Category: General Post

Categories
FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2023 General Post Pastor's Desk

Don’t be left behind | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: October 29, 2023 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 12, No. 26

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours abundantly from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I gladly welcome you to the transition week between the months of October and November 2023. My prayer for you is that you will excel in all the will of God for your life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Now one of the things that represent the will of God for your life that you need to excel in handling is your devotion to supporting those feeding you with the word of God with your material things. Look at what the word of God says about that: “Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.” (Gal 6:6NIV)

Who must share all good things with his instructor? Everyone who is being taught in the word of God! In other words, there is no one that is being taught the word of God that should be left out in this. Instead, every one of them must be involved. And does every one of us being taught the word of God have the ability to be involved in giving from our material things to those who are teaching us? Yes, every one of us being taught the word of God has the ability to support those teaching us with our material things.

How is that so? It is so because God does not expect us to give to them what we do not have but from what we have. Paul, speaking about how to give to please God to the Corinthians, says, “For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.” (2Cor 8:12NIV) Did you see that? Our willingness to obey God is the first thing He is always looking out for in our dealings with Him. So, as long as we are willing to obey His command to support those feeding us with His word with our material things, He will be pleased with us.

But being willing to give to them is not all that He requires of us; He also wants us to be actually giving to them. He does not want us to be saying, “God sees my heart that I want to give to you. It is just that I do not have.” Instead, He wants us to give to them based on what we have and not based on what we do not have. That means regardless of how little our resources may be, He still expects us to give to them and not make excuses. That is because as long as the willingness is there, whatever we give to them will be accepted by Him, based on what we have and not based on what we do not have.

Now we all know that God knows what every one of us has. So, He knows what we can afford to give to support those feeding us with His word, regardless of how little our resources may be. It is, then, up to us to obey Him and give to them or to disobey Him and hold back for ourselves whatever we might have given to them. But also keep in mind the fact that He cannot be mocked or deceived by us, as far as giving matters are concerned. It is what we sow that we will reap – we will not reap what we have not sowed. In other words, God will not reward us for what we have not done for Him or His servants. (Cf. Gal 6:7)

Remember the widow of Zarephath. God knew that all she had in her house was just a handful of flour and a little oil in a jug. Yet He commanded her to prepare a meal for His servant, Elijah, from it. And observe that He did not ask her to go and borrow to get food for Elijah or to wait until she became a millionaire to before she would give to him. On the contrary, He asked her to give him food from the little she had at the time. Why? As long as she was willing to obey God, the very little she was giving to Elijah from the little she had would be pleasing and acceptable to Him. (Cf. 1Kings 17:8-24)

Thankfully, that woman obeyed God. And because she did, God rewarded her with daily miracles of renewal all through the period of the famine that the land experienced at the time. How? Everyday she realised that her flour and her oil were simply replenishing themselves, so that they could not be used up until the famine was over. That, of course, is amazing to know.

But what if that woman had not obeyed God, simply because what she had was little? Would she and her son have been sustained during that famine? No! And what would have happened to Elijah? God would simply have found some other means to take care of him, as He had been doing before. So, God will take of those He sends to minister to us whether we care for them or not. But we will surely not be rewarded by Him for what we have not done for them. Don’t be left behind, then, in giving to those feeding you with God’s word. My prayer is that you will not miss those miracles that are meant to happen in your life through your generosity to them, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a splendid week.

Copyright © 2023, 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@abcministry.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

Categories
General Post

Watch your life | By: Johnson O. Lawal | Date: June 25, 2023 | Series: Single messages

Categories
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.

Categories
FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2023 General Post Pastor's Desk

Prayers and generosity – not prayers alone | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: April 23, 2023 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 11, No. 51

Title: Prayers and generosity – not prayers alone
By: J.O. Lawal
Date: April 23, 2023
Series: From Pastor’s Desk
Number: Vol. 11, No. 51

Title:

Beloved: grace and mercy to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. It is with great joy that I welcome you to the last week of the month of April 2023. My prayer is that God will rid your heart of all forms of stinginess to Him, so that all the flow of His blessings that you have blocked in your life will be opened for your prosperity, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Often, many of us wonder why certain individuals who are not Christians at all keep enjoying God’s favour of promotion, protection and prosperity in ways that even the believers around them are not enjoying it. And one main reason for this, as we see in Scriptures, is generosity. See, when the bible says that God loves a cheerful giver, it does not mean that this is applicable to Christians alone (2Corinthians 9:7). If an unbeliever also happens to be a cheerful giver, God will show His love to him in very remarkable and obvious ways as well.

