All Nations Church RCCG Blog @ancstratford - Tumblr Blog

Resourcing the Harvest

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. Proverbs 3:27

Supporting: Text: Mt 9:36-38

Sharing our faith to our neighbours and loved ones is in our power to do so, it is also the a good thing that we must not withhold from others.Being saved and having eternal assurance and security is the greatest gift that we can give to our friends and loved ones. It is far precious than Gold,Silver, Money or Precious stones etc.

Why do we need to share our faith? People are in need, they are lonely and need support from God through us, they need someone to talk too, and they are also the potential resources for the continuation of Gods work.

A resource is anything that we need to help us to fulfil our objectives. For example a car is a resource that assists us to travel to various places.

We are a resource in God’s hands; although sometimes we do not live up to this expectation. We also need to create resources to do God work. God has given us a creative ability to produce things. If we don't create the time to take care of those we want to reach out to we will not get the work of God done. There is not enough time in life so we must give priority to the things of God.

In many cases Christians can come up with a lot of excuses why they cannot do the work of God. However, this simply shows where our heart lies; becuase we always invest time and energy in the things that are important to us. God created man and put him in the Garden to manage all the resources He created Genesis 2. God expects of us to manage all that we have in a way that helps others to know Christ.

Resources we need to do Gods work:

· Time allocation for prayer, visitation, relationship Col 4:5Gal 6:10 Ephes 5:16

· Financial allocation: Tithing, Generous Offering, Assisting others Luke 16:10

· Need to create opportunity 1Pet 3:15

· Education and information 2 Tim 2:15

· Compassion Matt 9:36

· Power: We must not rely on our intelligence, strength or anything that is of us Mat 10:1

· Wisdom Mat 10:10

Never forget you are a resource be very faithful!

Question: Are you managing all your resources well for the advancement of God Kingdom?

How many people are you instructing in the way of the Lord?

How many people have you led to Christ this year?

What has tithing got to with grace?

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Romans 61-2

The church is known as the bride of Christ. Jesus wants us to look after His Bride although He is espoused to her, she is with us. He wants us to be faithful to the local church that we have been planted in. The faithfulness that God requires is an unlimited one. However, most people focus on one area of faithfulness to the denial of another.

In most cases many people fail in the area of tithing to God for various reasons. Without faithful giving in Tithes and Offerings the church will not be able to play its part effectively.

The church must be a store house for caring for those in need both within and outside the church. It must also be able to meet its commitments for instance pay what it owes to its staff and creditors. God does not want His church to be in reproach because of its debts.

We live in an age where the grace of God is taken for granted because people do not get punished as in the days of old. It is true that we are in the dispensation of God’s grace, however we must understand that grace comes with responsibility. In the Old Testament people were punished by God but today they can be punished by their actions. Why do we think that the verse above admonishes us not to think about taking Gods grace for granted? There must be something the writer knew that many do not know about. For example, if we read through all the epistles it talks about Grace but it also talks about the consequces of our actions for instance Galatians 5 reminds of being disinherited of Gods mercies if we live in the flesh Gal 5:21.

Gods has paid the price for our forgiveness and grace is primarily about our salvation Ephesians 2:8. However, there are consequences for what we do for instance the if a person puts God last in their finances they are simply saying that they don’t have faith and there are consequences of not having faith is one displeasing God Heb 11:6. Tithing and giving is a thing of faith.

Let us come to God and understand that He loves us and there is a blessing of obedience.We must trust God that when we Tithe we have paid it to Him and not Man. we must also believe that he will bless us exceedingly Hebrews 7:7

The Profile of a Rich Person!

Text Genesis 13:2 Gen 22 Psalm 112:3-4

Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold Gen 13:2

Wealth is first spiritual before it manifest in the physical- when it is Devine wealth and not just some worldly acquisition that has not morals and ethics.

