Wealth

Billionaire By-Laws: Principles Christian Billionaires Know that Help Them Win

It was early in the morning, and I had been praying, studying, and reading. My study topic that week was what God says about money. Suddenly, in the stillness the Lord whispered into my spirit: “Find five Christian billionaires to learn from.”

My spirit leaped at the thought, because …

You will become like the people you learn from.

It’s a principle that works every time:

Study Jesus and learn from Him, and you will become like Jesus.
Study a demonized rocker and learn from him/her, and you will become demonized.
Study from an excellent professor of history, and you will become an excellent student of history. (Notice I said “study from,” not “sleep in class from.”) 🙂

Studies also show that you even become like your friends. If you hang out with negative friends, you will become negative. Hang out with positive friends, and you will become positive. Hang out with rich friends, and you will become wealthier.

So when God told me to find 5 Christian billionaires to learn from, I knew He had something in mind that would bless me.

Obviously, billionaires must know something about money, business, and work that the rest of us don’t know. So I knew I was supposed to examine these people’s lives and find out what they know.

For example:

Which of God’s financial principles are they practicing that I’m not? Whatever it is, I should start.
What does good stewardship look like for a billionaire? Whatever it is, I should practice the same thing in miniature.
What does a billionaire know about Biblical success principles–e.g. writing goals, reading, and exercise? I should make a point of doing those things.

I also knew that I would need to study these people’s habits through a very cautious, Scriptural lens.

Just because someone gets one thing right doesn’t mean everything they do is a model of virtue. We need to learn from people who are better at something than we are. However, that doesn’t release us from the obligation to pass everything we see through the tests of Scripture, in order to determine right from wrong.

Therefore, I will carefully examine the principles to which these billionaires adhere(d). Then, I will eat the “meat”–but spit out the “bones.”

So here are the Christian billionaires whose habits I am studying:

David Green, founder of the Hobby Lobby chain of retail craft stores;
Truett Cathy, the late founder of Chick-Fil-A restaurants;
Mary Kay Ash, the late founder of the Mary Kay cosmetics company;
Pat Robertson, founder of the CBN Christian television network; and
Sir John Templeton, founder of the Templeton family of mutual funds (and definitely an opportunity to eat the meat and spit out the bones, for he had some really bad theology mixed in with his Christian beliefs).

I may add additional people to this list, and may also study the habits of some Christian millionaires. Christian millionaires whose lives I am interested in include:

Dave Ramsey, of DaveRamsey.com;
Dr. Michael Chitwood, motivational speaker and founder of Chitwood & Chitwood, the nation’s largest financial management firm for ministries;
evangelist Jesse Duplantis; and
Colonel Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Again, I may add others over time.

So the first Billionaire By-Law I have learned is from David Green, founder of the Hobby Lobby chain of retail stores.

I watched some videos by Mr. Green recently (found on RightNow Media), and I was incredibly impressed with what this man and his family members said. The prevailing message they were discussing was this:

They are acutely aware that God owns it all.

They really pay attention to the fact that God owns everything in the world. I mean, they really pay attention to that.

The Green family has a very hands-off approach to their fortune. They believe they are only managing it for God, based on His instructions, and for His glory.

In fact …

They believe that God owns their business SO strongly that they actually had legal papers drawn up to give ownership of their entire Hobby Lobby business to God. Legally and formally.

In these videos, Mr. Green said that they actually had to have 3 generations of family members sign legal papers renouncing all claim to the Hobby Lobby business and fortune. That was the only way their attorneys would draw up the papers to transfer ownership of the company to God!

Can you imagine being SO aware of the fact that God owns your business, that you actually have legal papers enacted so there would never be any doubt? I was floored by that.

What does this Billionaire By-Law mean to you and to me?

God entrusted the Green family with a really big amount of money to steward. God did not call you and me to help steward it, so we must have something to learn from what they do! And what I see for myself, right away, is:

I have not been nearly as acutely aware of God’s ownership as the Greens are.

As I wrote about recently in Do You Need to Plea Bargain with God?, if I were constantly aware of that fact, I’d never leave a Taco Bell bag in the car. I would make sure the floors in my house were vacuumed and swept at all times. And I wouldn’t leave things sitting around.

If I really were aware of how God owns all the stuff around me, I would take much better care of it.

Since the Lord began dealing with me about this, I’ve started taking little steps to improve in this area. I want to do all things as to the Lord, not unto men! I want to clean my house as to the Lord, clean up the car as to the Lord, and take care of everything around me as to the Lord.

It’s not that I didn’t know God owns everything. I did. But it’s the acute awareness of this fact that changes our behavior.

So I’m trying to meditate on this truth–that God owns everything around me–as I walk through my day.

Those dirty dishes in the kitchen? God owns them. I’d better put them in the dishwasher.

Those dirty clothes in a pile on the floor? I need to hurry up and get those in the washer, rather than letting them wait for days. They’re God’s!

That drink bottle in the car? It’s empty. I need to dispose of it properly, not leave it sitting in the car. That car is God’s, and I ought not to junk it up.

