Author: Pastor J.O. Lawal

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Fire in my Bones

Put it to work – J.O. Lawal

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Date: April 14, 2021 | Series: Youth for Jesus | Number: Vol. 3, No. 48

“So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’” (Luke 19:13NIV)

One of the reasons many have remained poor and will most probably die poor and small in life is that they will not put to work the skills, abilities, education or resources they have and increase in usefulness and fruitfulness with them. Why has God given us special abilities or enabled us to acquire some degree of education or put some measure of resources at our disposal? It is so that we may put these things to wise and legitimate use in order to thrive in life.

See, there is no way all of us could have been born into rich and influential families in this life. And there is no way all of could have the same measure of abilities, skills and education in life. But if we are willing, all of us, regardless of our handicaps, can put whatever little resources, abilities, skills or education we have to adequate and appropriate use and shine with it. So, instead of wasting all our energy in complaining about our government, and there is always a lot to complain about every government, or the bad circumstances of our lives, we should focus more on recognising the abilities, resources, education and skills God has put at our disposal and considering how we can make the most of them.

Now it is those who take seriously what God has given them, however little it may seem, and wisely put it to work that will keep experiencing progress or advancement in life. They are the ones He will keep elevating and promoting. And as long as they keep making the most of what they have, they will never be stagnant, poor or small in life. No, they may not become the richest or most influential person in the world. But they will know that they are fine and comfortable in life. And the bible story of a man who gave his servants some money to see what they would do with it over a period of time has a lot to teach us about this.

As the account goes, there was a certain nobleman that was going to receive a kingdom for himself. But before he left, he called ten of his servants and gave each of them some money, actually about three months salary, to work with. And why did he give them this task? First, it was to test their abilities and seriousness in handling little things, so that he may know how to promote them. Second, it was to let them discover themselves. In other words, by giving them that money to work with, he was giving each of them an opportunity to apply his mind and showcase the potential in him to thrive in the face of life difficulties.

At any rate, after a while, when he had been made king, this man came back and called in these servants to find out what they gained with the money he had given them. And the first one that came in told him that he had gained ten times the money he was given. So, his master said to him, “Well done, my good servant. Because you have been trustworthy in handling this little matter, I am putting you in charge of ten cities.” Then another servant came in and said, “Sir, I have made five times what you gave me.” And he said to that one as well, “Well done, my good servant. Because you have been trustworthy in handling this little matter, I am putting you in charge of five cities.” (Cf. Luke 19:1-19)

But then, one of the servants came in and said to him, “Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.” (Luke 19:20-21NIV) Look at that. This servant did nothing with his own money because he was afraid he may lose it and then get into trouble with his master. And so afraid was he that he did not even apply his mind at all to consider any safe business he could invest the money in. He just hid it somewhere and spent his time watching others increase in usefulness and profitability.

However, as his master pointed out when judging him, if he was indeed afraid of being punished for failing, he could at least have put the money in the bank. Then he would have taken it back with some interest. That means it was not really fear that made him do nothing with what he was given; it was laziness of mind. And so, instead for him to be promoted like the others, he was demoted. What he had was taken away from him and given to the one who made ten times what he was given. (Cf. Luke 19:22-24)

That, of course, made those who were watching the appraisal process all the time protest and say to the master of the house, “But this man already has ten minas. Why give him one more?” So, the man answered and told them this life principle: “It is the one who has that will be given more, so that he can have much more. But as for the one who does not have, even the little he has will be taken away from him.” (Cf. Luke 19:25-26)

And is this not very true? Is it not true that those who do not have in this world keep getting poorer by the day and that those who have keep getting richer moment by moment? It is. Why? For the most part, it is because while those who do not have will not just intelligently apply themselves to see how to make the most of what they have, those who have keep thinking of how they can use what they have to get more of the things they want. Therefore, if you don’t want to be among those who keep losing the little they have but among those who keep increasing what they have, take an inventory of all the abilities, skills and education you have and begin to faithfully and diligently to put them to work. That is the Lord’s principle for promotion and advancement in life.

