Category: Youth for Jesus

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: Because of you|Fire in my bones

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Date: October 04, 2023|Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 6, No. 21

“I will make the son of the maidservant into a nation also, because he is your offspring.” (Gen 21:13NIV)

Who said these words? God! Who did He say them to? Abraham! Why did He say them to him? It was because he was distressed by Sarah’s demand that Hagar and her son Ishmael be sent away from their household.

As the account goes, Sarah had seen Ishmael mocking her son Isaac while a feast was being held in his honour on the day that he was weaned. What prompted him to do that? We would not know. But what he did that day gave Sarah reasons to think that he would one day become a problem for her son Isaac. And since her son Isaac, though far younger than Ishmael, was the true heir of Abraham, she decided that the only way to protect him and his inheritance was for them to send Hagar and her illegitimate son, Ishmael, away. (Cf. Gen 21:6-10)

Now this matter bothered Abraham greatly, and rightly so. That was because Ishmael was his firstborn child. And he loved him. Then I am sure Abraham, being a god-fearing man, did not want it look like they used and dumped Hagar. But the truth is that Ishmael brought that situation on himself. He was not mindful of the fact that his status in Abraham’s house changed the very day Isaac was born to Sarah. He was relegated to the position of a servant that day. As such, he did not have in that house the standing of one who could mock a legitimate son of the house and get away with it.

There is, of course, a lesson for us in that. And it is that we should always be mindful of our status wherever we are. Otherwise, we may find ourselves doing things we have no standing to do and getting ourselves into avoidable troubles. There are, for instance, people that have been sent away from their workplaces just for hissing or winking at the wrong persons. So, always be conscious of your standing where you are before you let yourself loose to do something you may forever regret.

In any case, Sarah was firm about the fact that Ishmael and her mother must go. And as if to make the matter worse, God was on her side. God told Abraham that he just had to let Hagar and her son go. That was because He had no use for them in fulfilling His good purpose for Abraham and his household.

However, to let Abraham know that He was not callous and would never support injustice or wickedness, God told him that He was going to make Ishmael great too. Why? Was it because Ishmael was a pretty boy? No! A pretty face is never enough for God to make someone great. Otherwise, Absalom would have been God’s choice and not Solomon.

Then maybe it was because Ishamel was a very smart boy that God told Abraham that He would make him into a great nation. Not at all. The fact that he allowed himself to be caught mocking Isaac showed that he was not really smart.

Why, then, was God going to make him great? As we see in our opening bible text, it was because of Abraham. In other words, the greatness Ishmael was going to experience and enjoy was not something he worked for or merited. Rather, it was a gift coming to him because of his father’s relationship with God.

In like manner, like Ishmael, there are many today that are enjoying certain measure of goodness and greatness in life because of certain people in their lives and not because of anything they have in themselves. On the other hand, we also have people that are suffering in some ways in life because of the relationships they have with certain people and not because they themselves are evil or wicked. And what this is telling us that we need to watch how we live before God and before men.

See, the kind of relationship we build with God and also with men can go a long way in defining the quality of life that our children, family members, friends or anyone close to us will enjoy. Because of us, God or men may give the people in our lives certain experiences of favour and goodness that could have gone to others. And because of us as well, certain doors of favour and greatness may be shut against those who are related to us or close to us.

Which will it be, then? Will God and men be opening doors of favour, goodness and promotion to the people in our lives because of us or will they be shutting these doors against them because of us? Everything hangs on the kind of relationships we are currently building with God and men.

My prayer is that you will be enabled by God Himself to share with Him and others in your world wonderful and meaningful relationships that will continually open great doors of enjoyment for all the people connected to you, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Cheers!

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: You may mess things up|Fire in my bones

fire in my bones
fire in my bones
Date: September 27, 2023|Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 6, No. 19

“Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: "See that you don't tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them." Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.” (Mark 1:43-45NIV)

Who did Jesus send away with a strong warning? It was a man that he had healed of his leprosy. As the account goes, this man had approached the Lord and begged Him to heal him of his leprosy. And He had compassion on him, touched him and cured him of his leprosy. Then, as Mark shows us in our opening text, the Lord proceeded to strongly warn him not to tell anyone about what He had done for him.

But why would the Lord warn this man not to share his healing testimony with anyone? Was it not a good thing that He did for him? And would the sharing of his healing testimony not bring even more people to Him, so that He could minister to them as well? What exactly was on the Lord’s mind when He strongly warned this man not to share his testimony with anyone?

