Category: Gospel

[The Glory Unveiled]

Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. [ 1 Corinthians 9:25 NIV ]

Our Christian walk is likened to a race in which prizes are awarded. But like every other race, the prize is given only after complying to all the rules and coming out in first place. There are standards and expectations that the athlete must meet to be recognized as victorious. But to even obey those standards, the athlete must be disciplined—put themselves under subjection to a higher authority. Discipline means being discipled (submitted to, trained) by an authority stronger or more experienced than we are. And this is why every athlete has a mentor, a goal; someone or something they look up to, that empowers them to keep moving forward. The mentor or motivation could be a person or an idea. And for many people, the trophy or prize is their motivation. They tailor their everyday activities and dreams to these goals. Those who compete in races discipline themselves so that they could win trophies that do not last yet they put so much effort into such competitions. If we are racing for a trophy that will last forever, shouldn’t we put in more work? The desires of the body must come in second place to the desires of the Spirit. The body will only obey the voice and agenda of the Spirit when it is put under subjection to God; the body will obey the teachings of Christ and follow His examples when it is intentionally subjected to the word of God. Athletes are intentional about their diet and exercise accordingly. The believer in Christ must be intentional about their spiritual diet and exercise accordingly too, if they aim for the crown that lasts forever.

Prayer_Bead: Gracious Father, thank you for the opportunity to discipline my body and subject it to your word. Let my life glorify your name.

Wisdom_Quote: Discipline directs an athlete towards the trophy by giving them goals.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God —[ John 1:12 NIV ]

The world is filled with visible and invisible things, mysteries and facts, free things and things that have price tags on them. God made provision for everything there is need for. But only few people get access to the provisions that are freely made. This truth is exemplified in the parable of the wedding banquet recorded in Matthew 22. The king had prepared a banquet and invited everyone to come and celebrate with him. Food and drinks were available, to be eaten for free. And yet, nobody was forced to come and eat. You would agree that there were many hungry people in that town who didn’t take advantage of the opportunity. The invitation was given to anyone who would accept it. And as many as accepted it, were given the opportunity to enjoy the provisions of the king. The same thing applies to the provisions made for our salvation and inclusion into the family of God. The right of salvation is given to anyone who will believe in Jesus and receive Him as their Saviour. Grace has made provision for the need of the human soul through the sacrificial work of Jesus on the cross. God took care of our problems before the foundation of the earth so that we will not become eternal enemies of God. He made a way for us to discontinue with the path of unrighteousness and sin through the bloodline of His Son. So that by faith, we can have what we could not have paid for—the price tag of our salvation was the son of God. We could not have met that standard, hence we couldn’t have paid the price by ourselves. The mercy of God came to our rescue, towing us into the family of God by our faith in the son. But, unless we take advantage of the provision that is made for us, our needs will remain.

Prayer_Bead: Dear Lord, thank you for the provision of grace and thank you for the gift of salvation through your Son.

Wisdom_Quote: The provision of grace is available to all who will accept it.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled].

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” [ 1 John‬ ‭2‬:‭15‬ ESV‬‬]

There is a definiteness about love that sets it apart from everything else. This is why love cannot be misunderstood. It is always clear, either present or absent. The Passion Translation version of the Bible puts our anchor text this way, “Don’t set the affections of your heart on this world or in loving the things of the world. The love of the Father and the love of the world are incompatible.” (1 John‬ ‭2‬:‭15‬ ‭TPT‬‬) The affections of our hearts are like dials. Once it is set on one thing, it cannot be set on another at the same time. This is why we are cautioned not to set our affections on the world; not to love the world. Anytime we set our affections on the world and the things in the world, we cannot have the love of the Father as we ought to. And since loving the Father also means loving our neighbours, we cannot love other people too. Loving the world and the things in it is a weapon of mass destruction, that affects even those around us. If we claim to have the love of the Father, then our affections must not be on the world but on God. Our affection is the needle that points in the direction of our love. And just as the needle on a compass can only point in one direction at a time because it is one, we can also not have the love of the father and the love of the world concurrently, they are not compatible. This is why we are told not to love the world. Whoever loves the world loses the love of the Father, and whoever loves the Father loses the love of the world. You cannot have them both. This is why it is a very plain lie to claim to love the Lord and yet, love the world with so much affection. Like a radio dial, let us set our affections and love on God alone so that the world will have no grip on us.

