Series
Biblical Financial Literacy: Saving Money
Financial freedom is magnificent, but it’s also rare. Why? It doesn’t come naturally; we must continually fight for it. Imagine an intense battle raging on four sides of your financial territory.
Read MoreBiblical Financial Literacy: Sharing Money
So far, we looked at the two most important battle zones in our fight for financial freedom: personal productivity (November) and personal consumption (February). Now it’s time to consider how we share our own money—voluntarily or involuntarily. Involuntary Sharing? Involuntary sharing? You guessed it! Taxes. March and April are taxing times in Canada. If you…
Read MoreBiblical Financial Literacy: Controlling Consumption
In November we looked at the least discussed key to financial success—our personal productivity. Now its time to look at the most common reason for financial failure—excess personal consumption. What to buy? In many ways unbridled consumption is the hallmark of our age. We are being fed the lie that more stuff brings more happiness.…
Read MoreBiblical Financial Literacy: Productivity
November is financial literacy month in Canada. I suspect we will hear much about the stock market, inflation, taxes, interest rates, and retirement woes but little, if any, about productivity. Personal productivity is the neglected essential to financial success. It’s a human trait to look outside for solutions while often the answer is in our…
Read MoreBiblical Financial Literacy: An Introduction
In just three years, the greatest teacher of all time impacted the world more than anyone else. How was that possible? Jesus Christ was both human and divine. What did He say about financial literacy? A lot! He taught about money matters more than heaven and hell combined. Many of His parables were filled with financial overtones.…
Read MoreThe Great Reset Robbery and Voluntary Sharing
Warm Greetings from Calgary! I hope you are keeping well and looking forward to the summer. I’m still expecting the North American money markets to go down to pay for our expensive and erratic responses to Covid. It would be very different if our governments had billions stored in reserve—like the vast amounts of resources…
Read MoreInvesting During the Great Reset Robbery
How do you invest during a robbery? Robbery? What robbery? Would governments ever take away our wealth? How trustworthy are they with taxpayer’s money? Is this just conspiracy theory or fiction? Look at What will the World Look like in 2030? – World Economic Forum I believe the massive financial stimuli by central governments in…
Read MoreThe Great Reset Robbery
Can you remember last time you pushed the reset button on your phone or computer? Pushing a reset button is usually a non-event. Most electronics are designed with reset buttons, used to get everything working properly again. They normally restart the system quickly. Simple. Easy. Painless. What about “The Great Reset” politicians are talking about?…
Read MoreRegistered Resurrection Account: Part Six—Start Now
Start now, and even if it’s with a small amount. God looks at giving on a relative scale. A five-dollar gift by one person may be more significant than a five-hundred-dollar gift by another. It may be more significant in the eyes of God, although not for treasurers and accountants on earth. For further clarification,…
Read MoreRegistered Resurrection Account: Part Five—Risk-Free Investments
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal,” Matthew 6:20. This investment strategy is repeated as Jesus said, “Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will…
Read MoreRegistered Resurrection Account: Part Four— Making Withdrawals
How accessible is “treasure in heaven?” Must we die to enjoy our pie in the sky? The answer is a resounding NO! It is downright discouraging to have wealth super safe, yet totally illiquid and inaccessible. The description “in heaven” can be misleading. It’s not about the location (heaven), it’s about the custodian—God. Jesus is…
Read MoreRegistered Resurrection Account: Part Three — Faith-Based Investing
The investor must give by faith. It’s not a faith in “faith,” but a faith in God—that God will see and respond. “Without faith it is impossible to please God,” Hebrews 11:6. When we give generously by faith, we don’t know how and when God will “repay,” but He certainly will. God’s blessing is a…
Read MoreRegistered Resurrection Account: Part Two
A physical resurrection will certainly shock those who have been cremated. Cremation is financially cheaper than a burial, and takes up less space than a grave or tomb, but make no mistake: God has ordained a bodily resurrection for everyone. Physical reconstruction of a human body is not hard for God; it’s just a matter…
Read MoreRegistered Resurrection Account: Part One
It’s important to save. Saving isn’t easy—especially not in our consumption-driven culture. Debt reduction is usually the most important and difficult step in saving, but it’s essential for financial freedom. Saving allows us to set aside some current income for future enjoyment. This future enjoyment can be short or long, and—believe it or not—can even…
Read MoreHow to Work Better — Part 9 of 9: Rest and Enjoy!
