Category: FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2023

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours forevermore from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. It is with great joy that I welcome you to another week of the month of August 2023. My prayer is that God will continually equip you with sufficient faith and patience to receive and enjoy all the good things He has prepared for you to prosper in life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

One of the things we learn from Scripture is that faith in God alone is not enough to receive and enjoy His promises or provisions; we also need patience. For example, we are told this in the bible: “We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.” (Heb 6:12-15NIV)

What is the first instruction we are given here? It is that we must not be lazy in our walk of faith. In other words, we must take our relationship with God very seriously, doing whatever needs to be done to build it up. Then we are told to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what God promised them. So, faith and patience, not faith only, must work together in order for us to fully experience the goodness of God in our lives.

Now Abraham’s case is used to illustrate this for us. Abraham, as we see in Scriptures, was truly a man of faith. However, in order for him to receive God’s promise of a son through his wife Sarah, he had to add patience to his faith. But Abraham was not always patient with God. He had to learn it in a hard way. When God first told him that he was going to give him a son and multiply his descendants through that son, he believed Him. And God knew that he truly believed Him. So, He counted his faith to him as righteousness. (Cf. Gen 15:1-6)

However, few years later, his wife, Sarah, grew impatient and advised him to try her maidservant, Hagar, to see whether God’s promise may be fulfilled through her. And he listened to her, without talking to God at all about it in prayer. Yet Hagar became pregnant for him indeed, making it look like they were in the will of God. But soon enough, they both realised that they had missed it. Why? Hagar began to cause trouble for them, doing things that would destroy their marriage of many years. And if he had not been willing to let his wife deal with the young lady, in spite of her pregnant condition, their home would have collapsed. (Cf. Gen 16)

But what led them into all that trouble? Was it unbelief in God? No! Rather, it was their impatience with Him. They had faith in God and were actually trusting Him for their own child. But instead of being patient with Him, they tried to help Him fulfil His promise to them. And that almost ruined them.

Well, much later, God would appear to Abraham again and let him know that he should have been patient. He told him that the son he got through Hagar, Ishmael, was not the fulfilment of His promise to him. So, he would have to wait a little longer for that son that would be the fulfilment of His promise to come. And when he did, Isaac was given to him as the son of God’s promise. (Cf. Gen 18&21)

Now I am sure it must have been a hard thing for Abraham to accept the fact that Ishmael, the son whom he loved and whom he had spent years taking care of was not God’s choice in fulfilling the promise of blessing the whole world through his offspring. But there was nothing he could do about it. He just had to abandon the innocent boy. And that is showing us something of the nature of pains we could bring into our lives and other innocent people’s lives through our impatience with God. It could be something that would not heal for generations to come.

So, if you truly trust God to fulfil all His good word concerning your promotion, prosperity, peace of mind, health, safety and so on, then, learn to also be patient with Him, regardless of contrary circumstances. Don’t try to help Him by stealing, visiting diviners or getting involved in adultery. That will only put you in trouble sooner or later, if it seems to be working. The only way you can help Him is to stay in His will. And I pray that your heart will be strengthened to patiently walk in His will all the time, 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)

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. I am delighted to welcome you to the month of August 2023. And I pray that God will open your eyes to see all that He has provided for you to flourish and enjoy your life and all that is yours in the month and throughout the remaining part of the year, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

After Abraham had sent Hagar and her son, Ishmael, away from his house, the two of them wandered in the desert of Beersheba until their water was gone. Then Ishmael began to faint right before his mother. And when she could no longer bear the sight, she put him under some bushes and moved some distance away from him to sob. (Cf. Gen 21:14-16)

But was that the best Hagar could do to protect her son? No! Of course, it was not a happy moment for them at all. They had just been driven away from Abraham’s household, where they did not lack love and comfort. To make matters worse, they were driven out with nothing but some food and a skin of water. Yes, they were no longer slaves. But they were free people without money, a home or direction. That was why they wandered in the desert till they used up all the water with them. And since they were in a desert, the possibility of getting water to drink was nearly non-existent. So, their situation was truly a hopeless one.

