Tag: wisdom

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: Be ready for your season

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Series: Youth for Jesus

Number: Vol. 8, No. 9

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

Who is Paul talking to here? He is talking to me. He is talking to you. He is talking to anyone who cares to listen.Now what point is he making to us through what he says? It is that we are to live wisely. And why are we to live wisely? The reason is that we are living in evil days. That means there is enough evil in the world every day to destroy any of us or to make our lives meaningless. And if we are not living wisely, then, our lives can only amount to nothing, that is, if they are not prematurely cut short.

So, we must be determined to live wisely. And how do we live wisely? As Paul goes on to tell us in that text, it is by making the most of every opportunity. That, of course, means that there are opportunities for us in these evil days to make sense out of living. And it is only those who make the most of these opportunities that will be ready to attain the heights God wants them to attain in life when the season for their elevation comes.

As we are told in the bible, God has seasons for lifting people up to different levels of greatness, importance or usefulness in life (1Peter 5:6). But it is not everyone that is always ready when the time comes for God to lift them up or help them.

For example, when it was time for God to end the wilderness experience of the Israelites that Moses brought out of Egypt and take them into the Promised Land, they were not ready to go in. But all the difficulties they had experienced, all the words God had spoken to them and all the miracles He had performed for them were meant to make them ready for that moment Yet they were not ready for it. So, they ended up spending forty more years in the wilderness before the Promised Land could be theirs to possess and enjoy. (Cf. Num 13-14)

In like manner, the word of God that comes to us day after day, the miracles we are experiencing or witnessing and the various circumstances we are going through in life are all supposed to make us ready for the seasons in which God will elevate us.

But if we are not making the most of them to strengthen our faith and to train ourselves to be responsible, faithful, patient, humble, loving and forgiving, we will simply find out that we are not ready when our season of elevation comes to us from God. Then who knows how many days or years it may take again for us to be ready, that is, if we ever become ready.

So, instead of complaining about your life’s circumstances, however ugly they may seem, learn to apply the word of God and His goodness to you in making the most of these circumstances to make yourself ready for your next season of elevation. That was how Joseph functioned. He did not waste his time and energy in complaining about the miseries of his life.

Instead, he used God’s favour that was on his life to make the most of the opportunities of his evil days to prepare himself for his season of elevation. And when that day came, he was more than ready to ascend. May that be your experience too in every season of elevation that comes to you from God.

Amen.

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 General Post Pastor's Desk

Title: Impossible to please Him

Series: From Pastor’s Desk
Number: Vol. 14, No. 11

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace to you without measure from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. I am delighted to welcome you to another week of July 2025. My prayer is that God will daily equip you with everything you need to please Him in all ways. Amen.

As we are told in the bible, it is only through faith that we can please God. But why do we need to please God? The reason is that He is the creator, owner and judge of our lives. If there is anyone, then, that we need to please, it is God. And if we are not pleasing Him, we are defeating His purpose for creating us. So, all we can expect is eternal condemnation.

But then, as I already pointed out, it is only through faith in God that we can please Him. Look at what the bible says about that: “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6NIV)

Now observe that the bible does not say, “Without faith it is difficult to please God.” That will mean that even if you do not have faith in God, you may still be able to please Him, if you try hard enough. But that is not what the bible says. What it says is that without faith it is not at all possible to please God.What, then, is faith in God?

First, it means taking God seriously. It means to accept whatever God says to us about Himself, about us and about life generally as the truth that we must act upon. And anyone who is not living on this basis cannot please God at all, regardless of how good he may appear to others. He is just doing his own thing.

Second, faith in God means to rely on Him absolutely. And why do we need to rely on Him absolutely? It is because He is the source of every good thing we need to be all that we have been created to be in life. To have faith in Him, then, means to live with a recognition of the fact that we cannot do anything we need to do or have anything we need to have in life without Him.

Anyone, then, who is not living on this basis is not pleasing God, regardless of how beautiful his life may appear to be. The person is just doing his own thing.Now if someone becomes as successful as anybody can be in this world and is not pleasing God, what has he really accomplished? Nothing! Why is that so? It is so because it is only those who live to please God that will forever live with Him in His eternal kingdom.

