Category: Gospel

[The Glory Unveiled]

And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. [ Mark 8:34 KJV ]

The principles and procedures of the kingdom of God do not discriminate between people—the marching order is the same for all. The Lord Jesus informed the people who were following Him and His disciples alike that whoever wants to be His disciple, in other words, whoever wants to look like Jesus, must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him. This instruction was not given to the crowd alone; it was directed to the disciples as well. When it comes to looking like Jesus, there is no shortcut or discrimination. We have to pay the full price, and that price is self-denial, taking up our cross, and following Him. The first step in paying this price is to deny oneself. Naturally, we are self-preserving; we love and care about ourselves selfishly. Therefore, denying ourselves does not come naturally to us. We have to break a culture that we have been steeped in all our lives. This breaking is painful and discomforting. A young man came to Jesus seeking guidance on what he had to do to inherit the kingdom of God. After it was established that he had some things in order, the Lord Jesus asked him to sell his properties and belongings and give to the poor. He left downcast because his wealth and properties were preserving his sense of importance (Mark 10:17-22). Taking that away from him would make him feel nonexistent. However, it is only after we have denied ourselves that we can take up our cross. After we have denied ourselves, we can listen to and follow Jesus. When we “lose control” of our lives and give control to Jesus, we can take up our cross and follow Him. And then, in following Him, we begin to look just like Him; as we follow Him, we are changed into His very image from glory to glory.

Prayer_Bead: Father, thank you for showing me the terms of the marching order, help me to deny myself and take up my cross so that I can follow you. In Jesus’ name.

Wisdom_Quote: Self denial is the ticket to following Jesus.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

”Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.“
‭Matthew‬ ‭11‬:‭29‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ ]

The Lord Jesus asks us to join our lives with His. He made this request using the animal husbandry term “yoking.” The concept of yoking animals is to make two animals work as one unit. However, considering this metaphor through the lens of Jesus’ words, it is not the work that is the focus, but rather union with Him. This is why He said we should learn from Him. We can only become one with Him when we learn from Him. He also tells us the reason He is calling us into this venture: to find rest for our souls. Moreover, He underscores His words with something that settles the scores, explaining why He does what He does. This central truth is His heart posture. The Lord Jesus says that He is gentle and lowly in heart. To learn the ways of Jesus, we need to adopt His mental and heart attitude. Without the right mental attitude, we cannot achieve the results a person has, no matter how much we covet or imitate them. The Lord Jesus has rest, and He is calling us into a similar rest, but He is doing so through a long-lasting system: learning. He wants us to learn from Him until what we learn becomes part of us. We cannot learn the ways of Jesus unless we are yoked (joined) to Him. We can then watch His steps and His actions. This yoking process begins with accepting Jesus as Lord and being willing to obey Him in all things, neglecting our right to live and allowing Him to live through us. The kind of rest our souls want can only be found in Jesus. Outside Him is an aberration of that rest we so yearn for. So, take that yoke of total obedience and find rest for your soul.

Prayer_Bead: Father, thank you for yoking me to your Son by your Spirit. Thank you for the peace I’ve found. Amen.

Wisdom_Quote: A life joined to Jesus is a life that is resting.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. [ Romans 8:7 NIV ]

Every country and institution is run by a type of government. Whatever government is adopted becomes the ruling authority in such nations, meaning the government controls everything that happens there. There is a certain influence that spreads over the people under any particular government. This influence results in unique behavior exhibited by the people under that government. For instance, in a democratic system, people are more inclined to speak their minds and express their views more than in an autocratic society. Likewise, the government that rules over our minds translates into certain behaviors as a result of its influence in our lives. Our anchor scripture says that the mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. The behavior exhibited by a person under the governance of the flesh is hostility to God. They do not submit their lives to the word of God. They live their lives regardless of what God’s holy law says. The one who is governed by their flesh can have the best of motives and desire to love and honor God, but they are prisoners who cannot express their free will. They manifest the influence of the government they are subjected to. In the same vein, one who is governed by the spirit loves God and submits to Him in all things. Their lives are a mirror reflection of the life of God’s Son. The kind of governance over our minds is determined by our decision to accept the Lordship of Jesus or reject Him. Whatever decision we make determines the government that oversees our lives. The choice lies with us.

Prayer_Bead: Heavenly father, thank you for the provision you have made for my mind to be governed by your Spirit through Your Son.

Wisdom_Quote: Every mind has its government.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. [ James 4:7 NIV ]

In an attempt to avoid chaos, order must be employed. When things are done orderly, chaos is erased. We see a certain order of things in our anchor text. Two things are asked of us, but they are put in an order of preference: submit and resist. We will find that “submit” comes before “resist”. This paints a picture of order. When we read the creation account in Genesis chapter 1, we see a certain order that God followed in His creation. We are first introduced to chaos and darkness. And the first thing God did was to introduce light. Without light, the rest of creation could not come forth. Imagine God creating animals and man into such chaos and darkness. They couldn’t have expressed their potential. And so, God called for light first, and the rest followed in the right order. When we distort the right order of things, the expected outcome becomes chaos. Such chaos results when we try to resist the devil before we are submissive to God. The right order is to submit to God first, and then, while under the covering and authority of God, we can resist the devil. But trying to resist the devil while we are not submissive to God is dangerous. The sons of Sceva portrayed this truth well with their mistake. They had not first submitted to God, and they wanted to resist the operation of the devil in the life of another person. It will be easy to resist the devil only after we have submitted to God. So, submit to God first.

