Category: Fire in my Bones

“But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”” (Luke 10:29NIV)

I used to have a friend that had a culture of engaging in baseless arguments with me. Initially, I did not take it to heart. But I later realised that it was becoming utterly unclean and dangerous. So, I asked her, “Why do you like to argue over matters that require no argument at all?” And in response, she said, “I cannot just accept that you are right and I am wrong. So, I have to first argue things with you, even if I will later admit that you are right.”

Now that, of course, made me end my friendship with her. That was because I just knew that we would at some point hurt ourselves, if we continued to be friends under such circumstances. How do you maintain friendship with someone that cannot admit it when they are wrong? How do you maintain friendship with someone that will always find a way to justify their wrongdoings? You will have to be a weak person to stay in friendship with that kind of person. And your weakness in this area will surely get you seriously wounded. It’s only a matter of time.

Well, the point I am trying to make is that if you are wrong in any matter, just admit it. Don’t try to justify or prove yourself to be right. That will be nothing but a show of pride. And if you continue in that path long enough, you will surely meet with disgrace or destruction (Prov 11:2 & 16:18).

For instance, in our opening text, we are told of an expert in the law of Moses that wanted to justify himself before Jesus by asking Him, “Who is my neigbhour?” This man, as the account shows us, had first asked the Lord about what he must do to inherit eternal life. And the Lord, in response, had led him to the things said in the law of Moses about loving God wholeheartedly and also loving our neighbours as we love ourselves. (Cf. Luke 10:26-28)

But instead for this man to simply accept those simple instructions and make up his mind to start acting on them, he proceeded to ask the Lord, “Who is my neighbour?” Why would he ask Him that kind of question? Did he really not know who a neighbour is? He did. But he wanted to give the Lord the impression that his reason for not loving his neighbour as himself was that he did not even know who he could call his neighbour. So, he asked him that stupid question.

In any case, because the Lord knew quite well what he was trying to do, He decided to lecture him a little about who his neighbour was by telling him a very instructive story, the story of the good Samaritan. And by the time He was done telling him the story, his foolishness had been exposed. So, he had nothing else to say but to walk away in disgrace. (Cf. Luke 10:30-37)

Now that is showing us that we can never succeed in justifying our wrongdoings before God and His truth. We may, through some acts of cleverness, oratory or stubbornness succeed in justifying our sins or errors before men. We may say it is because others are doing the wrong thing that we also are doing it or say it is because we are not hurting anybody that we are doing what is wrong. But it is only men that may accept such nonsense from us and not punish us. God will not accept it from us.

Yes, God can forgive anybody’s sins and also cleanse them of their unrighteousness, as long as the person admits them and seeks to be forgiven through Jesus Christ. But when people will not admit that they are wrong, when God has already said that they were, they will miss the forgiveness and cleansing that should have been theirs. And if they continue in that path of self-justification, it won’t be long before sudden disgrace or destruction comes on them, which they won’t be able to escape.

So, if it has been your culture to always want to appear right, you need to check yourself. You may do and say all that you can to always appear right. It does not mean that you are always right or that you are even right most of the time. It simply means you have a spirit of self-justification. And if you don’t rid yourself of it on time, it is not only precious relationships that it may cost you; it may also cost you God’s favour and mercy.

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)

“Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, toward Zoar. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD.” (Gen 13:10-13NIV)

Why did Lot choose to live near Sodom? The reason was that he was only considering how doing so would promote his prosperity and not how it would injure his soul. Lot, as we are shown in the bible, was a righteous man (2Peter 2:7). He was a man that feared God so much that he did all that he could to raise his two daughters as virgins, even while living in Sodom, a land of immorality.

But what was he doing in Sodom, in the first place? At the time he left for Sodom, as we see in our opening text, the men of Sodom were already sinning greatly against the Lord. Therefore, it was only a matter of time before God’s judgment came on them. Yet Lot took his family and possessions to go and live near them and later among them. Why?

Well, as I pointed out earlier, it was because of the material gains that his heart was after that he did so. Could he not have gained material wealth somewhere else? He could! But that may have cost him more time, more effort and more labour. And he did not seem to have the patience for all that. So, he decided to settle for what seemed to be the easiest way to accomplishing his desire of become wealthier. He went to live in Sodom.

