Month: October 2020

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Fire in my Bones

It has expiration date

expiration date

“I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.”

(Rev 2:21-23NIV)

Those were the words of our Lord Jesus Christ to a woman He referred to as ‘Jezebel’ in the church of Thyatira. And what is the point the Lord is making through what He says about this woman? It is that she is unwilling to repent of her sins. But why is she unwilling to repent of her sins? One major reason is that she has not been judged of them.

In like manner, there are many today that have persisted in doing all kinds of wrong things because they have not been judged. These may even be rejoicing in their wickedness and calling those who will not join them foolish. But the fact that someone has not been judged by God for their wickedness does not mean they are never going to be judged for it. They would certainly be judged at some point, if they would not repent.

There are indeed times in which God judges people for their sins almost immediately they commit them. For instance, we are told of how He judged Nadab and Abihu, two of the sons of Aaron, with fire, the very moment they offered unauthorised fire before Him (Lev 10:1-2). Think about that. Even though we do not have it on record that these men had been living evil lives, God did not give them any time to repent of their wrongdoing at all. He judged them instantly.

Now compare their situation with that of the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas. They were utterly corrupt in all their ways and were even referred to in the bible as sons of Belial (1Sam 2:12). Yet God did not judge them for their wickedness, irreverence, immorality and other similar nonsense they were involved in immediately. And why did He not judge them readily for their sins? It was because He wanted to give them time to repent.

We see a similar treatment being given to the woman the Lord is talking about in our opening text. She too was given some time to repent of her sins. And why does the Lord give people time to repent like this? First and most importantly, it is because He does not delight in the death of any sinner – what He wants is their repentance (Ezekiel 18:23&32; 2Pet 3:9). Second, it may be because the cup of their sin is not yet full (Gen 15:16). Third, it may be because certain individuals are interceding for them, asking God to show them mercy (Amos 7:1-6). Then there are times that to deal with some sins people actually need time. I mean that the steps required in repenting of some sins and correcting the problems they have created may not be what can be taken in one day. And in such situations, people will indeed need some time to set things right. (Cf. Ezra 10:10-14)

Nevertheless, one thing we need to keep in mind is that there is expiration date before God for people to repent. So, if they fail to repent within the period of time He has given to them, He will have no option other than to bring His judgment on them. That is what the Lord says to the woman in our opening text. He says that He has already given her time to repent, but she is unwilling to do so. Therefore, He will judge her and all those involved in sinning with her with sicknesses and even death.

Why am I bringing you all this? It is so that you will not stay in any kind of sin, simply because you have not yet been judged for it. Evidently, the reason you have not yet been judged for that wrong act or those wrong acts of yours is that God is giving you time to repent. But you do not have forever to repent. There is expiration date on that repentance package you are holding. So, use it when it will count. Otherwise there may just come a day when your repentance will prove useless and unprofitable for you.

Copyright © 2020, 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)
By: J.O. Lawal | Date: October 28, 2020 | Series: Youth for Jesus | Number: Vol. 3, No. 24

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Pastor's Desk

Provide a platform for Him to bless others

from pastors desk
from pastors desk

Beloved: welcome to another week of the month of October 2020. And may God’s grace, love and mercy overflow over your life all through it, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As we begin this new week, I like to remind you that the you are not the only one God intends to make Himself, His love and His power known to in this world. On the contrary, His intention is to make Himself, His love and His power known to all men. That is why the bible says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (Cf. John 3:16)

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Latori tabili Paitor

La ọna fun lati bukun fun awọn miran

Latori tabili pasito
Latori tabili pasito

Olufẹ: kaabọ sinu ọsẹ miran ninu oṣu Ọwara 2020. Ki oore-ọfẹ, ifẹ ati aanu Ọlọrun ma ṣan lori aye rẹ titi gbogbo ọsẹ naa yoo fi pari, ni orukọ Jesu. Amin.

