Financial Prosperity
Growing Prosperity: 18 Financial Stewardship Principles
Growing Prosperity: 18 Financial Stewardship Principles
Our main goal, here at Growing Prosperity,
is to provide resources that will help
empower you to live a prosperous life.
And when it comes to financial prosperity,
stewardship is key.
Today I want to point you toward a helpful
article by Christian author, Tom Blubaugh.
While Tom was doing financial planning with a couple,
he shared some biblical wisdom for dealing with money
and he lays out 18 powerful financial principles.
You can find his complete article here.
You work hard to earn your money. Why let it slip through your fingers? Why not learn to be a good steward and manage, save, invest, budget, and spend wisely? God wants us to be wise stewards and He has provided us with instructions on how to do just that.
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.”
— Luke 16:10 NIV
18 Financial Stewardship Principles:
The powerful financial principles Tom shares are briefly mentioned below…
1. Pay yourself a minimum of 10% of your gross income. Start a…
2. Analyze your previous twelve months spending. This will be…
3. A budget is an operating plan. It is not…
4. Plan for recurring expenses. When you…
5. Debt reduction. List all of your debts…
6. Never eliminate a payment from your budget. When a…
7. Become your own banker. This is a result of…
8. Buy interest free as much as possible…
9. Use community tools…
10. Plan purchases. This will…
11. Get the best price…
12. Tax wise investing. An Ira, a 401k, a 403b are…
13. Transportation costs…
14. Pay off loans early the easy way. Let’s say you…
15. Offset inflation by increasing your savings/investments by the…
16. Don’t spend any change. Put it in…
17. Sell, trade, or barter any item you are not using…
18. When buying a car or any other product you are financing, never…
(read complete article here)
Go now and read the details Tom Blubaugh has written for these 18 financial stewardship principles here. You are sure to gather insights, wisdom, and tips to becoming a better steward over the money you manage. You may even want to bookmark this resource for future reference.
“His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”
— Matthew 25:23
May you be a wise financial steward and live a life of growing prosperity!
Be Blessed to Be a Blessing –
Cheers,
Brenda
p.s. Looking for a great adventure novel to read?
Then you’ll want to check out Tom Blubaugh’s “Night of the Cossack” at Amazon…
Growing Prosperity – 5 Keys to Stay Positive and Hopeful in the Midst of Financial Problems!
Growing Prosperity – 5 Keys to Stay Positive and Hopeful in the Midst of Financial Problems!
Help When Discouraged by Financial Problems
Growing prosperity is still possible even
in the midst of financial problems and setbacks.
Are you discouraged by financial troubles?
Well an important part of turning things
back around is learning to stay positive
and hopeful.
5 Keys to Help You Stay Positive and Hopeful in the Midst of Financial Problems:
1. TRUST GOD
Stay positive and hopeful, knowing blessings follow those who trust in the Lord.
Many people, myself included, have discovered this “secret” during months of unemployment or other hardships. Our burdens must be put on the Lord. He is able when we are not.
“Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.”
— Proverbs 16:20 NIV
When we learn to trust God, we discover how few things we really need, such as new clothes, restaurant dinners, vacations and new cars. We also quickly learn to recycle and reuse, not to mention many different ways to cook rice and beans.
2. KEEP GOD AS YOUR FINANCIAL PARTNER
Stay positive and hopeful knowing blessings are promised to those who partner with God through tithing.
If we trust God, we will continue to partner with Him and tithe 10% of our income, even during the difficult times. In order to get, we must give. And we cannot out give God.
“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse…and prove me now, saith the Lord, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”
— Malachi 3:10
Cultivate a giving, loving, prosperous attitude and you’ll notice your circumstances begin to change for the better. If you don’t have extra money for offerings, then give of your time, your love, and the things you don’t need.
3. SAVE – Pay Yourself Second
It is definitely much easier to stay positive and hopeful knowing you have emergency savings because you’ve learned to pay yourself second. (God of course gets His tithe first.)
