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

Guard your heart_J.0._Lawal

Recommended Citation

Lawal, J. O. (2025, March 16). Guard your heart. From Pastor’s Desk, Vol. 12, No. 46.

Beloved: Grace, mercy and peace be yours without measure from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. I am pleased to welcome you to another week of the month of March 2025. I pray that God will daily keep your heart from being messed up by the devil in any way, so that you will never take any step that will result in regrets for you, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

The bible says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” (Prov 4:23NIV) What does this mean? It means that one of the most important things you can do for yourself as a child of God is to guard your heart by the power of the Holy Spirit. And why is this important? It is important because everything you do in life proceeds from your heart. If you, then, will not protect it well, Satan will fill it with all kinds of evil. And before you know what is happening, you will have found yourself doing what you never thought you could do.

For instance, did Judas Iscariot think that he could betray the Lord Jesus, when he first became one of His apostles? I don’t think so. Yet, because he would not guard his heart against greed, Satan succeeded in entering him and driving him to betray his Lord and Saviour. What a shame! (Cf. John 13:2&27)

What about David? When he was first ordained by God to be king over Israel, did he think that he could one day snatch another man’s wife and then kill the man? No! He loved God too much for that. Yet, because he did not guard his heart against lust, he ended up doing the unthinkable. He snatched Bathsheba from Uriah and also killed the man. (Cf. 2Sam 11)

Now if David, a man after God’s own heart, could act like that, simply because he would not guard his heart, don’t you think that we too can do similar or worse things? And if Judas Iscariot, a man privileged to live, eat and drink with Jesus, could betray Him because he would not guard his heart, don’t you think that we too can do similar or worse things?

Therefore, in the wisdom of God, He tells us to take the protection of our hearts against evil thoughts and desires very seriously. Otherwise, we may end up messing up our lives and faith in ways beyond what anyone can ever imagine. So, shut the door of your heart against those thoughts of bitterness, jealousy, hate or lust. And my prayer is that God will daily strengthen your heart by His Spirit to daily do so, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a pleasant week.

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

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

Be Careful and Prayerful_J.0.Lawal

Recommended Citation: Lawal, J. O. (2025, March 9). Be careful and prayerful. From Pastor’s Desk, 12(45).

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be multiplied to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. I am glad to welcome you to the second week of the month of March 2025. And I pray that God will keep you from falling into any trap set by the devil for your soul, so that you may stand blameless at the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

As we begin this new week, I want to admonish you with these words of our Lord Jesus Christ:

“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:34-36NIV)

What are the main things the Lord wants us to note and take seriously, as we see in this bible text? The first is the need for us to be careful. Why do we need to be careful? The reason is that our enemy, Satan, will daily use all kinds of things to fight our souls in order to enslave us and make us forget that this earth is not our permanent home. And if we are not careful, we will have been lost to the anxieties of this life and to all kinds of ungodly things that will ruin our lives and souls before we know what is happening.

So, be careful. Be careful of where you go. Be careful of who you make friends with. Be careful of what you allow your eyes to see and what you allow your ears to hear. And be careful of what thoughts you permit in your mind. Otherwise, you may just lose yourself to the world and to the devil before you know it.

The second thing the Lord wants us to pay attention to, as we see in that bible text, is our devotion to prayer. There are, of course, all kinds of prayers. But the prayers He is talking about here have to do with the preservation of our souls in these last days. So, first, He tells us to pray that we will be able to escape all the terrible things, accidents, calamities, plagues, famines and so forth, that will be happening in the last days. Second, He tells us to pray that we will be able to stand before Him when He returns.

What is the point of all this, then? It is that none of us can escape the dangers and corruption of the last days, if we are not preserved by God Himself. Our boldness, determination and strong will are not enough to preserve us. God Himself has to preserve us. Otherwise, we will just wake up one day and realise that we too have become everything we have once preached against.

Therefore, apart from being careful in our daily walk in this life, we must also give ourselves to earnestly praying that God, in His mercy, will preserve our lives and souls from all the dangers and corruption of these last days. And if we will continually do this in faith, we will not be put to shame. Instead, we will be preserved pure and blameless when our Lord Jesus returns.

Do have a lovely week.

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

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From Pastor's Desk 2025 General Post

His Eyes Are Always On Them_J.O.Lawal

Recommended Citation: Lawal, J.O. (2025, March 2). His eyes are always on them. From Pastor’s Desk, 12(44).

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the third month of this year, the month of March 2025. My prayer is that God will beautify your life and home afresh in the month, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Now, as we begin this new month, I want to encourage you with these words from a Psalm of David:

“But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.” (Ps 33:18-19NIV)

What do we see here? We see that God’s eyes are always on those who fear Him and who have put their hope in His unfailing love. In other words, He never takes His eyes off them, regardless of where they go or find themselves.

Why, then, are God’s eyes always on such people? First, it is so that He may deliver them from death. Remember that it was David that said these words. And he said them as a testimony of God’s goodness to him. God continually protected him from death, even though his enemy, King Saul, took all kinds of steps to kill him and prevent him from sitting on the throne of Israel. Eventually, it was his enemy that lost his life. But he went on to become the king that God had always wanted him to be.

In the same vein, if we too are living in the fear of God and have all our trust in Him, not in human beings or their schemes, we will always enjoy His protection from death and destruction. That means it does not matter what Satan does to destroy or kill us, he will not succeed. But we will go on to become on all that God wants us to be in life.

Second, God’s eyes are always on those who fear Him and whose hope are in His unfailing love in order to keep them alive in famine. That means it does not how bad the economy of a place becomes, God will always see to it that those who are living to honour Him and who have their eyes fixed on Him do not go hungry. In fact, as He made Isaac wealthy in a time of famine, He is able to make them wealthy too. (Cf. Gen 26)

In like manner, even though the economy of this country is poor at the moment, if we will continually live in the fear of God and put our hope in Him, He will see to it that we do not hungry. How will He do that? I cannot tell you. That is because I wouldn’t know unless He tells me. But I do know that if we will not throw our confidence in Him away, He will see to it that we do not lack any good thing, even though we are living in a time of famine.

So, maintain your faith in God, regardless of what is happening around you and regardless of what you have or do not have at the moment. Also, keep on living in His fear, even though everyone around you has given themselves to unrighteousness. And He will see to it that you are never put to shame.

Have a lovely March 2025.

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