Heroes At The Altars Of Persecution

Apostle Grace Lubega

2 Timothy 3:12(KJV); Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

Persecution was one of the defining marks of the early church. The Christians of that time wore it as a badge of honour, the hero’s medallion of victory against a fallen world.

During the age of Catholic Christianity (70 AD-312AD), it fuelled the spread of Christianity. Like Tetullian, a prolific early Christian author wrote, ‘the blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church.”

When we peer through the lens of history, we see a time when persecution against the Church seemed to disappear. This was during the age of imperial Christianity (312 AD to 590AD) after the emperor Constantine became a Christian and by edict made Christianity the empire’s religion.

The lessons from then are dire because the Church of Christ lapsed into a state of compromise from which it has never recovered.

The absence of persecution in the church at the time blinded many against the need for the sacrifice that preserves the integrity of truth; when the Church went to bed with the state and lay on the soft pillows of religious tolerance, it opened a window for the merger of pagan rituals with Christian practice.

Today, there are those who wish for a Christian utopia devoid of persecution. No. That is not the mind of God!

A certain level of persecution must never leave the Church. For if the Church ever finds itself at peace with the world then it must question who its present bedfellow is.

Child of God, count it all joy when you suffer persecution, for it is but the refining fire by which the militant Church matches triumphant. Glory to God!

FURTHER STUDY: Matthew 5:11, James 1:2

GOLDEN NUGGET: Count it all joy when you suffer persecution, for it is but the refining fire by which the militant church matches triumphant.

PRAYER: My loving God, I thank you for this Word. I stand in the confident truth that I am yours and count it such a great blessing and honour to suffer persecution for your name’s sake. I embrace it with grace knowing that I carry a crown of glory upon my life. My testimony of endurance brings many to the faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

An All Dimensional Glory

Apostle Grace Lubega

Matthew 27:50‭-‬53(KJV); Jesus, when He had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after His resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many

The Spirit of Christ brings life to all things.‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

When Christ gave up His ghost, the effect was that graves were opened and many bodies of the saints which slept arose and came out of their graves after His resurrection.

Imagine the power of such an anointing!

This is the anointing that will cause other lame men in your proximity to walk simply because you were praying for one lame man.

This is the anointing that will cause other blind eyes in your vicinity to open while you were praying for one blind man.

It is the glory that will follow you when you say, “God is healing this person” and even the ones behind and next to that person will get healed.

This is the glory that follows you when you pray for one nation and other nations receive that same blessing too.

This was the power at work in Christ.

This same Christ lives in the inside of you. You are destined to do much more child of God.

It started from Him giving up His ghost; yielding His life absolutely and totally into the hands of the Father.

Child of God, as you continue to yield to the Spirit, His power manifested through you works mightily to affect everything around you.

Praise the Lord!

FURTHER STUDY: 1 John 2:27 (AMPC), John 14:12-13

GOLDEN NUGGET: As you continue to yield to the Spirit, His power manifested through you works mightily to affect everything around you.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I thank You for this knowledge. I acknowledge the indwelling presence of Your Sweet Holy Spirit in my life. I am conscious of Your working in my life, and I yield myself wholly to His power. I walk in limitless glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Know Your God

Apostle Grace Lubega

Daniel 11:32 (KJV); …the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.

One day, I went to preach at a certain school. The room had only fourteen students.

I asked God if He had sent me to preach to only fourteen students out of the thousands on that campus.

God told me, “No”. I then asked Him what I should do and He said, “Whatever you want.”

I instructed the fourteen students to go out and whichever student they touched, they were to tell them, “Follow me.”

Within minutes, the room was full to capacity, I practically had nowhere to stand.

The presence of God was so intense that day that the students were under the influence of the power of God for a long time.

Later, when I went back, I found that not only were the students flowing in the diverse gifts of the Holy Spirit, but the teaching staff was present for service because they had been reawakened to the God in their midst.

