Who supplies your needs?

A simple but eye opening question for today.

Are you looking to your job and your own efforts to supply your needs or are you living by God’s principles, implementing His ways of doing things and therefore seeing Him supply your needs?

How to Protect Your Money

I think it’s safe to assume that no one has extra money they just want to throw away. Therefore, it’s important that we do whatever we can to protect the money we work hard for.

One simple way to protect your money is to let your senators and representatives know that you do not want tax increases. That isn’t a statement from any particular party. It’s coming from a citizen who is concerned with the scary precedent that is being set.

Right now it sounds harmless . . . hey, just take it from the rich guy. He won’t miss it. However, that starts us down a very slippery slope. What is going to prevent those same people you elected from starting to lower the baseline? What will prevent those elected officials from slipping in a new bill that raises your taxes to 50% of your income? It sounded ok when the guy down the street had to pay that much but now it doesn’t sound like such a great idea when it affects your bank account does it?

Don’t be misguided by the news reports and Obama’s marketing campaign about “change.” Use your own common sense to review the facts and make an informed decision. Don’t let the government spend YOUR money under the guise of a major economic crisis. That is just a slick way of slipping in a whole bunch of new payouts without anyone looking. These elected officials are supposed to vote on your behalf. If yours are not, make your voice heard. Start calling and writing letters letting them know you didn’t vote them into office to act like this. You are paying their salary and they report to you. Don’t let them trick you into thinking they know best. You know how best to spend your money. Don’t hand it over to someone else to spend for you. If you don’t stand up for the right to keep your hard earned money, who else will?

Do You Have a Billionaire Mindset?

I bought a book last year that explained how billionaires think and why that is a key factor in their success. It all starts with something as simple as our thoughts. Interesting eh? I really agree with that.

For example, our poverty mentality says that we need to wash our own car because we want to save the $10 it would cost to pay someone else to do it. However, a billionaire sees his time as his most precious commodity and does the reverse. He pays someone $10 to wash the car and spends that hour doing something that will end up making money him a lot more than $10 in the long run. It may be reading a book on finances or listening to an entrepreneur teach about how he started a business. He sees that $10 as an investment into his future. He believes that his time is worth more than $10 an hour and therefore makes decisions with that in mind. It is the complete opposite of what our instinct tells us to do but the proof is in the pudding. The fact is that they are the billionaires so they must know what they are doing!

What Is Your Money Mgt Style?

Do you live on a strict budget or do you buy what you need and see how it comes out at the end of the month? What are your reasons for your money management style?

Proof Jesus Was Not Poor

I heard a great message this morning that gave Biblical proof that Jesus was not poor. I encourage you to put your doubts and prejudices aside and listen to the below link with an open mind.

Once you click the link below, pick the Tuesday, March 31 message under “God’s View of Prosperity.”

http://www.kcm.org/media/index.php?p=media

To Budget or Not To Budget?

As a Christian, I see a practical and spiritual side to having a personal budget.

First, God told us in Proverbs that wisdom is the principle thing and we are to seek it. I would think that having a plan (i.e. budget) for our finances would be a wise thing to do.

Second, God told us to owe no man anything but to love him therefore debt is not in God’s plan for us. If that’s the case, then we need to learn how to manage our money in a way so that we don’t get into debt situations.

Third, I think the debt situation that some people are in is because of poor money management and poor planning. This is the practical side of a budget. A budget is a way to plan where your money is going to go before you actually spend it. Once the money is spent it is difficult to get it back. You are stuck with the results. But, if you plan how you are going to spend your money ahead of time (with the discipline and dedication to only buy what you have cash to pay for) this will help to prevent overspending which leads to debt.

Fourth, a budget is a great reality check for those who aren’t good with finances. Keeping track of finances doesn’t come natural for everyone but that isn’t an excuse to not properly manage your money. When you actually lay out all of your bills on the table and you total that up, you get a good picture as to where your money is going. Once you have that information, you can now start making the difficult decisions about where to cut back or how to more wisely spend.

Fifth is the spiritual aspect. God said He would supply all of our needs and that we would be lacking for no good thing IF we honor Him, seek Him, obey Him, and put Him first in EVERY area of our life. God has a million ways to make you a millionaire in a day however many of us haven’t proven ourselves faithful stewards in the little therefore we can’t expect much.

