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From Pastor's Desk 2025 FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2025 Pastor's Desk

Title: You are only deceiving yourself

Series: From Pastor’s Desk

Number: Vol. 14, No. 29

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours abundantly from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. I am pleased to welcome you to the third week of the month of November 2025.

My prayer is that God will daily strengthen you to take His word seriously, so that it will yield in your life the fruit it is meant to yield. Amen.James, in his letter, says this to us: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” (James 1:22NIV)

Is it not a good thing to listen to the word of God? It is a good thing to do so. In fact, as John tells us in the book of Revelation, there is a measure of blessing that follows reading the word of God or listening to it (Rev 1:3).

However, listening to the word of God or reading it is not sufficient. We also have to do what the word says. Otherwise, the will of God will not be accomplished in our lives or here on earth. And as long as His will is not being accomplished in our lives and in the world, we cannot experience the kind of peace and joy we desire to experience.

Our Lord Jesus also shares a story with us along this line. It is about a father who had two sons and who said to the first son, “Go and work in the vineyard today.” And the young man said that he would not go. So, the father went to his second son and said, “Go and work in the vineyard today.” And the young man said that he would go. But he never went. The man’s first son, however, changed his mind and later went to work in His father’s vineyard. (Cf. Matt 21:28-31)

The question, then, is, “Who did his father’s will out of those two young men?” It was the first son. The second son that appeared to be cooperative never did his father’s will. So, if the father would reward anybody that day for doing his will, it was the first son that he would reward, not the second son.

Unfortunately, many of us are like that second son. When the word of God is coming to us, we will be nodding our heads in agreement and sometimes even shouting with joy because of what God is saying to us. But when it comes down to acting on what we are hearing, it is another story entirely. And imagine how that must be grieving the heart of God.

Well, James tells us that those who act like that are merely deceiving themselves. That is because the word of God that they do not act on will not benefit their lives or their world. It will not change their lives or situations. Therefore, they are simply wasting the time, effort and money they are spending on hearing or reading the word. Perhaps you too are like that. You often appear to be cooperating with God when His word is coming to you. But it is what you have in mind that you end up doing, not what He wants you to do. You are only deceiving yourself.

So, all the time, effort and money you are spending on hearing or reading His word can only go to waste. That is because God’s word that you won’t act on will not change your life or your situation.Now I do not want the time, effort and money I spend on hearing the word of God or reading it to go to waste anymore.

Instead, I want His word to work in my life, making it all that He wants it to be. And that is why I will daily ask Him for the strength not just to be a hearer of His word but a doer of it as well. Will you also do likewise? If you too will do likewise, then, the word of God that you are hearing will not go to waste in your life again but will accomplish in it all that God wants to see.

Have a lovely week.

Copyright © 2025, 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: 08146472876)

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: Keep your unbelief to yourself

Series: Youth for Jesus

Number: Vol. 8, No. 27

“The officer on whose arm the king was leaning said to the man of God, “Look, even if the LORD should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?” “You will see it with your own eyes,” answered Elisha, “but you will not eat any of it!”” (2Kings 7:2NIV)

One of the things we must train ourselves to do is to be careful of what we say when we are around those who have been well established as true servants of God. It may be, in fact, best for us to be altogether quiet when we are with them than to say something untoward. That is because anything unprofitable we say around them may just be the different between life and death or success and failure for us.

For example, as we see in our opening bible text, an officer of the king of Israel once said something unprofitable in the presence of prophet Elisha. And what he said cost him his life and an experience of the goodness of God.

What exactly happened? Well, as the account goes, there had been a famine in the land of Israel that was so severe that people were eating their own babies. And when news of this got to the king, he suddenly woke up and remembered that there was a man of God in the land that could have spoken to God on their behalf. But instead of going to meet him in humility and asking him to intercede on behalf of the land, it was a death threat that he sent to him. (Cf. 2Kings 6:24-33)

Now that is typical of unspiritual and irresponsible leaders. First, they will not wake up to respond to the yearnings of their people until the crises of the people are brought to their doorsteps. Then even when they are eventually confronted with the magnitude of the distress of their people, they will not admit that they are responsible for it. Instead, they will look for someone else to blame, someone else to make the scapegoat for their irresponsibility.

