A NEW HEART AND A NEW SPIRIT (DAY 179 OF 365)

A NEW HEART AND A NEW SPIRIT

(Nuggets from Ezekiel 11:19)

Today's scripture speaks of CONVERSION, which can only be brought about by the Holy Spirit and Faith in Christ.

Ezekiel 11 from verse 13 talks about God's promise of RESTORATION AND RENEWAL to the nation Israel. This would be evident after the rapture and the deliverance of Israel from the anti-christ invasion of Jerusalem.

Israel has been known for their stubbornness and rebellion, but a time is coming when they will no longer continue in their obstinacy. However, before the post-rapture events when the Lord Jesus Christ comes to deliver Israel and take over His throne in Jerusalem, the church of this present day will experience a WAVE OF REVIVAL.

God wants to prepare a RAPTURE-READY and RAPTURABLE church whose garments are spotless and white as snow, but there has to be oneness in the UNIVERSAL BODY OF CHRIST. This was why Jesus Christ our Lord prayed in John 17 for UNITY and ONENESS in the church, such that the world would clearly see that they are truly His church.

Has your heart been transformed?

Has your spirit been renewed?

Or is your heart still stony?

All that God demands from you is SINCERITY, HUMILITY, and SUBMISSION; if you are willing, He will work on your heart, renew it, and make you fit for His use.

This is HOLINESS CHALLENGE

DAY 179 OF 365 (2026)

📹 A NEW HEART AND A NEW SPIRIT 

CHOOSING GOD'S PRECEPTS (DAY 178 OF 365)

CHOOSING GOD'S PRECEPTS
(Nuggets from Psalm 119:173)

This was a passionate prayer made by the Psalmist in the 22nd and last stanza of the book of Psalm 119.
Today's verse emphasizes seeking God's intervention backed by a personal decision to follow God's divine precepts/commands.

The precepts of God are enshrined in His word. They are His principles, standards, and instructions on how He expects us to live our lives and what He expects from us at every given point in time. 

For the Psalmist, he acknowledged that God's help was inevitable; he knew there was no way he would walk in God's precepts without compromising or disappointing God if he wasn't held by God. 

As a child of God, you need God to hold your hands and lead the way if you must reach the end of your pilgrim journey successfully, but first and foremost, you must be willing to choose His PRECEPTS. 

PRECEPTS ARE MEANT TO BE PRACTICED, NOT JUST QUOTED OR REVISED.

Choosing God's precepts and obeying them is one amazing thing that can ever happen to a child of God and will surely guarantee you a place in eternity with Him. 

This is HOLINESS CHALLENGE
DAY 178 OF 365 (2026)

📹 CHOOSING GOD'S PRECEPTS 

LOVING THE LORD UNRESERVEDLY (DAY 177 OF 365)

LOVING THE LORD UNRESERVEDLY
(Nuggets from Deuteronomy 6:5)

The PROSPERITY of the nation Israel, and the BLESSINGS of the Lord upon their land, and in every capacity had a lot to do with Israel UNDERSTANDING and OBEYING the law. 

In today's verse, God is speaking to us by extension, as His own Children, and this same condition applies to us as it regards OBEYING THE WORD OF GOD. 

 TO LOVE THE LORD IS TO FEAR HIM. This fear is not a slavish kind of fear, but one that shows reverence, deep regard and honor, making it difficult for you to disobey or offend Him. 

God promised the children of Israel that it would go well with them if they obeyed His laws, and that they would be greatly blessed and increased, such a huge motivation and incentive that no one should find irresistible. Unfortunately, the Israelites still contravened and did otherwise,  and they faced the consequences of their actions. 

Today, God is beckoning His TRUE CHILDREN to LOVE Him with all their HEART, SOUL and MIGHT; to make a commitment that shows how devoted you are to God. 

Loving GOD with all your HEART requires SACRIFICE;
Loving GOD with all your SOUL requires DEVOTION;
Loving God with all your MIGHT, requires INTENTIONAL FOCUS and ATTENTION. 

