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John 9:1-3 NKJV

Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.

Many times we wonder why God has put us in certain situations. We feel like it’s unfair. That if God were a just God, no one should struggle. I hear this question a lot from unbelievers and even have asked it myself at a time in my life: “If there is really a God, why is there suffering in the world?”

And here is the answer to that question. So that people would be unique, we were given free will. Otherwise, everyone would be exactly the same. Every person has a story. You aren’t struggling because you are being punished. You may be going through a trial to reveal God’s works in the end to be a witness to the world or even just one person. Everybody has a story. You can choose to suffer through your struggles alone. Or you can call out to Jesus, who is alive and real, and lay your worries at the feet of the one that made everything. You can believe that He will put his arms around you and carry you through this, and in the end your sad story can be a testimony of the marvelous works that God did with you.

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Just remember, when you get down, wondering what you did to deserve this, that it may just be that God just wants to use you again to do His works.

Love you all and God Bless

Have a Plan For Your Money! 

What is the number one cause for divorce in America? Finances. 

Many times a couple has very different ideas about saving and spending. If you develop a plan now before you are married, you will save yourselves a lot of useless fighting. The following is an overview of the 1st session of what I use in helping couples who plan to marry. 

1. “Our money”

You must understand that there’s no such thing as mine and yours. Work together as a team in deciding what to do with your money. Your debts and your partner’s debts become “our debts.” Savings also. If you aren’t ready to share your income, your not ready for marriage. 

1. Saving, Sharing, Spending

Agree on a percentage of income that you will save, give away and spend. Have you heard of the 10-10-80 plan? 10% goes to God, 10% goes to savings. 80% goes to other expenses and recreation. But you both must come to an agreement of how you handle your money. Not his or hers but our money. A few problem areas:

-The most common mistake young people make is buying a house that’s beyond their income. Be wise in this area. Try to spend no more than 40% of your income on housing and utilities. 

Watch out for credit buying. “Buy now, pay later.” What’s not stated is that if you buy now without cash, you will pay much more later. Interest rates are mainly in the 18–21% bracket. Credit is very dangerous. I always recommend never having a credit card, but if you do, use it only for emergencies and necessities (car repair, major appliance), like those Business Loans Singapore, and pay it off as quickly as possible. I also recommend consulting a pat testing sheffield specialist to evaluate numerous of your appliances, including electrical items, to see if they are safe to use. Also, the reason most people use credit cards and credit buying is because they want what they cannot pay for now. They can’t delay instant gratification. Don’t compare what you have with what other people have. They are in debt to their eyeballs. Some aren’t but most are. You don’t need things to be happy. 

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-Major Purchases. Come to an agreement that neither of you will make a major purchase without consulting the other. Your agreement must have a dollar value. How much can one spend without telling the other? 

1. Who will keep the books?

Decide on this. The one who “keeps the books” is the one who pays the monthly bills and keeps tabs on the online accounts. This person keeps track with the spending plan you agreed upon. Your both in charge of making financial decisions but one is the bookkeeper. Now it may change after awhile and you may switch roles. Always remember that you are a team and you make financial decisions together. Note: These previous steps are adapted from the book, “Things I wish I’d known before we got married.” The author is Gary Chapman. 

Practical Discussion:

1. Discuss your current financial plan. 
2. Do you tithe 10% of your income?
3. Do you place at least 10% of your income into some savings and investment plan? 
4. Declare your total assets and liabilities to each other. 
5. Work out a financial plan together now before you get married. 
6. Discuss your dollar value on purchases that doesn’t require you telling the other. 
7. Who will keep the books? Why?

Practical Suggestive Plan (Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps) www.daveramsey.com. 

