Tag: glory

The Oil of Pride and the Water of Grace

By Ife J. Ibitayo

Last month, I alluded to a significant financial setback on my journey to launching a business. What if I told you since then God has graciously met my need but my pride nearly aborted the whole process?

Pride is Me-Based

America was built on the myth of self-made men and women. We’ve been conditioned to believe, “With unrelenting intensity and a can-do attitude, the best and brightest can move every mountain all on their own.” I’ve all too often fallen into this trap. But all too often bad timing, bad luck, and my bad habits remind me that I can’t always be the solution to my problems.

Grace is God-Based

In his best-selling book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell argues that the truly exceptional “appear at first blush to lie outside ordinary experience…[but their success] is grounded in a web of advantages and inheritances, some deserved, some not.” In other words, our success will always be contingent on forces beyond our control. Even the Bible affirms this truth: “The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle…And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time” (Ecclesiastes 9:11).

The atheist accept this as randomness, and the spiritual call it destiny. But the believer knows this phenomenon as grace, for even “every roll of the dice is determined by the LORD” (Proverbs 16:33). Grace points to a force beyond our own two hands that ultimately determines the outcomes in our lives. It lifts the weight of responsibility off our shoulders and places it squarely on the LORD’s. This means it also shifts the weight of glory from our crown to His.

Conclusion

Pride and grace are like oil and water; they don’t mix. For God Himself says He “opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).

The oil of pride is complex. Crude oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons which has no easily written chemical formula. Similarly, pride requires all sorts of explanations to justify its existence.

But the water of grace is simple. Water has only two components: hydrogen and oxygen. Similarly, grace requires only two responses: gratitude and humility. And these two responses can be summed up in two words: Thank you.

“A man’s pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will obtain honor.”

(Proverbs 29:23)

Setbacks to Glory

By Ife J. Ibitayo

You know that feeling when you’ve been working toward something for months? You’ve been trusting, fasting, praying for it to come through. But that hopeful interview turns into a hopeless disappointment. You “shot your shot,” and you missed.

I’ve nearly drowned in that feeling this past week, a toxic blend of disappointment, bewilderment, and a dash of self-pity. If “all things truly work out for the good of those who love God” (Romans 8:28), what good can be found in yet another setback?

Perseverance

First, it develops perseverance. Two years ago, I shared a little bit about my writing journey. Striving to become a professional writer has been one of the greatest challenges of my life. Much to my father’s chagrin, the only documents I have framed on my wall are not from any of my graduations but from my first publications. But that is because of the power of perseverance. When year after year you receive rejection after rejection, you can either grow bitter or get better.

The Word says, “Let us not grow weary of well doing, for in due season we will reap a harvest, if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9). From Oprah Winfrey to Winston Churchill to Michael Jordan, many of the giants of this past century did not cruise through life on easy mode. But rather, their hard work, determination, and “never-give-up” attitudes led to the acclaim they’ve now rightly earned.

Humility

Secondly, it inculcates humility. Joseph in the Bible has one of the greatest “riches to rags back to riches again” stories of all time. He began his life as a pampered trust fund baby who dreamed that he’d someday rule over the rest of his family. And he had to make sure they all knew it too!

But that “wise” decision led to thirteen years of slavery and imprisonment. The end of Joseph’s time in prison was punctuated by another dream. And because of it, he was led into the royal halls of the preeminent empire of his time to speak to the most powerful figure in the world. And when Pharaoh, king of Egypt, asked Joseph to interpret the strange dream he had, Joseph’s first words were, “‘I cannot. But God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires’” (Genesis 41:16).

Setbacks are often the only force powerful enough to remind us of our limitations. In American culture, we are taught from day one that we are special. Our straight A’s, scholarships, raises, and promotions all attest to our singular genius.

But when we are passed over, delayed, or rejected, we’re forced to look within and take stock of our weaknesses. And we’re reminded of the grace of God that has carried us thus far.

Conclusion

When naming this article, I realized that some might misunderstand “Setbacks to Glory” as obstacles that impede our journey to greatness. But it’s quite the opposite. Setbacks are rungs on the ladder of distinction. By callousing our fingers and deflating our egos, setbacks accelerate us toward success. The question is: Will we let them set us off course from our God-given vision or set us up for the triumph to come?

