Category: Gospel

[The Glory Unveiled]

Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commands is what counts. ( 1 Corinthians 7:19 )

Factions may distinguish one denomination from another and give them a peculiar identity. But in the new creation reality, factions and denominational traditions do not matter. This is because, in the new creation reality, faith is our reality. Faith is the background and the bedrock upon which all our transactions are carried out. Without faith, whatever we believe to be true and real only becomes a figment of our imagination; an illusion from our soul. It is upon this kingdom principle that the apostle made the statement of our anchor verse of Scripture. Circumcision was a tag that differentiated the true Israelites from the Gentiles. In the flesh, this distinction will bring a lot of problems to these groups. Circumcision was a law for the Israelites, a mark in their flesh that they belonged to God. But in the kingdom, there is a higher law, that encompasses all the other laws. It is the law of love which is shared abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit—the real seal that we belong to God. The Holy Spirit is the agency by which we live by love and faith in the Son of God. Keeping God’s commands is what counts in the kingdom, and the command is Love. So, instead of discriminating between denominations and churches, we should Love the church—oneness of denominations—and the Lord.

Prayer_Bead: Father in Heaven, thank you for the new way of life in you. Thank you for the grace to love you and the church just as I am. Help me to extend your love to the lost world. In Jesus name.

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[The Glory Unveiled]

But now, do not be distressed and disheartened or vexed and angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me ahead of you to preserve life. ( Genesis 45:5 )

God has a destination for everyone. It is our destiny which is within the framework of our purpose. Joseph’s destination was a prime minister [ruler]. At a young age he had dreams of this destiny which became a motivation for him. One fateful day, [the beginning of the journey to his destiny], his brothers sold him to some Ishmaelites who later sold him to an Egyptian. This was a method God used to get Joseph into Egypt. But apart from fulfilling a personal purpose of his destiny, God also used Joseph to fulfill a cooperate purpose of getting Israel into Egypt, a promise God made to Abraham and Isaac. After many years, our verse of Scripture was the statement Joseph made to his brothers. Somehow, he understood the method and the process. The method was his brothers having to sell him and the process was the lies of Potiphar’s wife that landed him in prison in order to connect him to his destiny helper. You see, it is possible that what you are going through is just a process to put you on the path of destiny. Maybe the pain is a tool that will bring out God’s desired shape of you. Sometimes, we may not necessarily know that what is happening is leading us to where we must be until we are finally there. This is why we must not truncate the processes of God’s dealings. Hold tight, God’s grace will keep us through the journey to our destination.

Prayer_Bead: God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, thank you for the the process that is refining and redefining me, so that I can fit into the purpose assigned to me. Thank you for the privilege to be motivated by the life of Joseph. May your grace, keep me on this path.

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[The Glory Unveiled]

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful,
I know that full well. ( Psalms 139:14 )

God created us to be a reflection of Himself; a mirror that projects who He is. Among the many known attributes of God, we say that, God is wonderful and He is to be feared. But we read in this verse of Scripture how the Psalmist says that he is fearfully and wonderfully made. He meant that he is made after the attributes of God. He carried in him, the life of God that made him unique. He goes on to say that God’s works are wonderful. We carry in us a wonder that can put the world on edge because we have the wonderful nature of God. This discovery and realization should be the central point of our self esteem and self value. The value of anything is determined by what it is worth. And we are worth the blood of the Lamb, meaning we are of that value to God. On top of that, He created us wonderfully in His likeness. This is what should determine our self esteem and not what the world and its system tells us. We are of much more value than many sparrows (Matthew 6:26). Our value and self esteem cannot be found in any other created thing but in the creator. This is why we must not allow the comments of people and their negative assessment of us get to us. We are way too valuable for the world’s lies. Let this be the reason for our confidence. We are fearfully and wonderfully made.

Prayer_Bead: Wonderful Father, Gracious King, thank you for how you made me. To reflect and reveal you to the world. This is the reason for my confidence and self esteem.

