Tithe and give offerings. Your local church should be your first recipient and you should also select a number of other reputable, worthwhile ministries and organizations as secondary recipients. Make sure that some of these organizations use a reasonable percentage of overall donations to support the poor and those in need in your community and beyond.
The LORD instructs each believer to give for these purposes and it is well-pleasing to Him when we do so because we are supporting the spread of the gospel message to lead other people into His Kingdom. Also, it makes us more useful in sharpening others via disciple-making so that each of us have tools and encouragement to fulfill the purpose and reach the destiny He imparted when He created us.
Budget your income and expenses. A number of free resources exist on the internet and you can feel free to contact me to help you craft a 3 to 6-month plan that shows:
a) Your income each pay period.
b) The tithe (10%) and offering (free-will) to be subtracted from take home pay.
c) Each minimum bill payment that must be paid from that pay period’s income (mortgage, rent, credit cards, car note, etc.). There will be a category for federal, state, and city tax to be remitted each month or quarter when income shown in item (a) above is not expressed as after-tax income.
d) Other miscellaneous amounts that must be taken from the income (groceries, personal money, gas for car, monthly amount of annual property tax payment, monthly amount of annual home and car insurance premium, monthly amount of annual life insurance payment, 2 or 3 low cost weekend vacations each year, low cost monthly entertainment, etc.).
e) The amount left over (which we call discretionary income surplus) or nothing left over (which we call a deficit). When your budget shows a deficit or the surplus does not provide enough discretionary income to completely eliminate all your non-mortgage debts within the next two years then you should work with an accountability partner who is a good financial steward to (i) determine which bills receive priority for payment at the current time, (ii) identify current expenses that can be immediately reduced or eliminated, and (iii) find additional work to increase income to help expediently get you out of the financial bondage you are in so you can build wealth to carry out His call upon your life for the future.
Please pray for this ministry and email me with any questions. May the LORD bless you richly as you follow His plan!
Genesis 14:20, Malachi 3:8-12, Matthew 23:23, Hebrews 7:8, Proverbs 27:23-27, Habakkuk 2:2-4, Luke 14:28-30
Please forward these bondage-breaking articles to other people who can use helpful insight!
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