Bi a ṣe wa n bẹrẹ ọsẹ tuntun yi, mo fẹ ran ọ leti pe iwọ nikan kọ ni Ọlọrun lero lati fi ara rẹ, ifẹ rẹ ati agbara rẹ han ninu aye yi. Dipo eyi, ero rẹ ni lati fi ara rẹ, ifẹ rẹ ati agbara rẹ han si gbogbo eniyan. Idi si ni yi ti bibeli ṣe sọ bayi, “Nitori ti Ọlọrun fẹ araye to bẹẹ gẹ, ti o fi ọmọ bibi rẹ kan ṣoṣo fun ni, ki ẹnikẹni ti o ba gba a gbọ ma ba ṣegbe, ṣugbọn ki o le ni iye ainipẹkun.” (Wo: Johanu 3:16)

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Categories
Fire in my Bones

Who is your witness?

“You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed.”

(1Thess 2:10NIV)

Our Lord Jesus, once while teaching His disciples, said to them, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Matt 5:14-16NIV) What does the Lord call His disciples here? Light! And what is light? Light is anything that makes things visible, anything that shows the true conditions of things.

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Pastor's Desk

The whole counsel of God

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours forever from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am delighted to welcome you into the month of October, which is the first month of the first quarter of this year. And I pray that God will establish you fully in all His good purpose for your life in the month, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Now, in case you don’t know or have forgotten, I want to bring to your notice the fact that preachers of the word of God have a duty to teach people the whole counsel of God. This is why Paul says to the Colossian brethren, “Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness.” (Col 1:24-25NIV) Did you see that? Paul says the commission he received from God was to preach His word to people in all its fullness. That means he could not choose to preach certain parts of God’s word and not to preach certain parts of it. He could not say that it is holiness he is sent to preach and not giving or that it is faith he is sent to preach and not eternal judgment. His job was to proclaim everything about the word of God to people.

Preaching the whole counsel of God, of course, is not something that may be done in a day. A lot of times, it will take years of hard labour and patience on the part of the one proclaiming the word of God to make it fully known to any group of people he is teaching. But it can be done, and it must be done. And we see a confirmation of this in Paul’s words to the Ephesian elders, which read, “For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.” (Acts 20:27NIV) So, a proclamation of the whole will of God is possible, and it is what every preacher must commit himself to.

But then, God’s intention is not just for the preacher to commit himself to proclaiming the whole will of God; it is also for those that are being taught to discipline themselves to embrace the whole will of God. Unfortuntely, what we see is that many of God’s children today are selective in their response to the whole counsel of God. They want to choose what truths of God’s word they are taught by their preachers and what truths of His word they embrace and practise. So, they go from place to place, seeking preachers who will conform to their taste. This, of course, is why many of them are not balanced in their lives. (Cf. 2Tim 4:3-4)

We too need to examine ourselves to see whether we are balanced in our walk of faith or not. We need to ask ourselves, “Are there truths of God’s word we are avoiding and do not want to be confronted with or embrace?” If there is any, then, we need to repent and change our attitude towards it. That is because we cannot be all that God wants us to be, if we will not seek to know His whole counsel to us and embrace it.

Yes, we may not be comfortable with the way some people are handling certain bible subjects. That, however, does not mean we should not desire to know what God says about them and to apply it to our lives. For instance, there are many erroneous (incorrect) teachings about giving today, especially in the area of giving to our leaders. That, nevertheless, does not mean that the word of God does not command us to give to support those who feed us with the word of God (1Cor 9:14; Gal 6:6). And if we will not take learning and giving to support those who feed us with the word of God seriously, just because some believers are not doing it right, we are disobeying God. Yes, we may be obeying Him in all the other areas of our lives. But because we are disobeying Him in one area of our lives, we cannot fully enjoy His blessings and provisions for our lives. More so, that area in which we are disobeying Him may just become a channel through which Satan will begin to afflict us.

So, wake up from your slumber and humble yourself to receive all that God is saying to you about holiness, faith, eternal judgment, giving, love and so forth through His word. Just humble yourself to receive the fullness of His word to you. That way, everything that is lacking in your Christian walk will be supplied, and your life will be built up to fully express the character of the person of Jesus Christ.

