MoneyWalk 443 Having Idols Destroys You

This program will help you undo financial bondage.

An “idol” is an object of worship other than the LORD almighty. Let’s face it, most of us, even the ardently religious, have taken a sneak peek at American Idol to see what type of talent is trying to get on the show and which ones really have been gifted with great sounding voices. Don’t feel like you’ve sinned and must repent for watching the talent show, unless you looked at the show, judges, or contestants in a manner that make them your object(s) of worship. You should repent and re-prioritize your affections and activity schedule if you have placed them above the priority of worshipping the LORD Jesus, to the point that you would forsake personal devotion times with Him, evangelism, and disciple-making. For then, they would truly be an idol that replaces Him and His will for your life.

Any activity or ideology could become idol when placed above the desire for intimacy with Him. The bible instructs you to avoid and/or eliminate such idols from your life. He is not concerned with whether you watch a television program that uses the word “idol.” For your good, He simply does not want you to make anything other than Him your object of worship. He knows you will be hurt when you make idols of money, careers, positions, power, relationships, deeds, animals, statues, and ideologies. He wants us to get many of these things but in the right context and for the right use that they would glorify Him and bless others.

You must constantly be vigilant in making sure your adoration of these things and attention to them has not been elevated above time spent with the Lord and the local Church body. Otherwise, they will push aside your immediate obedience to all He commanded. When this happens, you suffer even if you don’t immediately recognize it or see the effects. Many people dismiss the consequences of idol worship because they don’t show up immediately. Yet, the bible is emphatic about the fact that worshipping idols brings destruction upon you. While that destruction may not be seen or felt immediately and it’s possible it may not be felt while you live upon the earth, the bible assures you that God will bring everlasting judgment and punishment against un-repented idolatry.

You do not want to be judged in eternity for failure to make the Lord, His ways, and His work your utmost priority because then punishment is forever. I would much rather be shown the error of my ways while on earth, so I can turn from them and be all I was created to be in Christ Jesus, making sure that my focus always stays upon Him. I feel the same way when it comes to money and the financial area of my life. Each of us are going to have some of it and some people will have more than others. While we can all prosper greatly to fulfill God’s plan for our lives in conjunction with the building of His kingdom in the hearts of men, you should never put so much of a focus on money or getting more of it that you make it an idol.

It is useful for providing for needs and taking care of many areas in your life, however your primary aim should always be to develop a deeper relationship with the LORD. From this desire, the Holy Spirit will empower you to adhere to biblical principles that free you from spiritual and financial bondage and bring abundant blessing and reward into your life.

Please pray for this ministry and email me with any questions. May the LORD bless you richly as you follow His plan!

Exodus 20:4, Deuteronomy 5:9, Joshua 24:14, Acts 17:30, Romans 1:22-23

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

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

You can find many other MoneyWalk articles on Facebook by looking at the NOTES created by Randy Parlor at https://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100000444069041&sk=notes.

You can connect with Randy Parlor on Twitter and Linkedin

You can also view and/or listen to MoneyWalk articles at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXnztOIesOKIrSd_H6c-8mQ

MoneyWalk 442 Maintaining Holy Rest Prospers You

This program will help you undo financial bondage.

The command to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy is the LORD’s guidance to help us overcome enemies of intimacy with Him and of fruitfulness, so we can mature spiritually and truly be blessed and rewarded on earth including in the financial arena of our lives. He does not want you to be lazy or over-worked, rather hard-working with reasonable periods of rest for your mind and hands, so you will have consistent fruitful and creative cycles in your life. Therefore, He exhorts you to labor using your mind and hands to produce that which is good, so you and others may be blessed by your harvest.

He recognizes the command to labor could develop in you a tendency to always be at work believing your worth is based on what you do, the work title you obtain, or how much you earn in this life. Thus, He also exhorts you to remember the Sabbath, which means to spend suitable time worshipping Him and resting instead of engaging in the works to which you are employed the remainder of the week.

This focuses you on rest from normal labors where you take time to develop a more intimate relationship with Him and on helping you understanding His will better, so during the remainder of the week you are not spending time doing things that are not His priority for your life. Most people think that continual busyness working at their trade is the key to success and it has moved society away from spending time with the Lord and resting in His presence. We tend to think that if we start a business it must be open seven days a week or else it will fail, and we think that there are so many things to do at home that we must spend every evening and the entire weekend trying to complete our “To Do List.”

Yet, biblical principles let us know that we will be successful working less than seven days per week and that we will be refreshed and have correct and renewed vision and energy when we take appropriate time each week to worship the Lord and rest our bodies and minds. Failure to maintain godly priorities in what you do is an enemy of productivity because it does not profit you to gain the world yet lose your soul!

