Two of the greatest areas of concern in life are wealth and health. As we age, these become even more important. In light of this, the Epistle of III John has a very interesting verse.

3 John 1:2 Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

Think about this: it is nothing for us to talk after fellowship or church about things that affect our health and nutrition and then to study nutrition during the week. But the subject of finances has been stigmatized for hundreds of years to the end that most Christians don’t speak much about it.

Our adversary, the devil, has attacked the subject of health, to the end that many Christians believe it is God’s will for them to be sick. This enemy also, through devilish doctrines, has caused many Christians to believe that if you have much money you must have gotten it through shady means, and that you are greedy. The devil has put forth that the most humble people are poor.

A good friend of mine, Rev. Mike Verdicchio, wrote a book and produced a CD on healing that are very good. The book shows that it is God’s will for you to be whole – that by the stripes of Jesus Christ, you were healed.

Some people feel that prosperity and health are inextricably interwoven:

• Great wealth but bedridden?
• Great health but in poverty?

God wants us to have both together. Great health AND prosperity. These are two of the biggest areas of concern in many people’s lives. It is the desire of God that we are all prosperous and healthy.

If both health and prosperity are part of God’s will, then both should be acceptable to study.

Christianity has taught that if you speak of money then you are greedy. If to desire great health is to desire God’s will for your life, then to desire great prosperity should be just as acceptable as part of God’s will for your life. A steady diet of teaching from God’s Word, listened to every day, could prosper your soul, increase your believing, and increase your understanding of God’s Word.

Could that, then, have an impact on your prosperity and health? Change your life?

This subject of prosperity should be part of our life as much as any other part of walking with and for God is. My goal is to help get to the root of what God promises about prosperity and then believe that.

As you read my book Poverty vs Wealth and find things you can use, think on this:

Psalm 119:97-100 MEM. O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day. Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients because I keep thy precepts.

Notice that the Psalmist says he meditated on God’s Word all the day. Because he did that, God gave him wisdom above all his enemies. And that as he meditated on the scriptures, he had more understanding than all his teachers. Last of all, he says that because he kept God’s precepts or God’s Word, he had more understanding than the ancients. WOW!

As you read and think and read and think, ask God to teach you. He will. Your understanding will grow and grow. As you put His Word into action, He will teach you even more. Understanding is a growing process. You may not get it all the first day or even the first year. Being faithful to thinking on His Word and incorporating it into your life will bring great understanding and will be of great profit to you and the family, and the house that you are building.

This learning is all part of The Prosperous Life.

Pro 14:1a Every wise woman buildeth her house….

“Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise,” Benjamin Franklin is quoted as saying.

The great King Solomon has an interesting story to relate when it comes to this subject.

• 1Kings 3:5-14  In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.  And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.  And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.  Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?  And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.  And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.

I have always found it interesting that God said since you did not ask for riches or a long life as it says in 2 Chronicles….

It would almost seem that God does not prefer us asking for wealth or a long life.  I am not saying it says that, but it would seem to imply that.

So, exactly what did Solomon ask for that God was so blessed with?  In the above record, he asked for an understanding heart.  In the corresponding record in 2 Chronicles 1:10, Solomon asks:  “Give me now wisdom and knowledge….”

These three things, knowledge, wisdom and understanding, are like different facets of the same diamond.  They seem to be traveling companions in God’s Word — where you find one, you usually find the other two.

So when Solomon asked for wisdom, knowledge and understanding, God said He would give that to him as well as wealth and a long life (health) if Solomon would walk according to God’s Word.

Now, Solomon was the writer of some, if not all, of the proverbs in the Book of Proverbs.  So Proverbs would be some of what God taught Solomon.

Solomon discovered that wealth and health are a RESULT

of seeking after the knowledge and wisdom of God.

