Author: Pastor J.O. Lawal

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Offer the best | Pst. J.O. Lawal | May 04, 2022 | Youth for Jesus | Vol. 4, No. 51

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

“So give orders that cedars of Lebanon be cut for me. My men will work with yours, and I will pay you for your men whatever wages you set. You know that we have no one so skilled in felling timber as the Sidonians.”” (1Kings 5:6NIV)

Those were the words of King Solomon to King Hiram of Tyre in his letter to him in which he expressed his desire to build a temple for the Lord. And one thing that is clear from what he said to that king is that he recognised the skills of his men in handling timber. According to him, no one at that time was as skilled as the Sidonians in felling timbers. So, if anyone wanted the best of timbers and was willing to pay for them, they were the ones he must consult and engage.

What is the point of this? First, it is that if you are the best at what you do, even the wisest of men will consult and engage your services. And they will not mind coming from the ends of the earth to find you, simply because you have what they want. So, if people are ignoring your work or trade, it may just be that your skills in handling it are not sharp enough to attract them to you.

Then, if you are the best at what you do, people will be willing to pay handsomely for your services. As we see in our opening text, Solomon was willing to pay Hiram any amount for the services of his men. That, of course, does not mean that he may not bargain at all or ask for discounts. He may do that. But it means that he recognised that those people would be offering him the best of timber services he could get anywhere. So, the power of setting the price to pay did not lie with him but with them.

In like manner, if you are the best at what you do, the power of bargain is with you and not with those engaging your services. So, they will be the ones begging or persuading you for discounts on the goods or services you are providing them. And because they want nothing but the best, because they do not want an alternative to the best, they will not go away from you but stick with you. 

For example, I have observed that there are some brands of items that people keep buying from our family shop, regardless of how costly they get. Why? Those buying these items believe that they are the best around. And since they want the best, they are willing to pay the price for it. 

So, if people are ignoring your work or business, it may not be because your price is too high. Yes, overpricing is one of the things killing some people’s businesses or trade. But truth be told, if you offer the best, those dying to have the best will not mind paying whatever it may cost them to have it.

If you, then, are looking forward to earning more, then, the secret is in offering the best of whatever you do. And why can you not offer the best of what you do? Why can’t you be the best? It is all about renewing your mind. If you renew your mind to be the best at what you do, then, you will give yourself to whatever training or discipline you will need to be the best. But as long as you continue to think that being the best is not necessary or achievable, you will not aim for it. 

Now what you don’t aim for may never be yours. And what is not yours you cannot give. So, if you want to be the best or be offering the best, renew your mind to always aim and go for the best. And may God’s grace overflow over your life to make this happen, in Jesus’ name. Amen.  

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

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 wisdom for living

Cast them down | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: May 01, 2022 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 10, No. 52

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the fifth month of this year, the month of May. My prayer is that God will cause your joy to overflow everyday of the month, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Recently, our online space was inundated with news about a ten-year old girl that was supposedly gang-raped by some of her fellow students while they were in Dubai for some international games. And since then, all kinds of comments have been made about the matter. Some have blamed it on poor parenting. Some others have blamed it on the irresponsibility of the school in handling their students. And yet some have blamed it on some social medial influencers and their culture of indiscriminately sharing contents of their immoral lifestyles on the internet.

But then, I have asked myself the following questions concerning the case: How many of us are truly better than these children in the way we now live our lives? And how many of were better than them when we were of the same ages as they now are? At least, I can very well remember that when I was the same age, I had my own evil desires and demons to fight as well. So, I could have become like one of those kids or even worse.

Why, then, did I not become like them? It was the grace of God that kept me from becoming like them. And how did His grace accomplish that? First, it provided me with parents who did not provide the circumstances to become like them for me, whether by their words or actions. Second, it placed me in a church where I was continually exposed to the word of God, prayers and godly counsel. So, these evil thoughts that could have made a mess of my life could not thrive or find expression in me.

