Merry Christmas:The Joy that Christmas brings.

I happen to be a lover of Christmas. It is my favourite season of all time. Yet, despite my love for this season, I went to bed last night with a heavy heart.

As I woke up, I was reminded of a powerful truth: the joy of the Lord is not dependent on our situation, but on the state of our minds and hearts. This realisation brought calm and clarity to my soul.

Beloved, today may not look like what you hoped for or expected. Plans may not have worked out the way you imagined. Yet, we must remember this—Joy came down many years ago, and His name is Jesus. In Him, true joy is found.

This joy is not dependent on what we have, what we get, or what we accomplish. It is rooted in what He freely gives—a joy that remains steady even when circumstances are uncertain.

On this day, I pray that the joy of this season will never depart from your heart. May the good Lord cause His joy and peace to dwell with you now and forever.

Amen

The Best Option

There’s this Igbo praise song we often sing in my local assembly. It says: "Omema, You can do no wrong." 

As I stirred from my bed this morning, replaying the Christmas story in my heart, all that came to mind was this: God chose the best option.

“For God so loved ‘Ese’ that He gave His only begotten Son…”— and all He asked was that we believe in Him so we won’t perish.

(John 3:16 - paraphrased)

God gave us His best to prove the depth of His love. He could have sent an angel or a heavenly elder — that would’ve been easier, less costly. But no — He gave Jesus. He gave Himself.

This season isn’t just about the food, the dancing, or the carols. It’s about pausing to reflect on the gift of the best option.  

If God gave His best to redeem me, it proves I am deeply loved — and that’s the truth He wants me (and you) to live in.

So rather than fixate on our losses, shortcomings, or even the festivities, can our hearts focus on this truth?  

That the Lord gave us His very best.

And He still says to you:

"Come to Me. I have a place for you right here. I won’t break your heart. I have a plan not to squeeze you into something small, but to cast you as a major character in Heaven’s unfolding story."

But here’s the question:  

Do you believe that I’m for you?

Do you believe I can give you a reality that amazes even the gates of hell?

God wants you to birth seeds that crush the head of the serpent.  

But do you believe that His greatest gift — His best option — came to us in the form of a Child, a Son, a Savior… Jesus?

Jesus wants to love you.  

And yes, this season is about love, laughter, and joy — but Jesus is the summary of it all.

Do you believe?

Stay Revived!

-

The System of New Creation

Galatians 6:17 says:

“From now on let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.”

This scripture responds directly to Galatians 6:16, which declares a blessing and a plea:

“And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.”

What is the rule?

It is the rule of the new creation—the rule that acknowledges we have been bought with a price, and that price is blood. Not just any blood, but the precious blood of Jesus Christ.

Jesus is salvation. He died so that we might be saved. Therefore, we must admit that we are sinners and receive the salvation He freely gives. Jesus is not merely the One who gives peace—He is peace Himself.

So when Paul says, “Let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus,” he is pointing to the mark Christ bore for our peace. Yet we cannot walk in the fullness of this peace until we come into the reality of the new creation.

This is the life described in Ephesians 4:22–24:

“Put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man… be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”

Holiness and righteous living cannot be achieved by human effort alone. No one can truly say they are holy unless they are born of God.

Beloved, I bring you good news today: the new creation is the way to see the hand of God.

You are never too late to come to Him. You may be deep in trouble—burdened by debt, chaos, or sorrow—but God is deeply in love with you and fully aware of your pain. He is saying, “Come to Me, all you who are weary, and I will give you rest.”

Today, I invite you into the system of the new creation—the system called Jesus Christ.

Stay revived. 🙏

Do not release gas but fire.

In a system where criticism gives people joy and adds feathers to their caps, the Lord is calling us to watch out. We live in a culture where people glory in how they are “better” than others—especially when it comes to laws and righteous living—not because they truly love righteousness, but because they want to project a certain image in society.

This is why the Apostle Paul warns the Galatians: be careful. The world always finds a way to impose its strategies on people. It often does this through organized systems, conversations, and teachings that sound logical, correct, and convincing. Yet, in reality, they are empty—they are gas.

Why follow a law or system that exists mainly to boast in the fact that it has recruited you?

Paul addresses this clearly in Galatians 6:11–12 (MSG):

“Now, in these last sentences, I want to emphasize in the bold scrawls of my personal handwriting the immense importance of what I have written to you. These people who are attempting to force the ways of circumcision on you have only one motive: They want an easy way to look good before others, lacking the courage to live by a faith that shares Christ’s suffering and death. All their talk about the law is gas. They themselves don’t keep the law! And they are highly selective in the laws they do observe. They only want you to be circumcised so they can boast of their success in recruiting you to their side. That is contemptible!”

Do not be so busy attending every program, saying yes to everyone, and trying to please every church system that you forget the work is unto God. Take time to genuinely connect with Him. Know Him deeply.

Do not release gas—release fire.

Let your life be one rooted in the reality of the new creation through Christ’s death. Live to please the Master, Jesus. Let your goal not be public approval, but divine approval. If God is pleased, that is all that truly matters.

Let your life not release gas instead of fire.

Stay Revived!