Tag: Faith

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: No one knew what they were|Fire in my bones

fire in my bones
fire in my bones
Date: November 22, 2023|Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 6, No. 27

“One of them went out into the fields to gather herbs and found a wild vine. He gathered some of its gourds and filled the fold of his cloak. When he returned, he cut them up into the pot of stew, though no one knew what they were. The stew was poured out for the men, but as they began to eat it, they cried out, "O man of God, there is death in the pot!" And they could not eat it. Elisha said, "Get some flour." He put it into the pot and said, "Serve it to the people to eat." And there was nothing harmful in the pot.” (2Kings 4:39-41NIV)

Who went out into the fields to gather herbs to cook? It was one of the sons of the prophets serving under Prophet Elisha. And what did he bring in to cook for his people? The gourds (fruits) of an unknown wild vine!Interestingly, when he came back with those gourds and began to cook them, nobody queried him or asked him questions, even though they did not know what he cooking for them to eat. Why? As the account shows us, it was a time of famine. So, food was scarce.

If someone, then, brought something into a house to cook, regardless of what it might be, those in that house may not ask him any questions, as long as there was something to fill their bellies with. (Cf. 2Kings 4:38)That was the situation that those sons of the prophets found themselves in. Because they were all starving, they did not bother to query their colleague about what he was cooking for them, even though not even he could tell them what it was. But it was not long after they started eating it that they all realised that it was poison they were eating. 

And if Prophet Elisha had not been around that day to supernaturally heal them and the food they were eating, the story would definitely have ended differently.Now what is the point of this bible story? It is that we must not allow any situation, however ugly it may be, to drive us into accepting to do something or consuming something that we have no adequate knowledge of what it is. 

Otherwise, we may end up consuming poison or getting involved in something that will ruin our lives before we know what has befallen us.How did some people end up being ruined through prostitution or money rituals? It was because when they were about to be introduced into these terrible things, they did not ask enough relevant questions from those introducing them into them. And why did they not ask enough relevant questions from them? They were desperate to come out of poverty and suffering. 

So, when some people told them that there was a way out, they did not bother to find out what way it was and what taking that way may do to their lives. They just sat down to eat what was set before them. And by the time they found out what was happening, they had taken enough poison to totally destroy their lives. If such people are, then, not shown mercy, they will surely be utterly ruined.In like manner, some have ended up in some deadly secret societies or in the practice of sorcery because they would not ask relevant questions from those offering them help to their problems. 

Maybe they wanted to have children, to become influential, to be healed of certain sicknesses or to be protected from some wicked enemies. Then, in their desperation, they agreed to do what certain individuals that volunteered to help them told them to do, without asking relevant questions. And before they knew it, what appeared altogether harmless when they got started became some kind of poison that was ruining their lives, homes and everything else that they held dear. If they also are not shown mercy, they can only be completely ruined.


So, again, before you settle down to eat that free food, know what it is you want to eat. And before you join that group or enlist for that business, know what you are getting involved in and what terms and conditions applied. Many all round this country are running from pillars to posts now because of some debts hanging around their necks. But how did they get into those debts? Almost unconsciously! Those who dragged them into debt did not make it look like a serious thing when they were offering them loans. They did not make it look like something capable of poisoning their world. So, they got involved without considering the reality about their abilities to handle the situations. 


And by the time the reality dawned on them, they had sunk so deep in some rivers of debt that it would probably take series of miracles from God for them to be saved.What is my point? Have adequate knowledge of whatever you are getting yourself involved in or signing up for, regardless of who is introducing it to you. Then you won’t have to needlessly surrender your life and world to be poisoned by some unknown quantity.
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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: Know when to keep quiet|Fire in my bones

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Date: November 01, 2023|Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 6, No. 24

“But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, “Do not answer him.”” (2Kings 18:36NIV)

Who were the people that remained silent and would not reply who was talking to them? It was the Jews under the reign of King Hezekiah. Who would they not reply? It was the commander of the army of the king of Assyria. And why would they not reply this man? They would not reply him because their king, Hezekiah, had told them not to answer him.

Now why would Hezekiah instruct his people not to answer this man? It was because answering him would not solve the problem at hand but only escalate it. As the account goes, Sennacherib, the king of Assyria at that time, had sent his commander with a great army to the land of Judah for the sole purpose of possessing the land and its people. And this commander began his campaign by first threatening the people and ridiculing their king and their God.

