Tag: Fire in my bones

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: Callous or passionate|Fire in my bones

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Date: July 12, 2023|Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 6, No. 9

“When Moses inquired about the goat of the sin offering and found that it had been burned up, he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s remaining sons, and asked, “Why didn’t you eat the sin offering in the sanctuary area? It is most holy; it was given to you to take away the guilt of the community by making atonement for them before the LORD. Since its blood was not taken into the Holy Place, you should have eaten the goat in the sanctuary area, as I commanded.” Aaron replied to Moses, “Today they sacrificed their sin offering and their burnt offering before the LORD, but such things as this have happened to me. Would the LORD have been pleased if I had eaten the sin offering today?” When Moses heard this, he was satisfied.” (Lev 10:16-20NIV)

Why was Moses angry with Eleazar and Ithamar? It was because they neglected something of the will of God that they should have done. They were supposed to have eaten the meat of a goat that had been offered for sin offering before the Lord. Instead, they had it burnt up.

So, Moses was angry with them for not doing the will of God on that occasion. Now was he right to be angry with them for not doing the will of God that day? Yes, he was right to be angry with them for not doing the will of God that day. In fact, he would be right to be angry with them for not doing the will of God any day. That is because the will of God is not something we choose to do anytime we like.

Rather, it is something we must be devoted to doing every moment of our lives.Mind you, there are consequences for not doing the will of God for us. And that is something that someone like Moses was well acquainted with. He had seen how God judged Pharaoh and the Egyptians for their rebellion against Him. He had also seen how He judged many of the Israelites in the wilderness for various sins.

So, he was not going to allow anybody under his leadership to behave anyhow, without regard for the word of God. Instead, he would passionately set himself against that person.In like manner, wherever we are acting in leadership capacity, we must show ourselves as passionate in standing against wickedness, oppression, cheating, stealing and any other kind of evil.

That way, those under us will know that any form of wickedness on their part will not be overlooked or swept under the carpet. Instead, it will be brought out in the open and judged. And that will make them apply caution or restraint anytime they want to do something nasty or silly.

Nonetheless, we need to know when and where to put our passion for righteousness to prevail aside and instead show compassion to those who have failed to meet up with our expectations or what is required of them.

And that, as we see in our opening bible text, was where Moses missed it when he was rebuking Eleazar and Ithamar for not doing the will of God on the day mentioned.As the bible equally shows us, something terrible had earlier happened that same day to the elder brothers of these men, that is, Nadab and Abihu. For reasons not disclosed in Scriptures, the two of them had offered unauthorised fire before the Lord, contrary to His command.

So, a fire came out from His presence and instantly consumed them. They were not even warned or given any opportunity to repent and change their ways. Conversely, they were immediately put to death by God. And He was not sorry about killing them. Instead, He told others to be warned. (Cf. Leviticus 10:1-5)

Then, as if that were not enough, He told Moses to tell Aaron and his remaining two sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, not to mourn for those who had died like the rest of the people. Otherwise, they too would die and cause trouble for the entire nation. Why? They were God’s anointed priests. So, they must not defile the anointing on them with mourning. (Cf. Leviticus 10:6-7)

Now try to imagine how Aaron, Eleazar and Ithamar must have felt that day. Try to imagine what must have been going on in their minds about the matter and about their ministry as priests. It is possible that they were even saying to themselves, “Did we volunteer to be priests? Was it not God Himself that chose us? Why, then, must He place this kind of burden on us?” You can see, then, that such a day was not one in which they would want to eat anything or have a feast, even though the Lord had commanded it.

And that was exactly what Aaron pointed out to Moses when he, in his passion for God’s honour, began to rebuke them for not performing their priestly duty of eating some sin offering. He told him that even God would not have been pleased with him, if he had treated the death of his sons as nothing and had begun to feast on some sin offering meat. That would have painted him as a callous and insensitive father.

How, then, could a callous and insensitive father be a true and compassionate high priest for the people?In any case, when he said these things to Moses, as the account shows us, he was satisfied. In other words, Aaron’s words opened Moses’ own eyes to the fact that he had allowed his passion for God to rob him of compassion. The men that died were his own blood too. They were his nephews. Yes, they died for their sins.

But he should still have comforted their father and brothers instead of getting angry with them for neglecting some of their priestly duties that day. What if those who died were his own sons? Would he have carried on with his work that day as though nothing had happened?

Well, the point of this is that we must know where to draw the line between being zealous for God’s honour and being brutal, callous or unfeeling. Yes, we should be passionate about anything that concerns God, His honour and His work.

However, we must not allow our passion or zeal to make us become insensitive or callous in dealing with those who are unable to keep in step with us in doing God’s will or work because they are genuinely hurting or troubled in their lives.

Otherwise, as Aaron showed Moses, we will be acting contrary to the nature of God our Father, who is not only strict but also compassionate. And that may ruin whatever we are trying to do for Him instead of building it. So, be careful.

