Verse of the Day: God Chose You!

  

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.

Verse of the Day: Rightly Divide the Truth

  

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.

Verse of the Day: Valentine’s Day Edition: True Love

 

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.

FREE Suze Orman eBook Download!

Oprah and Suze Orman are giving away FREE digital copies of Suze’s newest book, Women & Money! Just go to the download page and you can download the English or Spanish version for free! But the download only lasts until February 14, 2008 at 8 pm EST so hurry!

Bush Signs $170 Billion Stimulus Package

Today President Bush is expected to sign the now $170 billion economic stimulus passed by Congress recently. He hopes that this will prevent a recession or lessen the impact. I’m not sure if it will work or not, but it sure will help a whole ton of low to middle income people. I’m not complaining about the free money!

Some changes to this bill from the $150 billion one was that tax breaks for equipment purchases by businesses, payments to disabled veterans and senior citizens were added. That’s where the extra $20 billion came from.

The rebate checks still range from $600 (for individual taxpayers) to $1,200 (for couples) plus $300 tax credit per dependent child under 17. The income cap (AGI – adjusted gross income) is also still at $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for joint filers. If you don’t owe any income tax but had at least $3,000 in earned income or Social Security benefits you can qualify for $300 per person or $600 per couple. Also, you might be able to receive partial money if you go over the income limits. You will lose 5% over the income limit up to a certain amount.

You must file a federal tax return for the year 2007 to be eligible for the tax rebate even if you are not required to. You can expect the checks to start showing up between May and early July if you meet the April 15th tax deadline!

So what are you going to do with your tax rebate? Just leave a nice comment! I’m going to pay down debt and save some of it!

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Happy Birthday Christian Finance Blog!!

Today is the first birthday of Christian Finance Blog! On February 11, 2007, this blog was born as a voice in the personal finance space with a Christian perspective.

I can’t believe it’s already been one year! I pray that it is just the beginning and that this blog will be blessed with many more years to come! Keep on reading and tell your friends about the blog! You are the reason I write what I write! God Bless!

Here are some great posts from one year ago this month:

Get Out of Debt with an Emergency Fund
Do you carry 10 or more credit cards?
My Checking Account: Washington Mutual (WaMu)
Verse of the Day: Don’t Co-sign!!
Did You Know These Bible Facts?

Verse of the Day: We Are His Workmanship

  

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.

Fed Cuts Rates Again…Here’s Your Action Plan!

The Fed recently cut the federal funds rate (the rate that affects consumer loans such as home equity lines of credit, auto loans, and credit cards) by a half percent after cutting it by three-quarters of a percent on January 22 in an emergency meeting. The federal funds rates now stands at 3% which is the lowest it has been in two years. The discount rate (the rate at which banks borrow from the Fed) was also cut half a percent to 3.5%.

What does this mean to you and me? The rate cuts means lower rates for borrowers but also lower rates for savers. Average 30 year mortgage rates now stand at 5.49% which is also the lowest in two years. If you’re looking to buy a home, it seems like now’s the time to buy with home prices considerably lower than even a couple years ago in some markets. It may also be time to refinance your existing home mortgage if you can save at least one percentage point or more.

You should also see lower rates for your variable credit cards. If you don’t, give your credit card company a quick call and ask them to lower the rate. If they don’t, ask for the retention department and threaten closing your account and transferring balances elsewhere. The retention department has the power to lower the rate for you. Of course, this doesn’t affect you if you pay off your credit balances off each month.

But these rate cuts also mean lower rates for your emergency cash savings in CDs and savings accounts. ING Direct now stands at 3.40% and Electric Orange is at 2.25% for balances up to $49,999 (if you want a free $25 for opening an account, let me know). FNBO Direct (which is where most of my emergency fund now sits) is at a still-great rate of 4.30%. WaMu’s online savings account now stands at 4.25%. HSBC Direct stands at 3.80%. You can check out Bankrate.com for the latest rates. But your emergency fund is not designed to make you money; it’s just there for an emergency and it’s nice to earn a little interest on it. But if you already have your 6 to 9 month emergency fund in place, it may be time to look at longer-term investments in the stock market. I absolutely love Roth IRAs and an index fund within a Roth IRA is perfect for most people! If you have a 401K offered by your employer, it may be time to increase your contributions.

One last thing to remember. Just because the rates are lower doesn’t mean you have to borrow. Remember that the goal is to save more and not spend or borrow more. But at the same time, there may be some opportunities to save some money. God Bless!

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