Category: Inspiration

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Breaking Free (I)

[The Glory Unveiled]

“Jesus said to them, “I am the Bread of Life. Come every day to me and you will never be hungry. Believe in me and you will never be thirsty.” [ John‬ ‭6‬:‭35‬ ‭TPT‬‬ ]

If you’ve ever eaten bread before, a lot of it, you’d agree that bread has the ability to quench hunger in a way that one begins to have no desire for any other food. When Jesus said, He is the bread of life, He was also saying that, He has the capacity to quench our hunger and thirst. There is a strong thirst for the desires of the flesh that launches people into negative habits and addictions. And keeps them going back to that habit again and again until they lose their willpower to it. That seemingly insatiable desire for the habit is fueled by the belief that, that is what they need to be okay. While in fact, it is just an indicator of an essential need but not actually that habit. This is why the desire—hunger and thirst—cannot be quenched by the negative habit. Their desire to want to indulge in the habit is just a signal that they need something higher than what they could immediately access. It’s a prompt that shows that they are in need of something encompassing and satisfying. This satisfaction however is not immediately a finite experience. But a progressive, ever increasing acquaintance with the solution. Hence, the scripture above says, “come everyday to me and you will never be hungry.” It has to be a continuous (daily) process of quenching that hunger and thirst with the truth of God’s word. To break free from an addiction, one must drink and feed daily on Jesus. A disconnection from Jesus is a reconnection to the addiction as the only thing that cuts an addiction is a continuous connection with Jesus. Addictions are active when we add more of the negative habits to our routines. And so, addictions break when we add positive habits, namely fellowship with Jesus to our routines. The positive habit eats out the root of the negative until the negative loses its hold over us. Let’s come everyday to the presence of God to quench every thirst for lust and sin, especially the sins that so easily pull us down (addictions.)

Prayer_Bead: Lord Jesus, you are my Lord and King. Help me to come to you everyday for the quenching of my thirsts.

Wisdom_Quote: Addictions are created from repeated additions of negative habits.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

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Provisions for the Flesh

[The Glory Unveiled]

But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. [ Romans 13:14 KJV ]

When the Bible verse above says we should make no provisions for the flesh to fulfill its lusts, it is an instruction that requires intentionality and action. Before a visitor comes to a place, provisions are usually made for them. Often, reservations are made to accommodate their every need. Anytime reservations are made, there is always expectation of some guests. Reservations are coded invitations to guests. Likewise, it is possible to make provisions [reservations] for the flesh to fully carry out its lusts. [That provision is refusing to put on the Lord Jesus Christ as our covering and identity; that’s to say refusing to live in Him and by His words.] There’s a popular saying that “deciding not to make a decision is a decision.” Sometimes our failures to take actions are costly decisions we make in ignorance. When we refuse to decide or act on something, we have actually decided or chosen an alternative, unknown to us. Our scripture shows us how not to make provisions for the flesh to carry out its lusts. The secret is to put on the identity of Jesus at all times. Which means deciding not to put on the identity of Jesus at anytime is a [subtle, unintentional] counter decision of making provision for the flesh to sin through lust. This is why we cannot be passive in our relationship and walk with God. The believer needs to be proactive. The believer takes actions that are consistent with the word of God at all times. Our failure to do so, is an expensive choice we should not afford. Every choice made for us by ignorance costs more that the knowledge of it would have cost us. In other words, what we lose because we are ignorant of a divine truth always far exceeds the cost of the knowledge that could have saved us from the negative consequences. And so, let us intentionally put on the image [identity] of Jesus at all times, as we bear the mark of His suffering and life. And then, sin cannot carry out its enterprise in us through the avenue of lust.

Prayer_Bead: Our Daddy in heaven, thank you for the provisions you have made in your Son for us to live in holiness and righteousness. Help us to put on His identity at all times. In Jesus’ name.

