Tag Archive for: money

The Laws of Reaping and Sowing – Part 3

1) Give Cheerfully

“So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7)

Do you know how you get cheerful in giving? You expect results. You expect a harvest. The farmer that is out there laboring in the field planting his seed has a joy on the inside of him because he knows he is going to have a harvest one day. When you sow your finances do you expect a harvest? Well, you should because God has promised it. God says that He will multiply seed that is sown. When I give for the Gospel’s sake, I’m planting seeds in the Kingdom of God.

Do not “give until it hurts” – give until it’s not joyful anymore!

This principle is working in every facet of life. Words, thoughts, actions and money are all seeds. Ideas are seeds. One idea inspired by God can change your whole life. Thoughts are seeds. Thoughts from the devil are seeds trying to overcome the Word of God. We stand in the strategic position of being the only one that can determine the outcome of our lives by the seeds that we allow to enter into our hearts. What seeds are growing in your heart? I trust they are God’s Words. If they are, then you are in store for a wonderful harvest.

2) Consider Your Ways

“Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: “Consider your ways! You have sown much, and bring in little;You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink; You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; And he who earns wages, Earns wages to put into a bag with holes. Thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways!” (Haggai 1:5-7)

Everything on the earth revolves around the law of Seed time and Harvest – our words, our thoughts, our finances. Principles of Seed time and Harvest are discussed repeatedly throughout the Old and New Testaments. In Galatians 6:7 the Bible tells us, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”

If you are sowing productive seeds according to God’s Word and have not been reaping the abundant harvest that God promises, then God says, “. . .then, consider your ways.” Take an inventory of your life and find out what has been hindering your harvest.

3) Expect A Harvest

A farmer has joy on the inside of him when he plants his seed. Even though it is hard, laboring work, and even though he knows there is much tilling, weeding, and fertilizing ahead of him, he expects a harvest and plans for it. He knows the law of Seed time and harvest, so there is a joy in planting the seed.

The prosperity message (a term I do not like) is not a ‘get-rich-quick’ scheme or an overnight success formula that you can work up and then just live anyway that you want. It is really about “blessing” which is a lifestyle that is the result of seed time and harvest you have to be committed.

The laws of God work together. One is designed to affect the other, and you can’t pick out one little thing and ignore the rest and expect it all to work. For instance, in flying, there is the law of lift, the law of drag, and the law of thrust. If you don’t apply those laws properly, even though they are laws, you won’t get off the ground. Once you get off the ground, if you do something to interfere with those laws, such as turn the engines off, then you negate those laws and another law comes into manifestation immediately – the law of gravity.

This blog post has been adapted from my Biblical Economics 101 course. Learn what the Word of God can teach you about money and wealth with Biblical Economics 101.

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The Laws of Reaping and Sowing – Part 2

“Even as I have seen, Those who plow iniquity, And sow trouble reap the same.” (Job 4:8)

Our hearts are a spiritual production center, and the seeds we sow will grow. There is work going on inside of us. The Bible says “as a man thinketh in his heart so is he . . .” (Prov. 23:7). Every word that we hear and allow to get into our hearts will produce. As we think on those things and mediate on them, they become reality. We become what we think; what we dwell on, and the very seeds that we sow in my heart are eventually going to reap a harvest.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.” Phil 4:6-9

We’ve been taught how to fail: how to go broke, how to live in misery, how to fail in marriage, how to fail in business, how to be sick, and, for the most part, we’ve been very good students. Now time for us to have our minds renewed to God’s ways. God says that we can succeed through the Word, so let’s plant those seeds and begin to harvest success.

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:2)

If you plow iniquity and wickedness, you are going to reap iniquity and wickedness. If you sow seeds of hatred, you are going to reap hatred. On the other hand, if you sow seeds of love, you are going to reap love. If you plant seeds of strife, there is going to be strife around you all the time.

“Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy.” (Hosea 10:12)

If you want good things in your life, then you must sow good seed. How? Right words!

“A man’s stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth; From the produce of his lips he shall be filled. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.” (Proverbs 18:20-21) (KJ)

The Bible tells us to put away from ourselves a forward mouth, and we are to put perverse lips far from us. A forward mouth is one that is not under the conviction of God’s Word. It is an uncontrolled mouth. Learn to speak the words of God in every situation and the harvest that begins to come up in your life will be one of joy, peace, health, happiness, and prosperity.

