Lawal, J. O. (2025, April 20). Witnessing greater works of God (Vol. 12, No. 51). From Pastor’s Desk.
Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours abundantly from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am pleased to welcome you to the Easter Sunday of this year, year 2025. My prayer is that all that Jesus accomplished for us through His death, burial, resurrection and ascension will not go to waste in our lives. Amen.
As we begin this new week, I want to encourage you with these words of our Lord Jesus: “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that.” (John 1:50NIV) Who did Jesus say this to? He said it to Nathaniel, one of the men that later became His apostles. Why did He say it to him? Well, as the account goes, Philip had told Nathaniel that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah they had been waiting for and that he should come and see him. But Nathaniel did not think that anything good could come out of Nazareth. Nevertheless, he went with Philip to see Jesus. (Cf. John 1:44-46)
Now when this man met Jesus, and He told him by revelation where he had been that day, he immediately believed and said, “You are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” And because he appreciated the little revelation Jesus gave him, the Lord told him that he would see greater things. That means the way to witness greater things from the hand of God is to appreciate whatever He shows us or does for us, however little it may seem.
Truly, there is nothing God does for us or shows to us that is simple or little. But even if what He has done for us or shown to us appear to be little, our attitude towards it is what will determine whether He will show us greater things or not. When God first appeared to Moses, He only gave him two signs. And those two signs were actually profound. But he had to appreciate them and take God seriously on account of them for him to witness greater signs and miracles. And he did witness greater signs, miracles and wonders from God, signs, miracles and wonders too numerous to count.
The same thing was applicable to Nathaniel and all the apostles of the Lord Jesus. They all went on to see things greater than what they were first shown when they met Him. But that would not have happened, if they had not appreciated Him for the things He first did for them or showed to them.
So, if we want to see greater works of God, if we want to see miracles, signs and wonders that are greater than whatever God has done for us in the past or is doing for us now, we must show Him that we appreciate what He is doing for us, however small or little it may see. Otherwise, we will only keep hearing great testimonies of His goodness to others but never have any great testimony of our own to share.
We have been looking at how important it is for us to watch over one another based on the instructions we have in Hebrews, chapters 3 and 12. And there we are told to see to it that none of us develops a sinful heart that turns away from the living God and that none of us falls short of the grace of God. Then, in the last lesson, I began to talk to us about relating to one another only on the basis of the word of God. If we are relating to ourselves on this basis, we will not condemn ourselves or judge ourselves contrary to the will of God.
Now we may want to relate to one another on the basis of our experiences, traditions or idiosyncrasies. But where these things do not align with the word of God, we must drop them. We must draw the lines between the demands the word of God is making on us and the demands we are making on ourselves. People must not be taken as having fallen away from the grace of God or as being on their way to falling away from His grace simply because they are doing things that are contrary to our traditions or experiences in life. We can only take people to be walking in the path of error, if the word of God says so.
As I pointed out before, there are demands placed on us by the word of God. And these are the demands we must place on ourselves. The things that the word of God tells us to do are the things we must command and encourage ourselves to do. Then the things the word of God commands us not to do are the things we must command and encourage ourselves not to do. And as long as we stick to these rules, we will be able to help one another remain in the faith.
But then, there are things the word of God is silent about. And how we handle these things, of course, is what will determine whether these things are right or wrong for us to do. For instance, the things we eat, the things we wear and our attitude towards days, times and seasons do not affect our relationship with God. How we use them, however, is able to affect our relationship with one another. So, we have guidelines in Scriptures on how to handle those things that God is silent about. That way, we will not end up condemning or judging ourselves contrary to the will of God.
In Romans, chapter 14, verse 1, Paul says this to us: “Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.” (NIV) Can you see that? There are disputable matters. These are matters that we cannot have a final word on them. That is because God is neither for them nor against them. Therefore, none of us can have a final say about them. Yes, we may argue back and forth on whether it is right or wrong for us to do them. But none of us can have a final say over them, for God has not given any final word about them. He has only given us guidelines on how to handle them so that we do not through them destroy ourselves or our relationship with one another.
Well, from verse 2, Paul goes on to say:
“One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” (Rom 14:2-8NIV)
What is the point Paul making here? It is that what we think about certain things that God has not given any word about is up to us. And what we think about such things should not be our basis for judging or condemning anybody. For instance, in handling food matters, you may eat whatever you please, as long as you are convinced it is alright to do so. So, no one should judge you for choosing to eat certain food, just as no one should condemn you for choosing not to eat certain food. That decision is up to you.
Your attitude toward days, times and seasons is also up to you. If you want to be celebrating your birthdays, it is up to you. And if you choose not to celebrate birthdays, it is up to you. So, no one should judge or condemn you on the basis of what you do or do not do, as far as this matter is concerned. Celebrating birthdays or some other days or times or seasons does not bring us near God, just as not celebrating them does not drive us away from Him.
Look at what Paul says in 1Corinthians, chapter 8, verse 8:
“But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.” (NIV)
That is a rule to pay attention to in our walk with God. There are things that do not bring us near God. In other words, our doing such things does not make us better, just as our doing them does not make us worse. And food happens to be one of such things. We can eat anything we like to eat. That is not going to bring us any closer to God or take farther away from Him. Food is meant for the body, just as the body is meant for food. So, whatever goes into the body will come out of it. And that has nothing to do with our relationship with God.
However, what we eat or drink may destroy our body. Now our body does not belong to us but to God, as we are shown in Scriptures (1Corinthians 6:19-21). If we, then, are putting into our body what destroys it, we are not taking God seriously but are sinning against Him. So, we need to know those things we will put in our body that will destroy it and stay away from them. That is what makes drunkenness a sin. Nothing is wrong with the consumption of wine or alcohol in itself. But when you take it to the point that it takes charge of your mind and begins to control you, you are sinning against God. The same thing is applicable to gluttony. Nothing is wrong with eating well. But when you begin to eat so much that your health or finances or relationship with others is being affected, you are already sinning against God.
