MOney Wisdom 2

Hi all,
I'm continuing the series about wisdom in finances, but first... A small group of us from our Tulsa house churches will be visiting our Arlington, Texas affiliate on Sunday November 14. If you can join us email Jason and Verna Snoddy at snoddyfam@sbcglobal.net.

To the right you'll see links to Saturday's Webinar (6 Nov) on "The Kingdom of Heaven". Part 1 is understanding Jesus as an Oriental King. This is how I walk with the Father and Lord - the perspective I have and how I approach them. It will help many pieces of your puzzle about God fall into place.

Also to the right, a new 2-cd series "What the Bible really says about divorce". Lastly, my new 4-cd series "Salvation Displayed in the Stars" also includes a 36 page study guide. It's about God's original intention when He said in Genesis 1:14 of the stars: "Let them be for signs..." They've been perverted by mythology and horoscopes and such, but this study goes back to the original star names, original pictures portrayed in the constellations, and so much more.

Bringing you up to speed
Last week I shared that while the opening of the windows of heaven in Malachi 3 for those hearers in 400BC was literal rain for their crops, for us the 'water' is a type of the flowing Holy Spirit in revelation, creativity, and wisdom sent to water our "crops" - our work, family, possessions, etc. Today I'm building on that.

The issue: I'm not getting rich on $4.25 an hour
Most pastors preach that if you give to God He will give you increase, so church members naturally look for at least some 'bump' in their finances from God when they give; something to indicate God is really fulfilling what they believe He promised to do. When that doesn't happen they wonder what they are doing wrong.

I've talked to people working hard at hourly jobs wondering why God isn't giving them the big increase. I've talked to salaried employees wondering the same thing - they give generously to their own financial hurt, yet seem to be treading water in their bank account.

Back in the late 1970's to early 1980's the fad doctrine many pastors focused on then was the 100 fold return. In the 80's there was talk of giving to the temple in order to be blessed. In the 90's giving to the apostle or pastor, sometimes so corrupted they demand the tithe to the church, but any outside income has to be tithed directly to the man of God. (Run don't walk to the nearest exit)

Today the fad is to focus on giving as it relates to Jewish feasts. But what goes around comes around, so elements of all these are still out there and pulled off the shelf by pastors from time to time to motivate parishioner's to give, and all have the common denominator of promising wealth & blessing from above.

In 1978-79 I worked at Jim Bakker's PTL Club in Charlotte, NC, and Barb and I faithfully tithed on my $150 per week paycheck (net $111.50), thinking that with every $15 check we wrote we'd get back 100 fold, or $1500, and it couldn't come fast enough. Never did though, and we wondered why.

But we repented of that foolishness when we felt grieved every time we wrote out that check, but didn't know why. One day Barb nailed it. She said that we used to give out of a heart of love, and when we got caught up in the 100 fold return teaching we left love and got into greed, giving expecting a big return right away instead of just giving out of love for God and man - and she was right. As I said, we repented, continued to give, and the Father took care of us, though not with the abundance the preacher said He would. We wondered why.

Back in 1982 I was between churches and took a job with Domino's Pizza. I was 24 years old with a family to support, and the $4.25 per hour made it tough to pay the rent. Just when we needed some cash, I'd get a chance to deliver pizzas which gave me cash and a net hourly pay of about $10. We've always been givers, and we made it through, but we never saw that super abundance our pastor kept saying we'd see. So I started digging in the Word for answers, and asking the Father to show it to me.

What your job does
If you examine the people in the Bible where their jobs are mentioned, you'll find a common fact; Their job puts a roof over their head and not much else. Perhaps I should state it another way: Their jobs alone didn't provide abundance for them. A few examples:
Luke 5:10 says Peter, James, and John were partners in the fishing business, which meant they were business owners, but they were the only 3 employees. They took care of their families, but they weren't rich.

Paul worked as a tent maker in Corinth in Acts 18:1-3 for 18 months or so, the only time he worked a regular job in over 30 years of ministry, but it was needful in Corinth at that time. He partnered with Aquila and Priscilla, but they didn't grow wealthy from it.

When we consider Matthew's job as a tax collector made him sole proprietor and lone employee, and that he could just get up and walk away, shows us he did well enough to support himself, but not above that.

Streams of income
Your job, your single paycheck, should be thought of as a single stream of water flowing towards you. In the Bible, in the examples above, no one gathers wealth by 1 income source, 1 steam flowing towards them.

But there are examples of wealth we can look at to see what God's pattern is. In the book of Job we have just such an example. According to Job 1:3, Job had many streams of income flowing towards him:

7,000 sheep. That meant wool to weave and meat to sell.
3,000 camels. Camels were the semi-trucks, lorries in the King's English, long haul vehicles of the day. That meant Job was into import/export business in long caravans across desert expanses. An average caravan was less than 50 camels, so at any given time he had 60 'trucks' on the caravan road.
500 yoke of oxen, or 1000 oxen. Plus he would have had cows and calves. A yoke of oxen was for plowing fields and grinding grain, so he was a farmer and rancher. He would have had income from milk, cheese, leather, and buying and selling cattle, etc.
500 female donkeys. These were the short haul trucks of his day - local deliveries - individual 'vehicles'.

