Category: Pastor’s Desk

Beloved: grace and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I welcome you to the last week of the month of February 2024. My prayer is that God will keep you and all that is yours safe and sound all through it and also keep you from doing anything that will make you lose the place He has chosen for you to another, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As we see in the bible, King Saul, the first king of the nation of Israel, was not the choice of the people or the choice of the man of God that was leading the country at the time, Samuel. Rather, he was God’s choice. It was God Himself that personally sought him out and chose him to be king over His people. Yet, at some point, God rejected him as king and looked for a replacement for him. (Cf. 1Sam 9-16)

What is that telling us? It is that the fact that God has chosen someone for a position or task does not mean that He cannot reject the person and then replace them with someone else. He can. That, however, does not mean that God will reject the person as one of His own people. If we do not reject God as our God, He also will not reject us as His people. But He can reject us as unfit or unsuitable for a position or task He once chose us for.

For instance, even though God rejected Saul as king and also replaced him someone else, He did not reject him as one of His own people. But when Saul rejected him as God and turned to a witch for help, God too rejected him as one of His own people. So, regardless of what problems we may be faced with in life, even if they are problems we have brought on ourselves, we should never reject God or turn away from Him. Otherwise, He too will have not choice but to disown us. (Cf. 1Samuel 28; 2Tim 2:12)

But then, why was Saul rejected and replaced? Look at what the following Scriptures say about that:

“”You acted foolishly,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the LORD’s command.”” (1Sam 13:13-14NIV)

“But Samuel said to him, “I will not go back with you. You have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you as king over Israel!”” (1Sam 15:26NIV)

Did you see that the problem with Saul was that of not taking God’s word seriously? But it was God that made him king; he did not make himself king. Not only that, God, who chose him to be king, also wanted to establish his kingdom for all time. But because, at some point, he began to think that he was wiser than God and could revise God’s command at will and also despise His prophet, God changed His mind about him, rejected him and chose a boy to replace him.

So, if you have cultivated the attitude of choosing your own understanding above God’s instructions for your life, you are in danger of being rejected and replaced by God for certain great positions or good works in this life, even though you have been originally chosen for them. Of course, you may have your reasons for wanting your own will to prevail over God’s will or for having no serious respect for the leaders He has appointed over you. But when all has been said and done, you will see that those reasons are nothing but flimsy excuses that God can never accept.

Saul also had his reasons for despising God’s word and His prophet. The desperation to keep his throne was one. The fear of his soldiers was another. Nevertheless, God rejected and replaced him. And there was nothing else he did to secure the throne for his descendants that worked. There is nothing we too can do to secure for ourselves a position or task God has taken away from us. So, we should watch ourselves and not allow unbelief, stubbornness, fear, desperation, greed, lust, bitterness, pride, jealousy or anything else for Him to reject and replace us. My prayer is that we will always be filled with adequate wisdom and strength to be mindful of this, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a splendid week.

Copyright © 2024, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministry.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

Beloved: grace, mercy 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 February 2024. My prayer is that God will visit you and your family with times of refreshing wherever you are hurting, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As we see in the bible, in the days that Judges ruled in Israel, there was a severe famine that made people start leaving the land for other places where they believed that they would be able to feed and live well. It was during this period that a man called Elimelech and his wife Naomi left the land with their two sons for Moab. Unfortunately, their relocation to Moab did not work well for them at all. That was because Elimelech and his two sons lost their lives there. Not only that, his sons died without leaving any children behind. So, the family was left with nothing but three poor widows. (Cf. Ruth 1)

Now there may have been others who relocated to Moab or some other places during the same period that did not have the kind of nasty experience that the family of Elimelech had. But one of the lessons of the story is that relocation to another place from our workplace, house, town or country is not always the right solution to famine or a period of hardship. If we change our job or location without divine revelations or guidance, we may end up regretting it.