It is important to profile a wealthy person; so that we can learn from them. However our model should be based more on the characters in the bible that were wealthy, people like Abraham, Job, Solomon, David, Cornelius and Jesus our Lord while He was on earth.Their wealth was as a result of their obedience to God in today's terms they were born again and work the grace on their lives.Many Christians are not working on the talents and gifts that God has given them.

We must avoid the temptation of modelling our lives after those who are rich without Christ. Those who worship gold instead of God. As this is a sure way to destruction.

Should we aspire to be rich or wealthy or have enough? I would say yes, because when we are blessed we should become a blessing like Abraham. There is nothing wrong with having more than enough, so that we do not go about begging or falling into temptation and that is the bottom line of the definitions to being wealthy- having more than enough so that you can help others.

Listed below are the characteristics that made Abraham and other people in the bible wealthy. We can model our lives after them and be blessed.

1. Wealthy people are readers and learners 2 Tim 2:15

2. They utilise or employ all their talents and skills Prov 18:16

3. They have more than one source of income Eccl. 11:1-2

4. They radically reduce their expenditure or they always spend less than they earn.

5. They are financially literate and understand the cost of borrowing

6. They invest in things that have value

7. They never give up believing Gen 26:18-22

8. They have a tough skin against shame and mockery

9. They exude passion and confidence in all that they do

10. Laziness is not their friend Prov 19:15,24

11. They practice business before pleasure

12. They are worshipers by giving their life, their tithes and offerings Gen 14:17-20

Questions

How can I have more than I need starting from today?

What makes people stingy towards God?

How can I reduce my expenditure radically?

#~Wealth creation #Richness #success #Money

Setting Yourself Up for Greatness!

In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly Psalm5:3

Text: Mark 3:13 Matthew 6:5-15

The keys to having a faith filled and fun day is to start your day with God; not in a religious and dogmatic way that could do more harm than good to ourselves and others but out of a love for God and His ways. A religious way will stop someone from attending to an important or critical need before praying for example if your child is crying or in need etc. Jesus told the Pharisees “hypocrites which one of you will have a donkey in a ditch and will not get it out on a Sabbath day but you do not want this Daughter of Abraham to be healed. Jesus did all His miracles on Sabbaths to prove about that God want mercy and compassion more than anything else.

So we must avoid the dangers of being religious. However, we must put God first in the morning mentally and physically by reading our bibles in a studious way and also praying. It may be a five minute kneeling down posture committing our day and life to God or one or more hours’ time in supplication and petition. Moreover, it is the quality of the time with God that matters and not the quantity. As one must appreciate that sometimes we wake up late or may have a pressing issue to attend to.

Setting one’s day up for greatness is an important prerequisite to peace and love and handling the storms of life that may be thrown at us. The question is not about whether we will have storms; but more of how we will handle the storms of life. The storms will surely come and there will be two kinds of people that emerge- those who sink in the storms and those who pass through just like Jesus and His disciples in the boat.

Our prayer and meditation will give us the victory in dealing with the storms of life. This is why we are encouraged to study the bible thereby becoming skilled in dealing with difficulties and challenges.

Please discuss the following points based on the scripture above:

1. Can our voice be silent or loud when we pray?

2. Should we lay our request before God in the morning and if yes how do we do this? Matthew 7:7-12

3. Is it a sign of faith to wait with an expectation before God? Gen 22:8

4. How can we put our church and others before God in prayers? Galatians 4:19

I am a witness!

We have found the Messiah” (which means “Christ”)Jn 1:40

John 1 and John 4 Luke 10:2

Most Christians dread sharing their faith or in other words evangelism. The reason is because it may brng about fierce opposition, mental or physical persecution or unprepared debates that may make them look foolish .

However, this should not be the case, all God expects from us is to be able to testify of the Goodness of the Lord in our life. No one can argue against our experience n Christ so it is time to share it. They can argue against so many things but not our story because that is personal to us.

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 1 Pet 3:15.

