Knowing What It’s Worth

“For He makes His sun rise on the wicked and on the good, and makes the rain fall upon the upright and the wrongdoers [alike].” (Matthew 5:45). A couple weeks ago our corporate office informed us they were terminating the employment of our team of 18 persons, effective at the end of that week. Just over 10 years ago I had also received a sudden termination notice due to a corporate restructuring.

My wife Karen and I have been assisting and encouraging people and congregations to become debt-free for over 15 years, but I can tell you that when I had been given word of the sudden loss of employment… it was at that time I then realized how much it was worth to have followed God’s Word as it speaks to finances, debt and giving. This is not much different than the life preserver illustration shown above – you may not understand it’s full value until you need it.

How long could you go if you lost your income tomorrow and couldn’t find another job? From relying so much on credit, many households are only “renting” their lifestyle. They really do not own their house, car or anything else bought with credit. Unfortunately, many are a few paychecks away from being “evicted” from their lifestyle. It’s important to be obedient and take the steps now to not be renting our lifestyle.

1 Timothy 5:8 cautions us that “Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” That is a strong charge, however the word “provide” in the Greek (pronoeo) means to consider in advance and look out beforehand. Isn’t eliminating debt an important step in being able to fulfill this scripture?

If you view the prior posts on the Financial Fitness page there are several with detailed steps you can take towards eliminating debt. So much of this effort revolves around two key scriptures.

First, to achieve the breakthrough we need is to choose contentment. In Philippians 4, Paul tells us “I have learned how to be content in whatever state I am. I know how to live humbly in straitened circumstances, and I know also how to enjoy plenty and live in abundance.” He received his contentment from Christ. It is in this reliance that will provide patience, enabling us to turn away from choices of spending money we do not have that plunge us into debts.

Second, Proverbs 21:20 enlightens us that “There are precious treasures and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a self-confident and foolish man swallows it up and wastes it.” God’s Word is simply telling us to spend less money than we make. The wise one had provision in their household, but not the foolish one because he spent all his income as soon as he made it. If we allow our hearts to soften towards God and choose contentment rather than overspending, it will create the opportunity to manage our resources to where we will spend less than we make.

I want to strongly encourage you to cast off the excuses that have kept you from moving forward. We do not know what the next day will hold. There are storms that will come, but the believer in Christ who makes the wise choices with their finances will be better prepared to weather that storm.

Lastly, consider what the author of Psalms 119 wrote to share how much God’s Word was worth – “The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.”

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

Paul

Admirer or Follower

But be doers of the Word [obey the message], and not merely listeners to it (James 1:22).  This scripture is easy to understand and straightforward enough for us to know if we are practicing it.  We should ask ourselves “am I an admirer of Jesus or a follower of Him?” 

Besides becoming the atonement for our sins, the reason Christ came to this Earth was to show us how the Father is.  In John 5:19 Jesus said that He is “able to do only what He sees the Father doing, for whatever the Father does is what the Son does in the same way.”

Ephesians 3:19 encourages us, “[That you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience].”  I feel this is really a deep verse worth digging into.  God’s Word is telling us that in order to know Christ’s love that we must do it through experience.

Think about this in light of your finances.  

To see (experience) your faith in God rewarded for tithing—he promises to open the windows of heaven for you, it requires you to take the first step of giving.

The same goes for giving unto others, He says to “give and it will be given unto you”.  In order to experience this blessing, what must precede is the act of giving.

For overcoming debts, we have to take the action initially to trust God’s wisdom to “spend less than we make” (Proverbs 21:20) so that we can then pay down our bills.

In order to succeed it is vital that we not stop at only admiring God’s Word or His wisdom in these areas and think to ourselves “it would be good to tithe, give, or pay off debts”.  It is a given that we cannot see God, but we can see Him manifest in our situations as we obey His Word.  It is when you see your needs being meet as a result of tithing, experiencing blessings overtaking you after giving to another, and view your bills getting smaller as you progress being a good steward that the impact of God’s manifested power becomes more real to you than ever before.

Remember the classic movie The Wizard of Oz, with the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and the Lion?  Each of them sensed that they lacked in an important area (brain, heart, courage).  The beauty of the plot and writing was how they all acquired in the end what they sought as they helped Dorothy to get home—this would not have been accomplished had they stayed put.  Much like the scripture above in Ephesians talked about “experiencing for yourselves the love of Christ”, they could not have experienced their gains without doing something.