Well, no one knew the answers to these questions until the man involved disobeyed the command the Lord had given him. As we further see in our opening bible text, despite the strong warning the Lord had given him not to tell anyone about how he got healed of his leprosy, he still went around, speaking freely about it and spreading the news. Consequently, the Lord could not openly go anywhere without being besieged by crowds of people. 

Now it is true that among the reasons Jesus came into the world was to heal and set men free from all their sicknesses and diseases. But He could not have possibly been doing this all the time. He too was a man. So, like every other person, He needed to eat, rest, sleep, visit his family members and do other things that are normal and legitimate for every human being to do. Also, He needed time to pray and study the word of God and meditate on it. Otherwise, exhaustion would soon set in and make Him useless in ministering effectively to those coming to Him.

So, when the Lord told that man not to share his healing testimony to anyone, it was so that He would have enough breathing space to freely go around and minister in an organised way. That way, He would be able to minister effectively to more people and in more places without calling undue attention to Himself or wearing Himself out. But that man robbed Him of all this through his disobedience.

Yes, the man must have thought that he was helping the ministry of Jesus by publicising what He had done for him. But he was wrong. He was not helping His ministry at all. Instead, he was hindering it. The only way he could have helped His ministry was to have listened to His instruction and kept quiet. But he did not. So, he made it hard for Him to minister in that area according to His plans.

Now what is the point of all this? It is that we don’t know better than God. So, when He gives us an instruction, whether directly or through any of His servants, we should take it seriously and not act otherwise. Yes, as people with brains, we may think differently about something God has already instructed us about. Nevertheless, if we indeed agree that His foolishness is wiser than our wisdom, we will do as He has instructed us.

See, it is not every time that we will immediately understand why God is asking us to do something or not to do it. There are some things that we will not know the reason God has given us instructions about them until we obey or disobey Him. 

How, then, would you feel, if you had to learn that God is wiser than you through your disobedience and that you had missed something good He had prepared for you? Or how would you feel, if you had to find out that you had messed up God’s work, your life or a loved one’s life while you actually thought that you were helping Him? 

Those are hard questions to answer, right? So, when next you receive a spiritual instruction, see to it that you do as you are told instead of trying to follow your mind. Otherwise, like that leprous man whom the Lord healed, you too may end up messing up things. And who knows how messed up they will be?
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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: Don’t give yourself to desolation|Fire in my bones

fire in my bones
fire in my bones
Date: September 20, 2023|Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 6, No. 18

“…And Tamar lived in her brother Absalom's house, a desolate woman.” (2Sam 13:20NIV) 

Why did Tamar give herself to living a desolate life? It was the rape experience she had with her half-brother, Amnon. As the account goes in the bible, because Amnon could not deal with his irrational love for Tamar, he resulted to using manipulation to get her into bed with him. 

Unfortunately for him, the young lady would not willingly participate in the incest that he suggested to her. So, he overpowered her, raped her and then drove her away like as one would drive a stray dog away. (Cf. 2Sam 13:1-19)

To make matters worse, when their father, King David, heard about the case, he was only furious -- he did not do anything about it. He did not give Amnon any serious punishment at all, one that would let him and other rapists like him know that there was no place for them and their nonsense in Israel.

 Why? He was probably looking at the political implications of punishing the crown prince for raping his own sister. He probably even did his best to hide from the public what happened, so that the image of his family would not be tarnished. (Cf. 2Sam 13:21)

In any case, Amnon got away unscathed after raping his sister. And since he could rape a princess like that and get away with it, then, nothing would have happened, if it were a commoner that he had raped. The matter would also have been swept under the carpet and more easily too.So, we should understand that it is not only commoners that may be suffering injustice in our land. 

Some highly placed people too may be suffering injustice in silence. They too are angry. And they want to fight back and punish the injustice they have suffered with all the strength, authority and power they have. But some of the people in their lives will not just allow them to do so. 

Why? Image! They don’t want the public image of their family, company or political party to be ruined. So, though they are hurting and aching as a result of what has been done to them, they just have to let it go and bear their pains in silence for life or until an opportunity to judge those who hurt them without ruining the image they are trying to protect shows up.  

If you, then, have been a victim of any form of injustice, don’t think your case is peculiar. Don’t think it is because you are not as rich, influential or educated as some people that your matter has gone unjudged. 

That is because even if you are rich, influential or highly educated, you may still be unjustly treated and not be able to do anything to punish those who have cheated you.However, even if you have suffered any form of injustice, what becomes of your life, going forward, is what is important. 