Successful people have learned, when managing their finances, to pay themselves second. God is first, savings second, then living on the balance. By learning to save consistently, regardless the amount, the discipline helps develop encouragement and goal setting.
Trusting God, keeping Him first, and paying yourself second will help you move to a place where your relationship with the Lord grows and your financial struggles lessen.
4. SEEK OUT POSITIVE PEOPLE
Stay positive and hopeful by surrounding yourself with positive people.
“As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.”
— Proverbs 27:17
Associate with positive people and read motivational and inspirational books. We’ve heard it said, “If you hang around broke people, you become broke; if you hang around successful people, you become successful.” How right that is!
5. NEVER GIVE UP
Stay positive and hopeful knowing help is available to those who choose not to quit.
“Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the LORD.”
— Psalm 31:24
When things get tough, keep yourself going by committing to do the best you can, expect God to do the best He can, and never give up!
Conclusion: Don’t lose hope. Financial problems can be overcome. Stay positive and be encouraged by others who have pulled themselves out of financial slumps. Turn to God as a partner and put His financial principles to work in your life.
May you stay positive and hopeful and enjoy a life of growing prosperity!
Be blessed to be a blessing –
Cheers,
Brenda
Financial Prosperity – Why Not Claim Victory Over Your Finances With a Bold Faith?
Financial Prosperity – Why Not Claim Victory Over Your Finances With a Bold Faith?
Bold Faith For Financial Victory!
Financial prosperity is a growing process
that lots of people find hard to master.
However, God has provided many
financial principles that can help anyone
claim victory over economic decline.
Learning to replace fear with bold faith in His principles will lead to victory.
Financial Difficulties Anyone?
If, perhaps you’re going through financial difficulties, like a great many folks these days, do you possess any kind of a plan of action? Or do you merely keep on moaning, as well as stressing about just how hard circumstances are, and how the government is simply not dealing with joblessness, overspending, high taxes, and on and on?
Letting Go of Financial Fear
The sooner we learn to let go of the fear, worry, and stress over the economic circumstances we simply cannot change, the better. You may legitimately have much to complain about. You may see your income declining while you work harder for less money. Or maybe your previous income source is gone and there is genuinely much to fear.
Regardless of the circumstances, keep in mind: Dwelling on the fearfulness of the situation will do no good. If we want to claim victory over our finances we must quickly replace the fear, anger, and worry with faith and hope in God’s financial principles.
We must dwell on the available abundance of God and His Word.
The Blessings of God’s Financial Principles
God’s financial principles work in combination with a bold faith in Him and His Word. If we want to have faith to grow our finances, then we must repeatedly hear God’s words of possibility, blessing, and abundance.
Words of faith are needed to drown out words of fear, doubt and discouragement.
“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”
— Romans 10:17
There has to come a point in time when we take a stand with God and look at what He can do, instead of what our government, and local leaders are doing or not doing. As surprising as it might seem, no individual ought to look to employers, clients or any source of income as their ultimate source of help.
God is our source and that is who we should look to!
Bold Faith for Financial Victory
Ideally the time to look to God is when things are going well. Whenever individuals practice faith and trust in God when everything is good, as soon as circumstances become difficult they are prepared to stand bold in faith, instead of in fear.
On the other hand for individuals who are new to faith, is it too late? Or what if you have never had a financial breakthrough, ever, and you’ve constantly struggled? Can you still claim victory over your finances?
As a believer, you must realize there is a greater One living in you that can overcome all things. The doorway of possibilities with God is wide open and ready for you to enter.
If you determine to see this time period as being an opportunity to become strong and bold in your faith, you certainly will start to see just what God can do! I myself am speaking out of personal experience, not just from practical knowledge.
No doubt: Now is the time to see and discover possibilities rather than misfortune; financial growth rather than financial disaster. This is your time to claim financial victory with God. You can allow your faith in God and His promises to empower you to have financial prosperity.
May you have a bold faith to claim financial victory and a life of growing prosperity!
