Category: FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2025

From Pastor’s Desk is a weekly admonition to believers! It has the purpose of weekly edification of the saints, preparing them for a fruitful walk with God every week.

Title: Opening doors of His provisions

Post author By Pastor J.O. Lawal
Post date October 25, 2025

Series: From Pastor’s Desk

Number: Vol. 14, No. 26

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be multiplied to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. I am glad to welcome you to another week of the month of October 2025.

I pray that every door of God’s provisions shut against you will be opened for you in the week, so that your joy may overflow in the week and throughout the remaining days of the year. Amen.

Now one of the things that open doors of God’s provisions for His people is generosity towards His servants that are ministering to us in His word and in prayer.

For example, in order for God’s doors of provisions to be opened for the widow that Elijah met in Zarephath, she had to be generous to him. And even though it was a time of famine, she did not make excuses. Instead, she gave to him from the little she had. So, God ensured that she and her son did not go hungry at all till the famine in the land was over. (Cf. 1Kings 17)

But why was it this woman that God sent Elijah to at the time? As Jesus tells us, there were many widows in Israel at the time. Yet God did not send Elijah to any of them. Why? He knew their hearts. He knew that even if He spoke to them to take care of Elijah, they would not listen to Him. (Cf. Luke 4:25-26)

Perhaps God did speak to some of them about taking care of Elijah. And did they listen to Him? If they had listened to Him, He would not have sent the man to the widow at Zarephath. But since He sent him to Zarephath, it is clear that whatever widow He may have spoken to in Israel about taking care of him did not listen to Him.

The widow in Zarephath, however, listened to God and obeyed Him. As we see in the bible, God had spoken to her about Elijah before sending him to look for her. In fact, God’s words to Elijah about her were: “I have commanded her to take care of you.” And when Elijah found her, she did the will of God.

So, doors of His provisions that were not opened for the other widows were opened for her and her son.But what if she had not listened to God or obeyed Him? God would have sent Elijah to someone else that would obey Him. And that would be the person that doors of His provisions to survive that period of famine would have been opened for.

In like manner, it is those of us who obey whatever God is saying to us about generosity to those who are feeding us with His word and praying for us that certain doors of His provisions will be opened for. Those who are continually making excuses for not doing what He has commanded will only have their excuses to eat.

So, repent now and stop making excuses for neglecting the will of God in giving to His servants that are ministering to you. Otherwise, there are certain provisions of His that will never be yours in life.

Have a pleasant week.

Copyright © 2025, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministryng.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 08146472876)

From Pastor's Desk 2025 FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2025 Pastor's Desk

Title: Don’t throw away your confidence in Him

Post author By Pastor J.O. Lawal
Post date October 18, 2025

Date: October 19, 2025

Series: From Pastor’s DeskNumber: Vol. 14, No. 25

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am glad to welcome you to another week of the month of October 2025.

I pray that God, as we begin the new week, will take care of any burden that may be weighing you down and comfort you wherever you are hurting, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Now while it is true that God is able to take care of all our burdens and comfort us, it is also important that we do not throw away our confidence in Him because of whatever we may be going through.

See, that God is handling our situation does not mean that we will experience relief immediately. We may not experience relief immediately. But if we will not throw away our confidence in Him, we will surely experience perfect liberty from whatever Satan is trying to use to destroy us.For example, when God sent Moses to Egypt to set the Israelites free, they did not immediately experience relief.

On the contrary, Pharaoh made things worse for them. In fact, even Moses had to go back to God and say:“O Lord, why have you brought trouble upon this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble upon this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.” (Ex 5:22-23NIV)

But was God really not doing anything to rescue the Israelites? No! He was already working for their deliverance. However, Moses and the people would need to patiently keep on trusting Him in order for them to enjoy the full benefits of all that He was doing to save them. And did they do that? They did. So, they were eventually delivered from Egypt and led to the Land of Promise.

In like manner, we too will need to patiently keep on trusting God in order to experience the full benefits of all that He is doing to perfect all that concerns our lives. So, the bible says this to us: “So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.” (Heb 10:35-36NIV)

Did you see that? First, we are told not to throw away our confidence in God. Why? It will be richly rewarded. In other words, God will never fail those who never throw away their confidence in Him. Second, we are told to persevere in doing the will of God in the face of life’s trials.

