[The Glory Unveiled]
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. [ Proverbs 4:23 NIV ]
The heart is the center of all forms of influence. It is the entity that drives us to take any action or engage in any activity, whether those actions or activities align with the will of God or not. Naturally, we do not act solely based on what we want; we are directed to act. Our hearts urge us to do the things we do, and over time, these actions become habits. These habits are essentially actions and activities that live rent-free in our lives. The heart is the seat of governance for both believers and unbelievers. Every life activity and decision is regulated by the heart. The mind executes these instructions, putting them into motion. In other words, the mind enforces the laws set by the heart. This is why it is crucial to guard the heart. A president or leader of any nation or notable institution is given special protection because they possess the power to make or unmake decisions. If the heart holds similar power, then we must guard it as well. But how do we protect something we cannot see? We guard the heart by guarding the gates to it. One of these gates is the ear. Others include the eyes, nose, tongue, and touch. These access points open the door to what we like and dislike—the central station of our hearts. Therefore, we must guard the gates to our hearts by being selective about what we see, hear, smell, taste, and feel. These are the things that influence our hearts, which in turn shape our decisions. Guard your heart so that everything that flows from it is sifted and approved by the Word of God.
Prayer_Bead: Dear Lord, thank you for the privilege to know your word. I subject my eyes, ears, nose and mouth to your will. Help me to honour you with these members. Amen.
Wisdom_Quote: Everything that influence your life comes from your heart.
#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.
Turn Aside
[The Glory Unveiled]
And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. [ Exodus 3:3 KJV ]
Whenever we turn away from everything else to focus solely on what God is doing, we begin to have encounters. Divine encounters are often set within divine sceneries or sent to us in moments of unconsciousness. If only we can turn aside, there is so much God would reveal to us. Peter, the disciple, was an experienced fisherman. But one night, when he couldn’t catch anything, Jesus asked him to do something his experience would have advised against. However, Peter turned away from his experience and followed the instruction of God. The result was incredibly astonishing. Some of us are so fixated on one thing that we fail to see what else God is doing. The same Peter once saw Jesus walking on water and wondered how it could be possible. He asked Jesus to invite him to come if it was truly Him. When Peter turned his eyes away from the wind and the waves and fixed them on Jesus, he walked on water. Many times, it is not a matter of what God can do or will do; it is a matter of what we are willing to turn aside to. That willingness is the doorway into the wonderful expressions of God; it is the entry point into a deeper walk with Him. Moses, in our anchor text, said to himself, “I will turn aside and see this great sight.” That desire to see the sight triggered the encounter he had with God. A willingness to turn aside to a trigger will result in an encounter. God might be beckoning on your heart for an encounter with Him. Will you turn aside to the trigger?
Prayer_Bead: Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for coming into my heart and giving me opportunity to be a child of God. Show me deeper depth in God. Amen.
Wisdom_Quote: Divine encounters are mounted on divine sceneries.
#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.
Light your Lamp
[The Glory Unveiled]
“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? [ Luke 15:8 NIV ]
The value we place on things determines the effort and sacrifices we are willing to make for them. If an item can easily be replaced, we are unlikely to bother looking for it when it goes missing. In the scripture verse under consideration, the figurative woman loses one coin out of ten. She doesn’t dismiss its loss, reasoning that she still has nine others. Instead, she implements an elaborate strategy to find what was lost. She employs three techniques in her search. First, she lights a lamp. She recognizes that she cannot see anything in the dark. Even if the coin were right in front of her, she wouldn’t have been able to see it without light. Similarly, many of the things we have lost remain missing simply because there is no light or not enough light. Light is symbolic of the word of God. When the light of God is introduced, illumination occurs. This woman lights a lamp to aid her vision. Next, she sweeps the house. One might wonder about the purpose of this action. Sweeping is intended to gather everything together, allowing whatever lies on the floor to be collected and moved to a specific location. At this stage, the coin might be swept along with unwanted debris, but it is part of the gathered items nonetheless. This is where the third technique comes into play: carefully searching through the collected debris. At this point, she meticulously sifts through the waste, discarding the unwanted and retrieving every useful item. It is during this careful search that she is most likely to find the missing coin. Here, too, she faces a choice: she could rush through the process or take her time and search thoroughly until she finds what she is looking for. Is there anything missing in your life? You need a lamp—God’s word. You need to sweep by studying the scriptures thoroughly and applying their teachings. Finally, you need to take careful, practical steps to do what must be done.
Prayer_Bead: Heavenly Father, thank you for not abandoning me when I sinned and broke your heart. Thank you for sending your Son Jesus after me to save me. Restore every lost glory and blessing in Jesus.
Wisdom_Quote: In the kingdom of God, finding a lamp is the first step to finding what is lost.
#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.
