Category Archives: The Prosperous Life

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Don’t Be Hasty!!      

Since I started to write about money and finances, I have had some people ask me about investing. I try to keep my blogs as close to the Word of God as possible. God does not say much about WHAT to invest in, but He does have much wisdom when it comes to certain aspects of how to manage your money.

One of the most important pieces of wisdom that God gives us is Proverbs 28.

Proverbs 28:19-22  He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough.  A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent. To have respect of persons is not good: for a piece of bread that man will transgress. He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.

New Living Translation
Proverbs 28:20 The trustworthy person will get a rich reward, but a person who wants quick riches will get into trouble.

So, God says here that the hasty person shall have poverty come upon him, and he will get into trouble. What does it mean to be hasty?

On the internet the other day, I watched a short clip of Dave Ramsey talking about saving money. He stated that the average car payment in the US right now is about $500.00 per month. He stated that if you put that $500.00 per month into a good growth mutual fund from age 30 to 70 you would have $5.4 million. This is an example of steadily and faithfully applying the biblical principle of saving money.

About 10 minutes later, I saw Robert Kiyosaki talk about how to become rich using other people’s money (OPM). Buy a cheap house, fix it up, have it reappraised for a higher value, take out part of the new equity to use as the down payment on another house and then rent the first one out. You do this over and over. He stated that the way to become wealthy is with DEBT!

I saw a similar conversation on Facebook a couple of days later:

Debt is your friend!!??

“I just paid off my house in 10 years.”

“Congratulations!”

“Thanks, I saved so much. I paid it off in 10 years instead of 30! Now that I’m debt free, I’m ready to build wealth. How do I do it?”

“Refinance that home and put it all into investments.”

“What?! I just paid off my loan, now you’re telling me to get a new one?”

“Yep! If you want to be wealthy, you have to be comfortable using debt for investments. If you have $200K sitting in your house, it’s not making you any money. If you want to build wealth, pull out that money and put it to work.”

While this is A WAY to wealth, it is absolutely the wisdom of the world. This is for those hasty souls that are willing to risk that they won’t get caught when the music stops.

The advantage of a paid-off house is found here:

Proverbs 22:26  Be not thou one of them that strike hands, or of them that are sureties for debts.

Proverbs 22:27  If thou hast nothing to pay, why should he take away thy bed from under thee?

The bankers can’t take your or your children’s beds. It is paid off. This is the Wisdom of God.

Proverbs 10:22 The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich and he addeth no sorrow with it.

$5.4 million by following the wisdom of God and saving money for 40 years is a blessing, and there is not sorrow in that. But if you use debt and they take your family’s home, that could be great sorrow.

So, some of these debt-propounding gurus argue that there is good debt and bad debt. To me that is like arguing that there are good witches and evil witches. God just calls them witches and He calls debt, debt.

What does God say about debt? Does He agree that you need to get comfortable with debt to become wealthy?

Let’s look at some verses:

Deuteronomy 28:12 The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.

Here, God says that He as THE LORD will open unto you His good treasure (storehouse). This is like the verse:

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

Here, God says HE will fill your treasures or storehouses. A storehouse for us is like a bank account. In the Old Testament times, they stored their crops against the winter coming up. We store cash because we are not an agricultural-based economy anymore. But God says HE will fill your storehouses. How? He will give rain unto your land in due season. That would be like God giving us the jobs we need and supplying us through our work. Then God says He will bless all the work of our hands. The context here is money. With all that blessing, who would need to borrow? Then God says we shall be lenders and NOT borrowers!!

If God is going to supply, we should have no real need to borrow. Borrowing is a real problem.

Proverbs 22:7 The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.

Proverbs 23:4 Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom.

The borrower, God says, is a servant to the lender. WOW – servant to the lender!!  Who are we supposed to serve? Well, in the Old Testament God told Pharoah to let His people go:

Exodus 8:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me.

We are servants as well as sons and daughters of God Almighty. Our Father has great resources to supply all we need and more. We are to serve Him. He has said HE will fill our storehouses. This is the wisdom of God.

So then, if we decide God’s way is not quick enough for us in the gaining of wealth, the only wisdom left is the wisdom of the world – the use of debt. It may look good going in, but God says it ends in poverty and will get you into trouble.

So, you might ask then, if I am never to have debt, how would I ever buy a house? Good question. The economy we live in is designed for us to be in debt all our lives or at least most of our lives. If you read the book, The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve, it talks about how the bankers set up our economy so we would be paying them every month for years via car loans, house loans, credit cards, and school loans. These are the ways and wisdom of the world. God has a better way. We cannot change how our economy works, but we can decide to not play the game of life long debt. We can pay off those loans as quickly as possible. Pay them off in 10 years instead of 30 and have a secure home for our family and children.

