Category: Gospel

[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.

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[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.

[The Glory Unveiled ]

“Since the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, Israel, and there you have remained. Will not war again overtake the evildoers in Gibeah? ( Hosea 10:9 )

The children of Israel in their exodus to the promised land spent four decades to reach a destination that should have taken not more than 40 days on foot. In another place, Laban, the brother of Rebekah and Jacob’s uncle cheated him after he had faithfully served him. And because of that sin, Laban’s resources became stagnant. The weak animals came to Laban while the strong went to Jacob (Genesis 30:42 ). The house of King Abimelech experienced stagnation because he had taken Sarah, Abraham’s wife into his house. All the women of his household became barren because of the action taken by Abimelech, even though he did it ignorantly (see Genesis 20:18). In the new Testament, Ananias and Sapphira stagnated their walk with the Holy Spirit and truncated their lives because of sin (Acts 5:1-9). Our focal scripture above speaks about the stagnation of Israel because of a sin they had committed. Sin is the formula for stunted growth in the Believer’s walk of faith. Sin will always faithfully pay its wages. And usually, stagnation is part of the wage if not the bonus. To the evildoers in the Israeli camp, war was their reward. Sin always pays its due wages. But sin is only licensed to pay its wages when one mingles with sin. But thanks to God, the legal right of sin is destroyed by Christ, having died on the cross in our place as payment for the wages we owed. So that we are no longer slaves to sin but to righteousness by faith.

Prayer_Bead: Father of Light, thank you for the illumination you have brought into my soul. Teach me to honour your holiness and reverence your name.

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[The Glory Unveiled]

The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing. ( Psalms 34:10 )

Those who seek the LORD lack no good thing indeed. You see, usually, we interpret life by our understanding and expectations. But the scripture says that God’s ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not ours because He is not a man. Any man or woman who seeks God lacks nothing for all things are in God. The scripture again says that by Him are all things made and for Him they exist. In Him is the fullness of all things. Nothing good dwells outside Christ. So that means anything we desire and even pray for which seem good to us but cannot be found in the stores of God, is evil camouflaged as good. There are those with the notion that believers live pathetic and miserable lives. Such folks believe that nothing good comes to people who pursue God. But you know what? Such people are led by their appetites, they have made their stomachs gods unto themselves. And then, like the deception of Satan that robbed Adam and Eve of their estate and blessings are the words of such people in the ears of Believers who are actually partaking in the heavenly provisions of God. Their words become poison to the hope of these faithful people. “Even the lions may grow weak and hungry but those who seek God lack no good thing”. This statement emphasizes the certainty with which God is determined that anyone who seeks Him would lack no good things. The new testament reechoes this truth I’m Matthew 6:33 as “Seek the Lord and his righteousness and every other things shall be given.”

Prayer_Bead: Father of all living things, thank you for the revelation from your word to me. I acknowledge that when I find you, I’ll lack no good thing. So help me in my journey to the secret place.

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[The Glory Unveiled]

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. ( Colossians 3:2 )

The verse of scripture for our meditation today carries in its belly the weight of the chapter. The chapter opens with a profound statement, thus it says, [paraphrased] “we have been raised with Christ who is seated in heaven at the right hand of God”. So since we have been raised with Christ, it means we are seated in Christ with God in heaven. And if we are seated above by faith—as a reason of the position of our spirit—in His finished works, then our minds which is the gate between the spirit and the soul must be fixed on the things seen from the eye view of Christ in heaven above. Our position in Christ with God demands that our minds be set on things above. Why? The true testimony that we are seated with Christ in heaven is given by the things that our minds are set on. The position of our minds is a translation of the location of our spirits. If we set our minds on earthly things, it is a witness that our spirits are not seated in heaven with Christ. It also goes to mean that we did not [yet] die with Christ as we should or might be confessing. The mind defines the true position of the man. Is our spirit seated with Christ? Have we been raised from the death unto life? Is our mind set on the things that Christ perceives in heaven? The life we now live is by faith in Christ. Our physical faculties have no power in themselves to operate. Though we might be exposed to earthly things by reason of these physical gates, we must choose what we give our minds to as a result of what we allow through the gates of our eyes and ears. Today, let us set our minds and hearts on the things above where Christ is seated. And remember that your thought is refined by the system that made you.

Prayer_Bead: Spirit of my spiritual faculties, lover of my soul, thank you for the grace to be seated with God in Christ Jesus, help me to keep my mind on things above.

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[The Glory Unveiled]

This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ ( Jeremiah 6:16 )

Crossroads are usually thought of as a place of no rescue; a destination where no further consequential move could be made. It seem to many of us that when we come to the crossroads, it means a stop and that our world’s come to an abrupt end. But actually, crossroads are opportunities for seeing perspectives in the roads ahead of us. In the verse of scripture for our meditation, it says to look from the crossroads. This means crossroads offer the platform to see at different vantage points. Like the eye view of an eagle perched on a tall tree is a man standing at a crossroad. But here is the incongruity in all of it: Crossroads inspire fear and discomfort in many people when they come face to face with the fact that a choice has to be made from many alternatives. That brings to mind what it most vividly describes, a crossword puzzle. But the scripture also warns that, “there is a way that seems right to a man but the end is death and destruction” and for this reason there is the need for discernment. The scripture above says we should ask for the ancient path; the good way and walk in it. Anytime we see crossroads, we must see them as opportunity to the place where we really ought to be. Yet there are those who would flee from crossroads and assume their world has ended while others would stubbornly want to take their own path without discerning the will of God when there is an ancient tested and proven path for them to follow. Are you at a crossroad? Ask God for the ancient path that leads to rest.

Prayer_Bead: Ancient word, ever true, guide the course of my life. Lead me to the place of rest as I stand at my crossroads in all aspects of my life.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.