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Life Application Pastor's Desk Relationship (Married) Relationship (Singles)

A DAY OF GOD’S FAVOUR

It is very clear that we are in the last days. And these last days, according to the Scriptures, are very dangerous days. (Cf. 2Tim 3:1) They are days that are characterised by shortage of love and surplus of wickedness. They are days of overflowing with deception and abundance of corruption. (Cf. Matt 24:12, 2Tim 3:13)

Nevertheless, we can enjoy God’s overflowing favour in these terrible days. Indeed we need to enjoy His overflowing favour, if we must walk triumphantly in the face of all the evils and corruption of these days. And without His favour, all our efforts towards righteous and upright living can only end in frustration.

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Pastor's Desk Topical Studies

DON’T LIMIT YOURSELF

“Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. For you will spread out to the right and to the left…” (Isa 54:2-3NIV)

Do you know that the God we serve is a God of increase? He is a God who wants His people to grow, develop, multiply, expand and enlarge in every good thing. He demonstrated that by putting a blessing of increase on every living thing that He created in the beginning. And that blessing is still at work, even now. (Cf. Gen 1:20-28)

So whenever we see redundancy or stagnancy, we should not be quick to associate it with God. God is not interested in limiting anybody; for He created all of us for unlimited and unrestricted productiveness, except the proud. (Cf. James 4:6, 1Pet 5:5)

Now you ask, “Since God actually created all of us for unlimited and unrestricted increase, why am I not experiencing it?” The reasons for that are simple: it is either you are proud or you are limiting God by limiting yourself. You say, “Oh, no, I am not proud.” Well, I hope so. But if truly you are not proud, then, you must be limiting God. We all do that unconsciously, from time to time.  

Take a look at our opening scripture again: the Lord asks us to enlarge the place of our tents and to stretch our curtains wide. That is nothing but a call to expansion or enlargement. Now when do we talk about expansion? We usually talk about it when we are expecting more or when we start to have more than what our current location can hold—more people, more children, more facilities, more provisions and more of anything.

So when the Lord tells us to make room, He is simply saying, “Look, I want to fill you, but the place you have right now cannot hold what I am bringing. Therefore, begin to prepare for the increase that is coming. Begin to prepare for your promotion. Yes, begin to make ready for your uplifting. For you will surely spread out to the right and to the left.”

Now notice that, in that scripture, God also says, “Don’t hold back.” That means don’t limit yourself. See, as far as God is concerned, we are the ones who will define our own limitations in life. Remember that poor widow that went to Prophet Elisha for help: she was the one that determined how much of God’s blessings she received. (Cf. 2Kings 4:1-7) In the same vein, we are the ones who will determine the degree of increase we will experience at the hand of the Lord this month and for the remaining part of the year.

So I ask you, “What level of increase do you want to witness in your life this month? What exactly can you believe God for?” Now this is not something that you rush about; rather, it is something that you have to intelligently and patiently consider. And when you are done making your decision, then, you can begin that process of enlargement by: first, express your desires to God in prayers, and second, take steps in the direction of your prayers. (Phil 4:6, 2Thess 1:11)

Remember the woman with the issue of blood: she not only desired and decided to be well; she also pushed her way through the crowd to take her healing. May the Lord fulfil every good desire of yours and honour all your steps of faith in Jesus’ precious name. Amen.

(Adapted from ‘House of Prayer’, Vol. 6, No. 8, April 2014)

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Pastor's Desk Topical Studies wisdom for living

He knows where you live

power
power

Beloved: grace and peace be yours forevermore from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Saviour and Lord. Welcome to another week of the month of June 2020. And I pray that your heart will be strengthened to remain true to the Lord to the very end, irrespective of the circumstances of the place in which you find yourself, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

One of the things the Lord commended the church in Pergamum, one of His churches in the province of Asia of bible days, for was their loyalty to Him, even though they were living with Satan himself. Look at the way He puts this in His letter to them:

“I know where you live — where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city — where Satan lives.” (Rev 2:13NIV)

Now the first thing the Lord tells these brethren is that He knows where they are living. And His point is not that He knows the name of their city. Of course, He knows the name of their city, which is Pergamum. But the name of that city is not the issue; the issue really is what is going on in that city and the impact it is having on the everyday life of the people there.

