Month: May 2022

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

It is uncertain | Pst. J.O. Lawal | May 25, 2022 | Youth for Jesus | Vol. 5, No. 2

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” (1Tim 6:17NIV)

What is the Spirit’s instruction to those who are rich in this present world, as we see in our opening text? It is for them not to be proud or to put their hope in earthly riches. Now, of course, this instruction is not applicable to those who are rich alone but to all men. That is because it is not only those who are rich who can be proud. Those who are poor can also be proud. And I have seen under the sun very poor and lowly people who are full of themselves, just as I have seen under it rich and influential people who are meek and easy to get along with.

So, to say the fact, it is not wealth that makes people become proud. People are proud because Satan has succeeded in making them have an opinion of themselves that does not exist. And wealth may just be the one thing that will underline that pride that has always been in them.

In any case, we all, not just the rich among us, are being warned by the Spirit not to be arrogant or to put our hope in wealth or earthly riches. And why are we warned not to put our hope in earthly riches? It is because they are uncertain. In other words, wealth is unreliable. Yes, wealth is undependable. So, it can disappoint you or put you to shame when you least expect it to do so.

Unfortunately, many do not know this. So, in a crazy fashion, they run around the world, getting involved in all kinds of foolish and harmful things in order to become rich. And will that definitely make them become rich? No! Eagerness for money or earthly riches will not necessarily make you rich or wealthy. And there are millions all around the world today whose lives are proving this to be the fact. They have been running around for money all their lives. Yet they are poor, very poor today. 

Then, even if you have become rich or wealthy, whether through diligent and honest labour or otherwise, it still does not mean that you are going to have the happy, peaceful and rich life your heart desires to have here on earth. And there are many wealthy people today that are not happy. Yes, they are rich in earthly goods. But their riches have not been able to give them peace of mind, a sound body, a great marriage or fantastic children. Why? It is because wealth has no power to give anybody anything God has not given.

Besides all that, wealth can be lost. It can fly away. It can disappear into thin air. As we are told in the bible, in one day, righteous Lot lost all the possessions he had used his entire life to labour for to the fires that consumed Sodom and Gomorrah. And in one day, blameless and upright Job, who was considered to be richest and greatest of all the men of the eastern part of the world of his time, lost everything he had laboured for all his life. Did these men lose their wealth because they were evil? No! Rather, they lost it because life’s circumstances went against them at some point in their lives. (Cf. Gen 19; Job 1; Prov 23:5)

So, the uncertainty of earthly riches can manifest to any man, whether they are righteous or wicked. And if that should happen, what will determine what happens to them afterwards is where their confidence lies all along. If their confidence lies in their wealth and they have been building their lives on it, then, they will most likely perish with it, if it perishes or disappoints them. But if their confidence lies in God, then, He will comfort them and restore them, even if their wealth fails or disappoints them. That was what happened in Job’s case. He did not lose his life and eternity along with his wealth because his confidence was never in it but in God. And though life circumstances really messed him up, God eventually showed up at the right time, comforted him and also restored him. (Cf. Job 42)

Now this same God is always ready to heal, comfort and restore you, regardless of what life throws at you. But you have to put your confidence in Him and not in money or anything else. That is because He is the only one that is certain in His devotion, love and care. But all other people and things can fail you and will fail you, if the circumstances are right. 

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@abcministryng.com  or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk

Reset your life focus | Pst. J.O. Lawal | May 29, 2022 | Vol. 11, No. 4

Beloved: grace and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. Welcome to another week of the year, which is the transition week between the months of May and June. I pray that your heart will continually be strengthened to take seriously whatever ministry God has given to you in His kingdom, so that you will not fail Him and lose your reward. Amen.

Our Lord Jesus once said this to His disciples: “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work.” (Cf. John 4:34) On another occasion He also said to them: “As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.” (John 9:4NIV) Why did our Lord speak like this? First, it was because He knew that God had given Him a ministry to carry out here on earth. Second, it was because He had a sense of responsibility. And this was driving Him to take the ministry God had given to Him seriously. Third, it was because He knew that He did not have forever to do the job God had given Him. So, if He did not give His ministry the attention it deserved, He would not complete it by the time His time here on earth was up.

In like manner, each of us too has received a ministry from the Lord. Each of us has a job or a set of jobs that God has assigned him to do for Him and His kingdom here on earth. That is what the bible tells us. It is on us, then, to know what the ministry we have received from Him is and to begin to carry it out diligently and with the intent of finishing it on time. And Paul, speaking along this line to the Ephesian-elders, says this about himself: “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me — the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” (Acts 20:24NIV)

Can you see that Paul’s focus in life was not at all different from our Lord Jesus’ focus in life? His focus too was to do the will of God with his life and to finish His work. And would that be convenient for him? He did not expect it to be convenient. In fact, he said that the Holy Spirit had already warned him not to expect this to be convenient for him (Acts 20:22-23). However, whether it was convenient or not, he was determined to please God with his life in all ways and to diligently complete the task He had given to him. Why? It was because he knew that the one who called him and set him apart for Himself would always be with him and ensure that he succeeded. 

