People of Peace

Carrying the Good News of Jesus is about being people of peace, demonstrating to those we meet the love of Christ by our words and actions. People of peace are also those who are receptive to this message, that when they have the opportunity to hear, they are ready to receive. In the Book of Acts, Lydia is a person of peace in this way:

Acts 16: 11 - 15 (MSG)

11-12 Putting out from the harbor at Troas, we made a straight run for Samothrace. The next day we tied up at New City and walked from there to Philippi, the main city in that part of Macedonia and, even more importantly, a Roman colony. We lingered there several days.

13-14 On the Sabbath, we left the city and went down along the river where we had heard there was to be a prayer meeting. We took our place with the women who had gathered there and talked with them. One woman, Lydia, was from Thyatira and a dealer in expensive textiles, known to be a God-fearing woman. As she listened with intensity to what was being said, the Master gave her a trusting heart—and she believed!

15 After she was baptized, along with everyone in her household, she said in a surge of hospitality, “If you’re confident that I’m in this with you and believe in the Master truly, come home with me and be my guests.” We hesitated, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Paul is a person of peace, travelling into Europe with the message of the Gospel and seeking out those receptive to his message. One of those is Lydia, who has a heart for God's work and is ready and receptive to listen to the message of God's love through Jesus and in response she and her whole household is baptized and she offers spontaneous hospitality to Paul and his followers so that they have a base for their work in Macedonia, an offer of hospitality that enables their ministry.

In our lives, we need to be people of peace, carrying the message of God's love to those that we meet and welcoming them in with our hospitality, but we also need to be ready to look for those people of peace who are ready to hear and welcome Jesus into their lives and to those whose actions enable mission and welcome even if they do not know the love of Jesus, to be receptive ourselves to what they have to offer.

For many of our Ely and District CAP clients, reaching out to ask for help and welcoming our debt coaches and visit team into their homes is a big step, and even if they are not open to the message of God's love, non-judgmental welcome, hospitality and caring support can make a huge difference to their lives. 

A worrying trend recently, both nationally and locally, is for clients to have a negative budget, a budget that even with the expert help of CAP head office is unsustainable for the basic necessities of life. Even if these clients were to go through a debt relief order, they would only fall into debt again as their income is unsustainable. For these clients, the only option is to work on maximising their income first before they can consider any form of debt relief. And this is only expected to get worse with the cancellation of winter fuel payments and the continuing pressures on the costs of basic necessities such as energy and food.

This is why the Ely and District CAP team is working to implement income maximisation alongside the CAP journey for our local clients, helping to provide tools not just for the journey out of debt but for a more financially secure future, helping to remove or reduce one burden to help give the freedom of relief and space to focus on building a better quality of life.

Prayer

Please pray for the team as they prepare the Student Money Coaching course and for all students who are moving on to further education or into work, that they would be inspired with confidence at this exciting and challenging time of transition.

Please pray for all our team, that they would be people of peace for our clients, demonstrating the love of God to them through their actions as well as their words.

Please pray for all our Ely and District CAP clients, give thanks that they have reached out for help and pray that they would know the love and support of Christ in the love and support of the Ely and District CAP team, helping to enrich their lives and give them strength to face whatever burdens they carry.

Please pray especially for those facing negative budgets and a longer journey before they can become debt free. Pray for the implementation of the income maximisation process, that this will help make a difference to their lives.