Those who do not live to please Him, who are simply doing their own thing, can only end up in hell, away from Him forever.If we, then, do not want that to be our experience, we must take our faith in God seriously.

We must take whatever He tells us seriously. And we must rely on Him only for everything we need in life. That was how our Lord Jesus lived when He was here on earth. He took God seriously by always doing only those things that pleased Him (John 8:29). He also relied on Him for everything He needed to succeed in life (John 5:19). And when His time was done here, He was received by the Father to sit at His right hand.

May we also be received by Him to occupy the places He has prepared for us in His eternal kingdom when our time here is done, as we live as Jesus lived, by faith in God. Amen.

Have a lovely week.

Categories
Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: Wasted on an empty head

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Series: Youth for Jesus

Number: Vol. 8, No. 8

“Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful face on an empty head.” (Proverbs 11:22MSG)

Those are Solomon’s words to us. And he does not say them to discredit beauty. Beauty is good! Beauty is a gift from God. So, we ought to appreciate it in anyone who has been endowed with it.However, beauty alone is not enough to attain greatness in life.

Yes, beauty may open certain doors of greatness for you. But if you lack God’s favour, good sense, character and adequate measure of education and skills, those doors of greatness may just be wasted.Look at Esther of bible days, for example. Her beauty made room for her among those being considered as queen for King Xerxes. But she needed more than her beauty to become queen. She also needed God’s favour, wisdom and character.

Thankfully, she had them all. (Cf. Esther 2)As we see in the account, the moment the king’s Eunuch in charge of the harem saw her, he just loved her and began to treat her differently from all the other girls that were brought to him. That’s favour. Then when it was her time to go to the king, she did not request for anything else apart from what that man had told her to take along. So, she ended up becoming queen. That’s wisdom. (Cf. Esther 2:8-16)

Moreover, after she had become queen, she continued to listen to the counsel of her uncle, Mordecai, the man who had raised her like his own daughter. So, she continued to thrive and prosper. That’s character. (Cf: Esther 2:20)You can see, then, that you need more than beauty to thrive and prosper in life. Otherwise, you will be wasting the good opportunities to shine that God may be using your beauty to bring to you.

And where that is the case, the words of Solomon that say, “Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful face on an empty head,” will be true concerning you. In other words, beauty will have been wasted on you, wasted on an empty head.Now you may know one or two people that what we are talking about is true concerning them.

Beauty has been wasted on them, for they lack the qualities needed to make it shine. And is that what you too want? Do you really want people to be saying that God has wasted beauty on you? Well, that is what they will most likely be saying, if all you have got apart from your beauty is an empty head. And this is not applicable to beauty alone; it is also applicable to other natural advantages or gifts you have received from God.

If all you have apart from these natural advantages or gifts is an empty head, you will surely be making a waste of God’s gifts.All this is why you should learn to pray that God will daily equip you with everything you need to make whatever natural endowments He has blessed you with worth it in life. Then you must not be lazy. Instead, you must drive yourself to daily take advantage of every opportunity you have to train and develop yourself to be fit for greatness in life.

That way, as God is using your natural endowments to open doors of favour for you, you will not be using your hands to shut them, simply because you have got nothing else apart from an empty head.

Cheers!

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

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

Title: If you think you are standing firm

Series: From Pastor’s Desk

Number: Vol. 14, No. 10

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be abundantly multiplied to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Saviour. I am glad to welcome you to another week of the month of July 2025. My prayer is that God will keep you from falling into any trap set by the devil to ruin your soul. Amen.

Now is God really able to keep us from falling into traps set by the devil to destroy our lives and souls? Yes, He is! The bible says this about Him: “To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.” (Jude 24-25NIV)

Did you see that? God has the ability to keep us from falling. Not only that, He has the ability to present us to Himself without fault and with great joy. And to say the fact, if He does not keep us from falling, we will surely fall and not make it into His eternal kingdom. Also, if He does not present us to Himself without fault and with joy, we will not be able to stand before the Lord Jesus when He appears in His glory.

Therefore, we must learn to entrust ourselves to Him in prayer, daily asking Him to use His power to keep us from falling or failing Him in this world. Then we must never assume that we cannot fall because we are praying, studying Scriptures, giving and living righteous lives at the moment. That is because it is when we feel most secure in our walk of faith that we are most vulnerable to satanic attacks.

