Category: Pastor’s Desk

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!

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 am pleased to welcome to another week of the month of December 2023. My prayer is that God will make you and your home truly glad in every way this new week and throughout the remaining days of this year. Amen.

Now one of the ways to continually experience true happiness from God’s hand is to always treat whatever He says to us with respect, even when what He says to us does not make sense to us. The bible tells us that God’s foolishness is wiser than man’s wisdom and His weakness stronger than man’s strength (1Cor 1:25). Therefore, even if our minds cannot handle what He is saying to us about Himself or about our lives, our wisdom will be to just accept it and act accordingly.

Unfortunately, because of a lack of understanding of this, many scoff at whatever God tells them that their brains cannot handle. Therefore, they are unable to reap the benefits of being obedient to His word. Not only that, they may even lose their lives or some other things that are important to them as a result of their scoffing.

For example, we have in 2Kings, chapters 6 and 7, the story of an officer of a king of Israel that scoffed at the word of the Lord and what happened to him as a result of his scoffing. As the account goes, there had been a severe famine in the land of Israel that led people to begin to kill their own children for food. And it was at that point that the king remembered that there was Prophet Elisha in the land and that such a thing should not be happening under his watch. That, of course, is typical of the way many of our government leaders, especially in this country, function. They are reactionary leaders. So, unless the problems of many become their personal problems, unless the problems of many come to their doorsteps, they will not show any serious concern for the welfare of their people.

Well, when the king eventually woke up from his sleep and sent messengers to Prophet Elisha, God spoke through him to the land, saying, “Hear the word of the LORD. This is what the LORD says: About this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.”” (2Kings 7:1NIV) By today’s standard, a shekel is about two hundred and twelve naira and a seah of measurement can take about seven and a half litres of water. So, it is like saying that two bowls (kongos) of flour will not cost more than two hundred and fifty naira.

Does that not sound outrageous and impossible? It does! But during that period, God said through His prophet, Elisha, that He would bring about a situation in less than a day that would so bring the prices of food items down in Samaria that hunger would disappear from the city. And whether the king believed this or not, we would not know. That was because he did not say anything. He just kept his peace to see how what God had said would come to pass.

But there was a very close officer of this king that could not help but scoff at what the Lord had said. Why? He thought of it something irresponsible to say. According to him, even if the windows of heaven were opened and food started falling down from there like rain, what God had said could not happen. Why did he speak like that? He spoke like that because what the Lord had said did not make any financial sense to him. So, he made a joke out of it. And because he made a joke out of it, his scoffing was judged by the Lord through Elisha. He was told that he would be allowed to see the beautiful thing God had planned to do for His people but his mouth would not be allowed to taste it. And that was exactly how things went for him. (Cf. 2Kings 7)

Now I have interacted in recent times with people who believe that regardless of what God does for our country, things cannot go back to the way they were years ago. That means such people, even if they are Christians, don’t believe in the prayers we are offering for the nation. That is the reason for their scoffing. But we have seen that it is a dangerous thing to scoff at the Lord’s word, whether about Himself, about us, about others or about anything. Even if you don’t believe what He is saying, keep your unbelief to yourself. Don’t spread it or make a joke out of His word. That is because those who scoff at God’s word are unconsciously placing themselves under His judgment (Ps 1:1; 2Pet 3:3-9). And if they should meet someone like Prophet Elisha or Apostle Peter, who will effect that judgment, they may not live to tell the story. So, watch yourself. And may the good Lord keep your heart humble before Him all the time. 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 be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am delighted to welcome you to another week of the last month of this year, the month of December 2023. My prayer is that God will lead you to do every good thing you are meant to do this year, so that His rewards that are also meant to be yours by doing so will be yours without delay, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As we see in the bible, just some days before our Lord Jesus was crucified, a dinner was given in His honour in Bethany, where He had raised Lazarus from the dead. And Mary, the sister of Lazarus, took advantage of the moment to celebrate Him in an unexpected and outrageous way. What did she do? Here is the account:

“Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “[It was intended] that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”” (John 12:3-8NIV)

Did you see that? Just to honour Jesus, this woman poured on His feet a whole jar of perfume that was worth one year’s wages of a hired worker. When did she start planning to do this? We would not know. How did she get this jar of very expensive perfume? We would not know. But we do know that what she did that day was not well-received by most of the people that witnessed it. Why? It was outrageous!

To say the fact, it is outrageous to use one year’s salaries to buy a bottle of perfume and then waste everything on one person’s feet in few minutes. Many would even consider it irresponsible to use up that kind of expensive perfume in few months. But Mary did not use it up in few months but in few minutes. And she did it without any feeling of guilt or reluctance. She did it cheerfully and even used her hair to clean the Lord’s feet, as she poured the perfume on them.