Look at the streams of income flowing towards him: Wool, mutton, imported goods, more meat, leather, milk, cheese, grain crops, the real estate for that whole operation. Every one of these items is a separate stream flowing towards him. How many streams do you have flowing towards you? How many streams do you have where money is flowing AWAY from you? Cut the outward flow, develop the inward flow.

In chapters 29 & 31 Job talks of how he lived to give and was honest in all his dealings. This included everything from feeding & lodging strangers with his own food, to clothing the needy with his own wool. He was a generous employer and took care of orphans and widows, and God blessed him.

But Job had not 1, but many steams of income flowing towards him, and he built them up over years in concentrated effort, sowing profits back into the business and diversifying as one stream naturally flowed from the original. What I mean by that is the having a cow/calf lends itself to milk, buy a bull and you make more cows, get enough and you can sell meat and milk - one stream is a tributary from the main, and flows TOWARDS you.

For pastors to focus on giving as the end all answer to be blessed financially, is great error and has enslaved many good hearted people. Giving is a part of being financially blessed, but only part. Developing various streams of income is foundational!

Ladies too
Consider the Proverb 31 woman, mentioned in verses 10-31. She owns a weaving business and has employees, and is compared to a merchant ship, meaning she isn't making those linens and wool material for herself, but to sell.

Verse 16 says "She considers a field, and buys it, and with the fruit of her hands (her profit in other words) she plants a vineyard." So she is diversifying to gain other streams of income.

We could make comparisons from Abraham (many streams of income) to Gideon (single stream) to even Jesus, who in Luke 8:3 says many people from various backgrounds gave to support him and his disciples.

If you think your 1 paycheck will make you rich, you are mistaken, unless that income is derived from many streams flowing in. That's just chapter and verse.

Some examples in our day of those streams of income can be retirement plans, stocks and bonds, owning more than 1 business, diversifying a client base, investment in rental properties/land, and so forth.

This principle is the same for businesses. I was asked to provide guidance to a karate studio that was losing money. The owner was the daughter of one of my mom's friends in south Florida, and I could see the problem immediately. She was providing karate instruction to children under the age of 12. That was her sole source of income. She lived among a high concentration of retired people, but catered to kids.

My advice was to meet the needs of her area, and expand to include classes for teens, adults, self protection classes for women, exercise classes in her studio, partner with instructors who would bring clientele in to her shop and work a split on the fees charged, etc. She had never thought of her business as needing several streams of income flowing in.

If a business has 1 main stream, it will dry up, or at least is highly susceptible to changes in the market, just like that employee who's sole source of income is that 1 paycheck from that 1 company.

Putting it together thus far
Last week I shared what the Father taught me about the flow being revelation and wisdom from the Holy Spirit to water our 'crops' - what do you think those creative ideas are for? They are to provide us different streams of income. We have to sort out what ideas work and don't work, as the Proverbs 31 woman 'considered' the field before she invested, but if we do our homework God will bless.

The Father is rarely a get rich quick kind of Father. Rather than depending on miracles to see us through each crises, we are to be in a flow of revelation put to good use to establish different streams of income flowing our way.

Learning what is our responsibility and what is God's, among other things, is the subject for next week.

Blessings,
And once again, remember for personal email to use cwowi@aol.com
John Fenn
www.supernaturalhousechurch. org

Money Wisdon 1

Hi all,
Over the next weeks I'd like to share about what the Bible actually says about finances - and in all probability you've never seen anything like what I'm sharing in these pages.

But first - a small group of us from our Tulsa house churches will be visiting our Arlington, Texas affiliate on Sunday November 14. If you can join us email Jason and Verna Snoddy at snoddyfam@sbcglobal.net.

To the right you'll see links to next Saturday's Webinar (6 Nov) on "The Kingdom of Heaven", part 1 is understanding Jesus as an Oriental King, thus understanding what 'the gospel of the kingdom' is all about. It will explain SO much and help many pieces of your puzzle about God fall into place.

Also a new 2-cd series "What the Bible really says about divorce". There is so much junk teaching out there about divorce, and people don't even realize God Himself is divorced - this series examines why God got divorced, why He gave permission for couples to get divorced, what His intention was, and what Jesus and Paul said about it's place.

Lastly, my new 4-cd series "Salvation Displayed in the Stars" also includes a 36 page study guide. It's about God's original intention when He said in Genesis 1:14 of the stars: "Let them be for signs..." They've been perverted by mythology and horoscopes and such, but this study goes back to the original star names, original pictures portrayed in the constellations, and so much more. (Thus the 36 pg guide). I designed the guide to follow along the cd's as I teach, and also to be read independently for a personal or church Bible study. For anyone wondering about the true meaning in the stars, this is a jaw-dropping study.