However, when God decided to judge Sodom, Lot could not save his wealth or possessions. In fact, he could not save his wife that day but lost her. Also, though he was able to save his daughters from the destruction that came upon Sodom, he could not save their souls from the immorality of Sodom. They later committed incest with him. And these things agree with the words of our Lord Jesus that say: “The one who wants to save his soul will lose it, but the one who loses his soul for my sake will find it. (Cf. Gen 19; Matt 16:25)

Now contrast what Lot did with what Ruth did. Ruth also was once confronted with the choice of staying in Moab with her family and friends and that of leaving Moab with her mother-in-law for the land of Israel. And at that time, since she had already lost her husband and wealth and had no child, staying in Moab promised to give her a quick restoration of her joy and prosperity. But leaving for the land of Israel promised her nothing but more and greater pains and suffering. (Cf. Ruth 1)

Yet this woman chose to go to the land of Israel with her mother-in-law, Naomi. Why? The reason was that she no longer wanted to be a part of the idolatry of Moab, the land of her people. Ruth, as the account goes, knew that going back to live with her people, having already known the Lord, would surely injure her faith. Did she know to what extent doing so would injure her faith? No! But wasn’t willing to take the risk. So, she left Moab for Israel and had to endure a life of poverty for a while because of that.

But because Ruth put her relationship with God first, instead of her enjoyment of material things, she eventually gained all the wealth and happiness she could have hoped for in life. Not only that, she reaped an indescribable spiritual reward for what she did. God ordained that it was through her line that our Lord Jesus would come. Hallelujah! (Cf. Ruth 2-4; Matt 1:5-6)

Now why am I bringing this to you? It is to let you know that you can choose to either be Lot or Ruth in this life. If you are often or always putting your enjoyment of life ahead of your relationship with God, then, you are Lot. And like Lot, you may end up losing everything you are trying to gain or save, including your soul. That is because you are bound to be making decisions that will jeopardise everything for you, even though they may appear easy enough to lead you to quick prosperity and enjoyment of life.

But if you always put your relationship with God first, even where it exposes your life to hardship, pain or death, you are Ruth. And like Ruth, you will not only see your soul preserved by God but also see everything you need to make sense out of living handed over to you.

Which, then, will it be? Will you be Lot or will you be Ruth? I pray that your heart will be guided and strengthened to always choose wisely, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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)

“You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise! In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or puts on airs or slaps you in the face. To my shame I admit that we were too weak for that! Whatever anyone else dares to boast about—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast about.” (2 Corinthians 11:19 -21NIV)

A pastor once threw a mug at one of his church office staff because he was angry with her. Thankfully, the mug did not hit her. So, she lived to tell the story. But did she resign and stop working with the man? No, she did not. Instead, she continued to work with him and to put up with his excesses and abuses, even publicly adoring and praising him.

Why? Was it because she was acting on the word of God that commands us to hold our church leaders in the highest regard? Yes, in her mind, that was exactly what she was doing. But the truth is that she was simply being foolish, as we are clearly shown in the word of God.

Also, a sister once told me how she ended up sleeping with her pastor a couple of times. And how did she end up doing that? Well, she ended up doing so because the man told her that part of her ministry duties was to satisfy him sexually. And did she believe that? No, she did not! But did she leave the assembly or stay away from the man? No! Instead, she continued to submit to him as her church leader until he began to have his way with her.

Now, from what she also told me, she was not the only one being treated by the man in that manner. There were some others like her. Yet none of them had the liver to expose his wickedness to other leaders in the church or to run away from him. Instead, they all continued to put up with his nonsense, hoping that he would be transferred to another chapter soon, so that their misery could end. Why would they do that? The reason was that they all were foolish.

Why did I say that they were all foolish? I said so because, as we see in our opening bible text, it is foolishness that makes God’s people put up with things like that. See, it is not the will of God for His children to be abused by their leaders or to be subjected by their leaders to any kind of inhumane treatment.

Unfortunately, even when Paul was writing these things to the people of God, there were church leaders that were abusive and overbearing. Yes, at the time, there were church leaders that were enslaving, exploiting and taking advantage of their brethren. Also, there church leaders at the time that were arrogant enough to slap their brethren in the face.

