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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Destroy it before it destroys you |By: J.O. Lawal|FIRE IN MY BONES

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Date: January 11, 2023|Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 5, No. 35

“Amnon became frustrated to the point of illness on account of his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin, and it seemed impossible for him to do anything to her.” (2Sam 13:2NIV)

Why did Amnon, the first child of David, end up raping his half-sister, Tamar? It was because he refused to destroy the evil thought of having something with her that had possessed him. Was it his fault that this evil desire came to him? Not necessarily so! But not handling the evil desire and allowing himself to be possessed by it was entirely his fault.

According to the bible, we don’t have to do anything bad or wrong for evil thoughts to come to us. That is because the origin of every thought is the devil. Remember that, even right after fasting forty days and forty nights, Jesus was still confronted by the devil with the thought of committing suicide. In fact, this evil thought was even supported by him with Scriptures. And if Jesus had not been sound enough in the knowledge of the Scriptures, so that He was able to demolish the evil thought, His ministry would have ended before it started. (Cf. Matt 4:5-7; Luke 4:9-12)

So, whether we like it or not, we cannot escape being confronted with evil thoughts, desires and passions, as long as we are in this world. Yes, putting ourselves in certain conditions or relationships may expose us more readily or frequently to evil thoughts, desires or passions. But the word of God already makes it clear that regardless of where we are in this world, even if it is a monastery, evil thoughts will still locate us. That is because they are being sent by the devil and his demons to make war against our souls. (Cf. 1Pet 2:11)

Since this, then, is the case, it is on us to be determined to say ‘No’ to any evil thought, passion or desire that comes to us and to, in fact, destroy it. The word of God says:

“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2Cor 10:4-5NIV)

Did you see that? As children of God, we have access to His divine power and provisions to demolish any satanic stronghold. And what strongholds are we talking about? As we see in the text, these strongholds are not witches, wizards or even demons; rather, they are thoughts. Yes, they are arguments and pretensions that are standing against the truth of God in our minds. In other words, we are taking about thoughts, desires, passions and philosophies that are contrary to the righteousness of God and that can be built up in our lives as fortresses of protection for evil behaviours.

Now what is our instruction about them? It is that we are to demolish them. We must not allow them to grow in us, not to talk of take us captive to do evil. But if we refuse to destroy them, if we are making excuses for them and giving them room to possess us, it won’t be long before they drive us to do the unthinkable and foolish. Then we may find ourselves, like Amnon, corrupting those that we are supposed to protect their purity or, like Judas Iscariot, betraying those we are supposed to honour and protect.

So, be determined to destroy every evil thought, desire or passion that Satan may send to war against your soul. Otherwise, it will ultimately destroy you and perhaps all that is dear to you as well, if you are not shown mercy. But will you be able to do this, if you cannot distinguish between thoughts that are contrary to God’s righteousness and the ones that are not? You won’t.

All of this is why you, like our Lord Jesus Christ, need to be sound in the word of God. You need to continually give yourself to reading, studying and meditating on His word. That way, you will be able to recognise even those wicked thoughts of the devil that appear righteous and legitimate and destroy them before they have any chance of hurting you.

Also, you need to give yourself to praying without ceasing, especially to be strengthened by God within. Otherwise, you will know what thoughts you must reject but may not have the strengthen to say ‘No’ to them. Then the Scripture will be true concerning you that says, “The Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” And may that not be your experience in any area of your life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Cheers!

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Sheep among wolves | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: January 04, 2023 | Series: Youth for Jesus | Number: Vol. 5, No. 34

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” (Matt 10:16NIV)

Our Lord Jesus, as we see from Scriptures, is a realist. He is someone that always speaks the truth and never lies to Himself or to anyone else about anything. And this is so that people can face the truth about their life’s circumstances.

For example, as we see in our opening bible text, He tells all His disciples that they must always see themselves as sheep among wolves, as long as they are in this world. That means they must never assume that those of this world will be kind or nice to them. On the contrary, they must always think of them as wolves that will devour them at any given opportunity.

And is this not true? Aren’t unbelievers and false believers always looking for ways to cheat, deceive, rob or oppress true children of God? In fact, once some people find out that you are a genuine Christian, all they will begin to plot is where and how they will take advantage of you. That is because they believe that most Christians are simple-minded, naïve individuals that can easily be outsmarted or abused.

Unfortunately, many true children of God are actually simple-minded and can easily be trampled upon. That is because they do not understand Christianity. The idea of Christianity they have is derived basically from the words of our Lord Jesus that say, “If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” (Matt 5:39NIV) But what the Lord says here is figurative. In other words, He is simply teaching us the need to bear with those who shamefully treat us and not allow their wickedness to turn us into wicked people too.

And if you still don’t get what I am saying, just take a look at our Lord’s own earthly life. How many times did He give people the impression that they could slap Him as freely and easily as they might want? From what we see in Scriptures, He never gave anybody the impression that he was someone they could molest at will. But He also never used foul or abusive words in answering His opponents. And it was only when His time was up and He was faced with death on the cross that people were able to arrest and molest Him. Nevertheless, He did not give those slapping Him and those abusing Him the impression that what they were doing was nothing. If that were the case, He would not ask God to forgive them for unjustly punishing Him and taking His life in ignorance.

