Monday

Become Debt Free

My hope for you is that you will be debt free by the end of this decade. It is possible, if you are disciplined. Let me say, if you've never been debt free, you have no idea the freedom you will experience when you no longer owe anybody anything.

And this is why it is important -- If God told you to go do something right now, some of you couldn't do it because you are in such financial bondage.

The Bible says we should not withhold the repayment of your debts, that we should let no debt remain outstanding. What does that mean? If you are only paying the minimum on your credit card, you are letting a debt remain outstanding. The Bible says don't do that. God is not going to bless that.

You need to set up repayment. You may be thinking that would be hard. It is hard! That's why most people are in debt. If it were easy, everybody would be rich. The fact is, most people do not have the character and the discipline to do what God tells them to do. First, give 10% to God; second, put 10% into savings; then, set up a repayment plan.

You say, "Wait a minute. Are you telling me to save before I pay off my debts?' That's exactly what I'm telling you to do -- because if you wait until you get all your debts paid off to start saving or tithing, you will never do it.

You may think you can't afford, but the truth is, you can't afford not to do it God's way.

This may be talking about debt using money and currency however, there are other forms of debt we owe. There are so many people i want to thank and pay back in my life. And the thing is, money isnt always the answer. Say someone does a good deed for you, it is sense that you return the favor somehow. Of course it isnt a requirement to do this but its just a manner. For example, if someone goes out of their way and pays for your meal, you shouldnt be like oh man thanks so much and just move on. You should be thankful and want to repay them back for their actions. And for me personally, if someone goes out of their way and does something nice for me, i feel guilty if i dont do something back for them. But we shouldnt repay them back because of guilt but we should repay them because were thankful for what theyve done.

Honestly I find it tough to relate to this devo simply because I am not working and making money, or paying the bills in the household. However, the last line in the devotional holds a powerful message: we can't afford not to do it God's way. As Christians we understand that God is always in control of all aspects in our lives, this just goes to show that He is far wiser than us. Listening to God's will and direction is in all circumstances the right call as He knows what is best for our lives.

Mmm I'm not really feeling this one. I guess debt just isn't a big part of my life- whether its currency or any other form of debt. I like to do things by myself so I don't ever owe anyone anything. Not that I do things by myself in order to not owe anything, I mean I just like doing things myself and as a result I'm usually not in debt. The one thing I can think of right now concerning debt in my life is when I borrow from a friend to cover for bus fares or food. Or when they spot me for a couple bucks when I reaaally want that dress and I'm $7 short. In times like that I think God wants us to honor what they (friend) have done for us and to be able to repay them right away. I may be completely misinterpreting this message, honestly I'm not even sure what a repayment plan is. What I took from this is that we shouldn't take others for granted when they give us money or do us favors and we should show our gratitude by giving back what they deserve

Sorry, I'm finding it difficult to relate this topic to devos, I honestly don't know much about finance...
The general idea is to save and be wise with what you do. That way, you create a stable future and not throw yourself into approaching trouble. Also to pay back in full and not just in money, but in other ways as well. Do good deeds whenever the opportunity comes. You are not just paying back, you are giving and God recognizes where your heart is at.

That's all I guess. Also, I want to just say that my day went unusually well today. It's a long story but I've never felt God so strong during school on a Monday. I hope your day was good too! ;D
~Audrey~

(i dont know if I have to do today's or not but i'll do it anyway ._.)


I took in this topic as more of being able to sacrifice for God. Money is probably one of the biggest things many Adult Christians are unwilling to give up - but I think when we look at this we shouldn't look at the money and debt portion, but more of what we are willing to do for God. Kind of like what Pastor Sam has been saying for the few weeks on the heart, what we're willing to sacrifice for God, and what we're willing to fight for. Sometimes I ask myself "Are you willing to give up time you could be spending with friends, homework or your own personal needs for God?" and at times, I am unable to say yes. Financially, yes I cannot really relate to this whatsoever, but I feel that the deeper meaning in this is to be ready and prepared to sacrifice these worldly things for God.

Thats all

Jessie Kim = younger Jessie (a.k.a. J.K.)

wooahh jessie's a keener
hahaha... i haven't done devos here in soooo long... sorry guises.

Well I feel like debt isn't exactly the most relevant topic for me yet, but the devo did touch on offering, which is always relevant. In relation to managing funds, I have tons of trouble with that. There are actually times where I only have enough money to either have fun with, or give offering with and as mundane a problem as it seems, those are the times when I actually struggle. It's tempting to go out with friends knowing that you won't be able to pay offering that week. It's hard to be able to sacrifice that time with your friends for God, but I think times like those are tests of how strong our drive to be close to God is. One sorta philosophy that I always remind myself of is that offering is not supposed to be easy. Cain and Abel recieved very different responses from God, though they both gave offering. I'm sure Abel had tons of B-grade produce that he coulda given to God, but he chose his very best. Isn't that a perfect analogy for how much heart he put into what he gave to God. Taking the analogy further, it doesn't only apply to monetary offering. Our entire life should be lived as a living sacrifice. Everything we do should be for God, in full heart. We should never be giving God our damaged goods as offering; He deserves nothing less than our full and undivided heart.

So yea. kinda rambled... LOL my thoughts dont come out as organized as they should at 12:30...

Guys sorry for the extremely late post, i know i shouldn't be posting this late and in the future this wont happen. i fell asleep at 7:30 last night, sigh...

As everyone previously mentioned, it is a bit difficult to relate to this devotion and this topic of being in debt and giving back in a direct aspect. But in terms of giving to Him, we can and should all be able to relate. I guess the moral of this devotion is to always start "saving up" or preparing for what is to come. When you prepare for things, we all know that we will be able to face whatever gets thrown at us in an easier fashion and be able to adjust better to the situation since we are prepared. Being prepared also lets us be more free and open to do God's will as said in the devo. The more prepared we are, the more easily we will be able to act upon what God has asked us to do. In the future for us as a praise team and leader's of the congregation, it is our job to PREPARE beforehand. Like a lot of us always talk about during our axioms, we have to practice, practice, practice. If we all come prepared to church on Saturday knowing all of our parts for each song we do, it would be so much easier and more effective to praise and worship Him. Saturday isn't a time to come and practice our parts, it's a time to run through what we have already practiced at home. I'm not singling only you guys out, I have that problem to. It's hard to find time to fit all of these tasks in, and I have it easier since I do not play an instrument. But as Pastor Sam said, how BAD do you want it? How badly do you really want to lead the congregation into praise for the benefit of not only yourself, but the church as a whole. We should all have that mentality while we are going throughout the week and our daily lives in general for everything we may do. Always keep the end goal in mind and in sight. How BAD do we want it?

This devotion is basically talking about debts and paying them back, but it uses a financial approach to this, which I cannot really relate to, however the message is loud and clear: be prepared to pay back and sacrifice for God.
The biggest sacrifice Jesus made for us, is his crucifixion for our sins, and we can't ever make up for that however, I don't think God wants repayment in the form of our own crucifixion but rather, to be wholly devoted to him with all our hearts and soul, and to have faith in him.

First devo done, sorry for late post, saw the email today...

To think about it, I do realize how much God has done for me. Always helping me when I am in trouble, and teaching me new things to do in my life. And the most thing that he has done is to sacrifice his own son to save me. For all of the things he done, I should begin owing him back for all the support he has done. And I shouldn't be letting a debt remain outstanding, I should plan repayment for all of his goodness. Of course it would be difficult, as I don't have much of the discipline to do so, but for all he has done, I should at least try.