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[The Glory Unveiled ]

In the first year of his (Darius son of Xerxes) reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. ( Daniel 9:2 )

The word of God carries within it the knowledge that represents our freedom. Some Israelites had been exiled from their home country, and sent to Babylon. After a long time, some begun to find a new home in the foreign land. They had almost forgotten that they had come from another place. While others diligently waited for the deliverance of the Lord. And yet that deliverance seem to be forever away from them. After some years, Daniel decided to refer to the scriptures for solution. He found out that God had said something to them on the matter: their predicament was for a period of seventy years. But did you know that if they had spent a little over the seventy years it would have been their doing? [Some extra biblical materials suggest it was over seventy years]. Now what does that mean to us today? God is telling us today to discover for ourselves His promises and plans for us in the Scriptures and act accordingly. The solution or freedom we seek is only guaranteed in the confines of God’s Word. But we cannot know it unless we discover it and act by them. Like Daniel, let us go back to the scriptures to discover what God is saying about our current circumstances and current world events.

Prayer_Bead: Jehovah God, my Lord and King, teach me your statutes and your precepts. Order my steps in your word. Help me to discover your plans for me in your word.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled ]

“Ah, Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am only a child. [ Jeremiah 1:6  ]

Behind the scenes, fear is the real excuse for non performance and neglect of the call of God upon us. Underneath all the beautiful excuses people give for not wanting to carry out their calling is fear. The fear of what could be and what may not be. It is nothing other than what “ifs”, “I can’ts” “whys” etc. These questions and statements we give permission to stop us from acting are actually the voice of fear. When God called Jeremiah as a young boy, he too like many others before him was afraid and wanted to reject the call. But in verse 8 of our focal chapter, we see God talk about Jeremiah’s problem; fear. The Bible says we have not been given a spirit of fear [by God]. So anytime we become afraid, we must be quick to realize that the devil is at it again, trying to dissuade us from following the path of God for us. Fear has stopped many great dreams from seeing the light of day and many desires and aspirations failed because of this same plague. If we would let go of fear, we would see God’s glory. We would manifest dimensions of God’s glory the world is yet to see. But the first step is to let go of fear as it is not of God but the devil. Like light, when faith appears, fear (darkness) flees. The two cannot stay together. God tells Jeremiah that He (God) is with him so that he could have faith and not fear. The same is true in our case. God is with us. We can do whatever God says we should do.

Prayer_Bead: Father in Heaven, thank you for your word. Help me to trust in your word. Let fear be far from me as the east is from the west so that I may fulfill my calling.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. ( John 13:17 )

There is a common statement that says there is nothing free, even in Freetown. Usually, whatever we see to be free cost someone else something. So in that regard nothing can actually be free in the “free” sense of the word. In the body of Christ, the concept of free has excused many of us from our responsibilities, making the majority of believers lazy. There are those who still believe that manna would just fall from heaven into their laps—yes, miracles do happen. But a General of the faith once said that more miracles happen with a prepared mind. Jesus had just taught His disciples a very important lesson that needed emulation. But He (in our focal verse) tells His disciples that knowing about the lesson is not enough. Because mere knowledge wouldn’t permit the blessings to come upon a person. What allows the blessings is the doing of what we have been told to do. Almost every believer knows of the blessings of God recorded in scripture and often claim them by word of mouth. But it is only a few who dare to go beyond “I receive” to doing what is required to acquire it. In the Old Testament (Ezra 9:12) the LORD told his people that they would eat the good of the land if they do not do certain things. So even then, the blessing came with a responsibility. Responsibilities protect the blessings of the Lord against abuse. So that any one willing to take responsibilities for the blessings could partner in it. We would be blessed if we do what we know to do that God impresses on us to do. We participate in the blessing by partaking in the responsibility.

Prayer_Bead: Awesome God, Faithful Father, thank you for your words. I pray that you will guide me by Your Holy Spirit to do all that is required of me to partake in your blessings.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” ( John 12:28 )

In the shadow of the cross, few days to His crucifixion, Jesus had a short but intense conversation with God in the presence of other people. He had prayed the words of that first line in the verse of scripture we are considering for today’s devotional study. And then immediately, almost as in a dialogue, God [the father] responded to the Son in the hearing of the people present; even though most of the people could not decipher what was said or who said it (verse 29). In the verse 30, He said that the voice of the Father was for the benefit of the crowd. Now, that goes to mean that Jesus wanted us to learn a thing or two from that encounter. The account teaches us that God is a relational God. He loves to commune with us when we pray. God speaks, God responds to us when we pray to Him. Anytime we pray to God, there should be a response from the other end of the conversation. When we truly engage in prayer, God would respond to us. He hears, He knows, He loves. When we pray, we need to be assured that God hears us. Irrespective of our location, once the terms of the conversation is met, God hears us. And if we have this assurance that God hears us, we must approach our prayer closets with confidence from hence forth (1John5:14). This should give us settled and absolute knowledge (trust) that God would do what we ask. God would glorify Christ in us when we fellowship with Him in the sincerity of heart.

Prayer_Bead: Creator of all created things, both visible and invisible, Lover of my soul, thank you for communing with me when I pray. Teach me to recognize your voice when you speak.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him. ( John 12:10-11 )

Lazarus had just been raised from the dead and many well wishers came by to see him. But more than that, many of the well wishers had come because of Jesus, the man who had performed the miracle. The chief priests and the Pharisees would not accept that because they were afraid that Jesus would gain world recognition and they may lose their nation and synagogue to the Romans (see John 11:48). Even though our miracles usually attract people to us, the verses of scripture for our meditation today teaches that sometimes our miracles may irritate some people, inviting attacks upon us as in the case of Lazarus. Once we belong to the family of God, there will always be those [people and forces] who want nothing good to come our way. So while we pray for the miracles we should prepare for the attacks that may be attracted to us. Mr. Lazarus properly had no idea that his miracle became a matter for discussion among the higher strata of society. In other news, it is safe to assume that the chief priests planned to kill Lazarus because he brought many to Jesus. Beloved in the LORD, your work of ministry, aimed at populating the kingdom of God may be a bother to many people and forces. As such, while we pursue miracles, we should pursue Christ more. We should love the Lord more than we love miracles.

Prayer_Bead: Thank You Lord for my miracles today and everyday. But more than the miracles, help me to know you more. In Jesus’ name.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.