“10 Recession Proof Promises”

 

It is well documented that our world is in the midst of a global recession. It thrills me to remind believers that we are “not of this world”. So I came up with what I believe to be my top “10 Recession Proof Promises”.

Here they are:

 

1.     God owns everything!

 

Psalm 24:1  “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it…”

 

2.     God promises to meet all my needs!

 

Phil 4:19  “and God shall supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus”

 

3.     God promises to bless his people even during famine!

 

Psalm 37:18, 19  “The days of the blameless are known to the Lord, and their inheritance will endure forever. In times of disaster they will not wither; in days of famine they will enjoy plenty”

 

4.     Godly wisdom may produce great wealth!

 

Proverbs  8:12, 18, 21  “I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence; I possess knowledge and discretion…with me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity…bestowing wealth on those who love me and making their treasuries full”

 

5.     The world’s wealth is stored up for God’s people!

 

Proverbs 13:22  “a good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous”

 

6.     Humility may produce wealth and health!

 

Proverbs 22:4  “Humility and the fear of the Lord bring wealth and honor and life”

 

7.     Seek the Lord; stuff will follow!

 

Matthew 6:33  “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well”

 

8.     Wealth comes directly from the Lord!

 

Proverbs 10:12  “The blessing of the Lord brings wealth and He adds no trouble to it”

I Chronicles 29:12  “Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all”

 

9.     God promises no lack to His people!

 

Psalm 34:9, 10  “Fear the Lord you his godly people, for those who fear Him will have all they need. Even the strong lions sometimes go hungry, but those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing”

 

10.            The tithe and offerings bring the blessing!

 

Malachi 3:10  “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my temple. If you do, says the Lord,. I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in. Try it! Put it to the test!”

 

I believe passionately in God’s word to His people. These precious promises work in any and every season of life. Global recession does not and cannot invalidate the word of God! The snapshot of your present situation is temporary. Trust the Lord with your whole heart! May the windows of heaven open for you in the midst of recession in Jesus name!

 

 

 

 

Awakening The Sleeping Giant

In June 1962 the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to have prayer and bible reading in public schools. In that historic court battle the Pennsylvania Superintendent of Schools said, "...the excercise of bible reading and prayer places upon children one of the last vestiges of moral value that we have left in our school system." This is the prayer that was commonly used, "Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependency upon thee and beg thy blessing upon us, our parents, our teachers and our country". It was a simple yet profound prayer that by all standards was honored by God. In 1963 there was a national survey in public schools to determine the top problems in schools. Here is the list:

1. Talking
2. Chewing gum
3. Making noise
4. Running in the halls
5. Getting out of line
6. Improper attire
7. Not putting paper in the waste basket

A similar study was conducted a few years ago:

1. Rape
2. Robbery
3. Assault
4. Arson
5. Murder/Suicide
6. Vandalism
7. Drug/Alcohol Abuse
8. Teen Pregnancy
9. Abortion
10. Sexually Transmitted Diseases

The same trends of spiritual and moral decay can be seen in every aspect of society. America is the leading nation of the world in violent crime, abortion, divorce, teen pregnancy, illegal drug use and illiteracy. In 1962 America had a balanced budget! In 1963 our president was assassinated. Our divorce rates escalate almost every year as well as domestic violence. These are merely indicators of a deeper spiritual and moral dilemma that faces our country. The sad reality is that in 1962 only 4% of Americans agreed with the Supreme Court decision. It's time for the sleeping giant of the church to awaken, mobilize and strategize for such a time as this. Our religious liberties continue to be stripped while the church lies dormant. Let's begin by reclaiming some lost territory: "Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependency upon thee and BEG thy blessing upon us, our parents, our teachers and upon our country"

God Bless America and awaken the sleeping giant of the church!

Here We Go!

After much prompting and exhorting from my leadership team I am now venturing into a whole new arena, blogging. Jamie edits anything and everything I ever write, except my sermons. I know, it shows! So, for those of you who insist on proper grammar, sentence structure, etc. I apologize now for the multiplicity of mistakes you will find. I decided that my blog will be 100% pure me with all the warts. In fact, I just shared with Jamie my intent and her response was, “at least use spell check”! Having just turned fifty, my thought is to post my fifty favorite scriptures and or my fifty favorite messages I have preached over the past 28 years. This will be a weekly post. I will share the scripture text used and the main points to the message with a brief commentary. In addition, I will post random messages as time and inspiration allow. I hope to bring some small value to whoever might read these ramblings from a pastor’s heart. Thanks for stopping by! Again, sorry for the grammatical crucifixion!

Lets begin with my “50” message preached on March 29, 2009: the Year of Liberty “50”

Text: Lev 25:10-13 “Consecrate the 50^th year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each one of you is to return to his family property and each to his own clan. The 50^th year shall be a jubilee for you; do not sow and do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the intended vines. For it is a jubilee and is holy for you; eat only what is directly from the fields. In this year of Jubilee everyone is to return his own property.”

From Nelson’s Bible Dictionary: “The Jubilee year signified a call to joy, liberation, and the beginning of a year for doing justice and loving mercy. It is a reminder of God’s interest in liberty; God wants His people to be free. In this way the people learned that God’s demand to love and obey Him was directly related to his concern for the welfare of all people.”

Top Ten perks of being 50:

1. You can eat dinner at 4:00 pm

2. You quit trying to hold your stomach in, no matter who walks in the room

3. People call at 9:00 pm and ask, “did I wake you?”

4. You no longer think of speed limits as a challenge

5. You get into heated arguments about pension plans

6. Things you buy now won’t wear out

7. There’s nothing left to learn the hard way

8. No one expects you to run-----anywhere

9. Kidnappers are not very interested in you

10. In a hostage situation, you are likely to be released first

Over the Hill quotes:

· My mind not only wanders; it sometimes leaves completely

· I’m over the hill but the climb was terrific

· We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing

· I’m so old I can laugh, cough, sneeze, and pee all at the same time (Jamie would have edited this out)

Main Points:

1. 50 is a time for Celebration!

2. 50 is a time to proclaim liberty!

3. 50 is a time for a fresh start!

4. 50 is a time to forgive and be forgiven of any outstanding debt! ( I am sending my mortgage company a copy of this message)

5. 50 is a time to be reminded of God’s love and redemptive purposes!

Celebrate Turning 50 by Gina Mahony “You are at your peak. It is your time. It is time to celebrate who you are, what you have accomplished and it is a time to enjoy! Turning 50 is now a rite of passage into a whole new life. Turning 50 means freedom, freedom to enjoy yourself and not worry about having fun. It is a time of freedom knowing you are all grown up. It is freedom of been there, done that. Freedom to laugh out loud, freedom to be outspoken and freedom to enjoy yourself without worrying about what people think or what people say. Fifty is a pretty impressive number”

So, I decided to play more in my year of jubilee! For the first time in many, many years, I am going to use all of my vacation time and simply play more and have more fun! Jamie went all out for my 50^th birthday bash and got me a couple of very nice gifts; one was tickets to the Reds opening day in Cincinnati; I braved 39 degree temps with rain and sleet; the Reds lost but I had a blast; the next day Taylor and I took in the Masters; what a treat that was; and to finish off the week we went to the braves opening game; the monsoons came; but again had a great time with family and friends; I am off to a good start; Since I love church; Sundays and Wednesdays are “fun” for me; I love what I do! Easter Sunday we had a record crowd so 50 has been very, very good to mu thus far! Stay tuned!