Is being rich bad? Will there be no rich people in heaven? Certainly not.
St. James admonishes the wrong kind of wealthy people in James 5: 1-6.
He said "And now, you rich people, listen to me! Weep and wail over the miseries that are coming upon you! Your riches have rotted away, and your clothes had been eaten away by moths. Your gold and silver are covered with rust, and this rust will be a witness against you and will eat up your flesh like fire. You have piled up your riches in these last days. You have not paid wages to the men who work in your fields. Listen tot heir complaints! The cries of those who gather in your crops have reached the ears of God, the Lord Almighty. Your life here on earth has been full of luxury and pleasure. You have made yourselves fat for the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered innocent people, and they do not resist you."
So the anti thesis of the wrong kind of being rich are:
1. Do not pile up but share your riches. Be good stewards.
2. Be kind to our workers and pay them just compensation for their labor.
3. Live simple lives and eat and drink with moderation. Do not be a glutton nor a drunkard.
4. Be kind to people. Use your money to defend innocent people.
So there you are my friends... be the right kind of wealthy people and stay happy, helathy and holy.....
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Are there Connections between being Holy, Wealthy, and Healthy?
Amen!
I'm sure you heard the maxim: Health is Wealth! But, being Holy and Wealthy? Some eyebrows will surely rise. Why so? Because so many Christians still have the wrong notion about being rich and being holy. That the two is like oil and water and cannot are not miscible or not capable of being mixed. But this is not so, God in His great abundance wants His children to be prosperous.
Brother Bo Sanchez in his book Secrets of Truly Rich expound on this beautifully. I hope you get a chance to read it so we can fully grasp the correct notion to riches.
Of course, just being Wealthy and Being Truly Rich are poles apart if you know what I mean. Truly Rich people are simple, loving and capable of sharing. If you are wealthy and do not fall in to the aforementioned characteristics of truly rich, then you are not capable of connecting being Holy and Wealthy.
Remember the foolish wealthy person who thought of making his barn bigger to hoard his good harvest? That is not the kind of rich we are called to be.
Let's be healthy, wealthy, and holy.
God bless us all!
I'm sure you heard the maxim: Health is Wealth! But, being Holy and Wealthy? Some eyebrows will surely rise. Why so? Because so many Christians still have the wrong notion about being rich and being holy. That the two is like oil and water and cannot are not miscible or not capable of being mixed. But this is not so, God in His great abundance wants His children to be prosperous.
Brother Bo Sanchez in his book Secrets of Truly Rich expound on this beautifully. I hope you get a chance to read it so we can fully grasp the correct notion to riches.
Of course, just being Wealthy and Being Truly Rich are poles apart if you know what I mean. Truly Rich people are simple, loving and capable of sharing. If you are wealthy and do not fall in to the aforementioned characteristics of truly rich, then you are not capable of connecting being Holy and Wealthy.
Remember the foolish wealthy person who thought of making his barn bigger to hoard his good harvest? That is not the kind of rich we are called to be.
Let's be healthy, wealthy, and holy.
God bless us all!
Monday, September 14, 2009
Call to HOLINESS
G O S P E L
SEPTEMBER 10,2009
Feelings are a lousy guide to the Christian way of life. Precisely because Christianity is all about living the truth about God and humanity, the key to a life of holiness is not how we feel about things, but the decisions we make to embrace the truth God reveals to us in the Scriptures and through prayer. Let us realize that we will have to engage all the faculties God has given us in the quest for holiness as it is essential that we use all the gifts God has given us to achieve this end.
Luke 6:27-38
27 Jesus said to his disciples: “To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
29 To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic.
30 Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back.
31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.
33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same.
34 If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, and get back the same amount.
35 But rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
36 Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful.
37 “Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven.
38 Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”
my reflections
think: The key to a life of holiness is not how we feel about things, but the decisions we make to embrace the truth God reveals to us in the Scriptures and through prayer.Tuesday, September 8, 2009
How do we measure Wealth
Wealth is not measured in absolute value. Wealth is about ratios.
In the bible story between a rich man and an old widow, the widow just had a few cents given, but she has given them all away.
In another story, an old widow prepared meal for Elijah using whatever is left of her provisions.
Two widows, who are able to give what is left for them , had been blessed abundantly. The oil and flour in her jar did not run out.
These two widows are the truly rich.
Let me share to you, real life encounters with people whom I've met in the series of seminars we have done.
One couple who are working for the local government earns a total sum of less than 25 K per month. They can save 2K and give tithes to the lord.
