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FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2025 Pastor's Desk

Don’t discourage them | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: February 09, 2025 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 12, No. 41

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours abundantly from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Redeemer. I am glad to welcome you to another week of the month of February 2025. My prayer is that God will rid you every attitude that may make you a hindrance to the progress of the church of God or of other people in your life. Amen.

In Numbers, chapter 32, Moses says this to the tribes of Gad and Reuben:

“Moses said to the Gadites and Reubenites, “Shall your countrymen go to war while you sit here? Why do you discourage the Israelites from going over into the land the LORD has given them? This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to look over the land. After they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and viewed the land, they discouraged the Israelites from entering the land the LORD had given them.”” (Num 32:6-9NIV)

Why did he say these hurting words to them? It was because they had requested to have their own inheritance before the whole nation crossed over River Jordan to take the land of Canaan that God wanted to give them. And Moses saw that as a sign of unfaithfulness and an attempt to discourage the remaining people from going on to take the land God was going to give them. Therefore, he began to rebuke them severely.

But then, these people simply made that request because they saw that the land on that side of River Jordan was suitable for livestock rearing. And they had very large herds and flocks. Why, then, did Moses get so upset with them that he began to rebuke them? The reason was that he did not want them to be the reason others would be discouraged from going for what God had wanted them to have and then get into trouble.

As Moses pointed out to them, the reason all of them ended up wandering for forty years in the wilderness was that ten of the twelve men that were sent to spy the land God was going to give them brought back an evil and discouraging report to the people. And it was because of these ten men that the entire nation had to suffer and be kept from enjoying God’s provision for them to the full for forty years. If only ten men, then, could make an entire nation suffer for forty years, imagine what problems whole two tribes could bring upon them. That, of course, was why Moses had to quickly protest.

In any case, those people assure Moses not to worry at all. They told him that they would not dare discourage the people from having God’s best for them. Instead, they would leave their families behind and march on with them into the Promised Land until every other tribe had their own inheritance. And that was exactly what they did. (Cf. Jos 22:1-9)

Now what lessons are there for us in all this? First, it is that we need to watch how our words and actions may affect those in our lives, especially the people of God. Yes, we may have very good reasons for wanting to say or do whatever we have in mind. But where what we say or do may discourage others or fill them with lukewarmness and keep them from away from what God has planned for their lives, we need to watch ourselves. Otherwise, we may end up being the reason their lives and our lives as well will remain stagnant forever.

Second, where we observe that the people in our lives are doing things that will discourage us or others, we need to speak up, as Moses did. Yes, they may have good reasons for what they are doing. But unless we speak up and allow them to explain themselves, we may not know whether they should be tolerated or firmly resisted. And that may just allow Satan to use them to make a short trip to greatness and rest long or impossible for us.

Third, if we are confronted by others who have legitimate reasons to believe that our actions are going to hinder them or cause problems for them in life, we should be patient and humble enough to explain ourselves. Otherwise, we may make a bad situation worse. If the people of Gad and of Reuben had chosen to enter into arguments with Moses, instead of explaining themselves to him, he may have prayed to God against them. And they may have been severely judged by God, as Dathan, Korah and those with them were judged by Him. (Cf. Num 16)

So, don’t train yourself to be arguing with people when they accuse you on any matter. Instead, be patient and humble to explain yourself to them. That way, you will be healing your relationship with them instead of further destroying it. And may the Spirit of God continually fill you with the wisdom and strength to act accordingly. Amen.

Have a splendid week.

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

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FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2025 Pastor's Desk

Title: Cooperate with HimBy: J.O. LawalDate: February 02, 2025Series: From Pastor’s DeskNumber: Vol. 12, No. 40

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours without measure from God our Father and Jesus Christ. It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the second month of this year, the month of February 2025. My prayer is that God, by His Spirit in you, will cause you to humble yourself before Him, so that He can lead you to experience the fullness of His favour and goodness all through the month, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As we begin this month, I want to admonish you with these words from one of David’s psalms:

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.” (Ps 32:8-9NIV)

Who is speaking here? God! Who is He speaking to? Me! You! All of us! And what is He saying to us? First, He is telling us that He is ready to instruct and teach us in the way we should go in life. That means it is not every way that we take in life that will result in peace of mind and prosperity for us. There is a particular way for us to take to have these things. And the only one that knows this way and can lead us through it is God, our maker.

