Category: BIBLE AND WEALTH

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BIBLE AND WEALTH

RIVERS OF LIVING WATER

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John 7:38 says, He that believes on Me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. How true this scripture is! Man is gifted by God to discover so much in this universe and to take care of this universe. Man has made much progress in science and engineering, economics and what have you.  

However, man can do so much more because of the presence of God in our lives. As children of God, we are loaded with so many good things to benefit the world. If the natural man can do so many things from within, then the child of God can do much more from within. If you are a child of God and you are not making progress in at least an area of your life, then you got to go back to the word and rediscover yourself! This is the truth, that all that you lay your hands on to do shall prosper. The child of God is not a failure. You have so much deposited in your spirit which have to spring forth like a river. Talk of economic development, the child of God has the keys to unlocking new discoveries in economic development. Talk of science and engineering, economics etc., the child of God has the power to discover more to improve the well-being of people in the world.

The rivers of living water are the gifts or talents that spring forth from the child of God with ease through the power of the Holy Spirit to bless the world. A school of thought says that Christians are to blame for the hardships in this world! Though this is a harsh statement, it is partly true because if all Christians are to live up to expectation, the world would have been a better place than it is now because we have the strength to go beyond the natural ability of men. The power of God is at work in us to bless the world with health, technology, happiness, wealth and all the good things that you can think about!  

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BIBLE AND WEALTH

WHERE TO INVEST

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A major characteristic of man is the ability to invest and make returns. For any production to be successful, one needs to invest in the factors of production in order to accrue returns. In our homes, parents would want to invest in the education of their dependants so that these dependants can become responsible citizens in future. In terms of location, several examples of investment options are available. The critical question is this-Do we invest in our current places of residence (that is, our district) or in our country or in other countries? The area (location) where you invest matters so much. This article will briefly try to answer the above question within the context of the good book.

 An individual may be making progress through investment in a certain location. Another individual may want to replicate that success in the same location or elsewhere and make progress. Some other person may attempt and fail woefully. The fact that an individual is investing in a location and making progress does not mean you also have to invest in that location. Though God has said in His word that anything we do shall prosper, it is important to find out from God the specific location you as an individual can invest in to get more wealth or more prosperity. Genesis 26:12-13 states that “Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him. And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great”. Isaac had the choice of relocating to Egypt where it appeared that he could make life better for himself and family but God advised him not to go but to invest his present location. In his days, more people were relocating to Egypt for greener pastures. Of course, some of these people may have made it there but for Isaac, God instructed him not to go.

When baby Jesus was born, Herod the king at the time was not comfortable and wanted to eliminate the child. God spoke to Joseph in a dream to relocate to Egypt with his family (Matthew 2:13-14). In one case, God did not allow Isaac to relocate to Egypt but in another case, God allowed Joseph to relocate to Egypt. What we can infer is this, where to invest is a personal matter. We should not base this on our senses- that is, by what we see around us. Our research may tell us that a particular investment location is promising but we need to go beyond research that is based on what we see, feel, touch, hear and smell and consult God to tell us the choice to make.

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BIBLE AND WEALTH

BECAREFUL WITH WHAT YOU SPEAK

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What you say more often than not determines your future. The words you speak come from your mind and spirit and they can make or unmake you. We may not be conscious of all the things we speak but what we speak go a long way to determine our future whether we speak them consciously or unconsciously. I have come across people who always spoke negatively and complained about so many situations in their lives and their lives did not change for the better. Rather, they continuously experienced negative situations and continuously complained for several years.  If your mind continuously receive negative thoughts, you are better off not speaking them out or laying claim to them. Somebody who confesses always that “I’m feeling sick”; “I’m broke”; “everything around me is too bad”; “there is nothing good in me”; “life is a struggle”; “I don’t know why people hate me” etc. will see these things happening with time.

Rather than confessing the negative situations happening to us or around us, we are to speak the positive word of God to unmake those negative thoughts or situations. Job 22: 29 says “When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, there is a lifting up; and he shall save the humble person”. It is natural for a person experiencing turbulent situations to continuously speak or talk about those situations but we are being encouraged to counteract those turbulent situations by speaking what we desire in the context of God’s word. That is not to say that you are refusing to recognise the negative thoughts or unpleasant situations; rather you are changing the negative thoughts or unpleasant situations to desirable ones in your spirit and before long, you will see yourself doing things that will bring about positive changes. It is a fact that whatever you are now came from your spirit. Being rich now or poor now is something that originated from your spirit and they came to pass because you meditated on them and spoke them into being! As you became obsessed about them and spoke, your body aligned and worked to bring those wanted and unwanted desires to pass.

Proverbs 15:4 says, “A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit”. To conclude, we have the power to make and unmake ourselves. If you find yourself in some unpleasant situations, use your mouth. If you find yourself in pleasant situations, you can progress further to higher levels by using your mouth. Your mouth will always speak what is on your mind and spirit and your energy will be channeled towards what emanates from your mind and spirit!

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BIBLE AND WEALTH

MEN ALWAYS OUGHT TO PRAY

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Prayer is more than just asking for ‘handouts’ from God. It is more than ‘begging’ God for help!. This is the pray of some people- “oh God, when are you going to help me out of this situation?”; “oh God, give me a child”; “oh God, I want some money”; heal me oh God because I have been in this condition for the past 10 years”; God forgive me my sins and heal me because the bad situation am going through is as a result of my sins”. God does not take delight in the bad situations you are going through. He always wants the best for everybody. God has already made provision for unbelievers by the death of Jesus on the cross. It take a simple but important prayer to become born again and be an heir of the kingdom of God.

Like someone said, prayer is a ministry for every believer. Ministry can be defined as work. Prayer is one of the development elements that sustain the Christian in the fight of faith. Through prayer, we praise and glorify God. We acknowledge the power of God in our lives and thank Him for his mercies and wonderful deeds; through prayer, we save lives. Intercessory prayers have brought deliverance and salvation to many lost souls in the world; through prayer, we declare God’s word to change unpleasant circumstances. Prayer has brought about healing of terminal medical conditions, and brought progress in the lives of believers. Prayer does many more things! Luke 18.1: Men always ought to pray and not to faint. As we pray, we are able to hear from God through His word (Rhema). Through prayer, our human spirit aligns with the Holy Spirit and deep things of the spirit are revealed to us to walk in them and be a blessing to the world. Prayer will give you direction on what to do and align your body to God’s purpose for your life. It really does not matter the amount of time spent during prayer, however, enough fellowship with the Holy Spirit is required during our prayer times and the fellowship with the Holy Spirit must not end after our prayer times. Our prayer should be more of speaking God’s word in concert or as some others will put it-prophesying the word of God. God’s word is life and spirit and a powerful tool to bring about positive change in our lives.

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