As you grow in your faith and your obedience to Him, you will start to see God’s blessing manifest in your life. You won’t need a budget as much anymore because you live by faith and you live according to God’s system of sowing and reaping. Please note that this doesn’t give you a license to buy what you can’t afford. But what it says is that you aren’t limited by what you currently see.

If God wants you to have a new car, you keep believing and standing in faith and God will give you the money so you can go buy it. (Or He may have someone give you a car for free!) The important point to note is that I didn’t say you should go buy the car and then believe God will provide the money some day. You should only do that in the rare situation where God specifically tells you to buy before you have cash in hand. Because again, God said that we are to owe no man anything but to love him and if we were to buy without the money that would be incurring debt. God cannot go against His Word so if He said do not go into debt then He won’t ask you to do something that will put you into debt.

Well, this may be an odd place to end but I think I will call it quits for tonight. Have a great evening!

The American Dream Is Not . . .

Contrary to popular belief, the American dream of wealth, homes, and tangible goods is not handed out for free. The American dream is earned by hard work, integrity and honesty.

Have you noticed that everyone seems to misunderstand the “entitlement” part? We are entitled to the PURSUIT of happiness. That means we are to be allowed to pursue, chase after, or work towards it. It doesn’t mean it is handed out. We are entitled to work hard, demonstrate good character, act ethically and morally, and be a blessing to others. These actions and attitudes, along with a relationship with Jesus, are what produce true happiness in the end.

We’ve seen people try to obtain wealth unethically, immorally, and without character and integrity. As we all now know, this may work temporarily but will eventually end in ruin. Unfortunately, many good people were taken down by those who were trying to take shortcuts to the American dream. It has been a painful time for many people but I hope it has brought an awakening to the corruption in our country. Jesus is coming back soon and He is coming to take the righteous (those in right standing with the Father) back home. This country needs to repent of its evil, immoral and irresponsible actions and make a turn towards the things of God. We need to pray that God will have mercy on our country and that He will hold back judgement on the nations. This may be the last chance to turn back to God before judgement comes. In spite of the tragedies around us, God still has great things in store for us. Stay close to Him and find the wonderful life He has planned for you!

The Word Predicted This Would Happen

Did you know that the Bible predicted what we are seeing right now? I was reading Timothy tonight and was blown away by how it described the people in our world. This is from the NKJV but I strongly recommend that you go to Biblegateway.com and read the Amplified and Message translations as well.

2 Timothy 3:1-9

1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! 6 For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, 7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8 Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; 9 but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.

The good news is that we have the Bible to teach us, lead us, guide us and correct us. It is the manual that tells us how to live the good life that God planned for us!

2 Timothy 3:16-17
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Are You A Warehouse or Distribution Center?

A warehouse is a place where items are stored, set aside and accumulated. A distribution center is a place where items flow freely in and out. When it comes to your money, are you a warehouse or a distribution center?

A warehouse makes me think of a stagnant pond. Without circulation things begin to die. But a distribution center has a constant flow that brings life. God is always searching for people who will be distribution centers because He wants to use them to bring life to other people.

One thing that’s important to note is that before God will start giving you money, He needs to know that you will be a faithful steward and use it how He desires. To start, He may ask you to buy a simple cup of coffee for someone. Sounds easy, right? However, He then tells you to give it to the lady you don’t like at work. Will you do it out of obedience to God or will you walk away? As we prove ourselves in these little tests He will begin to entrust bigger things to us.

My husband and I have fun giving big tips at restaurants. I love to think about how excited the waitress will be when she picks up the tip after we’ve left and finds it is more than expected. It seems simple but if we learn to hear God in these situations, we will be better able to hear him in bigger situations. I know some people who have given away cars, houses and airplanes because God asked them to. We aren’t there yet but I would love to get there some day.

If you want to learn to become a distribution center for God it is very easy. Simply make your heart’s desire known to God and ask Him to use you to reach others. It’s an exciting journey that you will never regret!

Can Money Fix Things?

There is a common misconception that preachers (or even just Christians) should give all they have to the poor and live in poverty. Here are the reasons I strongly disagree.

1. Jesus wasn’t poor. In fact, He had so much money He had His own treasurer who kept track of things. He also tells us that He came to give us life, in abundance, to the full, until it overflows. (John 10:10) That certainly doesn’t sound like He wants us to live a life of never enough and barely getting by.