Well, in spite of this king’s irresponsibility, God, in His mercy, still ministered to Prophet Elisha for the people. He gave him a word for them that there was going to be a supernatural supply of food and other good things that would totally eradicate the famine the following day. According to him, the supply would be so abundant and unbelievable that people would not need much money to get food for themselves. (Cf. 2Kings 7:1)

Now what did the king say in response to that? Nothing! Why did he say nothing? It was because what he heard was totally unbelievable. But then, since he knew Elisha to be a true man of God, one whose words had never failed or fallen to the ground, he just held his peace, hoping that what he had heard would actually come to pass. However, his closest officer would not act like him. He would not hold his peace or keep his unbelief to himself.

So, he told the man of God to go to hell. He told him that even if God were to open the floodgates of heaven and rain down food, as He did for the Israelites in the wilderness, the kind of abundance he had prophesied could never happen. Why did he speak like that? It was must have been because he wanted to prevent the man of God from giving the king and the people false hopes.

Unfortunately for him, the man of God told him that he would actually witness that abundant miraculous supply of God but would not enjoy it. And that was exactly what happened to him. He did witness the abundant miraculous supply of food and other kinds of good things that Elisha had prophesied about. But he lost his life while he was trying to manage that supply. What a shame! (Cf. 2Kings 7:17-20)

What is the point of this? It is that even where we do not believe or are struggling to believe a prophecy of an acclaimed servant of God, we should just keep our unbelief to ourselves. We should not spread it or infect other people with it. And I am not referring to a case in which a so-called servant of God is saying something that is entirely contrary to what is in the bible and misleading people.

In that case, we have a duty to warn people against his lie or error. That way, we will be good ministers of Christ that have been well brought up in the truth (1Tim 4:6).

But where our reason for not believing what a servant of God has said is simply that it is contrary to common sense and not to the word of God, we should keep our unbelief to ourselves and let God Himself prove that person to be telling the truth or lying. Otherwise, if we should voice out our unbelief and infect others with it, God’s judgment is what will surely follow, if such a servant of God happens to be telling the truth. Who, then, knows how He will judge?

So, mind yourself.

Copyright © 2025, 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: 08146472876)

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From Pastor's Desk 2025 FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2025 General Post Pastor's Desk

Title: Don’t allow overfamiliarity

Date: November 09, 2025

Series: From Pastor’s Desk

Number: Vol. 14, No. 28

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours without measure from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to another week of the month of November 2025.

My prayer is that God will daily equip you with everything you need to make the most of His gifts in the lives of His servants in your life, so that you can reap the full benefits of what He sent them to do in your life. Amen.

Our Lord Jesus once said this to the people in His hometown:”And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.” (Luke 4:27NIV)

Why did He say this? He said it to show us that it is not a new thing for people who are close to God’s anointed servants not to benefit much or at all from the grace of God upon their lives. Why? The reason is that they often allow overfamiliarity to prevent them from relating to these people appropriately.

As we see in the case of Elisha, which Jesus mentioned in the above bible text, even though there were several lepers in Israel in his time, he did not heal any of them. And was that because he did not have enough of God’s power to heal them? No! The reason was that they did not appreciate the power of God in him enough to come to him to be healed. But when Naaman, a total stranger, came to him to be healed of his leprosy, he was healed that same day. That means if the lepers in Israel had also come to him to be healed, they would have been healed of their leprosy. (Cf. 2Kings 5)

In like manner, when Jesus went to His hometown, He could not do many mighty works there. But He had done many mighty works in many other places before coming there. Why, then, was He unable to do many mighty works among them? The reason was that they did not appreciate the grace of God in His life. So, they would not receive and enjoy the blessings of God that He had brought to them. (Cf. Mark 6:1-6)

Sadly, many believers today too are missing the goodness of God that could be theirs because they will not appreciate enough or at all the grace of God in the lives of His servants that are ministering to them. Others who are not close to these servants of God may be enjoying the grace of God in their lives in tremendous ways and sharing wonderful testimonies. But those who see them regularly may not be enjoying much of God’s goodness through them. And that is because they have allowed overfamiliarity to prevent them from relating to them in ways that will cause them to be greatly blessed by God through them.

