Tag: #ChooseChrist

[The Glory Unveiled]

Yet he [Abraham] did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. ( Romans 4:20-21 )

Abraham, the father of faith teaches us by his attitude towards God when he was promised a son [the nations] that true faith is tied to an anchor. Whenever a boat is left at sea, though stationed, it would be carried away by the waves of the sea unless it is tied to an anchor. In the same manner, faith needs a kind of anchor that will keep it stable and unwavering. Because when faith is unstable, it is similar to unbelief. The verses before our focal verse creates an imagery of the waves of a storm, things that should have otherwise discouraged Abraham; reasons for him to doubt and waver at the promises of God. But as explained earlier, boats tied to anchors are not tossed by raging seas and faith securely anchored is not perturbed by waves of unbelief. “Abraham was fully persuaded”….that statement is a snapshot of his anchor. He was not just believing that maybe what was promised could happen but rather, he was “fully” persuaded that God had the power to do what he had promised. What gave him that absolute assurance? Upon what was that anchor pinned? His faith was anchored on the sovereignty of God’s word. He believed that God had the power to do whatever He promised to do. Today, let us invest our trust in the word of God so that we too can have a solid anchor for our faith being fully persuaded that God has power to do what He says He will do and so that we would be strengthened in our faith and then we would not waver in our faith.

Prayer_Bead: Our Father and God who is able to do exceedingly far above what we ask or think, thank you for the assurance through your word. I give you glory for you are able to do all things.

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[The Glory Unveiled]

“Now may the Lord’s strength be displayed, just as you have declared: ( Numbers 14:17 )

Throughout the Exodus of the Israelites, God had always listened to Moses. It was as if God was always ready to hear Moses say something and He almost did it before Moses got to actually ask for it [we see an example even in the account recorded in our focal chapter where God had wanted to destroy the unbelieving Israelites]. The assembly; congregation of the people of Israel would cry and wail but the response they needed from God usually didn’t come promptly. In fact, it took them hundreds of years to cry and pray to God for deliverance before Moses was given to them. In the wilderness, they would cry unto God on their own but it would amount to nothing. But whenever Moses called out to God, God responded to him almost promptly. It was as if Moses had a special dial or God’s private line with which He contacted God. From Moses’ relationship with God, we can assume that God is more concerned about who was in communication with Him than what was actually being communicated. The speaker was more important than what they were saying to Him. For this reason, Moses was jeolously protected by God, even from his own siblings so that they dared not speak against Moses though he was the youngest. In some other place God defended Moses before the Israelites when Korah and his group opposed him. Moses mattered to God so much that his words and everything about him mattered as well to God. If our words would strike any cords in the institutions of heaven, we must first consecrate ourselves as vessels distinguished and set apart for God, like Moses. And then not only will our voices matter to heaven and earth but our very existence.

Prayer_Bead: God of Moses, Father of lights, lover of my soul, saviour and lord of my life, consecrate me and set me apart for your use. Make me an essential entity in your kingdom agenda.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” ( Numbers 13:31 )

Twelve men had been sent to spy on the land of milk and honey; the promised land, to find out how the land was and the kind of people who dwelt in it. Upon their return, ten of the people gave a bad report, one that promoted fear and doubt. And because they were the majority, their message of fear went throughout the assembly like wild fire. On the other hand, two men; Caleb and Joshua reported that the land was good, flowing with milk and honey. And that they were able to take possession of the land by the help of God. Now, fear always lurk in the neighborhood of faith. And usually, fear makes the most noise. Ones faith could be as gigantic as a mountain or as tiny as a mustard seed but fear will always lurk in the shadows of uncertainty and doubts. And if one does not silence fear, faith will die by the noise of fear. Fear sees impossibility where “possibility” is the household name but faith sees possibility even where “impossible” is the household name. Faith thrives in an environment of fear when faith puts fear to silence by screaming hope and possibilities while the opposite happens when fear infiltrates the heart by making noise and announcing doom and doubt. Faith must always speak up if fear would dissipate. Anytime faith takes a walk with fear on a journey to hope, faith does not reach that destination. Fear is a mirage but it can seem very real. Faith is reality, but it can seem very illusionary. Let your faith speak up. Silence your fears.

Prayer_Bead: Father in Heaven, God and father of the spirits of all humans, thank you for the bread of life, the substance of our walk with you. Teach me to silence my fears.