Be blessed to be a blessing –
Cheers,
Brenda
The Path To Wealth by TS Linscott
“The Path To Wealth” by TS Linscott
The Path To Wealth Book Review
“THE PATH TO WEALTH”
by T.S. Linscott
This book was first published in 1888 with the complete title:
“The Path to Wealth; or, Light From My Forge.”
Revealed within the pages of this
valuable book you’ll find powerful,
timeless teachings regarding God’s money laws…
- A DISCUSSION OF GOD’S MONEY LAWS
- THE RELATION BETWEEN GIVING AND GETTING
- CASH AND CHRISTIANITY
The teachings in this book are provided in a series of ‘talks’ that take place in a blacksmith shop over 100 years ago. The discussions include important insights into monetary principles from God’s Word; which continue to reveal to us today How to Acquire Wealth and Have Financial Success!
In this wealth and financial success book, author T.S. Linscott, shares the dynamic tithing truths that have helped thousands of others discover the ‘secret’ of supernatural growing prosperity.
The following is an excerpt from pages 80-81 of “The Path To Wealth”:
“A good deal of our preaching, our thinking, and even our devotions, either vaporize or spiritualize God’s promises. Our natural unbelief tends to put off the fulfillment of them until we get to heaven or sometime in the future. Unbelief hates literal and present tense promises. But these promises are literal and material; they are for here and now; they are to be enjoyed on earth; they challenge us to a contract or bargain with God.
As stated before, He promises money for money; you pay me a tenth, says God, and I will give you earthly and material blessings. I will give your fingers skill as mechanics; I will incline employers toward you; you shall get the highest wages; strikes shall not affect you; I am with you, and will see that you are provided for.
I will make you prosperous as businessmen; I will incline you where you can make good bargains; I will send the people around to you to buy; while the man next door, who neglects My cause may become bankrupt, this curse shall not touch you. I will look out for your bills when they are coming due; I will see that your bank account is sufficiently large; in a word, I am your partner and will look out for the interests of your business.
And to you thinkers, who earn your living by your brains, I will make your thoughts clear; I will give you the holy impulse to originate ‘thoughts which breathe, and words which burn;’ your productions shall stir men’s hearts; your works shall be in demand; I will make people buy the productions of your heart and brain; only pay me your tenth, and you shall be cared for.
Seed time and harvest shall never fail you farmers; I will bless your crop; I will multiply your stock; the blight and the mildew shall be kept from your farms; remember, I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; I will do to you as I did to them, only remember me as they did.
I will give health to all of you; death shall not take away your little ones; they shall live to a ripe old age; I will open the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
These are the blessings promised by God in the Bible. Who among this company will this day pledge his tenth to God?” (end of excerpt)
“Are You Tired of Going in Circles Where Your Finances are Concerned?”
In days of economic uncertainty, it is important for everyone to get a working knowledge of truth to prosper.
You can prosper by using God’s spiritual principles in your finances!
The source of all financial abundance is God and with Him there are no limits. Trouble is, too many people are slow to learn the principles that will cause them to excel financially.
Get your thinking clear on how to work them and you’ll no longer use words like recession, poverty, and lack.
In order to receive financial abundance from God, we must do our part. If we do our part, He’ll do His part and meet our needs according to His riches in glory.
Most people don’t like to hear about tithing and it puts them in fear. But you’ll have no problem tithing if you see God as your source of supply.
The tithe is seed money of wealth and is compared to sowing. The more a person gives, the more that person receives. Financial prosperity is one benefit of tithing. It puts us in partnership with God.
We are told to bring the tithes into God’s house and then test Him and see if He does not open the windows of heaven and pour out such a blessing on us that we don’t have room enough to contain it! (Malachi 3:10)
Tithing is a step of obedience and trust that God will take care of our finances. God promises to pour out a blessing to the tither.
I truly believe tithing is a key to living a godly, successful, and prosperous Christian life.
“The Path to Wealth” book has been republished and is now easily available in an affordable print version.
In it many of the common questions people have about tithing are addressed and answered, such as:
- Is Tithing Still For Us Today?
- Who Should Tithe?
- Is a Person In Debt Obligated to Tithe?
