A Refresher On Biblical Financial Principles

This teaching will help you undo financial bondage.

The first five principles are connected to the whole of your life, not just how you manage money. They should be a foundation for how and why you decide to do anything in life. They allow you to accomplish much, be very successful in your endeavors, and please God when incorporated with other actions like praying, studying the bible, listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit within you, fellowshipping with believers (attending church regularly), and before making major decisions getting the input of a group of counselors that believe in Jesus Christ and who seek to do His will. These principles help you fulfill the purpose for which God created you.

1) Understand that God owns everything: we are only managers of His estate. God is, always was, and always will be. He is the creator of all things including you, yet He is so gracious to allow you to live in His presence and receive His blessing. You have a choice to live with Him or live without Him. At the end of your days on Earth your choice becomes an eternal one. His desire is that you would choose to live with Him living and acting according to His instruction and guidance confirmed by biblical principle.

2) You are to do good works – those that are God pleasing. This involves working to earn money and obtain resources to take care of yourself and family by producing and selling widgets and/or service. It also includes engaging with the Church to be a witness of Jesus Christ to people around you and in other parts of the world and in some instances to help meet people’s physical needs (food, clothing, shelter, etc.).

3) Be content. Choose delayed gratification instead of instant gratification. Do not buy that bigger house, more expensive car, new furniture, new jewelry, etc. until you have reached the priority goal of being a faithful tithing member of a local church and totally debt-free. Stuff to buy will still be there at prices you can afford to pay after you reach your goal.

4) Show self-control This is a fruit of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5, which along with the other eight fruit shows that we walk in the Spirit and not according to the flesh. Pleasing God is the ultimate goal and can only be displayed by living according to His commands. You must learn to be obedient to biblical principles in order to control your fleshly appetite and put the focus back on fulfilling His purpose for your life. This will help produce wealth in a way that is pleasing to God without compromising your relationship with Jesus Christ.

5) Be willing to sacrifice. Delaying gratification results in great benefits accruing to you in the long-run because is replaces short-term pleasure for long-term financial soundness and helps keep you out of financial trouble.

6) Tithe and give offerings and alms to your local church and other worthwhile ministries and charities. Continue or start tithing to your local church or a worthwhile ministry each time you receive income. In addition, give offerings and alms to join with fellow believers in serving those in need.

7) Budget your income and expenses for at least a few months ahead. A number of free resources exist on the internet to help you craft a 3 to 6 month plan that shows:

a) Your after tax income each pay period

b) The tithe and offering 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.)

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.), and

e) Any amount left over. If there is nothing left over then you will need to work with your spouse and a close friend who is good at managing his or her money or a budget counselor to determine ways in which you can cut current expenses, determine which bills receive priority for payment at the current time, or find other jobs that can help increase your income for awhile to get you out of the rut you are in.

8) Refuse to accumulate more debt and eliminate current debt. The borrower is servant to the lender and thus God does not want His people to be in debt because it often causes people to make bad decisions and move away from God’s purpose for their lives and bring troubles upon them and their families. His desire is that you owe no man anything but love.

9) Refuse to cosign for the debts of other people. You will not help other people live in the responsibility God desires for them and you will bring financial trouble upon yourself by eventually being on the hook for paying the bills of irresponsible people.

10) Save in an emergency reserve account, so that you have resources to help care for needs during rainy days. A wise man stores a portion of his resources to meet future material needs, but a foolish man immediately spends everything he gets. You need a rainy day fund to help you overcome bad economic cycles that will occur throughout your life.

11) Invest excess disposable income to accumulate greater return. God desires that you be like the servants in the Parable of the Talents and the Parable of the Minas who went about trading (investing) the assets He had given them in order to multiplying them for greater use for His glory.

12) Diversify your savings and investments so that all your eggs are not in the same basket. Scripture instructs you to give a portion to seven or eight because you do not know what troubles may come upon the Earth. It also instructs you to seek safety in the multitude of counselors. When all eggs are in the same basket they tend to all be destroyed by one person’s malfeasance, but when they are in different baskets one person’s malfeasance does not destroy the wealth God intends for you to manage.

