Faith and Finances

Endgame

Tim: They say that all good things must come to an end. We hope and pray that the Faith and Finances Podcast has been “good” to you, that the Christ-focused financial teaching has blessed and encouraged you.   Troy: In 1965, The Byrd's (can't these guys spell?) popularized the message of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 in their hyper-creatively titled song, "Turn! Turn! Turn!". The message is one of seasons—beginnings and endings. For every beginning, the Bible teaches us that there must ...

The Simple Rules of Loans, Credit, and Debt

How often are the words of the Apostle Paul, "Owe no man anything" applied to literally every form of loan, mortgage, and debt?   In This Episode, We Look At: Romans 13:8 in its proper context Types of debt to avoid Manageable, acceptable debt   Share Your Thoughts: If you have a question or comment about today's topic, we invite you to share your thoughts. Podcast on Facebook Tim Website or Twitter Troy Twitter Matt Website or Twitter

Having Financial Integrity [Replay]

I talk with my family frequently about the quality of food (or junk) that we put in our bodies. Yet there are times when I would see an amazing-looking dessert (just Google "Monster shakes") and all of a sudden I'm now telling my family how awesome this thing looks and that we ought to try it! That is not integrity! The healthy talk is somewhat recent in my life, but the junk food temptations stem from decades of bad habits.   In This Episode, We Look At: Deep seeded bad habi...

The Simple Rules of Financial Health

Most of us are repelled by rules thrown at us. There’s a bit of a maverick in all of us, preferring “our way.” Just as there are laws of nature, there are laws in personal finance. They really do sound simple, yet simple is often enough. We are going to list the Simple Rules/Laws and teach you how to implement them.   Save Be aware of cash flow Avoid consumer debt

Practically Loving Others

As Christ-followers, we are commanded to love others (see Matthew 22:37-40). That's a tall order. How much do we love ourselves?   In This Episode, We Look At: Love in action: With neighbors- demonstrate Christ-likeness. With our enemies. With family and the body of Christ.   Improve Your Faith and Finances: As Christ loved us unconditionally so are we to love others-unconditionally. Demonstrate that love, and also give, as giving is an act of love   Share...

3 Keys to Joyful Christmas Shopping

We all see the ads and the Hallmark movies this time of year. We see happy, joyful people shopping for their loved ones and enjoying bountiful Christmas dinners. In reality, do we display such joy and happiness in the marketplace while shopping for our loved ones? Why not?   In This Episode, We Look At: Three keys to a joyful Christmas shopping season. First: Determine to keep your family's focus on the meaning of Christmas. If the primary focus is the buying and giving of gifts, yo...

5 Money Personalities—An Interview With The Money Couple

We would like you to meet Scott and Bethany Palmer, also known as The Money Couple. Scott and Bethany focus their decades of financial planning experience on helping couples strengthen their marriages and stop fights about money.   In This Episode, We Look At: Both spouses have their own unique money language and personality. You've heard of 5 Love Languages, but it’s the money language that causes most arguments and contention in a marriage. In this interview, Scott and Betha...

Getting Your Financial House in Order

Today, your Smartphone probably knows you better than you know yourself. Simply let the device look into your eyes and in seconds, you have access to all of your financial accounts, e-mail, and everything personal you could imagine. But, how well does it know your spouse? Specifically, if you were taken out of this world, would your spouse know how to access crucial financial accounts, insurance policies, and other vital information? I'm not simply talking about what is on your phone....

Your Largest Potential Retirement Expense

A Camel and the Eye of a Needle

"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." Mark 10:25 Why did Jesus say that? Are riches bad? Are rich people condemned?   In This Episode, We Look At: Because the Bible gives so many warnings against the dangers of riches, some other misunderstandings have been perpetuated in the Christian community. One is that being wealthy is inherently sinful, or that only sinful people become wealthy. (R.C. Sproul...