Copyright © 2021, 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

Are you learning from history? – J.O. Lawal

fire in my bones
fire in my bones


Date: March 31, 2021 | Series: Youth for Jesus | Number: Vol. 3, No. 4

“Joab sent David a full account of the battle. He instructed the messenger: “When you have finished giving the king this account of the battle, the king’s anger may flare up, and he may ask you, ‘Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you know they would shoot arrows from the wall? Who killed Abimelech son of Jerub-Besheth? Didn’t a woman throw an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the wall?’ If he asks you this, then say to him, ‘Also, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.’”” (2Sam 11:18-21NIV)

The message above, which was sent by Joab, Israel’s army commander, to David would never have been set forth the way it was, if David had not been bent of getting rid of Uriah, one of his most dedicated captains and whose wife he impregnated. But that is already history, which we can do absolutely nothing to rewrite. That being the case, the best we can do for ourselves is to see what lessons this history teaches and how we can adequately and appropriately apply them to our lives.

Now one main thing that stands out from what Joab said to the messenger he was sending to David is the fact that he would certainly rebuke them for letting some of his valiant men die because they would not learn from the mistake of the past. And he went on to specifically speak of an instance that David might cite, which was that of Abimelech son of Gideon, who, though was a valiant warrior and schemer, was killed by a woman because he moved too close to the wall of a tower he had wanted to capture. (Cf. Judges 9)

So, Joab had learnt from the mistake of Abimelech that it was wrong for them to move too close to the wall of the city they were fighting. He knew that doing so could get even the strongest among them killed. Why, then, did he allow some of his men to move too close to that city? It was because he wanted to get rid of Uriah in the process. So, it was not because he was not going to learn from the mistake of the past that he did what he did; rather, it was because he wanted to accomplish something evil.

Unfortunately, however, many today who won’t learn from the mistakes of the past are not up to anything cunny like Joab. They are just being foolish and dull. All around them are very perfect examples of people who made certain decisions about their lives, marriages, jobs, children, health and so forth and landed in trouble. Still, they are making the very same decisions that landed those before them in trouble. What do you call that? Stupidity! And they will someday pay dearly for it, if they are not paying for it already.

See, history is for us to learn from. And by learning adequately from it, our journey through life can be made easier and more enjoyable. But if, out of pride or dullness, we will not learn those things that are relevant to our daily living from history, we too will repeat the errors of the past and plunge ourselves into needless sufferings and pains.

One of the things I love about Joshua is that he was a man that took history seriously and learnt from it. For instance, when he was going to send men to go and spy the land of Canaan, especially Jericho, he did not send twelve men as did Moses. Instead, he sent only two. Why? Though we are not given any specific reason in the bible, we can infer that the man was acting on history. He was with Moses when he sent twelve men, one from each tribe of the Israelites, to go and spy the land. In fact, he was among the twelve men sent. But only two of them, he and Caleb, came back with a good report. The remaining ten men brought a bad report and polluted the minds of the people. And it was so bad that all the people ended up spending forty years in the wilderness because of their report, forty years for a journey that took those men just forty days. (Cf. Num 14)

So, when Joshua was going to send his own spies, he did send representatives from all the tribes. Instead, he sent only two men of faith, men that would not bring a report that would make their journey longer and more painful but that would bring a report that would stir their faith in God up. And that was exactly what happened. Those men brought a report that encouraged everyone to get ready to take what God had promised them. (Cf. Joshua 2)

In like manner, we too must not ignore history but learn from it. But we cannot learn from it, if we don’t know it. So, how much of the historical accounts that we have in the bible do you know? And what are you doing with the lessons they teach? Also, what is the history of that house or town you live in? What is the history of that office or organisation you work in? What is the history of that assembly you are fellowshipping in? What is the history of that family you want to marry from? Do you know it? If you know it, what can you learn from it or in what ways can it affect you, whether positively or negatively?

A man called Hiel ignored the history of the city of Jericho and of how Joshua cursed it and lost two of his sons for doing so (Joshua 6:26; 1Kings 16:34). I pray that you won’t have to first lose something very dear to you or even your life before you learn to pay attention to relevant histories and to adequately act on them, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Copyright © 2021, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to alaythiabiblechurch@gmail.com / alaythia4all@gmail.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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Fire in my Bones

Title: The Lord put him to death – J.O. Lawal

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

April 07, 2021 | Series: Youth for Jesus | Number: Vol. 3, No. 47

“Judah got a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the LORD’s sight; so the LORD put him to death.” (Gen 38:6-7NIV)

In our opening text, it is reported that God killed Er, Judah’s firstborn, because he was wicked in His sight. How wicked was this young man? We are not told. But looking at the way the matter is reported in the bible, it is most likely that his wickedness was in connection with his marriage. At least, God did not kill him before he got married. It was after he had gotten married that He killed him. So, it may be that there was something he was doing or not doing to his wife that exposed him to God’s judgment.

