Tuesday, February 6, 2007

Understanding the Bible – Help for Your Bible Study

Understanding the Bible – Help for Your Bible Study by Karin Syren

Copyright 2006 So-lu'shunz Leadership Services

The Bible is not always easy to understand. And we are held accountable for how we absorb it into our lives. Proverbs 4:23 makes it clear that each of us is responsible for his own heart. Consequently, many of us begin our study by reading commentaries and articles by those who we figure should know what they are talking about. These supplementary studies can be very valuable, if we adhere to a few simple rules at the outset.

First and foremost, beware of opinions presented as truths. The opinions of men can and do end up becoming the teachings of men, which then become the traditions of men and the traditions of men render the Word of no effect (Mark 7:13; Romans 4:14; Mark 7:8,9). * Begin with prayer, a good place to begin any endeavor! Ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to understand (Ephesians 1:18) and your heart to receive the incorruptible Word (1 Peter 1:23). Pray for wisdom (James 1:5) to rightly divide the Scripture (2 Timothy 2:15).

* Now read everything the Bible says about the subject, or the particular Scripture you are attempting to rightly divide, by following any references to supporting Scriptures in both Old and New Testaments and using your concordance. At this point, you are filling your spirit with the Word. Do not make the mistake of being anxious about understanding all of it at this point.

* Be sure to read the passages preceding and following each Scripture to gain an awareness of the passage’s context.

* Be diligent in your word studies, using your comprehensive concordance to understand the nuances of the original Bible languages.

* Finally, formulate a statement in your own words, a paraphrase based on your study. Check and recheck to make sure you have not put your own spin on it. This exercise alone may be enough to illuminate the study for you, to open up the confusing Scripture or to provide you biblical continuity of teaching. If not, and you are looking for some supplemental teaching on the subject, continue reading.

* Now read what others have to say. Stay with teachers who consistently stand firmly on what the Word has to say and who don’t veer off into the realm of opinion, those who have shown to be careful in their study and trustworthy in their interpretations.

* Immediately discount any commentaries based on negativity or criticism of others. There may be a germ of veracity, sincerity or authenticity buried underneath, but those who resort to a negative approach pass along with it a spirit Christians do not need to embrace. Their approach will ultimately tear down any truth and sincerity they may have begun with.

* Be wary of absolute attitudes concerning areas of Scripture that are in question among trusted Bible scholars. It is necessary for each of us to remain teachable, open to the Holy Spirit giving us interpretation beyond what may have become (disputable) denominational doctrine.

* Make it a rule never to argue Scripture. The Word of God is not debatable; it is revelatory. God does not need your abilities as a disputer to bring about revelation in another. He says, for I am watching over My Word to perform it. (Jeremiah 1:12). He only needs you to speak the uncompromised Word, to say what He says – the Holy Spirit will reveal to others (Ephesians 1:17) and God will perform it (Isaiah 55:11)

Above all, do not become discouraged by any lack of understanding or by discrepancies among Bible teachers. The Word of God is meant for you and with the help of the Holy Spirit, spending time each day in the life-giving, delivering, encouraging, empowering, comforting Word of God, will lead you to understanding. Know that God has promised it will accomplish His will and He Himself will bring it to pass.



Karin Syren is a certified Life Coach specializing in Strategic Life Planning. She works with people from all walks of life helping them to become leaders in their own lives, discovering their Mission, creating vibrant Visions as evidence and designing On Target Goals to achieve them. Click the link to find out to join one of Karin's powerful groups and receive your first month FREE at http://www.solushunz.net


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Monday, February 5, 2007

Stewardship –Creating Wealth for God

Stewardship –Creating Wealth for God. by Debra Lohrere

All that we have and all that we are has come from God. He has blessed us with money and possessions, and he has given each of us specific talents and abilities. We have been called to be good stewards - to use our money, our time and our abilities as best we can to benefit God’s kingdom.

Giving tithes and offerings demonstrates our obedience to God, and the recognition that all we have has come from him. Giving our time in the Lord’s work, whether in ministry, helping those in need or greeting people at the Church door, shows our determination to follow the Lord’s teachings.

Why is it then, if we are happy to faithfully give our time and money, that so many Christians seem to have an issue when it comes to discussing wealth creation.
There seem to be two distinct lines of thought – the one promoted by many of the big name TV evangelists who promote the “prosperity” and “name it and claim it” teachings and the other viewpoint of many of the conservative Church officials who push the opinion that seeking wealth is ungodly.

Unfortunately both of these viewpoints seem to run contrary to the word, and to Jesus’ teachings about stewardship.

The “prosperity” teachers promote the idea that whatever you give to God, he will return to you many times over. Although this is close to the teaching of stewardship, which says that you should seek to multiply whatever God gives you, so that you can give him more back in return. It has been distorted, in as much as the actual motivation behind giving promoted by the prosperity teachers is self based (if I give more, God will give me more) instead of focusing on Christ. There is a huge difference between giving to get more, and working to increase your means so that you can give more to further the works of the kingdom.