Now if we too would function with the mindset that both our Lord Jesus and Paul had about living for God and doing His work, then, we will never fail God, regardless of how hard or inconvenient things may be for us. But is this the mindset with which we are operating in life? Are we functioning with an abiding consciousness that our lives must be lived to please God and to do the work He has given us, whatever this work may be and whatever the circumstances of our lives may be?

If we are not functioning with this consciousness, then, we are simply wasting our lives. No, it may not look like we are wasting our lives, especially if we are being praised by men for our accomplishments in different areas of life. But a time is coming when, as Jonah eventually did, we will realise that all our race outside the will of God can only end in the belly of a big fish, in a place of utter darkness, where there is no gain, where there is no reward. And that is when we will know that all that we have done has been for nothing. My prayer is that your race and toil here on earth will not eventually amount to nothing, in Jesus’ name. But you too must reset your focus, if it has not been on doing the will of God and finishing the task He has given you.

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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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk

Very sad but not strange | J.O. Lawal

from pastor's desk

FPD/05/2022_11(3)

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. Welcome to another week of the month of May 2022. I pray that you and all that is yours will always be kept safe from all the evil expectations and activities of the enemies of the Christian faith, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Recently, there was a great outrage all over the country against the brutal killing of Deborah Yakubu Samuel, a student of a college of Education in Sokoto State. And while this act is very sad and highly condemnable, we must understand that it is neither new nor strange to the world. Similar acts have happened before and are still happening in different parts of the world today, especially in places where people think it is their job to fight for God or defend His honour.

Do you know that even under the leadership of the Holy Roman Catholic Church priests, centuries ago, many good and righteous people were wrongly stoned to death, beheaded or burnt at the stake for blasphemy or heresy? So, if the church is no longer killing her own members, it is not because she has never done so before; rather, it is because the Spirit of God has cleansed her of her ignorance and set her right.

Then we must also not forget why our Lord Jesus Christ Himself was cruelly murdered by the religious leaders of the Jews of His earthly days. It was because of blasphemy. Those Jews, as we see in the bible, had zero tolerance for blasphemy. So, when Jesus began to refer to Himself as the Son of God, they equated that to blasphemy and began to call for His head. But their leaders did not just pick Him from the street and kill Him, as a mob would do. Instead, they arrested Him, got people to testify against Him and then condemned Him to death.

Why did they not kill Jesus for blasphemy the very moment they had Him arrested? First, it was because they knew that there were many people in the land that believed that He was a true man of God. So, unless it could be proved that He had done something sacrilegious, like saying something blasphemous against God, they could not lay their hands on Him and not meet with the anger of the people. And even at that, it was against the Law of Moses to kill a man like that without a proper trial. You must first bring at least two people to testify against him. Then you must allow him to also speak for himself. Otherwise, you will be shedding innocent blood before God by killing him. And that was exactly what they did with Jesus before condemning Him to death. (Cf. Deut 17:2-7; Matt 26:57-66)

The second reason they did not immediately kill Jesus was that there was a higher law in the land at the time, the Law of the Romans. And there was no way they would kill a popular person like Him, even if the person was guilty as they may have alleged, without first trying him according to that law and not get into trouble, if their Roman overlords should decide to look into the matter. That why Jesus was taken to Pontius Pilate, so that he may ratify the death sentence they had already passed on Him. And He would have been set free, if Pilate had not been a weak and fickle leader. (Cf. John 18:26-19:16)

So, it is not a new thing for righteous people to be unjustly killed under the guise of religion. And such things usually happen where leaders are weak like Pilate and love the praise of men more than the praise of God. Even Paul, for example, on one occasion, would have been lynched by a Jewish mob because of things like this, if the Roman army general stationed at Jerusalem at the time had been weak or slow to intervene. (Cf. Acts 21:17-23:35)

What is my point in all this? It is that while we ask for justice for Deborah Yakubu Samuel and also pray that God will comfort her family, we must not fail, as children of God, to learn from what happened to her. And what are the lessons for us in that matter? The first is that we must always be careful in relating to people of other religions, especially those who are hostile to the Christian faith, so that they will never have any legitimate reason to slander or condemn us.

The second lesson for us in the matter is that wherever the leadership of our place of residence is weak or unjust, God may not be able to use it to protect us from wickedness. So, unless we are sure that God wants to use our suffering or death there to glorify Himself, we should mind how we attend to religious issues in such a place. Otherwise, we may end up sleeping in Christ before our time. And may the God of all grace continue to keep all His children in this country and all over the world safe from every kind of evil. Amen.

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)