If you, then, are not enjoying the goodness of God in great ways through the lives of His servants in your life, you may want to check yourself. Perhaps you have allowed overfamiliarity to keep you from relating to them in ways that will cause the grace of God in their lives to freely bless you. Then you need to repent immediately and begin to relate to them with love, faith and respect. That way, the doors of God’s favour in their lives will be freely opened for your enjoyment.

Have a splendid week.

Copyright © 2025, 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: 08146472876)

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: Always be considerate

Series: Youth for Jesus

Number: Vol. 8, No. 26

“Now the Israelites were in distress that day, because Saul had bound the people under an oath, saying, “Cursed be anyone who eats food before evening comes, before I have avenged myself on my enemies!” So none of the troops tasted food.” (1Samuel 14:24NIV)

Why were the Israelites in distress on the day mentioned in our opening text? They were in distress because Saul had bound them under an oath not to eat anything until they had won the battle at hand.Now is it a good thing to fast? Yes, it is a good thing. But fasting must always be done with understanding.

And what sort of understanding do we need to employ in fasting? First, we need to understand that fasting is for us and not for God. That means we are the ones fasting is meant to affect and help, not God therefore, when fasting we should focus on doing only those things that will make our fasting meaningful and beneficial. And such things include praying, meditating on Scriptures, giving and helping others. Otherwise, our fasting will mean nothing to God. (Cf. Isaiah 58)

Also, since fasting is done to benefit us, our focus must not be on impressing people with it. Rather, it should be on receiving from God whatever it is our hearts are after receiving from Him. Otherwise, our fasting will be nothing but an exercise in futility. (Cf. Matt 6:16-18)

In addition, fasting should be done with a clear appreciation of our physical conditions and other circumstances of our lives. And where we want others to join us in fasting, we must also pay attention to their physical conditions and other immediate circumstances of their lives.

Otherwise, what is intended to result in spiritual edification for us and others may end up injuring us badly. And we can only have our own foolishness, ignorance or selfishness to blame for that.As we see in our opening text, even though King Saul was in a position to call for a fast among the Israelites, his calling for a fast that day was out of line. Why? It was because he called for it without understanding.

How? Well, they were at the battle front with the Philistines that day. And all odds were against them. That was because they were much fewer in number than their enemies. Also, they did not have enough or appropriate weapons to equip themselves in fighting these enemies. The only reason, then, that the battle was going in their favour was that God was fighting for them. (Cf. 1Sam 13)

That being the case, those Israelite soldiers needed all the strength they could muster to make the most of the grace of God in totally defeating their enemies. That day, then, was not the right one to call for a fast. Rather, it was a day to let the men eat and drink enough to gain the required strength to fight and win.

Unfortunately, Saul messed up everything for them by calling for a fast that day, as his own son, Jonathan, would later confess. Eventually, when the men could no longer hold their hunger and thirst, they pounced on some of the animals they had taken as plunder and began to eat them raw. So, a fast that was intended to lead the people to trust God for victory that day ended up leading them to sin against Him. And it happened that way because of someone’s lack of consideration. (Cf. 1Sam 14:31-34)

What is the point of all this, at any rate? It is that we should always be considerate in dealing with others, especially those that we have some measure of authority over their lives. We should not just make rules for people because we have the authority to do so, even if those rules are for their benefits.

Rather, we should always be thoughtful and considerate before making rules for others or before taking any step that will affect others. Otherwise, even when we mean well, what we intend to accomplish good may end up accomplishing evil. Sadly, it is the evil that our decisions or actions have accomplished that people will see and be talking about, not our good intentions.

So, watch yourself.

Copyright © 2025, 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: 08146472876)

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From Pastor's Desk 2025 FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2025 Pastor's Desk

Title: He must have done something differently

Series: From Pastor’s Desk

Number: Vol. 14, No. 02

Beloved; grace, mercy and peace be multiplied to you abundantly from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. I am pleased to welcome you to the eleventh month of this year, the month of November 2025. My prayer is that God will open your eyes to see the right steps you need to take in utilizing His presence in your life for your breakthrough wherever are being hindered in life. Amen.

