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

Title: He will frustrate their scheme

Series: From Pastor’s Desk

Number: Vol. 14, No. 19

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Have a lovely week.

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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The fruit of the Spirit

Title: Prayer | FruitBearing 8

Series: Fruit bearing

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This morning, I want to further share with you on ‘Fruit bearing’. We have been looking at what Scriptures have to say to us about bringing forth fruit. And that’s because it is the will of God for us to bear fruit, which is referred to in scriptures as the fruit of the Spirit. On that note, we have looked at how to bear fruit. And one main instruction the Lord Jesus Christ gives us along that line is that we must abide in Him. He says, “Abide in me. Unless you abide in me, you cannot bear fruit.” He already describes our relationship with Him as that of the vine and the branches. And as branches cannot bear fruit unless they abide or remain in the vine, we cannot bear fruit unless we remain in Him.

How then do we remain in Him? One main way to remain in Him is to allow His Word to remain in us. We must give room to His Word in our lives. If we will not give room to His Word in our lives, then we will not be able to bring forth the kind of fruit He wants us to bring forth. It’s not about struggling to do this or to do that. It’s about abiding in your source. It’s about remaining connected to your source, the source of your fruitfulness.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the source of our fruitfulness. The child of God must keep that in mind. The child of God must know that. In fact, when somebody becomes a Christian, that’s the first thing he must be educated in. Otherwise, he may struggle. He may struggle in his Christian life, struggling to please God. It’s possible that even you are struggling to please God this morning. You are struggling to be the person He wants you to be. You are struggling to walk in love. You are struggling to be patient, kind, humble, gentle, self-controlled. Something is missing. What is missing is the fact that you are not abiding in your source.

You are not supposed to struggle. I’m not saying you are not to make effort. That’s not what I’m talking about. But struggling to be the person God wants you to be shouldn’t be happening in your life. And it will not be happening in your life if you are drawing from the source of your fruitfulness.

Now as I said before, one way to draw from Him is to meditate on His Word. Keep meditating on His Word. If it’s been hard for you to do certain things that He wants you to do, then, it may just be that you have not meditated long enough on what His Word says about that thing. It may just be that you have not become one with His Word as far as that thing is concerned. So, you don’t need to become discouraged. You don’t need to become disheartened. You don’t need to give up in your quest to becoming what God wants you to become. You only need to give yourself more to His Word.

Solomon says, “If you faint in the time of trouble, your strength is small.” If you don’t want to faint in the time of trouble, what do you do? You get more strength. You go for more strength. So, you need to give yourself more and more to the Word of God. It’s not a one-off thing. It cannot be a one-off thing. And that’s one of the reasons Jesus says, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” (Cf. Proverbs 24:10; Matthew 4:4)

Interestingly, Jesus, when He said that, was quoting Moses. It was Moses that first said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” That means the word of God is your very life; you have no life apart from the word of God. Thus, the word of God is not something you give attention to once in a while or when you feel like doing so. The word of God is something you must daily give attention to. It’s something you must every moment give attention to. (Cf. Deuteronomy 8:3)
So, you must labor to know everything the word of God says about you, about how to live to please God, about how to walk in the light of His presence. You must give yourself to knowing this. You will not know these things automatically. You will have to give yourself to learning from Scriptures what they say about you.

Even Jesus Christ had to do that. Even Jesus had to give Himself to Scriptures. And everything He did was based on what Scriptures said about Him. Even when He was going to describe the life He lived to His disciples after His resurrection, the Bible says He took them to the Scriptures, beginning with Moses, to show them that everything that happened to Him was consistent with what is in Scriptures. (Cf. Luke 24:25-27)

If Jesus Christ had to live like that, in order to live a life that was well pleasing to God, don’t think you can do otherwise and live a life that is well pleasing to God. It is not going to work. So, you must be prepared to give yourself to the word of God every day, every moment, if you are going to bring forth the kind of fruit He wants your life to bring forth.

Then you must also learn to express your dependence in God. Don’t forget Jesus says, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” That means it is impossible for you to do anything that will please God apart from Him. Again, as I pointed out before, you may do some things apart from Him. You may have been doing a lot of things apart from Him. And there are many people today in the world that are doing all kinds of things apart from him. But the day is coming when they are going to realize that everything they have done apart from Him is nothing. It will be summed up as nothing. It will have no praise from God.