For example, we are told this in the bible about a man called Cornelius:

“At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!” Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked. The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.”” (Acts 10:1-4NIV)

Who was Cornelius, according to this text? Was he a Christian? No! Was he a Jew? No! Instead, he was a gentile soldier. And he was not an ordinary soldier; he was an important officer in the Roman army. Yet an angel of God appeared to him to tell him that God recognised him. What did God recognise him for? He recognised him for his prayers and also for his generosity.

Evidently, Cornelius, as a soldier, must have been a very busy man. Yet he was not too busy to pray. In fact, he was so devoted to prayers that God recognised him as a man of prayer. Are you also known by God as a person of prayer? Or are you too busy to have time to talk to Him?

Then, even though Cornelius was a soldier, he would not use his position as one to extort people, as many soldiers and other security men and women often do. Instead, he was using his own money to help the poor. And he was so generous in doing this that God recognised him as a cheerful and willing giver. So, someone does not have to be a Christian before God takes them seriously. If the person takes God seriously by praying to Him and being generous to others, He also will take him seriously and manifest Himself to them.

As we see in Cornelius’ case, because of his consistency in praying to God and in giving to the poor, a day came when God remembered all that he had been doing and decided that something must be done about his eternal salvation. And remember that the bible tells us not to become tired in doing good to others because, at the right time, God will remember us and reward us (Gal 6:9). How will God reward us for our generosity? No one can say. It all depends on Him. But He will surely reward us for it, whether we are Christians or not.

When God remembered Cornelius on that occasion, it was not only his prayers that He remembered him for. He also remembered him for his generosity and then sent an angel to him to lead him to Peter, the man who would show him the way of salvation. So, praying is not enough for us to receive certain things from God; we must also accompany our prayers with generosity. And there are non-Christians who understand this and often practise it. Why? They have learnt by experience that it works.

Unfortunately, many of us who are God’s people don’t understand this spiritual principle at all. We don’t know that there are times that it is not our prayers that God will work with but our generosity. So, we have to be devoted to both. That is because we don’t when today’s prayers or (and) generosity will be the very key to our promotion or salvation tomorrow. I pray that you will never again miss your promotion or salvation from trouble because of your failure to adequately pray or give. Amen.

Have a great week.

Copyright © 2023, 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@abcministry.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

Categories
Fire in my Bones General Post Youth for Jesus

Title: Make your work very good too
By: J.O. Lawal

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Date: April 19, 2023|Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 5, No. 49

“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good…” (Gen 1:31NIV)

Why are we taught in Scriptures to imitate God? It is because we can do so. If we could not imitate God, we would not be told to do so. But because we have been created in His image and after His likeness, we have what it takes to imitate Him. And that is exactly why we are told to do so. (Cf. Gen 1:27; Eph 4:24; Eph 5:1)

Now in what ways are we to imitate God? We actually have several instructions in Scriptures pointing us to ways in which we are to imitate Him. But the one I want to draw your attention to has to do with the way we handle our work. How, then, are we to imitate God in the way we handle our work? Or what exactly are we to imitate in the way God handles His work?

As we see in the book of Genesis, everything God made in the beginning was good, perfect and flawless. In fact, in our opening bible text, we are told that when God was done with all His work in the beginning, He Himself testified that all that He had done was very good. And why was His work very good? It was very good because He Himself is a good God. So, He cannot do anything that will not fully communicate His goodness or carry the trademark of His excellency.

That being the case, we too, who are God’s children and creation, must learn to function with the same mentality. We must continually say to ourselves, “I am God’s child and creation. So, I cannot do anything that will not fully communicate the goodness and excellency of God my Father.” And until we begin to function with this mindset, we will not stop handling our jobs and anything else that we lay our hands on anyhow.

When God started the work of creation, His focus was not to create a universe that He would have to come around to repair every now and then. Rather, His focus was to create a universe that would have all that it would need to transform itself with ever-increasing glory. That is why He has never had to repair the sun, the moon or any of the stars. And none of them has ever failed to live up to expectations.

Also, observed that God has never had to put any new thing here on earth since He created it in the beginning. Why? It is because He put in it right from the beginning everything that we would need to make it a wonder. So, we are the ones to do the investigating and searching. We are the ones to labour to find out the things He has placed here on earth to beautify it and make it most enjoyable for us. And ever since some of us have been doing that, we have been finding the earth to be more and more interesting to live in.