Now you don’t have to accept that, for it is not plainly stated in the bible. But when you consider what is further said about his younger brother, you may want to agree with me that God most likely killed Er, not just because he was wicked to those in his world but also because he was acting in wickedness towards his wife. And what is it that is said about his brother? Well, it is said that when he was asked to take in his wife, Tamar, and fulfil his duty as a brother-in-law to her, so that she would have a son to carry on his name, he deliberately frustrated the process. (Cf. Gen 38:8-9)

Think about it. Onan did not refuse to marry his brother’s wife, Tamar, when he was asked to do so. Yet, in his craftiness, he made sure the woman could not get pregnant for him. Why? It was because he knew that the first son that came through that union would not bear his own name but his brother’s name, according to the customs of the land. But why did he marry her in the first place, when he knew he did not want his brother’s name to live on? Greed! (Cf. Deut 25:5-10)

See, if he had said that he did not want her, then, she would have been free to go and start her life afresh, perhaps with another man. But greed made him marry her. Yes, he knew that he had no intention of making her have any child through him. Yet he, like many young men of today, could not just let such a beauty go away. So, he decided to marry her to continually satisfy his lust and sexual appetites, while denying her the joy of becoming a mother. Therefore, the bible says, “What he did was wicked in the LORD’s sight; so he put him to death also.” (Gen 38:10NIV)

Why did God put Onan too to death? It was because he treated his brother’s wife, who later became his wife as well, shamefully. So, Onan was not killed by God because he was a thief, a murderer, an idolater or even an adulterer. Rather, he was killed by Him because he was deliberately cheating his wife in bed. What is that? Killing someone for cheating their spouse in bed? Is that even fair? Yes, it is fair. It is fair because the wages of sin, any kind of sin, is death (Rom 6:23).

Does that, then, mean God may want to kill me for cheating while sharing food among people, for using my house maid as I deem fit or for making marriage promises to someone I have no intention of marrying? Yes! But how is that His business? Well, it is His business because He is the creator and judge of us all. So, everything we are doing to ourselves and to others, good or bad, concerns Him, and He will judge and reward us for it. Exactly how He will judge us for these things is something we do not know. But He is watching us, our thoughts and our every move and will surely respond, in righteousness, to whatever we are up to.

Therefore, we need to be careful in all that we do to ourselves and others and see to it that wickedness is not associated with us. Otherwise, we may not find His judgment interesting at all, even if we live to tell the story. Yes, He is a merciful God. And that is the reason many of us have not yet fully experienced His wrath for all our acts of wickedness against others and even ourselves. But as long as we continue to act wickedly, there will come a time in which this merciful God must also show Himself as a just God and judge us (Rev 2:20-23). And since we can’t tell how severe His judgment will be, the best thing we can do is to stay out of trouble. So, stay out of trouble.

Copyright © 2021, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to alaythiabiblechurch@gmail.com / alaythia4all@gmail.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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WORD4MYDAY

STOP HELPING THE WICKED

WORD4MYDAY 14/04/2021

“When Jehoshaphat king of Judah returned safely to his palace in Jerusalem, Jehu the seer, the son of Hanani, went out to meet him and said to the king, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD? Because of this, the wrath of the LORD is upon you. There is, however, some good in you, for you have rid the land of the Asherah poles and have set your heart on seeking God.”” (2Chron 19:1-3NIV)

Why was King Jehoshaphat confronted by Jehu the seer with such strong words, as we see in the above text? It was because he had gone into battle to support that wicked King of Israel, Ahab. And he did that against God’s instruction. God had revealed through Prophet Micaiah that Israel would lose and that Ahab their king would die, should they go to war against Ramoth Gilead. But Ahab did not believe the words of the man of God because he was confident in his ability. Jehoshaphat, however, being a godly man, knew that Micaiah had spoken the mind of God. Yet, in order not to appear weak before Ahab and his officials, he ignored the Lord’s warning and went into battle in support of his friend, Ahab. And if the Lord had not been merciful to him, he would have perished for his foolishness and disobedience in that battle. (Cf. 2Chro 18)

At any rate, when this man came back safely to his own kingdom, God sent a prophet to let him know that He was clearly against him for going to help Ahab and that His wrath was already upon him. But why? It was because Ahab was an idolatrous and wicked king. So, in the eyes of God, to support him meant nothing other than to support idolatry and wickedness. And that could have cost Jehoshaphat his life.