Second verse, same as the first
How many times have you tuned out when offering time comes in a traditional church, and the leader says 'Turn to Malachi 3'? Me too. The company line is that if you tithe to the storehouse (traditional church) God will pour blessing out on you that you cannot contain - right? They promise your bank account will overflow, your kids will get saved, you will be healed, promoted, your business deal will go through, you'll sleep better at night, grow your hair back and even lose weight :)

Floodgates explained
Malachi 3:10 says God will "open the floodgates of heaven and pour you out a blessing that there will not be room enough to contain."

I admit I didn't understand what the Lord was saying in this passage until 1987. That's when we moved to a farming community in Southeast Colorado to pastor a church, and local crops were watered by irrigation.

Floodgate is 'head gate' in Hebrew. When we lived in SE Colorado we rented a 14 acre farm, and the owner raised alfalfa on 10 of those acres. A canal flowing from the nearby Arkansas River was about a mile away, and from that canal ran ditches along the road side. Those ditches were called "borrow ditches", because you 'borrowed' the water for your land.

When it was time for your farm to receive water, a man from the water company opened the head gates or flood gates about 1 mile away, and water flowed to your land. The water flowed down the fields in the furrows, and whatever did not soak into the ground flowed to the back of the field and into another ditch, where it flowed to the neighbor's farm, and so on and so on until all the farms were watered.

Not room to contain
Our farm did not have room to contain the blessing that the floodgate/head gate opened for us. The water is the blessing God said He would send that would overflow - I will pour you out a blessing you won't have room to contain. I saw Malachi 3 played out in real life.

Do NOT make the mistake of thinking the blessing is "If I tithe to the storehouse I'll....see a raise at work, close that big deal, show God how seriously I need a financial breakthrough, get my car/life/child/parents fixed and or saved."

All God promises is to pour out WATER to water your crop, He never promised He would increase your crop (your job, your car, your rent, your _____ ). All He promises is to open the flood gate so the water flows.

What is the water then?
Remember everything is based on Christ living in you, and in the Old Testament it was looking forward to these days of Christ in us, so everything is geared towards having Him inside.

Think of the water God pours out. It waters a crop and then the crop grows. Your 'crop' is your bank account, your job, all you own. But what is God's water that He promises to pour out?

What really waters your job, your bank account, your life? Step back and look at it this way; What does water often stand for in scripture? Answer: The Holy Spirit

We know the whole body of Christ operates by revelation from the Father via the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 16:16-19) So the water is revelation from the Holy Spirit that waters your 'crop' - that is what the Father promises to pour out so that you won't have room to contain - revelation from God via the Spirit.

In the work place that means ideas, plans, wisdom for problem solving and finding answers. Can you count the number of times a problem presented itself, you prayed, and suddenly the solution flowed up from your spirit across your mind? That's what I'm talking about - the 'water' is that revelation from the Spirit, which 'waters' your 'crop'.

Chapter and verse please
Remember Jacob and how he peeled bark and placed the 'spotted' branches in front of the animals at the watering trough so that when they mated they'd produce spotted offspring? Know where he got the idea?

That event happened in Genesis 30: 37-43, but in 31:8-13 he says he got that idea in a dream when an angel appeared to him. That 'water', that revelation, caused him to set the branches, which by faith caused the animals to conceive spotted offspring.

Within a few calving and lambing seasons he became so wealthy from that 1 revelation Laban and his agreement to partner with him could not contain the blessing, and he returned to his family. The water was the revelation, the crop was his animals.

Joseph is another example of a man who received such revelation poured out that his life could not contain it. Genesis 41:39-41 says Pharaoh said to Joseph "Since God showed you all this, and there is none so discreet or wise, then you will be in charge of all of my house and Egypt..." The water was the revelation from the interpretation of the dreams, the crop was 7 years of overflowing harvest that fed a nation in famine.

The Proverbs 31 woman, who I'll share more about next week, is seen in verses 10-31, and it says she owns a weaving business. She has employees, she works hard and the demand is so great they have to work into the night to keep up with demand. But then it says "She considers a field...." (v16)

That 'considers a field' is the process of revelation going on in her mind and spirit. That verse goes on to say of the field...'and buys it, and plants a vineyard'. So she has taken the profits of her weaving company, seeks wisdom and revelation about what to do with it, and settles on venturing into the winery business. The water was the 'considers a field', the crop was the new business (and the grace over her existing business).

When Solomon was made king he wanted the nation to receiving God's blessing, so in I Kings 3:2-6 when the Lord appeared to him, he asked for and received wisdom. That's the 'water' that allowed him to prosper, to make right decisions like the famous 'who's baby is it' incident, to the extent he made "...silver as common as stones in the path..." (II Chron 9:27) The water was wisdom in all areas, the crop was a prosperous nation in all areas.

New Testament please
When you realize the water of Malachi 3 represents the revelation of the Holy Spirit being poured out on us, and that in turn waters our 'crops', our jobs, then you'll recognize Jesus operating in this.

Examples include when He told Peter, James and John to cast the nets in deep water in Luke 5: 4-6 and they caught so many fish the boats were overloaded to the point of sinking - they didn't have room to contain them. That wisdom, that revelation, was so overflowing it caused the 'crop' of fish to overflow.

