I want to close this series of Post in this and the next several Posts by sharing a few practical principles for achieving Kingdom Prosperity in your life, especially in marriage. I go into these principles in greater detail in my book, but will outline them here.
1. One Spouse/One Flesh/One Account - According to Genesis 2:24 when you marry the two of you become one flesh. In other words no me, just we, including your finances. You may have more than one financial account, but they all should be in common or jointly owned between husband and wife.
2. All of the Financial Assets and Debts in a marriage belong to both Husband and Wife - It doesn't matter who brings what into the marriage, assets or debts, once married they belong to husband and wife collectively.
3. It's important to go over each others finances and agree on how as a couple you will manage them before the marriage.
4. All of the financial decisions in a marriage should be made together, with husband and wife in agreement.
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Thursday, September 24, 2015
#75 - Kingdom Prosperity #41
The fourth and final key to staying on track with your budget is repentence or changing the way think. This involves both taking responsibilty for the way you've managed your finances and the present state they are in; and asking God for forgiveness and making a decision to mange your finances God's way and no longer your way, changing the way you think about money, prosperity and material things.
Romans 12:2 tells us not to be conformed to the world but to be transformed by the renewing of your mind, with God thinking replacing world or man thinking. This requires getting into the Word to find out what God says about money, debt, prosperity and other things pertaining to your finances, meditating on those things, studying them, speaking them, until you get them in your spirit. The more you get what God says about these things in your spirit, the more you will speak what God says about things and the more you will believe them. And the more you believe what God says about these things, the more you will speak what He believes about these things, and the more you will start to live that out or do that in your life.
If this seems like a lot of work, effort and time, you are right, it is. But this is how you transform your beliefs, words and actions about money, prosperity and your finances. It's a process, not an event, but one worth working through if you want to truly stay on track with your budget and become an effective Steward over the financial blessings God gives you.
So now get to work, establish your budget, and commit to do whatever is neccessary to stay on track.
Romans 12:2 tells us not to be conformed to the world but to be transformed by the renewing of your mind, with God thinking replacing world or man thinking. This requires getting into the Word to find out what God says about money, debt, prosperity and other things pertaining to your finances, meditating on those things, studying them, speaking them, until you get them in your spirit. The more you get what God says about these things in your spirit, the more you will speak what God says about things and the more you will believe them. And the more you believe what God says about these things, the more you will speak what He believes about these things, and the more you will start to live that out or do that in your life.
If this seems like a lot of work, effort and time, you are right, it is. But this is how you transform your beliefs, words and actions about money, prosperity and your finances. It's a process, not an event, but one worth working through if you want to truly stay on track with your budget and become an effective Steward over the financial blessings God gives you.
So now get to work, establish your budget, and commit to do whatever is neccessary to stay on track.
Sunday, September 20, 2015
#74 -Kingdom Prosperity #40
Making sacrifices is the third and a very key component to staying on track with your budget. You didn't get into your present financial situation over night, and it probably involved indulging yourself with "things" or "stuff" based on your wants, desires and urges, and not your needs.
So part of getting back on track with your finances by sticking to your budget now requires you to put those wants, desires and urges down, and make some sacrifices.
One definition of sacrifice is giving up something you want in order to do or get somthing you need. Another is to be able to help someone else instead of yourself. Sacrifice can also be defined as saying no to what you want and yes to what God wants. As it relates to staying on track with your budget, sacrifice means going without some things you want or that you don't really need for a season, not trying to "keep up with the Jones's" as it were.
And making sacrifices requires a decision or choice to do so, and then exercising your will to do so mixed with your faith and self-discipline which we talked about in the last Post. It can be painful while go through it, but you will be glad you did when you realize the financial breakthrough you have been seeking for so long.
So part of getting back on track with your finances by sticking to your budget now requires you to put those wants, desires and urges down, and make some sacrifices.
One definition of sacrifice is giving up something you want in order to do or get somthing you need. Another is to be able to help someone else instead of yourself. Sacrifice can also be defined as saying no to what you want and yes to what God wants. As it relates to staying on track with your budget, sacrifice means going without some things you want or that you don't really need for a season, not trying to "keep up with the Jones's" as it were.
And making sacrifices requires a decision or choice to do so, and then exercising your will to do so mixed with your faith and self-discipline which we talked about in the last Post. It can be painful while go through it, but you will be glad you did when you realize the financial breakthrough you have been seeking for so long.
Thursday, September 17, 2015
#73 - Kingdom Prosperity #39
So how do we mix faith and self-discipline with our will to overcome the deceptions of the devil to stay on track with our budget?