2. How can you help someone else out of poverty if you are struggling? When you are focused on your own struggles, it is hard to devote any time to helping others. That is why the devil works so hard to get people to believe the lie that we are to be poor. You end up spending all of your time trying to make ends meet and trying to find out how you are going to pay the next bill. God tells us in the Bible that we are blessed to be a blessing but you can’t be a blessing if you yourself are spending all of your time working on your own problems.

3. God gives us the overflow (John 10:10) so that we can use it to bless others. Philippians tells us that God will supply all of our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. God wants to meet our needs and give us a surplus so that we can use it to be a blessing to others.

Deuteronomy 28:11 “And the Lord shall make you have a surplus of prosperity, through the fruit of your body, of your livestock, and of your ground, in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you.”

II Corinthians 9:6-11
“6[Remember] this: he who sows sparingly and grudgingly will also reap sparingly and grudgingly, and he who sows generously [[a]that blessings may come to someone] will also reap generously and with blessings.

7Let each one [give] as he has made up his own mind and purposed in his heart, not reluctantly or sorrowfully or under compulsion, for God loves (He [b]takes pleasure in, prizes above other things, and is unwilling to abandon or to do without) a cheerful (joyous, “prompt to do it”) giver [whose heart is in his giving].(A)

8And God is able to make all grace (every favor and [c]earthly blessing) come to you in abundance, so that you may always and under all circumstances and whatever the need [d]be self-sufficient [possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation].

9As it is written, He [the benevolent person] scatters abroad; He gives to the poor; His deeds of justice and goodness and kindness and benevolence will go on and endure forever!(B)

10And [God] Who provides seed for the sower and bread for eating will also provide and multiply your [resources for] sowing and increase the fruits of your righteousness [[e]which manifests itself in active goodness, kindness, and charity].(C)

11Thus you will be enriched in all things and in every way, so that you can be generous, and [your generosity as it is] administered by us will bring forth thanksgiving to God.”

4. Handouts are temporary. Attitude and behavior changes make permanent lifestyle improvements. Preachers could give everything they have to the poor but once the money runs out the people will be poor again. Why? Because poverty is a lifestyle that can’t be fixed by throwing money at it.

This is why so many people have a problem with the bailout. It is giving money to people who have demonstrated irresponsible behavior. The problem is that it conditions people that you will be rewarded for bad behavior and you don’t have to be accountable because someone else will bail you out. Neither are principles that you will find in the Bible.

Before you can use money to fix something, you need to fix the underlying issue. In this case it is immorality, irresponsibility, greed, entitlement attitudes, and lack of accountability. Once those attitudes and behaviors are corrected, then money can be used to help the situation. Without a change in attitude or behaviors the same thing will keep happening because people didn’t learn the right lesson from the situation.

Perhaps the best example is the little adage everyone has heard.

Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime.

If a preacher gave all his money away he might help one person stay out of bankruptcy for a month. Now both of them are going to be need help after that month because both have run out of money. However, if the preacher teaches the man how to live, based on practical steps and Christian principles, that man will change his life. In addition, that man can now go teach others the same lesson and so on. This is how you get a generation out of debt and dispair. You preach the Gospel which means “Good News” and you teach people how to live by God’s principles.

There is a reason that God said “owe no man anything but to love him.” God knew that living in debt brings despair, hopelessness, fear, worry, poverty, etc. It makes us focus on ourselves so we can’t get out and be a blessing to others. It also takes our eyes off of God as our source and we look to our own means to supply our needs.

There is a reason that God said “where your money is your heart is also.” He knew that what you spend your money on shows what you treasure in your heart. Our number one priority is supposed to be God and if our money doesn’t reflect this, then we are treasuring the wrong thing.

There is a reason that God said “the LOVE of money is the root of all evil.” Money is not evil. It is the LOVE of it. It is when you treasure money above your relationship with God that it becomes a problem because God said “You shall have no other gods besides Me.” If money is number 1 in your life then that is your god. You have broken the first commandment.

We need to keep the right perspective on money. God supplies our needs if we put Him first place in our lives. He gives us money so that we can be a blessing to other people. Money by itself cannot fix anything. It is supposed to be a tool that helps others. We can fix things only by God’s saving grace, Christian principles and a wise financial decisions.