Remember that even though Jesus prayed and went without food for forty days and forty nights, Satan still came to tempt Him. And if He had not been full of the word of God and the strength of the Holy Spirit, He would have fallen and failed God.

So, regardless of how upright your life may appear to be now, always remember this Scripture: “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” (1Cor 10:12NIV)When must we be careful not to fall? It is when we think we are standing firm. The person that knows that he is not standing firm where he is does not need anybody to tell him to be careful not to fall. He knows that if he is not careful, he will surely fall.

But the one that sees himself as secure where he is may not see any reason to be careful not to fall. That is why his fall may be too sudden for him to notice. Then there may be no remedy for him.

When did Moses miss it? It was when it looked like he already knew everything about God and could never offend Him. And when did David miss it? It was when his kingdom had been firmly secured in his hands. So, the time we need to be most careful not to fall into Satan’s traps is when everything is going on well for us in our walk with God and in our lives. And if we fail to realise this and act accordingly, the price we will pay for our arrogance may too much for us to bear. (Cf. Num 20; 2Sam 11)

All of this is why we must trust God completely to keep us from falling or failing Him, instead of assuming that we will be safe because we are devoted to prayer, the word of God, righteous living and giving.

Our trust must never be in any good thing we are doing to please God. Rather, it must always be in God Himself. Otherwise, if we are not shown mercy, we will fall where we never think we can. I pray that none of us will fall away from the place of God’s grace for us, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a great 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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Fire in my Bones General Post

Title: Don’t be wicked

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Series: Youth for Jesus

Number: Vol. 8, No. 8

“But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the LORD’s sight; so the LORD put him to death.” (Gen 38:7NIV)

Who was wicked in the Lord’s sight? It was Er. And who was Er? He was Judah’s firstborn son. Now Judah was one of the sons of Jacob. And though he could not be referred to as a very good man himself, he was the one that the blessing of the coming Messiah was given to by God through his father (Gen 49:8-12).

In any case, because Er was Judah’s son, he was someone that was supposed to know God and live in His fear. But evidently, he did not live in the fear of God at all. Instead, he was referred to as wicked. How was Er wicked? We are not told in the account. But if God says that someone is wicked, then, the person must be utterly wicked.For example, we are told this in the bible about the sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas: “Eli’s sons were wicked men; they had no regard for the LORD.” (1Sam 2:12NIV)

Did you see that? Even though these men were priests of God, He still regarded them as wicked. Why? They had no regard for Him. And because they had no regard for Him, they abused their positions as priests, oppressing, cheating and corrupting the people of God under their leadership. (Cf. 1Sam 2:13-36)

So, to be wicked is to act without regard for the Lord. Yes, to be wicked is to do things as though God did not exist and would not do anything whatsoever about whatever you do. But God will definitely do something about whatever each of us does. He will do something about it because He is the judge of all mankind and also possesses the power to put everyone where they belong

.If you, then, are wicked, don’t expect God to ignore your wickedness. He will not ignore it. No, He may not deal with you for your wickedness right away. But He will surely deal with it when the time is ripe. And when He does, you may not know how He will judge.

In Er’s case, God judged his wickedness with death. The man died before his father. Also, in the case of Eli’s sons, God judged them too with death. So, they died before their father. And who knows how many have died before their time because of their wickedness? Only God knows.

Well, the point I am making is don’t be wicked. Don’t treat people as if there were no God that would judge between you and them, regardless of what advantage you may have over them. Otherwise, you may just be calling for your own death before you are ready to embrace it.

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

Title: Only He has the power of perfection

Series: From Pastor’s Desk

Number: Vol. 14, No. 9

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am pleased to welcome you to the transition week between the months of June and July 2025.

My prayer is that God will perfect all that concerns your life, as we move into the other half of the year in the week. Amen.

David, in one of his psalms, says, “The LORD will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever; Do not forsake the works of Your hands.” (Ps 138:8NKJV)

Who will perfect that which concerns David? The Lord! Why? The reason is that only He possesses the power of perfection. And if He does not perfect that which concerns our lives, there is nothing we do to perfect our lives that will work.

Do we, then, need perfection in any area of our lives? If we do not know or think that we need perfection in any area of our lives, we will not desire it or go for it. David, for instance, could see that he needed perfection in certain areas of his life when he wrote this psalm.

