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1 John 4:7-16 (NIV)

7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

Humans are nothing if not forgetful. We have great intentions, but we lose sight of our money goals faster than you can say, “Attention span.”

Instead of giving up, give your money memory (and your bank account) a boost. Think of these 12 numbers as a dozen friendly reminders to keep on winning.

10% – Make sure you’re giving 10% of your income to a local church or charity. Net or gross doesn’t really matter. Since most evangelical Christians are only giving about 3% anyway, you’re way ahead of the curve if you’re giving a tithe (a tenth) either before or after taxes.

$15,263 – The average American has $15,263 in consumer credit card debt. That’s a big number, but it’s by no means hopeless. Getting out of debt is 80% behavior and 20% head knowledge. So if you change that way you spend and save, you will change your life.

$3,000 – Most Financial Peace University class members pay off $3,000 during the course of the nine-week class. That’s impressive. But how do they do it? By learning some simple money concepts and getting intense about getting out of debt. Because once you finally see the light at the end of the debt tunnel, you want out—fast.

4 – Before paying down debts, be sure to cover your Four Walls: food, clothing, shelter and utilities, and transportation. Rude credit card collectors will just have to wait. Use the debt snowball to gain some serious traction, but always take care of your own household first.

$1 trillion – The current estimated student loan debt in America is $1 trillion. Instead of adding to that figure, help your kids stay out of diploma debt by guiding them toward in-state tuition, scholarships and part-time jobs. And if they’re already out of college and carrying a load of student loans, help them start a $1,000 emergency fund, find cheap housing, and live like a broke college student again. Any extra money they earn goes toward the debt! That way they won’t be saddled with loans when they’re ready to start a family and buy a home.

3 – Take advantage of your three free credit reports each year from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. With identity theft on the rise, it’s smart to make sure a bad guy isn’t having a good time on your dime.

60% – New cars lose about 60% of their value in the first four years. Instead of coughing up car payments year after year, save up and buy only what you can afford. Then pay yourself that money. If invested wisely, that car payment could turn into a cool million over a lifetime. Yes, we’re serious! Here’s proof.

10 – When it comes to life insurance, shoot for 10–12 times your current income. Life insurance is important because keeps your family out of dire financial straits should you pass away. With at least 10 times your current income, your loved ones should be able to invest the money and live off the growth. Avoid gimmicky whole life and universal policies; only buy term life insurance.

$10,000 – A couple with $10,000 in debt and no savings is twice as likely to divorce as a couple with no debt and $10,000 in the bank. If your savings are deteriorating, stop the bleeding with a $1,000 emergency fund. And when you become debt-free, your next goal should be saving 3–6 months of expenses. Your relationship is worth saving for.

15 – We actually prefer the 100%-down plan, where you save like crazy then pay cash for your home, but a 15-year mortgage works too. Stay away from 30-year mortgages though. Dragging out your payments like that will cost you tens of thousands of dollars—if not hundreds of thousands. The faster you pay off your house, the less it will actually cost.

$2 million – The average American has more than $2 million pass through his or her hands during a working lifetime. Yes, even you. That’s a lot of money to let slip away with nothing to show for it. Make your money work harder by investing 15% of your income for retirement as soon as you’re out of debt and have a fully stocked emergency fund.

5 – There are only five months left until Christmas. The best time to start saving for Christmas was back in January, but the next best time is now. Decide how much you’d like to spend on meals, gifts, travel and entertainment. Then create a sinking fund in which you save toward that goal each month. By December, you should have exactly what you need for a credit-card-free Christmas.

One last reminder: The best way to create a solid financial future is to stay focused on your money goals now. And when you do slip-up, that’s okay—you’re only human!

Simply course-correct, then chase after your goals harder than before. You’ll get there.

What numbers have helped you win with money?

Alf Clark walks the city streets looking for Zacchaeus. Well, not the actual one in the Bible—Jesus already found him. Alf and some friends who serve with an urban ministry do what Jesus did in Luke 19. They go purposefully through town to meet with and help those in need.

Alf walks house to house in his neighborhood, knocking on doors and saying to whoever peeks out, “Hi, I’m Alf. Do you have any needs I can pray for?” It’s his way of opening up communication and—like Jesus did with tax-collector Zacchaeus—seeking to supply needed counsel and spiritual life and hope.