What I am saying is that nothing is wrong with eating or drinking. It is the way we handle what we eat and drink that may make the consumption of certain foods wrong for us. In the same vein, our celebration of certain days is not wrong. Those who celebrate birthdays, Christmas, Easter and so on are not wrong to do so. And those who do not do so are not wrong not to do so. The point is simply that those who do not do so are not closer to God than those who do so, just as those who do so are not farther from God than those who do not do so. Therefore, do not think that because you do not eat certain food, you are closer to God than those who eat it. That is not so. It is never going to be so.
The same thing is applicable to our use of dresses. How we dress and the things we wear differ from place to place, based on the culture of where we find ourselves. We can wear whatever we like. What is important is moderation. What is important is modesty in the way we handle whatever we hear. So, we should not argue on whether people can wear a particular kind of dress or not. What we should focus on is modesty. As long as we are modest in the way we dress, as long as what we wear does not expose private parts of our body, it is fine. What we wear may not be acceptable in our culture. But is it modest? If it is, then, we should not judge or condemn anybody for it. We must be careful not to make our culture take the place of the word of God in our dealings with one another. That is because there are things that are acceptable in every culture that are not acceptable by God.
Well, Paul, in this chapter of the book of Romans, is telling us that whether we do certain things or do not do them is up to us, if God has not given any final word on those things. So, we should not condemn anybody for not doing what we do or for doing what we do not like to do, as long as God has not given any word for or against it. The point is that we must respect the right of every believer to live in liberty. The Lord has set us free so that we can be free. We, therefore, must respect that and not seek to put any yoke of slavery on anybody.
However, we are also warned in the Scriptures not to destroy other believers through the exercise of our liberty. God may not have condemned an act. But we need to be careful that we do not destroy other believers through that act. So, first, we need to watch that what we are doing is not destroying us. God has not condemned what you are doing. But is it destroying you? If it is, then, you need to watch it.
For instance, smoking of cigarettes is not condemned anywhere in Scriptures. So, you are not to judge anyone for smoking tobacco. However, we know from experience that the smoking of tobacco is capable of destroying your body and also the health of others around you. So, out of respect for your body, which belongs to God, you should not be smoking. Then, out of consideration for others’ welfare, you should not be smoking. That is how the consumption of tobacco can become a sin.
Paul explains these things in this manner, from verse 13 of Romans 14:
“Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way. As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil.” (Rom 14:13-16NIV)
Did you see that? Paul says I am convinced that no food is unclean in itself. Why does he say this? He says this because everything God created is good. It is the fall of man that has made some things bad for us to use or enjoy. Yes, it is the fall of man that has deprived us of the understanding of how to use all the good things God has created and put at our disposal. So, we must not pass judgment on one another or condemn one another in relating to things God has not condemned. What is important is that we do not become the reason someone will stumble and fall in their walk with God.
For example, I said before that nothing was wrong with taking alcohol, as long as you do not get drunk. I do not say that because I drink alcohol. I do not drink. Rather, I say that because the word of God says so. And His word is truth. However, if a brother that had just be rescued from drunkenness by the Lord should see you drinking alcohol, will he not be offended or even emboldened to want to drink it? Then, he may just find himself trapped again in drunkenness. And your lack of consideration in this matter will make you responsible for his fall. When you do so, you are not acting in love, for you are destroying someone for whom Christ has died.
So, Paul goes on to say this to us:
“Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall. So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.” (Rom 14:19-23NIV)
I do not have the time to explain everything Paul is saying to us here. But the point of it all is that we must be considerate and must also aim for mutual edification in all that we do. We must not just be concerned about pleasing ourselves; we also need to be concerned about how what we do will affect our brethren. Here is something similar said by Paul from verse 9 of 1Corinthians 8:
“Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, won’t he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.” (1Corinthians 8:9-13NIV)
You can see that consideration is key in the way we relate to one another. So, even though God has not condemned what we are doing, we must be considerate in doing it. That way, whatever we are doing will not result in the fall of another brother or sister.
Mind you, what we are dealing with is how to keep one another in the faith. And we are saying that we are to do so only on the basis of the word of God. The word of God, then, tells us that even in matters where God has not given a final word on what is right or wrong, we must be considerate and do everything for mutual edification. That way, we will not expose our brethren to any kind of spiritual fall.
But then, we must also be careful not to judge or condemn people where God has not condemned them. That you like to do something that someone else does not want to do does not mean that something is wrong with you or with that person. If God has not condemned you for what you do, then, you are not condemned. And if what you are doing is not hurting anyone’s faith, you should not allow anyone to judge for doing it. That is because there are people who get irritated about what other believers are doing. And they want them to stop doing those things because they are irritated. But that you are irritated does not mean that your faith is being hurt or injured. So, don’t judge or condemn anyone merely on the basis of what irritates you. If what they are doing is not contrary to the word of God, you should let them be. And you should apply the same rule to your life.
Lawal, J. O. (2025, April 9). Strengthen my hands. Youth for Jesus, 7(47).
“They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.” [But I prayed,] “Now strengthen my hands.”” (Neh 6:9NIV)
Who said these words? It was Nehemiah. And who was Nehemiah? Nehemiah was the governor of the land of Judah that God used in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem after the people had returned from exile.
Now though this man was a governor at the time he said these words, a governor that was righteous and also highly connected to Emperor Artaxerxes, he still found himself in a situation where certain individuals tried to frighten and weaken him. Why? They wanted him to abandon the good work he was doing, the good work of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and also seeing to the welfare of his people.
So, it is not only those who are poor, weak and lowly in life that face threats to weaken or render them useless in life. The rich, powerful and influential also face these things. Yes, they too sometimes find themselves in situations where they are being harassed, oppressed or threatened, so that they may not fulfil the desires of their hearts. And in such situations, their wealth, power and influence may not be able to help them. That, of course, is sometimes the reason some good people end up becoming useless or unprofitable leaders. The forces they have to contend with in the positions they find themselves are just too much for them to handle.
Well, as we see in our opening text, at some point, Nehemiah too found himself being harassed and threatened by the enemies of his people, so that he would be too weak to do anything good for his land as governor. But this man would not surrender to fear and stop the good work he was doing. Instead, he decided to pray to God.