Once you're able to prioritize loving God unreservedly, the promised blessings will be yours. 

This is HOLINESS CHALLENGE
DAY 177 OF 365 (2026)

📹 LOVING THE LORD UNRESERVEDLY 

CHRIST ALONE IS OUR IDENTITY AND LIFE (DAY 176 OF 365)

CHRIST ALONE IS OUR IDENTITY AND LIFE

(Nuggets from Colossians 3:11)

Today's verse unveils the beauty of the new life we now have in Christ. It is a life where every wall that once separated humanity has been broken, and one great truth now stands - Christ is all and in all.

In the world, people build their identity on tribe, education, status, culture and background. But in the kingdom of God, none of those things can qualify us or define us. The moment we are born again, every old label is swallowed up in Christ. 

Paul reminded the Colossians that it no longer matters whether you are a Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, slave or free, barbarian or educated. All the divisions the old covenant emphasized have been cancelled at the cross. 

The old arrangement kept people apart with fences, partitions and ceremonies. But Jesus came and tore the veil. Now through His blood, every believer has the same access, the same Spirit, and the same standing before the Father.

This is why holiness is possible for us today. Not because we are trying to impress God with our background or achievements, but because Christ Himself has become our life and He now lives in us. 

When we say "Christ is all", we mean He is our sufficiency, our wisdom, our righteousness, our peace and our power. So we do not run to other things to complete us. 

When we say "Christ is in all", we mean the same Spirit that raised Him from the dead dwells in every believer. That makes us one body with one heartbeat and one standard. 

That is why comparison, pride and division have no place among us. If Christ is in me and Christ is in you, then we are family. And the way we treat each other must reflect the life of Christ we carry.

Therefore, I CHALLENGE you today to allow Christ  be everything to you, and  allow Christ to be seen in everything through you. Your choices, your speech, your relationships and your services must not be driven by culture or flesh, but by the life of Jesus within.

A heart that truly understands this, will stop seeking validation from the world and will find fullness in Christ alone. And such a heart will walk in purity, unity and power. Because apart from Him we can do nothing, but in Him we have everything.

This is HOLINESS CHALLENGE
DAY 176 OF 365 (2026)

📹 CHRIST ALONE IS OUR IDENTITY AND LIFE 

A DELIGHT TO DO GOD'S WILL (DAY 175 OF 365)

A DELIGHT TO DO GOD'S WILL

(Nuggets from Psalm 40:8)

This single verse captures the entire secret of a holy, victorious, and Christ-like life. It was first spoken prophetically concerning Jesus Christ, and then lived out perfectly by Him. And today, it is the standard the Holy Spirit is raising in every believer under the Holiness Challenge.

Notice the two unshakable foundations in this verse which is, DELIGHT IN GOD'S WILL and THE LAW OF GOD IN THE HEART. Remove one and the other will collapses.

Jesus did not come to earth dragging His feet, He delightfully came to fulfill the will of the Father and That was Psalm 40:8 fulfilled in flesh. From the manger to the cross to the grave to resurrection, His joy was to please the Father.

And that is the mark of holiness. A holy person does not ask, “How far can I go and still be saved?”A holy person asks, “What will make my Father glad today?”
When God’s will becomes your delight, compromise becomes disgusting. When pleasing God becomes your passion, sin loses its power. Because what you delight in is what you will defend, and what you delight in is what you will die for.

The OLD COVENANT failed not because the law was bad, but because the people had no delight in it. The law was on stone, outside them. They could read it but they could not love it. That is why they kept breaking it.

The law in our hearts is the New Covenant reality. God promised in Jeremiah and Ezekiel that He would not just give us rules, He would give us a new heart and put His law inside us.  

The word “within” means inward, planted, settled, rooted. It is not a Bible on the shelf. It is scripture in the spirit. It is truth in the conscience. It is the Spirit of God bringing the Word to remembrance before you make a wrong choice.  