Now one would naturally expect that brethren who were being treated in that manner would resist such leaders firmly and refuse to be enslaved or cheated or abused by them. But as Paul equally shows us in that text, that wasn’t the case at all. On the contrary, those brethren put up with all the inhumane treatment they were receiving from their leaders. And that shocked this apostle to the bones, for he knew that he and his ministry companions could never ever think of treating anybody in that manner.

Interestingly, these same brethren, especially the ones in Corinth, that Paul would dare not maltreat, abuse or cheat would not respect him or see to his welfare. Instead, it was those who were exploiting, abusing, cheating and maltreating them that they were giving all their respect to and also supporting with their resources. How ironic!

In like manner, even today, many of God’s people hardly treat with utmost respect church leaders that treat them as Christ would treat them, that is, with love and respect. They hardly give them their support. And that is largely because they unconsciously see them as weak. But these same brethren may be willing to give up their eyes for those that maltreat, abuse, enslave and exploit them. How ironic!

Wel, the wisdom of the Spirit of God is telling us in our opening text through Apostle Paul that it is not humility at all to put up with enslavement, exploitation or any form of abuse of authority in the church. Rather, it is stupidity. Those who do so, then, are simply promoting bad leadership and wickedness in the church of God. And they will be first among those who will reap and eat the fruit of what they are sowing.

Therefore, don’t put up with any form of leadership enslavement or exploitation in the church or wherever you are. Instead, stand up against it with the word of God and with prayer. And you don’t have to be abusive or disrespectful in order to do so. You just need to let those involved know that God has not permitted you to be a slave of anybody or to be treated like an animal. And if getting out of that environment is what will make you live to enjoy the freedom that is yours in Christ Jesus, please do so.

May God keep your life and soul safe all the time from the activities of wicked, corrupt and unreasonable people, even in the church. Amen.

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)

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” (2Tim 2:15-16NIV)

I rejoice in the Lord with you, as we come into this new year, year 2025. My prayer is that God, in His mercy and love, will perfect all that concerns you in the year, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Now, as we are starting this new year together, I want to encourage you with the words of Paul the apostle, which we have in our opening text. And what do they say? They tell us to do our best to present ourselves to God as one approved, workmen and workwomen who do not need to be ashamed and who are correctly handling the word of truth.

What is this telling us? It is that gaining God’s approval is not automatic. Yes, all that we needed to do in order for Him to accept us as His people was put our faith in the Lord Jesus. But in order to live lives that He approves of, lives that He will continually reward and honour, we must make effort to daily learn those things that please Him and to also do them.

As Paul further shows us in that text, if we are not making effort to gain God’s approval through the way we live and through the things we do, we will often find ourselves ashamed to stand before Him. There are many today who are ashamed to stand before God to pray or to do anything. And is that because God does not love them or because He has rejected them? No! Rather, it is because they know that the lives they are living and the things they are doing are not worthy of Him or presentable to Him.

To say the fact, the lives and the works of some people are not even presentable to people like them. I mean that they themselves are ashamed to let others see their lives and their works for what they really are. How, then, will they feel confident before God about their lives and works?

Now don’t miss my point. I am not saying that our good lives or good works give us any ground to declare ourselves as righteous before God. Nobody’s good works are good enough to make Him righteous before God. Only God Himself can make us righteous before Him. And it is through our faith in His Son Jesus Christ that He makes us righteous before Him. Also, it is only through our faith in Christ Jesus that we qualify to stand before God unashamed.

However, we must also understand that if we truly have faith in Him, we will also be serious about living our lives the way He wants us to live them and handling whatever we are doing in life the way He wants us to handle it. Otherwise, we will often find ourselves ashamed of ourselves and of our works, when we are confronted with the truth about them.

John, in one of his epistles, says this to us: “And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.” (1John 2:28NIV) Did you see that? If we want to face the Lord Jesus confidently and unashamed when He returns, we need to remain in Him and also continue to live our lives and to do our works, whatever they may be, to honour Him. Otherwise, when He shows up, even though He is not going to reject us or cast us away, we will not be happy with ourselves for letting Him down in life.