1. Put 1,000.00 in a beginner emergency fund. (This is protection against life’s unexpected events.) 
2. Pay off all debt using the debt snowball. (No matter what “they” say, debt will keep you from accomplishing your financial goals. The borrower is always a slave to the lender. 
3. Put three to six months of expenses into savings as a full emergency fund. 
4. Invest 15% of your household income into Roth IRAS and pretax retirement plans. (You may not think this is important now but this is one of the greatest financial tools of investement. Many have ended up being a millionaire simply because they started an IRA when they were young. (If you Saved 100.00 a month, every month, at the average return of 12 percent, from age 25 to 65, you’d retire with more than 1.1 million! Also, precious metal IRAs are designed to help you with gold investments, palladium, silver, and other valuable metals for retirement. The key is to start early so you can take advantage of compound interest. The key is to start early so you can take advantage of compound interest. 
5. Begin college funding for your kids. (This is optional but if you want your kids to get a good education without student loan debt, this will be a great gift to them. Look up an ESA account, 529 plan.)
6. Pay off your home early. (If you haven’t bought a home, try to get a 15 year fixed rate mortgage instead of a 30 year. Try to put at least 10% down. Your payment should be no more than 25% of your take home pay. Or just save to buy it outright completely. 
7. Build wealth and give. 

If you’re interested in this topic, you may also learn about Freezing Orders Explained.

Remember that you must have a plan that you agree on together for your money. 

Ultimately, God wants your marriage to be a blessing to others but you must be a good steward of what He has given you. I’ll leave you with a verse, “(b) the borrower is slave to the lender.” Proverbs 22:7. 
Pastor Samuel

Verses to read- Revelation 3:15-16

“I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!” -Rev. 3:15-16 NLT

When most people read this quote Jesus made in His message to the church in Laodicea, they automatically interpret it as Jesus telling the people that He would rather them be “on fire” with passion to worship Him and glorify His name than to be merely cold and “dead” Christians.

However, why would Jesus want anyone to be a cold, pewsitting Christian? The answer is simple, that isn’t what He meant at all in His message to Laodicea. In fact, once you dig into the geographical components of Laodicea’s location, you will begin to understand this verse with a more logical explanation.

Where Laodicea is located, there are two rivers that come together to create the water supply for the town. The problem is that one of the rivers come from a place called Hierapolis, which is known for its hot springs. These hot springs are full of minerals and are useful for relaxation and restoration. The second supply of water came from a place called Colossae, a place known for their cold, refreshing water, which was useful to drink on a hot day. It was used to quench thirst among many other uses. This water was cold, but it most certainly fulfilled its predestined purpose. Once the water from either place reached Laodicea, the water was warm, full of mineral deposits, and disgusting. This lukewarm water did not fulfill its purpose to provide for the people. When people drank the water, it was so nasty it would oftentimes make them nauseous. It was completely useless, good for nothing, and if you put it in your mouth you would almost immediately want to spit it out. This is why Jesus used His illustration to these people, because they knew that the cold water was highly resourceful and useful, and the hot water was as well. But they knew how nasty it was for the lukewarm water was and how displeased they were with this water.

Jesus wanted Laodicea to know how fake they were. He wanted them to know that their Sunday morning Christianity wasn’t going to send them to Heaven. These people worshipped God on Sundays, but worshipped the world the rest of the week. Going to church and worshipping the Lord during Sunday and mid-week services at your local church is NOT going to get you to Heaven, that is the literal definition of lukewarm Christianity, and Jesus says He will spit you out of His mouth if you are lukewarm.

Don’t be a poser Christian.

Therefore, God wants you to be hot or cold. It doesn’t matter which one you are. However this doesn’t mean you’re either “hot” for Him or “cold” against Him. Being cold is a good thing. Being hot is a good thing. To be hot or cold is to have a purpose, a destiny, a calling, an anointing. It means you have an assignment in the Kingdom. But if you are playing in the middle, you are basically saying to God “I don’t want to go to hell, so I guess I accept your salvation. But I don’t want you.”

STOP PLAYING ON THE FENCE. STOP BEING LUKEWARM. STOP BEING A POSER. BE LEGIT. CHOOSE JESUS.

Be blessed, Jayden Johnson.