I had the choice to comfortably preach to the fourteen students; but I also had the liberty to stretch my faith in the God I knew could gather the hundreds of students outside the room.

Child of God, this testimony only serves one sole purpose: to stir your heart, and awaken you to what God is doing in our time!

Believe God for great and mighty things. He is ready and willing to perform these things on your behalf.

You will write history in your time!

The nations of this world yield to the anointing of God upon your life.

Blessed be God!

FURTHER STUDY: Matthew 19:26, Hebrews 11:6

GOLDEN NUGGET:

Believe God for great and mighty things. He is ready and willing to perform these things on your behalf.

PRAYER: My God, I thank You for this wisdom. I understand the covenant by which I have been called, and I know my God; I fulfil my purpose without hesitation. You set me up for great things, I am an eternal excellence and a joy of many generations. Great things shall be written of me. It shall be said that in my days, I saw God and His mighty working power. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

The Real World

Apostle Grace Lubega

Colossians 3:3(AMP); For [as far as this world is concerned] you have died, and your [new, real] life is hidden with Christ in God.

Child of God, what is reality?

Many people have restricted reality to what can be perceived by the physical senses; what they see, hear, smell, feel and taste.

But God has redefined reality for the new creature in Christ.

He says Christ is our reality.

Because Christ is our reality, He has set a pattern for us to understand what is real and what is not real.

For example, when Christ appeared to the disciples while they were locked up in a room (John 20:19), it is because He is more real than the building, the brick and mortar or the physical barricade of a door.

By the laws of eternity, what is true overrides what is fact, and thus forms the substance of reality.

When we use expressions such as “in the real world”, we are not talking about the physical world but the world in Christ.

Christ is what defines the highest degree of anything considered as real. His character and form is more distinctive than what you can see, hear, smell or feel.

There is a real economy in Christ. There is a real government in Christ. There is a real marriage in Christ. There is real health in Christ.

Child of faith, let Christ be your definition of the real world.

FURTHER STUDY: John 20:19, 2 Corinthians 4:18

GOLDEN NUGGET:

Christ is what defines the highest degree of anything considered as real. His character and form is more distinctive than what you can see, hear, smell or feel.

PRAYER: Father, I thank You for this great truth. My reality is framed by eternity and not what I see, hear, smell, feel or taste with my physical senses. I set my eyes on the things above where Christ is. I refuse to look at that which is temporary but that which is eternal. My marriage, ministry, business, career and entire life is defined by the reality of Christ. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

To Know Jesus

Apostle Grace Lubega

1 Corinthians 2:2 (AMP); For I resolved to know nothing (to be acquainted with nothing, to make a display of the knowledge of nothing, and to be conscious of nothing) among you except Jesus Christ (the Messiah) and Him crucified.

Cornelius was the captain of the Italian regiment, a devout man of extraordinary character who worshipped God and prayed regularly, together with all his family. (Acts 10:1‭-‬2).

Cornelius had a relationship with God yet he was not a Jew.‬‬‬‬‬‬

In Luke 7:7, the Bible speaks of a Roman Centurion who told Jesus to only send a word and his servant would be healed(Luke 7:7).

This man knew Jesus could only send a word and healing is executed immediately but he was not a Jew.

The Bible speaks of the Samaritan woman who went back and told her people how she had met the Messiah, and the Samaritans believed. (John 4:5-42).

That means the Samaritans believed in the ministry of Jesus before the Jews did.

What about the disciples themselves? One day they found a man casting out demons in the name of Jesus, and they tried to stop him because he did not follow them (Mark 9:38).

This man could cast out devils yet the disciples sometimes failed to do so.

All these examples point to how those that are seemingly far from a relationship with God actually know God more than those who look like they have a relationship with Him.

Being Born Again does not mean that you know God. Attending a church where the truth of the Word is preached does not mean that you know Jesus.

You must honestly ask yourself the question, “Do I really know Him?”