The second thing God says is that He will counsel us and watch over us. That means He is ready to see to it that we are never confused in life and that we are never without protection. What, then, do we need to enjoy His teaching, guidance and protection every day of our lives? We just need to cooperate with Him. And are we going to cooperate with Him? Are you going to cooperate with God to lead you to enjoy His best for your life?

As we see in the bible text above, God warns us not to be stubborn like animals. Why? We are not animals. We are humans created in His image and after His likeness. So, we have understanding and can be taught and guided by Him. Animals have no understanding. And because they have no understanding, you cannot explain things to them or reason with them. So, you have to trick or force them to cooperate with you. Otherwise, you will not be able to get them to do what you want them to do for you.

In like manner, if we choose to act like animals in our relationship with God, then, He won’t be able to easily teach or guide us to experience peace and prosperity in our lives, as He will love to. It follows, then, that if He must accomplish any good thing in our lives, He will have to make us listen to Him the hard way. But He hardly does that. That is because there is no guarantee that we will listen to Him, even if He has to make us learn the hard way.

For example, I once spent some hours counselling someone about her marriage. Yet she went ahead and did the exact opposite of what I told her. Now she has been through two failed marriages. And even if she marries again today, there is no guarantee that the new marriage will not fail. That is because unless she starts listening to God, she will have to continue to learn the hard way.

I shared that with you to just let you know that God does not want us to learn anything in life the hard way. That is because we may not even live to tell the story. So, He wants to teach us, guide us and also protect us. But we must rid ourselves of all stubbornness and humble ourselves to learn from Him and to follow Him. And I pray that we all will be daily strengthened to do so. Amen.

Have a lovely February 2025.

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

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FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2025 Pastor's Desk

Before the evil day comes | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: January 26, 2025 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 12, No. 39

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace 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 January 2025. I pray that God will daily encourage you to always take advantage of His grace to be strong in Him, so that no evil day will triumph over you. Amen.

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul says, “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” (Eph 6:13NIV) What is the instruction to the people God here? It is to put on the full armour of God. In other words, they are to take advantage of whatever God has provided for their protection to keep themselves protected. So, this is not something God will do for them; rather, it is what they will do for themselves.

Now why is it important for God’s people to do this? It is so that they will be able to stand their ground, when the evil day comes. So, it is certain that some evil days will come for every child of God. Truly, there is no day that does not have evil in it, to one degree or the other. But there are days in which certain evils are particularly directed to each of us. And it is because of such days that we need to stay protected with God’s armour.

For example, there was a time that some people ganged up against Daniel to destroy him. How? It was by tricking King Darious to order everyone in his kingdom not to pray to any god at all but him. And as the order stated, any disobedience to it would land the one involved in the den of lions. (Cf. Daniel 6:1-9)

Why did these men make this kind of move? It was because they knew that the reason they had not been able to destroy Daniel was that he was a man of prayer and also one who feared God. Therefore, their thought was that if they could get him not to pray to God for at least one month, they should be able to get him and destroy him. And if he still chose to pray, against the king’s order, then, he would end up in the den of lions. So, for them, there was not escape for the man at all.

But they failed. They failed because Daniel never stopped praying to God, in spite of the king’s edict. Instead, he continued to pray and to pray in such a way that even his enemies would know that he was praying. But that was an evil day for him. It was a day in which all the wicked officials of King Darius were against him. It was a day that even the king could not help or save him. (Cf. Daniel 6:10)

Why, then, did he continue to pray to God? He continued to pray to Him because he had come to see God as his all in all. This man had been meditating on the word of God and praying for years. And that had built his faith up to the point that no threat from anybody could move him. So, even though everyone was against him during that period, he wasn’t moved at all. That was because he knew that God would keep him safe.

Did God, then, keep him safe or not? He did keep him safe and also put all his enemies to shame. But what if he had not been building his faith up before that evil day came? Would he not have been destroyed? He would most likely have been destroyed.

What is the point of this, then? It is that we should not wait until the evil day comes before we start building up our faith in God or seeking His protection. To say the fact, we may not even remember or be bold enough to seek God’s protection when the evil day comes, if we have not been used to entrusting our lives to Him.

Thinks about this: Will someone who will not pray when there is no law against praying pray, if there should be a law against it? Not likely! So, you will most likely not demonstrate in God in the day of adversity a faith that you don’t have in him in the day of prosperity. That is why it is now that you must put on the full armour of God. Otherwise, you will have no answer for the devil when the evil day comes.