- If God is the Source of All Supply, Why Does He Need My Money?
- Where Should the Tithe Be Given?
- How is the Tithe Calculated?
In “The Path to Wealth”, Linscott also points out many of the biblical advantages of tithing.
God put it on my heart almost two years ago to republish this book, and it is my earnest wish and prayer, just as it was of the original author, that this book may be productive of good, and lead many a person to ‘bring all the tithes into the storehouse’ in response to the demand of God.
“Where your treasure is,
there will your heart be also.”
— Luke 12:34
You can find out more and purchase the book here:
The Path to Wealth by TS Linscott
May you be blessed to be a blessing!
God bless you,
Brenda
Growing Prosperity Productions
Dave Ramsey on Holiday Shopping – 4 Tips to Celebrate Debt Free
Dave Ramsey on Holiday Shopping – 4 Tips to Celebrate Debt Free
Why Go Into Debt to Celebrate?
Happy Holidays.
If the holidays are supposed to be the happiest time of the year, why does it often seem like the most stressful time of the year?
Financial stress is at the top of many people’s list this time of year.
Many folks just don’t have extra money available to do all the celebrating and shopping they desire. Yet the world puts the pressure on to buy more and keep up with Joneses; even if it means going into debt. Throwing it all on the credit card seems to be the solution.
Although after the New Year, the bills start coming in and the struggle just to pay the minimum payments begin. The struggle to get the debt paid off can go on late into the year or longer. And that only adds to the stress the following holiday season. So instead of planning and enjoying the new season, there still remains the hassle of left-over debt and the stress that goes with it.
Are you ready to end the cycle and say no more debt, no more credit? Then it is time to make a plan early in the year and stick to it so you can avoid piling up mounds of debt on credit cards.
Dave Ramsey provides the following holiday shopping ideas and tips for celebrating debt free this year:
1. RESEARCH
Look for deals online before heading to the stores. Find out what the prices are at the stores you plan to visit and don’t waste your time shopping at one if you know another store down the street has a better deal.
2. MAKE A BUDGET
It’s common sense stuff, but amazing how many people have no financial plan for their spending. And when they go shopping they are like kids in a toy store buying the first flashy toy that catches their eye.
If you plan to work your way out of debt, it requires becoming disciplined during the holiday season. If you must buy for many, keep it simple and stay within your means. Don’t get caught up in the mindset that bigger is better or it will just come back to bite you when the bills start coming in after the new year.
3. USE CASH
As Dave always says, you spend less when you use cash. So stop by the bank or ATM to get your pre-planned amount of shopping cash before you hit the stores. And when it’s gone it’s time to stop shopping.
If you’ve planned ahead and followed the previous two steps then using cash should be easy. You will know what you need to buy and how much it will cost before you start. Planning time well spent!
4. START NOW – PLAN EARLY
If you haven’t made a plan this holiday season, then stop now and take some time to evaluate your situation and make a budget. Look at the big picture and consider the outcome of your choices this holiday season. Shop smart and keep it within your means.
And if this holiday season caught you off guard once again, well remember, it is never too late to try again. Next year you can make better decisions and do things differently.
Happy Holidays to All & a Very Merry Christmas!
God bless you,
Brenda
P.S. Check out www.daveramsey.com for a wealth of information on finances and budgeting. Dave Ramsey also provides a tool that allows you to create a budget online in 60 seconds.
Growing Prosperity – Get Yourself Prepared to Prosper!
Growing Prosperity – Get Yourself Prepared to Prosper!
Grow Financially as You Grow Spiritually
Growing prosperity is –
a process that…
requires starting at the beginning.
This means we have to prepare to prosper.
First we have to lay the foundation…
and then build on it.
Build a Strong Foundation to Prosper
Think about it. You would never try to build a house without first laying a foundation. It doesn’t matter how excited you are to finish the house so you can buy furniture and decorate, you must take time to put down a solid foundation first. Otherwise, you’ll soon find you’re living in a house so unstable, it comes tumbling down.
Now, that’s simple advice, isn’t it? Anyone with a little common sense knows it.