• Proverbs 3:13-16  Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.  For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.  She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.
• Proverbs 4:5-7  Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

Apparently, understanding is something you have to go get.  You have to want it; you have to seek after it.  Seemingly, Solomon wanted this understanding and wisdom so much that when God asked what can I give you, that is what burst out of his mouth and heart.

(It is interesting that God gave Solomon what he did not ask for, wealth, honor and a long life God could have chosen to give Solomon many others things, but this is what God chose to bless Solomon’s life with.  This is very similar to the verse in 3 John 2: Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.  So we might conclude that seeking after knowledge, understanding and wisdom would at least be part of the prospering of the soul.)

So, first of all, it would be an understanding of God and His Word.  But as we see when we read the works of Solomon, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, it also applies to all areas of life.

For example, you can seek after knowledge, understanding and wisdom in the areas of:

• Industry
• Medicine
• Law
• How engines work
• How to run a business
• Raising children
• Breastfeeding
• Teaching children and adults
• How to handle money, areas of finance
• How to deal with health issues

The list could go on and on. Part of what God taught Solomon was to get some understanding, some knowledge and some wisdom.

So if you need greater health, or more help in the area of finances, ask God for understanding and wisdom in those areas, and then go get some recommended books, take some classes or find a good mentor and learn.

I have heard believers all my life say something to the effect of, “If I am going to read, study or learn, I am only interested in doing it from the Bible.”  Yet many of these same people went to college to get degrees in their chosen field.  But when it comes to learning about anything else, if it is not in the Bible, they have no interest in it.  It is almost a copout.

God’s Word gives us a solid foundation of truths and principles by which to guide our lives.  It is a light to our paths.  We work and live in this world, and we need to understand many different things. As we learn through books, teachers and courses, we have as our motivation to be the best for God in what we are studying at the moment.  We serve Him in ALL that we do. So we need knowledge and wisdom in many areas.

Consider for a minute what the record in Daniel teaches us. Daniel and some of his compatriots were carried off as slaves into Babylon when Babylon sacked Jerusalem.  The king of Babylon had the finest of these captives go to school at Babylon “University” to become some of his advisors.  They would have spent their time studying the language, the politics, the way the kingdom was administered, the wars they were involved in, and perhaps a host of other secular Babylonian subjects so that they would be able to advise the king.

Bible 101 was probably not the main course.  But these men were ones that kept God first in their hearts.  Thus, God opened their understanding and gave them wisdom in what they were studying to the end that when they were tested after three years, they were found to be 10 times wiser than all the other advisors.

How does that work you ask?  As you read or study material in the area you are interested in, God will show you, that piece works with this one, this piece goes over here in your understanding, trash that one.  If you expect Him to show you and teach you, He will. But He needs a willing student. Someone who wants to learn.  Sadly as we get older, we shut off the intake valve to knowledge and lose much of what God would teach us.  It reminds one of the verse that says “to he that hath (understanding) more shall be given, and to he that hath not (no understanding) even that which he hath shall be taken away.

The key to gaining the type of understanding and wisdom that Daniel and his friends had is also found in the writings of Solomon.

• Proverbs 1:7  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
• Proverbs 9:10  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

This is where true health and wealth come from – having a great respect for God FIRST, above all else, then as you seek after knowledge and wisdom and understanding, God will help you to gain understanding in whatever field you need or want to learn.

Then, as Solomon discovered, as your knowledge, wisdom, and understanding increase, so does your wealth and health.

Proverbs 14:24 The wise accumulate wisdom; fools get stupider by the day.  (The Message)

Proverbs 2:7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.

Pro 8:21  That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures. 

The book Poverty Vs Wealth: Fundamentals of Prosperity,  pulls back the curtain in many more areas of prosperity. It is not a rehash of what you may have learned in the past. The information has helped many people, including myself, to understand what God really did say concerning The Prosperous Life.

One of the great ways to start off the New Year is to make sure you have forgiven all the people that wronged or offended you during the year.  (You can go back further if this is the first year you have done this.)

I saw a great quote the other day that said, “Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does change the future.”

