Think Smart, Take Care of Your Heart/0 Comments/in /by

The heart is smart. It regulates our emotions, desires, thoughts and intents. The Bible says, “… for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7).

This is a spiritual saying; however, it can also be applied physically

Physically, the heart is the engine that keeps the body alive. When not taken care of properly, the heart can develop several types of heart conditions called “heart disease.” The most common type of heart disease in the United States is coronary artery disease (CAD), which affects the blood flow to the heart.

Decreased blood flow can cause a heart attack, which is often the first sign of heart disease. What causes CAD is plaque buildup (deposits of cholesterol and other substances) on the walls of the arteries. The arteries supply blood to the heart and other parts of the body. Plaque buildup causes the inside of the arteries to narrow over time, which could partially or totally block the blood flow. This process is called atherosclerosis.

When your heart muscle doesn’t get enough blood, you may have chest pain or discomfort, called angina. Over time, CAD can weaken the heart muscle. This may lead to heart failure, causing the heart to not be able to pump blood the way it should.  An irregular heartbeat, or arrhythmia, also can develop CAD.

To find out your risk of CAD, your health professional may measure your blood pressure, cholesterol, and sugar levels. Several other medical conditions and lifestyle choices can also put people at a higher risk for heart disease, including:

  • Diabetes
  • Overweight and obesity
  • Unhealthy eating
  • Physical inactivity
  • Excessive alcohol use
  • Smoking tobacco
  • Family history

If God looks at the heart, we should too. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women.  The staggering statistics show that about half of Americans (49%) have at least one of the three key heart disease risk factors: high blood pressure, high LDL cholesterol, and smoking. About 610,000 Americans die from heart disease each year – that’s 1 in every 4 deaths. In the United States, someone has a heart attack every 42 seconds; and each minute, someone in the U.S. dies from a heart-related event.[1]

In order to take away the risk of CAD, we must make better lifestyle choices: live stress-free, control weight – fight obesity, eat healthy, put fitness into the schedule, stop smoking, reduce/no alcohol intake, and break the family curse!  It’s time to think smart about how we take care of our heart…“for out of it are the issues of LIFE.” (Proverbs 4:23)

Tracy Byrd, Certified Fitness Instructor

[1] Information taken from www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts
DON’T TOUCH THAT PHONE!/0 Comments/in /by
Numerous times a day I see it…People driving and texting or driving and talking on their phone (while holding their phone).  If you are not aware, the Nevada Legislature passed a law that prohibits and/or limits a person from using a cell phone while driving. 
 
The law applies to a person operating a motor vehicle on a highway in the State of Nevada.  The term highway means any road, street, freeway, etc. that the public has access to.  Arguably, this could apply to driving in parking lots.  To be clear, the law prohibits the use of texting, searching the internet, reading email, instant messaging, etc. while operating a vehicle.  So technically even if you are stopped at a light you would be breaking the law if you were reading your emails or texting.  As such, there is no reading or typing while operating a vehicle.
The law does allow for a person to use a cellphone while operating a vehicle if they are using an accessory that allows the use of the phone to be hands-free.  Therefore, any Bluetooth device or earpiece will allow you to follow the law and talk.   The law specifically states that a person is allowed to use the phone “to activate, deactivate or initiate a feature or function on the device.”  You may ask what about holding the cell phone and using the speaker function while driving?   This would not meet the definition of hands-free and therefore would be illegal.  
Drivers who use their phones as a GPS are advised to program the location prior to taking the wheel and then never to touch the phone during the trip. Picking up the device or programming information into the device while driving is a crime in Nevada. Last, if playing music on a cell phone requires the phone to be in the driver’s hand at any time, then it is technically illegal. Nevada police have been advised to assume that any driver who is holding or touching a cell phone is violating NRS 484B.
The Statute requires the following fine schedule:
a.    First offense within 7 years is $50, and is not considered a moving violation.
b.    Second offense within 7 years is $100, moving violation
c.    Third offense within 7 years is $250, moving violation
 
Tanika M. Capers, Esq.
When Was the Last Time/0 Comments/in /by
When was the last time you spent intimate time with God and requested your true heart’s desires, and included His will?
 
Mark 11:24 says, “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”
 
God is exceedingly able to grant us the desires of our hearts, according to His will. When we ask, we must also remember to ask Him, what He desires of us. The blessings of God are transactional. What we bring to Him in Jesus name, according to His will, He blesses; including our prayers.
 
As you ask Him for what you desire, be sure to ask Him, what He desires of you. 
You want the blessings of His will over your life.
 