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: Be ready for greatness |FIRE IN MY BONES

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Date: July 05, 2023|Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 6, No. 8

“And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.” The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials. So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?”” (Gen 41:33-38NIV)

One of the things to learn from the bible story of Joseph is the need to get ready for elevation. Yes, God showed him all kinds of dreams of greatness as a young boy. But he would not have become great, if he had not been devoted to preparing himself for greatness.

As his account shows, as a young man, he encountered different situations that threatened to permanently take greatness away from him.

First, he was sold into slavery by his own blood brothers. Why? They were determined to make nonsense of his dreams of becoming great. He had been sharing those dreams with them and giving them the impression that he was destined to be greater than them in life. So, in their jealousy and anger towards him, they decided to sell him off and then watch how he would rise to be greater than them in slavery. (Cf. Gen 37)

Second, while in slavery, he got into trouble with his master’s wife and found himself in the prison for a crime he did not commit. And that made it look like he was under some curse or spell. That is because everything happening to him seemed to be taking him farther away from the dreams of greatness God had given him. He, then, would need to have great faith in order to continue to believe and to expect his dreams of becoming great to be fulfilled, in spite of all that he was going through.

Well, what this is showing us is that the fact that God has shown you dreams or visions that indicate that you will be great in life does not mean that there won’t be situations that will want to take greatness away from you. You can be very sure that there will be such situations. And you have to be ready for them. Otherwise, you will not respond to them in ways that will prevent them from destroying you or taking away greatness from you.Joseph showed himself prepared for greatness at every point in his walk.

How? First, he took God seriously and kept on believing that He was able to fulfil for him his dreams of greatness, regardless of where he found himself or what he was faced with. Therefore, he was ready to utilise any righteous opportunity that would take him near greatness. That was why even though he came into Potiphar’s house as a slave, he handled his work diligently and faithfully and ended up becoming the administrator of the man’s household and wealth. (Cf. Gen 39)

Also, when he found himself in the prison, he still did not see that as an end to his dream of becoming great. Instead, he saw every task he was given as an opportunity to bring himself closer to greatness. So, he handled it so diligently and honestly that he rose to become the assistant of the prison warden, managing the prison for the man. Then we see that Joseph did all that he could possibly do as a human being to avoid anything that could withdraw God’s favour from him or ruin his reputation. He would not steal from his master Potiphar. Instead, he showed himself as reliable. That was why the man could entrust everything he had to him.

Also, even though no man was watching and it was for free, he would not defile himself with his master’s wife. That, of course, got him imprisoned. But the situation could not chain or imprison the favour of God at work in his life.

Therefore, on the day that the opportunity for him to become the second-in-command to the king of Egypt came, he was spiritually and mentally ready. As we see in our opening bible text, he was not put in that position by Pharaoh just because he interpreted his dreams. There were magicians and wise men who used to interpret dreams and omens for the king in the land at that time. And none of them was made the king’s second-in-command for doing so. Why, then, was Joseph put in that position? He was put there because he not only showed Pharoah the problem that was coming but also showed him how to prevent it from happening.

Interestingly, he made this king see that the solution to the problem at hand had nothing to do with making elaborate animal or human sacrifices but purely administrative. And when he was done talking, both the king and his officials could see that he was not just a spiritually gifted man but also one that was sound in handling administrative issues and problems, even though he was coming from the prison.

So, when the king made him his second-in-command, no one protested.Now the point of all this is that you too have to be ready spiritually, mentally and physically for your opportunities to attain that great height you have been dreaming of. And you can be ready by following Joseph’s example.

How? First, take God seriously and keep on believing that He is able to make your greatness happen, regardless of the odds against you. Second, see every task or job you are given as an opportunity to bring yourself closer to that great height you want to attain in life. So, handle it well. That way, you will be developing in yourself those skills and attributes that will make you fit to handle any position of greatness.

Third, see to it that you avoid anything that could shut the door of God’s favour against you. Among other things, immorality, greed, jealousy, unfaithfulness, laziness and pride can shut the door of God’s favour against you. So, take advantage of the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life to avoid them. Then, when the time for your elevation to that height of greatness you have dreamt of comes, you will find that you are ready to utilise it to your advantage.Cheers!

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: When may I do something for myself?|Fire in my Bones

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Date: June 28, 2023|Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 6, No. 7

“Jacob said to him, “You know how I have worked for you and how your livestock has fared under my care. The little you had before I came has increased greatly, and the LORD has blessed you wherever I have been. But now, when may I do something for my own household?”” (Gen 30:29-30NIV)

Who was Jacob talking to in our opening bible text? It was his father-in-law, Laban. As the account goes, Jacob had been working for Laban for more than fourteen years at the time they were having this conversation. And all through the years that he worked for him, taking care of his livestock, things only got better for him. In other words, the man became richer and richer while Jacob was working for him.

And why? It was because God was with Jacob.See, there are times that wicked people become wealthy and great in life because of the presence of certain children of God in their lives. And if, because of their ignorance of this fact, they should begin to maltreat these children of God or drive them away from their lives, the favour of God that they have been enjoying because of them will naturally cease. That, of course, is when they will know that the prosperity and peace they have been enjoying are not a result of their hard work or smartness but a result of God’s favour at work in the lives of His children that have been in their lives.