In other words, we are not to give up praying, meditating on the word of God, speaking the word of God to our challenges and walking in righteousness. Why? That is the only way for us to receive the fulfilment of the will of God in our lives.Now the challenges we are facing may give us the impression that it is useless for us to continue to pray and to act on the word of God, especially if things are getting worse for us instead of getting better. But the word of God already tells us that those who will not throw away their confidence in God will not be put to shame.

So, keep on praying and keep on acting on the word of God. And when the time is ripe, you will reap a great harvest of His goodness and salvation in your life.

Have a lovely week.

FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2025 Pastor's Desk

Title: Don’t be used

Post author By Pastor J.O. Lawal
Post date October 11, 2025

Series: From Pastor’s Desk

Number: Vol. 14, No. 24

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Redeemer. It is with delight that I welcome you to another week of the month of October 2025.

My prayer is that God will daily keep you from becoming a tool that Satan may find useful in any way, so that you will not expose yourself to His judgment. Amen.

Our Lord Jesus once said these words to His disciples:“Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!” (Matt 18:7NIV)

Now what do we learn from these words of the Lord? First, we learn that the world is in trouble and under God’s judgment. Why? It is because there are things that cause people to stumble in it. Truly, all humans are born with sin in them. But if they are not provided with opportunities to sin against God, there are certain wrong things that may never do in life.However, opportunities to sin against God abound in the world.

So, even if someone does not want to sin, he may not be able to resist the abundance of enticement to sin that is around him. Who, then, entices people to sin? It is the devil. He was the one that enticed Eve to sin against God. And he is still the one enticing every one of us to sin against God today. (Cf. Gen 3)

You can, then, see why the Lord says that the things that cause people to sin are bound to come. They are bound to come because of the presence of Satan in the world. In other words, as long as Satan and his demons are in this world, we are bound to face situations that can lead us to stumble and fall into sin.

Is that to say that we cannot avoid stumbling and falling into sin? No! We can avoid that by the grace of God. But we cannot avoid being tempted to sin. So, we must learn to daily stand in the grace of God. Otherwise, all kinds of temptations would overwhelm us.But then, the Lord is not just expecting us to utilise His grace not to fall into sin. He is also expecting us to utilise it not to be used by the devil to make others fall into sin.

Remember that He already tells us that the things that cause people to sin are bound to come. But these things hardly come directly from the devil. They often come through people like us. And if we ourselves are not careful, we may be the tools that Satan will use to do things that will cause others to stumble and fall.

Now wherever that is the case, as pointed out by our Lord Jesus Christ, we will receive severer punishments from God than the person we have led into sin. Remember that Eve’s punishment was severer than Adam’s punishment. That was because it was through her that Satan succeeded in making Adam fall.

In other words, she was used by the devil. And if we too allow him to use us to lead someone else into sin and God has to punish us, our own punishment will surely be severer than that person’s punishment. So, don’t be used by the devil. And may God help you.Have a pleasant week.

FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2025 Pastor's Desk

Title: How passionate are you?

Post author By Pastor J.O. Lawal
Post date October 5, 2025

Series: From Pastor’s Desk
Number: Vol. 14, No. 23

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours abundantly from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. I am pleased to welcome you to another week of the month of October 2025. I pray that God will supply whatever is lacking in your passion to be all that He wants you to be in life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As we see in Scriptures, one of the things that will determine whether we become the people God wants us to be or enjoy His provisions for us is our passion. If we are passionate enough to be what He wants us to be or to enjoy what He wants us to enjoy, He will see to it that we are not put to shame. That is because the bible says that He is a rewarder of those who diligently or passionately seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).

But if we are not passionate at all or enough to be what He wants us to be or to have what He wants us to have, we may not enjoy His goodness at all or as we are meant to, if we are not shown mercy. So, if there is any prayer that we ought to regularly offer, it is that God will daily make our passion for Him and for all that He has in store for us adequate.

For instance, when Prophet Elisha told King Jehoash of Israel to shoot arrows of victory over the Arameans, he shot them only three times. And that got this prophet angry. Why? The reason was that three rounds of victory over the Arameans were not enough to give the Israelites complete freedom from them. They would need as much as six rounds of victory to completely free themselves from their enslavement. (Cf. 2Kings 13:14-19)

Why, then, did their king shoot only three arrows of victory that day? The reason was that he was not passionate enough to totally escape from the cruel bondage of the Arameans. He simply felt that if he could defeat them three times, that should be enough. So, he missed the only opportunity he had to get total freedom for his people from their oppressors. What a shame!