So, if you are a parent, let God use you to preserve your children and other children around you. How? Watch the kind of atmosphere you create for these children to grow in, through what you do and say. That is because it will, to a large extent, determine whether evil will prevail over them or not. And if you are not a parent, you need to be truthful to yourself about the evil thoughts and desires trying to find expression in you. Otherwise, they will surely prevail over you and ruin your life. No, the world may not know or hear about the ruin of your life as they did about that girl and a number of others. But what does it matter? If your life is ruined, it is ruined.

This is why you must face the reality about the evil thoughts and desires you have. Don’t pretend they are not there. Instead, deal with them. All of us are daily troubled by them. Even Jesus and the apostles of old were also daily troubled by them. That was why Peter wrote to the churches, saying, “Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.” (1Peter 2:11NIV) So, evil thoughts, impure thoughts and destructive thoughts are continually at war against our souls. And we must accept this as our reality. Otherwise, we won’t be able to effectively deal with them.

Now, of course, those thoughts are not our thoughts. They are Satan’s thoughts. For example, it was not Jesus’ idea to jump down from the temple top and die. It was Satan’s. And it was not Judas Iscariot’s thought to betray Jesus. It was Satan’s thought. But the difference between Jesus and Judas was what they did to the thoughts Satan brought to them. While Jesus cast down those evil thoughts with the word of God, Judas allowed them to take charge of his life and ruin it. (Cf. Matt 4:1-11; John 13:2; 2Cor 10:5)

In like manner, if we do not want the evil thoughts warring against our souls to find expression in our lives and ruin them, we must take advantage of the word of God, prayers and the fellowship of God’s people to recognise and demolish them. And we must be ready to do this every day, for Satan is also ready to ruin our lives every day, as the opportunity to do so comes to him. So, wake up from your slumber and get ready for action. This is our fight of faith. And it is a good fight, for we already have what it takes to be victorious in it every blessed day.

Do have a fabulous May 2022.

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

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Your opportunity to learn | Pst. J.O. Lawal | April 27, 2022 | Youth for Jesus | Vol. 4, No. 50

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

“Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time?”” (John 14:9NIV)

Among the things we must know how to maximise are opportunities to learn. Truly, education, whether in spiritual things or natural things, is never cheap. But there are times in life that we are presented with opportunities to learn or to be educated in certain matters of life free of charge. And what we make of such opportunities at such times may be the difference between failure and success for us in life.

Therefore, wherever you are, always keep your eyes opened to recognise opportunities to learn, especially for free. And once you recognise them, be determined to make the most of them. Pay attention. Ask relevant questions. Volunteer to serve. Go some extra miles. Stay longer than you are required to. Just make sure you do whatever honourable thing you can do to learn whenever and wherever opportunities to do so show up. And you will someday be glad you did.

But will you recognise your opportunities to learn and make yourself better fit to handle life? And if you do recognise them, will you do all you can to make the most of them?

In our opening bible text, our Lord Jesus queried one of His apostles, Philip, for asking Him a certain question? Why? It was because the man had stayed long enough with Him to know the answer to the question he was asking. So, hanging around someone of great knowledge, wisdom or substance for a very long time does not mean we are going to learn anything at all from them or even recognise our opportunities to learn from them.

Rehoboam, son of Solomon, was forty-one years old when he became king in his father’s place (1Kings 14:21). So, he must have had at least thirty years of diverse opportunities to learn from his father, Solomon. Yet when he became king, he proved through his conduct that he did not learn enough from his father to sustain the kingdom he had handed down to him. Yes, his father was the wisest man that ever lived before our Lord Jesus came. But all that did not matter, seeing that he did not make the most of the privilege and opportunities he had to have such a man as his father.

Perhaps you too are now making the same mistake Rehoboam made. You are ignoring or despising the opportunities or privileges you have to learn where you are or from certain people you are living with, working with, studying with or fellowshipping with. You need to wake up before it is too late. You need to drive yourself to learn as much as you can from them before the opportunity or privilege to do so is totally or finally taken away from you.

