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The blogging sphere has crowded up very quickly in the past decade and it even looks like YouTube is taking over. Starting a blog in 2021 se...

Sunday 15 April 2018

Financial Wholeness Part 1 Audacious Church 15-04-2018


I moved to Manchester last week. In the past 1 year, I have lived in Nottingham, London and now Manchester. First thing I look out for when I get to a new environment, apart from the way to the nearest African grocery store, is a Pentecostal church. I was glad when I googled churches near me to discover Audacious church in Salford, Manchester. I visited their website and their mission appealed to me so I decided to pay a visit today.
I had quite some hindrances getting to church today. I had followed the bus schedules brought up by Google, yet stood at the bus stop for several minutes without my bus arriving. Next I decided to use my beloved Uber, but the distance between me and the driver kept increasing from 8 mins away to 13 mins away. Meanwhile I had seen an available taxi pass me by; however, it only accepted Advance bookings. So I downloaded the Crester cars app and booked a taxi which was 8 mins away while Uber was still 13 mins away after I had waited for 6 good minutes. I then decided to cancel my booking with Uber and I was charged £4. Well, I finally got to church just 5 mins late with Crester cars and settled in. There was praise session, welcoming of first timers, baptism of new converts, offering time and then the sermon.
A new series titled "Financial Wholeness" was started today by Pastor Glyn. Below are my take home points:


How to be Content
1. Enjoy what you have (Ecclesiastes 6:9). Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don't have. What I have is a gift from God. Having the understanding that what I have currently is a gift from God to me will help me to be more thankful and less grumpy about what I desire that I don't have. He quoted an article from The Wall Street Journal which made a lot of sense. It says, "Freedom is not obtained by full enjoyment of what is desired but by controlling our desire".
2. Don't compare with others (2 Corinthians 10:12). God has got me just where He wants me to be. We complain because we compare. Thinking about it, the Isarelites started complaining in the wilderness because they compared their situation with how it was in Egypt when they had 'garlics and cucumbers' (of all things to crave for) instead of being thankful for the miraculous deliverance God had just wrought for them. Understanding that as long as we walk with God, he is working all things for our good will help us to remain content with where He has placed us.
3. Remember life is not about things (Luke 12:15). Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” The most valuable things are not things (2 Corinthians 4:18). So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. Experiences are worth more than we think.
If you would like to learn more on this topic, visit audaciouschurch.com/financialwholeness for very useful resources including helpful articles on achieving financial freedom and free downloadable budget plans. Or better still join the service next Sunday at 10am and 12pm. https://audaciouschurch.com/live/
Remember, contentment starts with connecting your life with the person of Jesus Christ. Accept him today.

Radiant ~ April 2018
Guess what's in my goody bag?


Sunday 1 April 2018

I am healed!

Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus replied: Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. John 9:2 
God seems to like to show off where human wit has failed. Maybe that was why Paul said we should boast in our weaknesses because it is in our weakness that God's strength is made perfect.  
I have asked God severally why some people are born with deformities. Why do people have disabilities especially those that are congenital? Why are people born flawed? Why do they have to live all their lives wishing they were normal? What is God's plan for them? Is it to be healed completely and become "normal" or to find a way to adapt so well that the affliction becomes a blessing instead of a curse? It is easy to believe for the latter, but what is the will of God in this matter?  
Jesus made sure to heal every disease, disability, affliction, you name it, that came his way. He did not let the blind go home blind. He did not leave the crippled as they were. He healed the deaf and dumb. Was that because there was no science to help make their affliction more bearable? He made them whole. So why should we settle for less when we can be whole? Then you will ask me, “what is the definition of ‘whole’?”
Recently, it dawned on me what Jesus meant when he said "it is finished". Jesus healed 'all' sicknesses. There is no other healing to wait for than the one Jesus bought by His stripes over 2000 years ago. All we have to do is accept his finished work. Faith means believing what God has said he has done even when we cannot see it yet. When this hit me, I decided never to say again that I am a stammerer, hence the opening statement in my previous post - I used to be a stammerer. Since 4th February 2018 when I accepted the healing Jesus bought me over 2000 years ago, I am no longer a stammerer. I didn't care whether I did not see an immediate change physically. The truth is once the spiritual is settled, the physical has no choice but to align with it. So my words had better align with God's plan. 
Since then, actually I have stammered less and less. But I am not looking to see if it will work, i.e if I'll stop stammering completely. If Jesus said it is finished, it is finished - I have stopped stammering completely. He has made me whole. I have received my healing. I am healed. I do not care what it currently looks like on the physical because the devil will surely tempt you with a reality that is not in keeping with what the Word has said. Who would you rather believe? 
If you have an ailment, a sickness, a torment, just know that Jesus has paid the price already. He said, "It is finished!" God is not wicked. He does not enjoy seeing us suffer. That was why he sent his precious Son to die to save us from the eternal suffering for our sins and also to heal our bodies. If Christians can believe we have been saved from hell, why is it so difficult to believe he healed our bodies? It does not matter if the physical tells you contrary, you have been healed. Let your words affirm this truth for this is the essence of Easter. It is finished!
Radiant ~ April 2018