MoneyWalk 147: Rest For Your Weary Soul

This program will help you undo financial bondage.

Many people are disenchanted with their homes, cars, jewelry, and clothes because other people appear to have more than they do. Most are in financial shambles because they try to match other peoples' lifestyles and when they're unable to achieve a greater status, they see themselves as failures. When they do achieve power, fame, or riches in this life, they're still unhappy and they don't know why. Some even regret their current career and living situation because they feel a big void like something is missing. However, they haven’t chosen another career or lifestyle because their current ones appear impressive to other people and socially on par with or greater than those of their friends and neighbors.

Stop measuring yourself by where you are now and your neighbors' careers and lifestyles. You can't achieve the success that God wants for you without being content and truly thankful for where you are and what you have right now. You won't find true happiness when you’re not constantly developing a deeper relationship with God in Christ and you won’t make the most of your current situation and doors God opens for your future when you won't listen to the Holy Spirit’s direction that would guide you to the place of fulfillment.

Until you are satisfied by your relationship and fellowship with the Lord, you’ll never feel that anything you’re doing or anything you have is enough. You’ll always be grasping for more things, more interaction with other people, and more praise of men, but never able to find what is truly best for you.

People’s lives have different flavors and it could be that another career, location, or business endeavor is what you should be aiming for. However, it could also be true that you simply need to cherish your current career and other blessings God has provided and obey biblical instruction. You’ll never truly know until you rest in Him by seeking Him above everything else that could be desired. This is the only way that rest is available for your soul.

Fulfillment will sprout from this rest because you will follow His career, ministry, and lifestyle instructions designed specifically for your life. While it would be nice to think that the endeavors you engage in should always be pleasing to your flesh (mind, emotion, and will), you must understand the reality of the biblical message that you may be called to careers, endeavors, and ministry at various stages of your life that are not immediately pleasing to your flesh and that only become pleasing to your spirit when you understand that they are pleasing to God because they are His purposes for you at a given point in time.

In financial and non-financial realms of your life it is the Holy Spirit who should lead your spirit in controlling your flesh (carnal nature). You should not allow your flesh to control your spirit or refuse the leading of the Holy Spirit solely on the basis that you don’t think a particular endeavor feels good or looks good to you and other people. Allowing your flesh to control your life and endeavors gives satan mentorship of your life and allows ungodly character traits to develop in you and in turn brings turmoil and negativity that will torment you throughout life if not repented of and turned away from. This is not God’s best for you.

Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life that brings rest to your weary soul but you must seek Him and His ways in order to find His rest. He will lead you closer to Him and develop character traits and practices in you that will truly allow you to rest no matter what external circumstances appear to be. The traits to be sought are the fruit of the Spirit and the practices include those that we currently think of as spiritual (prayer, praise, worship, bible study, regular fellowship, etc.) as well as tithing, budgeting, debt elimination, saving, investing, diversification, and expecting God’s favor to provide your need and desire so that you’re able to continue to live according to His financial plan.

Please pray for this ministry and email any questions. May God bless you richly as you follow His plan!!!

Philippians 4:11-13, 1Timothy 6:6-10, Luke 3:14, Hebrews 13:5

Please forward these bondage breaking articles to other people who can use helpful insight!!!

You can find books authored by Randy and Karen Parlor at www.Amazon.com.

MoneyWalk 146: Godliness With Contentment Is Great Gain

This program will help you undo financial bondage.

Your path to success is different than what your flesh (the carnal nature) craves. Your flesh will crave all manner of material things (homes, cars, jewelry, titles, power, fame, etc.) and will lead your mind, if you allow it, to make you imagine that these things will truly make you continually happy, or somebody special, or make you esteemed in the eyes of other people. If succumbed to, your flesh will make you imagine that you must be somebody special to God and that He must be extra proud of you because of what you have accomplished and/or because you have amassed material things sought after by other people.

The carnal nature resists the fact that God wants your actions to be sanctified (cleansed of impurities and set apart for God’s use in a way that is pleasing to Him) in order for you to be more and more like Jesus Christ as you live on earth. Through carnal resistance, demonic powers have an opening to try and convince you that you don’t even need God. They will sometimes even lead you to think you can believe in Him but go after what is pleasing to you without ever considering whether it is pleasing to Him and helpful to other people. I hope this isn’t you! However, some people have left the earth with this mindset and thus never truly gave their life to Christ and thus will feel the pain of their decision throughout eternity.

To be sure, nothing is inherently wrong with any of the material items and pedestals mentioned above unless they are produced, obtained, and/or maintained in a wicked (ungodly) manner. The problem is usually with the one seeking them. When they come to you in accordance with God’s plan for your life, they are perfectly matched to the calling God placed on your life and the position He desires to place you in to bring a certain amount of delight to you and your family.

