Money Matters. Rest From Financial Stress

From Our Pastor's Desk

There is no aspect of life that financial matters don’t touch. When you don’t handle your finances well. Day to day, it causes problems. 

Some people are sick, unhealthy, have constant headaches, and have gone mental, not because of any medical condition, but ill-managed finances. Some have lost lives, committed suicides due to that. 

Two greatest causes of stress in working people’s lives? Time management & money.  

43.7 million households in the U.S. have less than $1,000 in liquid assets - 16.3 million households have a net worth of 0 or less 

What do people do and how do they react? – Good question Answer – They borrow more money. People are taking on more debt than they can handle We need to start avoiding the bondage of debt entirely, if possible. We are enslaved to financial debt. 

Credit has replaced savings in our culture that doesn’t know how to live below our means. The Bible describes the condition of being indebted to another as a significant burden, and the emotional reality is sometimes overpowering. 

“The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender”, says the wise Solomon in Proverbs 22:7. Being in debt is the worst form of poverty. 

Debt is like any other trap, easy enough to get into, but hard enough to get out of. Whoever goes a-borrowing goes a-sorrowing.  

Brethren, it is better to go to bed supper-less, rather than wake up in debt. The Lord will seal forever all the leakages in your finances, and plug every satanic holes in your pocket, purse, account, in Jesus Name. Amen 

You will have good success this 2021. 

Remain blessed.  Shalom.

All-Round, 360° Rest

From Our Pastor's Desk

Philippians 4:4-7 – “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” 

This part of the Bible talks about the relationship between some choices we make and God’s peace. 

For peace & rest that surpass all understanding, Paul says we must rejoice, be gentle, be not anxious but pray with thanksgiving. 

Then, God’s peace & rest, even in hard situations, will flow & stand guard to keep our hearts and minds. God desires to give us His rest but those are a few choices that we need to make along the way. 

We must come to Him to receive. As soon as difficulty arises and pain intrudes, a person ceases to rejoice. But joy is a gift from God that enables believers to find hope, rest and peace—even when life seemingly falls apart.  

The love of Almighty God is unconditional, and His indwelling Spirit will never abandon us. He understands everything that we face and promises to provide for our needs.  

When we stop to consider the amazing blessings that are ours in Christ, gratitude should overwhelm us. Sadness concerning circumstances may still endure, but the joy of the Lord will carry us through even the deepest pain 

So, as we rejoice, live humbly and pray, trusting God that He will bring about His will in our lives; as we go through life with less anxiety because we know God is in control; it is then that we experience the rest & peace of God which transcend all understanding, in Jesus Name. 

Amen 

You will have good success this 2021. 

Remain blessed.  Shalom. 

Peace, Be Still

By Bro. Joseph Ogunmodede

Mark 4:39 - “And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.”  

As we go about our daily activities, we tend to encounter several challenges. Perhaps things seem not to be currently working out for us as planned. W

e desire to move to the next phase of our journey in life. Many of us are worried and anxious because of our aspirations we are yet to meet. 

We are troubled and disturbed because we have experienced one form of disappointment or the other.

 We are weary because of different forms of persecution from the opposition. These are storms that tend to disturb the smooth sailing of our ship of progress. 

The good news, however, is that God is declaring concerning our situation: “peace, be still”.  The disciples were afraid of the storm while they were journeying with Jesus on the sea. 

Mark 4:38 says “… he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?”  Our God is a God of action. The Bible says “…  he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm”. (Mark 4:39) 

May God rebuke every wind disturbing our lives today in Jesus Name. 

What are the storms in your life? What are you worried about? How to pay your bills? How to provide for your family? How to live a healthy life? How to pay your debt? How to excel in your academics? How to find a life partner? How to succeed in your career? How to prosper in your ministry? 

God is declaring over every such storm in our lives: “Peace, be still”.  All forms of wind and storms in our lives causing us anxiety shall cease today and we shall experience a great calm, in Jesus mighty name.  

You will have good success this 2021. 

Remain blessed.  

Shalom. 

No More Worries, Martha

From Our Pastor's Desk

Luke 10:41 – “And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things…”  

Firstly, let us note that Martha was not a bad person. She was a friend of Jesus. 

The verse above only showed a Martha, worried, anxious and troubled about too many things. And her state is an indication of the world we live in now. 

We worry about the future and the unknown; we worry about tomorrow, what we will eat, drink, clothes to wear, and the pay check we have not received, and how it is going to be enough.  

We are occupied with too many activities.  We live in a culture of hectic schedules and the relentless pursuit of productivity, we are tempted to measure our worth by how busy we are, by how much we accomplish, or by how well we meet the expectations of others Many of us will likely identify with Martha. 

It is true that much of our busyness and distraction stems from the noblest of intentions. We want to provide for our families, we want to give our children every opportunity to enrich their lives, we want to serve our church members, and yes, we want to serve the Lord.  

But if all our activities leave us with no time to be still in the Lord’s presence and hear God’s word, we are likely to end up anxious and troubled.  If we are burdened, overloaded and cumbered with so many things, where and how do we find rest? 

Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30 – “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”  

In Jesus Christ is rest. As we release all of our burdens and cares to Him, may we find rest, in Jesus mighty name.  You will have good success this 2021. Remain blessed.  Shalom.  

December 2021 - Month of Rest on Every Side

From Our Pastor's Desk

Welcome to this our new Month of Rest on Every Side, in Jesus name. 

1st Kings 5:4 – “But now the LORD my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent” 

No one is exempted from adversaries, enemies, antagonists, troubles, and pains of life. Jesus already warned us “in this world we will have troubles”, but He added “take heart. I have overcome the world” 

We all have duties, responsibilities, worries, and expectations, and loads that we all carry. These are burdens. 

We worry about our family, children, parents, job, bills, money, relationships, health, etc. Some carry guilt or fear. Of the future, that bad things will happen, of being alone, of failure. 

Many Christians carry around sorrow, sadness, feelings of inadequacies and unworthiness. BUT this month and beyond, the burden carrier, Jesus, is here. 

He says in Matthew 11:28 – “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” 

You cannot not receive the needed rest unless you come and drop your heavy burden.  Mercy Seatizens, welcome to December 2021, Our Month of Rest on Every Side. 

As we move close to end of year, the Lord will give us rest & peace from all sorrow, fear, hard bondage. 

In the midst of trouble, the Prince of Peace shall give us rest, relaxation & calmness, in Jesus Name. Amen.