Notice what Jesus did. Luke simply says that Jesus “passed through” Jericho (Luke 19:1). Of course, a crowd gathered, as usually occurred when Jesus came to town. Zacchaeus, being “height challenged,” climbed a tree. Jesus, while passing through, walked right over to his tree and told him He had to visit at his house. That day salvation came to Zacchaeus’s house. Jesus had “come to seek and to save that which was lost” (v.10).

Do we look for Zacchaeus? He is everywhere, needing Jesus. In what ways can we share Christ’s love with people who need the Savior?

~ By Dave Branon

Luke 19:1-10 (NIV)

Zacchaeus the Tax Collector

19 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”

8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

I came across this and it made me laugh at a moment I really really needed to laugh!  It’s sweet, horrible, and hilarious all at the same time!  Just thought I would share!  

Enjoy and see you at the party!

ANSWER: We live in a society that is totally obsessed with sex. We know that sex sells, so many advertisements we see are sexual in nature. Television, movies, and novels are full of sex. Nudity, or near nudity is all around us. Pornography is so easily accessible. Women and men dress more provocatively these days and that is becoming the norm, even for young girls and boys. It’s no wonder that our minds are so often on sex and we feel the need for sexual release.

What does scripture say about masturbation? The Bible does not address the subject of masturbation directly. It does have much to say about sexual infidelity, condemning any sexual immorality, including sex outside of marriage. While the Bible doesn’t explicitly state that masturbation is a sin, there is no question that the actions that lead to masturbation can be sinful. Lustful thoughts, sexual arousal from reading sex-laden novels and from watching many of today's films and TV programs, and pornographic images are what usually lead to masturbation. These problems need to be dealt with. If the sins of lust, immoral thoughts, and pornography are confessed, forsaken and overcome, masturbation will become a non-issue. Many people struggle with guilty feelings about self-satisfaction, when in reality, the things that led to the act are just as worthy of repentance. When our minds are full of impure thoughts, our bodies will soon follow. 1 Timothy 5:22 tells us to, “Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins: keep thyself pure.” We cannot be pure if our minds are taken up with things that dishonor the Lord.

2 Corinthians 10:5 instructs us, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” If we truly bring every thought into obedience to the will of Christ, we will not have lustful thoughts, and masturbation will not be such an issue for us. The Apostle Paul speaks of unmarried people in 1 Corinthians 7:9 where he says, “But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.” The thought here is that it is better to be married than to burn with lust for a woman or man if a person cannot contain himself, or practice self-restraint. This seems to show that masturbation was not an option. We are not advised to perform self-pleasure instead of burning with lust.

There are instances where a man and wife, who are used to enjoying sexual pleasure, are parted for long periods, perhaps because one is in the military and is stationed away from their spouse. Is masturbation acceptable is this kind of situation? To those, I can only encourage the husband and wife to talk about this together, pray about this together, and seek the Lord’s mind. We read in 1 Corinthians 7:5, “Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.” This shows us the danger of withholding sex from our spouse. Paul instructs the couple not to deprive one another of sex unless it is talked about, agreed upon, and then come together again after a short while. If there are occasions where the couple must be apart for long periods of time, masturbation may be an acceptable option. However, Romans 14:23 tells us that, “…whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” Be sure you have sought and received the mind of the Lord before engaging in masturbation.

Answers From the Book @ https://www.facebook.com/AnswersFromTheBook

Revelation 22:20 ~ He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

After Reading This, My Cup of Coffee Had a Whole New Meaning…And It’ll Never Be The Same Again

You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again. 

Cup of Coffee

A young woman told her mother about her life and how things were so hard.  She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed that as one problem was solved, a new one arose. 

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In the first, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word. 

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She then pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. 

Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do you see?" 

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied. 

She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. 

The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, Mother?" 

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity -- boiling water -- but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. However, the ground coffee beans were unique.  After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water. 

"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?" 

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity, do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength? 

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart? 

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor of your life. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate to another level? 

How do you handle adversity? Are you changed by your surroundings or do you bring life, flavor, to them?

ARE YOU A CARROT, AN EGG, OR A COFFEE BEAN? 

~ Author Unknown ~ 

2 Corinthians 4:8-11

We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed--  always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.  For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

John 14:6

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Revelation 3:20

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Matthew 10:32-33

“Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.  But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.

Prayer:

Dear Lord Jesus, I believe You are the Son of God, and You came to this earth, and dies for my sins, and rose again so that I might have life.  Forgive me of my sins.  Come into my heart.  Be my Lord and Savior.  I pray these things in Your precious name.  Amen.