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Latori tabili Paitor Yoruba (Fire in my Bones)

Ona lati ma fi aye re sofo

from pastors desk
from pastors desk

Olufe: ki ore-ofe, aanu ati alaafia ki o je tire titi lailai lati odo Olorun baba wa ati Jesu Kirisiti Oluwa wa. Inu mi dun lati ki o kabo sinu ose miran ninu osu Okudu 2020. Adura si ni pe ki okan re kun fun imo ife Olorun to ti o ye koro ni gbogbo ona aye re ni ose yi ati ni eyi ti o ku ninu odun yi, ni oruko Jesu. Amin.

Nje ki ni idi ti o se se pataki ki o mo ife Olorun fun o ninu ohun gbogbo ti o n se? Idi ni ki o ma ba gbe igbe aye alailoye. Poolu so ninu leta re si awon ara Efesu pe, “Nitori naa e ma se je alailoye, sugbon e maa moye ohun ti ife Oluwa ja si.” (Efesu 5:17) Se iwo na ri bayi? Ailoye gba a ni o je lati ma mo okan Olorun nipa igbe aye lapapo ati bi o se ye ki a lo ni ibamu pelu ife re. Ti a ko ba mo ero Olorun nipa aye yi ati iha ti o ye ki a ko si, ko si bi a se le gbe aye wa lati te lorun. Ti a ko ba si gbe aye wa lati dun Olorun ninu, ati fi aye wa sofo ni yen.

Woo, Olorun ko da wa lati lo aye fun ara wa. Ko si enikeni ti yo seda nkan ki nkan na le lo aye re bi o ba se wu. Dipo be, ti a ba se eda ohunkohun (yala irin ise ni, ile ise ni, eto ise sise ni, ona ise sise ni ati bebelo) a se eda re lati wulo fun wa ni. Ti nkan na ba si ko lati wulo fun idi ti a fi seda ra, o di dandan ki a mu wa si opin. Be e gege na ni o se ri pelu Olorun. Olorun da wa ki a le gbe aye fun ni; O da wa ki a le gbe aye wa lati mu inu re dun ni. Nkan kan pataki ti o si ye ki eniyan kokan ti o n gbe aye yi ni lati mo niyi. A ko da o lati gbe aye fun ara re. A ko da o lati gbe aye fun oko tabi aya re. A ko da o lati gbe aye fun awon ore re, aladugbo re tabi akegbe re ni ile ise tabi ile iwe. Ni kukuru, a ko da o lati gbe aye fun eda kankan. Eni kan soso ti a da o lati gbe aye re fun ni eni ti o da o. Eni na si ni Olorun. (Woo: Roomu 14:7-8; Ifihan 4:11)

Ti o ba wa gbagbo pe Olorun ni eleda re, nje nkan ti o gbodo je pataki julo si o ni bi o se gbe aye re lati dun ninu. Lotito, bi o ba se n dun ninu na ni o ma dun awon miran ti o wa ni aye re ninu. Sugbon, pataki julo ni pe a da o ki o le dun Olorun ninu. Ti o ko ba si gbe aye re lati mu inu re dun, o ko gbe aye re lati mu idi ti o se da o wa si imuse niyen. Nitorina, o n fi aye re sofo niyi, o si wa ninu ewu pe ki Olorun pa o ti patapata ati titi ayeraye.

O wa se ni laanu pe opolopo ni o n fi aye won sofo loni laimo rara. Won n fi aye wo sofo nitoripe won ko gbe aye won fun Olorun. Won n fi aye won sofo nitoripe won ko gbe aye won ninu ife Olorun. Lotito, won le je eniyan daradara ati oniwapele, ti won si n gbiyanju lati je ki aye derun fun ara won ati fun awon miran. Sugbon niwon igba ti won ko ba gbe aye won lori igbagbo ninu Olorun ati itaara lati se ife re, aye ti ara won ni won gbe. O wa sese o ki won ma gba pe aye ti ara won ni awon n gbe, ki won ma so wipe nse ni awon gbe aye won fun igbadun awon elomiran. Otito ibe ni wipe tori itelorun ati idunnu ara won na ni won se n se gbogbo awon nkan ti won se fun awo elomiran. Niwon igba ti o si je pe itelorun ara won ni won gbe aye fun, won ko fi aye won mu ife Olorun se. Won kan n fi sofo lasan ni. Ko si si bi won yoo se gba oriyin lati odo re ni ojo ti o ba n pin ere fun gbogbo eniyan.

