Month: March 2024

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Actions and Words

[The Glory Unveiled]

Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? [ Luke 6:46 NIV ]

In God’s hierarchy, obedience is more valuable than making sacrifices. God isn’t deceived by mere words or lip service; He discerns the heart of every individual, making it impossible to deceive or confuse Him. It is a fruitless labour to attempt deceiving God with our words when our motives and actions communicate something different from our words. The word, “Lord” means master and owner, indicating that acknowledging Jesus as our Lord means recognizing Him as our master and owner. If He indeed holds authority over us, why do we not obey Him? Failure to obey God, demonstrates that He isn’t truly our master. Many of us resemble the individuals Jesus questioned in the text above, loudly proclaiming Jesus as our Lord in public yet disobeying Him in private. We disregard His instructions, choosing our own paths as if we were our own masters. Jesus isn’t swayed by empty words; He sees our hearts. We may deceive those who judge by appearances temporarily, but we cannot fool God. If we claim God as master, we must make clear commitments in submission to Him. Our actions must align with our words; otherwise, our words hold no meaning. Jesus is more concerned with our actions than our spoken words. Let your actions bring glory and honour to the Lord.

Prayer_Bead: Lord Jesus, I submit to you as my Lord in all my actions. Help me to bring you honour and glory. In Jesus’ name.

Wisdom_Quote: Words that disagree with a person’s actions are empty.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

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Keep guard over yourself

[The Glory Unveiled]

”So, little children, guard yourselves from worshiping anything but him.“ [ 1 John‬ ‭5‬:‭21‬ ‭TPT‬‬ ]

Our world today has erected many idols. The ordinary person is forced to bow to one of the many modern gods—anything that seeks to take the place of God in our lives. The scripture above suggests that “little children” are prone to the temptation to submit to anything but God. “Little children” are those whose walk with God is new and growing. They may be old in age but young in their relationship with God. Children are usually vulnerable and susceptible to deceit. The apostle, through the scriptures, teaches us to guard ourselves as children from the influence of those things that turn our attention away from God. The responsibility lies with us to guard ourselves. A guard stands at their post to defend and ensure that nothing intrudes. To guard ourselves as children of God, we need the word of God as a barricade and guide. Dwelling in the word of God helps break the influence of the world over us. The believer in God is the target of the distractions and gods of this world. The laws that were made and, by extension, the gods that were created in the day of Daniel were targeted at Daniel, a believer in God. They didn’t really care about those already on the side of their system. Therefore, as children of God, we must arm ourselves with the knowledge that the enemy is aiming at our souls. Keep away from anything that takes the place of God in your life, including the innocent ones. There are certain things that seem harmless, but they are the bait that drags us into the arms of the devil. We must be aware of them; creating a system and a culture for ourselves that inhibits us from indulging in the things of the world. But rather submit to God in all things.

Prayer_Bead: Dear Father, thank you for your jealous love over us. Help us to guard ourselves against the deceit of Satan through your word and Spirit. In Jesus’ name.

Wisdom_Quote: The word of God is the believer’s guarding guide.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

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Open your mouth

[The Glory Unveiled]

Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, [ Isaiah 38:2 NIV ]

A closed mouth is indeed a closed destiny. Many lives are lost, destroyed, or robbed because mouths were closed when they should be opened. There is so much power in words; God made it so. He Himself is our example. When He faced a chaotic world without order, Genesis 1 records that He spoke. God did not keep quiet over the situation; He spoke order into it and called out what He wanted to see. Hezekiah, the man spoken about in the text above, was given a death sentence by a prophet of God. But he didn’t keep quiet and accept it as his fate. Instead, faith rose within him, and he opened his mouth in prayer to change the verdict. It was when he opened his mouth that fifteen good years were added to his life. Imagine what would have happened if he had kept quiet; his silence would have endorsed the sentence. Everyone is either being destroyed or built by their mouth. What happens in our lives is determined by the things we confess. Your mouth is a gateway; you decide and design your future and present circumstances with it. Don’t keep quiet; keep talking and confessing your convictions and desires. Bend the arm of circumstances to favour God’s purpose for your life. Some things are dying because no word is being spoken over them. The early church lost James because they didn’t speak on his behalf. When Peter was later imprisoned, they prayed earnestly for him (Acts 12:5), and he was saved. You will lose whatever you don’t protect with your mouth. Your destiny depends on your words; don’t shut your mouth.

Prayer_Bead: Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for the power you have given me to order the circumstances of my life. Let your name be glorified in my life.

Wisdom_Quote: A closed mouth is a closed destiny.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

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Add to the promises

[The Glory Unveiled]

”For this very reason, adding your diligence [to the divine promises], employ every effort in exercising your faith to develop virtue (excellence, resolution, Christian energy), and in [exercising] virtue [develop] knowledge (intelligence),“ [ 2 Peter‬ ‭1‬:‭5‬ ‭AMPC‬‬ ]

Our anchor scripture begins, thus, “for this very reason…” hence we need to inquire into what the very reason is. In the verse 4, we see the reason being, so that we may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruptiom in the world. Therefore, all the things verse 5 encourages us to add to the promise are to the end that we may escape the corruption in our world and participate experientially in the divine nature. A careful read of the verse 5, in the AMPC version opens our eyes to truth many people are ignorant about. The very ignorance that has denied them so many goodies. You see, many believers think that because of the divine promises that God made to them, they could just fold their arms and wait for everything to unfold at their own time. But a careful examination of this scripture teaches us otherwise. In fact, it teaches us to add diligence to the promises. This means that after hearing the promise, we must begin to work diligently for their manifestation. Paul told Timothy to work diligently because of the prophecies that had gone ahead of him (1 Timothy 1:18). Timothy was not encouraged to sleep because of prophecies were uttered over him. The apostle Peter goes on to say that in addition to adding diligence to the promises, we should develop virtue by employing every effort in exercising our faith. And then to virtue, we should add knowledge. One thing must be added to another, layer upon layer, precepts upon precepts, until we are built into the full stature of Christ. So, having a divine promise is not an excuse to abandon diligent work. Add to the promises.

Prayer_Bead: Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for all the things you accomplished for me. Help me to appropriate them through diligent work.

Wisdom_Quote: Add diligence to every divine promise.

GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

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The power that brings salvation

[The Glory Unveiled]

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. [ Romans 1:16 NIV ]

Salvation is always conveyed through the conduit of the gospel. Without the gospel, salvation cannot be made available; in other words, it will not exist. The reason is that salvation must be transmitted by power, and the gospel happens to be the power channel that transmits salvation to people who believe. Salvation does not just come to people; it is administered to people by power. This power is not the result of man’s oratory skills or communicative ability and craftiness. It is solely through the good news of Christ. This is why, regardless of the amount of good things a person does, their good deeds do not make them righteous. So, good deeds do not have the power to offer salvation; it is only through faith in Jesus by the gospel. The key element that ushers in salvation is the gospel, which is why the devil tries to change the message that makes up the gospel, just as he did with Eve. Today, we hear different kinds of messages in the name of the “gospel.” As a result, many people are being swayed and taken far away from the path of salvation, since no other message carries the power that brings salvation except the gospel. With this understanding, we must be bold to share the gospel with our world, confidently telling them about the love of God and His gift to humanity. You are a power distributor; let the world come into contact with the power that brings salvation because of you.

Prayer_Bead: Father, thank you for your love and the power available to bring me and the world, salvation. Let Jesus be glorified.

Wisdom_Quote: The gospel is the power of God that gives salvation.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.