See, for God, it is not just for us to get involved in all kinds of activities — God is also interested in what is motivating those activities. He is also interested in where we are drawing the strength to carry out those activities. So, if you have agreed that apart from Him you cannot do anything, that apart from Him you cannot bear the fruit He wants you to bear, be the person He wants you to be or do the things He wants you to do, then you must learn to express your dependence in Him.

How? Through prayer! I have been talking about drawing from your source in order to live the kind of life God wants you to live. And this is of course something you must be interested in doing. I can’t remember the number of times I have said that while sharing with us in this series. You must want what God wants for you. You must desire to be what God wants you to be. If you don’t desire to be what God wants you to be, it is not going to happen. And the scriptures are abundantly clear about that. God is not going to force you to be the person he wants you to be or to have whatever it is that He wants you to have. You must want to have what He wants you to have. You must want to be what He wants you to be. Because that’s one of the things that will motivate you to go in the right direction.

So, do you want to bear fruit? Do you want to bear the fruit of the Spirit that Christ speaks about, the fruit of love, joy, peace, faith, self-control, patience, humility, gentleness, brotherly kindness and generosity? Do you want to bear much fruit? If you want to, then, you must also be willing to draw strength from the one, the only one that can make it happen. You must be willing to draw wisdom, understand or whatever it is that you may need from the only one that can make it happen.

Therefore, you must be willing to pray. You must be devoted to prayer. You can’t bear the kind of fruit God wants you to be abundantly if you are not devoted to prayer. That’s because there are forces in this life that are working against you. There are forces in this life that do not want you to bear fruit. There are forces that do not want you to be the person God wants you to be. The Word of God is very clear about that. It says that we are in a struggle, we are wrestling, not with human beings but with demons. And you better keep that in mind.

There are people who don’t believe in the supernatural, of course. And that’s unfortunate. Because the supernatural is all around them. There are people who don’t believe in the existence of Satan or in the existence of demons. And that’s unfortunate again because Satan and demons are all around you. Demons are all around us. And I am not saying that to make you afraid. That is because just as demons are all around us, we also have angels all around us. They are coexisting. We too are coexisting with them. They are our neighbors. I’m telling you. Demons are your neighbors. There’s nothing you can do about that, just as angels are your neighbors. They are all around us. (Cf. Ephesians 6:12)

Well, the word of God says we are in a struggle with them. And that’s why we have to be strengthened every moment. We have to be strong every moment. For us to be the persons God wants us to be, for us to live the kind of life He wants us to live, we have to be strong. We cannot afford to be weak. We cannot afford to be feeble. And to access strength, we must be given to prayer. Strength is available in God. You must understand that. Wisdom is available in God. Everything we need is already present in Christ. And since we are in Him, we have access to everything we need. That’s what the word of God tells us. We have access to His fullness.

Paul is talking about this in Colossians chapter 2 when he says you have been given fullness in Christ. It means we have access to His fullness, the fullness of His life. But the point is that we don’t always take advantage of His fullness. It’s something we have to learn to do. If we all are daily taking advantage of His fullness, our lives would have been a lot better.

Now this goes beyond just confessing it. This, of course, again is where certain Christians are missing things. They confess the word of God. And that’s good. They confess the fact that they have been given fullness in Christ. But see, your confession of the fullness of Christ is just a declaration of the truth. It’s not your confession that will make what has happened true. What has happened has already happened. The fullness of Christ is already yours. Your confession of it is not going to make it any more yours, because it is already yours.

Fine, it is good to confess what God says. It’s so that your spirit can agree with that reality. But what has happened has already happened. What ‘is’ is already is. It’s not your confession of it that is going to make it more real. So, confession is just confession. A confession of the truth is just a confession of the truth. You must apply the truth for it to work. If you don’t apply the truth, the truth will not work.

You see, if you don’t take steps on the basis of the truth you know, the truth will not automatically work. Jesus says you will know the truth and the truth will make you free. That is the reality. But for the truth to make you free, you must act on it. Today you have access to the fullness of Christ. You must take advantage of the access that you have to His fullness. And I’m saying that one of the ways to take advantage of your access to His fullness is being devoted to prayer.