You can see, then, that when God judged all His works as very good, He was not overrating Himself. He did a very good creation job in the beginning. And whatever mess we are seeing in the world right now was not made by Him but by us through our sins and various scheming. (Cf. Ecc 7:29)

In any case, I said all of that to show you what we ought to imitate in God about our work. And that has to do with making the works of our hands very good too. In other words, just like God, whenever we are done with anything, we should be able to tell ourselves that what we have done is very good and will truly serve the purpose for which we have done it. But our works will not be very good, if our goal is not to make them very good. No, our works will not be very good, if our minds have not been renewed to embrace the fact that we were originally created by God to do good works and that everything we do must bear testimony to this fact, whether it is spiritual or natural. (Cf. Eph 2:10)

Look, doing things that are not good, things that are substandard, things that are of low quality and things that will not fully serve the purpose for which they are done is contrary to our nature and also to the will of God for us. In fact, we should consider it shameful and beneath us to do such things. So, if you are a child of God, you need to cleanse yourself of every culture of doing things anyhow, of doing things that will make those who are going to use them mad or upset with you.

Yes, sometimes, it is people that will compel you to go below what you know to be good and acceptable because they want something cheap. Yet they are the ones that will go about ridiculing your work as substandard or worthless. So, don’t allow anybody to kill the goodness of your work because of money. That is because it is not a must that you serve everyone. If you have to serve anyone, then, be sure to take from them what will make you serve them well. That way, the goodness of your work or service will by itself continually speak for you. And you will be proved to be a true child of God, your Father, whose eternal goal is to always make everything very good.

Categories
Fire in my Bones General Post Youth for Jesus

Title: A time not to receive| By: J.O. Lawal|FIRE IN MY BONES

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Date: April 12, 2023|Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 5, No. 48

But Elisha said to him, “Was not my spirit with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to take money, or to accept clothes, olive groves, vineyards, flocks, herds, or menservants and maidservants?”” (2Kings 5:26NIV)

Those were Elisha’s words to his servant, Gehazi, after the latter had run after Naaman the Syrian to take some gifts from him, gifts that his master had initially rejected. And from what this man of God said to him, we can tell that there is a time to receive gifts and there is a time not to receive gifts. Remember that Solomon says there is time for everything, a season for every activity under the sun. And it is only when things are done at the right time that they are beautiful. (Cf. Ecc 3:1-11)

Gehazi received gifts from Naaman at a wrong time. And he and his descendants became carriers of the leprosy that had left the man. But what made it wrong for him to receive gifts from that man at that time? At least, from what we see in the bible, people had brought Elisha, Gehazi’s master, gifts in the past and he had collected them (2Kings 4:42). Why then did he refuse to collect Naaman’s gifts on that occasion, even though they were most likely of more value than any of the gifts he may have received in the past?

Well, the simple reason Elisha would not collect those gifts from Naaman was that he wanted him to know that his healing was a gift from God and that there was nothing he could give to pay for it. Jesus said this to His disciples concerning the healing authority He had given them: “Freely you have received, freely give.” So, when someone’s gift to us will constitute a payment for the gift of God, that is a time not to receive. And if we foolishly or arrogantly receive what they are offering, we, like Gehazi, may just end up becoming bearers of the problems God has solved in their lives.

Also, when someone’s gift to us will result in unwarranted boasting from them or make them want to assume the place of God in our lives, that is a time not to receive gifts. After Abraham had saved the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah and their allies from their enemies and recovered their possessions for them, the king of Sodom told him to keep all the possessions he brought back and give him only his people. But Abraham said ‘No’ to his offer. (Cf. Gen 14:1-21)

Why did Abraham refuse that king’s offer? According to him, it was because the man one day would most likely say, “I made Abraham rich.” And would that be true? No! God had already blessed him and given him great riches. So, there was nothing anybody could add to his life to make him rich or great. But if he kept taking gifts from everyone every time, it would not be long before some people would start putting themselves in God’s place in His life. And that would be his fault.

In like manner, if you do not want to give anyone a reason to try to dethrone God in your life, know when to receive gifts from people and when not to receive gifts from them. There are people who love to boast about every little thing they do for others, even when God could have used a thousand and one different people to do the same thing. Mark such people and take from them only payments for goods sold to them or services rendered to them. Otherwise, you may someday be shocked to find out they have been taken credit for what God has done in your life.