Some now try to imply that if you are not prosperous, then your walk with the Lord must be lacking in some area, and others at the other end of the spectrum are always making condemning statements about the evils of being rich.

We need to really look at what the word says, and the examples that Jesus gave.
I firmly believe that the enemy wants to deter us from aiming to invest and make our wealth grow, as he does not want us to be successful. He doesn’t want us making lots of money that we can use for the Lord’s work. He doesn’t want us to be able to fund mission outreaches or to feed the poor or to fund Christian satellite TV channels.

Some Christians seem to have the misconception that being wealthy is evil and being poor is holy. There is nothing holy about being poor. God doesn’t want his children to be in poverty. A rich person has far more power at their disposal to be able to help where financial assistance is needed than a poor person. At the same time though we need to make sure that our motivation for creating wealth is to “get so we can give” as opposed to the prosperity teachers notion that we should “give so we can get”. As long as we do not idolise money, and retain the truth that all we have has come from God anyway, then there is no need to feel any guilt about how much money we make.
There are many examples in the Bible that show God’s desire to bless his faithful followers with wealth:
(Gen 39:2) “And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.”

(Deu 29:9) “Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do”.

(2 Chr 26:5) “And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him to prosper”.
and 1 Kings 3:13 “And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honor: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days”.

God loves to bless his children, especially if we in return are happy to bless others. Therefore there is absolutely nothing wrong with setting goals to be good stewards and create wealth to give back to our creator. In fact, as stewards of the resources God has given us, it is actually our responsibility to aim at increasing what we have.
We should be seeking to be successful for God. To genuinely set goals for investing both our money and time into the kingdom of God. The best way to increase your monetary wealth is not to go asking the boss for a pay rise, but rather to start a regular investment program. More important still, is to learn how to invest wisely and not be wasteful with our resources.

Before you can start investing you need to make some money available. One of the most effective methods it to use the 10/10/80 Plan. 10% of your income to God, 10% for investing and live off the remaining 80% of your income. This may take a little time to adjust to, but when you consider the long terms results that you will achieve once you start investing, you will find that it is extremely worthwhile.

You will have all heard the expression that “The second million is always easier than the first”. This is absolutely true – the reason being is that it is compounding interest that has the greatest power to create wealth, and the more you have invested that compounding can work on – the quicker your wealth will grow.

In mathematical terms 72 divided by Compound Interest Rate of Return = Years for Money to Double in Value.

Therefore if you have an investment growing at 10% compound interest, it will double in value in 7.2 years (quadruple in 14.4 years and be worth eight times as much in 21.6 years). If it is growing at 12% it will double in 6 years.

John D Rockefeller who was once one of America’s richest men said that “Compound Interest is the Eighth Wonder of the World”.

Einstein once said, “The most powerful concept or principle in the world that I am aware of is that of compound interest”.

When deciding on the best areas to invest in, it is worth taking into consideration the fact that over 90% of the world’s millionaires have made their money through property.

In Australia over the past 50 years property has averaged 10% p.a. compound growth. (Carefully selected properties have averaged even greater returns). Not forgetting that investment properties will also be generating an income from rent.

Median priced property has averaged growing at a rate of 2 – 4% p.a. higher than inflation, making it a very solid investment.

I believe the most effective way to build riches is to accumulate a portfolio of investment properties (over the space of 7 to10 years) and then let the power of Compound Interest work to your benefit.

It is possible to borrow 100% of the purchase price of a property plus expenses by securing the deposit against your own home, so that you don’t have to come up with a cash deposit.

There are many different strategies for property investing, which suit different people depending on their current income or financial position.

God will give you the wisdom to decide on the best strategies for your situation if you put in the time and effort to learn as much as you can and seek his direction. It is wise to also seek professional advice, as rules and regulations and tax effectiveness will vary between nations.

The main reason that property can be utilised more effectively than shares as an investment, is due to the added benefit of being able to highly gear an investment property.

Gearing or leveraging is where you use a small portion of your own money along with a large portion of someone else’s money (in this case a loan from the bank) to secure an investment of a far greater value than you could have using only you own money.
If you had $10,000 to invest and invested it directly into shares that were growing at 10%, then in 7.2 years they would be worth around $20,000. On the other hand if you had used that $10,000.00 as 5% deposit on a $200,000.00 property and had borrowed the remaining 95% plus establishment costs. If this also grew at 10% then in 7.2 years your investment would be worth $400,000.00. Meaning that by leveraging your investment you have gained an additional $190,000.00.

Keep in mind here that there are two types of Debt. Good Debt is where you have borrowed funds to secure a capitally appreciating, income producing asset. Bad Debt is where you borrow to buy a capitally depreciating, non-income producing item such as a car, boat or holiday.