So, if you find that certain fruit of the spirit is not manifesting in your life, apart from meditating on what the word of God says about that fruit of the spirit, you must also pray for the manifestation of that fruit in your life. That is because it is supposed to be manifesting in your life. Now this is what James is talking about. Look at James chapter 1, from verse 5, which says:

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” (NIV)

Did you see that? It says, “If any of you lacks wisdom.” Now of course, some Christians have problems with this. They believe that James is not reasoning like a New Testament preacher. Why? It’s because Paul says Christ Jesus has already been made wisdom unto us. So, they think that this is conflicting, that the reasoning of the Christian or of the New Testament believer should be that wisdom is already his. And it is true. Wisdom is already yours. Wisdom is already yours in Christ. Christ has been given to us as wisdom from God. He is our wisdom. (Cf. 1Corinthians 1:30)

But the question is, “Do you always manifest that wisdom?” The things you say, are they always words of wisdom? The decisions you make, have they always been decisions of wisdom? The week just ended yesterday. All the decisions you made last week, were they decisions of wisdom? All the steps you took last week, were they steps of wisdom? All the words you spoke last week, were they words of wisdom? You took last week. Were those types of wisdom? Can you confidently tell yourself that everything you did last week was wisdom-based or wisdom-motivated? If it is not so, then something is wrong with your understanding of Scriptures or your application of it.

Look, the fact that the word of God says that Christ has been made to us wisdom doesn’t mean that we are always walking in wisdom. What the word of God wants us to know is that wisdom has been made available to us in Christ Jesus. But we must not know how to access that wisdom. We must know how to access it and utilize it. Otherwise, even though we have access to wisdom, we are going to be doing foolish things.

There are many believers that are doing foolish things; they are continually taking silly steps. It’s not because wisdom is not available to them. It is simply that they are not taking advantage of it or they have not learned how to take advantage of it.

So, James is not saying something contradictory to what Paul says. James is only showing us how to access the wisdom that is already ours. And he says, “If you lack wisdom, if you can see that you are making foolish decisions, that the decisions that you are taking, they are not moving your life forward, what should you do? Talk to God about it.”

Or if you find yourself in a situation and you don’t know exactly what to do. It’s not every time that we don’t know exactly what to do. That’s because the wisdom of God is already present in our lives. But you know, there are times that we come in contact with certain situations and we don’t know exactly how to handle them. You are asking yourself: “What do I say here? How do I decide here? What step do I take here?” You don’t know.

Now you don’t sit down, worried about the situation. That won’t work. You don’t pace the floor, trying to wrap your mind around the situation. Sometimes that may work; there are times that it may not work. Because, of course, if wisdom will be operational in your life, you must learn to think. The word of God also tells us that wisdom will not always readily work in us, if we are not going to use our head. The reason God has given you that mind to think is so that you can think; it’s not so that somebody can do your thinking for you. Yes, of course, you may employ people to do your thinking for you; that’s good business. People do that all the time, employ people to do their thinking for them so that they can think. That’s even thinking on its own, to know that you can employ people to do your thinking for you in certain areas of life.

Well, we are saying that if wisdom will work, you must think, because it is as you think that wisdom is released. When you read the books of Solomon, you will find things like ‘I ponder’, ‘I think,’ ‘I consider’. So even though God blessed Solomon with wisdom, wisdom wasn’t just naturally or automatically manifesting in his life; the man had to use his head for the thing to work.

But even if you are using your head, there are times you still won’t know what to do. You will think and think until you are probably wanting to have a brain damage. Then you can tell that your brain is tired or exhausted. Yet your problem is not solved. What should you do? Pray to God for the needed wisdom!

I said all of that to draw your attention to something, because what James is speaking about here is not applicable to accessing wisdom alone. There’s a principle there that can be widely applied. The word is: “If any of you lacks something.” It may be anything. In this case, he’s speaking about wisdom. But what you lack may not be wisdom. What is not finding expression in your life may not be wisdom. It may be joy that is not finding expression in your life. It may be love. It may be gentleness. It may be humility. It may be self-control. You know from the word of God that this thing is meant to be finding expression in your life, but it is not. What should you do? You pray.

Maybe you have found yourself caustic. People can’t interact with you without getting hurt, without getting injured. There are people like that. Even though they are Christians and attend church meetings, you cannot have a normal interaction with them without getting hurt. They will say something that will hurt you. They will just do something that will hurt you. If you live with them from morning till evening, they will have hurt you a number of times before the close of the day.

If you are like that, something is wrong. That’s not who you are. You are acting contrary to what you are and you need to accept the fact that you are already acting contrary to what you are. The fruit you are bearing is not the fruit God wants to see. And you don’t have to be making excuses for yourself. But you can be doing that. You may not confront yourself with the truth about what is happening in your life, which is contrary to the will of God. You may say, “I’m just who I am. I can’t change.”

