Month: November 2023

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

A blessing or a curse | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: November 29, 2023 | Series: Youth for Jesus | Number: Vol. 6, No. 29

“Noah, who was a farmer, was the first man to plant a vineyard. After he drank some of the wine, he became drunk, took off his clothes, and lay naked in his tent.” (Gen 9:20-21GNT)

Why did Noah get drunk on the wine he had made? He got drunk on it because he did not know that too much of wine was capable of getting someone drunk. Truly, he was the one that discovered that wine could be gotten from fruits. And he made that discovery because God’s blessing of fruitfulness was at work in him.

However, it is not enough for us to discover anything, good or bad; it is also important that we possess adequate wisdom to handle our discovery. Otherwise, a discovery that is meant to be a blessing may end up being a curse.

Noah indeed discovered how wine could be made. And that discovery was meant to be a blessing to him. But it ended up exposing him to disgrace because he did not have sufficient wisdom to manage it. Yes, the wine he made must have tasted very sweet in his mouth and also felt quite refreshing in his body. But since he had never tasted or drunk it before, there was no way he would have known how his body would respond to it.

So, he should not have started by consuming a lot of it. That would have been his wisdom. But without knowing how his body would respond to the wine he had just made, Noah kept on consuming it until it he got drunk on it. So, he unknowingly exposed his nakedness and also ended up placing a curse on one of his grandchildren. (Cf. Gen 9:20-25)

What is this teaching us? Well, as I pointed out before, it is teaching us that it is not enough for us to possess the knowledge of anything, good or bad; it is equally important that we possess adequate wisdom to handle that knowledge. Otherwise, our possession of it may after all not do us any significant good. On the contrary, it may even end up harming us.

The discovery of crude oil in Nigeria, for instance, was meant to be a blessing, a very good thing to us as a nation. But has it been a blessing to us? No! Why? It is because, as a people, we do not have the wisdom to manage it. Yes, we know where the crude oil is located in our land. And we also know how to explore it. In fact, we explore and even export it every day. But has this improved our quality of living significantly as a nation? No! Why? Insufficient wisdom to manage it!

Personally, I am of the opinion that if we had not discovered crude oil as early as we had done, things would most likely have been better for us as a nation. At least, the country was doing relatively well before crude oil was discovered. And that was because those leading us at the time had sufficient wisdom to make use of the raw materials, which were mostly agricultural produce, that were available to them to make life better for us. If we had gotten much wiser, then, before discovering crude oil and the kind of money its exploration could make available to us, we may have been able to manage it better in making our nation great.

Well, my point is that it is not enough for you to labour to discover things or to acquire knowledge; it is also important you continually pray to God fill you with the wisdom to handle whatever knowledge you receive. Otherwise, as Paul tells the Corinthians, knowledge without adequate wisdom to handle it may end up making you proud, insensitive and reckless (1Cor 8). And these things are bound to make you stagnant or destroy you. Is that, then, what you want? Do you want that which is meant to be a blessing to become a curse for you? I am sure that is not want you want. So, don’t just seek to know; also seek to be made wise enough to handle whatever you know.

Cheers!

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

Don’t cover it up | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: November 26, 2023 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 12, No. 30

from pastor's desk

Beloved: grace and mercy be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. I gladly welcome you to the last week of this month, the month of November 2023. And my prayer is that God will rid your life of everything that is associated with disgrace or that has become a source of constant sorrow to you, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As we see in the bible story of Naaman, he was a great man. He was a man that was highly regarded by his king and by his people. And that was because, as the commander of their army, God had used him mightily in giving them great victories over their enemies. (Cf. 2Kings 5:1)

However, as great and honourable as this man was, there was something that was a source of constant pain and sorrow to him and his family. And it was the fact that he was leprous. How did he become leprous? We are not told in the bible. But we are told that his leprosy was so troubling to him that he was willing to do anything, including visiting an enemy king, in order to get rid of it.

What is that teaching us? It is that if there is anything inconsistent with the will of God or that is associated with pain, sorrow or disgrace in our lives, we must not ignore it, regardless how well things are for us in life. Instead, we must deal with it. Unfortunately, there are many that are sleeping and waking up with habits or situations that are destroying them and yet are not doing anything about them. Why? They believe that they have enough comfort to cover up the harm those things are doing to them.

But like Naaman’s leprosy, you cannot cover up any habit or situation that is secretly eating up your life forever. At some point, the harm that thing is doing to you will become obvious to everyone. Then it might be too late for any help that comes to you to make a difference. So, don’t cover up anything that has become a source of constant pain or sorrow to you or your family. It has to be brought out in the open and dealt with.

