Author: Pastor J.O. Lawal

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: When may I do something for myself?|Fire in my Bones

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Date: June 28, 2023|Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 6, No. 7

“Jacob said to him, “You know how I have worked for you and how your livestock has fared under my care. The little you had before I came has increased greatly, and the LORD has blessed you wherever I have been. But now, when may I do something for my own household?”” (Gen 30:29-30NIV)

Who was Jacob talking to in our opening bible text? It was his father-in-law, Laban. As the account goes, Jacob had been working for Laban for more than fourteen years at the time they were having this conversation. And all through the years that he worked for him, taking care of his livestock, things only got better for him. In other words, the man became richer and richer while Jacob was working for him.

And why? It was because God was with Jacob.See, there are times that wicked people become wealthy and great in life because of the presence of certain children of God in their lives. And if, because of their ignorance of this fact, they should begin to maltreat these children of God or drive them away from their lives, the favour of God that they have been enjoying because of them will naturally cease. That, of course, is when they will know that the prosperity and peace they have been enjoying are not a result of their hard work or smartness but a result of God’s favour at work in the lives of His children that have been in their lives.

Now that exactly is how it was with Laban. Laban, as we see in the bible, was a business shark and cheat, a very manipulative and dangerous man. So, even though Jacob himself was a very smart and cunny person, he still could not handle him. In fact, as he would point out when they were going to finally part, Laban cheated him ten different times, underpaying him for his hard labour and service (Gen 31:41).

And there was simply nothing he could do to beat him at his game.Yet God blessed the household of this wicked, dangerous and manipulative man. Why? It was because of Jacob. Jacob was an inheritor of the blessing God gave Abraham. So, naturally, whatever he laid his hands on, whether it was his own business or someone else’s business, was bound to prosper. And that is how it should be for all God’s children who have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus (Eph 1:3).

Whatever we lay our hands on ought to prosper, regardless of who owns it. However, if we will not be like Jacob and always walk in the consciousness of the blessings of God at work in us, things may keep dying and failing in our hands. Jacob knew that he was blessed of God and that whatever he handled was bound to prosper.

So, as we see in our opening text, he was bold to tell Laban that the presence of God in his life was the reason for the prosperity of his household. And we too must be able to boldly say the same things to the unbelievers around us that God’s presence in our lives is the reason for our prosperity and whatever degree of prosperity whatever we are handling for them is experiencing.

But then, as we also learn from the bible story of Laban and Jacob, it was not only Jacob that knew the secret of Laban’s prosperity. Laban also knew. How did he know? It was by divination. He himself told Jacob this. In other words, when Laban could no longer explain the reason he was getting richer and richer, he had to go and consult some diviners to find out why. And that was when he was told that Jacob was the reason. So, he decided that he would do whatever he could to keep him with him permanently. (Cf. Genesis 30:27-285)

Now who would not want to act like Laban? If you were given some sure word that your greatness in life is tied to the presence of some friend, neighbour or family member, would you not want to do all that you could to keep them forever with you? You would. But then, whether such a person would willingly and lovingly stay with you or not would be dependent on the kind of treatment you gave them.

And that was where Laban failed.As he himself pointed out, he knew that Jacob was the reason God was blessing him. Yet he was not kind to him at all but was cheating him. His plan was just to keep using him to advance himself until he would become useless to him. And when Jacob saw that he would never be able to stand on his own to care for his family, if he continued to serve him in that manner, he told him that he wanted to leave. That, of course, led the two of them to revisit their contract and to make room for Jacob’s prosperity. And he surely went on to prosper and to surpass Laban himself in prosperity.

What, then, is the point of all this? First, it is that you should learn to treat very well anyone God is using to prosper or advance you in life. Otherwise, a day may come when they will wake up and change the terms of their relationship with you. And if that should happen, the terms and conditions you may arrive at may not favour you, as it was the case with Laban. Then the pains and regrets that may follow will be all yours to live with.Second, don’t waste your time or life on relationships or jobs that are not focussed on building you up and preparing you to be able to stand on your own in the future.

Yes, you may, for some reasons, have to be with people or work in places that don’t have much money or prestige to readily offer you. That does not mean that is how things will be for life. Things can change. Then that person or job that does not have anything to readily offer you today may be offering you things that you will enjoy for the rest of your life.

However, don’t waste your time or life with anyone or in any place, if, even if it is not able to offer you much money, it is not offering you any training or opportunity for you to be built up and make your future solid. Otherwise, one day, when you are no longer needed there and perhaps have been completely used up, you may just realise that you have nothing to start afresh with or to rest on.

