Prosper God's Way!

Following from my previous post, I would like to start looking at how we can prosper in a God-honouring way. 

The thing is to remember that wealth is more than just about money. The way God has designed it is that financial prosperity is a by-product, a result of certain principles.

The first is that your reputation matters more than your bank account balance. The bible puts it this way:

"A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, Loving favor rather than silver and gold."

Proverbs 22:1 NKJV

If you have to choose between earning a quick buck and keeping your integrity and faith, it's an obvious choice. The loving favour of God can easily bring us past the loss of income but we may suffer much if we forsake our purity for money that we shouldn't earn.

I recently heard a testimony of a Christian CEO of a listed company. She shared about how she had an empty office space to rent and there were no tenants and results reporting was due. She was surely under immense pressure to improve her P&L. And one day her staff came to her with what should be great news - that they found a potential tenant that was willing to pay 1.5 times the usual rent! 

But there was a dilemma because it was a casino that wanted to rent the space. Should she support something that contradicted her values but would resolve her issue and make her investors and bosses happy? She chose not to and instead went to prayer walk the empty space. 

In the end, the Lord gave her an idea that allowed her to profit millions for her company from this piece of property. 

I hope this true story encourages you to choose a good name and reputation over quick riches.

Money, money, money

One of the most talked about subjects in the New Testament is money. 

According to an article on Preaching Today: "Jesus talked much about money. Sixteen of the thirty-eight parables were concerned with how to handle money and possessions."

I've often heard this question from young people about how to handle their money. So I think to start off, it's important to relook at our own perspective on money.

Take a read of this post from Kris Valloton, a Christian author and pastor from US.

There is so much resistance to prosperity in the Body of Christ. I am not sure why people demonize prosperity and spiritualize poverty because that is definitely NOT the Bible's prospective. In fact, the Bible often speaks of poverty as a byproduct of poor attitudes and behaviors.

First of all was Jesus poor? Well the answer is yes and no! The great apostle Paul explained it like this. "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He (Jesus) was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich."

2 Corinthians 8:9

There are 3 things we can glean from this verse: 

1- Jesus was rich...I would suggest that He is again. 

2- Jesus became poor for a purpose. 

3- He became poor to make us rich. 

Many people are convinced that the rich or wealthy are the only people God warned or corrected in the Bible. But this is simply not true. Here are just a few of the many verses that address the evils of poverty. 

"How long will you lie down, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? "A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest"- Your poverty will come in like a vagabond And your need like an armed man."

Proverbs 6:9-11

"In all labor there is profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty." Proverbs 14:23

"Poverty and shame will come to him who neglects discipline, but he who regards reproof will be honored."

Proverbs 13:18

"He who tills his land will have plenty of food, but he who follows empty pursuits will have poverty in plenty."

Proverbs 28:19

For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either."2 Thessalonians 3:10

"But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." 1 Timothy 5:8

Ok there are many more but let's look at one more aspect of prosperity and poverty in the New Testament. 

Jesus told two parables (the parable of the talents and the parable of the minas) about how money and investment work in the kingdom. In both cases the servants that took the money their Lord gave them, (1 talents = $30,000 & 1 mina = $500) and made more money, were rewarded. In fact the 2 guys that did well with the minas were given authority over cities! 

Now this is where the story gets ugly...the guys in both stories who refused to take risks and invest their money but instead buried it, were called "wicked and lazy slaves!' But wait it gets even worse; their money was taken away from them and given to the guys who already had the most money. Simply put, the rich got richer and the poor got poorer, or at least that's the way it looked from the outside. Yet, from God prospective He wasn't trying to make the rich, richer, He was simply distributing His wealth to the people who would invest it wisely. But God also took His money away from the lazy and worthless servants, (His words not mine). (See Matthew 25 and Luke 19)

In other words, sometimes wealth and poverty are spiritual powers that empower or proactively disempower people depending on their attitude and effort toward money. 

How important is it that you have God's attitude towards money? Well I would say from the looks of it that your attitude is probably dictating your financial situation. 

Which servant do you relate to in the fore mentioned parables?  The answer could change your life! 

You can find the original article here: https://www.facebook.com/kvministries/posts/10154467818198741

Hopefully over the next few posts I would like us to consider the counsel we have in our life about wealth, money and possessions. 

Love & Sex

//Having a healthy sexual culture//

"The reason we have a sex drive long before we are meant to have sex is so that on the night of your honeymoon you have something precious you fought to on hold to from the battlefield to the bedroom, to give to your lover on the night of your wedding. Everyone can give a gift but only those who recognise the value of sacrifice can give something precious" (paraphrasing Kris Valloton)

We live in a culture that celebrates sex but not love. Why? Because love, like truth, by definition, requires exclusivity. Saying something is true necessarily means that something else isn't true. Likewise to truly love someone is to mean to not love others in that same passion. 

I can love ice cream but surely I cannot mean I love it the way I love my wife and my children. 

Here are some thoughts on the subject:

1. God invented sex and celebrates it because He designed marriage. He even defines His Son's relationship with the church as that of bride and groom.

2. Your virginity is precious because it is a gift that only you can give each other on your wedding night that is not repeatable or replaceable. You can buy another diamond ring but you can't give yourself away like that ever again. 

3. In marriage, sex is about pleasing one another and not just yourself. Apart from marriage, sex is always about pleasing yourself.

4. You never have to fear comparison or performance in your sexual life if it's protected by marriage because you become each other's object of affection. 

5. You don't have to worry about waking up alone because you know it isn't just sex that is keeping your partner with you. If you use sex to keep your dating relationship and hope it baits you a marriage, you will always have to live that way even in marriage. 

6. If a guy pressures a girl into sex it is because he loves himself more than he does you. You are worth the wait - there is someone who values you that much. 

7. People will always try to devalue and demean things that they can't have. They can't have your purity so they want to force you to give it away so that you can be just like them. But it's a lie because you have something to give that they've lost and it's envy on their side, not shame on yours. 

8. When you are cohabiting, you are in it for what you can get. Marriage is about what you can give. People don't want to commit to the ring because they use it as a tool to manipulate and control you. They use the fear of them leaving you to control you. 

9. In marriage and every covenant, it is marked by blood. Just like the marriage act on the night of your wedding, you mark it by the blood of your virginity and your children that come from this relationship have already been covered by the blood of covenant. 

10. Sex creates a bond deeper than the physical. It creates a soul tie between the two partners that is powerful, even spiritual. Outside of marriage these soul ties become the bondages that continue to hurt and follow you. A piece of soul is exchanged. Keep it for marriage!

11. God wants you to be a great partner and lover and to have one as well! 

#sex #marriage #jesus #love

Lead the way daddies!

"Never be reluctant to take on the role of model and teacher of your family's values. If you don't do it, someone else will."

~ John Maxwell

I've trained corporate groups, preached locally and overseas to groups of different sizes. But last night I had the chance to sit down with my children, read a short bible story, ask them questions and hear their replies. We even had a time of Holy Communion together where our 5yo and 3yo prayed on their own over the bread and wine. 

Nothing compares to this moment. That as a dad we have been given a privilege to raise our children in the love and knowledge of Jesus.

I'm not a perfect parent and we don't do this every single night. But I wanted to share this to encourage the other fathers out there that there is a grace over our lives to do this with our children. You will be so surprised by their heart and desire to hear God through you. 

Is it weird? Very much. Is it difficult? Not that hard. Just give it a try with a short children's bible story because heaven is on our side when it comes to doing things like this with our families.

#malachi456