God’s Plan for Financial Freedom

Today’s Scripture…
“Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.”  Proverbs 3:9-10 (NIV) 

Devotional Thought…
As we listen to folks comment on the current economic times, many use words and phrases related to how much we have lost and how difficult gaining more will be in the coming days.
The truth is, anyone who is reading this devotional today has more wealth and more stuff than probably 99% of the rest of the world.  We have a safe and secure shelter to lay our head at night, we know where our next meals are coming from, and we have multiple shoes for our feet.  If you really want to see what the rest of the world is living like, you might take a look at http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats. Could it be we have plenty enough but need to be using what we have differently?

One of the questions we need to ponder with God is, “What have I been doing with my wealth so far?”  Today’s passage reminds us that we need to be honoring the Lord with our wealth, and that honoring is to come from the beginning of our wealth.  Most folks pay their bills for all the stuff they have already bought for themselves, and if there is anything left over then we give some money to God and/or someone in need.  That is the opposite of what today’s scriptural truth tells us to do.

Honoring God with our wealth starts with the tithe (Malachi 3:10, Luke 11:42).  This is how God impacts the world for Him in a “we and Jesus” way.  But above that, God may call you to give in some “me and Jesus” ways.  Using your wealth to meet the need of someone who has lost a job, supporting a mission church or missionary with some of your wealth, or blessing someone with a portion of your wealth who could never pay it back are all ways we can also honor God with our wealth.  God wants us to do more than pray for people in need (James 2:14-17).

If you are realizing that you need to change some things so that you can honor God with your wealth, remember that He is not looking over your shoulder with a mean smirk because of where you are.  God is in front of you, calling to you with a loving smile to experience the super abundant joy that comes from being a giver.  He knows the feeling because He is the ultimate example of giving (Galatians 1:3-5).

Kingdom Focused!

Flora M. Kynard, author of 
Prosperity Renewal: 14 Biblical Principles for True Financial Freedom
info@prosperityrenewal.org
www.prosperityrenewal.org
Excerpt from DAILY DEVOS, a ministry of First Baptist Church of Allen, Texas.  We would love to hear how God is using this ministry to help you find and take your next steps with God.

Genuine Love

Today’s Scripture…
17 As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good. 19 But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.'”
20 “Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.”
21 Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 At this the man’s face fell, and he went away very sad, for he had many possessions. 23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!”   Mark 10:17-23 (NLT)

Devotional Thought…
Genuine… a word that means the “real deal.”  When you are blessed to meet someone who is genuine, it is a breath of fresh air.  It is always nice to be with someone who isn’t pretending to be something they are not.

Today’s passage tells us the story of a wealthy man who had a genuine question.  He really wanted to know what he needed to do to secure his place with the Lord.  He had been taught all the rules and regulations of being a good person, and had done a decent job of following the rules.  Yet he knew something was not right, and he came to Jesus to get His perspective on it all.
Jesus knew that this man’s actions didn’t really line up with what he really worshipped. 

It is interesting to note what the Bible says Jesus was feeling on the inside about this man.  Even though the man was a conflicted, spiritual mess, the Bible says Jesus felt genuine love for him.  It was from this “genuine love” that Jesus spoke, and helped the man see that his “doing good deeds” was never going to be able to get him eternal life.  Eternal life comes as we lay down all of our sin, our striving, and our stuff and follow Jesus Christ.  Through Jesus we receive genuine forgiveness and find the genuine purpose for our existence.

Today’s scripture gives us some great truths to meditate on…

Jesus genuinely loves you.  In a world where more times than not people love us because of our performance, we can be tricked into thinking that Jesus’ love operates the same way.  But that is a HUGE lie, for Jesus loves us to death (John 15:13).  He loves us in spite of our conflicted-ness and even in spite of our unwillingness to change.  Have you ever just been still before the Lord and thanked Him for his genuine love for you?  …His love not based on performance?  …His love despite your mistakes?

The rich man missed out, because instead of running to genuine love, he ran back to his first love… his wealth.  As we enter into this study on financial peace, the Lord may lovingly make you aware of specific things you need to do to come follow Him fully.  Have you ever ask God to show you ANYTHING in your life that is keeping you from following Him?  If you will genuinely ask, He will show you!  (Jeremiah 33:3)

Kingdom Focused!