Naaman did not cover up his leprosy. That was why the Israelite slave girl that was brought to his house was able to lead him to be truly cured of it. You too should not cover up that sin, habit or situation that is gradually consuming your life. Instead, expose it, so that you may experience true salvation from it.

However, the fact that you will not cover up that thing that is constantly troubling you does not mean you are going to get true help for it. Yes, when some people in your life know that you are in trouble, they may seek to lead you to the solution to it. But any solution to your problem that people are leading you to outside God is no solution at all. Yes, it may look like it is working. But any solution to your problem that does not come from God is only going to add to your life problems that were never there. So, don’t go for it.

The solution that Naaman was led to was in God. So, it was a perfect solution. If you too will turn to God with whatever is hurting you or eating you up, He will supply you with a perfect and permanent solution to it. All you will need to do is to simply act on His word, as Naaman did, regardless of how foolish it may seem to you. And you will surely have great testimonies of His goodness and love to share.

Do have a great 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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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: No one knew what they were|Fire in my bones

fire in my bones
fire in my bones
Date: November 22, 2023|Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 6, No. 27

“One of them went out into the fields to gather herbs and found a wild vine. He gathered some of its gourds and filled the fold of his cloak. When he returned, he cut them up into the pot of stew, though no one knew what they were. The stew was poured out for the men, but as they began to eat it, they cried out, "O man of God, there is death in the pot!" And they could not eat it. Elisha said, "Get some flour." He put it into the pot and said, "Serve it to the people to eat." And there was nothing harmful in the pot.” (2Kings 4:39-41NIV)

Who went out into the fields to gather herbs to cook? It was one of the sons of the prophets serving under Prophet Elisha. And what did he bring in to cook for his people? The gourds (fruits) of an unknown wild vine!Interestingly, when he came back with those gourds and began to cook them, nobody queried him or asked him questions, even though they did not know what he cooking for them to eat. Why? As the account shows us, it was a time of famine. So, food was scarce.

If someone, then, brought something into a house to cook, regardless of what it might be, those in that house may not ask him any questions, as long as there was something to fill their bellies with. (Cf. 2Kings 4:38)That was the situation that those sons of the prophets found themselves in. Because they were all starving, they did not bother to query their colleague about what he was cooking for them, even though not even he could tell them what it was. But it was not long after they started eating it that they all realised that it was poison they were eating. 

And if Prophet Elisha had not been around that day to supernaturally heal them and the food they were eating, the story would definitely have ended differently.Now what is the point of this bible story? It is that we must not allow any situation, however ugly it may be, to drive us into accepting to do something or consuming something that we have no adequate knowledge of what it is. 

Otherwise, we may end up consuming poison or getting involved in something that will ruin our lives before we know what has befallen us.How did some people end up being ruined through prostitution or money rituals? It was because when they were about to be introduced into these terrible things, they did not ask enough relevant questions from those introducing them into them. And why did they not ask enough relevant questions from them? They were desperate to come out of poverty and suffering. 

So, when some people told them that there was a way out, they did not bother to find out what way it was and what taking that way may do to their lives. They just sat down to eat what was set before them. And by the time they found out what was happening, they had taken enough poison to totally destroy their lives. If such people are, then, not shown mercy, they will surely be utterly ruined.In like manner, some have ended up in some deadly secret societies or in the practice of sorcery because they would not ask relevant questions from those offering them help to their problems. 

Maybe they wanted to have children, to become influential, to be healed of certain sicknesses or to be protected from some wicked enemies. Then, in their desperation, they agreed to do what certain individuals that volunteered to help them told them to do, without asking relevant questions. And before they knew it, what appeared altogether harmless when they got started became some kind of poison that was ruining their lives, homes and everything else that they held dear. If they also are not shown mercy, they can only be completely ruined.


So, again, before you settle down to eat that free food, know what it is you want to eat. And before you join that group or enlist for that business, know what you are getting involved in and what terms and conditions applied. Many all round this country are running from pillars to posts now because of some debts hanging around their necks. But how did they get into those debts? Almost unconsciously! Those who dragged them into debt did not make it look like a serious thing when they were offering them loans. They did not make it look like something capable of poisoning their world. So, they got involved without considering the reality about their abilities to handle the situations. 


And by the time the reality dawned on them, they had sunk so deep in some rivers of debt that it would probably take series of miracles from God for them to be saved.What is my point? Have adequate knowledge of whatever you are getting yourself involved in or signing up for, regardless of who is introducing it to you. Then you won’t have to needlessly surrender your life and world to be poisoned by some unknown quantity.