Category: Pastor’s Desk

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours without measure from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. Welcome to another week of the month of September 2023. I pray that God will find you highly useful in the week in leading many to experience the goodness of His Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

As we are shown in the bible, one of the reasons our Lord Jesus had many people coming to receive from Him was that those that benefited from His ministry kept on telling their friends and families and bringing them to Him. For example, Mark gives us this report about a time when He came home:

“Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”” Mark 2:3-5NIV)

Did you see that? The only reason that paralytic man had a chance of being healed by the Lord Jesus was that his people brought him to His house. But they did not just bring him to the Lord’s house, they also did all they could to get him to see Jesus. And the Lord referred to what they did as an act of faith. So, it was not the faith of the paralytic man that the Lord considered in healing him but the faith of those people that brought him.

Also, John tells us in his gospel of how Andrew, having met Jesus, immediately went to look for his brother, Simon, and brought him to the Lord. And when he came to Him, He gave him a new name. He called him ‘Peter’. So, the reason we now speak of the great Apostle Peter was that his brother brought him to the Lord Jesus to experience His salvation and goodness. (Cf: John 1:40-41)

Furthermore, John tells us of how Philip brought his friend Nathaniel to the Lord Jesus. And even though Nathaniel was initially sceptical about meeting the Lord, his friend convinced him to come and meet him first before jumping into any conclusions. When he came, however, and the Lord gave him some revelations about himself, he surrendered himself to His lordship from that day on and became one of his apostles. (Cf. John 1:43-51)

Now though the Lord is no longer physically present in this world, He is always present by His Spirit in every meeting of those who believe in Him. And He is always there to teach, heal, deliver and transform the lives of those who are there. If you, then, have been experiencing His goodness and transformation in your life in this assembly, you too should be bringing your friends, family members and neighbours to Him to experience these same things and not be selfish. (Cf. Matt 18:20)

See, you cannot tell how much the Lord is able to do for those that you bring to Him. You cannot tell how your bringing them to Him will change their lives, homes and future. Could Andrew tell that his brother, Peter, would be used by the Lord in the mighty way he was used, when he first brought him to Him? No! But by bringing him to Him, he opened the door for him to become a mighty instrument of praise in His hands.

In like manner, by bringing your friends, families and neighbours to the Lord, you may just be opening the door for them to become mighty instruments of praise in His hands. So, as you go this week, begin to consider those that you are going to bring to the Lord among the people around you. And I pray that God will make room for you to lead them to Him and also fill you with adequate wisdom and courage to do so, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a splendid week.

Copyright © 2023, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministry.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. Welcome to another week of the month of September 2023. I pray that God will rid your heart of every wrong thing that is making your relationships sour and also hindering your experience of His goodness. Amen.

Now one of the things that often make it difficult for us to have sweet fellowship with the people in our lives is selfishness. What is selfishness? Selfishness is going for what we want without showing any concern for how it will affect others. In other words, you just want what you want and are not interested in who gets hurt or destroyed in the process.

Selfishness, then, is the foundation of all the evils being done in the world. It is the reason people steal, fornicate, rape, murder, do money rituals and so forth. They are just concerned about what they want for themselves. They don’t care about what they do to have it and how what they do to have it is going to affect others. They are selfish.

Selfishness, as I already pointed out, is also the reason people cannot get along in their marriages, neighbourhoods, workplaces and even Christian assemblies. All they think of is what they want and how to get it. They will not think of how what they want and the way they go about getting it will affect those with them or around them. So, they are going to meet with resistance, which sometimes may be violent or costly.

A number of years ago, I came home from work only to be greeted in my street with a very terrible and unbearable odour. “What happened here?” I asked my co-tenants. “Why is everywhere filled with this kind of evil odour?” And they told me that it was those in the house beside us that emptied their septic tank straight into our street.

But why did they do that? Did they think of the health implications of doing so to themselves and the neighbourhood as a whole? No! Did they consider the fact the odour that would come from doing so would drive everybody in the neighbourhood away from their houses? No! They just saw that their septic tank was full and needed to be emptied. So, they emptied it into the street. And that, of course, made some neighbours call on some government health workers to visit them and give them appropriate punishment.

What is my point? It is that selfishness will make life difficult for you and those around you. This is why the word of God says to us, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Phil 2:3-4NIV) Did you see that? If we want peace in our homes, neighbourhoods, workplaces and churches, each of us must not just be concerned about want we want for ourselves but also about what others want for themselves.

See, when we are not just concerned about ourselves but also about others, we will demonstrate caution and understanding in our dealings with them. So, we will not take steps that will destroy them in our attempt to satisfy ourselves or become bitter against them, if they have to say ‘No’ to certain requests we are making of them. But if we are taking steps that are ruining other people’s lives or joy because we want to please ourselves or if we are making enemies of others because they will not say ‘Yes’ to certain requests (and not rights) of ours, we are walking in selfishness. And regardless of how high we rise in life, sorrow and pains will never be far from our lives.

So, watch your life for every form of selfishness and make sure you deal with it with the word of God and by the power of the Spirit of God. And may God strengthen you to do so. Amen.

Have a great week.

Copyright © 2023, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministry.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am glad to welcome you to the last week of the month of August 2023. I pray that God will always see to it that nothing needed for your prosperity and peace of mind is hidden from you, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As reported by Luke in his gospel, our Lord Jesus once wept over the city of Jerusalem, saying, “…”If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace — but now it is hidden from your eyes.” (Luke 19:42NIV) What was hidden from the inhabitants of Jerusalem, as indicated by the Lord here? What they needed for their peace!