Their uncle, a seafarer with high rank in one of the international shipping company earns a hefty amount of 300,000 per month. This is about the same income the couple earns in a year. However, , you'll be surprised to know, that it is the uncle who would be asking for loans from the young couple.
So, being wealthy is all about what you can keep and give back to God and for yourself. Your basic guide is about 10% for the Lord and 20% for your savings and investments.
Another measure or being wealthy is the ratio of what you saved vs what you spend.
In the above example, the uncle earns 300,000 but spends more than 300,000 in his lifestyle. If he suddenly lose his income, which is a great possibility because of age, he would not be able to survive even in a month.
The young couple saves and only spends 70% of their income. They live on a 17,500 budget per month. They are able to save more than 100,000 in the last 2 years. Thus, even if both of them lose their jobs, they can still survive for more than 5 months and this will be even go longer as they add to their savings and as their savings grow and compound.
In Genesis, this is what Joseph the "dreamer" had told the Pharoah of Egypt. He told them to save 1/5 of the good harvest for after 7 years of good harvest comes famine. Moral of this story is to spend less than what you harvest (income).
How do you do it?
1. Be simple. Live simple lifestyle
2. Avoid envy. Do not try to outdo the Joneses.
3. Spend on what is essential and needed
4. Be generous. Give to God (Church and Charities).
5. Save and invest your money wisely
I can guide you and coach you on this.
Just email me.
God bless.
In the bible story between a rich man and an old widow, the widow just had a few cents given, but she has given them all away.
In another story, an old widow prepared meal for Elijah using whatever is left of her provisions.
Two widows, who are able to give what is left for them , had been blessed abundantly. The oil and flour in her jar did not run out.
These two widows are the truly rich.
Let me share to you, real life encounters with people whom I've met in the series of seminars we have done.
One couple who are working for the local government earns a total sum of less than 25 K per month. They can save 2K and give tithes to the lord.
Their uncle, a seafarer with high rank in one of the international shipping company earns a hefty amount of 300,000 per month. This is about the same income the couple earns in a year. However, , you'll be surprised to know, that it is the uncle who would be asking for loans from the young couple.
So, being wealthy is all about what you can keep and give back to God and for yourself. Your basic guide is about 10% for the Lord and 20% for your savings and investments.
Another measure or being wealthy is the ratio of what you saved vs what you spend.
In the above example, the uncle earns 300,000 but spends more than 300,000 in his lifestyle. If he suddenly lose his income, which is a great possibility because of age, he would not be able to survive even in a month.
The young couple saves and only spends 70% of their income. They live on a 17,500 budget per month. They are able to save more than 100,000 in the last 2 years. Thus, even if both of them lose their jobs, they can still survive for more than 5 months and this will be even go longer as they add to their savings and as their savings grow and compound.
In Genesis, this is what Joseph the "dreamer" had told the Pharoah of Egypt. He told them to save 1/5 of the good harvest for after 7 years of good harvest comes famine. Moral of this story is to spend less than what you harvest (income).
How do you do it?
1. Be simple. Live simple lifestyle
2. Avoid envy. Do not try to outdo the Joneses.
3. Spend on what is essential and needed
4. Be generous. Give to God (Church and Charities).
5. Save and invest your money wisely
I can guide you and coach you on this.
Just email me.
God bless.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Be Wealthy
God wants us to be wealthy! That's the plain truth and you will find many many testaments to this form Genesis to Revelations.
However, not too many are able to achieve it.
Why? Because we have wrong notions about being wealthy, and we have even wrong religious notions about being wealthy.
I would advise you again to read the 8 Secrets of Truly rich by Bro Bo Sanchez to re-program our money mind sets. Being wealthy can be done while we build treasures in heaven.
It became much clearer to me, how do we become wealthy in the true sense of being "truly rich" not just materially but spiritually at the same time.
To be truly rich we need to understand the difference between achieving and fulfilling, difference between Achievements and Fruitfulness.
Both really requires hard work, patience, endurance, skills, intelligence, and passion but I assure you, the sure way to heaven is to be fruitful and fulfilled.
All my life, I have been driven with the desire to achieve. This is what the world is teaching us to do. The world teaches us to be full of self. Be the number one, be the head, be the president. Be on top of the world. Be the richest man on earth.
Well, is there something wrong about it? Yes, there is something wrong if our desire to achieve is driven by self. By our EGO which if spelled correctly also reads EVIL.
There is indeed a very thin line between achieving and fulfilling. This is in the SELF. If our desires is Full of Self (Selfish) or EGO-tistic, then being wealthy is useless. This is like the rich man who had a good harvest and planned to build a bigger barn for himself. What happened to him? He got ruined.