“We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that sufferings produce perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”

(Romans 5:3-4)

Inbounding the Buzzer Beater

By Ife J. Ibitayo

It was the last game of the season. We were down by one point, and there were only a few seconds left on the clock. The referee gave me the go-ahead, and I inbounded the ball to Jorge, our up-and-coming shooting guard. As the dying moments of the game ticked away, he sprinted down the court, drove to his right, and tossed a wild shot in the general direction of the basketball hoop. It rattled around the rim and miraculously dropped in! The buzzer sounded, and we won the last game of my short and not so illustrious basketball career.

I still vividly remember the excitement of that moment. Our team attempted to carry Jorge on their back but nearly dropped him. And I beamed at my father who had made a surprise appearance to watch me play.

On the drive home, my dad complimented me by saying, “The way you play reminds me of Dennis Rodman,” the rainbow-haired power forward who won three rings with Michael Jordan. “You didn’t score much, but you proved yourself so useful they kept you on the floor for the final minutes of the game.” I didn’t know whether to be deeply offended or greatly encouraged!

The Basketball Game of Life

Since then, I’ve lived through many quarters of the basketball game of life. I’ve spent several long hours sitting on the sidelines. I’ve been begging week after week for the Coach to put me in. Now must be the opportune season. Now must be my time to shine. And sure enough, He’s heeded my request.

In a few months, I’ll be jet-setting across the country and beginning the greatest adventure of my life. I’m standing on the sidelines excitedly waiting for the next break in the action to leap onto the court. But slowly something has begun to click in my head.

In Zechariah 4:6, God says, “‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit.’” In the book of Psalms, God says, “No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength…But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him” (Psalm 33:16, 18). Joseph affirmed that it was God who spoke through Him (Genesis 41:16), David that it was God who fought through Him (1 Samuel 17:47), and even Jesus that it was God who worked through Him (John 5:20).

Conclusion

I’m not Michael Jordan or even Scottie Pippen. I am still very much Dennis Rodman. I’m Robin to God’s Batman. I am the sidekick, not the hero, the wingman, not the ace. I get to step onto the court, but I’m still on the sidelines, watching the great Superstar perform dazzling miracles and stunning turnarounds. And like John the Baptist, I’m learning how to accept that, “He must increase, and I must decrease” (John 3:30). Because the audience isn’t here for me. And as the ball rainbows through the air, I will remember that I had the express honor of inbounding that sick buzzer beater.

“For the LORD God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The LORD will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.”

(Psalm 84:11)

Recycling and the Image of God (The Genesis Archives Pt. 2)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

For Part 1, “Let There Be Light”, click here.

“Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground” (Genesis 1:26).

I never used to recycle. I saw it as a nuisance at best and a hassle at worst. I had more important tasks to complete than tediously separating out the cardboard boxes from the steady stream of trash I generate. But one day, I felt divinely convicted about my disregard for recycling. Yes, divinely convicted. Let me explain.

God’s Rule

It shouldn’t be very shocking that the God who created the world cares about it too. In the book of Job, God rhetorically asks, “‘Who makes the rain fall on barren land, in a desert where no one lives? Who sends rain to satisfy the parched ground and make the tender grass spring up…Who provides the raven’s food when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food’” (Job 38:26-27, 41)?

God is the ultimate gardener and zookeeper of the vivarium we call earth. He is in charge of the ecosystems we know and love on our planet. But He has graciously ceded a tremendous deal of control to us humans. He made us in His image, and one key aspect of that image is God’s dominion—His rule and reign.

Our Rule

When we hear the term “rule”, our minds often go to bad examples of rulership we’ve witnessed in our lives—bad parents, professors, or presidents. Or we may think of dictatorships like the Galactic Empire of Star Wars or the Third Reich. But the Hebrew word radah, much like its English counterpart “reign”, is a morally neutral term. It simply refers to power and authority one possesses over others. And this power and authority can be used to profit one’s subordinates or profiteer off of them.

As the rulers of earth, we’ve done a tremendous deal of profiteering. We’ve increased the rate of species extinction by a factor of dozens or even hundreds. We’ve decimated a third of the earth’s forests. And we’ve polluted nearly half of the rivers and lakes here in the United States. That barrage of facts only scratches the surface of the potentially irreparable damage we’ve done to our planet.

