Oluwafemi .The Word of God is a light to my Path.

  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) When You’re Real The enemy would love for you to wear masks, hiding and not dealing with the issues that are holding you back. The apostle Paul says that if your face is veiled with masks, you won’t see God’s glory. If you’re wearing a mask of perfection, pretending everything is okay, or wearing a mask of pride, worried about what others think, or wearing a mask of shame, feeling guilty and condemned, that’s going to keep you from God’s best. You have to take off the masks. Everybody is struggling with something. Don’t be embarrassed by it. Get honest with yourself, and be honest with God. You don’t have to pretend. When you’re real, you’ll see God’s favor. God doesn’t change us from shame to glory, or from condemnation to glory, or from pride to glory. He changes us from glory to glory.

  Have You Experienced the Third Conversion? Scripture: Luke 19:1-10 “Lord, Lord, I give…” Giving is at the core of the Christian life. In this account, a tax collector, Zacchaeus, took extraordinary measures to see Jesus. He took advantage of the one opportunity in his life when he could possibly meet him. He ran ahead of the crowd, climbed a tree in order to see Jesus, and when Jesus called him, he responded by coming down and meeting him. He did not care what the crowd thought. When he heard the voice of Jesus penetrating through the noise of the crowd, he listened and obeyed. For Zacchaeus, the encounter was LIFE CHANGING!  Not only was his spirit and soul converted, but also his “purse” or pocketbook was converted. Martin Luther referred to the willingness to give as a  third conversion . Zacchaeus reflected the change that occurs in the life of a person who truly accepts and trusts in Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. He gave with an “I want to give attitude,” not grudgingly o

  When Mordecai left the king’s presence, he was wearing royal garments of blue and white, a large crown of gold and a purple robe of fine linen. (Esther 8:15) For Such a Time as This In the book of Esther, an official named Haman occupied a very influential position with the king of Persia. He convinced the king to issue a decree that on a certain date all the Jews throughout the kingdom should be killed, and he so hated Mordecai, the cousin of Queen Esther, that on the following day he was going to have Mordecai executed. Yet in one day, Haman was exposed for his evil and killed, the decree was overruled, and Mordecai was put in Haman’s position. You may be in a difficult situation—people are coming against you, your finances don’t look good, there’s trouble in a relationship. You could be upset and worried, but stay in peace. Because you honor God, He’s fighting your battles. Keep doing the right thing. Don’t take matters into your own hands. Let God be your vindicator, and in His t

  Accessing God’s Counsel “ You are great in counsel and mighty in work, for your eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, to give everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings. ” (Jeremiah 32:19) Son Power  enables us to tap into the great counsel, power, and work of God when our lives are in harmony with his will. How many times have you heard from someone that “Christianity just doesn’t work for me.” This type of attitude is self-centered and contrary to the will of God. Our relationship with God is not about the three amigos of  Me, Myself, and I . God is interested in  his  glory and the fulfillment of  his  will and purposes. He wants to see Christ being formed in us. He wants us transformed into the likeness of Jesus! This can only happen when we have a right relationship with Christ, so that his life and will can be worked out in us. God sees everything. His eyes are open to all the ways of every person in the world. We all must give an accoun

  For I bear on my body the scars that show I belong to Jesus. (John 15:5) Scars Tell Your Story While life brings its share of physical scars from injuries, there are also inner scars that come from what somebody said, from a breakup, from a failure we made, from the loss of a loved one. So often we try to hide our scars from those wounds. They remind us of the hurt. But you need to see your scars in a new light. God allowed that scar to remind you of what He brought you through. Don’t think of the pain, think of the grace of God. The scar means the wound has healed, the pain is over, and you’re moving forward. You can be at peace with your scars. Those scars tell your story. No one in the Scripture fulfilled their destiny without battle scars. We all get wounded. The scar is proof that God healed you. The scar reminds you of the greatness of God. Sure, you have a scar, but you’ve come through healed, restored, vindicated, blessed, and fulfilling your purpose. A Prayer for Today “Fath

  God’s Power and Work “ Indeed before the day was, I am He; and there is no one who can deliver out of My hand; I work, and who will reverse it? ” (Isaiah 43:13) This “power verse” paints a picture of how  Son Power  is the ultimate power. No one can deliver anything out of the hand of God. He is all-powerful. All things are subject to him. God makes it very clear that when he works, or declares that something is to be done, it will be done! He asks a redundant question, “Who will reverse it?” Obviously, no one can reverse the work of God. When he chooses to bless, blessings will come. When he chooses to have his judgment fall on an individual or a nation, no can do anything about it. This truth provides an incentive for us to want to be recipients of Son Power. We want God to do imperishable works in us and through us. We want him to grant us the power, capacity, and opportunity to accomplish great things for him. His plan and purpose is marching on, and we want to be part of that pl

  Loving and merciful God, thank you for being my God and for your law which is now written on my heart. Open my heart and mind to your Word, that I may live each day in accord with your will. Amen.