There’s an entrepreneur who has led a fast food restaurant chain for four decades and never opens his stores on Sundays (not even in shopping malls) so his family and business can honor the LORD, rest, and renew their minds, spend time with family, and hopefully choose to fellowship with other believers in order to mature/ Despite advice that he could not prosper unless his stores were open every day to compete against other fast food chains, he became a multi-billionaire and his business has allowed many others to become multi-millionaires, take great care of other people, and do many good works around the world. His family operates over 1700 stores and 80,000 employees and have by far the lowest rate of employee attrition (people leaving his employ) than any other fast food chain in the world.

There are many more real-life stories of businesses and individuals who have experienced great success while keeping the Sabbath. The Sabbath principle benefits you to the same degree no matter whether you’re an entrepreneur or employee. This weekly time of rest with the Lord will help:

1. Invigorate you mentally and physically

2. Give you renewed focus

3. Produce as much mental and physical health as is possible for you

4. Re-energize you to engage in required activities in the most productive manner

5. Produce good family, friend, and workplace relationships

6. Engage you in priorities that please the Lord and help you do good deeds that benefit you and other people.

Constant busyness places and keeps you in bondage whereas observing the Sabbath through weekly rest from your labors and times of intimacy with the LORD eliminates bondage by providing the mechanism for freedom you need to truly be fulfilled and prosperous in this life and prepared for eternity.

Please pray for this ministry and email me with any questions. May the LORD bless you richly as you follow His plan!

Exodus 20:8, Isaiah 56:6, Matthew 12:12, Mark 2:27

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

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

You can find many other MoneyWalk articles on Facebook by looking at the NOTES created by Randy Parlor at https://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100000444069041&sk=notes.

You can connect with Randy Parlor on Twitter and Linkedin

You can also view and/or listen to MoneyWalk articles at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXnztOIesOKIrSd_H6c-8mQ

MoneyWalk 441 Do Not Mis-Use The LORD’s Name

This program will help you undo financial bondage.

Many financial problems people experience result from their failure to honor God’s name. As a result, they’re having problems in the housing sector, the banking sector, the investment sector, the personal finance sector, the family unit, and other areas of life. Many people believe they can do anything they want, fail to uphold moral standards, and choose to believe something other than what the Creator said is truth. Inevitably, they invite hardship and trouble into their lives. When you accept financial advice without measuring it by the Word of God you will misuse His name and bring negative consequences into your life.

Honoring God’s name requires living to please Him and dying to your will. When you believe and live in a way opposite His principles, you mis-use His name by communicating to other people that accepting Christ does not change a person for the better, nor produces a rewarding life. This is why you should be careful to reverence His name by learning and applying biblical principles in the financial realm and otherwise. You will reap enormous blessings and rewards as a result and will find that hard times for others are simply opportunities for you to serve and produce to an even greater degree.

By living out biblical principles by the power of the Holy Spirit, you will find immunity from economic calamity because you are securely abiding under the shadow of the Most High God and the greatness of His name. You won’t be swayed from doing right nor succumb to temptation because He helps you understand what is practical for you to invest time, energies, and money into. You will take worthwhile and wise risks throughout your life and, in very short order after you start, you will begin to reap the blessings and rewards that come to those who live Christ-like.

You cannot go wrong:

I. Working diligently at a moral trade

II. Serving in your local church and otherwise in a capacity that helps spread the gospel

III. Budgeting (planning by setting goals acceptable to God)

IV. Living within your means

V. Tithing and offering

VI. Eliminating debt

VII. Eliminating cosigning

VIII. Saving

IX. Investing

X. Diversifying your assets

XI. Teaching others to do the same when opportunities arise

These practical actions are spoken of in God’s word in numerous instances and form the foundation for how to build a financial future that is strong and solid. They help mature you to use wisdom so you’re not influenced to make stupid choices as some people encourage you to do, like pursuing get-rich-quick schemes or taking loans to fund desires. You will not be moved by emotion when making financial decisions, rather you’ll be moved by the Holy Spirit as He enlightens your understanding and use of practical information and tools. In this way, you will rightly use the name of the Lord and the results of your lifestyle will lead other people to Christ instead of repelling them by poor financial habits & conditions.

Please pray for this ministry and email me with any questions. May the LORD bless you richly as you follow His plan!

Exodus 20:7, Psalm 91:1-3, Luke 18:18-30, Galatians 3:1-14, Hebrews 6:4-6

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

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

You can find many other MoneyWalk articles on Facebook by looking at the NOTES created by Randy Parlor at https://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100000444069041&sk=notes.