Have a lovely week.

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

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FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2025 Pastor's Desk

Only few people | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: January 19, 2025 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 12, No. 38

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am glad to welcome you to another week of the month of January 2025. My prayer is that God will wake you up to recognize all the duties of your ministry and also strengthen you to begin to carry them out without delay. Amen.

Paul, in a letter to Timothy, says this to him: “…discharge all the duties of your ministry.” (2Tim 4:5NIV) Why does he say this to him? He says it to him because he is sure that he knows his ministry and the responsibilities that go with it. If Timothy does not know the duties of his ministry, then, he won’t be able to fulfil all of them on purpose. Yes, he may accidentally carry some of the duties of his ministry, even if he does not know them. But he won’t be able to deliberately and fully carry out duties that he knows nothing about.

Now if Timothy is not fully discharging the duties of his ministry, then, God will not be able to bless everyone He wants to bless through his ministry the way He wants to. And will God be happy about that? No, He won’t. So, He will have to find ways to wake him up to do all that he is supposed to do or find some other people that will do what he is supposed to do that he is neglecting.

In like manner, God is expecting every child of His in the church today to recognise the duties of his ministry and also begin to carry them out. Otherwise, He will not be able to bless people through them as He wants to. And where this is the case, He will have to seek ways to wake them up to do what they are neglecting or find some other people to do it.

Unfortunately, even though God is doing all He can to wake many of us up to begin to do all the duties of our ministry, we are often unwilling to do so because of fear, laziness, distraction, greed or ignorance. Therefore, often, He also has to call upon others to pick up and do what we are refusing to do. This is why, in many Christian assemblies, it is the same few people that are committed to the word of God that are also often committed to attending prayer meetings, visiting others, giving and even taking care of their church meeting places.

For instance, in a letter to the Corinthians, Paul says this to them: “I was glad when Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus arrived, because they have supplied what was lacking from you.” (1Cor 16:17NIV) Did you see that? These three men were evidently elders of the church in Corinth. That means they must have had a lot of responsibilities to shoulder at the time. Yet, as large as the Corinthian church must have been at the time, it was still these three men that supported Paul with their resources in order to make up for what the whole church should have done.

Now is that a good thing to be happening in any church of God? No! Should only few people be bearing the burdens that all the members of an assembly are supposed to be bearing? No! Is it not possible for those few people to become tired or discouraged at some point and not want to do anything again? It is possible. And we have had people who became discouraged and stopped attending their church meetings altogether because they were overwhelmed by the burdens they were bearing.

Then even if such people do not become discouraged, will they not be the only ones that will get rewarded by God for what their entire churches are supposed to be rewarded for? They will be the only ones. That is because God will never reward anyone for what the person has not done for him. Apart from that, the growth and development of an assembly in which only few people are responsible for everything being done will be slow. You can now see why we have several assemblies in our land that have been around for years but are still babies in fruitfulness and usefulness.

In any case, I am sharing these things with you to let you know that it is not a good thing for us as an assembly to leave what all of us are supposed to be doing for God for only few people. And if this has been the case, then, we have unconsciously been limiting the growth and usefulness of our assembly and perhaps also filling some people among us with discouragement. So, we need to repent and pick up our duties in praying, giving, visiting others and so forth. Then our church will begin to grow and increase in usefulness as it should and we also will not lose our reward to others.

Have a splendid week.

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

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FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2025 Pastor's Desk

If you want better results | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: January 12, 2025 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 12, No. 37

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. It is with great delight that I welcome you into another week of the month of January 2025. I pray that God will lead you by His Spirit to take all the necessary steps for you to excel in all your ways in the year, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Now, at the beginning of a new year like this, it is common for people to begin to desire to live better lives and get better results in their endeavours. And nothing is wrong with that. However, desiring to live a better life is not enough to live a better life. Likewise, desiring to get better results in life is not enough get better results. If we are not doing enough of those things that will make us live better lives and get better results in our endeavours, we will not live better lives or get better results.

The bible says, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” (Gal 6:7NIV) What does this mean? It means that God has already established a law that says that it is what a man sows in life that he will reap. So, first, you cannot reap what you have not sowed. Second, you cannot change the harvest of what you have planted – what you have planted is what you are going to reap.