Staying acutely aware of God’s ownership is a different way to think.

It requires us to take our minds off ourselves during the day and think about God instead. It requires us to meditate constantly on Jesus.

But, after all, isn’t that what we’re supposed to do? Isn’t that the point–to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ?

Yes. It is.

So I’m going to keep trying. After all, the commandments God has given us–even the ones about meditating on Him constantly–are not too hard.

What about you? Are you acutely aware that God owns everything around you?

I don’t just mean “Do you know it?”; I mean, “Are you urgently and acutely aware of it, every moment of every day?”

If not, are you willing to start taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ with me?

It’s God’s Word. These Christian billionaires obey it. Maybe that’s one reason God has entrusted more to them to manage than He has me.

I think I have something to learn. Don’t you?

What is God saying to you about managing His stuff? Are you constantly aware that you’re working unto the Lord? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

Do You Need To Plea Bargain with God?

If you knew that a crime was being committed against you that was ruining your finances, would you try to get it stopped?

Worse yet, what if you found out that you were the one committing the crime?

Well, I have good news and bad news.

The bad news is that you probably have been committing a crime against yourself. I know I have. And this particular crime is really insidious and really harmful. In fact, it will destroy your finances.

The good news is that Papa God will forgive you and help you make everything right, undoing the damage that was done.

The crime:

The crime is squatting on God’s stuff.

What is squatting? According to Dictionary.com, to “squat” in this sense means “to settle on or occupy property, especially otherwise unoccupied property, without any title, right, or payment of rent.”

And a lot of us, including myself, have been squatting on God’s stuff.

What does it mean to squat on God’s stuff?

It could look like two things.

First, it could look like thinking and acting like everything is yours.

The Bible tells us that we own nothing. NOTHING is yours, and nothing is mine. Psalm 24:1 tells us:

“The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein” (Psalm 24:1).

The silver is God’s. The gold is God’s (Haggai 2:8). And Psalm 50:10-15 says:

“For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.

I know all the birds of the mountains, and the wild beasts of the field are Mine. ‘If I were hungry, I would not tell you; for the world is Mine, and all its fullness.

Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? Offer to God thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High. Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.'”

Everything belongs to God. Everything. And it’s for His glory.

So if we think anything belongs to us–anything at all, even if we don’t think everything belongs to us–then we’re squatting on God’s stuff. We’re sitting on something, taking something, using something, living in something that is HIS, and we’re acting like it’s not.

That’s thievery.

Squatting on God’s stuff could also look like mismanaging His stuff.

If you think about it, we don’t mistreat things that belong to someone we respect. If Jesus Himself stood in my bedroom, handed me His crown, and asked me to hold it for a minute, you better believe I’d hold that thing close. I wouldn’t move. I wouldn’t let anything happen to it, because in just a minute He’s going to ask for it back and I don’t want to be the one who messed it up.

Well, you know what?

Jesus Himself did hand me His car. He handed me His dishes. He handed me His clothes. He handed me His house, His bedroom, His bathroom, His tools, and even His body …

… and I have mismanaged them all.

I’ve left the trash in the car, the clothes on the floor, the dirt in the bathroom, the dishes dirty on the kitchen counter, the tools laying on the floor, and too much fat accumulate in my body. All of it. I have mismanaged it all, and it’s all His stuff.

And if I’ve treated His stuff that badly, doesn’t that mean that I really think it’s my own after all?

Like we just said, there’s no way I would mistreat His crown. But He has left me even more than His crown … and I do treat it badly.

Jesus, have mercy.

Can you identify? Have you been squatting on God’s stuff?

Have you been thinking that everything or anything is yours? Have you been acting like you own anything? Have you ever mismanaged anything God has entrusted to you?

Your health? Your tithe? Your kitchen? Your car? (And I write “your” with a grain of salt, because, again, it’s all God’s.)

If you have, then you’re guilty right along with me.

Again … Jesus, have mercy.

I’ve seen financial experts say that you should sign a quit-claim deed, handing everything over to God.

I thought about making one of those for us all to sign individually, but something about it just doesn’t feel right to me.

Why?

Because when you deed something over to someone else, it has to have been yours to begin with. But you and I have never owned anything. It has always been God’s, and we’ve been squatting on His property without right.

So when someone squats on your property, what do you do? You call the sheriff, have them arrested, throw them into jail, and take them to court–hoping for a big sentence of prison time.

But I don’t want to go to jail. I don’t want to be punished.

And fortunately for me and for you, there’s a solution.

That solution is the blood of Jesus.

It’s the blood of Jesus. Jesus, who died to purchase the forgiveness of sins for you and for me. Jesus, whose blood made a way for you and me to be reconciled back to God. Made right with Him, just as if we’d never sinned.

And squatting on God’s stuff is sin. Mismanaging His stuff is sin. I can’t write a quit-claim deed to Him, because I have nothing to deed over to Him. It’s His, and I’ve been squatting–sinning–and I need mercy.

Fortunately, the Bible says that we can obtain mercy when we do only one thing: confess.

