Tag: #ChooseChrist

[The Glory Unveiled]

“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” ( Matthew 14:28 )

There is this distinguishing characteristic of faith that sets it apart from presumption and wishful thinking. Faith always waits to hear the voice of God first before it acts. In the verse of scripture above, Peter the disciple of Jesus, had seen Jesus walking on the water towards them [in a boat]. He had faith but his faith could not have been noticed or fruitful unless he waited for the voice of God and acted accordingly. Faith is about taking a risk because God had spoken it. Usually what God would demand of us would be something almost impossible to the ordinary man. And so in an attempt to carry it out, one would need faith; the conviction and trust in God to want to risk one’s reputation and even life. Though faith demands that we wait upon the voice of God, it takes more than just hearing the voice of God to being convinced about what God says and acting according to it as if we had a title deed to what God said. In Ezekiel 37:4;7 God told the prophet Ezekiel to prophesy to dry bones, and he did. In Genesis 22:2-3;10 God told Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac to him and he followed the instructions through until God interrupted him at the very last moment. All these acts are true demonstrations of faith because they risked everything to do what God asked them to do. Has God said something in His word about you? Take a risk and act in obedience to it; that is faith.

Prayer_Bead: Father in Heaven who is not pleased without faith, teach my heart to trust in you and the strength to act out my convictions of your word.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

So Moses was educated in all the wisdom and culture of the Egyptians, and he was mighty (powerful) in his speech and deeds.
And when he was in his fortieth year, it came into his heart to visit his kinsmen the children of Israel [to help them and to care for them]. ( Acts 7:22-23 AMP)

God has a mechanism for drawing men unto Himself and for getting them to carry out spiritual tasks. Usually, God uses burdens; a feeling of discomfort and unrest in one’s soul until what is impressed upon their heart is carried out to the letter. In the verses of scripture above, we see the channel through which burdens are borne in the hearts of people. Moses was first educated in the wisdom and culture of the Egyptians, mighty in speech and deeds. So, before a burden rests in the bosom of our spirit, we need to have had knowledge or exposure of some sort in the thing that would burden us. Moses knew the ways of the Egyptians so that when God drops a burden in his heart, he could nurse it in the light of that awareness or knowledge. But the awareness or knowledge may not exactly be tangible to the one who would later carry the burden. And then the second part is that it came into his heart. After the acquaintance with the knowledge that God would burden us with, He then drops the burden in the form of a discomfort about what could be the norm of others; or a thing that others wouldn’t be so discomforted about. So that when God wants to burden us with a task, we would be given a strong desire in our hearts, one that cannot be ignored. And then we become the hand of God and the feet of God in the execution of His purposes and plans in the earth. Is God birthing a desire in your heart? Get your heart in order so that you can nurture it.

Prayer_Bead: Father I thank you for putting a burden in my heart and helping me to do what you would have me do to the praise of your name.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ( Philippians 3:13 )

Most electronic gadgets these days including all smartphones are ran by operating systems that need frequent updating. Compared to phones that need no software updates, smartphones with the need, have higher efficiency and more adaptive to current needs and trends. In the same vein, spiritually we need to update our OS (operating system). In the verse of scripture for our meditation, the apostle Paul impresses that truth in the statement, “forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead”. The truth of God’s word is in layers of revelation and exposure. One man’s level of revelation and exposure is different from another. So that two people will experience the same reality but their interpretations will be different base on their depth of revelation in the word of God. Just as whenever there is a newer version of a software, one needs to update—‘forget’ the former version, we all need to update our spiritual softwares too. We need to have the current revelation of God’s truth at all times. And the agency for the tangibility of this reality in the Believer is the Holy Spirit. He updates us by giving us the current revelation of truth which is always in sync with what God wants to do in the present season. But we have a responsibility to strain for the current “software” of the Spirit. And we strain forward in the secret place, when we have fellowship with the Spirit of truth. Does your revelation of truth need updating?.