Therefore, don’t be in a hurry to run out of this country in this time of famine, just because everyone you know is running out of it. That may not be God’s way of preserving you and causing you to prosper. For example, as we are also shown in the bible, there was a time that Isaac wanted to go down to Egypt because of the severe famine where he was. But God told him not to go but to stay where he was. Why? The reason was that even though there was a famine there, His provisions for him to prosper were there as well. All that Isaac needed, then, was for him to see those provisions and begin to utilize them. And when he saw them and began to utilize them, he became so wealthy that everyone around him became jealous of him. (Cf. Gen 26)

What is the point of that? It is that the fact that there is hardship in a place does not mean that God’s provisions for us to prosper are not there. So, before we consider changing our location because of the hardship where we are or because an opportunity to enjoy life better somewhere else shows up, we should first of all pray to God and hear from Him. Otherwise, we may find ourselves ignorantly running away from our place of prosperity to a land of emptiness.

Elimelech and his family left Israel for Moab because they thought the place would be a land of prosperity and rest for them. But they later found it to be a land of emptiness for them. So, even though they went there full, Naomi, who was the only one of them that survived, came back empty. May you not use up all your life, resources and devotion to pursue emptiness, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

In any case, while Naomi was still in Moab, not knowing what to do with her life and the lives of her two daughters-in-law, God visited the nation of Israel. The bible says, “When she heard in Moab that the LORD had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, Naomi and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there.” (Ruth 1:6NIV) Did you see that? God eventually visited His people with help by providing food for them. And the visit was so great that someone like Naomi remembered home and set out to go back there.

So, regardless of how hard things may be for us in the country right now, God is still able to visit us with great help, the kind that will make all our people that have relocated to some other countries to start coming back home. And God will surely visit us with help because some of us are praying without ceasing for Him to do so. My prayer is that you will be where you are supposed to be when His help finally comes and times of refreshing are brought to us. Amen.

Have a great week.

Copyright © 2024, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministry.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am delighted to welcome you to the month of February 2024. And I pray that God will cause His favour to multiply to you every moment of the month, so that you will never lack any good thing in it. Amen.

As we begin this new month, I want to admonish you with the words of Peter that say, “Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.” (1Peter 2:16NIV) Who should live as free people? It is those of us who have been set free by the Lord Jesus Christ from our sins and from the power of the devil. Remember that the word of God says, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” And He has set us free. So, we are free indeed, free in reality. (Cf. John 8:36)

Now since we are already free people, Peter tells us to go on and begin to live as free people indeed. In other words, we should go on and live like those who are no longer under the dominion of sin, the devil and destructive human traditions. Yes, we should go on and live exciting and joyous lives.

However, as Peter further points us, we must not use our freedom in Christ Jesus as a cover-up for any kind of evil. Why does he say this? He says it because it is possible for us to use our freedom in Christ Jesus as a cover-up for all kinds of atrocities.

How, then, is this possible? Well, it is possible in this manner: if we live as true believers in Christ Jesus long enough, those around us will begin to believe that we have indeed been saved from our sins, from the power of the devil and also from the wrong influences of human traditions. And where this is the case, people will start to trust us and to think of us as incapable of participating in any kind of wickedness. That, of course, is when we can fool them and use the trust they already have in us as a cover-up for evil.

Look at Judas Iscariot, for example. John tells us in his gospel that he was a thief. He used to steal Jesus’ money. How did John know that? Jesus must have personally told him, for other disciples did not know at the time. And how did Jesus know it? Did He catch him red-handed? No! If it had been so, it would have been reported in the bible. How, then, did He know that Judas was stealing from Him? It was by revelation. And did He say anything to him directly about it? No! Why? It was because he had listened to enough sermons to change his ways. (Cf. John 12:4-6)

Unfortunately, there are many today in the church that we may not know anything about the atrocities they too are committing, if God does not reveal it to us. Why? They have perfected the act of cover-up. They have learnt to wrongly take advantage of people’s trust in them as true children of God to steal, fornicate, swindle others, practise sorcery or get involved in different kinds of wicked activities.

That was how Judas operated. He started out, just as the other apostles, as a man of true faith in Christ Jesus. And because of his demonstration of faith and trustworthiness, Jesus made him His treasurer. But after a while, he started stealing from the Lord. Yet none of the other apostles suspected him. Why? They thought he was still the person he used to be. But he had changed and had become greedy and dangerous. He was only using the good reputation he had built among them to cover up what he was doing.

