Manage Money By Living From Heaven Backwards

This article is provided by Jason Price at One Money Design. Jason has a passion to see people prosper, become debt free, and experience financial freedom.

No matter the stage of life you’re in today, you’ve probably said to yourself,

“If only I would have known about (fill in the blank) 10 years ago my life would be different today.”

I think we’ve all said or thought that at one time or another. For many of us it’s about money and the decisions we’ve made managing it. In today’s economy we might often hear people say,

“if only I would have known to build emergency savings as a top priority when I finished school, I might not be accumulating so much debt today because of my job loss”.

Sure, sometimes it’s not about money. Sometimes, we talk about family and relationships and the lack of time spent with them, wishing things could be different today.

I heard a pastor once speak about his visits to a local hospital to encourage people with terminal illnesses. It’s interesting to know that no one he spoke or prayed with talked about their career accomplishments, cars, or other possessions in their final days. Instead, he said they always talk about their faith in God, family and relationships as the most important areas in their lives.

Most Christians would agree that faith in God and our relationship with Him is the top priority in life. Putting God first positions us to have a blessed marriage and other relationships because they are based on His solid foundation.

And so by putting God first, we can better understand the importance of living our lives from a Heaven backwards perspective (sometimes referred to as living with an eternal perspective). Of course it’s not easy to consistently live with this perspective on life, but it’s what we have to strive for as Christians to keep our priorities straight.
Living From A Heaven Backwards Perspective

Imagine if all of the sudden peoples’ decisions with money management were from a Heaven backwards perspective. People would certainly make different choices with how they make, spend, save and give it. They could begin to see money as a delicate blessing which we are all to manage wisely for prosperity as well as for the good of others.

Managing money from heaven backwards requires doing a few things that might cause some to raise a brow or advise against, but essential to live from this perspective.

Consider the below Manage Money from Heaven backwards Checklist to see what perspective you’re using to manage your money:

* Do you recognize God as the owner of all things and you are the manager of what has been entrusted to your care?
* Do you spend wisely by having a spending plan every month?
* Do you strive to live debt free? This includes spending money based on what one can afford (according to your plan) versus the amount of credit which may be available.
* Do you give of your first fruits by tithing? Ultimately, it’s God’s money and through this action, you are trusting in God with your financial prosperity, i.e., there is no more a reason to “get rich” because God is in control.
* Do you give back to others by sharing success stories and helping people know what it means to manage money from Heaven backwards?

If you can only say yes to 3 you may need to consider seeking counsel to identify specific action steps for your situation.

Many may define financial freedom as becoming debt free or getting into a position to where there is no more dependence on income from a job. However, the act of managing money from Heaven backwards is financial freedom.

Seeking help with a personal financial plan... talk with Pastor Steve at WestlockNaz at gmail dot com

What is the purpose of your money?

via Christian Personal Finance by bob

Define Your Financial Purpose

What are you on earth for? Millions have read Rick Warren’s Purpose-Driven Life and found a sense of purpose. Have you found purpose in a certain career, position, or situation? What is the purpose of your money? Money can buy a lot of things, but there are also a few things it can never buy:

Money can buy:

* . . . a bed, but not sleep
* . . . books, but not knowledge
* . . . a clock, but not time
* . . . a position, but not respect
* . . . food, but not an appetite
* . . . a house, but not a home
* . . . medicine, but not health
* . . . sex, but not love
* . . . amusement, but not happiness
* . . . a crucifix, but not a savior

You should be able to answer the question “What is the purpose of my financial plan?” This includes reasons why you are saving, investing, or incurring debt. What is the “bigger picture”? More important, what does God want you to accomplish through your finances?
Here are some questions to ask yourself to help get you started:

* If money weren’t an issue, what would I be doing?
* My ideal job would be what?
* I would like to spend my days doing what?
* My life is not complete until this is done: ______________________________.
* If I died today, how would I want people to remember me?
* What are the community/social/religious issues I feel most passionate about?

Seeking help with a personal financial plan... talk with Pastor Steve at WestlockNaz at gmail dot com

An Encouraging Story of Getting Out of Debt: Patrick Gessleman

Patrick has been only been on the journey to clean up his finances less than 2 years, but because of his tremendous progress he was recently interviewed by Chuck Bentley of Crown.Org.

Patrick's Story

Patrick did the hard and difficult things that he needed to do - it is easy to read all about how to manage money, but actually taking the steps to do it is another story.

He and his wife Heather were digging themselves into deep debt with credit cards and decided to roll all their debt into a home equity loan. Just like many others, after they consolidated their debt, things got worse. They had put a Band Aid on the symptom (the debt), but didn't properly address the root of the problem (their spending habits). As a result they just dug themselves into deeper debt by racking up another $25,000 in credit card debt.