First John 1:9 says:

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

We have to confess. And that kind of confession is called a plea bargain!

We have no right to mercy. We are guilty! We have been squatting on God’s stuff! But, God says that when we come to Him and plead guilty–confessing our sins–He is, right now, faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us.

That’s good news, friend. Good news that changes everything.

This good news will change your life AND your finances.

How? Because when you think stuff is yours–that money is yours, your house is yours, your clothes are yours–then you are free to mismanage them. But when you know things are God’s, your attitude and behavior will change:

You’ll no longer waste money. Instead, you’ll tithe, save, and spend wisely.
You’ll no longer trash your house. Instead, you’ll work on picking it up and making things tidy for Jesus.
You’ll no longer trash your body. Instead, you’ll learn how to put healthy food into it and improve your health … because yes, even your body belongs to Jesus.

Everything is His, and we’ve been squatting on God’s stuff. I know I have, and I’m working on getting it cleaned up. I’m working on cleaning my house, washing my car, not eating out so much, and taking better care of my body.

How about you?

Would you like to plea bargain with God today?

If so, pray this:

“Father God, I come before You in Jesus’ name. Holy Spirit, please help me pray now!

Father, I confess my sins to You right now. I confess that I have been squatting on Your stuff:

I’ve been thinking that things are mine, when in reality they are Yours.
I have been treating things like they were mine; like I had a right to mess them up if I wanted to.
I have been mismanaging Your money, Your body that I live in, and Your stuff.

Father, these things are not in line with Your character. I have not been obedient to You and have not obeyed You when it comes to managing Your stuff. I admit it–and I admit that my disobedience and mismanagement are sins.

Father, I am guilty. I have no excuse.

But, I am here to plead the precious blood of Jesus. Your Word says that, if I confess my sins, You are faithful and just to forgive me my sins, and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness.

I have confessed my sins to You, so I ask You to forgive me and I thank You for doing so. Cover me with the blood of Jesus. Wash me clean and cleanse me, and make me wholly new.

Papa God, please help me to change and change me.

Help me to do what I need to do to draw close to You and obey You. Help me to honor You in all things. Help me to obey You and do my part.

But Father, I also ask for Your mercy–that You would change me also. Take away my old heart and give me Your heart. Take away my old spirit and give me Your Spirit. Make me like You. Give me godly character. Give me a deep revelation about my role as a manager of Your stuff, and make me a good and faithful servant.

Thank You, Father. Thank You for forgiving me. Thank You for washing me in the blood of Jesus. Thank You for paying the price for my sin, Jesus. And thank You for a new heart, new spirit, and new grace and mercy every day. Let it be all for Your glory.

In Jesus’ name, amen.”

Have you been squatting on God’s stuff? Did you plea bargain with God right now? What is He saying to you about this? Please leave a comment below! I’d love to hear your thoughts!

3 Key Components of the Transfer of Wealth

Have you ever wondered what it’s going to take for you to experience the transfer of wealth that the Bible predicts?

Sometimes, huge concepts like the wealth transfer seem like distant, pie-in-the-sky concepts … especially when we have not experienced them yet.

Proverbs 13:22 says:

“A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.”

We believe God, and we desire His promises. So, we pray and pray for the fulfillment of the promise; but we don’t know what else to do to actually make it happen.

However, anytime we dissect a historical occurrence of any phenomenon such as a transfer of wealth, we can see patterns we can replicate in order to see that phenomenon happen in our own lives.

And recently, the Lord showed me three key ingredients of the wealth transfer that we can each replicate in our own lives, in order to see the great wealth transfer come to pass.

Here are the three key ingredients of the transfer of wealth:

1. You must do business in a frontier.

Have you ever wondered how the great moneyed families of the Gilded Age (circa 1870s – 1900) were able to accumulate their legendary wealth? The primary reason is because each of them chose to do business in a frontier:

Andrew Carnegie was the first to harness the power of steel in construction.
The Vanderbilts were railroad magnates.
The Rockefellers “dabbled” in oil.
The King and Wetmore families engaged in the China trade.
The Fair family made their fortune in a silver strike at the Comstock silver lode in Nevada.

A “summer cottage” from the Gilded Age. Wealthy families built these huge, ornate mansions to spend only six weeks in during their summer vacations.

These families each tapped into their own frontier.

And when they did, they found new and inventive ways to solve problems and serve people. They found frontiers where there was little to no competition. They discovered that new ideas could turn into profit overnight. Therefore, they were able to turn enormous profits quickly.

The foyer of Marble House, one of the Vanderbilt mansions in Newport, Rhode Island, USA.

2. Hard work is required.

A person’s work ethic usually falls into one of three categories. Either:

They work hard for others and for themselves; or
They work hard for others, but not for themselves; or
They value fun more than they value hard work.

Though we don’t always view it this way, work is a gift from God. He loves to see us work at what He has called us to do, and do so “as to the Lord, not unto men.” So, when He does something, it is usually going to require diligence, labor, and faithfulness to the work on our part.

