Category: BIBLE AND WEALTH

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BIBLE AND WEALTH

WHAT IS YOUR CHRISTMAS GIFT?

ID-10058765Christmas is almost here and everywhere is full of excitement! As it is all over in the world, during Christmas, members of families aggregate at a point, take stock of the year, celebrate the current year and anticipate greater successes for the following year. Christmas is the time families and loved ones share food, successes and failures, difficulties etc. All these are great but there is something greater that we can also share with people! This is the word of God!

For Christians, Christmas marks the celebration of the birth of Jesus. Jesus lived on this earth and proved that the character of God the father can be lived again on earth after the fall of the first man (Adam). Jesus raised the death, fed the hungry, healed the sick and above all, brought the God life to man. Jesus died and resurrected to show the whole world that, death has been defeated. Jesus said in John 17:22 that, “And the glory which thou givest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one”. What a privilege we have as Christians. God has given man the power to take dominion over the earth. This is the good news we have to share with people.  

Christmas is one of the rare times we have to share the gospel with everybody we come across. Christmas is the time to remind believers about their place in Christ and what they are able to do: able to heal the sick; raise the death; deliver people from poverty and deprivation; discover more through science; lead the world; bring peace to the world etc.   It is also the time to tell unbelievers what God has in store for them and not to condemn them. As we celebrate Christmas, ensure that your share the word of the God with people you will come across. This the greatest gift you can give any one in this Christmas. Also don’t forget to share and celebrate other things like food, drinks, gifts etc. with your neighbours and friends. Merry Christmas in advance to everyone. Chao.   

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BIBLE AND WEALTH

MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION

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The Lord Jesus, before His ascension, gave a very important submission to His disciples. This submission was “…Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).This request of the Master is still very important and must be executed by every Christian today. What will you have done for your relatives and others assuming that you one day discovered a 1000 tons gold in a cave in a village where everybody is ‘poor’? We can guess several responses that my come up. Your main aim would have been to improve the standard of living for yourself, your relatives and others. The selfish ones, of course, would have consumed all the proceeds alone without any consideration to residents in the village.

Receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and personal saviour is the greatest gift that God has given to mankind. Receiving Jesus is treasure deposited in our spirit. This treasure should compel us to always propagate the word of God to the unsaved so that these persons can also receive this treasure of hope. You should not necessarily be an experienced teacher of the bible before you propagate the word of God to the world around you. Sometimes, a simple phrase like “God loves you” is all somebody needs to be born again and experience the God-life. Some people are going through extreme hardships. They have tried all that they can in their power to make things work but nothing has improved. A positive change only comes through Jesus.

Over the years, some Christians have condemned unbelievers to the extent that, these unbelievers have purposed in their hearts not to get close to church or anything about the gospel. This act of repelling unbelievers through condemnation is not the ministry of reconciliation. No matter the gravity of sin of any person, Jesus still loves these persons. If Jesus could not condemn sinners, then as believers, we equally are not allowed to condemn sinners. We are God’s co-labourers today in the ministry of reconciliation (1 Corinthians 3:9). What an unbeliever needs initially is the saving gospel of Jesus. From here, the word of God will start the process of transformation and naturally, acts of sin begin to depart from saved souls.

In conclusion, our responsibility is to let people know the ministry of reconciliation which kick-starts a transformation that brings about prosperity and a life of meaning. The prosperity life in Christ is everlasting life.

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BIBLE AND WEALTH

DEFINING WEALTH……

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The term ‘wealth’ has several definitions. Almost all the definitions have one thing in common, that is, wealth facilitates ‘well-being’. This article explore some of the definitions of wealth, briefly mentions the element(s) that generates wealth, mentions some personalities of the 21st Century who are wealthy and also talks about a biblical personality who was wealthy.

Adam Smith, in his influential work “The Wealth of Nations”, described wealth as “the annual produce of the land and labour of the society”. This “produce” is that which satisfies the needs and wants of utility of humans. Wealth is also described as an abundance of substances of economic value, or the state of controlling or having such substances, usually in the form of money (or currency), real estate and personal property. Moreover, a person who is considered wealthy, affluent, or rich is one who has accumulated substantial wealth compared to others in a reference group. In economics, wealth is defined as the net worth of a person, household, or nation, that is, “the value of all assets owned net of all liabilities owed at a point in time”. When it comes to national wealth which is measured in national accounts, the net liabilities of a nation are those payable to the rest of the world. Wealth may also be used to refer to the productive capability of a group of people or as a contrast to poverty.

