Category: Gospel

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Go to the source not the resource


[The Glory Unveiled]

You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. ( John 5:39 )

The biggest error of our time is that we study the scriptures without Christ. We try to find only what the scriptures promise we can have but we do not seem to want to come to Christ. In other words, we seek for the things of Christ without associating with Christ Himself. The verdict announced in John 3:19 sums it all up; a great light has come into the world but men love darkness more than light. Eternal life is not in the literary texts that make the scriptures, remember the letter kills but it is only the Spirit that gives life (2 Corinthians3:6). We cannot have eternal life without the eternal Spirit of Christ revealed to us by Christ. We will discover as soon as we look into the scriptures that they are testifying of Christ. And Christ gives life; for He who has the son has life (1 John 5:12). Let us quit searching the scriptures for eternal life without Christ, it will amount to vexatious labour without results. It is only by partnership with the Spirit of Christ does the scriptures transform us, enlighten us and shows us things we need to know. May we from hence look for Jesus in His testimonies and not just for His testimonies.

Prayer_Bead: Awesome God, Holy King eternal, most Gracious Monarch, thank you for Christ Jesus revealed to me by your Spirit through your Word.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

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The strategy of God


[The Glory Unveiled]

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. ( 2 Corinthians 5:21 )

The love of God and the wisdom of God seem to be woven together. In that, the love of God validates the wisdom of God. It is as if we would not have known the wisdom of God without the love of God. In this verse of scripture, we see a beautiful interplay of His love and wisdom. The wisdom of God hid His love in what the common mind cannot discern nor come to terms with. So that the love of God through the wisdom of God swallowed up our sin and gave us the righteousness of God which is His love (Jesus). Jesus is the strategy of God for the redemption of man. God is love, and so He could not allow the kingdom of darkness and the agents of satan touch us. He created a form of ark so that we can hide in Christ in God. We are safe, and free in Christ from the tag (sin) of satan. Let us abide in Christ, for in Him we have our true identity and life.

Prayer_Bead: Precious Lord, Spirit Divine, thank you for what you have done in me through Christ. Thank you for your Wisdom is at work in me to the glory of Your name.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

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His divine power


[The Glory Unveiled]

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ( 2 Peter 1:3 )

The God kind of life is not impossible. It is possible. But there are rules of engagement and these rules seem to narrow the path, making it difficult for many people to ply the road of godliness. There are certain qualities named later in this chapter that are made available by the divine power of God but must be received or actualized through the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. We cannot complain of not being able to live a godly life; one that mirrors the glory and goodness of God. The God kind of life is within reach but bounded by the knowledge of Christ. Ignorance of Jesus is a blockade to the life of God. It wouldn’t matter what manner of prayers we pray, without the knowledge of Christ, all those prayers will not amount to anything. Let us embrace the knowledge of Christ and then we will discover the orders and protocols of godliness.

Prayer_Bead: Gracious Father, we thank you for making Christ unto us all that we could be in you and have in you.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

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Go up the mountain


[The Glory Unveiled]

Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together. ( Genesis 22:8 )

The provision of God is up on the mountain. It is at the exact spot where God instructs us to go; but not a few meters from there. Isaac and his father Abraham were going to sacrifice before the Lord at a particular place [believed to be Mount Moriah]. But rather unusually, they had carried the fire and the wood for the sacrifice but the lamb they were to burn on the wood was unavailable. Now, a sacrifice [in their day and time] was no sacrifice without the animal that will be burnt. Abraham was aware of this challenge; as God asked Him to sacrifice his only son [but] he pressed on unto the mountain in faith. He knew and believed the many faceted dimensions of God. He knew that God could be Jehovah Nissi, Jehovah Elohim, Jehovah Adonai so He could definitely be Jehovah Jireh (God the provider). True to Abraham’s faith, God proved Himself atop the mountain to be Jehovah Jireh (God His provider). But interestingly God did not prove Himself in the valley. God will do on top of the mountain what He promised you in the valley. So don’t doubt in the valley what God told you in the valley. He is a faithful God. Go up your mountain in spiritual obedience and you will find the resources for your assignment.

Prayer_Bead: Jehovah Jireh, the Omniscient Father, thank you for the strength and grace to obey you on top of the mountain whatever you told me in the valley of my preparation.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

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Release your ‘suddenlies’


[The Glory Unveiled]

Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. ( Acts 16:26 )

The apostles Paul and Silas had been praying and singing hymns in the earlier verse of this chapter (Acts 16:25). They had been held prisoners for the sake of the gospel. And then this (the account in this verse) happened while they invited heaven into the prison through the portal of praise and prayer. The apostles Paul and Silas would have obviously desired to be released from prison but that desire wasn’t at the top of their priority list. All they wanted was the kingdom of God expressed even while in their chains and cuffs. But we know better; the kingdom of God always comes with other things as bonuses (Matthew 6:33). And in this case, their freedom. See, if we desire the other things most suddenly, we most first seek the kingdom and its righteousness most passionately. And then almost suddenly God will do the things we don’t even anticipate. The suddenlies of kingdom citizens are anchored upon a search for the kingdom. If we would want to experience genuine kingdom realities that the world cannot explain, we must first seek after the Kingdom and the one who sits on the throne in that Kingdom; our Father.

