Tag: #ChooseChrist

[The Glory Unveiled]

But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. ( 2Kings 5:11)

Perceptions control our general outlook on life. It is like a lens through which we see the world; a filter through which all our life’s realities are viewed. So that what we see through the lens of perception is not or may not really be what really exists. So we could say its a realty distorter because perception alters reality. Naaman had been suffering from leprosy and when the time came for him to be healed, his perception of how the healing and deliverance should be carried out robbed him of the healing he would have instantly enjoyed. In that moment, if he had just taken the man of God’s instruction without filtering it through the lens of his perception, he would have been immediately healed. Like Naaman, we all have invisible filters that translate what we see as reality. Unfortunately, like Naaman’s filter, our views are distorted through the warped lens of our perception. But there is another filter; the word of God which is able to show the true nature and appearance of what we see. It portrays things the way they are supposed to be. Whenever God speaks a word to us, two things happens which determine what outcome we experience. When we hear the word and allow the desires of the flesh and the world’s systems to filter it through our perception we would not experience what God’s word promises. But on the other hand, when we filter the things of God with the word of God, then we would see clearly God’s love and plans for us.

Prayer_Bead: My Father and my God, perforate my thoughts with your word and filter through my beliefs, that I may perceive things as you would.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

Be on your guard [constantly alert], and watch and pray; for you do not know when the time will come. ( Mark 13:33 )

This year, 2020 has taught us a lot of lessons. One of the major lessons of this year is the fact that we should be on our guard; we should be constantly alert. We do not ‘know’ when the “time” will be. The Bible says in Deuteronomy 29:29 that the secret things belong to God, but those He revealed are for us and our children so that we may follow all the words of the law. Also Proverbs 25:2, says that the glory of God is to conceal a matter and to search it out is the glory of Kings. Because we do not naturally know all things, we need to search them out. The word of God itself in its entity is like a precious treasure concealed in a field [Matthew 13:44]. It takes unearthing the field to find it. Most of the words are concealed mysteries that take more than just casually reading through the pages of the Bible to unravel them. The physical world we see around us is only a shadow of a bigger world beyond the reach of the physical eyes. So being alert and on our guard means being perceptible to the things around us especially the ones that are not seen by the ordinary eyes. When Jesus asked his disciples to watch and pray in Mark 14:38, he Himself was alert. And so his spiritual senses were open to what was going to happen to him. Elijah was also so spiritually alert that when he was surrounded by an army, he didn’t panic because he saw beyond the human enemy army to angelic beings that were ready to fight for him. In times like these when the devil roams about seeking to devour ignorant people, we need the antennae of our spiritual pinnacles heightened. And this can only be achieved in prayer; in continuous persistent prayer because the culture of prayer, makes us alert.

Prayer_Bead: God of the night watches, protector and defender of the defenseless, thank you for the grace to constantly be on my guard through persistent prayer.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

And Enoch walked [in habitual fellowship] with God; and he was not, for God took him [home with Him]. ( Genesis 5:24 )

Enoch seem to be a mystery in the Genesis accounts. Not so much was written about him but the little glimpse we have of him speaks volumes about his personality. There are only a few names mentioned in Genesis who walked with God. A careful study of the scriptures reveal that during the time of Genesis chapter 5, people didn’t really regard God. So that later Noah would be referred to as a man blameless in His generation. Meaning the people were living carelessly. In Enoch’s time, people were just beginning to know the Lord and you know what they say about the beginning of anything. So for Enoch to stand out among all these amateur [naive] God chasers meant that he did something extraordinary; something the rest didn’t or couldn’t do. He mastered something that made him stand out. He mastered the secret place. He learnt to depend on God [Hebrews 11:5]. If you lived in a farming community, you would likely see a dog following a farmer/hunter or walking along side its owner. Now the dog follows its owner usually not because it doesn’t know the way that leads to the farm. No, it is because it trusts its owner and it habitual goes like that with its owner every time. So that way, it has become used to going alongside or behind its owner. The secret place is almost like that. It takes a lot of habitual [intentional] repetition of priestly duties and trusting in God wholeheartedly. It takes consistency in prayer. Committing to a pattern of life and becoming synonymous to that pattern of life. And then when we become consumed with the presence of God, we become lost in God.