This is why Jesus overcame Satan in the wilderness. The devil quoted scripture, but Jesus had scripture in His heart. The law was within.  

When God’s law is in your heart, you don’t need a pastor standing beside you to do right. The Spirit will nudge you. The Word will warn you. Conviction will rise before corruption happens. That is holiness sustained by the Spirit, not by willpower.

So, the connection between these two is that, you cannot have lasting delight in God’s will without the law in your heart. And you cannot have the law in your heart without it producing delight in God’s will.  

The world writes its law on billboards, on phones, on culture. But God writes His law on hearts. And a heart that carries God’s word will always run toward God’s will.  

This is how we overcome in this generation. Not by trying harder, but by loving deeper. Not by fear of punishment, but by joy in pleasing God. Not by external pressure, but by internal power.

Beloved, God is not looking for perfect performers. He is looking for willing hearts. Hearts that say like Jesus, “Father, I delight to do Your will.”
When that becomes your cry, holiness will no longer be a struggle. It will become your lifestyle. Because a heart that delights in God’s will and is filled with God’s word cannot be moved by the world.


This is HOLINESS CHALLENGE
DAY 175 OF 365 (2026)

📹 A DELIGHT TO DO GOD'S WILL

A NEW AND EVERLASTING COVENANT (DAY 174 OF 365)

A NEW AND EVERLASTING COVENANT
(Nuggets from Jeremiah 31:33)

The COVENANT spoken of here is the NEW COVENANT, different from the OLD COVENANT given in the Mosaic era, fifty days after Israel was delivered from Egypt; which did not make provision for cleaning and forgiveness of sins.

The OLD COVENANT was based on animal blood which was used to atone for the sins, which just covered them and never blotted them away. The blood of animals was not and is not capable of remission, cleansing or washing sins away, and that made it faulty. 

The old covenant focused more on the faults of the people of Israel but the NEW COVENANT which is the EVERLASTING COVENANT proclaims the fact that Jesus Christ officiates between God and man as a mediator. 

The NEW COVENANT is based on the BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST which is superior to the blood of goats, cattle and heifers. In this New Covenant, the debt of sin has been paid by Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary, which makes it possible for the Holy Spirit to abide forever in the  hearts and lives of believers. 

In the NEW COVENANT, the wall of partition has been torn down, giving every true believer unrestricted access to God, unlike what was obtainable in the OLD COVENANT. 

This NEW COVENANT is currently being enjoyed by the gentiles today, but God has promised and spoken through Prophet Jeremiah that He will make a covenant with the house of Israel "after those days".. 

What days exactly was God referring to in today's verse? 

The days of Christ's Millennial Reign on earth, during which Israel will finally accept Christ whom they rejected and despised in His first coming, and because of their change of heart and acceptance of Christ, their sins will be forgiven and they will be cleansed.

When Israel is finally reconciled with God, He will write His law in their hearts and be their God, while they become His people forever, making the NEW COVENANT they have received an ETERNAL/EVERLASTING COVENANT.

This is HOLINESS CHALLENGE
DAY 174 OF 365 (2026)

📹 A NEW AND EVERLASTING COVENANT 

SALVATION IS UNIVERSAL (DAY 173 OF 365)

SALVATION IS UNIVERSAL
(Nuggets from Romans 3:29)

The earthly ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ focused on bringing salvation to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Unfortunately, the Jews rejected Him, but God had a better plan.

Jesus didn't want this mission to be delayed, hence the GREAT COMMISSION; He commanded His disciples to go into the world and preach the gospel to every creature, everyone, to all nations.

The gentiles were factored in when God drew a salvation plan for the entire human race. Since the Jews rejected the offer, God channeled His attention to the Gentiles, and everyone who is not an Israelite is a GENTILE. 

The GENTILES have a window of opportunity to get saved, and that will elapse the moment the saints are caught up in the RAPTURE. 