But look at Naaman. Even though Elisha was a prophet of an enemy nation, his passion to be healed of his leprosy made him come to him. And despite his status as the commander of the army of his country, he set aside his pride to do what the prophet told him to do. Why? He was passionate to receive his healing. And did he receive it or not? He did! (Cf. 2Kings 5)

So, even though God does not always look at our passion to do things for us, there are things in life that He will never do for us or make us enjoy, if we are not passionate enough for them. How passionate are we, then, to be what God wants us to be and to do the things He wants us to do? This will show in our attitude towards God’s word, prayer and Christian fellowship.

If we take these things seriously, then, we are truly passionate for God and for what He has in store for us. But if we do not take them seriously, then, we are showing that we don’t care much or at all about the fulfilment of His purpose in our lives. Therefore, we may never experience the fulfilment of His purpose in our lives. And will that be good? No!

So, pray that God, in His mercy, will daily supply all that you lack in passion for Him. That way, His good purpose for your life can be fully realized.

Have a lovely week.

Tags alaythia bible church, christianity, counsel, Faith, From pastor's desk, wisdom

FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2025 Pastor's Desk

Title: An unserious generation

Post author By Pastor J.O. Lawal
Post date September 27, 2025

Title: An unserious generation

Series: From Pastor’s Desk

Number: Vol. 14, No. 22

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours without measure from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. I am pleased to welcome you to the transition week between the months of September and October 2025. My prayer is that God will daily teach your heart never to make any excuse again for not embracing His will for your life, so that all may always go well with you and all that is yours. Amen.

Now I offered that prayer for you because our generation is a generation that is given to making excuses for not doing what is right, as our Lord Jesus Christ has pointed out to us. And if those of us who are children of God will not watch ourselves, we too will find ourselves making excuses all the time for not living in the will of God for our lives.

Just take a look at what Jesus says about this:“”To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: “‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and “sinners.” ‘ But wisdom is proved right by her actions.”” (Matt 11:16-19NIV)

What do we see here about our generation? We see that it is an unserious one. And that is why it is given to making excuses for not doing the will of God. As our Lord points out in the above bible text, even though He and John the Baptist did not handle their respective ministries in the same manner, both of them came from God to bless humanity. And that is showing us that we are not to judge anybody’s ministry on the basis of external things; rather, we are to judge it on the basis of the fruit it is bearing. If it is bearing the fruit of God’s righteousness, then, it is of God.

But if it is not bearing the fruit of His righteousness, even if it appears holy on the outside, it is not of God. And please keep that in mind.In any case, we see that the Jews of the time of our Lord Jesus Christ would not accept Him or John the Baptist, even though both of them ministered differently. Why? They were just unserious. As we also see in that bible text, John’s way of ministering showed that he did not care much about food, clothing, housing or interaction with people. He just wanted to proclaim the word of God to the whole nation and make them ready for their Messiah.

And whether they listened to him or not, he did not care. So, the people called him a mad man. In other words, their excuse for not accepting him and the word of God that he brought to them was that he was not acting like a normal person. (Cf. Matt 3:4; Mark 1:6)

But when Jesus came and began to minister, He did everything that John would not do. He ate. He drank. He interacted with everybody, including sinners. And one would expect that they would accept Him because He was acting like a normal person. But instead of accepting Him and the word of God that He brought, the people called Him a glutton and drunkard.

Can you now see that they were unserious? Yes, they were unserious and had no intention of taking God seriously. Therefore, they would use anything as their excuse for running away from His will for them and eventually destroy themselves.

Unfortunately, the story is still the same today. Our generation has not changed at all. We are still as unserious as ever. So, we will use anything as our excuse for rejecting God. For example, I read in the news recently of a young influential man that told his reason for saying ‘Bye’ to the church in an interview. And what was his reason?

According to him, he drove early to church one Sunday morning and was asked to park his car outside. And as he was about to do that, he saw that some of those who came after him were asked to park their cars inside. Why? Their cars were more expensive than his.

So, instead of parking his car outside, he just drove back home. And ever since then, he had stopped attending church meetings.Now is it right for anybody to be treated like that in any church? No! But if it is God and the salvation of your soul you are after, you will not allow something like that to drive you away from the church.