So what is your story have you articulated it so that you can tell anyone at anytime you are called upon?

All you need to do is provide clarity as to what your life was before you met Jesus, how you met Jesus and surrendered your life to Him and what he has done in your life. We must remember that we are not bringing people to ourselves but to Jesus the Lord. This is what the Samaritan woman did no one would have listened to a woman who had five husbands and a partner. But when she told them what Jesus did in her life they listened.

“Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?” 30 So the people came streaming from the village to see him” Jn 4:28-30

People will listen to our story but may not listen to our preaching. So let us work on our story and leave the rest to God. Our story will be a seed that will make the hearer sooner or later make the right call.

As we testify of the magnificent testimony of His death and resurrection this Easter may we invte our friends and family to celebrate with us and to know about the resurrection story. We pray that as they come to Jesus, He will find them- Amen.

Please pray for our Eater Celebration programme.

#Sharing your faith #Evangelism

What will your testimony be?

Memory verse

“Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.” Deuteronomy 7:9 NIV

Text: Habakkuk 2:3, John 6:26-27 Mathew 6:33,Psalm 15

After you’ve gone far with God, serving him, loving him and giving yourself to him, what will your testimony be? This is a decision you have to make based on where you stand now with God and where you will stand when Christ comes. Will he find you still standing and waiting for him?

1. What are you seeking from God?

Whatever it is you are seeking from God, do not give up, wait and you shall find it.

2. Reasons for seeking Christ should not be canal alone

Are you serving God for miracles alone which are classified as canal blessings or are you seeking God for spiritual things?

Summary:

3. Some of the things we should be asking God for:

To known him

Hear his voice distinctively

To be filled with his power

More of Gods power operating in you and through you.

And to carry more of His presence where ever you go.

God never forgets

God doesn't miss anything. He knows perfectly well all the love you've shown him by helping needy Christians, and that you keep at it. And now I want each of you to extend that same intensity toward a full-bodied hope, and keep at it till the finish. Don't drag your feet. Be like those who stay the course with committed faith and then get everything promised to them Hebrews 6: 10 – 12

Every act, every sacrifice, every gift, every prayer, every visit, every call, every smile, every encouragement, every service and every thing you have done for the kingdom and for this church does not go unnoticed and unrewarded. God wants you to keep at it even when it seems people don’t appreciate you, do not say thank you, insult and spite you because your service is unto him and the deposit you have made in numerous lives and in the kingdom would bear fruit in due season.

Supporting text: Esther 6: 1 – 10, Genesis 41: 1 – 16, 37 – 40, Gal 6:7, 2 John 8, Mat 9: 9 – 13, John 4: 4 – 42, Ruth 2:12, 2 Chronicles 15:7, 1 Cor 3:8, Jer 31:16

Questions

1. How can you stay motivated to keep giving, reaching out to others even when you see no results?

2. What rewards await those who serve God and his people diligently?

3. How else can you show love (in addition to what you currently do) to members of the church?

4. What plans do you have to reach others in your sphere of influence (people you relate with i.e. family, friends, colleagues) that are not yet Christians?

Prayer Points

§ Ask God for grace to continue to serve him and others (Christians and non- Christians)

§ Pray you would not miss the rewards associated with service both on earth and in heaven

§ Pray that every seed we have sown individually and corporately as a church would not go to waste but would change lives and yield a harvest of faithful and ‘growing’ disciples

Maximising and enjoying the seasons in our relationships

Humans are a product of relationships and we cannot function effectively without them (both spiritually and naturally). Relationships should be a place where all concerned are nurtured, protected, encouraged, loved and given room to grow and flourish. However what we see today in society is a totally different picture. We can only derive pleasure in our relationships when we understand the purpose of relationships from God’s perspective.