See, if you want to make an excuse for yourself for possessing a bad habit, you will have an excuse to make for it. If you want to make an excuse for being impatient, you will have an excuse for being impatient. If you want to make an excuse for having a short fuse, you will have on. At the slightest provocation, you get angry, you get upset, you are shouting, you are screaming at somebody. You can say that’s how you are in your family. You can say it’s just that I don’t like people being cheated. You can say that. You know it’s an excuse. I can’t just tolerate anybody cheating on me. That’s your excuse for having a short fuse.

But the truth is it’s not acceptable. And once you don’t agree that it’s not acceptable, you are not going to deal with it. But when you agree that it’s not acceptable and say, “I cannot continue like this, getting angry every minute. I cannot continue like this,” what do you do? You go and pray. That is because the strength to be patient with people is available in Christ.
Perhaps those around you think of you as loveless or as unfeeling. That’s because it’s just obvious that you are unkind to those around you. The child of God cannot have that kind of reputation. You cannot have the reputation of being unkind. But that may at the moment be your reputation. You’re unkind. You’re unfeeling. What are you going to do about that?

First, of course, you must meditate on the Word of God, what the Word of God says about relating to people. The Word of God already tells us to live a life of love. And the Word of God has shown us that we can live a life of love. The Word of God says God, by His Spirit, has poured His love into our hearts. Romans 5, verse 5, says, “God has shed abroad His love into our hearts.” So, the love of God is in your heart, if you’re a child of God. It is there, resident in your heart. Your life may not manifest it. Your words may not show it. Your look may not even show. But His love is in your heart already.

To say the fact, there’s a look of love. Some Christians don’t have. There is still some wildness in their look. Somebody may be wild before becoming a Christian. And his is one of the ways you know that the Word of God has affected some people. If you knew them when they were not Christians, you could tell that they were wild. But now that the love of God has taken charge of their lives, that wild look is no longer there.

See, if there is no love in you, there is that look that comes with it. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a man or a woman, that wild look will be there. And it’s uninviting. So, it doesn’t matter where people meet you, they will notice it. Maybe you’re an attendant in a filling station. When somebody is coming to buy fuel, and the person looks at your face and looks at the face of another attendant, he knows where to go. Can you relate?

Now the child of God cannot be like that. You can’t be wild in your look. You can’t. Because the love of God is in your heart. So, if it’s not manifesting, something is wrong. And you can’t be making excuses for not manifesting love. So, what do you do? You’ve got to pray about it. I am saying that if you lack love, you have to pray. Because you have access to love, the love of God. You will only need to pray about it. And it will begin to manifest in your life.

Why are you praying about it? You are praying about it because you have realized that apart from Christ Jesus you cannot manifest love. You have realized that apart from Him, you cannot manifest any fruit of the Spirit. And you want to manifest all the fruit of the Spirit spoken of in Scriptures. So, you talk to Him. You express your dependence in Him by talking to him. You will say, “I want to see this manifestation in my life. You have told me that you have poured out your love into my heart. Now I want to see that love in expression. Fill me with the strength to love. Fill me with the strength to be patient. Fill me with the strength to be humble.” And He will answer you.

Really, it takes strength to do these things, spiritual strength. And you have to draw that strength from Him. But it cannot be a one-off. There are things that told to do in scriptures that are not one-off. It’s not that you do it today and you don’t do it tomorrow. It’s not that you do it for one week and you don’t do it again. You have to do these things all the time.

For instance, how often should you meditate on the word of God? The bible says, “Day and night!” You know what that means? It means all the time. It means when you’re walking in the street, you’re meditating on His word. It means when you sit at the meal table, you’re meditating on His word. Every little chance you get, you meditate on the word of God. You are talking the word to yourself. You are thinking the word to yourself. There must be a commitment to it. Otherwise, the word of God will not find expression in your life.

The same thing goes with praying. We are taught to pray without ceasing. You know what that means? It means praying all the time. It’s not something you reserve for church meetings. It’s not something you reserve for your family prayer time. It is something you do all the time. I try to do that all the time. I’ve not gotten to where I want to be yet. But I want to get there. So, I give myself to praying all the time. And I’m telling you that it is beneficial. But it’s not something you do for one year and stop. This is what you do all your life. Because doing it is what is going to take you to where God wants you to be.