Conclusion

There are many who’ll read this article and roll their eyes, dismissing it as liberal, left-wing propaganda. But that’s exactly the problem, good stewardship of the world we’ve been given is everyone’s problem. It’s not a political topic but a heart issue. And this is why I began to recycle. I need to care as much about this planet as God does. And caring begins with the little things like conserving water, not wasting food, and even tossing my empty Coke can into the right trashcan.

“The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”
(Psalm 24:1)

Joseph’s Shame and Glory (New Angles on the Nativity Pt. 1)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

The most underappreciated character in the nativity story may very well be Joseph. This man scraped by for decades to earn enough money to afford the bridal price of a very special woman. He’d walked so uprightly all his days that the Bible declared him to be dikaios, meaning “righteous in the eyes of God” (Matthew 1:19).  And the time had finally arrived for him to become a husband and a father. Then, he found out that the love of his life must have made love with another man.

While he was still grieving his loss, an angel of the LORD appeared to him in a dream and said, “‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins’” (Matthew 1:20-21). Joseph responded to this charge in two tremendous ways: obedience and patience.

Faith-Filled Obedience

Matthew 1:24 says, “When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary has his wife.” For many believers reading the Bible today, his response seems perfectly natural. We think, “If I had seen an angel, I would have married Mary too.” But imagine trying to explain the situation to your buddies. “I married a pregnant woman because God told me that He’d impregnated her.” If they didn’t lock you up in an insane asylum, you’d instantly become the laughingstock of your entire village! Yet Joseph still believed what God had told Him.

Reading the Hall of Faith this past week, I was astounded by the strangeness of the activities men and women completed in the name of faith. A man left all he ever knew to go to a place he didn’t know to give an inheritance he’d never see to a son he didn’t yet have (Hebrews 11:8-9)! Another man built a boat to ride waves higher than the mountains and waited for a storm that didn’t come for over half a century (Hebrews 11:7). And now Joseph was being told to believe that his betrothed was bearing the literal son of God. In faith, Joseph accepted current disgrace so that he could embrace future glory.

Painful Patience

Secondly, Matthew 1:25 says, “Joseph did not have sexual relations with Mary until her son was born.” Most of us can’t wait to have sex until after we’re married. Imagine not being able to have it until almost a full year after that! But one of the most important lessons of the kingdom is that patience precedes promotion.

Joseph’s patience ensured that no one could call Jesus’ divinity into question on account of him. And more than that, it allowed him to become the adopted father of God Himself. The harder the season of waiting, the greater the glory of receiving. That is why apostle Paul says, “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17)

Conclusion

When we talk about Christmas, we often remember the person of Jesus. Then we celebrate Mary. But we neglect Joseph. This righteous man sacrificed all and waited long to father the Messiah of the world. If that isn’t a glorious example to emulate, I don’t know what is!

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”

(Romans 8:18)

Whose Glory Is It Anyway?

By Ife J. Ibitayo

A little over a year ago, God led me to start this blog. I baptized the process in prayer, reached out to friends and family, and even posted flyers around my neighborhood. I had naively hoped that even if it didn’t ride the rocket to stardom that I’d at least be able to generate some level of interest. But now it’s been over a year, and my rocket has yet to take off.

Whose Glory?

As I mentioned in my article on fame, my drug of choice has always been glory. Michael Jordan, Barak Obama, and Ife Ibitayo should all be mentioned in the same breath. Interestingly enough, fame is something that God wants too.

There are eighty-eight different passages in the Bible that speak of God doing something in order that people may “know that I am the LORD” (Exodus 7:5, 1 Kings 20:13, and Isaiah 49:23 to name a few). But since we’re both seeking glory, who does it properly belong to?

His Glory?

In the book of Isaiah, God says, “‘I am the Lord! That is my name! I will not share my glory with anyone else, or the praise due me with idols’” (Isaiah 42:8). So clearly God thinks He deserves all the praise and the honor and the majesty. Considering that He is the Creator of the universe, the Sustainer of all life, and the Savior of all mankind, that is probably a reasonable demand. But then why do we so desire glory for ourselves?

My Glory?

The root of our glory seeking is pride. It began with Satan in heaven in ages past. He said, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the north. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:13-14).

Satan’s folly lay in attempting to set himself above God, and the same pride lies in our own hearts. We may not speak such blatantly boastful words, but we too think that we deserve praise and admiration. By the sweat of our brows and the work of our hands, we’ve fought for what we have today.