As we see in the bible, after the death of Uzzah, that man that was struck dead by God for touching the Ark of the Covenant, David decided to take the Ark to the house of a man called Obed-Edom. And that was because he was afraid of what might happen to his household, if the Ark should be brought to them. So, it wasn’t out of goodwill that the Ark was taken to Obed’s house. Rather, it was because David and his people saw doing so as a way to escape God’s wrath. (Cf. 2Sam 6:1-10)

However, to their surprise, after the Ark had been with Obed-Edom for three months, news came to David that the Lord had blessed the household of the man and everything he had because His Ark was with him.

Now news like such would not have gone round, if nothing was spectacular about the prosperity of Obed-Edom. But something was spectacular about his prosperity. It was rapid and abundant, taking only three months for everyone around him to know that he had left the level of an ordinary person to become a wealthy man. (Cf. 2Sam 6:11-15)

Therefore, David lost no time at all in going to bring the Ark from Obed-Edom’s house to his own house. And though that may not be taken as a bad thing, it is not reported in the bible that he also experienced the kind of prosperity that Obed-Edom experienced, having brought the Ark of the Lord to his house. Why? We don’t have any answer to that question in the bible.

Moreso, we do not have it on record in the bible that Abinadab, the man that the Ark used to be in his house before it was taken to Obed-Edom’s house, experienced the kind of prosperity that Obed experienced, even though the Ark was in his house for many years. On the contrary, he lost one of his sons, Uzzah, because of the Ark. What a shame! (Cf. 1Sam 7:1-2; 2Sam 6:3)

Why, then, was the case different with Obed-Edom? Well, as a I said before, we are not given any specific reason in the bible. But that man must have done something differently. Yes, he must have done something that others, even priests, did not do in taking care of the Ark. So, even though he was not an Israelite by birth, he experienced a kind of prosperity and favour from God that others did not experience.

Now what was it that he did differently? We would not know until we stand before the throne of God. But I am certain that whatever he did came to him by revelation from God. And when he did it, it made all the difference in the world.

In like manner, if God would drop in our hearts revelations of what to do to experience outstanding breakthrough wherever we need it in our lives, what would follow will be shocking to us and others around us, if we would act accordingly. In fact, that would give us uncommon testimonies to share.

So, instead of trying to do what others are doing, however good it may be, let us learn to pray to God to give us revelations of the exact thing we need to do to excel and prosper as we are meant to in life. That is because what works for others may never work for us. And may we be favoured to receive such revelations, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a blessed week.

Copyright © 2025, 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: 08146472876)

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: A blessing in disguise

Series: Youth for Jesus

Number: Vol. 8, No. 25

“So Achish called David and said to him, “As surely as the LORD lives, you have been reliable, and I would be pleased to have you serve with me in the army. From the day you came to me until now, I have found no fault in you, but the rulers don’t approve of you. Turn back and go in peace; do nothing to displease the Philistine rulers.”” (1Sam 29:6-7NIV)

From what we see in our opening bible text, the only reason Achish, a Philistine ruler, would not allow David and his men to march with his army on that occasion was that other Philistine rulers did not approve of him.

As for Achish, he trusted David very much and considered him to be one of his loyal servants. So, if he had any battle to fight, he would not hesitate at all to allow him to fight along with his men, even though he was not a Philistine but an Israelite. And that was because David had cleverly done all that he could to gain the man’s trust.

However, that day, the battle was going to be between the Philistines and the Israelites. And though David had gained the trust of Achish, he had not gained the trust of the other Philistine rulers. So, they judged that he may suddenly go back to his former master, King Saul, in the heat of the battle, and betray them. And that was unacceptable for them.

Therefore, they insisted that Achish send him and his men back home, which he did.Now were they right to judge David in that manner? Yes, they were. To say the fact, if Achish himself had known all the truth about what David had been up to, since he started staying with him, he would not have trusted him as he had done.

And even if David had been entirely true to him, it would still have been unwise for all those other kings to assume that they would have his unfailing devotion in fighting against his own people, the Israelites. So, they were right to send him and his men away that day. (Cf. 1Sam 27)

Did that, then, please David and his men? No, it did not please them at all. Why? It does not matter, actually. That is because whether they intended to truly fight for the Philistines or they planned to betray them at the battle front, their expectations did not come to pass.