Prayer_Bead: God of Dunamis and suddenly miracles, thank you for showing me the way into sudden kingdom realities. Give me the heart of a seeker to seek after your Kingdom and the kingdom of my Lord Jesus Christ.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

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Heaven’s perspective


[The Glory Unveiled]

Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. ( Mark 12:43 )

Jesus was the physical representation of heaven on earth in His earthly days. He was on earth as the envoy of heaven. Whatever he said about a matter is what heaven says and whatever he approves is what heaven approves. It is interesting that the perspective of heaven and the assessment of earth are divergent. The story of the poor widow teaches us that we should look for the one thing that heaven will recognize and do it or give it. Many people came out to put money into the treasury but in the lens of heaven none were captured, except the old widow. This will draw our attention to enquiring of how heaven measures. What is the instrument of measurement? How does heaven recognize substance? Heaven measures from the state of the heart. And what comes from the heart is what we truly give. The others who gave into the treasury of the church gave because they had excess but the poor widow gave because that was all she had; that’s from her heart. Like the poor widow, let us learn to give from our hearts rather than out of our abundance. And let us do what heaven recognizes and not what men will applaud.

Prayer_Bead: Father in heaven, thank you for teaching me to give from my heart. Thank you for your grace that leads me into pleasant places.

#GNews: Unveiling hearts to Christ.

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Be careful what you wish for


[The Glory Unveiled]

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, ( Ephesians 3:20 )

The ability of God is infinitely indescribable with human language. An Infinite God cannot be defined by a finite man. Our definition of His possibilities will be constricted by our shortsightedness and inability to see beyond the “now” of our reference. God’s ability spans the length of all humanity’s human years put together. If we understand this truth, we will not limit ourselves by restricting God to only the things we know and think He can do. God is able to do not only (but far more—exceeding abundantly) the things we ask Him in prayer as well as the things we think or imagine. If this were not possible, the speech impaired and the sick who is unable to talk would have been unfortunate. But they are not. Everyone can pray to the Father through their thoughts and imagination. This explains why sometimes we experience certain phenomena which we may not anticipate nor have “prayed” (consciously) for. We experience some of these phenomena because we think about them or imagine them. Most of the things we experience are actually answers to the prayers of our thought and imagination. For this reason, we must guard carefully what we think about and imagine. Would you want to experience what you think about? If not, then think about the good you would want.

Prayer_Bead: Father Lord, precious Holy Spirit, thank you for presenting to the father, the thoughts of my heart and the imagination of my mind. Make them acceptable in thy sight.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

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the cloud of witnesses


[The Glory Unveiled]

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, ( Hebrews 12:1 )

What we do in the secret place is more important in our day than what we announce in the public to the hearing of everyone. God is seeking after sincere hearts. The cloud of witnesses spoken about in this verse of scripture are equipped with the ability to see both in the secret and in private; they see whatever is done in our realm. There is nothing hidden from them. No wonder they are called “cloud of witnesses”. They are actually witnesses to everything that happens around us. It is for this reason we have to be more careful what we do behind closed doors than what everyone sees. Unfortunately, today, we see and hear so many things going on in the church that shouldn’t even be mentioned among us. We hear of leaders and people who are supposed to be examples to others (including their followers) doing and subjecting themselves to things that are not worthy of them. These people sometimes do these things because they are convinced that no man is seeing them. But they forget that the Lord and the cloud of witnesses are witnessing everything going on in the world, even in the most secret of places. The author of this verse says we should throw off things that hinder us and the sins that entangle us. Let us throw them off so that we can run the race before us.

Prayer_Bead: Father in heaven, maker of the universe, thank you for the cloud of witnesses and for reminding me that I am always being watched irrespective of where I am.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

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Spirit compass

[The Glory Unveiled]

And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws ( Ezekiel 36:27 )

We cannot align to the pattern of heaven and the path of God except we are given His Spirit. But then we can only receive His Spirit after something has been done about our hearts. Jesus, speaking to his disciples said we do not pour a new wine into an old wine skin. Instead a new wine is poured into a new wine skin to preserve both the wine and the wine skin (Matthew 9:17). Likewise, the Holy Spirit of God (new wine) is only given to hearts that have been transformed (new wine skin). In the verse of scripture before this verse (Ezekiel 36:26), we see that God says He will give His people a new heart; He will take away their stony hearts. The stony hearts cannot accommodate the Spirit of God. And so before the Spirit of God is given, we must have had our hearts changed. In this verse of scripture we also discover why some people cannot follow the decrees of God no matter how hard they try. It is not in their strength to, it is in the enabling of the Holy Spirit given to people who have had new hearts.  It is the Holy Spirit that moves us to live like Christ. Without Him, we are totally opposite of Christ.

Prayer_Bead: Spirit Divine, Lover of my soul, thank you for working in me both to will and to do according to the purposes of God. Thank you for a new heart.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

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The sound of power


[The Glory Unveiled]

For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ( Luke 1:44 )

The verse above speaks about Mary’s greetings to Elizabeth while they were both pregnant. That fateful day when Mary visited Elizabeth in her home, she was probably not the only person nor the first person to greet her relative. Many people might have greeted her that early morning, including other pregnant women. But it is not recorded that the baby in Elizabeth’s womb leaped for joy at the sound of any other person’s greetings except Mary’s. We would have to carefully examine what it is about Mary that caused this. Mary was promised she would be overshadowed with the Holy Spirit. And that she was carrying a son who will be called the son of God (Luke 1:35). So we can agree that, it is who Mary carried on her inside that determined what happened around her. She carried the power of God wrapped in man and so she could affect what other people carried. The impact we make in life are dependent on what we carry. We cannot expect to impact lives if we do not carry the impacter. We cannot give what we do not have. Hence, let us travail to have what will influence the world around us; the power of God.

Prayer_Bead: Omnipotent Father, thank you for the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank you for what I carry on my inside and the impact I make in the world.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.