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Archive for July, 2010

God and Money

Posted in Money on July 20, 2010| Leave a Comment »

“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” Matthew 6:24 NIV

Whoever or whatever we serve, becomes a master over us.  If you serve money it becomes master over you and you are subject to its laws and principles.  For example, if you have debt the one that you owe a debt to has power over you.  Even the bible says debtors are slaves to lenders.

In man’s economy debt is good and most people who are wealthy are in debt.  There are multibillion dollar businesses that make money just from people that are in debt to them.  Many of us end up in debt because we buy things we cannot afford.  Also, for many years we were told we needed credit (which is a debt history) to buy things like cars and houses.  When we buy a house we spend more on interest than we do on the actual price of the house.  We believe the lie of money and debt.  When we no longer have the money to pay the debt then the lender comes and takes our property and we suffer as a result.  So we have become slave to the master of money.

God never intended for us to serve money.  God wants us to serve Him.  By serving God, money can’t rule us because God is over us.  We have the promises of God that He will supply all of our needs and we do not need to be concerned about money.  Actually, God’s design is that money serves us and that we are never a slave to money.  That is why many principles in the bible concerning money are contrary to man’s economics.  Just like the example above man says “debt is necessary” but God says debt makes you a slave to the lender.

So which master would you prefer to serve – God or Money?

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Sowing and Reaping

Posted in Money, Sowing and Reaping on July 16, 2010| Leave a Comment »

 7Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.  Galatians 6:7

There are some principles in the Kingdom of God that also rule in the earth and affect everyone.  Sowing and reaping is one of those principles.  Whether or not you believe in God, everyone will reap what they sow.  Another principle in sowing and reaping is that we always reap more than we sow.  For example, if you plant one seed from an apple, you will get an apple tree with hundreds of apples containing five seeds.  These same principles apply to money.

We know that wherever we put our money we will get some sort of return.  That is why many people invest in the stock market, bonds, gold, money market accounts, etc.  What we try and figure out is the best place to invest our money, or sow. 

What we sow is as important as where we sow, because where we sow determines what we will reap.  In man’s economy if you invest in a high risk stock you may get a high return, but your risk in losing everything is much higher.  So not only do you risk losing the investment you made but also any gains that you have made in that investment.  If you invest in a low risk traditional long term investment your return may be small but you will reap something in the long term and reap more than you sowed in the beginning.

As Christians we are given a choice to sow into the earth or sow into the Kingdom of God.  This also pertains to our money.  There are certain principles of money that govern the earth and certain ones that govern the Kingdom.  The question is which has a better return on our investment?

Anything created by man is temporary, and everything pertaining to the Kingdom of God is eternal.  If we sow into things created by man we will reap temporary things.  If we sow into the Kingdom we will reap eternal things.

Many of us know the principles of money pertaining to the economy.  Unfortunately, many do not know the principles of money pertaining to the Kingdom of God.  Many of the principles in the Kingdom contradict the principles in economics created by man. 

Remember this that the principle of sowing and reaping are the same on earth and in the Kingdom – YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW.

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What Recession?

Posted in Money on July 14, 2010| Leave a Comment »

22A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children,
         And the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.  Proverbs 13:22

 8He who increases his wealth by interest and usury
         Gathers it for him who is gracious to the poor.  Proverbs 28:8

In economics we understand a recession to be a period of economic decline in the gross domestic product for a period of two quarters or six months.  Since 2008, the United States has been in a recession.  This year there was talk of the economy recovering but there is concern that the economy will begin to retract again.  However, there is a second definition of recession and that is a “return of ownership to a former possessor” (Dictionary.com Unabridged).

The economic recession that we are currently in has been mainly rooted in those who inflated their corporate books, and bought and sold inflated stock.  As a result many who invested in these companies or stock lost millions and millions of dollars.  A lot of the problems the economy is facing are based on greed and deception by those who wanted to get rich.  In the process many innocent people lost their jobs, pensions and livelihood.  As Wall Street and Corporate America try to get back on top in this recession, there is another recession going on according to God.  It is a return of the wealth going back to the righteous.

In Proverbs, we see that the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous and those who increase their wealth by interest and usury are actually gathering wealth for those who are gracious to the poor.  We should begin to expect a return of wealth to the righteous.

The principles of money established by man differ from the biblical principles of money in the Kingdom of God.  Things in the earth are temporary and that which is in the Kingdom of God is eternal.  As Christians we should follow the principles of money as outlined in the bible.  By following these principles we can experience the return of wealth as stated in the above scriptures.

In this next series we will be looking at what the bible says about money and how we are to govern money.  Money should never govern us.

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The Beatitudes Pt. 9

Posted in Beatitudes on July 13, 2010| Leave a Comment »

11“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.