Another author said, “Forgiveness is not so much an act as it is a process.” It does take work to forgive people for the hurt they cause.  But it is the best way to live because being unforgiving, holding onto hurt or grudges, or being offended is a prison that can be hard to escape.

The best practice to establish in your life is to forgive quickly.  It will show in your face.  Those that hold grudges become hard in the face and in the heart. Eventually, it will destroy your relationship with all those around you.  Forgiveness allows you to move forward without the baggage and bondage of the grudges people hold in their minds.  Holding grudges is like a prison.  Forgiveness sets you free.

You can forgive a person even if they are not sorry for what they did.  Remember Jesus said when he was dying on the cross, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” You can also live even on a higher level than forgiveness by asking God to forgive them and bless their lives.  It is one thing for you to forgive a person; it is another for you to ask God to forgive them.  That is called intercession.  It is a much bigger way to live and a great way to clean the slate of the last year(s) and start over.  It is a much lighter feeling to go forward into 2017.

The other way to start off the New Year is to do the things I talked about in the book Poverty vs Wealth.

1. Keep God first all year.
2. Be a giver of part of your income .
3. Be a saver of part of your income.

These three simple things can change your life dramatically as the years go by.

If you have not tried these yet, set a goal to do your best with each this year, and then at the end of the year, sit down and see if they have not changed your life.

If you have tried these things and they have changed your life already, read our previous blog and consider buying some stock or mutual funds for your children or grandchildren during the year.

This can open up some great conversations about God and prosperity within your family and church or fellowship.  Your children or grandchildren will have the gift of stock long after the other kids’ toys are in the trash and forgotten.

God bless you all and have fun setting some goals for the next year.  Let me know how it works out for you in the comment section.  I appreciate hearing from you.

Forgiveness and keeping God first are all part of The Prosperous Life.

We have been discussing over the last few months what to give our grandchildren for birthday or Christmas presents.  We decided to go with the long-term perspective of giving stocks.

Most of the presents we have given to our children over the years ended up broken, in the trash or lost.  And really, think about it, will your grandchildren remember the ugly Christmas sweater you got them after they have grown up? Probably not!

So we decided that with our grandchildren we wanted to do something different and help them develop a longer term perspective on life by giving them stock or mutual funds for presents.  This is something that would stimulate conversation not only with our grandchildren but also between us and our children and perhaps between the siblings.

We also hope this will help our grandchildren to see a better way to handle finances than living paycheck to paycheck.

This also is one way of doing the following verse:

• Proverbs 13:22a  A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children….

This giving of stock can open up conversations in your family and especially between you and your grandchildren as they grow up. For instance:

1. Why to save money
2. How to save money (automatic deductions from checking accounts)
3. Not to spend all you take in
4. How to grow your net worth over time
5. How saving this way can provide for your family and your retirement.
6. What happens if you live paycheck to paycheck?

Then when they reach adulthood, they will still have much of your presents left.

To do this their parents need to open a guardianship account with an online stock broker like TD Ameritrade or Charles Schwab.   Usually these accounts can be opened with no funds deposited in them. And they usually do not require a management fee from what I have been told. Then when the child comes of age, 18 or 21 depending on your state, the account will become theirs.

Then we would buy the stock in our account and transfer it to the child on or before their birthday.  Most charge no fee for the transfer.

Doing this may stimulate your children to add to the guardianship accounts for their children also.

They no longer issue stock certificates for stock (I was disappointed at that information), so you will need to download a blank fake form online and fill it out yourself to have something to give them on their birthday.  Then they could keep those in a notebook.

Our plan is to buy all the stock for all the grandchildren on the same day once a year, usually in the fall when stocks are cheap.  Also buy some of the same stock for ourselves so we can see how their accounts are doing since we will not be the guardians of the accounts.  This way they all get the same stock bought at the same time.  No partiality.