And who are you going to blame then? None other but yourself! So, wake up now, as Jacob did, and start asking, “When may I do something for myself?”

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2023 Pastor's Desk

Why was she raped? | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: June 25, 2023 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 12, No. 8

Beloved: grace and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. I am pleased to welcome you to the last week of the month of June 2023. My prayer is that God will always keep you from falling in love with the ways of the people of this world, so that you will not expose yourself to shame or destruction, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As we are shown in the bible, there was a time that Jacob’s daughter, Dinah, was raped by a young prince called Shechem. And this eventually led her brothers, Levi and Simeon, to going on a vengeful mission of sacking the whole city of the prince. It is not a new thing, then, for people to rape people. And it is not a new thing for people to go to any extent, including wiping out an entire family, town or ethnic group in a quest to punishing one person’s offence. So, before you hurt anybody, always remember that it is not everyone that we will leave vengeance for God. Some may go to the extent of punishing your entire family for your sin against them. (Cf. Gen 34)

But then, how did Dinah end up being raped by that man? The bible answers that for us by saying, “Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land. When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and violated her.” (Gen 34:1-2NIV) So, what gave Shechem access to Dinah was the fact that she left her father’s house to go and visit the women of the land. If she had not left her father’s house to go and be with the girls of the land, she would not have become a victim of rape.

What is that telling you? It is that you need to be mindful of where you allow your legs to take you. It is not everywhere that is safe for you to go. It is not every friend or colleague at work that is safe for you to visit. So, before you start visiting or going out for recreation with people, be sure you know how safe whatever place they are taking you will be for you. And if you are not sure a certain place you are going will be safe for you under normal circumstances, you should know that going there may not worth the risk, if it is not the gospel of Jesus that is taking you there.

Do you know that there are even places you must not take the gospel of Jesus to, if you do not have an express instruction from the Lord to do so? We read in Scriptures that the Spirit of Christ forbade Paul the apostle and his companions from going to certain places to preach. Why? We are not told. Could it be that God did not want the people in those places to be saved? No, it could not be that. That is because the bible tells us that He wants all men to be saved. (Cf. Acts 16:6-8; 1Tim 2:3-4)

Why, then, did He forbid those men from entering those places to preach the gospel in them? It may just be that they may not be safe in them at that time. So, before you, as a man, start taking the gospel to prostitutes in their taverns, be sure you hear correctly from God. And before you, as a woman, start taking the gospel to street thugs at their joints, be sure the Spirit of God is leading you. Otherwise, you may end up suffering the same fate as Dinah Jacob.

Well, as we even see in Dinah’s case, she did not go to the women of the land because she wanted to turn them away from the worship of Idols to God. Rather, she went to visit them. That means she thought of them as friends and wanted to be in their company. Perhaps she felt bored that day and just wanted to get away from their boring house, where there was no partying, no crazy music to dance to and no comedians to make one forget his sorrows. But by the end of that day, it had dawned on her that their boring house was the only safe place for her to be in that town.

Today, we have many Christians, especially ladies, who, like Dinah Jacob, think the ways of the kingdom of God are boring. So, they want to try a little of the ways of those of the world. No, they don’t want to dress almost naked like them, go to night parties like them or keep many boyfriends or girlfriends like them. But they want to have a little feel or taste of what they are doing. And you can see this being expressed in the way they dress and conduct themselves when they are not in church meetings and also in the way they use the social media.

Now such people, if they are not shown mercy, will most likely end up ruined in one way or the other like Dinah Jacob. Then all that they have been labouring to preserve in their lives will be lost in almost an instant. And the shame that will follow may the very thing that will make their ruin permanent. So, before you step out of the boundaries of God’s instructions for you, don’t think only of what you will gain by doing so but also of what you will lose by doing so. My prayer is that God will keep you from foolishly or arrogantly running to any place where you will be destroyed. Amen.

Have a lovely 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: The honourable rapist | By: J.O. Lawal| Fire in my bones

fire in my bones
fire in my bones
Date: June 21, 2023|Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 6, No. 6


“The young man, who was the most honored of all his father's household, lost no time in doing what they said, because he was delighted with Jacob's daughter.” (Gen 34:19NIV)

Who was being referred to as the most honoured of all his father’s household in our opening text? It was a prince called Shechem. And what made him a person of interest in bible accounts? It was the fact that he raped Dinah, Jacob’s daughter. So, Shechem was a rapist. Yes, he is referred to in Scriptures as the most honourable of all the people in his daddy’s family. Still, he was an honourable rapist. 