Therefore, except you are sure that your time is up and you are also certain that God wants you to glorify Him through death, don’t foolishly yield yourself to be devoured by the wolves of this world. And that is the point our Lord Jesus is communicating to us in our opening bible text. According to Him, as long as we are living in this world, we will always be like sheep among wolves. And since that is the case, we must be as shrewd as snakes and as harmless as doves in all our dealings with the people of the world.

Now that is a real challenge. I mean that it is not a joke to combine the cleverness of snakes with the innocence of doves in one person. Yet the Lord says that is what we must do, if we do not want to constantly be victims of the wolves around us that are seeking to devour us. So, while you make it your aim to live a good, godly and harmless life that God has called us to live in this world, you must also be very smart like a snake in handling those in your world.

Snakes, as we know, can indeed be killed or tamed by men. But they don’t ever put themselves in situations where anyone can easily hurt them or turn them into a prey. They are always quick to judge situations and to hide themselves where necessary. In like manner, while you cannot afford to be full of venoms and injurious like a snake, you must, like a snake, be quick to access people and situations and to stay out of trouble.

Look at our Lord Jesus Christ. Though He was always going about doing good and healing all those who are oppressed of the devil, He was also always quick to judge circumstances and to disappear whenever danger was looming. In the same way, David, once when he found himself before an enemy king, was quick to change his disposition and to start acting like an insane person until he was sure of his safety. What about Paul the apostle? Once, while defending himself and the gospel of Jesus Christ before the religious leaders of the Jews that wanted to have his head, this man of God used their doctrinal disagreement on the subject of resurrection to confuse them. So, he was able to escape their evil judgment that day. (Cf. 1Sam 21:10-15; John 7:1; Acts 23:1-10)

You too should always be smart in dealing with those of this world and not give them any undue reason to see you as someone they can easily trample upon or oppress. Yes, be devoted to doing those good works God has called you to do. But never put yourself in any situation where people will think of you as someone they can oppress or outsmart at will. Otherwise, you may not live long enough to finish those good works God has recreated you to do.

Copyright © 2023, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministryng.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2023 Pastor's Desk

God exalted Him | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: January 08, 2023 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 11, No. 36

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am pleased to welcome you to the second week of this new year, year 2023. And I pray that God Himself will lift you up in the year in every area of your life where you are due for exaltation, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As we see in the bible, the only one with the power to exalt people or bring them down is God. For example, Paul, in his letter to the Philippian-brethren, says this to them about our Lord Jesus: “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name…” (Phil 2:9NIV) Who exalted Jesus to the highest place in the whole universe? God! Who also gave Jesus His glorious, holy and powerful name? God!

So, our Lord Jesus did not become lord over all the creation of God, including angels and demons, by Himself. It was God that exalted Him to that position of having authority and power over every being and over everything. Also, He did not make His own name glorious, powerful and popular. It was God that gave Him this name and invested it with all His authority. That is why His name is revered everywhere in all of God’s creation, here on earth, in heaven and under the earth; it is why every knee must bow at the mention of His name and every tongue confess that He is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Now since our Lord Jesus Christ could not exalt Himself and had to be exalted by God Himself, who then in this world can exalt himself? No one! Also, since our Lord Jesus could not make His own name great and powerful but needed God to make it great, powerful and beautiful to hear, who in this world can make His own name great, powerful and sweet to hear? No one!

Yes, people may attempt to exalt themselves through hard work, diligence, association with already great people, manipulation, brute force or even witchcraft. But if God does not want them in a high position in life, they will never be there. In like manner, people may do all kinds of things to have a great and beautiful name, a name that people will rise to honour when it is mentioned. But if God does not gift us with a great and influential name, all our effort to make our names great can only amount to nothing.

Also, to show that God is the only one that can exalt people and bless them with great and powerful names, there are times He brings down already exalted and great people for not acknowledging Him as the source of their greatness. For instance, in the book of Daniel, chapter 4, King Nebuchadnezzar shares his experience with God along this line. He tells us how he once thought that he was the one that made himself great and powerful and how God brought him down, so that he may learn the truth about his greatness. And before this man was exalted again, he had spent some time living like an animal, like a mad man.

Therefore, if we desire to be exalted in life, and we should, if we desire to become great in this life, and we should, the only one we should look to is God. We should not look to our strength, education, smartness, wealth or relationship with some great people. None of these things will work. In fact, it is pride that will make us count on our abilities or relationships for our exaltation or greatness. And as the bible tells us, proud people can only expect one thing from God – humiliation. (Cf. James 4:6; 1Pet 5:6)

So, if we desire to experience exaltation in our lives this year, let us humble ourselves before God and before the word of His grace. And He will surely see to it that we are not passed over at the time of our promotion. That was how our Lord Jesus was exalted. The bible says that even though He is one with God the Father, He made Himself nothing and humbled Himself before God and obeyed Him, even to the point of death on the cross (Phil 2:5-8). So, God exalted Him to the highest place in all His creation. If we too will imitate Him in humility, as we have been commanded to do in Scriptures, obeying God in all that He tells us to do, even if we are faced with death, He will exalt us as well. And there is no one that can say how high He will take us. Therefore, humble yourself before God this new year, and He will take you from greatness to greatness.