Now what does the bible say about those who act like that, those who cover up their sins? It says that they will not prosper. And that was exactly what happened to Judas Iscariot. He did not prosper. Instead, he perished without remedy. None of the other apostles could help or save him because they did not know what he was up to. He had successfully covered up everything with his past good reputation. (Cf. Prov 28:13)

Well, the point of all this is that we must be careful not to use our freedom in Christ Jesus as a cover-up for evil. We must not use the fact that people now trust us and see us as good Christians as a cover-up in lying to them, stealing from them, swindling them or setting traps of immorality for them. We will be hindering the outworking of the blessings of God in our lives, if we are functioning like that. And God may not say anything directly to us about it, if He believes we have heard enough of His word to change our ways. Also, He may not give anybody a revelation about us that will enable them to save us. And where that is the case, we may just perish suddenly and without remedy someday. May that not be your portion, in Jesus’ name. Amen. But stop using your freedom in Christ Jesus as a cover-up for evil.

Happy New Month!

Copyright © 2024, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministry.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I welcome you to the transition week between the months of January and February of this year. And I pray that God will open your eyes to see all the right steps you need to take to be established in His goodness and in prosperity in the year and also strengthen you to take them, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Now one of those steps you need to begin to take to be established in God’s goodness and in prosperity this year is that of generosity towards God. And how do we show generosity towards God? At least, as we well know, God will not spend our money, eat our food or live in any house we build for Him. How, then, do we act generously towards Him?

Well, we show generosity to God, first, by giving to promote His work among men. Second, we show Him generosity by giving to those He has sent to feed us with His word and to guide us in the path of righteousness. Third, we show that we are generous to Him by giving to the poor around us. (Cf. Deut 15:7-11; 1Chro 29:1-9; Prov 19:17; Matt 25:40)

Why, then, is it important that we act generously towards God in this manner? First, it is important because not being generous towards Him can open the door for labour loss in our lives. For instance, in the book of Prophet Haggai, we see that one main reason God’s people that came back from the Babylonian captivity were experiencing labour loss was their neglect of the building of the temple of God. These people just saw that even though they were working hard, their hard work was not promoting prosperity in their lives – it was just going to waste. And if God had not sent Haggai to tell them what was wrong, many of them would have perished in poverty. (Cf. Haggai 1)

In like manner, there are many believers that are working like elephants today but are getting the rewards of rats because they are not generous to God. They, like the people of Haggai’s day, always have one excuse or the other not to give for God’s work, to God’s servants and to the poor around them. And unless they repent and begin to do the right thing, they may end up dying in poverty. May that not be your lot in life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Then it is important that we are generous towards God, if we want to fully enjoy the fruit of our labour. Our Lord Jesus tells a parable about a rich man whose ground did well one year. And according to Him, all that this man could think of was how he would build bigger barns and settle down to enjoy His wealth for many years to come. He did not thank God or say anything about giving for His work. Also, he did not say anything about supporting the priests in the land or helping the poor around Him. All he thought about was himself. What a selfish and stingy man! (Cf. Luke 12:16-21)

To cut a long story short, when he was done praising himself and talking about his future enjoyment, God responded and told him that his life would taken from him that very night. That means he would not be allowed to enjoy the fruit of his labour. It was some other people that would enjoy it. And the Lord concludes the story by saying that that is how it will be for everyone who is laying up treasures for himself but who is not generous to God. So, stinginess to God can cut short a man’s life. And you should keep that in mind.

The third reason we should be generous to God is that our own prosperity in life may sometimes be tied to it. For example, for the widow of Zarephath and her son to survive and prosper during the famine of King Ahab’s time, she needed to be generous to the man of God, Elijah. She may have been generous in her time of plenty. But her generosity in her time of plenty was not what opened the door of miraculous supply for her in the time of famine. Rather, it was her generosity in that time of famine, when she had very little, that opened that door for her. But what if she had not freely shared with the man of God at the time? Would she had survived that famine? No! (Cf. 1Kings 17)

Therefore, the word of God says, “One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.” (Prov 11:24-25NIV) Did you see that? Generous people will prosper. But stingy people will end up in poverty. Make up your mind to be generous to God and not stingy to Him, then, this year. And God will surely enlarge the boundaries of your prosperity greatly. Amen.