Now that exactly is how it was with Laban. Laban, as we see in the bible, was a business shark and cheat, a very manipulative and dangerous man. So, even though Jacob himself was a very smart and cunny person, he still could not handle him. In fact, as he would point out when they were going to finally part, Laban cheated him ten different times, underpaying him for his hard labour and service (Gen 31:41).

And there was simply nothing he could do to beat him at his game.Yet God blessed the household of this wicked, dangerous and manipulative man. Why? It was because of Jacob. Jacob was an inheritor of the blessing God gave Abraham. So, naturally, whatever he laid his hands on, whether it was his own business or someone else’s business, was bound to prosper. And that is how it should be for all God’s children who have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus (Eph 1:3).

Whatever we lay our hands on ought to prosper, regardless of who owns it. However, if we will not be like Jacob and always walk in the consciousness of the blessings of God at work in us, things may keep dying and failing in our hands. Jacob knew that he was blessed of God and that whatever he handled was bound to prosper.

So, as we see in our opening text, he was bold to tell Laban that the presence of God in his life was the reason for the prosperity of his household. And we too must be able to boldly say the same things to the unbelievers around us that God’s presence in our lives is the reason for our prosperity and whatever degree of prosperity whatever we are handling for them is experiencing.

But then, as we also learn from the bible story of Laban and Jacob, it was not only Jacob that knew the secret of Laban’s prosperity. Laban also knew. How did he know? It was by divination. He himself told Jacob this. In other words, when Laban could no longer explain the reason he was getting richer and richer, he had to go and consult some diviners to find out why. And that was when he was told that Jacob was the reason. So, he decided that he would do whatever he could to keep him with him permanently. (Cf. Genesis 30:27-285)

Now who would not want to act like Laban? If you were given some sure word that your greatness in life is tied to the presence of some friend, neighbour or family member, would you not want to do all that you could to keep them forever with you? You would. But then, whether such a person would willingly and lovingly stay with you or not would be dependent on the kind of treatment you gave them.

And that was where Laban failed.As he himself pointed out, he knew that Jacob was the reason God was blessing him. Yet he was not kind to him at all but was cheating him. His plan was just to keep using him to advance himself until he would become useless to him. And when Jacob saw that he would never be able to stand on his own to care for his family, if he continued to serve him in that manner, he told him that he wanted to leave. That, of course, led the two of them to revisit their contract and to make room for Jacob’s prosperity. And he surely went on to prosper and to surpass Laban himself in prosperity.

What, then, is the point of all this? First, it is that you should learn to treat very well anyone God is using to prosper or advance you in life. Otherwise, a day may come when they will wake up and change the terms of their relationship with you. And if that should happen, the terms and conditions you may arrive at may not favour you, as it was the case with Laban. Then the pains and regrets that may follow will be all yours to live with.Second, don’t waste your time or life on relationships or jobs that are not focussed on building you up and preparing you to be able to stand on your own in the future.

Yes, you may, for some reasons, have to be with people or work in places that don’t have much money or prestige to readily offer you. That does not mean that is how things will be for life. Things can change. Then that person or job that does not have anything to readily offer you today may be offering you things that you will enjoy for the rest of your life.

However, don’t waste your time or life with anyone or in any place, if, even if it is not able to offer you much money, it is not offering you any training or opportunity for you to be built up and make your future solid. Otherwise, one day, when you are no longer needed there and perhaps have been completely used up, you may just realise that you have nothing to start afresh with or to rest on.

And who are you going to blame then? None other but yourself! So, wake up now, as Jacob did, and start asking, “When may I do something for myself?”

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: The honourable rapist | By: J.O. Lawal| Fire in my bones

fire in my bones
fire in my bones
Date: June 21, 2023|Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 6, No. 6


“The young man, who was the most honored of all his father's household, lost no time in doing what they said, because he was delighted with Jacob's daughter.” (Gen 34:19NIV)

Who was being referred to as the most honoured of all his father’s household in our opening text? It was a prince called Shechem. And what made him a person of interest in bible accounts? It was the fact that he raped Dinah, Jacob’s daughter. So, Shechem was a rapist. Yes, he is referred to in Scriptures as the most honourable of all the people in his daddy’s family. Still, he was an honourable rapist. 

Now how does one relate to that? If the most respected person in a family is a rapist, what then will the other members of that family be? Murderers! Kidnappers! Human traffickers! Swindlers! They just can’t be anything near good.

Well, what is the point of this? It is that we must learn to pay close attention to the kinds of people in the lives of those we are relating to before we open our lives to them or make friends of them. That is because doing so will surely give us some insight into who they themselves may be or what they may be capable of doing.

We are not told in the bible if Shechem and Dinah had been relating as friends before he raped her. But we are told that he was seriously in love with her and was, in fact, tender in talking to her (Gen 34:3). And if someone is always tender and kind in talking to you or in relating to you, you will most likely begin to feel safe around the person at some point. But you may really not be safe with them at all. 

