Tag: counsel

Title: An image that doesn’t exist

Post author By Pastor J.O. Lawal
Post date October 22, 2025

Series: Youth for Jesus

Number: Vol. 8, No. 24

“Better to be a nobody and yet have a servant than pretend to be somebody and have no food.” (Prov 12:9NIV)

With the widespread use of the social media and Artificial Intelligence (AI), we are confronted like never before with pretence of very great proportions everywhere we turn today. What I mean is that many are now labouring hard to show themselves to the world as rich, influential, important and powerful, when they are really nothing. And why are they doing this? Desire for the praise of men!Unfortunately, many of God’s people are also being moved to do likewise.

So, if they cough, they too want the whole world to know. If they wear a new dress or a new hairstyle, they want someone somewhere to know about it. And if they don’t have a new dress or hairstyle to show off, they will let ‘AI’ do the trick for them and project about them whatever they want others to see.Now don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that you should not use the available social media platforms or ‘AI’ to project whatever you want people to see or know about you.

Rather, I am saying you should check your reasons for doing so and also be sure that what you are projecting about yourself is the truthYou want people to see you as good looking, calm and prosperous in life. That is fine. But are you actually good looking, collected and doing well in life at the moment? Or are you merely deceiving yourself?Perhaps what you want is for people to see that your business is doing well and can serve them well in some ways.

So, you are putting all kinds of images and videos of yourself and that business out there for people to see. And that is also fine. But is what you are projecting really the truth? Or are you merely fooling yourself and others?Then why do you want others to see whatever image of yourself you are projecting? Is it merely for the praise of men? Is it to update your people on certain truths they need to know about you and whatever you are up to, truths that they may not be able to learn through any other means? Or is it just to go along with the crowd?

Well, as Solomon tells us in our opening text, it is better to be a nobody and yet have people that you are well able to cater for than to pretend to be somebody and be living in hunger. In other words, instead of using your time lying and doing all kinds of silly things to gain attention, why don’t you give yourself to doing something meaningful that will make you a truly responsible person?

See, many of the so-called influenzers or socialites today are broke and unhappy. Yes, it may seem that they have the attention of the whole world. But they are broke, frustrated, unhappy and useless to themselves and others in their lives. That’s why they often end up killing themselves or their loved ones.

If you too, then, should walk in their steps, wasting your time, energy and whatever resources you have on projecting an image of yourself that does not exist, you will most likely end up like them. That is because you will have unconsciously driven true help away from yourself. So, frustration is bound to be the fruit that you will reap.Well, my point is that you need to stop wasting your time, energy and resources on projecting an image of yourself that does not exist.

Instead, give yourself to doing something legitimate with your hands, something through which God’s blessings can overwhelm your life. And when He is done with you, you won’t need to project anything about yourself or your work. That is because there will be many that will gladly do so for you for free, for the results will be speaking for themselves.

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)

Tags alaythia bible church, christianity, counsel, Faith, Fire in my bones, wisdom

FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2025 Pastor's Desk

Title: How passionate are you?

Post author By Pastor J.O. Lawal
Post date October 5, 2025

Series: From Pastor’s Desk
Number: Vol. 14, No. 23

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours abundantly from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. I am pleased to welcome you to another week of the month of October 2025. I pray that God will supply whatever is lacking in your passion to be all that He wants you to be in life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As we see in Scriptures, one of the things that will determine whether we become the people God wants us to be or enjoy His provisions for us is our passion. If we are passionate enough to be what He wants us to be or to enjoy what He wants us to enjoy, He will see to it that we are not put to shame. That is because the bible says that He is a rewarder of those who diligently or passionately seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).

But if we are not passionate at all or enough to be what He wants us to be or to have what He wants us to have, we may not enjoy His goodness at all or as we are meant to, if we are not shown mercy. So, if there is any prayer that we ought to regularly offer, it is that God will daily make our passion for Him and for all that He has in store for us adequate.