Do have a great week.

Copyright © 2024, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@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 pleased to welcome you to another week of this year, year 2024. And my prayer is that God will rid your life of everything that has been making you unavailable for Him to use to bless others, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As we see in the bible, God is always looking out for available instruments to use in establishing His good purpose in the lives of men. It may be His good purpose of healing them, saving them or prospering them that He wants to accomplish. But He is always in need of a man or woman or a boy or girl that is available for Him to use anytime He calls.

For instance, He said this to Ezekiel about the people of Israel: “I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.” (Ezek 22:30NIV) Look at that. Even though these people deserved to be judged by God for all their many sins, He was still not in a hurry to judge them. Instead, He patiently searched the whole land to see if there was someone that was praying to Him for them, so that He may spare them. Unfortunately, He found none. Therefore, He was left with no choice but to judge them.

In like manner, there are many that have been left to suffer or die because God is unable to find anyone to use to minister to them. Look at the way some of us pray all the time for God’s intervention in the leadership of this country. Do you think God is not listening to us? Or do you think He is uninterested in answering our prayers? He is listening to us and giving answers to our prayers. But the problem may just be that He has not found any available soul to use to bring us the kind of comfort and peace of mind that we want. So, we also have to be praying that there will be available souls for Him to use to save our nation.

But are we even available for Him to use in offering such prayers? Are we available for Him to use in doing anything at all? This goes beyond attending church meetings. We may be attending church meetings and still not be available for God to use in blessing anybody. As you probably know, it is possible for us to be physically present in a church meeting but also present somewhere else in our minds. Therefore, when things that will bless others, like praying for them, are being done in that meeting, our hearts are not involved. How, then, can God use us to bless anyone?

In his book of prophecy, Isaiah tells us of a time in which he found himself standing in the presence of God in a vision. And as he points out, even though he was there in His presence, God was still asking, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” Why did God not just say, “Isaiah, I want to send you to my people to teach them my ways?” It was because He was not going to assume that Isaiah was available for Him to use, just because he was standing in His presence. Isaiah, therefore, had to indicate that he was available for Him to use before He could send him anywhere. (Cf. Isaiah 6:1-10)

In the same vein, just because we attend church meetings, God is not going to assume that we too are available for Him to use, if we will not show Him that we are available and that He can use us. Look at many of our churches today. Do you know that even the leaders of our churches may not assume that we are available to be given any task, if we will not indicate that we are available?

For instance, if you always disappear almost immediately a church meeting ends, are you showing yourself to be available to work for God in your church? No! Or if there is a job to be done by the church and, without taking permission, you do not show up to participate, will your leaders see you as available to join them in working for God? No! See, it is the one that a church leader is constantly seeing around him or that is constantly in touch with him that he will consider to be available for him to do God’s work with. The one that is always or often avoiding him will not be seen by him as a ready worker.

Now if we are not available to work with our church leaders or brethren in our church meetings, what is the guarantee that God will find us available to use in our workplaces, schools or neighbourhoods? There is none. Of course, that someone is available to God does not mean the person is fit to be used by Him. But even if we are the most qualified for any work He wants to do, as long as we are not available, we can only remain useless to Him. And where this is the case, He may have to go to a desert to look for a Moses to use or to a prison to bring out a Joseph to use or to a Babylon to look for another Nehemiah to use.

I pray that God will not be forced to find a replacement for us this year, in Jesus’ name. Amen. And one way to prevent that from happening is for us to begin to make ourselves fully available for Him to use.

Have a great week.

Copyright © 2024, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@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 delighted to welcome you to the third week of this year, year 2024. And I pray that God will grant you speed in accomplishing every good desire He places in your heart in the year, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As we all can see, this year is gradually going from being a new year to an old one. So, if there is any good thing God has placed in our hearts to do in the year, now is the time to begin to make effort towards doing it. Jesus once said this to His disciples: “As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.” (John 9:4NIV) Did you see that? We don’t have all the time in the world to carry out any good desire or dream that we have for this year. So, unless we begin to work right away towards making a reality of it, night will come upon us before we know it and we will realise that the year is gone and the good things we wish to do have not been accomplished.