The same of water into wine in John 2, the multitudes fed by a boy's lunch multiplied in John 6, and so on.

We know Jesus was a huge giver, for in John 13:29 when Judas, the treasurer for the group, left at what must have been about 9pm, they all assumed he was leaving to give money to the poor. How many times has someone left you unexpectedly at 9pm and you naturally assumed they were going out to give money to the poor? Exactly. That's how big a giver Jesus was.

In the early church this same 'water', that revelation and wisdom from above, led many in Jerusalem to sell excess lands or properties and give the proceeds, and it was so much they could not contain it - all the needs of all the believers in the city were met and more kept being added! (Acts 4:34-35) The 'water' was the wisdom on what to do with their assets, the 'crop' was all the needs met in the body of Christ in the city.

While God relates to us on the basis of the blood of Jesus, and revelation flows from that, there is a whole other realm of revelation and grace in the lives of those who live to give. The Luke 6:38 statement by Jesus of givers, that it will be given back to givers full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, is merely a re-statement of Malachi 3's overflowing blessing that comes to givers.

Often there is so much revelation it all cannot be acted upon as it would overwhelm us. These things have to be thought through, sorted as to what would work and what would not - run through processes to the point that 'water' can grow a crop, thus blessing the lives of ourselves and others.

Many have gotten an idea, rushed to grow it without doing their homework, thinking just because God gave the idea it will sell - wrong. He gives the 'water', but we have to follow through with diligence.

Joseph did it. He strategically placed storage bins for the overflow and all that entailed . Jacob did it by organizing his animals. The Proverbs 31 woman did it. Jesus operated in it. The church in Acts 2-6 operated in it. Are you a giver? Do you have revelation pouring in your spirit and mind to the point you can't contain all the ideas? Is He pouring that blessing out to the degree you can't contain it sometimes? Then you are just starting to operate in true New Testament giving and receiving as taught in the Word.

I have so many business ideas, inventions, real estate ideas, and have had over the years I could be very rich, but I'm like an OT Levite unable to do that because I'm called in full time ministry. But that doesn't stop 'water' flowing to me - I have more revelation than I can handle.

I'm sure that you too have all sorts of ideas and inventions and wisdom for areas you aren't called to, and some you may be called to. Having revelation isn't a sign you are to do something with it, it's just that our ever creative Father and Lord are so full of life and light, that in every situation that light reveals new things that can be done, new inventions, new ideas...wow, can you imagine how creative the ages to come will be?

BUT...when I start to get low, I pray Paul's prayer of Ephesians 1:17-19, and Colossians 1:9 - fill me with the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation, let the eyes of my understanding be opened, let me be filled with spiritual wisdom and understanding - and I make sure I continue to live a life of giving, for once started on this path, one feeds the other in a never ending flow of revelation and then provision and more revelation...


Blessings, (remember to email me at cwowi@aol.com for personal email)
John Fenn
www.supernaturalhousechurch. org

Finding Financial Freedom Biblical Principles for Wise Financial Management

Finding Financial Freedom
Biblical Principles for Wise Financial Management

Foundations
Cultivate a steward’s mindset.


1. Recognise God created everything
In the beginning there was nothing, and God created (Genesis 1:1).

2. Recognise God owns everything
“‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the LORD Almighty” (Haggai 2:8). “Every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills” (Psalm 50:10). “The earth and the fullness thereof belong to the Lord and all those who live within” (Psalm 37:21).

3. Realise we cannot serve two masters
“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (Matthew 6:24).

4. Use resources wisely
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’” (Matthew 25:21–28).

5. Pursue biblical guidance
“Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline and understanding” (Proverbs 23:23). “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed” (Proverbs 15:22).

6. Plan through prayer
“Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed” (Proverbs 16:3).

7. Be trustworthy in financial dealings
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?” (Luke 16:10–12).


Earning

The Diligent Earner—One who produces with diligence and purpose and is content and grateful for what he or she has. God established work while Adam and Eve were yet in the Garden of Eden. God invited them to join him in the ongoing act of caring for creation. Work before the fall of Adam and Eve is a blessing, not a curse. All work has dignity. Our work should be characterized by the following principles.


1. Be diligent: Serve God
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord” (Colossians 3:23).

2. Provide for those who depend on us
“Those who won’t care for their own relatives, especially those living in the same household, have denied what we believe. Such people are worse than unbelievers” (1 Timothy 5:8).

3. Be grateful: Remember the source of income
“Remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth” (Deuteronomy 8:18).

4. Enjoy your work: Be content in it
“It is good for people to eat well, drink a good glass of wine, and enjoy their work—whatever they do under the sun—for however long God lets them live. And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—that is indeed a gift from God” (Ecclesiastes 5:18-19).

5. Become transformed workers
“Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart” (Ephesians 6:5-6).

6. Earn potential: Share the excess
“If you are a thief, stop stealing. Begin using your hands for honest work, and then give generously to others in need” (Ephesians 4:28).