The chapter in Ephesians concludes by reminding us just who it is that makes such gracious promises to us,

“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

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

Paul

Keeping His Word

Can you think back to when you gave a promise recently to someone, and then because of time constraints or some other obstacle you really had to press in order to keep it? Remember how you were motivated to move faster or find a way to make it happen so you could keep your word? Consider then how our loving God, who is able to literally move Heaven and Earth, and will do so in order to keep His promises to us.

“God is not a man, that He should lie” (Numbers 23:19). We are talking about the Creator of the Universe. Is not the One who spoke all that we can see into existence also able to perform every promise that He has spoken as well? There is no one more equipped to keep their promises to you than God Almighty. Because He existed before you came into being, because he is all powerful and because He loves you with an everlasting love – even before the foundations of the world (John 17:24).

Knowing that there is no “guarantee” that can be counted on in this world to be fulfilled like one that the Lord issues, now look at a promise from God where He issues a test onto Himself.

“Bring all the tithes (the whole tenth of your income) into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now by it, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” (Malachi 3:10) The word “prove” used above is translated from bâchan in the Hebrew as to mean “test”.

As one author wrote, this is an opportunity for God and not for us. It is an opportunity for God to show His glory to us in fulfilling His Word and to reinforce that He alone is completely trustworthy. Think about how you already trust Jesus with something as priceless as your eternal destiny… what we are talking about here is merely trusting Him with the first tenth of your earnings.

In return, He not only promises to overtake you with blessings that cannot be contained, He will even “rebuke the devourer for your sakes and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground”. God can be trusted to not only bless us but to defend us against the enemy.

In needing to remember His Word, in Proverbs 7 we are encouraged to “Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.” God has no such trouble in remembering what He has said to do for us – “He has given food and provision to those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him; He will remember His covenant forever and imprint it [on His mind].” (Psalms 111:5) And He also will be on time… “The Lord does not delay and is not tardy or slow about what He promises” (2 Peter 3:9)

Lastly, if you find yourself beaten down by finances, be encouraged to accept this invitation from Christ Jesus:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

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

Paul

Planting Seeds

The Bible plainly states that the whole kingdom of God is based on sowing and reaping. In Mark 4, Jesus said “The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seed upon the ground, and then continues sleeping and rising night and day while the seed sprouts and grows and increases—he knows not how. The earth produces [acting] by itself—first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe and permits, immediately he sends forth [the reapers] and puts in the sickle, because the harvest stands ready.”

We have arrived to a new year… 2016, and there may be things you want to achieve. With your finances you probably want to be in a better place at this year’s end than you currently are. You know it cannot happen at once but requires steps to take combined with time to see it come to fruition. Today, we’ll look at practical steps we can take – seeds we can plant than can make this happen.

The first area to address is spending – especially our optional and impulse spending. What can you do this first week to plant a seed that will help reduce your debt load? Are trips to the coffee shop and eating out for lunch a regular part of your work week? If this is true, decide to make your own coffee or lunch for a part of this week. You don’t necessarily have to cut things entirely out, but by just cutting back it can have a sizeable effect on your spending when it is in an area repeated regularly.

If having dinners out is part of your routine, besides cutting back occasionally you can utilize coupons and offers from many resources. Dining coupons not only come in your mail but are available directly from many restaurants by signing up on their websites. Groupon and similar offers abound online and the Entertainment books are a tremendous value with one price bringing you discounts at hundreds of places with many BOGO offers. I can tell you our household has used this book for decades, saving thousands of dollars. The way I view it is they are paying me to dine at their restaurant instead of a competitor.

Now what can you do this month to plant a seed? Pull out your credit card statement and look at all of the entries. How many of them were optional or impulse purchases that looking back now you would like to have done differently? Keeping regular tabs on your credit card spending is one of the most important things you can do, because it is where most of your impulse buys were tracked in black and white.

Take a close look at your regular monthly bills. Could you reduce the repeated expenses of the cable, phone, insurance and other monthly bills by changing to a more modest plan? That step can be very beneficial because your savings is repeated month after month by you making that one-time choice.

What can we do spiritually to sow seeds for 2016 that will help us? Reading Galatians 6:8 provides an answer. “For he who sows to his own flesh (lower nature, sensuality) will from the flesh reap decay and ruin and destruction, but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” If we give lots of time and thought towards things we want to buy (especially what we cannot afford) that is likely what we will reap when given the chance at the marketplace and in front of our computer.

