; to live for Him. In our expression of that reality, that we owe every part of us to Him, we must offer ourselves as instruments of righteousness; conduits through which the righteousness of God will be seen and known. But then there is another agent who tries not to master the whole body of man but to specialize. What he does often, is to build his headquarters in a particular part of the body. And from that strategic place, he executes his evil plans and wickedness. This agent is the devil, father of lies. He extends his influence to territories through people, via the medium of sin. The devil may lure you to compromise on telling the truth, or being faithful or anything else. But what that actually means, is that, the part of us responsible for handling the responsibilities of that area is compromised and the devil has a headquarters there. A little yeast, leavens the whole dough (1Corinthians 5:6). That little compromise will become the stain that causes blemish in your garment. The surest way to deal with the devil’s agenda to have you offer any part of your body to him is to yield every part of you to God. And then God will work through you to announce His life and virtues.

Prayer_Bead: Gracious God, Merciful Father, thank you for the blessing of your Spirit in me, working through my choices and decisions as I yield myself to you wholly. I refuse to compromise the virtues of God.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” ( 1 Samuel 16:7 )

The prophet Samuel was supposed to go anoint a new king for Israel from the house of Jesse. He didn’t exactly know who it was in particular but he knew the address (location) of where the person may be. And so he came to the house of Jesse with a bottle of anointing oil. God knew who would be king but Samuel didn’t yet know. In that moment he thought it may be David’s elders brother, Eliab because he had the physical attributes and qualities. Unfortunately, he was rejected and God made a statement that necessitated today’s devotion. God said to Samuel, that He does not look at the things people look at; people look at the outward appearance. The lord looks at the heart. Our desires and appetite portray the things our heart cleaves to. What we continuously engage our mind in becomes the imprint of our hearts. God will not choose us for anything worthwhile unless the state of our heart is right. Eliab was rejected because his heart was not right. Whoever wants to do business with God, must work with His terms and conditions. We must intentionally disregard every attempt of the world and it’s system to buy into their “normal”. We are of a different citizenship and our culture is different. Glory!

Prayer_Bead: Omniscient Father, Mighty God, thank you for working on my heart to love and live for your good purposes. My confessions and actions are consistent with your desires for me. I am chosen for the display of your glory.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

“Arise, shine; for your light has come,
And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. ( Isaiah 60:1 )

In theatre arts, usually, a stage is set before the drama is enacted. The stage becomes the background upon which the drama is displayed. In artistic drawings, the same principle of art is employed. The word of God asks us to “arise, shine.” But before we are asked to arise, shine, we are told that the reason for this command is that our light has come. The coming of our light is the backdrop for our shining and arising. We cannot shine or arise until the light comes. People are supposed to see our shining and glorify God. But before this could happen, we need to first wait for the coming light. Thanks be to God, our light has already come; Christ Jesus. Scripture says we have been called from darkness into light [and this light is Christ] see 1 Peter 2:9. Our anchor verse says this light that has come causes the rising of the glory of God because it unveils it. Light reveals what is hidden by darkness but darkness cannot hide what light holds. This is why we can shine, and the reality is that we are not actually shining but just just showing what was hidden by darkness. This is why it says, “arise”. Once we arise in the midst of light, we are shining. So let us arise, shine for our Lord is with us.

Prayer_Bead: Light of the world, Father of glory, thank you for coming into my life so that I can let the world see your glory. I arise with the gift of God to the benefit of the church. I am committed to serving in the body of Christ.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ( Romans 5:8 )

It is very difficult to help someone who has offended you and is still in the act of hurting you. It is just naturally difficult to sincerely love someone like that. Everything in you keep screaming “common sense” to you. But God is not a man. He didn’t wait for us to change into righteous people before He demonstrated His love to us. This He did as an example of His kind of love and nature. So that while we were still sinners; buried in the miry clay of sin and all its grievous acts, God through Christ took our place to die for us [the consequences of our actions through Adam]. This is a preamble for us also to exemplify in our daily living. Since we have the life of God, we have love in us and the only way that love can be seen is when we express it to others through our actions. God loved us and did something consistent with that love, so that there is no doubt in us about His love. We must show the world this love through our actions. Let brotherly love continue because we have the love of God in us.

Prayer_Bead: Merciful and everlasting God, thank you for your supernatural unconditional love. I am a product of your love. I radiate the residues of your gracious love.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. ( Matthew 5:16 )

Our anchor verse of Scripture is just reiterating the Scripture that says we are the light of the world; a city built upon a hill which cannot be hidden (verse 14). We do not by ourselves have anything worth displaying to the world, but then we have the ability to let the world see what God had placed in us. “We are the light of the world” means we are the express revelation of the glory of God because of what we have within us. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. ( Ephesians 2:10). We have in us “treasures” of God’s glory and the world is longing to see it. The glory is not ours that is why after men have seen our good works, it is God who receives the glory. Unfortunately the world cannot see the glory of God unless we let our light shine. God said in the beginning, “Let there be light” because He was about to display His glory. Light is a necessary agency for the display of God’s glory. This light, to us is spiritual truth which brings spiritual understanding. We must not hide our light under a basket as Moses hid his under a veil. The glory is in there but it’s revelation (exposure) to the world depends on what we do and what we do not do. Let the world see God’s glory through your light.