Giving
The Generous Giver—One who gives with an obedient will, a joyful attitude, and a compassionate heart.


1. Recognise we are created to give
We are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). God is gracious and generous.We will lead a more satisfied and fulfilled life when we give to others.
2. Give as a response to God’s generosity
“Every good and perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17). Therefore, we give out of gratefulness for what we have received.
3. Give as a sign of trust and dependency on God
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).
4. Give to help create economic equality and justice
“Our desire . . . is that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need” (2 Corinthians 8:13-14). Throughout Scripture, God expresses his concern for the poor and calls us to share with those less fortunate.
5. Give to bless others
“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. And I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing” (Genesis 12:2-3). If we are blessed with resources beyond our needs, it is not for the purpose of living more lavishly but to bless others. We are blessed to be a blessing.
6. Be willing to share
“Command them [the rich] to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share” (I Timothy 6:18).
7. Give joyfully and generously
“Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints” (2 Corinthians 8:1-5).
8. Give wisely
“We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift” (2 Corinthians 8:20).
9. Give expectantly and cheerfully
“The one who plants generously will get a generous crop. You must each make up your own mind as to how much you should give. Don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. For God loves the person who gives cheerfully” (2 Corinthians 9:6-7; see also verses 10-14).
10. Recognise motives are important
Unless our motives are right, we can give all we have—even our bodies as sacrifices—and it will be for naught (I Corinthians13). We can be scrupulous with tithing and still not have the right motives. Jesus rebuked the religious leaders of his day for this very thing: “ You hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness” (Matthew 23:23).




Saving
The Wise Saver—One who builds, preserves, and invests with discernment.


1. Recognise it is wise to save
“In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but [the] foolish . . . devour all [they have]” (Proverbs 21:20). “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers it food at harvest” (Proverbs 6:8).

2. Realise it is sinful to hoard
And he gave them an illustration: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. In fact, his barns were full to overflowing. So he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store everything. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get it all? ’Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God” (Luke 12:16-21).

3. Prioritise and evaluate the costs
“But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first getting estimates and then checking to see if there is enough money to pay the bills? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of funds. And then how everyone would laugh at you! They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and ran out of money before it was finished!’” (Luke 14:28-30).

4. Avoid quick-rich schemes
“The trustworthy will get a rich reward. But the person who wants to get rich quick will only get into trouble” (Proverbs 28:20).

5. Seek wise counsellors
“Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance” (Proverbs 1:5).

6. Establish a job before building a home
“Finish your outdoor work and get your fields ready; after that, build your house” (Proverbs 24:27).

7. Diversify assets
“Give portions to seven, yes to eight, for you do not know what disaster will come upon the land” (Ecclesiastes 11:2).


Debt
The Cautious Debtor—One who avoids entering into debt, is careful and strategic when incurring debt, and always repays debt.


1. Repay debt and do so promptly
“The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously” (Psalm 37:21). “ Do not say to your neighbor, ‘Come back later; I’ll give it tomorrow’—when you now have it with you” (Proverbs 3:28).

2. Avoid the bondage of debt
“The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender” (Proverbs 22:7).

3. Recognise debt presumes on the future
“Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:13–14).

4. Realise debt can foster jealousy and greed
“Beware! Don’t be greedy for what you don’t have. Real life is not measured by how much we own” (Luke 12:15).

5. Give and pay what you owe
“Give everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and import duties, and give respect and honor to all to whom it is due” (Romans 13:7).

6. Be careful about co-signing
“Do not co-sign another person’s note or put up a guarantee for someone else’s loan. If you can’t pay it, even your bed will be snatched from under you” (Proverbs 22:26–27 NLT).

7. Realise debt will impact spiritual development
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23)


Spending
The Prudent Consumer—One who enjoys the fruits of their labor yet guards against materialism.


1. Beware of idols
“You shall not make yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below” (Deuteronomy 5:8). Materialism—which so saturates our culture—is nothing less than a competing theology in which matter (things) is of ultimate significance; that is, things become gods or idols. “ They . . . worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator” (Romans 1:25).

2. Guard against greed. Realise things do not bring happiness
“Beware! Don’t be greedy for what you don’t have. Real life is not measured by how much we own” (Luke 12:15).

3. Seek moderation
“Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God” (Proverbs 30:8-9).

4. Be content
“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:12–13).

“Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that” (1 Timothy 6:6–8).

5. Don’t waste God’s resources
“When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, ‘Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted’” (John 6:12).

6. Enjoy God’s provision in moderation
“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life” (1 Timothy 6:17–19).

7. Carefully manage resources
“Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds; for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations” (Proverbs 27:23–24).

source: http://www.cc-vw.org/articles/financialfreedom.htm

Economic Lessons from History

Economic Lessons from History by Gerald Chester
Philosopher George Santayana famously stated, "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it" So what lessons from history should we have learned about how to navigate economic crises?