Now what are we to learn from this? It is simply that God does not want His righteous people helping the wicked in promoting their wickedness. And don’t miss my point here. I am not saying that God does not want righteous people to help unrighteous people or do good to them at all. He wants us to help all men, both good and bad, and do good to them, for He Himself is continually helping all men, both good and bad, and doing good to them. (Cf. Matt 5:43-48; Gal 6:10)

But then, we have to be discerning in the way we help or support people, especially those who do not know the Lord. When we are certain that the help that we give to them will do nothing but promote wickedness or unrighteousness, we must not give it. Otherwise we will be participating in their unrighteousness and sinning against God. That, of course, may expose us to afflictions, if we are not shown mercy. And only God knows how many of His people are suffering at the moment because they, at some point in their lives, helped the wicked or those who hate God to do wickedness.

Therefore, learn to pay attention to the way you relate to unrighteous people, so that you don’t foolishly promote their unrighteousness. And to say the fact, if all of us who know God and believe in righteousness begin to take these things seriously, wickedness will begin to drastically reduce in our world. At least, we all know that, regardless of how smart a wicked man may be, there is a limit to what he can do alone, if he does not get help from others. So, we all can, to a great extent, paralyse the wicked in our world by refusing to help them steal, cheat, oppress, cover up evil or do any kind of wickedness.

Unfortunately, because many of us don’t know or understand God’s stand along these lines, we are continually sponsoring evil in our neighbourhoods, offices, schools, business centres, markets and so forth. Yet we complain all the time about the corruption and wickedness in our land and how they are ruining us. The truth is that these things will continue to grow and to ruin us unless we all who claim to know the Lord and to believe in His righteousness stop feeding them in people’s lives. But are we going to stop feeding them? Are we going to stop feeding wickedness and ungodliness? Well, I pray that we all are strengthened to stop, for our good and for the good of our nation.

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SUNDAY BULLETINS SUNDAY BULLETINS

SUNDAY BULLETINS VOLUME 9

Sunday bulletins are series of life enriching publications published every Sundays. Each bulletin contains the extract of the last Sunday’s message, the current week’s nugget of the Spirit, the weekly Bible reading outlines, the selected songs for the current Sunday service, Celebrant’s details, relevant links and other vital information. It is a must read every Sunday.

Click on each publication to download your copy and be blessed!

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2021

Tell them your experience with Him – — Pst. J.O Lawal.

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

April 11, 2021 |Vol. 9, No. 49

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Redeemer. Welcome to another week of the month of April 2021. And may you fully experience God’s rest and peace of mind all through the week, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Now one of the things that will make our experience of God’s rest and peace of mind better and better is for many more people in our world to be saved and transformed through faith in Christ Jesus. People who have been truly saved and transformed by the Lord Jesus Christ don’t cause trouble in the society. They don’t steal, rob, kidnap, rape, embezzle public funds, do money rituals, use hard drugs or irritate their neighbours. So, the more of such people we have in our society, the greater the degree of peace and rest we will be enjoying. This is, in fact, why we are admonished in Scriptures not to be praying for ourselves alone but also for all men, for through our prayers God is able to lead them to salvation. (Cf. 1Tim 2:1-4)

But praying for God to lead people to salvation is not enough for them to be led to salvation. We also need to be talking to them about this salvation that God is freely offering them in Christ Jesus. And we don’t have to be an evangelist to do this; we just need to have experienced this salvation ourselves. Have we been saved from our sins? Have we truly experienced deliverance from the power of the devil? Are our lives daily experiencing the love and goodness of God in ways beyond description? If all these things are true in our case, then, we already have enough of what we need to invite those around us to come and share in this same experience we are having with God through Christ Jesus.

For example, our Lord Jesus once had a brief conversation with a Samaritan woman by a well in a city called Sychar. Now this woman was most likely a very troublesome person, one that most people would not want to have anything to do with. That is because, as the account shows, she had married five times and the man she was with at that time was not her husband at all – they were just co-habiting. So, it is unlikely that she was a good woman. Nevertheless, when the Lord Jesus was through talking to her and showing her the solution to the thirst for love and peace of mind that she had, she did not waste time at all to go and gather as many people as she could from her town to come and meet the Lord. (Cf. John 4:4-45)

Now how much Scriptures did that woman know for her to be able to do that? Not much! In fact, she did not need to know much Scriptures to be able to get people to come and meet Jesus. She just needed to be able to passionately tell them her own personal experience with Him and how that experience gave her the faith she needed to have a new and meaningful life.