In fact, at some point, he began to address them in Hebrew, so that his threats and words of annoyance would sink into their hearts more readily. (Cf. 2Kings 18:17-35)That being the case, Hezekiah suspected that some of his people might become provoked by this man’s words and decide to answer him. And that was exactly what the man wanted. He wanted to provoke the people to respond to his threats, so that he would have an easy reason to attack the land. Then all that Hezekiah had been doing to avoid going to war with the Assyrians would have amount to nothing.

As the account further shows us, the army of Judah at that time was actually no match for the Assyrians’. That, of course, was why Hezekiah was doing all that he could do to avoid any kind of direct confrontation with them. And in doing this, he went as far as giving the king of Assyria all the gold and silver that he could lay his hands on in his treasuries. He even took things from the temple of God in order to appease this ruthless king. (Cf. 2Kings 18:13-16)

Nevertheless, Sennacherib would not stop haunting and harassing the nation of Judah. Why? He was bent on possessing it for himself. And he only needed a little insult or provocation from the people to attack them. This was why Hezekiah commanded his people not to answer the commander of his army whom he had sent to insult them.

See, Hezekiah knew that responding to this man’s threats and insults would not solve their problem in any way. Instead, it would only make it worse by bringing quick destruction upon them. The only one that could solve their problem at the time was their God whom the man had been insulting. He, then, was the person they were supposed to be talking to and not the man. And when they talked to Him about the matter, He answered them and turned all the threats of the commander of the Assyrian army into empty and useless threats. (Cf. 2Kings 19)

What is the lesson for us here? Well, it is that we must know when to keep quiet and not respond to people’s arrogant words or threats. Look, there are times that we may come across human opponents or enemies that we clearly do not have enough education, power, influence or money to defend ourselves against.

And these ones may deliberately be provoking us to say or do things that will give them a reason to attack and hurt or disgrace us. Our wisdom at such times, then, will be to be quiet and refuse to respond to whatever they say or do to us against us, however arrogant or annoying it may seem. That is because responding to them will simply make matters worse, something that we ourselves will know, if we are not foolish or reckless. Not replying such people in such situations, however, does not mean we are not to take any step towards defending or protecting ourselves against their nonsense. We must take steps towards doing that.

But our most important step will be to talk to God about what they are doing and let Him rebuke them for us. How He will rebuke them, of course, is up to Him. But we can be sure that if, instead of trying to fight a battle we cannot win, we will entrust the situation to Him, He will handle it for us. And when He is done, we might find ourselves asking, “God, have you not gone too far in dealing with this?”

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: A test of determination|Fire in my bones

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Date: October 11, 2023|Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 6, No. 22

“When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; the LORD has sent me to Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.” (2Kings 2:1-2NIV)

One of the things we learn from Scriptures about God is that He appreciates determination. Yes, He is a God that gives freely to people without complaining about them (James 1:5). However, there are times that He considers people’s determination to receive from Him before giving certain things to them.Why did many of the children of Israel that Moses brought out of Egypt perish in the wilderness and did not make it into the Promised Land? One of the reasons for this, as we are shown in the bible, is unbelief. They did not believe that God was able to give the land to them.

But something also assisted their unbelief. That was insufficient determination to take what God wanted to give to them. (Cf. Numbers 13&14; Hebrews 3:19)But there were two people from that same generation that made it into the Promised Land. They were Joshua and Caleb. Why did they make it there? They made it there because apart from the fact that they had faith in God, they were also determined to make it there.

So, it is not enough for God to promise to give us something or to show us visions of what He wants us to be or enjoy in life; It is also important that we are determined to have what He wants us to have. If we are determined to have what He wants us to have, we will be willing to go all the day in doing whatever legitimate thing we can do to take what He is giving to us. But if we are not determined, there is every tendency that the challenges that we will encounter on our way (and we will surely encounter challenges) will bring discouragement to our hearts.

We mighty, then, stop believing and taking steps of faith towards taking for ourselves what He wants us to have.As we see in our opening bible text, even though Elijah had made it clear to Elisha that God had chosen him to take his place as the leading prophet in Israel, he was still prompted by God to test his determination to take the place He had already chosen for him. So, when the time came for him to be taken to heaven, he told Elisha to stay in Gilgal and not bother to follow him to Bethel, where God had sent him to go.

