TRANSITION TO GLORY!!!

It has happened again!!! Oh Lord, Why did you allow the demise of this precious personality I have lived with and come to cherish almost all my life! Couldn’t you have averted the death of this my beloved one. It is quite obvious that there is no glory in this world, there’s no treasure here on the earth for me to put my whole effort pursuing. It’s actually the death of the old man that accompanied me without my consent at birth; the old man is also popularly known as Mr. Flesh or Mr. Self as the case may be. Death happens to be an inevitable phenomenon and occurrence that knocks at the door of our loved once. Yes, death is inevitable and unavoidable yet it carried with it some level of glory after its occurrence. The Old nature (Mr. Flesh, Mr. Self) has lived with us right from birth and many of us boast with that nature. It is true that the flesh carries with it a level of glory but such a glory doesn’t transition anyone into the greatest glory of heaven. The earth has its own temporal and transient glory which people clamour for, but there is a glory of heaven that is permanent in which God is expecting us as His image bearers to pursue after. On the posters of many dead once are inscriptions found written “call to glory” or “transition to glory” or “glorious exit” among many others. This is because there is a presupposed assurance of a greater glory that is accorded to the dead when they die. Scripturally speaking, everyman born into this world carries a level of glory. Because Adam sinned, we all sinned and fall short of God’s glory too (Rom. 3:23) but in Christ, we are being restored back to Glory. Hence, we are called to Glory in Christ. The bible says that “According as his [God’s] divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue” (2 Peter 1:3). We are first of all called to Glory on the earth in our life time before the reality of transition to Glory would be feasible in the afterlife. We would turn strangers to Glory in the afterlife after death despite the bold inscription of call to glory or transition to Glory if and only if we are strangers to Glory on the earth during our life time. Death is indeed a glorious exit from the nothingness of this perverse world and self-seeking nature of the flesh. Death is the conduit that connects one level of glory to another. Without death, experiencing transition to Glory is unrealistic. Death is indeed a painful exit but comes with a lot of glories and gains. There is glory in death. There would be no transition to Glory or call to glory without death. Death on the cross is the only way for transition unto Glory. Experiencing the once and forever death of Jesus on the cross nails Mr. Flesh down to its defeat. Infact, it nails physical death too down to nothing at the second coming of Jesus. The Bible says, “So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:54-55, KJV). Jesus’s death on the cross is what grant us window unto death. We could not be opportune to die so we could transit to glory without the death of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:14b says that “…that if one died for all, then were all dead” The cross is actually beyond a wooden symbol as undermined here and there, it’s a symbol of God’s permanent defeat of the enemy so that we can be called unto Glory and virtue. The flesh profit nothing no matter its glorious usefulness, it’s only the Spirit that gives life. Just like many people want to go to heaven yet don’t want to first of all die, so is transition to glory practically impossible without the experiencing of the cross. The cross is the only way to die to the life of Mr. Flesh. The cross is the system for Satan’s defeat. It is a symbol for transition/change into a new creation in Christ. The cross is a place of exchange; the old life for the new life. The cross is a place of death; to sin and to the world. The cross is the place of new beginning in Christ. The cross is the place of forgiveness, reconciliation, revival, redemption and peace with God. The cross is the place where the handwritings of darkness are nailed on our behalf. The cross is the place of victory and fruitfulness. The cross is the place of glory. The cross is the place to secure healing and a confident destiny and destination with God. The cross is the connection between the dead and the living. The cross is the place of Glory, hidden wisdom and power. Owing to these realities of the cross, it is high time you come to realize that you have died with Christ and your life is hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3). Its high time you know that it should no longer you that live even though you are alive, but Christ liveth in you: and the life which you now live in the flesh you live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved you, and gave himself for you because you are crucified with him. (Galatians 2:20). Its high time you run to Jesus at the cross. God is waiting for your metamorphosis from the glory to glory, from this level of faith to another level of faith, and from this level of grace to another level of grace. All of these transitions would be possible when you know deeply that your old man is crucified with him and you must also reckon yourself dead unto sin. The worldly life of sin only calls one to transit from that fallen state glory we had at our physical birth into the glory in Christ wrought for us through his death on the cross. The activities of the old man can only be killed at the cross. If you die here on the earth without being called unto Glory with Christ, it’s going to be practically impossible for you to be transitioned to Glory with God in the afterlife despite the bold inscription of transition to glory on your demised poster. Come to the cross and get your victory from sin, addiction, struggling, unbelief, doubt from a glorious future and from devils cage. The glory of the old man (Self life, Mr. Flesh) has with it some measure of glory but it can’t be compared with the glory of the celestial body we would all have at the second coming of Jesus if we have been called to glory while alive. You can move from Glory to glory as you die daily and continually beholding God’s glory. “But we all, with open 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.” (2 Corinthians 3:18, KJV) Written by Samson Okpanachi Daniel W.O.R.D FEAST (The Living Transformer)