Chastising the Corinthians who were being ensnared by the same evil, Paul said, “What do you have that you did not receive” (1 Corinthians 4:7)? Our intelligence, our physique, and more were shaped by forces largely outside our control. We didn’t pave the path to where we are today but found it by stumbling across the yellow brick road of grace and mercy.

Our Glory

Yet the amazing thing about God’s glory is that it actually leaves room for our own as well. Before He was taken up to heaven, Jesus told the Father, “I’ve given them the glory that you gave me” (John 17:22). Jesus emphasized that there is glory that we can and should seek. But it is not derived from our own awesomeness but from the LORD’s. As we seek to glorify God on this earth, we may not receive the recognition we wish we did. But the LORD recognizes us, and He will glorify us at the proper time.

“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.”

(1 Peter 5:6)

Almost but Not Yet (Life in Waiting Pt. 1)

Ife J. Ibitayo

We live in a year of “almost but not yet”s. We’re almost allowed to go back into the office but not yet. We’re almost allowed to hold celebrations with our friends and family but not yet. We’re almost ready to return to normal (whatever “normal” will be) but not yet.

It’s like we’re stuck in Groundhog Day on Christmas Eve. We’re anxiously awaiting tomorrow, but it never seems to arrive.

Almost Free

 The Egyptians enslaved the Israelites for over four hundred years (Exodus 12:40). They waited generation after generation for salvation, according to the promise given to their ancestor Abraham (Genesis 15:13-14). Then their liberator finally arrived. Moses burst on the scene with a commission from God and a miracle working staff. He barged into Pharaoh’s palace and demanded that he release God’s people (Exodus 3-5). You can probably guess how well that went.

Pharoah kicked the uppity troublemaker out and doubled the workload of his slaves. Chastened and distraught, “Moses returned to the Lord and said, ‘Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued your people at all’” (Exodus 5:22-23).

Almost Understood

God responded to Moses, “‘I am the LORD. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself fully known to them’” (Exodus 6:2-3). A name carries the identity and character of a person; it reveals who they are. And just as God used the waiting to reveal Himself in a deeper way to Moses and the Israelites, so He does in our lives.

How can we appreciate that God is LORD of the valleys if we only remain on the mountaintops (1 Kings 20:28)? How can we find God in hell if we’re only treated to heaven (Psalm 139:8)? It’s through the wait that we can enter into a deeper understanding of who the LORD really is.

Almost Heard

“‘Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving’” (Exodus 6:5a). God doesn’t simply fix our problems. He enters into our pain while we’re waiting.

We all have those well-meaning loved ones who can’t bear to see us unhappy. Instead of taking the time to understand the source of our emotional discontent, they immediately seek to banish the problem. True love enters the waiting and sympathizes with our weaknesses before healing the pain (Hebrews 4:15).

Almost Glorious

Lastly, God said, “‘I will make Pharaoh’s heart stubborn so I can multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. Even then Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you. So I will bring down my fist on Egypt. Then I will rescue my forces—my people, the Israelites—from the land of Egypt with great acts of judgment. When I raise my powerful hand and bring out the Israelites, the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord’” (Exodus 7:3-5). God strengthens our testimony by allowing us to wait.

The power of delayed graduations, marriages, and any number of major life events grows over time. For instance, it’s one thing to have a baby when you are thirty and quite another to have one when you are one hundred (Romans 4:19)! As God pushes the timeline of our promises out to the right, He’s increasing the glory of their fulfillment, not diminishing it.

Conclusion

“Almost but not yet” may very well be the hardest season of life to live in. But it’s also one of the richest. As the words to the classic song goes, “we may not be able to trace His hand. But we can trust His heart”. And we can rest assured that God is working even now.

“He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.”

(Psalm 121:3)

Watch God (Life After Death Pt. 3)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

For Part 1, “Remembered Sin or Resurrected Faith”, click here. For Part 2, “Unexpected Gift, Unexpected Grief”, click here.

Jesus had many disciples, but He had very few friends. A man named Lazarus and his two sisters–Mary and Martha–were among these precious few. When Lazarus fell ill, his sisters sent this message to the famed miracle worker, “‘Lord, Your dear friend is very sick’” (John 11:3). Jesus should have taken off as soon as He heard. But He waited instead. And by the time He arrived in Lazarus’ hometown, His dear friend was already dead (John 11:17).

