In a world that wants us to find happiness by gaining more and more possessions, Jesus wants to speak to us about the importance of living simply. When we live simply we gain; contentment outside of our possessions, a new perspective on what our real needs are, we become free from debt so we can invest in God's kingdom and we learn to live by faith.

When we believe and trust in the gospel message, Jesus comes into our lives and we are brought into this wonderful heavenly relationship with God through Him. But He also brings us into a relationship with one another, other believers who have responded to the same gospel message. He wants us to partner together so that we may continue to share this message with the whole world. This is what we see happening with Paul and the church at Philippi, Paul says he "prays with joy because of their partnership in the gospel."

Jesus is the Prince of Peace and as He sends us out into the world He tells us to look for People of Peace to share the Gospel with. What is a Person of Peace? It is someone that will welcome both the messenger and the message and be a doorway for a whole new community coming to hear the Gospel. Today we look at Lydia whose heart was opened by God to receive the message of salvation and then opened the way for others to hear the Gospel.

God's message of salvation cannot be found in a version of Jesus that suits us. The central message of the gospel has been given to us in written form to ensure it is the message that God wants us to hear. As Christians, we have the responsibility to reach out to others who do not know Christ so that they have the opportunity of believing on Him and receiving eternal life.

We can see troubles that were happening in the early churches of the New Testament. Over the centuries, things did not change much in the church with rules, regulations and self interests dominating, when what should have been shown was love to others. Today, when facing issues in the church, we need to determine what God wants. We need to show love to others by what we do - love in action! How will you react when faced with a difficult situation?