This is the last article in the series on improving our personal work habits by studying God’s work habits. Have you ever wondered why God gave us a step-by-step account of His work in Creation? Why did He put in certain details and leave out others? Who cares? Isn’t evolution a fact? I believe Darwinistic…
Read MoreHow to Work Better — Part 8 of 9: Appoint Good Management (Day 6)
This is the second-last article in a series, taken from Genesis chapter one, on improving our personal productivity by studying how God works. Today’s lesson: DELEGATE. God finished His work only after He had appointed someone else to take care of the earth. For this task, God created and commissioned mankind.1 He made mankind in…
Read MoreHow to Work Better — Part 7 of 9: First Plan the Work, Then WORK the Plan (Day 5)
Many people in the Western world have financial problems because of bad work habits. They are struggling with basic skills. It’s time we all went back and learned from our Creator. This is our seventh lesson on improving our personal productivity based on the Bible. In Genesis chapter one, God gave us a day by…
Read MoreHow to Work Better — Part 6 of 9: Use Schedules (Day 4)
This is our sixth lesson in improving personal productivity based on a study of Genesis chapter one. Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years; and let them be…
Read MoreHow to Work Better — Part 5 of 9: Looking Good! (Day 3)
This is our fifth lesson in improving personal productivity based on a study of Genesis chapter one. Then God said, “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear,” and it was so. God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called…
Read MoreHow to Work Better — Part 4 of 9: Invisible Progress (Day 2)
Then God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” God made the expanse, and separated the waters, which were below the expanse from the waters, which were above the expanse; and it was so. God called the expanse heaven. And there…
Read MoreHow to Work Better — Part 3 of 9: First Evening, Then Morning
All of Genesis chapter one was written for our instruction. In previous articles we learned about the importance of Spirit-led planning and getting enough “light” before doing anything else. “God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day, and the darkness He called night.…
Read MoreHow to Work Better — Part 2 of 9: Turn on the Light
All of Genesis chapter one was written for our instruction, I believe in part, so that we could learn to improve our own work habits by copying those of our Creator. In our previous session we learned about the importance of Spirit-led planning. Think first! When God did act, the first thing He commanded into…
Read MoreHow to Work Better — Part 1 of 9: Spirit-Led Planning
It’s summer! Who wants to work? Not me! But imagine: Planning more, acting less, and yet ending up with better results. This is the first in series on improving personal productivity, based on the first chapter in the Bible. Why start there? Think about it; God gave us a whole chapter describing how He made…
Read MoreSpiritual Secret to Successful Money Management – Part 8 of 7: Expect Miracles
“What’s that? It must be a typo! You can’t have (8) eight of (7) seven. Impossible! Everyone knows that. You can’t make something out of nothing. You can’t feed thousands with just a few burgers. Nobody can work financial miracles; it would be like turning ordinary water into expensive wine! Face it, there are certain…
Read MoreSpiritual Secret to Successful Money Management – Part 7 of 7: Diversify Your Assets
Money is strange. It disappears faster than it appears. As humorous, American poet, Ogden Nash, once said, “O, money, money, money, I’m not necessarily one of those who think thee holy, but I often stop to wonder how thou canst go out so fast when thou comest in so slowly.” It’s just plain hard to…
Read MoreSpiritual Secret to Successful Money Management – Part 6 of 7: Give to the Poor
Give to the poor. This is another secret ignored by the financial planning community, except perhaps as an afterthought or as a tax reduction strategy. Too bad! The Bible heralds it loudly and consistently: “He who gives to the poor will never want, but he who shuts his eyes will have many curses,” Prov. 28:27;…
Read MoreSpiritual Secret of Successful Money Management – Part 5 of 7: Honour Your Parents
Honour your parents. Really? How’s that related to financial success? In decades of financial planning and counselling I have noticed that those who spoke well of their parents tended to be better off (even financially) than those who criticized them. This is a general rule, and not always true. It’s not discussed in professional accounting…
Read MoreSpiritual Secret to Successful Money Management – Part 4 of 7: Underspend
Underspend! Deliberately underspend! Humble yourself by choosing to live BELOW your affordable lifestyle. It’s simple, but not easy. Voluntary frugality is one of the biggest secrets to financial success. In the perennial best seller, The Millionaire Next Door, you can read about the inner-workings of wealthy households. It’s a good read. Contrary to what advertisers…
Read MoreSpiritual Secret to Successful Money Management 3 of 7: Get Organized