The Bible even expresses that the giving of our finances is like sowing. Our money is seed.

“But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” (2 Corinthians 9:6)

What if you don’t have any seed?

“For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. (2 Cor. 9:10) L.B.

How you sow will dictate how much you reap. This is a spiritual law and it will work for you if you will put into work.

This blog post has been adapted from my Biblical Economics 101 course. Learn what the Word of God can teach you about money and wealth with Biblical Economics 101.

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The Laws of Reaping and Sowing – Part 1

“While the earth remains, Seed time and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night, Shall not cease.” (Gen 8:22)

God is telling us that some things will never change.

As long as the earth remains, there is going to be Seed time and harvest, and day and night, and summer and winter. You can not change it.

A law is defined as a general principle to which all applicable things must conform. When there is something that never changes, then it is commonly referred to as a law. God is telling us here in Gen 8:22 that Seed time and Harvest is a spiritual law put into motion by Him.

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap…” (Gal 6:7)

“But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” (2 Corinthians 9:6)

Our whole lives consist of seed planting. We are planting seeds all of the time with our thoughts, our words, and our actions. We are therefore all sowers, and God says to us in Mark 4:14, “The sower sows the word,” so God compares words with seed. Every word that we speak is a seed. Our heart is the ground in which these seeds are planted, and if the ground is good, the seeds are going to take root and grow and produce fruit. You can either plant good seeds from the Word of God in that ground, or you can plant bad seeds (of doubt and unbelief). If you plant bad seeds in your ground (your heart) you will get a crop of misery, sickness, poverty, lack and want.

“Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matt 12:34-37)

Our eyes and ears are gateways to our hearts. What we hear will get into our hearts and if our eyes are not focused on God’s Word then our whole being is going to be full of darkness. If our eyes are focused on God’s Word, then our whole being is going to be full of light. Whatever we are listening to and adhering to is going to produce fruit in our lives (ie. Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap).

If we are not satisfied with our lives, if we are not happy with what is happening around us, we cannot blame anyone but ourselves. We are the ones who planted the seeds. If we don’t want tomato seeds in our garden, don’t plant tomato seeds. If we don’t want defeat in our lives, quit planting those seeds of defeat.

Book Recommendation: “The Principle of the Path” by Andy Stanley

This blog post has been adapted from my Biblical Economics 101 course. Learn what the Word of God can teach you about money and wealth with Biblical Economics 101.

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Killing the Religious Sacred Cows (or, was Jesus poor?)

Religion has developed an idea that says, “Spiritual maturity is the result of a decrease in the desires of money or blessings.” Jesus was poor and therefore we need to be “poor and humble” like him.

The early church worshiped God and conducted church correctly; by that I mean according to how Paul spoke of it in his many letters. Prosperity is the will of God and poverty being the opposite must therefore not be the will of God. The spirit of poverty entered the church under the rule of Constantine in the 300 A.D. era who took the Greek mind set and added it to the Jewish or Christian mind set. Eventually this Greek thinking over took the church. The Greeks believed that the whole world was divided into two equal parts; the material world and the spiritual world. They were in balance and if you had more of one then you had less of the other. To “be more spiritual” a person had to give up the material. Therefore, wealth was considered an enemy of the spiritual (i.e. God) world. This false theology was further perpetuated by the monks in the fourteenth century. This has continued into the church right up to today which is why so many Christians think that wealth is a sin.

Today, we still see the remandments of this in our churches. There are still Christians that feel that poverty is next to godliness and that money and wealth is sin. As you will discover, through scriptures and through the renewing of your own mind, nothing could be further from the truth.

In studying the bible, I have come to the conclusion that many practices in the church today and many things that are taught do not line-up with the Word of God! About 90% of what I have learned about biblical economics I did not learn in church. Why? The church does not teach it, or if they do, they teach many things that are incorrect. I learned it from reading books, taking courses and seminars, and mostly through read the bible.

What has the church taught you about money?

This blog post has been adapted from Lesson I of my Biblical Economics 101 course. Learn what the Word of God can teach you about money and wealth with Biblical Economics 101.

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