Today’s Teaching

TEXT: ‘Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul, and forget not [one of] all His benefits’ Psalm 103:2 AMPC THOUGHT: In the UK, there are negative and positive attitudes to living on benefits. The negative side is often seen when people have a benefits culture. They abuse the system and through deceit and over-exaggeration of their need, receive what they are not really entitled to. Children raised in households that act in this way often grow up with that taking attitude and demanding rights; never wanting to contribute anything worthwhile to the society that has benefitted them. It is all too easy to complain that benefits are never enough, but go to a country that has none and you will readily see how blessed we really are! The positive side to living on benefits is not always stated. It is someone else, usually the state, giving a helping hand whether financial or practical, to get someone back on their feet or to make the remainder of their days more comfortable. Some government benefits are not means tested so everyone gets it whether they need it or not. This can appear to be a waste of money. A prime example is the Winter Fuel Allowance and Christmas Bonus...

TEXT: ‘Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions. For I was ashamed to request of the king an escort of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the road, because we had spoken to the king, saying, “The hand of our God is upon all those for good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him.” So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer”’ – Ezra 8:21-23. THOUGHT: I enjoy having breakfast, starting the day with food. Break-fast is not really anything to do with fasting, more to do with awaking from sleep. Fasting is not a form of dieting but the denial of drinks and foods and other things, for a set period of time, in order to achieve a higher, more important goal. This can be for just one meal, a day or even weeks. Reading the Book of Ezra recently, the Holy Spirit drew my attention to some fasting principles revealed in our text. Ezra ordered a fast but why and for what purpose? Fasting is a form of submission – ‘we might humble...

TEXT: ‘Go, sell the oil and pay your debt: and you and your sons live on the rest’ – 2 Kings 4:7 THOUGHT: Just seven verses describe the amazing miracle of 2 Kings 4:1-7. Key principles lie hidden within these verses that can help us when facing financial difficulties or prevent them from happening in the first place. So that there is not too much reading I have divided it into two teachings. In this first part we will look at the debt, death and desperation of the widow who was left to pick up the pieces. The Debt The reason why they were in debt is unclear. Perhaps it was a mortgage to buy their first home, a business venture that went wrong or the payment of back-taxes. We can only speculate, but whatever the reason, the consequences had become disastrous. God’s intention for His people was very clear. He wanted them to be the lenders, not the borrowers. ‘You will lend to many nations but you yourself won’t have to take out a loan’ – Deuteronomy 28:12 (The Message). Yet He also recognised that not everyone would achieve such a lifestyle and so provision was made under The Law of Moses to safeguard lending to fellow Israelites....