However, if you are unserious and not ready to do the will of God, you will use anything, even something as unimportant as the way the chairs in a church are arranged, as your excuse for running away from the church or for changing churches as one would change garments.

Well, the word of God is coming to you now and warning you to stop making excuses for your unseriousness in doing the will of God. That is because none of your excuses will be able to keep you safe on the day that the Lord returns to judge the whole world. So, warn yourself.Have a lovely week.

Copyright © 2025, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministryng.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 08146472876)

Tags alaythia bible church, christianity, wisdom

FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2025 Pastor's Desk

Title: Is it what you need to hear?

Post author By Pastor J.O. Lawal
Post date September 20, 2025

Series: From Pastor’s Desk

Number: Vol. 14, No. 21

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am delighted to welcome you to the third week of the month of September 2025. My prayer is that your ears will never again be deaf to the voice of the Spirit of God, so that you will not perish with this world of darkness. Amen.

As we see in the book of Revelation, one of the things the Lord Jesus kept on saying to His churches that He wrote letters to was that the one who had ears to hear should hear what the Spirit of God was saying to the churches. That is telling us that it is not everyone that has ears to hear the voice of the Spirit of God, whether for their promotion or protection. What some people have ears to hear is their own voice or the voice of the devil. So, regardless of what God is saying to them by His Spirit, they cannot hear it.

For example, despite the warning of Prophet Micaiah to King Ahab, this king would not listen to him. His words could not just enter his ears and cause a change of decision, so that he may be protected from the death that was awaiting him in battle. But the words of Ahab’s prophets entered his ears and made him bold to go to a battle that would claim his life. Why? Those prophets told him what he wanted to hear. (Cf. 1Kings 22; 2Chro 18)

So, one of the reasons people become deaf to the voice of the Spirit of God is that they want to hear only what they want to hear. And even if they have to pay someone to tell them what they want to hear, they will gladly do so.

No wonder the bible says:“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” (2Tim 4:3NIV)

Now perhaps you too are one of those that we are talking about. All the preachers and people that you are listening to are only the ones that will tell you what you want to hear. But is what you want to hear what you really need to hear? If what you want to hear is not what you need to hear, then, you are not different from King Ahab. So, you are already exposing yourself to danger. And if you fail to repent on time, you will surely ruin your life and soul someday.

So, before you turn away from whatever anyone is telling you, first ask yourself whether what the person is saying is what you need to hear or not. And if it is what you need to hear, if it is what will truly benefit your life and set it in the right direction, know that it is the voice of the Spirit of God that is talking to you. Accept it, then, even if it hurts. That will be your wisdom.

Have a lovely week.

Tags alaythia bible church, christianity, Fire in my bones, From pastor's desk, wisdom

FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2025 Pastor's Desk

Title: Even if you are a king

Post author By Pastor J.O. Lawal
Post date September 13, 2025

Series: From Pastor’s Desk

Number: Vol. 14, No. 20

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be abundantly yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am pleased to welcome you to another week of the month of September 2025.

My prayer is that God will daily strengthen your heart to take His word seriously for you to always be successful in all your endeavours, in Jesus’ name. Amen.As we see in the bible, it does not matter who we are in life, God wants us to take His word seriously.

Why? It is because it is only through His word that can truly succeed in life and also enjoy our success. So, even if you are a king over people, you still need the word of God to be a successful king, a king that those under him will flourish.

Look at the instruction Moses gave to anyone that would be king over the people of Israel:“When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites.

It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his brothers and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.” (Deut 17:18-20NIV)

What is the first thing anyone that becomes king over the people of Israel must do? He must get a copy of the book of the law of God for himself. Why? First, it is so that he may give himself to reading it and also to meditating on it all the days of his life.

Second, it is so that he may be careful to live his life according to God’s word. And if he will do this, as Moses points out, he and his descendants will prosper and also reign a long time over the land.You can see, then, that even for any king in Israel to prosper and have many descendants that will reign after him, he must take the word of God seriously. He cannot ignore His word or claim that he is too busy for it.

Otherwise, his reign will not last. Unfortunately, as also see in the bible, most of the people that became kings over the Israelites did not take the word of God seriously.