Supporting text: Gal 5: 16 – 26, Mat 5: 43 – 48, 1 Cor 13: 4 – 8,

Relationships like everything else in life has its ups and downs, despite this, we can still find satisfaction and make the most of our relationships if we understand the seasons in our relationships, prepare for them and utilise proven ‘God’ concepts that are characteristic of healthy relationships.

Questions

1. Are you satisfied with your relationship with God, your partner, children, family, friends and others? Please give reasons and if not what are you going to do about it?

2. What are the signs of unhealthy relationships and how should we handle such relationships? Rom 13:10, Phil 3:13, 2 Cor 6:14, 2 Sam 13: 1- 22

3. What are the characteristics of healthy relationships and how can we cultivate healthy relationships? Ruth chapter 2 – 4, 2 Tim 2: 19 -20

4. How does God want us to deal with our disappointment, frustrations, regrets and hurts in our relationships? Gen 45: 1 – 8, Luke 15: 11 - 32

Prayer points:

Ask God to help you love others (spouse, children, colleagues, family and those you do not like if any) the way He loves you

Ask for grace to forgive anyone who has offended or hurt you and also to forgive yourself if you blame yourself for letting others do what they did

Pray you would grow in your love for God and follow after the plans He has for you

Farming the word of God into your life!

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it Isaiah 55:9-11

Supporting text: Gen 26:12-20, Gal 6:7, Hebrews 4:12,

Good likens his word to a precious seed that a farmer protects and preserves in order to plant it at the right time. Sometimes the conditions for planting seeds are gloomy and deceptive and many farmers may delay the planting but this is the right time to plant. The book of Proverbs tells us that the man who looks to the wind will never plant and soon die of want. When the conditions were very bad in Philistine, God told Isaac to plant his seeds. And the result was remarkable. We must plant our seeds irrespective of the weather. The seed is the word of God that has the power to change a negative into a positive and a test into a testimony.

No matter how difficult the situation is, God wants us to plant the seeds of His Word into any situation we find ourselves we must sow to reap a harvest. This is both a natural and spiritual principle. Whenever we complain or thank God we are sowing a seed. When we confess what the word says about a situation through prayer and faith we are planting our seeds and we will reap a harvest soon Rm 10:10, 2 Corinthians 4:13 Prov:18:21

How can we sow the right seeds in the following areas of our life below:

· Career and Progress

· Business

· Relationships with people

· Marriage

· Having and raising Godly children

· Children’s well being

· Telling and winning others for Christ

· Commitment in church

Farming the word of God into our lives is an investment we cannot afford not to make. In one way or another we are planting something; let it be the seeds that God not the devil wants us to plant- Amen.

Prayer Points:

Let us pray for forgiveness for planting the wrong seeds through pain or difficulty and sadness i.e. saying the wrong things

Uproot every ungodly planting that you have ever made Jer 51:20-24

Our God uses the small and few to do great things !

Then Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armour, “Come, and let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the LORD will work for us. For nothing restrains the LORD from saving by many or by few.” 1 Samuel 14:6

Text: 1 Corinthians 1:27, Heb 13:17, Ephesians 4:16 Acts 4:32

God wants to use each of us to do great things this year, if we let Him have his way in our lives. It is never about numbers, finances, stature, social class or ones capability but about Gods ability.

Nehemiah rebuilt the temple of Jerusalem in 52 days because he was determined and allowed God to work through him. Prior to that the walls were broken down and Israel was a laughing stock for forty three thousand and seventy five days.

In our local congregation God wants to use the willing person to do extraordinary things. One person alone can make a big difference in Church or in their place of work or community. We need to recognise that God wants us to have the right attitude to do what He has in store for us.

We must trust God this year in every way possible- our business, family, community, work etc.

Great things are accomplished by great people not numbers!