If you, then, want to live a better life and also get better results in your endeavours this year, the first question you need to ask yourself is, “Am I planting anything at all that will make me live a better life and get better results?” If you are not planting anything into life, you should not expect anything in return. It is only those who are planting that can look forward to a harvest of what they are planting.

The second question you need to ask yourself is, “What kind of seeds am I planting?” As I told you before, you cannot change the harvest of any seed you have planted. What you plant is what you will reap. So, if you want a better life and better results this year, you may want to change the seeds you are planting. If, for example, what you have been planting are seeds corrupted with fear, laziness, selfishness, bitterness, grumbling or evil speaking, you must change them to seeds of faith, love, hard work, generosity, prayer and the word of God. Otherwise, it does not matter how hard you try this year, you will not live a better life or get better results. On the contrary, things may even get worse for you.

Then, even if what you have been planting are seeds of faith, love, hard work, generosity, prayer and the word of God, you need to plant more of them in order to reap more of them in form of a better life and better results. Remember again that it is what you plant that you will reap. Truly, God is able to multiply greatly the harvest of what you have planted. But He can only multiply what you have planted and not what you have not planted. So, if it is a hundred seed that you plant, it is that one hundred seed that He will multiply for you. And if it is a thousand seed that you plant, it is also that one thousand seed that He will multiply for you. There is no favouritism with Him.

Therefore, if you desire to experience greater success and enjoyment this year, be ready to plant more good seeds. And as you do so, I pray that God will multiply greatly the fruit of your labour and give you rest on every side, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a lovely week.

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

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FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2024 Pastor's Desk

My prayers for you | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: January 05, 2025 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 12, No. 36

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours abundantly from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am delighted to welcome you to the first Sunday of this new year, year 2025. Clearly, it is because of the goodness of the Lord that we are alive and well to witness the new year. So, I want you to join me in singing the song that says:

Thank you, Lord.
Thank you, Lord.
All I have to say is ‘Thank you, Lord.’

Now, as we begin this new year, I want to offer for you too the prayers of Apostle John for a friend of his, which read: “Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.” (3John 2NIV) What is the first thing John is asking God to do for his friend? It is that He will cause him to enjoy good health.

Why is that important? It is important because without good health, it will be hard, if not impossible, for anybody to do anything tangible for God, for himself or for others. Also, without good health, people cannot enjoy their lives or any good thing they have. And I want you to be able to do all kinds of tangible things for God, for yourself and for others this year. I also want you to be able to enjoy your life, your relationships and whatever good thing God does for you or gives to you in the year. Therefore, just as John prays for good health for his friend, I also pray that you too will enjoy good health all through this new year, so that you will be strong enough to do whatever good thing your heart desires to do and so that you will enjoy your life and everything you have. Amen.

What is the second thing John asks God to do for his friend? It is that He will cause all things to go well with him. Don’t you too want all things to go well with you this year? Don’t you want all things to go well with your family, business, education, ministry and anything else that concerns your life this year? I want all things to go well with me this year. And my prayer is that all things will go well with you too every day of this new year. Amen.

Then the third thing John asks God to do for his friend is that He will make his soul get along well with Him. In other words, John wants God to make this man sound spiritually. He does not want him to be a prosperous healthy man that is living a godless, foolish or meaningless life. I also don’t want you to be a prosperous healthy person that is living a reckless or useless life this year. That is why my prayer for you too is that God will make you sound spiritually in every way this year, so that your health and wealth will be used to honour Him.

Well, those are my prayers for you as we begin this year. And as I look forward to doing all kinds of great things together with you in the year, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you both now and forevermore. Amen.

Happy new year.

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

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FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2024 Pastor's Desk

And your joy will be complete |By: J.O. Lawal | Date: December 29, 2024 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 13, No. 35

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours without measure from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. It is with great joy that I welcome you to the transition week between this year, 2024, and the new year ahead of us, year 2025. My prayer that is that God will see to it that you move into the new year with overflowing joy, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Now one of the ways to experience overflowing joy over ever matter of our lives is to pray. Jesus says this to us about joy: “Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.” (John 16:24NIV) Did you see that? How do we experience complete joy or fullness of joy in our lives? It is by praying to God.

So, what we need to do is to identify those areas of our lives in which we are not happy at all or in which our joy is not full and begin to talk to God about them. And the Lord Jesus has already assured us that if we will do so, we will receive answers to our prayers and that will result in fullness of joy for us. It is now up to us to either pray in order to experience fullness of joy in our lives or not to pray and remain sad.

