Between Follow the Money

Between

Follow the Money

They say follow the money to discover the real story

Between Christmas and New Year’s

Get your check register and credit card statements out

Follow your money through the past year

Ask yourself the question

Did I honor God with the provisions He gave me?

Did I work and take advantage of God’s provision and abilities He gave me?

Did I steward my spending in a way that honored the Lord?

Did I forget the Lord in any area of my earnings

And spending journey this year?

What changes should I make to achieve the goals for my life

And confirm God’s covenant of blessing?

But remember the LORD your God,

for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth,

and so confirms his covenant,

which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.

Follow the Money

I try to get a jump start on my taxes

between Christmas and New Year’s.

I check over my records to make sure

they are up to date and free from errors.

The first thing I look for is my tithe-earning ratio.

I do not receive a regular paycheck on Fridays.

My income comes from multiple

sources and at different times.

 I do keep track of my income and expenses.

At the end of the year I follow the money.

Where did I spend what God

has given me the ability to receive?

When the Children of Israel came

out of slavery they went through a

process of welfare in the wilderness.

Generations were taken care of.

In Egypt, they were slaves and the

slave owners took care to them.

In the wilderness, they were on welfare

where God supernaturally took care of them.

But when they crossed the Jordan

they were given a land full of potential.

In the land God gave them, they were

to use their abilities to gain wealth.

God’s people were given

the resources to become wealthy.

God had given them land that

would meet all their natural needs, all

they had to do was develop the potential.

God knew that they would

become wealthy so He said…

You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant,

 which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.

Deuteronomy 8:17-18

Each year I am reminded that it is God who gave

 me the ability to gain an income and possessions.

To honor God with the tithe reminds

me of the abilities He has given me.

They say if you follow the

money it will tell the story.

As I look over my annual income and

expenses, I discover what was important to me.

Where did my money go?

Did my money achieve my goals?

Was I prepared for the unexpected?

(We should expect car repairs and house

repairs and rainy days of no income.)

Did I count my chickens before they

were hatched and eat eggs for breakfast?

(We, many times, know we have money

coming and spend it before it comes.

Let your eggs hatch and produce

more eggs and chickens.)

Do I live from pay check to pay check?

Do I have more wealth at the end of the year?

Am I selfish with my spending?

Is my spending all about a better life for me?

Does my spending give me heavenly joy?

Do I know how to be content

whether I am abased or abound?

Am I too free with my money?

Do I try to buy love and friendships?

Was I lazy?

Was I more about play than responsibility?

Do I owe some gratitude to

others for their help in my life?

Did I forget the Lord in

my earning and spending journey?

Between Christmas and New Year’s

it is a good idea to follow your money.

Set goals to honor God with

the potential He has given you.

Moses gave God’s people this promise…

The Lord will open the windows of heaven

…to bless all the work of your hands

You will lend…will not borrow

God will make you the head not the tail

If you pay attention to His commands  

Deuteronomy 28:12-14

In the 5 days between Christmas and New Year’s

take time to follow the money.

Did you honor God with your wealth?

What adjustments do you

need to make for next year?

Scripture Reading

Deuteronomy 8:6-20 NIV

6 Observe the commands of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and revering him. 7 For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land — a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills; 8 a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; 9 a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.

10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. 11 Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. 16 He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you. 17 You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." 18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.

19 If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. 20 Like the nations the LORD destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the LORD your God.

Deuteronomy 28:12-14 NIV

12 The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse 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. 13 The LORD will make you the head , not the tail . If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. 14 Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them.