Godliness with Contentment

So there are many things we need to teach our children so that when they are old they don’t stray from it. One I will teach them is to stay away from Christmas debt. Christmas debt is crazy! Next Christmas you will still be paying this one off and the bank will send you a new email with a new loan promotion. They sell it as a loan - i.e. we want to help you. It is debt i.e. come and work for us fo...

Today we look at Ecclesiastes 11:1-6 It has been put forward that it talks about giving, investing, having many business ventures, diversification of one's portfolio, having a backup plan etc.. However, one Bible commentator says that 'for more than 18 centuries, there was never any doubt about what was meant here.' This was about giving. Nowadays however, our thoughts goes to business ventures an...

Giving Tuesday comes after black Friday and Cyber Monday. I don’t think this is a good placement. The money goes out and by Tuesday very little is left. I mean I hope this is not the case for you, but for many it is. So perhaps givingtuesday.org can clamor for a change. I say put Giving Tuesday as the Tuesday before thanksgiving. That way we know when it is each year and we give before we spend. I...

Every day, I am getting older and slower. I can try and play Jedi mind tricks but that does not stop my aging. As I get older, my metabolism slows, my recovery time takes longer. This week I decided to schedule a meeting with my doctor. What I realize is that even though I don't like to go to the doctors or hospitals (I like my doctor btw), there are times when it is necessary. You start to feel s...

A few years ago, I heard it explained that Black Friday is about the retailers getting in the black. What does that mean? Well, 'in the black' is an accounting term signifying that a business is in a financially profitable position. So Black Friday is about businesses making a profit. Interestingly enough the opposite of black in accounting is not white but red. I used to think that the retailers...

Have you ever heard of a Christmas gift exchange game called 'white elephant'? Wikipedia says that 'The goal of a white elephant gift exchange is to entertain party-goers rather than to gain a genuinely valuable or highly sought-after item.' Clearly, Wikipedia has never played this game with the people I have played with. There is one gift that everyone wants that goes from hand to hand until all...

Our dependence and worship should lay squarely at the feet of our God. He is the great Giver, the Source. In Jesus' pattern of prayer in Matthew 6, he lays out one of the petitions that we should put before the Father and it is 'give us this day our daily bread'. So we pray for our needs in this world. Bread here meaning all sustenance not just physical bread. This prayer is about God even though...

Dr. Myles Munroe said something like this before: "We are not meant to be seedful, but fruitful. There are chairs and tables are in the trees. Shoes are in the cows. The capacity to produce is in us." I don't think seedful is a real word, but hopefully you get the picture. And just how does the capacity to produce get in us? God put it there. The same God who Moses told the Israelites about in Deu...

This week we take a look at Philemon. He was a Christian and wealthy and a slave owner. Onesimus was Philemon's slave who had run away and probably stolen something from him. Onesimus meets Paul in his travels and becomes a Christian. Paul encourages Onesimus to go back to Philemon and to put things right. In the letter to Philemon, Paul does not leverage any apostolic authority but appeals to Phi...

Today we take a look at a strong successful woman in the Bible by the name of Lydia. In Lydia, we find a woman who loved God and was a businesswoman. There is not any word of a husband so she was what we may call an independent successful woman, but she is really dependent on God. She has a house, a business, and looks to be wealthy. When presented with the Word that saves, she did not allow her b...

My 52nd episode! One year's worth. A time of reflection, a time of looking to God and a time for looking forward to keep doing what God's has put on my heart to do. I have also been reminded of the things I did wrong with money over the years.  I did not do a good job of using my God given skills/talents to produce wealth. I wasn't trying to get out of debt or avoid it. I was afraid of money. I wa...

The book of Acts has many examples of women who are willing participants in the gospel. Their role was an important one in the advancement of the gospel. Today we look at one of them in Mary the mother of Mark in Acts 12. An angel breaks Peter out of prison. Once out and Peter realizes that this is real, he goes to the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark. Many people were there praying for Pete...