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[The Glory Unveiled]

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. ( Galatians 2:20 )

A crucified man or woman is a dead man or woman. Once we come to be placed on the cross, we have come to that place where we are no longer alive to the world we once were alive to. Death is a gulf that separates two realms; the living from the dead. Jesus died on the cross and Christ came alive after three days. So when we identify ourselves with the death of Jesus, we become privileged to share in his life. We lose our own carnal life to inherit his divine life. Like the central nervous system, the carnal man in us used to control and manage the affairs of the old man. But when we die with Christ, in absolute surrender to His Lordship, we receive the spirit of Christ in us, managing the course of our lives to the praise of God’s name. But this life of Christ, though resident in us, cannot be expressed except by a special mechanism; faith. The life of God is translated to the environment of man by faith. Without faith, the God kind of life, though present cannot be seen in us. Faith allows the Christlike life to find expression in man. Now, without the life of Christ, no man can please God and without faith the life of Christ cannot be expressed. So Hebrews 11:6 says without faith it is impossible to please God. In other words, without the Spirit of Christ received by faith, no man can please God. Let this be our mindset, that we have been crucified with Christ.

Prayer_Bead: My Lord and my God, saviour of the world, thank you for the grace to partake in your life and to share in your inheritance by faith in Christ. I live by faith in Christ today and everyday.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled ]

Who can discern errors? Forgive my hidden faults. ( Psalms 19:12 )

It is easier to spot people’s faults and mistakes miles away from us than to see our own errors inches away from us. In another place the scripture says let he who thinks he stands watch lest he falls. Usually, because of our inability to discern our errors, when we sometimes think that we are “sound” and standing firm, that is when sometimes we are actually standing on miry clay, about sinking in. But when we are conscious of our weaknesses and vulnerabilities, it is then that we stand firm on the rock because then we would depend on Christ rather than ourselves. But whenever we are convinced that we are without errors and blemish, we don’t see any reasons to trust God or depend on Him for sustenance. But wisdom is humbling ourselves before God and acknowledging that we may have faulted without knowing it. And then ask for forgiveness and grace to walk in the path of love. Pride is more destructive than the destructive things we see outside ourselves. The only thing that can prevent someone from seeing their errors is pride. Pride covers the eyes with an invisible veil that is difficult to penetrate the thicket of reality. It makes us see what is not real and ignore what is real. On the other side, humility teaches us to see things in their natural state; as they are. Humble people discern their errors more often than one who is filled with pride. Let us empty ourselves of the baggage of pride and cloth ourselves with the garment of humility.

Prayer_Bead: Teach me Lord to number my days that I may lend my ears to wisdom. Help me to continually remain clothed in the garment of humility.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. ( 2Kings 6:17)

Faith is the platform that allows for accessing what exists but is invisible. It is the assurance that, what exists behind the curtains of the spiritual realms is able to translate into the physical realm. But there is another reality that prevents the eyes of faith from seeing. This reality is fear; being anxious that what we dislike may happen. But believing gives the heart an opportunity to see what the optical eyes cannot see. Elisha and his servant [mentee] had been surrounded by a physical army. Terrified by what he saw, the mentee called out to his master for refuge. Now, unlike the mentee, Elisha had seen what was not visible to the ordinary eyes but was spiritually tangible. The mentee could probably not see the angelic beings who had encompassed them because he was afraid. Fear always robs us of any spiritual advantages that are available to us. His fear became a scale that interrupted his sight until the man of God prayed for him. If we must see with the eyes of faith, then fear must not be allowed around us. Hebrews 11:3 says, [paraphrasing] what is seen is made out of what is unseen. The visible things of this earth have their foundation and source in the invisible realm, so that if it does not exist first in the invisible realm, then it cannot manifest in the physical sphere. For this reason, much importance should be attached to the things of the spirit if we want anything physically expressed. The spiritual must always take preeminence over the physical.

Prayer_Bead: Author and Finisher of my faith, thank you for the grace to see through the eyes of faith. Teach me to attend to the spiritual as much as I want to change my physical circumstances.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Reveiled]

Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” ( Genesis 22:2 )