Following the above principles by the leading of the Holy Spirit will help you get to the point of debt-freedom and wealth building where you will multiply the money that the Lord entrusted to you; some 30, some 60, and some 100 fold.

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

Revelation 4:11, 1Timothy 6:9-17, Matthew 23:23, Hebrews 7:8, Habakkuk 2:2-4, Proverbs 21:20, Luke 6:38, 14:28-30

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

MoneyWalk 151: God’s Love Produces Success

This program will help you undo financial bondage.

God loves you immensely and desires that you be close to Him even though you deserve eternal damnation based on the sins you've committed throughout your life. By Jesus Christ, He made a way for your eternal security and by the power of the Holy Spirit you can forsake sinful, worldly ways of living by engaging a continual maturity process.

In order to do so, you must recognize that the most essential part of being a disciple of Jesus Christ is love. You must believe with all of your heart that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that you should not perish but have everlasting life. You must love God through Jesus Christ with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength and love others like you love yourself for these are the greatest commandments. This means you must manage your life, including your finances, in the way that God identified in the bible so you can be a good steward, Christ’s witness, and His example to other people.

Loving God leads you to pray daily and study scripture daily in order to hide His Word in your heart. It also leads you to exhibit the fruit of the spirit in your life and communication. The fruit of self-control is especially important in helping you manage the money God has allowed you to have. Without it you will not truly fulfill the purpose God has for your place in your family, ministry, or vocation. Loving people leads you to fellowship with other believers weekly. It helps you know that you need what they can provide and they need what only you can provide.

When asked what the greatest commandment is, really listen and absorb what Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and the second is like unto it, love your neighbor as yourself.” It is through loving God and loving people in the manner described in the bible that you will have deeper fellowship with God in Christ, better relationships with those around you, and move forward to be a good steward of your life and finances and fulfill your purpose, ministry, and career calling.

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

Deuteronomy 7:13, Proverbs 8:21, John 14:21, Romans 13:8

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MoneyWalk 150: Continual Increase

This program will help you undo financial bondage.

A net worth calculation is a measuring stick to see how successful your financial plan or lack of a financial plan has been for you. Net worth is the value of all your assets minus the amount of all your liabilities. Assets are the items you own. Liabilities are debts you owe someone else for material goods, services, or loans. Monetary net worth gives you an idea of how far into the future you could pay current monthly expenses and debt payments if income from your employment or business stopped coming in.

This measurement is necessary for long-term and short-term planning because you never know what may happen. Even when you are a Christian, negative financial situations, emergencies, hardships, and catastrophes will happen in your life. Planning for them by managing your money according to biblical financial principles will help you weather the storms of adversity and allow the blessing of God upon your life no matter what the enemy means for bad.

Many Christians think that accumulating debt violates scriptural instruction, faith, and trust in God. However, they fail to realize that many of the Christian patriarchs and matriarchs accumulated great sums of wealth throughout their lives (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Joshua, Esther, Ruth, David, Job, Daniel, and others. In addition, a number of people mentioned as godly servants in the New Testament accumulated great sums of money (Joseph of Arimethea, Zacchaeus, Chuza wife of Herod’s steward, Barnabas, Cornelius the Centurion, Lydia (seller of purple), Philemon, etc.).

Only one time did Jesus Christ tell a man to sell all that he accumulated. According to Jesus explanation to the disciples afterward, this man would have received greater wealth in this life and in eternity after giving away everything and following Jesus. Thus, we do not find scriptural instruction against being wealthy. Rather, we find scripture commanding God’s people to be faithful, responsible, industrious, productive, and good managers of the money and resources God entrusts to us. In addition, He commands that we not love money nor hasten to be rich as these attitudes lead to a great fall.

The scripture further admonishes those who are wealthy to be rich (in proportion to their incomes and assets) toward God, His church, His ministry, and His people. Christians that have very little to give usually give very little. This doesn’t make them less Christian, but the reason they lack ability to give abundantly over the long-term is not because God didn’t want them to prosper financially. Usually, poverty or an unwillingness to give as God commanded is based on their failure to properly manage their working lives to produce 30, 60, or 100 fold beyond what they have been initially entrusted with.