Impossibility specialist
[The Glory Unveiled]
And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God. [ Luke 18:27 KJV ]
The “Omni” attributes of God distinguish Him from all humans and every other deity. In life, there are things we cannot understand or control; they are simply beyond us. For such things, we often say they are impossible. But these are the very things God overcomes in victory. Humans are limited in many ways, and in His wisdom, God has reserved our sufficiency in Himself, so only He can complete us. Without God, the void of incompleteness in us cannot be filled. This highlights the distinction between God and humanity—the things that are impossible for us are possible with God. When we face the impossible, we can call on God for help. God has designed this relationship so that we can always depend on Him for life and godliness. What impossible situations confront you? It is time to turn to God. He has an active role in our lives, and no one can replace Him in that role. Sometimes we give up because we don’t know what to do or where to turn in the face of challenges or obstacles. But God specializes in impossible situations. In the first book of Kings, we see how God demonstrated this specialty when He brought fire down from heaven through His servant Elijah. Elijah had drenched the altar and wood with water, even digging a trench to hold it. It was clear to everyone that, under natural circumstances, there was no way the altar could catch fire—yet it did, by the power of God. Meanwhile, the prophets of Baal tortured themselves all day but couldn’t call down fire on dry wood. The things that are impossible for humans are possible with God. So, stop trying to do what only God can do. Quit tormenting yourself with impossibilities, and let the true specialist in the impossible take over.
Prayer_Bead: All-Powerful God, I trust you for doing the impossible for me. I thank you for turning my situations around for glory. Amen.
Wisdom_Quote: God is eternity’s impossibilities specialist.
#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.
Check it out.
[The Glory Unveiled]
But He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they found out they said, “Five, and two fish.”[ Mark 6:38 NKJV ]
The statement above addresses a need that arose when Jesus was on one of His evangelistic missions. After a great crowd had been listening to His teaching for a long time, they became hungry and needed food. Surprisingly, Jesus asked His disciples to give the multitude something to eat, fully aware that they didn’t have enough food. It may seem surprising that Jesus, who had all power, would ask the disciples to feed the people. Sometimes, it feels like God and heaven make certain demands of us that seem beyond our capabilities. For instance, God called a man who was slow of speech to be His spokesperson, a prostitute to deliver His message, and a timid boy to become a great prophet. When God makes such demands, He is inviting the person given the assignment into an intimate fellowship with Him. God knows our challenges, physical limitations, and inadequacies, yet He calls us to great things so the world will recognize that we have a great God. This situation presented the disciples with an opportunity to demonstrate God’s power. When it became clear that the disciples were uncertain, Jesus asked them to see how many loaves they had. After they returned with the food, Jesus multiplied the bread and fish, feeding five thousand men and leaving leftovers. The lesson here is that God will help us accomplish what He asks us to do. Sometimes, all we need to do is “go see” what resources we have available and what we can do with them. If God is asking something of us, it means He has placed in us the raw materials needed to fulfill that task. So, instead of complaining or lamenting, consider what you have that God can use in that situation. You carry something precious within you and are valued as worthy of the blood of Jesus.
Prayer_Bead: Almighty Father, thank you for what you have deposited in me. Help me to showcase it to the glory of Your name.
Wisdom_Quote: God sends you out with what you have within you.
#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.
A stubborn conviction
[The Glory Unveiled]
But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up. [ Daniel 3:18 NIV ]
The depth of a person’s convictions are brought to bare when they come before authorities. People may claim to hold a certain position until they come face to face with power, money or their desires. What they do in the face of these things is their true position and conviction. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were Hebrew boys who had their godly convictions formed and molded by their religion and culture. But while in Jerusalem, their convictions were not tested because they were always surrounded by people who believed in the same things as they did. But here, they found themselves in a foreign land, among a people who do not believe in their God nor regarded their beliefs. In the face of these people, their true beliefs and convictions are tested. They were asked to worship an idol. Meanwhile, their faith taught them to worship no other god but Yahweh. Will they compromise because their families are not around to supervise them? Will they compromise because their church leaders are not around? Whatever choice they made exposed their truest beliefs and convictions. These young men made a very profound statement, that their God will save them from the wrath of the king as they have chosen not to worship his god. But then, even if their God who is Almighty does not save them, they still wouldn’t worship the god of Babylon. This reveals how stubbornly firm their convictions are. They had become so determined to live for God to such a point that they weren’t doing it for the benefit they get from God. They have had their convictions formed by their constant exposure to God. What convictions are you forming? What are you constantly exposing yourself to?
Prayer_Bead: Father, thank you for the privilege to live for you. Guide me to stay within the boundaries of my convictions. In Jesus name.
Wisdom_Quote: Your convictions are tested outside the boundaries of their root.
GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.
Divine trusts
[The Glory Unveiled]
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.”
[ Luke 16:10 NIV ]
In every field, particularly in areas of design and creative works, before the final work is released, countless trials are carried out on inferior canvases or materials. Rough works are done on materials other than the final surface. In school, nobody gives pens to preschool and kindergarten students to write with. They are first given pencils so that mistakes can be corrected. They are not given permanent writing aids because they will make the same mistakes with ink that they make with pencils. In our text above, the Lord Jesus said whoever can be trusted with little can equally be trusted with much. There is that attitude or effect that is carried around us. Naturally, we translate our inner convictions and true personality to different situations. And so, whatever we do in one situation is a prediction of what we could do in another situation. This is why many times, apprentices are not tested with the real deal. Whatever we do with the little exposes what we could do with much. If we want to be assigned to much, we must be faithful in the little already entrusted to us. Sometimes, we hear irresponsible people say that they will begin to take responsibilities when they have much. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that. The little sets the table for great things. Until we know how to handle and manage little things, great things will be far from us.
