Nov 2009
Thanks
Nov 30, 2009
Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.
-1 Chronicles 16:8-9
With all the hustle of the holidays, it can be easy to find yourself grasping for air, exhausted and overwhelmed and forgetting to "give thanks" to the Lord and recount His blessings. As I sat this morning in church, I was reminded that we must take time out to "give thanks" on a regular basis and not just at Thanksgiving. How can we set aside intentional times as individuals and families to verbalize our gratitude to our Heavenly Father? When and where might those intentional times be?
As I look at David's prayer of thanksgiving found in 1Chronicles chapter 16, I am reminded that our prayers are not only to give credit where credit is due but also a time to "make known among the nations what he has done." Our time of thanksgiving is not only recognizing from where blessings come but also a time to testify to others about our Father’s greatness.
For us to reach our friends, neighbors and co-workers for Christ, we must be bold in our thanksgiving! People are waiting to hear our stories!
-Sidney
-1 Chronicles 16:8-9
With all the hustle of the holidays, it can be easy to find yourself grasping for air, exhausted and overwhelmed and forgetting to "give thanks" to the Lord and recount His blessings. As I sat this morning in church, I was reminded that we must take time out to "give thanks" on a regular basis and not just at Thanksgiving. How can we set aside intentional times as individuals and families to verbalize our gratitude to our Heavenly Father? When and where might those intentional times be?
As I look at David's prayer of thanksgiving found in 1Chronicles chapter 16, I am reminded that our prayers are not only to give credit where credit is due but also a time to "make known among the nations what he has done." Our time of thanksgiving is not only recognizing from where blessings come but also a time to testify to others about our Father’s greatness.
For us to reach our friends, neighbors and co-workers for Christ, we must be bold in our thanksgiving! People are waiting to hear our stories!
-Sidney
Debt
Nov 17, 2009
“The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouses of His bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none."
-Deuteronomy 28:12
A trap that is easy to fall into is acting as if things are going well when they really aren’t. Consumer debt, hasn’t always been the norm. There was a time in this country that if you had debt, it was evidence that things weren’t going well for you. However, over the past 20 years debt has become common place.
Some statistics that are noteworthy of personal indebtedness:
-About 43% of American families spend more than they earn each year
-Average households carry some $8,000 in credit card debt
-Personal bankruptcies have doubled in the past decade
-Statistics go on to say that our consumer debt has risen by 41% since 1998
As for our indebtedness as a Nation:
-We are now 11.9 Trillion dollars in debt and that amount grows by approximately 3.93 billion dollars a day. With over 300,000,000 people living in America, each persons share is over $39,000.
-It's not clear exactly where the debt trend will take U.S. consumers or the U.S. economy. But it is clear that both personally and corporately as a Nation, we are sailing in uncharted waters.
-One thing is clear, the Bible says we are a slave to our lender.
-You might have never thought about your finances being tied to spiritual things, but I want you to know your heavenly Father is rooting for you because He knows what is at stake—your heart as well as your future.
From the beginning, God has given us instructions on how to live. We just have to choose who we will trust.
-Sidney
-Deuteronomy 28:12
A trap that is easy to fall into is acting as if things are going well when they really aren’t. Consumer debt, hasn’t always been the norm. There was a time in this country that if you had debt, it was evidence that things weren’t going well for you. However, over the past 20 years debt has become common place.
Some statistics that are noteworthy of personal indebtedness:
-About 43% of American families spend more than they earn each year
-Average households carry some $8,000 in credit card debt
-Personal bankruptcies have doubled in the past decade
-Statistics go on to say that our consumer debt has risen by 41% since 1998
As for our indebtedness as a Nation:
-We are now 11.9 Trillion dollars in debt and that amount grows by approximately 3.93 billion dollars a day. With over 300,000,000 people living in America, each persons share is over $39,000.
-It's not clear exactly where the debt trend will take U.S. consumers or the U.S. economy. But it is clear that both personally and corporately as a Nation, we are sailing in uncharted waters.
-One thing is clear, the Bible says we are a slave to our lender.
-You might have never thought about your finances being tied to spiritual things, but I want you to know your heavenly Father is rooting for you because He knows what is at stake—your heart as well as your future.
From the beginning, God has given us instructions on how to live. We just have to choose who we will trust.
-Sidney
Dollars & Sense
Nov 09, 2009
Whoever loves money never has money enough; Whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless.
-Ecclesiasties 5:10
One wealthy man was once asked, "How much money is enough?" His response was, "just one more million dollars!"
Thinking about that question at a deeper lever, just how much is enough? What do I really need, and how much do I really want? As we get ready to focus on finances over the next few weeks at Heritage, we are so aware of the financial issues that many of our families are facing. Whether poor decision making, impulse buying or uncontrollable circumstances, it doesn't matter. The pain of financial difficulty is still real, but God has a way of using those times of pain to enlarge our sense of dependency on Him.
A desire of ours during this financial series, "Dollars and sense", is that we will come to grips with some biblical principles regarding our finances and be open and willing to make adjustments as needed.
Any time we talk about finances in the church, people have the tendency to get leary because of past experiences. However, remember this one thing, God isn't after our money. He's after our hearts. Are you willing to listen for God's principles regarding finances over the next 5 weeks and choose to follow Jesus's teachings? Step one is to acknowledge the real Owner.
-Sidney
-Ecclesiasties 5:10
One wealthy man was once asked, "How much money is enough?" His response was, "just one more million dollars!"
Thinking about that question at a deeper lever, just how much is enough? What do I really need, and how much do I really want? As we get ready to focus on finances over the next few weeks at Heritage, we are so aware of the financial issues that many of our families are facing. Whether poor decision making, impulse buying or uncontrollable circumstances, it doesn't matter. The pain of financial difficulty is still real, but God has a way of using those times of pain to enlarge our sense of dependency on Him.
A desire of ours during this financial series, "Dollars and sense", is that we will come to grips with some biblical principles regarding our finances and be open and willing to make adjustments as needed.
Any time we talk about finances in the church, people have the tendency to get leary because of past experiences. However, remember this one thing, God isn't after our money. He's after our hearts. Are you willing to listen for God's principles regarding finances over the next 5 weeks and choose to follow Jesus's teachings? Step one is to acknowledge the real Owner.
-Sidney
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