In this, we learn from Paul. He was a man who was “born out of time.”(1 Corinthians 15:8). He never saw the Christ in the flesh or walked with Him like the other disciples did.

However, he made it the purpose of his life to know nothing else but Christ crucified. This was the centre of His ministry; to know God like God knew Him.

This is what makes the demons ask, “Paul we know but who are you?”( Acts 19:15).

The principalities knew Paul because he knew Jesus and God.

Child of God, like Paul, always be determined to be consumed with one thing, JESUS!

Make Him the focal point and essence of all your knowledge; this is what sets us apart.
Hallelujah!

FURTHER STUDY: John 17:3, Philippians 3:8

GOLDEN NUGGET:

Always be determined to be consumed with one thing, JESUS; make Him the focal point and essence of all your knowledge; this is what sets us apart.

PRAYER: My heavenly Father, I thank You for this great knowledge. I purpose to only know and experience the one true God and His Son Jesus Christ. I lay hold of eternal life and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is my Life, my righteousness, sufficiency, and wisdom. He makes my life beautiful and fruitful. To the glory of Your name. Amen. ‬

Worship In Spirit And Truth

 Apostle Grace Lubega

John 4:24(KJV); God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

It is one thing to worship in spirit, another to worship in truth and another to worship both in spirit and truth.

True worship is done in SPIRIT and TRUTH.

God is deliberate in stating that it ought to be in both spirit and truth.

He is also deliberate in starting from the Spirit and not from truth because this is the true order of worship.

It begins from Spirit because God firstly seeks to establish the nature issue. You must know and understand that you are a spirit, like God is a Spirit.

This means that you do not worship as a man.

Mere men seek to distance themselves from the God; they worship because they do not understand that they are spirit.

God says, “He that is joined to the Lord is one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:17).

Worship is the coming together of spirits; not man and spirit but spirit and spirit.

It is only when you understand worship in this order that you can worship in TRUTH.

FURTHER STUDY: 1 Corinthians 6:17, John 3:6

GOLDEN NUGGET:

Worship is the coming together of spirits; not man and spirit but spirit and spirit. It is only when you understand worship in this order that you can worship in TRUTH.

PRAYER: My Father, I thank You for this word for today. I worship in this understanding. I know the God I worship. He is the Creator of heaven and earth, the One who set the oceans on their course, who parts the seas and calms the storms. I am one with Him. In this truth, I live in the fullness of the life of the spirit, to the glory of Your Name. Amen.

The Light In Which We Dwell

Apostle Grace Lubega

1 Timothy 6:16(KJV); Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.

God dwells in a light which no man can approach.

This scripture does not mean that you as a child of God cannot approach this light. It only means that a mere man of the flesh cannot approach this light.

This is because flesh and blood cannot inherit the realm of God (1 Corinthians 15:50).

However, you are a spirit and a child of light. You have been translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. You therefore have the privilege to approach Him in this light.

More than merely approaching God in this Light, you dwell in that light.

If a mere man cannot approach this light; the things that affect mere men cannot approach this light either.

The wicked and unreasonable cannot approach you because you dwell in this unapproachable light.

Disease cannot approach you because you dwell in this unapproachable light.

Hallelujah!

FURTHER STUDY: Colossians 1:12, James 1:17, 1 Peter 2:9

GOLDEN NUGGET:

You are a spirit and a child of light. You have been translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. You have the privilege to approach God in this light. You dwell in that light!

PRAYER: My God, I thank You for this word. Oh, I dwell in light! You are the Father of lights and in You there is no shadow of turning. In You I live, move and have my being. In me there is no shadow of turning. The works of the enemy are far from me because I dwell in a light that he cannot approach. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Let Your Light Shine

Apostle Grace Lubega

Job 29:3-9(KJV); When his candle shined upon my head, and when by his light I walked through darkness…When I went out to the gate through the city, when I prepared my seat in the street! The young men saw me, and hid themselves: and the aged arose, and stood up…The princes refrained talking, and laid their hand on their mouth…The nobles held their peace, and their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth.