Yet why is it then, that in the spiritual realm, people make that mistake over and over?
We so often get excited when we see a blessing God has promised us in His Word. And we are so eager to have it, that we can find ourselves ignoring the foundational basics of godly living and pursue just that one thing.
This seems to be especially true in the area of prosperity. Out of desperation for a quick financial fix, people often pull a few prosperity promises out of the Bible and try to believe them, but without allowing God to change anything else in their lives.
Then of course, when it doesn’t work, those same people end up disappointed. And many will also then come to the conclusion that it just wasn’t God’s will for them to prosper.
Grow Financially as You Grow Spiritually
In preparing to prosper we need to come to the understanding that it is God’s will for all of His children to prosper.
“Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospers.” — 3 John 2
Notice that this verse doesn’t just say ‘I want you to prosper.’ But it says, ‘I want you to prosper as your soul prospers.’ Financial prosperity is tied to the prosperity of our mind, will, and emotions.
We grow financially as we grow spiritually. How can we expect to handle financial prosperity without being spiritually mature? God knows how dangerous it is to put great wealth into the hands of someone who is too spiritually immature to handle it.
“The Prosperity of fools shall destroy them.” — Proverbs 1:32
You don’t have to look far to see evidence of that fact in the lives of people who have acquired financial riches apart from God and His ways. Most of the time, such riches just help people die younger and in more misery than they would have if they had been poor.
Why? Because they use their wealth to sin in greater measure. They often use their money to buy illegal and addictive substances and pay for an immoral lifestyle that eventually destroys them. So, when people gain wealth and use it to sin, it results in doing them more harm than good.
In light of this, it’s easy to see why God wants us to increase financially as we increase spiritually. In order for our prosperity to bring us blessing and not harm, we need to outgrow our fleshly foolishness.
Get Busy Growing and Prosper
“Okay, okay,” you say, “But I need financial help fast!”
Then quickly get busy growing and building your foundation for prosperity.
How? By finding out what God says in His Word and doing it. You see, the foundation of prosperity is a continual lifestyle built on the Word of God. It is doing, thinking, and saying what His Word says.
Financial miracles and breakthroughs can happen at any time, but that doesn’t mean we stop growing spiritually and building on the foundation. Godly prosperity is the result of putting God’s Word, all of it, not just the parts about financial prosperity, first place in life.
Make no mistake about it: Growing prosperity continues when we apply these principles on a daily basis and not just because we want money. We always put ourselves in position for increase when we seek after God and do things His way. Go now and build your foundation, continue to grow spiritually, dare to believe, and you will surely prosper.
May you get yourself prepared to prosper and live a life of growing prosperity!
Be blessed to be a blessing –
Cheers,
Brenda
Growing Prosperity – Why Limit Prosperity to Only One Area of Your Life?
Growing Prosperity – Why Limit Prosperity to Only One Area of Your Life?
Would You Like to Successfully Prosper in More Areas of Your Life?
Growing prosperity is possible in all areas of your life.
Do you limit it to only one?
Many people find they limit prosperity to only one or two areas because they are diligent in only those areas.
For example, some are successful in the area of healing and walking in divine health, but fail when it comes to financial prosperity.
Why does this happen? The answer given to this question is often that it must not be God’s will that a person be prosperous or healed.
Knowledge of God’s Willingness to Prosper
It is key that we have the knowledge of God’s willingness to prosper us.
“Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord.” — 2 Peter 1:2
We are often like the leper in the first chapter of Mark that knows God is able, but questions whether or not He is willing. But Jesus answered the man’s question saying, “I will” and then healing power flowed into the leper’s life.
Does God want us poor? We need to answer the poverty question if we want to see prosperity come.
We need to know God will and not doubt about His willingness. God’s willingness and prosperity is multiplied to us through the knowledge of God. As we gain the knowledge of God, we gain faith in that knowledge, and in turn see grace multiplied to us.
Get a Healthy Attitude Toward Prosperity In Every Area
If we spend our time with a focus on healing, we will enjoy prosperous health. But then we might struggle to prosper financially. It is important to find a balance.
