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?