In like manner, what we need to invite people to meet with Jesus is not a great knowledge of the bible. Rather, what we need is a great passion to share with them the beautiful things our lives have experienced through our fellowship with Him, so that they too may come to Him to have even more beautiful experiences. And as they come to Him and have their lives changed, our society is able to experience a greater degree of peace and rest.

So, as you go this week, determine in your heart that more people will hear from you good news of what the Lord Jesus has done for you, is doing in you and is doing through you. And I pray that God, by His Spirit, will fill you with a great passion to do this, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Do have a fabulous week.

Copyright © 2021, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to alaythiabiblechurch@gmail.com/alaythia4all@gmail.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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Fire in my Bones

Title: The ships that never set sail – March 24, 2021

fire in my bones
fire in my bones


Series: Youth for Jesus
Number: Vol. 3, No. 45

“Later, Jehoshaphat king of Judah made an alliance with Ahaziah king of Israel, who was guilty of wickedness. He agreed with him to construct a fleet of trading ships. After these were built at Ezion Geber, Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have made an alliance with Ahaziah, the LORD will destroy what you have made.” The ships were wrecked and were not able to set sail to trade.” (2Chron 20:35-37NIV)

We have very clear accounts in the bible that show us that carrying out investments or projects that will be successful in life is not all about having the resources and people to do so. It is equally about being led or guided by the Spirit of God. Otherwise, apart from the fact that we may end up losing our investments or projects or paying very invaluable prices for them, we may also never enjoy their fruit.

For example, in our opening text, we are told about how Jehoshaphat, who was a godly king, got involved in some project with Ahaziah king of Israel, who was nothing but a wicked man. What was this project about? It was about building some fleet of trading ships that they could both use to enhance their maritime business. And did they succeed in carrying out this project or not? They did.

However, God sent a prophet to tell Jehoshaphat that He was going to destroy this project and made sure he did not profit from it. And that was exactly what happened. The ships never left their shores, for they all got damaged right where they were. How this happened no one can tell. But it did happen, and Jehoshaphat lost everything he had invested in the project.

But why? Was it because God did not want Jehoshaphat to get better in his maritime business and increase in wealth that He allowed his project to fail? No! Rather, it was because he did that project with the wrong person; he did the project with someone that was operating under certain evil influences that were bound to make him fail. And if God had not predicted what was going to happen by the mouth of His prophet, Jehoshaphat and His people may never have known what was responsible for the failure of that project and the loss of their investment.

What is the lesson, then? It is that God is not just concerned about our lives but also about our relationships. So, it is not enough for our lives to be right before Him; it is also important that the lives of those we get into close relationships with are right before Him. Otherwise, they may continually be the reason our ships of progress or advancement will never set sail, not to talk of bring us great rewards.

Is this, then, to say that we, as children of God, must not associate with those who are not children of God at all. No! In fact, the bible tells us that it is impossible for us not to associate with those of this world at all (1Cor 5:9-10). As long as we are in this world, we will always have one thing or the other to do with those of the world, who do not know God. So, we cannot totally excuse them from our lives. By the way, this is not just about those who do not know God but also about those who claim to know God but who are still living in wickedness, openly or secretly.

At any rate, as long as we are in this world, there are things we cannot get done without those who do not know God and even those who claim to know Him but are living contrary to His will. But then, there are things we cannot and must not do with them, if we do not want to fail miserably or be polluted. Some of these things are obvious because we are warned about them in Scriptures. For instance, we already know from Scriptures that anything we will do with an unbeliever or even a so-called Christian that will make us sin against God or become irresponsible in our lives must be totally avoided.

However, there are certain things that may seem totally harmless to do with unbelievers or erring Christians. For example, building a fleet of trading ships with King Ahaziah seemed like a totally harmless thing for Jehoshaphat. But it ended up being a disaster. In like manner, doing certain things that seem harmless with some people may end up putting us in trouble because of their sins or certain evil influences at work in their lives. How, then, do we avoid that? It is by developing a culture of always committing everything, little or great, we want to do into the hands of God. That way, we can trust Him to always guide us into what is best for us and away from those things that will ruin us, even if they have an appearance of being the very best for us.