See, laziness, procrastination, pride or lack of concentration will not help you in this matter. These things are your enemies. So, you need to get rid of them along with any other evil trait that is preventing you from making the most of your opportunities to learn. Otherwise, a day may come when you, like Rehoboam, will lose what God has already graciously given you because you did not get enough knowledge, wisdom, understanding or discipline when you should have. 

So then, let those words of Jesus to Philip wake you up from your slumber, as you ask yourself, “I have been here for such a long time. But how much I have learnt?” 

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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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Familiarity that breeds contempt | Pst. J.O. Lawal | April 13, 2022 | Youth for Jesus | Vol. 4, No. 48

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

“When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor.” And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.” (Matt 13:53-58NIV)

Why couldn’t Jesus do many miracles in his own home town, among His people? Unbelief! But why were they unbelieving? They were unbelieving because they allowed their familiarity with Him to result in contempt for Him.

As the account shows us, these people thought they knew Jesus well. That was because He and His siblings grew up among them. They knew their parents. They knew their family occupation. And while He and His siblings were growing up among them, they most probably did not show any special sign that they would be better off or greater than other children in the town. But what they did not understand was that they only knew Jesus as a natural man; they did not know Him as a spiritual man. They did not know who He was on the inside and what measure of authority He carried in His Spirit.

So, when He began to teach them and to perform miracles, they were shocked to their bones. And instead for them to rejoice that God was using one of their own sons to do big things in the land, they allowed bitterness to take roots in their hearts against Him. So, they began to ridicule Him and to tell useless stories about His past and His years of growing up among them. And by doing so, they shut the door against God’s blessings of healing, deliverance and restoration that could have been theirs.

In like manner, many today are allowing their familiarity with certain family members, neighbours, friends or church members to hinder the flow of God’s blessings in their lives. But the fact that you are close to someone, see them every day, live with them or eat with them does not mean that you know the place they hold in God’s scheme of things. So, do not allow your exposure to their natural state to become the very thing that will hinder you from enjoying the goodness of God through their lives. Instead, see how you can make the most of it in experiencing God’s favour, exaltation, healing or restoration.

For example, though Mary was Jesus’ mother, the very mother that nursed Him as a child and brought Him up with the word of God to be a man of character, she did not allow that to prevent her from seeing the spiritual man in Him. That was why she was instrumental to the first miracle He performed at Cana in Galilee, the miracle of turning water to wine. (Cf. John 2:1-11)

Also, though Hanani was Nehemiah’s brother, he did not begin to treat his brother with contempt when he became the governor of Judah. He did not go around town messing up and saying, “What can Nehemiah do to me? Is he not my brother? He may be your governor, but he is my brother. So, I can relate to him as I please.” If he had behaved like that, he would most probably have ended up being killed by Nehemiah’s guards. But that man so conducted himself well that Nehemiah later entrusted the whole city to him, for he considered him to be a man of integrity and one that feared God more than most people. (Cf. Neh 7:1-2) 

So, if God has caused those close to you to be great in one way or the other, don’t allow your closeness to them breed contempt in you for them or bitterness in you against them, so that you begin to misbehave as you relate to them. Instead, learn how to relate to them with respect and caution, so that whenever the opportunity arises, their greatness will serve you well.

Then, don’t ever assume that the greatness of someone close to you will certainly or automatically work for your good, whether you have character or not. If the person is truly a great person, then, they will not use their greatness to sponsor or promote you, if you lack character and diligence. So, if certain great people in your life will not help you, you may want to check out your life for character and diligence. And even if, though you have these things, the great people in your life will still not notice or support you with their greatness, don’t be upset or bitter against them. Instead, rest your matter in God’s hand, for no one, however, great they may be, can help you, if He does not help you.