The next verse says:
"Seeing it is one God which shall justify the circumcision by FAITH, and uncircumcision through FAITH."
This implies that God places the JEWS on the same level as the GENTILES, and that the Jews and Gentiles are all saved alike through Faith in Christ and His perfect sacrifice on the cross of Calvary. 

GOD IS NOT SELECTIVE WITH THE GIFT OF SALVATION; ANYONE CAN BE SAVED, PROVIDED YOU ACCESS HIM THROUGH JESUS CHRIST.

This is HOLINESS CHALLENGE
DAY 173 OF 365 (2026)

📹 SALVATION IS UNIVERSAL 

EARNING GOD'S ACCEPTANCE (DAY 172 OF 365)

EARNING GOD'S ACCEPTANCE
(Nuggets from Ezekiel 20:41)

The ACCEPTANCE of a WORSHIPER is the result of the VALUE of the VICTIM offered in SACRIFICE for sin. 

Every GENUINE BELIEVER is justified freely by the GRACE of God through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, and when such a child of God appropriates this grace and approaches God in the place of worship, God promises to accept you with your SWEET SAVOR.

In the penultimate verse, God was talking to Ezekiel about the FUTURE RESTORATION of His people, Israel, a prophecy concerning the redeemed Israel in the happy days of her future glory, when they will recognize and confess that all their happiness came through Jesus Christ the King of Kings, during His millennial reign, after delivering Israel and destroying the anti-christ.

Jesus Christ will display His supremacy and authority when He comes again in His Glory, and He will be SANCTIFIED in His people, the nation Israel, among the heathen nations that have despised them.

We the Gentiles are privileged to enjoy God's GRACE now, and this grace will elapse when the RAPTURE takes place.

God expects the purest of intentions and sincerity of heart as you call on Him in the place of worship and prayer and represent Him in this world as a child of His; only then will you earn His acceptance.

This is HOLINESS CHALLENGE
DAY 172 OF 365 (2026)

📹 EARNING GOD'S ACCEPTANCE 

ACTIVITIES OF THE ANTI-CHRIST (DAY 171 OF 365)

ACTIVITIES OF THE ANTI-CHRIST

Today's verse talks about what the anti-christ will do when he will be reigning on earth, after the rapture. 

At this time, he will move to Israel to reign from the temple in Jerusalem. The anti-christ will defile and desecrate the temple, stop the daily sacrifices that the nation Israel is known for traditionally, and also magnify himself to look like God; the same thing Lucifer did in Heaven that has earned him eternal damnation. 

The saints will not be here in this world to experience this, but for the sake of urgency, God is bringing us this Scripture to give us a hint on what will happen the moment the saints are taken away in the rapture - the more reason you as a child of God should hold fast your calling and consecrate yourself to God and resolve to remain HOLY and PURE till the end, to qualify for the rapture. 

Applying this scripture to our personal lives, God wants us to remember that your body is His TEMPLE, and anyone who defiles God's temple will be destroyed. 

As God's temple, YOU MUST BE HOLY and avoid anything that wants to desecrate God's temple and stop the daily SACRIFICES like personal devotion, quality prayer time, worship, etc. 

Take away all such things that want to prevent you from being GOD'S TEMPLE and CONSECRATE yourself to Him wholly till the end.

This is HOLINESS CHALLENGE
DAY 171 OF 365 (2026)

📹 ACTIVITIES OF THE ANTI-CHRIST 

THE MYSTERY OF THE CROSS (DAY 170 OF 365)

THE MYSTERY OF THE CROSS
(Nuggets from 1 Corinthians 1:18)

Corinth was a city that worshiped intellect. They chased eloquence like we chase validation today. If your message couldn’t trend in their marketplace, it was trash to them. So when Paul came preaching a crucified Messiah, they rolled their eyes and didn't believe a Savior would die. "A King with a crown of thorns? That couldn’t be God. That had to be foolishness."

But God was doing something the philosophers could not decode. He was hiding victory inside shame. He was putting resurrection inside a tomb. He was making salvation depend on surrender, not strategy. And that is why the Cross still offends. Because it tells every self-made man, “You cannot climb your way to God. You must bow.”

