Prosper With Money

What keeps you motivated to get out of bed every morning? What keeps you motivated to work like no one else at your job? What keeps you motivated to love your wife and children unselfishly? Lately, I have been looking at these three questions in my life.  I find that the easy answer for me is God but as I look deeper at my motivations, God is certainly the biggest motivating factor, there are other things in my life that push me to be and do better things. The first is the love of my wife. My wife Kristyn, is awesome. She is kind, loving and always looking out for the best for our marriage. We have our disagreements just like everyone else but day in and day out she is my rock and will always be my rock. The next motivation for me is my kids. Seeing the three of them gets me into work some days when it is sunny and 80 degrees. Knowing that there is work to be done to put food on the table so that they can grow up without and needs (notice I said need, they will always have wants).  The last motivating factor is the “I” factor. If I want to succeed, then work needs to completed. If I want more business then work needs to be completed. If I want to take my family on vacation the I have work do. I do not depend on the government or other agencies to provide for me and my family. My family and I work hard for what we have and if we are going to succeed materially in this word we will continue to work hard and not depend on anyone else to do the work for us. So, after my little speech what is your motivation?

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If you have been listening to Dave Ramsey’s radio show on WDCX 99.5 lately, you may have heard him talk about a free lesson of his Financial Peace University program.  Port of Grace Church (Port Colborne, ON) & Wesleyan Church of Hamburg (Hamburg, NY) will be running a free lesson. We here at RKL Financial would like to make it available to your congregation and the community. 

We will be watching the DVD of Dave Ramsey presenting the topic of “Super Saving”, the first lesson in the series.  We also will have a brief discussion afterwards. I realize this is short notice (and Easter Sunday), but I thought you might be interested in putting this information in your bulletin, or announcement, or even just tell someone in your congregation who might be struggling financially. 

Thank you very much.  If you have any questions about this, about running FPU in your church, or anything Dave Ramsey related, please let us know! We are here to help!

Where (Ontario):
Port of Grace Church

26 Charlotte St

Port Colborne, ON 
Date: 
Tuesday April 6th, 2010

 Time:
7 pm to 9 pm

Leader:
Shaun Somers
Dave Ramsey Certified Financial Counselor  
Where (WNY): 

Wesleyan Church of Hamburg

4999 McKinley Parkway
Hamburg, NY

Date: 
Thursday April 8th, 2010

Time: 
6:30 pm to 8:30 pm

Leader: 
Ryan Loos
Dave Ramsey Certified Financial Counselor 

Contact Information:
877-58-PEACE

info@RKLFinancial.com

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In today’s economy, how can we as Christians experience true financial peace? Many of us have lost homes, jobs, retirement funds, while others may be hounded daily by creditors. In this time of economic crisis, it is crucial for us as Christians to remember that through Christ we have hope, not only eternally, but also in knowing that He is willing to help us even in our present circumstance.

In the book of 2 Peter, Peter emphasizes the importance of gaining knowledge in Christ for the purpose of  detecting the lies of the false teachers. Unfortunately, we are bombarded with media influences that can easily sway us from the Truths that God has made plain about managing our finances through His Holy Scripture.

The Bible says that “The devil is like a roaring lion waiting to devour…The salesmen, financial planners, and creditors in secular America today are trained to entice and convince the public that they are in desperate need of their so-called life & money-saving antics.

The captions in the media promise guilt–free purchasing, by offering zero percent financing, with no money down, and no interest for six months. The creditors promise lower interest rates and great rewards for purchases made on their company’s credit card. And let’s not forget the all too familiar golden corporate ladder that promises years of financial prosperity for those who are willing to forgo family, friends and Sundays (in no particular order) for the cause of the company.

I will be the first to admit that I have fallen for these “too good to be true offers”, only to end up with more heartache and financial responsibility than I originally intended. For us, it was a water purification system. All my wife and I wanted was the free dinner out for welcoming one of their sales reps into our home. What we ended up with was a dinner voucher we never used, and a three thousand dollar water filtration system that we paid on for years, even after we moved out of our home and no longer used the system.

For years I thought that I could use a credit card, reap the user rewards, and pay-off the amount each month. While we were able to pay-off the amount each month we calculated that we were spending approximately $300 more than we needed to simply because it was easier to swipe a card than hand out cash. Not too mention that stress that came with worrying that we would have enough to pay off the bill each month and that someone might steal our identity.

Furthermore, years ago, I was that accountant, earnestly seeking to climb the corporate ladder and make my millions. I traveled and worked countless hours to prove that I was deserving of promotions and special perks, but unfortunately, at the expense of my family.  My wife and I felt so distant from each other and I missed months with my first child, who needed a father’s influence at the time just as much as she needed her mother.