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

Honour in place of shame | Pst. J.O. Lawal | April 24, 2022 | Vol. 10, No. 51

from pastor's desk

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours forevermore from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am delighted to welcome you to the last week of this month. My prayer is that you will experience divine elevation in every place where you have been ignored, cheated, oppressed or robbed, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Now I offered that prayer for you because it is in line with what God has already said through the mouth of one of His prophets of old concerning His people. And what did He say? He said, “At that time I will deal with all who oppressed you; I will rescue the lame and gather those who have been scattered. I will give them praise and honor in every land where they were put to shame.” (Zeph 3:19NIV)

Did you see that? First, God promises to deal with the oppressors of His people. So, if there are people oppressing you at the moment, know that their time is up. That is because God will surely lay hands on them and deal with them as their actions deserve. What He will do to them is not your job to know but His job. But you can be sure that when He is through with them, they will never again think of oppressing anyone else, if they are still breathing. King Abimelech of Abraham’s day would tell you what if feels like to have God deal with oppressors, even when they have acted in ignorance, if you would ask him. (Cf. Gen 20)

Then God says that He will give praise and honour to His people in every place where they have suffered shame. And that is going to be your experience, if you will accept His word by faith. He will cause people to celebrate you in all the places where they have mocked and disgraced you in the past.

Remember He did something similar for Joseph. In the same place where he once served both as a slave and prisoner, he also later served there as their prime minister. You can then imagine how people like Potiphar and his wife must have afterwards related to him. That was just an example of how God can lift people up and honour them where they have been despised. (Cf. Gen 39-41)

So, don’t lose heart, regardless of what your current position in life may be. Instead, embrace the word of God to you concerning your elevation and honour. Yes, embrace His word by saying the same thing in agreement with Him, in spite of how things may now look for you. And if you do not faint, you will certainly witness a fulfilment of His good word concerning you at the appropriate time.

Do have a great week. 

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

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

A false sense of security | Pst. J.O. Lawal | April 20, 2022 | Youth for Jesus | Vol. 4, No. 49

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

“Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come!” (Amos 6:1NIV)

When reports of what King Xerxes had decreed against the Jews, at the instigation of Haman, came to Esther’s ears, she was indeed distressed. But she did not see how she could be of any help to them, neither did she sense that she herself was in danger. And it took some very harsh words from her uncle, Mordecai, for her to deal with the false sense of security she felt she had in the king’s palace. (Cf. Esther 4)

As the account goes, the edict of the king was for all the Jews in his kingdom to be annihilated on a certain day. And though Esther was the queen, she too was a Jew, something unknown to the king at the time. So, the edict was going to affect her as well, once it was brought to public notice that she was a Jew too. That was because the edict given was irrevocable. It couldn’t be changed or altered. So, in order to save the Jews, another edict had to be issued by the king, giving them the right to defend themselves against any form of hostility. You can see, then, that if Esther had been complacent because she was the queen and had done nothing to help her people at that time, though she was in a position to do so, her false sense of security would have been her undoing. (Cf. Esther 8)

In the same vein, there are many today that are carrying around a false sense of security in places where disasters are already brewing. They think because they are in certain positions in life or are related to certain people, no harm will come to them. But the disasters that they think will not come to them will surely come to them and in fact overtake them. Why? It is because they are failing to utilise the positions they are in or the influence they have at the moment to end or prevent the evil that is about to swallow them and their people up. 

As we see in our opening bible text, God was once angry with certain leaders of His people and was also set to bring judgment on them. Why? It was because though the people were looking up to them to use their positions and influence to save them from their miseries, they were doing nothing to help them. And why were they doing nothing to help them? It was because they had a false sense of security. They felt that the problems of their people would never become their personal problems. They felt that their wealth, position and influence would be able to save them from whatever calamity that would befall the land. 

But they were wrong. They were wrong because God, the true judge of all, could see their complacency, hypocrisy and selfishness. And He was determined to make them the first among those would experience the coming calamities. (Cf. Amos 6:1-7)

Therefore, if you are in a position to alleviate the sufferings or pains of any group of people that you are a part of, don’t be complacent about it. No, do not think that their problems will never affect you or become yours because of certain measure of security your position, money or influence now offers you. That is because if you fail to act on time, God will soon enough make you see that what you have is a false sense of security. Then the problems you have always thought would never be yours would not just become yours but may also end up swallowing you up.