Wealth can be grouped into three main categories: personal property, which includes homes or cars; monetary savings, such as the amassing of past income; and the income generated from income producing assets, such as real estate, stocks, bonds, and businesses. All these descriptions make wealth an especially important part of social stratification. Wealth provides a kind of social safety net of protection against an unforeseen circumstances and can be transformed into home ownership, business ownership, or even education.

Wealth refers to the amassing of resources (net asset value), whether abundant or not. ‘Richness’ refers to an abundance of resources (such as income or flow). The contrast of wealth is destitution. The contrast of richness is poverty.

UBS investor watch 2003 defined wealth as “as the state where one has no constraints in terms of finance regarding what one does”.

Wealth is also defined as “ones state of well-being” and capital is a synonym of  wealth.  Among capital assets, human capital is an essential element of wealth creation. Human capital is defined as “that which facilitates the creation of personal, social, and economic well-being” and includes the knowledge, skills, competencies, and other attributes of an individual. Thus, an individual, community, or nation is considered wealthy when the individual, community, or nation has more amassed resources (capital) than a poor one. Human capital is critical in generating wealth.

In the 21st Century, the world has celebrated many personalities of wealth. From forbes.com, mention is made of Carlos Slim, Bill Gates, Amancio Ortega and others. An example of a wealthy person recorded in the good book is King Solomon. “Now the weight of gold that Solomon received yearly was 23 metric tons not including the revenues from merchants and traders and from all the Arabian kings and the governors of the land (1 Kings 10:14). The King had a fleet of ships at sea along with the ships of Hiram. Once every three years, it returned carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons. King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth. (1 Kings 10:22-23). Solomon gained human capital (wisdom) before generating wealth. For further readings, click the links below:

investor-watch-3Q2013-report

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Reference(s):

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_wealth_in_economics#slide4

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wealth#Economic_analysis

The Well-being of Nations: The Role of Human and Social Capital. OECD. 2001.

The bible

 

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BIBLE AND WEALTH

SEED TIME AND HARVEST

ID-100180478Gen 8:22. While the earth remaineth, seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. Investment is a characteristic of every human being especially the child of God. What is important about investment is that, there are always specific times for seed sowing (investment) but when it comes to harvesting or reaping the yield of our investment, it is not time specific compared to seed sowing (investment). Harvesting is a continuous process.

What to invest in is also very important. Beyond investment market predictions on the internet and in books, which are very important, we also need to contact our inner spirit to lead us to identify the right sector to invest in. It is also important to have some knowledge on the areas of interest for investment. Though important, the initial capital is not enough to start the investment. If you have the initial capital, read to broaden your horizon on possible areas of investment and also talk to the experts for advise. When you have finished all the readings, consultations and have narrowed down to some few possible areas of promising investment area(s), then you can now contact your spirit through faith in the Holy Spirit to make a final choice.

How do you know that a particular option is the best to pick and invest in? This is where prayer in other tongues becomes important. Praying in tongues builds you up and makes you sensitive to receiving from the Holy Spirit. Getting acquainted with the word of God is also necessary for us to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. The right area(s) of investment to choose will drop into your spirit and will be characterized by peace in your spirit. Sometimes, you can make a choice but as you continue praying, it appears as if ‘something’ is holding or pushing back your prayer. In your spirit, you will feel uneasy and this is where you need to re-examine your intended choice. Sometimes too, because you don’t have enough information about the area of investment, you will feel inadequate and uneasy though that area(s) may be the choice of the Holy Spirit for you.

All said and done, the right choice comes with the peace of God and confirmation from the Holy spirit. By confirmation, you may have a dream about the selected choice; a friend or your wife or husband may mention it to you when in actual sense, that was not the focus of your conversation.  To conclude, time in itself is seed for every human being. What you do with your time is an investment. Let us always use our time wisely and make impact on the world around us. Remember, you can only enjoy a harvest after investment.

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