When you start to understand that we cannot out give God, you understand why current day faithful Christians that have accumulated great wealth are not an abomination to God but rather a blessing to the church and people. Through dedication to obeying Him by consistently using biblical money management principles, God begins to pour out more money and other resources that you are able to give more to ministry work than people who may be in a similar income category. In many instances, those with the mind of Christ may have an ability to purchase opulence, yet the priority of their lives is to enjoy fellowship with the Lord, find the center of His will and their purpose, and help fund ministry to lead the hearts of men to Jesus Christ.

When you are tempted to believe that wealth accumulation is ungodly consider what the bible truly says and shows. Also, consider the fact that you spend far more on your desires than you are willing to forego in order to give more to spread the gospel. You matter to God and He wants your life to be abundant in every way including financially. When you manage your life and money according to God’s holy standards this produces continual increase that blesses you and others.

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

Genesis 13:2, Job 42:12, Luke 19:2-10, 1Timothy 6:17-19, James 5:1-6

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

MoneyWalk 149: Obtain It All

This program will help you undo financial bondage.

Managing your money properly requires obedience to God's commands. When you don't consistently use biblical money management principles, you'll never fully live and receive heavenly rewards. The bible says and shows that faith without works is dead. Obedience is an extension of faith and it shows up in the form of corresponding action toward pursuit of the purpose God created you to fulfill.

Obedience, the necessary by-product of faith, should be spent in prayer, praise, worship, bible study, fellowship with the saints, god-honoring work and career along with personal money management activities that help you reach goals that please the Lord.

Though God already knows the level of your faith and whether you’re truly obedient to His commands, your action in pursuit of heavenly goals enables you and other people to see that you have New Testament saving and sanctifying faith and not just empty words that speak of religion but in reality deny the power of God. The God-kind-of-faith changes / redirects your life from worldliness / selfishness, leads you to good works, and makes a positive eternal and earthly difference in the lives of others.

When produced and motivated by faith, the results from your diligent work will ultimately appear right on-time even though it sometimes seems as though it won't. It will be shown in the form of increased giving to build the kingdom of God in the hearts of men, increased offering above the tithe to support your local church and fund missions at home and abroad, increased evangelism and discipleship of others, promotions, raises, business growth, accelerated net worth accumulation, and endeavors to help those in need.

You can obtain it all, everything that God has purposed for you, everything that pertains to life and godliness, when you’re obedient to God’s voice heard through the bible and by His Spirit. His voice is continually telling you to use biblical money management principles to govern your financial affairs. This is the diligent lifestyle that will make your soul prosperous!

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

Deuteronomy 11:26-28, 1Samuel 15:22-23, Matthew 28:20, Acts 5:29

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MoneyWalk 148: What You Need

This program will help you undo financial bondage.

The Holy Spirit provides guidance for each person who confesses with his mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and believes in his heart that God raised Jesus from the dead to secure salvation and eternal life for every believer. He provides guidance for every area of life and every circumstance by instructing believers to obey the instructions of Christ, which contain boundaries for managing their lives including money.

It is a mystery not fully understood or explainable in this life that the Holy Spirit is a separate person within the Godhead (the Trinity) who is completely God and one with God the Father and God the Son, Jesus Christ. He lives in each believer to direct us to Christ and help us know His mind that we may be in Father God’s perfect will. Simply put, He like the Father and the Son wants everyone to have life and have it more abundantly and thus He continually aims each person at entering a relationship with and developing intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ because this is the only way we can have abundant life starting on earth and throughout eternity.

Such life moves us ever closer to doing the impossible. When He lives in us and we in Him, we have the power and creative ability to carry out endeavors and perform services that are far beyond our natural abilities.

The Holy Spirit also works in the lives of unbelievers. He continually uses people and situations to show them the error, danger, and consequences of not accepting Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. In other words, He convicts them of sin, righteousness, and judgment. He works through believers while they are on earth to convince unbelievers that they need and should accept Christ.

Father God desires that all would repent and accept Christ as Savior and thus none would perish. Unfortunately, some unbelievers will not bow their knee or confess that Christ is Lord until they stand before almighty God on Judgment Day. Because God sheds His love abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, every true believer desperately wants unbelievers to accept Christ right now, so that they will definitely bypass the wrath of God that will be evident on that great and terrible day.