In like manner, there are many today that what is needed for their peace of mind and prosperity is hidden from them. And as long as it is hidden from them, they will know no peace of mind or prosperity. Instead, they will only keep wasting their time, energy and resources, seeking peace and rest where they do not exist. So, among the prayers you ought to be offering regularly in life is that God will open your eyes to see those things that are meant for your peace and prosperity, according to every day’s need.

What made the widow of Zarephath and her son survive the three years of famine that the land of Israel experienced during the reign of King Ahab? It was the fact that God opened her eyes to see what she needed to do for their survival. How God did this we are not told. But we do know from the bible that God specifically told Elijah that he had commanded this widow to take care of him during the famine. And because the woman acted based on what God had told her, she and her son survived the famine. (Cf. 1Kings 17)

Also, what made Jabesh come out of poverty and a life of sorrow and pain? It was the fact that his eyes were opened someday to see that if he would pray to God about his situation, things would actually be turned around for him. And when he took a step of faith and prayed to God about his matter, God answered him and made him more honourable than all his brothers. (Cf. 1Chro 4:9-10)

Then what made the woman with the issue of blood receive her healing, after twelve years of looking for deliverance in vain? It was the fact that her eyes were one day opened to see that if she could just locate our Lord Jesus and touch the hem of His garment, she would be well. And when she found Jesus and touched the hem of His garment, she was instantly healed of her malady. (Cf. Mark 5:25-34)

Now notice that in all the examples that I just gave, nobody told these people what they needed to do to experience their salvation, prosperity or healing. It was God Himself that revealed to their hearts what they must do. And that may be what you too need. I mean that what you also need to experience the promotion, healing or peace of mind that God has prepared for you may not be something that any preacher or prophet knows or can tell you. Rather, it may be something God Himself has to reveal to you personally.

Therefore, pray that God will see to it that everything you need to experience the fullness of His goodness in your life will no longer be hidden from you but clearly made known to you. Then pray that as God is showing you what to do to move forward in life or to experience healing or salvation in your life, you will also have enough wisdom, strength and boldness to act accordingly. And so shall it be, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a splendid week.

Copyright © 2023, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministry.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

Beloved: grace and peace be yours immeasurably from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. I welcome you to another week of the month of August 2023. And my prayer is that your heart will always be strengthened to never replace the word of God with anything else in your life, so that may experience all of God’s good purposes for your life. Amen.

Recently, I was readying a book of a respected man of God and came upon a part of it in which he was trying to use his experiences in business to establish that his interpretation of certain things said in Scriptures about tithing and the giving of firstfruits was correct. And while nothing is wrong with using our life’s experiences to illustrate bible truths, we must avoid making the mistake of interpreting the word of God with our experiences. The one that must interpret what Scriptures say to us is the Holy Spirit. And He will not interpret Scriptures using our experiences or feelings. Rather, He will interpret Scriptures using Scriptures.

Now, as we see in Scriptures, God once commanded Moses and Aaron to speak to the rock that was before the Israelites so that water would come out of it for the people to drink. But instead for them to speak to that rock, Moses smote it with the rod in his hands twice. And did water come out of it or not? Water came out of it for the people to drink. But is that to say that the experience the people had then was produced by a correct handling of the word of God? No! (Cf. Num 20:1-12)

Moses and Aaron handled the word of God incorrectly on that occasion. Yet their people experienced God’s supply of water. But to show everyone that Moses and Aaron missed it, God told them that they would not make it into the Promised Land. And it was so. So, it is possible for you to handle the word of God incorrectly and still experience what those who are handling His word correctly are experiencing. But then, unless you are shown mercy, you will have to face the repercussions of handling His word incorrectly, as Moses and Aaron did.

In like manner, we may be handling the word of God correctly and still have experiences that are contrary to what His word says. Is that to say that our experiences can invalidate the word of God? No! What, then, is the problem? There is no problem at all with us or with the word of God in such situations. All we need is just to be patient and remain steadfast in handling the truth of God that we know correctly. And at the right time, our experiences in life will be made to agree with what God has said.

As we see in the bible, when Moses first took the word of the Lord to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to set the Israelites free, things got worse for the people. But did their immediate experience at that time stop God’s word from eventually setting them free? No! His word still set them free. But Moses had to persist in confronting Pharaoh and his officials with everything God was saying to him until the Israelites were set free.

So, we too must keep on holding fast to what God has said about our lives and confronting our situations with it, even if our experiences are contrary to what He says. That is because our experiences cannot invalidate the word of God or render it impotent. But His word, if we do not give up on it, will surely change our experiences to conform with His good purpose for our lives. How long, then, shall we need to hold fast the word of God in order to experience it? We have to hold on to it till we experience what it says. And my prayer is that you will always have in you sufficient strength and courage to keep acting on what God says about every situation of your life, so that you may experience every good thing He wants you to experience in life, regardless of how long it may take. Amen.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Have a splendid week.

Copyright © 2023, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministry.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Have a lovely week.

Copyright © 2023, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministry.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Have a great week.

Copyright © 2023, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministry.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Have a splendid week.

Copyright © 2023, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church --This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministry.com  or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Have a glorious week.

Copyright © 2023, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministry.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)