Counterintuitive Abundance

"I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." John 10:10 We've heard many opinions and interpretations of this verse. If we think that this verse means that Jesus wants us to have an abundance of money to spend on ourselves, and live large with an abundance of possessions, we are heading toward misery.   In This Episode, We Look At: What an abundant life is not. It cannot be the accumulation of money and things, as Jesus warned, "Take he...

Who Are "The Poor"?

Jesus said, "For ye have the poor always with you." Matthew 26:11a There are amazing promises to those who consider the poor. "Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies. The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing" Psalm 41:1-3   In This Episode, We Look At: Here we see three c...

Five Biblical Investing Moves

HSAs as an Additional Retirement Tool

Many are familiar with the tax-saving benefits of owning and contributing to an HSA. Today we will look at a feature that allows it to work as an additional source for future income.   In This Episode, We Look At: Contributions are tax-deductible. Funds in the account have the opportunity for growth through choosing mutual funds. Potential tax-free income. Under current laws, you can submit a receipt and invoice for a medical expense that you paid in the past, and be reimbur...

What Moves Should Christians Make During a Recession?

We hear a lot of talk about a coming recession. The 24/7 news cycle would have you to worry and panic (I think that's one of their goals). There is no need. So, what's a Christian to do, to prepare for a recession?   In This Episode, We Look At: First. What is a recession? It is a natural part of the business cycle. Economies expand and they also contract. When an economy contracts the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) decreases. When this occurs for two consecutive quarters (si...

Truth to Guide Our Finances

Christians can go to prison-because of financial matters (theft). They can divorce over financial matters, and can even keep themselves out of the will of God, due to their heart and actions in financial matters. The wealthiest twenty-five pastors in America are prosperity preachers.   In This Episode, We Look At: We memorize Scripture to help keep us from sinning (Psalm 119:11) and we use Scripture in spiritual battle (Ephesians 6). Jesus quoted Scripture in response to Satan's...

Set Your Affection on Things Above

We are distracted people. There is everything from minor distractions (the doorbell rings) to major distractions (insert favorite social media platform here.) In truth, the enemy, Satan, is expertly skilled at distracting us. You see, if we are distracted, mentally, emotionally, or physically, we will easily forget our true calling - reaching the Lost and impacting this world for eternity.   In This Episode, We Look At: When we live with a worldview of life, our affections are se...

It's Your Move

We all have needs. God even designed our lives to bring us to dependence on Him. This dependence is voluntary, He does not force of to depend on Him. Do you desire to be closer to God? Did you know that in Scripture we are taught that we are to make the first move, draw near to God, then God moves, and He will draw near to you. (James 4:8)   In This Episode, We Look At: In money matters we have need for: Food, shelter, and clothing. Our first move is to seek first the kingdom o...

Big Picture Planning in Your 20s

Today's twenty-somethings have many tools and technologies available to them that did not exist a generation ago. They also face different challenges than were faced twenty years ago.   In This Episode, We Look At: The importance of trusting and depending on God. Learning to honor the Lord in your finances. Developing the habit of paying yourself with each paycheck. Continue learning. Obtain low-cost life insurance to cover the risk of a lost income (if married.)   ...

Preparing for the "What If's?"

How much of our lives do we leave up to God? How much of life is our responsible. This is an intriguing question and we tackle this subject in today's episode.   In This Episode, We Look At: We know that we are to trust God and depend on Him, completely. We also know that it is not God's plan for His children to worry or fret. What then would be considered our part in planning and preparing for surprise events in life? We find in Scripture that we are to labor to earn income...

401(k)s Explained

401(k)s are not perfect, but they do provide a way for workers to begin their investing journey toward retirement. They can be complex and many books have been written about 401(k)s. In today's episode, we are going to simplify it for you.   In This Episode, We Look At: What, exactly, is a 401(k)? It is an employer-sponsored retirement plan and by "employer-sponsored" we do not mean that it is completely funded by the employer. This is a program through you can contribute a set ...

An Interview with Bob Lotich

Bob Lotich started SeedTime (formerly ChristianPF) in 2007 with a passion to help fellow believers learn how to manage their money wisely. His personal mission (and the SeedTime mission) is to make, save, grow, and give money to benefit others.   In This Episode, We Look At: Bob's vision and success in paying off debt in order to fund God's kingdom. Bob has a "radical" plan to increase his giving to match his age, as a percentage. Not only has he done this (with God's help and,...

