2018-02-13
Proverbs 21:26 NLT
The level of financial blessing God will entrust to you depends on three questions: (1) Are you mature enough to handle it? (2) Are you hoping to reap but unwilling to sow? (3) Are you a hoarder or a giver? God knows we can’t all give the same amount. Jesus honored a widow for giving her last two cents, saying: “Others gave what they’ll never miss…she gave her all” (Mark 12:44 TM). On the other hand, businessman Barnabas “sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet” (Acts 4:37 NIV). The more God blesses you with, the more He holds you accountable for. Jesus said, “Much is required from those to whom much is given” (Luke 12:48 TLB). At offering time, a pastor told his congregation to reach out and grab the wallet or purse of the person sitting in front of them. “Now,” he said, “Open it up and give as much as you’ve always wanted to give but felt you couldn’t afford!” The truth is, we’re not all called to give equally but we’re all called to sacrifice equally. That levels the playing field. Isn’t it interesting how you can go to dinner at the home of somebody who doesn’t have a lot, and leave feeling like royalty because of their hospitality? That’s because the essence of generosity is self-sacrifice. God entrusts financial blessing to people who aren’t controlled by the love of money. How can you tell when you’re controlled by the love of money? Because instead of giving when God tells you to, you withhold. Understand this: When God impresses on you to sow a seed, there’s a harvest coming your way.
Soul food: Jon 1-4; Matt 14:1-12; Ps 141; Prov 4:18-19
2018-02-12
Genesis 41:35-36 NLT
Joseph gave Pharaoh some sound financial advice that we would all do well to live by: “Gather into the royal storehouses all the excess crops of the next seven years…that way there will be enough to eat when the seven years of famine come. Otherwise, disaster will surely strike” (vv. 35-36 TLB). And how did Pharaoh respond? “Joseph’s suggestions were well received by Pharaoh” (v. 37 TLB). Your future security is guaranteed if you practice these three scriptural principles: (1) Tithe. “Bring all of the tithes into the storehouse…If you do, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, ‘I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!'” (Malachi 3:10 NLT). (2) Save. Discipline yourself to invest a percentage of your income in savings. Don’t worry that it’s a modest amount, just make it a priority! If you don’t, you’ll spend it on other things and never achieve your long-term goals for college, retirement, or helping the work of the Lord. (3) Get out of debt. After tithing to God and saving for the future, strive to pay off all your financial obligations. Stop paying the bare minimum on your credit cards. By not repaying them in full every month, you end up paying much more than you should. Put as much as you can toward retiring outstanding debt, even if you have to stretch yourself and do without a few things for a while. In the long run, you’ll be way ahead.
Soul food: Num 34-36; Matt 13:47-58; Ps 138; Prov 4:14-17
2018-02-11
Proverbs 21:20 NLT
It’s foolish to buy things you don’t need and can’t afford, especially when your bills are overdue and you’ve nothing set aside for the future. Your financial security is determined by what you owe, not by what you earn! Having to work for years to repay debt severely limits your options. So determine your lifestyle by your actual income, not by what you wish it was or hope it will be. And when you get a raise, don’t automatically spend more. The Bible says, “There is…treasure…in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man squanders it” (Proverbs 21:20 NKJV). One of the wisest things you can do today is to start saving for the future, and sowing at least one-tenth of your income into God’s Kingdom so that you’ll have a harvest when you need it (See 2 Corinthians 9:6). Author John Kennedy writes: “Peddling Biblically-based financial advice has become a cottage industry. It’s not that the counsel is new, or that people haven’t heard it enough. The fact remains…Christians have racked up debt with no plan for financial accountability…they’re tapped out keeping up with interest payments.” Is your philosophy in life, “Why wait and save when a credit card will let me have what I want right now?” If you’re buying things you don’t need with money you don’t have, stop it! Before you purchase anything else, ask yourself if you really need it. And even if you think you do, ask yourself if you can live without it for a while; otherwise you’ll become a slave to credit card debt. Here’s some sound financial advice: Pray for God’s guidance before you make any nonessential purchase.
