It is gratifying to see people blessed through your little effort in life. We are all pilgrims in this world and because life is never permanent, it is good to leave an indelible footprint on the soil of destiny for eternity's sake.

I want to personally use this opportunity to appreciate those of you who took time to encourage us in this business of the kingdom. Your words of advice, encouragement and comfort have gone a long way in boosting our morales. Your financial assistance also have made this work easier for us; your criticism made us to reason well and pray more. In all, I am very grateful!

This edition offers more challenges for our spiritual, mental and moral growth. The focus is on how we should conduct ourselves when challenged with lack and when we find ourselves prospering. We must learn to strike a balance; knowing the difference between temporary things and things of eternal value will help us greatly. The Sc ripture says in Mark 8:36-37 "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchage for his soul?" May these patinate questions be the guiding search light that guides the activities of your life every day.

I must confess that the grace and faithfulness of God have seen us through this time. It takes a lot of determination to engage in this kind of business. But if the Kingdom of God must proper in our time, somebody must do this kind of thing we are doing. Therefore, I appeal once again for your financial support. It takes some good sum of money to publish materials like this and as you know, our financial policy does not allow us to sale any of our materials. The good Lord will abundantly bless you as you give sacrificially.

Take your time and go through the articles. You will surely be blessed. Remain safe and guide against those things that will dstroy your relationship with God. The Almighty God multiplies you.

Chaplain Rev. Festus A. Ekenyere

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"I KNOW BOTH HOW TO BE ABASED, AND I KNOW HOW TO ABOUND"

We are taking this edition’s text from the book of Philippians 4:11-13 and it reads –“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

The key words in this sermon are “abased” and “abound”. I will try to define these words within the frame or context of our text. By “abased”, the Apostle of FLEXIBILITY AND CONTENTMENT meant - want, lack, moment of need or what can be referred to in today’s terms as POVERTY. While by “abound” he meant - fully satisfied, comfortable by all standards, wealthy or lack of nothing - PROSPERITY. So by implication what he is saying here is - “I know both how to live in poverty and I know how to live in prosperity.” This is the reason why I always refer to Paul as the Apostle of Flexibility and Contentment.

We hardly talk about poverty, lack or want in our world today. We don’t even dare think about it in our churches yet, we see people around us living below poverty level. With all the prosperity messages and prayers, church people (Christians) are still poor. Why? Something must be wrong somewhere!
Excuse me, before you have a wrong impression of my person; Apostle Paul said in verse 11 of our text, “Not that I speak in respect of want:” This sermon is not a product of poverty. I am not poor by any standard and I do not speak in respect of poverty.

Why the war against corruption taking such a long time to conquer? Globally, this demon has eaten deep into the economy of the world than cancer. For those of you who think that it is a Nigerian phenomenon only, you are making a serious mistake. It is not! Corruption is a global affair! Otherwise why should nationals from the so-called developed world collaborate with Nigerians to perpetuate this act? Why should foreigners in Nigeria aid Nigerians to commit this evil? You see, Satan is the same all over the world. There is no “developing” world Satan and “developed” world Satan. If we must win any war against Satan and his emirates, we must be prepared to draw our strength from the principles of spiritual warfare the Holy Bible offers. Today, we are surveying two of such principles - Flexibility and Contentment.

The Scripture says, “But godliness with contentment is great gain” - I Timothy 6:6 and verse 8 says, “Having food and raiment, let us be therewith content.” As far as I am concerned, the issue of prosperity has been blown out of proportion. Some have missed the mark because they neglect or pay little attention to the Kingdom and its righteousness - see Matthew 6:33. As a result, prosperity becomes a do or die affair even when the good Lord has provided food and raiments. They lack contentment and so cannot be flexible at all. They cannot adjust to situations with joy unspeakable especially with lacks and wants.

On the other hand, I discovered also among Christians that majority of them feel comfortable with God or do I say, God feels comfortable with this group of Christians when they live in “poverty”. In other words, they KNOW how to be abased. Under this kind of condition, they have sweet fellowship with God always; they attend church services and are committed to His work; they fast and pray always and in fact, they abide always “under the shadow of the Almighty”. They do all these because they want something from God. The moment God answers their prayers; they become different human beings entirely. This group of people does not KNOW how to abound.

As they eventually get out of the “cage”, they bring forth their true picture. No more time for God and the things of God. They feel on top of the world and like the rich fool, they think and say, - “My soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years, take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.” - Luke 12:19.

How often do we see such Christians disgrace their profession in prosperity? Do you doubt this? How many good and wonderful Christian politicians in this country who have made it to the top came out of their office still the same spiritual giant they were before their election. How many of them can stand before God and testify they were never corrupted and polluted while in office? You see, it is as dangerous to live in prosperity as it is to live in poverty.