Why did Nehemiah choose to pray to God, when he was being harassed and threatened? It was because he knew that only God could make him succeed under the circumstances he had found himself. Yes, he was rich, powerful and influential. But he also knew that wealth, power and influence could fail and have failed times without number. Only God never fails. So, he chose to pray to Him.
Now what was his prayer? It was very simple. It was that God would strengthen his hands. In other words, he wanted God to give him all the encouragement, strength, boldness, wisdom, determination, protection and resources he would need to finish the good work he was doing. And did God answer him or not? He did, for he finished the good work he started in record time and with excellence. So, all his enemies were put to shame. (Cf. Neh 6:15-16)
In like manner, if you too are faced with people or situations that are threatening to stop or hinder you from doing whatever good and righteous thing you have in mind or are up to, don’t be surprised. And don’t start saying, “God, why me?” You will not be the first person to experience that. Also, you surely won’t be the last person to experience it, as long as this earth remains.
So, instead of getting worried or losing your mind because certain people or circumstances are trying to frighten you and stop you from doing whatever good thing you want to do, just pray to God as Nehemiah did. Yes, pray to Him, saying, “Strengthen my hands, my God.” And He will answer you and furnish you with all the strength, wisdom, protection, courage, people, resources and encouragement you need to succeed. Then all those who are against you will be put to shame, when they see that what you have done has been done by the power of the living God.
Lawal, J. O. (2025, April 13). Put them to death. From Pastor’s Desk, Vol. 12, No. 50.
Beloved: Grace, mercy and peace be yours immeasurably from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am delighted to welcome you to another week of the month of April 2025. My prayer is that God will daily teach you to take advantage of His grace to walk in victory over every kind of sin or weakness of the spirit, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Why did I offer this prayer for you? The reason is that it is the will of God for us to put to death any kind of sin that may be associated with our lives. Look at what Paul says about this to the Colossian brethren:
“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” (Col 3:5-10NIV)
Can you see all the things that we must put to death and also rid our lives of? Then can you observe that we are the ones to put these things to death in our lives? That means even though we are now children of God and new creatures in Christ, the bad things we used to do will still want to find expression in our lives and make a mess of our faith. That is because it has become cultural for us to do them.
But as Paul tells us, it is because of all these evil things that the wrath of God is coming on the disobedient. Therefore, we must not give ourselves to them again. Instead, we must put them to death. And can we actually put them to death? Do we have the ability to put them to death?
Well, if we could not put them to death, God would not say that we should do so. The reason He tells us to do so is that we can do so. But how do we do so? We cannot do so by simply wishing or determining to do so. Peter, for instance, was determined not to deny Jesus. Yet he denied Him three times in a row in one night. So, being determined not to do what is wrong is not enough; we must also possess the ability not to do what is wrong. Otherwise, the pressure of sin may weaken our determination and drive us to do what is against the desires of our hearts. (Cf. Matt 26)
All of this is why the bible further says to us. “For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.” (Rom 8:13NIV) Did you see that? It is only by the supply of the Spirit of God that we can put any kind of sin or bad behaviour to death in our lives. Otherwise, we can only find ourselves failing again and again.
So, if you want to end any kind of sin in your life, you must turn to the Spirit of God for the enablement to do so. How? First, you do so through prayer. Second, you do so by meditating on the word of God and confessing it to yourself. Third, you do so by fellowshipping with the people of God that are walking in righteousness. And as you consistently give yourself to these things, you will soon enough see for yourself that those wrong things that you are struggling with in your life have been put to death by the Spirit of God.
We have been looking at the instructions given to us in Hebrews, chapters 3 and 12, on watching over one another so that none of us will develop a sinful unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God and so that we will not fall short of the grace of God. And this has led us to examining some of the things we must pay attention to in order to be able to fulfil these demands placed on us by God.
Now I want to give us another point that will aid us in helping one another to remain faithful to God to the very end. And it is that we are to relate to one another only on the basis of the word of God. What I am saying is that we must encourage, instruct, admonish, correct or rebuke one another only on the basis of the word of God. We must not relate to one another on the basis of feelings or experiences but on the basis of the word of God.
Don’t get me wrong here. Our feelings are important. Our experiences are important. But they are only important to the degree that they align with the word of God. We can use our feelings and experiences to illustrate the word of God to people. But we must not allow our feelings and experiences to take the place of the word of God in our lives or in the lives of others, especially the people of God in our lives. So, as we relate to one another, our relationship must be word-based. That is the only way our relationship with one another can be clean and also beneficial to all of us.
While addressing the leaders of the Ephesian church, Paul says this to them in his farewell message:
“Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” (Acts 20:32NIV)
There is something he says here about the word of God. And it is that it can build up God’s people and give them an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. That means it is the word of God that we must rely on, if we want to be built up in our faith and if we want to receive and enjoy our own share of the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of God. Prayer is important too. But it cannot take the place of the word of God in our lives. Through prayer, of course, we can be built up in strength, spiritual strength. But it cannot take the place of the word of God in our being built up in our faith, just as the word of God cannot take its place.
Well, I am saying that in dealing with one another in the church, we must do so only on the basis of the word of God. Now there are things the word of God demands or encourages us to do. And we must be demanding and encouraging one another to do these things, if we want to remain in the truth of Jesus. In other words, we must command ourselves to do the things the word of God tells us to do. Also, we must encourage ourselves to do the things the word of God encourages us to do.
For instance, the word of God commands and encourages us to take our devotion to Scriptures, prayer and Christian fellowship very seriously. And we must take these things very seriously in our individual lives. Not only that, we must also demand that our brethren take these things very seriously in their lives as well. If your brother or sister, then, is calling your attention to the need to take the word of God, prayer and Christian fellowship seriously, you must not think that they are doing something wrong or out of place. What they are doing is not out of place. That is because the demands they are making on you are the demands the word of God makes on every one of us.
Now when we take our devotion to prayer, the word of God and Christian fellowship very seriously, other things that God wants us to take seriously will become clear to us as well. That way, we can also take them seriously. The point I am making, in any case, is that in order for us to fulfil the demands that God is making on us to keep our brethren safe, the demands we will be placing on them must the ones God is placing on them. Otherwise, we will be wrong.