As Dinah later realised, she was not at all safe with Shechem, even though he was the most honourable man of the house of Hamor. That was because the young man was a rapist. But could she have known or suspected that he was capable of raping her? Yes, I believe she could have known. And she, in fact, would have known, if she had not been ignoring the kinds of people the members of the young man’s household were.

See, as long as the family members or close companions of anyone you are relating to are wicked, violent or troublesome, it will be foolish of you to assume that they will be an exception among them. Yes, sometimes, we do have such exceptions. For instance, we are told in the bible that Prince Abijah, the son of King Jeroboam, was the only good person in his father’s household – he was the only exception there. So, God said that he was the only one that would be buried after his death. Others would perish and be eaten up by birds and dogs, receiving no proper burial. (Cf. 1Kings 14)

Therefore, sometimes, someone could be the good exception among their evil family members or companions, just as someone could be the evil exception among their good family members or companions. But in most cases, people’s character is hardly different from the character of those that they flock with. So, even if, like Shechem, someone is good, kind and tender to you, don’t assume that they are just as you see them, inasmuch as the people with whom they live or do things together are evil, violent or unfaithful. 

Truly, the person in question may not be as horrible as their companions are. They, like Shechem, may be the most honourable among them. But that does not mean that they are harmless and will not hurt you anytime the opportunity to do so presents itself. So, harm yourself with caution when you are dealing with them, even if you want to give them a chance to prove that they are different from those in their lives. Otherwise, the price you will pay for assuming that they are what they are not may be worse than the one Dinah paid for hers.
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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: Can you handle them? | By: J.O. Lawal| Fire In My Bones

fire in my bones
fire in my bones
Date: June 14, 2023|Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 6, No. 5


“The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.” (Deut 29:29NIV)

One of the things we don’t like is to have the people in our lives keeping things from us. We don’t like it because it gives us the feeling that we are not loved or trusted enough by them. But that is not always true. We ourselves know that it is not always because we don’t love or trust people that we don’t tell them certain things that we know. On the contrary, there are times that the reason we don’t tell certain things to some people is that we love them. 

But does that even make sense? What sense is there in keeping things from someone that we love? Well, there is sense in keeping certain things from someone that we love, if we are pretty sure that the person cannot handle the knowledge of those things. 

For instance, does God not love us? He surely loves us, in fact, with an everlasting and unfailing love. Yet, as we see in our opening text, God too has secrets. In other words, it is not everything that God knows or that He is doing that He reveals to those He loves. And why is that so? It is so because it is not everything that God will love to communicate to us that we can handle.

Our Lord Jesus, when He was about to die on the cross, said this to His disciples: “There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can't bear it now.” (John 16:12NLT) Did you see that? The Lord loved His disciples so much that He wanted to reveal to them a lot of kingdom secrets. But did He tell them everything He had on mind to tell them? No! Why? It was because they did not have the capacity to handle it.

See, just as much as truth can set free, it can also destroy. And there are certain truths that will destroy you or make you a destroyer, if they are revealed to you. That, of course, will be because you are not wise, mature, strong or trustworthy enough to handle them. 

Why was Samson reluctant to tell Delilah the secret of his power? Was it because he did not love her? No! On the contrary, as the bible tells us, he was desperately in love with her. But did she love him as much as he loved her? No! So, entrusting to her the secret of his power was only going to make her destroy him. And that was exactly what happened. She destroyed him with the knowledge of the secret of his power that was given to her. (Cf. Judges 16)

So, before you start getting upset that someone will not let you know certain secrets of theirs, first consider your ability to handle them. Can you actually handle what you are going to hear without destroying yourself or the person telling you with it? You may think you can. But what makes you so sure you can, when you have not even heard what is coming? Why don’t you allow the person in question decide whether you can handle it or not?

For example, we don’t decide for God what He tells us and what He does not tell us. It is on Him to make such decisions. It is on Him to determine what we can handle and what we cannot handle, for He knows us thoroughly. What we can do, however, is to grow up to that point in our walk with Him where He can trust us with any truth. 

In like manner, those of us who have children know that they don’t decide for us what secrets of our lives or of our families we tell them. We make such decisions. But as they grow up and show themselves responsible enough to handle the secrets of our lives and families, we start revealing them to them, even without their asking. 

Now that is how it should be with you also. Grow up, if you want the people in your life to be telling you their secrets. Yes, grow and up and prove yourself to be someone they can trust with anything concerning their lives. Otherwise, you should just let them be and focus on your own life.

By the way, what do you want to do with someone’s secrets? What will your knowledge of their secrets add to your life or to their life? Secrets ought to be revealed to people only on need-basis. That means even if you are in a love relationship with someone, you don’t need to know any secret of their life that won’t build both of you up or that poses no danger to any of you or your love affairs. So, stop making yourself sick because of people’s secrets that have nothing to add to or remove from your life or their lives. Instead, focus on building yourself up to be someone that those in your life can rely on. That way, you might end up being the one begging them not to tell you their secrets.

