Tag: #ChooseChrist

[The Glory Unveiled]

Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. (  Genesis 37 : 5 )

The land of destiny is reached at a great cost.   Joseph’s came at enduring the hatred and neglect of his brothers, the pain of enduring a lie, and the disappointment of being forgotten in prison. Often anything and anybody can be used to test our resolve to meet with destiny. Joseph at a very tender age had been seeing who he would later become. That vision, clearly painted in his mind gave him the endurance and perseverance to reach that man he would later become. Another ingredient that spiced up his resolve and held him in peace until he got to the finish line of all his tests was the fear of God. The fear of God was like a teacher to him at all times. Anytime he faced a challenge that his will would like to permit him to be “human”, the fear of God would scream over him to call some conscience and hope into him. The pathway to destiny is always encoded with unforeseen circumstances and events that would remain landmarks that bear witness that our success is legit. These “challenges” as we may call them are the authorities that test and approve our admission into the land of destiny and purpose. The question now is, are we ready to make payments for what we desire? Remember it comes at an uncompromising cost.

Prayer_Bead: King of all kings and Lord over all lords, thank you for showing me the pathway of destiny. Guide me in the way that would lead me to the finish line of fulfillment.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. ( Psalms 34:8 )

David the Psalmist and King, penned down the words of this psalm. We know that one can only taste what is within their reach. No one can taste something that is far away from the reach of their sense of taste. In another place in the New Testament, the lord Jesus shows up in Galilee with a message almost foreign to the ears and minds of the people, “repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand [within reach]” (see Matthew 4:17). Juxtaposing the truth of this New Testament verse with that of the Old Testament Psalm, we see that the kingdom of God, metaphorically replaced with “goodness of God” is within the reach of everyone. Anyone can see it because it is within the reach of their eyes and senses. But the verse of the New Testament raises a concern that may limit some people from tasting or otherwise experiencing this reality. And that is unbelief [sin]. Hence the Psalmist says to trust in the God—the remedy for unbelief and sin. Putting our trust in God and depending on Him for our salvation and redemption gives us access into the Kingdom (goodness of God.) We are blessed to participate in the blessings and realities of the Kingdom of God only when we trust in the Lord for everything. And then God would be obliged to take responsibilities for our lives and soul.

Prayer_Bead: Father in heaven, thank you for showing me the way into your goodness and kingdom. I now taste the goodness of God by trusting in You, in all things and for all things.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD

( 2Kings 20:2 )

At any point in time, we are all a prayer away from our miracles. The story is about Hezekiah, the then leader of the people of Israel, who was given a death sentence by God and that he should put his house in order. Now this spiritual announcement of his death sentence was made by Isaiah who is no mere prophet of God. But then Hezekiah still did something to change his fate. He didn’t give up nor give in to fear and hopelessness. In the verse six of the chapter, almost immediately after his prayer, God sent the prophet Isaiah back to him to tell him that instead of death, fifteen more years was added to his life and in addition to that, almost like a bonus, God said He would deliver his nation from the Assyrians. How could the table turn like that and so quickly too? The answer is Prayer! Prayer is the factory where impossibilities are made possible. A place where we artistically design the realities of our lives. Many of us would have just mourned, cried, pitied ourselves and maybe accuse or cursed God if the same message of death was conveyed to us from a major prophet. We may not think of the possibility of changing that negative narration, simply because it was spoken by a prophet of God. But today, we are encouraged to learn from Hezekiah. There is no spiritual crisis that cannot be dealt with by Christ. And no problem is cast in iron so that we would say it is perpetual. There is always a solution in the secret place of prayer.

Prayer_Bead: Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for showing me through the life of your servant Hezekiah that whatever negativity surrounds my life can be erased in the place of prayer. Grant me grace and a fresh fire for prayer.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. ( Romans 8:6 )

Death is usually portrayed as the end of life or the cessation of activities. But in the verse above we see death used to expresses a state; the state of being alienated from Christ and His grace. To be carnally minded means that the world and its system has eaten into the fabric of our thinking and living. Interestingly, the statement “to be” is a state that can be assumed and that in a sense means that the will of man comes into play to be or not to be carnally minded. Nobody, who is carnally minded became carnally minded just in a vacuum. It was always as a result of what the person continually fed his/her mind with. The mind would always mirror whatever it is continually exposed to. And like the IT acronym, GIGO—garbage in, garbage out—the mind would only give out what it takes in. We are the product of our exposures. So in that same course of understanding, we become spiritually minded when our minds are fed with thoughts of the Spirit. And being spiritually minded comes with its own package of advantages. The underpinning one being mentioned in the verse; life and peace. Psychologists say that the mind creates a pathway with the thoughts that are consistently tolerated in the mind. So that whatever we repeat could become an addiction. But when we deliberately mind the things of the Spirit, it makes the life of Christ accessible, erasing the handwriting of addiction.