But did Elisha agree to stay? No! Instead, he told him that he would not leave him until he was eventually caught up to the heavens. Also, when they got to Bethel and Elijah told him to wait there, since God had sent him to Jericho, he told him that he would still not leave him. And though the prophets there also tried to discourage him from following this man of God, he did not listen to them. The same thing happened when they got to Jericho and Elijah told him to wait there, he would not leave him or pay attention to the words spoken by the prophets there to discourage him. Instead, he followed this man of God on to the Jordan. (Cf. 2Kings 2:1-6)

Why did Elisha act like that? It was because he knew that he had not yet received the spiritual authority and power to function in the prophetic position Elijah had publicly anointed him for. And he was determined to receive these things before the man was taken away from him. Otherwise, all that he would have was just a prophetic title; he would have no authority and power to back it up. Then everything he left behind in order to follow this man of God would have amount to nothing.

Thankfully, because of Elisha’s determination to take the place God had chosen for him, he eventually received from God the authority and power to function as the lead prophet in Israel. But do you know that Elijah had a servant that was serving him before God asked him to go and anoint Elisha in his place? He did. Why, then, was this servant not chosen by God to take his place? We are not told the reason in Scriptures. We are not even given his name. Why? It may be that God saw that he was not someone that was determined enough to serve Him in his master’s place.Look at all that is said about him in the bible: “Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there.” (1Kings 19:3NIV)

It was after this, of course, that he received an instruction from God to go and anoint Elisha in his place instead of looking for the servant that he had left in Beersheba. But why, in the first place, was this man not with Elijah when God was talking to him? Why did he agree to stay in Beersheba instead of following his master all the way, regardless of where his path may lead them? We have no direct answers in Scriptures for these questions.

But it is clear from Scriptures that Elisha was utterly different from him. He was not going to leave the man God had appointed him to follow and serve until God’s reason for placing him under his leadership was fully accomplished, regardless of the level of stress that may place on his life. That is determination. And it paid off for him.In like manner, we too need to be determined to have certain things God wants us to have in order for us to have them.

Yes, we need to pass His tests of determination for certain things He has already chosen for us to be ours to possess and enjoy. We may, of course, be faced with all kinds of challenges on our way to taking for ourselves what He has chosen for us. But as long as we trust Him and are determined to have what He wants us to have, He will surely clear the way for us to have it.So, be determined to see God’s promises to you and the visions He has shown you come to pass in your life.

Be determined to go all the way in praying, meditating on Scriptures and taking all the legitimate steps you can take to be that person God has shown you that you can be. And my prayer is that He will count you worthy of His purpose for you and also fulfil every step of faith you take towards becoming all that He wants you to be in this life. Amen.

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: You may mess things up|Fire in my bones

fire in my bones
fire in my bones
Date: September 27, 2023|Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 6, No. 19

“Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: "See that you don't tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them." Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.” (Mark 1:43-45NIV)

Who did Jesus send away with a strong warning? It was a man that he had healed of his leprosy. As the account goes, this man had approached the Lord and begged Him to heal him of his leprosy. And He had compassion on him, touched him and cured him of his leprosy. Then, as Mark shows us in our opening text, the Lord proceeded to strongly warn him not to tell anyone about what He had done for him.

But why would the Lord warn this man not to share his healing testimony with anyone? Was it not a good thing that He did for him? And would the sharing of his healing testimony not bring even more people to Him, so that He could minister to them as well? What exactly was on the Lord’s mind when He strongly warned this man not to share his testimony with anyone?

Well, no one knew the answers to these questions until the man involved disobeyed the command the Lord had given him. As we further see in our opening bible text, despite the strong warning the Lord had given him not to tell anyone about how he got healed of his leprosy, he still went around, speaking freely about it and spreading the news. Consequently, the Lord could not openly go anywhere without being besieged by crowds of people. 

Now it is true that among the reasons Jesus came into the world was to heal and set men free from all their sicknesses and diseases. But He could not have possibly been doing this all the time. He too was a man. So, like every other person, He needed to eat, rest, sleep, visit his family members and do other things that are normal and legitimate for every human being to do. Also, He needed time to pray and study the word of God and meditate on it. Otherwise, exhaustion would soon set in and make Him useless in ministering effectively to those coming to Him.

So, when the Lord told that man not to share his healing testimony to anyone, it was so that He would have enough breathing space to freely go around and minister in an organised way. That way, He would be able to minister effectively to more people and in more places without calling undue attention to Himself or wearing Himself out. But that man robbed Him of all this through his disobedience.