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

SUSTAIN THE FAVOUR |BY: J.O LAWAL|FIRE IN MY BONES

fire in my bones
fire in my bones
Date: May 31, 2023 | Series: Youth for Jesus | Number: Vol. 6, No. 3



“Now Moses said to Hobab son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, "We are setting out for the place about which the LORD said, 'I will give it to you.' Come with us and we will treat you well, for the LORD has promised good things to Israel." He answered, "No, I will not go; I am going back to my own land and my own people." But Moses said, "Please do not leave us. You know where we should camp in the desert, and you can be our eyes. If you come with us, we will share with you whatever good things the LORD gives us."” (Num 10:29-32NIV)

As we see in the bible, God Himself was the one that personally led the children all through the time they spent in the wilderness, that is, on their way to the land of Canaan. He led them using the cloud that was over His tabernacle to let them know when to move to a new place and when to stop moving and stay wherever they found themselves. And they never argued with Him because they knew that He had their best at heart and was committed to leading them to the place of rest He had promised them. (Cf. Num 9:15-23)

In like manner, God always has our best at heart and knows how to lead us to experience what is best for us. But we have to trust Him to lead us, just as the Israelites did. And if we trust Him, we will not move when He does not want us to move, even if everyone around us seems to be moving, and we will not settle down anywhere, however comfortable the place may be for us, when He wants us to move on. These are some of the main lessons we learn from the way God led the Israelites from Egypt into the Promised land.

But then, as we see in our opening bible text, even though God was fully with Moses and the Israelites to lead them through that dreadful wilderness into the land of Canaan, they still needed a human guide to show them how to follow Him in that wilderness and be safe in whatever direction He was leading them. None of them had been in that wilderness before. And none of them knew what part of it was safe for them, their children and their animals and what part of it was unsafe for them. So, having a human guide who could show them how to follow God in whatever way He was leading them was not a bad idea at all. 

Now the only human guide with them that Moses recognised at that time was Hobab, his brother-in-law. We are not told in the bible how this man joined them in that desert. It may be that he came along with his father, Jethro, when he came to visit Moses, and decided to stay back a little longer. Or it may be that he came to visit Moses on his own. It is hard to say. (Cf. Ex 18)

In any case, as Moses points out in our opening text, it is clear that Hobab knew the desert they were in well. He knew the aroutes that were safe for them to pass and the ones that were unsafe for them to pass. He also knew the places that were safe for them to camp in that desert and those that were dangerous for them to camp in. So, though they would always know through God’s leading the direction they ought to go and the places they ought to stay, having someone like Hobab to tell them how to go in the direction they were being led and be safe and how to camp wherever God had led them and be safe would be a huge advantage.

Therefore, even though he was determined to go back to his father and his people, Moses did not want him to leave. Why? He must first of all have proved himself very useful to them during his short stay with them in that wilderness. I mean that he must have shown Moses and the people how invaluable his experience and understanding of how to handle the desert life was. So, allowing someone like him to leave them at that time would be a great mistake.

In the same vein, wherever you find yourself, prove yourself so useful that those you are with will not want you to leave. Hobab was with Moses simply on vacation. Yet Moses was not willing to let him go back home because he had proved himself highly useful to him and his people during his short stay. So, don’t ever again use the fact that you are only going to be in a place for a while as your excuse for being useless there. If you prove useless where you are, it is really because you are useless and not because your time of stay there is short. If you are a highly useful person, then, you will surely prove yourself useful wherever you go, even if you have only a few minutes or hours to be there.

Well, because Moses wanted Hobab to stay, he had to encourage him to do so. Hobab, during his short stay with them, had given them his services free of charge. But now that they wanted him to stay and continue to be of help to them, they needed to give him a good reason to do so. So, Moses offered to share with him whatever good things God gave to them. In other words, if he stayed with them, then, he too would have a share in the land that was flowing with milk and honey that God was giving them. And that, of course, was a too good offer for the man to refuse. So, he stayed.

Now what is the point of that? It is that we need to know how to sustain whatever favour we are enjoying from the people in our lives. People, out of love for God and for us, may be sacrificing their time and resources to do for us things that they are not under any obligation to do for us. And if, like Moses, we want to continue to enjoy their commitment to us, then we also, like Moses, should be willing to share the good things of our lives with them. 

In fact, we should not wait until such people want to stop doing whatever they are doing for us before we begin to encourage them by sharing the good things of our lives with them or considering how we too may wisely support them. Otherwise, if, out of necessity or tiredness, they should decide to stop bearing our burdens or ministering to us in whatever way they have been doing, nothing we do to encourage them may work at such times. So, while there is still time for us to appreciate and encourage anyone in our lives that is freely doing us good, let us do so and sustain the favour. That is because tomorrow may just be too late.
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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: I will not be a judge of such things|By: J.O. Lawal|Fire in my bones

fire in my bones
fire in my bones
Date: May 24, 2023|Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 6, No. 2
“While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him into court. "This man," they charged, "is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law." Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to the Jews, "If you Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanor or serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to listen to you. But since it involves questions about words and names and your own law — settle the matter yourselves. I will not be a judge of such things." So he had them ejected from the court. Then they all turned on Sosthenes the synagogue ruler and beat him in front of the court. But Gallio showed no concern whatever.” (Acts 18:14-17NIV)

Why did Gallio refuse to judge the matter between Paul and the Jews that had brought him to his court? It was because he did not have enough light on it. It was a religious matter that they brought before him, a matter involving Christianity and Judaism. But this man was neither a Christian nor a Jew. So, there was no way he could judge the case without being bias or unjust. 