For instance, as we are told in the bible, Hannah used to be a very sorrowful woman. Why? First, it was because she was barren. Second, it was because the second wife of her husband, Peninnah, used to torment her because of her barrenness. Truly, her husband, Elkanah, often did his best to comfort and make her happy. But his comfort was never sufficient to keep her from crying or being sorrowful. (Cf. 1Sam 1:1-8)

However, one day, Hannah decided that she was going to talk to God about that which was making her sorrowful every day. And after that prayer session, sorrow disappeared from her life. Look at what the bible says about that: “…Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.” (1Sam 1:18NIV) Did you see that? Through prayer the joy of the Lord rose up in Hannah’s heart and drove away her sorrow. Not only that, through her prayer that day, she received a baby boy from the Lord. And that, of course, made her joy overflow.

In like manner, if we will pray to God about any matter that is bothering us or filling us with sorrow, He will answer us. How? He will first cause His joy to well up in our hearts and drive away our sorrow. Then He will cause the answers to our prayers to manifest. That way, His joy that is in our heart will begin to overflow and result in thanksgiving to Him.

So, though we are in the last days of this year, I want you to know that it is not too late for you to have sorrow banished from your life in all ways or to experience overflowing joy over every matter that is bringing you distress. All you need to do is pray to God, as Hannah, did. Yes, pray to Him out of a sincere heart, telling Him everything that is bothering your heart and what you want Him to do about it. And He will answer you, drive away your sorrow and also perform for you miracles that will cause you to overflow with joy, even before this year ends.

Now, as I look forward to hearing your testimonies, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you both now and forevermore. Amen.

Happy new year in advance.

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@abcministryng.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 08146472876)

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FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2024 Pastor's Desk

Don’t ruin the celebration | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: December 22, 2024 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 13, No. 34

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours abundantly from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. I am delighted to welcome you to the fourth week of the month of December 2024. My prayer is that God will keep your overflowing with joy all through the remaining days of the year. Amen.

Now, as we all know, this season is regarded by many people all around the world as a season of celebration. And while it is okay for us to join in the celebration, we must not forget that everything we do as believers in Christ Jesus must be done with understanding and moderation. Otherwise, we may ruin our own celebration.

For instance, as we see in the Scriptures, David once led the people of Israel in high celebration to bring the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord from where it had been to the place he had just prepared for it in his city. Unfortunately, while the celebration was going on, God killed somebody. Yes, God killed a young man called Uzzah because he touched the Ark of the Covenant while trying to prevent it from falling off the cart it was placed in. And that ruined the celebration of the day. (Cf. 2Sam 6:1-7)

But why did God ruin the celebration of His people in that manner? If it was Satan that had ruined their celebration, we would not be surprised. But it was not Satan that ruined their celebration – it was God. Mind you, He was the one that they were praising on the occasion. Why, then, would He ruin their celebration?

Well, as David would later say, it was because they did not follow God’s prescribed way of handling the Ark of His Covenant that He ruined their celebration. In other words, it was their own ignorance that exposed them to God’s judgment that turned a day of celebration into a day of lamentation for the whole nation. And that is teaching us that ignorance can ruin celebration. So, as you celebrate God’s goodness this season, don’t allow yourself to be so carried away that you start getting involved in handling things that you are ignorant of or things that are too high for you. Otherwise, your celebration may be ruined through God’s judgment or satanic affliction.

Then, as I mentioned already, our celebration this season must be handled with moderation. Eat moderately. Drink moderately. Dress moderately. And spend wisely. Don’t turn yourself into a glutton because you are in a season of celebration. And don’t run into debt or foolishly spend your money all in the name of celebration. Otherwise, you may ruin your reputation.

The bible says to all God’s children: “Let all things be done decently and in order.” (1Cor 14:40NKJV) This, of course, is said specifically concerning our church meetings. But it is also applicable to how we handle our lives. We are to do everything in a moderate and orderly manner. So, as we celebrate God’s goodness, we must do so with wisdom. Otherwise, we may expose ourselves to avoidable accidents, danger or regrets and ruin our celebration. I pray that the year will not end in regrets and sorrow for you or your family, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Merry Christmas in advance.