Prayer_Bead: God of the secret place, lover of my soul, thank you for this template you have shown me through the life of Enoch, your son.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. ( Genesis 11:6 )

The statement above was made by the Almighty. And here’s a little background to the verse of scripture above: the people of the world had come together to build a Tower that reaches to the heavens. Before long, their plan was making significant progress and it was evident that in no time they would succeed in their plan. The emphasis that gave them success was not the fact that they were hardworking, it was rather because they spoke the same language. The unity of language gave them unity of purpose as well. There is something about speaking the same language that is so powerful. So whenever the Spirit of God gives us utterance into the language of heaven, tremendous power is made available through the language. Just as God said nothing would be impossible to the people of old because of the unity of their language, speaking the language of the Spirit gives us a platform for possibilities. In the first verse of the chapter, the people are described as having the same language and speech. And then in the next verse after our focal verse [verse 7], the Lord says [the only way] to stop these people from succeeding is to confuse their language so that they would not understand each other. But why not make them sick or weak or something else? Why touch their language? What has language got to do with building a tower? Language has everything to do with every spiritual thing and every physical thing has a spiritual dimension. So language has everything to do with everything physical as a result. As believers we have a language [tongues] that confuses the kingdom of darkness. This language makes power available to us. In the comfort of this language all things are possible. Let us subscribe to this language by the anointing of the Holy Spirit and engage it for victory on every side.

Prayer_Bead: King of Kings and Lord of Lords, thank you for the gift of the language of the spirit. As I engage it, make tremendous power available for me.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. ( Hebrews 11:8 )

God knows the destination of all our lives’ journeys. He sees the end from the beginning so nothing surprises Him. When our father, Abraham was called from his father’s house to go to a place unfamiliar and unknown to him, God didn’t make any promises, and he didn’t give the full details of the journey. Almost everything was classified by God. He did not disclose so many things to Abraham from the beginning. He was literally in the dark about almost everything. Usually God would call everyone in similar manner and pattern. So that when we take a leap of faith to go where He says to go, it means we have qualified to know the promises and the packages. But unless we first decide to take that first step even though nothing seem clear, we have not what it takes to go on with God. Part of the package for reaching the destination is the demand to trust absolutely in God for everything and anything. We see that Abraham didn’t know initially that where he was going was actually his inheritance. We could say that Abraham at the time had no fixed inheritance of his own because he was actually called from his father’s house; not his own house. But taking that step meant he was willing to enter the school of trusting and depending on God. And yes, trust is the heart of faith. Without trust, there is no faith and without faith it is impossible to please God.

Prayer_Bead: Righteous Father, Gracious God, thank you for teaching me that trust is the heart of my faith. Help me to trust you even when my senses disagree with your promises.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future–all are yours, ( 1 Corinthians 3:21-22 )

Imagine owning an estate and yet not having a home or place to sleep. Such a paradox is the reality of many a believer. It is a common culture among some people to boast about people they know or are related to. These people may be their church leaders, bosses, mentors or celebrities. They make boastings with these people to feel important and self assured, secure people’s admiration or inflate their ego. Whereas the reality is that, we have everything at our disposal. Everything we need and would ever need is already ours. But then, statements like these may sound ridiculous though true. This truth carries a weight of life in the spiritual realm that cannot be contested. The realm of the spirit is like a cloud account of some sort, where documents, pictures and videos are stored. Now if someone should take that phone or device, the videos and documents would not be found in the phone’s memory. That means that those documents are not accessible on the go by the phone but that does not mean that they do not exist. It only mean that it is kept behind a veil that needs certain laws engaged to access. With data and the right technical steps, the information in the cloud account would be accessible and visible on the phone or device. It is the same with us. Whatever we need, health, finance, marriage, children, food, fees, life, the future e.t.c are all behind the veil of the spirit, accessible by engaging the right keys and laws. But it is not enough to know that all things are ours, just as it is not enough to know there are information in a cloud account. The information only becomes useful when accesed. So how do we access all the promises of God in Christ Jesus? We access them by faith in Christ. We take them by faith and we make them tangible by love. So with faith and love in our hearts we have all we need in the now and the future. All things are ours!

Prayer_Bead: Father in whom all things have their existence and being, thank you for the provisions of Your grace.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ( Matthew 10:30 )

Assuming you don’t like candies but you were given about 800 pieces of little candies for free. Would you be eager to keep count of them? All things being equal, you wouldn’t see the need to. The earlier verse of scripture describes how God is concerned about little sparrows, which cost almost nothing and how that not even one falls to the ground without the consent of God. And then in comparison, in this verse, He talks about our hair. The average human head has over 100,000 hair follicles. But in the verse above, we discover that God has our hairs numbered. And the meaning of the statement is fascinating and it also emphasizes the importance and value God attaches to us. God having all our hairs  numbered means that God knows each hair strand by its number. So that if hair number 75 falls to the ground, God is aware. This is so comforting to know that God cares enough to know the very hair of our head by their position and number. So here’s a thought: if God is so careful to consider our hair, and even Sparrows of the air, why would He not be concerned about our ultimate wellbeing? God is concerned about the prosperity of our souls and bodies. God cares about us enough to care about the things we don’t care so much about ourselves. Today and everyday, let us walk in this consciousness that God loves us and is concerned about the well-being of our spirits, souls and bodies.