For success in this area it is important to sow His Word into our thoughts. “I will meditate on Your precepts and have respect to Your ways” (Psalms 119:15). God’s Holy Spirit will help us live the life He desires for us as we sow good seed into ourselves. His Spirit will be there speaking to us when faced with a purchase decision we should not make, so we need to listen for Him.

Proverbs 19:20 guides us to a vital step we can submit to for success. “Listen to counsel, receive instruction, and accept correction, that you may be wise in the time to come.” This month the best seed you can plant is to attend the Debt-Freedom Class being held at Broomfield Assembly on Saturday, January 23rd. This 3-hour teaching is packed with what you need to achieve your financial goals for 2016 and beyond.

You will learn with your own numbers that you enter on your own private worksheet where you really are in respect to your debts. We will show you a step-by-step plan for systematically reducing and paying off your debts with an estimated timeframe to be debt-free. In most households this can be achieved in 7 years – including your mortgage, with the money you already make. We’ll show you practical ways to save money that can immediately go towards your debt reduction plan.

Most importantly we will encourage you with God’s Word, speaking from a treasure of scriptures related specifically to all of the covered teaching on debt, finances, spending, contentment, giving and more. You will have all of these scriptures to take home, keeping you inspired and encouraged through the process. You will leave the class with a renewed hope for the future, by knowing the path you can take right now and from hearing of testimonies from those who have been blessed and succeeded.

And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint. Galatians 6:9

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

Paul

That Missing Thing

Many of us are now preparing for giving (and getting) during this Christmas season. In addition to shopping for those we love, likely we have also given gift ideas to those who love us for things we desire.

In Matthew 7 Jesus reminds us in our own parallel as we “know how to give good and advantageous gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven [perfect as He is] give what is good and advantageous to those who keep on asking Him.”

Notice how He said “good and advantageous”. That means God—because He loves us, will not add things which will ultimately harm us. Remember, since He knows the future then He knows what things will be good and what things will not be good for us to have.

There are “things” all of us want, and what God desires is for us to place that “thing” in its proper order—which is far below Him, so that our affections are not strongly attached to the things of this world. In 1 John chapter 2 God has cautioned us not love the things of this world, as it is passing away.

Are you sometimes confronted inside with having to get that “thing”, even if it involves spending money you really don’t have and going deeper into debt? As it relates to the bottom line in our finances, how we manage our handling of optional, discretionary and impulse purchases will have the greatest say in reducing our debt level and eventually becoming debt-free.

In Isaiah 55 it is written “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your earnings for what does not satisfy? Hearken diligently to Me and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness (the profuseness of spiritual joy). Because God created us, He knows what will ultimately satisfy us – and that is closeness to Him.

We can think “I just have to get that new (phone, car, clothes, device, service, etc.) thing”, or that “I just have to get it now, I can’t wait”. God knew we’d deal with these impulses and through Paul gave us the proper mindset we need to be overcomers and that is in being content.

Choosing to be content is the wise choice. In Philippians 4, Paul tells us “I have learned how to be content in whatever state I am. I know how to live humbly in straitened circumstances, and I know also how to enjoy plenty and live in abundance. He received his contentment from Christ. It is in this reliance that will provide patience, enabling us to turn away from choices of spending money we do not have that plunge us into debts.

Jesus spoke lovingly to us in Matthew 6 to not be worried or anxious about what we will eat, drink and wear, but instead to aim at His kingdom and His righteousness, and to meditate on the attitude and character of God. He said this from a position of authority, promising that in doing so first, that all these things will be given to us as well.

Who else can make such a promise than the One who created the Universe and all that is within it?

“THINGS WHICH THE EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND THE EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND WHICH HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN,
ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM [who hold Him in affectionate reverence, who obey Him, and who gratefully recognize the benefits that He has bestowed].”