You may not be there today. You may not even be there tomorrow. You may not even be there next year. But you can be there. You can be that person He wants you to be, that man that He wants you to be, that woman that He wants you to be, that husband or wife that He wants you to be, that citizen of your country that He wants you to be. You can be it. But it’s going to be a lifetime devotion. You’re making a lifetime commitment to doing these things.

So, you’re praying without ceasing. You’re drawing from Him without ceasing. Walking in the streets, you’re praying and talking to God. You sit at a table, you’re talking to God. Because as matters of life are coming to you, you’re talking to Him about them. And it will not be long before those around you begin to feel it. And regardless of the forces that come against you, if you are like that, they cannot win. They cannot overcome you. Yes, at some point, you may feel like they’re going to overcome you. But they are not going to overcome you. They are not going to win. They are not going to defeat you.

The bible says those who hope in Him will have their strength renewed. Those who are constantly expressing their dependence on God will always have their strength renewed. They will always have access to the needed wisdom, to the needed understanding, to the needed strength, to the needed boldness.

But this is not for the lazy. The Christian life is not for the lazy. It is hard work. And you have to be willing to do the hard work. But see, there’s nothing you want to do that is harder than what Jesus Christ has already done for you. He has accomplished what God needed Him to accomplish for us. Our own is to access and enjoy what He has already done for us. So, if you are determined to access and enjoy what He has done for you, then, be ready to do that hard work of accessing it.

Let’s spend some time to pray this morning.

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)

Categories
Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: Will your presence bless them?

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Series: Youth for Jesus
Number: Vol. 8, No. 17

“From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.” (Gen 39:5NIV)

Whose household was blessed by God, as we see in our opening text? It was Potiphar’s household. Why was his household blessed? It was because he put Joseph in charge of it.

Now why would God bless an entire household because of Joseph? The reason was that he took Him seriously. And because he took Him seriously, He ensured that His favour was on his life wherever he went. So, it did not matter whether he was in a house of slavery or in a prison, he was bound to shine and prosper. And anyone that favoured him or associated with him was also bound to be a part of his prosperity.

This, then, is teaching us that association matters a lot in life. If we associate ourselves with the right people, our lives will most likely go in the right direction. Likewise, if we associate ourselves with the wrong people, our lives will also most likely go in the wrong direction.

Potiphar’s life and family began to move in the direction of prosperity because he recognised God’s favour on Joseph’s life and put him in charge of everything he had, even though he was not an Egyptian like himself or a family member. We too should learn to recognise and appreciate God’s favour in the lives of others, so that we may relate to them appropriately. Otherwise, we may miss the goodness God may have communicated to our lives through them.

Then it is equally important that we too function in life in such a way that our presence in the lives of others will cause them to go in the right direction, in the direction of prosperity and not disaster or chaos. See, as children of God, it is not good at all for us to be friends with people, work with them or live with them for a while and our presence won’t bless them. What is good is for people to be able to place their fingers on the obvious progress or prosperity that their lives have experienced because we are their friends or because we have worked with them or lived with them.

All of this is why we too, like Joseph, must take God seriously. If we take Him seriously, we will walk in His righteousness and continually express our dependence in Him through prayer. And that will cause His favour to continually rest on our lives. Anyone, then, who associates with us is bound to be a partaker of the working favour of God in our lives. That, of course, will cause them to have great testimonies to share about their experience with us.

Do you, then, want those in your life to continually share great testimonies of how your presence is blessing them or do you want them to continually express regrets over knowing you or allowing you to be a part of their lives? Everything depends on how seriously you take God. And my counsel is that you begin to take Him very seriously, if you have not been doing so. May your presence in people’s lives never again bring pain but comfort to them, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Cheers!

Categories
FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2025 Pastor's Desk

Change the way you think

Series: From Pastor’s Desk

Number: Vol. 14, No. 18

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Have a lovely week.

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: An error of leadership

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Series: Youth for Jesus

Number: Vol. 8, No.16

“There is an evil I have seen under the sun, the sort of error that arises from a ruler: Fools are put in many high positions, while the rich occupy the low ones. I have seen slaves on horseback, while princes go on foot like slaves.” (Eccl 10:5-7NIV)

Who is making his observation known to us in our opening text? It is Solomon. And what has he observed? It is an error or a blunder that is often committed by those in leadership. Now what is this error of leadership that Solomon is talking about? It is that of putting unfit people in positions of authority or influence. And wherever that happens, people will not enjoy the benefits of leadership as they ought to. What they will be witnessing, on the contrary, are multiplied failure, chaos and pains.