Yes, the man must have thought that he was helping the ministry of Jesus by publicising what He had done for him. But he was wrong. He was not helping His ministry at all. Instead, he was hindering it. The only way he could have helped His ministry was to have listened to His instruction and kept quiet. But he did not. So, he made it hard for Him to minister in that area according to His plans.

Now what is the point of all this? It is that we don’t know better than God. So, when He gives us an instruction, whether directly or through any of His servants, we should take it seriously and not act otherwise. Yes, as people with brains, we may think differently about something God has already instructed us about. Nevertheless, if we indeed agree that His foolishness is wiser than our wisdom, we will do as He has instructed us.

See, it is not every time that we will immediately understand why God is asking us to do something or not to do it. There are some things that we will not know the reason God has given us instructions about them until we obey or disobey Him. 

How, then, would you feel, if you had to learn that God is wiser than you through your disobedience and that you had missed something good He had prepared for you? Or how would you feel, if you had to find out that you had messed up God’s work, your life or a loved one’s life while you actually thought that you were helping Him? 

Those are hard questions to answer, right? So, when next you receive a spiritual instruction, see to it that you do as you are told instead of trying to follow your mind. Otherwise, like that leprous man whom the Lord healed, you too may end up messing up things. And who knows how messed up they will be?
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Fire in my Bones General Post Youth for Jesus

Title: Don’t let it discourage you|Fire in my bone

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Date: September 06, 2023|Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 6, No. 17

“After all that Hezekiah had so faithfully done, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities, thinking to conquer them for himself.” (2Chron 32:1NIV)

What is the first thing that is brought to our notice in our opening text? Hezekiah’s faithfulness to God! When this man became king, as we have in bible accounts, he gave himself to faithfully doing the will of God. First, he opened the doors of the Lord’s temple that his father, Ahaz, had shut, repaired the temple and also purified it. That was so that true worship could begin again in the land. (Cf. 2Chro 29)

Second, Hezekiah led the people to celebrate the feast of Passover in a very grand way, equal only to the way it was celebrated in the days of King Solomon. Third, Hezekiah saw to it that the welfare of the priests and Levites in the land was no longer neglected. He encouraged and led the people to bring in all the tithes, firstfruits and offerings required by the law to the house of God. And all these things were done in accordance to the will of God. (Cf. 2Chro 30-31)

Now one would expect that with this man’s demonstration of faithfulness, trouble would be very far from him and his land. But it was not so at all. As we see in our opening text, after all that he had so faithfully done for the Lord and his land, a very powerful enemy showed up and invaded his land, thinking to conquer it for himself. And his threats were so frightening that the whole nation convulsed with fear. But why should this happen after Hezekiah had demonstrated faithfulness in serving God and doing His will? Did he not do enough to please God? Yes, he did.

What, then, was the problem? Well, the coming of Sennacherib, king of Assyria, to attack Hezekiah and his people was not God’s doing at all. That was Satan’s doing. And he did it to discourage this king and his people. He did it to make him think that doing the will of God was a waste of time.Thankfully, Hezekiah did not fall into his trap. Hezekiah did not give up on God because he was attacked by an enemy after faithfully doing His will.

Instead, he cried out to God for help and encouraged the people of the land to trust in Him. And did God fail him or not? No, God did not fail him. On the contrary, God sent an angel of His that killed one hundred and eighty-five thousand soldiers of the Assyrians in one night. So, their king withdrew to his own country, humbled and defeated, without firing a single shot of arrow at the land of Judah. (Cf. 2Kings 18-19)

What is the point of this? It is that whether you do the will of God or not, challenges of life are inevitable. So, don’t think that challenges will not come to you because you are doing the will of God. Otherwise, you will often find yourself falling into Satan’s traps of discouragement. See, doing the will of God will not exempt any of us from life’s challenges. At least, from what we see in Scriptures, doing the will of God did not exempt our Lord Jesus from life’s challenges.

For example, the bible says, “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”” (Matt 4:1-2NIV)

Did you see that? After fasting forty days and forty nights, one would expect that the first thing Jesus would witness was a mighty provision of God or an opportunity to preach a great sermon or heal the sick. But that was not happened at all. Instead, it was Satan who showed up again. He had been tempting the Lord all through those days of fasting and praying, as indicated in the Scriptures. And when He was done, he still showed up again to tempt Him to abuse the power of God, tempt God and even engage in idolatry.

