Rev. Dr Phodiso Ntwaetsile Pursuing Purpose Beyond Provision Pastor Thabiso Cavin Bogopa Master Your Money: A Personal Guide Ms. Esther Mpete The Art Of Holding On Mrs Oduetse Masilomangwe-Nkwane The Silent Wilt Of A Rose The Revival Story of Rose-Marie Free Copy Courageously Rebuke the Devil July Issue The Kingdom Connection Mag
Be Courageous to Rebuke and Deny the Devil the Opportunity at All Costs Rev. Dr. Phodiso Ntwaetsile Ezra 4:3 NKJV But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel said to them, “You may do nothing with us to build a house for our God; but we alone will build to the Lord God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.” Throughout our journey of faith, we often encounter problems and temptations that can test our commitment to God. The story of Zerubbabel and Jeshua in Ezra 4 illustrates the importance of standing strong in one’s convictions. By refusing help that could risk their mission, they teach us about being brave and careful. In this devotional message, we will explore how to say no to distractions and remain true to our faith and values. “When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel,” (Ezra 4:1). “They came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of the families and said, ‘Let us help you build...’” (Ezra 4:2). In Ezra 4:3, the leaders of Israel courageously declared their commitment to building the temple for their God, refusing any assistance that might compromise their mission. and challenges that can lead us away from our purpose or dilute our values. · Just as Zerubbabel and Jeshua denied the opportunity for compromise, we too need to be vigilant and courageous in rebuking anything that might undermine our relationship with God. · This could include negative influences, unhealthy relationships, or any distractions that steer us off course. In conclusion, just as Zerub“But Zerubbabel, Jeshua and babel and Jeshua demonstrated the other leaders of Israel’s unwavering courage in their people said, ‘No. You cannot commitment to build the temhelp us to build the temple for ple, we too must remain steadour God. We must build it by fast in our faith. By recognizing ourselves for the Lord, Israel’s temptation, setting boundaries, God. That is what Cyrus, king and prioritizing our relationof Persia, has commanded us to ship with God, we can effectivedo.’” (Ezra 4:3) ly deny the devil opportunities This act of standing firm against to compromise our values. Let outsiders exemplifies the imus be brave and intentional in portance of being bold and guarding our faith, ensuring discerning in our faith journey. that we stay true to our purpose So also, in our lives, and commitments. · We often face temptations Qoute of the Month God’s timing is never late. Even when it seems like nothing is happening, He is working behind the scenes for your good. Don’t be discouraged by delays or silence. God is shaping your character, increasing your faith, and preparing something greater than you imagined. Trust His process. Worship in the waiting. Stand firm in His promises. He is not a man that He should lie, nor does He forget His children. What He said, He will do. Stay anchored in His Word, for His love is unfailing, His grace is sufficient, and His power is unmatched. Keep holding on your breakthrough is coming.
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The Kingdom Connection Mag Let God be your friend… you won’t regret it I lost my brother suddenly, with no warning. He didn’t even get sick for me to care for him. My biggest fear has always been dying alone – and my brother experienced that. He had an asthma attack, and within minutes, he was gone. I blamed God. I remember praying: “If You said You would protect me, why take away my best friend? From now on, I want to know everything. You and I have a better relationship than to just sideswipe me like that.” When they say “Be careful what you ask God for,” they really mean be careful. Days after we buried my brother, I dreamt of my mom’s passing. That dream was so vivid; I woke up shaking, crying uncontrollably. My husband tried to reassure me that nothing like that would happen, but I felt it. I just knew it was God showing me to prepare me. In the dream, I saw myself bathing my mom while she lay in her bed with no strength. I couldn’t tell my mom about the dream because a year before my different ailments. I just knew. My mom lived with my young brother, and they had many dogs brother passed, she and I had a falling out. My mom started reaching out to me, and my big brother kept poking me to just talk to her. But I can be quite stubborn; I protect my energy and how I use it. The fallout had drained me so much that I didn’t want to engage. But the more my brother poked me, the more I had daily visions of me caring for my mom. By daily visions I mean vivid daydreams while I was fully awake and working on different things. That’s when I knew God was speaking to me. One time, my mom reached out and told me she had bald spots on her head. She sent me pictures. My mom was awkward – she didn’t know how to apologize like a normal person. She would ask for help on random