Now how does one relate to that? If the most respected person in a family is a rapist, what then will the other members of that family be? Murderers! Kidnappers! Human traffickers! Swindlers! They just can’t be anything near good.

Well, what is the point of this? It is that we must learn to pay close attention to the kinds of people in the lives of those we are relating to before we open our lives to them or make friends of them. That is because doing so will surely give us some insight into who they themselves may be or what they may be capable of doing.

We are not told in the bible if Shechem and Dinah had been relating as friends before he raped her. But we are told that he was seriously in love with her and was, in fact, tender in talking to her (Gen 34:3). And if someone is always tender and kind in talking to you or in relating to you, you will most likely begin to feel safe around the person at some point. But you may really not be safe with them at all. 

As Dinah later realised, she was not at all safe with Shechem, even though he was the most honourable man of the house of Hamor. That was because the young man was a rapist. But could she have known or suspected that he was capable of raping her? Yes, I believe she could have known. And she, in fact, would have known, if she had not been ignoring the kinds of people the members of the young man’s household were.

See, as long as the family members or close companions of anyone you are relating to are wicked, violent or troublesome, it will be foolish of you to assume that they will be an exception among them. Yes, sometimes, we do have such exceptions. For instance, we are told in the bible that Prince Abijah, the son of King Jeroboam, was the only good person in his father’s household – he was the only exception there. So, God said that he was the only one that would be buried after his death. Others would perish and be eaten up by birds and dogs, receiving no proper burial. (Cf. 1Kings 14)

Therefore, sometimes, someone could be the good exception among their evil family members or companions, just as someone could be the evil exception among their good family members or companions. But in most cases, people’s character is hardly different from the character of those that they flock with. So, even if, like Shechem, someone is good, kind and tender to you, don’t assume that they are just as you see them, inasmuch as the people with whom they live or do things together are evil, violent or unfaithful. 

Truly, the person in question may not be as horrible as their companions are. They, like Shechem, may be the most honourable among them. But that does not mean that they are harmless and will not hurt you anytime the opportunity to do so presents itself. So, harm yourself with caution when you are dealing with them, even if you want to give them a chance to prove that they are different from those in their lives. Otherwise, the price you will pay for assuming that they are what they are not may be worse than the one Dinah paid for hers.
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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2023 Pastor's Desk

Appreciation inspires | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: June 18, 2023 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 12, No. 7

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am pleased to welcome you to another week of the month of June 2023. And my prayer is that God will always lead you to take steps and do things that will cause men to thank Him on your behalf and to also pray for you. Amen.

Now one of the things that is bound to move people to thank God for your life and to also pray heartfelt prayers for you is giving that is rightly done (2Cor 9:12-14). Some years ago, I prepared a bible study commentary for an assembly of God that I was attending. And some days after the commentary had been used by the various groups in the church for their bible study meetings, one of the group leaders sent me a gift.

But why did this group leader send me a gift? According to him, as he was reading the bible study commentary that I had prepared, the Spirit of God opened his eyes to see some bible truth that was of great benefit to his faith. So, right then and there, he decided that he was going to give the person that prepared the commentary a gift. And he did.

How, then, did I respond to that? First, I responded with thanksgiving to God. I thanked Him for giving me words to bless His people. I also thanked Him for causing at least someone to be blessed through what I was doing. Then I also thanked Him for moving this person to bless me with a gift. If he had not blessed me with a gift or come to tell me that he was blessed by the commentary I had written, I would not have known that he was blessed by it. There may have been others in that assembly who were equally blessed through the same bible study commentary. But I will not know them until we get to heaven. And the reason I will not know them until we get to heaven is that they did not show up to appreciate me for being used by God to bless them.

In any case, the one who showed up to appreciate me with a gift unconsciously inspired me to thank God for him. Also, he inspired me to say a word of prayer for him. You know when someone touches your heart with a gift, especially when you are not expecting it, it is natural for you to immediately start praying for the person. And such prayers are often heartfelt. So, they are bound to work mightily, as long as they are consistent with God’s will.

Then, apart from the fact that this person inspired me to pray for him through his gift, he also unconsciously sowed a seed of encouragement into my heart. When you know that what you are doing is not going to waste but is blessing somebody and also stirring up the person to want to be a blessing, you are bound to be encouraged to do more. And there are some people that have gone on in life to be a blessing to millions of people through the encouragement of just one person.

