Category: Gospel

[The Glory Unveiled]

And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business? [ Luke 2:49 KJV ]

Almost everyone is busy with something these days. Many of us have become so busy about every other thing but the important things. Like Martha, who was busy with the unessentials when Jesus visited them. Many of us have become used to being so preoccupied with activities and we confuse being busy with being productive. In our anchor text, the Lord Jesus was taken to Jerusalem for the Passover festival at age twelve. At this event, Mary and Joseph lost him because they assumed he was somewhere among their entourage. They were busy with the festival while their Son was busy about the real business of the day; the father’s business. At that ceremony, it would seem that those who were busy with the Passover celebration were the most hardworking or most busy. But their busyness was towards the wrong thing for that season. Jesus was busy about the need on the Father’s heart in that season. And so, He was almost surprised when they were looking for Him. The question now is, what are you busy about? The world has preoccupied us with so many nothings. Jesus asks a question here expecting an answer? It’s a question about purpose recognition. We need to discern our purpose and the seasons allotted to its execution. And if we are able to do that, our busyness will be meaningful and productive in the face of God, even if the world does not see its relevance. Because our aim is to please our commanding Officer, the Lord Jesus Christ and not the world. Let’s get busy about the Father’s business.

Prayer_Bead: Dear Lord, thank you for your precious word. Give me the urgency of purpose and help me to be busy about your business alone.

Wisdom_Quote: Real busyness is being busy about the Father’s business.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. [ Genesis 3:6 NIV ]

When our feelings and desires take the lead from God’s word, sin begins. Our feelings and desires are not authorities over us, God’s word is. But when we allow our feelings to dictate what is right, then sin becomes our culture. When Moses left the Israelites in the wilderness for a brief moment to go and seek the face of God, they could not wait patiently for the word of God. And so, they gave room to their feelings and emotions to become authority. And then sin began to reign in their camp. They made idols for themselves and did every other thing God was not in support of. If Eve had trusted God’s word as the only authority in her life, she would not have invited sin and death into the human race. Reading our anchor text, we will notice that after Eve saw (recognized) that the fruit was pleasing to the eyes, she acted impulsively—she took some and ate. Whereas she should have gone back to the word of God as the basis and reference point of her existence and livelihood. The Israelites in the wilderness did same. They didn’t return to the manual, the reference point, which was God’s word for them. Instead, they acted impulsively on what they felt and desired. Our generation and the generations before us, were trapped and are still being trapped into this old algorithm of the flesh. But we can break the algorithm with the word of God. Whenever we see what God’s word says is not there, it’s a warning and a sign that our veil is broken; our spiritual lens is destroyed and we must return quickly to the word of Life. Desires and feelings are not bad in themselves as they were put in us by God. But when they draw us away from the word of God then they are being manipulated by the devil to mislead us, and we must quickly go for the word.

Prayer_Bead: Our eternal true Love, thank you for showing us that we should not allow our feelings to have authority over us when God’s word should rather be Lord. Help us to submit to your word everyday.

Wisdom_Quote: Sin begins where feelings and emotions become authority.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. [ 2 Corinthians 2:14 KJV ]

There is a simple truth that seems to offset every anchor truth of the believer’s new realities. This truth is that, Jesus encompasses everything we will ever need, be or give. Apart from Christ, we can do nothing, except Jesus is Lord, we can own nothing, we will be nothing except Jesus is something and we will have nothing except Jesus has something. And when we fully grasp this truth, we will live our lives in constant thanksgiving because our lives will manifest constant triumph even when we have nothing triumphing over. His victory becomes our victory. So, we celebrate in His victory by being the fragrance of Jesus on earth. God through us makes manifest the fragrance of the knowledge of Jesus in every place. Whatever Jesus is, to principalities is made known to the world through us. We have become like mirrors, revealing the glory of God in our participation of His triumph. God is daily displaying the triumphant parade of Jesus through us by our submission to His will. And so, we must be thankful for the kindness of God, His intentionality and His superabundant provisions. The believer always triumphs in Christ because Jesus triumphed and is reliving that victory in every generation through us. And so, it has becomes our duty to show the generations to come the victory of Jesus by diffusing the fragrance of His knowledge. Can the world smell Jesus a mile away because of us?

Prayer_Bead: Abba Father, thank you for making the knowledge of the Lord Jesus manifest wherever we go in your name. Thank you Jesus.

Wisdom_Quote: You’re the fragrance of Jesus, so let the world smell Jesus.