For instance, as we are told in the bible, when Samuel became old, he made Joel and Abijah judges over the people of Israel. Why? They were his sons. So, he did not make them judges over the nation because God had chosen them or because they had shown themselves as honourable and wise men that could lead the people to please God and experienced prosperity.

Instead, he made them judges because they were his sons and he believed that they would follow his steps in leading the people. (Cf. 1Sam 8:1-2)But did those men walk in the footsteps of their father, Samuel? Not at all! Instead, they acted in greed, took bribes and also twisted justice. And when the people could no longer endure their nonsense, they approached their father to remove them and give them a king instead. That, of course, was not fully in line with the will of God for them. But it was Samuel’s error of leadership that caused it. So, even a great man of God can commit the error of leadership that Solomon speaks of in our opening bible text. (Cf. 1Sam 8:4-5)

Sadly, even Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, also committed this same error of leadership when he first became king. How? It was by choosing the young men that had grown up with him as his counsellors. Is anything wrong with choosing a young person as a counsel to the king or any leader? No! But the person should only be chosen because he is capable of giving sound counsel any time the demands to do so are made on him. (Cf. 1Kings 12)Rehoboam, however, did not choose those young men as his counsellors because they had anything in their heads. Rather, he chose them because they were his childhood friends.

Unfortunately, because they had nothing in their heads, they gave him the counsel that made him lose the larger part of his kingdom to another man.Now, of course, Rehoboam lost his kingdom in that manner because God had already said that He would divide that kingdom into two and give a part of it to Rehoboam. But it was his error of leadership, the one Solomon speaks of our opening text, that hastened it. What a shame! (Cf. 1Kings 11:26-40)

In any case, the point of all this is that if you are in a leadership position, be careful how you choose those that serve with you or represent you. Positions of leadership or authority are not meant for rewarding people or for making them happy. Rather, they are meant to be used to serve people and make life better for them.

So, in choosing people for positions of authority, choose only those who are utterly fit to serve or lead with you. Don’t choose anyone simply because they are close to you or because they have been good to you. Otherwise, they may undo all the good that you have been doing and even ruin your reputation. Therefore, be cautious.

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: Give it to God

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abcministryng.com

Series: From Pastor’s DeskNumber: Vol. 14, No. 17

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. I am glad to welcome you to the last week of the month of August 2025. My prayer is that God will take care of every burden that Satan is seeking to use to destroy you or to fill your life with pains. Amen.

Why did I offer that prayer for you? It is because there is no burden you are carrying that God cannot handle for you. To say the fact, God does not want you to bear any burden of your life all by yourself. What He wants is to bear every burden for you. And look at what David says about that in one of his psalms: “Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.” (Psalm 68:19NIV)

Did you see that? How often does God bear our burdens? Is it only for a while? No! Is it just for some weeks or months? No! Instead, He bears them for us everyday. And why does He bear them for us every single day? It is because He loves and cares about us. (Cf. 1Peter 5:7)

Sadly, many of us don’t know that God is daily bearing our burdens for us. We just think that the good things that are happening to us in life are happening to us by chance and that the bad things that are not happening to us are not happening to us because of our righteousness, godliness or carefulness. But all the good things that are happening to us are happening to us because God is bearing our burdens for us.

Likewise, all the bad things that are not happening to us are not happening to us because God is working for our protection. However, God wants us to recognise the fact that the reason we have not been destroyed by the burdens that life is daily throwing at us is that He is daily bearing these burdens for us.

Therefore, there are burdens of our lives that He may not touch unless we learn to deliberately give them to Him to handle for us. And are we going to give all our burdens to Him to handle for us? Or are we going to keep on struggling to carry them ourselves until they crush us?For years, Jacob carried all by himself the burden of his sins against his brother, Esau. And this burden almost crushed him. But the very day he gave that burden to God in prayer was the day he was delivered from it. God handled the burden for him in such a way that he himself could not tell exactly why Esau, who had come out to attack him and his family, suddenly began to show him love and to speak kindly to him. (Cf. Gen 32-33)

Well, that is showing us that unless we learn to give our burdens to God in prayer, we may not know the kind of relief and peace of mind He is able to give to us. Yes, it may look like no one but you can carry that burden for you. But the truth is that even you cannot carry any burden that God does not bear for you. So, don’t allow any burden, whether it is that of sin, fear, lack or sickness, destroy you.