You can connect with Randy Parlor on Twitter and Linkedin

You can also view and/or listen to MoneyWalk articles at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXnztOIesOKIrSd_H6c-8mQ

MoneyWalk 440 Do Not Make Money Your God

This program will help you undo financial bondage.

Four of the Ten Commandments are directly related to our vertical responsibility to God. It is very important for our peace, health, and well-being throughout life that we allow the Holy Spirit to mold us into people who adhere to these commands. We should be encouraged to apply these commands in the financial arena of our lives as well as other arenas. When we don’t allow our lives to follow this path we receive the earthly and eternal consequences of the other path we have chosen. The first of these commands is to have no other God.

This should be really easy because there really is no other God than the LORD God Almighty. He is your Creator, maker of heaven and earth, who exists before and after time as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The bible explains that our Triune God is one God and beside Him there is no other. In His perfect counsel, He chose to cloth the Son in flesh to live upon the earth as a man named Jesus Christ who put down His divine glory and power. He was sinless in all He did on earth. He is our example of how we can hear and obey the LORD’s instruction at all cost.

He was crucified with His blood poured out as the only sacrifice that allows every human a pathway for redemption that will remove us from the sinful path we have chosen that leads to eternal destruction. He was resurrected by the Father as the firstborn of many brother/sisters as a guarantee that all who believe Him to be Savior and Lord will receive the same resurrection from the dead and eternal life.

There is no other name in Heaven given among men whereby we can be saved. The principle of having no other God should emanate throughout our lives even into the financial arena. You put nothing in the place of God when you recognize He owns everything, even all of the money and resources that come into your hands at any point in your life. In fact, He owns you and has the right to direct your steps: to tell you the principles He wants you to live by and the methods He wants you to use to manage the resources He bestows upon you. Thank God He instructs and guides you for your good. You will be better off on earth and in eternity when you follow His principles and obey methods He specifically directs you to use.

You make nothing else a god when you read the bible to find what the LORD has to say about how you live and manage finances, and when you pray asking Him to help you understand what His Word directs you to do, and when you obey His instructions and make plans to solidify this way of living. Money cannot become your god when you utilize the following principles to do His will and direct your steps:

1. Work as unto the Lord in your career path and Church ministry, doing good inside and outside the Church walls.

2. Refuse to pursue get-rich-quick and get-more-money-at-all-cost schemes.

3. Regularly tithe and give a free-will offering from your income.

4. Regularly give and/or serve to help the poor and oppressed including widows and orphans.

5. Consistently budget your income so you are keenly aware of how much comes in each pay period and how much you are expending each pay period. It is best when you do this for six months to one year to allow you to plan forward to note future financial health and problems you will need to pray about and take action against as soon as possible in order to overcome.

6. Eliminate debt and resist future debt. Repossessions, foreclosures, and bankruptcies occur because people’s future financial condition did not turn out like they expected when they took out the loan.

7. Refuse to cosign for others. Instead, when someone trustworthy is truly in need, give him/her only cash you can afford to give. This helps them the most and is the example of good stewardship needed to turn his/her life around.

8. Diligently save a portion of your income. Gradually increase it to a point where down the road you save at least 10% of your gross income each pay period.

9. After you build a reasonable emergency fund, invest additional savings into assets that have the best history of investment growth / return over 10 to 20-year periods. No load low expense stock index mutual funds from reputable financial institutions (Vanguard, Fidelity, TIAA-CREF, etc.) should be the core holding for the vast majority of long-term investors because they give you equity ownership in businesses and provide a high level of investment growth throughout the years without the risk of losing anything close to the value of your holdings because of the great diversity within the fund thru ownership of hundred and sometimes thousands of different types of businesses.

10. Always believe God has His best in mind for you and that He will bless you regardless of any obstacle that confronts you, in order to help you carry out His will for your life on earth. This mindset can help you move into an entrepreneurial endeavor that could really blows your socks off with regard to the income and assets it produces and the blessing / reward it allows you to receive and use to bless your household and other people.

Living in this way guarantees money cannot be your god because the LORD’s will is always the main priority for how you live, what you envision for your future, and every action you take in every area of your life. This shows you truly love the LORD with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.

Please pray for this ministry and email me with any questions. May the LORD bless you richly as you follow His plan!

Exodus 20:3, Isaiah 43:10-11, Mark 12:30, Luke 16:13, Acts 4:12

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

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

You can find many other MoneyWalk articles on Facebook by looking at the NOTES created by Randy Parlor at https://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100000444069041&sk=notes.

You can connect with Randy Parlor on Twitter and Linkedin

You can also view and/or listen to MoneyWalk articles at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXnztOIesOKIrSd_H6c-8mQ