* At this point they knew they needed help, but didn't know where to start.
* He started immersing himself in the subject he was trying to learn.
* He talked to his wife and they tackled the problem in unity.
* They locked up their credit cards and made it very difficult to use them. They stopped carrying them in their wallets.
* They used a virtual envelope budgeting system.
* They sold their house and began renting which allowed them to pay off their credit card debt a lot quicker.

They Fought For It!

Patrick and his wife didn't just want to get out of debt, they took action. Getting out of debt doesn't happen by accident. People who pay off $20,000 of debt do it because they want it SO bad and they make big sacrifices to get it.

Everything I Need To Know About Software I Learnt In Sunday School

by John Eddie Kerr on Cooking With Linux

Well, that is a bold statement; what can all those ones and zeros, bits and bytes have to do with the lessons taught in Sunday school? They do not teach programing in Sunday School, but two lessons in particular may help guide us to the kind of software we should be writing or using. Two Bible stories come to mind when I think of the history of GNU/Linux: The Parable of the Good Samaritan, and the story of the Loaves and the Fishes.

Listening to Richard M. Stallman speak of the origins of Free Software Movement it is obvious that he places tremendous value on the ability that we have to help one another, to share, and to be a community. The Parable of the Good Samaritan tells us that that this is what we should be doing. Freedom number two of the four freedoms echoes it well: The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbour.

Linus Torvalds gave the free software movement a big boost by writing a kernel that enabled GNU software to run on a personal computer. I think of it as one of the closest things a mortal could do that is similar to the feeding of the 5,000. In the Gospel of John we read of a young boy's offering of a very small amount of bread and fish that was able to feed 5,000 people. This was the miracle of the loaves and the fishes; a Gospel story so much like the humble beginnings of GNU/Linux. I am sure that the boy who gave his small lunch to be shared had no idea that he was going to feed 5,000 people. Linus no doubt, had no idea as to how far his initial little program could go. Once again the concept of sharing and giving is there.

So if someone says “I don't get this free lunch thing” of the Free Software Movement or of GNU/Linux, just remind the person of the feeding of the five thousand and that the Free Software Movement is made up of people who like the young boy, believe that one person can make a difference and are willing to give to make that difference.

If a person remains unconvinced and questions who will pay for it? How is it sustained? there is a Biblical answer to that as well and is found in Matthew 6:25-27 (New International Version)
http://www.biblegateway.com:

Jesus said:"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”

If anything, that passage of the Bible is what we should keep in mind during these troubled times.

Duarte, Graves, and Toler installed as General Superintendents

On Thursday, July 2, 2009 in Orlando, Florida Eugenio Duarte, David W. Graves, and Stanley A. Toler were officially installed as members of the Board of General Superintendents, as part of the denomination's 27th General Assembly in Orlando, Florida.

This was the final service of the event, bringing this joyous and historic quadrennial gathering to a close.

Have you ever seen a Rich Victim?

Jay Peroni, author of The Faith-Based Millionaire asks if any of the following excuses sound familiar?

• I was late because of traffic.
• I have been so busy that I haven’t been eating right or exercising so that is why I put on a few pounds.
• My company isn’t paying me enough, so I cannot save for retirement.

When you consistently point fingers at others, you look at yourself as a victim. Have you ever seen a rich victim? They are not very common. Poor victims are people who are poor and blame others. They blame their lack of financial freedom on circumstances and people around them.

Blaming the world limits your choices. You can either take responsibility or continue playing the blame game. By taking responsibility, you admit your part in creating the problem. There is always a cause-and-effect relationship. So if you concentrate on what you could do differently, you can begin to create new opportunities. You can make progress, but you first have to start taking responsibility for your actions.

In order to make financial progress, you need to identify areas in your financial life that you would like to change and commit to finding solutions. If you need some help, ask Pastor Steve about "The Christian's Guide to Financial Freedom"

Who are the most generous givers?

An article in McClatchy Newspapers looks at the various income brackets in the U.S. and their average giving percentages. It turns out that the poor are the most generous in terms of percentage of income given.

The 2 most common reasons why the poor gave:

An understanding of sowing and reaping

"I believe that the more I give, the more I receive, and that God loves a cheerful giver," Davis said. "Plus I’ve been in their position, and someday I might be again."

Less fear about money than the rich

Herbert Smith, 31, a Seventh-day Adventist who said he tithed his $1,010 monthly disability check — giving away 10 percent of it — thought that poor people give more because, in some ways, they worry less about their money.

"We’re not scared of poverty the way rich people are," he said.

Pastor Coletta Jones, who ministers to a largely low-income tithing congregation in southeast Washington thinks that poor people give more because they ask for less for themselves.

"When you have just a little, you're thankful for what you have," Jones said, "but with every step you take up the ladder of success, the money clouds your mind and gets you into a state of never being satisfied."

What Jesus had to say about it…

As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. "I tell you the truth," he said, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on." Luke 21:1-4