There is no rule on how much money you should spend.  It is the idea of the long term perspective on life, and how to treat money that is important rather than the amount.  So you could do $50.00/year or much more. So for five grandchildren and us that would be $300.00/year.  Not too bad.

This is just one more way in which we change ourselves and set a pattern for the generations that follow us to being producers instead of consumers — owning instead of buying.  Learning to live on less than our income.  Then taking part of the income, investing it and having it produce more.

This is all part of The Prosperous Life.

Have a great New Year.  Let me know how it goes for you in this adventure.

Poverty vs Wealth  Available on Amazon

In the movie Hell or High Water, towards the end, one of the actors makes the statement, “My parents were poor, my grandparents were poor — poverty is a disease that is passed generation to generation.”

Poverty is a relative term. According to some sources, 90% of the world’s population live on less than $10.00/day. According to that estimation of poverty, our welfare class live like kings with their food stamps, paid rent, air-conditioned houses, TV’s, cars and Obama phones.

However, poverty is not determined by how much money you have, but by how you think. Professional ball players making millions still think the same way they did while growing up and many go bankrupt within a few years of retirement.

Poverty mindsets — Here are some common ones:

1. Won’t go into certain stores because they don’t feel good enough to go in.
2. Can’t save money or make more than they need.
3. Always jealous of what others have.
4. No matter how hard I work, I can never make ends meet.
5. Struggling is the story of my life.
6. Might say: I’m short on cash, I’m hard up or I’m broke.
7. Spends most all of the income every month.
8. We are just scraping by …. On and On.

Our culture, our politicians and many times our religion are our enablers by the attitudes they expound. All the following quotes have one thing in common. Poverty is something a person is born into or has thrust upon them, and it is not the fault of the individual, nor can the individual do anything about it. It takes some greater power than themselves to extract them from the poverty.

“There is enough in the world for everyone’s need, but not for everyone’s greed.” Frank Buchman, protestant evangelist.

What he is saying is to meet the needs of all the people, we will have to take from the have’s and give to the have not’s. This is only accomplished by force — taxation or at the point of a gun. Clearly, a socialist mentality.

“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”   Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32^nd President of the United States.

Here we see that the poor can do nothing about their situation unless a power like the government provides for them. The poor are victims.

By these attitudes, we have developed a permanent underclass that is dependent on the government for assistance. We need a better understanding of how poverty and prosperity really work. Each has its own mindset.

P.J. O’Rourke — You can’t get rid of poverty by giving money to the poor.

Prosperity mindsets — come from God’s Word, the Bible

1. Genesis 32:12 I will surely make you prosper.
2. Genesis 39:2 The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered.
3. Deuteronomy 28:11 The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity ….
4. Joshua 1:8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips, meditate on it day and night, then you will be prosperous and successful.

Here is a self-talk positive mindset that you can alter or use if you wish.

•  I am a son of the God, who created the heavens and earth.
• The One who parted the Red Sea and the Jordon River at flood stage.
• The One who caused the sun to go backwards and caused it to stand still.
• I am a son of the God, who set the stars in their courses,
• The One who forgave all my sin and seated me at his own right hand in Christ.
• The One who loves me so much he gives his angels charge over me.
• My Father owns the cattle on a thousand hill. (Psalm 50:10).
• His hand is with me in everything I do. (1 Chronicles 4:10)
• It is His wish above all things that I prosper and be in health even as my soul prospers. (1John 1:2)

Whatever you focus on expands. If you have a poverty mindset, it will manifest in your life.

If you have a prosperity mindset, it will expand and become the way of your life.

Put another way: whatever you confess, you will receive. So confess you are a child of God, with His blessing on your life and expect to see His hand at work in your life every day.

Decide today that for your family “the buck stops here.” You are starting a new tradition of Godly prosperity to pass on to the generations that follow us.

Learning how to do proper self-talk in the area of prosperity is all part of The Prosperous Life.

(For more on this topic read our book Poverty vs Wealth available on Amazon.)