But you know that it is one thing to know that you are not fit to handle something; it is another thing to admit that you are not fit to handle it. Gallio admitted to himself that he was not knowledgeable enough to judge Paul’s case with the Jews, even though he was a proconsul, a governor, at the time. So, he told Paul’s accusers in plain terms, “I will not be a judge of such things – go and handle this matter yourselves.” And even though they protested and began to beat the ruler of their synagogue, Gallio didn’t give a damn. He simply had all of them ejected from his court. What a man!

Now compare Gallio to Pontus Pilate who judged the case of Jesus. First, Jesus was not under his jurisdiction but under Herod’s jurisdiction. So, it was Herod that was supposed to judge His case. But Herod lost interest in judging the matter, when Jesus was not answering any of his questions, questions that were evidently irrelevant to the matter at hand. So, he sent Him back to Pilate. (Cf. Luke 23:1-12)

In any case, even though the Lord was sent back to him in that manner, he still did not have enough light to judge His case. Why? Like Gallio of Paul’s time, he too was neither a Jew nor a believer in Christ Jesus. So, he should have told the people plainly that he would not be a judge of such things. But he did not do that. Instead, he sat in judgment over Jesus and committed the greatest act of injustice of all times. He sentenced the author of life, the only man that ever lived without any sin in His life, to death and became partakers of the crime of His accusers. 

Why? He wanted to please the crowd (Mark 15:15).What is the point of all this? It is that you should learn to excuse yourself from matters that are beyond your knowledge to judge or comment on. It is normal for people to want to drag us into matters that do not concern us. Sometimes, it may be out of respect for us or because they believe we are in a position to attend to such matters.

 But regardless of what position we are holding in life or how knowledgeable we may be, there are matters that we have no business attending to and matters that are just too high for us. For example, David, even though he was God’s anointed king, once wrote in a psalm of his, “I do not concern myself with matters too high for me or subjects that I do not understand.” Why? He knew it is only arrogant people that get involved in judging cases they do not understand. And such people can only end up becoming evil judges and partakers of the sins and punishments of others. (Cf. Ps 131:1-2)

What about our Lord Jesus Himself? He also once refused to judge a family case brought to Him by a man. The man had asked Him to command his brother to divide the inheritance with him. And how did the Lord respond to that? He simply said, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” In other words, the Lord was saying, “Look, it is not in my place to judge matters like this.” (Cf. Luke 12:13-14)

Now since there were cases the Lord Jesus did not see Himself as in a position to justly judge when He was here on earth, then, we also should know that it is not every case we are fit to judge. Unfortunately, even many that we call men and women of God today do not understand this. So, they want to judge, comment on and even pray about every matter people bring to them or every current issue in their society. Why? They want to become popular among men, just like Pilate.

 But because they do these things without asking themselves whether they have enough information or are in the right positions to handle them or not, they end up lying or becoming associated with the sins of certain wicked people. And that is how many of them have lost their respect, even among those who once cherished them. 

Well, the word of God is coming to you now and saying, “It is not every matter that you are fit to judge or comment on.” And to say the fact, it will take wisdom for us to recognise such matters and strength of character to refuse to judge them. My prayer, then, is that you will always have sufficient wisdom to know matters that are not your business and sufficient strength of character to steer clear of them. Amen.

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Categories
Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: Limiting circumstances |By: J.O. Lawal|FIRE IN MY BONES

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Date: May 17, 2023|Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 6, No. 1

“Your children will be shepherds here for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the desert.” (Num 14:33NIV)

Why did God say that the children of the Israelites that rebelled against Him in the wilderness, when He was leading them into the Land of Promise, would be nothing but shepherds for forty years? Was it because that was the only vocation available for humans at that time? No! There were all sorts of vocations that people could learn and practise then.

In fact, as we see in Scriptures, there were all kinds of skilled workers among these Israelites at that time. For example, we have people like Bezalel and Oholiab among them at the time. And these young men were experts in all kinds of crafts. There were also among them women who were skilled in spinning cloth materials. (Cf. Ex 31:1-11 & 35:25-26)

So, at that time, there was no shortage of skills to engage in all kinds of vocations that could transform a land into a wonder among these Israelites. But how much could they accomplish for themselves and their nation with their various skills and vocations while wandering in the wilderness? Not much!

The prevailing circumstances in that wilderness did not give much room for them to fully utilise whatever special skills or abilities they had and build great vocations or careers with them. They could not settle down there to farm. They could not settle down there to build houses. And they could not set up a market there for people from different nations to come and trade in. The best they could do there was take care of their animals and wait until God led them out of there into the land flowing with milk and honey, which He had promised them.