things, and that’s how I knew she was sorry. In those pictures, what stood out to me wasn’t the bald spots but her frail, pale-looking hands parting her hair. That broke me. I knew it was time I went to see her. I had exams at the time – I was studying for my second degree, exhausted from sleepless nights. But as soon as I was done with my paper, the very next day, I went to see her. The thoughts that came to my mind were, “She looks like someone who has AIDS but doesn’t take their meds.” Growing up, I wanted to be a doctor, so I watched and read a lot about in the yard. In order for me to see her, I couldn’t call out one of the boys to hold the dogs, so I had to call her out of the house. She walked out hunched over – pale, thin. I had another one of those daily visions again. I wanted to take her with me, but she refused. She wanted to stay with the boys. My mom was as stubborn as I was, if not more. If she said no, she meant it. I lived in Molepolole, so I would cook, bring her meals, and go to school. The meals seemed to make her happy, but she wasn’t getting better. She was getting worse and had a terrible cough. I asked her to go see a doctor, but again, she refused. A day or two later, she sent me a message saying she fell at home and had been taken to the doctor. She kept insisting it was nothing, just that her hand hurt. The next day, I went to see her. I just knew my mom had a mild stroke and collapsed. She was engaging in conversation, but she kept drifting. I asked her if the doctors said it
was a stroke, and she said no, she just tripped and fell. I didn’t believe her. I felt she wasn’t telling me the truth. I knew God was speaking to me again. you tomorrow.” I remember telling the ladies in her ward to take care of her until I came back. I didn’t know that would be the last time I saw her. Immediately after I left her, I called my big brother and told him to leave Letlhakane. “Mummy is sick. She looks like someone who has AIDS and isn’t taking their meds,” I said to him. He immediately left and came back to Gaborone the next day. When he saw her, we forced her out of the house. My brother and I are the most stubborn in the family, and we’re both opinionated and vocal. When we’re together, you can’t convince us otherwise. That’s how we managed to get her to the doctor. That’s when we received the news that my mom indeed had AIDS. On the road back home to Molepolole, I was in a lift, just crying. I didn’t have money to go see her the next day, so I asked my sisterin-love (my big brother’s wife) to assist with cash, and she offered to step in and help with bathing her. She updated me that the smoothie I asked them to buy her, she drank all of it. That made me cry because I had been struggling to get her to eat. That’s when she opened up to us – she had it since the year 2000 and never told us. I called my aunts, grandmothers, and uncles to break the news, because now those vivid visions were no longer visions; we were living them out. My mom was admitted at Marina Hospital and didn’t want to see anyone. She snapped at me when I told her that the aunties and my grandmother wanted to visit her. “O nê o ba bolêlêla gore ba reng! Ha ke batle batho bao.” She was losing her mind, but when she said that, it felt like her normal self speaking. That’s when I knew it was God speaking through her. For a month, I went to Marina daily. I bathed her, took care of her, and tried to prepare my brothers for her passing, but they wouldn’t listen. They were hopeful. But God had shown me, and I knew it was time. On my last visit, I said, “Bye bye, mummy. I’ll see The next day, after a deep sleep like I had never slept before, I woke up to missed calls from the hospital. I knew she was gone. I didn’t have airtime to return the calls, so as I was about to text my sister-in-love, my young brother called me. Before I even answered, I felt like a hand was placed on my back. I feel this whenever I’m overwhelmed, and I knew it was God bracing me for what was to come. The hand felt so gentle, like a friend’s embrace when you are crying. I answered the call: “Mummy o vailê, Rose-Marie.” “Okay.” “Kare mummy o vailê; oa nkutlwa.” “Yeah, ke a go utlwa.” I didn’t cry. My heart felt soothed. I was so calm. I knew God was with me. I walked to our bedroom, woke my husband, and told him my mom was gone. I told my kids that Kuku was gone. Then I walked outside and brushed my teeth to get ready to go to Gaborone. I didn’t cry. I couldn’t cry. I had to hold everyone around me together. I didn’t have the luxury to be weak – which is what I felt crying would be at the time. My brother and my mother were my soulmates. When my brother passed after I prayed that prayer, I bargained with God. I told Him I would never sing again because I was too broken. I said the same thing to my mom before she passed. But while I was bathing her, I asked if I should sing for her, and she kept saying yes. For someone whose mind kept drifting, she never missed listening to me sing. It always seemed to make her feel better. She would smile all the time. I don’t believe I am a good singer. I don’t believe I am a good person or better than