Do have a blissful October 2020.
Copyright © 2020, 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)
By: J.O. Lawal | Date: October 04, 2020 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 9, No. 22

Categories
Latori tabili Paitor

Gbogbo ipinnu ati ifẹ Ọlọrun

Latori tabili pasito
Latori tabili pasito

Olufẹ: ki oore-ọfẹ, aanu ati alaafia jẹ tirẹ titi lailai lati ọdọ Ọlọrun Baba wa ati Jesu Kirisiti Oluwa wa. O dun mọ mi ninu gidigidi lati ki ọ kaabọ sinu oṣu Ọwara, eyi ti i ṣe oṣu kinni ninu abala kẹrin awọn oṣu odun yi. Mo si gbadura pe ki Ọlọrun mu ọ duro ṣinṣin ninu gbogbo ete rẹ fun aye rẹ ni oṣu na ni orukọ Jesu. Amin.

Wayi o, ti o ba jẹ pe o ko mọ tabi pe o ti gbagbe, mo fẹ pe akiyesi rẹ si pe awọn oniwaasu ni ojuṣe lati kọ awọn eniyan ni ohun gbogbo ti o ni i ṣe pelu ipinnu ati ifẹ Ọlọrun. Idi si ni yi ti Pọọlu ṣe sọ fun awọn ara Kolose pe, “Nisinsinyi emi n yọ ninu iya mi nitori yin, emi si n ṣe aṣepari iṣẹ ipọnju Kirisiti ti o ku lẹyin ni ara mi, nitori ara rẹ, ti i ṣe ijọ: Eyi ti a fi emi ṣe iranṣẹ fun, gẹgẹ bi iṣẹ iriju Ọlọrun ti a fi fun mi fun yin lati mu ọrọ Ọlọrun ṣẹ.” (Kolose 1:22) Njẹ o ri bayi? Pọọlu sọ wipe iṣẹ iriju ti oun gba lọwọ Ọlọrun ni lati mu ọrọ Ọlọrun ṣẹ. Ọna miran lati ṣo eyi ni pe iṣẹ iriju Pọọlu ni lati waaṣu ọrọ ni pipeye. O tunmọ si pe ko le ṣo pe awọn ẹka bayi ninu ọrọ Ọlọrun ni oun o fi ṣe iwaasu ati pe awọn ẹka ọrọ rẹ bayi ni oun ko ni fi ṣe iwaasu. Ko le sọ wipe iwa mimọ nikan ni a ran oun lati fi se iwaasu, ko ki ṣe fififunni, tabi pe igbagbọ ni a fi ran oun lati ṣe iwasu ko ki i ṣe idajọ ayeraye. Iṣẹ rẹ ni lati polongo ohun gbogbo ti ọrọ Ọlọrun n sọ fun awọn eniyan.

Pipolongo ohun gbogbo ti o ni i ṣe pẹlu ifẹ ati ipinnu Ọlọrun ki i wa ṣe nkan ti a le ṣe ni ọjọkan. Ọpọ igba ni o jẹ pe o le gba iṣẹ aṣekara ọpọlọpọ ọdun ati suuru lọwọ ẹni ti o n waasu ọrọ Ọlọrun ki o to le fi gbogbo ifẹ ati ipinnu Ọlọrun han si awọn ti o n kọ. Ṣugbọn o ṣe e ṣe, o si gbọdọ jẹ ṣiṣe. A si ri amudaju eleyi ninu ọrọ Pọọlu si awọn alagba ijọ Efesu, eyi ti o ka bayi: “Nitori ti emi ko fa ṣẹyin lati sọ gbogbo ipinnu Ọlọrun fun yi.” (Ise Awọn Apositeli 20:27) Nitorina, wiwaasu gbogbo ipinnu ati ifẹ Ọlọrun ṣe e ṣe, o si jẹ ohun ti gbogbo oniwaasu gbọdọ fi ara rẹ jin lati ṣe.