Job speaks of a time when the candle of the Lord shone upon his head and how by God’s light he walked through darkness.

In that time, he was a man of influence: the aged rose and stood up when they saw him, the nobles held their peace, meaning his word was respected.

Success and influence is because the light of God is shining from your spirit.

Your influence in the physical realm depends on how much you are shining in the spiritual realm.

The more you shine in the spirit, the more you shine in the world.

Some people’s lights are too dim for them to have jobs, too dim for them to get married, too dim to build ministry, too dim to live life to the fullest. But that’s not your story!

The Christ tells you, “Let your light shine.” (Matthew 5:16).

How so?

Walk in the understanding that you are a child of light; kings come to the brightness of your rising and gentiles to your light. Speak and act it because it is your nature.

The radiance of God in the inside of you shall manifest greatly on the outside.

FURTHER STUDY: Matthew 5:14, Isaiah 60:1-3

GOLDEN NUGGET:

Your influence in the physical realm depends on how much you are shining in the spiritual realm. The more you shine in the spirit, the more you shine in the world.

PRAYER: Father, I thank You for the entrance of Your Word that brings light and understanding to my spirit. I walk in the understanding that I am begotten of Light; that He who commanded light to shine out of darkness has shined in my heart. Your radiance in the inside of me is manifest on the outside. The world looks at me and knows that I am more than a mere man. I am born of God. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Superiority Of The Knowledge Of God

Apostle Grace Lubega

2 Corinthians 10:5(KJV); Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

When some people read our theme scripture, they read it as “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself ABOVE the knowledge of God.”

That is an error, child of God. The language of the scripture is “AGAINST” and not “ABOVE.”

There are things (situations, issues) that seek to exalt themselves AGAINST the knowledge of God, however those things can never be ABOVE the knowledge of God.

There is no situation that is above the knowledge of God. It doesn’t matter how intense it may seem and how afflicting it may become, the knowledge of God is superior to that circumstance.

This is why we believe the report of the Lord.

If His report says you cannot be sick, it doesn’t matter what the doctor found. The knowledge of God is above that disease.

If His report says with long life He shall satisfy you, it doesn’t matter what seeks to take your life, the knowledge of God is above that circumstance.

He says, we are seated in Christ, far above all principalities, powers and dominions.

This seat and dwelling place is in knowledge because knowledge has placed you above every work of the enemy. Hallelujah!

FURTHER STUDY: Proverbs 22:12, Ephesians 1:21

GOLDEN NUGGET:

There are things (situations, issues) that seek to exalt themselves AGAINST the knowledge of God, however those things can never be ABOVE the knowledge of God. There is no situation that is above the knowledge of God. It doesn’t matter how intense it may seem and how afflicting it may become, the knowledge of God is superior to it.

PRAYER: Father God, I am grateful for this Word. Knowledge is my dwelling place. Nothing that comes against me can defeat me because I am seated in the high places of knowledge. Situations bow to me because they can never be above the knowledge that I have in God. I am a victor in all that I do. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

To Regard The Christ

Apostle Grace Lubega

2 Corinthians 5:16(NIV); So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.

The world has laboured to paint a picture of the Christ that is not in full consonance with what the scriptures say.

They paint Him as a good looking man with long flowing hair.

But the Bible says, “There was nothing physically beautiful or majestic about His appearance, nothing to attract us to Him.” (Isaiah 53:2NLT).

The Christ, while He walked the surface of the earth did not have the appearance that the world has tried to create.

The same way they regard the terrestrial (physical) Christ is the same way they regard the celestial (spiritual) Christ.

Right now, the Christ is glorified. You cannot draw glory physically.

Pictures may speak a thousand words, but the person of the Christ goes beyond any words.

Sadly, it is this image that many carry in prayer.

Beloved saint, the true reality of the Christ can only be beheld from within you.

No man should supply your imagination of how the Christ looks.

Christ now lives in the inside of you, child of God. If you are to behold him, let the genesis be from within you.