For instance, when Prophet Elisha told King Jehoash of Israel to shoot arrows of victory over the Arameans, he shot them only three times. And that got this prophet angry. Why? The reason was that three rounds of victory over the Arameans were not enough to give the Israelites complete freedom from them. They would need as much as six rounds of victory to completely free themselves from their enslavement. (Cf. 2Kings 13:14-19)

Why, then, did their king shoot only three arrows of victory that day? The reason was that he was not passionate enough to totally escape from the cruel bondage of the Arameans. He simply felt that if he could defeat them three times, that should be enough. So, he missed the only opportunity he had to get total freedom for his people from their oppressors. What a shame!

But look at Naaman. Even though Elisha was a prophet of an enemy nation, his passion to be healed of his leprosy made him come to him. And despite his status as the commander of the army of his country, he set aside his pride to do what the prophet told him to do. Why? He was passionate to receive his healing. And did he receive it or not? He did! (Cf. 2Kings 5)

So, even though God does not always look at our passion to do things for us, there are things in life that He will never do for us or make us enjoy, if we are not passionate enough for them. How passionate are we, then, to be what God wants us to be and to do the things He wants us to do? This will show in our attitude towards God’s word, prayer and Christian fellowship.

If we take these things seriously, then, we are truly passionate for God and for what He has in store for us. But if we do not take them seriously, then, we are showing that we don’t care much or at all about the fulfilment of His purpose in our lives. Therefore, we may never experience the fulfilment of His purpose in our lives. And will that be good? No!

So, pray that God, in His mercy, will daily supply all that you lack in passion for Him. That way, His good purpose for your life can be fully realized.

Have a lovely week.

Tags alaythia bible church, christianity, counsel, Faith, From pastor's desk, wisdom

Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: Be safety conscious

Post author By Pastor J.O. Lawal
Post date September 18, 2025

fire in my bones

Series: Youth for Jesus

Number: Vol. 8, No. 19

“Whoever digs a pit may fall into it; whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake. Whoever quarries stones may be injured by them; whoever splits logs may be endangered by them.” (Ecclesiastes 10:8-9)

What is Solomon speaking to us about here? Basically, he is speaking to us about the need to be careful in all that we do. And he uses four different activities that we may engage in to illustrate his point to us.

First, he speaks about the digging of pits. As we all know, we often dig pits for various good reasons. And there are times that we dig pits to deliberately endanger the lives of others.

In any case, Solomon’s point is that we must always keep in mind the fact that we ourselves can fall into a pit that we have dug, even if we have dug it for a good and legitimate reason. Therefore, when digging any pit, we should put safety measures in place.

That way, nobody’s life, including our own very lives, will be endangered by it. Then we should be careful never to dig a pit for anybody’s fall. That is because we may end up being victims of our own wickedness.Solomon also speaks about breaking through walls. And there are times that we need to break through some walls to move ahead in life or to enjoy some relationships or to know some secrets.

But whether it is a necessity that we break through a wall or not, it is important that we demonstrate utter carefulness and preparedness in doing. That is because we may not fully know or appreciate what is waiting for us behind that wall. And if it should be a snake or something even more harmful, we should meet it ready.

Otherwise, we may end up being sorry for ourselves.What we are saying is that what is behind a wall of limitation may be more dangerous and limiting than the wall itself. And where people don’t function with an understanding of this, where all they are after is just breaking through their limitations and they are not preparing for what may be behind those limitations, they may end up losing their lives or endangering their lives in ways beyond their expectations.

Furthermore, Solomon speaks about the quarrying of stones and splitting of wood. And while these things can be done legitimately, it does not cancel out the fact that there are dangers associated with doing so. Therefore, anyone quarrying stones or splitting wood ought to know that he may endanger himself and others around him while doing so, if he is not safety conscious.

Now Solomon says this to let us know that each job has its own hazards. It will be wise of each of us, then, to appreciate the dangers associated with whatever work we are doing and put measures in place to protect ourselves from them. Otherwise, we may end up endangering ourselves and others that we love. And how painful would that be?

At any rate, while it is highly important that we are safety conscious in all that we do, we must also never forget that unless God keeps us safe, we will not be safe, however careful or safety conscious we may be. So, we must never put our trust in our being safety conscious but in God. And may God continually keep us all safe from all forms of accidents and hazards, in Jesus’ name.