As we see in our opening bible text, beautiful Tamar refused to move forward with her life because of the injustice that she had suffered. So, as young and beautiful as she was, she retired to her elder brother’s house and began to live a desolate life, a joyless life.

 In other words, she allowed what happened to her to make a mess of her. Why? She, unlike her father, did not know how to draw strength, courage and wisdom from God to heal and rebuild her life (1Sam 30:1-6).

Now perhaps that is where you too are right now. You are living in desolation because of certain injuries or injustice you have suffered in the hands of some people. 

You need to wake up, give your life over to God and let Him heal and restore you. That way, you won’t have to make a waste of your life because of the wickedness done to you.Remember Joseph. 

Remember that he too suffered all kinds of injustice, first from the hands of his own blood brothers and then from the hands of Potiphar’s wife. Yet he did not allow his life to stop or to become useless because of these things.

 Instead, he entrusted himself to God and gave himself to diligently doing everything that was committed to his care. So, he was healed and lifted up in due season. And to show that he was completely healed by God, when he eventually met his brothers again, he had no grudges against them.

 Instead, he forgave them and saved them and their families from the seven years of came upon their land. In like manner, you too can be totally healed of whatever injury you have suffered from the hands of men, if you will commit yourself to God to heal you. And you should do that without delay instead of giving yourself to a life of desolation and uselessness. That is because if you stop your life, ruin it or make it joyless because of anybody, you will have only yourself to blame.

 And guess what? God may eventually win over to His side those people that hurt you and whom you are using as your excuse for messing up your life. They, then, will go on and become useful and mighty instruments that will be highly rewarded in His kingdom, while you will have wasted your life and have nothing to receive from God for it. So, be wise, my friend and begin to do the right thing right away.
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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: Don’t make it hard for Him|Fire in my bones

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Date: September 13, 2023|Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 6, No. 18

“The LORD says, “I will teach you the way you should go; I will instruct you and advise you. Don’t be stupid like a horse or a mule, which must be controlled with a bit and bridle to make it submit.”” (Ps 32:8-9GNT)

From what we see in our opening text, it is clear that God is committed to leading us in the way we should go to enjoy His best and also be the best we can be in life. However, for Him to successfully lead us to experience all that He has in store for us, we have to willingly and humbly yield ourselves to Him.

Otherwise, He may not be able to accomplish His purpose in us without hurting us.See, God reserves the right to let us be, if we will not cooperate with Him in guiding us to be all that He wants us to be in life.

Yes, He can choose to allow us to lead ourselves, if we will not allow Him to lead us. And if that happens, sooner or later, we will realise that we cannot lead ourselves without ruining our lives and even everything we hold dear.Then if God, out of compassion and in spite of our stubbornness, still decides to lead us to experience His goodness, He may have to take very drastic measures to make us submit to Him and follow Him.

For example, Jacob once found himself wrestling with a man that had appeared to him while he was faced with an imminent attack from his brother, Esau. What led to his struggle with this man? We would not know. But it is clear from the account that he knew that the man he was wrestling with was no ordinary man but one in a position to bless him. (Cf. Gen 32:22-32)

Now the question is, “Why was Jacob wresting with one who could bless him?” Why did he not just yield to the man and freely receive his blessings? Well, as the account further goes, when the man realised that he could not overpower him, he hit his hip and threw it out of joint, so that he began to limp for the rest of his life.

And it was after then that he blessed him and changed his name to Israel.But what is the point of this experience that Jacob had? It was to teach him that he had been struggling with God all his life instead of yielding to him. Jacob was someone that truly believed in God and in His purpose for his life.

However, the story of his life before that experience shows that he was also someone that believed in using his own schemes to help God realise His purpose for his life. We see this in the way he cheated his brother, in the way he lied to his father and also in the way he related to Laban, his uncle. He always had something up his sleeves in dealing with everyone in his life.So, when he was supposed to go back home and settle down to enjoy his family and prosperity, the fear of his brother would not let him have peace of mind.

That, of course, was when God showed up to him in form of a man. And He showed up to him to let him see that unless He hurt him, He would not be able to fulfil His good purpose in his life, as long as he continued to insist on doing things his way. So, Jacob learnt utter submission to God and His ways in a hard way.

Now, as we see in our opening text, God is warning us too, telling us not to be Jacob. He is telling us not to be like horses or mules that had to be restrained and controlled with bit and bridle in order to make them listen to their riders. In other words, He does not want us to make leading us to experience His goodness hard or difficult for Him.