Prayer_Bead: Father in Heaven and in our hearts, working in us and through us both to will and to do according to your good pleasures, thank you for making me a vessel to display your glory. I uncover my light so that the world can see your great light.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ( James 4:8 )

Institutions and social gatherings or groupings have distinctive protocols that is common to their operations. Likewise, in the mingling of a man’s spirit and God, it is man who must make the first move towards God—the protocol. Even though God took the first step to secure redemption for us, in relating with God intimately after that, man has to make the first move. Before we were saved, God took it upon Himself to get to us through His son’s death, burial and resurrection. But then after that demand was met, it now behoves us to draw to Him if we want a real relationship with Him. The Israelites had been in captivity for many years. God was in heaven, watching but waiting for man to draw near to Him. It was after the cry of the Israelites became loud that God sent a deliverer to them. In other words, God drew near to them through Moses when they first drew near to Him through their cry. God will draw near to us when we make the first move of drawing near to Him in our fellowship with Him. We must make up our mind if we want to be chasers or God. God does not condone with double-minded people. We must choose whether we want to really draw near to God or drift from Him. There are no middle grounds.

Prayer_Bead: King of Glory, I draw near to you through fellowship with you. I denounce anything that used to take your place in my life. Have an unrestricted access to my heart and life. You are Lord of my life. Thank you. In Jesus name.

#GNews: Unveiling the Glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

And Esau said to Jacob, “Please let me have a swallow of that red stuff there, for I am famished.” Therefore his name was called Edom. But Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” ( Genesis 25:30-31 )

Did it occur to you that Jacob was as hungry as Esau or probably more hungry? Jacob wouldn’t have prepared that red stew (stuff) if he wasn’t hungry. Obviously he prepared it to quench his hunger, but then, he was having another hunger that was deeper than his hunger for food. Esau was ready to make a trade for what he was hungry for and Jacob was also ready to trade for what he was hungry for. Jacob was hungry for something spiritual [birthright], it is not tangible to the eyes nor the sense of taste. And that hunger for the birthright made him give up his physical hunger. For our spiritual hunger to be met, we need to let go of some other hunger and desires. Like Jacob who gave away his food just so that he could have what food cannot buy, we need to also let go of little desires and needs that stall us in the hallway of spiritual realities. We must be willing and ready to let go of temporal things in order to have something eternal. Jacob lost his food so that he could have a birthright that would change the course of his destiny. But Esau lost something spiritual for a mundane thing. May we not for the temporary pleasure and leisure that life will offer us be swayed to the side of the flesh and mundane desires. May we through the eternal spirit of Christ be drawn to what will stand the test of time to the praise of God’s name.

Prayer_Bead: Immortal God, thank you for the things you are doing in my life and what you are about to do. I hunger for the deep things that will leave an indelible mark on my life.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; ( Deuteronomy 30:19 )

Everyday of our lives, we are confronted with the privilege or challenge of making choices. Depending on how we see and understand choices, we respond accordingly. Under normal circumstances, whenever options are given, choices are intended to be made without any external influence or guide. But here in this verse of Scripture, we see something rather unusual. God presents options to His people through the lips of His prophet, Moses but then in addition to the options presented, God tells His people what to choose. This is a big sign of love. It is just like setting an exams for a group of pupils and then showing them the best option to pick. God loves us so much that He would show us what to choose but because of His sovereignty, He will not take away the consequences of what He has set in place. And because the consequence of making the wrong choice is dire, He entreats us to choose the best option so that our descendants together with us may live. After we have known the desire of God for us and still make the wrong choice, we wouldn’t have God to blame but ourselves. The choice is ours to make. Life and death, blessings and curses are on display in the shelf of time, choose life and blessings because that is what God wants for us.

Prayer_Bead: Faithful God, Loving King, thank you for your unconditional love for me. I choose life today. I refuse to allow death and all its consequences into my life. My descendants and I are preserved by the word of God’s mouth.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it. ” ( Genesis 4:7 )

The attitude of one’s heart is what attracts or repels the desires of sin and all of its tendencies. The Bible says he who knows what is good but does not do it, to him it is sin (James 4:17). The consequences of ignoring what our hearts understands as good is sin. And so, Cain recognized that the offering he presented to God was not good enough as a result of the attitude of his heart. What God told Cain in our verse of Scripture suggests that when one does what is wrong, sin and all its consequences is giving the opportunity to destruct them. Deliberately doing wrong positions an individual to carry out their desires and such desires can draw them farther away from God. But then there is a strand of hope in that statement. God says Cain should rule over the desire to sin. With regards to sin and anything that has to do with our desires, we have a free will to pick and choose. And so, we can also choose not to do what we desire by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. We have the power of God to rule over sin and its desires. We must not compromise with the devil’s gifts and freebies when he presents them to us. We rule over sin, by the Holy Spirit as He empowers (quickens) our mortal body.

Prayer_Bead: Father in heaven, thank you for the wonderful grace of Christ to stand in the liberty of your redemption. Thank you for the power of the Holy Spirit to rule over sin and it’s attending crisis. I am born of God. Glory!

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.