What God challenged me to do, and I encourage you to do, as well, is to dive daily into the Word of God. The more we allow God’s Word to take root in our hearts, the more wisdom we gain as far as how to structure our life goals and manage our finances. Statistic about money references in the Bible.

I believe wholeheartedly that the foundation for experiencing true financial peace begins with the understanding that everything we have, including our income, is from the Lord. The Bible says “The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein.” Psalm 24:1       When we allow God to plant this truth in our hearts He begins to transform our lives in such a way that we no longer spend for ourselves, but we begin to realize the importance of tithing, meeting our families basic needs and saving for our family’s future.

True financial peace comes when we know we are giving, saving and spending as Christ would have us do.

As Peter writes in 2 Peter chapter one verses 5b-6a, “…make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control…”.

The word “add” means that this is something we need to do. In his devotional, My Utmost For His Highest, Oswald Chambers expounds on this concept of “adding to our faith”. He writes, “We cannot save ourselves nor sanctify ourselves, God does that; but God will not give us good habits , He will not give us character, He will not make us walk aright. We have to do that ourselves, we have to work out the salvation God has worked in.”

I encourage you to go against the grain! Make the decision today to give your finances over to the Lord! Change your spending habits and find someone to help hold you accountable. Husbands and wives, work at managing your finances together, so there are no surprises. Continue to seek God in all things and He will give you peace, financial or not, beyond all measure!

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Financial Peace University (FPU) consists of a 13-week video curriculum taught by financial expert Dave Ramsey that incorporates small-group discussions to encourage accountability and discipleship. Most financial programs are boring, with confusing information and monotonous instructors. Financial Peace is very different! It is highly entertaining for everyone, with a unique combination of humor, informative financial advice, and biblical messages. 

Financial Peace University Winter 2010 

Start Date: Monday February 15th (every Monday for 13 weeks)  

Time: 7 pm – 8:30pm 

Cost: $100.00 per household 

Coordinated by: Ryan Loos, Dave Ramsey Certified Financial Counselor  

Host: Clarence Church of Christ Church 

Location: 5375 Old Goodrich Rd., Clarence, NY 14031 

Start Date: Wednesday February 10th (every Wednesday for 13 weeks)  

Time: 6:30pm – 8:00pm 

Cost: $100.00 per household 

Coordinated by: Ryan Loos, Dave Ramsey Certified Financial Counselor 

Host: Wesleyan Church of Hamburg 

Location:  4999 McKinley Parkway, Hamburg, NY 14075  

Start Date: Monday February 22nd (every Monday for 13 weeks)  Time: 7 pm – 8:30pm

 Cost: $125.00 (CAD) per household

 Coordinated by: Shaun Somers, Dave Ramsey Certified Financial Counselor 

 Host: Welland Brethren in Christ Church

Location: 50 Lincoln Street W Welland, ON L3C 5J1 

 For more details or questions on FPU call 877-58-PEACE or Email FPU@RKLFinancial.com.

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Shaun Somers our Canadian counselor recently received an email from a concerned member of a local church about the debt that they were preparing to enter into. See below to Shaun’s response and as it describes both Shaun and my feelings on debt in the Kingdom of God.

“”….some have argued…. lack faith if God wants to give us the best, we should not be afraid to trust God.” Here’s the thing, I 100% agree with the quote above – we need to trust God.  But I think trusting God means just that, looking at His word and His principles about how to handle money.  To me, trusting God would mean setting a goal of a property worth $2.5M (or whatever) and resolving to get it WITHOUT DEBT.  But “we’ll have to wait too long” some people will say.  Well, who’s to say how long God will have you wait?  And if that is His will, so be it. Perhaps you should have had a target like this 10 years ago, perhaps not.  But taking a debt shortcut now is not the answer, in my opinion. Proverbs 22:7 says “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.” (NASB) Does your church wish to be slave to the bank? Debt changes relationships, and not for the better from my experience. So again, my suggestion would be to avoid debt altogether.  Failing that, taking a very small mortgage would be best.  Taking on a huge debt with a congregation as small as yours seems quite “reckless”, as you say.  Any suggestion that individual congregants take on debt to then loan to the church would be in my opinion beyond reckless to the point of foolhardiness.  I don’t aim to offend here, because I know that those who brought up that idea are trying to help, but I cannot stress strongly enough that that is not a good plan. This matter of moving up in church size is no small thing, and will require much deliberation and prayer on the part of your church leaders and congregation.  I encourage you to continue to express your concerns about any plan that requires debt as a part of the solution. “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his
neighbor has fulfilled the law.” Romans 13:8 May God richly bless you and your church.”

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