Nibayi emi o fe fi aye temi sofo ninu aye yi. Dipo be, mo fe gbe aye mi lati gba oriyin lodo eni ti o da mi. Mo si mo pe iwo na o ni fe ki aye re sofo sugbon ki o ni itumo niwaju Olorun nigbati ti gbogbo nkan ba wa si opin. Amo nse ni a o fi aye wa sofo ti a ko ba gbe won ninu ife re. Ti a ko ba si fe gbe aye wa laisi ninu ife Olorun, o je dandan ki a ma ife re. Eyi si tun mu wa pada lo sinu oro ti Poolu so. O so wipe, “Nitori naa e ma se je alailoye, sugbon e maa moye ohun ti ife Oluwa ja si.”

Bawo wa ni a se le mo ife Olorun fun wa ninu aye yi? Akoko, a le mo nipa biba soro ninu adura pe ki o fi ife re han won (Kolose 1:9-12). Niwon igba ti o ti so fun wa pe awon ti won bere n rigba, a won na le ni idaniloju pe ti a ba so wipe ki o fi ife re han wa, yoo fi han wa gege bi aimo wa ba se po to. Ekeji, a le mo ife re nipa fifi ara wa jin fun iwe mimo. Poolu so wipe gbogbo iwe mimo ni imisi Olorun lati ko wa, to wa sona, ba wa wi ati lati ko wa ni ona ododo, ki a ba le mu wa ye lati mo ati lati se ife Olorun ni gbogbo ona (Timoti 3:16-17). Nitorina, fi ara re jin fun iwe mimo.

Eketa, a le mo ife Olorun nipase ibalopo pelu awon omo re miran. Olorun ko pe wa lati da gbe aye sugbon lati gbe aye ninu ebi re. Bi a ba si se ba awon omo ebi re lopo lotito si ni a o se tete di pipe ninu imo Olorun ati imo ife re. Nitorina, mu ibalopo re people awon omo Olorun miran, paapajulo awon ti ijo ti o wa, lokunkundun. Bi o si se n fi ara re jin fun awon nkan wonyi, mo gba ladura pe ki imo pipe ife Olorun ninu ohun gbogbo ma fi gbogbo igba ya bi omi odo sinu okan re, ki o ma ba fi aye re sofo. (Woo: Efesu 4:9-16)

Ki o ni ose to ga.

Copyright © 2020, 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 Life Application Topical Studies wisdom for living

The force of unity

“But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” (Gen 11:5-7NIV)

One major lesson that the bible account of the Tower of Babel teaches us is the power of unity. Men at the time they attempted to build this tower were all speaking one language. But it was not just because they were speaking one language that they could attempt such a mind-blowing project; rather, it was because they were united in mind and in purpose. They knew what they wanted, and all of them were willing to give their best to bringing it to pass. And so united and devoted were they to this cause that even God Himself acknowledged that their unity was a force not to be taken lightly.

Now, of course, as the account further shows, God needed to confuse their language and scatter them all over the face of the earth. Why? Was it because He was against unity? No! Or was it because He could not stand the progress of humanity? No! First, God is never against unity, as shown us all through Scriptures. Rather, He loves unity, preaches unity and always wants His people to live in unity because He Himself is a God of peace and unity (Ps 133; Eph 4:3; Phil 2:1-2; 1Thess 5:23).