Plan to Achieve More

Great things can happen, with a plan. How often do we simply hope that our finances will improve, but lack a clear action plan?   In This Episode, We Look At: The fallout from not having a financial plan. The various levels of plans. Creating a plan at the income level: Career progression, furthering education. Creating a plan for today's cash flow: Do you have a savings goal? How will you reach that goal? Do you have debt to eliminate? Create and commit to a plan to e...

Interview with Kevin Folger

Kevin Folger was the second of only two pastors in Cleveland Baptist Church's 60+ year history. This year, rather than retiring (which many men in their sixties do), he is transitioning to another ministry. Pastor Folger also prepared for such a time by planning for and preparing the pastor who would succeed him at Cleveland Baptist.   In This Episode, We Look At: An uncommon but needed practice in ministry, succession planning. How God burdened Kevin's heart early on for peo...

How to Avoid These Five Money Mistakes

When you were growing up, you may have been encouraged to "learn from your mistakes." There is certainly wisdom there, but when it comes to money, there are mistakes you do not want to learn from - you want to avoid them.   In This Episode, We Look At: Some money mistakes can be so devastating that there is no recovery, or they may require years to recover from. Today we review five money mistakes that others have made and that you can avoid. Using funds from your 401(k) for ...

Interview with Niranjan Sundararaj

Niranjan Sundararaj recently retired after working nearly 27 years for American Express International. He has an incredible story of God's grace, mercy and guidance in his life, that is sure to encourage you. From being severely injured in a terrorist's bomb blast in Sri Lanka to taking his family to live in Sydney, Australia, and now at a time when others would retire, Niranjan is just getting warmed up, spear-heading a massive effort to reach the Lost in the 10/40 window.   In...

When Others Get Rich

The culture we live in equates being rich with happiness and fulfillment. Michael Norton is a Harvard Business School professor who has studied the connections between happiness and wealth.   In This Episode, We Look At: Mr. Norton says the research regularly points to two central questions that people ask themselves when determining whether they are satisfied with something in their life: Am I doing better than I was before? and, Am I doing better than other people? If you a...

Interview with Dean Miller—When God Relocates a Pastor

Dean Miller is a pastor, a sought after Youth preacher, and evangelist. Dean had pastored Central Baptist Church in Hattiesburg, MI, for thirteen years, then God brought change in Dean’s life and ministry. This type of change makes people nervous. It makes other pastors nervous.   In This Episode, We Look At: How Dean responded to a prompting from God on his heart. How would he know it was really God’s will to leave his current church and pastor a new church? How would his curr...

Building Balance

The Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. has exhibit rooms that are built slightly off-center, the floors slope a tad, and the walls are not “plumb.” The intended effect is to make the visitor feel a little disoriented, to give just a hint as to how the Jews felt being taken from their homes and herded into a strange place.   Feeling off-balance isn’t pleasant, we crave balance in most areas of our life.   In This Episode, We Look At: We often find ourselves out of balance in...

The Role of Struggles

We all experience struggles of some nature. Sometimes they are physical, sometimes, spiritual, and of course, financial.   In This Episode, We Look At: Struggles are part of life. Some struggles are self-inflicted. A struggle is not necessarily an indication of God's punishment for sin. Many struggles are Father-filtered with the purpose of strengthening our faith and dependence on God. Even children can learn and grow through struggles. Though it may be difficult, there ar...

Multiply—Varying Gifts, Varying Abilities

In Jesus’ parable of the talents, one servant receives five talents, a second receives two talents, and the third servant receives one talent. Why did each receive a different amount of wealth?   In This Episode, We Look At: Today, we see that God has provided Christians with varying amounts of money for the purpose of occupying until he returns. The key wording in this passage is “…according to their several ability.” Everyone has their own level of faithfulness with God’...