Now did the Lord allow that to discourage Him? No! Did He allow that to make Him think that praying and fasting all those days and nights was a waste of time? No! Instead, He drew His strength from the Spirit of God and resisted the devil with the word of God. And did He succeed in driving him away or not? He did.

In the same vein, we too can expect Satan to show up in our lives anytime, especially when we are feeling high and excited in the spirit because we are doing the will of God. And his coming at such times will be to discourage us and make us think that praying, fasting, giving, preaching or doing anything that is the will of God for us is a waste of time. We, however, must be ready like Jesus to resist him with the word of God until he flees from us. And he will surely flee. So, stay encouraged, beloved. It always pays to do the will of God.

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: Trouble instead of help |Fire in my bones

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Date: August 30, 2023|Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 6, No. 1

“Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came to him, but he gave him trouble instead of help. Ahaz took some of the things from the temple of the LORD and from the royal palace and from the princes and presented them to the king of Assyria, but that did not help him.” (2Chron 28:20-21NIV)

One of the things made abundantly clear to us in Scriptures is that no one can help anyone that God does not help. So, if you want true help about any matter of life, the one you should turn to is God. Otherwise, anyone or anything you turn to for help apart from God may end up making an already bad situation worse for you.

As we see in our opening bible text, there was a time that King Ahaz of Judah turned to the king of the Assyrians, Tiglath-Pileser, for help. Why? He was being attacked by his neighbouring nations from different angles. So, he was losing his people and his territory at a very alarming rate. (Cf. 2Chro 28:5-15)

But why was he losing his people and land in that manner? That was the first question he ought to have asked himself. His father, Jotham, did not lose his people or land at all. Instead, he made them stronger and richer. Also, his grandfather, Uzziah, did not lose his people or land at all. Instead, he made them stronger and richer. (Cf. 2Chro 26-27)

What, then, was his own problem? Why could he not keep what was passed on to him? He could not because he did not take God seriously as did his grandfather and father. Instead of worshiping God, he gave himself to the worship of idols and the practice of divination. Therefore, God withdrew His protection from him and from the land. That, of course, was the reason for his trouble. (Cf. 2Chro 28:1-8)

So, even though Ahaz needed help in order to be saved from his enemies, there was something he needed more than help. And that was repentance. If he had repented and turned back to God, the God of the nation that he was king over, he would have had all the help he needed to defeat his enemies and win his land and people back.

Ahaz, however, was too arrogant to humble himself before God and seek His face. Therefore, he turned to the king of the Assyrians for help. Unfortunately, as we are told in our opening bible text, instead of getting help from this man, all he got from him was trouble. And even though he gave him some of the treasures laid up by his ancestors in the temple of God and in his palace, all he still got from him was trouble.

Eventually, he gave himself to more idolatry and messed up the entire nation even more before his meaningless reign ended.In like manner, there are many like Ahaz today who are going from place to place and people to people for all kinds of assistance or support. But what they need may not just be help but to take God seriously in their lives and stop living according to their own ways. And as long as they do not realise this and act accordingly, any help they find may soon enough prove to be no help at all but trouble.

Then, like Ahaz, there are many all around the world who keep looking for help and solutions to the problems of their lives outside God. And will they get helped? No! Instead, like Ahaz, what they will keep finding are people like Tiglath-Pileser, who will keep taking from them but never giving them anything but trouble.

Now perhaps you already have such people in your life. They keep asking you to give them all kinds of things and taking you to all kinds of places, all in the name of wanting to help you. Yet their help is not forthcoming. If you are not careful, such people will be the ones that will run you dry. Then you will wake up one day and realise that your home, possessions, savings, health and everything else you care for are gone. Yet you have not been helped.

So, stop seeking help where it does not exist. Your help is with only one person. And that person is God. You just need to humble yourself, put your trust in Him and stop relying on your understanding. And He will see to it that you get the right kind of help you need without having to lose your head, sleep, relationships or resources.

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: What if things were worse?|Fire in my bones

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Date: August 23, 2023|Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 6, No. 15

“The LORD said, “Jeremiah, if you get tired racing against people, how can you race against horses? If you can’t even stand up in open country, how will you manage in the jungle by the Jordan?”” (Jer 12:5GNT)

Those were God’s words to Jeremiah, when he began to question Him about His commitment to giving justice. In Jeremiah’s estimation, the wicked and the faithless in his land were becoming more and more prosperous. And that was happening at the expense of the righteous and godly people in the land.Yet he could not see God doing anything about it. He could not see Him punishing the wicked for their wickedness, dragging them off to be killed or destroyed. So, he got upset and began to take God to task about His justice.