Have a splendid week.

Copyright © 2023, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministry.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2023 Pastor's Desk

Put Him first | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: January 01, 2023 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 11, No. 35

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I gladly welcome you to the first day of this new year, year 2023. My prayer is that all your steps in the year will be ordered by God in the path of rest, health and excellence, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Of first importance, we ought to give thanks to God for the gift of this new year. As you will agree with me, there were many who longed to be a part of this new year but who are now dead, for one reason or the other. Those of us, then, who are alive to witness the year and be a part of it ought to understand that it is not our strong desire, power or wisdom that has made our being a part of it possible. Rather, it is the mercy of God that has made it possible.

The bible says, “It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.” (Rom 9:16NIV) Since it is God’s mercy that has given us this new year as a gift, we ought to thank Him for it. Not only that, we ought to also make up our minds to use the gift of the new year to honour Him. Yes, it is normal for us to have dreams and aspirations for the year. But nothing may become of those dreams and aspirations, if we ignore the one that has given us the opportunity to dream and aspire or choose not to give Him His rightful place in our lives.

Once, while teaching His disciples about how to have their needs, dreams and aspirations fulfilled in life, our Lord Jesus said this to them: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matt 6:33NIV) Now these words are still very much true today as they were when they first fell from the lips of the master. The only way to have all of our needs and dreams realised is to always put God first in our lives.

Yes, if we will not put Him first in our lives, we may have certain or even many of our needs, dreams and aspirations fulfilled in life. But when all has been said and done, if we have not put God first in our lives, we will realise that our most important needs in life have not been met and could not have been met. For instance, there is a longing in the heart of every man to live eternally. Yes, in the heart of every man is this urge to reach out to a life that is bigger and richer than the one we are living on this plane. We know that life is there ahead of us. And we know that we need it. Yet we can’t just fathom how to go about having it or how to take hold of it. (Cf. Ecc 3:11)

But God, the author of life, knows how to meet this eternal need of ours. Also, He possesses the power to meet it. Not only that, He cares about us and wants to meet this need and any other need we may have. No wonder the bible says that He cares about us and is daily devoted to bearing all our burdens. All that we need to do, then, to have Him take care of all our needs, aspirations and dreams is to put Him first in our lives. (Cf. Ps 68:19; 1Peter 5:7)

Now are we going to put Him first in our lives this new year? Will you put Him and all that matters to Him first in your life? If you will do that, then, as our Lord Jesus has made clear to us, there is none of your needs, material, spiritual or emotional, that He will not take care of. In fact, He will take care of even those needs of yours that you know nothing about and make sure you are absolutely satisfied when the year is over. And my prayer is that your heart will be strengthened to always put Him first in all your ways all through the year, so that nothing you need in the year will be unavailable to you, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Happy new year.

Copyright © 2023, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministry.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk

Remember your past | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: December 25, 2022 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 11, No. 34

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am glad to welcome you to the last week of the year, year 2022. My prayer is that you will receive from God a perfection of all that concerns you in the year, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Now, as we come into the last days of this year, it is important you rid your life of all forms of bitterness, hatred, hostility and selfishness, so that you may fully experience the blessings of God that have been poured out upon us in Christ Jesus. Yes, it may be because of the things that you have suffered from the hands of people that you are now bitter, hateful, selfish and hostile to others. But if you can remember that you too were once hostile, hateful, bitter and selfish towards God and yet He forgave you, you should have no problem ridding yourself of these things as you relate to others in your life.

While speaking to the children of Israel about the need for them to always release their brothers, who had served under them as slaves, every seven years, God said this: “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you. That is why I give you this command today.” (Deut 15:15NIV) Did you see that? God wanted these people to always keep in mind where they came from and how they were brought to where they were. They too had been slaves before. And it was God’s mercy that set them free, not their power, might or wisdom. So, in dealing with their slaves, God wanted them to remember this so that they would not be harsh towards them or deny them their liberty at the set time.

Unfortunately, centuries later, when these people had been well established in their land, they became perhaps even more wicked in treating their slaves than the Egyptians had treated their forefathers. So wicked were they in treating them that they would not set them free at the times appointed by God. And even when the word of the Lord came to them from Jeremiah about this, they would not listen. On the contrary, those who had already freed their slaves among them went back to forcefully take them back in order to enslave them again. So, they brought God’s judgment on themselves. (Cf. Jer 34)

In like manner, many of us today often forget how kind and gracious God has been to us in saving us from our sins and also in lifting us up from our mud of shame and poverty. We often forget those days in which we were crying out to God to save us from our sufferings and how He answered us and saved us. So, we deal ruthlessly and mercilessly with those in our lives and those under our authority. And we harden our hearts not to forgive or show mercy to those who have offended us or hurt us. Yet we expect the grace and goodness of God to abound towards us. How can that be?