Truly, God had given him a position of honour, peace of mind, good health and wealth. Yet he could see that there were things in his life, home and kingdom that needed to be set right and perfected. And instead of worrying about these things or trying to fix them himself, he entrusted them to God, saying, “The Lord will perfect that which concerns me.”

In like manner, we too must first acknowledge the things that need perfection in our lives, regardless of how good things may be going for us at the moment. Otherwise, we will not see the need to entrust them to God, the only one with the power of perfection. Then, when we have identified those things that need perfection in our lives, we should not try to handle them with our wisdom or strength. Instead, we should hand them over to God.

Why should we do that? The reason, as I pointed out already, is that we do not have the power of perfection. Only God has it. And if we try to play God in perfecting those things concerning our lives, however simple those things may be, we will soon see that we have made bad situations worse for ourselves.

Remember King Jeroboam.Remember that it was God that ordained him as king over the nation of Israel. But when he saw certain things that could affect his rule, he did not turn to God to perfect what He had started in his life. Instead, he resorted to his own wisdom. Therefore, he brought destruction upon himself, his household and the nation as a whole. (Cf. 1Kings 11-14)

Now I pray that we will not bring destruction on ourselves or others around us in our attempt to perfect the things that concern our lives. But we must learn to commit our lives and affairs to God in prayer for their perfection. That is because He cares about us and also possesses the power to perfect all that concerns us.

Have a splendid week.

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

Title: Do not harden your heart

Series: From Pastor’s Desk|Number: Vol. 14, No. 8

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am pleased to welcome you to the last week of the month of June 2025. My prayer is that your ears will never be deaf to whatever the Spirit of God is saying to you, so that you will always be safe in living the life God wants you to live. Amen.

In the book of Hebrews, chapter 3, we are given this admonition: “So, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts…”” (Heb 3:7-8NIV) Who is speaking to us here? The Holy Spirit! And what is He saying to us? He is telling us that as long as it is called today, we should not harden our hearts when God is talking to us. In other words, we should not insist on doing our own thing, when God has already told us what He wants us to do. 

Now why should we not harden our hearts, when God is speaking to us? The reason is that doing so will surely result in disgrace, pain or destruction for us. Remember what is said in the bible about the Pharoah that would not let the children of Israel go and worship God. It is said that this king hardened his heart and would not do what God commanded. He continually turned deaf ears to what God was saying to him. And how did that end for him and his people? It ended very badly. (Cf. Ex 8:15&32)

But then, someone may say, “But it was God Himself that hardened Pharaoh’s heart. Why, then, should anybody blame him?” It is true that God hardened the man’s heart. And why did He do that? First, it was because the man himself was never ready to listen to what God had to say. That is showing us that our unwillingness to listen to what God is saying to us can only result in the hardening of our hearts. That means each time we choose to turn a deaf ear to what God is saying to us, our hearts will become more hardened to His truth. Then it will become more and more difficult for us to repent and save ourselves from His judgment. (Cf. Ex 9:12; Ex 10:20&27)

Another reason God hardened Pharaoh’s heart was to teach us that only He has the power to make people repent. And if He does not use this power to make them repent, there is nothing that is said to them or done for them that will make them repent. Remember that each time God’s judgment came on Egypt because of Pharaoh’s stubbornness, he would ask Moses to plead with Him for him and his people. But the moment he experienced some relief, he would harden his heart again. 

So, experiencing God’s goodness or mercy in great ways is not enough to make anyone listen to Him. He Himself has to work on our hearts to make us listen to what He is saying to us. Otherwise, even if He puts us in Eden, as He did with Adam and Eve, we will still harden our hearts against Him and force Him to drive us out of there.

All of this is why, as you go this week, learn to make it your prayer everyday that God will keep you from hardening your heart against whatever He is saying to you. That way, you will always be safe to enjoy His goodness and mercy in life. 

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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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: Act your part

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Series: Youth for Jesus|Number: Vol. 8, No. 6

“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.” (Luke 15:31NIV)

Who said these words? It was the father of the prodigal son that said them. And who did he say them to? He said them to his elder son?Now why did he say these words to the young man? The reason was that he was complaining that he was not being fairly treated by him.