Then there are things that God has told us not to do, things that He has already condemned. We also must condemn these things in our own lives and in the lives of our brethren. ‘Acts of the flesh’, for instance, are condemned everywhere in the Scriptures. We must condemn them as well in our lives and in the lives of our brethren. Also, slothfulness, laziness, waywardness and lukewarmness of every form are condemned in Scriptures. We too must condemn these in our lives and in the lives of our brethren. What about immodest living? It is condemned in Scriptures. So, we too must condemn it. We must condemn everything that is immodest among us.
Sadly, there are times that people, in their attempt to evade correction or rebuke, will say, “The word of God says, ‘Do not judge, or you too will be judged.’” They say this to scare their brethren away from addressing the wrong things in their lives. Now it is true that the word of God tells us not to judge others, so that we will not be judged. But on what basis does it say that? In what context does the word of God say this?
When you read the passage where this is said carefully, you will see that Jesus says what He says there in the context of ‘morality in judgment’. In other words, the Lord is speaking of situations in which we are not qualified to judge others. Look at the passage:
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plan out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:1-5NIV)
You can see here that we are dealing with morality in judgment, where you have no moral right to judge others. And when do you have no moral right to judge others? You have no moral right to judge them when you are doing what you condemn in them or when you are doing things that are worse than what you condemn in them. I mentioned some things along these lines in the last lesson. I said you cannot afford to be a part of the problem you are trying to solve, if you want to help God’s people. Therefore, if you have fallen short of the grace of God or have developed a sinful heart that turns away from God, how can you keep your brethren from doing something similar or help them out of something similar?
Well, the Lord in this passage is speaking of morality in judgment. And it must not be torn apart. Often people tear what He says here apart. They will quote only the first line of His words and leave the rest of what He says in the same context out. That is wrong. It is a wrong way to treat the word of God. The context of this passage is of morality in judgment, where you have no moral right to judge others. And you do have no moral right to judge anyone, if you are guilty of the same offence that you want to judge or of worse offences than the one you want to judge.
The second thing we need to keep in mind in dealing with this text is that if God has already judged something, then, anyone that has a moral and spiritual right to judge it can judge it. So, don’t say, “Don’t judge me, if you are doing what is wrong.” God has already judged what you are doing as wrong. You, then, had better accept it. God has judged immorality as wrong. He has judged greed as wrong. He has judged envy, sorcery and witchcraft as wrong. He has judged sexual immorality as wrong. And He has judged homosexuality as wrong.
Today people, especially those who practise homosexuality and lesbianism and other similar nonsense, get upset when we condemn these acts. They get upset that the church will not embrace or celebrate what they are doing. Their thought is that we hate them. But we don’t hate them. The thing is that God has already judged their lifestyle as wrong. We, then, are not trying to judge them. God has already judged them. And if God has already judged something, we also can judge it, as long as we have the moral right to judge it.
So, if you are being rebuked for something wrong, do not say, “Why are you judging me? The word of God says that you should not judge.” If God has already judged what you are doing as wrong, then, anyone with a moral right to judge it can judge it and should judge it. Of course, there is none of us that is perfect. Each of us must strive for perfection. But if you are doing something that is wrong, we will not ignore you because we also are not yet perfect in conduct. We have to call your attention to what you are doing that is wrong. That is because God has already condemned it. Also, it is because God has told us to see to it that none of us develops a sinful unbelieving heart that turns away from Him.
Now since we have this instruction, we must fulfil it. And to make it easy for us to do so, we are told this by Paul in his letter to the Ephesian brethren; “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Ephesians 5:21NIV) What is our instruction here? It is that we should submit to one another in our relationship with one another as believers. Why? Out of reverence for Christ! So, the reason I submit to you is not that you are better than me. The reason I do so is Christ. What we are saying is that the reason we submit to one another in the church is not that some people are better than others. Rather, the reason is that we honour Christ when we do so. For instance, when we honour our leaders and submit to them, it is Christ we are honouring and submitting ourselves to.
Well, I am bringing this up to let you know that if we will make it easy for our brethren to help us stay in the truth, we must submit to them. When they are getting involved in your life and trying to place their fingers on things you may be missing, you must not be furious or angry. Instead, you must listen to what they have to say. They may be wrong. People may be wrong when they are trying to place their fingers on certain things that are wrong in our lives. They may even not use gracious words in addressing us, which, by the way, is a wrong way to relate to others. Nevertheless, we must be willing to look at what they are showing us and to listen to what they are telling us.
This is often the problem in the church: we get all furious when others are trying to rebuke or correct us. And that is because we don’t want to look at what they are showing us or to listen to what they are telling us. That is a wrong attitude. It is an attitude of an arrogant person. And if we do not deal with it in our lives, it will sooner or later get us into trouble.
As I already said, people may be wrong in their attempt to rebuke or correct us. But we will be more wrong, if we are not going to look at all at what they are showing us or listen at all to what they are saying to us. We will be showing ourselves as proud, if we are like that. And the bible says that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. (Cf. James 4:6; 1Peter 5:5)
Yes, in this case, you are not wrong but right. The problem, however, is that your attitude is wrong. And because your attitude towards correction is wrong where you are right, when you are actually wrong, there may be no one to set you right. Then, before you know that what you are doing is wrong, it may have destroyed you. You can now see why we are told to submit to one another. And these include leaders as well. They also must submit to one another and to their brethren. This does not mean that they are to yield themselves to be led by their brethren. Rather, it means they are to be open enough to welcome complaints or observations from their brethren.
There are leaders that don’t want to hear any complaint or observation from their brethren. They will ask them to shut up. And there are assemblies in which brethren cannot freely ask questions about the things they do not understand in Scriptures. Someone will ask them to shut up. And that is not helpful for the health or growth of the church. It is important, then, that if we will be able to help one another stay in the truth, we must submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. This does not have to do with the age, experience academic qualification, social status or financial status of those we are relating to. Rather, it has to do with showing reverence for the Lord Jesus Christ. And if you truly revere Him, you will submit yourself to your brethren and not make it difficult for them to watch over you or to counsel, correct or rebuke you.