Instead, He wants us to willingly yield ourselves to Him and to His word, so that He will be able to fulfil His good purpose in us without having to first injure us. Otherwise, He may just decide to let us be and so fail to be what He wants us to be in this life. In like manner, in all our human relationships, we need to learn to cooperate with those who have authority over us and are in a position to make our lives better through their leadership, as long as they are in the will of God. We should not make leading us difficult for them (Heb 13:17).

Otherwise, they may have to take very drastic measures in making us do what we should have been willingly and naturally doing for our growth, development and profitability in life. And that may not leave us without some injuries or pains.

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Fire in my Bones General Post Youth for Jesus

Title: Don’t let it discourage you|Fire in my bone

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Date: September 06, 2023|Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 6, No. 17

“After all that Hezekiah had so faithfully done, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities, thinking to conquer them for himself.” (2Chron 32:1NIV)

What is the first thing that is brought to our notice in our opening text? Hezekiah’s faithfulness to God! When this man became king, as we have in bible accounts, he gave himself to faithfully doing the will of God. First, he opened the doors of the Lord’s temple that his father, Ahaz, had shut, repaired the temple and also purified it. That was so that true worship could begin again in the land. (Cf. 2Chro 29)

Second, Hezekiah led the people to celebrate the feast of Passover in a very grand way, equal only to the way it was celebrated in the days of King Solomon. Third, Hezekiah saw to it that the welfare of the priests and Levites in the land was no longer neglected. He encouraged and led the people to bring in all the tithes, firstfruits and offerings required by the law to the house of God. And all these things were done in accordance to the will of God. (Cf. 2Chro 30-31)

Now one would expect that with this man’s demonstration of faithfulness, trouble would be very far from him and his land. But it was not so at all. As we see in our opening text, after all that he had so faithfully done for the Lord and his land, a very powerful enemy showed up and invaded his land, thinking to conquer it for himself. And his threats were so frightening that the whole nation convulsed with fear. But why should this happen after Hezekiah had demonstrated faithfulness in serving God and doing His will? Did he not do enough to please God? Yes, he did.

What, then, was the problem? Well, the coming of Sennacherib, king of Assyria, to attack Hezekiah and his people was not God’s doing at all. That was Satan’s doing. And he did it to discourage this king and his people. He did it to make him think that doing the will of God was a waste of time.Thankfully, Hezekiah did not fall into his trap. Hezekiah did not give up on God because he was attacked by an enemy after faithfully doing His will.

Instead, he cried out to God for help and encouraged the people of the land to trust in Him. And did God fail him or not? No, God did not fail him. On the contrary, God sent an angel of His that killed one hundred and eighty-five thousand soldiers of the Assyrians in one night. So, their king withdrew to his own country, humbled and defeated, without firing a single shot of arrow at the land of Judah. (Cf. 2Kings 18-19)

What is the point of this? It is that whether you do the will of God or not, challenges of life are inevitable. So, don’t think that challenges will not come to you because you are doing the will of God. Otherwise, you will often find yourself falling into Satan’s traps of discouragement. See, doing the will of God will not exempt any of us from life’s challenges. At least, from what we see in Scriptures, doing the will of God did not exempt our Lord Jesus from life’s challenges.

For example, the bible says, “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”” (Matt 4:1-2NIV)

Did you see that? After fasting forty days and forty nights, one would expect that the first thing Jesus would witness was a mighty provision of God or an opportunity to preach a great sermon or heal the sick. But that was not happened at all. Instead, it was Satan who showed up again. He had been tempting the Lord all through those days of fasting and praying, as indicated in the Scriptures. And when He was done, he still showed up again to tempt Him to abuse the power of God, tempt God and even engage in idolatry.

Now did the Lord allow that to discourage Him? No! Did He allow that to make Him think that praying and fasting all those days and nights was a waste of time? No! Instead, He drew His strength from the Spirit of God and resisted the devil with the word of God. And did He succeed in driving him away or not? He did.

In the same vein, we too can expect Satan to show up in our lives anytime, especially when we are feeling high and excited in the spirit because we are doing the will of God. And his coming at such times will be to discourage us and make us think that praying, fasting, giving, preaching or doing anything that is the will of God for us is a waste of time. We, however, must be ready like Jesus to resist him with the word of God until he flees from us. And he will surely flee. So, stay encouraged, beloved. It always pays to do the will of God.