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

Are you living at all? | Pst. J.O. Lawal | April 17, 2022 | Vol. 10, No. 50

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am delighted to welcome you to another week of this month of April. My prayer is that the reason for all that Jesus Christ came to do for humanity will be fully accomplished in your life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As you probably know, this Sunday, many believers all around the world are celebrating the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. And though we are not given any direct instruction in the bible to set apart a day of the year to publicly or unitedly celebrate Jesus’ resurrection, it is not a bad idea for believers to do so. What will be wrong, however, is for us to let the celebration of His resurrection end with any such day.

Also, it will be wrong for us to be publicly rejoicing in Jesus’ resurrection when we are not bringing forth the fruit of His resurrection. And that, in fact, is where the problem often lies with many so-called believers in Christ Jesus. They are not bringing forth the fruit of Christ’s resurrection. Why? It is either because they do not know that their lives must be lived to accomplish the purpose for which Jesus died and was raised from the dead for them or because they just don’t care.

In any case, if we are not bringing forth the fruit of His resurrection, we have no business celebrating it. In fact, our so-called faith in Him is questionable, if we are not bringing forth the fruit of His resurrection. That is because the bible says this to all of us who have believed in Him and identified ourselves with His death, burial and resurrection: “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” (Rom 6:1-4NIV)

Not only that, it also says this to us: “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” (2Cor 5:14-15NIV) Can you see that? Jesus Christ was raised from the dead in order to make it possible for us to live a new life. He died and was raised for us so that we will no longer live for ourselves but for Him who died for us and was raised again.

So, if what He has done for us means something to us at all, then, we will stop living to please ourselves, or to please anybody else. Rather, we will start living to please Him. And is that what we are doing? Is that what I am doing? Am I living to please the one who made my new birth into the family of God possible? Or am I living for myself, my friends, my family, my community or some institution of my choosing?

Well, we must know that to live for ourselves or any other person or thing other than our Lord Jesus Christ is not to live at all. Really, it is to defeat the true essence of living. Doing so, of course, may make us feel happy, great or accomplished. But as I already said, it is as good as not living at all. And when a man does not live at all, he wastes his opportunity to live; he wastes his life and is not fit for any form of praise from God.

So, as you go this new week and as you probably join others in celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, be sure that you are truly living to fulfil His purpose for your life. Otherwise, all you are doing can only amount to a waste. My prayer is that your life and activities in this world will not end up as nothing but a waste, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a lovely 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

It’s not about ruling over people | Pst. J.O. Lawal | April 10, 2022 | Vol. 10, No. 49

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours forevermore from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I gladly welcome you to another week of the month of April 2022. And I pray that you will continually be taught to serve God wholeheartedly, so that you may receive all the good things associated with doing so, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Now if any of us truly wants to serve God wholeheartedly, then, he must bear in mind these words of our Lord Jesus Christ: “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:42-45NIV)

Can you see that the Lord is not against our greatness? He wants us to be great people, especially in His kingdom. However, He also wants to know that the only way to be seen by God as great people in His kingdom is for us to be devoted to serving others. This, of course, does not mean that we are to turn ourselves to everybody’s slaves and allow them to abuse or insult us. Rather, it means that we, in humility, are to make ourselves available for Him to use in carrying out His will in people’s lives.

As our Lord points out in that text, He Himself came into the world to serve men and not to be served by them. And how did He serve them? It was by doing things that would fulfil the will of God in their lives. For example, He taught them the word of God, healed their sick folks, raised their dead people and eventually died for their sins. Why? It was so that they would become the people God wanted them to be, spirit, soul and body.

In like manner, we also are to serve men as He did. And though we are not required to die for anybody’s sins, there are several other things we can do to serve men and bring about the fulfilment of the will of God in their lives. We can be praying for them, teaching them God’s word, sharing our resources with them, correcting them when they are wrong, looking out for their welfare and interests, making our meeting places comfortable for them to stay in, aiding their ministries and so forth. 