So, they couldn’t have been happy. But since Achish had told them not to do anything to anger the Philistine rulers, they had to leave in peace.Thankfully, that disappointment turned out to be a blessing in disguise for them. How? Well, as we are further shown in the account, while they were with the Philistines, getting ready for battle, Amalekite raiders were already raiding their camp. And by the time they got back there on the third day, all their wives, children and possessions had been captured and taken away. (Cf. 1Sam 30:1-2)

That, of course, demoralised all of them terribly. But David still managed to find strength in God in that hour to purse those raiders and take back all that they had stolen from them. And when they came back from dealing with them, they had become exceedingly wealthy. (Cf. 1Sam 30:3-31)

But what if they had not met with disappointment from the Philistine rulers? They would certainly have gone with them to battle against the Israelites. And regardless of the outcome of that battle, they would not have been in a position to save their families and possessions from those Amalekite raiders. It would just have been too late for them to do so. So, the disappointment they suffered was actually a blessing in disguise.

What, then, is this teaching us? It is that we should not lose ourselves or our minds because of any form of disappointment. And we should not allow any disappointment to make us destroy or discard a good and edifying relationship. That is because that disappointment may just be a blessing in disguise.

See, one main reason people disappoint us, even when they mean well, is that they are not God. As such, they are not in charge of life or its circumstances. God is the one in charge of all of life. And because He is the one in charge of life, He can turn any circumstance of life, including a disappointing one, around for our good. (Cf. Rom 8:28)

So, we should learn to anticipate disappointments and to prepare our minds not to allow it to discourage us or to ruin beautiful relationships for us. That way, if we are disappointed by anyone, we will be able to see what God has done, is doing or can do to turn that disappointment into a blessing in disguise.

Cheers!

Copyright © 2025, 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: 08146472876)

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From Pastor's Desk 2025 FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2025 Pastor's Desk

Title: Opening doors of His provisions

Series: From Pastor’s Desk

Number: Vol. 14, No. 26

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be multiplied to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. I am glad to welcome you to another week of the month of October 2025.

I pray that every door of God’s provisions shut against you will be opened for you in the week, so that your joy may overflow in the week and throughout the remaining days of the year. Amen.

Now one of the things that open doors of God’s provisions for His people is generosity towards His servants that are ministering to us in His word and in prayer.

For example, in order for God’s doors of provisions to be opened for the widow that Elijah met in Zarephath, she had to be generous to him. And even though it was a time of famine, she did not make excuses. Instead, she gave to him from the little she had. So, God ensured that she and her son did not go hungry at all till the famine in the land was over. (Cf. 1Kings 17)

But why was it this woman that God sent Elijah to at the time? As Jesus tells us, there were many widows in Israel at the time. Yet God did not send Elijah to any of them. Why? He knew their hearts. He knew that even if He spoke to them to take care of Elijah, they would not listen to Him. (Cf. Luke 4:25-26)

Perhaps God did speak to some of them about taking care of Elijah. And did they listen to Him? If they had listened to Him, He would not have sent the man to the widow at Zarephath. But since He sent him to Zarephath, it is clear that whatever widow He may have spoken to in Israel about taking care of him did not listen to Him.

The widow in Zarephath, however, listened to God and obeyed Him. As we see in the bible, God had spoken to her about Elijah before sending him to look for her. In fact, God’s words to Elijah about her were: “I have commanded her to take care of you.” And when Elijah found her, she did the will of God.

So, doors of His provisions that were not opened for the other widows were opened for her and her son.But what if she had not listened to God or obeyed Him? God would have sent Elijah to someone else that would obey Him. And that would be the person that doors of His provisions to survive that period of famine would have been opened for.

In like manner, it is those of us who obey whatever God is saying to us about generosity to those who are feeding us with His word and praying for us that certain doors of His provisions will be opened for. Those who are continually making excuses for not doing what He has commanded will only have their excuses to eat.

So, repent now and stop making excuses for neglecting the will of God in giving to His servants that are ministering to you. Otherwise, there are certain provisions of His that will never be yours in life.

Have a pleasant week.