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: Trouble instead of help |Fire in my bones

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Date: August 30, 2023|Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 6, No. 1

“Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came to him, but he gave him trouble instead of help. Ahaz took some of the things from the temple of the LORD and from the royal palace and from the princes and presented them to the king of Assyria, but that did not help him.” (2Chron 28:20-21NIV)

One of the things made abundantly clear to us in Scriptures is that no one can help anyone that God does not help. So, if you want true help about any matter of life, the one you should turn to is God. Otherwise, anyone or anything you turn to for help apart from God may end up making an already bad situation worse for you.

As we see in our opening bible text, there was a time that King Ahaz of Judah turned to the king of the Assyrians, Tiglath-Pileser, for help. Why? He was being attacked by his neighbouring nations from different angles. So, he was losing his people and his territory at a very alarming rate. (Cf. 2Chro 28:5-15)

But why was he losing his people and land in that manner? That was the first question he ought to have asked himself. His father, Jotham, did not lose his people or land at all. Instead, he made them stronger and richer. Also, his grandfather, Uzziah, did not lose his people or land at all. Instead, he made them stronger and richer. (Cf. 2Chro 26-27)

What, then, was his own problem? Why could he not keep what was passed on to him? He could not because he did not take God seriously as did his grandfather and father. Instead of worshiping God, he gave himself to the worship of idols and the practice of divination. Therefore, God withdrew His protection from him and from the land. That, of course, was the reason for his trouble. (Cf. 2Chro 28:1-8)

So, even though Ahaz needed help in order to be saved from his enemies, there was something he needed more than help. And that was repentance. If he had repented and turned back to God, the God of the nation that he was king over, he would have had all the help he needed to defeat his enemies and win his land and people back.

Ahaz, however, was too arrogant to humble himself before God and seek His face. Therefore, he turned to the king of the Assyrians for help. Unfortunately, as we are told in our opening bible text, instead of getting help from this man, all he got from him was trouble. And even though he gave him some of the treasures laid up by his ancestors in the temple of God and in his palace, all he still got from him was trouble.

Eventually, he gave himself to more idolatry and messed up the entire nation even more before his meaningless reign ended.In like manner, there are many like Ahaz today who are going from place to place and people to people for all kinds of assistance or support. But what they need may not just be help but to take God seriously in their lives and stop living according to their own ways. And as long as they do not realise this and act accordingly, any help they find may soon enough prove to be no help at all but trouble.

Then, like Ahaz, there are many all around the world who keep looking for help and solutions to the problems of their lives outside God. And will they get helped? No! Instead, like Ahaz, what they will keep finding are people like Tiglath-Pileser, who will keep taking from them but never giving them anything but trouble.

Now perhaps you already have such people in your life. They keep asking you to give them all kinds of things and taking you to all kinds of places, all in the name of wanting to help you. Yet their help is not forthcoming. If you are not careful, such people will be the ones that will run you dry. Then you will wake up one day and realise that your home, possessions, savings, health and everything else you care for are gone. Yet you have not been helped.

So, stop seeking help where it does not exist. Your help is with only one person. And that person is God. You just need to humble yourself, put your trust in Him and stop relying on your understanding. And He will see to it that you get the right kind of help you need without having to lose your head, sleep, relationships or resources.

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: What if things were worse?|Fire in my bones

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Date: August 23, 2023|Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 6, No. 15

“The LORD said, “Jeremiah, if you get tired racing against people, how can you race against horses? If you can’t even stand up in open country, how will you manage in the jungle by the Jordan?”” (Jer 12:5GNT)

Those were God’s words to Jeremiah, when he began to question Him about His commitment to giving justice. In Jeremiah’s estimation, the wicked and the faithless in his land were becoming more and more prosperous. And that was happening at the expense of the righteous and godly people in the land.Yet he could not see God doing anything about it. He could not see Him punishing the wicked for their wickedness, dragging them off to be killed or destroyed. So, he got upset and began to take God to task about His justice.

Now when people begin to question God and find fault with Him about His devotion to giving justice here on earth, they may soon enough become part of the wickedness they have been complaining about. This is why Solomon says, “When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of the people are filled with schemes to do wrong.” (Eccl 8:11NIV)

In other words, when people do not immediately receive due punishments for their wickedness or wrong acts, they will most likely encourage themselves in the practice of wickedness.But then, it is not only those who have been given to wickedness that this may affect. It may also affect those who have been given to righteousness and are looking forward to seeing justice prevail where they are. If they cannot obviously see the wicked being punished by the leadership of where they are, they will expect God to step in and punish them.