No matter which category your current work ethic fits into, be aware that hard work will be required if you desire to see the transfer of wealth. It will take work to:

form a business (whether for-profit or non-profit) which can gain, hold, and disburse the wealth that God wants to send you;
identify and implement new ideas;
build relationships with the people you serve; and
continue to maintain a healthy spiritual life, personal life, and family life.

The good news is: once you get your business (your breadbasket) established and profitable, it takes less work to make a profit on an ongoing basis than it did at the beginning. The hardest work is at the very beginning.

And the third component of the great transfer of wealth:

3. To get started, you have to take a risk.

Andrew Carnegie took a tremendous risk by arranging for the first steel bridge to be built. The bridge almost bankrupted him, and he had no way of knowing that people would use such an innovative structure even after it was built. However, he believed that steel was the substance of the future, and he wanted to prove it and serve people at the same time.

The China trade merchants also took a huge risk every time they sent a ship to the Orient. Not only were they unsure that their goods would sell, but they also had to deal with the risk of potentially losing a ship due to weather, fire, or mutiny.

Likewise, the silver-mining kings had to deal with the risks of cave-ins, theft, empty mines, wild animals, lack of medical care, and many other uncertainties that went along with living in the undeveloped American Western frontier.

Rosecliff mansion, a summer cottage built by the Fair family with their silver fortune from the Comstock lode.

But they took calculated risks because they believed.

They saw the potential in their respective frontiers. They believed in their product or service, and they believed they would receive the results they dreamed of if they would just push into their vision.

And if we are going to experience the transfer of wealth in the Body of Christ, we must get back to the basic ingredients required for such a transfer.

What frontier is available to you today?

The American West is developed; railroads have been built; and oil and gas are readily available around the world. So how can Christians find a frontier in which to do business?

I believe the biggest frontier available to us today is e-commerce.

I believe the internet was invented for such a time as this–specifically to bless the Body of Christ and allow God’s people to gain wealth. Here’s why:

It’s available to nearly everyone.
Startup costs for most types of internet business are low, very low, or free.
It provides an unlimited customer base. Through the internet, one entrepreneur can do business with people in every corner of the globe.
An internet site or store is open for business 24/7, whether you’re sitting in front of your computer or not. (Remember the Proverbs 31 woman, whose lamp goes not out by night?)
It allows for passive income, such as income through product sales and advertising revenue.
There is a niche for everyone, from bloggers to preachers to sellers of shoes to travel guides. Every person can have his or her own brand; it’s completely unnecessary to work for anyone else.

I believe internet business is THE vehicle God has ordained to bring the Church the great transfer of wealth.

It allows you to become the head, and not the tail; above only, and not beneath (Deuteronomy 28). It allows you to maintain your unique identity and function exactly in your own calling and gifting. And the potential for profits based on creativity, new solutions, excellent service, and innovative ideas surpasses what was available at any other time in history.

God has called you to be the head, and not the tail; to lend to many nations and never borrow.

Jesus also said to occupy until He comes, which means “do business” until He comes. The only way to obey all these commands, as well as to receive the wealth He has promised, is to do business! Not for someone else, either–although we have to work for others and support our families if we aren’t yet in a position to stop doing so.

However, even if you are tied to a job working for someone else right now, you need to start a side business if you want to participate in the great transfer of wealth.

I recommend a business of your own, not buying into someone else’s great idea or multi-level marketing plan.

Start a business that brings YOUR gifts, YOUR talents, YOUR story, and YOUR personality to the table of serving others as only you can.
Start a business that will bring you into YOUR dream of serving for the greater good, and will bring YOU all the profits–both to enjoy and to disburse into Gospel work.
And, because of the frontier factor, I strongly encourage you to pray about making your side hustle an internet business.

This is a practical analysis of how to participate in the transfer of wealth, but that doesn’t make it unspiritual.

God’s Word is full of practical instruction. Receiving any of His promises requires faith, revelation, AND obedience to the conditions.

The condition to the transfer of wealth is “occupy ’til I come.” The practical instruction is:

that your lamp should not go out by night (Proverbs 31);
that you should not have to borrow in order to start a business (Deuteronomy 28);
that you have to have a startup–a basket in which to form your bread (Deuteronomy 28); and
that you can have a business based on YOUR gifts, talents, and calling.

What are you doing today that will bring you into the transfer of wealth?

If nothing, then it’s time to evaluate how you can begin. If you are already participating, then press on with the leading of the Holy Spirit until the Lord brings you the results you have asked Him for.

Let Him build the house, yes; unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. But building anything requires your work and participation.

From this day forward, how will you participate in His plan to bring you great wealth through business today? Leave a comment below!

Payday Prayer

Today, being Friday, many people receive their paychecks from their employers. It’s a funny thing, but I’ve found that money stretches further when it’s prayed over. So, in case you’d like to pray over your paycheck today, I wanted to offer this payday prayer.

If you’d like to ask God to bless your wages, pray this with me:

“Father God, I come to You in Jesus’ name.