I know of a very fine brother so many years ago in Maiduguri, Borno State capital, who was doing well in the Lord and in his vocation as well. As Abuja, the nation’s capital city began to develop; he went there for a greener pasture. God was merciful to him and opened great doors of opportunities for him. He made millions of naira and one of the first things he did in order to showcase his wealth was to divorce his wife and got married to a younger lady. Today I do not know whether that “brother” is still enjoying the Lord or do I say - whether God is still enjoying his fellowship. This is the kind of things we see today in Christendom. What a disgrace!

Apostle Paul says - “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content”. By this he explains the “know” of verse 12. He is not speaking of mere head knowledge rather the Apostle is talking of experiential knowledge. The things he went through in life, the hard experiences were the Apostles competent lecturers in the College of Flexibility and Contentment. He carefully and prayerfully went through the years of study and that is why he could confidently say, “I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound”:

Let me share with you FOUR things you must guide against in your days of prosperity so that God will be pleased with you -

1. GUIDE AGAINST THE DANGER OF FORGETTING GOD –
Deuteronomy 6:10-12
“ And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not, And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. {bondage: Heb. bondmen or, servants}”

Moses knew it was possible for the children of Israel to forget all the wilderness experience in their prosperity. He handed down this warning so that they would not forget God. Look at the way he puts it in Chapter 8:10-18 - “ When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God for the good land which he hath given thee. Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint; Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end; And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.”

The easiest way to forget God in your days of prosperity is not to ever remember or think about your humble beginnings or how you got to where you are. Remember there is always a BEGINNING!

2. GUIDE AGAINST REBELLION
Deuteronomy 32:15-18
“But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger. They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.”

The “but” in this text implies that there was a time Jeshurun or Israel were not fat and mindful of the Rock of their salvation ... But now they have drunk the pure blood of the grape; they are fat, and kicking, they have grown thick so they lightly esteemed the Rock of their salvation.

What about you oh mighty man of wealth? What of you that is trusting God for financial breakthrough? Your real personality has not yet been made manifest until we see you on top of the ladder. The earlier you understand the GRACE of God the better. Understand also that there is nothing you have that is not given to you. John the Baptizer says “A man can receive nothing except it be given to him from heaven.” - John 3 :27. I think this can help us to guide against the spirit of rebellion in the days of our prosperity.

3. GUIDE AGAINST THE SPIRIT OF DESTRUCTION
Proverbs 1:32
“For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.”
The desire of God is for every child of His to “prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.” - 3 John 2. It is not His wish that you be destroyed by prosperity. But most unfortunately today, I have seen fine Christians being utterly destroyed by wealth. They allowed the spirit of immorality to overtake them and before they knew it, they have sold their birth right for that which has no eternal value.

This kind of destructive spirit is not a respecter of any personality. In fact Ministers of God are most vulnerable. The four “Fs” that easily destroy ministers are often the by-product of prosperity. I have always reminded ministers not to forget easily the GRACE of God. Any moment you neglect His GRACE, you head for destruction. It does not matter how big or strong you think you are in the ministry. Always depend on the inner strength only Christ supplies.

4 GUIDE AGAINST DENIAL OF GOD
Proverbs 30:8,9
“Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.”
You might question the possibility of a man (especially one who has tasted the grace of God before) denying God. This is possible both by deeds and even words.

The Scripture says, “... But money answered all things.” and. “... Money is a defense”. Ecclesiastes 10:19; 7:12
You might not understand the full meaning of these scriptures until you find yourself suddenly in the midst of money. If you are not careful to guide against the spirit of denying God, you will unwittingly deny Him because, you have whatsoever your soul longs for and the defense is there. You no longer ask Him for your daily bread nor deliverance from evil. After all your money can pay for all the securities you need. So, you see, it is a very simple thing to deny God.

Keep watch over these four dangers in the days of your prosperity and God will be pleased. The Psalmist says, “ Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant. And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long.- Psalm 35:27

If you have learnt how to be abased, depend solely on the grace of God as He prospers you. You will also know how to abound. Remember, Paul says “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” In other words, the grace of God upon your life will sustain you, both in lack and in prosperity. Trust Him and do not be afraid to step into your world of prosperity. Learn to be flexible and contented with what the Lord has given to you. Thank Him for that and He will bless you more and more.

Are you already trapped by any of the four dangers above? Do you think you cannot make your way to His kingdom again? All hope is not lost friend. The Scripture says, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” - Isaiah 1:18. The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son is ever fresh and efficacious to cleanse any stubborn stain. Come to Jesus today and He will forgive you all your sins. Acknowledge His grace and He will sustain you.
If you would not mind, pray this prayer right now -

Heavenly Father,
I acknowledge my sins for they are before me. I have forsaken the ways of the Lord and today I realized myself and like the prodigal son, I am back. Wash me dear Lord in your blood and save me from destruction. Fill me with your Holy Spirit today as you write my name in the Lamb’s book of life.
Thank you Father for answering my prayer, in Jesus ‘ name. Amen!