And if they wait for a while and can’t also see God punishing them in ways that are obvious to them, they may give up on righteous living and become a part of the problem they used to complain about.Perhaps this is addressing you. Perhaps you too have given up on doing what is right or are about to give up on it because of the injustice you are witnessing everyday where you are.

And that is because you have a feeling that God is helpless or slow or unconcerned, as far as matters concerning justice are concerned. Well, if that is the case, then, you are like Jeremiah of bible days. He too, as I pointed out earlier, at some point felt that God was not showing enough concern, if any at all, about the injustice in his country.

Otherwise, He would have stepped in and begun to judge all those involved. But when God was going to answer him, the response he expected was not what he got. He probably was expecting God to comfort him and tell him to be patient with Him and that He was soon going to do something about the injustice in the land. But God did not say that at all. Instead, as we see in our opening text, He told him to stop being childish and grow up.

According to God, if Jeremiah could not cope in a race with men like himself, how would he cope, if he were to be in a race with horses? Or if he could not cope with life in an open country, how was he going to cope if he were to be dropped off in a jungle? And what did God mean by saying these things? It was that Jeremiah should not use the unjudged injustice in his land as an excuse for misbehaving or abandoning righteous living.

Why? It was because whatever form of unjudged injustice he could see in the land was nothing to compare to what was in existent in some other places. And if he could not cope with it, how would he be able to cope, if he were to find himself in a more wicked place?Now did God say these things to give Jeremiah the feeling that He had no interest in giving justice on earth? No!

Rather, He said it to let him know that whatever form of unjudged wickedness or injustice he saw in the land should not be used by him as an excuse for not doing what was right or for grumbling. As we see in Scriptures, God dispenses justice here on earth every day (Zeph 3:5).

And that it is not obvious to us does not mean that it is not happening. So, we should not use the fact that we have not seen certain acts of wickedness or injustice dealt with as our excuse for giving up on righteous living or for living a life of grumbling.

Instead, we should learn to concentrate on doing the will of God with hearts filled with thanksgiving. That is because regardless of how terrible the injustice or wickedness we see where we are may be, God will have us know that there are places where things are worse. And if we will not learn to take advantage of His grace to deal with whatever evil we are confronted with where we are now, how are we going to survive, if things should get worse there or if we should find ourselves in a worse place?

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: Anointed but weak|FIRE IN MY BONES

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Date: August 09, 2023|Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 6, No. 13

“Then the king said to his men, “Do you not realize that a prince and a great man has fallen in Israel this day? And today, though I am the anointed king, I am weak, and these sons of Zeruiah are too strong for me. May the LORD repay the evildoer according to his evil deeds!”” (2Sam 3:38-39NIV)

Those were David’s words after Joab had murdered Abner, Israel’s army general, in cold blood to avenge the blood of his brother Asahel. But why did he say such words? He said them because he realised that even though he was the Lord’s anointed king, he did not have it takes to keep under control some of his men.

And in this situation, he was referring to Joab and his brother Abishai. Naturally, David was supposed to have the two of them executed or banished for the roles they played in the death of Abner. That was because he did not give them any order to have the man murdered.

As we see in the account, Abner and David had just had a feast together to celebrate their alliance before Joab went after him and used deceit to kill him. So, as God’s anointed king that wanted to be just in leading the people, the right thing for him to do was to judge those murderers.But he could not do anything to them.

Why? First, as he himself admitted, they had become powerful and influential among his men. That was because they both of them were mighty men of war and had led his men to experience victory in battle many times. So, they were men that were feared, trusted and respected. That being the case, there was no way he would judge them and not create divisions among his own men. Second, these men were David’s nephews, sons of his sister Zeruiah. So, if he chose to execute or banish them because of Abner, who was not entirely a good man himself, many of the people may see him as a heartless person. His blood relationship with them, then, also weakened him and prevented him from judging them for what they did to Abner. (Cf. 1Chro 2:13-17)

Now what did David miss? Was it his fault that Joab and Abishai were his nephews? No! And did he do any wrong by recognising their prowess and allowing them to lead his men in battle? No! But it is clear that he allowed their familiarity with him to breed contempt for his authority. If, right from the time they just came to him as young men, he had been strict or hard in disciplining them and showing them that he would not accept any form of disregard for his authority from them, simply because they were his blood, they would most likely not have become emboldened to do anything without his permission.