Wisdom_Quote: Whatever we make provisions for, we are ready to accommodate.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

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God is Not Late

[The Glory Unveiled]

So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, [ John 11:6 NIV ]

It would seem that God is late sometimes, in attending to the most pressing needs of our lives. But let’s analyze the timing of God by using the story of Lazarus as a case study. Was Jesus late to attend to Lazarus? Jesus’ friend, Lazarus, was sick and Jesus was sent for. Now, Jesus who heard of Lazarus’ illness stayed two more days at where he was. Unimaginable, right?Considering that it is recorded that Jesus loved Lazarus (John 11:3). One would ask, is that how you treat someone you love when they are in need of your help? Lazarus needed Jesus when He was sick but Jesus stayed two more days until Lazarus died. And then after Lazarus had died, He now came around. Many times God seem to come around only when it seems too late as in the case of Lazarus. But then just like in the case of Lazarus, God comes in the fullness of His timing, when He will get the glory. And so, even though Lazarus had died and in that moment he couldn’t pray to God or send for Jesus [the solution] by himself, Jesus came anyway. And he who was dead came back to life to the glory of God. In the timing of man, it may seem late but in God’s reality, it is not. Our human timing does not change or stop the power of God nor hinder the expression of His sovereignty. God is not late even when people think or say He is. God is not constrained by our calendar. He does not exist within the boundaries of time as we are and so, time obeys Him. Whatever seems like it’s late is actually on time on God’s calendar. Our expectations can delay and the timing may seem to have elapsed but it is not late; God is not late. He is on time to the glory of His name.

Prayer_Bead: Dear Lord, thank you for always being on time concerning every issue of our lives. Let your name be glorified.

Wisdom_Quote: Delay in our expectations is not an expiration of God’s provision and power.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

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When the enemy goes to work

[The Glory Unveiled]

But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. [ Matthew 13:25 NIV ]

Timing is important to work as the time we choose to work influences the output of our work. This was why Jesus said in John 9:4, that we should work while it was day for the night comes when no man can work. In our anchor verse, we learn that even though no man can “work” [be occupied upon] during the night, the enemy operates when men are not at work. And so, while everyone was asleep, the enemy came to work. There is always a time when everyone will sleep because it is supposed to be the time for sleep. But the time for sleep can also be for defining destinies. It is usually at night that destinies are altered and traded. The wheat in the field got corrupted with weeds because it was night. It is important that some men stay awake to watch over the work that was done during the day, when all men sleep at night. The watchers have a responsibility to preserve the wholeness of what was done during the day. Of what use is our toil during the day, if it is not protected from the enemy at night? From the beginning of creation, work was fashioned into humanity. God instructed Adam, the template of humanity, to work and keep the garden (Genesis 2:15). When gardens are left unattended to, they become forests. And so, God asked man to dress and keep the garden in order to maintain it. But he was not only to keep weeds out of it but also the enemy of their future; Satan. Unfortunately, while Adam “slept“ (was insensitive to his surrounding) the enemy came to invade his ecosystem. The enemy comes to work when the workers are asleep. But if the watcher is at post, the enemy will not come to sow weeds. Hence, let us keep watch in prayer against the evil seeds of the enemy. Lets guard the garden of our souls.

Prayer_Bead: Omniscient God, thank you for showing me when the enemy goes to work. Help me to keep watch over the garden entrusted to me. In Jesus’ name.

Wisdom_Quote: The output of work is influenced by its timing.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

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Witnesses of God’s love

[The Glory Unveiled]

This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live. [ Deuteronomy 30:19 NIV ]

Anytime the visible and invisible attributes of God are on parade in the earth realm, His love always stands in the front row. Imagine a teacher setting exams for his students and then pointing at the correct answer and urging the students to choose it. That is exactly what God did in the scripture above. God gives us two alternatives to a proposition and then brings in two witnesses to witness the process. And yet, in front of these witnesses, He shows and urges us to choose the best option from the alternatives. This is a rooftop-level kind of love. God does not want us to die even though His justice has put laws in place which when broken can break us or lead us into very dangerous experiences of death. But His love is louder and closer than any other thing. You see, almost every artist likes to display their most important works. Those works are somewhat a portrait [reflection] of themselves, their values and beliefs. God, the artist of artists, did same when He openly displayed His love and affection for us. Before principalities and thrones, He announced through His son, how much He loved us. The angels and heavenly beings were astonished. They wondered at what God was doing. In fact, David asked the question that might have plagued their minds as it did his, “what is man, that you are mindful of him?” (Psalms 8:4). He took notice of how God was so distinguishably intentional about man and then He posed the question. Even creation bear witness of the love of God for us, in that they were sent ahead of us to make our lives simple and comfortable. No wonder the Bible says that we have been given all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). Now, the ball is in our court. What will we choose before the witnesses, in view of God’s immense love?

Prayer_Bead: Dear Father and Lover of all mankind, thank you for the affectionate display of your love by urging me to choose life with you.

