"Come Visit Me at my new Home," says the blog

I have officially left blogger. I found that blogger limited me with what I wanted to so I packed by bags. So go to my new home. Hope you like the new look with the same great content!

All the old posts have been transferred over (and some spiced up as a part of the renovation project).

www.moneyhelpforchristians.com

Save Money By Listening?

At times women tend to complain that men do not listen. Men commonly defend themselves by saying they just have selective listening skills.

A few days ago I was in a doctor's office reading a magazine. Actually, I wasn't reading anything because there was nothing of value to read by flipping through a magazine. Sure seemed like a better plan than staring at a blank wall though. While I was reading, a nurse entered the room and called my name (three times). "You're just like my husband," she complained as we walked together. "Men just don't listen."

What if I told you you could save money just by listening? I think most of us could.

While I run there is not much else to do than listen. While I could listen to music I find it much more informative to listen to something that might affect or impact me. If you are a runner, listen to the radio a lot, or drive a lot I wanted to suggest two podcasts you can listen to that might help you with your money.

The first is MoneyLife, a Crown Financial Ministries 30 minute radio show. Click here to download up to two weeks worth of programs.

The second is the Dave Ramsey Show. Dave Ramsey hosts a three hour radio show daily, but allows one hour of his show to be downloaded free each day. To get the Dave Ramsey Show I suggest you download a postcast organizer like Zencast and update it daily to get the show. To download the organizer click here. From there you just need to subscribe to the Dave Ramsey Show.

Bible Thought: Three Men and their Money

Here is a quick thought for you to consider:

Luke 17:16-21- As the wealth (blessings increased) this man simply looked for more options for storing the increasing wealth. He horded. The fool is the one who stores up for himself AND is not rich towards God.

Luke 19:8 – Zaccheus gives half his possessions away and Jesus says ‘salvation has come to this house’

Luke 18:22 – Jesus says that nothing short of everything would be what this man needs to give to have eternal life.

Lesson: It is not how much we give, what God seeks is a giving heart. The number might differ from person to person.

What would you say is the condition of your heart? What is your attitude toward money?

Can Money Buy Happiness?

In the book, What Would Jesus Do Today? Mike Cope and Rubel Shelly give us a great list of things money can and cannot provide in our lives. Here is the list:

One more trip to the mall cannot fix you. Money Can buy:

• Sex, but not intimacy
• A house, but not peace
  
• Medicine, but not health
• Amusement, but not joy
• Therapy, but not healing
• A bed, but not sleep
• Allies, but not friends

I love that list. At times I think we all misplace our expectations of money. Notice the internal issues that really add meaning cannot be touched by a magic wand. Those parts of us can only be healed by the One who created us.

The Fourth Thing You Can Do With Money

It is common in Christian financial circles to speak of the three things you can do with money.
Dave Ramsey and Crown Financial Ministries (along with others I'm sure) say you can:

• Give
• Save
• Spend

This is a great, simple summary that is easy to remember.

However, a fourth category may clarify our thinking. What about adding the category "live" as something we can do with money? This would make the four things - give, save, spend, and live. This may help us remember that some spending is the necessary stuff of life. Other spending is just something we have always thought would be cool to own. We all know that purchases can be broken into needs and wants. And it would probably take a long time (can someone say eternity?) for us all to agree that the same items belong in the same list. Nevertheless, this reminds those of us who are seeking to live a simplistic life that there are some forms of spending that are necessary and some spending (gasp) that we can live without.

Try prioritizing how you use money. And yes, the list IS in order of importance.

1. Give
2. Live
3. Save
4. Spend
   

What the Bible Teaches about Work

After reading 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15 notice that Paul prides himself in his hard work. Paul was a tent maker (Acts 18:1-3) and spoke frequently how this labor morning and night was a blessing to God’s church (1 Cor. 4:12, 1 Cor. 9:6, 2 Cor. 6:5, 2 Cor. 11:23, 1 Thess. 2:9)

Why should a Christian work? First we must recognize that Mat. 4:4 says man does not live on bread ALONE, but this does not deny the reality that man does live on bread.

The Bible gives at least two reasons why Christians should work:

Reason #1 – Christians work so that our families do not become a burden to the church body. 1 Tim. 5:8 says "If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever" (1 Timothy 5:8, NIV). There is an undeniable reality that money is a limited resource. For anything that is a limited we become either consumers or contributors. We work so that we do not illegitimately or inappropriately consume the resources of the church.

The church should not be forced to help someone who is not in genuine need because in the future the church might be unable help another who is in genuine need. We work so we will not consume the resources that ought to be directed towards those who are legitimately in need.

Reason #2 – we work so we have something to contribute to the church. Our first goal is to make sure we are not consumers, but our second goal is to become contributors to the church. As such people are encouraged in Acts 20:34-35 to hard work and help the needy. Moreover, Ephesians 4:28 says Christians must work so to have something to give to the needy.

Why do People Go into Debt?

In his book Taming the Money Monster well-known Christian financial counselor Ron Blue introduces his readers to common reasons why people go into debt:

• Lack of Discipline
• Lack of Contentment
• Search for Security
• Search for Significance

Here’s what I think:

If I were to rate these I would put the lack of discipline as number one. In our convenience oriented world people often do not really interact with cash. The pay check is automatically deposited. Their bills automatically withdrawn. They pay for groceries, gas, and goods with a credit card. So they never really interact with cash. Why pay attention to it? Why spend time with it? As long as there is money in the account (and even when there is not) I can still charge that item, so why spend time trying to figure everything out?

Lack of contentment. Not really sure about this one. We are a people who seem to 'need' a lot. I do not know if we are not content, or greedy, or just have a high level of need. Probably we have a bit of all of these things.

Search for security. Be honest. We all feel a little better when there is a cash cushion in the account. The question is always when does saving become hoarding, and when does security become a false security with misappropriated hope? I suspect there are a lot of us who feel less secure after the 2008 experience than we did prior, and yet our God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Interesting to consider.

Search for significance. There is a lot to this. Power and significance go hand in hand. Seems as though the Bible does not have a lot of positive things to say about humanity's quest for power.

Perhaps I could add a fifth to the list - ignorance. Many people are in debt simply because they thought debt was the right or best way to succeed. They have not had much teaching at home. They did not get any teaching in school. One cannot know unless he has first been taught (unless he can teach himself, but that would require self-discipline which we have already recognized is in short supply in the financial realm).

By the way, to see more of Ron Blue’s material you can check out his website here.