Also, David must have given these men, Joab and his brother, too much independence as leaders of his army. That was why they were bold to call Abner back on that occasion without first checking in with their king. But authority must always be checked. If you give someone some measure of authority and will not check it or place some restrictions on it, it will take the grace of God for that person not to use that authority to strengthen himself against you.As we see in David’s case, Joab and his brother used their relationship with him and the positions he gave them in his army to strengthen themselves against him. So, even though they were loyal to him to the end, they also had a culture of doing whatever pleased them, even if it was contrary to what he wanted. And he remained weak in handling them till he died. The best he could do was to entrust the judgment of Joab to his son Solomon, who, of course, was too wise for the man to contend with (1Kings 2:5-6).

Well, what is the point of this? It is that you should not allow any relationship to make you weak in using your position to do the will of God. It does not matter whether it is a blood relationship, work relationship or spiritual relationship, don’t handle it in a way that it will introduce weakness of character into your life. We have seen husbands made weak by their wives and vice versa, so that they are now unable to always do the will of God with their positions.

And we have seen parents made weak by their children and vice versa, so that they are now unable to do what is right where God has placed them. We have even seen employers, bosses and anointed preachers made weak through some unclean relationships with those under them, so that they are now unable to do what God wants with their respective positions.

So, you really can be made weak in doing what is right or in judging wickedness by the people you love, trust or admire. And that is what will most likely happen, if you will not exhibit discipline and self-control in your dealings with them all the time.

Who, then, knows how far they will go in abusing your relationship with them? Remember that the only reason Abner responded to Joab’s call to come back that day was his relationship with David. And he took advantage of that to destroy him. Therefore, don’t let anyone make you weak and, by so doing, turn you into a partaker of their sins. And be very careful too not to weaken anybody in doing what is right through your relationship with them or through the authority they have entrusted to you. Otherwise, like Joab, you may expose yourself to God’s judgment.

Categories
Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: Surviving in Ahab’s court|By: J.O. Lawal|FIRE IN MY BONES

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Date: August 09, 2023|Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 6, No. 13

“So Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. (Obadiah was a devoted follower of the LORD. Once when Jezebel had tried to kill all the LORD’s prophets, Obadiah had hidden 100 of them in two caves. He put fifty prophets in each cave and supplied them with food and water.)” (1Kings 18:3-5NIV)

The bible is full of shocking or hard-to-believe revelations and reports. And one of them is that of a man called Obadiah. Now this Obadiah was not the popular Prophet Obadiah, whose book we have in the bible. On the contrary, as we see in our opening bible verses, he was the palace administrator of King Ahab.

Who, then, was Ahab? Ahab was a well-known figure to bible readers. And that is because he was one of the most wicked kings that the nation of Israel had before they were exiled. Not only was he wicked, he also married a very wicked woman, a witch, if you would agree, called Jezebel. And this Jezebel was so wicked, ruthless and godless that even the great Prophet Elijah trembled at her threats. (Cf. 1Kings 19:1-3)

Now here is what the bible says about the two of them: “There was never a man like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the LORD, urged on by Jezebel his wife. He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, like the Amorites the LORD drove out before Israel.” (1Kings 21:25-26NIV)

Did you see that? Ahab and his woman, Jezebel, were monsters, as far as God was concerned. You can, then, imagine how hazardous living with them or working for them would look like.Yet, as we see in our opening bible text, Obadiah, who happened to be their palace administrator, was a devout worshipper of God. That sounds quite implausible, or what do you think? How could a man who worked every day and so close to these evil people be a godly man? Was that even a possibility? Yet the bible says that he was not just a godly man but also a devout worshipper of God.

That means he was radically committed to worshipping God. Then, to make us understand how devoted to God this man was, we are told of how he saved and protected 100 true prophets of God from his wicked mistress, Jezebel. Not only that, he provided them with food and water throughout the period that they were hidden away from the reach of the witch. That, evidently, was something that could have cost him his head. Yet he did it. His devotion to God, then, could not have been a joke at all.

But how did he survive among these godless people? How did he not lose his faith or life among them? We are not given any clue in the account. But we do know from Scriptures that anyone who will survive like that among cruel, wicked and godless people must take God and His word seriously. In other words, such a person will first give himself to studying and meditating on God’s word. Second, he will be determined to act on what he knows to be the will of God. Third, he will, through prayers and thanksgiving, be dependent on God for the wisdom, favour, strength, boldness and protection needed to do His will. Otherwise, he would be crushed or polluted by the wickedness where he is.Now since Obadiah was neither crushed nor polluted by the wickedness in Ahab’s palace, it must mean that he was highly blessed by God with wisdom, favour, strength, courage and protection to survive there.