What is my point? It is that you have to learn to appreciate anyone God is using to bless you, especially in the church. And even if you have to be the only one that will appreciate this person among all the people that God is using them to bless, be sure you do so. That is because you cannot tell how far your appreciation will go in making that person better and more faithful in doing the will of God.

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul speaks of how he always thanks God every time he remembers them and of how he always prays with joy for them. In fact, in the letter, he specifically prays that God will supply all their needs according to His glorious wealth in Christ Jesus (Phil 4:19). Why? It is because these brethren had proved again and again that they appreciated his ministry and what God was doing through it. Look at some of the things he says about them in his letter: “Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need. Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account.” (Phil 4:15-17NIV)

Did you see that? Among all the churches that God was using Paul to bless at that time, it was only the church of the Philippians that always gave to support him and to encourage him. No wonder he was always happy to remember them and to pray for them. If you too want those ministering to you in your church to always be glad to minister to you and not just because it is their duty to do so, then, cultivate the habit of always appreciating them. And even if you have to be the only one that will be doing so, just that like the Philippian church, do so. That is because you cannot tell to what extent God is able to use the encouragement you are offering them now in leading them to fulfil their ministry. And I pray that God will strengthen you to take this matter seriously, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a fabulous 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: Can you handle them? | By: J.O. Lawal| Fire In My Bones

fire in my bones
fire in my bones
Date: June 14, 2023|Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 6, No. 5


“The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.” (Deut 29:29NIV)

One of the things we don’t like is to have the people in our lives keeping things from us. We don’t like it because it gives us the feeling that we are not loved or trusted enough by them. But that is not always true. We ourselves know that it is not always because we don’t love or trust people that we don’t tell them certain things that we know. On the contrary, there are times that the reason we don’t tell certain things to some people is that we love them. 

But does that even make sense? What sense is there in keeping things from someone that we love? Well, there is sense in keeping certain things from someone that we love, if we are pretty sure that the person cannot handle the knowledge of those things. 

For instance, does God not love us? He surely loves us, in fact, with an everlasting and unfailing love. Yet, as we see in our opening text, God too has secrets. In other words, it is not everything that God knows or that He is doing that He reveals to those He loves. And why is that so? It is so because it is not everything that God will love to communicate to us that we can handle.

Our Lord Jesus, when He was about to die on the cross, said this to His disciples: “There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can't bear it now.” (John 16:12NLT) Did you see that? The Lord loved His disciples so much that He wanted to reveal to them a lot of kingdom secrets. But did He tell them everything He had on mind to tell them? No! Why? It was because they did not have the capacity to handle it.

See, just as much as truth can set free, it can also destroy. And there are certain truths that will destroy you or make you a destroyer, if they are revealed to you. That, of course, will be because you are not wise, mature, strong or trustworthy enough to handle them. 

Why was Samson reluctant to tell Delilah the secret of his power? Was it because he did not love her? No! On the contrary, as the bible tells us, he was desperately in love with her. But did she love him as much as he loved her? No! So, entrusting to her the secret of his power was only going to make her destroy him. And that was exactly what happened. She destroyed him with the knowledge of the secret of his power that was given to her. (Cf. Judges 16)

So, before you start getting upset that someone will not let you know certain secrets of theirs, first consider your ability to handle them. Can you actually handle what you are going to hear without destroying yourself or the person telling you with it? You may think you can. But what makes you so sure you can, when you have not even heard what is coming? Why don’t you allow the person in question decide whether you can handle it or not?

For example, we don’t decide for God what He tells us and what He does not tell us. It is on Him to make such decisions. It is on Him to determine what we can handle and what we cannot handle, for He knows us thoroughly. What we can do, however, is to grow up to that point in our walk with Him where He can trust us with any truth. 

In like manner, those of us who have children know that they don’t decide for us what secrets of our lives or of our families we tell them. We make such decisions. But as they grow up and show themselves responsible enough to handle the secrets of our lives and families, we start revealing them to them, even without their asking. 

Now that is how it should be with you also. Grow up, if you want the people in your life to be telling you their secrets. Yes, grow and up and prove yourself to be someone they can trust with anything concerning their lives. Otherwise, you should just let them be and focus on your own life.

By the way, what do you want to do with someone’s secrets? What will your knowledge of their secrets add to your life or to their life? Secrets ought to be revealed to people only on need-basis. That means even if you are in a love relationship with someone, you don’t need to know any secret of their life that won’t build both of you up or that poses no danger to any of you or your love affairs. So, stop making yourself sick because of people’s secrets that have nothing to add to or remove from your life or their lives. Instead, focus on building yourself up to be someone that those in your life can rely on. That way, you might end up being the one begging them not to tell you their secrets.