Abba Father, thank You for the paycheck I received today. Thank You for giving me the power to get wealth. Thank You for confirming Your covenant with me by providing all my needs. Thank You for giving me the ability work and earn this paycheck.

Father, I confess that this money is Yours.

I choose here and now NOT to squat on it–not to sit on Your property when it doesn’t belong to me. I choose not to pretend like this money is mine when it’s actually Yours. Father, I acknowledge that this money is Yours. Furthermore, everything else I have is Yours. I confess that I am only a manager–a steward of what’s Yours–and not an owner of anything.

So Abba Father, Papa God …

Since You have given me this money to manage on your behalf, please show me what You want me to do with it.

You see the bills I have to pay. You see the needs we have for groceries, fuel in the car, and more. You see all of our family’s needs.

So Lord, please help me to make a spending plan for this money right now. Help me to obey You first and foremost by bringing you the tithe–the first 10%. I bring You the tithe, Lord. And because I am bringing You the tithe, I pray that You would open the windows of Heaven and pour me out so much blessing that Your provision overflows my need.

Also, Father, rebuke the devourer for my sake. Don’t let anything in my life be devoured by the enemy. Protect the results of my harvest. Bring me the fruit of my labor that Your Word guarantees. Let all nations call me blessed, and give me favor everywhere I go.

Thank You, Father, for the blessings You have promised to give me when I tithe.

After that, please show me how much to put back in savings; and finally, show me how to pay for all the bills I need to pay out of this money. Pay every bill that I have on time, Lord, and with more to spare. Stretch this money longer and further than I ever dreamed.

Lord, I speak to all the money You have commanded me to steward and I say:

Money, you belong to Jesus, and I bind you to Him. You must behave according to Jesus’ will.
Money, multiply, in Jesus’ name!
Money, stretch as far as you need to stretch to cover all our family’s financial needs!
Money, I notify you right now that you are to answer the needs I have written down in my family’s budget. You are not to answer any wasteful or unholy desires. You are to answer only the call of Father’s will for you.
And finally, money: I command you in Jesus’ name to attract more money. Function as a seed that brings forth more fruit–more money–for my family’s needs and for the sake of the Gospel.

Father, please make me a good steward for You.

Help me to hear Your voice behind me saying “This is the way; walk in it;” and let me always obey You. Let me never turn to the right or to the left. Help me to obey You perfectly in regards to both this money You have entrusted to me AND in regards to everything else in my life. Help me to carry out Your exact instructions in every situation, and especially for the use of this money.

Finally, Abba Father, I pray You would get lots of glory from my life and stewardship. Glorify Your own name in me. Use me and the things You’ve entrusted to me to reach people and expand the inheritance of Jesus. Make me a generous giver according to Your will. Help me to hide Your Word in my heart, so I will not sin against You; and give me Your wisdom from above.

Thank You, Father God. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.”

Beloved friends, I encourage you to pray over your paycheck every time you get paid.

I feel that this is an opportune time in the spirit realm to pray more than ever over our finances. Praying over our income when we receive can be a huge part of that. So bookmark this page and come back as often as you need to (or, you can print it); and let’s petition Papa together to bless and stretchhhhhh our paychecks more than we could ever have dreamed.

Did you pray this prayer with me? Do you have a testimony about what God did in response to your prayer? If so, please leave a comment below. Let’s share the testimony of how good our God is!

Why I’m Inspired to Pay Off Our House

I was about 8 months pregnant, riding in the car with my husband on a long trip to visit family, when a revelation hit me: I wanted my son’s life to be different than mine. Very different.

Oh, I have a great life. Not saying I don’t. I am extremely content with my life and with all the Lord’s blessings. (Still motivated to work and improve, but nonetheless content.)

So how did I want my son’s life to be different? I wanted him to have an inheritance.

I’m not talking about spiritual inheritance here, although of course I do want that. We chose his name because it depicts the inheritance we want him to have. Wanting a spiritual inheritance for him wasn’t an epiphany; we had always wanted that. It was a no-brainer.

The epiphany was that I wanted our son to have a financial inheritance specifically.

I want him to work hard in his life, but I also want him to have a generational blessing. At some point in the future, I would love to surprise my son and his future wife, whoever she may be, with things like:

A down payment on a house … or even a paid-for house! (Think My Big Fat Greek Wedding.)
The wedding of their dreams.
A surprise check for a LARGE amount of money for Christmas.
Paid-for college for their children.

Wouldn’t that be awesome?

I don’t have that kind of money on the day I am writing this, but I know how to get it.

“How to get it” equals hard work and sacrifice. It means staying focused on a goal with laser-like precision over a long period of time. That’s how you get that kind of money, and anyone can do it.

We’ve been saving and paying off debt for years, living extremely frugally. We don’t have cable TV. We drive a 2000-model car with about 250,000 miles on it and a 2008 SUV with a whole lotta miles on it too. We only recently got rid of our old tube TV and got a flat-screen TV. You get the picture.

Because we’ve been working at it for years, we have made massive amounts of progress, and we’re grateful for that. We have paid off credit cards, student loans, cell phone financing plans, an unsecured personal loan, and more. It’s been really hard work, but God has blessed. As soon as we started trying to get out of debt, He helped us.