Then when someone’s gift is intended to buy favour, that is another time not to accept gifts. Gifts intended to curry favour are nothing but a bribe. And the bible says, “A bribe is a charm that blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous.” So, watch out for those who may someday want to twist your mind with their gifts and be ready to politely refuse their so-called generosity. Otherwise, the price you will pay for what they are giving you today may be your very life. (Cf. Exodus 23:8; Deut 16:19; Prov 17:18)

When Jacob offered his brother Esau gifts years after they had parted, he would not accept them from him. Instead, he told him to keep his gifts for himself because he had enough. And Jacob had to plead with him again and again before he accepted them. Why did Esau respond that way? It was because he found it embarrassing that his own brother would want to pay him not to harm him. And if Esau, a man that the bible describes as godless, had enough sense to know when not to receive gifts, even from his own blood, we who are children of God have no excuse not to gain enough spiritual sense to know when to receive gifts and when not to receive them.

You will do well, then, to pay close attention to the truths I have brought you from Scriptures on this matter and be determined to apply them to your life. That may just be the difference between life and death for you someday. Cheers!

Copyright © 2023, 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)

Categories
FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2023 General Post Pastor's Desk

Humble yourself to accept it | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: February 26, 2023 |Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 11, No. 43

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be multiplied to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am glad to welcome you into the transition week between the months of February and March 2023. I pray that God will keep your heart ever humble to receive His word that He has given to save your soul. Amen.

In his epistle, James tells us this about the word of God and the attitude we must have towards it: “Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.” (James 1:21NIV) What are we to do with God’s word that is being planted in our hearts?

According to this apostle, we are to humbly accept it. That means as long as what is coming to us is the word of God, we must not reject it, ignore it or argue with it. Instead, we are to receive it with humility, knowing that even if His word sounds foolish in our ears, His foolishness is still wiser than our wisdom. (Cf. 1Cor 1:25)

Then why are we to humbly accept God’s word, as we are told by James? It is because it is able to save our souls. The word of God has the power to save us from this corrupt world and from all the schemes of the devil meant to destroy us. But we will not experience the saving power of His word, if we do not humbly accept it and act on it.

It is unfortunate that many who call themselves God’s children and who are regularly hearing His word will not humble themselves to accept it and to act on it. Why? They are proud. They think they are wiser or smarter than God and can take care of themselves without Him. But is there any of us that is really as wise as God our maker? Is there really any of us that can handle his own life by himself and not ultimately ruin it? There is none of us that is fit for this.

But each time we ignore what God is saying to us and choose to do as we please, what we are actually saying is that we are smarter than Him and have no need of His guidance and provisions. And where this is the case, salvation is bound to elude us. This explains why many of God’s people have remained stagnant for years or have not experienced salvation from certain activities of the devil in their lives. They keep hearing the word of God but will not humbly accept it. So, His word is unable to save them.

Now perhaps that is the situation with you too. Perhaps the reason the word of God has not been working in your life is that you will not humbly accept and act on what He is saying to you about your life, faith, job, business, education, marriage, health, finances and so forth. Then you need to repent and change your ways. What is the point of spending hours week after week to listen to something that you will not act on? Is it not better you stop listening to it altogether?

Well, to say the fact, it is even worse not to listen to the word of God at all. That is because that will shut you away from every opportunity to be saved by it. So, you need to keep listening to His word. But that is not enough for it work in your life. For it to work in your life and separate you from stagnation and destruction, you must also humble yourself to accept and act on it. And my prayer is that your heart will be strengthened to always do this, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a very beautiful week.

Copyright © 2023, 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@abcministry.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

Categories
General Post

Keep an eye on them | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: February 12, 2023 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 11, No. 41

Beloved: grace and peace be multiplied to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. Welcome to another week of the month of February 2023. I pray that God Himself will keep you pure and blameless, spirit, soul and body, at the appearing of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

As we see in the Scriptures, our Lord Jesus Christ is coming back for His church at the time set by God the Father. But He is not coming for a defiled or polluted church. Rather, He is coming for a church that is blameless, spotless and without wrinkle. All of this is why we are told by Peter to make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with Him when He returns. (Cf. Eph 5:26; 2Pet 3:14)

But can we really be spotless, blameless and unashamed before Him when He returns? Yes, we can. We can because the Spirit of God is in us and is faithfully committed to making sure this is so. Yes, He is working all the time to ensure that the good work that He began in us when we became born again is carried on till the day of the Lord. So, our being blameless when our Lord returns is not going to be merely a product of our desire or effort but a product of the labour of the Spirit of God in us and over us. (Cf. Phil 1:6 & 2:12-13)

Nevertheless, we must still desire to be blameless when He returns. Not only that, we must also be taking advantage of His grace to live the kind of life He wants us to live. Otherwise, we may end up frustrating all that He is doing to keep us blameless.

