Category: Gospel

[The Glory Unveiled]

So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future–all are yours, ( 1 Corinthians 3:21-22 )

Imagine owning an estate and yet not having a home or place to sleep. Such a paradox is the reality of many a believer. It is a common culture among some people to boast about people they know or are related to. These people may be their church leaders, bosses, mentors or celebrities. They make boastings with these people to feel important and self assured, secure people’s admiration or inflate their ego. Whereas the reality is that, we have everything at our disposal. Everything we need and would ever need is already ours. But then, statements like these may sound ridiculous though true. This truth carries a weight of life in the spiritual realm that cannot be contested. The realm of the spirit is like a cloud account of some sort, where documents, pictures and videos are stored. Now if someone should take that phone or device, the videos and documents would not be found in the phone’s memory. That means that those documents are not accessible on the go by the phone but that does not mean that they do not exist. It only mean that it is kept behind a veil that needs certain laws engaged to access. With data and the right technical steps, the information in the cloud account would be accessible and visible on the phone or device. It is the same with us. Whatever we need, health, finance, marriage, children, food, fees, life, the future e.t.c are all behind the veil of the spirit, accessible by engaging the right keys and laws. But it is not enough to know that all things are ours, just as it is not enough to know there are information in a cloud account. The information only becomes useful when accesed. So how do we access all the promises of God in Christ Jesus? We access them by faith in Christ. We take them by faith and we make them tangible by love. So with faith and love in our hearts we have all we need in the now and the future. All things are ours!

Prayer_Bead: Father in whom all things have their existence and being, thank you for the provisions of Your grace.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ( Matthew 10:30 )

Assuming you don’t like candies but you were given about 800 pieces of little candies for free. Would you be eager to keep count of them? All things being equal, you wouldn’t see the need to. The earlier verse of scripture describes how God is concerned about little sparrows, which cost almost nothing and how that not even one falls to the ground without the consent of God. And then in comparison, in this verse, He talks about our hair. The average human head has over 100,000 hair follicles. But in the verse above, we discover that God has our hairs numbered. And the meaning of the statement is fascinating and it also emphasizes the importance and value God attaches to us. God having all our hairs  numbered means that God knows each hair strand by its number. So that if hair number 75 falls to the ground, God is aware. This is so comforting to know that God cares enough to know the very hair of our head by their position and number. So here’s a thought: if God is so careful to consider our hair, and even Sparrows of the air, why would He not be concerned about our ultimate wellbeing? God is concerned about the prosperity of our souls and bodies. God cares about us enough to care about the things we don’t care so much about ourselves. Today and everyday, let us walk in this consciousness that God loves us and is concerned about the well-being of our spirits, souls and bodies.

Prayer_Bead: Jesus, lover of my soul, spirit and body, my redeemer and friend, thank you for your love for me. Help me to trust in your love.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. ( 2 Corinthians 9:8 )

God is able to do all things at His will and pleasure. But then, sometimes He allows the miry clay experience; He permits us to go through trying times—through thorns and pains. And in the process we have inscriptions [scars] of the pains and hurts, but in His omniscience, he uses those experiences and the wheal of our suffering as the evidence of His Omnipotence, testifying to the world through our flesh that He has been good to us. And then even our wheal can give us pleasure in the leisure time of life. Usually, God would permit earthly blessings and favours to collide with us in the doorway of hardship and frustration. So that we would lack nothing, being self-sufficient and in need of no aid or assistance. In the moment of despair and hopelessness, God would give us reasons to smile again. So if this moment seem to give you no reasons to smile or want to live, remember this: God works all things for our ultimate good. The experiences of yesterday carved today out the way it is and those of today are crafting the glory of tomorrow. Nothing is constant in the spirit sphere except God and His sovereignty. So whatever negativity confronts us is time bound, it would soon be no more. The love of God has made all grace to abound for us. Let us plunge into our inheritance.