"Multiply" Chapter One Review

A storyline from the parable of the talents (Matthew 25) guides the reader. Here you have two faithful servants who double their lord's wealth, and one who hides the money. What were these servants' views on ownership?   In This Episode, We Look At: Whose wealth did they manage and multiply? In verse 14 the Bible says "… and delivered unto them his goods." They knew that, while they were in physical possession of riches, the wealth actually belonged to their lord. The finan...

Introducing Tim’s new book—“Multiply”

Why write a book on the subject of investing, when there are already so many others? Christians still experience stress, fear, worry, and confusion over the matter of planning for their future, and yet the Bible has so much to teach. "Multiply" teaches those principles and guides you in today's applications.   In This Episode, We Look At: Most of us are not planning adequately for the future, for varying reasons. An estimated twenty-one million American workers say that they ...

155: Why is Money Such a Big Deal?

Where does money come from and why do we value it so much?   In This Episode, We Look At: Money is one thing can so quickly turn the Christian’s heart away from the Lord and into idolatry. (I am not saying money is bad). Since antiquity there has always been some sort of money (something of value exchanged for something else of value). The more you have the more stuff you can obtain. How money is viewed. Our view of money can be very subjective and often progresses (or re...

Bible Steps—Avoiding Consumer Debt

As Christians we need to remain diligent and guard our hearts against the constant push of how we ought to live and be entertained.   In This Episode, We Look At: Self-inflicted consumer debt. We take out a loan or use the credit card to get something now, that we cannot afford, and worry about paying for it later. Is the verse, “Owe no man anything” to be taken literally? We’ll tackle that on today’s episode. Resources and Links: Multiply: What the Bible Teaches About Saving...

You Have More Than You Think. You'll Need More Than You Think

If you are listening to this Podcast in a developed country, you likely own a Smart phone which costs somewhere between $300 and $900. Whether you paid for it in full, put it on a credit card, or had the cell company add the balance to your monthly bill, it was important to you and you may a way to obtain the phone. The same applies to our cars, computers, and other things that are a priority to us; we find a away to obtain.   In This Episode, We Look At: If we find ways to own Sm...

152: Limiting God

Time and time again in Scripture we see Jesus' disciples limiting the power of God in their lives through their doubt or disbelief. Peter cast one net instead of two, as Jesus instructed. And again, when told to come out and walk on the water. If his disciples, who were physically with Jesus for over three years, had times of doubt and uncertainty, we can be assured that we will also.   In This Episode, We Look At: We are a people in complete need of God. He is the One who provid...

151: Playing the Market vs Owning the Market

Like the sights and sounds of a Vegas casino, the investing world is full of "sights and sounds", luring the investor to play.   In This Episode, We Look At: Some approaches to investing can be considered speculating, or gambling, with your money. Single stock picking. Attempting to time the market. Even choosing a mutual fund based on the reported past performance. In this episode we also look at the benefits and applications of diversification in your investing experience. Jac...

150: Bible Steps—You Can Live Within Your Means

In your adult years have you ever resisted advice that was good for you? We could respond with “You can’t tell me what what to do!” Hearing that we ought to live within our means can generate that same resistance. If we are honest with ourselves, we lean toward living how we want to live.   In This Episode, We Look At: Most Americans live beyond their means, as measured by consumer debt held by the average household. There is not safety in these numbers. Debt means using so...

149: Building a Counterfeit Kingdom

We work, often full-time, to earn money. We struggle sometimes to meet today’s financial demands, set some money aside in savings, while trying to squeeze in some dollars for the future.   In This Episode, We Look At: We are bombarded with materialism. We are prone to worry, stress, and hoard. The very kingdom we spend time, energy, and resources to build will ultimately and literally pass away. It will be burn and God will replace it with a new, perfect earth.   Resource...

148: Measuring Financial Success

If we were to sit down and, as a Registered Investment Advisor Representative, I were to measure your financial success or shortcomings, I would compare your assets versus your liabilities. If your assets exceeded your liabilities, we may agree that you are doing well. If we are not careful our pursuits of financial success could easily turn our hearts inward—toward self, and away from God.   In This Episode, We Look At: There is a difference between being wise and honoring God. ...

