Jesus Be The Manager Of My Life

“Jesus, be the MANAGER of my LIFE!”

1. EARN AN HONEST LIVING. The principle of WORK.

2Thessalonians 3:6 “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ we appeal to people – no, we command them: settle down and get to work. Earn your own living.”

The first principle of financial freedom is you’ve got to earn a living.

Every once in a while you run into one of those unemployed spiritual types that say, “I’m just waiting on God to provide for me.”

“I’m waiting for my ship to come in.” Swim out to it. Take some kind of a job until the job you want opens up for you.

In fact the Bible says in 2 Thessalonians 3:10, “If a man won’t work, he shouldn’t eat.” . It says if he won’t work. If it’s a matter of character, you’re just lazy. The Bible says you shouldn’t eat. God wants us to earn an honest living.

2. PLAN YOUR SPENDING. This is the principle of BUDGETING.

You’ve got to set some financial goals and stick with them. Don’t go through 2008 the way you went through 2007 – fumbling around-drifting around, spending, guessing, listening for the creditor’s call not really knowing where your money is or where it’s going.

Proverbs 27:23-24 says,

23Know the state of your flocks, and put your heart into caring for your herds,

24for riches don’t last forever, and the crown might not be passed to the next generation.

“Riches can disappear fast. So watch your business interests closely. Know the state of your flocks and herds.” God’s word is saying “Know where you’ve put your money. Know where it’s going.”

Here’s the starting point: Keep good records. You’ve got to keep track of your finances. You’ve got to be aware of how you use your money. Have you ever said, “I just don’t know where it all goes.” If you’re saying that, that should be a warning light – a great big red warning light that says you’re not keeping good records.

People say, “Money talks.”

It doesn’t talk; it just quietly slips away. And it doesn’t leave any forwarding address. Have you ever asked the question, where did my money go.

You have to plan your spending but in order to plan your spending you have to keep good records.

Proverbs 23:23 23 Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.

“Get the facts at any price.” Be realistic about your finances. You need to ask, “How are we really doing? Before going out and buying something whether with cash or on credit.”

Ignorance plus easy credit equals disaster.

If you don’t know where you’re headed in your finances you’re not keeping good records and you’ve got credit cards, you’re already in trouble.

You are taking on debt on that you can’t afford. You have to be up on where your money is going. You have to plan your spending.

There are four things you need to know:

1. What I own.” “That’s your assets. You need to make an inventory, a list of all the things you

own. You need to know what you own.

2. “What I owe.” That’s your liabilities- debts. Get them all out on the table and figure out how much in debt you really are. You need to know what bills show up every four months or six months like insurance and property tax bills.

3. “What I Earn

It’s amazing how many people don’t even know exactly what they earn. If you earn $25,000, after regular taxes you only have 19,750. Instead of 2083 a month, you actually have $1645. If you earn $50,000, after taxes, you are only bringing home $36,700. Instead of the $4166 a month, you actually have $3058 a month. That’s without anything taken out anything but federal, state, social security and city taxes.

4. “Where it’s going.”

Take a month and write down every dollar that you spend. Only way to know where your money is going and what kind of budget you can come up with.

The easiest way to lose money is to keep more than $20 in your wallet at a time. Keep a record of where you spend your money in order to be able to use your money to help you get out of debt.

If you’d write it down, you’d have a whole lot less to worry about. This is a principle that’s in God’s word. First, earn an honest living. Second, plan your spending and keep good records.

Proverbs 21:5, “5Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.

“Plan carefully and you will have plenty. If you act too quickly, you will never have enough.”

Get what I say right now.

1. Financial freedom is not determined by how much you make.