Secondarily, the Holy Spirit desires that believers and unbelievers utilize the many gifts and talents that the Godhead bestowed upon them at creation in order to glorify the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and be of service to other people. God created each of us with the latent ability and faith to call down help from Heaven in order to do the impossible.

It doesn‘t matter whether you were born normal or abnormal or how long you have lived, your very presence and abilities have the opportunity to touch someone in a very special way and help them see the great good that can come from their lives. Unfortunately, we sometimes see the impossible being done in perverse, wicked ways (i.e., greedy business people, rich drug dealers, wealth obtained via pornography, evil dictators, false religious leaders, and other wicked occupations and practices that have grown in acceptance and scope). Every person engaged in such endeavors could have used his / her gifts and abilities to forge a godly, moral path that would provide great honor to God and service to everyone around him / her. However, they chose to take the negative, hurtful, unfruitful route.

Choosing to follow the Holy Spirit’s instruction is the only way we can walk the right path and be all that God created us to be. Each unbeliever should recognize the same and choose to let Christ save him / her from the wrath to come and allow the Holy Spirit to sanctify him / her to produce good works. Only, then can he / she move on to truly do the impossible.

All that an unbeliever does or builds on earth will not save him / her from eternal damnation, be meaningful, or worthy of any reward when he / she stands before God in judgment. But, God forgives and forgets the past sins of every believer and gives him / her eternal life. No one can be saved by the works he does, yet the grace of God that saves him also leads him to do good works from a heart that loves God. He deposits eternal blessings in that person’s heavenly bank account and often showers him with blessings on earth as he goes about doing God’s will.

The blessings of God brought forth by obedience to His will come in every area of life. They are not limited to those who preach the gospel from a pulpit each Sunday. Those being called and / or serving in such a capacity are engaging a worthwhile and God-honoring endeavor. Yet, the Holy Spirit plants people in every arena of life and commerce (family, parenting, business, finance, politics, economics, money management, military, church ministry, culture, entertainment, sports, etc.).

He will not lead you to do anything that goes against His will or biblical principle. So, whether you’re a believer or un-believer allow this to be the qualifier for the type of work you will engage and allow your faith to increase so that you will believe that God is everything He said He is: the only Way, the only Truth, the only Life, and the Almighty Judge of Heaven and Earth.

If you want to do the impossible in life invite the Holy Spirit to guide you each day and seek to know Him better every day through praise, worship, and prayer. Then, He is sure to continually tell you of the great purpose He has for your life and show the way you can glorify Him, be of utmost service to other people, and allow for the greatest blessings in your life.

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

Habakkuk 2:4, Matthew 9:19-22, Luke 17:5-6, Romans 4:18-22, Hebrews 11:1-6

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 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

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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.

MoneyWalk 143: What A Bargain

This program will help you undo financial bondage.

Finding merchandise and services at a price that is well below what other people normally pay is exciting. However, you will not be able to engage in this wealth building practice if you are a respecter of persons with the mindset, "give me Gucci or give me death." You must put on the mind of Christ to realize that quality merchandise and service can be found in places other than the upscale business, designer label, or name brand section that you usually select.

Do not waste money on upscale brand names without proving that the quality of the merchandise or service is better and is what you can afford for the financial situation you are in right now. Test businesses that you did not previously shop to see if they have merchandise or service at a lower price that is just as useful to you at a lower price. You are sure to find businesses, retailers, local vendors, web auctions, etc. that have upscale merchandise or service at a price that truly fits your budget and does not lead you into the poor house.

Though there can be differences in merchandise and services, in many instances the same materials and workmanship can be found in similar merchandise or service with different brand names. Being a good steward of the manifold blessings that God gives you requires that you test the waters and allow the Holy Spirit to direct your purchases by leading you to less expensive alternatives that contain the same quality as the high cost items. This allows more of your hard earned money to be given, saved, and invested for future growth that can be used to build God’s kingdom and care for you and your family in times when you really need it the most.

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

Exodus 12:35-36, Proverbs 8:17-21, Matthew 25:14-30, Luke 16:1-12

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.