A combination of using Good Debt to buy property and then allowing Compounding to do its work – seems to be a most effective way of creating wealth. But this is definitely not a “Get rich quick scheme”, on the contrary it is a “Get rich slowly” scheme which works most effectively over a 10 to 20 year period. It takes patience and perseverance, but after having spoken to dozens of other property investors, many of whom have become multi millionaires within the space of 10 to 15 years, I am certain that it is worthwhile.

I believe God wants to start shifting the wealth of this world into the hands of Christians, who can plant it back into his kingdom.



Debra Lohrere is the author of Christian Investing and Money Management http://www.lulu.com/content/378757 and Peace, Prophecy and False Fire http://www.lulu.com/content/333221

Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com

Friday, February 2, 2007

A Simple Formula For Faith Can Help You Reach Your Dreams

A Simple Formula For Faith Can Help You Reach Your Dreams by Rob Marshall

Copyright 2006 Rob Marshall

When I first starting telling people that we were going to move to Germany, I had no idea how we were going to do it. We didn't have the money to pay for the move, we didn't know anybody in Germany and I had no idea how I was going to find work. It seemed like it was an impossible dream, but I did have one thing going for me, I had faith.

It's like one of my favorite stories from the Bible, the story of David and Goliath. When David told everyone that he was going to be able to defeat Goliath, he had no idea how he was going to do it. He was just a shepherd boy and Goliath was a warrior. The odds were against him and it seemed like an impossible task. But David did have one thing going for him, he had faith.

If having faith is all that it takes to make the impossible possible, to make seemingly unreachable dreams a reality, and to turn certain defeat into victory, the question is: what is faith?

For many years I could quote the definition of faith found in Hebrews 11:1. It says, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." But I really didn't understand it until I was able to put it into a simple formula that says:

Desire + Expectation + Action = Faith.

In the formula desire is simply what we want. It's what the verse in Hebrews calls the things we hope for. The expectation part of the formula is what we really believe about what we want. The Bible calls it substance. It's the intangible sense that we can have what we want, even if we're not sure how it will happen. The last part of the formula is action. It's what we do today that is the evidence, or the proof, of what we expect.

When I apply this formula to David's battle with Goliath, David's desire was to defeat Goliath. His expectation was that, God was going to help him kill Goliath just like He had helped him kill a lion and a bear that had attacked his sheep. The actions that he took were to get a clear picture in his mind of Goliath lying dead on the ground. Because David believed he could defeat Goliath, he soon found a way to use the skills he had with a shepherd's sling to kill the giant with a single shot.

For our move to Germany, my desire was to live and work in Germany. My expectation was that God would work out all the details, even though I couldn't see how it was possible. Then we took action. We bought a map of Germany and put it on the wall of our dining room where it served to constantly remind us of our dream. We also started preparing for living in Germany by studying the language, meeting with an elderly German woman who lived near us, and listening to German music.

What is your dream? And how is your faith?

Start by looking at your desires. And by that I don't mean the kind of desires that a three year old would have when going through a toy store where all the bright colored packages would catch his attention and he'd say, "Oh! I want that, and that, and that." By desire I mean that kind of deep desires you have in your heart that are the things you really want to accomplish in your life.

Then take a look at your expectation. What do you really believe about fulfilling that desire and reaching your dream? Do you believe that you have to have all the answers first? David didn't. And, like David, all I knew was that impossible dreams can come true as long as we're willing to believe that they can.

And how about your actions? Do you have a clear picture in your mind, and maybe a "map on the wall" or some photos of your dream that you can use to remind you of your dream? Are there things that you can do today that will help you prepare for the day when your dream becomes a reality?

Whatever those actions may be, take one today and then another tomorrow, and keep doing that day after day. And whenever you begin to feel fear or doubt, look at the picture of your dream, imagine how good it will feel to be living that dream, and your faith will help you reach it.

It took three-and-a-half years of prayer and preparation before we moved to Germany, and I wouldn't trade that experience for anything. The sheer joy of seeing a dream come true was incredible. We spent almost ten years living and working in different parts of Germany and we were able to move to the former communist East Germany shortly after the wall fell. We have friends and memories that will last us a lifetime.

For David, the battle with Goliath was a major step toward reaching his dream of becoming king. After he burst on the scene with his victory over Goliath, there was still a lot of time and preparation that needed to happen before he became king. But his faith kept him strong and he was able to become one of the greatest kings the nation of Israel ever had.

What will reaching your dreams mean to you? How will it feel when you accomplish something that you've longed for most of your life? Just have a little faith and you'll soon find out.



Rob Marshall is the author of "Taking On Goliath - How to Unleash the David in All of Us." Learn how you can unleash your faith and overcome any "Goliath" that may stand between you and your dreams. http://www.TakingOnGoliath.com


Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com