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

Restless until His will is done | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: June 11, 2023 |Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 12, No. 6

Title: Restless until His will is done
By: J.O. Lawal
Date: June 11, 2023
Series: From Pastor’s Desk
Number: Vol. 12, No. 6

Beloved: grace and peace be yours without measure from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Redeemer. Welcome to another week of the month of June 2023. I pray that God will awaken everyone that He has appointed to lift you up to make no effort to rest until they have done His will for you. Amen.

After Ruth had spoken to Boaz about the possibility of a marriage between the two of them, as she had been instructed by her mother-in-law, Naomi, to do, she came back to tell the woman how the whole thing went. And in response, she said to her, “Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today.” (Ruth 3:18NIV) Interestingly, Boaz acted exactly the way Naomi had said he would act. He did not settle down to rest at all until the matter of Ruth’s marriage was settled.

But who made that happen? It was God. It was He that drove Boaz to run up and down that day until Ruth no longer had to worry about being a widow or being childless. And if you too will entrust your life to Him, as Ruth did, He will also cause people to run up and down for you, taking no rest until they have established you in that place of fruitfulness, rest and prosperity that He has prepared for you.

Also, as we are shown in the bible, the very night before the day Mordecai’s, enemy, Hamman, was going to have him hanged, King Xerxes became so restless that he had to call in for the record book of the happenings in his kingdom. And it was why it was being read to him that he realised that he had neglected something important. He had not duly rewarded or honoured Mordecai for saving his life sometimes before from those who wanted to assassinate him. (Cf. Esther 6)

So, in his restlessness, he pondered on the matter till the following morning, when Haman came in to talk about how Mordecai would be hanged. That, of course, was what God used in overruling the plans of Haman. Therefore, instead of getting the king’s permission to have Mordecai hanged, what Hamman got was the king’s order to have him honoured all through the city of Susa.

What is that telling us? It is telling us that when God is set to honour and lift a man, He knows how to awaken those who are supposed to do the job, even if they are his enemies, and make them restless until they get it done. And that is going to be your experience this new week and throughout the remaining part of the year. God will wake up all the people He has already appointed to lift and honour you but who have been sleeping. He will wake them up and make them restless until they have done His will for your life.

Now if you believe that, banish anxiety from your heart. Then begin to thank and praise Him for what He is already doing. And before you know it, you will see all the wonderful things He has been doing for your exoneration and exaltation manifesting and causing people to praise His holy name on your behalf. Amen.

Do 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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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Don’t corrupt it | By: J.O. Lawal | FIRE IN MY BONES

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Date: June 07, 2023|Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 6, No. 4

“Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.” (Ezek 28:17NIV)

As we see in Ezekiel 28, when God made the angel that we now call Satan, he was full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. But though this being has not lost the wisdom and beauty God had given to him, he is not being viewed by God or humans as wise or beautiful anymore. In fact, he is the most hated of all beings. Why? According to what we are shown in our opening bible text, the reason is that he corrupted his wisdom and beauty at some point in history.

Now what does it mean to corrupt one’s wisdom? It means to make it destructive. Wisdom is God’s gift, given by Him as a spiritual tool for building people or things up. But once it is corrupted, it stops being a tool for edification; it becomes a tool for ruining and destroying what is good.

Then what does it mean to corrupt one’s beauty? It means to weaponize it or turn it into a trap for destruction. Beauty is God’s gift, given by Him to His creations to draw attention to His greatness, majesty and goodness. But once it is corrupted, it stops being a tool for bringing glory to God; it becomes a tool for manipulation and seduction.

So, when the word of God says that Satan corrupted his wisdom and beauty, it is simply telling us that this being became destructive with the beautiful gifts God had adorned him with. And because of that, God threw him down from the place of honour He had placed him. So, he became useless to Him and no longer capable of experiencing His goodness or favour. He became nothing but a being doomed to destruction.

But what made all this happen to Satan? What reduced a highly exalted being to nothing before his creator? What was responsible for the corruption of his God-given wisdom and beauty? As we are told in our opening bible verse, it was pride that was responsible. In other words, his beauty and wisdom got into his head and he began to see himself as too much; he began to think of himself more highly than he ought to. And why was that so? It was so because he, at some point, forgot totally that there was nothing he had that he had not received as a gift from God.