However, Hagar had lived for years with Abraham. So, there was no way she would not have learnt about his God, the Almighty God, who made him rich and also gave him a son in his old age. In fact, the reason her own son, Ishmael, was circumcised was that Abraham was a worshipper of this God. Why, then, did she not call on Him for help and salvation in that moment of hopelessness? Why did she give up and start waiting for death to take away her son?

Now we don’t have answers in the bible to these questions. But what happened to her shows us that it is possible for us to know a lot about God and to even have around us people who have witnessed His power and favour in great ways and still not remember to call on Him in our moment of need. And where this is the case, we may end up being swallowed up by our problems, if we are not shown mercy.

Hagar would have lost her son that day and maybe her own life too, if God had not shown them mercy. Yes, both of them were crying. But they were not crying directly to God for help. They were simply crying because of their pains and hopelessness. But God, who is rich in mercy, came to them, when He heard Ishmael crying, and gave them a word of comfort and hope. He told them that He would make Ishmael into a great nation. (Cf. Gen 21:18)

Then, besides telling Hagar and Ishamel not to give up on life but to look forward to a glorious future, God also opened Hagar’s eyes to see a well of water where they were in that desert (Gen 21:19). Think about it. All the time these people were crying and dying for lack of water there was a well of water with them from which they could get and drink as much water as they wanted. Yet they did not see it. They did not see it because their eyes were not opened to see it. And if God had not shown them mercy and opened their eyes to see it, they would just have perished in that desert, even though what they needed to survive was right there with them.

In like manner, if God does not open our eyes to see certain provisions of His for our enjoyment, progress or peace of mind, we may find ourselves suffering where we are meant to be living like kings. And there are many children of God all over the world that are suffering where they ought to be enjoying themselves. Perhaps you too are one of them. Then you ought to open your mouth and pray to God to open your eyes to see His provisions for you where you are, instead of considering changing your location, as many are now doing.

See, if your eyes cannot see God’s provisions for you to prosper in the desert, what is the guarantee that they will be opened to see His provisions in the so-called land of plenty that you want to run to? There is none. And would it not be a big shame for you to get to a land of plenty and still not be able to prosper? It would be! So, instead of suffering in silence like Hagar or thinking of running away, open your mouth and ask God to open your eyes to see all that He has provided for you and your household to prosper. And He will answer you and prepare a table of delicacies for you in your desert.

Have a lovely 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)

Beloved: grace and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am delighted to welcome you to this new week, the transition week between the months of July and August 2023. And I pray that God will continually fill your heart with adequate wisdom to use whatever challenges you are faced with in life as a stepping stone to greater heights. Amen.

As we see in Scriptures, God never says we are not going to face challenges in this world. On the contrary, He tells us that in this world we will face all kinds of tribulations. However, He also tells us that we should cheer up, even though we cannot totally avoid problems in this world. Why? It is because He will always be with us in every situation to make us victorious. (Cf. John 16:33; Heb 13:5-6)

Now one of the ways God makes us walk in victory over the challenges that come our way is by filling us with the wisdom of His Spirit to tackle them. And how do we receive His wisdom for every challenge we are confronted with? The first thing we need to know is that God has already given us His wisdom in the person of Christ. That is because the bible says God has made Christ Jesus wisdom for us. So, all of us who are children of God already have His wisdom in us. And we should learn to always say to ourselves, “I have the wisdom of God in me.” (Cf. 1Cor 1:30)

Having God’s wisdom in us, however, is not the same thing as using it or demonstrating it. And God’s intention, according to Scriptures, is to demonstrate His wisdom through us to all His creation (Eph 3:10). Therefore, every challenge we are faced with is an opportunity for the wisdom of God to be demonstrated through us.

How, then, do we cause God’s wisdom that is already in us to be manifested or demonstrated in the face of life’s challenges? First, we can do that by studying and meditating on God’s word. Paul tells Timothy that the word of God is able to make us wise to experience salvation through Christ Jesus (2Tim 3:15). So, if you want God’s wisdom to be readily working in your life in dealing with any challenge you may be faced with, give yourself to daily studying and meditating on the Holy Scriptures.