Now I talked about faith in the first 27 Posts on this Blog which you can look at in the archives. But in short faith is the currency of the Kingdom, how we get things done in the Kingdom of God. It is the reality, proof and confidence of the future good we are expecting from God based on His Word; and we exercise our faith or put it into action by believing, confessing and acting on the Word of God.
Self-discipline is developing an orderly pattern of behavior to willingly obey rules and orders, and making yourself do what should be done. It requires overcoming those life controlling issues (urges, desires and emotions) to do things your way or the world's way instead of God's way, which you do by first making a choice/decision to want to do things right/God's way and then doing so by speaking the Word of God to yourself and the life controlling issues challenging you and acting/moving (exercising your faith) on that Word.
This takes time and effort and is a process not an event. But if you stick to it, mixing this self-discipline with your faith and your will, you will be well on your way to staying on track with your budget.
Remember what Jesus, our big brother and role model, said in Luke 22:41-43, "Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done". This is what self-discipline (as well as sacrifice which we will cover in the next Post) is all about.
Now I talked about faith in the first 27 Posts on this Blog which you can look at in the archives. But in short faith is the currency of the Kingdom, how we get things done in the Kingdom of God. It is the reality, proof and confidence of the future good we are expecting from God based on His Word; and we exercise our faith or put it into action by believing, confessing and acting on the Word of God.
Self-discipline is developing an orderly pattern of behavior to willingly obey rules and orders, and making yourself do what should be done. It requires overcoming those life controlling issues (urges, desires and emotions) to do things your way or the world's way instead of God's way, which you do by first making a choice/decision to want to do things right/God's way and then doing so by speaking the Word of God to yourself and the life controlling issues challenging you and acting/moving (exercising your faith) on that Word.
This takes time and effort and is a process not an event. But if you stick to it, mixing this self-discipline with your faith and your will, you will be well on your way to staying on track with your budget.
Remember what Jesus, our big brother and role model, said in Luke 22:41-43, "Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done". This is what self-discipline (as well as sacrifice which we will cover in the next Post) is all about.
Thursday, September 10, 2015
#72 - Kingdom Prosperity #38
As mentioned in the last Post, the first thing you need to understand if you are to stay on track with your budget is that the devil will do everything he can to discourage you, get you off track and take all you have.
The Word of God tells us that the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy; and that your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom he can destroy. Satan wants you defeated, broken and in financial bondage and will do everything he can to keep you there or get you there. But the only tools he had to do this are deceitfullness, trickery, and our willingness which comes about when we take our eyes off of the Word of God and start looking at our circumstances.
So this is why you have to understand and be constantly aware and alert to what the devil is up to. However, since he is a spiritual being you can't resist him on your own but need to mix faith and self- discipline with your will to rise above his attempts to get you off track from your budget as the second point in the last Post stated. The same scripture that tells us that the thief or devil comes to steal, kill and destroy also tells us that Jesus (the Word of God) came to give us abundant life. So that's why our will to stay on track with our budget, a choice or decision we make, coupled with the exercising of our faith and self-discipline are key to staying on track with our budget.
We'll talk about how faith and self-discipline mix with your will to help keep you on track with your budget in the next Post.
The Word of God tells us that the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy; and that your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom he can destroy. Satan wants you defeated, broken and in financial bondage and will do everything he can to keep you there or get you there. But the only tools he had to do this are deceitfullness, trickery, and our willingness which comes about when we take our eyes off of the Word of God and start looking at our circumstances.
So this is why you have to understand and be constantly aware and alert to what the devil is up to. However, since he is a spiritual being you can't resist him on your own but need to mix faith and self- discipline with your will to rise above his attempts to get you off track from your budget as the second point in the last Post stated. The same scripture that tells us that the thief or devil comes to steal, kill and destroy also tells us that Jesus (the Word of God) came to give us abundant life. So that's why our will to stay on track with our budget, a choice or decision we make, coupled with the exercising of our faith and self-discipline are key to staying on track with our budget.
We'll talk about how faith and self-discipline mix with your will to help keep you on track with your budget in the next Post.
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
#71 - Kingdom Prosperity #37
I am going to assume if you've been following these Posts that you now have set up both your expense and savings budgets, and have them balanced.
Congratulations! Now it's time talk about staying on track, or managing/living within your budget. So let me share a few thoughts on how to do that:
1) First. understand that satan will do all he can to discourage you, get you off track, and take all you have, trying to trick you into thinking you don't have to stick to your budget, that it's okay to splurge, pamper yourself, etc. So you need a strategy or plan to combat the deceitfullness of your adversary the devil.