Everything goes better with Jesus!
Minister Rashieda Shabazz
Sweet Dreams/0 Comments/in /by
When it comes to retirement, we all have dreams. We all have thoughts about the days of when we no longer have to get up to go to our place of employment.  What do your retirement plans look like?  Whether our retirement dreams look like us continuing to work at a job we enjoy (but at our own pace), or if they consist of just lying on a beach in Tahiti, they all have one thing in common; the future.  But how do we get that dream future? How do we retire with dignity?  When should we start thinking about retirement?
Besides Social Security, there are other federal approved retirement plans that allow you to prepare for retirement and it would be wise to take advantage of them; some of the most commonly known plans are 401ks, 403bs, and IRAs.  401k and 403b plans are investment vehicles sponsored by your employer but are administered by investment firms such as Fidelity, Merrill Lynch, Prudential, etc.  Not all employers offer such plans, but when available, they should be used because they are excellent plans for building wealth and the preparing for retirement.
401ks, 403bs, and IRAs are savings and investment accounts, but they come with restrictions on withdrawing the money.  Why would the government put limitations on the access to YOUR money?  That’s easy, because YOU get tax benefits for taking advantage of these great plans. And if there are two certainties in your life, they are death and taxes.  These retirement accounts are NOT to be treated as “piggy banks’ for you to withdraw money whenever you feel like you need it.  The money is supposed to be for retirement; for example, below are three main reasons as to why taking money out of your 401k is a bad idea.
1.    First, it is extremely expensive in the short term. Typically, the administrator of your 401k is required to withhold 20% for the money you want to withdraw and send it to directly to the IRS for any taxes (federal and state) that are due on the money.  And to compound the issue, there is a 10% penalty for early withdrawals! That is money just lost. But it gets worse!!!
2.    Secondly, it is extremely expensive in the long term.  Money taken out of a person’s 401k misses out on the greatest passive wealth building phenomenon known to man; compound interest.
3.    Thirdly, taking money out of a retirement plan may actually create debt. Some retirement plans allow you to withdraw your funds but require you (by garnishing your paycheck) to pay the money back with interest. But we are trying to live debt free (remember the affirmation we say before offering time at every service!). And even though you are “paying yourself interest” you still end up losing the opportunity to do something more important with that money.
So, for example, if you are under 591/2 yrs old and pulled $5,000 from your retirement savings to give, after taxes and fees, your $5,000 is only $3,500!  And that $5,000 you removed from your account cannot gain compound interest which over 30 years, using a conservative interest rate of 7%, could have cost you over $57,500 at retirement when you need to money the most!  Is the $3,500 gift now worth more than your $57,500 sacrifice? Probably not! There usually is a better answer.
Will you have enough money to achieve your retirement dreams? When we reach retirement, we all want our lives to be good testimonies for God as we look back over our lives and say, “Look at how God has prospered me!”  But we hinder the work of God by being impetuous, impulsive, and impatient.  Putting away money to retire with dignity is not only a good idea, it’s a biblical idea.  So, let’s exercise some patience and only use the retirement savings if it is absolutely necessary.  And as we show discipline, God will reward our faithfulness in the fullness of time. God bless!
Please join us, starting April 1, for our next sessions of Financial Peace University (FPU).  Registration is now open in the MFM Bookstore.  The investment is only $100 total for your entire household.  See the entire schedule below.  If you are unable to attend a particular class, no worries, you will not miss out on any information. Ask us how.
Alfred King, Financial Consultant
Learning How to Rebuild Your Life “Regaining Your Faith”/0 Comments/in /by

Today Is a Day of New Beginnings!

We are about to enter into a new season. We are in a new time change and a new process of time. I believe God has been preparing us for the winter season, to embrace another level of faith in Him.
Do you believe God is challenging you? Is He stretching you to trust Him, like never before? I truly believe that God is up to something GREAT, and it includes us! I feel the Spirit of Increase in the atmosphere, and God is not only shifting you into purpose, but favor has been multiplied upon the saints. (I Kings 17)
I Kings 17 represents a transition of faith; both for the prophet and the widow woman. I want to encourage you that God has no respect of person. When you give out of obedience, God will always cover you and bless you. God is directing you to your place of abundance. His blessings also come with instructions.

God gave Elijah three instructions:
1. “Get thee hence”. Your next blessing will require movement, God will challenge you to leave some comfort zones.
2. “Go Eastward”. God is going to give you Divine Direction to your opportunity.
3. “Hide thyself by the brook”. There are times when isolation is only a temporary place for God to build your faith. God will hide you, so that you will not take the wrong people into your next place of greatness.

These 3 minor steps challenged the prophet. Through his obedience, we can glean that our perception of God must be greater than our circumstances. God is challenging you to Believe in His Word.

The Prophet would drink from a brook, but God would provide food from ravens. This is so encouraging when you see God and man working together. God is going to supply your needs through unfamiliar channels. I believe that even in your tight places, God is commanding resources to come to you. The brook and the ravens represent temporary provision. In this season of trusting God, do not allow yourself to become comfortable or make a temporary place of sustainability stunt your expectation for greater. After that season was over, Elijah had to be shifted again to leave and go find a widow woman, who God had already instructed to bless him.

In this next season of your life, people, places, and connections have already been assigned to you. This is not a season that you have to fight to be blessed. God is rewarding your faith and how you trusted Him in tough times. Tough times do not outlast tough individuals! This is a season that the momentum of believing God and the Word that He spoke to you is coming to pass; suddenly! God is connecting you to bring you into a lifetime of favor. Not only will your blessing increase, but the avenues that bless you will also experience the Hand of God. We are entering a realm of blessings that we’ve not experienced before.

Amos 9:13 declares, “Behold, the days come, saith The Lord , that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.”

Rebuild your faith, regain your expectation, do not get stuck in your transition, and see and confess that things are turning in your favor. My prayer for you is that you will not be moved by what you see, neither by what you feel, but only by what you Believe.

We Believe God!
Pastor Clinton House