Category: Gospel

[The Glory Unveiled]

Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked.
“There is nothing there,” he said.
Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.” ( 1 Kings 18:43 )

Elijah had told the people of his time that it will not rain for three and a half years and it didn’t rain for those years. Now the time had come for the rains to fall and the same Elijah who said it will not rain, now needs to pray for the rain to come back. He went up a mountain to pray for the rain to fall. For seven times after prayers, he sent Gehazi to check for the signs that his prayers had been answered but on all six occasions there was nothing. It seem that the heavens was silent. And it seem all his prayers were not been heard at all. For these three occasions, the man of God, Elijah could have given up and concluded that it is not the will of God to allow the rain even though he had prophesied it. Many of us give up close to our time of redemption. But usually, our answers come only when we continue to press even after we are worn out and discouraged. Just as Elijah’s answer came at the seventh check. When we get to that point where we ignore the discouragement of the flesh and the seeming silence of heaven but still press on, we receive answers. When there seems to be no answers, is not a sign that we should give up but rather a voice that says “you’re close!” Keep on pressing. Your answer is closer than when you first started praying about whatever you’ve been praying about. Hold on to the faithfulness of God. He will not give up on His word neither on you. Go back to the place of prayer even when the answers seem to be stalling.

Prayer_Bead: Gracious Father, Faithful God, thank you for the wonderful opportunity to pray to you earnestly. Help me to persist in prayer even as you will honour your words in my life.

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For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit. ( 1 Thessalonians 4:7-8 )

The Scripture enjoins us to be holy because God is Holy. The Holy God who is our Father, called us out of impurity to live His life of holiness which was originally resident in us. But the advantage of living in holiness is not only to please God and being like Him, it is also the opportunity to receive the Holy Spirit and to have Him continually in us without grieving Him. Rejecting the instruction to be holy is like rejecting God and everything He represents. All the attributes of God such as; God is holy, God is love, God is kind, God is faithful e.t.c can be experienced and through Christ, only on the basis of holiness. Today, we deceive ourselves that we are the righteousness of God and so we are holy even if we don’t live holy lives. That is a raw lie. Righteousness is a gift as a result of our being grafted into God through Christ but holiness is what we must do as a result of our consecration and separation unto God as a royal priesthood. Our expression of the life of God is on the grounds of holiness otherwise we deceive ourselves and all those we represent. God says He will reject some priests because they reject His law (Hosea 4:6). In our verse of scripture, God says rejecting this instruction of holiness is rejecting God, which is tantamount to God rejecting us as priests. Holiness is a life in us but we must choose to express it to the world for the glory of God.

Prayer_Bead: Holy Father, thank you for the opportunity to share in your life and glorious attitude. Help me to consciously and through the enabling of the Holy Spirit resident in me to live a life of holiness.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. ( Genesis 3:4 )

The words that I speak to you are spirit and they are life (John 6:63). Spiritual realities are activated by words just as instructions are also issued out in the physical realm by words [written or spoken]. The words of Spirits carry in them the potential to make what they are. When God instructed Adam not to eat of a particular tree, that instruction carry in it the capacity to make real whatever God said would be the consequences. God had said that when man eats of the tree he was not supposed to eat, he will certainly die [Genesis 2:17], but the devil through the serpent says that they will not certainly die [anchor verse]. This was a direct contradiction of the words that were spoken by God. And because God’s word is spirit, God didn’t have to be with man at every point in time to be sure he didn’t do what he was not supposed to do. Instead, in the very moment of disobedience the spirit of the word dealt with man. Whenever we obey spiritual principles or instructions, we submit to the power of that word and we can hence reap from the harvest of that instruction. Likewise, disobedience is also a way of breaking from the safe covering of spiritual realities. God’s word is spirit and so we must be careful who we choose to submit to through obedience.

Prayer_Bead: Glorious King, Lover of my soul, spirit and body, thank you for the grace to submit to the spirit of your word. Glory be to your Holy name for the realities of your blessings.