If you buy a house, pay it off as quickly as possible. It is quite a nice feeling to not owe on your home. No one can take it away from you no matter what the economy does.

Our natural way of thinking is to believe that the way things are today is how they will continue to be forever. Inflation is increasing the value of properties, so the gurus say, “Refinance and get some.” But that is just not true. You can easily wake up one morning and everything has changed. I have lived through three economic downturns in our state since the early 1970’s.

When the price of oil dropped in the 1990’s, we lost our home and all of our rental property that we bought using OPM. It was interesting and sad. Many banks that had loaned out money to drill oil wells were considered unstable, and the FED moved in and closed them. The FED then called the loans due that had been loaned out to drill wells. In other words, the borrowers had to pay the loans off in full immediately. If they could not, and most could not, the FED took the wells and the collateral used for the loan, usually the person’s home. One banker told me they were repossessing homes at the rate here in the city of 400 houses per month. That was just one bank. The FED made the banks resell those houses immediately. They were not allowed to hold them until the economy improved. Some homes were sold for half the value of the year before. I knew of a friend at that time who bought a house in a wealthy neighborhood that was valued at $350,000 the year before, and he paid about $175,000.

With repossessed houses being sold so cheap, new construction could not compete with that pricing, and it soon shut down all together. Because of all this, the oil workers moved out of town, and the construction workers moved to Tennessee and Dallas where there was still work. This left rental apartments at about 50% vacancy. The apartments were giving away two- and three-months free rent if you would just move in. This caused a lot of folks with rental property, us included, to have their properties repossessed. Times were hard.

God said if you follow the wisdom of the world – vain person, real estate gurus – and are hasty to be rich you will get into trouble and come to poverty.

Some people may have gotten out in time, but most did not. Just like you hear of the lucky soul that made a fortune in the casino or the lottery, but most do not. God has a better way.

What can you do with the money you have saved? In one of the parables Jesus told, he talked about the householder giving his servant talents, and they went and TRADED with them and doubled their money. He did not tell them to get a loan and trade with the borrowed money. The servants started their trading from a position of cash. Trading is a lost art in our day and time, but some still do it. I have met people who buy and sell golf courses or businesses they bought from the IRS, made them profitable, and then sold them. People buy and sell everything from antiques, storage buildings full of junk, boats, and cars. Some buy and sell stocks and bonds and crypto.

I learned a few years ago that wealthy people wait until what they want is at a price that is at rock bottom. Then they buy. I have a builder that will buy empty lots to build on from other builders at times but only just before the other builder goes bankrupt.

The wealthy may wait years for silver to get to a price point where they are willing to buy. When it does, they pay cash and do not borrow. Warren Buffet has said, “Cash is a position.”

In times like we are having right now, good economy and rising inflation, you see many people hawking, “Make your fortune in real estate!”  Classes, seminars, books, and short video clips are being touted. Yet as I wrote earlier, nothing stays the same. The economy will change and when it does, one thing those classes never talk about is where does the money come from to make those mortgage payments when the houses are empty. Or as we have had recently when the government declares a moratorium on rent. You must make your payment on how many houses or apartments and no money coming in. You make those payments out of your savings, or they take everything you own. These gurus never cover that subject. Just like the rest of society, they assume property values and rent will continue to rise forever. That is not reality. That is the wisdom of the world, the wisdom of vain persons.

In our pursuit of The Prosperous Life, we want to know and walk upon the wisdom of God.

I wanted to leave you with this wisdom that God has given us in the Book of Psalms. Notice, it says here lending the same as it did in Deuteronomy.

Psalm 112:5-9 A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion. Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD. His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies. He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour.

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Do You Feel Lucky?

A Short on Prosperity #16

 

Isaiah 1:19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:

There are two records in the Bible that, although they do not relate directly to financial prosperity, they have some important points from which we could learn. Jesus Christ, in his ministry, referred to these two records in Luke.

Luke 4:25-27 But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.

The first of these records refers to Elijah the prophet. To feed and hide the prophet during the famine, God sent Elijah to a widow woman of Sidon. This woman was not of Israel, but God knew that when she heard the saying of the man of God, Elijah, she would believe and obey.

1 Kings 17:12-15 And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.

She was willing and obedient, and she ate for many days.

You could have looked from the outside on her life and said, “Well, isn’t she lucky!”  Or she could have felt of herself that she was lucky. But was it really luck? The truth was that she obeyed what God had told her by way of the prophet Elijah.

Why did God not do this for all the widows in Israel? If you read the context in the record of Luke, you will understand that Jesus was teaching about believing. There are not many that believe what God has said – at times, very few. Those who do believe and obey have great results. She ate for many days.

The other record that Jesus referred to was the healing of Naaman the Syrian. Once again, Naaman was not of Israel. Jesus said there were many lepers in Israel during the time of the prophet Elisha, but none were healed except Naaman. There is no record of any other leper even approaching God and asking for healing.