So, as you face this new year, do your very best to show yourself as one approved of God. Yes, do your very best to be devoted to learning what pleases Him in all that you do and to doing it. And remember that His grace is sufficient for you. Remember also that you can do all things through Christ that strengthens you. So, don’t attempt to make excuses for doing things that you will be ashamed to let God know about or to present to Him. And may His grace continually overflow to you for a life that is excellent before Him in the year. Amen.

Happy 2025.

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).

“But the priest answered David, “I don’t have any ordinary bread on hand; however, there is some consecrated bread here — provided the men have kept themselves from women.” David replied, “Indeed women have been kept from us, as usual whenever I set out. The men’s things are holy even on missions that are not holy. How much more so today!”” (1Sam 21:4-5NIV)

That was part of the conversation David had with Ahimelech the priest, when he was running away from King Saul. And as we see in their conversation, David desired to have some loaves of bread from this priest, so that he and his men would have something to eat on their journey. But the man of God told him that he only had consecrated bread with him.

Now was anything wrong with giving David and his men consecrated bread? Yes, everything was wrong with it. That was because only anointed priests were allowed by God to eat it. But then, as Ahimelech told David, those who were not anointed priests could also partake of this bread on one condition. And what was that condition? It was on the condition that they had stayed away from any kind of sexual relations on the day they were to eat it. (Cf. Lev 24:5-9)

What is this showing us? Well, first, let me tell you what it is not showing us. It is not showing us that married people must abstain from sexual relations with their spouses in order to be fit to serve God or to experience His power. Of course, the word of God also admonishes married people not to use all their time for sexual relations. Otherwise, they will be distracted and unable to fully give themselves to prayer and other things of the Spirit. But sexual relations are legitimate for married people. So, they don’t get defiled or rendered useless to God by them. (Cf. 1Cor 7:1-5)

However, those who are not married must watch themselves against sexual relations, any kind of sexual relations. And those who are married too must watch themselves against sexual relations with people that are not their spouses. That is because these things will defile them and make them unfit for God to use to accomplish His good purpose. So, wherever you are and whatever you do, stay away from sexual impurity.

As we see in David’s case above, even though he and his men were not entitled to having or eating consecrated bread, he was still able to get it for them on the occasion mentioned. And that was because of their abstinence from sexual impurity. In fact, as he pointed out, even when he and his men went out on missions that were unholy or ordinary, they still kept themselves from impurity. And that is telling us that it is not only when we are going to be involved in some spiritual activities that we are to keep ourselves pure before the Lord; we must also keep ourselves pure before Him when handling natural matters.

There are believers, for instance, who stay away from impurities and ungodly things only when they are fasting or when they are going to be preaching, singing, ushering or doing something that is connected to Christian service. When they are not going to be involved in anything connected to service in God’s kingdom, they will give themselves freely to all kinds of ungodly and immoral things. And what they do not know is that there is nothing like seasonal or occasional purity before God. If you are not going to commit yourself to a life of purity before Him, then, your occasional purity will not serve His purpose.

Now what is God’s purpose for us? His purpose is that He will be able to use us for any kind of good work anywhere we find ourselves. And it is those of us who maintain a life of purity before Him that He can use to do so. Those who give themselves to purity only occasionally aren’t fit for His use in this sense. If you, then, want Him to be able to use you for any kind of good work, including the good work that He might have used an apostle, prophet or pastor to do, make sure your life remains pure even in handling natural or ordinary things.

God bless you.

Copyright © 2024, 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)

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

In our opening text, we have a brief conversation between Moses and his brother-in-law, Hobab. And as we see in the conversation, Moses earnestly desired that this man would stay with them all through their journey into the Promised Land. Why? At least, the man was not God. So, he was not the one to lead and protect them on their way into the Promised Land. Why, then, would Moses, a great man of God, be eager to have him, who was not even an Israelite, on their side?

Well, even though God was the one protecting and leading the Israelites on their journey, showing them when to move and when to stop, He would not step out of heaven to give them details of where to camp and where not to camp and how to stay safe in a wilderness that was loaded with all kinds of danger. They needed a man to do that. And Hobab happened to be the right person for the job.

But as I pointed out already, Hobab was not an Israelite. The only reason he was with the Israelites at the time was Moses. He was his brother-in-law and must have come to visit him. When did he come to visit him? We are not told in the bible. It may be when his father, Jethro, came to visit him. Or it may be that he came at a different time.