Watch, God?

If you’re anything like me, you may have noticed that this is a fairly common pattern for God. We saw the writing on the wall and begged Him to step in a long time ago: To rescue our flagging finances, our failing marriage, or our wayward children. But He didn’t show.

The prophet Elijah once mocked some false prophets who were crying out to Baal by saying, “‘You’ll have to shout louder, for surely he is a god! Perhaps he is daydreaming or relieving himself or away on a trip or asleep’” (1 Kings 18:27). But sometimes I feel like that’s my God. And that’s how Mary and Martha felt when Jesus finally arrived. They cried to Jesus, “‘If you had been here, my brother would not have died’” (John 11:21, 32).

Watch God

We’re distraught when God shows up later than we want Him to because we think He’s too late to do anything at all. When we’ve declared bankruptcy, when our spouse files for divorce, when our son or daughter overdoses, we throw in the towel. We recognize that He’s the great physician who can heal broken bones, but we forget that He’s almighty God who resurrects corpses.

Even before Lazarus was laid in the tomb, Jesus said, “‘This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it’” (John 11:4). God’s glory is not a trivial matter. Only people who worship a glorious God have glorious faith.

They pour out their life savings to wash Jesus’ feet (John 13:1-8). Tortured, imprisoned, and sawn in two, they refuse to deny the faith (Hebrews 11:35-37). They accept sleepless night and starving days just to preach the gospel (2 Corinthians 11:27). They shout with Daniel’s three friends, “Our God is able to save us from the fiery furnace, but even if He does not, we will not submit” (Daniel 3:17-18). Such faith is not built on a small God working small miracles but a great God working great wonders.

Conclusion

When Jesus came to Lazarus’ tomb, He said, “‘Take away the stone.’” But she replied, “‘Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible’” (John 11:39). Martha had already swung the white flag of defeat. There was no point in unearthing the putrid, rotting corpse. But Jesus replied, “‘Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?’” (John 11:40). The question Jesus asked Martha, He asks you today: “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”

Do you have enough faith to roll away the stone and watch God?

“The eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.”

(2 Chronicles 16:9a NKJV)

The Humility, Humiliation, and Honor of Christ

By Ife J. Ibitayo

In honor of Easter, I want to consider Apostle Paul’s explanation for why Jesus came down to earth as explained in Philippians 2:6-11.

Humility

Philippians 2:6-7a says, “Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.”

Sometimes we can forget how great Jesus already was. He was the Divine, the Word of the Father. He formed all creatures, and all creatures were already subject to Him. They worshiped Him night and day in heaven, and He exalted and condemned them with a mere thought.

Yet the King above all Kings, the Lord above all Lords humbled Himself. From our point of view, this choice is utterly inexplicable. Title, power, and influence are par and parcel to worldly greatness. No earthly leader would exchange the glory of the throne for the obscurity of a manger.

But from the beginning, kingdom priorities have always been the opposite of earthly ones. In Mark 10:43-44, Jesus proclaimed that greatness was to be found through service, preeminence through submission. And He practiced what He preached. He gave up everything in order to give us everything.

Humiliation

But Jesus did not stop with humility, He stooped to humiliation. Philippians 2:7b-8 says, “When he appeared in human form, He humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.” For Jesus to relinquish His divine privileges to embrace humanity is one thing, but for Him to be mislabeled as a criminal, a miscreant, the scum of society is another thing altogether.

Prophesying about Jesus, Isaiah said, “He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5 NIV). Jesus became God’s punching bag on the cross. He endured the brutal body blows we deserved because of our sins. And the very people He suffered for thought that He–not they–was guilty (Isaiah 53:4).

Honor

Yet Jesus’ story does not end with disgrace. Philippians 2:9-11 says, “Therefore, God elevated Him to the place of highest honor and gave Him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Notice the “therefore” in this passage. God the Father did not raise His Son to glory in spite of the humility and humiliation He endured but because of them.

In the verses proceeding this amazing passage, Apostle Paul says, “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had” (Philippians 2:3-5 NLT).

Therefore we must remind ourselves daily that the path to Christlikeness is a path to glory, but we’ll find it through humility rather than hubris, and humiliation rather than exaltation.

Happy Easter!

“We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.”

(Hebrews 12:2 NLT)