Abram learnt one great lesson in Genesis 13:1-18 of how to work out prosperity and victory the kingdom way. This is the principle of mature insight. This is learning to view issues from God's perspective. This is the principle that makes bad and bitter situations good, because you chose to see God and greatness in those situations.
Abram had the responsibility of seeing for himself what he believed about his future. God was not to do this for his. Note what Abram did in verse 4. He revisited the place of his first altar and worshiped God there. That was undoubtedly the foundation for the kind of insight that would change his life forever! Therefore, Abram got the courage to ask lot to choose the portion of the land he preferred. That was definitely not human.
Like Abram, every look for perfect connection entails:
(a) From where you are, learn to lift up your eyes. It means look above the present levels and limits in every area of your life.
(b) Let the look be in respect of each area of your life. Dream big and attainable dreams in respect of each of those areas.
(c) Then take a faith walk! Do what you should do to induce the testimony. It could be by faith confessions, seed faith, contacts, hard work, etc.
I pray the God of all GRACE even before He gives you the blessing of Abraham to give you the FAITH of Abraham that the blessing might flow without ceasing in Jesus mighty name, AMEN.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Only Through the Cross
“We have freedom now, because Christ made us free.” Galatians 5:1
Some teach that we earn God’s favor by what we know (intellectualism). Others insist we are saved by what we do (moralism). Still others that salvation is determined by what we feel (emotionalism).
However you package it, Paul contests, . . . salvation comes only through the cross—no additions, no alterations.
However you package it, Paul contests, . . . salvation comes only through the cross—no additions, no alterations.
THE TRUTH
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6, NKJV
Jesus leaves us with two options. Accept him as God or reject him as a megalomaniac. There is no third alternative . . .
Call him crazy or crown him as king. Dismiss him as a fraud or declare him to be God. Walk away from him or bow before him, but don’t play games with him. Don’t call him a great man. Don’t list him among decent folk . . . He is either God or godless. Heaven sent or hell born. All hope or all hype. But nothing in between.
Call him crazy or crown him as king. Dismiss him as a fraud or declare him to be God. Walk away from him or bow before him, but don’t play games with him. Don’t call him a great man. Don’t list him among decent folk . . . He is either God or godless. Heaven sent or hell born. All hope or all hype. But nothing in between.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Effective Money Management In The Home 3
Family Success
It is my privilege to welcome you to this week's teaching on Effective Money Management at Home. I believe that the wisdom from above shall be imparted unto you via this teaching in Jesus' name.
Last week, I shed light on budgeting as an effective way of managing money in your home. This week, I shall be discussing the topic: Avoid Debt!
Indebtedness is disastrous! It destroys! But the good news is, it can be avoided. Steer clear of indebtedness for God hates it. "How do you know God hates indebtedness?" you may ask. The Bible says: Owe no man anything ... (Romans 1:8). Whatever God hates, you should hate, this is godliness in action. It is godly to flee indebtedness. How can you avoid debts.?
Prioritize Your Spending: To prioritize is to put things in order of importance, so that you can deal with the most important ones first. You can prioritize your spending and maximize your income. In handling money, learn to write down your needs and then draw a scale of preference.
The fact is, you can never exhaust your needs but there are those that must come before others. These are your priorities. You must make sure that you do not spend money on things that you can afford to leave till a later date. Ascertain the things that you need in order of importance, and buy them accordingly. This is priority spending!
Covetousness: Covetousness is the desire for things that do not belong to you. It is the craving to get those things by all means. It is the excessive desire and greed for things. This is a major challenge for many today. The Bible says: And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth (Luke 12:15).
Covetousness subtly takes hold of many today because of adverts on television. Everyone is out to get the latest household item in the market. This crave has made many homes to run into debts. You cannot effectively manage money in your home if you are covetous. Covetousness is idolatry, but you can be free from it! The cure for covetousness is contentment. Apostle Paul said: But godliness with contentment is great gain. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. (1Timothy 6:6, 8)
Be satisfied with the step-by-step lifting of God in your life and your home. Patience is required. Just as a child does not walk the day it is born, you should not expect to assume a millionaire status overnight. Covetousness will destroy your financial progress and future. So, you need to walk in total contentment and godly wisdom to sustain your wealth.
Life is in phases and men are in sizes. Live your size, eat your size and wear your size per time. Running after clothes, possessions, money, cars etc, more than necessary, will put you in deep financial troubles. The Bible says: 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. (Deut 28:12). Do not frustrate the blessings of God over your life.
You need grace from God in order to be a faithful steward in money management. The right place to begin from is a personal relationship with God, through Jesus Christ. If you want to start this relationship right now, you can say this prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, I come to You today as a sinner. I believe You died for my sins and rose on the third day. Forgive me my sins. I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Make me a child of God today.
Congratulations! You are now a child of God!