Wisdom_Quote: Love is the backdrop of God’s visible attributes.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

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Another Bible

[The Glory Unveiled]

“You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men;” [ ‭‭II Corinthians‬ ‭3‬:‭2‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ ]

The New Testament Bible is a collection of epistles (letters) written to different churches and individuals. In the time of these letters, there was also the culture of ministry validation through the writing of letters of recommendation. In the book of Acts, we see some examples where the apostles wrote notes to be sent to the churches and places where other unpopular ministers were supposed to minister. These notes (epistles) were read to make the people see the preacher as a valid conduit of God’s word. And so was the culture, but then, in writing to the Corinthian church, the apostle Paul now says that the people are their epistles, written in their hearts but known and read by all men. These people have become instruments of validation. It is clear and safe to assume that the Bible is Jesus in letters—every scripture is a piece of Jesus. And when you absorb so much of Jesus that you become His look-alike, lost in Him, then you become another Bible [epistle] to people. So that people can close their Bibles but still read Jesus in you. Our lives can be so mingled with Jesus’ life so much that people cannot tell the difference between the Jesus they read about in the epistles, recorded in the Bible and our own lives. The Lord Jesus knows us because He loves us deeply, but we do not know Him as He knows us because we do not love Him as deeply as we ought to. And because you cannot love someone deeply whom you do not know, we have a responsibility and a call to study the word of God even more. We must dedicate our lives to the study of the word of God and becoming so transformed by it that all men can know and read Jesus through us just like the high priests, the rulers and elders read [perceived] Jesus in the disciples (Acts 4:13).

Prayer_Bead: The Word of God who became flesh, thank you for giving me the privilege to be swallowed up into you, so that all men would see you in me.

Wisdom_Quote: Anyone who embodies scripture becomes an epistle because every scripture is a piece of Jesus.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

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The Caretaker

[The Glory Unveiled]

And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: [ Genesis 12:2 KJV ]

When we consider God’s choice of words in the statement that make for our scripture text for today’s meditation, we will discover something peculiar about them. God was calling Abraham, then Abram, into a relationship with Himself. But to make that relationship meaningful, God calls him out of his old place into an adventure of faith. He calls him out on a journey that will give Abram the practical lessons that he needed to get to know God better. And like a sponsored journey, God takes all the responsibilities for Abram and his wellbeing. God did not for once leave the weight of the responsibility on Abram’s shoulders. As we see God, in the texts above saying, “I will,” “I will.” God shouldered the responsibility for Abram’s wellbeing and comfort as if to assure him of His capability. In 2 Peter 1:3, scripture says that, God’s divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:” And so, God had always provided a everything we needed for life and godliness. But these provisions are activated in our experience only through an adequate knowledge of God. And so, even though God said He will do everything for Abram and bless him. It would actually take Abram’s knowledge of God to actually enjoy these things promised. And so, God decided to take Abram on a journey to get to know Him. The journey into the land that God promised He will show Abram was a journey of discovering God. Abram was taken on this journey to know God and to trust Him. And then, in his discovery and knowledge of God, Abram will automatically enjoy the promises of God. Every promise of God to us is only waiting for our knowledge of God to manifest. And so, contrary to us waiting for the blessings to come to pass, the blessings are waiting for us to get to know God to the degree that they will fall to us. And so, let’s make getting an adequate knowledge of God our priority.

Prayer_Bead: Dear Lord and my true Love, thank you for the promises of your blessings. Help me to ascend to the height of knowledge that is commensurate with the promise fulfillment. In Jesus’ name.

Wisdom_Quote: The promises of God and His blessings are waiting for our knowledge upgrade of God to come to pass.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

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God’s plan; the invariable

[The Glory Unveiled]

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. [ Proverbs 19:21 ESV ]

The human mind is a beautiful wonder. It is always at post, working. Both the renewed mind and the unrenewed minds are constantly making plans and drawing strategies. And because we have dreams and aspirations, we sometimes get lost in this spiral motion of planning and planning. Sometimes we plan even without the right resources and strategies. We just feel safe having a plan even if the plan has no chance of success. There seems to be some form of assurance and peace in having a plan. It is perhaps this peace and comfort we pursue in our ceaseless plans. But then, suddenly, the word of God drops this weight on us that unsettles everything we know about plans. We plan because we want to implement a certain vision. But planning is not nearly as important as executing the plan and thus making it come to pass or “stand” as the Bible puts it. Yet, we discover that the power to make our plans stand does not lie with us but with God. It means that we can plan for all we want but our plans are not fulfilled because we planned them. Plans always succeed because of God. And another thing about our constraints is that, it is not always what we want that God may also want. And in situations like that God’s desire will always have the upper hand. God’s purpose will always stand because in the end His purpose brings us the peace that eludes us. The purpose of God will stand in every situation against the plan of man because only He sees the end from the beginning. Therefore, the smartest move to have our plans always come to pass is to copy from God’s itinerary. When we peep into the purpose of God for us concerning something and plan accordingly, we will always have our plans standing tall in fulfillment. So, it is not for us to start planning but rather to start finding out what the purpose of God is. And then align our plans with His purpose for that thing or in that area. So, pause. Stop planning, find out what God’s purpose is first, and then you can start planning.

