Greetings in the name of Jesus!

Thanks for looking into Prosperous Life Newsletter today. We've prayed that this article will edify you with the TRUTH of God's Word and cause your FAITH to grow stronger (Romans 10:17).

Today we're continuing a new series on the subject of Pursuing a Loving Lifestyle and in this issue we're connecting LOVE to the subject of our finances. Most folks are thinking a lot about their finances these days and wondering when everything is finally going to turn around and get back to the way it used to be.  But it's looking like maybe those days are gone forever. In fact, they're some really new ways of doing things in front of us. The things in front of us are a lot different than all the stuff we were used to.

If we look back too much we'll find ourselves bumping into the things in front of us, things we didn't expect to be there because they're NEW, they weren't in front of us before. And they're more difficult to deal with. Our thinking has to come out of the past and into the present LIGHT where we can see and react to present day challenges. God is LIGHT (1 John 1:5) and He wants to use His LIGHT to show us the way through a new future so we (the Body of Christ) can experience victory and success even though things are more difficult. He is our illumination; everything else is darkness.

Lessons from the Recession

One of the major reasons so many Christians found themselves in trouble during the Recession was that they let ourselves get overly involved in the World's ways of doing things. They got caught up in the frenzy of real estate speculation trying to "get rich quick" by buying properties with DEBT. But many of us forgot to check our hearts as we were reacting in all the activity. The Bible says we're supposed to judge ourselves by the Word (Hebrews 4:12) and that we're supposed to be Spirit-led (Romans 8-14) as we go through life. So here's one of the conclusions the Recession should have taught us: any time we see ourselves doing exactly the same things and for the same reasons as folks in the World, it should be a clear warning that we're getting off in the wrong direction and that we should stop doing whatever it is, perform a self diagnostic and go off in a different direction.

Another lesson we should have all learned from this Recession is that indebtedness was confirmed once again to be part of the CURSE (Deuteronomy 28:44). It's impossible by definition for DEBT to be a part of a blessing from God. Accordingly, the people who had the most trouble during the Recession were for the most part those who were the most in debt going into the hard times and/or those who allowed the Recession to draw them into greater indebtedness as a survival strategy. The Body of Christ should now be making it a point to change their ways of thinking about indebtedness and to establish precise and determined programs to leave it behind forever. And ominously the next time the World has a financial crisis the ones who're still in debt will have a worse time than they did in this most recent crisis.

Friend, God does not want His Church, which is to say His very own personal family, hanging out with or in the World? We're supposed to stay out of it, to stay in the Kingdom of God where it's safe and to operate in Kingdom ways according to biblical  principles and values. There will NEVER be any compromise on this issue: "Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him" (1 John 2:15). Loving the World is demonstrated by doing things in life the way the World does them even as we realize that those things are NOT lining up with the Word of God. The Truth is God is NEVER going to agree with Believers trying to share their LOVE between Him and the World. We've received all of His love (agape) and He expects us to give Him all of ours (agape). We cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24). If you don't know what AGAPE love is, please look for our last newsletter or request a copy and we'll be happy to send it.

Staying in the Kingdom of Love

Anyway, here's what Jesus said about it which makes our point today in the best way it can possibly be said:

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 22:37-40).

We're supposed to love (agape) God with all that we have, and there can't be any left over for loving the World. In fact, the World is something to be avoided, something to run away from because it has great power to seduce Believers and draw them out of the Kingdom of God where things are safe and righteous. The World system is based on selfishness, competition, confrontation, lust, speculation and the love of money. The system in the Kingdom of God is based on LOVE because God is LOVE (1 John 4:8). What these scriptures are saying is that EVERYTHING in the Kingdom "depends on" or is related to LOVE. If you can't find agape LOVE in what you're looking at somewhere then whatever you're looking at isn't in the Kingdom of God. You're looking at the wrong thing and you need to look away for something else to focus on where you can see the connection to God's love.

A lot of Believers are looking to God to get them out of the financial problems they got into during the Recession. God is merciful and He WILL help you. But He needs your involvement too. He needs for you to see and understand the problem of being too close to the World, He wants you to REPENT and He wants you to stop blaming Him for the choices you made. In short, He wants you and me to walk this out in LOVE. If you have a financial problem in your life today, Jesus said that ALL the financial principles mentioned in the Word of God DEPEND on agape LOVE. In other words they won't fully work for you until and unless you're walking in LOVE, the LOVE of God and in LOVE for your neighbor. In short, in times of financial tribulation check out your LOVE walk and as appropriate take appropriate action to bring it into alignment with the Word of God. Loving people are victorious people because God IS LOVE.

Thanks for stopping by today and we hoped this article blessed you and inspired you to study out this topic for yourself. May God bless you and you endeavor to stay away from the World. We'll be looking for you again in three weeks on February 25 and hope to see you again then.

Sinners' Prayer

Jesus I declare today with all my heart that I believe in you and that God raised you from the dead. I receive forgiveness for my sins and I ask you to come into my life today and be my Lord and Savior. Thank you for salvation and eternal life.

If you were sincere as you prayed this prayer, God has already come into your life and you are a new creation, a totally new species recreated in His image. Now ask the Lord to lead you to a good faith-based, bible-teaching church where you can be equipped to fulfill your potential in the Kingdom of God.

Prayer Requests

If you have a Prayer Request, please connect to the Link below and follow the promptings. The PLN staff members pray over Prayer Requests every Tuesday morning at 10:00 AM eastern time. God bless you.

http://www.creditcounseling.net/prayer-request.aspx

About Prosperous Life Newsletter

PLN is an outreach ministry of Make A Way Ministries located in Miami, Florida. It is in its 14th continuous year of publication and has been published faithfully every third Friday  since January 1998. It's an e-publication primarily about finances in the Kingdom of God and is sent ONLY to our email list. If you're reading this and aren't yet on our growing email list, please let us know and we'll be so very happy to add you.