Furthermore, it is important that we keep an eye on one another, so that Satan will not succeed in luring any of us away to destroy his faith and life. The bible says the following to us on this note:

“See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.” (Heb 3:12NIV)

“See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears.” (Heb 12:15-17NIV)

Did you see that? If we all will remain pure and blameless when our Lord Jesus returns, we must keep an eye on ourselves. That way, we can take bold steps to correct, rebuke and protect our brethren, if we sense that Satan is working to ensnare them through jealousy, greed, bitterness, rebellion, discontentment, fornication or any other sinful act.

For instance, when members of Chole’s family of the Corinthian church saw that carnality had taken over that church, they lost not time at all in informing Paul the Apostle, their spiritual leader, about it. They could see that division, jealousy, pride, sexual immorality, cheating and lack of consideration for the faith of young believers were tearing apart this church. So, they wrote to this apostle about it and asked for his timely intervention. That was why he wrote 1Corinthians. So, that letter was an answer to the cry and prayer of certain brethren who wanted to see the church of God remain pure and blameless at Jesus’ return. (Cf. 1Cor 1:11-12)

Unfortunately, when some brethren do similar things today, when they begin to make effort to keep their assembly sanctified unto the Lord, other brethren may start calling them names and quarrelling with them. Why? They are still in love with darkness. So, they don’t want its works to be exposed or dealt with. And if we permit such people to silence and supress the truth in our midst, we will only be helping them to destroy themselves and others and to also tarnish God’s reputation.

Therefore, if you care at all about our being blameless before Jesus when He returns, keep an eye not just on yourself but also on your brethren. And if you see them missing it in any way, don’t hesitate to confront them or those who can help them with the truth, whether they are happy about it or not. But, one day, they will either thank you for doing the needful in saving them or blame themselves for rejecting the will of God for their lives.

Have a great week.

Copyright © 2023, 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@abcministry.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

Categories
Fire in my Bones General Post Youth for Jesus

How much are you worth?|By: J.O. Lawal|FIRE IN MY BONES

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Date: November 23, 2022|Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 5, No. 28

“A man can hire a prostitute for the price of a loaf of bread…” (Prov 6:26GNT)

What is Solomon telling us here? Well, it is something many people are already aware of. And it is that the price to have a prostitute can be as low as a loaf of bread. In other words, just to have a loaf of bread to eat, there are ladies that will be ready to sleep with any man.

Now what such ladies don’t realise is that whatever price they accept, great or small, to give their bodies away to be defiled in this manner is what they are worth in their own eyes. Yes, that price represents the value they place on themselves. So, you who give yourself to be polluted by men because of a plate of food, a bowl of ice cream or a plate of fried rice and chicken are not worth more than that plate of fried rice and chicken in your own eyes.

This, of course, is not applicable to women alone but also to men. That is because there are young men as well that are ready to give their bodies to be defiled by any woman that is willing to give them money, buy food for them or give them some accommodation. These ones loiter from place to place, doing nothing tangible with their lives other than scout for women that will be willing to pay for their sex services. And what they also do not realise is that whatever they get from the nonsense they are doing represents nothing but all that they are worth in their own eyes.

But then, what I am talking about here goes beyond rewards of prostitution. See, any time we yield ourselves to do something that is obviously wrong because of monetary gain or some other forms of reward, we are merely declaring that we are not worth more than the reward we are getting. And it will amaze you what some people are worth in their own eyes. It will amaze you to know the price that some people are willing to receive to assassinate someone, pervert justice or lure a friend into a den of kidnappers or those who will use them for money rituals.

To say the fact, people take as low as N5,000 for these things. And I can’t dispute the fact that there might be those who will take even less and blame their desperation on poverty. Perhaps you too will take less than that amount to ruin your life or someone else’s life and destroy your soul hell. Who knows? God knows! You know!