Copyright © 2025, 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: 08146472876)

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: An image that doesn’t exist

Series: Youth for Jesus

Number: Vol. 8, No. 24

“Better to be a nobody and yet have a servant than pretend to be somebody and have no food.” (Prov 12:9NIV)

With the widespread use of the social media and Artificial Intelligence (AI), we are confronted like never before with pretence of very great proportions everywhere we turn today. What I mean is that many are now labouring hard to show themselves to the world as rich, influential, important and powerful, when they are really nothing. And why are they doing this? Desire for the praise of men!Unfortunately, many of God’s people are also being moved to do likewise.

So, if they cough, they too want the whole world to know. If they wear a new dress or a new hairstyle, they want someone somewhere to know about it. And if they don’t have a new dress or hairstyle to show off, they will let ‘AI’ do the trick for them and project about them whatever they want others to see.Now don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that you should not use the available social media platforms or ‘AI’ to project whatever you want people to see or know about you.

Rather, I am saying you should check your reasons for doing so and also be sure that what you are projecting about yourself is the truthYou want people to see you as good looking, calm and prosperous in life. That is fine. But are you actually good looking, collected and doing well in life at the moment? Or are you merely deceiving yourself?Perhaps what you want is for people to see that your business is doing well and can serve them well in some ways.

So, you are putting all kinds of images and videos of yourself and that business out there for people to see. And that is also fine. But is what you are projecting really the truth? Or are you merely fooling yourself and others?Then why do you want others to see whatever image of yourself you are projecting? Is it merely for the praise of men? Is it to update your people on certain truths they need to know about you and whatever you are up to, truths that they may not be able to learn through any other means? Or is it just to go along with the crowd?

Well, as Solomon tells us in our opening text, it is better to be a nobody and yet have people that you are well able to cater for than to pretend to be somebody and be living in hunger. In other words, instead of using your time lying and doing all kinds of silly things to gain attention, why don’t you give yourself to doing something meaningful that will make you a truly responsible person?

See, many of the so-called influenzers or socialites today are broke and unhappy. Yes, it may seem that they have the attention of the whole world. But they are broke, frustrated, unhappy and useless to themselves and others in their lives. That’s why they often end up killing themselves or their loved ones.

If you too, then, should walk in their steps, wasting your time, energy and whatever resources you have on projecting an image of yourself that does not exist, you will most likely end up like them. That is because you will have unconsciously driven true help away from yourself. So, frustration is bound to be the fruit that you will reap.Well, my point is that you need to stop wasting your time, energy and resources on projecting an image of yourself that does not exist.

Instead, give yourself to doing something legitimate with your hands, something through which God’s blessings can overwhelm your life. And when He is done with you, you won’t need to project anything about yourself or your work. That is because there will be many that will gladly do so for you for free, for the results will be speaking for themselves.

Cheers!

Copyright © 2025, 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: 08146472876)

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From Pastor's Desk 2025 FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2025 Pastor's Desk

Title: Don’t throw away your confidence in Him

Date: October 19, 2025

Series: From Pastor’s DeskNumber: Vol. 14, No. 25

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am glad to welcome you to another week of the month of October 2025.

I pray that God, as we begin the new week, will take care of any burden that may be weighing you down and comfort you wherever you are hurting, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Now while it is true that God is able to take care of all our burdens and comfort us, it is also important that we do not throw away our confidence in Him because of whatever we may be going through.

See, that God is handling our situation does not mean that we will experience relief immediately. We may not experience relief immediately. But if we will not throw away our confidence in Him, we will surely experience perfect liberty from whatever Satan is trying to use to destroy us.For example, when God sent Moses to Egypt to set the Israelites free, they did not immediately experience relief.

On the contrary, Pharaoh made things worse for them. In fact, even Moses had to go back to God and say:“O Lord, why have you brought trouble upon this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble upon this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.” (Ex 5:22-23NIV)

But was God really not doing anything to rescue the Israelites? No! He was already working for their deliverance. However, Moses and the people would need to patiently keep on trusting Him in order for them to enjoy the full benefits of all that He was doing to save them. And did they do that? They did. So, they were eventually delivered from Egypt and led to the Land of Promise.