However, his coming to Moses proved to be very profitable for the man of God and his people. During that short stay, the man showed himself as someone that was highly helpful in showing them how to stay safe in the wilderness. That, of course, was why Moses did not want him to leave them but to stay.

We too must be individuals that people will love to have around them. And that is by being truly helpful to them in unforgettable ways. So, don’t be a liability to anyone. Yes, all of us need helpers in our lives. But we too must learn to be helpful to our helpers. And even if we are just visiting, we should be thoughtful enough to help our hosts in ways that they will always have good and fond memories of our stay with them, however short it may be.

Well, Moses, having thought much about how helpful Hobab had been to the entire Israelite community during his short stay with them, wished he could make him permanently stay with them. But the man was unwilling to stay. And that must have been because he wanted to return to his country and to his people in order to realise whatever dreams he had for himself.

How, then, did Moses make him stay with them? First, it was by letting him know how highly they valued his generous and free help to them. Second, it was by assuring him that they would share with him whatever good things the Lord gave to them. That means his stay with them would not be a waste of time or a waste of his life – he too would be treated as one of them, qualified to enjoy as much goodness of God as any of them when they came into the Promised Land.

What is this telling us? It is that we too should learn to place proper value on our relationships with those in our lives. See, there are people that God has planted in our lives to make life easy for us in various ways. And these people are actually working, fulfilling His will in our lives. It will be wise of us, then, to value highly what they are doing for us and to show it.

What I mean is that we must learn to verbally express our appreciation to all the people God has been using to make life easy, meaningful and profitable for us. In other words, don’t keep your appreciation of others to yourself. Instead, express it to them clearly and wholeheartedly. Otherwise, how will they know that you truly appreciate them?

Then learn to share the good things of your life with those that are contributing to your prosperity, progress and peace of mind. Yes, God is the giver of all good things. But it is people that He often uses to give the good things of life to us. So, as we are showing Him gratitude for the good things He is giving us, we should also be showing heartfelt gratitude to those He is using for us. And one fine way to do that is not to be selfish with the good things He is giving us but to freely share them with those He has used in making it possible for these things to come to us. Otherwise, we may at some point lose the help they are giving to us to some other people who will duly appreciate them.

So, as we come to this season of celebration, remember all the people that have been instrumental to your enjoyment of life this year and share good things with them. How far doing that will go is not what I can say? But it may just make the Hobab in them stay with you for life. Or what do you think?

Copyright © 2024, 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)

“David had just said, “It’s been useless — all my watching over this fellow’s property in the desert so that nothing of his was missing. He has paid me back evil for good. May God deal with David, be it ever so severely, if by morning I leave alive one male of all who belong to him!”” (1Sam 25:21-22NIV)

David, as we are told in the bible, was one of those few people that God commended for their unwavering loyalty to Him. In fact, God said concerning him, “I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.” (Acts 13:22NIV) And is there a better testimony that God can give about anyone than this? I don’t think so. That, then, puts David among those saints of old whose lives are worthy of emulation.

However, as we equally see in the bible, it is not everything about David’s life that is worthy of emulation. For instance, as we see in our opening text, David once planned to attack and destroy the entire household of an innocent man. And who was that innocent man? His name was Nabal.

Now someone may say, “Wait a minute! How could you say that Nabal was an innocent man? Doesn’t the bible say that he was a mean and wicked man?” Yes, it is true that the bible says that Nabal was an arrogant, selfish and wicked man. And for being that kind of man, he deserved to be judged and punished by God. (Cf. 1Sam 25:2-3)

However, on the occasion we are dealing with, Nabal was innocent and did not deserve death from the hands of David. Yes, he despised David and his men, when they came to ask him for some material support. And that was not just because he was a stingy man but also because he did not know them and wasn’t interested in knowing them.

At least, this same Nabal threw a banquet for his workers. That means he was not altogether stingy and cruel. If he, then, had known David and his men, as others in Israel knew him, he would most likely have treated them differently on that occasion, that is, with courtesy.