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[The Glory Unveiled]

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is —his good, pleasing and perfect will. ( Romans 12:2 )

Conformers do not transform and transformers make others conform. Every institution or system has its own tradition and norms. These invisible yet vicious patterns that are woven into the fabric of every system and institution is the underlying factor for the culture of such places. In other words, we cannot really be different from the society that makes us. The world has; built in it, a robust system that when one conforms to, blinds them from knowing God’s will. Our sense of discernment is shut off in this system that the world has created for everything “self” but God. On the other hand, there is also this other realm, though invisible, it has its own culture and system. But for us to be truly influenced by this other realm, we must allow our minds to break from the world’s structures and alluring pleasures. And this can only be accomplished by the renewing of the mind; breaking free from the system that feeds our mind. The old mind must be renewed in the knowledge of God’s word. This Knowledge should be obtained consciously through the study of God’s word. We have the mind of Christ.

Prayer_Bead: Father in my heart, thank you for the grace through your word to renew my mind. Help me not to conform anymore to the world but in transformation of my mind, may I know your will and purposes.

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[The Glory Unveiled]

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. ( Luke 1:35 )

The question that necessitated this response [our anchor verse of Scripture] was one that was asked to find out how something seemingly impossible could happen. In reality, there are certain terrestrial events and activities that only celestial bodies and entities can handle. What Mary needed to know was not necessary who will do what the Angel Gabriel had just said to her in the earlier verses. She wanted to know the approach and method of bringing about that beautiful solution. But instead of telling her “what”, the Angel mentioned a personality that makes the experiences of the invisible realm tangible and visible; the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit encases mortality, immortality is produced and challenges and difficulties become avenues for breeding solutions even through impossible means. But then, if it came from God, it must have the mark of God. God is particular about honour and identity. Anything that came from God carries the identity of God. This is why humans carry the identity of God (image and likeness) because we came from Him. Now we know that our problems are not great, it is the right avenue that is not yet contacted that is why it seem impossible and helpless. So, let us draw from the well of the Holy Spirit. Let us lean on Him for all our needs. And then we will turn around to see no contentions.

Prayer_Bead: Precious Holy Spirit, thank you for your indwelling presence and power. Teach me to depend on you utterly. May your identity remain on me as you continually source my needs.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

This is the account of Noah and his family.
Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. ( Genesis 6:9 )

In a world where everyone wants to be like everyone, it is difficult to encourage anyone to stand out. Distinctiveness is a hard currency that separates great people from ordinary people. There is no great man on earth who is not distinguished by a virtue or something they do. Sodom was a very immoral town but even in Sodom a man [Lot] decided to set himself apart for God. No matter how crooked a generation is, we can choose by the grace of God, the life that will glorify God. Regardless of how the people of Noah’s time were, the Bible gives a good account of Noah. The account suggests that the people of Noah’s time were not blameless, they were immoral and wicked. In all of Sodom and Gomorrah, it was only Lot who received angelic visitation; in all of the land where Noah dwelled, he was the only person who was spoken to by God. Setting ourselves apart guarantees supernatural encounters and visitations. It was only when Moses was separated on mount Horeb that He encountered God in the burning bush, not in the house of his father-in-law, Jethro. Like all the men we looked at, we need to be set apart in a community or society where the norm is against God’s laws and then even in that place we will live with God on a daily basis.

Prayer_Bead: The Great I Am, Father and Lord, thank you for the grace to be set apart. Help me through the knowledge of your word not to be distracted by the ways of the world.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

By faith he [Moses] left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. (Hebrews 11:27 )

Faith is the reality in the Kingdom of God that gives mortals the opportunity and ability to fraternize with immortals and translate those immortal realities and dimensions into time. It is a currency that is recognized as the only legal tender in our Kingdom. This reality transcends the Old Testament into the New Testament. This is why our verse of Scripture says, Moses, an Old Testament prophet left Egypt by faith. Faith is not only a New Testament reality but a Kingdom lifestyle. Faith drives away fear and exposes falsehood overtime. Faith also opens our spiritual eyes and understanding. So that we can see what the ordinary eyes cannot see. The Bible says by faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God (Hebrews 11:3). Nobody in practice or reality was in the beginning with the Father when He created the world. But faith gives us that grace and advantage to peep into the invisible realm. And from that vantage point of faith, Moses saw God. We can like, Moses, see the invisible and do the impossible by faith.

