Transformed from the inside out

Music lyrics really speak to me and it is so funny how I am always looking at how things in life relate to Financial Peace. Our church praise band has started learning a new song. The title is "From the Inside Out". The chorus of this song begins "My heart and my soul, I give you control, consume me from the inside out Lord...". The road to financial peace is a journey. It is not easy and takes a great deal of discipline on our part. For most of my life, I allowed society to control the way I thought about money and having stuff. The real success of reaching true financial peace is to understand that this world, money and all stuff is God's and that if you can release control to God in these areas and allow God to change the way you think about money from the inside out, that you will truly have financial peace. A couple in our church will be screaming, "We are debt free" by March of this year. They began FPU in February of 2008 and had the average debt of most Americans. People may ask how did they do it? The answer is very simple. I have seen such an incredible change from the inside out in this couple. Having stuff is no longer what life is about to them. They have given all control of their money to God and God is rewarding them for that. One of the verses of the song says "YOUR WILL above all else, My PURPOSE remains, the art of loosing MYSELF, in bringing you praise". Are you ready to let God's WILL shine from the inside out and loose yourself and find your true purpose in life? When you do this, it brings true financial peace.

Criminalize Usury

You are probably asking yourself, what is usury? I would have asked the same thing had I not read an article that was given to me from a member of our congregation. The article was titled "A suggestion for correcting the economy" written by Joel Hilliker and was published January 2009 in The Philadelphia Trumpet. The definition of usury in the Webster dictionary is the lending of money with an interest charge for its use ; especially : the lending of money at exorbitant interest rates3: an unconscionable or exorbitant rate or amount of interest ; specifically : interest in excess of a legal rate charged to a borrower for the use of money.

Can you now say AMEN to the concept of criminalizing usury? The article says a great deal, but a few things it said is evidence that we must learn to live without credit and credit cards as not only does this make us slave to the lender, but also it is in direct violation of what God said is the right thing to do. In Deuteronomy 23:19 God actually forbids us from charging interest - "Do not charge your brother interest, whether on money or food or anything else that may earn interest." In Nehemiah 5 the entire story is about how God specifically condemns charging even 1 percent interest.

So why do I tell you all this and how will it help correct the economy. The writer of this article must have hooked up with Dave at some time, because he writes that the availability of easy credit teaches self-indulgence and financial irresponsibility. He goes on to say that it puts people in debt, which is a form of slavery, and leads to financial ruin. He suggests that if we criminalize usury it would teach the value of financial discipline, patience, self control and hard work and in the long run would increase individual and family wealth. The writer goes on to say that interest always tends to take money from the poor and give it to the rich. NO wonder why the banks buildings are so much more larger than our own!!! In a Bible-based economy, loans are actually a form of welfare, given to benefit the poor, not the rich.

How could that be you may ask yourself. Well, think about the interest you would have paid on $150,000 house over a 30 year period. Almost half, $150,000. If you were not charged interest, I bet you could find a way to invest that $150,000 of interested charged and I know that would change the financial status of your household. I know it would mine.

This article suggests that we need to start focusing more on God's laws, because had we have done this all along it would have prevented this financial meltdown. In God's abundant government people would buy only what they need, when they can afford it, and when they have the cash to pay for it. This prescription would solve the problem, because it comes from the greatest economist who ever lived. God designed a perfect economic system and all we would have to do in order to make it work is to follow His law.

What an economy and a wonderful world that would be. We would strive just like they did in the times of the Bible. This blog title just makes me shake my head and ask, wow, is it possible for that to happen? YES!!! We can make that happen one family at a time through Financial Peace University. I am on board, are you?

Loses his own soul - continued

God is truly amazing to me. This morning I was reading my Purpose Drive Life devotion and guess what verse the speaker referenced? Mark 8:36 NKJV - “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” To be honest when I wrote the blog yesterday, I knew these were words to a song, but did not know that they were a Bible verse. I mean, before I was walking with God daily, I would have thought oh wow what a coincidence. But now, I know that there is no such thing. God is trying very hard during this unstable economy through many voices to get this message across to all of us. The speaker goes on to say "our objective-in-Jesus is to rid ourselves of any gods we’ve fashioned from our own hands and to serve the one true God". What God are you serving today? Is it money? Are you losing your soul to it? I just want to remind you that it is never too late. It is possible to take control of your money and not let it control you. Are you ready to make a change? Then it takes faith in God and the principles of Financial Peace to do so. Come join the crusade. It is not just about taking back control of our money, it's about taking back control of our lives and no longer serving at the altar of money.

Gain the whole world and lose my soul

There is a new song out by Toby Mack on 104.7 The Fish, called "Lose My Soul". I am not much for rap music, but I love the words to this song. When I hear this song, I think about how what he says applies to money and what it takes to have financial peace.

"I don't want to gain the whole world, and lose my soul......Lord forgive us when we get consumed by the things of this world, that fight for our love, and our passion...."

God's Word has over 800 scriptures on finance in the Bible. God knew that this subject was going to be a struggle for us, which is why he talks about it so much. Financial Peace is not about not having stuff. It is about not letting stuff have you. It is about remembering what the scripture says in Matthew 6:24. It is your choice, God's free will, to decide whether you will serve God or money...you cannot serve both God and Money.

When we choose society's way of doing things in life, we get consumed by the things of this world. This causes tension within ourselves and the devil starts taking over your soul. I do not know about you, but having things and gaining society's world view of what is important is not worth it to me to loose my soul in eternity.

Where is your "free will" headed? Are you choosing the path of loosing your soul?