Prayer_Bead: Lord Jesus, thank you for your love that is established in my heart. Help me to set my affection on you alone.

Wisdom_Quote: The dial of our affection is either set on God or the world.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.” [ Mark 7:13 NIV ]

The book of proverbs speaks of the adulterous and the virtuous woman. Both are symbolic of two systems in the church. One is religious and alluring, tempting the young and anointed one to come to her bed of compromise and sin, just like the foolish virgins who wanted to lure the wise virgins to give out their oil (Matthew 25:8). The other is the holy bride, wise, virtuous and pure, keeping her first love (“wedding vows”) for Christ alone. One system brings shame and despair; the other brings favour, honour, and glory. The two systems go as far back as the time of Jesus. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law represented the system that nullified the word of God by their traditions. In Matthew 23:13, Jesus accused them of shutting the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s face, and that they neither go in themselves nor allow others to go in. The same system is still operating today, except that today, the system has a rather larger network of players, enforcing the agenda of the system—hindering people from entering the kingdom of heaven. There are so many in the church who are enemies of the church, fighting the bride of Christ tooth and nail. They try to undo the work of Christ with their self made traditions and those handed down to them. But for the virtuous bride, the solution is wisdom. In this season and time of the church, just as it was in the parable of the virgins, it will take wisdom for the true bride of Christ, the church to escape the evil plot of the world’s church—the foolish virgin. It is only the Spirit of wisdom that can protect us from the religious church and unite us to the other, the holy church. This is why we must submit to Wisdom. We must make wisdom our quest in this season. We must stay with wisdom and let discernment enter our hearts. And then, no matter the temptations and distractions of the religious church, we will not be swayed.

Prayer_Bead: Merciful Father, thank you for your grace and love. Thank you for the Spirit of Wisdom. And as we walk in the shadows of wisdom, deliver us from the religious church. Amen.

Wisdom_Quote: Wisdom is the way of escape for the holy church against the luring traps of the adulterous church.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

The man said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “What I did must have become known.” [ Exodus 2:14 NIV ]

God placed within each one of us a knowing of what we have to do to feel fulfilled. Somehow, we seem to know what we are supposed to do or at least have a blurry idea of what it ought to be. While it is very clear to some people, to others, it is rather a slow process of discovery. But the method to arriving at that ideal destiny is not inherently known to us. For Moses, he was supposed to liberate the Israelites. He knew he had to set the people free from their captors but he didn’t know the right method nor had the right equipment. He had the passion and the skills but having passion and skills are not enough to arrive at the place of destiny. And so, he needed the Spirit that would guide him and direct his skills. Until then, he had invested in the wrong method. He thought he had to kill the Egyptians to liberate the Israelites—his method. But how many people could he have killed to succeed in liberating his people? We cannot have God’s results with our methods. We need God’s method in order to have His results. The reality is that, along our journey to destiny, we may become scared at the magnitude of what God is calling us into. The truth however is that, it is only bigger than us when we want to attempt it alone. But when we partner with God, we discover that it is possible. The question that the Israelite asked Moses gives us a clue to entering our calling and destiny. We need to be made into who we are called to be. “Who made you Judge and Ruler.” By any means, someone needs to make us and that someone is the One who destined us to the things we desire to do. Is there an urge, an inkling, a nudge to go in a certain direction with your life? Ask God for the vehicle, the means and method to carry out that task or desire. Use God’s method. Ask God and obey Him.

Prayer_Bead: Dear Lord, thank you for showing me to depend on you in my pursuit of purpose. Please show me your method to arrive at my destiny’s goal.

Wisdom_Quote: Man’s method does not produce God’s results.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. [ Hebrews 2:15 KJV ]