But why, then, didn’t they just get out of the wilderness and move into the land God had promised them? They could not. They could not because they had no power of their own to take that land. God had to give it to them. Then why was God not giving it to them, since He had promised to do so? It was because He did not want the unbelieving older generations among them to enter the land. So, He was waiting until the last one of them died before giving the land to their descendants, something that took forty years. And that, of course, also means that those qualified to enter that land of rest and prosperity were stuck in the wilderness because of their natural relationships, their relationships with their parents, grandparents, uncles, aunties and so forth.

What is the point of all this? It is that the circumstances of our birth or of where we are can put certain limitations on us, even lifetime limitations. Yes, the circumstances of our family or those of where we live, work, do business or study can keep us in poverty, illiteracy, danger or illness. And it does not matter how hardworking, diligent, educated or gifted we may be, those circumstances may never allow us to attain certain heights of usefulness, prominence, prosperity or comfort in life.

Unfortunately, many don’t know this. They don’t know that regardless of what degree of hard work, diligence or carefulness they employ where they are, as long as certain circumstances are prevalent there or in their families, their efforts will not succeed in giving them the experience of prosperity or peace that they desire. So, they keep putting in more effort. And if they are not shown mercy by God, frustration and depression are bound to set in at some point and ruin them.

What, then, do such people need? They need divine intervention. In other words, they need God to step into their situation. And what will that accomplish? First, when God steps into their situation, He will open their eyes to see what their problem really is, which is that they are being limited or hindered by certain circumstances of their lives. Second, He will take steps to remove or change the circumstances limiting them or take them away from those circumstances to where they need to be to flourish and be all that He wants them to be.

In the case of the Israelites that we are considering, God, at the right time, had to lead them out of the wilderness into the land He had prepared for them, so that they could flourish with their gifts, abilities and vocations. Otherwise, their names and memories would have disappeared along with them in the wilderness. But in the case of Isaac, when he was living in Gerar and there was a severe famine in the land, all God needed to do was give him favourable circumstances. So, though it was a time of severe famine, the man still rose above all odds and flourished in the land. (Cf. Gen 26)

So, if you feel or can see that certain prevailing circumstances where you are have been working against you and making nonsense of your diligent labour or carefulness and forcing poverty, illness, illiteracy or any other terrible thing on you, don’t waste time at all to take the case up with God. That is because He is the only person that can show you what to do and also fix the problem for you. And He will surely have it handled for you, if you will patiently allow Him.

But if you choose to use your own wisdom to address things and move to where you should not move to or stay where you need to get away from, you will someday realise, like Naomi of bible days, that you have not solved your problem at all but have only made it worse (Ruth 1). My earnest prayer is that you will act wise in this matter and not make things worse for yourself while you are trying to handle them. Amen.

Categories
Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

You Will Not Find a Better or Greater God | By: J.O. Lawal | FIRE IN MY BONES

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Date: May 10, 2023|Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 5, No. 52

“Ahaz gathered together the furnishings from the temple of God and took them away. He shut the doors of the LORD’s temple and set up altars at every street corner in Jerusalem.” (2Chron 28:24-25NIV)

Why did King Ahaz shut the door of the Lord’s temple? It was because he did not want anyone to use it as a place of worship again. Why did he not want anyone to use the Lord’s temple for worship anymore? It was because he was angry with Him. And why was he angry with Him? It was because he felt that He was his problem – he felt that He was the reason he lost almost everything he had inherited from his ancestors.

Truly, as the account of his reign goes, things were put in reverse gear when this man became king. Everything went backward and not forward. And raiders came against the nation from every side to ruin it and to take the people captive. The situation was so bad that God, at some point, had to show mercy and intervene through one of His prophets, so that certain two hundred thousand wives and children of the land that had been taken captive would be released and sent back home. (Cf. 2Chro 28)

Yet Ahaz saw God as the problem. But was God really the problem? Was God really the reason the nation collapsed under his reign? No, God wasn’t the problem. He was the problem. He was the one that chose not to honour and worship God, as his father Jotham and his grandfather Uzziah had done. He was the one that chose idolatry and the practice of sorcery as his own way to be safe and secure. This man, as the bible tells us, was so detestable and ruthless that he offered his own sons to his gods in the fire. (Cf. 2Chro 28:1-4)

Therefore, God took away his protection. And the land became vulnerable and unsafe. What, then, should he have done? He should have returned to the God of his ancestors; he should have returned to the God that kept the nation safe and prosperous under the reigns of his father and grandfather. But did he? No, he did not!

Instead, he went deeper into idolatry. Look at how the bible puts that: 

“In his time of trouble King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to the LORD. He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus, who had defeated him; for he thought, “Since the gods of the kings of Aram have helped them, I will sacrifice to them so they will help me.” But they were his downfall and the downfall of all Israel.” (2Chron 28:22-23NIV)

Think about that. Ahaz was ready to worship any god that he considered to be the winning god. But he would not worship the living God. Why? He was hoping that he would find a better and more powerful god than Him. 

See, Ahaz knew that the reason he was crushed and defeated by the nations around him was that he forsook the God of his ancestors. And that made him mad. It made him mad because he felt he should be free to choose any god he wanted and not having anyone force any god on him. So, he wanted to shame God by finding a more powerful or greater god than Him to worship. That was one of the reasons he shut the doors of the temple of God and multiplied idol worship in the land.