Then God is never against our progress. Remember that when He first brought man forth, He placed on Him the blessing of fruitfulness, progress and multiplication. Why would He do that, if He did not want progress for us? Also, even after the flood of the days of Noah, He still did the same thing – He blessed humanity. And all through the Scriptures the same message is communicated, which is that God wants us to prosper in all ways and also live in health. (Cf. Gen 1:28 &9:7; 3John 2)

However, when a man begins to pursue prosperity, peace or growth without God, he is in danger of ultimately losing himself and whatever it is that he is labouring for. And that was the case with men in the days that they sought to build the Tower of Babel. Though they were united, their unity was not towards honouring God or upholding His cause. God wanted them to fill the whole earth and replenish it. But they wanted to stay in one place and make a name for themselves, as though they were existing for themselves. So, God confused their language and scattered them. And that is to teach us that anytime we gather together to stand against the will of God or cause of God for humanity, regardless of how great our number may be, whatever we are up to will certainly end up in chaos and confusion for us all (Ps 2:1-6).

Nonetheless, the unity of those people must be commended. God Himself, as I pointed out before, commended it and said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.” In other words, unity is a force that cannot be stopped, unless God Himself stops it. And God won’t stop it, inasmuch as it is functioning according to His purpose. So, if we want to be unstoppable in our homes, organisations, communities, churches or anywhere, we need to employ the force of unity, a unity that is not contrary to the will of God. Yes, if we want to be able to accomplish any good and righteous goal we set for our family or whatever group we belong to, all of us there must love unity, embrace it and also labour to maintain it. Otherwise, however talented or gifted we may be, individually, nothing we set out to do will end in success.

See, one of the reasons some families, organisations and even Christian assemblies will never rise beyond where they are is that they have not embraced unity. Yes, there may be many gifted or talented people in them. But as long as they do not embrace a culture that loves and promotes unity, they will never make any real progress. Yes, I know there are certain diabolical philosophies in the world that teach leaders that unity is contrary to development and that their followers must be set against one another in order to get the best out of them. That is nothing but satanic wisdom. And ultimately, it will be the ruin of those who embrace and practise it. So, don’t ever yield yourself to that or anything that resembles it. Instead, embrace God’s wisdom about unity, and you will be amazed at the kind of power it will release for your growth and the growth of whatever family or group you belong to.

Copyright © 2020, 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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Life Application Pastor's Desk wisdom for living

How not to waste your life

from pastors desk
from pastors desk
Continue reading "How not to waste your life"
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Life Application Pastor's Desk wisdom for living

Christ our wisdom

From-the-pastors-desk
From-the-pastors-desk

Beloved: grace, peace, and love be multiplied to you forever from God our Father, and Jesus Christ our Lord.

I am delighted to welcome you to the second week of the month of June 2020. And my prayer is that God will cause His wisdom to continually and fully find expression in you, so that you may always excel in all good things, irrespective of the situations of the world, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Paul, speaking to us by the Spirit of God in a letter of his, says, “…God, who is the Creator of all things, kept his secret hidden through all the past ages, in order that at the present time, by means of the church, the angelic rulers and powers in the heavenly world might learn of his wisdom in all its different forms.” (Eph 3:9-10GNT) Think about that. God, right now and not later, wants the angelic rulers and powers in the heavenly world to learn His manifold wisdom through the church. In other words, He wants to manifest His wisdom through you and me because of our faith in His Son Jesus Christ. What a marvellous thing!

See, we may have started out in life as ordinary, ignorant, and unimpressive people. And many indeed started out like that. But it really does not matter to God. As long as we are in Christ Jesus, our social, cultural, political, or academic background does not matter; what matters is a new creation. And since we are new creations in Christ, God’s intention is to teach the world and all the powers that are operating in it His wisdom through us. This is what He recreated us for. Therefore, the thoughts we think, the words we say, the decisions we make and the things we do ought to daily and always communicate the wisdom of God to men, angels, and demons alike.

Look, for example, at the apostles of old. Everywhere they went, they shocked rich, powerful, and influential people by their words and acts of wisdom, even though many of them were unschooled and ordinary men. And why were they able to function like that? It was because of their relationship with the Lord Jesus. He was the wisdom by which they were living, functioning, and handling life. (Cf. Acts 4:13; Acts 13:4-11; Acts 25&26)

In like manner, Jesus Christ is our wisdom too. The bible says, “It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God — that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.” (1Cor 1:30NIV) Because of who are we in Christ Jesus? It is because of God. He, not any man or woman, is the reason we are new creations in Christ Jesus today. And it is He who has made Jesus Christ our wisdom. So, as far as we are concerned, our own wisdom is a living person, not a mere sense of good judgment. Our wisdom is Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col 2:2-3).