The second way to cause God’s wisdom to manifest in us is through prayer. James tells us that anyone that lacks wisdom should ask God for it without doubting, and God will give it to him. Is that not contrary to Paul’s words that say that we already have God’s wisdom? No, it is not contrary to it at all. It is only complementing it. What James is actually referring to is the manifestation of the wisdom of God in our lives. He is saying that if we find ourselves in a situation in which we are confused and do not know what right decisions to make, we should pray to God to cause the wisdom we need in that situation to manifest in us. And if we will do that, God will surely answer us. So, don’t ever speak of being confused again. Instead, always ask God to cause His wisdom to manifest in you to deal with any situation that wants to confuse you. (Cf. James 1:5-8)

The third way to cause God’s wisdom that is in us to manifest is for us to settle down to think about whatever challenge we are faced with and how to handle it. See, God Himself gave us the ability to think and examine life’s issues. And the more we utilize this ability, the more His wisdom will find expression in us, even if we are not Christians.

Unfortunately, many of us who are God’s children do not want to think or use our heads at all in dealing with our challenges. Yes, we may be praying and even studying Scriptures. But when it comes to looking at the problems we are faced with and carefully considering what righteous steps we can take on our own to handle them, we are nowhere to be found. All we want is for God to do everything for us. But God will not do for us what He has given us the ability to do for ourselves. And unless we do these things ourselves, we may remain stagnant and defeated in life, all in the name of waiting for God.

All around us are people who are not religious at all, people who don’t take God seriously in any way. Yet some of these are moving forward in life. Why? They have learnt to use the ability God has given to them to plan their lives and consider ways to solve whatever problems they are faced with. So, wisdom, God’s wisdom or satanic wisdom is often available for them to utilize. Our Lord, in fact, speaks of one of such people in a parable and of how he used satanic wisdom to rescue himself from unemployment. And the Lord concludes that parable by saying that the children of the world are smarter than God’s children in handling life’s matters. Why? It is because they use their God-give brains more often than we do. (Cf. Luke 16:1-8)

So, if you want God’s wisdom to always be at work in solving your life’s challenges, if you want His wisdom to take you from that place of poverty and shame to great heights of wealth and honour, learn to use your head too. Yes, continually pray and study the word of God with great passion. But don’t forget that God has blessed you with a powerful brain that can solve all kinds of problems too. So, use it. And as you do, the wisdom of God will begin to freely flow through you in ways beyond human reasoning.

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)

Beloved: grace, peace and mercy be yours without measure from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am pleased to welcome you to the last week of the month of July 2023. I pray that none of the things God wants you to have in the month will elude you, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Now one of the things we are shown in Scriptures is that it is not enough for God to want us to have something or be something. We too must be willing and pressing to be what He wants us to be. And this must be done according to His will. Otherwise, we will not be what He wants us to be.

For example, in the book of Isaiah, God says this to us: “If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land…” (Isa 1:19NIV) What is this showing us? First, it is showing us that God wants us to have and enjoy the best of everything wherever we are. No, we may not be enjoying the best of life where we are at the moment, perhaps because of our family background, level of education, lack of financial intelligence and so forth. But that does not change the fact that the will of God is for us to have and enjoy the best wherever we are.

Second, this Scripture is showing us that even though God wants the best for us, we too have our own roles to play in having and enjoying it. And what are those roles? First, we must be willing to have and enjoy the best that He wants for us. God is not going to force us to have or take anything from Him. We have to be willing to have what He is offering. Otherwise, we are not going to have it.

God, for instance, wanted all the children of Israel that Moses brought out of Egypt to have the land of Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey. But many of them did not make it into that land. Why? They were not willing to take it. Why were they not willing? Fear! The fear of the giants in the land made them unwilling to have it. But God knew that there were giants there before offering them the land. All He needed from them was a willingness to receive it. And it would be theirs. But because they were not willing to have it, they lost it and perished in the wilderness. Only the willing ones among them made it into the land.