So, their kingdoms did not endure. Instead, at some point, God had to send all the people into exile because of them. And we see the same thing happening in our world today. Wherever leaders do not take the word of God seriously, they cannot prosper. Instead, they are bound to lead their people into all kinds of slavery.

In any case, the point I am making is that if kings need to take God’s word seriously in order to prosper in life, we who are not kings cannot expect to prosper in life without taking His word seriously. So, if you have not been taking His word seriously, you need to repent for your own good.

How? First, get your own copy of the bible that you can read and understand. Second, give yourself to reading it and to also meditating on it. And as you daily do so, it will not be long at all before you find yourself living according to what God is saying to you.

Now anyone that is daily living according to what God says is bound to prosper in life. He may start small in life like David. Yet God will see to it that he prospers. He may also face many challenges in life like Joseph or Job. God will still see to it that he prospers. So, regardless of your position in life at the moment, take the word of God seriously. And true and lasting prosperity will be yours.

Have a splendid week.

Tags alaythia bible church, christianity, Fire in my bones, wisdom

From Pastor's Desk 2025 FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2025 Pastor's Desk

Title: He will frustrate their scheme

Post author By Pastor J.O. Lawal
Post date September 6, 2025

Series: From Pastor’s Desk

Number: Vol. 14, No. 19

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours abundantly from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Redeemer. I am delighted to welcome you to the second week of the month of September 2025. My prayer is that God will frustrate every scheme of the devil against you in the week and throughout the remaining part of the year, so that all His good purpose for your life for the year may be fully realized. Amen.

When Absalom started his rebellion, a man called Ahithophel joined him. And who was this man? He was a friend of David, Absalom’s father. Not only was he David’s friend, he was also one of his counsellors. But then, he was not an ordinary counsellor. He was divinely gifted to counsel people. Look at what is said in the bible about him:“Now in those days the advice Ahithophel gave was like that of one who inquires of God. That was how both David and Absalom regarded all of Ahithophel’s advice.” (2Sam 16:23NIV)

Did you see that? Consulting Ahithophel for advice in those days was like consulting God Himself for advice. In other words, you could not miss it or fail while following his counsel. No wonder David was distressed when he heard that this man had joined his son Absalom in rebelling against him. He knew that as long as Absalom continued to listen to his advice, he would continue to have the upper hand. And before long, he would establish himself fully as king over Israel.

Therefore, David prayed to God about the matter. Look at what is said in the bible about that: “Now David had been told, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” So David prayed, “O LORD, turn Ahithophel’s counsel into foolishness.”” (2Sam 15:31NIV)

What did David ask God to do? He asked Him to turn Ahithophel’s counsel into foolishness in the ears of Absalom. Why? That was the only way for Absalom to lose. And did God answer him or not? He answered him. He used a man called Hushai to turn Ahithophel’s counsel into foolishness in the ears of Absalom and the elders of Israel that were with him. So, Absalom went on to lose the battle for the throne. And Ahithophel himself went on to hang himself. (Cf. 2Sam 17&18)

Now observe that David did not pray that God should kill Ahithophel or Absalom, even though both of them were after his life and his throne. Instead, he prayed that God should frustrate their scheme. And when God frustrated their scheme, they ended up losing their lives.

In like manner, we don’t need to pray that God will kill anyone that is working against us. We just need to tell Him to frustrate their scheme, to turn into nothing whatever weapon they are employing against us. And He will answer us.

If someone, then, should die or suffer greatly while God is answering our prayers, we will not be held responsible for their blood.So, don’t worry about those who are working against you and trying to pull you down or destroy you, regardless of their number. Instead, pray to God that He will turn into foolishness whatever they may be saying or doing against you. And He will answer you and see to it that you are not put to shame.

Have a lovely week.

Tags alaythia bible church, christianity, counsel

FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2025 Pastor's Desk

Change the way you think

Post author By Pastor J.O. Lawal
Post date August 30, 2025

Series: From Pastor’s Desk

Number: Vol. 14, No. 18

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am delighted to welcome you to the last day of this month and also to the first week of the ninth month of the year, the month of September 2025. My prayer is that God will see to it that all the good things He has in store for you in the remaining months of the year become yours indeed, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As we begin this new week, I want to counsel you with the word of Apostle Paul that say: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Rom 12:2NIV)

Why does he tell us not to conform any longer to the pattern of this world? The reason is that we are now children of God. Before we became children of God, we all used to live according to the ways of the people of this world. We talked as they talk. We reasoned as they reason. We dressed as they dress. And we ran after the things they run after.But now that we are God’s children, we are expected to live differently. Yes, we are expected to live like children of God and not like children of the devil.