Soul food: Exo 20:13; Gen 4:8-16; Pro 18:21; Matt 5:21-22
2018-02-10
Philippians 3:13 NIV
Developing your faith is like taking swimming lessons. Observe: (1) Fear is like water; if you let it, it will take you under. (2) You can only tread water for so long before you drown. (3) When you reach a certain point, there’s no turning back. (4) Faith is like the air in your lungs; it will sustain you and keep you afloat if you just relax. Have you ever watched a seasoned swimmer? Stroke after stroke, he takes what’s in front of him and pushes it behind him, letting it propel him toward his goal. He literally takes what stands between him and his goal, and uses it to get there. Sometimes we despair and say, “I’m just keeping my head above water,” and that’s okay as long as you keep “stroking” and pressing on. It’s when you feel backed into a corner with nowhere to turn, that you’ve got to take hold of the faith God has placed within you and keep moving forward. Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force” (Matthew 11:12 KJV). The word “violence” suggests ferocity, passion, and intensity. You must be relentless and fight your way through, confident that God is on your side – because He is (Psalm 56:9 NIV). The waters you’re in don’t determine your destiny; they either carry you over or take you under. It takes faith to keep going. When you quit, God can do nothing more for you! So today whether you’re doing the breaststroke, the backstroke, or some other kind of stroke that nobody’s ever heard of – keep pressing on.
Soul food: Num 32:25-33:56; Matt 13:36-46; Ps 134; Prov 4:5-13
2018-02-09
1 Corinthians 1:26 NLT
Max Lucado writes: “Edith Hayes was a spry eighty-year-old with thinning white hair, a wiry five-foot frame, and an unquenchable compassion for South Florida’s cancer patients. I was fresh out of seminary in 1979 and sitting in an office of unpacked boxes when she walked in and introduced herself. ‘My name is Edith, and I help cancer patients.’ She extended her hand. I offered a chair. She politely declined. ‘Too busy. You’ll see my team here at the church building every Tuesday morning. You’re welcome to come, but if you do we’ll put you to work.’ Her team, I came to learn, included a hundred or so silver-haired women who occupied themselves with the unglamorous concern of sore-seepage. They made cancer wounds their mission, stitching together truckloads of disposable pads each Tuesday, and then delivering them to patients throughout the week. Edith rented an alley apartment, lived on her late husband’s pension, wore glasses that magnified her pupils, and ducked applause like artillery fire.” Edith’s story does away with the excuse, “I’m too old to do something for God.” Noah was over six hundred years old when he came out of the ark and helped to start the human race all over again. If you’re older, think about it this way: You’re a walking repository of decades of wisdom and knowledge. So before you leave this earth, endeavor to give to others what God has entrusted to you. Right now somebody, somewhere, needs something you have, and if you ask God, He will show you who they are. When He does – get involved!
Soul food: Num 30:1-32:24; Matt 13:24-35; Ps 125; Prov 4:3-4
2018-02-08
Acts 1:8 NIV
A witness is someone who sees and experiences an event, then testifies to it in court in a way that convinces others. And that’s what you have been called to do! You say, “But I don’t feel qualified.” God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called. And don’t let Satan convince you otherwise, because he will try. He will tell you God has an IQ requirement, or an entry fee; that He employs only specialists, experts, and high-powered personalities. No, Jesus said to His disciples, “You will be my witnesses…to the ends of the earth.” You uneducated and simple folk. You temperamental net casters and tax collectors. “You will be my witnesses.” The one thing the disciples had going for them was their willingness to take a step when Jesus said, “Follow me.” So if you’re more plumber than executive, or more blue jeans than blue blood, you’re qualified! “Few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And He chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful” (1 Corinthians 1:26-27 NLT). So pray: “Lord, You’ve called me into Your Kingdom to serve You in this specific place, at this specific time, and for this specific purpose. Despite my ordinariness I belong to You – and You are anything but ordinary! Today help me to pour out Your grace and compassion upon others, that they too may experience the richness of Your love.”
Soul food: Num 27-29; Matt 13:10-23; Ps 67; Prov 4:1-2