Our thinking and believing needs to line up with the Word of God, rather than letting preconceived ideas rule that may be contrary to God’s will. If a person believes that it is a sin to have money or live in a nice house, they will have contrary thoughts and attitudes that prevent growing prosperity.
If our mind is not prosperous in a certain area, then usually we will not prosper in that area. If it is the area of finances, then we may not give much because we don’t believe God wants us to have anything. Then because we never believe for a return, even if it comes, we miss it. To reap a financial harvest, it takes a prosperous attitude.
We can prosper in even the little things in life. When we meditate on the Word of God daily, renew our minds, and purpose to live in line with His will, God says, “Whatever you do shall prosper.” (Psalm 1:3)
Make no mistake about it: God is willing to use His power and ability to prosper us. His peace is multiplied to us through the knowledge of God. Peace is prosperity because it joins us together as one with Jesus, and that is prosperity any way you look at it.
May you gain the knowledge of God’s willingness to fill your life with growing prosperity!
Be blessed to be a blessing –
Cheers,
Brenda
Growing Prosperity – A Powerful Secret to Manifest an Abundant Harvest!
Growing Prosperity – A Powerful Secret to Manifest an Abundant Harvest!
How to Plant the Seed of Faith and Harvest Abundance
Manifesting an abundant harvest requires planting the seed first.
Who would expect a farmer to reap a harvest without having planted seed months earlier?
As believers operating by faith, we also need to follow this example; naturally and spiritually.
What is the secret to getting this process going?
2 Great Faith Secrets to Planting Seed
Jesus tells us how to plant the seed of faith. He tells us in Luke 17 that if we had faith as a seed, we would speak to the situation or problem area in our life. He gives us two great faith secrets: ONE; that faith works like a seed, and TWO; the way to plant it is to speak it.
“If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”
— Matthew 17:20
In order to manifest a harvest we have to plant the seed by speaking. Our faith must be mixed with the promised seed of God’s Word. The life is in the seed and the way to plant it is by saying it, speaking it, proclaiming it.
The Law of Seedtime and Harvest
Many people don’t know how they got in the mess they are in. However, most of the time, the problem is their mouth. The mouth can deceive the heart. What we say is what we sow, and too often we are sowing the exact thing we do not want!
Have you ever heard the following?: ‘We’re going broke,’ ‘I never have enough,’ ‘I can never get ahead,’ ‘Nothing ever works out for me,’ ‘I’m afraid I’ll lose my job,’ ‘I always get sick.’
Speaking and praying the things we don’t want only opens the door to fear, and then fear replaces our faith. The things we say are the things we will reap. (Mark 11:23) This really is no great secret.
“Be not deceived, God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
— Galatians 6:7
With seedtime and harvest we also need to take into account the time factor. Sowing is a process. Sure, there will be some who are highly developed in their faith and see the manifestation of some things very quickly. But the normal way of faith and confession is to start sowing weeks and months before the time the harvest is needed; just like the farmer who plans and prepares ahead of time.
Manifesting an Abundant Harvest
The kingdom within you has been sown with the seed of what you have been speaking. And the sowing and reaping process works for you just as it does for the farmer who goes to sleep, and gets up, and the ground brings forth the fruit.
Begin sowing seeds of abundance by speaking something such as:
“My God supplies all my need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus; I have abundance and prosper; because I have given, it is given unto me good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over.”
You say and sow these incorruptible seeds concerning finances, and then while you are sleeping, they go to work to manifest a harvest in your life. One day you will wake up and see the seeds you have planted and watered begin to sprout.
Do yourself a favor: Take the promises of God’s Word and mix your faith with them. Mix your faith with the Word and plant it in your heart by speaking it. The life is in the seed; in the promise of God. So if you plant the promises of God in your heart, you can expect to manifest an abundant harvest.
May you sow the seeds of God’s abundant promises by faith and reap a life of growing prosperity!
Be blessed to be a blessing –
Cheers,
Brenda