Making Sound Financial Decisions: How To Hold Onto Money. (Part 4) by Dr. Strive Masiyiwa.

As a young business person, it took me about 10 years to realise that it is harder to hold on to money, than to make money. Sadly many people never actually realise it, throughout their business life or even career.

I recently read a report which showed that many working professionals in a major European country, have enough savings to last 18 days, if they ever lost their jobs! The squirrel, a small animal that collects nuts during the summer, for the long winter, would no doubt be quite amused.

A business associate, who ran a construction company, came to me once complaining bitterly that people were stealing from him. He pointed out that he had done huge projects, in the past, and yet he was now totally broke. "How could this be"?!

" The problem, is if I tell you, the truth, I will lose you as a friend." I told him.

"Please, please tell me!" He begged.

Two Ways To Give Him Glory

He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God (Romans 4:20).

There’re two major ways of giving glory to God. The first one is to testify. And how do you testify? There’re three ways to testify; the first is by declaring what God did for you before the Lord Himself.

Secondly, you testify with your offering. Many don’t understand the power of the offering; it’s a testimony. When you give God your offering, it’s not a collection; it’s a sacred thing, holy unto the Lord. As you give it, you’re testifying and giving glory to Him in your life. Read about Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, and his son Solomon; they all gave offerings upon offerings in worship to God. From time to time, these patriarchs would worship with offerings.

The third way to testify is to tell others; make known to others that which the Lord has done in, with, and for you. Thus, you live your life before others every day, in faith,

Testify!

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death (Revelation 12:11).

As a Christian, it’s important you testify of God’s goodness and the victories He has wrought through you. Our opening verse says, "… they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death." Learn to testify always! Let your environment feel the impact of your testimonies. Testify of the power of God’s Word. Testify of the miracles of God that you’ve witnessed and experienced in your personal life.

One important reason you must always testify is because not all the demons of darkness know you. Of course, they know you’re a believer in Christ Jesus, but they don’t know your personality. Therefore, they’ll test you to know whether you’re full of fear or not; they’ll want to test you to know whether or not you’re

Global Service With Pastor Chris - Children of the Word

It was the first of its kind, the first Quarterly global service with our dear man of God Pastor Chris Oyakhilome Ph.D.

The word of God is so vital. Why do we talk about it so much. With this thought you begin a study of...
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not (John 1:1 - 1:5 KJV).

The word of God is God and made all things...
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light (Genesis 1:1 - 1:3 KJV).

Sanctified For The Master’s Use

But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work (2 Timothy 2:20-21).

As it can be seen in our opening verses, there’re different qualities of vessels in God’s house: vessels of silver and gold, and vessels of wood and of earth. Being born again, we’re all vessels in the house of God, made for honouring Him.

None of us was made "unto dishonour"; each one of us has been raised for His glory, but you can decide if you’re going to be a vessel of honour, or a vessel of dishonour. That’s what Paul meant when he said, "If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use…." To be "sanctified" means to be separated or set apart unto God for His sacred use, while to be "meet" means to be qualified.

Pray With Understanding

Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven (Matthew 18:19).

There’s such a thing as praying with understanding, just as we can praise God with understanding. Now this is different from praying or praising with “the” understanding. Praying with “the” understanding is praying to God through your mind, in the language that you can understand. In other words, you’re not praying in tongues. 1 Corinthians 14:14 says, “For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.”

On the other hand, praying with understanding means, you understand the principles of that particular prayer; you’re praying according to God’s Word, and your prayer has a definite direction; you know the reason for praying as well as the result! You’re praying, knowing who you are: a joint heir with Christ and also knowing the one to whom you’re praying: the Monarch of the Universe.

Making Sound Financial Decisions (Part 3) by Dr. Strive Masiyiwa.

There is a story told, about a young entrepreneur, who had been working on an amazing new idea. After sealing a major contract, he and his friends decided to go and celebrate at a local restaurant. They ate and drank until very late. Finally when it was time to close, they called for the bill; it was a shocking amount, and much more than they could afford!

Ever the entrepreneur, the young man asked to see the owner, and told him about his business venture, and how he believed that it would one day, make him billions. So he offered the old man, some shares, for the large bill he had ran up that evening. The old man, who owned the business, refused completely, and demanded payment. Humiliated, the young man pledged his car, and went off to find the money.

Many years later, the young man, returned to the restaurant driving, a gleaming Ferrari. He asked to see the owner of the business, who immediately remembered him. He told

Give Honour And Relevance To What You Do

For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify my office (Romans 11:13).

The Apostle Paul made the statement above because the Gentiles were considered Heathens, by the Jews. The Jews were the ones chosen of God; hence, they saw the rest of the world as unclean. When the Lord Jesus came, He came as a Jew and picked His apostles from among the Jews. After He left, and sent out these apostles as ministers, they ministered only to the Jews, the chosen people of God.

Subsequently, God opened the door for the Gentiles to receive the Gospel and sent Peter to the house of Cornelius, a Roman Centurion. Peter ministered the Gospel to Cornelius and his household, and the Holy Ghost came on all of them, to the astonishment of the Jewish believers that accompanied Peter.

Reprogramming Your Mind For Success

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God (Romans 12:2).

As one who’s born again, you’re not supposed to live like the rest of the world; don’t conform to their ways of doing things. For example, you might be in a place where people generally cheat or are dishonest; don’t imitate them. Don’t say, "But everybody is doing it"; that everybody is doing it doesn’t make it okay. Besides, you’re not "everybody;" you’re a new creation; you’re special; you’re one of a kind.

Our opening verse doesn’t just tell us not to conform to this world, it also informs us on what to do to stand out and live the life of righteousness. It says,

Making Sound Financial Decisions (Part 2).

Whether you are in business or not; whether you have a job or are unemployed; even if you are still a student. You might even be a social entrepreneur, a doctor or a teacher:
You still live in a world, in which everyday, you have to make sound financial decisions. You also live in a world, in which others around you, including local and national leaders, as well as business leaders, must have the capacity to make sound financial decisions, for the well being of all. Ultimately, how sound your financial decision making is, will be seen in the results.

"Time will tell, as they say", whether our two young heirs, (whom I spoke about, in my earlier post), would make sound financial decisions. One is not born, with a capacity to make sound financial decisions, it comes through education, reading the right material, and also training.