Consider the recession in the United States from 1873 to 1879. Up to that time, this was the greatest economic challenge faced by the nascent country. The cause of the crisis was speculation driven by greed, associated with expanding the railroad network. Loans were made that should not have been made, which led to loan defaults and bank failures. Unemployment soared to an estimated 25 percent. Only 25 percent had full-time work, which meant that 50 percent were underemployed. Ninety thousand people lost their homes to foreclosure in New York City.

Today, some estimations of unemployment are around 20 percent and in August there were record home foreclosures nationwide. So far this year, bank failures number more than 140 and the pace is increasing with a higher number of failures expected in 2011 (http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=579278).

As was true in the 1870s, the current crisis is due to speculation driven by greed. Banks made loans that they should not have made and the result is massive defaults and bank failures.

Given the parallel between the events of the 1870s and those of today, here are two lessons we should have learned but apparently did not.

Lesson 1: Greed is not good.

At a town-hall-style meeting with the faculty and students from the Columbia School of Business in late 2009, Warren Buffett was asked about the problem of greed in the financial industry. His response was that greed has been around a long time. But he did not offer any solutions or remedies for the problem.

Greed was a driving motivator in the 1870s, as it is in the current financial crisis. The widely assumed antidote for greed is government regulation and oversight.

If you embrace a biblical worldview, you know that greed is idolatry (see Colossians 3:5). This means that greed is a symptom of the worship of money. Therefore if you believe that greed caused the economic recessions of both the 1870s and the 2000s and greed is the worship of money, then the root issue is theological. In other words, when people overly speculate in any venture seeking to get rich—particularly get-rich-quick schemes—this indicates that they are worshippers of money or “mammon,” which is sin.

Given that the God of the Bible is the only true God and is a jealous God in the sense that He does not tolerate the worship of anything or anyone other than Himself (Exodus 20:5), then greed—the worship of money—will not lead to lasting blessings. Rather, the worship of money will be met with economic judgment, which happened to the nation of Israel as recorded in the Old Testament, the United States in the 1870s, and is happening now to most nations of the world.

What is the solution for greed? Given the biblical doctrine of depravity—all people are infected with a bias to sin in their hearts—therefore the only way to be delivered from this sin bias is through transformation of the heart. From a biblical worldview, the only true transformation of the heart comes through the saving work of Christ. Therefore the only efficacious solution for greed is transformation. Those who experience this transformation are known as Christians.

In theory, Christians should be marked by obedience to Christ’s commands (see Matthew 28:18–20). Christ’s motivation was always to do the will of the Father; He was never motivated by greed. In fact, at the end of His life, Christ was homeless, jobless, penniless, and lived off charity. This does not mean that poverty is a virtue; rather, it suggests that to Jesus money was simply a tool of obedience to God. Money was never His agenda or His focus. His objective was to complete the earthly work assignment that the Father had given Him (see John 17:4).

Since this is the way Jesus lived, then those who claim to be His followers should live the same way. If we live with the singular focus of obeying God, we will not be greedy. This means that we will not overly speculate in ventures seeking to get rich.

Lesson 2: More regulatory oversight is not the antidote for greed.

In the 1870s there was little bank regulation and oversight. The Federal Reserve and FDIC did not exist. Today we have far more regulatory oversight. Nevertheless, we are in an economic recession on par with the 1870s. This suggests that increased regulatory oversight was either ineffective and/or poorly administrated. In any case, government regulatory oversight has not worked as an antidote for greed.

But even if government oversight had been more successful, it would still not solve the problem. The common view is that government oversight is about managing sin. Of course, few people use this terminology. The focus of managing sin is always external behavior—do this, don’t do that. But dealing with external behavior never solves the sin problem because the root of the sin problem is the heart of man. Until a person’s heart is transformed from the worship of money to the worship of the one true God, there will be no freedom from the sin of greed.

Most people don’t believe that government has a role to play in changing people’s hearts. Scripture says the opposite, however. According to the apostle Paul (see Romans 13:3–4), the role of government oversight should always be to direct us to good—even coerce us to good. Since “good” is a divine attribute (see Mark 10:18), anything that is good is, therefore, consistent with God’s nature. This means that government should be helping us live in obedience to God. If the only way to truly obey God is to transform the hearts of people, then government must support the work of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Only Christ can transform people and align them with God. Therefore to do “good” must mean to live as Christ lived.

What about separation of church and state? Sadly this concept is greatly misunderstood today. Early in the history of the United States, the Baptists who lived in Danbury, Connecticut, were concerned about the new federal government interfering with the government of local churches. They had experienced this in England and wanted to be sure that the federal government would not interfere with church polity. To address this concern, President Thomas Jefferson responded that in his view a wall of separation existed between church and state. The purpose of this wall was to protect the church from the state, not vice versa. In fact, the government leaders looked to the church for wisdom in how to govern the nation. Over time, the true meaning of separation of church and state has been corrupted. Now many wrongly believe that its intent was to protect the state from the church. This incorrect view of the relationship between church and state is driving our public policy away from the divinely ordained role of government.