FURTHER STUDY: Isaiah 53:2-3, 2 Corinthians 5:15-17, Galatians 1:15

GOLDEN NUGGET:

The true reality of the Christ can only be beheld from within you.

PRAYER: Father God, I thank You for today; thank You for this light of the knowledge to regard You with the eyes of my spirit. I am cautious of Your presence within me Lord. You are Emmanuel, God with me and in me. Thank You because the inward affirmation of Your Person releases the outward manifestation of Your Presence in everything I do. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Never To Fall

Apostle Grace Lubega

1Peter 1:5(MSG); God is keeping careful watch over us and the future…..

It is possible to live a full Christian life, run your course and race perfectly and finish without walking out on God.

Falling off the faith is not an inevitable eventuality for a believer. You cannot justify it as something that is bound to happen because after all you are ‘human’

Your zeal and hunger for God can increase every day of your life on the earth without any possibility of waning.

Well, you may say, “The Bible says, be careful when you think you stand, lest you fall.” (1 Corinthians 10:12).

It is one thing to THINK that you stand, it is another to KNOW by whom you stand. When a man thinks he stands, it is because he believes that he does so by his own strength and power.

However, we are KEPT BY THE POWER OF GOD THROUGH FAITH. Like the Message version in our theme scripture puts it, God is keeping careful watch over us and the future.

We don’t merely think that we stand; we KNOW that we stand because we understand that it is God that keeps us and causes us to stand.

The reason you cannot fall is because God Himself is upholding you and keeping vigilant watch over your life.

Walk in this blessed assurance every day. Hallelujah!

FURTHER STUDY: 2 Timothy 1:12(AMP), 1Peter 1:5, Jude 1:24

GOLDEN NUGGET:

We do not merely think that we stand; we KNOW that we stand because we understand that it is God that keeps us and causes us to stand.

PRAYER: My God, I thank You for this great knowledge. What a precious truth to know that I am kept by You. I yield to Your precious grace because it is by it that I stand. I will never fall. I know that I will finish my life’s journey well because I am not alone. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Presence Of God

Apostle Grace Lubega

1 Samuel 4: -10(KJV);  And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel: and when they joined battle, Israel was smitten before the Philistines: and they slew of the army in the field about four thousand men. And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the Lord smitten us to day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies. And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of the Lord was come into the camp. And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us! for there hath not been such a thing heretofore…And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man into his tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen.

The scriptures give an account of a battle between Israel and the Philistines where Israel suffered a terrible defeat.

In 1 Samuel 4:2, the Bible reveals that four thousand men of Israel were killed at first.

After this defeat, the men of Israel decided to bring the Ark of the Covenant into their camp. They rejoiced greatly when this was done because they assumed that its presence in the camp was the guarantee of victory.

The result?

Thirty thousand men were killed during that battle. Israel suffered a greater defeat when the Ark of the Covenant came into the camp.

Think about it.

With the very presence of God in their midst, thousands of them died.

Why would men with the very presence of God be defeated?

These men sought His presence without an understanding of the God of the presence.

They sought for victory without understanding the God of victory.

They brought him to a war without understanding the God who fights and wins wars.

The presence of God cannot profit a man who does not have a relationship with the God whose presence he seeks.

The presence of God is the reality of His Person. It is Him telling you, “I am here, feel me.”

You cannot walk in this reality without the intimacy of relationship.

Do not simply desire the presence of God, purpose to also know Him personally.

FURTHER STUDY: Exodus 33:15, Exodus 33:3

GOLDEN NUGGET:

The presence of God cannot profit a man who does not have a relationship with the God whose presence he seeks.

PRAYER: My Father, I thank You for Your Presence in my life. I thank You because You will never leave me nor forsake me. You are my ever present help in times of need. I have been sealed with the Spirit to eternity and can never walk alone. Because I have You, I am always victorious. Because I have You, I live boldly. In Jesus’ name. Amen.