You become the problem when you make obtaining material things a greater priority than pursuing God’s kingdom and His righteousness! You have crossed over into the dark side of worshipping created things instead of the Creator when you allow discontent to rule your life choices, vision, and pursuits. Discontent focuses your activities on going after material things instead of spending time with the Lord in studying the bible, praying, praising, worshipping, learning about Him, following His guidance, and living out His principles including biblical financial instruction.

The correct posture for you to have is one of godliness with contentment through which you seek the Lord directly and allow Him to guide your life, work, and ministry pursuits in a way that allows you to receive from His hand worthwhile material things that will not stand in the way of the plan and path He arranged for your life. Along the way, God will provide income and give you greater latitude to purchase many things that are now beyond the ability of your current income. In addition, He will supernaturally bring some things into your life that you can enjoy and do not have to pay for.

You should listen to the voice of the Lord to find out which things are good for you and for how long. You must understand that material things can be obtained righteously and un-righteously and the fact that you have them doesn’t signify that your life and actions please God. So, you must be clear and convinced in your own heart and mind that your life’s pursuit are directly aimed at God so much that blessings, reward, and prosperity that come to you are indirect results that can be expected as the result of loving and serving the Lord who loves and cares for His people beyond human comprehension. You must also be content in your heart so that your joy in and with Him will continually be full even if you do not receive material things esteemed by men and the flesh.

The only way to find such contentment is by having a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ made possible by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit upon acceptance of Jesus as Savior and Lord. Placing your faith in Jesus Christ puts you on the narrow path of following the Holy Spirit's direction for your life. Not many people find this path.

His direction can be heard only through learning biblical truths and principles, praying, praising, worshipping the Lord, fellowshipping with believers, and continually allowing Christ to live in you thereby allowing you to live out biblical principles. When you trust Him enough to follow this path, He speaks to you more and more and helps you fulfill the purpose and plan for your life and uses you to help others fulfill His purpose and plan for their lives.

By delighting yourself in Him in this way, you will receive the desires of your heart because the closer you get to God the more His desires for you and mankind permeate your life and become your desires. The wisdom of this walk brings abundant, everlasting life and the honor, and riches of Heaven upon your life.

Being content entails doing God-honoring work in whatever moral occupation you’re called to work in. Also, it entails thanking God for the pay received and moving as God directs you in order to increase. It also encompasses properly managing your income via the process of tithing, budgeting, eliminating debt, saving, and diversified investing. Following such biblical guidance opens doors of opportunity for you that lead you step-by-step on God’s timetable to the fulfillment of your purpose and calling in Christ.

This godly plan has built wealth for many people via present and future income sources enabling them to greatly support the church, evangelize the lost, disciple believers, help widows, orphans, and the needy while placing them and their families in the best financial situation for their lives. God can and will do the same for you when you choose Him as Lord and obediently follow His biblically based instructions.

Please pray for this ministry and email any questions. May God bless you richly as you follow His plan!!!

Luke 3:7-14, Philippians 4:10-13, 1 Timothy 6:6-10, Hebrews 13:1-10

Please forward these bondage breaking articles to other people who can use helpful insight!!!

You can find books authored by Randy and Karen Parlor at www.Amazon.com.

MoneyWalk 145: Know Your Skills and Bless Others

This program will help you undo financial bondage.

Is it better to make renovations or repairs yourself or to hire someone else to do it? The determining factors will include whether or not you have the ability to do quality work, whether you have time to do it, and whether you have enough money to pay someone skilled to do it. This consideration not only confronts you in physical labors like carpentry and plumbing, but in administrative things such as whether to hire a financial consultant to manage your investments or an accountant to prepare your tax forms.

Constantly trying to do jobs that past situations show you do not have the ability to do wastes valuable resources on inefficient work and deprives others of the blessing that God wants to give them through you. In the financial realm, failing to obtain needed help and education in areas you don’t currently understand and where it takes a certain expertise to master could land you in the poor house at a time in your life when you really need to be in a more comfortable situation, such as in your senior years.

The help you need to become financially savvy and liberated from financial bondage are present in various formats via wise financial advisors, books, audio and video recordings. You should identify committed Christians that have managed their lives and finances like good stewards according to biblical instruction and ask them to help you identify media, people, and training that utilize trustworthy principles that can help you learn how to properly manage the resources God has entrusted to you.

It is natural to try and do some projects without calling in the experts in order to try and learn new skills and reduces expenses. However, once the evidence shows you are unable to do quality work to maintain your home and other areas of your life including finances, you should at a cost you can afford search for a person or resource with a proven track record of providing the quality product or service you need. In turn, your patronage may allow you to be the witness that leads your helper to Jesus Christ or your purchase could may provide the income he or she desperately needs.

Please pray for this ministry and email any questions. May God bless you richly as you follow His plan!!!