Questions:

How can God use you this year? 2 Corinthians 2:9

What things must you put away to become a useful vessel in God’s hands? 1 Cor 13:11-13

What things can you believe God for personally this year ? Luke 1:37

Prayer points

Please pray for everyone in All Nations and our families

Pray that we will be the person that God uses

Please take other request

Growing your faith for 2012

As it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations” in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did Romans 4:17

Text: Mark 11:23, Heb 11:1-5, Philipians 4:8, Romans 10:17, 2 Cor 4:13-15, 1 Cor 13:13

Growing our faith this year is a must because it will assist us in progressing spiritually, physically and materially.

Faith pleases God so we must do all it takes to please God even in the midst of difficulties. We must remember that all Jesus victories came in the midst of a storm; when things looked hopeless. It was at these times when God turned things around. Our victory comes in the midst of the storm.

When we please God we get the victory. Without faith prayer is ineffectual. We must let the word grow in us this year as the bible encourages us to let the word grow in us richly. As we meditate on individual scriptures that promise us victory in the area of our need we will have power like Abraham to call those things that be not as thou they are and our faith will grow.

There has to be a heart and mouth agreement to the things we want God to do for us. It is not enough to confess it without our heart steadfastly agreeing to it. If we are feeling weak or in unbelief it simply means the word of God is not stored in our heart as it should. So we must do all we can to make sure that we fill ourselves up with the word of God. Through pondering over the verses that we want to see manifested in our life. This was what God told Joshua.

To grow our faith we need the word of God to sink into our spirit more than ever before. Let us be very hungry for God and his word this year Amen!

Please read Joshua Chapter one and discuss what is needed to grow our faith this year?

Prayer points:

Pray for safe delivery of all our expectant mothers in Church

Pray for your dreams and aspiration that your faith will be enough to get it.

Pray for this Sundays church service and programme that God will bless and anoint it

Pray that our Church will rise up for God this year though the workers growing and becoming mature Christians.

Please pray for the protection of people in Northern Nigeria

God bless you

Succeeding in 2012!

For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome Jeremiah 29:11

A new season brings us to a fresh start to life in all its forms, the scripture above tells us that God has planned a very good year for us . This informs us that if God is planning for us and so we must get to work and cooperate with God. If one is partnering with God they will not fail this year, we can only fail when we do not cooperate with the plans God has for us. That is why we must always be in constant communion with the father through studying the bible daily and having conversations with God in prayer.

God has planned for us this year in the following ways: He will create opportunities for us; bring us into favour with men. God will advise us and give us direction too. He will also plan for us through our church family so we must not miss the Sunday and mid week programmes. God is also planning that we serve him in church and in His ministry for our life personally this year. One must commit to everything God wants us to do this year. The power of the Holy Spirit is here to help us.

Please read 2nd Samuel 7:18-29: What did David do to make Gods plan for his life come through?

What we must do to plan for ourselves this year- this is a must for success.

1. Ask God to give you an eye and heart of faith Hebrews 11:6

2. Forget your past disappointment and success Phil 3:14-18

3. Plan to work harder but smarter Ecclesiastes 10:10

4. Have a good attitude and character 1 Corinthians 15:33

5. Associate and network with those who are already doing the things you want to achieve Proverbs 13:20

6. Think prosperity not austerity Proverbs 23:7

7. Think peace and love not hate and evil Philippians 4:8

8. Take opportunities in 2012: Olympics business, new business, marriage, relationships, gets ready by faith.

Questions:

Have you asked God what He has planned for you this year?

Are you planning for God as David did and was blessed what you are going to do for God this year?

Please take prayer points

A command form the Commander in Chief!

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends John 15:12-13

Text : 1 Corinthian 13, Psalm 133

One of Jesus commands is for us to love, it is non negotiable and we must do it firstly because we love God and secondly because He is our commander in Chief, therefore we must obey His commands as faithful disciples. Obeying Gods commands will never do us harm but will bring us inner peace and harmony. Many times we are so busy doing things that are not a priority in God scheme of things. Also, we are busy to the point that we do not look into the needs of others in our church family. We have to make love a priority in our life, love is greater than prayer and all forms of practices.

