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[The Glory]

I slept but my heart was awake. Listen! My lover is knocking: “Open to me, my sister, my darling, my dove, my flawless one. My head is drenched with dew, my hair with the dampness of the night.” ( Song of Solomon 5:2 )

The text used in today’s devotion may be misconstrued by many as unspiritual, as it speaks about two lovers. But “my lover” as used in the verse connotes the personality of the Holy Spirit while “my sister, my darling, my dove and my flawless one” represents you–the reader. Our hearts must be spiritually awake at all point in order to hear the knocking of the Spirit of God on our hearts. The Holy Spirit will whisper to our conscience through the door of our hearts to teach us what we do not know. Like the lovers in the text above, the Holy Spirit always knocks on our hearts by prompting us to do or not to do certain things. It is the state of our hearts–whether asleep or awake–that determines whether and when we will hear Him. The Spirit of God will not forcefully break into any heart. He will knock, and we are to hear and answer the call. Let us awaken our hearts to the call of the Holy Spirit in obedience to God’s word.

Prayer_Bead: Holy Spirit, lover of my soul, awaken my heart to your call and whispers. Let my heart yearn for you as the deer pants for water.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled ]

By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. ( Hebrews 11:3)

There is no level of spiritual growth that can be attained without faith. There is no divine understanding that can be received unless by faith. There are certain mysteries that we cannot comprehend just by reading about them. Such can only be understood through faith. Literally speaking, one would ask how could God create the vast universe by the word of His mouth. And how could he call something out of nothing? The human mind is just incapable of holding some celestial truth. But when faith subdue the ideology and thinking trend and pathways of man, we begin to understand and believe what other people—whose gods are their bellies and eyes—cannot substantiate. Faith takes the full weight of eternal truth and compress it to the assimilation of time for the glorification of divinity. This is the mystery of faith.

Prayer_Bead: Father, who in time past called light out of darkness and still calls eternity out of us, break the captivity of my understanding. Let the eyes of my understanding be opened by faith in Christ.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

“It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be a house of prayer’; but you have made it ‘a den of robbers.'” ( Luke 19:46 )

Our bodies are temples of the living God and in these temples, prayer and supplications are to be conveyed to heaven. Like the tabernacle of old, the body of man is a house of prayer and communion. So, Jesus in redefining and refining the desires of God for His house used the words, “…..true worshippers will worship in spirit and in truth.” This emphasized the revelation that our bodies which houses our spirits and soul—the aspect that appreciates the truth of God’s Word is truly the temple of the true worshippers. Don’t let anything, activities and rituals rob you of the true benefits of recognizing and making use of your body as a temple of prayer. The body is made for God and not God, for the body. So let us submit God’s temple to His influence and power of fellowship in order that we may see the manifestations of God.

Prayer_Bead: Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for opening my eyes to the truth of your word. Teach me to repel and resist the robbery of this world and its systems.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

Look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth. When I called him he was but one, and I blessed him and made him many. ( Isaiah 51:2 )

Our spiritual ancestors laid a foundation and a precept for us to walk in. From the records carved by the lives they lived, we can have a well defined path for our feet. So God speaking through the prophet Isaiah said we should look to Abraham and Sarah–as a pattern and an example of the Patriarchs–in our walk. God called Abraham as an individual but through obedience and commitment, he became a nation of many people—through his seed. There is power and life  in the blood of every animal, so that our source always has a vital role to play in the outcome of our lives. This is why we need to disconnect from any system that will not allow us to learn. Everyone needs a teachable heart because the world is full of unknown truth. So is the need for a mentor or a father figure.

Prayer_Bead: Holy Spirit of God, lead me in the path of the Patriarchs. Help me to humbly learn their precepts and submit to your ways by their examples.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’ ( Jeremiah 33:3 )

In times of need, who do we first turn to? The people we first call on reveal a lot about our priorities and trust. Likewise, our priorities tell the kind of person we are and what we want from life. Do we turn to friends or Google before God? “Call to me” means God is ready, able and willing to listen to us and also provide the help we need. But the prerequisite is to call on Him. Make a call of prayer today. Dial those ‘heavenly numbers’ and connect to the towers of Heaven through the portals of Jesus’s name. Don’t tell Jesus only after you think all your options have failed you or may fail you. We need to learn to turn to Jesus in all and every circumstance. Mostly, we worry because we do not know the future, but the Lord Jesus who knew our future before we were born is certainly well equipped to help and rid us of fear and worry.