  Son Power Prepares Us for God’s Work “ If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.”  (2 Timothy 2:21) Son Power  must be at work on the inside of us as well as on outside if we are to be used by God to accomplish his will. Jesus tells us, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them” (John 14:23). We show Jesus that we love him by obeying his commandments. The Father and Son’s visitation to us is conditioned on our being obedient believers. The question each of us must ask ourselves is this: Do we  want  to be a vessel that Christ can use? Ephesians 4:30–32 tells us, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one anot

  Perishable vs. Imperishable “Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where he was tempted by the devil for forty days.”   (Luke 4:1–2) Without  Son Power , we are helpless to counter the deceitfulness of Satan. Notice in the above verses that Jesus was “full of the Holy Spirit.” Son Power gives us the wisdom we need to counter the various temptations of the evil one. The entire story of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness is found in Luke 1:1–13.  Jesus was filled with the Spirit  and  led into the wilderness by the Spirit. He was tempted by Satan when he was at a point of human weakness. It was only through the power of the Holy Spirit that he was able to overcome Satan’s temptations. Satan tempted Jesus in areas of physical comfort, material blessings, and the allure of power and fame. With each attempt to tempt him, Jesus countered with the use of the Word of God. Like Jesus, we need to be filled with the Hol

  God of love and mercy, your world suffers from brokenness, war, and conflict. Forgive us for the ways in which we fail to live in community, and reveal opportunities for reconciliation and new life. Amen.

  But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his plan to unfold. (Psalm 106:13) Wait for the Plan to Unfold It’s easy to get in a hurry and try to make things happen, to force doors to open, and to manipulate people and circumstances. If you push hard enough, sometimes God will let you open a door that He hasn’t ordained. He’ll let you walk down a road that’s not His best path. I’m all for taking risks and getting out of our comfort zone, but we have to listen to that still, small voice inside. An opportunity may be right for you, but when you feel that unrest, it may be that it’s not the right time. In Genesis 16, Abraham knew God had promised him a baby, but God never said it would come through Sarah’s maid. When it was taking longer than he and Sarah thought it should, they decided to help God out. Abraham had a baby out of wedlock, and it was a big mistake. God doesn’t need your help. Just do your part and wait for Him to unfold His plan for your life. A Prayer for

  The Source of Son Power “ In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundation of the earth and made the heavens with your hands. They will perish, but you remain forever. They will wear out like old clothing. You will fold them up like a cloak and discard them like old clothing. But you are always the same; you will live forever. ” (Hebrews 1:10–12) These verses were written about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Jesus is the one who laid the foundation of the earth! Jesus made the heavens with his hands! Jesus is the one who is always the same and will live forever! The earth and heavens we are able to see will be folded up someday and discarded like old clothing, but Jesus will live forever. From a human perspective, I do not know if we can even begin to comprehend the magnitude of these verses. We are talking about power far beyond any human imagination. We are talking about  Son Power . The same Son Power that is at work in the heart of the submissive believer. This is the power that is

  Don’t sin by letting anger control you. Think about it overnight and remain silent. (Psalm 4:4) Keep Your Cool God made us as emotional beings. All through the day you will feel things, but just because you feel something doesn’t mean you have to act on it. You may feel anger, which is okay, but don’t lose your temper. Keep your cool. You may feel offended, but don’t give in to it. You may feel tempted to compromise when your flesh says, “I have to have it, the feeling is so strong,” but you don’t have to get on board with that feeling. The flesh wants to control your life. You think you can’t control it, but God wouldn’t tell us to be angry and not give in if we couldn’t do it. The feelings are real. You have to ask yourself, “If I follow what I’m feeling, is it going to move me toward my destiny, is it going to help me improve? Or, is it just my fleshly carnal desires that are trying to keep me from rising higher?” A Prayer for Today “Father, thank You that one of the fruits of the

  The Holy Spirit Seals, Reveals, and Deals “ And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. ” (Ephesians 1:13-14) The Spirit of God  seals  us at the moment we believe and trust in the gospel of Jesus Christ for our salvation. This is the guarantee of our inheritance in heaven that is being kept for us imperishable, incorruptible, and unfading. This assurance of salvation sets us free to be of service to the King in the time we have remaining in this temporary world. This gives us time to invest our  time, talent, and treasure  in the imperishable values of the world to come instead of spending our  three Ts  on what is perishing in this world. After the Spirit seals us, he begins the process of  revealing  the things of G

  Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Here is an Israelite indeed…in whom there is no guile nor deceit nor duplicity!” (John 1:47) Become a Nathanael One of our personal goals should be that we are so honest, so above board, so full of integrity that Jesus can describe us as He did Nathanael. “That’s not me,” you say. Maybe not yet, but it can be. You can become a person of integrity who does the right thing when no one is watching. It starts in the home. When you have integrity, you’re the same in private as you are in public. You don’t treat people at work nice and kind and come home and be rude and harsh to your family. You should treat your family better than you treat anyone else. Don’t be kinder and more considerate to coworkers than you are to your spouse and children. You don’t have to be perfect, but you have to be real. You can’t change if you don’t acknowledge that you need to change. Ask yourself, “Where is my love and care falling short? If I was stand