Prayer_Bead: Father in heaven, thank you for giving me the mind of Christ. I think and live like Christ Jesus to the praise of God’s name.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[ The Glory Unveiled]

“Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.”

This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said,

“They divided my clothes among them

and cast lots for my garment.”

So this is what the soldiers did. ( John 19:24 )

What a life lived? Jesus’ life on earth seemed like a movie script that was performed by the finest actors and actresses. Every aspect of His life was detailed out in the word of God. So that nothing happened for nothing; His was an intentional life. Everything in the life of Jesus happened according to the pattern of God’s design [purpose] for Him. The psalmist said, in the volume of books, it is written to do your will. Even though the drama of our life is scripted and is intended to be acted accordingly, it is possible to neglect the script and act whatever one pleases to act out. Like the Lord Jesus, who is our example in all things, our lives have a script that should be played out through our existence on earth. The scripture above was an event played out during Jesus’ crucifixion. The scripture actually says “This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said…”. To think that even at the very last moments of Jesus’ life was within the script of God for Him is something that should not be taken lightly or as a coincidence. If we should fall in line with the plans of God scripted in His word for our lives, we would see that our lives are stress free because whatever is meant to stress us must be part of the script that would ultimately expose the glory of God in our lives. It is important to note that God takes into consideration every tiny detail of our lives so that even He knows the number of our hairs. Don’t allow the world to talk you out of the script of God for your life with any message of modernism or whatsoever. The devil is out to discompose what God has composed about you, don’t allow it. Live intentionally.

Prayer_Bead: Loving Father, compassionate God, thank you for the script of my life and the grace available to fulfill my life’s purpose. Guide me to live within my script. 

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. ( Philippians 2:6 )

Pride is the gravitational force that pulls the arrogant and the ungodly towards eminent destruction. Everything that comes through the faculty of our will is a choice. Pride is one of such things as well as humility. Humility is recognizing who we are and yet not taking advantage of it to the detriment of others or the unduly exaltation of self. So, in the scripture above, Christ Jesus knew and could have taken advantage of the fact that he had equal status with God but didn’t think that He should cling to the advantage of that status [because He was on earth]. The reason being that while on earth, though he was fully God as though not human and fully human as though He was not God, he chose to cling more to the status and ‘disadvantages’ of being human because He was always with men [humans]. That is the sound code of humility; putting the needs and sometimes comfort of others before ours. Jesus could have intimidated his disciples with the status of his being God so much that they would feel too unclean to get close to Him. But we know that He chose the opposite, even sinners felt welcomed by Him. That is the tribal mark of humility. We must bear the same mark as Jesus’ followers.

Prayer_Bead: Father Lord, thank you for showing me the true mark of humility and inscribing it in my will so that I can display this holy virtue of greatness in the face of Christ.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory I’d God.

[ The Glory Unveiled]

He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. ( John 21:6 ) 

”Technical know-how” is good but “spiritual know-what” is better. This truth is also expressed as “physical exercise profits a little but spiritual exercise profits all things” and again shadowed in 2 Corinthians 4:18 as what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal—the realm of the spirit supersedes the physical realm in all things. In our verse of scripture, the disciples had returned to their former life after Jesus had died. They went out to fish as they used to do before their call. On this faithful day, as usual, they had gone out to fish again and all night they toiled but caught nothing. The next morning at sea, they heard the voice of a man call out to them. This man was not a fisherman nor the son of one but then he gave these men—who had been fishing all their lives—advice on how to succeed, and they had a great catch. This man was the resurrected Christ Jesus. In another place, Peter’s first encounter with the man Jesus, he didn’t catch any fishes all night and when he met Jesus that morning things turned around after Jesus asked him to launched deeper and cast his net (Luke 5:4). There is something about spiritually knowing the times and seasons, what to do and when, that offers more advantages than just technical skills or knowledge. We must desire and learn the ways of the Spirit—by enrolling in the school of the Spirit—and then consistently exercising our spiritual senses in the matter. Life is more than just what we see and living by the dictates of the flesh is stressful. So, let us subscribe to the dictates of the Spirit.