Loving each other means that we must first look after ourselves before we attempt the love those outside the church. It sounds selfish but what Jesus means is that if we do not love each other we will be unable to love those outside. Unfortunately, it has been the other way round; we have focused on those outside more than those inside. Jesus said if we can do this the we will be one in unity.

Loving each other proves to others that we are Jesus disciples, nowadays many Christians are complacent and do not love each other. They end up making the world unattracted to the Good news of Jesus Christ.

Gossip, quarrelling and unforgiveness must never be mentioned amongst us. These vices occur when there is no love. We must look out for each other and love one another in these times.

Christmas can be a time to show others that we have the love of God in us. Let us not wait for someone to cry to us before we respond. We need to love people to the point that we know what they are going through and we also need to ask God to use us to support them. We must trust God that He will enable us to demonstrated love in action to others.

Jesus said we should love others as He loved us. This He did by paying the highest price to love us- with His life.Love can be costly but Jesus paid the price. All He is only asking is for us to be to show great kindness to others.

Practical ways to love others:

Cooking a meal, supporting someone with a disabled child, blessing someone with money or groceries, paying someone’s rent or school fees etc.

Questions: James 2:14-25

What ways can you demonstrate love to someone in Church or out of church?

What are you going to do during this Christmas period to show love to those in church and your neighbours?

Please invite all your friends and family to our Christmas Party this Sunday the 18th of December 2011

Wanted: People like Nehemiah!

Text: Nehemiah Chapter 1

Nehemiah was a man just like us, he had a job and it was a good one- serving one of the most powerful kings in the Middle East. But that did not stop him from thinking about God and his people. He kept on asking questions until he got the answers about the state of Gods Land Israel. He preferred to serve God than to live in the palace. This was a similar attitude that Moses and Esther had. However, Jesus is our greatest example, He laid aside His Majesty and came down from heaven to save us.

At a times like this when we hear of problems in the world and in our churches God is looking for more Nehemiah's

Nehemiah's are people who will do the following things to make Gods will to be realised:

Take personal responsibility for a problem or challenge facing the Church such as visiting people, sharing your faith, etc. Hebrews 11:24-26, Esther 4:14

Become a person of prayer that brings Peace, Favour, support and Victory Courage Nehemiah 2:4, Ephesians 6:18,

Always seek Gods kingdom first Matt 6:33

Have resolute confidence in God Nehemiah 2:20

Success in Gods work despite the odds and opposition Nehemiah 6:15-16

When Nehemiah's chief concern was to rebuild Jerusalem; God used it to promote Him. He was made the Governor of Jerusalem, God blessed him with riches to the point that He had the wherewithal to feed people at his table every day. His name was written in the book of life as a great bible character and role model. God's word never fails. He will bless those who bless do His will wholeheartedly- Amen.

What are the areas that you feel God would like you to play and active part in ?

Prayer:Please pray for each other and take prayer points for All Nations end of year events.

#serving God #God hearts #faithfull

I will live a healthy life to serve the Lord!

Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well 3 John 2

Health is wealth for all including the Christian. We must do our best to make sure that our bodies are in a good shape just as the Lord wants it to be. We must remember that we are Gods temple. It is unwise to ignore sound advice of living a healthy lifestyle. In the world we live in, people want instant gratification with what they eat and how they live their lives. This has led to pain in the long-term as sickness and disease sets in, we are not saying that all sickness and disease are a result of an unhealthy lifestyle choices, however, it has been proven scientifically that poor lifestyle choices leads to poor health and quality of life. Many Christians do not smoke or take alcohol; however they still can be grouped into the class of the unhealthy; due to other practices such as eating poor quality food, not exercising or having a rest. We must also educate others on the importance of healthy lifestyle choices.

This brings us to stewardships, God wants us to behave responsibly of our bodies too and not just of our financial responsibility. Responsibility should be conducted in every aspect of our lives.