So, learn to always commit everything you want to do to God, instead of making your decisions solely on the basis of what you see or hear or your understanding of things. This will definitely keep you from facing problems that are never meant for you.

Copyright © 2021, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to alaythiabiblechurch@gmail.com / alaythia4all@gmail.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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Fire in my Bones

Title: Even if you have made a mess of your life – March 17, 2021

fire in my bones
fire in my bones


Series: Youth for Jesus
Number: Vol. 3, No. 44

“In his distress he sought the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. And when he prayed to him, the LORD was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD is God.” (2Chron 33:12-13NIV)

The world we live in is one in which we cannot totally avoid being faced with trouble. I mean that even if we are godly, of the best conduct and know how to relate to others in peace, there is still no guarantee that we won’t be faced with one form of trouble or the other. The only guarantee we have is that, as long as we recognise Jesus as our Lord, we will walk in victory over whatever challenge we may be confronted with in this world. (Cf. John 16:33; 1John 5:4-5)

However, in most cases, the troubles people face in life are brought upon them by themselves. Remember that Solomon says, “God made us plain and simple, but we have made ourselves very complicated.” (Ecc 7:29GNT) And that is the case with many people. Through certain bad choices and foolish decisions, they are continually making their lives, which would have been full of rest, joy and meaning, bitter, horrible and meaningless. In short, the decisions and steps some people are daily taking are those that can only keep them in perpetual trouble and pains.

Notwithstanding, even if we have made a mess of our lives through our foolish and bad decisions and steps, we can still experience mercy, forgiveness and restoration, if we will turn to God for help instead of persisting in our foolish ways. And that is one of the things we learnt from the story of one of the kings of Judah named Manasseh.

Now Manasseh was one of the kings that reigned the longest over the people of God, Judah. He reigned over them for fifty-five years. But he used most of those years to do evil. This man was not only wicked to the people; he was also hostile to God. He would not worship God at all, though his father, Hezekiah, loved and worshipped Him all the days of his life. Instead, he worshipped all the starry hosts, converted God’s temple into that of idols, practised sorcery, divination and witchcraft and even offered his sons in the fire to demons. (Cf. 2Chro 33:1-9)

In short, Manasseh gave himself to doing everything God had warned His people not to do and led the whole nation astray. (Cf. Deut 18:9-13) And though he was warned by Him, he paid no attention whatsoever. Therefore, God gave him over to his enemies, so that they could do with him as they wished. They put a hook in his nose, chained him like a commoner criminal and dragged him far away from his kingdom to Babylon. (Cf. 2Chro 33:10-11)

That, of course, should have been the end of that man. But it was not. Why? It was because, as we are told in our opening bible text, in his time of distress, he humbled himself greatly before the Lord and sought His mercy and favour. In other words, this man cried out to God for mercy and help. And did He answer him or not? Oh, He did answer him. In fact, using bible words, God was so moved by his honest and heartfelt prayers that He favoured him and brought him back to Jerusalem and to his throne, so that he ruled and did exploits again.

But what if Manasseh had not called upon God in his time of distress? What if he had continued to relate to God in insolence? Would he have been saved and restored? No! But because he cried out to God for mercy, He answered him and showed him mercy. Mind you, we are talking about an evil and injurious man here. We are talking about a man that God accused of being more wicked that the former inhabitants of the land of Canaan. Yes, we are talking about a man that was accused of polluting the land with innocent blood from end to end. Yet when he cried out to God for mercy, He answered him, forgave him and also restored him. (Cf. 2Kings 21:11&16)

In like manner, if you too will cry out to God for mercy, He will answer you, regardless of what mess you have brought yourself into. And it does not matter whether you are as bad as Manasseh or worse than him. All you need is to stop justifying your wickedness or trying to save yourself. The one who tries to save himself will certainly perish, for no man can save himself. But the one who cast himself on the Lord will receive mercy, salvation and restoration, however wicked or vicious he may be. So, cast yourself on Him now that there is still breath in you, and you will be glad you did.

