Tag: #ChooseChrist

[The Glory Unveiled]

You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. ( John 5:39 )

The biggest error of our time is that we study the scriptures without Christ. We try to find only what the scriptures promise we can have but we do not seem to want to come to Christ. In other words, we seek for the things of Christ without associating with Christ Himself. The verdict announced in John 3:19 sums it all up; a great light has come into the world but men love darkness more than light. Eternal life is not in the literary texts that make the scriptures, remember the letter kills but it is only the Spirit that gives life (2 Corinthians3:6). We cannot have eternal life without the eternal Spirit of Christ revealed to us by Christ. We will discover as soon as we look into the scriptures that they are testifying of Christ. And Christ gives life; for He who has the son has life (1 John 5:12). Let us quit searching the scriptures for eternal life without Christ, it will amount to vexatious labour without results. It is only by partnership with the Spirit of Christ does the scriptures transform us, enlighten us and shows us things we need to know. May we from hence look for Jesus in His testimonies and not just for His testimonies.

Prayer_Bead: Awesome God, Holy King eternal, most Gracious Monarch, thank you for Christ Jesus revealed to me by your Spirit through your Word.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. ( 2 Corinthians 5:21 )

The love of God and the wisdom of God seem to be woven together. In that, the love of God validates the wisdom of God. It is as if we would not have known the wisdom of God without the love of God. In this verse of scripture, we see a beautiful interplay of His love and wisdom. The wisdom of God hid His love in what the common mind cannot discern nor come to terms with. So that the love of God through the wisdom of God swallowed up our sin and gave us the righteousness of God which is His love (Jesus). Jesus is the strategy of God for the redemption of man. God is love, and so He could not allow the kingdom of darkness and the agents of satan touch us. He created a form of ark so that we can hide in Christ in God. We are safe, and free in Christ from the tag (sin) of satan. Let us abide in Christ, for in Him we have our true identity and life.

Prayer_Bead: Precious Lord, Spirit Divine, thank you for what you have done in me through Christ. Thank you for your Wisdom is at work in me to the glory of Your name.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together. ( Genesis 22:8 )

The provision of God is up on the mountain. It is at the exact spot where God instructs us to go; but not a few meters from there. Isaac and his father Abraham were going to sacrifice before the Lord at a particular place [believed to be Mount Moriah]. But rather unusually, they had carried the fire and the wood for the sacrifice but the lamb they were to burn on the wood was unavailable. Now, a sacrifice [in their day and time] was no sacrifice without the animal that will be burnt. Abraham was aware of this challenge; as God asked Him to sacrifice his only son [but] he pressed on unto the mountain in faith. He knew and believed the many faceted dimensions of God. He knew that God could be Jehovah Nissi, Jehovah Elohim, Jehovah Adonai so He could definitely be Jehovah Jireh (God the provider). True to Abraham’s faith, God proved Himself atop the mountain to be Jehovah Jireh (God His provider). But interestingly God did not prove Himself in the valley. God will do on top of the mountain what He promised you in the valley. So don’t doubt in the valley what God told you in the valley. He is a faithful God. Go up your mountain in spiritual obedience and you will find the resources for your assignment.

Prayer_Bead: Jehovah Jireh, the Omniscient Father, thank you for the strength and grace to obey you on top of the mountain whatever you told me in the valley of my preparation.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws ( Ezekiel 36:27 )

We cannot align to the pattern of heaven and the path of God except we are given His Spirit. But then we can only receive His Spirit after something has been done about our hearts. Jesus, speaking to his disciples said we do not pour a new wine into an old wine skin. Instead a new wine is poured into a new wine skin to preserve both the wine and the wine skin (Matthew 9:17). Likewise, the Holy Spirit of God (new wine) is only given to hearts that have been transformed (new wine skin). In the verse of scripture before this verse (Ezekiel 36:26), we see that God says He will give His people a new heart; He will take away their stony hearts. The stony hearts cannot accommodate the Spirit of God. And so before the Spirit of God is given, we must have had our hearts changed. In this verse of scripture we also discover why some people cannot follow the decrees of God no matter how hard they try. It is not in their strength to, it is in the enabling of the Holy Spirit given to people who have had new hearts.  It is the Holy Spirit that moves us to live like Christ. Without Him, we are totally opposite of Christ.

Prayer_Bead: Spirit Divine, Lover of my soul, thank you for working in me both to will and to do according to the purposes of God. Thank you for a new heart.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. ( Luke 2:52 )

The scripture above says that Jesus grew in wisdom and stature. But behind the scenes, something went into his qualitative and quantitative growth. Jesus had to deliberately choose to grow. So that while His age mates were playing at the market places and the field, He was in the synagogue teaching the teachers of the law. He had to choose between been with the other children or being alone with His purpose. And He chose the later; to grow. Growth is intentional. This is why anyone who will be celebrated must choose to grow in a particular area of influence. And that area becomes a trajectory of where such an individual is heading. Jesus’ early life and associations predicted where He was headed. He chose the path of growth and responsibility. And then the consequent result was that He found favour with God and men. We will also have the same results if we follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