Prayer_Bead: Jehovah Jireh, the Lord my provider, thank you for the provisions of grace by the cross. I abound in every good work, in Jesus’ name.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God._

[The Glory Unveiled]
theme: the secret place

But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. ( Matthew 6:6 )

The secret place is one’s sacred place where communion takes place. It is a place of prayer and enlightenment. And for any place to qualify as a secret place, ideally, the place must be limited to the visitor of that place alone. The place should not be crowded with other people because the secret place is a place of dialogue between God and man. Just as intimacy or intercourse in the physical is not done in the open, the fellowship of the secret place, in like manner is to be carried out in secret. A more photographic description of the secret place is the sacred place of old; the tabernacle [the tent of meeting] where the tangible presence of God resided. The high priest was the only one privileged to enter the Most Holy place. The innermost court was not allowed to be crowded by people, not even the other priests. Only one man, the high priest was privileged to be there at a point in time. The secret place as a sacred place must be engaged in a reverential and saintly manner, not losing its spiritual essence nonetheless. The statement, “…go into your room, close the door…” is descriptive of isolation to God, having an exclusive interaction with God. Another graphic design of the secret place was Moses’ visit to the mountain of God to commune with God for 40 days. Anytime he wanted to commune with God, he was in the presence of God alone. One time when he decided to go with Joshua, his aide, Joshua still had to wait for him at the foot of the mountain and Moses entered the secret place alone. Our rewards [response] comes faster in the secret place because the secret place offers a kind of face to face interface in our fellowship experience with God. When we pray [want to really commune with God], let us go to the secret place and not just any place.

Prayer_Bead: The life giver of all flesh and light giver in the secret place, flood my heart with light. Let my understanding be fruitful as I frequent the secret place.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

And he [Jesus] asked them, “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” ( Matthew 22:20-21 )

The Herodians and the disciples of the Pharisees had been sent to engage Jesus in a discourse. Though at face value they brought up the issue of payment of taxes, the ulterior motive that incited this conversation was to trap Jesus in his words. Now, the question was whether or not taxes should be paid to Caesar? Jesus requested that the coin used for the payment be brought to him and then he asked the questions above. Now the statement, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s” gives us a platform to explore the subject matter in a spiritual context. Jesus asked them to give back to Caesar what he had imprinted his portrait [image] and inscription [signature] on. We would all agree that is a very logical thing to do. If he had his image on the money, then the money should return to him as the owner. But here is the central message in the text of scripture above, “….and to God what is God’s.” So the question then would be, what is God’s? To answer this we need to refer to the premise upon which the statement was made—Caesar’s portrait and inscription. So that if the taxes should be paid to Caesar because he had his image on the money for the payment, then we should also give to God anything that has his image on it. Genesis 1:27 says God created us in His image and likeness. That means He has put his signature and identity on us. So to give God what belongs to God means we must give ourselves to God (Romans 12:1). Giving back to God what is God’s means presenting ourselves to God as living sacrifices; that way, we would have paid our due taxes. Whose image is on us? Let us present ourselves to the one whose image we bear.

Prayer_Bead: My Father and my God, thank you for putting your image on me. I present myself to you as a living sacrifice, use me for your purpose and glory.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him. ( Acts 10:38 )

There is always a fire behind every smoke. Everyone saw how Jesus went about doing good in the open but only few people perceived what or who sourced all the good and healings. This is why the Pharisees would accuse Jesus of casting out demons by the devil. They could see the miracles and the goodness but they couldn’t see how it was engineered. They couldnt see what was happening behind the scenes of the optical eyes. And because of that they decided to explain it off. Usually people explain off and doubt things they can’t manipulate or control. But their denial or inability to see the mastermind putting all the pieces together behind the human periphery does not change the fact that there was a personality who did all that happened in the ministry of Jesus behind closed doors. Now this goes to explain that Jesus couldn’t have done the things He did if God was not with Him because while on earth, He was as much man as if he was not God and as much God as if he was not man. So instead of looking at the works, one must look at the performer of the actions in the background. Another thing worth noting is the fact that the anointing attracts the presence of God. And the presence of God also attracts the goodness and power of God. In our day, we need the anointing of God because the world needs goodness and healing in all facets of its make up. And then just as Jesus was propelled by the anointing, we would also be propelled into doing good.

Prayer_Bead: Loving King, precious Father, thank you for the anointing that breaks yolks and liberates the oppressed. Anoint the church and make us instrument of healing and goodness.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. ( Luke 18:1 )

Anytime we are asked not to do something, it means there is a possibility of doing that anyway. When God told Adam and by extension, Eve not to eat from the forbidden tree, they did, because they could. It was within their means to do that which they were asked not to. Here in this chapter, Jesus tells his disciples a parable to show them that they should not give up on praying. But like we have established, this means that it is very possible to give up on prayer. There may be times when our spiritual atmosphere feels dry and our prayer altars become empty too, sometimes as a result of the frustrations and the stress of everyday life activities. Challenges may come our way, unforseen events may veer our way bringing unanswered questions. But the surety of God’s word convinces us that whatever happens, in the end, God will prove Himself as God. And if God would always prove Himself to be God because of His sovereignty and might, then we cannot give up on prayer. Because prayer is the avenue through which we connect to heaven and heavenly provisions and supplies. Whatever prayer cannot change or do, does not exist because everything exists as a result of words equivalent to prayers. Let us not give up on prayers no matter what goes on around us.