Ṣugbọn ṣa o, erongba Ọlọrun kọ ni pe ki o jẹ kiki oniwaasu ni yo fi ara rẹ jin lati ma polongo gbogbo ifẹ ati ipinnu rẹ; erongba rẹ ni pe ki awọn ti a n kọ ni ọrọ Ọlọrun naa fi ara wọn jin lati tẹwọgba gbogbo ifẹ ati ipinnu rẹ fun aye wọn. O wa ṣeni laanu pe nkan ti a ri ninu ọpọ ọmọ Ọlọrun ni pe wọn a ma yan ẹbọ ninu iha ti wọn n kọ si ọrọ Ọlọrun. Wọn fẹ yan otitọ ọrọ Ọlọrun ti awọn olukọ wọn yoo kọ wọn ati irufẹ otitọ ọrọ rẹ ti wọn yo tẹwọgba ati ti wọn yo ṣe amulo. Nitorina, wọn a ma ti ibikan de ibikan lati wa awọn oniwaasu ti yo waasu tẹwọn lọrun. Idi si ni yi ti aye wọn ko fi baradọgba.

Awa naa nilo lati ṣe agbayẹwo aye wa lati ri boya aye wa baradọgba ninu irinajo igbagbọ wa tabi ko baradọgba. A nilo lati bere lọwọ ara wa, “Njẹ ari awọn otitọ ọrọ Ọlọrun ti a n sa fun ati ti a ko tilẹ fẹ ki wọn fi bawa sọrọ rara tabi ti a ko fẹ ṣe amulo?” Ti a ba ri, a nilo lati ronupiwada, ki a si yi iha ti a kọ si wọn pada. Idi si ni pe a ko le jẹ gbogbo nkan ti Ọlọrun fẹ ki a jẹ, niwọn igba ti a ko ba mura lati mọ gbogbo ifẹ ati ipinnu rẹ fun wa, ki a si fi aye gba wọn ninu aye wa.

Lotitọ, a le ma le fi ara da ọna ti awọn kan n gba ṣe alaye tabi amulo awọn isọri ọrọ Ọlọrun kan. Eyi ko wa tunmọ si pe ki a ma ni itara lati mọ nkan ti Ọlọrun n sọ nipa awọn nkan wọnyi ati lati ṣe amulo wọn ni aye wa. Fun apẹẹrẹ, ọpọ ẹkọ odi ni o wa ni oni lori fififuni, paapaajulọ fififun awọn adari wa ninu ijọ. Sibẹsibẹ, eyi ko jasi pe ọrọ Ọlọrun ko pa a laṣẹ fun wa lati ma fi nkan ini wa ran awọn ti o n fi ọrọ Ọlọrun bọ wa lọwọ (1Korinnti 9:14; Galatia 6:6). Ti a ba si kọ lati mu ẹkọ fififunni ati fifi ohun ini wa ran awọn ti o n fi ọrọ Ọlọrun bọ wa lọkunkundun, nitori pe awọn kan n ṣe eyi lọna aitọ, a ti n ṣe aigbọran si Ọlọrun niyẹn. Lotitọ o, o le e jẹ pe a n gbọran si lẹnu lori gbogbo ọrọ aye wa yoku. Ṣugbọn niwọn igba ti a ti n ṣe aigbọran si lẹnu ni ọna kan ni aye wa, ko si bi a ṣe le jẹgbadun gbogbo Ibukun ati ipese rẹ fun aye wa. Lafikun, o tun le wa jẹ pe abala aye wa ti a ko ti gbọran si lẹnu yi ni yoo jẹ ọna fun Satani lati fiya jẹ wa.

Nitorina, ji kuro ninu ogbe ti o n to, ki o si rẹ ara rẹ silẹ lati gba gbogbo nkan ti Ọlọrun n ba ọ sọ lori iwa mimọ, idajọ ayeraye, fififunni, ifẹ ati bẹẹbẹẹlọ nipasẹ ọrọ rẹ. Iwọ sati rẹ ara rẹ silẹ lati gba ẹkunrẹrẹ ọrọ rẹ fun ọ. Nipa eyi, gbogbo nkan ti o ku diẹ kaato ninu irinajo igbagbọ rẹ ni a o pese, aye rẹ yoo si jẹ kikọ lati gbe iwa Jesu Kirisiti yọ lẹkunrẹrẹ.

Ki o ni oṣu Ọwara 2020 idẹra.

Copyright © 2020, 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)
Lati owo: J.O. Lawal | Ojo: Owara 04, 2020 | Atelera: Latori tabili Paitọ | Nomba: Vol. 9, No. 22