Copyright © 2021, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to alaythiabiblechurch@gmail.com / alaythia4all@gmail.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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Fire in my Bones

Title: He won’t listen to anybody – March 10, 2021

fire in my bones
fire in my bones


Series: Youth for Jesus
Number: Vol. 3, No. 43

“Please think this over and decide what to do. This could be disastrous for our master and all his family. He is so mean that he won’t listen to anybody!” (1Sam 25:17GNT)

The above remark was made by one of Nabal’s servants, who was quick enough to sense that disaster was coming for his master’s house and that if something reasonable wasn’t urgently done about it, they would all be doomed. But who was Nabal? Nabal, as the bible tells us, was one of the wealthy men in Israel during the reign of King Saul. And what made his servant make such a sharp and unkind remark about him? It was because his wickedness and bad manner were going to endanger the lives of everyone with him. So, his servant had to use very strong words that would make his wife appreciate the nature of disaster that was hovering over them and act fast for their safety.

But what led to all this? It was the fact that David had sent men to Nabal because he was having a celebration and had humbly requested that he would send something to him and his men to support them. And why would he do that? What relationship did he have with the man that would make him make that kind of request? Well, though he had no direct relationship Nabal, he did have a relationship with some of his men. (Cf. 1Sam 25:4-9&14-16)

As the account goes, while David and his men were wandering from place to place because of King Saul’s persecution, they had met certain servants of Nabal at Camel and had treated them very kindly, forming a wall of protection around them the whole time they were together. That, of course, was very unlike mercenaries, soldiers of fortune, which David and his men had become. They are usually known to be brutal and lawless, looting, raping and forcefully taking things that they are not given. But because David, who was the captain of these men, feared God, he would not allow them to maltreat Nabal’s servants, men who were merely doing their job, or steal from them. Instead, they treated them kindly and protected them.

Now naturally, if someone treated your workers, servants, children, parents, siblings or spouse well, you should hear about it, so that you can thank or appreciate them in whatever way you can. And you may, in fact, get angry with those involved, if you did not get to hear about such acts of kindness done to them on time. Unfortunately, that was not the case with Nabal. His servants did not even bother to say anything to him about the kindness of David and his men to them, even though it was the right and appropriate thing for them to do. Why? It was because he was a wicked and unreasonable man, one that would not listen to anybody but himself.

In any case, when David sent men sent men to him to give them something from what he had prepared for his feast, he would not answer them. Instead, he spoke harshly to them. And what was his excuse? It was that he had never heard about anyone called David. But did he find out from any of his men, if they knew anyone called David or if what those messengers of David had said was true at all? No! He did not even think about the matter. And that was because he was just being Nabal, a fool. (Cf. 1Sam 25:10-11)

Therefore, when David heard about the shameful way this man had conducted himself, he decided that he was going to wipe him and his household out for good and show them that he was not someone to be ignored or taken lightly. And if one of Nabal’s servants had not acted fast by telling his wife about the disaster coming on them, they all would have perished. (Cf. 1Sam 25:12-35)

Now think about it. Even when Nabal’s servants realised that none of them would be safe because of his bad manner, they did not approach him to say anything to him, good or bad. Instead, it was his wife that they approached. Also, when his wife heard of what was going on, she did not go to reason with him. Instead, she went straight to talk to David and persuade him not to act rashly and like a wicked man. And did David listen or not? He listened and repented of the evil he had wanted to do. In fact, he acknowledged the fact that it was God that sent that woman, Abigail, to prevent him from becoming a murderer.

But that was not the case with Nabal. Nobody, not even his wife, could talk to him or reason with him. And if what happened on that occasion had not happened, he probably would never have known how close he was to destruction, all along, because of his stubbornness and pride. But then, it was even too late for him, for God Himself would not tolerate his nonsense anymore and so took his life ten days later (1Sam 25:36-38).

What, then, is the point of all this? It is simple: don’t be another Nabal. Don’t be someone that nobody can talk to or counsel or reason with. Otherwise you may someday perish without remedy. Yes, it is good that we are firm and decisive in dealing with matters of our lives. However, none of us has what it takes to be absolutely correct or flawless all the time. Only God does. And that is why He often uses those around us to set us right and make us see the blind spots of our lives and be kept out of trouble.

This, of course, does not mean that we have to adopt every suggestion or counsel people bring to us. Rather, it means we are to have listening ears and be willing to see things through other people’s eyes. But if we turn ourselves into individuals nobody can approach or counsel, if we bring ourselves up to people that listen to no other person but ourselves, a day may come when, like Nabal, we will get into trouble and perish without remedy. And only God knows how many people, even His children, that have perished because they listened to nobody but themselves. So, watch yourself.