Now only God knows how many nights have come upon us in the past and have left us without a realisation of our good desires and dreams. And the night of this year too will come and leave us without a realisation of our good desires, if we will not immediately begin to work towards making a reality of them. As we see in the bible, Jacob, having served Laban for some years, woke up one morning and realised that he had not been doing anything for himself and his growing family. All he had been doing was working for his uncle and father-in-law, eating and drinking whatever he gave him and giving birth to children.

But what if the man got angry with him one day and decided to drive him away? How would he continue to take care of his family? Or what if the man suddenly fell ill and died? Would his sons share his inheritance with him? Even if they did, would whatever they gave him be enough to start life afresh and care for his large family? Those, I believe, were the thoughts that began to ran through Jacob’s mind at that time. And he must have concluded that if, having worked for Laban all those years, he still could not take care of his family without the man’s support, then, he needed to leave him and find something else to do with his life. (Cf. Gen 30:25-30)

However, Jacob did not just desire to leave Laban in order to prepare for the future of his family, he also took steps to make that desire a reality. How? He boldly met Laban and told him what he had decided to do. Yes, Laban was his uncle. He was also his father-in-law, the father of his two lovely wives. But we are talking here about his future and the future of his wives and children. So, he would not allow sentiments to keep him from doing what was right for them. Of course, we would not know how long he pondered on this matter before taking steps about it. But we do know from scriptures that right after his eleventh son, Joseph, was born, he told himself that he had had enough – he needed to turn his desire into a reality.

How, then did Laban respond to what Jacob told him? Did he get angry with him and tell to go to hell? No! Instead, he pleaded with him not to go but to stay with him and name his wages. Why? It was because he himself knew that he had been cheating him all along and not giving him what he deserved for his hard labour for him. That, of course, was the beginning of Jacob’s prosperity, as the account further shows us. And by the time he was eventually leaving Laban, he had become a very wealthy man. (Cf. Gen 30-31)

But what if Jacob had not seen the need for him to prepare for the future of his family at the time he did? Would he not have been thrown out of Laban’s household empty-handed one day? Surely, he would have been thrown out of his house empty-handed one day. And what if he had not acted on his desire to do what was right for his family? Would he still not have been disgraced out of Laban’s household one day? Most likely, he would have someday been disgraced out of that house by the man’s sons.

So, first, it is important that we have the right thought or desire about where we should be or what should be happening in our lives this new year. But that is not enough. We must also immediately begin to boldly take the right steps towards making our desire become a reality, even when doing so may get some people offended. Otherwise, stagnation or disgrace may end up being our lot in the year. My prayer, then, is that God will open your eyes to see all the areas of your life in which you are due for elevation and in which you need to take steps for a glorious future and also equip you with everything you need to take the right steps towards making these things a reality this new year, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a splendid week.

Copyright © 2024, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@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 delighted to welcome you to the last Sunday of this year, which also happens to be the very last day of the year. And I pray that God will fill your heart with all joy and peace throughout day and as we cross over into a new year, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As we are about to move into a new year, I want to admonish you with some of the words of Moses to the children of Israel, as they were about to cross over into the Promised Land, which say:

“The LORD your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua also will cross over ahead of you, as the LORD said.” (Deut 31:3NIV)

Who would cross over ahead of those Israelites into the land they wanted to possess? First, it was the Lord their God Himself that would cross over ahead of them. Why? It was to handle anyone or anything that may want to prevent them from entering the land and possessing it for their prosperity and enjoyment. Therefore, even though they did not know all the challenges and opportunities they would be confronted with in the land, they could confidently go into it, knowing that God was already there to take care of everything for their good. And that was exactly what happened. They confidently went into the land and took possession of it, to the glory of God and for their enjoyment.

In like manner, since we too have the same God that went ahead of these Israelites to take possession of that land flowing with milk and honey as our God, we should also calm our hearts, knowing that He has already crossed over into the new year we are about to enter for us. And why has He crossed over into it ahead of us? It is to make sure nothing prevents us from possessing and enjoying every good thing He has deposited in it for us.

