River Of Blessings

Our loving God has blessed us with an abundance; eternal life with Him by His grace, healing by the stripes of Jesus, the Holy Spirit (the Comforter), the power to get wealth - are just some of the enormous number of blessings we receive from Him. God blesses His people for them to be a blessing outward. Consider the illustration of the river and God sending His blessings to us. Now consider the difference between us damming up that flow and causing stagnant waters vs. sending that flow on to be a blessing down the stream. If we are lacking in finances, stressed over debts, or not honoring the Lord in tithes and offerings, then following His Word will change our future.

Visible - Read II Kings 4:1-7, the account of the widow and her last jar of oil. Then read I Kings 17:9-16, telling about the widow and her last small meal of food for herself and her son. Both situations were quite dire as they were widows at the end of their rope, but God sought to intervene on their behalf - provided they took a STEP OF FAITH as God's servant directed them. God's Word tells us repeatedly of sowing and reaping. Simply put, we show God our faith in Him by giving and He shows Himself to us by providing. Also read Luke 6:38 and Acts 20:35. Jesus tells us it is more blessed to give than receive... that reveals just how much He loves to give to us as well.

Invisible - We can attempt to resolve our financial situation by our own strength (not likely since we usually got ourselves into this situation to begin with), or we can take that STEP OF FAITH that God leads us to. Ask Him to speak to your heart clearly on where you can be generous to others, and be ready to do so when prompted. It may be financial by giving in tithes and offerings if you are not doing so, giving to someone in need, or it may be by giving of your time. It may require us to give out of our need, but if we trust in the living Almighty God, the Creator of the Universe, He will show to be true to His Word and meet your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).

God Bless you and may He show Himself greatly to you,

Paul

Seeing God's Will In Action

If you are at a restaurant, do you hesitate to ask for a beverage if you are thirsty? Of course not. Yet when it comes to the Lord, who is able to give us all good things, are we asking Him as readily? God loves you and wants to bless you, even more than you want to be blessed. Ephesians 3:20 tells us that He is able to do over and above all that we can ask or even think. Our requests do need to be within God's will, asked with proper motives, and with an open heart unto Him. Without a doubt God desires us to be free of debt, thus we can ask Him in 100% confidence to bless our efforts to be debt-free.

Visible - Feed your faith on knowing His will for your finances and being free of debt by opening your Bible to read and meditate on these verses; Romans 13:8 "Keep out of debt and owe no man anything, except to love one another...", Proverbs 22:7 "The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender", Deuteronomy 28:12 "The Lord shall bless the work of your hands... and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow", and also Philippians 4:6 "...by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God".

Invisible - Get on your knees before God. Thank Him with a grateful heart. Be honest before God and ask for forgiveness if there have been errors made with finances, and ask for wisdom from Him for the future. Consider God and His goodness, and how He desires us to experience the kingdom of God here and now. Is there any debt or lack in heaven? Of course not. Request of God to bless your efforts to be free of debt. Ask Him to bless the work of your hands and for His protection over your household. Keep asking as we are instructed starting in Matthew 7:7, and then expectantly watch for Him to move on your behalf.

God Bless you and may He show Himself greatly to you,

Paul

Directing Our Steps

A man’s mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure (Proverbs 16:9). God loves you and wants the very best for you, and He will lead you to it if we are listening and obey Him. God’s will is for us to be debt-free; Romans 13:8 says “Keep out of debt and owe no man anything, except to love one another…” Wouldn’t that be great for your household, to owe no man anything? Of course it would. You likely desire to be debt-free, but need a plan, a starting point.

Visible – Write out each of your monthly debt obligations, including the minimum monthly payment required and total owed. The challenge: Find up to 10% of your monthly income to apply solely to your smallest debt. Send in that extra amount each month to your smallest debt, while sending in only the minimum amount to the other debts. When that first debt is paid off, take the money you were paying into it and send that in addition to the minimum payment for your next smallest debt, and so on.

Invisible – Read Philippians 4:6-7, it directs us to make our wants known to God. We know this effort to be free of debt is God’s will, so we can certainly make this part of our petition to Him. Ask the Lord for direction, to find the additional funds (up to 10%) in your budget to accelerate debt payoff, for wisdom making wise purchases. Be listening and sensitive to Him for direction, it may require us to be humble in an area that would reduce our expenses, but the outcome will be better than you can imagine.

God Bless you and may He show Himself greatly to you,

Paul

Jumping Ahead

If our debt burden is substantial, many times it can be traced to our desire to jump ahead. We choose to have something (usually a want instead of a need) now, rather than waiting until we have the money available. This jumping ahead lays a trap for ourselves two ways, by relying on tomorrow’s money to pay for things of the past, and by reducing our sense of contentment that God desires us to have. Read I Timothy 6:6-8. It concludes by stating “if we have food and clothing… we shall be content”.

Visible – Look at your expenses over the last couple of months and make an honest judgment to what extent they were wants vs. needs, and if they involved jumping ahead to have that thing now instead of waiting to pay in cash for it. If we wait to make that purchase, we may discover our desire is not so strong for it after all. If we also look in our garages, basements and closets, we will likely find many things (not just exercise equipment) that proved to be unimportant or not needed.

Invisible – Ask God to give you wisdom in assessing your spending. James 1:5 encourages us to come to Him – “If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God Who gives to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly…” God’s Word tells us the Holy Spirit is our Counselor (read John 14:26). Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit when you are considering a sizeable purchase decision, He will lead you forth correctly by peace for that decision and peace with the results afterward.

God Bless you and may He show Himself greatly to you,

Paul

Putting First Things First

We all know inside there are things we need to do, but have been putting off. Is getting your household finances in order one of those things? Is your debt load worse today than it was a few years ago? If we do not take steps to remove our debt burden, it will stay and even increase. Settling inside that you will be a debt-free household will prove to be a monumental decision that you will never regret.

Visible – Write out your monthly expenses for all categories covering all amounts, if you cannot account for it all; write down every expense for a month or two. This is one of the most important tools you will ever use because it shows where your spending actually is, many people are stunned when they see their results. If you are not currently tithing (giving 10% to the Lord), make a second monthly expense sheet that includes tithing.

Invisible – God has a great plan for us in every area of life, including finances.He so deeply loves you and wants to show Himself powerfully to you. Take that step of faith in tithing to the Lord, and trust Him, for He promises to “pour you out a blessing” and to “rebuke the devourer” (read Malachi 3:10-11). He even precludes this to say “prove Me now by it”. I say there is more risk to keep that money for myself and try to get by, than to tithe to the Lord, for He will prove to be faithful to His Word.

God Bless you and may He show Himself greatly to you,

Paul