Exodus 31:1-11, 1Corinthians 12:14-27, Ephesians 4:7-16, Romans 12:1-18

Please forward these bondage breaking articles to other people who can use helpful insight!!!

You can find books authored by Randy and Karen Parlor at www.Amazon.com.

MoneyWalk 144: No Man Is An Island Unto Himself

This program will help you undo financial bondage.

As have most people, you have tried to fix something and couldn't fix it or purchased something only to find out later that you paid way too much for it. Such times in our lives help remind us that no person is an island unto him or herself. God designed creation and determined each person’s interaction with it in such a way that each person must help and receive the help of others in order to accomplish what God made him / her to do.

Knowing your limitations and seeking out people who have the skills you need to get the job done effectively, efficiently, and less costly than what it costs you to do it will resolve the frustration you feel when trying do something that you are not equipped to do. In addition, using the right person will save you lots of time and money and in most instances get the job done right the first time.

For many people it is not cost effective or emotionally stimulating to try and study every manual in order to reduce the cost of performing certain tasks by doing it yourself. So, you need to determine whether the cost is higher to you in the long run by not having a gifted person perform the task the right way from the start. In addition, you will need to measure your current situation to determine what you can afford to pay a person for the needed service.

Certainly, you should spread your wings and try to do things you’ve never done before. However, you need to determine if you truly desire to do such things otherwise you’re likely to put in lackluster performance completing them. For example, if you’re not the handyman type, it is not likely that you have a desire to build extra rooms onto houses or remodel them. When you cannot muster the necessary desire and skill it is better to let a licensed builder erect a new room onto your house rather than taking the do-it-yourself route.

While each of us has many areas in which we are able to learn and successfully complete tasks, we also have a number of areas in which we are not gifted or able. Generally, there are people all around us who know how to do the things we cannot do well. There are also people and resource guides that can direct us to gifted people and businesses that have or do what we need or desire.

When you know you don't have the skills to do certain things, search for a person with the skills you need, who will allow you to pay less than the normal rate until you're financially able, and who will do a great job completing the projects. By all means, when you are able you should pay once the service is completed and at a win-win price for everyone involved, and that will keep you and the gifted person on each other's contact list for future projects.

Don't be a lazy freeloader who relies on other people to provide for you at no cost when you can do for yourself. You should do the daily things you need to do and can do to survive, build the kingdom of God in the hearts of men, and make a positive impact on others in this world. Otherwise, the negative consequences of slothfulness will be great upon your life and finances.

Never look at having to hire someone to perform tasks for you as a negative because God designed that you would interact in that way in order that you would benefit one another in ways we you both need. When you're faithful to trust God, even when that means holding off until you’re financially able to pay a gifted person to perform the task, God will supernaturally bless you and the person you hire with exactly what you both need.

In fact, whenever you really need something and aren’t able to afford the cost to obtain it or do it, the Lord prepares people to provide that thing for you to help you care for yourself and your family, and achieve the purpose He has for you at the moment or in the future. The reality is if He doesn’t provide what you think you need when you’re in a bad financial condition, then you don’t really need it.

One other aspect of the “no man is an island principle” is that those considered elite in our society should also recognize the collaboration they must have with many other people and the great service others provide for them. I’m talking to business owners, politicians, entertainers, and other famous, powerful, and/or rich people. Unfortunately, many believe they are self-made. Their attitudes are so prideful, egotistical, and arrogant that they believe they attained their positions in this life and obtained all the material things they have through the ability of their minds and the work of their hands and that other people were not really all that important in helping them get the job done or building their fortune. They think people are interchangeable and of no specific benefit because they believe they can easily replace one person with another and still get the job done.

Many people with this mind-set believe if it wasn’t for their overarching intellect, prowess, and ability to pay others, their employees wouldn’t even have their current material possessions. In other words, “You’d be a pauper if it wasn’t for me.” Unfortunately, many still are paupers because they oppress and take advantage by underpaying them using excuses like “pay is based on the market” while heaping massive riches unto themselves. This is done most times due to underlying pride, arrogance, and greed because they’re only interested in what they can get out of people in order to fulfill their dream and build their wealth. They don’t tend to be very interested in what they can do to provide livable income and really help other people become who God wants them to become.

The teaching of scripture, constant interaction of people therein helping others accomplish great things, the fact that scripture teaches you shall not muzzle the ox that treads the corn and that you should extend yourself in blessing others especially other believers, along with the guidance of the Holy Spirit should lead each believer to recognize other people’s contributions and seek to bless them significantly in recognition that no one can accomplish anything of value without the assistance of many other people who provide meaningful mental and physical labor and collaboration.

Please pray for this ministry and email any questions. May God bless you richly as you follow His plan!!!

Exodus 18:17-23, Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, Matthew 25:27, Luke 5:4-11

Please forward these bondage breaking articles to other people who can use helpful insight!!!

You can find books authored by Randy and Karen Parlor at www.Amazon.com.