Prayer_Bead: Lord Jesus, thank you for the things you have entrusted to my hands. Help me to faithfully carry them out.
Wisdom_Quote: Little responsibilities expose great commitments.
GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.
God is faithful
[The Glory Unveiled]
“For no word from God will ever fail.”
[ Luke 1:37 NIV ]
The words of men, both great and small fail. There were prophets and influential people who prophesied or predicted that something was going to happen but never did. It has become so very easy not to trust the words of people because of their unreliability. People are free to say whatever they want to say. But the power to make those sayings come to pass resides with none. Our anchor text is the word of an Angel to Mary. God is not a man. He is capable of backing all His words and guiding them into fulfillment. Immediately a word leaves the mouth of God, the word by itself is fulfillment because God’s word will never fail. That is the truth, whether we believe it or not. And that is where the challenge sometimes come from. The word of God will not fail, but sometimes the agents to whom these words are spoken through unbelief become impatient. And then we tend to lose faith in the faithfulness of God because we confuse our human clock with God’s clock. While our human clock measures the passing of time, God’s clock measures the passing of God’s faithfulness. So that, if God promises something, it must happen in His time, irrespective of what the human clock says. According to the human clock, Sarah was passed the age of childbearing, and she was not able to conceive even if she wasn’t so old. But because the clock of God measures the faithfulness of God to ensure that no word from God falls to the ground, Sarah conceived and gave birth to a son. Mary who was a virgin conceived without a man. Every word from God concerning us will come true because God is faithful.
Prayer_Bead: Dear Jesus, thank you for always coming through for me in your time. Let your name be glorified.
Wisdom_Quote: Man’s clock measures the passing of time, God’s measures the faithfulness of God.
Play your part
[The Glory Unveiled]
When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” [ John 2:3 NIV ]
Every cast in a drama has a part to play to make a complete story. If a character refuses to play their part, it will affect the plot. In life, we have all been assigned certain roles to carry out in displaying the beauty of God’s love story. This story has been playing out for many generations and through many centuries. Everyone who walked the earth had a role to play. But whether or not they embraced their mission and carried it out is another story. In our anchor chapter, we read about a wedding feast where the people had run out of wine. Jesus was in attendance, and so was Mary, his mother. Mary understood that she had a role to play in solving the problem at hand. So, she tells Jesus that the people needed wine. Even though Jesus gave an initial response that was supposed to discourage her, she wasn’t discouraged because she understood that Jesus had a role to play in the matter too. She then went to the servants and instructed them to do whatever Jesus asked them to do. This means the servants also had a role to play in making the new wine. Finally, the master of ceremonies had his part to play, in announcing the glory of what had transpired. Even though he didn’t fully know what had happened (verse 9), he played his part regardless. Reading the account carefully, we discover that everyone played their part so well even though they did not each know what their part had to do with the carrying out of another person’s part. But because everyone did their part without allowing others’ roles to influence them, the end was a beautiful testimony; the choicest wine was made from ordinary water. You have a part to play in the story God is telling through humanity. Don’t abandon your role. Let the world see God’s glory through the story of your life.
Prayer_Bead: Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing me to play a part in your story by your mercy. I yield to your script. In Jesus’ name.
Wisdom_Quote: Everyone has a part in the story of God.
#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.
The influence of diligence
[The Glory Unveiled]
To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. [ Matthew 25:15 ]
In describing the distribution, activation, and operation of the ministry gifts of the Holy Spirit, 1 Corinthians 12:11 states that God gives these gifts as He pleases. However, in the parable of the talents, we see how diligence can influence what comes to us. Our diligence towards anything in life informs what comes into our hands, so that even from God, we do not just receive things randomly or accidentally. Otherwise, we would all receive the same gifts in the same measure. But we know well that this is not the case. Therefore, there is an invisible factor that influences what God or any person gives us. The master in the parable above gave his servants gifts according to their ability. This means the master didn’t arbitrarily decide to give the one who had five talents five talents, nor the one who received one talent just one. Whatever he gave anyone was decided by their diligence—what the scripture calls “their ability.” Whatever you see in your hand is the voice of your diligence. What your diligence says you’re worth is what it attracts to you. We may be angry at people and institutions, but these people and institutions do not have a say in what comes into our hands. What we have or do not have lies in the power of our diligent work and service. To attract more into our hands, it’s not about how many gifts or talents we have but how well we use what we already have. It is a matter of how well we use those gifts to the best of our abilities. God gave each and every one of us gifts according to our abilities. When we yield results based on our use of these abilities, we receive more from God, sometimes through people. What do you have in your hand presently? Do you want more? If yes, then do more with what you already have.
Prayer_Bead: Heavenly father, thank you for the gifts you have blessed me with. Help me to diligently put them to work, to the praise of your name.
Wisdom_Quote: Diligence is the magnet that attracts supply.
#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.