Well, the word of God is coming to us now and commanding us to remember how kind God has been to us and so let go of all forms of malice, hatred, bitterness and hostility towards those in our lives, regardless of how bad or unfaithful they may have been to us. And as we do this, especially as we come to the last days of this year, all God’s blessings that have refused to manifest in our lives will begin to find expression. Then the new year ahead of us will overflow with honey and milk for us in every way.

Merry Christmas

Copyright © 2022, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministry.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Sooner or later|By: J.O. Lawal|Fire in My Bones

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Date: December 21, 2022 | Series: Youth for Jesus | Number: Vol. 5, No. 32

“Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, toward Zoar. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD.” (Gen 13:10-13NIV)

Whose choice was it to go and live in Sodom? It was Lot’s choice. He was the one that made the decision for himself and his family. And did it look like a bad decision at the time? No! On the contrary, it looked like a very perfect one, a perfect decision that would catapult him and his family into a great enjoyment of prosperity for generations to come.

But as bible accounts show us, Lot’s choice to go and live in Sodom was a carnal one. It was a choice that was based only on what he saw. The portion of land he saw was indeed good and desirable. But his choice of it was only based on how well it would serve him and how greatly it would contribute to his wealth and prestige. He was not looking at the fact staying in that land would put him right among wicked and unreasonable people, right among scorpions and vipers.

Well, some years later, the implications of the choice he had made began to dawn on him. First, he, his family members and all their wealth were suddenly taken as captives along with all the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. And it took the intervention of his uncle, Abraham, for them to be rescued and restored. (Cf. Gen 14)

Now he should have taken that as a warning from God to him. But he was too possessed and occupied with his business of making money that he could not even see things in that light. But not long afterwards, he started receiving the torture of his life while living among those wicked and unreasonable people. According to the bible, everyday this man saw and heard things that tortured his righteous soul, things that wanted to drive him crazy (2Pet 2:8).

But what led him into that situation? It was a carnal choice he made years before. And that choice eventually led him to lose his wife and all the things he had gathered through years of hard labour. In fact, by the time he was leaving Sodom, we have no record in the bible of his herdsmen and workers again. They all must have been lost by him to the immorality of Sodom and Gomorrah. (Cf. Gen 19)

What is the point of all this? It is simply that the choices we make now will sooner or later justify us or condemn us. God, through His word, has given us perfect and clear guidelines on how to make choices and decisions that will result in earthly and eternal prosperity, safety and peace of mind for us. And if we learn these guidelines and apply them to our lives, sooner or later, God’s wisdom will prove Him right in our lives and affairs. But if we ignore them and choose to follow our own schemes, sooner or later, we will see for ourselves how foolish we are to ignore God.

Now perhaps this is already true in your life. Perhaps certain carnal choices you made in the past are already haunting you and torturing you with undesirable circumstances. Don’t let things go from bad to worse before you cry out to God for restoration. See, whatever you are witnessing now as a result of your past bad choices, however terrible they may seem, may just be a warning to you from God that worse experiences are coming. So, take the warning and hurry to do the right thing. And God, who is rich and kind in mercy, will show you mercy, spare you and also restore you.

Cheers!

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk

Don’t be like Saul | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: December 18, 2022 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 11, No. 33

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. It is with great delight that I welcome you to another week of the month of December 2022. And with all my heart I pray that God will teach and strengthen your heart to always take Him seriously in every area of your life, so that whether you are faced with trials or not, you will always be able to find strength and wisdom for victory in Him. Amen.

Most times, when church leaders are admonishing God’s people to take Him very seriously in their lives and not be epileptic in their devotion to Him, they think they are being unnecessarily worrisome. But it is all for their good that they are being counselled in this manner. And it is only those who take this counsel seriously and act on it that will be able to find strength and wisdom for victory in God in the day of evil.

As Paul shows us in Ephesians 5, we are living in evil days. But it is not everyday that the evils of these days threaten our lives, our peace or our joy. And that is because of the goodness and mercy of God to us. He is the one who, in His goodness and mercy, has never permitted the devil to be free to mess up our lives or our world as he pleases. May His Holy name be praised forever.

However, sometimes, for various reasons, God allows the devil to confront us with some of the evils of these last days. That is when we begin to feel like we are the only ones facing challenges in life. And as Paul further says in his epistle to the Ephesians, it is only those who take God seriously and put on His armour that will be able to stand against the schemes of the devil in such evil days. Those who don’t take Him seriously, if not shown mercy, will end up being crushed by their challenges, running away from everyone in their lives, turning away from God Himself or taking their own lives. (Cf. Eph 6:11-18)

Why did King Saul end up visiting a witch and then taking his own life? It was because he would not take God seriously in the days of his prosperity and peace. All along, he had been living as though he could do without the God who put him on the throne of Israel. He even went as far as despising God’s prophets and killing His priests. But when a challenge that was bigger than what his brains and his army could handle showed up, he began to desire God’s attention. (Cf. 1Sam 13, 15, 19, 22 & 28)

Unfortunately for this man, God, at that time, no longer had anything to say to him. He had spoken to him severally before. But he would not listen. Not only that, he had the book of the Law of God with him but would not consult it. What, then, was he expecting God to say to him? Well, when he realised that God was not going to talk to him, he went to meet a witch and opened the door of his life for utter destruction.