Lawal, J. O. (2025, March 30). Your life and your message. See to It series.
I want of further share with you on ‘See to it’. As you now know, we are told in Scriptures to see to it that none of us falls away from the grace of God. We are also told to see to it that none of us develops a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. We have these instructions given to us in Hebrews, chapters 3 and 12. And we have been looking at those things that will aid us in taking them seriously.
Now, based on that, I said we must be involved in one another’s life. If we are not involved in our lives, there is no way we will be able to help one another from falling away from the grace of God. Remember that if any of us should fall away from God’s grace, as we are told in the Scriptures, we will have to dissociate ourselves from the person. That does not mean we are not to pray for the person’s restoration. But while that person remains fallen away from the grace of God, while that person has chosen to be living in sin, we will have to dissociate ourselves from him. For that not to happen, we have to be involved in one another’s life. We have to know what is going on in one another’s life. That way, we will be able to protect ourselves from the schemes of the devil.
But then, as I equally pointed out before, if we will be involved in one another’s life, then, we must be open with our lives. If we are not open with our lives, there is no way we can adequately know what is going on in one another’s life and be helpful to one another. And the leaders must take the lead in doing this. Our leaders must first be open with their lives. It is only then that they can encourage their brethren to also be open with their lives. And once we are open with our lives in this manner, we will be in a position to help one another.
However, it is not enough for us to be open with our lives; what is seen in our lives also has to be what God wants to see in them. Our lives have to be showing that we actually know what we are doing. Our lives have to be showing that we are walking in the light of the truth and that we are not a part of the problems we are trying to solve. And I remember giving us some Scriptures to show the main qualities we must have to be able to help one another stay in the truth of Jesus. And what are these qualities? First, we must be full of goodness. Second, we must be filled with knowledge. Third, we must have the wisdom of the Spirit to help one another.
Now I want to dwell a little on this point, which is that we cannot help one another, if we ourselves have fallen away from the grace of God, if we ourselves have developed a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. We may try to help others. But it will be hypocritical of us to try to do so. That is because we ourselves need help.
Then let me say this: Falling away from the grace of God is not always evidenced by staying away from church meetings. It may happen. It may not happen. Where it happens, it is usually what happens last. It is usually the last evidence of the fact that someone has fallen away from the grace of God.
What I mean is that many who have fallen away from the grace of God have not stopped attending church meetings. There are many who have turned away from God who still attend church meetings. And we have pastors, evangelists, prophets and so forth among them. They still preach. They still own personal bibles. But they are living in sin. And because they attend church meetings, pray, own personal bibles and preach we are not paying attention to the fact that they are living in sin and in need of help. Yet they are always out there trying to help others live right, when they themselves are not living right. This, of course, is wrong.
Look at some of the things Paul has to say about this in Romans, chapter 2, from verse 17:
“Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God; if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth – you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? As it is written: ‘God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”” (Romans 2:17-24NIV)
What is Paul driving at here? Well, he is simply showing us the possibility of a living a life that is contrary to the message we live. It is possible for our lives to be completely contrary to what we teach. It is possible for us to be telling others not to steal, when we ourselves are stealing. It is possible for us to be telling people not to be involved in adultery, when we ourselves are involved in adultery. It is possible for us to be telling lies, while preaching to others not to tell lies. And where this is the case, we are just being hypocritical and cannot help anybody.
Our Lord Jesus mentions something very similar while sharing with the Jews on an occasion. He said this, from Matthew’s gospel, chapter 23, verse 1:
“Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.”” (Matthew 23:1NIV)
First, here, the Lord says that the teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. In other words, they are representing Moses. So, they are authorized to teach the people. This being the case, Jesus tells the people to be careful to do everything they tell them to do.
However, the Lord goes on to say that the people must not do what these men are doing. Why? The reason is that they do not practise what they preach. That means their lives are contrary to their teachings. So, while people can follow their teachings, they cannot emulate their way of life. And this is the situation in many Christian assemblies. We have people who are trying to guide others but who themselves need guidance. We have people who are trying to help others but who themselves need help. We have people whose lives are not right but who are trying to help others get their lives right. Can they, in all honesty, help anybody? No!
Yes, people may say the correct things. But if their lives do not agree with what they say, and this is open to people, will they take them seriously? This is one of the reasons our witness in the world has been weak. What we are preaching is contrary to what people see in our lives. We claim to be preaching righteousness but are not walking in righteousness. We claim to be preaching truth but are not living in the truth. We claim to be preaching peace but many of us are difficult to relate to – we are quite uncooperative. It is only when we hold our bibles that we appear cooperative. But when people interact with us outside that scope, they find us to be very uncooperative and difficult to deal with. So, they are not drawn to the truth or the light we claim to be shining.
Well, the point I am making is that if we will be able to help one another, it is important that we ourselves have not fallen away the grace. Yes, if we want to help our brethren to stay in the truth and daily live lives pleasing to God, then, we must show through our own lives that we are in the truth and established in righteousness.
Paul says this to the Corinthians:
“For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.” (1Corinthians 4:7NIV)
Here Paul is saying that his way of life agrees with what he teaches everywhere in every church. So, it is not that he teaches one thing and then does something else. No! His life is in agreement with what he teaches. And it has to be like that for every one of us too, if we will be able to help one another. Our lives must be in agreement with the message we preach. There, then, must be nothing like my message is different from my life. My message must not be different from my way of life. My life is actually my message. Otherwise, no one will take what I say seriously.
So, if you are teaching people to be full of joy but your own life is not full of joy, why should they take you seriously? If you are teaching people to be gentle, humble and peaceable but your life is not a revelation of these things, who is going to take you seriously? This is why Paul goes on to say this to Timothy:
“Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.” (1Timothy 4:16NIV)
How do we help others? We start by first watching our own lives and doctrine. Our lives and our doctrine must be in agreement. So, we have to watch them closely. That way, we can tell whether they are in agreement with the will of God or not. And once we see that they are in agreement with His will, we persevere in them. That means we are to keep on living that life that is in agreement with God’s will. Then and only then are going to be able to save both ourselves and our hearers.