In like manner, we too will need to patiently keep on trusting God in order to experience the full benefits of all that He is doing to perfect all that concerns our lives. So, the bible says this to us: “So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.” (Heb 10:35-36NIV)

Did you see that? First, we are told not to throw away our confidence in God. Why? It will be richly rewarded. In other words, God will never fail those who never throw away their confidence in Him. Second, we are told to persevere in doing the will of God in the face of life’s trials.

In other words, we are not to give up praying, meditating on the word of God, speaking the word of God to our challenges and walking in righteousness. Why? That is the only way for us to receive the fulfilment of the will of God in our lives.Now the challenges we are facing may give us the impression that it is useless for us to continue to pray and to act on the word of God, especially if things are getting worse for us instead of getting better. But the word of God already tells us that those who will not throw away their confidence in God will not be put to shame.

So, keep on praying and keep on acting on the word of God. And when the time is ripe, you will reap a great harvest of His goodness and salvation in your life.

Have a lovely week.

Copyright © 2025, 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: 08146472876)

Categories
Fire in my Bones General Post Youth for Jesus

Title: Take care of the barbs and thorns

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Series: Youth for Jesus

Number: Vol. 8, No. 23

“But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live.” (Numbers 33:55NIV)

Whose words do we have here in our opening text? Moses’ words. And who did he say them to? He said them to the children of Israel. Why? It was to give them the wisdom of God for their survival and enjoyment in the land that God was giving to them.Evidently, God was set to give them the land of Canaan, as He had promised their forefathers.

However, their enjoyment of the blessings of that land was not automatic. They would also need to live according to His wisdom there. Otherwise, not only would they not enjoy His goodness in the land as they ought to, they may also end up losing the land to their enemies.Now, in His wisdom, He told them to get rid of all the original inhabitants of the land. He told them not to be merciful to them and spare them.

Otherwise, they would become barbs in their eyes and thorns in their sides.What does that mean? Well, it means that those people that they refuse to drive out of the land would become a constant source of irritation or trouble to them. How? By constantly seeking ways to take the land back from them, by luring them into unholy marriages and by seducing them into the worship of idols and other wicked practices.

But then, did these people listen to the wisdom of God and act accordingly? No, they did not listen. So, what He had said would happen to them eventually happened to them. The inhabitants of the land of Canaan that they refused to completely drive out became barbs in their eyes and thorns in their sides. They continued to harass them and to seduce them to act against the will of God. So, they could not enjoy the blessings of God in the land as they could have. In fact, they were, at some point, driven away from the land into slavery. What a shame!

Now what is the point of all this? It is that there are people and things that can only be barbs in our eyes and thorns in our sides, as long as they are with us. And that may not be because they are evil in themselves. Rather, it is just because they are channels through which trouble, pollution, discontentment or destruction may constantly gain access into our lives.

So, we need to pay attention to our relationships with people and with things and what sort of things are gaining entrance into our lives through them. That way, we will know who and what we need to stay away from or to send away from our lives. This is said to us in the bible about Abraham: “Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. But while he was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east.” (Gen 25:5-6NIV)

Why did Abraham send away from Isaac the sons of his concubines? It was so that they would not become a constant source of trouble for the young man. And when did he send them away? It was when he was still alive and could properly see to it that they obey him.

So, he took care of what could end up becoming barbs in the eyes of Isaac and thorns in his side when he had the breath of life, the strength and the resources to do so. And we never see in the bible any record that any of these sons of his became a problem for Isaac after Abraham’s death. We too need to take care of anything or anyone that may end up becoming or that has already become barbs in our eyes or thorns in our sides without any form of hesitation.

That, of course, may not require sending them away, for it is not everyone that is in a relationship with us that we can send away at will and not sin against God. But it may require putting some measures in place that will make it impossible for anyone to become a barb in our eyes or a thorn in our sides.

Now will that be easy? It may not be easy. It may not even be possible without some immediate problems erupting. But if we will pray to God about this, He will supply us with sufficient strength, wisdom, determination, courage and opportunities to do the right thing. We just need to keep in mind the fact that we must take care of the barbs and thorns in our lives before it is too late.

Cheers!

Copyright © 2025, 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: 08146472876)