Therefore, let us drop whatever fear we have of the new year we are moving into and confidently go into it. That is because it is going to be a more glorious year for us and our families. It will be a year in which God will cause all the good things He has deposited in our lives for our prosperity to manifest. And it will be a year in which He will lead us to possess and enjoy the best that He has deposited in our land for us. We just need to cooperate with Him, and we will surely enjoy all that He has in store for us.

Then, as Moses also pointed out to those Israelites, there was still another person that would cross over ahead of them into the Promised Land. That person was Joshua. And who was Joshua? Joshua was the man ordained and equipped by God to lead them to take possession of the land that He was giving them. That means he was God’s human representative or messenger assigned to help all of them until they were established in the land. And did he do his job well or not? He did it well. He led them and fought and won with them until each of them received his own inheritance and settled in it.

In the same vein, I want you to know that God has already assigned and sent helpers ahead of us into the new year we are moving into. Why? It is so that they will work with us and support us until His good purpose for our lives is fully accomplished. What we need is just to recognise every one of such helpers and humbly allow them to do in our lives and to our lives what God has sent them to do. Doing their job, of course, may shake us out of our comfort zone. But if we will cooperate with them, in accordance with the will of God, their presence in our lives can only result in the manifestation of the glory of God in the year.

So, look forward to an exciting new year, regardless of what your current situation may be at the moment. My prayer is that your heart will be strengthened to cooperate with God and all the people He may want to use for you in the year, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Happy New Year in advance.

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. I welcome you to the last week of the year 2023. And I pray that God will perfect all that concerns you and fill your heart and home with all joy and peace in the week, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As we come to the last days of this year, it is important that you genuinely show appreciation to God and to those He has used for your elevation, comfort or safety in the year. Why is this important? First, it is because it is the will of God for us to always appreciate Him for what He is doing for us and to also learn to appreciate those that He is using for us in one way or the other.

For instance, Paul says this to us about appreciating God: “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1Thess 5:18NIV) Did you see that? It is the will of God for us to give thanks to Him in all circumstances. And how do we do that? We do so by offering sacrifices of praise to Him (Heb 13:15). Then we do so by giving to Him from our substance (Prov 3:9).

Furthermore, Paul says this to us about appreciating those who lead us in our churches: “The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.” (1Tim 5:17NIV) Did you see that? Those feeding us with God’s word deserve to be doubly appreciated. That means they deserve for us to appreciate them with our words and also with our resources. And that is because what they are doing is moving our lives forward and keeping our souls safe.

But then, it is not only those feeding us with the word of God that are worthy of double honour. Others also that God has used in very special ways to move our lives forward or make us safe this year also deserve it. They also deserve more than our words of appreciation but also some gifts from us. This, of course, is not about getting expensive gifts for them, though nothing is wrong with that if we have the means. Rather, it is about relating to them with a true sense of appreciation.

Now if we will not show God and others that He has used to bless us in very obvious and special ways this year genuine and heartfelt appreciation, first, we will be shutting the door against receiving more from them. Not only that, we may just be exposing ourselves to God’s judgment. For example, when Nabal refused to appreciate David and his men for all that God had used them to do for his men, God stepped in to judge him. And that resulted in his untimely death. (Cf. 1Sam 25)

Also, Jesus told a parable of a rich man whose ground produced a good crop and of how the man did not think at all about thanking God or honouring him with anything from his profit. All he did was talk about how he was going to enjoy life more and enlarge his barns. So, God judged him as stingy and took his life in the midst of his prosperity. And our Lord ends the parable by saying that is how it will be for everyone who stores us riches for himself but is not rich towards God. (Cf. Luke 12:16-21)

My prayer is that God’s judgment will not come on you because of your failure to appreciate Him and others that deserve your appreciation adequately. But you too should think deeply about all He has done for you this year and how to appreciate Him for it. Also, think deeply about all the people He has used for your prosperity and peace of mind this year and how you are going to appreciate them, especially this festive season. I pray that your heart will be led to do the right thing about these things and your purse loaded with everything you need to do so. Amen.

Merry Christmas in advance!

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