What I have been saying all along is that if we will be able to help one another stay right in the will of God, then, our lives must be obviously right – they must be obviously in agreement with the will of God. Otherwise, no one will take us seriously. You can see why we have many in our various Christian assemblies who are rebellious and do not take instructions seriously. These ones live as they please. And one main reason is that most of their leaders, most of those who are in a position to set them right are not living right. They are hypocritical themselves. My prayer is that God will rid our lives and our various churches of everything that has to do with hypocrisy. Amen.
Lawal, J. O. (2025, April 2). Love is not always in a hurry. Youth for Jesus, 7(46).
“Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.” (John 11:5-6NIV)
When you love someone, how do you treat anything that concerns them? You treat it with all the seriousness it requires. But that does not seem to be what we see in our opening text. As we see in it, Jesus loved Lazarus, Martha and their sister, Mary. Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where He was two more days.
Now that did not look like an expression of love, or did it? No, it did not. If He had loved Lazarus indeed, then, He would have been in a hurry to get to him before he died. But He did not do that. Instead, He waited until the man had been in the tomb four days before He went to raise him up from the dead. And that made everything look like He deliberately used Lazarus’ misery to promote His own glory.
But was it really like that? No, it was not like that. As the account shows us, even though Jesus waited two more days where He was when He heard that Lazarus was sick, the man was already lying in the tomb four days by the time He got to his town. That would mean that it took the messenger that had brought Him the news at least one day to get Him, just as it took Him at least one day to get to Lazarus’ place. Judging by that, Lazarus had already died by the time the man that brought Jesus news of his illness got to Him.
More so, Jesus Himself later plainly told His disciples that Lazarus was dead, that is, before they all left for his place (John 11:14). How did He know that? It was by divine revelation. So, Jesus did not wait two more days where He was because He wanted Lazarus to die before He would go and see him. Rather, He waited that way because He knew that the man was already dead and there was no need to be in a rush to go and raise him up.
But then, He could still have left immediately to raise Lazarus from the dead. And if He had done that, Lazarus’ sisters and their people would not have had to mourn him as much as they did. But He did not do that. Instead, He waited two more days before going to see him. Why?
Well, in answering that, first, Jesus was not in a hurry to go and raise Lazarus from the dead because He knew that the power of God could not be hindered by time or decay. So, regardless of when He got to where Lazarus was, the power of God would still work in bringing the man back to life.
Second, if Jesus had immediately gone to raise Lazarus up from the dead, his family and others with them may not have appreciated the awesomeness of God’s power as they did when He raised him up when his body was already decaying and smelling. In fact, some people may even have said that the reason it was easy for Him to bring him back to life was that Lazarus merely fainted or went into a coma for a while. And that way, they would have dismissed any involvement of the mighty power of God in what happened to him.
But Jesus would not make it easy for anyone to dismiss the awesomeness of God’s power as nothing. So, even though He loved Lazarus and his sisters very much, He handled the bringing back of the man from death to life in such a way that everyone who got to know about it would appreciate it and glorify God for it. And that is showing us that true love is not always in a hurry to help or solve problems. Rather, it is always thoughtful enough to handle whatever it does to help others in such a way that it will be adequately and appropriately appreciated.
Unfortunately, many of us know nothing about this quality of love. Therefore, we are often in a hurry to express our love to people anyhow, instead of acting in thoughtfulness in expressing it. But there are times that love needs to let people appreciate the enormousness of their problems in order for them to also appreciate the solution that it offers them. Otherwise, they may just treat an invaluable gift of love as something ordinary or common. And where that is the case, love may be wounded, paralysed or killed. That explains why some people now find it hard to act in love towards anyone. Their love was wounded, paralysed or killed by some who should have appreciated it.
Well, if you don’t want that to happen to your love for anybody, don’t always make something difficult look easy, just because you can do it. And don’t always make something expensive look cheap, just because you can afford it. Then learn to let people see the need for them to be helped before stepping in to help. Otherwise, you may just make your love or acts of love look like nothing to individuals who have difficulties recognising genuine love.
Lawal, J. O. (2025, March 30). Just one hour! From Pastor’s Desk, Vol. 12, No. 48.
Beloved: grace, mercy and peace to you without measure from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am delighted to welcome you to the transition week between the months of March and April 2025. My prayer is that God will daily strengthen your heart to do all that is right for you to do to remain pure and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
In order for our Lord Jesus, when His time came, not to shrink back from dying on the cross for the redemption of humanity, He needed to do one thing. What was it? He needed to pray. And how much time did He need to pray? He did not need a whole week or a whole day to pray. He needed just one hour to pray.
Now how did we know that all Jesus needed at that time was just one hour of prayer? We knew through Scriptures. As the account goes, as He saw that His time was at hand, He took three of His disciples, Peter, James and John, with Him to pray in a place called Gethsemane. But instead of praying with Him, they were simply sleeping. And that was because they were very tired. Just look at what the bible says about these things:
“Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”” (Mark 14:37-38NIV)
Did you see that? How much time did Jesus expect these disciples to spend in praying with Him? Just one hour! Of course, Jesus could pray to God for more than one hour. Before this time, He had prayed on several occasions for hours, sometimes all through the night. So, He did not choose to pray for one hour on this occasion because He could not pray for more hours. Rather, He chose to do so because He knew that a lot could be changed or done through even one hour of prayer.
Now, of course, because of that one hour of prayer that He offered to God for His soul in that hour of darkness, He received sufficient strength and courage to die on the cross and obtain eternal redemption for us. But what about His disciples who could not join Him in praying for themselves for just one hour? They all went on to deny and desert Him. And if He had not prayed for them before that their faith would not fail, that would have been the end of their relationship with Him.