One might ask about the First Amendment to the Constitution. One of the purposes of this Amendment was to insure that the government would not take over the church as it had in England. This Amendment was never intended to eliminate the influence and guidance of the church from public policy.

If government is to function consistent with Scripture, it must support—not interfere with—the work of the church of Jesus Christ. The role of the church is to bring people to Christ and help them mature, that is, to make them disciples of Jesus Christ. This is accomplished through transformed hearts.

Here are some economic lessons from history: greed is not good and more regulatory oversight is not the antidote to greed. Have we learned these lessons? If not, we will repeat the past. Future economic calamity will happen and it will be caused by speculation driven by greed to get rich.

Government seeking to manage sin by focusing on external behavior will never solve the problem of greed. Both Scripture and history make this clear. The only solution to greed is Christ transforming the hearts of people.

Until people embrace Christ, they will never be able to learn the lessons of history. They will simply repeat history and will be subject to the economic and political consequences of failing to worship the one true God. Lasting economic blessings can only come when people obey God.


http://StrategiesWork.com

Run With Your Vision

Run With Your Vision by John Belt
Run With Your Vision and Invest Yourself in Eternal Treasures

Our lives are filled with opportunities every day to sow into eternal reward. All of us want to enter into that day with joy to hear Jesus say, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" When we get to Heaven we want to see the eternal treasures that we have been storing up. We don't want to see our heavenly vault empty.

The Spirit Inspires

2 Corinthians 3:5-6 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

The law kills but the Spirit gives life or inspires us. Many people try to accomplish God's desires through keeping the law, creating new laws or just trying to keep a list of "to dos" to please God. This never works. Others are so afraid of missing God that they never do anything at all. Their perception of God is that He will punish them if they miss it on anything. Most people in "church circles" have heard it said, "Brother, you better make sure that is God before you do anything. You don't want to do anything in your flesh."

Maybe you just had an inspired idea or finally got motivated to do something in the Kingdom and then someone decides to give you their most holy opinion. Instead of being blessed by what God is showing you to do there is an attempt to shut it down.

Our Perception of God

Matthew 25:24-26 Then he who had received the one talent came and said, "Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours." But his lord answered and said to him, "You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed."

Our perception of God will make us or break us. If we don't see God for who He really is then everything that we do or don't do in life will be the result of our view of Him. One view that religion can hold of God is that He is a "hard man." If we believe that God is "hard" on us and others, we will be the same. This view of God brings an expectation of "punishment" if we miss it with God. This is what has happened with many Christians. Because of this, they end up doing nothing at all; they become lazy, self-consumed and cannot see any bigger than themselves. They cannot take on a "Kingdom Mindset" because they are so worried they will blow it, miss it and God will punish them for it. Notice that "the Lord of this servant," who is a picture of God, did not excuse his fear but called him a "wicked and lazy servant." Fear produces laziness because it just makes you want to hide away somewhere. God is good.

Don't Bury What God Has Given You

Matthew 7:11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in Heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

God has given all of us "talents," whether they be spiritual, natural or all of the above. God has given us the gift of life. Don't waste it! Don't bury it. Seek the Lord. Get a vision from God and step out to do something with it. Don't be like the wicked and lazy servant who can't see beyond himself – and how God is going to punish him for missing it. We must get a vision for things that are bigger than ourselves and require God to accomplish them. If you can do it yourself you don't need the Lord to help. We want Him involved. That is why we should always dream big beyond our natural abilities.

Sow to the Spirit

There are no limitations to us in God's Kingdom. He has put an unlimited potential within us by His Spirit. Don't think about what you can't do. Think about what you can do through Christ. Every day there are multiplied opportunities to "sow to the Spirit." In your actions, your words, your creativity, your worship, your meditation, your prayers, your decrees, your communion, you can sow to the Spirit and experience a place in God of absolutely no limitations. They key is in continually sowing to the Spirit and reaping the life of the Spirit.

Get your vision and run!

John Belt
Live In His Presence Ministries

The Unbiblical Myth of “Full Time Ministry”

The Unbiblical Myth of “Full Time Ministry” by Scott Volk

I want to put a challenge before you – are you ready? Okay, here we go! Pull out your Strong’s Concordance and look up the term ‘full time ministry’. I’m willing to award a prize to the one who finds the most references. As a matter of fact, I’ll gladly give an expensive gift to anyone who can produce one instance where that exact terminology is used anywhere in the original languages!

Let me save you some time. There is not one person in the entire Bible that is referred to as being in full time ministry! Isn’t it amazing how frequently we hear the phrase ‘full-time ministry’ and it’s not even found once in the Word of God? Perhaps we need to ask the Lord for a more Biblical paradigm.

Imagine the following scenario: There are two 30-year-old men standing in front of you. One of them is serving in a third world country and has diligently raised support so that he and his family could serve as missionaries for the next five years. The other man is a fireman in a city that is growing. This man is committed to being a Godly husband to his wife and father to his children. The amount of money that he makes is irrelevant to him as long as he keeps the Lord first in his life and is a witness for Jesus every moment of the day.