Prayer_Bead: Jesus, lover of my soul, spirit and body, my redeemer and friend, thank you for your love for me. Help me to trust in your love.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. ( 2 Corinthians 9:8 )

God is able to do all things at His will and pleasure. But then, sometimes He allows the miry clay experience; He permits us to go through trying times—through thorns and pains. And in the process we have inscriptions [scars] of the pains and hurts, but in His omniscience, he uses those experiences and the wheal of our suffering as the evidence of His Omnipotence, testifying to the world through our flesh that He has been good to us. And then even our wheal can give us pleasure in the leisure time of life. Usually, God would permit earthly blessings and favours to collide with us in the doorway of hardship and frustration. So that we would lack nothing, being self-sufficient and in need of no aid or assistance. In the moment of despair and hopelessness, God would give us reasons to smile again. So if this moment seem to give you no reasons to smile or want to live, remember this: God works all things for our ultimate good. The experiences of yesterday carved today out the way it is and those of today are crafting the glory of tomorrow. Nothing is constant in the spirit sphere except God and His sovereignty. So whatever negativity confronts us is time bound, it would soon be no more. The love of God has made all grace to abound for us. Let us plunge into our inheritance.

Prayer_Bead: Jehovah Jireh, the Lord my provider, thank you for the provisions of grace by the cross. I abound in every good work, in Jesus’ name.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God._

[The Glory Unveiled]
theme: the secret place

But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. ( Matthew 6:6 )

The secret place is one’s sacred place where communion takes place. It is a place of prayer and enlightenment. And for any place to qualify as a secret place, ideally, the place must be limited to the visitor of that place alone. The place should not be crowded with other people because the secret place is a place of dialogue between God and man. Just as intimacy or intercourse in the physical is not done in the open, the fellowship of the secret place, in like manner is to be carried out in secret. A more photographic description of the secret place is the sacred place of old; the tabernacle [the tent of meeting] where the tangible presence of God resided. The high priest was the only one privileged to enter the Most Holy place. The innermost court was not allowed to be crowded by people, not even the other priests. Only one man, the high priest was privileged to be there at a point in time. The secret place as a sacred place must be engaged in a reverential and saintly manner, not losing its spiritual essence nonetheless. The statement, “…go into your room, close the door…” is descriptive of isolation to God, having an exclusive interaction with God. Another graphic design of the secret place was Moses’ visit to the mountain of God to commune with God for 40 days. Anytime he wanted to commune with God, he was in the presence of God alone. One time when he decided to go with Joshua, his aide, Joshua still had to wait for him at the foot of the mountain and Moses entered the secret place alone. Our rewards [response] comes faster in the secret place because the secret place offers a kind of face to face interface in our fellowship experience with God. When we pray [want to really commune with God], let us go to the secret place and not just any place.

Prayer_Bead: The life giver of all flesh and light giver in the secret place, flood my heart with light. Let my understanding be fruitful as I frequent the secret place.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

And he [Jesus] asked them, “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” ( Matthew 22:20-21 )

The Herodians and the disciples of the Pharisees had been sent to engage Jesus in a discourse. Though at face value they brought up the issue of payment of taxes, the ulterior motive that incited this conversation was to trap Jesus in his words. Now, the question was whether or not taxes should be paid to Caesar? Jesus requested that the coin used for the payment be brought to him and then he asked the questions above. Now the statement, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s” gives us a platform to explore the subject matter in a spiritual context. Jesus asked them to give back to Caesar what he had imprinted his portrait [image] and inscription [signature] on. We would all agree that is a very logical thing to do. If he had his image on the money, then the money should return to him as the owner. But here is the central message in the text of scripture above, “….and to God what is God’s.” So the question then would be, what is God’s? To answer this we need to refer to the premise upon which the statement was made—Caesar’s portrait and inscription. So that if the taxes should be paid to Caesar because he had his image on the money for the payment, then we should also give to God anything that has his image on it. Genesis 1:27 says God created us in His image and likeness. That means He has put his signature and identity on us. So to give God what belongs to God means we must give ourselves to God (Romans 12:1). Giving back to God what is God’s means presenting ourselves to God as living sacrifices; that way, we would have paid our due taxes. Whose image is on us? Let us present ourselves to the one whose image we bear.

Prayer_Bead: My Father and my God, thank you for putting your image on me. I present myself to you as a living sacrifice, use me for your purpose and glory.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.