Look at what he actually said to him:”But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ (Luke 15:29-31NIV)

What do we see from this young man’s protest to his father? We see anger. We see frustration. We also see bitterness. But should he have been angry, frustrated and bitter in this sense? No! Why, then, were these things present in his life? They were present there because he would not live in the consciousness of who he was. They were present there because he would not act his part as the elder son of his father and heir to everything the man had.He, as he pointed out to his father, had been slaving himself for him for years.

In other words, he had been doing all kinds of jobs for the man, including those meant for servants or slaves. But who asked him to act like that? Was it his father? It could not have been his father.Truly, he was meant to obey his father in everything good and right. But he was not meant to do that as a slave but as a son. In other words, he was to do whatever his father asked him to do, not with the consciousness of someone being used but with the consciousness of one that would in the long run enjoy the fruit of all that he was doing.

Mind you, as his younger brother pointed out when he came back to his senses, even their father’s servants were living in some measure of luxury (Luke 15:17). Therefore, neither of them had any legitimate reason to be living like a slave.

Unfortunately, he did not fully appreciate this. So, he would not act his part and enjoy himself as a son and heir to all that their father had. Instead, he was waiting for his father to command him to enjoy what already belonged to him before he would do so.

But he, unlike his foolish younger brother, had the training, discipline and wisdom needed to enjoy his inheritance. All he needed was to appreciate the fact that all that his father had belonged to him, especially since his younger brother had already received his own share of the inheritance, and act accordingly. But he would not learn the need to act his part until his foolish and reckless brother came back home and was treated to a great celebration by their father with part of his own inheritance.

In like manner, until certain people begin to enjoy in very unusual ways the benefits of our relationship with God or our relationships with some people, we may not wake up to the need to cherish what God has done for us or given to us. And where that is the case, the best thing for us to do is not to get angry, bitter or frustrated. That will only make a bad situation worse. Instead, it is to begin to act our part in such relationships and stop denying ourselves the enjoyment of what is ours.

So, start acting your part as a child and heir of God in every situation you find yourself. Yes, lay claim on everything that God has already said is yours without hesitation or fear, in the name of His Son Jesus. And it will be yours to enjoy. Then start acting your part in all your relationships with people.

Yes, fully act your part as a father, mother, husband, wife, child, sister, brother, church member, employer, employee, neighbour or citizen, as the case may apply. And may God readily bring about circumstances that will wake you up to begin to act your part in all your relationships, so that you may fully enjoy all that God has provided for your enjoyment through them. Amen.

Cheers!

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Fire in my Bones Youth for Jesus

Title: Responding to threats

fire in my bones
fire in my bones

Series: Youth for Jesus

Number: Vol. 8, No. 6

“But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the people of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry. They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.” (Nehemiah 4:7-9NIV)

Why were Sanballat and his associates angry that the Jews of their time were making progress in repairing the walls of Jerusalem? They were angry because they would no longer be able to profit from the miseries of those Jews as they used to. And there are still people like Sanballat and his associates today, people who never want others to be free from oppression or poverty because they are profiting from it. Now when such people begin to see you making progress or doing things that will hinder them from profiting from your misery or misfortune, they will not be happy.

Besides, they may even begin to take steps to keep you where you are, where they can continue to profit from your sorrow and pain. And that was the case with Sanballat and his associates. Not only were they not happy with Nehemiah and the Jews because they were making progress in building the walls of Jerusalem and ending all the forms of harassment they had been experiencing, they also began to take steps towards causing them trouble.

How, then, did Nehemiah and the other leaders of the Jews respond to the threat of these people? They responded to it in two ways. First, they prayed to God about it. In other words, they asked God to pay attention to what their enemies were saying and planning against them, so that He may frustrate them.

Why? It was because they knew that unless God kept them safe from the threats and wicked plots of these wicked people, they would not be able to keep themselves safe from them.In like manner, when we are being threatened or harassed, we must learn to pray to God and not ignore what Satan is using people to do against us. Nehemiah and his people did not ignore Sanballat and his men.

Otherwise, they would have been caught by surprise and frustrated or destroyed. And if we too don’t want those threatening us to catch us unguarded, we had better never ignore their threats, however feeble they may seem.