What is this teaching us, then? It is simply that we cannot measure or quantify what our heartfelt prayer can accomplish for us or for all humanity, even if it is only for one hour. In fact, just one minute of prayer can be the difference between life and death, success and failure, victory and defeat. How long did it take David to pray that God would frustrate the counsel of Ahithophel? It probably took him less than a minute. Yet that prayer changed everything about the rebellion he wanted to end. That prayer led to his victory over Absalom. (Cf. 2Sam 15:31)
Am I now saying that you should only be praying for just one minute or just one hour? No! To say the fact, there are problems that will probably take us hours or days of prayer to handle. But if we will learn to recognise that our prayers can change history, then, we will begin to make the most of every moment we have to pray, even if it is just one hour. And my prayer is that our hearts will be filled with adequate strength from God to daily walk in the light of this truth, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
I want to further share with you on the instructions we have in Scriptures that say that we should see to it that none of us falls away from the grace of God or develop a sinful unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. This, of course, calls for a careful watching on our part over one another. And we have instructions along this line given to us in the book of Hebrews, chapters 3 and 12.
Now, in dealing with this, I said we must know what is going on in the lives of our brethren. In other words, we must be actively and deliberately involved in one another’s lives. We will not be able to protect ourselves from the evil one, if we are not involved in one another’s lives and also know what is happening in one another’s lives. But then, in order to be effective in doing this, our leaders must take the lead. They must be the first in opening their lives for us to see. Until they are open in their lives, they will have no moral right to ask us to be open with our lives for them to see. But when they are open with their lives and we can see what they are up to, we can be encouraged to do likewise.
So, if you are a leader of God’s people in any capacity, your life must be opened to those who are under your care. You must deliberately do this. Your brethren must know enough about you. They must know enough about what is going on in your life. They must see that you are not a hypocrite and that the life of faith you are calling them to live is what you yourself are living, not something else. That way, you will be able to help them, if they are missing it.
Another thing that is important is that we know how to live right, especially those of us who are leaders. Let me say this again: church leaders have to take the lead in doing these things, if they will work at all. I mean that if we will be able to adequately and appropriately watch over one another, the leaders must take the lead in doing what is right. So, those of us who are leaders must show ourselves as possessing sufficient knowledge about how to live right. At least, what we want is for our brethren to consistently live right before God and not turn away from His grace. And we too have to consistently live right before God and before them, if we will be able to help them in doing this.
For example, Paul says this to the Thessalonian brethren:
“You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed.” (1Thessalonians 2:10NIV)
What does this mean? It means that the lives of Paul and his companions were open to the brethren in Thessalonica for them to see. And what they did they see in them? They saw that they were holy, righteous and blameless in the way they lived. It is important, then, for leaders not just to be open with their lives but to also show with those lives that they know what they are doing. It is one thing to be open with your life; it is another thing for people to see the right things in your life. You may be open with your life. That does not mean that what is going on in your life is helpful to the people of God.
It is bad enough not to be open with your life in relating to the people of God, if you are a child of God or a leader of His people. But when you open your life for them to see, what do they see? Is it hypocrisy? Is it bitterness? Is it envy or jealousy? Or is it righteousness, peace and joy of the Spirit of God?
The Thessalonians were witnesses of the holiness, righteousness and blamelessness in the lives of Paul and his companions. That means it was not only God that was a witness to the quality of life these men lived; the Thessalonians were also witnesses to it. So, I am saying that if we will be able to watch over another in line with the will of God, each of us that sees it as his duty to do so must not just be open with his life but must also show himself as possessing sufficient knowledge about how to live right and not fall away from the grace of God. Otherwise, we may soon become a part of the problem we are trying to prevent or solve.
In this same 1Thessalonians, chapter 4, Paul says this to the brethren in verse 1:
“As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.” (NIV)
Did you see that? Paul says we instructed you how to live to please God. So, these brethren were taught how to live to please God. They knew how to live to please Him. And they were living to please Him, at least, at the time this letter was written to them. So, Paul only needed to tell them to continue or persist in living to please God. And they could be told to persist in living to please God because they already knew how to live to please Him.
It follows, then, that if we do not know how to live to please God, even if our lives are open to the brethren, they will be able to draw no strength or encouragement for true Christian living from what they see. So, if we will be able to watch over one another and keep ourselves from falling away from the grace of God, it is important that we show ourselves as possessing sufficient knowledge on how to live right. Not only that, we also have to be living right. We must not be a part of the problem we are trying to prevent or solve.
If we ourselves have already fallen away from the grace of God, how can we prevent others from falling away? It cannot work. Jesus says a blind guide that is seeking to lead a blind man can only lead both of them to fall. So, if you are not living right, you cannot help others to live right.
Also, in Romans, chapter 15, verse 14, Paul says this to us:
“I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another.” (Romans15:14NIV)
There are three qualities that Paul mentions here. And these qualities are ones that we must possess, if we will be able to help one another live right and remain true to the grace of God, from start to finish. The first is being full of goodness. Paul could say of the Roman brethren that they were full of goodness. In other words, their hearts were right. The goodness of God had settled in their hearts. So, they would not deliberately do evil. They may make mistakes. And that someone is full of God’s goodness does not mean that the person cannot make mistakes. He can. But he will not deliberately do anything that is wrong. Whatever he does will always be with the right intentions. So, even if he misses it, he will be missing it with the right intentions.
Well, my point is that we have to be full of goodness, if we will be able to help one another. And this has to be obvious, for Paul says, “I am convinced that you are full of goodness…” So, people have to be convinced that we are full of God’s goodness, if we will be able to help one another live right and not develop a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. That means we must be known as good people by our brethren; we must be known as people whose hearts are right.
What we are saying is that our brethren must have no doubts about the fact that our hearts are right, as we relate to them. They must have no doubts about our intentions. And this is one of the problems we often face in the church – lack of conviction about the intentions of the brethren. When people are not convinced that our intentions are right, as we come close to them, they may not make room for us to affect or help them.
Mind you, this is not something that will happen automatically. The fact that we are in the same assembly does not mean that we will be able to automatically help one another. We have to give it time. We have to consistently show over a period of time that we are full of goodness and that our hearts are right. Yes, every child of God can manifest the goodness of God, for His goodness is in every one of us. But it is not every one of us that is currently manifesting the goodness of God. So, if people will allow you in their lives, they must see that you are a good person. This must be obvious to them from the way you talk, live and interact with others. And when they are convinced of this, they will have no problem allowing you to be a part of their lives.