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[The Glory Unveiled]

She may not eat anything that comes from the vine, nor may she drink wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean. All that I commanded her let her observe.” ( Judges 13:14 )

”Principles do not fail” but this is only true when they are adhered to the letter. Manoah, the father of Samson and his wife had received a prophecy that they would have a son, who would deliver Israel from their enemies. In addition to the prophecy, the Angel had given a set of rules that should govern the mother as long as she carried the baby in her womb. For that baby (prophecy) to be born, the mother of Samson had to change her behavior. Often times, prophecies are not fulfilled because there is no change in character. Whatever new thing we expect from heaven, our character must change to conform to the picture of what we seek. Any deviation from the instructions of the Angel would have terminated the emergence of Samson. And it wouldn’t have been the doing of heaven if the prophecy had failed. Manoah knew better, he asked the Angel what the rules that will regulate the boy’s life will be (verse 12). Samson, who is also a symbolism of the prophecy of the Angel was born later, meaning his mother actually changed her character and that was why the Nazarene, Samson was born. Whatever prophecies have gone ahead of our lives are waiting for our attitudinal change to come to pass. Change is a necessity for the fulfillment of our prophecies.

Prayer_Bead: My Father, My Lord, thank you for the promises of your word. Help me to properly align through behavioral change and complete obedience to your word.

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[The Glory Unveiled]

God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. ( Hebrews 6:10 )

God will not forget our good deeds even if they seem forgotten by people because God is just. In today’s verse of scripture, we are shown a kind of labour that amounts to showing love to God. It is the work of helping people. Whenever we help people, we have shown love to [the image of] God. God created us in His image and likeness and so whenever we help another person, we have shown love to God through them. We are the extensions of God on earth to carry out His good purposes. Someone once said that, helping people isn’t a burden, it’s an opportunity. Indeed, we are opportune to receive the reward of God when we help other people. When we continue diligently in this pursuit, we become channels through which God releases His blessings to other people. But God’s continuous use of us as a blessing to others and His rewards are dependent on our continuous dedication to help other people. God has made us such that, it is not good for anyone [irrespective of who they are] to be alone. We were made not to be independent but to be dependent on one another for our full maximization. Right from the beginning, God said it was not good for man to be alone. That has been our lot since. Keep helping people and God will not forget to reward you.

Prayer_Bead: I am a channel of blessing to my world. I live to represent the government of Heaven on earth. I am an ambassador of righteousness and love. The world is a better place because of me and I help the downtrodden._

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[The Glory Unveiled]

Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did. ( 1 John 2:6 )

The Christian walk, though a walk of faith, has definite signs that testify that one is a child of God. The Christian is one who lives in God. In other words, God is the home and the abode of the Believer. But the scripture says that whoever claims to live in God must live as Jesus lived. Our life must resemble the life of Christ. And how do we know the life that Jesus lived except through the word of God. Jesus kept the commands of the Father. And the Bible says that we know the Father if we obey His commandments (1John 2:3). If we say we know Him but refuse to do what He commands, then we are liars. Living in God and knowing God has to do with obedience to the word of God. We cannot know God nor live in Him apart from His word. This is the reality of the life we have been called into. If we live in God, our lives must speak His word. This is the bedrock of our identity with Him. Instead of saying we live in Him, we must just live as He lived and we wouldn’t have to say anything.

Prayer_Bead: Gracious Lord, thank you for the wonderful opportunity to identify with you. May my life resound your word as I walk in obedience to you.

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[The Glory Unveiled]

For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. ( 1 Peter 1:23 )

Seeds are the resources that make fruits and plants. Without a viable seed, a fruit is not assured. The apostle Peter writes that we should have sincere love for each other now that we have obeyed the word of God and have been purified (1 Peter 1:22). In 1 Corinthians 13:13, we read that of love, faith and hope, love endures. So the apostle Peter is reaffirming that, the seed of love which endures forever is what we are born of. He calls the enduring seed of love, “imperishable seed”. The seed that resulted in us, was love. For God so loved us and gave His son to us. This son is love because God is love. And because we came out of the design of love, we also have the imperishable seed of love. This is why the apostle in verse 22, says we should love. We have the seed of love in us. A fruit carries its seed and every seed carries in it other seeds. So whatever brought us into existence, namely, love, is within us too, as seed. We can love anyone because we carry in our spiritual DNA the life of love. This love was activated through the living and enduring word of God. So, our ability to continue in this life of love depends on our continuous dependence on the word of God. The word of God is our lifeline to our life source.

