Category: Gospel

[The Glory Unveiled]

Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. ( Philippians 1:12 )

The popular saying, “the end justifies the means” may or may not be true but whatever it is, when God starts to do what He wants to do, it usually conflicts the logic of humans. A person who lives in the center of God’s will for them, may have the whole world against them, friends and families may neglect or abandon them but their destination is secured. They are like a time-bomb except that they are not preset for destruction but for glory. The apostle Paul was called by God to be sent on an errand for the expansion of His kingdom. At some point the apostle didn’t know exactly what form the errand will take. But in our anchor verse of Scripture, after everything had happened to him, he then discovered that even the bad things such as his imprisonment led to the salvation of other people and the expansion of the kingdom as other ministers and apostles became bold as a result of apostle Paul’s suffering for the gospel. In the verses that followed after this verse, he mentions the impact of his chains (imprisonment) on the advancement of the gospel. In like manner, whatever we may be experiencing now may be a part of what our destiny template entails and in the end, it will not only be for our good but for the expansion of God’s kingdom. So instead of murmuring and crying we should look at the immense possibilities that will emanate from our willingness to stay strong till the end._

Prayer_Bead: Prince of Peace, the master builder, thank you for the things you have permitted into my life. Help me to hold unto your gracious love and purpose for my life

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[The Glory Unveiled]

Tell them, As I live, says the Lord, what you have said in My hearing I will do to you: ( Numbers 14:28)

There is a saying that goes, “be careful what you wish for”. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine [think or wish for], according to his power that is at work within us, (Ephesians 3:20). God does not only answer prayers that are spoken out but also those that are imagined or communicated through our emotions. Emotions in themselves are not bad but sometimes, the way we release them are not healthy. Actually, emotions, whether negative or positive emotions are magnifiers. Negative emotions magnify the bad things we say or do and the positive emotions also intensify the good we say or do. The Israelites were caught in the divine maze of the wilderness on their historic journey to Canaan, their land of milk and honey, but the challenges they encountered every step of the way—which was actually God making a way to announce His presence and glory among them—rather caused them to murmur and speak against Moses and his God. And as their emotions spiked because of their discontentment, God decided to do for them what they were saying to God out of their fear. They had said that they will die in the wilderness because their enemies will come for them (Numbers 14:2). And then God said to them that He will do for them what they had said to Him [in their anger and fear]. We must therefore be careful what we allow our emotions and thoughts to drift to. What if God should answer your silence emotions and desires, will you be happy with the results?

Prayer_Bead: My Lord and My King, thank you for your love and kindness. Thank you for answered prayers and teaching me to guide my thoughts and emotions in the right directions.

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[The Glory unveiled]

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. ( Galatians 6:2 )

As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus (Luke 23:26). The man Simon, who was forced to carry the cross of Jesus is the representation of humanity. It was humanity that sinned through Adam and Eve and so, it was humanity who had to carry the weight of their punishment. Simon stood in the place of humans but Jesus took the burden of the punishment for our disobedience. Hence, it was not Simon who helped Jesus, but rather Jesus who helped Simon (humanity) to carry the load of their sin. Jesus carried our burden as if it was his to carry, leaving us an example. Jesus did nothing deserving of the death He died. Even the “Judge” who took His case namely, Pontius Pilate did not find any fault with Him. But for the redemption of humanity, the consequences of our action came upon Him. He carried the reproach and the weight of our wrong; the burden that humanity could not bear. This is the law of Christ. Making a way for us to come into fellowship with Him and others by carrying their burdens too, as if the burdens were ours._

Prayer_Bead: Father in Heaven, how we love you, we lift our hearts to you. Thank you for carrying our burdens and taking our place of reproach so that we can approach your throne. Thank you for this law that now governs us.