147: This One Thing has the greatest impact on your finances

What is the most impactful element in your finances, whether negative or positive? We submit that it is your ability to earn money   In This Episode, We Look At: A wage-earner making $13 an hour is not destined to be imprisoned in that hourly rate forever. What are your aspirations? How do you view employment? Some of the largest companies that are household names started in a garage. Moving on up (the corporate ladder) Doug Mcmillon worked his way up from entry level...

146: The Biblical Strengths of Capitalism

There is an unsettling interest in socialism rising in our country, and at an alarming rate. Recent election results should serve as an eye-opener for sleepy voters.   In This Episode, We Look At: While Capitalism is not found in Scripture, most of its tenants are. Property rights. Rule of law. Just weights (fair business practice) Capitalism has built in checks-and-balances. Profit is not bad, profit is good. Job creation Resources and Links: Godonomics—C...

145: Your Finances will not be perfect, but God's principles are!

The good news is, there is a ton of resources available to help us with our personal finances. The bad news is, there is a ton of resources available to help us with our personal finances! It is very easy to get overwhelmed in our financial pursuits. Some put undo pressure on themselves to be like others, or  to reach certain levels of financial success, and always finding themselves just short of those goals.   In This Episode, We Look At: The downside of expectations. When exp...

144: Bible Steps—Giving's role in your personal finances

Continuing our series on Bible Steps: Receiving God's Financial Promises and Peace, we've look at Dependence on God alone, Faithfully laboring, Saving a portion, and today we discuss the next step; Giving.   In This Episode, We Look At: Giving is a vivid reminder that it is all about God, not about us. He does not exist for us, we exist for Him. The Purpose for Giving: It is to further the cause of Christ through; Worshipping in giving (Acts 10:1-4), Supporting Missionaries...

143: Are You Prepared for a Financial Dry Spell?

Government shut-downs, layoffs, and market crash; oh my! Could you survive, financially, if you missed on paycheck? Two paychecks? Could you meet your required financial obligations for one month? Two months?   In This Episode, We Look At: Fewer than 60% of American households say they are putting away money for an emergency. It is estimated that 10% of households fell behind in their bills last year. Do a drill—a financial drill. Kids participate in fire and earthquake dri...

142: Bible Steps—Save a Portion of all Income

We have no problem spending. Americans spend 90% of their income. We are not so great at savings, but it does not have to be so in your family finances.   In This Episode, We Look At: Why Save? The Bible teaches us that it is wise (Proverbs 21:20) and, practically speaking, expenses come up as well as God-appointed opportunities and when we are not saving we miss out on those opportunities, and are tempted to take on debt for expenses we cannot afford. When to save? With e...

141: Getting Past the Obstacles to Investing

There are many statistics measuring the savings and investing successes and short-comings of Americans. But you are not a statistic and you do not have to compare yourself with the Average American Joe.   In This Episode, We Look At: You should ask yourself a couple of questions regarding your finances: "Am I on pace to replace my income at retirement (or, such a time when I can no longer work?)" "What are the obstacles holding me back from preparing for my financial future?...

140: Can Money Buy Happiness?

People seek fulfillment. Those without Christ seek to find fulfillment in everyway imaginable, and even beyond our imagination.   In This Episode, We Look At: Christians are drawn (tempted) to seek fulfillment outside of Christ as well. On average, Christians retain the same amount of debt as non-followers of Christ. The divorce rate among Christians and non-Christians is about the same. What do these have in common? Money and the pursuit of happiness.   Resour...

139: Income and Identity

Health enthusiasts may say "You are what you eat." In the area of finances, are we "What we earn?" I someone who earns $200,000 somehow better than someone who earns less?   In This Episode, We Look At: Comparison and discontentment are the problem. Though the world may measure you by income, we are not what we earn. Net worth vs. true worth.   Resources and Links: 1 Timothy 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain   Share Your Thoughts: If you have...