If we too are willing to have what God wants us to have, He will deliver it to us, regardless of how hard getting it may seem. And how do we show that we are willing to have the best God wants us to have in life and be the best He wants us to be? We show it by passionately studying His word to know all that He has provided for our enjoyment. We show it by praying to Him without ceasing to bring to pass all His good plans for us. And we show it by taking whatever righteous steps we have the ability to take to be what He wants us to be and to have what He wants us to have.

Now the second thing we need to have and enjoy the best God wants us to have in life is obedience. God has His own ways of making us have and enjoy His provisions for us. And it is only by following those ways that we can enjoy them. So, even if we are willing to have what God wants us to have and become what He wants us to become, if we do not follow His ways and plans for us with a heart of obedience, we will miss it. And even if we do have what He wants us to have by following our own ways, there will certainly be consequences, consequences that may take away things greater than we have already gotten from us.

For example, there was a time that God wanted to give the children of Israel water to drink from a rock. And He told Moses to speak to the rock right in front of everyone and that the rock would bring forth water for them. But because Moses was seriously angry at the time with the people, he disobeyed God by striking the rock twice with his rod. And surprisingly, water came out of the rock for the people to drink. But God told him that he would not enter the Promised land because of his disobedience. (Cf. Num 20:1-13)

You can see, then, that it is possible for us to be disobeying God and still be experiencing some measure of His goodness and favour in our lives. But as it was in the case of Moses, our disobedience may end up taking away from us the very best of things God wants us to have. Therefore, we must watch ourselves and see to it that just as we are willing to have what God wants for us, we are also obedient to His instructions. My prayer is that the strength to function like this will be greatly at work in us at all times. 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)

Beloved: grace and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am pleased to welcome you to another week of the month of July 2023. I pray that God will continue to keep you safe from the corruption of these last days and make you stand before our Lord Jesus pure and blameless when He returns. Amen.

Recently, I saw some very disturbing videos on the internet of some of our young men and women in the country stripping themselves naked, even in some big markets, all in the name of playing a game. They call it flip-game challenge. And many are getting involved in this madness boldly. Why? They just want to make themselves happy and forget their pains and sorrows. And they don’t care what they have to do to make that happen. Then some see this as a means to make easy money on the internet.

Now all this brings to my mind one of the things our Lord Jesus says about the last days. He says, “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” (Matt 24:12-13NIV) What will increase in the last days? Wickedness! Immorality! Deceit! And how will the increase in these things affect God’s children? It will make the love of many of them for the Lord become cold. In other words, they will no longer be passionate or fervent in living for the Lord or in serving Him. That, of course, will be because they too want to keep in step with their friends, lovers, family members, neighbours and so forth that do not know the Lord.

But the Lord is also very clear to us about the fact that it is only who remain firm in their love for Him and devotion to Him to the very end that will make their salvation complete. Those who give up on Him or on righteous living because of the wickedness, immorality, deceit, bitterness or jealousy around them can only lose their souls. So, don’t let any of the terrible things the people around you are doing to take care of themselves, protect themselves or make themselves happy make the fire of your love for God die. Instead, condemn their acts, turn away from them and cling to the Lord. That will be your wisdom.

Remember that the Lord Jesus says, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” (Matt 16:25NIV) What this means is that all your friends, family members, colleagues at work or in school, neighbours or even church members that think they are going to save themselves or make themselves happy by stealing, getting drunk or getting involved in prostitution or money rituals will someday realise that they have not saved or made themselves happy at all but have only destroyed themselves. And if you allow them to entice you to be involved in their sins, you too will someday realise that you have destroyed yourself and perhaps the people you love in your attempt to save your life.

Which is it going to be, then? Will you remain true in your devotion to the Lord, regardless of the challenges life may throw at you, and depend on Him for victory, peace and joy in every situation? Or will you join all the people around you that are daily destroying themselves while they are trying to save themselves? Well, the ball is in your court. My prayer, however, is that the Spirit of God will strengthen your heart not to foolishly join the world in running a race that is bound to end in destruction. Amen.

