Tag: #ChooseChrist

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Shipwrecked faith


[The Glory Unveiled]

Holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith. ( 1Timothy 1:19 )

Faith is the bedrock of our relationship with God in Christ Jesus. Without which it is impossible to please God (see Hebrews 11:6). But in the ocean of life, our human nature and frailties will need an anchor to attach the ship of our faith to. The apostle Paul teaches that there’s no better anchor than a good conscience. The thing about conscience is that all humans have it; regardless of race or gender, faith or tribe, we all have a conscience. But conscience alone is not enough. What will stand the storms and test of life’s ocean is a good conscience. That not withstanding, a good conscience is not automatic. A conscience becomes good only after it has fraternized with the word of God by the Spirit of regeneration. Without a good conscience our faith, though faith, will suffer shipwreck when the tides become strong and deadly. A good conscience has a voice foreign to the status quo and the current trends of the world. It’s voice is synchronous with the word of God and what the Spirit of God will permit. But the scary thing is that, a good conscience can be rejected just as the Spirit of God can be resisted (rejected). A good conscience can be resisted and rejected through the hardening of hearts and ceasing to hear the good word of God consistently. May we not be counted among them that reject a good conscience and whose faith is heading for an irretrievable loss.

Prayer_Bead: Author and Finisher of our faith, thank you for the wonderful opportunity of your word. May my faith stand the storms of life as you refine my conscience by your word.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

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Stay in the land of promise


[The Glory Unveiled]

The LORD, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father’s household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give this land’ —he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there. ( Genesis 24:7 )

The verse of scripture speaks about how Abraham sent his servant to find a wife for his son, Isaac. But we are not exactly going to talk about marriage. Abraham had been in his father’s house almost half his life. And then the word of God came for him to leave his father’s household and his native land—Abraham’s ministry and calling was international. The Lord said He will give him a particular land, later to be called Canaan. The original rendition is translated as “…this land”. God was intentional and very specific about what He was giving Abraham. At the time Abraham had not yet received the land though it was stored for him. Now, Isaac was Abraham’s only son and the “extension” of his life. If Isaac should leave that land to settle in another place as a result of his getting married, it may take a longer time for the realization of that promise. This was why when the servant asked Abraham whether he should take Isaac to the land of his search if the woman refuses to come with him, Abraham said, no (Read all of Genesis 24). Location matters in matters concerning destiny. Isaac was supposed to stay at the place where God was going to give Abraham, no matter what. So that even after Abraham is dead and gone, his descendants could still inherit it; even though we know that his great grandchildren were displaced from the land, the tales of the land being theirs by promise would have outlived them. Whenever God gives us a promise, we need to heavily guard it until it’s fruition.

Prayer_Bead: The Lord, the God of heaven, thank you for the word of promise in Christ Jesus. I align to live out those promises and to bring to bear the full expression of Christ in my generation.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

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Draw near!


[The Glory Unveiled]

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double minded. ( James 4:8 )

The distance between us and God is proportional to the distance between God and us. This means that God is as close to us as we are to Him. The relationship between God and Moses [we would agree] was different from the one between God and the rest of the people of Israel. But why was that? Was God being partial? No, the apostle Peter says in the Acts of the apostles that there is no partiality with God. The only explanation to why God would be closer to one person more than He would be to another is because the earlier person has decided to be closer to God than the later. Just as in any relationship, our relationship with God requires work; consciously committing to the responsibilities that would make the relationship intimate. God is only obliged to draw near to us when we draw near to Him in desperate and exclusive need of Him. God will not share our hearts with another (between two). So it says to the double minded (anyone concentrating on two things or people) to purify their hearts. Once our hearts are properly aligned, our minds will pick up the effect and depend solely on God. God is not far from us, we are rather far from Him. So let us draw near to God and He will draw near to us!

Prayer_Bead: Gracious Lord, loving Father, thank you for your word. Strengthen me to draw near to you. Pitch my heart in your Holy presence and keep my gaze on you.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

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Everyday Choices

[The Glory Unveiled]

But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” ( Joshua 24:15 )

Everyday we are faced with a responsibility we cannot shirk; making choices. Choices are so compelling and mandatory that we cannot avoid them. So that deciding not to decide is a decision. This is why no matter how spiritual we become, wealthy or poor, we will still have that non transferable responsibility of making choices. The Israelites under the leadership of Joshua had to make a very important decision; one that was going to separate them into two distinct groups. The choice of who they were going to serve. Yes, even the Israelites who were (are) the chosen nation of God and the firstborn among nations had to choose to serve God. Serving God wasn’t automatic or imposed on them. They had the opportunity to choose if they wanted to be with God or a god. And then Joshua goes on to make his choice. No matter who we are or what level we are, we daily have to make choices. But to save ourselves a lot of heartaches and pains, it would be better to seek the mind of God in every issue, even the smallest of them all. The Holy Spirit is our guide, meaning He can show us the right way to go [but He will not choose it for us.] Knowing the right thing to do increases our chances of choosing the right thing. As we decide today and everyday who we shall serve through our actions and words, may the Spirit of God guide us.

Prayer_Bead: Jehovah is your name, Mighty Father, thank you for the opportunity to choose to serve you and to live for you. Supply me strength and grace to live for you alone.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

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Not disadvantaged

[The Glory Unveiled]

Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices. ( 2 Corinthians 2:11 )

Ignorance is a powerful tool in the hand of the devil. Throughout the Bible we see how the devil has been using ignorance to destroy God’s people. In Hosea 4:6, the Bible actually records that God’s people are destroyed for lack of knowledge (ignorance). An athlete can be very good and experienced but a novice will outrun him if that novice is more advantaged. What the devil seeks to do sometimes is not to stop us from praying or the things of God but to add a weight that will disadvantage us in spite of our busyness with the things of God. This is why many believers are busy about the work of God, running up and down but not effective. Ignorance of the devices of the enemy gives the devil an undue advantage. Imagine having to fight with someone whose battle strategies and ammunitions you do not know. How are you going to fight that battle successfully? Yes, it is true that we are not exactly fighting with the devil but claiming the victory of Christ for ourselves through faith in His finished works. But it is also true that ignorance of the schemes of the enemy puts one in a very compromising situation because it delays our experience of these realities we claim by faith—we would shout or sing of the truth of Jesus’ works and yet not experientially partake in it. So how do we know the devices of the enemy? The word of God exposes the devil, his lies and his schemes. So we become aware of his schemes in the word of God. Let us study the word to show ourselves approved and placed in advantage.

Prayer_Bead: Alpha and Omega, Father of all spirits, thank you for exposing the devices of the devil through your word. And by your word, let your glory be seen through me.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.