The second quality Paul mentions is being filled with knowledge. That means being full of goodness is not enough to help God’s people live right; we also have to know what we are doing. That means we need to be educated in the will of God. Remember that we read from 1Thessalonians 4 of how Paul instructed the Thessalonians how to live to please God. So, people must know that we know what we are doing, that we are knowledgeable enough in the things of God to help their lives and faith. Otherwise, they may not want to have anything to do with you.
What I am saying is that if you are ignorant of the things of God, other people of God may not see why they should permit you to interfere with their affairs. So, you must show yourself as possessing sufficient knowledge of how to live to please God. But this will not happen by accident. You will have to give yourself to prayer. You will have to give yourself to the word of God. You will also have to give yourself to fellowshipping with the people of God, so that your faith is built up. This, of course, is not just about having bible knowledge; this is about possessing the knowledge of the truth, the knowledge about living to please God.
The third quality Paul mentions has to do with competence in helping one another. And this kind of competence only comes from the Spirit of God. It has to do with wisdom to help others. And as I said, it only comes from the Spirit of God. He is the only one that makes us competent to live to please God and competent as ministers of the new covenant.
Now all of these three qualities were possessed by the Roman brethren. So, Paul was convinced that they could real help one another in their walk of faith. If we possess goodness but lack knowledge of how to please God, we may end up becoming a part of the problem we are trying to solve. In fact, we may not be able to help anybody at all.
Also, if we possess goodness and knowledge but possess no ability or wisdom to use our goodness and knowledge to help others, we are still going to be failures. People will be falling away from the grace of God right under our noses. Yet we will not be able to help them. Yes, we may love to help them. But we won’t be able to help them. Whatever step we take will be counter-productive.
See, there are people who are good in their hearts and who also possess the knowledge of true Christian living. Yet they are not able to help anybody live right. Why? They lack the wisdom and the skills to do so. They really want to help. But they just can’t. You may have encountered people like that before. They truly meant well and wanted to help you live right. But everything they did was counter-productive. Their words were counter-productive. Their moves were counter-productive. That was because they were not wise. So, they could not help you live right.
So, we are dealing with possessing the wisdom of the Spirit to be able to help one another here. We are talking about a situation in which we know what to say and what not to say, when to talk and when not to talk and when to visit people and when not to visit them. We must know these things. And as I said, we will not become competent like this by accident. We have to give ourselves to prayer, the word of God and Christian fellowship. That way, we will be growing in the truth of Christ Jesus.
If we are not growing, we can be of no help to nobody. And it is the degree that you grow in your faith that you will be able to help others in their faith. So, don’t feel bad that you are unable to help certain brethren in their faith at the moment. It only shows that you have not grown enough in your faith to be able to help them. What, then, should you do? You should commit yourself to doing those things that will make you grow in the faith even more. These things have to do with spiritual maturity. A man cannot go beyond his strength. So, the more you grow in your faith, the more fit you are to help other people.
Lawal, J. O. (2025, March 26). A gift or a curse. Youth for Jesus, 7(46).
“The man said, “The woman you put here with me — she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”” (Gen 3:12NIV)
Those were Adam’s words to God, when He asked him if he had eaten the forbidden fruit. And his words showed that he, after his fall, no longer saw Eve as a gift of blessing to him from God but as a curse.
But from what we see in the bible, when God first brought Eve to him, he brought her to be a blessing to him and not a curse. In fact, before God brought her to him, He had said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” So, God never intended that Eve would be a curse or a problem to Adam. On the contrary, all He had wanted was for her to be a blessing to him in all ways, so that life would be easier and more enjoyable for him. (Cf. Gen 2:18)
More so, when God brought Eve to him, he himself could not hide his joy. He said, “”This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman, for she was taken out of man.” So he was truly happy to have her. And he was not ashamed of her or to be around her, even though they were both naked. (Cf. Gen 2:23-25)
It is surprising, then, that this same man could freely blame God for bringing Eve to him, just because she was instrumental to his fall. Yes, it was God that brought Eve to him. But as I said already, He brought her to him only to make life easier and more enjoyable for him, not for her to be a trap for Satan to catch him. If she, then, became a curse to him, if she became the reason he fell away from the grace of God, who was to blame.
Evidently, Adam himself was to blame for what became of the gift of God to him. At least, from what we see in the account, he was right there when Satan deceived Eve and made her eat the forbidden fruit. And what did he do to stop her? Nothing! He just stood there and watched, as the woman was being messed up by the devil. Not only that, he took the fruit from her hand and ate it, showing that he approved of what she did. (Cf. Gen 3:1-7)
How, then, was he able to freely accuse God of being indirectly responsible for his fall, when he could have prevented what happened from happening? Did God make the woman head over him when He brought her to him? No! Did God say that he could not teach, rebuke or correct the woman, if she ever missed it? No! Why, then, did he not check the woman when she was being deceived by the serpent? Why did he not step into the situation to protect her from Satan’s lies?
Well, we are not given answers to these questions in the account. But we do know from the account that God judged Adam for listening to the voice of his wife instead of rebuking her and also protecting her from the devil. Yes, God judged him for taking the word of His gift to him more seriously than His own commands to him. (Cf. Gen 3:17-19)
Very similarly, as we see in the bible, God judged Eli and his household because he allowed his sons, Hophni and Phinehas, to become a curse to him and the nation of Israel. These sons were given to him by God Himself as gifts of comfort, as gifts to perpetuate his family line. But he allowed them to become a curse by not dealing with their excesses and wickedness, showing that he valued the gifts more than the giver. So, God told him that He would punish his household because he honoured his sons more than him. (Cf. 1Sam 2-4)
Now what is all this teaching us? It is that we are to pay attention to how we relate to any gift God has given to us in life. That God is the one that has given something to us as a gift does not mean that thing cannot become a curse or a problem to us. If we would not relate to it with the wisdom of the Spirit and also with caution, it may end up becoming the reason we will fall or fail God.
So, don’t assume that God’s gifts of things or people to you will always automatically be a blessing to you. They may just become a curse to your life, if you won’t learn to relate to them according to the wisdom of the Spirit given through the word of God. And you won’t relate to them according to the wisdom of God’s Spirit, if you value or cherish them more than God Himself who has given them to you. So, watch yourself.