Have a glorious 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)

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to another week of the month of July 2023. My prayer is that nothing needed for your prosperity and peace will be hidden from you, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

One of the things we are shown in Scriptures is that we must never use the challenges of our lives as an excuse for living meaningless and unprofitable lives. Instead, in spite of the challenges we may be faced with, we are to open our eyes to see what legitimate things we can do with our hands to make life better for ourselves and those around us. And it is those who function in this manner that will experience God’s glory and exaltation in their lives, regardless of how lowly their positions in life may be.

For example, when Ruth came to the land of Israel with Naomi, her mother-in-law, she came with nothing and to meet nothing. She came to a place where she had no friend or family member to turn to for help. Yet she had to survive and take care of herself and her aged mother-in-law. And did she start crying because of that and saying that she had made a mistake by leaving all her people behind and following Naomi? No! Or did she go out to start prostituting herself? No! (Cf. Ruth 1:19-22)

See, Ruth had very genuine reasons for leaving her people and the comfort she could have been enjoying with them. She wanted to get away from the idolatry, sexual immorality and wickedness that were widespread among them. And it was her decision to do this that made her follow her mother-in-law, a woman who had nothing to offer her, to the land of Israel. So, she knew that she would most likely start life as one of the poorest people in the land when she got there. Yet she came because she would rather be a poor person among God’s people than be the richest of people among the wicked (Ps 84:10).

In like manner, our choice to live for Jesus Christ may place us in a position of poverty or shame in our society. But that does not mean that God wants us to stay in that position forever. What He wants is for His people to be above and not below. So, regardless of how lowly our position in life right now may be, God is able to lift us up from there to where we should be.

However, we also must be willing to act like Ruth in whatever lowly position we may now find ourselves in order to experience God’s favour and elevation. And how did she act in order to be lifted out of poverty into wealth and comfort? First, instead of complaining about her situation or messing around with her body, she found herself a job. This woman did not sit down at her home with her mother-in-law praying and expecting God to be sending money to them. Instead, she went out to look for a job. And God led her to find one, even though the job could only take care of their daily food at the time. (Cf. Ruth 2:1-3)

Now I am not saying that God could not have been sending money to Ruth and Naomi at home. He could. But could they tell when He was going to send it or how much He was going to send each time He did send them money? No! And since He had not said that they could not go out and work and make money, it would only be wise for Ruth to go out and work and expect God to make money available for her by doing so.

So, while it is alright for you to pray and expect God to miraculously supply your needs, you must also find a job to do, for God has commanded it (Eph 4:28; 1Thess 4:11-12). Get yourself a job to do, then, as long as it is legitimate, instead of complaining, stealing or messing up your body to make money. That way, God can supply your needs through that job and through any other miraculous means He may choose.

The second thing Ruth did was to be diligent in doing the job she found. Yes, it was a lowly job she found at that time. But she did it in such a way that the foreman of the field in which she was working took notice of her and spoke highly of her to his master, Boaz, who happened to be a relative of Ruth’s late husband. And that opened a great door of favour for her. If you too will do whatever job you are handling now with all your heart and might, it may just be what God will use in leading you to meet those who will favour you and lift you up. (Cf. Ruth 2; Ecc 9:10)

The third thing to emulate from Ruth was her willingness to accept godly counsel (Ruth 3-4). Yes, she had a godly mother-in-law who was always there to counsel her on the right steps to take. But if she had not taken her counsel seriously, she would not have come out of poverty and be known as we know her today. You too must recognise the people God has planted in your life to give you sound counsel. And as they counsel you, take it seriously and act on it. For their counsel, not even money, may be the very thing you need to rise above all your challenges in life. My prayer is that God will strengthen you to embrace these things and apply them to your life without delay. 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)

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours immeasurably from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am pleased to welcome you to another month of the year, the month of July 2023. And I pray that God will separate your life from every ungodly thing that is preventing His blessings from fully finding expression in your life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As we are told in the bible, all of us who have been born again by God through faith in Christ Jesus have been blessed with all the blessings in the heavenly places in Him (Eph 1:3). These blessings, then, ought to be finding expression in our lives, bodies, homes, jobs, businesses, ministries and so forth. And if they are not finding expressions in them, we ought to know why. I mean that if it is not obvious in our lives that we are inheritors of God’s blessings, we ought to find out what is wrong.

