Cold Embers

Relationships will affect your fellowship with 
the Holy Spirit
When I was a pastor, I was on fire for the Lord
I was 29 when I became an altar minister at 
a Pentecostal church
Miracles were the norm, with glorious 
testimonies after every ministration
I was the youth pastor and my senior pastor 
encouraged me to grow in grace
I grew to the extent that church members 
and others preferred to come to me for 
prayer and counseling after every service
My boss didn’t mind (his wife minded) but 
that is a story for another day
I was a journalist at this time and the job 
would sometimes take me away from 
church for several days
I had been called into ministry and the journalism job became a hindrance instead of a blessing
I decided I had to let it go so that I can fulfill my calling but then what do I do for money?
I have a family and a man who does not provide for members of his own household is worse than an infidel!
I prayed and one morning a friend came to my house crying that he had just been sacked from his job as a customer care representative
This friend was very desperate because his wife was pregnant I held hands with him to pray
Then I saw a church in Magodo, on the notice board of the church, I notice an advertisement for a job
I told the friend to take a drive with me
When we got to this job we found the advert
The vacancy was for a personal assistant but the date for Submission of the application had closed
My friend said he would apply, and I told him I would apply too
We both applied
A few weeks later we were invited for the 
interview and I was chosen.
My friend also got a job a week later, as a 
PA in another church.
The man I was employed to work with was 
a “big man”
By this, I meant he was working with an oil 
firm and he was very rich
He was also the pastor of a big church
He was a model of a sort
His wife knew him, I didn’t
Right after I got the job, his wife collected 
my phone number and said “I will be calling you because Daddy is often busy, when I call you, you must pick my call and you must never lie to me”
I said Yes ma!
I resumed at my desk on May 4, and I realized I was in trouble
The man was a premium womanizer
His driver, employed by the church was also a womanizer
The three of us always move together
When I pray in the spirit the man will tell me to shut up, if I hum a song he would say I have no manners, if I talk about the Gospel in his presence he would say “I didn’t employ you for religiosity, your duty is to your principal. Study your principal And adapt.
So I stopped praying or humming or preaching the gospel
He benched me for two weeks and told me I’d lose my job if I don’t get my acts together
Being benched meant I stayed at the office and couldn’t go out with him and the driver
It also meant I might lose my job
The admin of the ministry told me to buckle 
up and be matured, this is real life!
I had a wife and two children to think of, plus 
I remember that when I got the job I was 
given a pep talk by my madam on how 
I must try to keep the job as it is in ministry 
and what I had always
wanted
After the two weeks, I was restored to his 
entourage and I adapted
I booked hotel rooms for him and his babes 
and lied to his wife at will
Whenever the wife called to find out where 
her husband was, I’d come up with a 
colourful story
Before my boss returns to the car, I would 
have sent him a message detailing what I 
told his wife
I remember a day one of my boss’s babes 
came to the office and they got kissing
His wife arrived too and I stood by the 
door and prevented her access to the office
Of course, somebody had told her that 
they saw the car of the babe and all but 
I told her my boss was having a counseling 
session and she couldn’t come in!
We dragged it and she left in a hoof but 
I didn’t care
I told my boss afterward and he went 
home and told his wife I had acted contrary 
to his instructions that she must have access 
to him at all times
I took the blame and madam’s bad eye for 
several months
What I was doing bruised me badly, I became 
depressed at a point and returned to drinking 
and smoking
It started gradually but that spiritual hotness 
I had was quickly doused by the bitter waters 
of inconsistency
My wife noticed it and spoke to some friends 
from my former church
She said “My husband has backslid, he has 
stopped praying and he now smells funny 
when he comes home in the night”
Our family friends came to the house to ask 
me what was wrong, I admitted that I had 
lost my way and I cannot find a way out of 
the pit because the pit is my job”
I worked from Sunday to Sunday and 
whenever my boss was ministering, I watched 
on the laptop in my office because I cannot 
relate to his sermons. What was he preaching 
and to whom?”
My friends gave me a wide counsel
They said your church runs two services, our 
run one, we will talk to our pastor and you 
can come to our church for the first service 
which closes by 11 am. After the service, you 
can drive to your office and wait for your 
boss to finish his second service 
That way he won’t notice you’re missing and 
you can have fellowship again.
I saw the wisdom in it and started this the 
following Sunday.
Within a month I was back on the altar, 
ministering during the mid-week services 
and sometimes leading prayers during the 
Sunday service.
It was glorious
As if I never stopped ministering in the first place
The church I served with grew and the supernatural 
returned
Yippee
That was my saving Grace, the bad habits I had 
returned to dropped like stones and I was 
free again
Hallelujah
A few months later I went for a conference 
with my boss at Ibadan
He pulled one of his stunts again and I told 
God to either change my job or change my boss
Exactly one month later, my boss was 
transferred and I got a new boss
A godly man who saw me as a child of God 
and supported me to grow in my walk with 
the Holy Spirit Why have I written this, evil 
communication corrupts good manners!
Show me your friend and I will tell you who 
you are!
As a believer, you must watch out for 
relationships that will take you off course 
and cut them off if you can
A bad friend can lead you in the wrong path 
and so can a bad role model
My boss still pastors a church, the last time 
I heard of him, his wife caught him 
red-handed (for the umpteenth time) and 
reported him to their father in the Lord
The issue was handled and I pray he has 
changed.
Are you in a relationship with the Holy Spirit 
and keeping ungodly friends?
You are not as powerless as you think
Talk to the Holy Spirit about it and be honest
Do whatever he tells you to do and be sincere
Your path will shine brighter and brighter 
and he will bring you to a future and a 
hope designed for you!
Ciao!