The next step is to translate our knowledge into practice by doing what works in our lifestyle choice; it makes no sense depriving oneself of good food just because a person wants to loose weight. However, being aware of the calories in the food we are eating can help us to enjoy the food we like in moderation. Also, exercise should be fun and practical too. The key is to find something that one enjoys doing and what they can do at their age. One cost effective and simple exercise is going on long walks and there are others.

The scripture above tells us that God wants us to be in health but we have a part to play. Not cooperating with God regarding our health can lead to unnecessary sickness or even death. Sometimes the reason for mental health problems can be as a result of an unhealthy lifestyle- such as too much work and no recreation. For example, regular exercises have been known to take away stress and having times of relaxation can help a person to enhance the quality of their lives.

We must ensure that matters relating to a healthy living form a good part of our values as a good health means that we can do more for our God His kingdom and our families.

What do we need to do to be healthy?

Prayer and fasting: God is in the business of giving us victory in all areas of life including healing even when we have made mistakes Isaiah 58:6-11

Get knowledge about health related matters Hosea 4:6

Discipline: saying no to an unhealthy lifestyle. This includes eating fast foods in moderation, exercising and resting well etc.

Go for regular checkups and test at your local medical centres

Plan and take holidays out of your usual environment Gen 2:3 MK 6:31

Question: What is a holiday and why should we go on one regularly?

#Rest #healthy living #excercise #Stress #quality life

The voice of God and your success in life

When a famine gripped the land, a different one from the first famine that occurred in Abraham’s time, Isaac set out toward Gerar and toward King Abimelech of the Philistines. 2 The LORD appeared to him and said, “Don’t go down to Egypt but settle temporarily in the land that I will show you. 3 Stay in this land as an immigrant, and I will be with you and bless you because I will give all of these lands to you and your descendants. I will keep my word, which I gave to your father Abraham Gen 26:1-3

Text Jeremiah 29:11, Jeremiah 33:3, Acts 9:3-6, John 10:4-5

Direction is very important to a son or daughter of God in life, not only in difficult times such as a recession but always in what we do at work and in life. God wants to guide us and it is His joy to help us with our affairs in life. We see this grace in the direction that He gave to Isaac, telling him not to go down to Egypt to look for a living. This is similar to issues we face today regarding employment and emigration or whatever we face in the world. God does not leave one to their difficulty irrespective of the area or location that we are based in. That is why the scriptures tell us that God makes rivers in the desert. We can stay anywhere that God tells us despite the immediate problems we still have hope. He will protect us wherever He wants us to be, all we need to do is to try our best to listen to God and know His will for us. God does have a will and interest in us. God is not only interested in the big things that happened in our life but the small and intricate things in our life too.

This brings us to the topic of hearing from God and the methods by which we have access to Gods voice. There are several ways that we can hear from God they include a still small voice, reading Gods word (bible) and getting a specific message from it known as a “Rhema”. This is a specific word of God to us. A Rhema moment occurs when we read the bible and experience a verse or a passage that addresses our needs or concerns at that moment. One example of a Rhema experience was when a man was afraid of his business failing; as he was reading the book of Isaiah he was touched by Isaiah 50:7. The verse literarily jumped up at him and into his spirit. From that moment he had peace about his situation and that was the end of that issue. He was now reassured by a specific word of God.

Other ways in which we hear from God are through visions, dreams, prophetic words and Godly counsel from other Christians. Sometimes God speaks to us through a lack or presence of peace and until we resolve that situation or search our spirit and deal with the matter we will not have any peace.

Some questions we must ask ourselves are:

· Am I where God wants me to be in relation to my career and what I do in Church? Gen 12:1-4

· How do I know what God wants me to do Job 33:13-15

· Are you in the Job that you have the right personality and skills sets for? Psalm 45:1 Isaiah 50:4

· Does stress affect you and how can God help you to live a stress free life?