In like manner, there are many so-called Christians today that think God is only for emergency purposes. They think they can go ahead and live their lives as they please and then come running to God for salvation in the day of trouble. It will never work. So, they also, like King Saul, may find that God has nothing else to say to them about how to come out of trouble. And unless they humble themselves and go back to acting on all that He has been saying to them, they will never be saved.

Now is that to say that God is not a merciful God? No! He is a merciful God. However, He also knows when His mercy will not change a man or keep him from ultimately destroying himself. And where that is the case, He may choose not to say anything to such a man. Look at what Isaiah says about this: “My soul yearns for you in the night in the morning my spirit longs for you. When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness. Though grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness; even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil and regard not the majesty of the LORD.” (Isa 26:9-10NIV)

Did you see that? Grace and mercy don’t always make people take God seriously. But challenges and judgment are always able to let them know that He is not someone anyone can take lightly. Why, then, should you, like Saul, wait until certain challenges come for you or you are faced with God’s judgment before you agree that God must be taken seriously? Why should you push yourself to that place where God’s grace will not work for you in the day of disaster?

Well, the word of God is coming to you now and telling you to learn to take God seriously every moment of your life. People like Joseph, David and Paul the apostle were never for once defeated by their challenges. Instead, they always walked in victory over them. And that was because they were not waiting for trials or judgment to come before they would take God seriously. They always took Him seriously, trials or no trials. And if you too are like them, it does not matter when evil shows up, you will always be ready to handle it and walk in victory over it by the power and wisdom of God, instead of losing your mind.

Do have a great week.

Copyright © 2022, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministry.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Caution or suspicion|By: J.O. Lawal|Fire in my Bones

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Date: December 14, 2022|Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 5, No. 31

“So Hanun seized David’s men, shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their garments in the middle at the buttocks, and sent them away.” (2Sam 10:4NIV)

Why did Hanun, king of the Ammonites, treat David’s men in the manner described in our opening bible text? He did so because he thought he was being cautious. But was he really being cautious or suspicious?

As the account shows us, Hanun’s father, Nahash had been a friend of David before he died. And though we are not told how they became friends, we are told that the reason David sent his men to give his condolences to his son, Hanun, was that he was a very kind person to him (2Sam 10:1-2). That, of course, was one of the things that characterised David’s way of life. He was not someone that would forget those who had been good or kind to him. Rather, he was someone that was always seeking them out, so that he could show his gratitude to them in whatever way he could. (Cf. 1Sam 30:26-31; 2Sam 9; 2Sam 19:31-39)

Unfortunately, on this occasion, his kind gesture was totally misrepresented by Hanun, the son of his late friend. And it was misrepresented because the officials with the young man misled him. They sowed a seed of evil suspicions in his heart, even though there was no reason for him to be suspicious. (Cf. 2Sam 10:3)

David, before that time, had done nothing to Hanun’s country to make him think of him as an enemy. He had been nothing but a good and loyal friend to his father. And even if he had wanted to be cautious, probably because he was not really close to David, all he would have needed to do was to give instructions to his men to watch the activities of his ambassadors. Then their report would have cleared his doubts and prevented him from being unduly suspicious.

But because he was a foolish young man, instead of acting with caution at that time, he acted in evil suspicions and shamelessly maltreated ambassadors of an ally country that only came to sympathise with him for the loss of his father. That, of course, resulted in an unfortunate war between him and the nation of Israel, which was a stronger and more powerful nation. And because of the war he lost his men, his land, his crown and his reputation. How sad! (Cf. 2Sam 10; 1Chro 19:1-20:3)

Well, this story is teaching us one thing, which is that there is a great deal of difference between caution and evil suspicion. To be cautious means that we do not assume that we know what people will do or how they will function under any circumstance, if we do not know them to be true children of God or have not known them for a very long time. Therefore, we do not carelessly let them into our lives or affairs. Instead, we put appropriate boundaries in place in our dealings with them, so that we may, in the course of time, learn how well we can trust them.

But to be suspicious means to have a feeling that something is wrong or that something may go wrong in our dealings with someone. And is it altogether wrong to have this feeling? No! It all depends on who we have such feelings about, why we have such feelings about them and what we do as a result of such feelings that we have about them.

If someone, as Paul says about himself and his ministry companions, does not have any record of being injurious, manipulative or corrupt in dealing with us or others that we know, we have no reason to be suspicious of them (2Cor 7:2). Otherwise, whatever suspicions we have about them will only be evil suspicions, something that the word of God warns against (1Tim 6:4).

Then even if we have reasons to be suspicious of someone because we don’t know them well enough, because we have seen them act in some ungodly manner before or because someone gave us some bad news about them, our suspicions should only drive us to be cautious and on guard in dealing with them. We should not allow them to drive us to disgrace or embarrass them when they have not done us any wrong and we have no real proof that they are going to hurt us in any way. Otherwise, our suspicions about them will be nothing but evil suspicions.