With the above scenario in mind, it’s unfortunate, according to the way many of us look at things, that the man in the third world country is considered in ‘full-time ministry’ whereas the fireman would be considered working a ‘secular job’ (by the way, the term ‘secular job’ isn’t found in the Bible either!).

Although this may sound a little confrontational and may ruffle some feathers, I believe that the term ‘full time ministry’ needs to be entirely eradicated from our vocabulary due to the unbiblical connotation that it portrays! Because it’s Jesus that has commissioned us, we are all called to be His witnesses whether we serve as a pastor or a plumber. The Lord doesn’t look down from heaven and recognize us by whether we’re in full-time ministry or not! We’re all His children and called to serve Him!

I’m continually grieved when I run into people who have given into the whisper of the enemy, who has convinced them that they’re not living up to their potential because they are settling for working a job that this age considers secular. There is a whole group of people who are reading this right now who feel like failures because they graduated from a Bible college or a school of ministry and are not employed by a ‘church’ or ‘ministry’.

Think of Moses for a moment…was he ever employed by a church or ministry? He lived within the confines of Godless Pharaoh’s house for the first 40 years of his life and then worked his tail off as a shepherd on the back side of the desert for the next 40 years. He was never written up in a magazine for his potential as one of the up-and-coming history makers of his generation. How sad it is that if he were alive today, many of our modern-day leaders would pay no attention to him because he wasn’t ‘in the ministry’. As a matter of fact, depending on where he went to church, he might even be rebuked for wasting the best years of his life!

Just this morning I was on the phone with a graduate who really felt that the Lord would one day have his family serving as missionaries in a foreign country. So, he quit his job (which, by the way, was a great source of income for his growing family) and prepared to make the next step toward the mission field. I listened intently as he shared with me that it seemed like the Lord was calling him back to his previous job because the time was not yet right to move overseas.

At this point, some of you might say, “Well, he just needs to step out in faith and do it because God’s word says, ‘Go!’” Although there is great truth in that statement, there is yet an underlying truth that requires us to not abort the preparation process so that when we do go, we are not going with our own power, but rather in the power of the One who has commissioned us.

It’s amazing to me that Jesus Himself, the Son of God, didn’t launch into His ultimate calling until He was thirty years of age! Looking at that from a worldly kind of wisdom, you might say that some of those youthful years could have been better spent seeing the dead raised and the blind eyes opened. After all, He would have gotten a tremendous head start on a ‘successful ministry’ if He began earlier.

Amazingly, when the Lord trumpeted from heaven that “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased”, Jesus had not yet done anything that modern-day Christianity would refer to as ‘ministry’. God was pleased with His Son simply because He was a Son. That, my friends, is a truth that we must all embrace!

The value of our lives to our Creator is not based on what we do but rather on who we are! I want to encourage all of you that Father God loves you not for what you can produce for Him but simply because you are His son and daughter. Our ultimate eternal destiny on this earth is to glorify the Lord by being a demonstration of the Kingdom of God. That must take place as we preach, as we wait on tables, as we drive a taxi cab, as we teach kindergarten, as we practice law, as we counsel, as we mow lawns, as we break bread together, as we fish, as we fight fires, as we sell real estate, as we flip hamburgers, as we raise our children, as we…

I think you’re getting the picture. Be a demonstration of the Kingdom of God wherever it is that He has you serving. And, if you have yet to see His promises for your life fulfilled, keep hanging on to those things which He has spoken, remembering that “faithful is He who calls you, He will also bring it to pass”!

5 Things I've Learned in Business and Ministry

5 Things I've Learned in Business and Ministry
Guest post by Chris
James Reiner

10 years, I have been working in the challenging world of business as mission at Belay Enterprises. Someone recently asked me what would make up my list of five important lessons for a faith venture. As a reminder, I define a faith venture as a for-profit or non-profit business that creates employment and opportunity for a disadvantaged population. In no particular order, here's my list:

1. Let the business lead the ministry- A faith venture has two bottom lines. It seeks business profits in order to support itself and grow. It also hopes to change lives by accomplishing its ministry. The great danger is that sometimes these two goals conflict with each other. In certain cases pursuing the mission will cost the mission and vice versa. I believe that if one is pursuing a Christ-centered business then all of business is ministry. So it then becomes acceptable to let the business lead the ministry because without a focus on the bottom-line this unique ministry opportunity disappears.

2. Stay true to your mission in the midst of the business- The second great danger facing a faith venture is losing sight of the ministry because of the focus on the business. Never forget the original God-purposed redemptive DNA of your particular faith venture.

3. Sell, sell, sell- An entrepreneurial organization must be about selling its product and mission at all levels of its organization to its target market. An organization that forgets to sell is an organization that is forgotten.

4. Cash Flow, Cash Flow, Cash Flow- Many a good faith venture or enterprise has died for lack of focus on cash. Knowing your cash position at any given moment drives your strategy and actions.

5. Trust God- In reality, when you combine business and mission, it is going to get messy. One must work hard toward your business plan and mission goals and then prayerfully trust God with the results.