The mind and belief system of a person is cultured by the things that dominate that mind. Overtime, they become so bound and content with the bondage that when a window of opportunity presents itself for their freedom, they will still choose the bondage. The Israelites were in bondage for so long a time that when the time for their freedom came, it was very hard for them to believe it or go into the land of freedom. A famous psychoanalytic theorist, carried out an experiment on conditioning. Lab rats were caged for a period of time, after some time, the cage was opened but these rats will not go out because they thought they were still caged. The long experience of being in a cage had conditioned them into thinking that they were never free even when they were. This same feeling happens to many believers who seem to trust their experiences more than they trust God’s word and plan. Reality and truth is actually what God says it is, not what we feel. The Bible says, “let the weak say I am strong” (Joel 3:10). This means your experience may be weakness, but the Bible says your reality is strength. And your faith must agree with the word of God to carve out that reality experientially. Fear is a slave master. Fear enslaves more people than all other factors put together. And because fear is not always visible, it can enter anywhere it is allowed, enslaving whoever hosts him. Fear has killed so many potentials and people, prematurely. Many people and dreams came to their untimely death because they welcomed fear. Today’s text speaks about the fear of death. And because fear always keeps people in bondage, such people become perpetual slaves. Jesus overcame sin and death and took the keys of hell and death (Revelation 1:8). Hence, our freedom from the bondage of fear is in Jesus. He who has Jesus, has the power over fear because they have the Spirit of love, sound mind and power. You’re not in bondage any longer. You’re as free as you choose to be.

Prayer_Bead: Mighty God, I worship you. Thank you for Your Spirit in me. I am free from the bondage of fear.

Wisdom_Quote: Fear subjects its hosts to a lifetime of bondage.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” [ John 21:15 NIV ]

The twentieth century revivalist, preacher and writer, Vance Havner is quoted to have said, “the primary qualification for a missionary is not love for souls, as we so often hear, but love for Christ.” This statement by the missionary who has gone to be with the Lord is a statement of fact extracted from Jesus’ words to Peter, who was sent out into the mission field with the other disciples. Jesus wanted to send Peter to the mission field to feed his lambs (people who were ignorant or had no experience with the word), He asks Peter whether he loved Him. One would wonder why that question and if at all that was even fair in that moment? It would be thought that Jesus should have asked Peter whether he loved the souls (lambs) he was being sent to. But instead, Jesus asks whether Peter loved Him. This shows us that the basic requirement for the mission field is not love for the souls (lambs) but rather love for the Saviour. If we don’t love Jesus enough to obey His instructions and commands, we cannot be zealous enough to go out to invite souls into the kingdom of God at all cost. The only thing that can adequately fuel our decision and commitment to go out to the mission field to witness to souls about the Lord is first of all our burning love for Him. Jesus said to Peter, “if you love me, feed my lambs.” The same words are spoken to us today. If we love the Lord, then it will be proven by our witnessing to souls. Our love for God should be expressed in our missionary activities. This is why our love for souls cannot be the true fuel for missions because we do not love any soul more than Jesus who died for them and us all. And so, our missionary endeavors must be powered from a deep love for the Lord Jesus Christ. And so, Jesus asks us the same question as He did Peter, “do you love me [Jesus] more than these?

Prayer_Bead: Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for showing me the primary qualification for working in your vineyard. Help me to love you more than every other thing.

Wisdom_Quote: The primary qualification for a missionary is an ardent love for Christ.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it. [ Deuteronomy 30:14 NIV ]

The New Testament copy of our anchor scripture is recorded in Romans 10:8. The scriptures speak about the proximity of the word of God and how we are without excuse as believers, for that matter. The word that shows us what we ought to do is the same word that judges us; the word of God in our hearts and mouth. And so, we have no excuses to give for our negligence. Just as a man who has fire extinguishers in his house but failed to use them to control a fire that broke out and later became uncontrollable has no one to blame nor excuses to make. But then, sometimes, even though people have fire extinguishers, their houses still get burnt to ashes because their extinguishers are far from the place of the fire. In the same way, people become casualties of temptation’s fire outbreaks because their spiritual fire extinguishers are far from them than they ought to be. The place of the fire refers to the sins that easily besets you. Hebrews 12:1, says “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Do not keep your fire extinguishers in a different room from where you predict your fire to break out. If your fires break out around sexual temptations, pornography, theft, alcohol, or whatever it is, you should get your extinguisher close by—throwing off the things that entice you in those areas. The word of God is in your heart, it is in your mind. Obey it, when the Holy Spirit prompts you with a word that forbids you from doing something; whatever it is that kindles the fires of your temptation. Just obey that word of God in that moment without any reservations or reconsiderations and then your house will not burn.

Prayer_Bead: Gracious Lord, Merciful Father, thank you for teaching me your word. Help me to always obey your word promptly. In Jesus’ name

Wisdom_Quote: Houses burn not because they do not have fire extinguishers but rather because they were not used.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.