At least, from what we know in the bible, even though Joseph was a slave in Potiphar’s house, the man could still tell that he was a special young man, that he was blessed of God (Gen 39:1-6). Also, though Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came into Babylon as slaves, all the kings they worked with could tell that they were blessed of God (Daniel 1-6). Then, though Laban did all he could to cheat Jacob and ensure that he did not prosper under him, he still could not deny the fact that Jacob was the reason God was blessing his household (Gen 30:27-28).

So, the circumstances of our lives, however ugly they may seem, cannot prevent the blessings of God from manifesting in our lives. That is because His blessings are more powerful than what any circumstance or curse can limit. However, through our own attitude to God and His word, we may limit the manifestation of His blessings in our lives.

For example, when Moses was done proclaiming the blessings of God on the people of Israel, he went on to tell them one of the things that could hinder the manifestation of these blessings among them. He said, “Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the LORD our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison. When such a person hears the words of this oath, he invokes a blessing on himself and therefore thinks, “I will be safe, even though I persist in going my own way.” This will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry.” (Deut 29:18-19NIV)

Did you see that? Idolatry hinders the manifestation of God’s blessings. Idolatry will bring disaster on everything in your life, good or bad. So, if you are involved in idolatry, it does not matter how hard you pray and fast, the blessings of God will not find expression in your life. Yes, as long as you are involved in one form of idolatry or the other, bowing down to other gods or employing their services for your prosperity, health or safety, the blessings that have been given to you in Christ Jesus will not work as they should.

All of this is why both Paul and John tell us in their letters to flee from idolatry and to keep ourselves away from idols (1Cor 10:14; 1John 5:21). So, keep yourself away from idols and anything that is connected to idolatry. Otherwise, you will be arousing God’s jealousy. And when you arouse His jealousy through your involvement in idolatry of any kind, you can expect Him to block the manifestation of His blessings in your life. Therefore, even if you are confessing His word of blessings, praying or having servants of God blessing you, it will not work. It will only be a waste. And if that is not what you want, if you don’t want your prayers and the prayers of others for you to go to waste, then, stay away from idolatry.

Also, if you do not want to be the reason the people in your life will be hindered from progressing, stay away from idolatry. That is because, as we see in the bible, it is not every time that those involved in idolatry suffer alone; there are also times that others in their lives may suffer with them. This is why Moses told the children of Israel in the bible text above to watch one another and see to it that none of them was permitted to engage in idolatry. Otherwise, he may bring disaster not only on his dry life but also on their own well-watered and flourishing lives.

In like manner, do not permit the people in your life who call themselves Christians to engage in idolatry of any kind. Instead, strictly warn them. And if they will not listen, stay away from them. Otherwise, you may end up being partakers of their punishment. This, of course, is only applicable to those who claim to know God but who are still involved in idolatry (1Cor 5:9-11). So, don’t apply it to the unbelievers around you. And may you always be filled with adequate strength and wisdom to abstain from every form of idol worship, 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)

Beloved: grace and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. I am pleased to welcome you to the last week of the month of June 2023. My prayer is that God will always keep you from falling in love with the ways of the people of this world, so that you will not expose yourself to shame or destruction, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As we are shown in the bible, there was a time that Jacob’s daughter, Dinah, was raped by a young prince called Shechem. And this eventually led her brothers, Levi and Simeon, to going on a vengeful mission of sacking the whole city of the prince. It is not a new thing, then, for people to rape people. And it is not a new thing for people to go to any extent, including wiping out an entire family, town or ethnic group in a quest to punishing one person’s offence. So, before you hurt anybody, always remember that it is not everyone that we will leave vengeance for God. Some may go to the extent of punishing your entire family for your sin against them. (Cf. Gen 34)

But then, how did Dinah end up being raped by that man? The bible answers that for us by saying, “Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land. When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and violated her.” (Gen 34:1-2NIV) So, what gave Shechem access to Dinah was the fact that she left her father’s house to go and visit the women of the land. If she had not left her father’s house to go and be with the girls of the land, she would not have become a victim of rape.