To be wealthy in the right sense therefore is to be Less of Self (Selfless). Not ego centric.
That is the secret. To be wealthy means to be self less.
When you are selfless, your desire is for others. When you are self less, you tend to live a simple life for you do not have to be showy on your possessions.
In my silent reflection on this, the images that came to my mind that made this more clearer is that of juice glass. The Lord tells me the glass is myself , the water in the glass are the other people while the Lord is the powdered juice.
If I only have myself without God and others, that is an empty life as in empty glass. If I only have only my self and my God, I can not be the juice I ought to be. If I only have me and the glass is filled up to the brim with others, how can He our Lord God come in?
For me to be the juice for others, I must have enough of others, and God.
The next thing I must do is to pour out the juice by having someone drink it so I can have it filled up again.
Some people do that, but they limit themselves to their capacity. This means that , since they were born poor, they think they would not have enough and thus only pour a little, thus they remain poor. Poor because they fail to see another secret to being wealthy.
To be wealthy means being able to let go. To be able to pour out our juice. Being wealthy means being able to give and not keep. Most people are with scarcity mentality that they do not want to share what they posses. They cannot see the generosity of God. The more we pour out, the more our capacity to receive will increase as the Lord our God wont be outdone in generosity. That is His promise. He will even replace our glass size to a bigger one so we can have more people to be helped.
So there you are, the secrets to being wealthy.
It is not the amount of money we keep for ourselves that will make us wealthy, but the amount of money we can give from what we have.
So, wealth is not measured in absolute amount. It is measured in ratios. You can be wealthy no matter who you are.
Let me expound on this next blog.
God bless.
However, not too many are able to achieve it.
Why? Because we have wrong notions about being wealthy, and we have even wrong religious notions about being wealthy.
I would advise you again to read the 8 Secrets of Truly rich by Bro Bo Sanchez to re-program our money mind sets. Being wealthy can be done while we build treasures in heaven.
It became much clearer to me, how do we become wealthy in the true sense of being "truly rich" not just materially but spiritually at the same time.
To be truly rich we need to understand the difference between achieving and fulfilling, difference between Achievements and Fruitfulness.
Both really requires hard work, patience, endurance, skills, intelligence, and passion but I assure you, the sure way to heaven is to be fruitful and fulfilled.
All my life, I have been driven with the desire to achieve. This is what the world is teaching us to do. The world teaches us to be full of self. Be the number one, be the head, be the president. Be on top of the world. Be the richest man on earth.
Well, is there something wrong about it? Yes, there is something wrong if our desire to achieve is driven by self. By our EGO which if spelled correctly also reads EVIL.
There is indeed a very thin line between achieving and fulfilling. This is in the SELF. If our desires is Full of Self (Selfish) or EGO-tistic, then being wealthy is useless. This is like the rich man who had a good harvest and planned to build a bigger barn for himself. What happened to him? He got ruined.
To be wealthy in the right sense therefore is to be Less of Self (Selfless). Not ego centric.
That is the secret. To be wealthy means to be self less.
When you are selfless, your desire is for others. When you are self less, you tend to live a simple life for you do not have to be showy on your possessions.
In my silent reflection on this, the images that came to my mind that made this more clearer is that of juice glass. The Lord tells me the glass is myself , the water in the glass are the other people while the Lord is the powdered juice.
If I only have myself without God and others, that is an empty life as in empty glass. If I only have only my self and my God, I can not be the juice I ought to be. If I only have me and the glass is filled up to the brim with others, how can He our Lord God come in?
For me to be the juice for others, I must have enough of others, and God.
The next thing I must do is to pour out the juice by having someone drink it so I can have it filled up again.
Some people do that, but they limit themselves to their capacity. This means that , since they were born poor, they think they would not have enough and thus only pour a little, thus they remain poor. Poor because they fail to see another secret to being wealthy.
To be wealthy means being able to let go. To be able to pour out our juice. Being wealthy means being able to give and not keep. Most people are with scarcity mentality that they do not want to share what they posses. They cannot see the generosity of God. The more we pour out, the more our capacity to receive will increase as the Lord our God wont be outdone in generosity. That is His promise. He will even replace our glass size to a bigger one so we can have more people to be helped.
So there you are, the secrets to being wealthy.
It is not the amount of money we keep for ourselves that will make us wealthy, but the amount of money we can give from what we have.
So, wealth is not measured in absolute amount. It is measured in ratios. You can be wealthy no matter who you are.
Let me expound on this next blog.
God bless.
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