Prayer_Bead: Gracious Father, Shepherd of my soul, thank you for showing me to choose growth. Help me to grow in the knowledge of your word and Spirit.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ( Romans 5:6 )

The love of God is too concentrated for the human mind to understand. The conditions that should influence God not to care about us are the very elements that caused Him to come to our aid. In our world today, anytime love is mentioned, conditions come to mind. Love has become common only in the market of conditions. But this God, waited till the fullness of time, when humanity came to its weakness and a powerless state, so that we will lose trust in ourselves. God came to our rescue at the point where saving man will yield God no merits. He didn’t come when we seem a little strong nor when it will seem beneficial to Him. This is love. The later part of our verse says, “Christ died for the ungodly”. That was our state—ungodly, but Christ, in love took our place and gave us the life of God. So that we can also share that love abroad in the world by the assistance of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer_Bead: Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for the gift of life and salvation. Thank you for lifting me from the miry clay of ungodliness to the rock of righteousness in Christ Jesus.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

Do I bring to the moment of birth and not give delivery?” says the LORD.
“Do I close up the womb when I bring to delivery?” says your God. ( Isaiah 66:9 )

Whenever God asks a question, usually He is not in need of the response because God knows all things. But the reason why God will ask questions is usually because He wants us to see that there is no need to worry or be disturbed about something we are incapable of doing ourselves, other times He asks questions to point us to our true state. So that sometimes, His questions will open us to our faults and hidden motives. But here in this verse of scripture, God is asking whether He will begin something and not end it? We know the right answer. If God brought us to the moment of birth, He will give delivery. Has God started something in your life? He will accomplish it. He will not stop us from accomplishing what He started with us. This statement alone should give us that assurance that God loves us too much to leave us half way. When the storm rages and it seems all hope is lost, we should be reminded that God who begun the journey with us, will take us through. He is both the God of the beginning and the end.

Prayer_Bead: Father to son, Spirit to spirit, thank you for this love relationship with you. Thank you for caring so much that you will not leave me half way.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. (Jonah 3:6)

The opening verse of this chapter says, and the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time. Why would God insist that Jonah should be the man to go and preach to the people of Nineveh? So that even when Jonah tried to run away from his assignment, God’s word came to him a second time. Of all the men of God in his time, why will God insist on him? It is because God had graced Jonah with an anointing that was unique to him. We read in our focal text that when the warning of Jonah reached the people of Nineveh and the King, they all repented, from the least person to the king sitting on the throne. And so one will begin to ask, what kind of message did Jonah preach that was able to convince an entire city. What exactly did Jonah preach? The fact is that, more than what he said is what God graced him with. Our individual callings will open doors for us and cause people to listen to us. Your gift is unique to you, and it can only yield the intended results if it is used by you and no one else. This is why we cannot make much impact with the gifts of other people but ours. Let’s find our niche and we will be heard.

Prayer_Bead: Everlasting Father, Giver and source of all things, thank you for what you created me with. Thank you for my unique abilities that can not be replicated anywhere. Help me to trust you and love my uniqueness.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” ( Luke 4:43 )

The daily life of Jesus Christ vividly displayed His ultimate goal. His life was so purpose driven that whatever He said or did was in line with the ultimate goal. He did nothing outside the confines of His mission. Here in this scripture, we hear Jesus reiterate His assignment. But in this rendition, the Lord Jesus used “must” to emphasize the weight of this mandate. He used another phrase that makes the purpose of his activities so important and unbending. He said proclaiming the good news of the kingdom is the reason why He was sent. So it means that as long as he was on earth, he was doing everything that would lead to the realization of that purpose. What a life? Jesus could not have ever been distracted because He knew the reason why He was sent here. If we come to know and understand our purposes, we will not live distractive lives. We will not be tossed about by just anything we hear. Let the purpose of our existence be the drive of our lives.

Prayer_Bead: Most High God, Thank you for sending me here on earth for a specific assignment. I pray that the reason for my creation becomes the drive of my life.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. ( 2 Corinthians 3:18 )

Science teaches that the moon has no light of its own. It reflects the light it receives from the sun. So that at night, when we see a bright shiny moon, we will not attribute its beautiful effulgence to it but rather to the sun. Without the sun’s rays, the moon is just a huge dark dusty object. In the same way, naturally, creation has no glory on its own. And the Believer has no independent glory. All that is seen (the creation) came out of God and it is only God that gives it meaning. Just as the sun can only mirror the sun when it is properly adjusted and aligned to the path of the sun’s rays, even so the Believer must align. The scripture above says we do that by contemplating—interacting with, having communion with—the Lord’s glory. And this is done with an unveiled face. The Holy Spirit does the unveiling for us. Praise God! For the scripture says when one turns to Christ, the veil is removed. The world is waiting for us. But the world will continue to wait until we come to that place of interacting with God’s glory by properly aligning with His Spirit.

Prayer_Bead: Father of all glory, Loving Lord, thank you for the opportunity to show the world your glory. Please remove anything that stands in the way of your illumination. In Jesus name.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.