What is that telling you? It is that you need to be mindful of where you allow your legs to take you. It is not everywhere that is safe for you to go. It is not every friend or colleague at work that is safe for you to visit. So, before you start visiting or going out for recreation with people, be sure you know how safe whatever place they are taking you will be for you. And if you are not sure a certain place you are going will be safe for you under normal circumstances, you should know that going there may not worth the risk, if it is not the gospel of Jesus that is taking you there.

Do you know that there are even places you must not take the gospel of Jesus to, if you do not have an express instruction from the Lord to do so? We read in Scriptures that the Spirit of Christ forbade Paul the apostle and his companions from going to certain places to preach. Why? We are not told. Could it be that God did not want the people in those places to be saved? No, it could not be that. That is because the bible tells us that He wants all men to be saved. (Cf. Acts 16:6-8; 1Tim 2:3-4)

Why, then, did He forbid those men from entering those places to preach the gospel in them? It may just be that they may not be safe in them at that time. So, before you, as a man, start taking the gospel to prostitutes in their taverns, be sure you hear correctly from God. And before you, as a woman, start taking the gospel to street thugs at their joints, be sure the Spirit of God is leading you. Otherwise, you may end up suffering the same fate as Dinah Jacob.

Well, as we even see in Dinah’s case, she did not go to the women of the land because she wanted to turn them away from the worship of Idols to God. Rather, she went to visit them. That means she thought of them as friends and wanted to be in their company. Perhaps she felt bored that day and just wanted to get away from their boring house, where there was no partying, no crazy music to dance to and no comedians to make one forget his sorrows. But by the end of that day, it had dawned on her that their boring house was the only safe place for her to be in that town.

Today, we have many Christians, especially ladies, who, like Dinah Jacob, think the ways of the kingdom of God are boring. So, they want to try a little of the ways of those of the world. No, they don’t want to dress almost naked like them, go to night parties like them or keep many boyfriends or girlfriends like them. But they want to have a little feel or taste of what they are doing. And you can see this being expressed in the way they dress and conduct themselves when they are not in church meetings and also in the way they use the social media.

Now such people, if they are not shown mercy, will most likely end up ruined in one way or the other like Dinah Jacob. Then all that they have been labouring to preserve in their lives will be lost in almost an instant. And the shame that will follow may the very thing that will make their ruin permanent. So, before you step out of the boundaries of God’s instructions for you, don’t think only of what you will gain by doing so but also of what you will lose by doing so. My prayer is that God will keep you from foolishly or arrogantly running to any place where you will be destroyed. Amen.

Have a lovely 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)

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am pleased to welcome you to another week of the month of June 2023. And my prayer is that God will always lead you to take steps and do things that will cause men to thank Him on your behalf and to also pray for you. Amen.

Now one of the things that is bound to move people to thank God for your life and to also pray heartfelt prayers for you is giving that is rightly done (2Cor 9:12-14). Some years ago, I prepared a bible study commentary for an assembly of God that I was attending. And some days after the commentary had been used by the various groups in the church for their bible study meetings, one of the group leaders sent me a gift.

But why did this group leader send me a gift? According to him, as he was reading the bible study commentary that I had prepared, the Spirit of God opened his eyes to see some bible truth that was of great benefit to his faith. So, right then and there, he decided that he was going to give the person that prepared the commentary a gift. And he did.

How, then, did I respond to that? First, I responded with thanksgiving to God. I thanked Him for giving me words to bless His people. I also thanked Him for causing at least someone to be blessed through what I was doing. Then I also thanked Him for moving this person to bless me with a gift. If he had not blessed me with a gift or come to tell me that he was blessed by the commentary I had written, I would not have known that he was blessed by it. There may have been others in that assembly who were equally blessed through the same bible study commentary. But I will not know them until we get to heaven. And the reason I will not know them until we get to heaven is that they did not show up to appreciate me for being used by God to bless them.

In any case, the one who showed up to appreciate me with a gift unconsciously inspired me to thank God for him. Also, he inspired me to say a word of prayer for him. You know when someone touches your heart with a gift, especially when you are not expecting it, it is natural for you to immediately start praying for the person. And such prayers are often heartfelt. So, they are bound to work mightily, as long as they are consistent with God’s will.