2 Kings 5:14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

Naaman was willing to ask. He believed and obeyed what God had told him by way of the prophet Elisha. Therefore, he was healed of his leprosy. This miracle was instant.

Looking from the outside, it could appear that Naaman was lucky. He could have felt lucky. But was it luck? The truth is that Naaman obeyed what God had said by way of the prophet Elisha, and he received the results.

Both Naaman and the widow ate of the good of the land. They were both willing and obedient. They were both not of Israel. Interesting. God is not a respecter of persons. He is only a respecter of conditions. Both met the conditions. They were willing and obedient, and so they ate.

After a few years of giving/tithing, saving, and staying out of debt, you could radically change your financial position. All three of these God has told us to do. Are you willing and obedient?

Some have found that as they diligently pursued saving more of their income, that there was even more they could save. It began to stack up quite nicely after a few years. They could feel lucky especially if they grew up poor and have lived paycheck to paycheck for years. Others could observe this change, and it might appear like luck. But is it luck? No! It is being willing and obedient, and God has said that if you are willing and obedient you will eat of the good of the land.

Here are a couple of additional promises that show God’s great desire for His children:

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

Malachi 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

The prospering of our souls in part is to study God’s Word, believe it and obey it. Make God’s Word the standard of our lives.

Not many are willing to rise up and be obedient to tithe, to save and get out of debt, but to those that do are the blessings of God in their pursuit of The Prosperous Life.

 

 

 

 

 

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Thankful

A Short on Prosperity # 15

 

There is a classic record at the end of 1 Chronicles that ties giving and thankfulness together. On this national day of Thanksgiving, I would like to share it with you. The setting for this is the prayer that David offered to God when David and the people gave of their prosperity the things needed for the building of the temple that Solomon was to build.

1Chronicles 29:10-14  Wherefore David blessed the LORD before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, for ever and ever. Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name. But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.

Our times are different because our biblical administration is grace, not law, like in David’s time, but we too can have thankful hearts like these people did when we give.

Here is the beginning of a list of things to be thankful for:

Salvation
New birth
Eternal life
The food he provides
All spiritual blessings
Having His spirit born within
That He hears ALL our prayers
The manifestations of the spirit
How He walks and talks with us
God’s watchful care over our lives
For the prosperity He gives His children

In this record, these people and David gave willingly back to God for His service and what He had given to them. The people recognized all they had belonged to God anyway. So it was with a thankful heart that they gave.

The best motivation for giving is not because we were told to or because we would feel condemnation if we don’t or out of fear that God won’t love us or accept us, but we give because we believe His word. We give because the One that gave us eternal life asked us to. We give from a thankful heart. We give because of our love for Him.

To give back to God from a thankful heart because we believe His Word is all part of aligning our minds and hearts up properly in pursuit of The Prosperous Life.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

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Proverbs 3

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

Just note that the prosperity referred to here in 3 John 2 is to prosper in many areas of life not just financial. The third chapter of Proverbs gives us great insight into how to prosper and be in health and how to prosper your soul.

Proverbs 3:1-5  My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

We trust in the Lord by doing or keeping His Word. To the best of our ability, we do or carry out what God has asked us to do. We give and forgive, we walk in love, we speak in tongues, and in all things, we endeavor to keep Him and His Word first as our standard for believing and living.

Proverbs 3:6-11  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns (storehouses) be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.  My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:

Interesting:  These verses deal with health and prosperity the same as 3 John 2. Note that in these verses, with regard to prosperity, the principle stated is to honor the Lord. In other words, take it to the temple. Second, they were to have a place to store the increase that God gave them. In their case, as an agricultural society, they were to have barns (storehouses). We might have savings accounts/storehouses for the abundance that God gives because of our giving.

In our walk, our life with God, we sometimes will need major and minor corrections in our course. It is like driving a car. To keep the car on course, it takes hundreds of minor corrections to keep it on the right road and to avoid danger.

Proverbs 3:12-13  For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth. Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.

The word “happy” in verse 13 is the same as the word “blessed” used in the first Psalm. Note here, too, that “blessed – happy” relates to prospering in whatsoever you do.

Psalm 1:1-3  Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

The man here in Psalm 1 is prospering his soul as 3 John 2 says by delighting in the Word of God day and night. This is similar to, if not the same as, “seek ye first the kingdom of God” or “as thy soul prospereth”. How do we delight in the Word of God? By reminding ourselves during the day that we are the children of God, that we are set apart from the world by the work of Jesus Christ, that we are righteous, that our lives with our Father and Lord Jesus Christ are just beginning, and that we have a long future ahead of us. We delight in these truths.

Proverbs 3:14-15  For the merchandise of it (wisdom) is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. She ( the wisdom of God’s Word) is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.