Prayer_Bead: Lord Jesus, teach me to trust in you and to call to you in all things. Save me from my fears and doubts. Teach me how to prioritise right in making decisions.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. ( 2 Corinthians 3:18 )

What aspect of the Lord does the world see in you? There is an aspect of God impressed on our spirit that comes alive when we behold His glory. No one encounters God and remains the same, especially when they see (experience) His glory–the tangible influence of His nature. We are transformed into the very image of God when we don’t veil our faces from the astonishing glory of God revealed to us through fellowship. When Moses descended from the presence of God, the glory of God remained on Him, so that the Israelites became afraid and Moses had to cover his face. But mysteriously, If they had stared at Moses they would have been affected by the same influence because the influence of God’s glory is contagious. The Spirit of God will cause the glory of God expressed through us as a result of our encounter with Him to increase from one level of glory to the other until the whole world is filled with the knowledge of God’s glory. Hallelujah!

Prayer_Bead: Spirit Divine, unveil the glory of your presence in me. Let the world see your glory as I fellowship with you.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[ The Glory Unveiled ]

When they had all had enough to eat, he [Jesus] said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” ( John 6:12 )

NB~[Jesus made this statement after feeding 5,000 men with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes.]

Most humans seem to have a helpless inclination to being wasteful. We love to discard things so easily. The filth around us reiterate the truth of this statement. Once we get what we want from someone or something, we discard them. We don’t seem to think the afterwards. Jesus, our model is not wasteful. As a good Shepherd, He will leave the 99 and go after the one. This is the nature of the man we imitate and hope to be like both on the inside and outside of ourselves. He has an attitude of love, compassion and possessiveness. We need to hold in high esteem anything and everything under our care. Multiplication comes by faithful stewardship in the economy of our kingdom. Let nothing be wasted.

Prayer_Bead: Lord Jesus, the Shepherd of my soul and spirit, instill in me the attitude of management and responsibility.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. ( John 16:13 )

Our level of experience and revelation into the things of the Spirit is largely dependent on our level of submission to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will guide us to the depth of truth when we submit to walk with Him and choose Him. So that the degree of our exposure to spiritual realities is dependent on the degree of our willingness to submit and consciously relate with the Spirit of Truth. Similarly, our degree of authority in Christ is the degree to which we commit to the Holy Spirit’s influence. In truth, the Holy Spirit can only guide us into all truth when we make Him the only guide of our souls. But if we continue to conflict the guidance of the Holy Spirit with the temporary pleasures of this world, we may stagnate in the ocean of ignorance and ineffectiveness. Let us submit to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer_Bead: Holy Spirit, my Lord and guide, lead me into the truth of the mysteries of God by helping me to submit my understanding to you.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. ( 1Peter 4:1 )

Prayer_Bead: Lord Jesus, arm me with the attitude of your mind. Help me to open up to your teachings and let the things of this world grow strangely in the eyes of my desires.

Attitude determines the overall (persona) behavioural expression of a person. The Lord Jesus while He walked the earth had a mental attitude that distinguished Him from the people around Him. His attitude kept Him on a predetermined course, in spite of what His environment dictated. Let us permit the mindset of Christ, to tear down the wall of our philosophies and ideology. Because until our attitude is align to His, we cannot be like Him, thus we cannot reflect the nature of God. When we understand and crystallise the attitude and mindset of our role model—Jesus, we are able to mirror Him very well. Jesus understood the need for suffering in the flesh as a prerequisite for the attainment of salvation for humanity. So that when we believe that we have suffered with Christ, we are free from sin and its penalty. So let us embrace the same mental attitude as believers.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?” “Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a little oil.” ( 2Kings 4:2 )

“She” in the verse is the wife of a deceased prophet whose ex-husband was in debt. Now, the creditors came to collect their money or take the widow’s two children away. So the widow came to the prophet Elisha for help. She probably thought the prophet will just hand the money to her. But, no…the money was in her own house all along except in a seed form. There are times when the provisions of God seem like a lie–false hope. But reality is that, God always gives seed in every new beginning. The little oil she had was the seed for abundance just as in Jesus’ day, the five loaves of bread and two fishes for 5,000 people. God will always give seed and then give you the ability to reproduce and multiply it. Do you have something that seem insignificant and so you despise it? Know this, that small ‘something’ is a seed, water it and it will multiply. Even if it is a business idea or a creative design, it is a seed that can become something bigger. Hold on, and believe in it.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.