Stewardship

Growing Prosperity: 18 Financial Stewardship Principles

Growing Prosperity: 18 Financial Stewardship Principles

Financial Stewardship PrinciplesOur 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…

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The Path To Wealth by TS Linscott

“The Path To Wealth” by TS Linscott

The Path To Wealth Book Review

The Path to Wealth Book by TS Linscott“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

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Happy Earth Day 2010

Happy Earth Day 2010

Thanking God for His Beautiful Creation of Planet Earth!

In an article at ChristianPost.com entitled

Creation and Man“,

Chuck Colson says…

“…No doubt you’ll be seeing plenty of news coverage about rallies, marches, and activities associated with this major environmental commemoration…

Saving resources and money, ensuring our human habitat is clean and healthy, this is the stuff of good stewardship and common sense-things that especially we Christians should be known for. I say this knowing I’m going to get letters from concerned listeners…

After all, Christians are rightly concerned that extremists have turned Earth Day into ‘Worship-Earth Day’…

Our faith, our Christian worldview, tells us that the earth is good precisely because God created it and declared it good. It is worthy of our care, and indeed, we were commanded to tend it. Wasteful and immoderate use of natural resources is not a Christian virtue.

We must also realize that creation care begins with the care of the crown of creation: man, alone among living things, created in the image of God. In creating a clean sustainable environment, we do so primarily for humanity’s benefit…

Celebrate that God has created such a beautiful planet, populated by humans created in His own image, and that He has called us to tend His creation as His stewards.” 

You can read the complete article “Creation and Man” by Chuck Colson at ChristianPost.com

Today is a great day to give thanks to God for His beautiful creation.

“The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof;
the world, and they that dwell therein.
For He has founded it upon the seas,
and established it upon the waters.

Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD
Or who shall stand in His holy place?

He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,
Nor sworn deceitfully.
He shall receive the blessing from the LORD,
And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him,
Who seek Your face.”

— Psalm 24:1-6

Happy Earth Day!

Have you thanked God yet today for all His blessings?

Cheers,
Brenda

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Dave Ramsey Town Hall for Hope Meeting

Dave Ramsey Town Hall for Hope Meeting

This post is a bit delayed, since the Dave Ramsey Town Hall for Hope meeting was on Thursday 4/23. I wanted to blog sooner but I had surgery the next day on Friday and have been recovering…

Now that I am back on my feet and playing catch-up, I want to help pass on this much needed message of hope. Our church hosted the Town Hall for Hope telecast and it was encouraging. With so much doom & gloom everywhere you turn regarding the current economic condition, a spirit lifting message of hope was gladly received.

Dave has a real back-to-basics, common sense approach to not only financial affairs, but life in general. He presents it with a positive and humorous outlook and includes clear steps of action. It is always great to leave a meeting “feeling” better, but if you don’t also leave knowing what action to take, the feelings will fade and nothing in your life will change!

There was a lot presented that night and some others have put together great summaries and reviews. Just do a quick search online. You’ll also want to check out the Town Hall for Hope website at www.townhallforhope.com that has additional resources. I’m assuming a video replay will be available soon.

I do want to make note of the action steps Dave left us with though…

3 Steps for those Struggling with Hope:

1. Get Up & Take Action! – Don’t rely on anyone else or the government to fix your problems. Take control and take personal responsibility of your future in all areas and start with yourself and get your own house in order.

2. Don’t Take Part in Loser Talk!!! – Stop listening to all the negative loser talk from people that are going to suck the life out of you and keep you in fear. Get around people that are positive and going to encourage each other and at the same time hold you accountable. Speak hope. (Dave cracked me up when He said “The average millionaire can’t tell you who got thrown off the island last”. :0))

3. Start Giving! – Giving takes the focus off yourself and this does wonders for your hope. Giving of your time or money helps change your mindset for the better. America is #1 in giving, but we can do even better.

There is a family at our church that shared how they were $60k in debt and within a few years after going through Dave Ramsey’s course, they recently became debt free!

It always helps me to hear of others that overcome. I stepped out into full-time self-employment a year ago and also started taking some online classes. So with the added expense of classes, mixed with cost of starting a business and temporary drop of income…on top of already being a single parent of two teenagers, lets just say my personal financial situation is not where I want it to be.

I’ve never stopped giving of my time and money though. Never stopped tithing and putting God first. I truly believe my situation is changing for the better everyday. :0)

My favorite verse is Hebrews 10:23 from the NLT:
“Without wavering, let us hold tightly to the hope we say we have, for God can be trusted to keep His promise.”

Here’s to the growing prosperity in your life as you keep your hope in God!

Cheers,
Brenda

P.S. I’d love to hear your comments on this meeting or if you’ve used any of the Dave Ramsey materials.

You can also find new and used deals on the majority of his products from The Total Money Makeover to Financial Peace University, books, software and DVDs at Dave Ramsey Resources

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