Now since our wisdom is a person, how do we see it manifest in us? Is it by daily confessing that He is our wisdom or how? While it is okay to confess and affirm that Jesus is our wisdom, His wisdom won’t find expression in us because of that. He is already our wisdom. Confessing Him, therefore, as our wisdom will not make Him any more our wisdom or make His wisdom find expression in us. What will make the wisdom that He represents find expression in us is our learning from Him so that we make His ways our ways and His thoughts our thoughts. The more we do this the more His wisdom finds expression in us. And the more His wisdom finds expression in us, the more God’s purpose of teaching men and the rulers and powers in the heavenly realms His wisdom through us is fulfilled.

The question, then, is, “Do we want this purpose of God to be fulfilled in us and through us?” I am asking if we want those of this world and all the angelic beings that be to learn through us that God’s ways are the only true ways to make sense out of life. If we do, then, we must take more seriously our devotion to learning from our Lord Jesus in order that we may know Him better, for the better we know Him the better the expression of His wisdom through us gets (Phil 3:10). And my prayer is that, as we go this week, you will realise that this is God’s expectation on your life and that you are in a position to fulfil it.

Do have a glorious week.

Copyright © 2020, 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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Prayer wisdom for living

Responding to Worldwide Crisis

prayer focus
prayer focus
We have been learning how to respond to worldwide crisis from the world of God through God’s servant, this is another episode, lets sit back and watch. Stay blessed, Stay connected, Stay safe.
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Others wisdom for living

She despised him in her heart

“As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart.” (2Sam 6:16NIV)
 
It was a great day for King David, the day the Ark of God’s Covenant was brought into the place he had prepared for it. So he danced before the Lord with all his might (2Sam 6:14). Why? It was because he was appreciative of all the good things He had done for him. He was just a common shepherd boy, when the Lord sent Prophet Samuel to anoint him king instead of the then ruling king, Saul (1Sam 16:1-13). And a few years later, he was not only sitting on the throne of Israel as king; he was also privileged to set up a place in his city where the Lord’s Ark would be placed.
 
So you see that David could be nothing but thankful to God for all He had done for him. And he was not ashamed to express this before others. That was why he danced with all his might before the Lord and before all the people he had made him king over. In short, the more he thought about how far He had brought him, the more he sang and danced before him.
 
All this, however, did not go down well with his first wife, Michal, the daughter of King Saul, who was watching from a window. She had been raised as royalty. So, when she saw the way David was jumping up and down and dancing in the full glare of everybody, she was upset. Why? She felt David was not acting royal at all – he was disgracing the crown by acting the way he was acting before everybody. She may even have said to herself, “My father or my brother, Jonathan, would never have acted like this. They both knew how to act majestic and royal in everything they did. But this David — surely royalty does not suit him at all.”
 
So then, the bible says, “She despised him in her heart.” Think about that. This woman despised a man, who was being nothing but grateful, for unashamedly giving thanks to God. And as the account further shows us, she did not stop at just despising David in her heart. When he came home to bless his household, she also went out, not to welcome him home but to tell him to his face what sort of disgrace he was to the throne of Israel. So, instead for the man to bless her, he did not. Instead, he rebuked her for failing to see that it was God, the one who chose him in place of her father, that he was celebrating. And that was how her barrenness remained stuck to her till the end of her time on earth. (Cf. 2Sam 6:20-22)
 
Now what is the lesson for us in this account? It is that we must never despise, whether secretly or openly, any act of service or worship of others before God. The fact that you feel uncomfortable with the way someone is serving or worshipping God does not mean that they are wrong. And as long as they are not wrong, God accepts them and whatever they are doing for Him. If you, then, despise them and their worship or service for any reason, you will never be a partaker of the blessings and favours of God that are being released on their lives and through their lives. And who knows whether those are just what you need to experience divine liberty from the barrenness you are experiencing in certain areas of your life?
 