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[The Glory Unveiled]

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. ( 1 Thessalonians 5:18 )

God has a peculiar will for us now that we are in Christ. So the apostles advice us to put away our old ways now that we are in Christ Jesus. A new way requires a new will to be fully functional. Galatians 4:9, puts it in the form of a question, “But now that you know God—or rather are known by God —how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?” It means when we came into the Kingdom of God, we were delivered from slavery and the miserable forces of this world and as a result, we should operate under a new will. Our anchor scripture mentions thanksgiving as that will. We should give thanks to God for all His goodness and deliverance. Thanksgiving is a token of gratitude for God’s love and benevolence. We owe God our new life in Christ and for that we need to give thanks at all things. Thanksgiving cannot be outdone. Nobody can thank God too much, just as we cannot pray too much. So, let us enter into the business of giving thanks in all things. Thank God for everything going on around you; for the ones that directly affect you and the ones that affect you indirectly. This is supposed to be our new mental attitude.

Prayer_Bead: El-Shaddai, Gracious Redeemer, thank you for the kindness of your grace and removing me from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of your marvelous light. Thank you for loading me with daily blessings.

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[The Glory Unveiled]

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

Our anchor Scripture, like most other scriptures are quoted right but in application, we “misquote” them. The order of things is to submit ourselves to God and then we can resist the devil and he will flee. So if anyone tries to resist the devil while he/she is not submitted to God, the devil will not flee from them. But unfortunately, that is what most of us do. We try to cash in on the legal privileges of the name of Jesus without first submitting to God. We know of the story of the infamous sons of Sceva in Acts 19:14-16. They had not submitted to God but they wanted to resist the devil to flee from a young demon possessed man. It never worked like that and it never will. Submitting ourselves to God is the umbrella that covers us against the resistance of the enemy. And once that umbrella is up, the devil will have no option than to flee. The scripture tells us explicitly that if we want the devil to flee when we resist him in the name of the Lord, then we must submit to God. If we want guaranteed results then we must meet the condition of submitting to God. Now, whenever we quote this scripture, we must stress on “submit to God” because that is the emphasis that makes all the practical difference. And as we submit to God in all things, the devil will flee when we resist him.

Prayer_Bead: Omnipotent God, Everpresent Lord, I submit my heart, my will, my intellect, my desires and passion to you. My life is yours, use it for the demonstration of your power on earth.

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[The Glory Unveiled]

For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. ( 1 Timothy 4:8 )

In the verse before this verse of scripture, we are admonished not to have anything to do with godless myth and old wives’ tales. Rather, we should train ourselves to be godly. It is upon this pivot that the words of this verse are expressed. Instead of paying the price to do something, some people will rather talk about the reasons why such a thing should not or could not be done. And once they will not do something, they will talk every other person out from doing that thing. We hear of such people in the church whose motivation are things they did in the past and how they used to be vibrant for the Lord. When we stay close to such people, they affect us with such mentality. This is why we are admonished to train. Training must be now and always. No athlete depends on a training they had ten years ago for an activity that will be two years to come. Just as physical exercise is expected to be regular and consistent to make any significant impact, spiritual exercise is also supposed to be regular until we become what we train to be. That is why the Scripture says as we behold him in a mirror, we become like him. Beholding him is a conscious activity; it is the spiritual exercise that we must persevere to do on daily basis. Anyone who first attempted going to the presence of God in the Old Testament l, thought they will die for they had seen God. Whenever you train very hard, you may feel pains and think you will fall sick or die but continuously training will make you strong. Continuing in the presence of God will profit us now and in the life to come.

Prayer_Bead: Aba Father, Loving King, thank you for the revelation of your word. As I train myself in godliness through the prism of your word, may I become a blessing to my generation and the generations after.

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[The Glory Unveiled]

God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not —to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. ( 1 Corinthians 1:28-29 )

Once we have migrated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God’s marvelous light, we begin an education which seeks to acquaint us with the ways of heaven. The general way of life in the kingdom of God as we all know is faith. Faith is the only means by which heavenly realities become tangible on earth. It is a translation system where we convert invisible, intangible expressions to visible and tangible manifestations. On that tangent let’s see how God does the education. God’s methodology is expressed in our verse of Scripture thus choosing the things which are not in order to nullify those that are. He chooses the weak to shame the strong. And God implores this approach for the reason that no man will glory in themselves but in God. A typical student in this school was Gideon from the Old Testament. Gideon was the lowest, weakest, “non-essential”, unrecognizable person in his family (Judges 6:15). But God chose that weakling and made a mighty warrior out of him. Now, do you think that Gideon will brag about how strong he is? He would have been foolish to do that, knowing from whence he had come. Some of the unbelievable circumstances of our lives are lessons in the faith school. We must stay committed to our lecturer if we will graduate gloriously. So instead of complaining and murmuring, we should focus on the Author and Finisher.