Prayer_Bead: Father in Heaven, thank you for showing me the advantage of the spirit realm over the physical and teaching me to engage that realm over my life’s circumstances.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[ The Glory Unveiled]

Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.( John 20:11-12 )

Early on the first day of the week; the third day after Jesus’ death, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb of Jesus but it was empty. She went back to tell the disciples that the tomb was empty. Two of them came to see for themselves and it was actually empty and then they left the graveyard leaving behind Mary Magdalene. She stood outside the tomb crying. She wasn’t in haste to leave the tomb, she lingered on and as she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and then she saw what she nor the other disciples didn’t see the first time. There are certain revelations that would not come when we are in haste or impatient with the timing of God. We need to tarry long in the presence of God to see beyond the optical eyes. Now Mary Magdalene was the first to get there but the last to leave. She tarried long enough to meet the appointed time of God’s visitation. The secret place is a place where we must tarry if we want to see results. The two disciples who left too soon missed seeing the Lord. The opening verse says that Mary Magdalene had come to the tomb early morning, while it was still dark. This is also an attitude of someone who was intentional about seeing the Lord. She was probably restless in bed. She couldn’t wait for day to fully break. The eagerness and zeal with which we enter the secret place determines the reward we come out with.  

Prayer_Bead: Holy Father, Loving Lord, thank you for showing me the secrets of the secret place. Teach me to tarry in the secret place.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.

[The Glory Unveiled]

“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? ( Luke 15:8 )

Light is a mystery that is not easily understood. Even it’s scientific properties are inexhaustible. We see because of light and we are because of light. Jesus said His life is the light of all men (See John 1:4). In the verse of scripture above, an allusion is created of a woman who had lost a coin. Now, in Jesus’ narration of how the woman tried to find that coin, the woman’s focus was not directly on the coin but rather what could reveal the coin; light. So the scripture says she would light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully. The need for a light is paramount in the finding of the coin because without it, she cannot even sweep the house nor search for the coin. Light exposes and light reveals whatever is concealed in darkness. In another place, Saul had lost his father’s donkeys and for three days he had been searching for the donkeys to no avail. But then it dawned on him to get a “light” that would light his path to make his search easy and stress free. And so he and his colleague decided to go and see a Seer [prophet], who in their day and ours are like lights shining in pitch darkness. And then, the Bible says even before they could say anything to the prophet Samuel he told them all they needed to know about the lost donkeys and even about what they didn’t know. We see that whenever we need clarity and direction on any matter, we need the illumination from God’s word by His Spirit. What did you lose? Get into the word of God for light to find it because nothing is lost that cannot be found.

Prayer_Bead: Omnipotent Father, Omniscient King, thank you for the light of your word that exposes every hidden things, even my inheritance in You. Guide me through your word and light up my life’s path.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God._

[The Glory Unveiled]

But we all, with open [unveiled] face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. ( 2Corinthians 3:18 )

We can only give out what we have within us. And what we have within us is what we took in. There is a famous account in the book of Exodus of how Moses was with the lord for forty days and night. Upon his return, Moses’ face beamed with the glory of God. Because he had been with God, he came down from the mountain reproducing what he had seen. What we see is what we reproduce. There is also a record in Genesis 30:38-39, of how some pregnant animals produced young ones after the colours they were exposed to by Jacob during their pregnancy, emphasizing the fact that we reproduce what we are exposed to. This is why Jesus said that the eye is the lamp of the body (see Matthew 6:22). Our body can only go where our eyes have lighted for us to go. For this reason we must be very careful what we permit our eyes to see continuously. Because what we continuously allow into our eyes have a way of recoding our reality so that our lives begin to echoe what we see. It is a dangerous thing to sell or hire our eyes to the world and a foolish thing to expect a glorious remuneration for it. By the Spirit of God, we are changed into the similitude of Christ as we behold Him in his word.

Prayer_Bead: Father in the name of Jesus, thank you for removing the veil that blinded me from seeing your glory. Change me into the image of Christ even by the Holy Spirit.

#GNews: Unveiling the glory of God.