Without reasons to debate, Abraham was a man of unquestionable character especially when it had to do with the things of the LORD. Abraham had an attitude of trusting in the Lord with such commitment and dedication. The verse that follows our focal verse says, early the next morning Abraham went to carry out what he was asked to do in this verse–sacrifice his only son. In another place, [Genesis 12] where God asked him to leave his father’s house to a land He would show him, Abraham obeyed the Lord promptly. His attitude of being committed to the Lord are persistent. Whenever Abraham was asked to do something by the Lord, he did it without questioning the intentions of God. On the day God asked him to circumcise his household males and himself, the scripture says on that same day he circumcised every male in his house including himself (Genesis 17:23). He was a man who acted promptly to the promptings of the Spirit. He was not one to hesitate or question God’s reason for His actions. It is a sign of one who trusts so much in the God he had pledged his allegiance to. He trusted God enough to want to sacrifice the most precious thing to him, Isaac. Throughout the book of Genesis, anytime Abraham had to carry out an assignment or instruction by God, he did it without hesitation, fear or doubt. He had his absolute trust in God, giving him an assurance of hope [faith]. As a result he could not be dissuaded from what he believed. If ever we would pray for the grace and blessings of Abraham, we should [rather] pray for his attitude. Because it is difficult to keep the blessings without the right attitude.

Prayer_Bead: God of Abraham, my Father and Lord, thank you for showing me the ancient paths of your son Abraham. Guide me to walk in them.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. ( Ephesians 4:26-27 )

The will of man is a complex matrix who can fathom it? It’s a vast ocean what can encompass its breadth? There are so many things we do by the dictates of our will, yet attribute to the actions of external forces. One of such things is being angry or loving someone. The scripture says we should not sin when angry. It further explains that anger becomes sin when forgiveness is not released (in time). Anything that makes us angry for a long time–until the sun goes down–is sin and it gives the devil grounds to carry out his schemes. If the Bible says we should not let the sun go down on our anger, then that makes anger a choice. Anger is a choice we make; we decide whether to let the anger remain for a long time, or whether to forgive our offenders immediately they offend us. The scripture actually says, “in your anger do not sin”…”in your anger”. Sometimes we feel that when we are angry we lose control of our will and senses and so we cannot control what happens around us. We allow ourselves to do whatever we want to do and them when the anger dies down we are filled with remorse. While others try to justify their actions with the fact that when they were angry they couldn’t control what they said or did. But the truth from God’s word says that anger is a choice. We can choose how long we want to be angry or even if we want to be angry in the first place. Choose not to be angry.

Prayer_Bead: Father of Love, thank you for your love for me and your forgiveness. Draw me closer to you and give me a heart that forgives easily as you strengthen my will.

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[The Glory Unveiled]

But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today. ( Deuteronomy 8:18 )

It seem quite easy to forget when we are comfortable and self-sufficient. When the Israelite were in captivity in Egypt, they cried out to God very often and so intensely that their cry went up to God in heaven. And then God had to send help to them, a deliverer. God through the deliverer delivered them from servitude and slavery. Now on their way to the land of freedom, most of them forgot their past; how helpless and hopeless they had been. They had forgotten how they were so poor they had no property of their own. They had forgotten that the graciousness of God towards them was actually no effort of theirs. It was the covenant promise of God that was taking its own course. Here in the chapter above, the Lord was cautioning his people and reminding them of the necessity to always remember that it is He (God) who gives them the ability to make wealth. God is saying to us today, through His words to the Israelites that we should not think that we are responsible for the good we have in our lives, particularly our wealth. Our “own” ingenuity is actually the workings of the grace of God. The ideas and abilities that bring monetary value are given to us by God as a confirmation of His covenants. If it is good, then it is God’s.

Prayer_Bead: God of all creations, thank you for giving me the ability to make wealth and to prosper. Teach me not to trust in myself or my efforts.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. ( Genesis 26:2 )

Anytime God told us not to do something, it was meant for our protection, goodness and joy. The laws of the old covenant as numerous as they were, was given to protect God’s people and to usher them into the blessing. The blessing was promised Abraham and his lineage but the blessing came with conditions. Later in Deuteronomy, the prophet and leader, Moses had reiterated the need to adhere to the commands of God. He had mentioned a long list of blessings that would come upon the people but he continously stressed the need to obey. The enjoyment of the blessings promised was dependent on the obedience to the commands. So here in Genesis, Isaac was in a foreign land which was experiencing famine. He thought, everyone is leaving the country to seek greener pastures, he would also go. But the word of God came to him that he should not leave the famine. In that same land of lack God would bless him and make his name great. Now, in the verses that proceeded, he read that Isaac became so blessed and wealthy that the people feared him. But what would have happened if he had disobeyed? What would have happened if he had gone to Egypt for greener pastures? Certainly he wouldn’t have experienced the success we read about. Spiritual instructions are consequential. We must always endeavor to obey them if we would enjoy the promises they carry.

Prayer_Bead: Loving Father, thank you for the grace to know your commands and to obey them. Help me to “live” where you want me to live.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.