Then, even if someone is wrong and contrary to the will of God in their worship or service to Him, and you are quite sure that they are, despising them is not in any way going to help them get things right; it will only shut whatever door of opportunity you might have had in helping them. Unfortunately, in most cases where people despise others because they are worshiping God or serving Him in certain ways, it is not because they are sure those people are utterly wrong; rather, it is often because they are irritated that those people are doing what they are just too proud to do. So, they begin to nurse evil thoughts about them and may even go to the extent of openly criticising them. But as I pointed out before, when you allow the devil to push you to start acting in that manner, it won’t be long before you shut certain doors of your life against fruitfulness.
 
Therefore, guard your heart with all diligence against evil thoughts and bitterness of every kind. And may God keep you from using your own mouth to ruin your life.
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Others wisdom for living

Finding rest

Beloved: grace and peace be yours abundantly from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. I am pleased to welcome you into another week of the month of May 2020. My prayer is that your life will experience God’s rest in every way in the week and throughout the remaining part of the year, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
 
Now I offered that prayer for you because it is in keeping with God’s will for you. What I mean is that it is God’s will for you to have rest, absolute rest, in every area of your life. That is why He says to us, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matt 11:28NIV) This is a free invitation to everyone who is troubled and is bearing loads of life that are crushing him. The Lord says to him, “Come to me, and I will give you rest.” If He did not have what it takes to give us rest, He would not say, “Come to me, and I will give you rest.” It is because He has what it takes to deliver rest to us from all the things that are troubling us and making us tired of life that He tells us to come to Him for rest.
 
So, you don’t have to allow any problem of life to destroy you or drive you mad. You don’t have to allow any situation to take charge of your life and turn you into a beast or a slave. All you need is to come to Jesus for rest, and He will give it to you. I mean that the Lord will give you rest right here on earth. Yes, the rest He intends to give to us is beyond something that we enjoy only in this world. Rather, His intention is to give us eternal and permanent rest from every problem of life.
 
However, while the earth and all the problems that are associated with staying in it still remain, the Lord wants us to have rest in it. And He has been giving those who come to Him rest in it. For instance, we are told this about King David: “After the king was settled in his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, he said…” (2Sam 7:1-2NIV) Look at that. The Lord gave David rest from all his enemies around him. So, he settled down in his palace to enjoy his life and kingship. But that did not happen overnight. I mean that he did not come to this place of rest overnight. Only God Himself knows what number of miracles He had to perform in order to bring him there.
 
As we are told in the bible, this man was ordained to be king at a very tender age, when he was but a boy (1Sam 16:1-13). But did he ascend the throne the day after his ordination by God? No! Instead, even though he was a man after God’s own heart, he went through what many today would call ‘hell’ before he got there. He was persecuted, hunted, robbed, slandered and even betrayed on his way to the throne. And even after becoming king, troubles, wars and betrayals did not vanish from him overnight. They kept on coming for him. But because in all these things, he set the Lord continually before himself and lived according to His word, he was preserved (Ps 16:8). Then there came a time in which even those around him could say, “The Lord has given this man rest from all his enemies around him.”
 
Now the same God that gave David rest from all his enemies around him is the one we are dealing with. Yes, He is the one that says to us, “Come to me, and I will give you rest.” And if you have come to Him, then, rest is already available for you to enjoy. But someone may say, “I have come to Him. Yet I am not enjoying any measure of rest in my life. My life is still full of troubles that are weighing me down and seeking to utterly destroy me. What, then, is the problem?” Well, the problem is that you have not learnt how to take His rest and make it yours.
 
See, the Lord does not just say, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” He also says, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matt 11:29-30NIV) Did you see that? The only way to find the rest that God has given is to walk with Him and learn to do things His own way. Even though you have come to Him, as long as you are trying to solve your life’s problems in your own way, you will never find the rest He gives. But the moment you quit using your methods and schemes and start listening to Him and acting on His instructions, you will start finding His rest in your life. Yes, He may have to daily perform a million miracles for you to experience His rest. But what does it matter? He will do whatever He has to do to make sure that someday you are able to look around and say, “Blessed be God, who has given me rest on every side from all that seeks to destroy me.”
 
Do have a very pleasant week.