The true Christian life is a call to manifest God in our lives

Greetings to you, dear readers, on this wonderful day! Every day God makes all things new and His mercies are renewed for us every morning! The Bible tells us that Jesus sat at the right hand of God after He performed the cleansing of our sins. He took this special place to make sure that the people He had redeemed could now stand up and finalize what He started on earth – to manifest God to people: 

«God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir to all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they» (Hebrews, 1:1-4).

 After Jesus manifested God to us,He then cleansed us by His Blood so we can qualify to carry on His work. And now Jesus is seating at the right hand of the Father God, and for this reason you and I cannot sit down or fold our arms. We must get up and go out to spread God’s message of love and power throughout the world. In order for us to live like Jesus did and to do His works, we must enter into the‘Father’s bosom’ and spend some time in His presence. We manifest Jesus’s life only when we have that life flowing through us. The true Christian life is a call to manifest God in our lives,- that is the only way what we carry inside of us can become obvious to the people around us: 

«Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marvelled» (Acts, 4:13).

 The first disciples of Jesus had spent time with Jesus and that reflected in their attitude to life,- they manifested God’s character through their lives. They were brave and bold for God; they boldly spoke of God, and testify of Him because they had spent time in the Father’s bosom. We must also spend time with Jesus if we want other people to see His nature and power reveal through our lives. We must spend time with the Lord not just for Him to protect, heal and help us, but so that He can manifest Himself through us. The time has come for you to think about what kind of fruit is growing out of your relationships with Jesus. Can other people notice the fruit of our fellowship with God? Look at the example of the first Disciples again: 

«So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch» (Acts, 11:26).

 As a result of assembling for a whole year to study the Word of God, the Disciples of Christ were first called „Christians” in Antioch. The lifestyle of Jesus Christ had become so obvious in them that people could see testify to that by giving them the nick name “Christian”. The word Christian means „a follower of Christ’s way” or ‘little Christ’. So what real fruits can people see in your life because of your church attendance and Bible reading all these years? 

«Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons» (Mark, 3:14-15).

 From the above passage we can see that Jesus did not just want to be the only One who can manifest God; He wanted His disciples and all believers to do the same, so 

• God is calling us to Himself through repentance.

 

• God delights in us spending time with Him so that we can the opportunity to see and understand His ways, to comprehend His decisions, His reactions, and His nature.

 

• As we spend time with Him, Jesus will give us the authority to preach His word, to heal the sick and to cast out demons. We need this power and authority to manifest God in our lives on a daily basis. By consistently spending time with Him and learning from Him, we will grow in this authority:

 

«But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord» (2 Corinthians, 3:18).

 Let’s not waste the precious time God has given to us! Let’s cease every opportunity we have to manifest God in every place we go!  We will continue about it tomorrow! May God abundantly bless you and your loved ones! Pastor Rufus Ajiboye