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@abcministryng.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 08146472876)

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FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2024 Pastor's Desk

That Satan will not use you | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: December 15, 2024 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 13, No. 33

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 December 2024. My prayer is that Satan will not succeed at all in using you to harm yourself or others in the remaining days of the year. Amen.

One of the instructions we are given in the Scriptures is to give no place to the devil (Eph 4:27). In other words, we are not to provide him any opportunity to work in our lives or to use us to work in other people’s lives. But if we do not guard our hearts against every form of evil, Satan may succeed in using us to hurt ourselves or others in ways beyond our imagination.

For instance, because Judas Iscariot will not guard his heart against greed, Satan succeeded in capturing him and using him to betray the Lord Jesus Christ. And when he eventually came back to his senses, realising that Satan had used him, he could not bear the shame. So, once again, Satan filed him with so much regrets and sorrow that he went on to hang himself. If we too, then, will not shut the doors of our hearts against greed, Satan may succeed in using us to destroy the people that we love and even ourselves. (Cf. Matt 27:3-5; John 13:2&27)

What about King Saul? Because he would not guard his heart against bitterness and jealousy, Satan captured him and turned him into a murderer. Then he abandoned his duties as king and began to run from place to place to capture and kill David, an innocent young man that had done him no wrong. And he did not stop wasting his life in this manner until he died.

In the same vein, if we allow jealousy or bitterness in our hearts, Satan may just possess us and begin to use us to pursue the destruction of innocent people, instead of pursuing the fulfilment of God’s plans for our lives. And where this is the case, we are bound to waste our lives.

Also, through pride, Satan can capture our hearts and begin to use us to do things that we may later regret, things that will expose us to God’s judgment. For example, because of David’s pride, because he wanted to boast about the population of Israel, Satan succeeded in using him to take a census of the people. And by doing so, he exposed himself and the people to God’s judgment. If God, then, had not shown the land mercy, maybe it was only few people that would have been left alive. (Cf. 1Chro 21)

You can see, then, that even if we love God very much like David, if we allow pride in our hearts, Satan may just borrow us to use. And who knows what kind of damage he may cause through us? So, as we come to the last days of this year, make sure you allow the word of God to rid you of all forms of evil desires, especially pride, bitterness, jealousy, greed, discontentment and lust. That way, Satan will not be able to use you to ruin your own joy and peace of mind or to destroy others. And may the Spirit of God strengthen you to do so, in Jesus’ name. 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@abcministryng.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 08146472876)

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FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2024 Pastor's Desk

Let your heart be fully devoted to Him | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: December 08, 2024 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 13, No. 32 lb

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. It is with great joy that I welcome you to the second week of the month of December 2024. My prayer is that your heart will be strengthened all the time not to forsake the living God for any other god, regardless of the challenges that may come your way in life, so that you may daily witness awesome manifestations of His power for your good. Amen.

The bible says, “For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him…” (2Chron 16:9NIV) Did you see that? God is continually looking for those that He can manifest His power on their behalf. And what will make Him manifest His power for their salvation, protection or elevation? It is the full devotion of their hearts to Him.

See, if your heart is fully devoted to God, you will take His word, prayer and the fellowship of the brethren seriously. Also, if your heart is fully devoted to God, you will never turn away from Him to any other god for help or assistance. Unfortunately, there are many in the church today who have already turned to sorcery in order to become rich, in order to be healed of their illnesses or in order to be set free from barrenness.

Now such people cannot experience the power of God for their good as they ought to. On the contrary, if are slow to repent, God’s judgment may come upon them and destroy them and all that they have received from the devil or all that they are trying to protect. As we see in the bible, the main reason King Ahaziah died of the injury he had sustained from a fall in his palace was that he went to consult another god instead of the living God. Also, one main reason King Asa died before his time was that he refused to consult God for his healing – he consulted only his physicians. (Cf. 2Kings 1; 2Chro 16)

You can see, then, that those who will not fully devote their hearts to God for whatever they need will most likely lose in two ways. First, they will miss the manifestation of His power of their behalf. Second, they will lose whatever they are trying to keep or save without His help.

So, if there is any way in which your heart is not fully devoted to God, if there is any area of your life in which you are seeking help for yourself from sources apart from God, you had better repent right away. Otherwise, while other people of God are having great testimonies of His goodness to share, you may find yourself wallowing in pains and disgrace. And my prayer is that such will not be your portion, 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: 08146472876)