In like manner, when we also begin to lose sight of the fact that there is nothing we are or that we have that we have nor received from God our maker, pride will begin to capture our hearts and enslave them (1Cor 4:7; James 1:17). And if we do not immediately deal with it, it won’t be long before it becomes our master and begins to corrupt and ruin every good thing God has given to us. Then, instead of using the beauty, education, wealth, influence or any other gift God has given to us to lead men to glorify Him, we will start using it as a tool to bring honour to ourselves.

Now there is no way we will be using what God has given us to draw attention to ourselves or bring honour to ourselves and not become destructive in the process. It is not just possible. And once we become destructive with what God has given to us, He has a duty to throw us down, as He did with Satan. How far down He will cast us is not what I can tell. But He will surely throw us down once we allow pride to corrupt our lives and the things He has given to us.

Remember King Nebuchadnezzar. Remember that the very moment he allowed pride to corrupt the majesty God gave him was the moment he was driven away from his throne and kingdom into the wilderness, where he lived like a mad man and beast. And if God had not been merciful to him and restored him, he would have died in that wilderness like any other beast. (Cf. Daniel 4)

So, beloved, continually watch your heart and see to it that you make no room for any form of pride in it. It will corrupt you and the gifts of God in your life. And once that happens, it does not matter how high God has already placed you, He will have no choice but to throw you down. My prayer is that you will not do anything that will result in your being thrown down by God, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

But watch yourself!

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)

Amen.

But watch yourself!

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2023 Pastor's Desk

Making His word | Produce By: J.O. Lawal | Date: June 04, 2023 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 12, No. 5

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. I rejoice with you as we come into another month of this year, the month of June 2023. My prayer is that God will teach your heart to be steadfast and consistent in trusting Him and in doing His will, so that none of the good things He wants to accomplish in your life will elude you, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

While explaining the parable of the farmer that went out to sow his seed, the Lord Jesus said this about those whose lives will bring forth the fruit of the word of God coming to them: “But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.” (Luke 8:15NIV) What are the things that will make the word of God produce in our lives the results God wants to see, as shown by our Lord Jesus? The first is hearing the word of God.

The bible says faith comes by hearing the word of Christ (Rom 10:17). So, hearing what God has to say or is saying is very important. And until we have heard what He has to say to us about Himself, our lives and the situations of our lives, we cannot be expected to trust Him to take care of us or expected to know what He requires of us. So, if our lives will bring forth the fruit of faith in God and the fruit of what God wants, we must hear words of faith in Him and words showing us His will for our lives. In other words, the seed of faith in Him and the seed of His will must be planted in our hearts. Otherwise, there can be no harvest of what has not been planted.

The second thing that will make the word of God produce results in our hearts is for us to retain it. It is one thing for us to plant some seed on some ground; it is another thing for that ground to retain it. If the condition of that ground does not make room for that seed to survive and go on to yield its crops, it can only die or grow up to be unproductive. In like manner, it is not enough for us to hear the word of God; it is equally important we make room for it to grow and be able to bring forth fruit in our lives. If we do not make room for the word of God to live in us, that is, if we do not accept His word as something we need to work with in our lives, it will not accomplish the results it is meant to accomplish in our lives. It will only go to waste, as is seen evident in the lives of many who have severally heard His word and have remained unchanged by it.

The third thing that will make the word of God produce results in our lives is for us to persevere in acting on it. See, even if we have planted our seed on some good ground, a ground that has everything the seed needs to do well, we must still allow that seed to stay long enough there to grow and bring forth its harvest. As farmers know quite well, every seed has its own time of fruitfulness. So, they have to patiently care for it and also wait for it to be ready. Otherwise, they are going to destroy it before its time and lose their harvest and waste their effort.

In like manner, every seed of God’s word planted in our hearts has its own time of fruitfulness. And if we don’t want to miss it, we have to patiently nurture it until brings forth fruit. In other words, we have to keep acting on and praying about whatever God has said to us about Himself, our lives and the situations of lives until we see results. That we are not yet seeing results of acting on what God says to us does not mean we are not going to see it. The seed of every word spoken to us by God will surely grow in us and bring forth fruit, if we will permit it. But how soon it will bring forth its fruit is not what we may be able to say – it all depends on the character of that seed and the nature of challenges it has to deal with in our lives.

So, if we want God’s word to produce righteousness, healing and prosperity in us, we have to persevere in acting on it until we are seeing His righteousness, health and prosperity fully manifesting in our lives. Naaman, for example, had to wash himself in River Jordan seven times before he was cleansed of his leprosy. And that does not mean that once you too act on what God has said about a certain situation of your life seven times, the problem will be solved. Rather, it means that there are times that acting on God’s word just once or twice about certain situations of our lives is not enough to bring results. We must stay on acting on it for a while before the results we want to see will come.