In short, when we are talking about service in God’s kingdom, it is all about what we can give to people and not about what we can take from them. Unfortunately, many do not understand this. So, often, they associate service in God’s kingdom with a possession of some measure of power to control God’s people as they like and to take from them whatever they want. In fact, some are so desperate to rule over God’s people that they can go to any extent to have power over them. That is why we have church leaders today that are involved in sorcery, witchcraft, divination, manipulation and so on.

Now people like such are like Simon the Sorcerer of bible days, who wanted to buy the gift of God with money. Why? He was desperate to maintain the control he once had over the people of his city. Such people are also like Diotrephes of bible days who, because he wanted to have control over God’s people, was ready to have a face-off with the apostles of the Lord. But the truth is that individuals like such cannot go far in their attempt to possess and rule over God’s people. That is because, at some point, God, the owner of all souls, will certainly deal with them as their actions deserve. (Cf. Acts 8:14-24; 3John 9-10)

So, do not imitate them or walk in their footsteps. Instead, imitate our Lord Jesus, who gave Himself in service for us all, so that our lives may be a fulfilment of the will of God. And God, who never cheats, will surely reward you adequately and appropriately for all that you do for His people, if you do not faint.

Have a great week.  

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

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Don’t be a stumbling block | Pst. J.O. Lawal | April 06, 2022 | Series: Youth for Jesus. | Vol. 4, No. 47

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.” (Matt 23:13NIV)

What is the Lord accusing the Jewish religious leaders of in our opening bible text? He is accusing them of being stumbling blocks to the people of God. But how are they being stumbling blocks to them? It is by preventing them from doing the will of God through their teachings, practices and traditions.

As the Lord points out, it is bad enough that these leaders have no intention to do the will of God in their personal lives and affairs. But by deliberately doing things that will keep others also from doing His will, they are heaping up His wrath on themselves. And that is why the Lord says, “Woe to you…” In other words, it will be much worse for these religious leaders than the people they are misleading when God’s judgment eventually comes.

What is the point of this, then? It is that we need to be careful not to be a stumbling block to anyone that wants to do the will of God, just because we ourselves do not want to do it. But why will any child of God not want to do the will of his Father? The reason may be fear, selfishness, envy, pride or complacency. Whatever it may be, we must let it stop with us, if we will not repent of it, and not spread it to others. Otherwise, God will see to it that we surely get the punishment we deserve for sponsoring or encouraging rebellion against Him.

For example, why would Korah, Dathan and Abiram not accept the leadership of Moses and Aaron? Envy! And if they had allowed their envy to live and die in them and among them, God may have spared them. But they allowed it to spread to several other leaders of the people, so that their rebellion against the will of God began to gain ground. Therefore, God judged them in a most remarkable way. He made the ground swallow them and their families and possessions up. When next you, then, think of sponsoring others in rebellion against God, whether in the church or elsewhere, think also of these men. (Cf. Numbers 16)

Also, why would the Jewish leaders not accept Jesus as their Messiah? Pride! Envy! Greed! Stubbornness! They knew somewhere in their hearts that He was the real deal and that accepting Him was the will of God for them. But they would not accept Him for the reasons I already mentioned. Instead, they began to prevent their people too from accepting Him as their Messiah. Therefore, it would be much worse for them than all the people they hindered on the day of God’s righteous judgment. And if you too, because of greed, stubbornness, pride or envy, have been working against others’ acceptance of the truth of God where you are, know that your sin will surely find you out someday, if you fail to repent on time.

Furthermore, why did ten out of the twelve spies sent out by Moses to spy Canaan not want to go up and take over the land? Fear! Unbelief! And if they had kept their fear and unbelief to themselves, God might have spared them. But they poisoned the whole nation of Israel with these things. Therefore, they were the first to die of a plague before the Lord that very day. (Cf. Numbers 13 & 14)

So, you really need to be careful what you spread among people, especially God’s people. Be careful that you are not spreading things that will promote unbelief, bitterness, fear or rebellion among them. Otherwise, you may end your life before you start enjoying it.

