Financial Flashpoint, Putting our wealth into perspective

True Contentment is great wealth. Does God really want all His children to be rich? Ponder that…

Apostle Paul had this to say, “These are the things you are to teach and insist on. ³ If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, ⁴ they are conceited and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions ⁵ and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.

 ⁶ But godliness with contentment is great gain. ⁷ For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. ⁸ But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. ⁹ Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” 1 Timothy 6:1-10

Think about this fictional story of one rich man on his deathbed who wanted to bargain with God:-

“I’ve worked too hard to amass my fortune,” He pleaded in prayer, “and I want to take it with me to heaven.” “We don’t do that,” said God. “But please,” the man begged. “I’m nothing without my money! But if you won’t do it for me, do it for my children. They are spoiled rotten, and the money will only make matters worse. Please Lord, let me bring it to heaven so they’ll be spared from life of indulgence and corruption.” Upon hearing this revised plea, the Lord had mercy and amended His answer. “Alright,” He said. “You may bring one suitcase with you into heaven. But only one.” The rich man immediately had his wealth converted into gold bricks. He packed his million-dollar treasure into the largest suitcase he could find and stashed it beneath his bed. A few weeks later, the man drew his last breath. When he opened his eyes in eternity, he found himself standing at the gate to the heavenly holy city. Panicked he looked around for his money, then sighed with relief when he saw the suitcase by his side. The LORD had not forgotten His promise.

The angel at the gate, however, had not seen such a thing. “A suitcase?” he said, lifting his snowy brow. “You can’t bring anything into heaven with you!”

“I know this isn’t the way you usually do things,” the rich man answered, “but I have a special arrangement with God.”

“I’ll have to look inside the suitcase,” the angel declared. “This is extremely unconventional.”

Perfectly willing, the rich man stepped back while the angel unzipped the bag and took stock of the gleaming gold bricks. The sentry shook his head slightly, then lifted his voice to the Almighty. “Lord,” he called out, parting the heavens with trumpeting voice, ‘I’ve got a man here who says he’s made a special arrangement with You.”

The heavens rumbled back an answer: “what sort of arrangement was that?”

The angel glanced down at the suitcase again, then lifted his eyes. “For some reason, he wants to bring in a load of paving material.”

Think about it…

Learn to value the things of this world the way God values them…

Bumps??

Pressed on everyside to make decisions?
Phil 4:6-7 “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 transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Step One - Pray
the above passage gives you the starting point for every decision and every endeavor -- PRAY for God's help and guidance.
Step Two – Analyze
While you await God's guidance, you should remember that it is by God's will that you are endowed with the ability to reason and evaluate.

• God gave you a mind to THINK with.
• It is God's will that you trust in Him, but it is equally God's will that you think and reason things out.

  "Come now, and let us reason together,'' says the Lord Isa 1.18a
It is quite evident that God wants you to use the mind He blessed you with, because He has provided you with Bible verses to guide you in that effort.

• James 1.5 enjoins you to ask God for wisdom, quite clearly showing that God does expect you to apply your mind as well as your prayers in making decisions.
• Proverbs 15.22 encourages you to dig out facts and advice from many counselors.

Part of your thinking process should be directed toward discerning God's answer when He gives it to you.

• A decision always involves more than one course of action. Otherwise, there would not be any decision to make.
• Thus, another part of your thinking process should be directed toward discerning the value that God might place on each possible course of action.  1 Corinthians 10.31 says, "WHATEVER you do, do all to the glory of God."   

Step Three - Step Out in Faith

• First step is pray.
• Second step is analyze, all the while seeking counsel from God's people & God's word.
• Third step is Step Out in Faith. Decide! Do it! Don't get stuck in gridlock awaiting signs. Trust in the Lord. Get moving!

  Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.
Prov 3.5-6

Then the Lord said to Moses, ``Quit praying and get the people moving! Forward, march!"
Ex 14.15
Aftermath - Bumps in the Road
Okay, you did all the right things. You prayed often and hard for God's will. You asked God to grant you wisdom. You dug out the facts, and listened carefully to good advice. Then you reached a decision and stepped out in faith. Does this mean that the results of your decision will hum along as smooth as clockwork?  you might at times answer "No."
Daniel was right in the middle of God's will, but he still spent the night in a den of hungry lions (Dan 6.16-24).
The Lord's disciples were in a boat on the Sea of Galilee, fully in obedience to the Lord's will, yet they were confronted with a violent storm (Mk 4.35-41).
Why would God say things are going just fine when you are waist high in alligators? Romans 8.28-29. God will make all things "work together for good." Thus God ensures that even the *bad things* will work for your ultimate good - in God's good time.

Elizabeth Kalekye Nzaku Step One:Prayer
step Two: Analyze and seek counsel
step Three: Step out in Faith.
God help me....

HEALING GRACE FOR THE BODY, SOUL AND MIND

by Elizabeth Kalekye Nzaku on Wednesday, July 20, 2011 at 9:30am

2Kings 5:1-27
Now Naaman was a commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of His master and highly regarded, because through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy vs 1.
You could have it all but deep down you may be leprous. You could be successful but deep in your heart there is agony, pain, frustration, stinking wounds.
There is healing and saving power in the presence of the King of kings. There is amazing grace and healing power in Him. It is the healing and grace that cannot be bought by a large gift, pride and lordly presence cannot command this healing and saving grace of God. That healing you so in need of comes from God.
Terms and conditions apply, only if you will come to the mercy seat, accept the saving grace and be obedient to the word of the LORD. There is hope for you if only you courtesy of the God of grace who is able to heal the body, soul and mind.
may the LORD heal your body,soul and mind today.
Kachel

Memoirs of Mt. Longonot -Hike

by Elizabeth Kalekye Nzaku on Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 3:50pm

Date: Dec 2007
In December 2007, we hiked Mt. Longonot and went round the rim of the crater. The experience was incredible.
According to Wikipedia, Mount Longonot, is a dormant volcano, rising to 2,776 meters above sea level. It is 8km-9Km long but very steep. The climb takes anything from 1 to 5 hours depending on one's fitness levels.

My Experience,
I realized that I couldn’t hike past my attitude. “Your attitude determines your altitude”. My starting point was to adjust my mind set. I determined to climb the mountain.
At some point during the hike, my pace stalled, one because of the people I was in the company of who had already made up their minds that they were not going to make it to the top. I had to make a deliberate choice to separate myself and link up with people who were determined to go up. I am glad I did.
I looked up to the people who had gone past me and they became my source of motivation- Cowboy (Mbinda), Denu, Izzo, Eva and Mugo.
As we hiked and went round the rim of the crater, I realized how much I need the support and motivation from the fellow climbers. Whenever I was almost giving up, I found encouragement from Eva Maina, Mlami, Mily and Grace. There are times we had to hold each other’s hands and help climb up the rocks. Mlami helped me a lot, he relentless took my hand and pulled me up even when I was giving up and would throw words of encouragement at me.
I remember the following persons went up the rugged Mt. Longonot and round the rim of the crater:-
Denis, Mbinda, Izzo, Washy- these ones had gone past me and I was really drawing a lot of strength from them, I looked upto them, they were like benchmark for me.
Mugo & Eva Maina, their zeal inspired me.
Grace & Mily, their determination was incredible and I drew a lot of strength from them.
Mlami, I can’t number the many times he took my hand and pulled me up the rocks, the ridge and the words of inspiration he spoke to me. When I was feeling so exhausted and almost giving up, he made me feel like it was a small challenge. He stirred me up.
The above guyz inspired me so much to finish the challenge.
Challenges

• The scorching sun. I remember well we started the hike at around 11:30am.
• Stony soil and dust.
• Rugged ridges.
• Thorny bushes
• Rocks.
• Hadn’t carried drinking water.
• I lost one of my shoe, don’t know how but thank God I had socks so the hot soil didn’t flame the sole of my foot.
• Some people didn’t make it; some because they walked in the company of those who stalled their pace. Others because lacked the determination and a persevering spirit and others because they lacked someone to push them up even with words of encouragement. Some because they were not dressed appropriately and some because they carried unnecessary luggage like I remember one guy, he tried to hike with a Mountain Bike aha aha ah.