So, in case your excuse for turning away from God or from doing his will is that you are living with Ahab and Jezebel, remember that you will not be the first or the last person to live with them. Obadiah lived with them and survived. And that was because he trusted God and was determined to live to please Him.

If you too will begin to trust Him and be determined to do His will, He will make you survive around them.Then you must also never forget this: that someone is living and working with Satan does not mean that he is another Satan.

Often, we assume that those who work under or with cruel and godless people must be cruel and godless themselves. But it is not always so. Life’s circumstances that we may never understand may place someone right under the leadership of a wicked soul or in their house. That, however, does not mean them they are not different. They may just be different. And if we allow sentiments to make us assume the worst of them, we may miss whatever good thing God may have done for us through them or the opportunity to be used by God to encourage them or lift them out of trouble.

So, next time who want to judge someone on the basis of the evil character of the people around them or in their lives, remember that they may just be an exception, another Obadiah. You will do well, then, to first study to know who they really are. That way, you will not jump into hasty conclusions about them and condemn the innocent.

Categories
Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: Don’t become useless to Him|By: J.O. Lawal|Fire in my bones

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

“But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the LORD’s command.” (1Sam 13:14NIV)

Those were Samuel’s words to King Saul after he took it on himself to offer to God sacrifices that Samuel ought to have offered to Him. And why did he do that? He did it because he got tired of waiting for Samuel. As the account goes, Samuel had told him to give him seven days to be with him and make sacrifices to God before he would engage in the battle that was before him.

But for reasons not disclosed in the bible, Samuel was late in coming. So, Saul decided to usurp his authority and make the sacrifices the man was supposed to offer. Unfortunately for him, just as he finished making the offering, Samuel came. And all he had left to do was pronounce God’s judgment on him. (Cf. 1Sam 13)

Now what was God’s judgment concerning Saul? It was that He had already replaced him with someone else. But did God really have to do that? Why did He not give him another chance to redeem himself? Well, God did not give him another chance because it was useless to do so. As we also find out in the bible, after this incident, God sent Samuel to him again to give him another assignment. And how did he handle it? Unfaithfully, as usual! He went and did his own thing, not want God had commanded him to do. (Cf. 1Sam 15)

So, Saul at that time had already developed an independent mind. That means he was only after doing what pleased him and not what pleased God, who anointed him and made him king over His people, Israel. Therefore, he could not be trusted by God. No, God did not remove him from his throne immediately.

In fact, He allowed him to reign for forty-two years. But He never gave him any task or assignment again till he died. So, those years of his reign were nothing but useless years, as far as God was concerned, just as he too had become nothing but a useless king.What is the point of all this? It is that God is taking note of our attitude towards whatever task He gives to us. If we are handling the tasks He gives to us diligently and faithfully, whether they are tasks He gives to us directly or those that He gives to us through others, He will continue to give us more tasks. And as He gives us more tasks, He will also multiply His grace in our lives to do them. So, we will find ourselves increasing in usefulness, fruitfulness and relevance before Him.

But if we cultivate the habit of handling the tasks God gives to us as we please, a time is coming when He will have nothing else to say to us again. He will simply find someone else who will do what He wants.

Don’t we also function in like manner? We do! If, for instance, we have a tailor or carpenter that is always doing what he pleases with our work and not what we want, are we going to keep giving him jobs to do for us? No, we will not, especially when he is not the only carpenter in town. Why? We don’t want use all our time arguing with someone that has no mind or intention of satisfying us.

In the same vein, God also does not want to use all His time arguing with us, when it is clear we have no intention of doing what will please or satisfy Him. This is why, as we see in our opening text, He is always searching for people who are after His heart. Why? They are those who will willingly and faithfully do what He wants and not be arguing with Him or doing their own thing. So, if you are not one of those who are after satisfying God always in living for Him and also in handling His work, you are simply making yourself ready for redundancy in His kingdom.

That, of course, does not mean that God will reject you as His child. He won’t reject you as His child, if you do not reject Him as your Father. But the fact that you are His child does not mean that He considers you as someone He can entrust His work to. And if He is not entrusting His work to you, then, you are nothing but a useless child. I pray that you will not end up living the rest of your life as a useless child of God, in Jesus’ name.

But you also need to examine your ways and your attitude towards whatever tasks you are currently handling for the Lord and make amends where necessary. It is well with your soul.