anyone. I am so insecure. I go all out for everyone around me except myself. It took losing my brother and my mom for me to finally shut down and crash. I turned inward. I focused on myself more. Since then, God has placed a burden on my life – to just sing. This is who I am. It is my purpose. My brother passed away four years ago, my mom three years ago. In losing them, I had nowhere else to go but back to God. He gave me a vision of me singing in front of thousands of people. I don’t particularly like this vision because He hasn’t revealed how I will get there. But He has reassured me that He is with me – with that hand on my back. Whenever I’m given an opportunity to sing, no matter how small it is, no payment, even when I can’t afford to look presentable, I just sing. Balancing grief while being a mother, wife, and sister is hard. I never believed I was a people pleaser, but I get fulfilled taking
self-love. I lost a great part of myself when I lost them, so now I spend most of my time alone, asking God what is next. I have daily conversations with Him. He gives me strength to function in my different roles. God’s hand. I don’t sound perfect – my voice needs a lot of work – maybe that’s the perfectionist in me talking. But as long as I get to feel that hand, I feel strong and energized to conquer anything. I don’t think I’m the best, but being reassured by God daily with His hand makes me feel less alone. It makes me feel good about myself and teaches me to love myself – something I don’t particularly know how to do. I feel a lot closer to God now than I ever have. I feel He understands me the way a God-given husband understands his wife’s body in intimacy. I have an intimate relationship with God daily. Of course, I drop the ball with my stubbornness and temper, but He has been calmly directing and correcting me in this season. Sometimes, I’ll be on TikTok listening to songs, and then Pastor Mike McClure or Mel Robbins will come on with something that ministers to me or corrects me in that exact moment. He has kept me. He gives me a reason to be a soft girl, to be gentle, to be honest, to have authority when I speak – to just be myself. He has given me room to be myself, and that’s where we are right now. God was and is my source of healing and strength. For the past four years, I wasn’t singing. God reintroduced me to myself, and just this past year, I started singing in church again. The more I did it, the more testimonies I received from people in church, and the more God kept placing His hand on my back. So, I have been singing in church non-stop since last year because I just want to feel Rose-Marie Baloyi To put it plainly, I always feel like giving up. I have self-sabotaged all my life, but I am unlearning it by keeping my focus on God. I just want to feel Him, and He helps me refocus and not lose sight of the vision of me singing in front of thousands. I had to understand that God gave me willpower. The devil has a lot of opinions about what I should do when I’m broken, but through the teachings of Pastor Mike McClure and conversations with my husband, I’ve learned that I am the only person who can shape and change any situation I am in. So I’ve been deciding to daily seek God. He placed His hand on me when my whole world was falling apart, and it felt good. Since then, I just want to find Him even in the smallest things I do – eating, talking to colleagues, even taking a toilet break. I just want to feel God. That’s where faithfulness starts: looking for Him in everything. And He will provide countless opportunities to make that The Kingdom Connection Mag faithfulness known to yourself, and in turn, heal you. I have so much grace. I have so much peace just from being with God in my grief. The story I narrated to you, I’ve shared with colleagues in the music industry and at work. Some have told me it helped them see God in a different light, and to see themselves as worthy of His attention and love. “O nthatile.” God has loved me so much. I am because He is. I breathe because of Him. I have to constantly detach whenever I find myself veering off or tempted to have conversations that don’t please God. I have trained my mind, and I am constantly training it to find God in everything. It helps me approach others with grace without overwhelming myself with what He hasn’t called me to handle. I go where He says I should go. I’ve recently stopped doing anything until He says yes. That hand, it has helped me be aware of myself and not neglect who I am. I said this to my husband in one of our conversations: God uses anything and anyone to speak. He used a donkey; what should stop Him from using my grief to teach me how to walk people through theirs? God is for the broken, neglected, and damaged. He just needs you to open up and let Him in. You don’t have to be fancy with your words. A simple, “God, I need You,” will suffice. My mom left us with Psalm 119:105 – “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” I leave it with you. I have been reading His Word as a way to hear Him better. Try it and see what He will reveal to you. Let God be your friend. You won’t regret it.