Conclusion.
I learned right attitude, faith and determination are ingredients of success.
Through all the challenges we went through as we hiked and went round the rim of the crater, I learned to draw strength from within. I also learned that we need each other for support and encouragement.
It is necessary to carry necessities e.g. drinking water and a walking staff comes in handy.
Lastly, surround yourself with the right people who will not stall your pace. People who will walk with you, hold your hand and pull you up. People who will challenge you and speak words of encouragement to you.
In every situation God has given us blessed consolation that our trials and challenges only come to make us strong

So I thank God for the mountains and thank Him for the valleys, the rugged ridges. Thank Him for the storms and obstacles He's brought you through because if you never had a problem you wouldn’t know that He could solve it, you wouldn't know what faith in His Word could do.
Have a determined attitude, and you will make it.

Mama and Daddy Eagle

Once upon a time there was a Mama and Daddy eagle who began to build a nest high on top of a tall sturdy pine tree. They found strong branches to weave together to build their nest. They filled in the spaces with grass, moss, cornstalks and other strong fibers. The inside of the nest is not yet a comfortable place for their babies to be born. To make the nest a comfortable place the eagle parents put their own feathers in the bottom of the nest to pad their future babies from the sharp sticks.
When the eaglets hatch they have a nice comfortable place to live while they are cared for by their parents. There comes a day that the eaglets need to learn to fly. In order to learn to fly they need to leave the nice, big comfy nest they have been accustomed to.
The mama eagle knows that the eaglets will not survive if they don’t learn to fly. She begins to make the nest uncomfortable by taking the soft feathers out of the nest. Now the eaglets’ soft fluffy bed has been turned into a bed of sharp pointy sticks. Mama eagle know that her babies need to fly to survive so she begins to beat her wings driving the eaglet to the edge of the nest. She pushes him over the edge and he begins to fall forcing him to try to use his wings to learn to fly. Since he’s never used them he flaps and falls. Mama swoops under her falling eaglet and catches him on her back and soars upward into the sky.
The eaglet feels safe once again until his mama without warning dives downward causing the eaglet to lose his grip. The mama eaglet continues to allow her baby to fall and flap and each time his wings are strengthened and soon he is able to soar on his own. If mama eagle would not have made her eaglets uncomfortable her babies may have never left the comfort of their nest to become the strong beautiful birds they were intended to be.
In our story today we see how discomfort has a similar effect on the believers.
Let’s think of Jerusalem as a comfortable nest for the believers. When the apostles were thrown in jail and beaten it was like having the feathers plucked out of the nest making life a little less comfortable. When Stephen was stoned to death it was similar to Mama eagle pushing her eaglet out of the nest. God allows difficulties in the lives of believers so others can learn about Jesus. God knew that there were people outside of Jerusalem that needed to hear the Good News about Jesus. It was time for the believers to leave the comfort of Jerusalem and go to other places and obey Jesus’ command to go into all the world.
What's your COMFORT ZONE? Is it hindering you from serving God in deeper levels? Are you ready and willing to move out of your comfort zone...?
When God shakes your comfort zones, count it all joy! Delight in knowing this, that Precious are His thoughts toward you. He has the best plans for you, to give you hope and better end.
God bless you

Ladership Tips

If a race is lost, it is lost in the passing of the baton (Dr. James Dobson)

"f you work with marble, it will perish; if you work with brass, time will efface it; if we rear temples, they will crumble...bt if we work upon the imortal minds and hearts we are engraving upon that which will brighten eternity." (Dniel Wbster)

Anointed Leadership.
You want it? terms and conditions apply:-
1. Discover the Character of God
2. surrender to the Lorship of Christ.
3. Be filled with the Holy Spirit
4. Study the word of God.
5. Practice spiritual multiplication
6. make prayer and fasting part of your program
7. Ask God to give you a vision
8. Keep your priorities straight
9. Work as unto the LORD
10. have faith -trust God

And always remember, "when the game is on, great leaders take responsibility." John Maxwel.

As a Leader know and understand real ministry and accountability come from strong relationships,not systems.
with Luv
Kalekye