Now when people begin to question God and find fault with Him about His devotion to giving justice here on earth, they may soon enough become part of the wickedness they have been complaining about. This is why Solomon says, “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)

In other words, when people do not immediately receive due punishments for their wickedness or wrong acts, they will most likely encourage themselves in the practice of wickedness.But then, it is not only those who have been given to wickedness that this may affect. It may also affect those who have been given to righteousness and are looking forward to seeing justice prevail where they are. If they cannot obviously see the wicked being punished by the leadership of where they are, they will expect God to step in and punish them.

And if they wait for a while and can’t also see God punishing them in ways that are obvious to them, they may give up on righteous living and become a part of the problem they used to complain about.Perhaps this is addressing you. Perhaps you too have given up on doing what is right or are about to give up on it because of the injustice you are witnessing everyday where you are.

And that is because you have a feeling that God is helpless or slow or unconcerned, as far as matters concerning justice are concerned. Well, if that is the case, then, you are like Jeremiah of bible days. He too, as I pointed out earlier, at some point felt that God was not showing enough concern, if any at all, about the injustice in his country.

Otherwise, He would have stepped in and begun to judge all those involved. But when God was going to answer him, the response he expected was not what he got. He probably was expecting God to comfort him and tell him to be patient with Him and that He was soon going to do something about the injustice in the land. But God did not say that at all. Instead, as we see in our opening text, He told him to stop being childish and grow up.

According to God, if Jeremiah could not cope in a race with men like himself, how would he cope, if he were to be in a race with horses? Or if he could not cope with life in an open country, how was he going to cope if he were to be dropped off in a jungle? And what did God mean by saying these things? It was that Jeremiah should not use the unjudged injustice in his land as an excuse for misbehaving or abandoning righteous living.

Why? It was because whatever form of unjudged injustice he could see in the land was nothing to compare to what was in existent in some other places. And if he could not cope with it, how would he be able to cope, if he were to find himself in a more wicked place?Now did God say these things to give Jeremiah the feeling that He had no interest in giving justice on earth? No!

Rather, He said it to let him know that whatever form of unjudged wickedness or injustice he saw in the land should not be used by him as an excuse for not doing what was right or for grumbling. As we see in Scriptures, God dispenses justice here on earth every day (Zeph 3:5).

And that it is not obvious to us does not mean that it is not happening. So, we should not use the fact that we have not seen certain acts of wickedness or injustice dealt with as our excuse for giving up on righteous living or for living a life of grumbling.

Instead, we should learn to concentrate on doing the will of God with hearts filled with thanksgiving. That is because regardless of how terrible the injustice or wickedness we see where we are may be, God will have us know that there are places where things are worse. And if we will not learn to take advantage of His grace to deal with whatever evil we are confronted with where we are now, how are we going to survive, if things should get worse there or if we should find ourselves in a worse place?

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: Surviving in Ahab’s court|By: J.O. Lawal|FIRE IN MY BONES

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Date: August 09, 2023|Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 6, No. 13

“So Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. (Obadiah was a devoted follower of the LORD. Once when Jezebel had tried to kill all the LORD’s prophets, Obadiah had hidden 100 of them in two caves. He put fifty prophets in each cave and supplied them with food and water.)” (1Kings 18:3-5NIV)

The bible is full of shocking or hard-to-believe revelations and reports. And one of them is that of a man called Obadiah. Now this Obadiah was not the popular Prophet Obadiah, whose book we have in the bible. On the contrary, as we see in our opening bible verses, he was the palace administrator of King Ahab.

Who, then, was Ahab? Ahab was a well-known figure to bible readers. And that is because he was one of the most wicked kings that the nation of Israel had before they were exiled. Not only was he wicked, he also married a very wicked woman, a witch, if you would agree, called Jezebel. And this Jezebel was so wicked, ruthless and godless that even the great Prophet Elijah trembled at her threats. (Cf. 1Kings 19:1-3)

Now here is what the bible says about the two of them: “There was never a man like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the LORD, urged on by Jezebel his wife. He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, like the Amorites the LORD drove out before Israel.” (1Kings 21:25-26NIV)

Did you see that? Ahab and his woman, Jezebel, were monsters, as far as God was concerned. You can, then, imagine how hazardous living with them or working for them would look like.Yet, as we see in our opening bible text, Obadiah, who happened to be their palace administrator, was a devout worshipper of God. That sounds quite implausible, or what do you think? How could a man who worked every day and so close to these evil people be a godly man? Was that even a possibility? Yet the bible says that he was not just a godly man but also a devout worshipper of God.