Prayer_Bead: Our Father, Lover of our souls, we walk this day and everyday in the consciousness of your love for us and the seed of that love in us. Help us to be with your word at all times. In Jesus name.

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[The Glory Unveiled]

I am God, the God of your father,” he said. “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. ( Genesis 46:3 )

A famine broke out one time and Abraham went down to Egypt with his wife (Genesis 12:10). During his son, Isaac’s time, there was another severe famine and Isaac thought he would also go down to Egypt just as his father had done but God stopped him from going down there (Genesis 26:1-2). God deals with us separately and by this act, God shows us that the approach He uses to bring redemption or deliverance is not the reason for the deliverance. It also means that Abraham did not survive the famine because he went down to Egypt but because the Lord was with him. But then, Isaac thought Egypt was a rigid rule for deliverance from famine. So, God wanted him to learn otherwise and to depend on Him. Finally, it was the turn of Israel (Jacob). During his lifetime, there was a similar famine and he was hesitating to go down to Egypt because the order is broken, and he understood from his father, Isaac that Egypt is not necessarily the solution to the famine. But then the Lord said he should go down to Egypt without fear. And God promised Him that He will make Israel (Jacob) a great nation in Egypt. This is controversial because you can’t have a nation in another nation, but God said He will make it possible. And then we know what happened afterwards. God was true to His word. In our walk with God, we must not walk with an “Almighty formula” in our minds that should help us solve the challenges that confront us. What works is, obeying the Almighty at all times whenever He instructs us. Continuous obedience brings continuous consequences of His power.

Prayer_Bead: God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Covenant keeping God, Prince of peace, thank you for your unfailing love and the diversity of your creative power. Thank you for the grace to obey at all times. May I go only where you send me and only when you do._

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[The Glory Unveiled]

But Abram said, “Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?” ( Genesis 15:8 )

A man may see a woman he wants to love and marry. He may tell her so many things he feels about her and how much she means to him. But all his words wouldn’t mean much to the woman until he finally marries her. The marriage becomes a seal of all the things he had been saying. Human nature is futile and people make promises that they don’t keep. It was for this reason Abraham asked the Lord to seal all the promises He had made to him. Even though God was God and still is, and He cannot lie, our human instinct sometimes needs something to lean on for comfort and to keep the flame of faith alive. And so, to honour His words, God asked Abraham to make a sacrifice to Him with specific instructions. Sacrifices validate promises. In another place, God shows us how that He will redeem us by all means. And so Jesus had to come and die to purchase us by His blood but the Father still sent the Holy Spirt as a seal of that promise of redemption (Ephesians 1:13-14). God will always honour His word because He is not a man. But sometimes to validate it or put a stamp on it, we need to make sacrifices. These sacrifices become voices or landmarks of God journeying with us. We will know what God will do by the sacrifices we are willing to make.

Prayer_Bead: Faithful Father, Promsie keeper, Light in the darkness, thank you for the faithfulness of your word and the tenderness of your mercy. Reaffirm your promises to us through your word and our daily sacrifices to be with you.

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[The Glory Unveiled]

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?( Matthew 21:42 )

In the time of the inspired writers, stones were used as cement blocks. Some builders still use stones instead of cement blocks till date. The stones are hewn to have the desired shape. But then, usually the excesses from these desired ones are abandoned because they cannot properly fit into the pattern of the building. But again, sometimes, these abandoned or rejected stones and picked up and used for the angle in the wall; the corners. The corners are such that they do not need a desired stone because the desired stone will not fit properly. It is usually the rejected ones that often fit because they are “out of shape”. Beloved in Christ, a certain standard or status of the world may exempt you from something or some privilege but in the end it may actually validate you for something only you are qualified for. Even though a shovel looks like a bigger spoon, they do not serve the same purpose. You are designed in the image of God and your purpose is irreplaceable. God is God alone and beside Him there is no other. We came after the order and kind of God ,so even if the world rejects us, we become the chief corner stone in their wall. Cheer up, you are indispensable.

Prayer_Bead: Gracious Father, thank you for the grace that has made us unique. Thank you for making us the chief cornerstones even after the builder’s of this world’s system rejected us.

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