But is there really anything in this world that comes any close in worth or value to what our souls are worth in the sight of God? Is there any price that we may be given in this world that is worth the destruction of our souls here in the world or in hell? There is none.

Our Lord Jesus, once while speaking to His disciples, said this: “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matt 16:26NIV) What does this mean? It means that even if this whole world were to be sold and its price presented for the redemption of a man’s soul from eternal destruction, it would not be enough. That is because a man’s soul is of much greater worth in the sight of God than the whole universe. And it is of much greater worth than the whole universe because while this whole universe as we know it will someday perish, man’s soul will always live on forever (Heb 1:10).

You can, then, see why our Lord Jesus would not bow to the devil when he offered Him all the kingdoms of this world and their glory. He knew that His soul was worth much more than all these things that would someday perish. So, He would not sell it just to have them. You can also see why the only payment that would do for our redemption from destruction was the sinless soul of a man, the man Jesus. (Cf. Ps 49:7-9; Luke 4:5-8; 1Tim 2:5-6)

So, stop undervaluing yourself before yourself and before others. You may not have all the resources you need or want at the moment. And you may not have yet attained the height you will want to attain in life. That still does not mean that you should sell your soul for peanuts, for the price of things that are bound to perish. What should keep in mind, instead, is the fact that the life of a man is not defined by the abundance of his possessions or by the position he is occupying. Rather, it is defined by what God says about it.

What God says about you, then, is what you should hold on to as the description of what your life is worth. And He is saying that you are worth the life of His only begotten Son, whom He sacrificed for you. So, take your place as His Son and inheritor of all that He possesses, things that can never perish, spoil or fade. And as long as you are living on this basis, you will never lose your mind or your soul for anything of this life.

Copyright © 2022, 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)

Categories
General Post

It’s only a matter of time | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: November 13, 2022 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 11, No. 28

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours without measure from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am delighted to welcome you to another week of the month of November 2022. And I pray that your heart will be rid of every form of hypocrisy in your walk with God, so that you will not end up being revealed as a counterfeit believer, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

A preacher said this in a meeting I once attended: “My father in the Lord told me there is nothing you are after in ministry that you will not find. If you are after money, you will find it. If you are after women, you will find them. If you are after fame, you will find it. And if you are after God, you will also find Him. Everything you find depends on what your heart is after.” And I believe that is true to a very great degree. What people are after in the kingdom of God is what they will most probably find.

But then, will what they find be worth the trouble, time, energy and resources they have invested into getting it? Will it bring their soul the satisfaction they are seeking? Will what they find bring them the praise of God or His condemnation?

Paul, while writing to the Philippians, says this: “It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill.” (Phil 1:15NIV) So, as far back as the days of this apostle, we have been having in the church people who serve God in a spirit of envy and competition. You should not be surprised, then, if you find people in the church who are jealous of your usefulness in the church and who are doing all they can to prove to others that they are better than you or take your position. Their ancestors in the church also acted in a similar fashion.

Furthermore, Peter too, in his second epistle, speaks about some of the reasons people are in the church and are presenting themselves as servants of God. According to him, some are in the church because of greed, because they see service to God as a means to enriching themselves. And there are those in the church because of adultery. These ones see in the church great opportunities to seduce naïve women and men and mess them up in sexual immorality. (Cf. 2Peter 2)

At any rate, whatever your reasons may be for being in the church and for making yourself available to serve God, time will tell. I mean that it is only a matter of time before what you really want in the church is revealed for everyone to see. And I am not talking about what will happen on the day of judgment but what will happen right here on earth.

Remember Gehazi. Remember that it was only a matter of time before it was revealed that, all along, he had been following Elisha, the man of God, for earthly riches. And remember Judas Iscariot. Remember that even though he concealed the greed in him all those three and a half years of following Jesus up and down, a time came when his greed came out in the open for everyone to see. But did these men find the satisfaction they wanted through what they got? No! What Gehazi found was leprosy. And what Judas Iscariot found was death. (Cf. 2Kings 5; John 13)

In like manner, if your heart is not right in your service to God, if what you are after in the church is not God Himself, there is nothing you get that will satisfy you. Whatever you get, be it money, fame, position, women, men, job or healing won’t satisfy you. On the contrary, it may end up becoming your nemesis, the very thing that will destroy you. So, mind yourself and see to it that your purpose in being God’s kingdom and in serving Him is right. And may He Himself keep your heart right with Him both now and always, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a great week.