The church at Corinth forgot this. They wanted power that looked powerful. But God gave them power that looked weak. Their error was not unbelief. It was preference. They preferred a Gospel that made sense to men over a Gospel that made them holy before God. 

And that is the quiet drift today. We are not denying the Cross with our mouths, but are are bypassing it with our lifestyle. We want grace without grief for sin. We want revival without repentance. And when that happens, our Christianity becomes loud, but lifeless.  We can quote power, but we do not walk in it. 

Here is the truth that will judge us all: The Cross is not something you can vote on or change to suit yourself. To the perishing it will always look foolish, because it destroys the very thing they love. But to the saved, it is everything. It is the power that breaks addiction. It is the power that kills bitterness at the root. It is the power that makes a dirty life clean.
 You do not work up this power. You walk into it when you embrace the shame of Christ above the approval of men.

 You can defend truth on your status and deny it in your choices. But the Cross sees through screens. It demands all of you or none of you. 

So the Holy Spirit is pulling us back to one place, "The  Cross." If you have been ashamed to be different, lay it down. If you have been editing your faith to keep people, stop. If the Cross has become small in your eyes, ask God to lift it again. Because the moment it becomes big to you, you will stop being moved by mockery and start being moved by mercy. 

That is HOLINESS. Not perfectionism. Not performance. It is a life that says, “I will carry what the world calls foolish, because I have tasted the power that only the Cross can give.”

This is HOLINESS CHALLENGE 

DAY 170 OF 365 (2026)

 📹 THE MYSTERY OF THE CROSS 

THE PLEASING AROMA OF CHRIST (DAY 169 OF 365)

THE PLEASING AROMA OF CHRIST

(Nuggets from 2 Corinthians 2:15) 

TRUE HOLINESS in this context is A LIFE THAT REFLECTS JESUS. EVERYWHERE, AT ALL TIMES. 
2 Corinthians 2:15 says, “For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.”

Paul wrote this to a church surrounded by idols, sin, and compromise. Corinth was a city known for immorality, pride, and “religion without power."

The children of Israel understood this by picture. In the Old Testament, priests offered incense before God. The smoke was sweet, set apart, and only for Him. If any stranger made that perfume for common use, he was cut off.

So also with us. You are not ordinary. You are not to smell like lust, like bitterness, like greed, like the crowd. You are to carry Christ’s aroma. That aroma is HOLINESS. It is purity, truth, mercy, and power mixed together. 

But the church in Corinth struggled with this countless times. They were gifted, but carnal. They were religious, but their life smelled like the world. Their sin was not ignorance. It was spiritual contamination. They wanted God’s name, but not God’s nature. 

So Paul told them "You are the aroma." Not your church building. Not your logo. Not your title. YOU!! 

Trafficking with the world while claiming to belong to Christ is spiritual adultery of the highest order. Such people praise God on Sunday and promote immorality/nudity on Monday. They carry Bible, yet to they still carry bitterness in their heart. You cannot be incense and garbage at the same time.

Today, the pattern has not changed, only the platform has. So-called believers are mingling Christ with culture. They want the anointing, but they love the attention. They chase platforms, but they are powerless in private. They quote scriptures but their lifestyle is an offensive stench to heaven. They are “saved” in church, but “sour” at home. 

They live double lives with one phone. They are “ministers” online and agents of satan in secret chats. They post devotionals, then spend hours in porn, fraud, and fake life. They defend sin with scriptures and call it “grace.” But God is not mocked. You cannot hide your smell from Him. 

Like an incense, your life is either aroma or abomination before God. 

God wants all who bear His name to be nothing else but a TRUE SWEET AROMA. If your life smells like anger, pride, envy, immorality, or worldliness, repent today. If you have been polluted by secret sin, come to the altar. You are not called to look holy, but to BECOME TRULY HOLY. 

TRUE HOLINESS will show in your bedroom and in your boardroom, in your private life and in every public space you find yourself. 