Besides, as the account also shows us, Nabal was not under any obligation to give anything to David and his men. Yes, they served as a shield to his shepherds when they happened to be together in the same area. They did not abuse or molest them or steal from them. Instead, they protected them in whatever way they could. (Cf. 1Sam 25:15-16)

But then, did David and his men treat those people kindly because they wanted a reward from their master? No! Rather, they did what they did because it was the right thing for them to do, as those who knew the Lord and also had His fear in them.

Therefore, the one they should have expected their full reward from was God, whom they had honoured, not Nabal. And even if Nabal was to give them anything, it was supposed to be in form of appreciation and not entitlement.

Unfortunately, on that occasion, David missed it. He got carried away with a feeling of entitlement because of what he and his men had done for Nabal’s shepherds. So, he allowed himself to be offended by the man’s refusal to appreciate them. That, of course, was why he was determined to destroy him and his entire household. And if God had not sent Abigail to stop him in time, he would have become a murderer.

Therefore, don’t be like David in this sense. Don’t be someone that forces others to appreciate him or that victimises others for not appreciating him. Is it good for anyone to be ungrateful? No! But you must realise that the only person that can properly appreciate us for any good we do is God Himself. And He has promised to do just that, when the time is ripe and if we do not give up on doing good. So, whether people appreciate us for our good works or not, God will surely appreciate us at the right time. (Cf. 1Cor 15:58; Gal 6:9; Heb 6:10)

Then we must also not forget that many of us too have been ungrateful in our dealings with God. Yet He does not victimise us or force us to appreciate Him. Instead, He labours everyday to draw our attention to all that He is doing for our good, so that we may gain understanding and begin to duly appreciate Him.

In like manner, we too should allow people to come by themselves to an understanding of the need to appreciate us, instead of trying to take it from them by force. Otherwise, we may end up becoming worse than them, as we oppress, victimise or punish them for being ungrateful to us. And where that is the case, we will not only be robbing ourselves of whatever appreciation that should have come to us from God for our good acts but also exposing ourselves to His judgment. When next you, then, want to take appreciation or gratitude from people by force or manipulation, remember these things.

Cheers!

Copyright © 2024, 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)

“Remember Lot’s wife!” (Luke 17:32NIV)

Who said these words? It was the Lord Jesus Christ. And why did He say them? He said them because He actually wanted us to remember Lot’s wife. And what are we to remember about Lot’s wife? It is the fact that she illustrates for us the danger of a moment’s disobedience to God’s instruction.

As the account goes, in His mercy, God had decided to spare Lot and his family on the day that He was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah for their many sins. So, through His angels that were to carry out the destruction of these two cities, they were instructed to run for their lives and never to stop or look back until they have gotten to safety. Otherwise, they would be destroyed along with Sodom and Gomorrah. (Cf. Gen 19)

But why would God tell them not to stop or look back while they were running away from those two cities? The reason was that He did not want them to be double-minded about leaving them. He Himself was not double-minded about the destruction of the cities. He had already made up His mind to destroy them and there was no going back. Anyone, then, that would be saved from the destruction coming on them could not afford to be double-minded about running away from them. In other words, the person could not afford to stop or look back on the way to see whether what God had said about their destruction was going to happen or not. Otherwise, he would lose his life along with them.

Unfortunately, Lot’s wife did not seem to get this. So, at some point while they were fleeing, she stopped and looked back. That means she became double-minded about the whole thing. Otherwise, why did she stop and look back? If she was not entertaining doubts about the destruction of those cities, would she have stopped to look back? If she was certain that she had made the right decision about running for her life, would she have stopped to look back? And if she had not been wishing she could take along more of her possessions, would she have stopped to look back?

In any case, by stopping and looking back that day, against God’s clear instruction, Lot’s wife made herself liable to destruction. So, she became a pillar of salt, as a testimony to the double-minded and the disobedient. You can see, then, that the Lord is telling us to remember this incident so that we too will not become double-minded or disobedient like her in our walk of faith and endanger our souls.

As we see in the bible, those of us who believe in Christ Jesus have already fled from this wicked and corrupt generation to become partakers of God’s eternal kingdom. And we cannot afford to be double-minded about that. In fact, we must not be double-minded about it. Instead, we must keep on running towards our goal, never stopping and never looking back to consider the empty way of life we have left behind. That is because one moment of stopping to look back at whatever we have left behind may expose us to God’s judgment and turn us into another pillar of salt. Yes, it may make a mess of our lives and faith and hinder us from finishing well our race to God’s eternal kingdom.