2) Second, know that your strategy or plan won't work based strictly on your own will to stay on track, but requires a combination of your will, faith and self discipline all working in concert together.
3) Third, your strategy must also include a commitment to making some sacrifices along the way, which should be based on your life and financial priorities.
4) And fourth, repentence or changing the way you think about what prosperity, money and being in debt really mean is absolutely essential.
We'll examine each of these components of a good strategy for staying on track with your budget in more detail in the next several Posts.
Congratulations! Now it's time talk about staying on track, or managing/living within your budget. So let me share a few thoughts on how to do that:
1) First. understand that satan will do all he can to discourage you, get you off track, and take all you have, trying to trick you into thinking you don't have to stick to your budget, that it's okay to splurge, pamper yourself, etc. So you need a strategy or plan to combat the deceitfullness of your adversary the devil.
2) Second, know that your strategy or plan won't work based strictly on your own will to stay on track, but requires a combination of your will, faith and self discipline all working in concert together.
3) Third, your strategy must also include a commitment to making some sacrifices along the way, which should be based on your life and financial priorities.
4) And fourth, repentence or changing the way you think about what prosperity, money and being in debt really mean is absolutely essential.
We'll examine each of these components of a good strategy for staying on track with your budget in more detail in the next several Posts.
Saturday, September 5, 2015
#70 - Kingdom Prosperity #36
We've covered the budget as far as your checking account goes, so let's go over budgeting for your savings budget or setting up your savings account. It's pretty much the same process as for your checking account, but instead of budgeting to cover expenses you're budgeting for the money that will go into and out of your Savings accout.
Start by indentifying all of the categories you have or want to have in your Savings account, such as, true savings, an emergency fund, a seed account, kids college fund, clothing fund, categories where you save funds for expenses that are only paid annually, semi-annually and perhaps quarterly instead of monthly or weekly, etc. It's your savings account, so whatever you want to save in it is really up to you. However, keep your financial priorities in mind as you develop your savings expense categories.
Next, for each category list any amounts you currently have, followed by the minimum amount you would like to put in each category each pay period, monthly, semi-annually, annually, etc. The pay periods you budget for should be the same as for your expense budget.
Now what you actually deposit into or withdraw from each category in your savings budget each pay period will be based on your expense budget. You can only deposit in the savings acount what you've budgeted for in your expense budget, and you can only withdraw from your savings account what you have put in the account be it a transfer to your checking account based on your expense budget or a withdrawal for personal use.
As you go through the process
of balancing your expense budget you will most likely have to balance your savings budget as well.
Like the expense budget, I can't really do the savings budget justice here on my Blog, so I encourage you to review the savings budget process in more detail along with the illustrative examples I have in my book, Kingdom Prosperity. But hopefully, what I've included here is helpful.
Bottom line, unless your savings budget like your expense budget is written down and you keep it in front of you, you have no road map for your financial future and will fall short of being the effective Steward over the financial blessings God gives you that He wants you to be.
So take some time and put together you savings budget just like you did your expense budget.
Start by indentifying all of the categories you have or want to have in your Savings account, such as, true savings, an emergency fund, a seed account, kids college fund, clothing fund, categories where you save funds for expenses that are only paid annually, semi-annually and perhaps quarterly instead of monthly or weekly, etc. It's your savings account, so whatever you want to save in it is really up to you. However, keep your financial priorities in mind as you develop your savings expense categories.
Next, for each category list any amounts you currently have, followed by the minimum amount you would like to put in each category each pay period, monthly, semi-annually, annually, etc. The pay periods you budget for should be the same as for your expense budget.
Now what you actually deposit into or withdraw from each category in your savings budget each pay period will be based on your expense budget. You can only deposit in the savings acount what you've budgeted for in your expense budget, and you can only withdraw from your savings account what you have put in the account be it a transfer to your checking account based on your expense budget or a withdrawal for personal use.
As you go through the process
of balancing your expense budget you will most likely have to balance your savings budget as well.
Like the expense budget, I can't really do the savings budget justice here on my Blog, so I encourage you to review the savings budget process in more detail along with the illustrative examples I have in my book, Kingdom Prosperity. But hopefully, what I've included here is helpful.
Bottom line, unless your savings budget like your expense budget is written down and you keep it in front of you, you have no road map for your financial future and will fall short of being the effective Steward over the financial blessings God gives you that He wants you to be.
So take some time and put together you savings budget just like you did your expense budget.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)