Christian Finance Blog

19 Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as yourself.

Matthew 19:19 (NLT)

Happy Mother’s Day everyone! Make sure to honor your mothers and grandmothers and the special women in your lives! Without yo’ mama, you wouldn’t be here so thank her for giving birth to you and raising you! God Bless!

12 “You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but on the seventh day you must stop working. This gives your ox and your donkey a chance to rest. It also allows your slaves and the foreigners living among you to be refreshed.

Exodus 23:12 (NLT)

I know why God put this verse into the Bible. Having worked overtime last weekend, I am totally wiped out. I had to work twelve days straight without any rest and no weekend and I am just really tired. God put it in there for a reason! Don’t overwork yourself! Get some rest! I know I will.

20 Then David continued, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. He will see to it that all the work related to the Temple of the LORD is finished correctly.

1 Chronicles 28:20 (NLT)

From the Life Application Bible:

David advised Solomon not to be frightened about the size of his task as king and builder of the Temple. Fear can immobilize us. The size of a job, its risks, or the pressure of the situation can cause us to freeze and do nothing. One remedy for fear is found here: Don’t focus on the fear; instead, get to work. Getting started is often the most difficult and frightening part of a job.

4 and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name.

Romans 1:4-5 (NLT)

It’s the power of his resurrection that forms the basis of our very faith! Without his death and resurrection, we wouldn’t be here today as believers. Everything in our relationship with Him rests upon the truth of His virgin birth and His glorious death and resurrection. So as we spend our day with family and friends, remember the reason is Jesus!

1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. 4 Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. 5 You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.

James 5:1-6 (NKJV)

From the Nelson Study Bible:

In the spirit of the Old Testament prophets, James pronounces judgment on employers who treat their employees unjustly (Is. 3:14, 15; 10:2). God will judge those who oppress the poor (see Ezek. 18:12, 13).

7 Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.

Romans 13:7 (NKJV)

Yes, the Bible talks about paying taxes! Benjamin Franklin said, “In this world nothing can be certain, except death and taxes.” Even in Biblical times they had to pay taxes. It’s nothing to get all upset about. We have to pay taxes in the United States and most anywhere else in the world. The best thing we can do is to try and minimize our taxes as much as possible instead of complaining about them.

I haven’t filed my taxes yet although I am pretty much finished with most of it (I use computer tax software). I just need to finish up some last details and find some paperwork and I’ll be done. I’m thinking about e-filing this year just because it’s more convenient. Last year I mailed mine out after printing the forms out from my tax software and I just think e-filing is less of a hassle plus I can get my refund faster. The IRS has reported that 46.9 million taxpayers have already filed their 2007 tax returns for a total of $106.7 billion in refunds through February 22. Out of those, 38 million e-filed. The average refund is $2,708.

I’m getting about $700 back this year not including the secondary stimulus package refund that I’ll be getting later that President Bush signed. That’s still too much for me. I like to get as close to zero as possible so I may have to adjust my withholding. Remember that if you receive a large refund you’re loaning the government an interest-free loan. That’s money you could use every paycheck to help pay off debt, bolster your emergency fund, or something else. But if you don’t have the discipline to use the money wisely, it may be a good idea to keep your withholding the same so it forces you to save. The math doesn’t work out but if it works for you, it works for you.

It’s tax season so start now! The sooner you start, the better off you’ll be and the faster you’ll get your tax refund. Plus you may be eligible for the stimulus refund. God bless!

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16 You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.

John 15:16 (NLT)

So God gave me this awesome verse during my morning prayer today. Isn’t it awesome! Sometimes we think that God chose us, but the truth is that He first chose us! And because we chose Him, we can now have what we ask the Father in Jesus’ name! Isn’t that an awesome promise of God?

From the Life Application Bible:

Jesus made the first choice - to love and to die for us, to invite us to live with him forever. We make the next choice - to accept or reject his offer. Without his choice, we would have no choice to make.

15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

2 Timothy 2:15 (NKJV)

From the Life Application Bible:

Because God will examine what kind of workers we have been for him, we should build our life on his Word and build his Word into our life. It alone tells us how to live for him and serve him. Believers who ignore the Bible will certainly be ashamed at the judgment. Consistent and diligent study of God’s Word is vital; otherwise we will be lulled into neglecting God and our true purpose for living.

4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NLT)

This verse is about the true love that the Bible talks about! Happy Valentine’s Day!

From the Life Application Bible:

Our society confuses love and lust. Unlike lust, God’s kind of love is directed outward toward others, not inward toward ourselves. It is utterly unselfish. This kind of love goes against our natural inclinations. It is impossible to have this love unless God helps us set aside our own natural desires so that we can love and not expect anything in return. Thus, the more we become like Christ, the more love we will show to others.

10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:10 (NKJV)

10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)

From the Life Application Bible:

We are God’s masterpiece (work of art, workmanship). Our salvation is something only God can do. It is his powerful, creative work in us. If God considers us his masterpieces, we dare not treat ourselves or others with disrespect or as inferior work.