Instead, give it to God. That is because He loves you and is committed to carrying all your burdens for you everyday. And may you experience tremendous times of refreshing in your life, as you do so, 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 2025 Pastor's Desk

Title: Train yourself to be godly

Series: From Pastor’s Desk

Number: Vol. 14, No. 16

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Have a lovely week.

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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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: The test of patience

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Series: Youth for Jesus

Number: Vol. 8, No.14

“On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”” (Acts 1:4-5NIV)

Who gave the command in our opening text? It was our Lord Jesus Christ. And to whom did He give the command? It was to His disciples.What, then, was the command? It was for them to wait in Jerusalem until they were baptised with the Holy Spirit.But exactly when would they be baptised with the Holy Spirit? The Lord did not tell them. He only said to them, “In a few days you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.” So, they would need to have faith in Him to obey this instruction.

Also, they would need to be patient in order to see what He had spoken of come to realisation. Now did they wait or not? They waited. And did the Holy Spirit come on them or not, as Jesus had promised? He came on them. But how long did they wait for the Holy Spirit to come on them?

Well, bible scholars would have us believe that they waited for about ten days. Jesus died during the Passover feast. And He showed Himself to these disciples in a period of forty days after His resurrection. Then the Holy Spirit came on them on the day of Pentecost, which was just fifty days away from the Passover feast. (Cf. Acts 1:3 & 2:1-4)

In any case, the point is that for those early disciples to receive the promise of the Holy Spirit, they had to be patient in waiting for Him. No one today has to wait like that to be baptised with the Holy Spirit, for He has already been made available by God to baptise all those who believe in Christ Jesus. But those early saints had to wait for Him to first be poured out on all humanity before they could receive Him.

And if they had not been patient in waiting for Him, if they had left Jerusalem a day or two days before He came, only God knows what would have become of them and of the church of Jesus Christ on earth.Thankfully they waited. And I am sure the Lord chose them because He could trust them to wait for as long as they had to until the Holy Spirit be poured out on them.

Can He also trust you and me to wait for Him in any situation? Can He trust us to patiently wait for Him to perfect what He is doing concerning our lives, in spite of the challenges or opposition we may face while waiting?King Saul could not be trusted by God to patiently wait for Hm. So, even before He failed God, He had chosen someone else to replace him (1Sam 13:13-14).

What happened? Well, once when the Israelites were at war with the Philistines, he too was commanded to wait until Samuel could come and offer some sacrifice to God before he would lead his men to war. And he did wait for seven days, the time set by Samuel.

However, when Samuel was not showing up that seventh day, he got impatient at some point and decided to offer the sacrifice himself. Why? It was mainly because his soldiers were deserting him. But should he not have called all of them to order, as their king? He should have done that. But he did not.Then even if all his men left him, was God not with him? Was God not sufficient to win the battle or war with him alone? How many men did Gideon need to defeat the Midianites of his time? Only three hundred men! Yet he defeated them because he had the consciousness that God was with him. (Cf. Judg 6-8)

But Saul did not have that consciousness. So, he allowed the misbehaviour of his men to make him lose his patience and do something God had not given him the right to do. Unfortunately for him, Samuel showed up just when he finished making the sacrifice. That means the man of God still came the very day that he had said he would come. So, he only needed to wait a little longer that day. And if he had, God would have established his kingdom.

Sadly, he failed that test of patience and lost what he was trying to keep. And we too may end up losing what we are desperately trying to keep, save or obtain, if we will not learn to be patient with God. Yes, we may be faced with all kinds of challenges that will give us the impression that God will be too late to save us or to perfect what concerns us. But as long as we function with the consciousness that He cares about us and will never leave us or disappoint us, we must keep on waiting for Him patiently.

Yes, as the apostles of old did while waiting for the Holy Spirit, it will be good for us to keep on strengthening ourselves in prayer and in the word of God, while we are waiting for God to fulfil His purpose for our lives. Yet we must be determined to patiently wait for Him, even if we have to do so till our time is up here. That is the only way we will not fail our test of patience and be fully rewarded by Him.

Cheers!

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: It must not be for a while

Series: From Pastor’s Desk

Number: Vol. 14, No. 15

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am pleased to welcome you to another week of the month of August 2025. And my prayer is that God will daily fill your heart with humility, so that you can continue to experience His elevation in every area of your life. Amen.