Cornelius seems to have been wealthy. Cornelius was not a chairman of a non-profit organization, he spent his own money to help the needy. He decided to be generous with what he had. He saw needs and went after meeting them. I believe that his giving was motivated by his relationship with God. As a believer today, is your giving motivated by your relationship with God? One of the principles I have...

Today we take a look at Joseph of Arimathea in the gospels. He was described as a disciple in secret yet he stepped up at the right time to secure Jesus' body after the crucifixion and gave Jesus a respectful burial in his own tomb. Some of us have an issue with rich people and even rich Christians. Yet this man uses his wealth to serve Jesus when others did not or could not. He was blessed by God...

Zacchaeus was wealthy. Some would say that he got his money by cheating people out of their taxes by overcharging them. But that is not what Luke says, nor Jesus nor Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus says "if" he had cheated anyone out of anything. Not that he did. Sometimes today we look at people who are wealthy and can wonder what illegal thing they did to get wealthy. Some people do it right. They work har...

Isn't money supposed to bring happiness? Isn't all our problems to go away with money? Apparently not. It didn't with this rich young man in mark 10:17-23. Don’t be fooled. It won't work with you either.

I get to talk about money from the Bible's perspective. God wants his followers to give to the needy. He has blessed you to give to the needy. In addition, this is focused on the individual. You may say that the church I attend gives to the needy - Amen for that, but here he speaks not to the church but the individual. Each of us as his followers should give to the needy. So when we give, Jesus sa...

This guy (Luke 7:1-10) had money and did good things with it, but he did not think that his money meant that he deserved anything. Money did not make him big up himself. He used it to serve others (he built the synagogue there in Capernaum), but also he did not expect something in return. In addition, this guy was a Roman centurion, so he had power as well, yet he understood that Jesus' authority...

Levi leaves his job to follow Jesus and in his gratitude for Jesus throws the banquet but also invites the people he knew.  He knew that they also needed Jesus.  This was a way they could come in contact with Jesus. Levi is set free by Jesus and he wants those he knows to be set free by Jesus. He uses his time and resources to go after influencing others to follow Jesus. When you consider retireme...

The great focus of this episode is about Daniel's integrity and his work ethics. His coworkers could find nothing wrong with Daniel's work - he was not cooking the books or stealing or having an office affair. Daniel worked as if working for God. Daniel was about to be promoted. Because of this, his coworkers wanted to kill him. Yes, kill him - death by lion.

Esther had a chance to get up to half of the kingdom and she chose to save her people instead. Who was giving her financial advice? Who indeed? Great advice! Money and riches and wealth can be for many people something to go after or die trying. For Esther, the rescuing of people's lives was more important. This can sound like a no-brainer, but there are some who choose the money instead. I believ...

King Hezekiah knew what to do when trouble came. He went to God in prayer. He also saw God move in amazing ways. The Assyrians were defeated, and God gives him fifteen more years when a terminal illness threatened his life. But, we also will see from the Scriptures that when the envoys from Babylon came he showed them everything. I believe that the missing piece is that he did not give the glory t...

This wife of noble character is worth far more than rubies. She is a benefit to her husband and children and no doubt the community. She is a hard worker and provider with a head for business. She gets up early and stays up late burning the lamp at both ends. She takes care of the poor and needy whenever she can and prepares for winter when it isn't. What a woman!

In a dream, God puts it to Solomon to ask for whatever he wanted. An interesting thing is that he knew it was God he was talking with. That means he could have asked for anything. It is not like your parent or friend saying ask for anything for your birthday. This is God saying whatever you want you will get it. Solomon chose wisdom. What would you have chosen? God gives wisdom to you when you ask...

David had an opportunity to get away scot-free without spending a dime but instead wants to sacrifice for God. Trust me when I tell you that I love free things just as much as the next guy, but there comes a time when each of us needs to put our hands in our pockets and contribute to God's work getting done. And here David shows that it isn't just contributing but sacrificing.