 12″Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.  Matthew 5:11-12

Christians have been called all sorts of names since the beginning.  Even today we are considered intolerant and divisive because we preach that Jesus is the only way and the only truth.  Even as Jesus set out in the beginning of His ministry He told His listeners that they would be persecuted because of Him.  This is the spirit of the devil because he is out to destroy the witness and testimony of Jesus.  We should not think it is strange when we are persecuted for our beliefs or when others speak evil against us.

Jesus told us to rejoice for our reward is in heaven.  In the Old Testament they persecuted the prophets.  Yet we are still blessed despite persecution and the lies people will tell about us.  We should never be ashamed of being a “Jesus freak” or a follower of Christ.  We are a blessed people and others know it.  So let us rejoice always.

I hope you enjoyed the Beatitudes series.  It really helps us keep our faith in focus and to know that we are really blessed to have Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  Our Christian walk is not easy, and the path can be rough but we are blessed and highly favored of God.  We are the light and where there is light darkness cannot exist.

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The Beatitudes Pt. 8

Posted in Beatitudes on July 12, 2010| Leave a Comment »

 10″Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Matthew 5:10

All around the world there are Christians that are being persecuted.  In many countries churches are hidden because the preaching of the gospel is against the law.  There are many who convert to Christianity that are disowned by their families and even their very lives are threatened.

Jesus said blessed are those that are persecuted for the sake of righteousness.  They belong to the Kingdom.  They are blessed because they are not of this world but the Kingdom of God is theirs.  For all of us who believe in Jesus we are part of God’s Kingdom.  We are blessed to be a blessing.

Even though many Christians are persecuted for their faith, they are taking the gospel to the nations.  It is God’s desire that all men should come to the saving knowledge of Jesus and we have been commissioned to take the gospel to every corner of the earth.

Persecution is part of the Christian life.  We may not all experience the same type of persecution but we are all blessed to be members of the Kingdom of God.  Let’s pray for those who are in dangerous areas preaching and teaching the gospel.  May God continue to bring protection and safety to those that face danger everyday.  Most importantly, may God continue to add numbers to the Kingdom of heaven.

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The Beatitudes Pt. 7

Posted in Beatitudes on July 9, 2010| Leave a Comment »

9“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.  Matthew 5:9

Jesus said that He gives us His peace and leaves His peace with us.  One of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is peace.  Paul encourages us that we should live peacefully with all men.  We are to be a people of peace.  We should reflect peace in our lives and try to bring peace in all situations.

It is not our job to judge people or bring about strife in any relationship.  We will be known as children of God based on how we bring peace into situations.  Jesus was a peacemaker.  He brought the ultimate peace between God and man.  Now that we are a part of Jesus and He is a part of us we are called peacemakers – the sons of God.

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The Beatitudes Pt. 6

Posted in Beatitudes on July 7, 2010| Leave a Comment »

8“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.  Matthew 5:8

Sin separates us from God.  Jesus died for our sins and we have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus.  It is our faith in Jesus that gives us a pure heart.  Those with a pure heart shall see God.

We are under a new covenant and we have direct access to God through Jesus.  So we can now seek the face of God.  The bible says if we diligently seek after God we will find Him.

God looks at the heart of a person.  If our heart is pure we will experience God and His blessings.  Whatever may corrupt our hearts we must repent and God is faithful to forgive us.  That is why Jesus talks about a person’s heart and how they can sin in their heart even though they may have not committed the physical act of sin.  So we must examine our hearts and keep them pure.  It is by the power of the Holy Spirit that our hearts remain pure.  In that purity we will see God.

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The Beatitudes Pt. 5

Posted in Beatitudes on July 5, 2010| Leave a Comment »

 7″Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.  Matthew 5:7

God’s mercies are new every morning.  Each day we are guaranteed to experience the mercy of God.  Here Jesus is teaching that those who show mercy will receive mercy.  The bible teaches us that we reap what we sow.  So if we sow mercy we will reap mercy.  We always reap more than we sow, so we will always receive more mercy than we give.  That is why Jesus said merciful people are blessed.

When we show mercy we are actually an extension of God’s mercy towards mankind.  God shows mercy to others through us.  So we receive the blessing of God when we show mercy to others.

We should never hold grudges or be bitter toward one another.  Instead, as God has shown mercy to us, we should show mercy to one another.

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The Beatitudes Pt. 4

Posted in Beatitudes on July 1, 2010| Leave a Comment »

6“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Matthew 5:6

Have you ever wanted something so bad you would do almost anything to get it?  Well here Jesus is saying that those who hunger and thirst after righteousness will be filled.  Many of us struggle with sin but if we go after righteousness we will be satisfied.  Imagine being completely satisfied.

So how do we hunger and thirst after righteousness?  We should seek God.  The more time we spend with God the more we want Him.  The more we are with Him the more we want to be like Him.  God is righteousness.  So in essence Jesus is saying if you hunger and thirst after God, you will be satisfied.

There is no reason to hunger for temporary things or things of this earth.  Let’s set our mind on eternal things and on God for that is where we will be filled and find the most satisfaction.

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