Copyright © 2021, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to alaythiabiblechurch@gmail.com / alaythia4all@gmail.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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Fire in my Bones

Title: His presence may not make Satan spare you – March 03, 2021

fire in my bones
fire in my bones


Series: Youth for Jesus
Number: Vol. 3, No. 42

“That evening, Jesus said to his followers, “Let’s go across the lake.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him in the boat just as he was. There were also other boats with them. A very strong wind came up on the lake. The waves came over the sides and into the boat so that it was already full of water. Jesus was at the back of the boat, sleeping with his head on a cushion. His followers woke him and said, “Teacher, don’t you care that we are drowning!”” (Mark 4:35-38NCV)

If we are going to fully enjoy God’s best for us in life and also become all that He wants us to become, we must not be afraid of encountering challenges. Instead, we must be ready to face them and deal with them, bearing in mind that God has said that He would never leave us nor forsake us (Heb 13:5-6).

As we see in the bible, one major reason many of the children of Israel that Moses led out of Egypt did not enter the Promised Land was unbelief (Heb 3:19). But what made unbelief take root in their hearts? It was their unwillingness to walk in the light of God’s presence with them and embrace challenges. God was always with these people, as we are told in Scriptures, manifesting Himself in a pillar of cloud that was over them during the day and in a pillar of fire that was over them during the night (Ex 13:21-22).

Nevertheless, each time they were faced with any trial or challenge, they forgot that God was with them and started grumbling, to their own hurt and destruction. Why? It was because they were utterly ignorant of the concept of God’s presence with men. They thought that once God is with someone or once He is asking someone to do something, the person should not have to face any challenge or trial while obeying Him – God ought to have dealt with whatever challenge that may want to show up before it even shows up at all.

Indeed, God often deals with most of the challenges that are coming our way before they show up at all. And I am sure we may not get to know all our challenges that He solved without our knowledge until we fully come into His eternal kingdom. However, the fact that God is with us or has sent us does not mean that we are never going to encounter trials in this life. We will certainly encounter them, even while doing His will. But as long as we don’t allow the enormousness of those trials to make us so afraid that we forget to take recognise and take advantage of God’s abiding presence with us, we will walk in victory over every one of them.

Look at what we have in our opening text, for example. It was the Lord Jesus Himself that told His disciples that they should embark on that trip on the sea. And they obeyed. Not only that, He was also with them in the boat and on the trip. Yet they were faced with a strong wind that threatened to take their lives. How do you explain the fact that Jesus was in that boat and still some wind was bold enough to want to capsize it?

See, that Jesus is very much present with us does not mean that Satan is going to assume that we are going to take advantage of His presence. We may not just take advantage of His presence and instead try to fight him off with our strength, intelligence, influence and so forth. And that is exactly what he wants. He wants us to ignore or forget the presence of Jesus in our lives and seek to resist him according to our own understanding. That way, he can make a mess of our lives or faith, right in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In any case, though those disciples had Jesus with them in the boat, sleeping, yet a strong wind came against them. And when they saw that their efforts to arrest the situation were getting them nowhere, they remembered that Jesus was with them and woke Him up. And why did they wake Him up? Exactly what did they expect Him to do? We are not told in clear terms. But I suspect that they were not expecting Him to do anything different from what they had been doing. They just wanted Him to be aware that all of them were in danger and that it was not a time for anyone to sleep.

Now how often do we also act like that? We talk to God about our challenges not because we believe He can handle them or expect Him to handle them but because we just want to keep Him informed. In any case, it is better than not talking to Him at all or ignoring Him. The disciples called on Jesus in that moment of distress and He answered them. He got up and rebuked the wind and the waves, asking them to be quiet and still. And guess what? They obeyed Him. (Cf. Mark 4:39-41)

So, if you are too are being harassed or threatened by any wind of difficulties or challenges, you need to first remember that the Lord Jesus is very much present with you there. Then you need to take advantage of His presence with you by confronting those challenges in His name. And they will have no choice but to listen to you. But don’t ever think that Satan will always spare you because Jesus is with you in the boat or because He is the one that has instructed you to do what you are doing. That kind of reasoning will endanger your faith and put you at the enemy’s mercies. So, wake up.

Copyright © 2021, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to alaythiabiblechurch@gmail.com / alaythia4all@gmail.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)