Now how long we will have to keep acting on what God says in order to see results in certain situations of our lives is not what I can say. But I can say that if we do not faint or throw away our confidence in Him, we will not be put to shame. The results we are looking forward to seeing will come and even surpass our expectations. But if we are epileptic in acting on His word, if we are often taking vacations from acting on His word, we are uprooting the seed of His word from the ground of our hearts. So, there will be no harvest. We will simply have wasted the seed of His word and our own time and commitment. And I pray that an end will come to every waste of the word of God that is going on in our lives right now, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

SUSTAIN THE FAVOUR |BY: J.O LAWAL|FIRE IN MY BONES

fire in my bones
fire in my bones
Date: May 31, 2023 | Series: Youth for Jesus | Number: Vol. 6, No. 3



“Now Moses said to Hobab son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, "We are setting out for the place about which the LORD said, 'I will give it to you.' Come with us and we will treat you well, for the LORD has promised good things to Israel." He answered, "No, I will not go; I am going back to my own land and my own people." But Moses said, "Please do not leave us. You know where we should camp in the desert, and you can be our eyes. If you come with us, we will share with you whatever good things the LORD gives us."” (Num 10:29-32NIV)

As we see in the bible, God Himself was the one that personally led the children all through the time they spent in the wilderness, that is, on their way to the land of Canaan. He led them using the cloud that was over His tabernacle to let them know when to move to a new place and when to stop moving and stay wherever they found themselves. And they never argued with Him because they knew that He had their best at heart and was committed to leading them to the place of rest He had promised them. (Cf. Num 9:15-23)

In like manner, God always has our best at heart and knows how to lead us to experience what is best for us. But we have to trust Him to lead us, just as the Israelites did. And if we trust Him, we will not move when He does not want us to move, even if everyone around us seems to be moving, and we will not settle down anywhere, however comfortable the place may be for us, when He wants us to move on. These are some of the main lessons we learn from the way God led the Israelites from Egypt into the Promised land.

But then, as we see in our opening bible text, even though God was fully with Moses and the Israelites to lead them through that dreadful wilderness into the land of Canaan, they still needed a human guide to show them how to follow Him in that wilderness and be safe in whatever direction He was leading them. None of them had been in that wilderness before. And none of them knew what part of it was safe for them, their children and their animals and what part of it was unsafe for them. So, having a human guide who could show them how to follow God in whatever way He was leading them was not a bad idea at all. 

Now the only human guide with them that Moses recognised at that time was Hobab, his brother-in-law. We are not told in the bible how this man joined them in that desert. It may be that he came along with his father, Jethro, when he came to visit Moses, and decided to stay back a little longer. Or it may be that he came to visit Moses on his own. It is hard to say. (Cf. Ex 18)

In any case, as Moses points out in our opening text, it is clear that Hobab knew the desert they were in well. He knew the aroutes that were safe for them to pass and the ones that were unsafe for them to pass. He also knew the places that were safe for them to camp in that desert and those that were dangerous for them to camp in. So, though they would always know through God’s leading the direction they ought to go and the places they ought to stay, having someone like Hobab to tell them how to go in the direction they were being led and be safe and how to camp wherever God had led them and be safe would be a huge advantage.

Therefore, even though he was determined to go back to his father and his people, Moses did not want him to leave. Why? He must first of all have proved himself very useful to them during his short stay with them in that wilderness. I mean that he must have shown Moses and the people how invaluable his experience and understanding of how to handle the desert life was. So, allowing someone like him to leave them at that time would be a great mistake.

In the same vein, wherever you find yourself, prove yourself so useful that those you are with will not want you to leave. Hobab was with Moses simply on vacation. Yet Moses was not willing to let him go back home because he had proved himself highly useful to him and his people during his short stay. So, don’t ever again use the fact that you are only going to be in a place for a while as your excuse for being useless there. If you prove useless where you are, it is really because you are useless and not because your time of stay there is short. If you are a highly useful person, then, you will surely prove yourself useful wherever you go, even if you have only a few minutes or hours to be there.

Well, because Moses wanted Hobab to stay, he had to encourage him to do so. Hobab, during his short stay with them, had given them his services free of charge. But now that they wanted him to stay and continue to be of help to them, they needed to give him a good reason to do so. So, Moses offered to share with him whatever good things God gave to them. In other words, if he stayed with them, then, he too would have a share in the land that was flowing with milk and honey that God was giving them. And that, of course, was a too good offer for the man to refuse. So, he stayed.