That means he was radically committed to worshipping God. Then, to make us understand how devoted to God this man was, we are told of how he saved and protected 100 true prophets of God from his wicked mistress, Jezebel. Not only that, he provided them with food and water throughout the period that they were hidden away from the reach of the witch. That, evidently, was something that could have cost him his head. Yet he did it. His devotion to God, then, could not have been a joke at all.

But how did he survive among these godless people? How did he not lose his faith or life among them? We are not given any clue in the account. But we do know from Scriptures that anyone who will survive like that among cruel, wicked and godless people must take God and His word seriously. In other words, such a person will first give himself to studying and meditating on God’s word. Second, he will be determined to act on what he knows to be the will of God. Third, he will, through prayers and thanksgiving, be dependent on God for the wisdom, favour, strength, boldness and protection needed to do His will. Otherwise, he would be crushed or polluted by the wickedness where he is.Now since Obadiah was neither crushed nor polluted by the wickedness in Ahab’s palace, it must mean that he was highly blessed by God with wisdom, favour, strength, courage and protection to survive there.

So, in case your excuse for turning away from God or from doing his will is that you are living with Ahab and Jezebel, remember that you will not be the first or the last person to live with them. Obadiah lived with them and survived. And that was because he trusted God and was determined to live to please Him.

If you too will begin to trust Him and be determined to do His will, He will make you survive around them.Then you must also never forget this: that someone is living and working with Satan does not mean that he is another Satan.

Often, we assume that those who work under or with cruel and godless people must be cruel and godless themselves. But it is not always so. Life’s circumstances that we may never understand may place someone right under the leadership of a wicked soul or in their house. That, however, does not mean them they are not different. They may just be different. And if we allow sentiments to make us assume the worst of them, we may miss whatever good thing God may have done for us through them or the opportunity to be used by God to encourage them or lift them out of trouble.

So, next time who want to judge someone on the basis of the evil character of the people around them or in their lives, remember that they may just be an exception, another Obadiah. You will do well, then, to first study to know who they really are. That way, you will not jump into hasty conclusions about them and condemn the innocent.

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: Don’t become useless to Him|By: J.O. Lawal|Fire in my bones

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

“But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the LORD’s command.” (1Sam 13:14NIV)

Those were Samuel’s words to King Saul after he took it on himself to offer to God sacrifices that Samuel ought to have offered to Him. And why did he do that? He did it because he got tired of waiting for Samuel. As the account goes, Samuel had told him to give him seven days to be with him and make sacrifices to God before he would engage in the battle that was before him.

But for reasons not disclosed in the bible, Samuel was late in coming. So, Saul decided to usurp his authority and make the sacrifices the man was supposed to offer. Unfortunately for him, just as he finished making the offering, Samuel came. And all he had left to do was pronounce God’s judgment on him. (Cf. 1Sam 13)

Now what was God’s judgment concerning Saul? It was that He had already replaced him with someone else. But did God really have to do that? Why did He not give him another chance to redeem himself? Well, God did not give him another chance because it was useless to do so. As we also find out in the bible, after this incident, God sent Samuel to him again to give him another assignment. And how did he handle it? Unfaithfully, as usual! He went and did his own thing, not want God had commanded him to do. (Cf. 1Sam 15)

So, Saul at that time had already developed an independent mind. That means he was only after doing what pleased him and not what pleased God, who anointed him and made him king over His people, Israel. Therefore, he could not be trusted by God. No, God did not remove him from his throne immediately.

In fact, He allowed him to reign for forty-two years. But He never gave him any task or assignment again till he died. So, those years of his reign were nothing but useless years, as far as God was concerned, just as he too had become nothing but a useless king.What is the point of all this? It is that God is taking note of our attitude towards whatever task He gives to us. If we are handling the tasks He gives to us diligently and faithfully, whether they are tasks He gives to us directly or those that He gives to us through others, He will continue to give us more tasks. And as He gives us more tasks, He will also multiply His grace in our lives to do them. So, we will find ourselves increasing in usefulness, fruitfulness and relevance before Him.