Then, be careful not to allow anyone to discourage you from doing the will of God because of their own personal problems with God or men. In other words, don’t make anybody’s fear your fear, their bitterness your bitterness or their rebellion your rebellion. Or else, on the day they are judged for their wickedness, you too may not be spared.

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

Inspire them to activate His blessings | Pst. J.O. Lawal | April 03, 2022 | Vol. 10, No. 48

Beloved: grace and peace be yours forevermore from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am delighted to welcome you to another month of this year, the month of April. And I pray that you will witness a full expression of the blessings of God in your life all through the month, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As we are rightly told in the bible, God has already blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph 1:3). So, no one can bring you any more blessing or any special blessing or a greater blessing other than what God has already given you. You already have all the blessings you are ever going to need in this life to be all that you can be and enjoy yourself to the full.

However, since blessings are basically spiritual, we must know how to activate them, so that our experience of them will not be limited to the realm of the spirit. In other words, we need to witness manifestations of the blessings we have already received from God in the natural realm as well. Otherwise, those in our world will not think of us as blessed and we ourselves will not fully enjoy our earthly lives as blessed people.

How, then, do we activate the blessings of God? First, we can activate them by saying the same thing in agreement with Him about our lives and also acting accordingly. That means when we are saying the same thing God is saying about our righteousness, peace, health, prosperity, safety and other beautiful things of this life and also taking steps in agreement with what we are saying, we are activating His blessings. And sooner or later, we will begin to witness in the natural realm what is already true about our lives in the spirit realm.

Second, we can activate God’s blessings through prayer. Jesus says, “Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be full.” That means through prayer we are able to receive in the natural realm an experience of what God has already given to us in the spiritual realm. And this, according to the Lord Jesus, is one way to make our joy full over various matters of our lives. (Cf. John 16:24)

Another way to activate God’s blessings in our lives is to have others, especially those who have some form of authority over our lives, to proclaim His blessings on us. Don’t forget that I already said no one can give us greater, better or more blessings other than what God has already given us. However, some people, because God has given them some form of authority over us, can activate certain blessings of His that are already ours through their words of prayer. Then we will begin to witness manifestations of those blessings in our lives.

What I am saying is that people with legitimate authority over our lives, such as our parents, church leaders, husbands, employers, bosses at work and even traditional or political leaders, can activate certain blessings of God in our lives through their heartfelt words of prayer. This is why we must learn to make them happy, in accordance with the will of God, so that they will regularly be moved in their hearts to proclaim God’s blessings over us.

For example, though the blessing given to Abraham was already resting on his family, it had to be activated in the life of each of his descendants for them to experience it. In Isaac’s case, for example, it was his obedience to God in a time of severe famine that activated that blessing for his financial prosperity in life (Gen 26). Then his prayer for his wife activated it against their barrenness and made them fruitful (Gen 25:21). But in Esau’s case, it was Isaac’s heartfelt proclamation of that blessing on him that was supposed to activate it. So, he was instructed by Isaac to prepare a delicious meal that would make him so happy that he would activate the blessing of his father in his life by praying specially for him. And though Esau was not the one that eventually obtained that blessing, Jacob, who did, did not fail to make their father, Isaac, happy through the meal he brought to him. So, he got the blessing activated in his life through Isaac’s word of blessing, and his life never remained the same again from that moment on.

In like manner, if we too will learn to make those with authority over our lives happy through the things we do for them and to them, often, we will find that they are inspired to say to us things that will activate certain blessings of God in our lives, so that we can begin to witness their physical manifestations. But if we think that their words of blessing don’t mean much, perhaps because of our knowledge of the fact that we have already received all of heaven’s blessings from God, then, there are manifestations of those blessings of God that we may never see in our entire lifetime. Let us, therefore, learn from Jacob and regularly consider how we may inspire those with authority over us to activate God’s blessings in our lives. And may God humble our hearts to take this seriously, in Jesus’ name. 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@abcministryng.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)