Effective Money Management In The Home 2
Family Success
I welcome you again this week to another time of learning at the feet of Jesus Christ. This week, I shall be shedding light on Budgeting as one of the effective ways of managing money in your home.
One major thing that will help you in your home is to budget for your spending. Budgeting is not a gift, rather, it is an art that has to be learnt. Moreover, budgeting is Biblical! Jesus said: For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it (Luke 14:28)
This implies that you have to sit down and reasonably plan your spending. Proper planning will give you financial rest. Planning and budgeting is necessary for proper financial management. How will you know how much you need per month, if you have not sat down to write out what your expenditure for the month is? You need to budget for both domestic needs and essential commodities. To waste what you have is an offence to the Lord. So, budgeting is very important.
A good budget is a spending plan that includes virtually everything you intend to spend money on, over a specified period of time, based on the expected income. Expenditures in a wise budget include savings for a 'rainy day', for large purchases, giving and for future career, while you still stay within your income.
Why Budgeting?
A good budgeting plan will guide your path financially. It will help you to set up guidelines for reaching your goals, which in turn enables you to measure your progress. You will then be able to control your money instead of money controlling you!
Budgeting enhances your ability to live within your means. The reason why many people are in debt and financial stress today is because they are not living within their means. If you spend beyond your means, you will end up in debt. Indebtedness is disastrous! It destroys! Debt has led to many homes hitting the rocks! Your home will not shatter in Jesus' name.
My husband says that whatever God cannot give him, may he never have it! Apostle Paul said in one of his epistles to the Philippians that: Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. (Philippians 4:11).
Include any and all expenses for each month within the budget, and remember to include the not-so-obvious ones such as groceries, gas, medical expenses, restaurants, and even entertainment. Most of your bills or expenses which are not flexible such as house rent occur at the same time each month. These expenses are predictable and easy to plan for. Other expenses such as groceries and entertainment are flexible. If a cut-back is needed, these flexible expenses are the ones to be cut. Once you have a budget, stick to it.
Use your budget to determine the amount you can spare to place in a savings account at the end of each month. Do this regularly. Everyone should have an emergency fund and feeding a savings account is the easiest way to do so.
You need grace from God in order to be a faithful steward in money management. The right place to begin from is a personal relationship with God, through Jesus Christ. If you want to start this relationship right now, you can say this prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, I come to You today as a sinner. I believe You died for my sins and rose on the third day. Forgive me my sins. I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Make me a child of God today.
I welcome you again this week to another time of learning at the feet of Jesus Christ. This week, I shall be shedding light on Budgeting as one of the effective ways of managing money in your home.
One major thing that will help you in your home is to budget for your spending. Budgeting is not a gift, rather, it is an art that has to be learnt. Moreover, budgeting is Biblical! Jesus said: For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it (Luke 14:28)
This implies that you have to sit down and reasonably plan your spending. Proper planning will give you financial rest. Planning and budgeting is necessary for proper financial management. How will you know how much you need per month, if you have not sat down to write out what your expenditure for the month is? You need to budget for both domestic needs and essential commodities. To waste what you have is an offence to the Lord. So, budgeting is very important.
A good budget is a spending plan that includes virtually everything you intend to spend money on, over a specified period of time, based on the expected income. Expenditures in a wise budget include savings for a 'rainy day', for large purchases, giving and for future career, while you still stay within your income.
Why Budgeting?
A good budgeting plan will guide your path financially. It will help you to set up guidelines for reaching your goals, which in turn enables you to measure your progress. You will then be able to control your money instead of money controlling you!
Budgeting enhances your ability to live within your means. The reason why many people are in debt and financial stress today is because they are not living within their means. If you spend beyond your means, you will end up in debt. Indebtedness is disastrous! It destroys! Debt has led to many homes hitting the rocks! Your home will not shatter in Jesus' name.
My husband says that whatever God cannot give him, may he never have it! Apostle Paul said in one of his epistles to the Philippians that: Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. (Philippians 4:11).
Include any and all expenses for each month within the budget, and remember to include the not-so-obvious ones such as groceries, gas, medical expenses, restaurants, and even entertainment. Most of your bills or expenses which are not flexible such as house rent occur at the same time each month. These expenses are predictable and easy to plan for. Other expenses such as groceries and entertainment are flexible. If a cut-back is needed, these flexible expenses are the ones to be cut. Once you have a budget, stick to it.
Use your budget to determine the amount you can spare to place in a savings account at the end of each month. Do this regularly. Everyone should have an emergency fund and feeding a savings account is the easiest way to do so.
You need grace from God in order to be a faithful steward in money management. The right place to begin from is a personal relationship with God, through Jesus Christ. If you want to start this relationship right now, you can say this prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, I come to You today as a sinner. I believe You died for my sins and rose on the third day. Forgive me my sins. I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Make me a child of God today.
Congratulations! You are now a child of God!
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