Now why did she do that? Her reason for doing so is actually beyond what we can imagine. But it is clear that Jesus meant so much to her that she wanted to honour Him in such a way that anyone who heard about what she did would surely say, “What? Is that not too much?” And that was exactly what happened. Those who witnessed what she did were all like, “Stop! What are you doing? Is this not too much?” In fact, Judas Iscariot protested seriously against it and said that she should have given the perfume to the Lord so that they would sell it and give the money to the poor.

But then, to everyone’s surprise, the Lord did not stop Mary or rebuke her for doing what she did. Instead, He said what she did was done by the leading of the Spirit. In fact, He added that it was God that made her save that perfume for that moment, to prepare Him for His burial. In other words, if she had not honoured Him the way she did that day, the opportunity to do so would have eluded her forever, for it was during that same period that He was arrested and killed. But because she did it, the Lord said, as recorded by both Matthew and Mark in their gospels, wherever the gospel is proclaimed, what she did will also be told, in memory of her. And that is what I am doing here. (Cf. Matt 26:13; Mark 14:9)

In any case, what is the point of this story? First, it is that we must desire to honour Jesus in outrageous ways, in ways that will make those around us wonder whether we are the only ones He is good to. That is because He deserves it. Second, it is that we must learn to pray that God will always lead us to recognise every opportunity to specially honour the Lord that we must not miss in life and to also be ready to utilise it. Otherwise, we will miss those special rewards that are meant to be ours alone.

Now perhaps the Spirit of God is already telling you that this year-end gives you an opportunity to do something rare, something outrageous to honour the Lord. It will be wise for you to listen and act without delay. Otherwise, the opportunity to do so may never show up again. And if that should happen, your reward also will never be yours. My prayer is that just as Mary, King Solomon and Barnabas did not miss their opportunities to honour God in very outrageous ways and be unusually rewarded by Him, you too will not miss yours. Amen. (Cf. 1Kings 3:4-15; Acts 4:36-37)

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 from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am delighted to welcome you to the last month of this year, the month of December. My prayer is that the month will be one of overflowing joy for you and your home, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

We ought to give thanks to God for giving us the privilege to witness the last month of this year. The year, indeed, has been a very tough one for our country as a whole. And perhaps it has been a very tough one for you and your family too. Nevertheless, God has not allowed the difficulties of the year to swallow us up. And we ought to give thanks to Him for this.

Now there is a Psalm of David that I consider fitting for us to read and meditate on at such a time as this. It is Psalm 124, and it goes like this:

“If the LORD had not been on our side — let Israel say — if the LORD had not been on our side when men attacked us, when their anger flared against us, they would have swallowed us alive; the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us, the raging waters would have swept us away. Praise be to the LORD, who has not let us be torn by their teeth. We have escaped like a bird out of the fowler’s snare; the snare has been broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.” (Ps 124NIV)

Did you see that? What we ought to be saying at this time is that the reason we and the people we love have not become victims of the anger, jealousy and wickedness of the enemies around us this year is that God has been on our side. If God had not been on our side, we would surely have become victims of their wicked expectations concerning us. That is what my testimony ought to be at this time. This is what your own testimony also ought to be at this time.

Also, the reason you have not been swept away by the flood and angry waters of challenges that have come against this country and against you too this year is that God has been on your side. If He had not been on your side, you will most likely have become a history. But because He is always with you, you are alive and well enough today to be able to talk about what you have been through. Should you not, then, be praising His name for this? You should.

Then it is possible that there were situations in your life this year in which you felt that Satan had eventually gotten you, situations in which you felt as if there were no way of escape for you from the shame, poverty or death staring you in the face. Yet, somehow, the traps that caught you were broken and you were able to escape without being hurt. Who do you think made that happen? It was God. He was the one that made you escape like a bird from the snare of the fowler. He was the one that did not allow you to become food for the devil and his agents.

Therefore, regardless of what you may have gone through this year, you ought to express your sincere and deep gratitude to God for keeping you alive to witness the last month of the year. No, things may not be as good as you want them to be in your life at the moment. In fact, a number of things may have gone from good to bad or bad to worse for you. But first, you need to understand that the reason you have accomplished or enjoyed any good thing at all this year is God. Without Him, you could not have done, received, eaten or enjoyed anything good at all in the year. (Cf. Ecc 2:24-25; Is 26:12; 1Tim 6:17)

Then, another thing you need to understand is that as long as there is life in you, you can still witness the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living, if only you will not stop trusting Him and being thankful to Him. David, in another Psalm of his, says, “I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.” (Ps 27:13NIV) What about you? Are you also confident that you will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living and not after you have died?

Well, I am confident that I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living, even in this country Nigeria, regardless of what the times may be saying at the moment. I am confident like this because I know that God, our Father, will always be with me to make all things work together for my good. And my prayer is that you too will be strengthened to confidently walk with God to experience every good thing He wants you to experience in this life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a splendid December 2023.

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)