Now, we have zero debt except a mortgage on our house and a mortgage on our rental house—(real estate #fail, another story for another time). But, we’ve never had a plan in place that would allow us to build the kind of wealth that would allow us to pay for houses, weddings, and huge Christmas surprises.

But when my epiphany struck, I suddenly knew how we could save that kind of money: by paying off our house.

My husband has actually been wanting to make extra principal payments on our house for many years. However, I was never on board.

My theory was: if we have extra cash, we should keep it as cash because all the equity in the world won’t help in case of emergency. For example:

You can’t use equity to pay your mortgage if a cash emergency happens.
You can’t use equity to pay the light bill.
Equity won’t help you a bit in case of job loss or unexpected medical bills (and we’ve had plenty of medical bills lately, that’s for sure).

And forget about a home equity line of credit (HELOC). I’ve been there and done that, and HELOCs stink in my opinion.

But that day, I suddenly didn’t care about my former arguments anymore …

… because I peeked into the future and saw that a paid-for house could unlock the world for us—and for our son.

A paid-off house would free up an entire mortgage payment’s worth of cash every month.

A paid-off house would mean we could save enough money to pay for things like our son’s wedding in the space of months, instead of years (or never).

A paid-off house would mean we could use that mortgage payment to save for our son’s college, so he can graduate without debt.

A paid-off house would mean we would have money available to increase our giving and get the Gospel out, and show our baby the blessings that come with generosity, year after year after year.

A paid-off house could even mean we could gift our children with those surprise Christmas checks. 🙂

And I want to pay off our house because I want those blessings for him.

I want him to know financial security, financial legacy, and the peace of mind that comes with not having to wonder where your groceries are going to come from this week.

I want him to put his energy toward things that he’s called to do, and not worry about whether his parents are going to have our house foreclosed on.

I want him to know that money is a walk in the park for us and for him, because it’s a walk in the park for God.

My God shall supply all our needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). I want Him to SEE this truth in our lives, not just hear us quote it without ever actually living it. I want to model the abundance that I preach; the abundance Jesus died to give us.

We are blessed in all things. We really are. We have plenty and enough to spare. But that day, in that moment, I saw a whole new reality. I saw such a glimpse of what the future could be that it gripped my spirit and changed my behavior in one moment.

It’s not like I was wasting money before. I wasn’t. But I suddenly became willing to make whatever sacrifice I needed to make in order to pay off our house, and pay it off quickly.

So while my husband drove, I found an online calculator or two and began figuring out how fast we could pay off our house.

The numbers showed that we can pay it off about eight years earlier than the loan documents say … IF we are willing to make sacrifices, and if Papa provides a certain amount of money each month. It was money we had never planned on allocating toward this purpose, but we were suddenly willing to do it.

I was suddenly willing to do it.

And my husband, God bless him, was gracious and gentle. He didn’t berate me for not ever being willing before. He simply agreed that paying off the house would make a huge difference, and that it was the best possible thing we could do.

So we decided that, effective the first of the year, we would begin paying X amount in extra principal payments on our mortgage.

We knew we would have to sacrifice BIG. We also knew it would take a miracle. Papa would have to provide.

BUT … we also knew that our decision was pleasing to Him. After all, it lines up with His Word!

So we prayed! “Father, please provide and help us to pay this amount each month.” We wrote down our goal on our financial vision board, signed and dated it, and took communion over it. And we believed God.

Well, that was just last year, and the extra payments only began in January of this year.

So we’ve had two months of extra principal payments so far. In January, we didn’t have all the money we needed for our target amount at first. So we paid what we had in hand at the time.

But then, the rest of the money to meet our goal came in toward the end of the month. (Thank You, Lord!) Our mortgage company wouldn’t accept a principal-only payment; we had to wait until the next regular mortgage payment was due in order to add the extra principal. So we saved that money until February, and this month Papa provided what we needed to make this month’s goal as well. So when we paid our mortgage this month, we attached those extra payments to it.

We know that this will be a walk of faith. But here are the 3 things we’ve found that apply to any step of faith:

1. God will come up under you to help you, as soon as you take steps of obedience.

He does often wait for you to make the first move. When He does that, He’s testing you. He wants to see if you will obey Him for the sake of obedience–or if you require evidence your flesh can see before you’re willing to step out in faith.

2. God hears and answers our prayers; and the more specific the prayer, the more specific the answer.

We are praying for a specific amount to come in to apply to the mortgage each month. As I’m writing this, it occurred to me that we ought to ask for even more. Our God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we could ever dare to ask, hope, or think. Why aren’t I asking for that?

But at any rate, we are asking Him to send a specific amount and He has. I believe He will continue to do so, and that amount can even increase as we pray more specifically.

3. Sometimes He helps by gripping our heart and spirit with the vision, so the sacrifice is easy.

Many of you may have experienced that when fasting. When you fast with supernatural grace, you care more about drawing close to God, and receiving the breakthroughs on your prayer list, than you care about eating.