Now when we allow evil suspicions to drive us to hurt, disgrace or embarrass others who have done nothing wrong to us, we, like Hanun, may end up having an unnecessary and unfortunate war to fight. And that may forever shut some doors of goodness that could have come to us through them against us. Only God, then, knows how many people have been denied certain measure of His goodness that could have been theirs in life because of these things. They, out of suspicion, treated shamefully or abusively certain individuals who merely wanted to help them or do them good. And they have to live with the sorrow and loss that came with doing so for the rest of their earthly lives.

More so, when we allow evil suspicions to drive us in relating to others, even if our suspicions are right, those watching and who have seen the kind of bad treatment we have given to them may never get to know that our suspicions are right. Therefore, instead of being seen as the victims of those who want to hurt us, we will be seen and treated as the villains. And who knows how terribly that will affect us? Only God knows.

So, yes, be cautious in all your dealings with men. But give no room in your heart for any form of evil suspicion. That is because it can only harm you; it has no good to offer you.

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Single Message Series

Is it of any value to you? | By: Johnson O. Lawal | Date: December 04, 2022 | Series: Single Message Series

I want to show you something we are shown in the book of Hebrews, which is very important for us to pay attention to about our attitude towards the word of God we are receiving. From verse 1 of chapter 4, we are told this:

“Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did, but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed.” (Hebrews 4:1-3NIV)

The writer is speaking to us here about the people Moses brought out of Egypt. He led them out of Egypt in order to bring them into the land God had promised to give them. Unfortunately, most of them could not enter the land. Why could they not enter? It was because of unbelief. We are told in the last verse of the third chapter of this book that they could not enter God’s rest because of unbelief. They wandered in the wilderness for forty years and perished there, never arriving at where God had wanted them to be.

Therefore, we are told to watch ourselves so that we do not experience what they experienced, so that things do not end up for us the way they ended up for them. What happened to them, according to Scriptures, happened to serve as an example to us. And it is showing us that it is not enough for us to start walking with God; we must also finish. True faith in God is always from start to finish. It is not something that quits or that gets tired on the way. It is always from start to finish.

Well, we are told here what is responsible for the failure of these people to enter God’s rest. They heard the word of God. But the message, the good news, they heard was of no value to them. The word did not profit them. Why? It was because they did not combine it with faith; they did not mix it with faith. And we are told this because the word of God has come to us as well, just as it came to them. In fact, His word has kept coming to us, showing us how to live, walk and please God. But is this word of any value to us? Is this word producing in us the results God wants it to produce in our lives?

The word of God will not produce in us the results God wants it to produce in our lives, if we do not combine it with faith or accept it in faith. We have to see His word as He sees it. We have to take His word as He takes it. Whatever He says to us about Himself is what we must accept as the reality. Whatever He says to us about ourselves is what we must accept as the reality. Whatever He says to us about life is what we must accept as the reality about it. We must accept anything He says to us about anything as the reality, the only truth we are to act on. Otherwise, what He says to us will be of no value to us.

You want the word of God to work in your life. You want His word to produce the fruit it talks about in your life. Then you have to accept it in faith. You don’t argue with God or with His word. You don’t debate with Him. Instead, you accept what He tells you and act on it. These people did not accept the word of God as the reality. They did not believe what He had told them, which was that He was going to give them the land of Canaan. They should have accepted it, regardless of what they saw or felt. That would be faith for them. And because they did not accept what God had said to them, because they did not believe that He was able to give them the land He had promised them, they could not enter it. So, the word they heard wasted; it was of no value to them.

Now I am asking you this: the word of God you have been listening to this year, has it not been a waste? The things God has been saying to you about Himself, about you and about life as a whole, have they not been a waste? Have these things been of any value to you? If you have not accepted them, if you have not embraced them and begun to act on them, then, they will surely be of no value to you?

See, it is not just about attending church meetings and hearing the word of God, week after week; it is also about embracing what is coming to you and acting on it. If you are not acting on His word, if you keep debating with His word, refusing to make the changes He wants you to make, refusing to drop the things He wants you to drop and do the things He wants you to do, His word will be of no value to you. This is why two people may hear the same word and one will go and work with it while the other does nothing with it. And in the course of time, the one that has been working with the word of God will stand out. The word of God will work wonders in his life, home, business, marriage and so forth. That is because he has mixed it with faith. But nothing worthy of praise will happen in the life of the other fellow that has heard the same word and done nothing with it.

Our Lord Jesus also shows us why the word of God may be of no value to people in three of the gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke’s gospels. He told us about a farmer that went scattering his seed, of how the seed he scattered fell on different grounds and of what became of the seed afterwards. According to him, some fell along the path and the birds of the air came and ate it up. Some fell on a rocky place and grew up very quickly. But the plants withered because they had neither root nor moisture. Some fell among thorns and were choked by the thorns when they grew up. And some fell on a good ground, where it grew up and produced a crop – a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.

Now here is the explanation the Lord gave of the parable:
“This is the meaning of the parable: the seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good on soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.” (Luke 8:11-15NIV)

There is a lot to say about this, actually. But I want to be as brief as possible in commenting on it. The first thing the Lord tells us is that the seed is the word of God. Then He goes on to give us reasons this word may be of no value to people, reasons it may not produce the results God desires in the lives of those who hear it. And in doing that, He describes for us different kinds of heart with which people may receive the word of God.