[The Glory Unveiled]

No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. [ 2 Timothy 2:4 NIV ]

Along our Christian journey, we sometimes get sidetracked by many things that are actually outside our jurisdiction. A soldier lives a regulated, disciplined life because their safety is secured in their discipline. They become subjected to their commanding officers. In the statement made by the Centurion in Matthew 8:9, we learn that soldiers are very submissive to their superiors. And so, we can infer that indeed a soldier’s aim wouldn’t be meddling in civilian affairs. A true soldier will have no business with civilian affairs. When we transfer all of these to our kingdom reality typology, we are the “soldiers” and the “civilians” are “the world and its pleasures”. We have a goal to please but one person; the Father and king of our kingdom. We cannot afford to divert our attention to something that looks like but is not. We cannot waste on riotous living like the prodigal son. The prodigal son, was pleasing his father until he got himself entangled in “civilian” affairs outside the boundaries of his father’s love and care. And then, that was the beginning of his troubles. The interesting thing about pleasing the Lord is that, it is to our advantage and for our comfort. When the prodigal son lived to please his father by staying within boundaries, he didn’t suffer any harm, but immediately he left [got entangled in “civilian affairs-the world”] he began to suffer. The soldiers who try to please their commanding officer, first of all protect themselves. So, let’s look unto Jesus our commanding officer and try to please Him alone; all day, everyday!

Prayer_Bead: Lord Jesus, our Commanding Officer, thank you for the grace to please you alone in my daily life. To you be all the glory in Jesus’ name.

Wisdom_Quote: Jesus is our Commanding and Comforting Officer.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; [ 1 Timothy 1:18 KJV ]

In 1 Corinthians 13:8a, the Bible says, “charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; It means prophecies can fail. The fact that a prophetic word has been spoken does not automatically make them come to pass. Many times, people receive prophetic utterances and they go to bed in hope that it will come to pass by it self. The reality is that no prophecy comes to pass when nobody invites it into being. In the Old Testament book of Isaiah, chapter 38, a prophetic word was sent to Hezekiah that he should put his house in order for he was going to die. But instead of putting his house in order and wait for his death, he went on his knees to pray to God to change the verdict. And God sent the prophet back to declare a new word. You see, whatever prophecy that is spoken to us, we have a role to play to make it come to pass or not. If Hezekiah had kept quiet and just cried or complained, nothing would have changed. When Daniel read from the prophetic scrolls written by Jeremiah that they were supposed to be in captivity for only 70years, it gave him the boldness to begin prayers. We would again note that the 70years had passed and they were still in captivity. Someone needed to invite the word into fruition. And so, Daniel began to do that (see Daniel 9:2-3). In our focal verse, the apostle Paul advise Timothy to wage a good warfare based on the prophetic utterance that had gone ahead of him. It is now obvious that prophecy is supposed to serve as a guide for our warfare and prayer. Prophecy is supposed to make us confident when we pray and not reluctant. Don’t wait for your prophecies to come to pass, pray it into being.

Prayer_Bead: Mighty God, I bless your name. Thank you for your sure word. As I pray with them, I thank you for answers. In Jesus’ name.

Wisdom_Quote: Prophecies do fail.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

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

In the preceding chapter of our focal chapter of the book of Exodus, Moses asked God to show him His glory (Exodus 33:18). That request was almost a difficult one under their covenant since the blood of the eternal Son had not yet being received as the propitiation for sin. But even under that circumstance, God still revealed His glory—His goodness, name, mercy and His face—to Moses. The purpose of Moses’ encounter was so that He would be a witness of the glory; a witness between God and the Israelites. Today, under the grace of a new covenant, we have the same responsibility to witness to the glory and be a reflection of it in our world. In Matthew 17, the Lord Jesus took Peter, James and John to a mountain as Moses was on mount Sinai. There on the mountain, they witnessed the glory of God. And the purpose like in Moses’ case was for them to reflect it to their world. It was so that they could be evidence of the encounter they had. If we want to exude the brilliance of God’s glory and display His power as witnesses, we need to have no personal agenda but depend solely on God’s method. We are in the days of God’s incredible acts. But these acts will find expression only through yielded vessels [individuals]. Moses’ face beamed with the glory of God because He had spoken with God. The radiance [evidence of his encounter] came from His being in the presence of the Lord. When we yield to the tangible presence of God through His word, the world will see the tangible radiance of His presence around us. You see, the world is actually not waiting for a new denomination or church, the world is not after a new prophet or pastor, the world needs a new revelation/demonstration of God. And as witnesses, that is our duty. So, let the world see the glorious Jesus!

Prayer_Bead: Glorious King, we salute your majesty and grace. Thank you for making us witnesses of your glory in our world. Let the world now see your glory through us. In Jesus’ name.

Wisdom_Quote: Witnesses of God’s glory testify with their lives.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.