After King Saul had disobeyed God by not totally destroying the Amalekites, Samuel said this to him: “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel.” (1Sam 15:17NIV)

When did the Lord anoint Saul to be king over Israel? It was when he was humble. It was when he did not see himself as someone better than others. But after his throne had been established, he allowed pride in his heart and began to do as he pleased.

Now how did God respond to that? He took away the kingdom He had given to him from him. Then He replaced him with a young boy, David. And though he fought hard to keep the kingdom for himself and his descendants, he could not keep it. That is because we can only keep what God has given to us. We cannot keep whatever He has taken away from us.

Well, the point of this bible story is that our humility must not be for a while. Rather, it must be from start to finish. If we demonstrate humility before God for a while, our elevation also will be for a while. In other words, the moment we start manifesting arrogance, the same God who has been lifting us up will begin to bring us down. (Cf. James 4:6; 1Peter 5:5)

This, of course, is the reason some people have not risen beyond the height they have attained in life. When they humbled themselves before God, He showed them mercy and began to elevate them. But when they got to certain heights of greatness, they began to misbehave. They began to act as though it was their wisdom or power that brought them to where they were. So, instead for them to be taken by God to higher grounds, He just left them where they were and began to lift up other people around them. And if they still continue to act in pride, they may end up being thrown down to lower positions in life.

So, humility is not just something we need to be lifted up by God; it is also what we need for Him to keep us from falling from the high places He has placed us. Remain humble, then, before Him. And you will never have any reason to be afraid of being thrown down by Him.

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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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: Be quick to judge it

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Series: Youth for Jesus

Number: Vol. 8, No.13

“When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of the people are filled with schemes to do wrong.” (Eccl 8:11NIV)

After Amnon had raped his half-sister, Tamar, many or some of those who were privileged to know about the matter must have been waiting for a sentence to be passed by King David and his officials on the young man. But for some reasons not mentioned in the account, no sentence was immediately passed on him. In fact, judging from the account, it did not look like any sentence was ever going to be passed on him, for two years after, when he was assassinated, the sentence was yet to be carried out. (Cf. 2Sam 13)

Now why was no sentenced passed by King David on Amnon for raping his own sister? As I already pointed out, we are not told in clear terms in the account. It may be because he was the crown prince and sentencing him to death or to exile may not look politically okay. We wouldn’t know the reason for sure.However, because the sentence for his crime was not quickly carried out, Absalom, the elder brother of the rape victim, decided to take the law into his own hand.

Two years later, when everybody thought the matter had been forgotten, he arranged for Amnon to be assassinated. Then he fled.Now was Absalom also punished for murdering his own elder brother? No! Did David send anybody after him to arrest him and make him face justice? No! Then when he came back from the self-exile he had imposed on himself, was he punished by the king? No! Why was he not punished? Again, we are not told in clear terms in the account.

But then, because he was not punished, he had the opportunity he needed to stage a coup to get rid of his father from the throne. And he would have succeeded and destroyed his father, David, if God had not stepped into the situation to deal with him and rescue the nation from his hand. But many lives were needlessly lost in the process. They were needlessly lost because the man that was in a position to judge wickedness failed to do so when he had the chance to do so. (Cf. 2Sam 14-20)

Well, I personally believe that it is because of all this that Solomon, who witnessed it all, says to us in our opening bible text that when the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, people’s hearts are filled with schemes to do evil.

What that means, first, is that when we are in a position to judge wickedness and will not judge it immediately or at all, somebody else that is not in a position to judge it may be filled with enough anger to judge it. And because the person is not motivated by justice but by anger or bitterness, they will most likely go beyond what is appropriate and adequate in judging the matter. Then they will have made a bad situation worse and be exposed to judgment themselves.

Second, when we fail to judge a crime in time, the person involved and other evil doers like them may be encouraged to do more evil. Why do many, for instance, keep on violating traffic rules in our country? The reason is that people are hardly judged for doing so.

So, most people drive their vehicles with the mindset that nothing will happen to them, even if they break all the traffic rules of the land. And think about the number of lives that have been needlessly lost as a result of that. It is unspeakable.In any case, Solomon wants us to know that if we want our society to be sane and healthy for us all to live in, we cannot afford to ignore crimes.

Instead, we must be quick to judge it in accordance with the laws of the land or of wherever we are, especially when we already have enough evidence to do so. Otherwise, before we know it, evil will so multiply against us that we will need divine intervention to judge it. And where that is the case, we ourselves cannot boldly say that we will be safe when all has been said and done.

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)