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

Paul

The Lord’s Work: Restoring Us

Have you thought about the “business” God is in as it relates to us? Because He created us, loves us so greatly, and desires only the best for us – here are examples of what the Lord has done and continues to do:

Behold, the LORD’S hand is not so short that it cannot save (Isaiah 59:1)

Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow (Isaiah 1:18)

For I will restore health to you and I will heal your wounds (Jeremiah 30:17)

And I will compensate you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten (Joel 2:25)

The LORD restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before (Job 42:10)

With whom My hand shall be established and steadfast; My arm also shall strengthen him. (Psalms 89:21)

To bring good news to the humble and afflicted… To bind up [the wounds of] the brokenhearted… To comfort all who mourn… To proclaim release [from confinement and condemnation] to the [physical and spiritual] captives… To give them a turban instead of dust… Instead of your [former] shame you will have a double portion (Isaiah 61)

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28)

It should be evident from reading these and many other actual acts of God’s work and God’s promises given to us that he is in the “business” of restoring us and in that process bringing glory to Himself, showing His love and power.

Let’s look further at what occurred when Jesus walked this Earth:

Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages [in Galilee], teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news (gospel) of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness (Matthew 9:35)

Jesus stated “The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].” (John 10:10)

In other accounts Jesus also stopped a violent storm, caused a catch of an enormous amount of fish, turned water into wine, fed the 5,000 He was teaching, raised several from the dead, restored the ear of one who came to capture Him, and nearing His own death on the cross even brought salvation to the man hanging next to Him.

John concluded his writing by saying “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were recorded one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.”

Jesus spent His allotted time of ministry showing us about the Father… “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself [of His own accord], unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever things the Father does, the Son [in His turn] also does in the same way. For the Father dearly loves the Son and shows Him everything that He Himself is doing.” (John 5:19-20)

Please… really think in responding to this next question. Knowing all of this evidence about the redeeming character of our Lord, is there any doubt about how He wants to bring restoration to your finances as well?

So how do we receive this restoration? By following His Word. Our first step is to acknowledge Him as Lord by giving back to Him in tithes and offerings.

Malachi 3:10 reads – “Bring all the tithes (the tenth) into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you [so great] a blessing until there is no more room to receive it.” That sounds exactly like the Redeemer we’ve read about above.

Now, continue onto verse 11 which also reveals another aspect to His promise for us – “Then I will rebuke the devourer (insects, plague) for your sake and he will not destroy the fruits of the ground, nor will your vine in the field drop its grapes [before harvest],” says the LORD of hosts. God promises to not only bring new wealth to you, but also to prevent those calamities from devastating your household.

Our next step is to get on a plan to pay down and eventually pay off our debts. Begin by listing all of your monthly and other bills including your credit cards so you know exactly where you stand. Focus your available finances on reducing the balance and eventually retiring the lowest debt of your list. Then point your available money the next month to the next smallest bill and work your way up.

We offer a free 3-hour class at Broomfield Assembly that goes into great detail how to organize your finances to pay off your debts in the shortest possible timeframe. We also show you exactly what debt is costing you, give you practical steps you can take and provide a multitude of scriptures to keep you motivated and to realize God is on your side to experience freedom from debt. Please contact the church if you are interested in attending a future class.

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

Paul

Taste and See

          “O taste and see that the LORD our God is good” (Psalms 34:8). Why is this confident invitation extended to all? Because our God, the Creator of the Universe, knows exactly how good He is and how much joy we will experience in getting close to Him.

          We can trust the Lord because He has always been present (The First and the Last - Revelation 22:13), He knows all things (Declaring…from ancient times things not yet done – Isaiah 46:10), He knows all about you (You are acquainted with all my ways – Psalms 139:3), and especially because He loves you (Christ died for us – Romans 5:8).

          God is specifically confident in issuing His promise to us in for giving to Him in tithes and offerings. It is written “and prove Me now by it, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Malachi 3:10). Who is better to fulfill such a promise than the One who is all powerful, has always existed and has kept His word every time?

          He also desires for us to experience the goodness of a life free from debt. In Romans 13 it says “Owe no man anything, but to love one another”. The timing for the attainment of this goal can be quite different for each household, but I can share from our personal experience and testimonies from others that once we commit ourselves, the strength and power which comes from the Lord makes it as though it is already done. That is God showing His goodness to us.

          God promises to bestow His goodness in giving to others. Jesus said “It is more blessed [and brings greater joy] to give than to receive.” This can be with finances, materials or your time. By yielding ourselves more in this area, it will soften our hearts to be less attached to the things of this world. In Matthew 25 the Lord also reveals His approval of giving and a great promise to come – “The King will answer and say to them, ‘I assure you and most solemnly say to you, to the extent that you did it for one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it for Me.”

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

Paul