Feb. 17, 2007
Sweet Monday for February 2007
Feb. 12, 2007 Money and More
Now that we’re “healthy” in body from our meeting in January, let’s try to do the same with our pocketbooks as we get our budgets and finances in order.
For this month, I invited a woman on staff at our church who helps with their finances and biblical stewardship to speak with us. She shared her honest testimony of how she had degrees in business, finance, etc, and "of all people, you would think she would of had handling her family's money down quite well." But that was not the case and one day she had to confess to her husband that they were lacking. She said, "Now ladies, this is definately a time when I will tell you to 'do as I say and not as I do.' "
How gracious her testimony was and inspiring to us all. They are now out of debt and she is able to share with others how to be wise biblical stewards of the money God blesses them with.
She share with us principles from Crown Financial Ministries and especially recommends the book "Personal Finances" by Larry Burkett. She used it as the base of her talk, which focused around planning and budgeting (she said long-term planning was the thrid component and it would be best to talk to someone with greater expertise).
She gave us great resources to use, including the suggested percentages per category. A helpful tool to use to do this can be found at http://www.crown.org/Tools/budgetguide.asp?aid. You can input your own income, etc and it will create a suggested budget for you. (note: it is suggested only and you may find you need to re-adjust suggested percentages based on your needs, etc.)
Now & Later Devotion
As I thought about which candy to get this month, the package of “Now & Later” seemed to jump out at me. While is has nothing to do with the topic of money from all outside appearances, the reason I bought it is because it made me think of the commercials that say, “Buy now and pay later!”
You know the ones that just seem like crazy deals such as: “0% down, pay nothing until January of 2037!!!!!” -- Those that make you turn to your husband and say, “Let’s go get what they are selling!”
It may not matter that your TV is ok and you have more than enough channels to keep you entertained, that your couch may have a few more years of life in it, and that the car you bought a few years ago is still chugging away just fine. I mean, hey! You better go and jump at what they are offering – after all, they tell us that this is a one-time-only deal, good only on this Saturday morning between the hours of 11:58 am and 12:02 pm.
The world pulls at us to “buy more, have more, be more, do more.” We want more now. We want to have more later too. We see what someone else has, and even though it never occurred to us a split second before that we had any lack, we suddenly need that latest and greatest gadget too.
The Bible contains roughly 2,300 verses concerning money -- about twice as many as faith and prayer combined.
*16 of the 38 parables dealt with money
*15% of everything Jesus said related to money and possessions.
*The only subject Jesus Christ spoke of more often is the Kingdom of God.
Why is this? Well, the Scriptures make it clear that there is a fundamental connection between a person’s spiritual life and their attitudes and actions concerning money.
Matthew 6:19-21 says: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
So where my treasure is now, my heart is there now too. And what I am focusing on NOW, will be what I reap LATER.
Money is not the root of all evil – the love of it is. We need to have the mind-set that it’s God’s money NOW, and it will be God’s money LATER. He is the One who blesses us with it as He sees fit. We need to be good stewards of it and use it for His glory. We need to have our greed be turned into generosity to honor Him and build His kingdom.
One day, all this world will pass away. And what I’m doing with my life right NOW, will matter a whole lot – Both NOW … and LATER.
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I have been the bride to the most gracious, sweetest man in the world for the last 11 years. What I love most about him is that he is always striving to be a better husband, father, and child of God.