Prayer_Bead: Father of all spirits, Lord of all lords, thank you for the constant update of the spirit by your word. Teach me to remain in the secret place until the current revelation is updated into my spirit.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ( Galatians 3:28  )

In our world today, almost everything is done on the premise of social stratification. Even T. V commercials are done from this same perspective to reach targeted consumers. We have divided humans and our way of life according to different philosophical ideologies and societal standards. The imaginary margins are drawn to separate one human from the other. But in Genesis 1:27, it was not so. God created mankind (all of humans) in his image and likeness. This means there was no disparity between humans from the beginning. We were (are) all like God. And whatever was in the beginning is the true pattern and the original intention for that thing. In the beginning, God did not put any wall of divide, be it social, political, economic, religious, tribal or racial, between those He created. In the New Testament reality verse of scripture above, the apostle Paul reiterates this truth. We are all one in Christ. The wall of divide that had separated us from God and divided us into factions had been broken when Christ Jesus went to the cross on our behalf. In Christ Jesus we have become one body even as the scripture says that we are the body of Christ—members together of one body (1Corinthians 12:27; Ephesians 3:6). Let this be our mindset so that nothing and no one would demean us or break our self esteem.

Prayer_Bead: Loving Father and King, thank you for breaking the wall of divide erected by the law and giving me access into You through Christ. My worth is not in my gender or bank account but in the finished works of Christ.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God._

[The Glory Unveiled] 

The LORD your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you. ( Deuteronomy 7:22 ) 

Sometimes what happens in our lives and around us which seem like God does not want us to be happy is actually meant to bring us the ultimate joy. It is like love “undiluted in a translucent bottle”. And as a result of the translucent nature of the covering, it is difficult to interpret the intentions of God accurately sometimes; so that we misinterpret the oracles of God as much as we misinterpret everyday life. After the Israelites had newly come into the land of their inheritance—which was at the time occupied by the other nations—-a vast land, they could not immediately fill it up. So God in His wisdom expressed his love for the people by not driving out all their enemies at once. Wow. God left some of their enemies in place to save the land from being taken over by bush and wild animals. The Israelites were not so many to fill up the land so that wild animals would not multiply and so God would have to use their enemies to drive away wild animals by allowing some of the enemies to lodge temporarily. Sometimes the presence of an “enemy” or an “oppressor” is to work the plans of God for us. So it may be that it is God that is preventing you from eliminating your “foes” at once. God is intentional about everything that concerns us. The seemingly challenging circumstances around us are making way for the expression of a greater weight of God’s glory. Hold on.

Prayer_Bead: Loving Father, thank you for your protection and display of love towards me. Even if I don’t immediately understand it, I know you love me and are committed to it.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

*GLORY NEWS BROADCAST*

[The Glory Unveiled]

Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Before our eyes, make known among the nations that you avenge the outpoured blood of your servants. ( Psalms 79:10 )

The people who “claim”, not “believe” that there is no God are quick to ask the question that makes the theme of today’s GNews. These folks, whom the Bible actually addresses, “fools” (Psalms 14:1; 53:1) think that God does not exist because if He did, they should be able to control him. Ultimately, the reason why they wouldn’t accept the existence of God is the fact that this God does not lend Himself to be handled like a guinea pig or a lab rat. By the way, no one can control Him that’s why He is God in the first place. But the point is, God has given humanity too many evidence of His existence, even His silence. The things in the world attest to the fact that there’s got to be a God out there. These created things are the voices of His invisible attributes. In the scripture above, for God to prove Himself, the speaker says God should avenge the outpoured blood of His servants. But then one would ask, is that the only thing and even closest thing that proves the existence or Omnipotence of God? Surely not. Psalms 115:3 says God lives in heaven and He does whatever pleases Him. So God could do whatever He would do when He would and how He would do it. The only reason why God would do what a man asks Him is because of the degree of the relationship that person has with Him. God would listen to Moses on almost every occasion because of this reason; intimate relationship. So God would be proved true and all men lies by women and men who have a working relationship with God. Whenever people ask “where is your God” check your relationship with Him or find out why He is silent.

Prayer_Bead: Father in heaven, Omnipotent God, thank you for silencing the nations and the people. Announce to all hearts in the silence of their souls that you are God.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God._

[The Glory Unveiled]

The LORD was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. (  Genesis 39:2 )

Joseph had come from Canaan, and as the youngest and most loved of his father’s children he probably didn’t know how to do any house chores. In chapter 37, it is recorded that his brothers had gone to the field to tend their father’s sheep but Joseph was home probably enjoying the pampering of his father.  But now in chapter 39, in a foreign land; in a home foreign to him, Joseph prospered at tasks that he had no formal skills in pursuing. How could this be? The scripture above says that he succeeded because the Lord was with him. There is something about the equation where God is the constant; it wouldn’t matter where or what comes against the variable [you]. If God be with any woman or man, who can be against them? God with man is the surest insurance of soul, body and spirit. With the display of this truth as reality in Joseph’s life, we can be assured that having God in our lives is a cinch that whatever we do is going to be successful. If God is with any man or woman, that individual’s life becomes a wonder that cannot be denied. So that even strange men and women and even nations would come to our light or acknowledge it. Joseph lived in his masters house because he was an advantage to the household. Excellence will always make room for us anywhere.

