There Was a Great Woman

From Our Pastor's Desk

2 Kings 4:8  And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. 

And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread. So many great women in the Bible – Esther, Deborah, Anna etc (and they have things in common) but the Bible specifically wrote this woman as great, WHY? Webster describes Greatness as unusually, considerably or comparatively large in size, dimensions, degree, power, intensity, etc. 

Greatness means wonderful, first rate, or very good. Greatness may also mean immense, enormous gigantic, huge, vast, grand. A great person can be referred to as a champion, notable, remarkable, exceptionally outstanding, a famous, distinguished etc. 

He must have been a person who has achieved importance or a distinction in a field. Greatness is not measured by size or volume of possession. Jesus said in Luke 12:15 –“And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth”  

He then told a parable, concluding with v23 that “The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment” This shows us great-ness means having a large heart, generous and accommodating. A heart that is ever willing to give, has a giving habit. 

Greatness makes others great. Jesus was a great man not by His material possession but by His material distribution, He gave until there was no more material thing to give, then He gave His life. 

A truly great man or woman’s size reflects in other people’s lives. Such was the great woman in Shunem, in the order of Shobi, Machir & Barzillai. May our lives be recorded as great, according to Biblical definition, in Jesus Name.  

You will have good success this 2023.  

Remain blessed.  

Shalom. 

Give a Helping Hand

By Deacon Joseph Nnaji 

We all need somebody to lean on in life, because there will always come a time in everyone’s journey that they will get tired or discouraged. 

Even our Lord and savior Jesus Christ needed someone to lean on and God had to send an angel to come and minister to Him in Matthew 4:11.  

In Job 2:11-13, we saw how three friends all came together from different location to sympathize with their friend Job. Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar. 

These men the bible said that when they’ve heard all that have befallen Job their friend agreed to visit him, their mission was clear, but whether they accomplished the task is a story for another day. 

As 2 Corinthians 8:12 puts it, “For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.” God is not asking us to give what we don’t already have, but that which we do have.  

2 Samuel 14:32-37, we saw Hushai the Archite came to meet David with his coat rent, and earth upon his head, but David told him not to be a burden by going with him, but he should go back to the palace and be his eyes and ears there. 

And in 2 Samuel 17:7-8,14-16, Hushai was the one that God used to give a counter counsel which saved the king’s life. Ahithophel’s counsel described in 2 Samuel 16:23, “Is like one who had enquired at the oracle of God.” 

In 17:23, he went home after his counsel was rejected and hanged himself. And in Acts 9:36, we’ll look at the life of Tabitha (Dorcas) who was full of good works and alms deeds. 

Let us also learn from Aaron and Hur, in Exodus 17:12, they supported and held up Moses hands so that Israel could defeat their enemy. 

My prayer is that God will bless each of us to be able to lend a helping hand, in Jesus Name.  

You will have good success this 2023.  

Remain blessed.  

Shalom.

Who Are Your Friends?

 From Our Pastor's Desk

Mark 2:4 - “Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on” 

Two stories about life. One is about this paralyzed man that was painstakingly smuggled to the presence of Jesus. 

He had a very severe health problem, but thank God for his four friends, only four of them, climbed the house, uncovered the roof and let down their sick friend with ropes before Jesus.

What they did was never easy! Only true friends could endure such. He was blessed with true, quality friends. 

The other story is about "a certain man by the pool in Bethesda, who had an infirmity thirty and eight years". He also had a severe health problem. 

On a fateful day our Lord, while passing his way, and knowing the man had been there a long time, asked him, “Wilt thou be made whole?" 

This man’s answer was strange: “Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool..." John 5:7 Strange but true. No true friend. No family member. 

When the going was probably good for the man, he had many friends who feasted and jollied with him. But sure enough, when the going got tough, when he became very ill, no friend was around when he needed them most. 

My prayer is that God will bless each of us with true quality friends, and make us good friends onto others as well, in Jesus Name.  

You will have good success this 2023.  

Remain blessed.   

Shalom.

Sons of Encouragement

From Our Pastor's Desk

Acts 4:32-36 - The multitude of believers was one in heart and soul. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they owned. 

With great power the apostles continued to give their testimony about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And abundant grace was upon them all. 

There were no needy ones among them, because those who owned lands or houses would sell their property, bring the proceeds from the sales, and lay them at the apostles’ feet for distribution to anyone as he had need. 

Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (meaning Son of Encouragement), sold a field he owned, brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet. One of the devil’s most effective weapons. Not new, been around since the beginning of time. 

Do you get discouraged? The truth of the matter is if you aren’t now, you have been. If you haven’t been, you will be.  Everyone gets discouraged at one point or the other. It’s a state or feeling of dejection, depression and despair in the face of obstacles. 

A time of hopelessness, you get disheartened, weakened, demoralized, and gloomy. You become pessimistic about everything, sad. None of us go through life without periods of discouragement. If you currently are, you are in good company, know that the Bible talks about a lot of discouraged people – Hannah, Elijah, Peter, David, etc., and even Jesus Christ. In 2nd Samuel 17, David, the king was perhaps at his lowest point ever! 

He was literally fleeing for his life! He had been embarrassed, driven from his home (by his son Absalom) and was under deadly attack from the enemy. But just like the time of the Apostles above with the rising of Joseph Barnabas (son of encouragement), God arose three sons of encouragement for David and all that were with him, called Shobi, Machir & Barzillai. 

May the Lord raise encouragers for us and make us vessels of encouragement for others, in Jesus Name.  

You will have good success this 2023. 

Remain blessed.  

Shalom.

February 2023 - Month of Shobi, Machir & Barzillai

From Our Pastor's Desk

Welcome to this our new Month of Shobi, Machir & Barzillai in Jesus name.  David the king was perhaps at his lowest point ever, literally fleeing for his life. 

The king and his men were on the run from his son Absalom. But three faithful, loyal men appeared on the scene. Their goal was solely to help their king. And they had "gifts" for their leader. 

And "encouragement" was their passion. The 3 men were Shobi (glorious captor), Machir (sold) and Barzillai (made of iron). 

Their deeds were recorded in 2nd Samuel 17:27-29 - "brought beds, basins, and earthen vessels, wheat, barley, flour, parched grain, beans and lentils, honey and curds and sheep and cheese from the herd, for David and the people with him to eat, for they said, 'The people are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness.'” 

Mercy Seatizens, welcome to February 2023, Our Month of Shobi, Machir, and Barzillai. Their  story is about giving, appropriate & relevant gifts, rendering help, and encouraging our leaders. 

This month & beyond, may the Lord make us vessels of help, encouragement, givers and edifiers, in Jesus Name. 

Amen