Every place you read “She” or “Her” in this chapter is a figure of speech where the wisdom of God is referred to as a woman.

Proverbs 3:16  Length of days (health) is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour (prosperity).

Once again, it is the same as God’s great desire in 3 John 2 to prosper and be in health. And the key to these two things is to cling to, to delight in the wisdom of God and keep His Word first in our lives.

Proverbs 3:17-19  Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her. The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.

The wisdom of God that we are encouraged here to learn and live by is very great and powerful. God’s wisdom is so great and powerful it founded the earth and established the heavens. So, living according to the wisdom of God can give you a long peaceful life and great prosperity.

Proverbs 3:20-26  By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew. My son, let not them ( the wise words of God) depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion: So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck. Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.

God gives a great many promises in this chapter to those who love Him and keep His Word first in their hearts. This chapter could be considered a key to unlocking the door of The Prosperous Life.

Live long and prosper.

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The Challenge of Prosperity

A Short on Prosperity # 14

Many years ago, I heard part of the 73rd Psalm:

Psalm 73:3-7 For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no bands in their death: but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men. Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment. Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish.

I thought, if this is what being wealthy is like, I want nothing to do with money. But I soon came to realize that you must work – your family must eat! But still, I wanted nothing to do with money. I was tithing but still very broke. I did not know what to think or believe. As I began to learn the truth about prosperity, my wife and I had the challenge of changing our minds on several levels.

Part of the challenge of prosperity is the changing of our minds to see the possibility of wealth in a whole new light.

Years ago, our culture adopted the religious “Christian” idea that to have much money is wrong. Our culture believes that the wealthy are greedy, are not honest and obtained their wealth in the gray areas of the law if not illegally. Thus, we have wealthy people depicted in the movies as Dr. Evil and the TV show, American Greed. Sometimes they are referred to as the filthy rich.

Additionally, Christianity has taught and believed that to be truly humble and walk with God you must give up all worldly goods and live from hand to mouth.

God tells a completely different story in His Word.

When God put Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, God wanted a family. Children that He could walk and talk with. Children that would love Him. Thus, when He put man on the earth, He also put within the earth everything His man and His family would need to live a healthy and prosperous life.

God put iron, coal, and oil in the earth in such abundance, that without these we would have never had an industrial age. God created and put within the earth all the precious minerals, like gold, silver, and platinum. God created all the inert gases that light your fluorescent lights and make your party balloons float away. God put in and on the earth, everything man would need to be able to enjoy his life here.

Then God put His spirit in man. God gave the man a body and soul so that His man could live here and enjoy the earth He had created for him, and then God put His spirit in man so He could communicate with His family. Then God made Adam His under ruler … in essence, Adam became the god of this world.

When Adam sinned by eating from the forbidden tree, he committed high treason against God. Adam handed over the dominion of the creation to the devil.

Once the devil had dominion, he began to funnel much of the wealth of the world to his people. These people are the ones spoken about in the 73rd Psalm that we read earlier.

AND the devil began to cloud the minds of God’s people about the truth of what they had a right to. As we have seen in other blogs, the devil may be the temporary god of this world, but our Father still is the one that owns the silver and gold and the cattle on a thousand hills.

Once we understand this is true, it is easy to just mentally agree with that truth but not really act on it. Some call this mental assent. The challenge is to not only agree but to believe that what God lays out in His Word is the truth about money and then line our lives, our thinking, and our believing up accordingly.

If these truths become part of your life, then you would tithe/give, save, get out of debt, and learn how to invest and see the prosperity your Father gives you grow. That would involve changing the mind from not only agreeing with these truths but acting on them as well day after day for the rest of your life – living as the sons and daughters God designed us to be.

God’s truths about wealth and prosperity must be retaught in each generation because our mutual enemy puts the church to sleep concerning them over and over. Therefore, much of Christianity is poor when our father’s great wish above all things is for us to prosper and be in health even as our soul prospers.

I will conclude with this quote which seems appropriate:

“One often encounters the viewpoint that anybody who loves God and who believes what God’s Word says is either destined or duty-bound to be poor. What a shame it is that Abraham was excluded from that particular destiny or duty! Abraham had believed what God had said. He had gone where God had told him to go. But he was NOT POOR, rather he was VERY RICH – in cattle, in silver, and in gold. Something must have been wrong! Perhaps what is wrong is not something which was wrong with Abraham, or it is not something which is wrong with God, but perhaps it is rather something which is wrong with our understanding. Abraham was VERY RICH, and he was called by God in Scripture “the Friend of God”.

So, the challenge presented here is to read the records and verses in God’s Word for yourself and then act upon the principles God has laid out in His Word. The reality will become clearer and clearer that God has called us to His family, and His great wish for us is to enjoy The Prosperous Life.