Prayer_Bead: Father, thank you for your invariable purpose that always stands. Help me to subject my plans to your purpose for my life and everything else. In Jesus’ name.

Wisdom_Quote: A peep into God’s purpose furnishes our plans to stand.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

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The Journey into Destiny

[The Glory Unveiled]

Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: [ Genesis 12:1 KJV ]

The journey into the believer’s destiny begins from intimacy with God. Through intimacy, the believer is equipped with every bit of information needed to discover and complete their destiny. The destiny of a person is like a puzzle. And usually, God releases each piece of the puzzle at a time and only through intimacy with Him. He does not just throw the clues at us from a distance. No, He whispers them to us in the secret place of our fellowship with Him. Reading our anchor text, we will notice that God didn’t give Abraham [then Abram] the whole map of His destiny. God needed Abram to depend on Him in every step of his journeying to the place of destiny. And so, God only gave him a rough estimate of what is expected of him but not the details. He didn’t even mention the name of the land in this text. But He did say, “I will show you.” And so, Abram will have no option than to go back to God if he wanted to get to this land that promises better than where he had been. The first statement gives us a blur peek into what had been happening. We can deduce that Abram did not go at the word of God from the beginning. The statement, “the Lord had said unto Abram” means this was not the first time that Abram was told to move from his current location to the new land. But for whatever reasons, he didn’t move immediately until this chapter of the book. And so, the verse 4, begins thus, “so, Abram departed as the Lord had spoken unto him.” The indicators that point to our destinies are coded in God, revealed only at the place of intimate fellowship with Him. Every other method to arrive at destiny without God is a grave risk. While the easiest way to reach destiny is by the word of God. Imagine if Abram had set off immediately without hesitating or “considering other possibilities” of reaching the same goal. He would have saved some time. The land of destiny is a place only God can show us. Let’s stay close to God and it will become as clear as day where God is sending us to.

Prayer_Bead: Jehovah Almighty, God who knows the end from the beginning, thank you for showing me the template of my destiny as I remain in intimate fellowship with You.

Wisdom_Quote: The land of destiny is a place only God can show the believer.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

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Over and Above

[The Glory Unveiled]

“Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]–“ [ Ephesians‬ ‭3‬:‭20‬ AMPC‬‬ ]

Love is the attribute that underscores every gesture of God towards humanity. In the verses before our focal text, the apostle Paul had prayed for his readers that they may be grounded and established in love; to understand the vastness of the love of Christ. So that like them, when we understand the depth and height of God’s love, we will never doubt God’s mighty power to work in us to accomplish all and more than our greatest requests, our most unbelievable dreams, and even exceed our wildest imaginations. He will outdo whatever records there are. He will do, over and above what is considered normal. All this is linked to the power of God’s love at work in us. The working power of God’s love compels Him to do superabundantly, far beyond whatever distance our expectations could reach. But why is all this important for us to know. It is importance for our comfort and faith in the Lord. If we understand the love of God—it’s depth and weight—we will not be moved by happenings around us nor the things that seems to question the power of our God. This was why Paul prayed for the Ephesians to come to the knowledge of the love of Christ. Love covers multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8) sometimes by ignoring all allegations and accusations. The love of God carries in its multifaceted nature, mercy and grace. A good understanding of this love dismisses doubt and anxiety. Leaning on the love of God eliminates every seed of fear and doubt and provides blessed assurance and hope, with proactive faith in God’s faithfulness. Be rest assured, by the consequences of God’s mighty power in us, He is doing more than we hoped for, to the glory of His name.

Prayer_Bead: Lord Jesus, thank you for your unconditional love. Thank you for its power at work in me, doing exceedingly more than I prayed for, to the glory of your name.

Wisdom_Quote: Love is God’s canvas for displaying His glorious attributes.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.