Be set apart. Be clean. Be that fragrance that ascends to Heaven like a sweet smelling savour. That is the only true worship God accepts.

This is HOLINESS CHALLENGE 

DAY 169 OF 365 (2026)

📹 THE PLEASING AROMA OF CHRIST 

TRUE FRIENDS OF CHRIST (DAY 168 OF 365)

TRUE FRIENDS OF CHRIST
(Nuggets from John 15:14)

Obedience is Jesus' love language. As friends, our obedience to Him is an expression of our love for Him. Your response to Jesus' command to love others as He has loved us shows if you are truly His friend or not.

John 10:2-5 shows a clear picture of what it means to be friends with your Creator. Jesus uses the example of a sheep to prove this point. It is only the SHEPHERD that can have access to enter through the door; the TRUE SHEPHERD also calls the sheep by their name and leads them, and they have no other choice but to follow Him because they know His voice.

In verse 5, Jesus said The TRUE SHEEP will not follow a stranger, but they will flee from him instead because they do not know the voice of strangers.

This is the POWER OF INTIMACY.
How does this apply to us today?

Unlike Jesus’ first followers, we cannot see him, but we can hear his voice. He calls us by name. As the shepherd, He leads us and goes before us. 

The greatest pursuit of the human heart is to walk with the one who created us. 

If you are a TRUE FRIEND of Jesus, you will not want to jettison your relationship with Him, and you won't hesitate to do whatever He commands you to do.

As free moral agents, we have the power to make choices, but in our best interest, God expects us to prove our FRIENDSHIP WITH JESUS by obeying Him without coercion.

CAN YOU CONFIDENTLY SAY THAT YOU ARE A TRUE FRIEND OF JESUS?

This is HOLINESS CHALLENGE
DAY 168 OF 365 (2026)

📹 TRUE FRIENDS OF CHRIST 

THE DANGERS OF A FORGETFUL HEART (DAY 167 OF 365)

THE DANGERS OF A FORGETFUL HEART
(Nuggets from Psalms 44:20)

Imagine a soldier on the battlefield who suddenly drops his banner, lays down his sword, and starts waving the flag of the enemy. That is exactly what forgetting God looks like. It is not that the memory left your head. It is that your loyalty left your heart.  

To forget God’s name is to forget who He is. His power that parted seas. His mercy that fed you in the wilderness. His covenant that marked you as His own. When that memory dies, your hands begin to wander. And _stretching hands to a strange god_ is simply looking elsewhere for what only God can give. Help. Identity. Security. Pleasure. Approval. 

Israel did this at Sinai while Moses was still on the mountain. They forgot the Red Sea in less than 40 days and built a cafe. They did it again at Peor when Moabite women offered sin. Each time it looked different, but the root was the same, We have forgotten. 

So what does this mean for us now? It means holiness is memory work. You must remember on purpose. Remember what God brought you out of. Remember the prayers He answered when no one else could. Remember the nights He kept you when you should have died. A believer who forgets will always trade glory for garbage. He will stretch his hands to relationships God told him to leave, to money God told him to reject, to habits God told him to kill, all because the remembrance of God has grown cold. 

The danger is subtle. You can still come to church, still post scriptures, still say “Jesus is Lord,” and yet your hands are stretched to a strange god in secret. Your phone. Your lust. Your pride. Your bitterness. Your need to be seen. God calls that spiritual adultery. And He will not bless a divided heart. 

Psalm 44:20 is like a mirror. It is asking you today, "Has your heart turned back? Are your hands stretched somewhere else?" If yes, this is not the time to explain. 
This is the time to repent. Return your memory to God. Return your hands to His altar. Because the people who remember Him in secret will be the ones He defends in public. 

Kill every strange god by fire of remembrance. Speak out loud what God has done for you. Let your heart stay turned toward Him when things are hard, and when things are easy. 

This is HOLINESS CHALLENGE 

DAY 167 OF 365 (2026)

📹 THE DANGERS OF A FORGETFUL HEART