Flora M. Kynard, author of
Prosperity Renewal: 14 Biblical Principles for True Financial Freedom
info@prosperityrenewal.org
www.prosperityrenewal.org
Excerpt from DAILY DEVOS, a ministry of First Baptist Church of Allen, Texas.  We would love to hear how God is using this ministry to help you find and take your next steps with God.

Where You Are Weak, God Is Strong

Today’s Scripture…
25 “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm—my great army that I sent among you. 26 You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you;  never again will my people be shamed.”  Joel 2:25-26 (NIV)

Devotional Thought…
One of the things we can usually count on with problems is that the longer we put off dealing with them, the worse things get.  Whether we are talking about the noise under the hood, the toothache that won’t go away, or the Lord calling us to make some changes, this principle applies.

In Joel’s day, God had been calling His people to make some changes for a long time.  They put off getting things right with God to the point that He allowed something to happen to get their attention. The Bible says that one year, right at harvest time; swarms of locusts came to the land and devastated all the crops.  Instead of a harvest of wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, dates and apples, the people looked over the chewed up remains of what might have been.  In their despair, God called out to his people through Joel, hoping this time they would be willing to exchange their way of living with God’s abundant way of living.

Sometimes our finances are an area that we put off letting God have control in.  We know God has said some things about how we should handle our money, but the “lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16) lead us to make financial choices that can be devastating.  When God finally gets our attention about it, we can look up to find that our level of debt and our financial situation seems maybe even too big for God! 

Whether its finances, a relationship, or some other area of your life that looks like it’s too big a problem for even God to fix, today’s passage gives us a great promise to meditate on with the Lord.

God told his people that though He sent the problem, if they would turn their hearts and ways back to God, he would repay them for the years the locusts had eaten.  God wants to restore our hearts but he also will help restore a bank account or a broken relationship.  Are you willing to take your financial or relational mess and lay it before God saying, “Lord, here is the evidence of what I can do.  Please forgive me and fix my mess.  As you fix my mess, please fix me and teach me how to do things your way.  Teach me your ways in this matter.” 

Are you willing to trust, believe, and express to God that you know He can restore the years that your locusts have eaten?  If we are willing to do things God’s way starting today, God will work wonders for us.  And one day very soon we will be telling others “where I was weak, God became strong.”
 
Kingdom Focused!

Flora M. Kynard, author of
Prosperity Renewal: 14 Biblical Principles for True Financial Freedom
info@prosperityrenewal.org
www.prosperityrenewal.org

Excerpt from DAILY DEVOS, a ministry of First Baptist Church of Allen, Texas.  We would love to hear how God is using this ministry to help you find and take your next steps with God.

Be Content With What You Have

Today’s Scripture…
5Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”  Hebrews 13:5 (NIV)

Devotional Thought…
Not too many years after the Apostle Paul, lived the great Greek philosopher Plato.  In one of his philosophical moments, he is credited with coming up with the idea, “Necessity is the mother of invention.”  His observations were that most inventions come about NOT through some random idea that popped into the mind of a human, but usually they come because there is a need.  God has caused the human mind to work in a way that when we are frustrated or perturbed, we begin to say to ourselves, “There has got to be a better way to do this.”

Over the last several months, we have experienced an economic downturn of global proportions.  Retirement funds, savings accounts, the worth of homes and the net worth of many families and individuals has shrunk to levels that have caused many to become fearful and panicked.  Through the fog of economic uncertainty, many are evaluating the way they have valued and handled their money up to this point in life and are saying to themselves, “There has got to be a better way to do this.”

Today’s scripture gives us some great truths to meditate on when it comes to the topic of money…
Keeping our life free from the love of money means there should be NO place for it in our lives.  To “love money” means money is something we pursue, we think about, and is a passion for us. How much do you “love money?”  Could our current economy be a way God is showing us that we have a love for money that is hindering some things God wants to accomplish in our lives?  Is this something you need to confess to God?