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Master Your Money: A personal guide Ms. Esther Mpete filling their financial aspirations while ensuring security. Characteristics of Effective Financial Planning Three essential elements characterize successful financial planning: Personal Financial Planning: A Pathway to Financial Security In today’s fast-paced world, managing finances effectively has become more crucial than ever. Personal financial planning is not merely a recommendation but a necessity for anyone looking to secure their financial future. This article delves into the nuances of personal financial planning, its importance, the various categories of financial planners based on personality types, and the essential principles to successfully manage your finances. 1. Financial Discipline: The cornerstone of effective financial management is the ability to exercise restraint and self-control. Individuals must develop a clear understanding of their spending habits, which can be heavily influenced by their personality types. 2. Risk Management: Life is unpredictable, and financial crises can surface at any moment. Effective personal financial planning involves preparing for risks such as job loss, illness, or unforeseen expenses. Establishing a risk management plan and using insurance wisely can mitigate the impact of these potential setbacks. 3. Understanding Temperaments: Recognizing one’s temperament can greatly influence financial behavior. The four temperaments—cholerics, sanguines, melancholics, and phlegmatics—impact how indi- Understanding Personal Financial Planning Personal financial planning encompasses all financial decisions and activities of an individual, including assessing one’s current financial situation, predicting short and long-term financial needs, and developing an actionable plan to meet those needs within existing financial constraints. The goal is to provide a blueprint that guides individuals toward ful- viduals interact with money. For instance, cholerics may be assertive and disciplined in financial decision-making, while sanguines might be impulsive buyers. Un- derstanding these traits can help pinpoint weaknesses and foster positive financial behaviors. Types of Financial Planners Based on personality and temperament types, there are various financial planners, each exhibiting distinct financial behaviors: - Savers: Often characterized by reliability and caution, savers prioritize saving over spending and may shy away from taking financial risks. While their conservative nature offers stability, it may also limit their capacity to build wealth effectively. - Planners: Planners exhibit discipline and adhere to budgets and long-term strategies. They engage regularly with financial advisors and take calculated risks to achieve significant gains. Their ability to diversify investments and implement savings plans leads to a stress-free financial outlook. - Deniers: This group dismisses the importance of financial planning, often believing that they will manage without any concrete strategies. Because they live each day as it comes without planning, deniers frequently face financial setbacks and may rely heavily on government support during retirement, which can lead to financial insecurity. - Strugglers: Strugglers grapple with low income and financial burdens. They may feel that saving is unattainable due to their limited resources. However, even individuals with low income can achieve financial stability through careful planning and spending within their means.
Effective Financial Planning Strategies Effective Financial Planning Strategies To navigate personal finance successfully, individuals must adhere to several fundamental principles: 1. Establish an Emergency Fund: An emergency fund is crucial for covering unforeseen expenses and preventing financial mishaps from derailing your financial plan. 2. Implement a Budget: A budget serves as a guideline for managing income and expenses. It provides clarity on where money is going and encourages mindful spending. It also propels personal excellence to assess one’s budgeting habits over time, and to self-evaluate financial progress at least once every year. 3. Prioritize Needs Over Wants: Understanding the difference between essential needs and discretionary spending is vital. Focus on making investments that yield long-term benefits rather than indulging in immediate pleasures. 4. Diversify Investments: Avoid putting all eggs in one basket by investing across various asset classes, including real estate, stocks, bonds, and business ventures. This helps mitigate potential risks and fosters financial growth. 5. Debt Management: Differentiating between good debt (mortgages or educational loans) and bad debt ensures financial stability in old age. The Relationship with Money Developing a healthy relationship with money is foundational for achieving financial goals. Regularly engaging in self-reflection about spending habits, evaluating the necessity of expenses, and tracking the flow of money can lead to enhanced financial awareness and discipline, and ultimately financial growth and freedom. In conclusion, successfully navigating personal financial planning is about more than merely allotting budgets and setting aside savings—it’s about building a secure future that offers peace of mind and financial freedom. By being disciplined, understanding individual dispositions, managing risks efficiently, and employing (credit for non-essential purchassound financial strategies, anyone es) is crucial. While some debts are manageable and can contribute can achieve their financial goals to wealth creation, others can lead and elevate their overall quality of life. In essence, personal financial to significant financial strain. planning is a proactive approach 6. Plan for Retirement: Setting aside money for retirement early is to bringing future aspirations into the present to create a stable and vital. Utilizing various retirement prosperous tomorrow. accounts and investment vehicles Deuteronomy 30:19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live TO ADVERTISE HERE CONTACT +267 74 442 900 | +267 75 486 364 kingdomconnection.official@gmail.com
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