Now the first group of people He talks about are those who hear the word of God and do not understand it, as revealed in Matthew’s account of the same parable. And because they do not understand it, Satan comes to steal it from their hearts. Though these ones hear the word of God, they are not making any effort to understand it. They are like the people described in Hebrew 5 who, when they ought to be teachers, still need to be taught all over again the elementary truths of the Christian faith. Why? They are not making any effort to understand what they are learning. Yes, they sit down to hear God’s word. But their hearts are not focussed on understanding what they are learning. Therefore, Satan comes to steal the word from their hearts.

The problem is that when the word comes to them, they don’t bother to ponder on it. They are indeed like a footpath. All kinds of things run through their minds and nothing concrete gets to stay. They have no time to consider the word of God coming to them. They have no time to think about how it may profit them or be of value to them. So, Satan comes and steals the word from them. And they end up not believing or acting on it.

Perhaps you too are like that. You come around for church meetings week after week and hear God’s word. But you are not hearing to act on it. Even when you pick up your bible to read it, you are not doing so to act on it. You don’t see the word in it as your life. You don’t see it as something you need to work with. That is why your life is not changing or improving, even though you are hearing the word of God week after week. People cannot see God in you. They cannot see the life of Christ in you. And if you continue like that, you can never be where God wants you to be. You may assume that you are with God. But you are not with Him, for His word is not working in you to make you the kind of person He wants you to be and to also bring you to where He wants you to be.

Then we have another kind of heart with which people may receive the word. And that is a stubborn heart. These ones don’t immediately reveal themselves as stubborn. Instead, they will laugh, smile and rejoice at the word of God they are receiving. But when it comes to practising it, that is where the problem shows up. When they are faced with situations that require that they act on the word of God they have been listening to, that is when you will know that the word of God they are listening to has not taken roots in their hearts.

What I am saying is that these ones don’t really allow the word of God to dwell in their hearts. We are told to allow the word of God to dwell in us richly. But though these ones are hearing the word of God and are rejoicing over it, they do not allow it to dwell in their hearts. They will not allow it to take a firm root in their hearts. So, when they are challenged or confronted with situations that demand that they act on what they have been learning, they won’t act on it. So, Jesus says they believe for a while. That means their faith is temporary. And that is no real faith.

Real faith is always from start to finish. It does not quit on God. It is just like the people Moses brought out from Egypt. We are told that they did not enter God’s rest because of unbelief. But they were not always unbelieving. They did not start out in unbelief. When they came out of Egypt, they came out believing. They came out with everything they had, saying bye-bye to Egypt for ever. But they did not get to where God was taking them. Why? Unbelief! What produced unbelief in them? It was the fact that the word of God did not take firm root in their hearts. They did not permit it to get into their hearts and get rid of the pride, arrogance and lust in them. So, the word died on the soil of their hearts because they were stubborn.

If you too are stubborn, that is how things will end with you. The word of God will not profit you. Yes, you may smile and rejoice over the word you are receiving. But ultimately, it will not work in your life because you are stubborn. His word will not do what it is meant to do in your life. And after a while, you will start disbelieving what He is saying to you; you will start debating with Him. You will know His mind for you and what He expects of you. But you will keep debating with Him because you are stubborn and don’t want to let go of your ways.

So, the word will die on the soil of your heart, never producing results. Yes, you may keep learning. But you will never come to the knowledge of the truth. Paul, writing to Timothy, tells him in the third chapter of his second letter to him about certain women in the church that are ever learning but never coming to the knowledge of the truth. They present themselves for church meetings. They attend bible study meetings. They own personal bibles and read them. But the word of God is of no value to them. It is not changing or transforming their lives. It is not moving them forward. And they themselves can see that His word is not profiting them.

Why? All along, they have been stubborn. They believe only for a while. And there are many that fall under this category. They believed only for a while. And now they are no longer in the faith. If you too will not allow the word of God to settle in you, at some point, you will get tired and walk away from it. So, it is possible for people to believe for a while. It is possible for people to be Christians for a while. That ‘a while’ may be some months, twenty years, thirty years or more. But as long as the word of God does not take root in their hearts, a day is coming when they will walk away from the faith – they will abandon the faith. The children of Israel walked away when they came to the very threshold of the promised land. And that was because they were stubborn – their hearts were hardened. I pray that will not be the case with you, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

We have another group of people that the word of God is of no value to. These are ones whose hearts are unguarded, whose hearts are not weeded. According to the Lord, the word of God that falls into such hearts falls right among thorns. Yes, it grows up as to be expected. But it could not produce fruit because it is choked by the thorns all around it. The thorns should have been cleared and removed from that soil, so that they will not hinder the fruitfulness of the seed planted on it. And because they were not removed, they chocked the plants that grew on it and prevented it from producing fruit that would mature.