But did Ahaz find a greater or more powerful god than the living God? No! Why did he not find? It was because there is none. There is no god greater or more powerful than the living God. To say the fact, He is the only God that exists. All the so gods that people worship are no gods at all. They are either idols, the works of men, or demons, beings created by God. So, if anyone thinks he is going to find a greater, better or more powerful god than the living God, the person has already failed before his journey starts. 

What is the point I am making? It is that there is no greater or better god than the living God. In fact, there is no other god but Him. Therefore, if, like Ahaz, you want to forsake Him for some other gods because you think He is your problem or because you think serving Him is burdensome or because you think He is too weak or slow for you, you also, like Ahaz, will someday realise that you are your own problem and that you cannot find any god like Him or any god greater or better than Him. But will your life still be intact then? Will it not have become utterly or eternally ruined by the time you find out?

Ahaz’s life and country were ruined because felt he was free to choose his own god or gods and still be fine. And there are still many like him today who equally think they are free to choose their own gods or not to choose any god at all but become their own gods. But they are wrong. Man is not free to choose his own god or gods, for he did not create or make himself. Man was created by the living God. So, he already has the God he is to worship, serve and live for. And the best thing he can do for himself is to accept this reality and live accordingly. That will be his wisdom. That will be his eternal peace.

Categories
Fire in my Bones General Post Youth for Jesus

Title: Make your work very good too
By: J.O. Lawal

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Date: April 19, 2023|Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 5, No. 49

“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good…” (Gen 1:31NIV)

Why are we taught in Scriptures to imitate God? It is because we can do so. If we could not imitate God, we would not be told to do so. But because we have been created in His image and after His likeness, we have what it takes to imitate Him. And that is exactly why we are told to do so. (Cf. Gen 1:27; Eph 4:24; Eph 5:1)

Now in what ways are we to imitate God? We actually have several instructions in Scriptures pointing us to ways in which we are to imitate Him. But the one I want to draw your attention to has to do with the way we handle our work. How, then, are we to imitate God in the way we handle our work? Or what exactly are we to imitate in the way God handles His work?

As we see in the book of Genesis, everything God made in the beginning was good, perfect and flawless. In fact, in our opening bible text, we are told that when God was done with all His work in the beginning, He Himself testified that all that He had done was very good. And why was His work very good? It was very good because He Himself is a good God. So, He cannot do anything that will not fully communicate His goodness or carry the trademark of His excellency.

That being the case, we too, who are God’s children and creation, must learn to function with the same mentality. We must continually say to ourselves, “I am God’s child and creation. So, I cannot do anything that will not fully communicate the goodness and excellency of God my Father.” And until we begin to function with this mindset, we will not stop handling our jobs and anything else that we lay our hands on anyhow.

When God started the work of creation, His focus was not to create a universe that He would have to come around to repair every now and then. Rather, His focus was to create a universe that would have all that it would need to transform itself with ever-increasing glory. That is why He has never had to repair the sun, the moon or any of the stars. And none of them has ever failed to live up to expectations.

Also, observed that God has never had to put any new thing here on earth since He created it in the beginning. Why? It is because He put in it right from the beginning everything that we would need to make it a wonder. So, we are the ones to do the investigating and searching. We are the ones to labour to find out the things He has placed here on earth to beautify it and make it most enjoyable for us. And ever since some of us have been doing that, we have been finding the earth to be more and more interesting to live in.

You can see, then, that when God judged all His works as very good, He was not overrating Himself. He did a very good creation job in the beginning. And whatever mess we are seeing in the world right now was not made by Him but by us through our sins and various scheming. (Cf. Ecc 7:29)

In any case, I said all of that to show you what we ought to imitate in God about our work. And that has to do with making the works of our hands very good too. In other words, just like God, whenever we are done with anything, we should be able to tell ourselves that what we have done is very good and will truly serve the purpose for which we have done it. But our works will not be very good, if our goal is not to make them very good. No, our works will not be very good, if our minds have not been renewed to embrace the fact that we were originally created by God to do good works and that everything we do must bear testimony to this fact, whether it is spiritual or natural. (Cf. Eph 2:10)

Look, doing things that are not good, things that are substandard, things that are of low quality and things that will not fully serve the purpose for which they are done is contrary to our nature and also to the will of God for us. In fact, we should consider it shameful and beneath us to do such things. So, if you are a child of God, you need to cleanse yourself of every culture of doing things anyhow, of doing things that will make those who are going to use them mad or upset with you.

Yes, sometimes, it is people that will compel you to go below what you know to be good and acceptable because they want something cheap. Yet they are the ones that will go about ridiculing your work as substandard or worthless. So, don’t allow anybody to kill the goodness of your work because of money. That is because it is not a must that you serve everyone. If you have to serve anyone, then, be sure to take from them what will make you serve them well. That way, the goodness of your work or service will by itself continually speak for you. And you will be proved to be a true child of God, your Father, whose eternal goal is to always make everything very good.