"But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint"  Isaiah 40:31 NLT

10 WAYS TO BE BROKE REGARDLESS OF INCOME        

The SmartStewards Facebook page provides daily reading for people who are looking to develop spiritual awareness with life – and money.

The lead admin on the site, Victor Samwinga, created an earlier post where he outlined ten concepts we can guarantee will break the bank. The concepts were then written about over a series of posts by the different SmartStewards, including Pastor Jeynes. The first way to be sure of remaining broke regardless of income is to fail to put God first – to stay tight-fisted and avoid giving'

On the Facebook page a lady called Hope Goodwin posted the following comment, “This list looks conclusive because it starts with putting God first. God will direct us how to remain smart with our finances.”

Hope then quoted a couple of verses from Psalm 37, one of David’s Psalms.

I like how the Psalm begins,

“Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!”

One of my favourite verses has the following words, “Let not your heart be troubled”. There is an act of choice involved in following God. A similar thought is expressed in Psalm 37, “Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness”. The background here isn’t simply a one-off choice but a continued relationship with God, a dwelling time with God, which involves a developing faithfulness in God.

As Christians we are very familiar with that concept, we don’t believe that a quick trip into the church building one day a week is sufficient to maintain a relationship with God who not only created us but sustains us.

That thought should be extended as we look further into our section of the passage, “He (God) will bring forth your righteousness as the light”. It is often thought that a Christian is a person who does good things to or for other people, certainly a concept I was familiar with before I became a Christian. I learned better over time. Look at this really positive picture of God. He doesn’t simply expect us to be good, to be righteous. God is the one who takes the initiative and does the work in us that ‘draws forth’ our righteousness.

How is it that righteousness revealed? Here are the verses that Hope Goodwin used, “I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. He is ever lending generously, and his children become a blessing.”

Those people, in whom God is at work, are generous and give blessings to others.

How does this support our theme for the day, “Fail to put God first - Stay tight-fisted and avoid giving”? The key to it all is this. God gives, we should give. If we give then we are then doing what God does. Why would we give? It is because God is at work in us drawing out our righteousness. That means that if we are being tight-fisted, not giving, we are simply not listening to God’s way of working in us. We are not allowing God to draw out righteousness.

I can understand that when finances are tight the thought of giving is not something we would naturally think of, but it really is a major key to releasing God’s power in us.

I haven’t always been a Christian. The early months saw me learning a lot, but not truly developing faith in God. Tithing, that form of giving, came late. The day of my baptism arrived. I said in the ceremony that I would give tithe, so I gave tithe. I can’t say I gave tithe out of faith, I gave out of commitment and obedience. The faith came later as I realised that money in the bank started to grow. What also grew was the way God drew out of me a commitment to go to Newbold College and train as a Pastor. God gave to me so I gave to others. I also found out that as I gave time and love – and sometimes money - the more was given to me.

When we fail to put God first - when we stay tight-fisted and avoid giving – we are the ones who eventually come last. Your task, should you choose to accept it, is not an impossible mission. Your task today is to make that decision to put God first. It is at that point that many other things start to come together.

Gaither Vocal Band provides our music today - "Count on Me."  Click on the quote to listen.