Now what is the point of that? It is that we need to know how to sustain whatever favour we are enjoying from the people in our lives. People, out of love for God and for us, may be sacrificing their time and resources to do for us things that they are not under any obligation to do for us. And if, like Moses, we want to continue to enjoy their commitment to us, then we also, like Moses, should be willing to share the good things of our lives with them. 

In fact, we should not wait until such people want to stop doing whatever they are doing for us before we begin to encourage them by sharing the good things of our lives with them or considering how we too may wisely support them. Otherwise, if, out of necessity or tiredness, they should decide to stop bearing our burdens or ministering to us in whatever way they have been doing, nothing we do to encourage them may work at such times. So, while there is still time for us to appreciate and encourage anyone in our lives that is freely doing us good, let us do so and sustain the favour. That is because tomorrow may just be too late.
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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2023 Pastor's Desk

Everything is not bread | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: May 28, 2023 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 12, No. 4

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I gladly welcome you to the transition week between the months of May and June 2023. And I pray that your eyes will be opened to recognise everything in your hands that you are supposed to plant as a seed of prosperity and that your heart will be strengthened and led to plant it where it will grow and bring forth a great harvest for you, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Our Lord Jesus, once while preaching to the Jews, said this: “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” (John 12:24NIV) And He said these words to make clear to the people how important it was for Him, the only begotten Son of God, to die in order for God to have many sons in His glory (Heb 2:10). So, what He said on this occasion was addressing something spiritual.

However, we must not forget that these words of our Lord are first of all pointing to something natural, something every farmer knows. Every farmer knows that in order to multiply any seed, you have to first plant it somewhere. In other words, you have to first give it up to death. Otherwise, it will remain nothing but a single seed and not multiply in your hands. But the moment you plant it in some good soil, you have given it an opportunity to grow and multiply itself back to you. And with the working of the blessing of God, that seed you have planted will, of course, multiply itself back to you.

But then, it is not only in farming that this principle is applicable. It is also applicable in almost every area of life. For example, if you want to increase in wealth, one of the things you must be given to is planting your money into one form of business or the other. Otherwise, what you have will not increase. It can only decrease.

The bible says this of a certain king of Tyre that was reigning during the days of Ezekiel: “By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth…” (Ezek 28:5NIV) How did this king increase his wealth? It was through trading. Yes, he traded with great skill. But if he was not trading the things he had, his trading skills would most likely have remained useless and dormant in him.

Unfortunately, many of God’s people don’t understand this. Yes, they want to increase in wealth and be able to do all the great things God wants them to do with money. So, they are praying, fasting and even giving to men of God. But they are not planting the money God is giving to them in any business or venture, so that it can be multiplied back to them. Instead, most of the time, they just eat everything that comes to them from God and wait for Him to send more.

Now that will not result in prosperity. It is, indeed, good to pray, for through prayers we are able to receive God’s provisions for us to enjoy our lives. And it is good to give to those feeding us with the word of God, for by doing so we can receive miracles that will save us from famine or that will grant us speed for accomplishment. But we must also understand that prayers will not make seeds that we have not planted grow. Then there are miracles of supply that God does not perform every day. Even the miracle of Manna did not last forever for the Israelites. It stopped at some point. It stopped when the Israelites came to where they could plant to harvest the milk and honey God had provided for them.

Therefore, even though God is ever ready to miraculously supply what we need and multiply it for us, He has also made it clear to us through His word that it is not everything He gives to us that is bread for us to eat. There are parts of His provisions for us that are seeds for us to plant, so that we can sustain His provisions in our lives. But if we continue to ignorantly eat what we are supposed to plant, we won’t be able to multiply and sustain God’s provisions for us. So, instead of continually receiving a bountiful harvest of what we have planted, which is a miracle on its own, we will often find ourselves waiting for another miracle of supply that we will consume as usual. (Cf. 2Cor 9:9-10)

You can now see why many of God’s people usually end up dying in poverty. It is not meant to be so. But it will continue to be so as long as we remain ignorant of the will of God for us about our prosperity. And what is His will for us about our prosperity? First, it is that we trust Him alone for our prosperity, for it is He that gives the ability to become wealthy. Second, it is that we separate our seeds from our bread. Third, it is that we plant our seeds in the right places, in the right ventures and in the right people. That way, His word of blessing that says, “As long as the earth remains, seed time and harvest will never cease,” will not fail to be operational in our lives for our prosperity (Gen 8:22).

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)