EXPRESSING THE IMAGE OF GOD'S GLORY

Wow, God has done it again! Here comes the graduation of another new set of SSS three (3) students to the wide world after several years of intensed labours by their teachers. Not only that, students all over the nation would be transiting from one class to another. As teachers, we feel overwhelmed with joy and glory to see our students flying the colours of success in this corrupt society/generation. I strongly believe that every teacher desires to see his or her students’ moves forward towards being a light that shines positively in the society by being productive and civilised. Just like the teachers glory is heightened in seeing his or her students doing what he or she is being taught in the class room, so also is God going to receive Glory due to Him from our lives as humans if we express His glorious life to men and women around us. The world is in need of men and women who will express the deposits of God's gift and grace in them. People are showcasing what they got; whether is academic, intellectual, skillful, mental, or be it spiritual. One thing is sure and constant, that the heart of the father desires men and women who would and should express Him in their respective world/field of relevance. We have little or no expression of the God kind of life in our land, this is sequel to the fact that expressing it looks archaic to people around looking at how the abnormalities, unacceptable things and lifestyles have now become normalised and acceptable in the society. Also, there are several expressions of the gift of the Spirit in the land backed by so much deformity and bankruptcy of the fruit of the Spirit. Owing to all of these demonic normalcies in our society, God is posing these three questions to you now; "won't you be the vessel that I (God) would use to express my Glory to the world? won't you get serious to allow me forge, form, make and prepare you before you go out too early? don't you know that your manifestation to the world should be owed to your formational walk with me?" I believe these questions should fuel you to ponder about the level of Christ that has been formed in you! In Gal. 4:19, Apostle Paul said, "My little children, for whom I am again suffering birth pangs until Christ is completely and permanently formed (molded) within you, little." Any birth pang that has not yet produced, or is not producing the formation of Christ in your life will tantamount to much birth pang done in futility. The first birth pang a believer should seek to execute in his walk with God is to see that Christ be formed in his or her life. Suffice me to say that every academic environment (Government Secondary School for instance) is not saddled with the responsibility of producing students of intellectual capacities alone, but that in conduct and morality students can be a good representative of Jesus Christ in their society; hence, expressing God’s glory. The only way people can express Glory to God on the account of my life is when I express the Glory of God by living the life of Jesus Christ. This is to say that it's by expressing the Glory of God to the world that men can confirm if you are becoming like the Image of Jesus Christ!!! It is by allowing my life to shine that men (world) would see the life of Jesus that I got resident in my inside. The Bible says, "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your moral excellence and your praiseworthy, noble, and good deeds and recognize and honor and praise and glorify your Father Who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16). In a nutshell, I am saying that let the light of God's Glory shine through your life to the world!!! Men can see Jesus life in my life if only I will angulate my life on a perpetual seeing of the Glory of God! We have people who are beholding and becoming like Jesus Christ but are not expressing the Life of Jesus Christ in there spheres of endeavours. It's an error!!!" One of the reasons why the street (our land) is bereaved of the Life of Jesus is because many are not beholding to become like Jesus, and also because the few who are becoming like Jesus are not expressing the image of Jesus Christ! It is not a godly trait for a secondary school to partake in exams malpractices. The outside world is full of students who can hardly read or write because students are promoted to the next class unduly, and also because students are asked to pay a token to be “wrongly helped” in WAEC or NECO exams. It is not an expression of God’s glory in anyway if a school gets all her WAEC/NECO candidates and students passed because they “helped” them through exams malpractice. It is capitally wrong to engage in exams malpractice of any sort to pass exams. Truthfully speaking, we are not the Image of God, we are only created in the image of God. We are image bearers of God and not the Image of God itself. We were crafted out as beings from an already existing Image, which happens to be God's image, and it's only Jesus Christ that is the express Image of God. The proof that sustain what I just said is in Hebrews 1:3 which says that: "He is the sole expression of the glory of God [the Light-being, the out-raying or radiance of the divine], and He is the perfect imprint and very image of [God’s] nature, upholding and maintaining and guiding and propelling the universe by His mighty word of power. When He had by offering Himself accomplished our cleansing of sins and riddance of guilt, He sat down at the right hand of the divine Majesty on high..." If you claim to have your life 'tilted', 'yielded' and 'angulated' to the Sun of Righteousness (Jesus Christ), you need to begin the expression of the life. Jesus' life was beheld by people around and we discovered that grace and truth was the full expression of the Glory He radiated. The Bible says that "And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory (His honor, His majesty), such glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth." – John 1:14. What will be the dimension of God's glory that the world should wait for expression from and through your life? Don't hide it or allow it to be covered under a bushel. The Bible says, "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house."(Matt. 5:14-15). The world is waiting for the life of Jesus Christ to be expressed through and by your life. But remember, you cannot give a life that you don’t have. If you don’t have Jesus’ life, you cannot express it. You can have this eternal life by being again. It is simple; just believe Jesus Christ in your heart and confess Him as your Lord and savior with your mouth, and you will be saved. Congratulations to you if you have done this. You now have this life, therefore, go out there and express God’s glory. • To the graduating students!!! Go out there and be the light of the world • To the students moving to the next class and going for this vacation!!! Go out there and be the light of the world • To the teachers whom God has been using to groom these students!!! Go out there and be the light of the world • To everyone out there who has God’s breathe in him or her!!! Shine the light of God in this perverse generation. It is high time we express and manifest God’s glory in our world for men to see. God bless you! WRITTEN BY SAMSON OKPANACHI DANIEL