Prayer_Bead: Sculptor of destinies and designer of purposes, give me success in everything I do so that the world may know that you are with me.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God._

GLORY NEWS BROADCAST

[The Glory Unveiled]

For the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a great army, so that they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings to attack us!” ( 2Kings 7:6 )

The people of Israel had been plagued by a famine. It was so severe that the whispers of hope could not reach the ears of the oppressed. There was no light of hope that could break through their darkness so that one captain said that even if the Lord should open windows in heaven nothing could be done about their situation. But four lepers came to the crossroads of life and death and they decided to take a step of faith. One that was a life and death transaction. They asked themselves in verse 3 of the same chapter, “…why do we sit here untill we die?” This question awoken a determination in them to do something about their crisis. Often in the midst of crisis, we see people dejected and adamant about what goes on. We have a tendency of compromising and adapting to anything even the worst of situations simply because we would not rather exercise our faith. Four men who would have been regarded as non essential members of society had changed the destiny of a whole nation because they decided to make a move; take a step of faith. Imagine the good we could do and the lives we would affect with a simple decision to go all out in the direction of our faith and conviction. Whenever we go all out in the direction of our faith, God magnifies our input so that the output is astronomical. God will amplify our efforts so that it would yield supernatural results.

Prayer_Bead: Heavenly Father, thank you for amplifying my faith and causing my helpers to hear me and my adversaries to flee before me. In Jesus name.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God._

[The Glory Unveiled]

Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. ( Isaiah 66:8 )

The things we call impossible and unachievable attained those names because no one had travailed enough to change that status and narrative. But that does not really mean that they are unachievable. In the realm of the spirit, there are no boundaries and impossibilities. Imagine that iniquity was found in Lucifer while he was still in heaven. How could it be? There are no impossibilities in that realm. And as believers we are opportuned to translate the realities of the spirit realm into our earthly sphere. Whatever is possible in the realm beyond ours is replicable in ours. The scripture says “…as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth”. If we want to manifest any reality or bring forth anything, we need to travail in prayers. So that if we are not seeing the results we want, it may mean that we are not travailing in prayer as we should. Earnest prayers carry the potential to change every possibility that is unfavorable. The undesirable circumstances of our lives will only haunt us as long as we allow them. If we want to see change we need to do something we weren’t doing before. What we carry in our spirits will only see the light of day when we travail. Like a pregnant woman, we need to push until what we carry on our inside is seen on the outside. If our lives are not yielding the results God has deposited in us, then it means we are hoarding what we carry instead of travailing to let it out. What we carry on the inside is only useful on the outside, so let us travail to let it out for the glory of God.

Prayer_Bead: Father in heaven, Lord of all, thank you for the weight of glory I carry on my inside. Give me the strength and grace to travail so that the world would see it.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. ( Romans 1:20 )

Excuses have air lifted so many potentials and dreams from the theatre of preparation to the dump site of nonfulfillment. Many have lost the bearing and the compass that leads them to the true north of their purpose because of neglect born out of excuses. Excuses relieve us from taking responsibilities for ourselves and the things and people under our care. Excuses also create the false impression of comfort and peace so that we can lazy around. But the truth is that excuses are like narcotic drugs; they only make you high for a few minutes and then drop you from your glorified height just like how iniquity pulled Lucifer from the highest place to the lowest point. God’s invisible qualities [attributes] are not only enshrined in the Bible but openly exhibited in creation. The things God has made announce these qualities—the power and nature—of God. And the reason for which God permits His creation to display these attributes of God is for us to be without excuses. No man on the great day of reckoning can make any excuses that they didn’t get the opportunity to hear the word of God. Those excuses would have been nullified by the visible creations of God that explicitly display the nature and power of God. So people are without excuses because of God’s creation and actually, excuses only expose the irresponsibility of people.

Prayer_Bead: Invisible God, immortal King, Lord of lords, thank you for teaching me that I am without excuses in the areas of your purpose for my life and my stewardship to you.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.