Well, He has definitely gripped me with this vision of leaving a legacy for our son by paying off our house.

I can see that vision. I can feel it. I can taste it. And that vision means more to me than skipping dinners out or an evening at the movies.

And the takeaway for you is …

Do you want to change the generations of your family? Have you had a vision of what your legacy could be?

If not, I encourage you to dream with God about your financial future. Dream with Him about every aspect of your life and of your descendants’ lives. If you are willing to dream a little, He will open up His vision of your future to you. He will show you what could happen, if you want it badly enough.

And when He does, ask Holy Spirit to grip your spirit, soul, and body with such hunger for that vision that the sacrifice suddenly becomes worth it.

Pray this with me:

“Father God, in Jesus’ name, please help me to dream with You. Show me what Your plans are for my life. Show me what You have in store for me–and what I could receive if I get on board with Your vision.

Then, Papa God, please grip my spirit, soul, and body with this vision. Help me to desire Your highest and best will for me more than I desire fleshly extravagances and indulgences. Help me to take steps toward the future YOU have for me with joy and enthusiasm. Help me to write the vision down, pray specifically over it every day, and walk in faith every step of the way.

Thank You, Father God. I give You all the glory, and I thank You that all this is possible because Jesus died for me and brought me back to You. I love You, and I bless Your name.

In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.”

Does this word stir a dream in your heart? If so, please leave a comment below! I’d love to hear your thoughts!

God Gives You POWER To Get Wealth!

Do you want to get wealth? Yes? Me, too! Who wouldn’t? The good news is: God is giving you POWER to get wealth RIGHT NOW!

Yep. That’s what He says in His Word.

Here’s the scoop about power to get wealth:

I was praying through the 15 prayers for financial increase today, and I happened to look up the Hebrew meaning of a word in Deuteronomy 8:18 (from prayer #9). When I did, I flipped out!

Why? Because Deuteronomy 8:18 says:

“And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”

Related: Sign up for free email updates in the sidebar and you’ll receive my ebook, 15 Prayers for Financial Increase, FREE when you confirm!

In this verse, the word “power” in Hebrew means “vigor,” “force,” or “capacity” (per Strong’s Concordance). My favorite way to understand this verse is using that word “force,” because its meaning in English shows us exactly what God communicates in other places in the Bible.

A “force” is power that comes from one thing TO another thing.

For example:

If you’re applying force to open the lid of a jar, the force is coming FROM you TO the jar, and affecting change on the jar lid.
If you’re applying force to move a sofa, the force is coming FROM you TO the sofa, and YOUR force moves the sofa.
If you apply force to open the door of the refrigerator, the force moves FROM you TO the door of the refrigerator, opening that door and bringing you new possibilities (new food, drink, etc).

So, force moves from the SOURCE to the recipient. And when that force, or power, flows through the recipient, it creates change therein.

GOD is the SOURCE, and He’s moving the force through YOU.

That’s a lot of capital letters, but you’ve got to get this. This is awesome! God is the source of the power. He’s the source of the force. 🙂 And in His goodness, He has sovereignly decided to move through you to affect change.

And the change He’s affecting? Why, making you wealthy, of course.

His own Word says He gives you power to get wealth. In other words, He flows through you–the power comes from Him; He gives it–and the purpose of that power is to cause YOU to get wealth.

Of course, God has other purposes for His power as well; the main one being making you like Jesus. But we’re not talking about those right now; we’re examining the truths from this verse–Deuteronomy 8:18–and Deuteronomy 8:18 says He gives you power TO GET WEALTH.

Yep, that’s right. God Himself flows through you to kick poverty out the door of your life and bring WEALTH in.

Kind of goes along with another verse in the Bible about building and increasing, doesn’t it? Like Psalm 127:1-2, which says:

“Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.

It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; for so He gives His beloved sleep” (Psalm 127:1-2).

God has to do the work through you, but He does. And you have to work by the power of God too.

You have to cooperate with His power and LET Him flow through you. Power only works if it flows. The FLOW is what creates change in the recipient.

If your power weren’t flowing through the sofa, the sofa wouldn’t move. You’d just get a bruised hand from pushing.

If your power weren’t flowing through the refrigerator door, the door wouldn’t open … and you’d just get big biceps from pulling on that thing. (And you’d stay really hungry too.)

God gives you POWER to get wealth.

By doing so, He confirms His covenant which He made with your spiritual ancestors, like Abraham:

A covenant that you’ll bless and be a blessing.
A covenant that says that in you all the nations of the earth will be blessed.
A covenant that says He will make your name great.

And He flows through you to do it!

If you’re excited about this Scripture too, pray this with me:

“Father God, in Jesus’ name, thank You for this revelation that You’re showing me out of Your Word today! Father, I see now that You are flowing through me RIGHT NOW, this very minute, to get wealth. You are doing this so You can confirm the covenant You made with my fathers.

So Lord, I present myself to You as a willing vessel today! Flow through me and fill me with Your power! Flow through me to bring me wealth, and help me to use it not only to bless myself, but also to bless all the nations of the earth with the Gospel message! You can do it, Lord, and I thank You that Your Word says You will.