Prayer_Bead: Author and Finisher of my faith, Redeemer and Friend, thank you for calling me into your kingdom. Thank you for calling me from the miry clay and setting my feet upon a rock.

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[The Glory Unveiled]

Then the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? ( Genesis 18:17 )

Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets ( Amos 3:7). Before God takes an action that may be consequential to the people on earth or the earth, He reveals it to His servants the prophets. His prophets [messengers] are like the ambassadors of his Kingdom. In Genesis 18, God had planned to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. But God decided to tell Abraham about it because Abraham was a prophet of God and a friend. Eventually, God spared the family of Lot because of Abraham’s intercession. God will not hide His deeds from us but we must posses the traits of His prophets to compel God to reveal His plans to us. Abraham didn’t pray that God should reveal His next plan to him. God decided to tell him because of the intimacy and friendship. God is not partial to restrain this grace from us when we become intimate with Him as His prophets usually are. Intimacy is the passcode to receive the current affairs of heaven as readily released by the Holy Spirit. But whether God will hide what He is about doing from us or not, our closeness to Him by intimacy—constant fellowship (becoming like God) and knowing of God—will determine it._

Prayer_Bead: Father Almighty, Ruler and the Rule for all generations, thank you for this grace to know what you intend to do on earth before you actually execute it. Thank you.

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[The Glory Unveiled]

Who may ascend the mountain of the LORD?
Who may stand in his holy place? ( Psalms 24:3 )

The man or woman who qualifies to ascend the mountain of the Lord has very peculiar qualities. The Psalmist asks “who” because the individual who attends this venture must meet some uncompromising requirements. The question does not end at ascending but also the ability to sustain that ascension in the holy presence of the Holy One. Before we look at the response to this question, let’s look at the man, Moses who had been in the presence of God. Moses had first encountered the Lord on mountain Horeb where God told him to take off his sandals for where he stood was holy ground. Holiness then is a prerequisite for coming to the mountain of God. Another day, when God wanted to meet the Israelites on mountain Sinai, He instructed Moses on how the people should consecrate themselves before they came to the mountain. The verse 4 of Psalms 24 also enlists the same qualities as the requirement that allows a man to come to the mountain of God. “The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god.” (Psalms 24:4) Now we know the kind of man or woman that may ascend the mountain of the Lord and stay in God’s Holy presence. Holiness [separation unto God from every other thing] is what is required. And nothing separates us unto God like the blood of His son that carries His life. Glory!.

Prayer_Bead: Holy Father, Prince of Peace, thank you for the opportunity to be called into your family. Thank you for separating me unto yourself through the life of Christ Jesus. I am holy unto God.

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[The Glory Unveiled]

Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the Lord commanded Moses.( Exodus 38:22 )

Moses had just visited Sinai, the mountain of God where he was shown the template of the tabernacle of meeting. God expressly told him to replicate what he had seen when he returned to the Camp. But there was another man at the Camp of the Israelites who had not gone up the mountain with Moses but then God mentioned him as the one to design what God had shown Moses. There are some of us who are destined to serve the destiny (visions) of others while some people are to carry the vision itself. In the scenario above, Moses had the vision, the plan of what should be done but Bezalel was given the ability and the grace to do it as if he had seen the blueprints himself ( Exodus 31:2-5). It is not the destiny of everyone to carry a vision of their own, some of us like Bezalel or Joshua or the disciples of the New Testament are to help carry the visions of other people. So that our part in making the vision of other people a reality becomes our corporate purpose and responsibility. Usually, whoever is destined to support another person’s vision will only be very effective when they do that. They will keep hitting at the rocks when they try to pioneer their own course. Their strength is in helping others. Where is your strength?

Prayer_Bead: Jehovah Adonai, thank you for my destiny and calling. Thank you for my purpose in the corporate purpose of the church. I yield my abilities to the grace of God to do what I have been called to do for the glory of God.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.