Please pray for yourself, family, friends and brethren regarding direction

#career #advice #business #burnout

Turning your skills into a business!

The current recession in the United Kingdom and globally has caused many economic casualties, however, this could be an opportunity for us to develop a business. At All Nations Church we will be addressing the issues of economics from a Christian perspective during the month of November. This is because, we believe that this what Jesus our Lord would have done if He was one earth. We are His ambassadors on earth. The bible is not just a spiritual book but a holistic one that addresses all that life throws at us. From economics to politics- the bible has an answer.

And Isaac invested mentally and physically in the business opportunity God spoke to him about during the recession and in the same year he had a hundred percent return on his investments. The man began to prosper and became very wealthy Gen 26:12 (Paraphrase mine).

Text: Proverbs 24:3-4, 18:16, Jeremiah 29:11, 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

Starting a business with your God given skills is an effective and sustainable way to start a business. This approach reduces the transactional cost involved in setting up a business. Our skills and talents are a gift from God that can sustain us and add value to society irrespective of the economic condition that prevails. Skills can be acquired formally through structured training and development programmes or informally by experiential learning- (learning by doing it practically). An informally acquired skill can become a money sustaining venture. For example, a person with an interest and some skills in health and fitness can become a fitness instructor.”Your hobbies can become your job”.

The following people turned their hobbies and skills into multi million pound businesses:James Dyson, Michael and Zoe Birch of Bebo, Praween Warsi a full time mother and housewife who started S&A Foods which turns over a hundred million pounds a year (Source: How they started).

Examples of some skills that are in demand in the United Kingdom include: Informatics, Caring, Health and Social Care, Writing, Motivating, Experts in Various fields, Manufacturing, Technicians, Computer Analyst, Software Developers and Programmers, Inventors Innovators, Community Developers, Social Entrepreneurs.

What skills do you have?

Things to do:

Conduct a skills audit on yourself: Think about unlikely areas of effectiveness that you may be able to develop into a business

Develop your product or service: Every product or service needs to be refined and packaged in a way that appeals to its intended market.

Marketing yourself: Find out what people like about a product and service that you intend to supply and make sure to exceed customer’s expectation.

Opportunity recognition: Business Success is about seeking and taking advantage of opportunities that presents themselves.

Innovation: Try out new ways and methods of running your business and producing your product and services. Being innovative with your processes and products is a key way to keep your cost down and maximise profits.

Be entrepreneurial: apply business principles to your skills to what you do. This involves being financially disciplined (making sure you run your business at a profit) be opened to new opportunities and take them after considering all the cost.

Protect your ideas: (intellectual property) this can be done by copyright, database rights, patents, trademarks and design rights and trade secrets. There are simple ways to protect your business which may not involved the heavy sums of money

Read the dotted lines: Do not sign a contract under pressure make sure you understand what you are doing before you sign a deal. Ask a friend who has a legal background to help you do the checks

Market testing: Conduct a test run to get feedback from your potential customers this will enable one to refine their product or processes if necessary. Market testing can be done at a fraction of the cost and can prove to be highly beneficial.

Believe in yourself by having conviction, work hard, do research, train yourself pray and believe and ask God to help you.

Location: Make sure you are in the right place at the right time. Research the best location for your business both physically and virtually.

Start Small Dream Big: Organic growth can lead to sustainable growth, starting small is beneficial.

Become a Reader: Reading about your area of business will make you a leader in your field, reading gives you new ideas and enables you creative juices to flow.

Have a Plan: About where you want to be in the future, structure your business to accommodate or grow into your future plans(strategy).

What not to do:

Do not focus on money more than the quality of your service or product as long as customers are very happy the business will succeed.

Conclusion

God has a plan for us; which is to provide for us even in hard times and one way can be through entrepreneurship.

#business start up #social enterprise #f #aith and business #business and ethics #Christian business

Trending Blogs

Recently Viewed Blogs

All Nations Church RCCG Blog