From the Editor:
God is so gracious! I want to congratulate you for praying this prayer today. God is interested in you. We have some materials that will help your spiritual growth. Send to us your name and address and we will post them to you free of charge.
God bless you abundantly.

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YOU AND YOUR HEALTH

OBESITY

By Chaplain Pastor Gladys Ekenyere (RD)
Chief Dietitian, Shehu Musa Specialist Hospital
+2348035464004

Obesity and over weight is a global problem and little or no significant societal awareness has been given to it.
Obesity is simply defined as being seriously over weight as a result of energy in take being greater than energy expenditure.

Obesity and over weight is now a major health concern in that over 10% health expenditures are going into it according to World Health Organization reports.

MEASUREMENT OF OBESITY
Obesity can be diagnosed by calculating the Body Mass Index (BMI). There are other ways of measuring obesity but this seems to be the most appropriate one since it does not require sex or body build. BMI = weight in kg divide by height in meters squire.
Anything less than 20% is under weight
20 27% desirable weight
28 32% over weight
33 42% obese
Greater than 42 severe obesity.

PROBLEMS OF OVER WEIGHT (OBESITY)
-Excessive weight puts on an added burden on the heart
Deposits of fat in the heart muscle itself may impair its efficiency
Coronary heart disease (disease of the arteries that take blood to the heart)
Stroke (busting of the vessel in the brain which causes paralysis)
Hypertension / High blood pressure.
Hypercholesterolemia (cholesterol is a fatty substance found in the body that associate with hardening of the arteries and heart disease)
Diabetes (disease that is characterized by high blood sugar or sugar in the urine with frequent urination
Varicose vein (veins in the leg which becomes swollen and painful)
Impaired liver function
Disease of gal bladd
Oesteo arthritis of the spin hips and knees
Large amount of fat around the abdominal organs may interfere with respiration by impairing the movement of the diaphragm aggravating the breathlessness of the heart
- Cancer of the cervix and that of the breast
- Failure of ovulation (this brings about infertility

CAUSES OF OBESITY
Obesity comes as a result of energy intake from foods and drinks exceeding that of immediate energy requirement of an individual, and then the excess energy is converted to fat and stored in the adipose tissue.
- Lack of information
- Sedentary life style (lack of exercise)
- Physiological factors such as ill health
- Genetic factors (this does not mean that patient must be overweight)
- Social pressure
- Behavioral factors (over eating)
- Socio economic status
- Endocrine disorder
- Hormonal drug treatment
- Combination of two or more factors

TREATMENT OF OBESITY
It is better to take up any treatment that affects life long behavioral changes rather that short time weight loss, since the weight loss in short time will later be regained. Gradual process of weight loss is more advisable.
- Appetite suppressant drugs are not advisable because when you stop the drugs the weight loss will be regained.
- Cut down foods that contain hidden fats, such as cake cream biscuits, pastries, and all fried foods.
- The food that has high saturated fat content also has high cholesterol content, so reduction in saturated fat intake
will be accompanied by both weight
Reduction and cholesterol reduction.
Studies have proved that carbohydrate like cereals, fruits and vegetables and even proteins are converted to fuel almost as soon as they are consumed. But most fat calories are immediately stored in the cells.

PREGNANCY

A pregnant woman who is over weight should not stress herself with the problem of weight reduction. She should only avoid fatty foods and foods with empty calories.
After delivering, an over weight mother who exclusively breast-feed and continue to breast feed will reduce her excess weight.
A structured weight control plan involves estimation of ideal body weight and energy requirement to determine how much excess weight to be cut down. Taking dietary history will give a clear idea of ones dietary habit i.e. food likes and dislikes, their food choices and habits that may need modification and their formation of meal plan based on the estimation of energy requirement and food tastes.

CALCULATION OF TOTAL ENERGY NEED

The total energy need per day is estimated from the patient's age, sex, height and current body weight and ideal body weight. The service of a Dietitian is required to guide the patient in this.
The calorie need of a patient who is over weight is estimated from the ideal body weight. The same is applicable to an under weight patient

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LET'S PLEAD FOR THE WIDOWS

"Learn to do will: seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, PLEAD FOR THE WIDOWS."

The Faith Builders have identified the plight of some seventeen widows in a remote commutity. They need your help in any way you are led to. It takes the sum of twenty thousand naira or just two hundred US dollars monthly to give them a sense of belonging to this lovely world. We are therefore pleading for them. PLEASE JOIN US TODAY!

If you are led by the Lord to support this program please contact us immediately. Log on to our support page and fill the form provided for that.

The good LORD bless you abundantly!

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