Prayer_Bead: Author and Finisher of my faith, thank you for the opportunity to participate in the God kind of life. I share in the inheritance of Christ by faith in Christ.

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[The Glory Unveiled]

And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe. ( 1 Thessalonians 2:13 )

Whenever we engage the word of God, a number of things happen that will make or unmake our expectations. The word of God is not the word of humans, as our verse of scripture rightly said, and so it must be regarded and treated as such. Unless we come to terms with that reality that God’s word is His word, we will not as much benefit from it. The people of Thessalonica received the word of God as God’s word and not the word of humans even though it came through human vessels. The reason why the word of God, according to apostle Paul, worked in the Thessalonians is the fact that they received it as it should be received; God’s word. Their reception was right so the promise of God’s word is delivered on account of that honour they gave the word. The word of God does not just work for those who are Believers. It works actually for only those who believe and receive the word of God as God’s word. You know, receiving God’s word as His express word helps us to attach that level of seriousness and reverence to it as it were. Now, we understand that if the word of God seem not to be working in us and for us then we must check how we believe and whether we receive the word as man’s word or God’s word.

Prayer_Bead: He who was in the beginning and was the word of God and was with God and is God, thank you for the grace to receive your word as it were. May the word work in me to the praise of your name.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. ( Proverbs 31:30 )

Manners maketh a man. Anything that will stand the test of time must be carried on the shoulders of enviable virtues. Virtues are the solid template/background upon which life’s true deeds are etched. Our theme scripture narrows down the attributes of the proverbs 31 woman to deeds (what she does). Charm conceals what a person really is. It does not tell the true nature of the inward man except that it, packages the outward appearance in a case of charm. Beauty like a flower does not last. It is fleeting. Depending on anything that will not last is a surety for heartbreak and disappointment. And so the woman who is to be praised will be praised on the merits of her deeds. Unfortunately, many today wouldn’t want to do anything, they just want to be “someone”; idle desires. But the scripture says that the one who fears God will be praised. The reason is that, the fear of God will translate in our actions and words. Our deeds will mirror our fear of God and holiness. This way, our actions will be consistent with God’s will for us. The fear of God is that inner beauty that will not fade nor evaporate into thin air. It is what makes the proverbs 31 woman and any woman a virtuous woman. May the spirit of the fear of God come upon us in our relational walk with God and others.

Prayer_Bead: Immortal God, Invincible King, thank you for the Spirit of the fear of God. I walk in the ambience of your glory and grace. I am empowered to do what will bring you glory.

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[The Glory Unveiled]

We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. ( Hebrews 6:12 )

On the lonely road of faith, it is possible to be distracted by the cunning call of laziness and despair. There are people ahead of us who started out in faith but got sidetracked by unwillingness to wait when they must. Patience is a good virtue and on the journey of faith, it cannot be ignored. It is an important and a mandatory requirement for reaching that destination of faith. At the end of faith is the fulfillment of a promise. But in between is a long path of determination and abandonment. Faith brings us to that conclusion that, it does not depend on us or what we can sees and hear but on another and what that other can see, hear and do. Our absolute trust leans on the strength of that other. On the journey of faith, one of two unapologetic outcomes are certain. It is either we are sidetracked by laziness out of despair and impatience or we keep forging forward in hope that God will deliver whatever His word promised. Faith alone may seem enough until what is promised lingers; does not come immediately in the heat of our hopes. It is then that patience is needed to keep faith awake in hope. God’s promise will not change but will you change along the way?

Prayer_Bead: Author and Finisher of my faith, the Lord in whom consist all virtues, thank you for the grace to keep walking in faith as I patiently wait for the redemption of your promises. Glory be to your name.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.