Prayer_Bead: Loving Father, merciful God, thank you for the opportunity to commune with you through prayer. Help me to be steadfast in it.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. ( 1 Corinthians 12:18 )

Highly esteemed friend, you are well placed wherever you find yourself. It is difficult for many people to accept themselves for who they are and the physical attributes they have been created with. The thought and feeling of not being “beautiful” enough, tall enough, fair enough, or having enough of one thing or the other has created in many people a dislike for themselves. It has developed in them low self esteem, inferiority complex and timidity. Low self esteem has reduced well meaning dreams to just daydreams, turned mountain movers to very timid wind chasers. In the chapter for our meditation, the apostle Paul talks about the various ministries by comparing them to the parts of the human body and their respective roles and importance. He asserted that, every part of the body and their individual contribution amount to a wholistic body. And without one part of the body, the other parts are inadequate. It goes to mean that our worth and importance is tied to the supporting of other members in the body. As believers, our worth and importance is in our place of operation. We see our worth when we identify our position and role in the body of Christ. Irrespective of how small or seemingly insignificant it may be, it is that one thing that would make us confident and self-assured. So beloved, wherever you have been placed by God as a calling, is the best place you could be. Adam was placed in the garden of Eden as his place of domain. That was the best place he could have been. You have been placed well too in the body of Christ with your gifts, potentials, calling and visions. Many people depend on your gift and calling to fully function in theirs. Keep being awesome, love your gifts and calling.

Prayer_Bead: Lord Jesus, Head and sustainer of the body, thank you for the illumination through your Word. Help me by the Holy Spirit to love where I have been placed in you.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ( Genesis 1:3 )

Throughout the Genesis account of creation and the magnanimous exhibition of the attributes of God, there seem to be a missing link between the word of God or the intention of God and the performance [expression] of that thought in a tangible way. Whenever God said something invisible and wished that it became a reality perceptible to the soul of man by the faculty of the eyes or ears, He would employ another of Himself to carry it out. So that there is that missing link, one who worked behind the scene, translating the realities of the unseen realm into the seen realm while He himself is unseen. Almost all the envisible attributes that were made visible begun with the statement, “God said”, inferring that God was speaking to another person. The gospel of John discloses the identity of this entity who worked behind the scenes to make a beautiful scene of a chaotic earth in the beginning. In John 1:1-3, we discover that the one who was in the beginning with God and to whom God spoke was the word of God (the Christ) without form or flesh. But in the administrative processes of the God head, “the word without form” is the Holy Spirit and “the word in a form” is Christ Jesus. So that without the Spirit of God, Christ without form, nothing was made that was made. Likewise as Believers, if we want to call light into any dark situations of our lives, we need the ministry of the Holy Spirit. And then once He is behind our scene, He will make a scenery of every eyesore in our lives.

Prayer_Bead: Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient God, creator and sustainer of all things, thank you for showing me that the invisible performer is the Holy Spirit and that by partnering with Him, my life will be a scenery.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. ( Colossians 4:2 )

In the first verse of this chapter of scripture, the apostle Paul juxtaposes the earthly slave master to the Master in heaven who is master over all including the slave master. He does this to create the impression that in any case there is One who is always superior to us regardless of our position or power. And for that there is the need to relate well with people irrespective of the biographical gap. In relating this experience to our heavenly father, we would see that there is no one exclusive to the need to pray. Everyone needs to pray to God because God is master of us all. But the need to pray is not just because of the things we think we need but also because of the unseen realities that may plague us. Prayerfulness has a lot to do with being watchful and alert as Jesus told his disciples who were supposed to keep wake with him to watch and pray. He asked them to watch and pray so that they would not fall into temptation. This supposes that prayer is an insurance against falling into temptation. It also cushions us against the harshness of life and wicked men. But there is this thing about the habit of prayer that is demanded of us; commitment. Prayer always demands faithful commitment. In Romans 12:12, the apostle who penned down the words of our focal scripture also wrote that we should be joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer. Habits are developed by faithfully committing to any lifestyle. Let us develop the kingdom habit of prayer by devoting ourselves to prayer.

Prayer_Bead: Lord Jesus, Master of the universe, thank you for always listening to my prayers. I pray for the grace to commit to this kingdom habit of being in your presence always.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.