Thank You, Father! I rejoice in Your promise today. Help me to cooperate in every way, and do whatever You want to do through me! Thank You, Lord! In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.”

Does this word resonate in your heart? Does it make your spirit leap with joy and excitement? If so, please leave a comment below! I love hearing from you!

Do You Have Any Cows?

This morning, I am studying the curses and blessings again in Deuteronomy 28. It is SO amazing–and enlightening–to see how much of God’s promised blessings (if we obey Him) and curses (if we do not) pertain to blessing our work, our investments, our finances, and our businesses.

While studying, this problem came to my mind: Most people do not have any cows.

Dream With God About Your Financial Life

In the midst of the daily grind, have you ever stopped to dream with God about what your financial life could look like? If you haven’t, now’s the time to start.

Why? Because things don’t always have to be like they are right now. And as a matter of fact, if you will take small steps with me (but mostly with God) over the course of this next year and beyond, they can look completely different in one year’s time.

Even in one month’s time.

For some of you, things could look different even in one week’s time.

It all depends on how much you want change–and desire to change usually comes when you are gripped by a dream.

So dream with God (and me) 🙂 about your financial life for a moment:

Money Answers All Things

Have you wondered why your money sometimes disappears before you even knew where it went? If so, the Bible has an answer for you! It’s because money answers all things.

Here’s what it means that “money answers all things”:

Everything on the planet does something. Even inanimate objects–walls, paintings, dishes, money–are actually not inanimate. They are made up of atoms, which are moving:

The atoms in gases are careening around at breakneck speed, slamming into each other and bouncing off one another.
The atoms in liquids are moving fast, but not uncontrollably like the atoms in gases are.
And the atoms in solids are just vibrating next to each other.

So even things that don’t seem like they have the ability to act of their own accord actually do.

Here’s why that’s important:

Imagine yourself walking through the mall. You just received your paycheck, and you’re so excited! You don’t have any plans to spend your money at the mall, though; and actually, you haven’t made a budget yet at all. You’re just going for a stroll, enjoying retail. 🙂 [Read more…] about Money Answers All Things

THE Financial Book that Changed My Life: The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey

If there’s one book about money I could recommend to you, it’s hands-down The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. The Total Money Makeover absolutely changed my life.

I was 25 years old and had been working in my corporate job for about 4 years. It was a good job, and I was earning a good salary for my age and experience.

But, I didn’t seem to be making financial progress.

It wasn’t for lack of trying.

I had tried a couple of get-rich-quick schemes … you know, the ones your friends recommend as the “latest and greatest investment opportunity … and the business is CHRISTIAN! And it’s debt-free!”

Yeah. Whatever. In my experience, it’s best to run for your life if you hear people saying that.

I had taken a class in real estate investing and bought my first house. I was living in it, but I planned to turn it into a rental property after I moved out eventually. Unfortunately, however, I was drowning in the mortgage. A first mortgage plus a purchase-money home equity line of credit with a variable interest rate were really hurting me financially.

Basically, I had just made a lot of stupid decisions.

I made those decisions not because I was stupid, but because I was trying to do what “people say” you should do to be well-off financially. I had never had money, and I wanted to be financially stable. Secure. To put money between me and the next disaster.

But it wasn’t working. I had no savings, lots of debt (put that $3,000 real estate investment class on a credit card, you know), and even more frustration.

Then one day, by chance, I walked through a nearby university bookstore and I saw a copy of Dave Ramsey’s book The Total Money Makeover.

It looked interesting. I picked it up, glanced through it, and just knew I needed to read it. I bought it right away and dove in.

And The Total Money Makeover changed my life.

In this book, Dave Ramsey lays out what he calls “baby steps.” They are tiny little steps you take, along a pre-determined plan, to make over your finances. Those steps were perfect for me, because I needed real solutions in small increments. I didn’t have any money to throw at debt–at least, I didn’t think I did. But, by working Dave’s baby steps, I actually found money.

Read here about how I found my first $1,000 emergency fund.

Little by little, my financial life changed. And actually, once I started, I was so motivated by the first tiny wins that it didn’t take that long at all.

Motivation is a huge factor in any transformation, you see. If you look at the victories you HAVE gained, you’ll be motivated to win again.

And again.

So that’s what I did. And it’s crazy:

As soon as I started trying, and following Dave’s baby steps, the Lord came up under me and helped me like crazy.

Remember that He owns it all anyway. So it pleased Him that I suddenly started trying to manage money His way, because it’s His money. And as soon as I did, He helped me. He made things happen, brought money out of seemingly nowhere, and gave me grace, inspiration, motivation, and courage to go after it day after day after day.

It was an anointed process, and it all started just with reading the book, reading the gazillion testimonies in it, and deciding that I could do this. That I would do this.

Are you ready to make over your own finances? If so, grab a copy of Dave Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover. Read it, and start doing what it says at the very beginning.

If you will, your life will change because your finances will change.