We will, however, not live differently from those of this world, if we still continue to think the way they think. We may be attending church meetings, praying in the name of Jesus and even carrying bibles around. But as long as we are thinking like those of this world, we will not live lives that are different from theirs in the way we talk, dress and treat others.

See, people live the way they live because of the way they think. So, if you want them to change the way they live, you will have to change the way they think. All this is why Paul does not just tell us not to conform any longer to the pattern of this world but also tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. What will bring about the transformation of our lives? It is the renewing of our minds. Now how do we renew our minds? How do we cleanse our minds so that they begin to think differently from the way those of the world think? It is by giving ourselves to the word of God.

As we give ourselves to His word, we will begin to think differently – we will begin to think in the light of His will for us. And the more we think in the light of His will for us, the more we are transformed to be the people He wants us to be.Paul, for instance, who brought this counsel of the Spirit to us used to be an injurious and wicked person. Yet he later became one of the greatest Christians that ever lived. In fact, he was so sure of the transformation his life had experienced that he could tell other Christians to imitate him (1Cor 11:1).

How did that happen? It happened through his devotion to the word of God. It was the word of God that changed his thinking. And as his thinking was being changed by the word of God, his life was also being transformed. Then, at some point, everyone around him could see that he had become a truly changed person – he had become like Christ.Now since Paul personally experienced these things, he is telling us too to take advantage of the word of God to change our thinking. That is how our lives will be changed to be what God wants them to be. So, give yourself to the word of God in order for it to change how you think. And before you know it, your life will be changed to be exactly what God wants it to be.

Have a lovely week.

Tags alaythia bible church, christianity, counsel, wisdom

FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2025 Pastor's Desk

Title: Train yourself to be godly

Post author By Pastor J.O. Lawal
Post date August 16, 2025

Series: From Pastor’s Desk

Number: Vol. 14, No. 16

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. It is with great delight that I welcome you to another week of the month of August 2025. My prayer is that God will daily strengthen you in the week and throughout the remaining years of your life to live a life that is well-pleasing to Him. Amen.

As we begin this new week, I want to encourage you with the words of Paul that say:“Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” (1Tim 4:7-8NIV)

What is the first thing this apostle says to us here? It is that we should not waste our time with stories that do not promote godliness and that do not agree with the truth God is saying to us. And there are many such stories from one culture to another. They appear to be saying the truth about life because they have been told again and again for generations. But they are not the truth at all, for they are contrary to what God is saying to us through His holy Scriptures. And if we do not want our lives and souls to be ruined by them, we must stay away from them.The second thing Paul tells us in that text is to train ourselves to be godly.

Why? The first reason is that godliness is not automatic. Yes, we are God’s children and have in us what it takes to be godly, for God has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness (2Pet 1:3).

But if we do not give ourselves to doing things that will promote godly living, godliness will not manifest in our lives.

Unfortunately, many of God’s people don’t know this. They think once someone becomes born again, he will automatically be seen by those around him as godly. But that is not true at all. If that person will not give himself to the word of God, to prayer and to the fellowship of God’s people, godliness will not be seen in his life.

Also, if he will not begin to consciously take steps to do what is right and to stay away from what is wrong, he will not gain a reputation as a godly person. So, if you want people to see you as a godly person, you have to consciously begin to train yourself to do those things that will promote godliness in your life.

Another reason Paul tells us to train ourselves to be godly is that the benefits of doing so are enormous. And these benefits are not just earthly; they are also eternal. Think about this: there are problems that you cannot have in this world, if you are living a godly life.

For instance, if you are not a drunkard, there are some forms of disgrace you cannot experience in life. But if you are one, you are bound to be disgracing yourself from time to time.

So, if you do not want certain problems in your life, all you need is to train yourself to be godly. Also, if you want God’s praise here on earth and also when you get to heaven, daily train yourself to be godly. And may the Spirit of God strengthen you to act accordingly, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a lovely week.

Tags alaythia bible church, christianity, counsel, Fire in my bones, From pastor's desk, religion, wisdom