Then, apart from the fact that this person inspired me to pray for him through his gift, he also unconsciously sowed a seed of encouragement into my heart. When you know that what you are doing is not going to waste but is blessing somebody and also stirring up the person to want to be a blessing, you are bound to be encouraged to do more. And there are some people that have gone on in life to be a blessing to millions of people through the encouragement of just one person.

What is my point? It is that you have to learn to appreciate anyone God is using to bless you, especially in the church. And even if you have to be the only one that will appreciate this person among all the people that God is using them to bless, be sure you do so. That is because you cannot tell how far your appreciation will go in making that person better and more faithful in doing the will of God.

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul speaks of how he always thanks God every time he remembers them and of how he always prays with joy for them. In fact, in the letter, he specifically prays that God will supply all their needs according to His glorious wealth in Christ Jesus (Phil 4:19). Why? It is because these brethren had proved again and again that they appreciated his ministry and what God was doing through it. Look at some of the things he says about them in his letter: “Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need. Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account.” (Phil 4:15-17NIV)

Did you see that? Among all the churches that God was using Paul to bless at that time, it was only the church of the Philippians that always gave to support him and to encourage him. No wonder he was always happy to remember them and to pray for them. If you too want those ministering to you in your church to always be glad to minister to you and not just because it is their duty to do so, then, cultivate the habit of always appreciating them. And even if you have to be the only one that will be doing so, just that like the Philippian church, do so. That is because you cannot tell to what extent God is able to use the encouragement you are offering them now in leading them to fulfil their ministry. And I pray that God will strengthen you to take this matter seriously, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a fabulous 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)

Title: Restless until His will is done
By: J.O. Lawal
Date: June 11, 2023
Series: From Pastor’s Desk
Number: Vol. 12, No. 6

Beloved: grace and peace be yours without measure from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Redeemer. Welcome to another week of the month of June 2023. I pray that God will awaken everyone that He has appointed to lift you up to make no effort to rest until they have done His will for you. Amen.

After Ruth had spoken to Boaz about the possibility of a marriage between the two of them, as she had been instructed by her mother-in-law, Naomi, to do, she came back to tell the woman how the whole thing went. And in response, she said to her, “Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today.” (Ruth 3:18NIV) Interestingly, Boaz acted exactly the way Naomi had said he would act. He did not settle down to rest at all until the matter of Ruth’s marriage was settled.

But who made that happen? It was God. It was He that drove Boaz to run up and down that day until Ruth no longer had to worry about being a widow or being childless. And if you too will entrust your life to Him, as Ruth did, He will also cause people to run up and down for you, taking no rest until they have established you in that place of fruitfulness, rest and prosperity that He has prepared for you.

Also, as we are shown in the bible, the very night before the day Mordecai’s, enemy, Hamman, was going to have him hanged, King Xerxes became so restless that he had to call in for the record book of the happenings in his kingdom. And it was why it was being read to him that he realised that he had neglected something important. He had not duly rewarded or honoured Mordecai for saving his life sometimes before from those who wanted to assassinate him. (Cf. Esther 6)

So, in his restlessness, he pondered on the matter till the following morning, when Haman came in to talk about how Mordecai would be hanged. That, of course, was what God used in overruling the plans of Haman. Therefore, instead of getting the king’s permission to have Mordecai hanged, what Hamman got was the king’s order to have him honoured all through the city of Susa.

What is that telling us? It is telling us that when God is set to honour and lift a man, He knows how to awaken those who are supposed to do the job, even if they are his enemies, and make them restless until they get it done. And that is going to be your experience this new week and throughout the remaining part of the year. God will wake up all the people He has already appointed to lift and honour you but who have been sleeping. He will wake them up and make them restless until they have done His will for your life.

Now if you believe that, banish anxiety from your heart. Then begin to thank and praise Him for what He is already doing. And before you know it, you will see all the wonderful things He has been doing for your exoneration and exaltation manifesting and causing people to praise His holy name on your behalf. Amen.

Do 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)