We are called to be content with what we have.  Are you content with the money and things you have, or is there always something more you desire and seem to be striving to get?  Have you ever taken the time to walk through your house, your yard, and your garage and just thank God for your stuff?  Have you looked at your checking account, savings account or retirement account and thanked God for whatever the amount is?  Do you need to apologize to the Lord for not appreciating all that He has allowed you to have?

Our money will come and go, and so will our stuff.  But there is One who is eternal; one who will always be with us in His abundance.  When is the last time you have worshipped the Lord, honoring and recognizing Him as the Eternal, Abundant, Never-ending One?

The real question to ask during these days is not, “how much am I going to lose in these tough economic times?”  The eternal question is, “What kind of person do I want to be in these times and beyond these times?” 
 
Kingdom Focused!

Flora M. Kynard, author of
Prosperity Renewal: 14 Biblical Principles for Financial Freedom
info@prosperityrenewal.org
www.prosperityrenewal.org
Excerpt from DAILY DEVOS, a ministry of First Baptist Church of Allen, Texas.  We would love to hear how God is using this ministry to help you find and take your next steps with God.

God Desires To Work IN You

Today’s Scripture…
13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.  Philippians 2:13 (NLT)

Devotional Thought…
There are really only two kinds of people on planet earth.  Those whom God is working ON, and those whom God is working IN.

For those who have yet to enter into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, the Bible makes it clear that God is working ON them (2 Peter 3:9).  God wants everyone to be a part of His family, and that is why he sent Jesus.  If you want to know how to have a real relationship with God, click here.

But for those who are in God’s family because they have a saving relationship with God through Jesus Christ, the Bible says God is working IN them.  Today’s scripture gives us some great truths to meditate on today…

The same God who created the heavens and the earth LIVES IN US.  He is not some “far away” God, ordering us around from a distance.  The Bible says that God is IN us.  We are His temple, the place that He dwells (1 Cor. 6:19).  Have you expressed your worship and appreciation to Him for being willing to dwell IN you; for the opportunity to be IN relationship with Almighty God?
 
God is working IN us in two ways.  First, He is working IN us to give us the DESIRE to do what pleases Him.  There are times in the life of a Christian where we know what God wants, but the truth is we don’t DESIRE to do what He wants.  God knows when we don’t want to do His will, and when that is the case He promises to work on our DESIRE.  Have you been honest with God about the things He wants you to do, but you don’t DESIRE to do them?  Confess those things to God and pray for God to go to work on your DESIRE.
 
Second, God is working IN us to give us the power to do His will.  God is always asking us to do things that we don’t think we have the power or ability to do.  God isn’t asking us to do these things to show us how puny we are, He is asking us to allow Him to do His will through His mighty power.  Peter couldn’t walk on water in His power, but as the power of God flowed through Him he could (Matt. 14:29).  Have you admitted to yourself and to God that you need His power to do the things He wants you to do for Him?  If you are serving God in some way, are you desperate for God to be empowering you to do it?  Do you need to ask forgiveness for doing the work of God in your own human strength?
 
As we seek to live each day for God, let us celebrate the truth that God is IN us, and let’s be desperate for Him to empower us to live for Him.

Kingdom Focused!

Flora M. Kynard, author of
Prosperity Renewal: 14 Biblical Principles for True Financial Freedom
info@prosperityrenewal.org
www.prosperityrenewal.org
Exerpt from DAILY DEVOS, a ministry of First Baptist Church of Allen, Texas.  We would love to hear how God is using this ministry to help you find and take your next steps with God.

The Introduction of the 36-part series of Resurrection of Your Finances states: 

It’s all God’s money.

Many Christians would nod their head in agreement with that statement, but when it’s time to open the wallet, it’s as if we have completely forgotten. Suddenly it’s our money and we try desperately to get or keep as much as possible.

How has the study of this series change the way you view money?

Flora M. Kynard, author of

Prosperity Renewal: 14 Biblical Principles for True Financial Freedom

The first principle in the book Prosperity Renewal: 14 Biblical Principles for True Financial Freedom the author suggests that God owns everything and everything belongs to God.  

The author suggests that since God owns everything (including us) that we are just managers or stewards of what God has placed at our disposal. 

Do you agree or disagree with such a statement?  Why or why not?

Flora M. Kynard,  Director

Prosperity Renewal Ministries

www.prosperityrenewal.org