Instead, we should pray to God about them, so that we may always have His protection from their evil thoughts and schemes. Otherwise, we may end up feeling sorry for ourselves when these enemies are through with us.The second thing Nehemiah and his people did was to keep watch on the activities of their enemies, day and night.

Why? It was so that they would be regularly updated on what they were doing and be able to prepare themselves for it. And that was a manifestation of wisdom on their part.See, it is not everything needed for our safety that God will do for us.

There are things He will not do to keep us safe because He knows that He has given us the wisdom, strength and resources to do them. And if we fail to do these things for ourselves, we will not be able to blame Him for not keeping us safe.Keeping an eye on what Sanballat and his associates were doing was something that Nehemiah and his men could do. And they did not expect God to do it for them. Instead, they did it themselves. And it paid off, for it made their enemies see that they were not stupid people that they could easily attack and frustrate.

In like manner, keeping an eye on what anyone threatening or harassing you is up to will let them know that you are not stupid but sharp and attentive.

In fact, it will make them think twice before they take any step against you. And since keeping an eye on them is something you can do, do it, instead of waiting for God to do it for you.

Otherwise, you may ignorantly or foolishly take steps that will make you fall into their traps.Who, then, are you going to blame, if that should happen? Yourself!

So, learn and embrace the wisdom of God to keep yourself safe from all kinds of threats. And may God’s loving eye continually watch over your life. Amen.

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

Title: A ready faith

Series: From Pastor’s Desk

Number: Vol. 14, No. 6.

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours without measure from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am pleased to welcome you to the second week of the month of June 2025. And I pray that your heart will always be made ready to receive from God whatever good thing He wants you to have. Amen.

As we see in the bible, no one can receive anything good in this life, if God has not provided that thing. That means we can only receive what God has given or provided. If He, then, has not provided something, no one, regardless of how great his faith may be, can receive it. (Cf. John 3:27)

But then, even if God has provided something for us, we too must want to have it. Otherwise, that thing may never be ours, unless we are shown mercy. For example, as we see in the bible, the family of Zechariah and Elizabeth were childless for many years, even though they were righteous before God. That, of course, did not make them turn to some other gods for help. Instead, they kept on praying to God to show them mercy and take away their disgrace. (Cf. Luke 1:5-7)

Now how did I know that they were praying to God to take away the shame of barrenness from their home? I know because, as we also see in the bible, when God sent angel Gabriel to give the good news of His answer to their prayer to them, the first thing he told Zechariah was, “Your prayer has been heard.” So, if we will not faint in praying to God, we will surely receive an answer to our prayer, as long as it is in line with His will. Yes, the answer may take a while to get to us. But it will surely come. (Cf. Luke 1:13)

However, will God’s answers to our prayers always meet us ready? Are we going to be ready to receive from Him what He wants us to have, which we too may have been praying and longing for, when the thing is eventually brought to us? Zechariah was not ready to receive from God the child he had been praying for years for, when God eventually cleared the way for the child to come to his family. He could not believe that God was really going to give them a child in their old age. (Cf. Luke 1:11-20)

Why, then, was he praying to God all those years for a child? He was probably doing so to fulfil all righteousness. And if God had not been merciful to him, in spite of his unbelief, he would have been the reason his wife would remain childless for life.

So, it is not enough to be praying to God to give us something. Our hearts also must always be ready to receive from Him what we are praying for, regardless of how long it takes for the answer to come to us and regardless of how impossible it may seem for the answer to come to us. Otherwise, our prayer for that thing may end up being a waste.Not only that, we must continually give ourselves to the word of God, so that our faith will be strengthened to always be ready to receive from Him.

Mary the mother Jesus, for instance, never prayed to God to become the mother of the saviour of the world. She probably never considered nor took to seriously the Scripture that talks about a virgin that would conceive and give birth to the saviour. But when angel Gabriel came to tell her that she had been chosen by God to be the mother of the saviour, her faith was ready to accept what God had chosen her for. So, she said, “May your word to me be fulfilled.” And it was so. (Cf. Isaiah 7:14; Luke 1:36)

In like manner, if our faith is always ready to receive from God, whatever He wants us to have will be ours, even if we have never prayed for it. So, let us learn to daily feed ourselves with His word, so that we may always have a ready faith to receive from Him. And may you and I be strengthened to do so, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a great week.

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