Investing as a Christian

Doing a study about investing in the Bible. If I am to be successful as a Christian, I must keep my focus where it belongs, on GOD, rather than myself. And, in the process, I will be blessed and God will take care of all my needs, and He will multiply my investments so that God may bless others through me.

When I have tithes to give, I always give it to someone who needs it more than I. They usually thank me, and I reply, "Don't thank me. Thank God. It's HIS money."

When I invest the money that God has enabled me to obtain, God creates more money for tithes. That's how it works.

If I cannot profit off of what God has given me, then I cannot bless others in a way that lifts others out of their struggles - I am only able to bless others with my ability to go through it with them.

So, INVEST. You won't be sorry! Do it prayerfully, and with good intention, make sure you tithe out of your profits, and watch how God multiplies your blessings! (Malachi 3:10 - Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.")

The Bible reading today is this:

Matthew 25:

14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. 15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.
16 Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.

17 And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.
18 But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.
19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.
20 And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.
21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
22 He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.
23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:
27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. 28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

God's Promises about Giving

Do you give often?

How much do you give when you do?

Why do you give?

How does God want you to give?

Are you giving how God wants you to give? To WHO God wants you to give?

Rick Warren, author of "Purpose Driven Life" teaches a series (included at the bottom of this post) on giving, and why it is necessary, and what God promises to those who do it.

I was listening to this and I remembered a time when God kept his promise to me one Sunday at church. I was behind on my rent. It was an odd number that I was behind on in the dollar amount. The church did a love offering for me that day (unexpected) and when I received it, it turned out the EXACT amount I needed!

THAT WAS GOD!

God's Promises about Giving - Part 1

You Know Better Than I

Read Genesis Chapter 39 Genesis Chapter 39:

2 And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.

3 And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand.

Is the Lord with you?

Does everything you touch prosper? Are you blessed beyond measure no matter what situation you find yourself in?

Genesis Chapter 39:

21 But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.

22 And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it.

23 The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the LORD was with him, and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper.

Are you trustworthy?

Are you honest in your dealings?

Are you respected by those who rule over you for your thus diligence and loyalty?

Ask yourself this: Did Joseph ever complain about where he ended up? Or, did he, instead, seek to make the best of a bad situation? Did he honor God, in spite of where he was as opposed to where he wanted to be? Or, did he have faith that there had to be a reason for everything and act accordingly?

Lord, I want to be like Joseph in Your eyes. I want all I touch to prosper. I want to be blessed, and to bless those who's lives I touch and am a part of, whether I want to be or not. Teach me to make the best of any situation, good or bad. Show me how to be the ambassador for You that You would have me to be!
In Jesus' Holy Name I pray!

FEAR IS A LIAR

There are some things that God is going to ask you to do afraid. This is to test your faith.

Getting out of your "comfort zone" is not easy, but most of the time it is rewarding!

When GOD is the one who places you out of your comfort zone, this is when you know He is wanting to bless you. So, if you find yourself outside of your comfort zone, then TRUST that you are there for a reason. Embrace it. Learn from it. Stop struggling to get back to where you were comfortable. Allow yourself to experience something new and gain new skills. God is trying to train you for what is coming!

365 times, in the Bible, you will see the words in some form: "Fear not" or "Be not afraid". That is one time for every day of the year.

Fear not FOR I AM WITH YOU, God says. There is NOWHERE you will go that God will not be there with you, forging the road ahead of you, guarding your back, and carrying you when you can't do it yourself!

So, FEAR NOT!

Don't Withhold Anything from the Lord!

Today I was listening to Genesis Chapter 22 in the Bible. It is the story of Abraham almost sacrificing Isaac to God on Mt. Moriah. I have read this chapter many times, but today, it hit me hard.

The verses that spoke to me the most were these:

Genesis 22
16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
18And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

How often do we hold on to the things we love the most in our life, even at our own peril?

How hard is it to let those things go?

We've all heard the saying, "Let go, and let God!"

In these verses today, I heard my Lord say, "Give it ALL to me, and be blessed in so doing!"

God wants to be more important to you than your children, your spouse, your friends, your things, your family, your job or anything else. Trust God with all these and be content and at peace. Stop worrying and stressing yourself out over things that only God can fix. Stop longing for what only God can give you. Trust that God will provide both for you and Himself.

8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

What Happens to Us When We Die?

This is the question that was asked of me by someone I am ministering to online.

Here is my answer:

Where you go when you die depends on you. If you follow Jesus you go to heaven if you follow Satan you go to hell.

This led to the next question: "Is there a hell?" To which I answered, "Jesus said there was.

I followed up with some Bible verses to help.

Matthew 10:28
“And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Revelation 21:8
"But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

Daniel 12:
1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

Matthew 25:
46“And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”

Matthew 5:
28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

I did a little research and watched this video. It opened even MY eyes to what happens when we die. It answers a whole host of questions I've always had, but brushed off as something that I really didn't need to know, since I am convinced of my salvation. I am one to always fact check everything I hear with the Bible as best I can. What this man says really makes sense to me...so I am open to conversation about it.

Listen to the Word

It is imperative that you spend a few minutes every day reading the Bible and praying. It is impossible to see what God is doing in your life without the faith that you have to see it.

Every day as I surf the internet, I have made it a habit to listen to the Bible. Over and over I listen to it - a chapter or two a day, sometimes more. Sometimes I listen to the same chapter over and over to make sure that I got what was in it.

It's not like I don't have time to listen. I can listen when I am driving in my car, waiting in the grocery store line, taking a walk, or just sitting at home surfing on the internet. I can even listen while I am cleaning house.

Joshua 1:8
“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”

I had a conversation one day with someone I was ministering to about how we could minister to people in a hurting world. The conversation turned to tithes and what exactly it meant to "tithe", and with what should we tithe if we had nothing.

We never have NOTHING. God gives us everything we need to do His Will every day. Perhaps His will is not for you to donate a $1,000 to charity that day. Perhaps His will is just for you to comfort someone, or answer their questions, or steer them toward helpful information that could benefit them. When you tithe, you tithe 10% of the increase on whatever God gives you. If all you have is your ability, then it is your ability to serve that should be tithed.

But, in order for you to prosper and have the tools that you need in order to do God's will, you MUST study and meditate on God's Word, His laws, His lessons for you. You cannot understand God's will if you do not hear God's Word.

God convicts you through His Word. Once you hear His word, you will hear Him in a lot of other ways in your life: through your circumstances, in your prayers, through someone you are ministering to, or even something you experience or see. God communicates with you when you are primed to listen, and the best form of priming is to read and listen to the Bible.

If you are wondering how YOU can do what I do, just go to the KJV Bible online. Find Chapter 1 of Genesis (or any chapter you want of any book) in the search box. On the right side of the page is a list of "Bible Options", and at the bottom is a link that says "Listen". It's as easy as that!

I cannot stress the amount of comfort and inspiration and strength this tool has given me!