I thought my dad was dumb! There he sat with his hand-designed ledger, shopping receipts, and a bank statement. He was at it again—recording all our family expenses by category, and reconciling them to the bank statement. Why track your money? You can’t bring it back. Who cares where it went? Well, that’s what I…
Read MoreSpiritual Secrets to Successful Money Management – Part 2 of 7: Serve Others
Three years ago I was in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, with my son Timothy, and we were walking in the intersection of three, small streets when we noticed a large, broken brick on the road. I stooped down, grabbed the brick, and flung it into the nearby bushes. Timothy asked, “Dad, why did you…
Read MoreSpiritual Secrets to Successful Money Management – Part 1 of 7: Ask God For Help
Most people in the Western World ignore God when it comes to money matters. Really? God? Which God? There’s only one Creator. He is sovereign. He understands everything divine and human—including all money matters. The Lord Jesus Christ, who physically rose from the dead (a historic fact), is God Almighty, being co-equal with the Father…
Read MoreGod likes His work (3 of 3)
Many financial problems can be traced back to poor work habits. How can we get more good things done in less time? Of all the books written about personal productivity I have not seen one that recommends God’s way of working found in the creation account. What a shame that we pay so little attention…
Read MoreDon’t Work in the Dark (2 of 3)
Often people look for a magic solution to their financial problems but refuse to change personal work habits. That’s a big mistake. Last month we learned that many serious financial problems can be traced back to poor work practices. Money without a wise work ethic does more damage than good. The best worker is God…
Read MoreBack to Work but Better this Time! (1 of 3)
Oh groan… vacations are over. What a great summer – now it’s back to work. For most of us the year really starts in September. Work that four letter word – how do we handle it? For students it’s back to books. Studying can be exhausting. So how can we learn to work better? If…
Read MoreTo Tithe Or Not To Tithe? (Article 6 of 6)
The longer I work as a financial planner the more clearly I see the differences between two schools of thought – – the NO GOD School and the KNOW GOD School. Tithing is a case in point. Most people who call themselves Christians don’t tithe. Most people who call themselves Christians are also unsatisfied with…
Read MoreDoes Insurance Provide Security? (Article 5 of 6)
Why buy insurance? Who likes paying premiums? Is insurance even Biblical? With tough questions like these, it’s little wonder I’ve avoided this topic. This is the fifth in a series of articles contrasting Biblical and Secular financial planning strategies. In past months we looked at intelligent design, open vs. closed economic systems, praying for money,…
Read MoreWinning the Wrong Game (Article 4 of 6)
She brutally murdered her roommate and then dismembered the corpse. He defrauded a Calgary charity for autistic children of $96,000. In another case a mother of four with no criminal record stole $350,000 from her employer. Why? All these unrelated crimes had the same root cause: Gambling Addiction. There are thousands of Canadians with serious…
Read MorePraying for Money (Article 3 of 6)
When does God get most prayers coming his way? That’s easy – the day before the lottery. Now I suppose that some prayer is better than no prayer, but we need to remember that the Lord told us how to pray long before lotteries came along. As a matter of fact, our Heavenly Father is…
Read MoreHow Closed Minded Are You? (Article 2 of 6)
Each of us has to ask ourselves a very important question. I alluded to it in the August and again in October. Am I living in a closed system or an open system? Now what on earth does that mean? By the word “system” I refer to a process that has known inputs, operations and…
Read MoreIntelligent Design in Finance and Economics? (Article 1 of 6)
Years before I became an accountant I wanted to become a nuclear physicist. Imagine that – what a switch! I loved science. I wanted to know how and why things worked. In high school I majored in science and won the science award. Then I came to know the Creator of it all, that is,…
Read MoreBattling with the Buck…Part 3 “God Wants Us to be Rich!”
This is the last in a series on wealth and the Christian. First we saw that having wealth is not a sin; it is the love of wealth that God forbids. Then we saw that the prosperity gospel is a well-packaged but dangerous decoy that lures believers into forfeiting eternal treasures for short-term worldly wealth.…
Read MoreBattling With The Buck…Part 2 “Debunking the Prosperity Gospel”
Last month we saw that Jesus warned us against the love of riches, but not against riches themselves. Today the topic is the proverbial “Prosperity Gospel”. Since I am a financial planner and not a medical doctor, I will deal only with the wealth aspect of the so-called “health and wealth” gospel. The book of…
Read MoreBattling With The Buck…Part 1 “Evil Spirit of Mammon”
This is the first of a three part series dealing with the issue of wealth and the Christian. First I’ll look at that often misunderstood passage, “You cannot serve God and money.” In the next article I want to deal with the wealth gospel. The final column will deal with the concept of treasure. When…
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