Prayer_Bead: Lord Jesus, thank you for the privilege to submit to God because of your sacrifice for me. Let God be exalted in my life. In Jesus’ name.

Wisdom_Quote: Orderliness erase chaos.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” [ Luke 22:42 NIV ]

Submission is often mistaken for slavery by many people. However, to submit to another person actually speaks volumes about the one submitting him/herself. To submit to another person shows meekness and total control over oneself. It is a sign of great discipline and self-control. The Lord Jesus, while on earth, was fully God and fully man. He had access to the resources of the Deity, to command and change, to make and unmake, to build or destroy. Yet, He chose not to exercise any of those powers. He hid everything under the will of the Father. We will notice that Jesus almost always called God “Father.” He called Him by His positional name, meaning that Jesus was always conscious of His own position and the responsibility of that office. So, even though He was God, He did not abuse His Godship. He wrapped up His desires in God’s will. He demonstrated meekness in that He could defend His desires but didn’t, instead submitting them to God’s will. He took His power and submitted it under God. He trusted God with His designated earthly life, not loving His life so much as to avoid losing it. Jesus, as our example, is calling us to trust God with our everything: our will and life itself. Jesus sacrificed His desires for the will of God to find expression on earth. The choices we make and the sacrifices we make have eternal consequences. If Jesus had not submitted His will to God, we would not have had salvation. Perhaps someone around us is deprived of something because we have chosen to follow our will and desires rather than the will of God. It is a sacrifice we must make for the greater good. If there is something you must endure for the good of others but have an easier alternative for your selfish enjoyment or to preserve your personal interests, we can make the choice Jesus made: “not my will but yours be done.”

Prayer_Bead: Father, thank you for the grace to submit my will to you. Help me not to preserve my life but to spend it on your purposes. In Jesus’ name.

Wisdom_Quote: Submission is a sign of great control over oneself.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. [ Romans 5:19 KJV ]

The pathway to our relationship with God is our obedience to Jesus. The disobedience of Adam severed our ties with God, and this disobedience became a nature that strengthened our disconnection from our heavenly family. On the other hand, believers are grafted into the family tree of God through the obedience of the Lord Jesus. He made a way for us when He obeyed God through His sufferings. “Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him” (Hebrews 5:8-9). Through His sufferings in obedience, the Lord Jesus became the source of eternal salvation. He created a new path through which we have access back to God. We are made the sons of God because the only begotten Son of God humbled Himself to take up the form of fallen man and obeyed the Father, even to the death of the cross. As the pioneer of this new path to God, we cannot access God any other way. Even though we come to God through our faith in Jesus Christ, this faith is substantiated by obedience—the only thing that proves we have faith. Abraham had faith in God, and he demonstrated it through his obedience to God even when it seemed like a wicked thing for God to ask of him. Unfortunately, we have become so cleaved to sentiments and feelings that we dilute the gospel and the will of God with them. As a result, there are many disobedient children of God who reason against God’s instructions and call them ungodly. We can only retain what we have received from Jesus through faith when we continue with Him in obedience. Have no reasons to disobey the will of God.

Prayer_Bead: Heavenly father, thank you for your son Jesus. Thank you for making a way for me into your family again through His obedience. Help me to be forever obedient to your will. In Jesus’ name.

Wisdom_Quote: Whatever you obtained through faith, you maintain through obedience.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. [ 1 Corinthians 16:13 NIV ]

The believer must guard many things in their life, one of which is their faith. In our present day, we must stand alert and protect our convictions about God. There are people committed to distorting the convictions of others through deceptive teachings. Deception is packaged today as an alternative truth, sold very cheaply to people whose hearts are slaves to their desires. If we are not firm in our convictions about Christ, we will begin with Him but not end with Him. And so, let us be on our guard against such teachings and individuals who mislead others. There is also a need for courage in order to stand our ground. Sometimes these misleadings continue because we are not courageous enough to face certain things or people. If we can boldly say no when we should, some of the things that destroy the convictions and faith of others will not destroy ours. Remember, God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind. We have that tranquility in Christ to make the right choice in accordance with God’s will for us. Now, our strength will be tested; whether we have roots in our convictions and beliefs will be tested by life situations in these last days and, more often, by the people we could easily compromise for. But then it will be revealed whether we esteem God above all else or honor men more than God. On the day we are tested, may we not lack the strength or the courage to stand firm. There is also a category of people who think they are standing firm on their principles and convictions, only to discover that they have been swept away by the tide of today’s worldview and hypocrisy. May we stand firm in our faith as we remain steadfastly on guard.

Prayer_Bead: Heavenly father, thank you for the grace to stand firm in my faith. Take away every fear and doubt and help me to be on guard always. In Jesus’ name.

Wisdom_Quote: The believer’s shield against slipping away in faith is being on guard and standing firm in faith.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.