Amen.

Tags abc, alaythia bible church, counsel, Fire in my bones, wisdom

Fire in my Bones General Post Youth for Jesus

Title: The Lord looks at the heart

Post author By Pastor J.O. Lawal
Post date September 11, 2025

fire in my bones

Series: Youth for Jesus

Number: Vol. 8, No. 18

“But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”” (1Sam 16:7NIV)

When did God say the words of our opening bible text to Samuel? It was when he was in the house of Jesse to anoint one of his sons as king over Israel, that is, in place of King Saul. And who was Samuel not to consider his appearance or height? It was Eliab, Jesse’s first son.

Now why was Samuel not to consider Eliab’s appearance or height? It was because God needed more than his appearance and height in order to make him king. God also needed his heart to be right.

Unfortunately, the man did not have the kind of heart that could make God choose him as king over His people. So, he was rejected.But then, it was not only Eliab that was not considered by God to have the heart of a king among Jesse’s sons. Six other sons of his were also considered by God not to have the heart of a king. Only David, the man’s last son, was considered by God to have the kind of heart He needed His king to have. And it was he that Samuel was told to ordain as king over the people of Israel. (Cf. 1Sam 16:1-13)

What is this teaching us? It is the fact that even though God is the one that promotes or exalts people in life, He does not exalt them indiscriminately. On the contrary, He exalts people based on what He sees in their hearts.

The fact, then, that someone is in a low position does not mean that God is going to exalt him. If the heart of the person is not right for exaltation, God is not going to exalt him. Yet we may see Him taking someone that is already in a high position to an even higher position. Why? The person’s heart is right for exaltation. Therefore, if you want God’s exaltation in life, take care of what is in your heart.

Yes, it may look like you are qualified for certain positions in life because of your education, beauty, intelligence, family background or social status. But if pride, bitterness, lust, envy, hypocrisy or dishonesty is your heart, God may not consider you fit for those positions. We would not know exactly what God saw in Eliab’s heart and in the hearts of his other brothers that made Him reject them for the position of king over Israel. But He saw what He saw. And what He saw displeased Him. So, He rejected them.

Now perhaps there is something God is seeing in you too that is making Him reject you for certain positions of elevation that could have been yours in life. You need to rid your life of whatever it is. But you cannot do that unless you know what it is. How, then, will you know what it is? God Himself, who knows what is in every heart, will have to reveal it to you.

If there is any prayer you, then, must learn to pray, it is that God will constantly reveal whatever displeases Him in your heart to you, so that you may rid yourself of it. And may He, in His mercy, answer you each time you offer this prayer to Him, so that you may do the needful about the state of your heart and never hinder yourself again in life.

Cheers!

Tags abc, alaythia bible church, christianity, counsel, Faith, Fire in my bones, wisdom

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

Title: He will frustrate their scheme

Post author By Pastor J.O. Lawal
Post date September 6, 2025

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.

Tags alaythia bible church, christianity, counsel

FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2025 Pastor's Desk

Change the way you think

Post author By Pastor J.O. Lawal
Post date August 30, 2025

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.

Tags alaythia bible church, christianity, counsel, wisdom

From Pastor's Desk 2025 Pastor's Desk

Title: Give it to God

Post author By Pastor J.O. Lawal
Post date August 23, 2025

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.

Tags alaythia bible church, christianity, counsel, From pastor's desk, wisdom

FROM PASTOR’S DESK 2025 Pastor's Desk

Title: Train yourself to be godly

Post author By Pastor J.O. Lawal
Post date August 16, 2025

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.

Tags alaythia bible church, christianity, counsel, Fire in my bones, From pastor's desk, religion, wisdom

Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: The test of patience

Post author By Pastor J.O. Lawal
Post date August 13, 2025

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!

Tags abc, alaythia bible church, christianity, counsel, Faith, Fire in my bones, religion, wisdom

Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: Be quick to judge it

Post author By Pastor J.O. Lawal
Post date August 6, 2025

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.

Tags alaythia bible church, christianity, counsel, Faith, Fire in my bones, From pastor's desk, religion, wisdom