But if we cultivate the habit of handling the tasks God gives to us as we please, a time is coming when He will have nothing else to say to us again. He will simply find someone else who will do what He wants.

Don’t we also function in like manner? We do! If, for instance, we have a tailor or carpenter that is always doing what he pleases with our work and not what we want, are we going to keep giving him jobs to do for us? No, we will not, especially when he is not the only carpenter in town. Why? We don’t want use all our time arguing with someone that has no mind or intention of satisfying us.

In the same vein, God also does not want to use all His time arguing with us, when it is clear we have no intention of doing what will please or satisfy Him. This is why, as we see in our opening text, He is always searching for people who are after His heart. Why? They are those who will willingly and faithfully do what He wants and not be arguing with Him or doing their own thing. So, if you are not one of those who are after satisfying God always in living for Him and also in handling His work, you are simply making yourself ready for redundancy in His kingdom.

That, of course, does not mean that God will reject you as His child. He won’t reject you as His child, if you do not reject Him as your Father. But the fact that you are His child does not mean that He considers you as someone He can entrust His work to. And if He is not entrusting His work to you, then, you are nothing but a useless child. I pray that you will not end up living the rest of your life as a useless child of God, in Jesus’ name.

But you also need to examine your ways and your attitude towards whatever tasks you are currently handling for the Lord and make amends where necessary. It is well with your soul.

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: Not entirely evil|By: J.O. Lawal|FIRE IN MY BONES

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Date: July 26, 2023|Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 6, No. 11

“Be very careful, then, how you live — not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” (Eph 5:15-16NIV)

What is Paul’s instruction to us in our opening bible text? It is for us to be very careful how we live. Why do we need exercise caution or carefulness in the way we live? According to Paul, the reason is that the days we are living in are evil.

Is Paul now saying that every day is an evil day? Yes, that is exactly what he is saying. And is that in line with the mind of God? Yes, it is in line with the mind of God. That is because our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, when addressing us about the need not worry about tomorrow, says this to us: “Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matt 6:34NIV)

That means every day is loaded with enough trouble, enough evil to ruin anybody. However, the evil of any day does not have to ruin us or destroy us. And it will not ruin us or destroy us, if we know how to live. But if we do not know how to live, even the good of any day we witness may not do us any good at all.

As Paul equally shows us in that text, though the days we live in are evil days, something we all can attest to, they are also days of opportunities. In other words, the days we live in are not entirely evil but also good. What is important, therefore, is for us to recognise the good in every day and make the most of it to defeat the evil in it.

Now that is what Paul refers to as living wisely, living carefully, living thoughtfully. Yes, each new day will bring its own kinds of evil to our world.

But we must not just focus our attention on the evil happening in it but also on the opportunities God is making available to turn the evil happening in it around for our good. The bible says this to us about God: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Rom 8:28NIV)

Did you see that? Just as our enemy, the devil, is working hard to fill every day with evil for us, God, our Father, is also working to turn every ugly situation around for our good. And whose work do you think will naturally prevail? God’s work!

So, instead for you to allow all the bad things happening around you or to you to make you lose your mind and start misbehaving, focus your attention on the good things God is doing on your behalf and how you can make the most of them to frustrate the devil and defeat every evil thing he is doing to bring you down.

That was how Joseph functioned when he was sold into slavery by his brothers. He did not focus on his slavery but on the opportunities that it afforded him to rise and shine. And did he rise and shine or not? He did. (Cf. Gen 39)

Also, when he was in the prison, he did not focus his attention on the bad things happening in the prison and what they could do to him. Rather, he focussed his attention on the good things happening there, on the opportunities available for him there to rise and shine.

And did he rise and shine or not? He did. In, fact, he went on from there to become the prime minister of the land of Egypt. (Cf. Gen 39-41)

In like manner, what will spell wisdom for us, especially those of us living in Nigeria now and who are faced with unnumbered problems, is to stop looking only at all the bad things that are happening in our land and to also start looking out for the opportunities God is providing through them to turn things around for our good.

And as we recognise these opportunities and begin to utilise them, we will soon see that the evil days are not entirely evil after all – they are also loaded with all kinds of good things for us to enjoy and flourish. My prayer is that God will open your eyes to see the good He has in store for you every remaining day of your life and also lead and strengthen you to make the most of it, in Jesus’ name. Amen.