Now that is how the hearts of many people are. Their hearts are unguarded, unprotected against those things that will not allow them to bear fruit with the word of God. The weeds on the soil of their hearts are not taken care of. So, the word of God they are receiving cannot work in them or be of value to them. The cares of this life, the deceitfulness of riches and their desire for pleasure will not allow the word of God to produce in them the results God wants. That is why they cannot concentrate on working with the word they are receiving. Their hearts are loaded with all kinds of cares and worries. The things they want to do, their ambitions, the pleasure they want to derive from life will not allow them to work with the word of God they are receiving. So, they cannot be fruitful with it. It is of no value to them. It is useless to them.

Are you like that? Is the word of God of no value to you? Is the word of God useless to you? Could it be that you will not allow the word of God to work in you because of your desire for pleasure and your ambitions and anxieties about various things? Then you need to weed your heart. You need to guard your heart. You need to get rid of all these wrong things that are preventing the word of God from working in you. You need to get rid of the wrong ideas, philosophies or traditions you are holding on to. Otherwise, the word of God will be of no value to you. Your life will not be changed by it. Your life will not improve because of it. Christ will not be seen in you.

The bible talks about ‘Christ in you, the hope of glory’. That means Christ is to be seen in us. It is one thing for us to be in Christ; it is another thing for Christ to be seen in us. And it is the word of God that builds the character of Christ into us, so that people may see His person in us. Now is Christ being seen in us? Are His love, faith, patience, humility, gentleness and other beautiful things that describe His character being seen in us? Are the things God has been speaking to us about being seen in us? They will not be seen in us, if we are allowing the cares of this life to choke His word coming to us.

Well, I want you to ask yourself, as we come to the last days of this year, “Has the word of God been of value to me this year?” Those that the word will be of value to are those of good and noble hearts, as Luke tells us in the passage we are considering. These ones retain the word of God in their hearts. And through perseverance they are producing fruit with it. That means they are labouring with the word of God, so that it may produce the results it talks about in their lives. They are labouring to understand what He is saying to them, so that they may work with it and produce fruit. The word of God is of value to such people. The word is changing them. The word is lifting them.

Why? They are working with everything God is saying to them. They are working with whatever He says to them about their jobs, lives, marriages and so forth. Therefore, the word is working in them and changing them. Others may look at them and say, “How are they able to do this?” The reason is that they are labouring with the word that is coming to them. You too need to begin to labour to see the word of God work in you. Otherwise, it will be of no value to you. Don’t let His word waste in your life. The problem is never with His word. The problem is always with those who hear it and with the heart with which they receive.

I pray that God will work in your heart and on your heart, so that it will always retain His word and labour with it to produce the results He desires, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Copyright © 2022, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to alaythiabiblechurch@gmail.com/alaythia4all@gmail.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk

Their job is not to please you | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: December 11, 2022 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 11, No. 32

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours forevermore from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. Welcome to another week of the month of December 2022. I pray that your heart will be kept humble always to receive the ministry of those sent by God to build you up, so that all that concerns your life will be perfected, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As we are shown in the bible, there are people chosen and gifted by God in the church to build us up in His will (Eph 4:11-16). And how we receive their ministry will go a long way in determining whether our lives are perfected in God’s will or not. Truly, we may not have issues receiving their ministry, when they are doing or saying to us things that make us happy or that are pleasant. But what about when they are doing or saying things that do not make us happy but which are in line with the will of God? Are we still going to accept their ministry and relate to them with the respect they deserve?

It is unfortunate that many of God’s people think their church leaders are meant to always do and say only those things that make them happy. But that is not the will of God. The job of a church leader is not to do things that make anybody happy but things that will build them up.

Paul says to the Corinthian church, “…everything we do, dear friends, is for your strengthening.” (2Cor 12:19) Did you see that? The focus of every church leader must be to do only those things that will strengthen the brethren and build up their faith. And some of these things include rebuking, correcting and sometimes punishing the brethren.

Now we know that correcting, rebuking and punishing people are not always pleasant for those involved. But they have to be done for the health of the church of God. Therefore, whether those being rebuked, corrected or punished appreciate what is being done to them or not, what has to be done has to be done. And this is why every leader of God’s people must be bold and also possess adequate strength of character. Otherwise, he will not do what he has to do for the growth and establishment of God’s people. Instead, he will be like Aaron who, out of fear, allowed the Israelites to run wild in the wilderness and give themselves to idolatry, to their own destruction (Ex 32).

But what did God say to Ezekiel, when he was appointing him as a watchman over Israel? He said this to him:

“The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says.’ And whether they listen or fail to listen — for they are a rebellious house — they will know that a prophet has been among them. And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious house. You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious.” (Ezek 2:4-7NIV)

Look at that. God told this man not to bother at all about the disposition of the Israelites to his ministry. Instead, he should keep declaring His word to them, whether they are happy about it or not. And that is how to get God’s work done. Our focus must never be on pleasing men but on pleasing God who has sent us.

If we, therefore, end up being hurt while our leaders in the church are doing what God wants them to do to us and for us, we should not get upset. On the contrary, we should humbly embrace the will of God for our lives, knowing that everything He does is for our good (Heb 12:5-12). And my prayer is that your heart will be kept humble always to be yielded to spiritual discipline, so that your life can be perfected by God in all ways, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a great week.

Copyright © 2022, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministry.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)