Now my prayer is that you will not become another pillar of salt that will be serving as a warning to the people of God. But you too must know that you cannot be double-minded about your faith in Christ Jesus. No, you cannot be wishing you could go back and enjoy more of the ways of this world. And you cannot be wondering whether you made the right decision or not by coming to Jesus. Doing that may turn you to another Lot’s wife and, of course, another pillar of salt. Therefore, mind yourself.

Copyright © 2024, 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)

“”Therefore the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that your house and your father’s house would minister before me forever.’ But now the LORD declares: ‘Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained. The time is coming when I will cut short your strength and the strength of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your family line and you will see distress in my dwelling. Although good will be done to Israel, in your family line there will never be an old man. Every one of you that I do not cut off from my altar will be spared only to blind your eyes with tears and to grieve your heart, and all your descendants will die in the prime of life.” (1Sam 2:30-33NIV)

Those were very strong words from God to the household of Eli. And from what He said to them, it is clear that excellence, health and peace of mind would be far from them, even from their unborn children. But why should God give this kind of judgment to this family?

Well, from what we see in the account, it was because of the sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas. And what was so special about them that God would curse their father’s entire household because of them? Again, as we see in the account, these young men were scoundrels, wicked and unreasonable people who had no regard for God at all. (Cf. 1Sam 2:12)

But they were raised in the house of the Lord. They were, in fact, raised as priests of the Lord. And from what we know in the bible, they were raised by the same person that raised Samuel. They were raised by their father, Eli. But Samuel did not turn out to be bad, wicked or unreasonable. Instead, he turned out to be a faithful servant of the Lord.

What, then, was the problem with Eli’s sons? Why could not the same training that made Samuel a great man of God make them great men of God? The reason was that they would not allow the word of God to dwell in their hearts.

Now the bible tells us that when people refuse to retain the word of God in their hearts, they will, at some point, be given over by God to do things that are not convenient, things that will ultimately destroy them. And that was what happened to Hophni and Phinehas. God, at some point, gave them over to impurities because they would not retain His knowledge in their hearts or give Him regard. Therefore, their wickedness degenerated to a point where they began to shamelessly sleep with the women that were working at the entrance of the Lord’s tabernacle. (Cf. Rom 1:28)

What, then, did their father do when he saw that they had utterly lost their way and were on the verge of self-destruct? He called them and rebuked them. And did that work? No, it did not work. They did not listen to him. And what did he do when he realised that they would not listen to his words of rebuke? Nothing! He just let them be. (Cf. 1Sam 2:22-25)

But could he really have done anything else to stop them from destroying themselves? Yes! He could have removed them from their positions as priests and sent them far away from the Lord’s tabernacle. That way, he could cleanse the house of God of their impurities and corruption. And doing that would have satisfied the God of justice. But he did not do so. Why? We are not given the reason for that in the bible.

At any rate, because Eli failed to judge these sons of his, he opened the door for God’s judgment to come upon his entire household. And as we see in our opening bible text, the judgment that came upon them was so severe that no right-thinking person would want to marry from their family or into their family. That judgment ruined their future. But was it really God’s judgment that ruined their future? No! It was their sin that ruined the future for them.

In like manner, our sins and errors can ruin the future for us and our family lines. And there are many in the world today that are already ruining the future for themselves and their descendants through greed, sexual immorality, bloodshed, oppression or some other forms of wicked practices. While these ones may think that they are enjoying themselves right now, they are actually taking away peace, joy, honour and excellence from their descendants that will come after them. And unless such descendants of theirs know God truly and give themselves to living for Him, they will not be able to separate themselves from partaking in the judgment on their ancestors.

So, watch the way you live and how you use your various positions and privileges in life. Don’t ruin the future with your present. Otherwise, those coming after you may turn your name into a curse. Then, if, as a child of God, you are currently partaking in some generational curse or judgment, begin to steadfastly take your stand against it, in the name of Jesus. That is because you are now a new creation in Christ Jesus. So, you can refuse to share in any ugly generational experience of your natural family. And may you find sufficient strength in God to do this, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Cheers!

Copyright © 2024, 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)