Your respect for time is a prediction of your financial future.

“So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.” (Luke 16:8)

Are you blessed to be a blessing?

In a single week in June 2004, three different born-again Christians began talking to me about millionaires. That was extremely unusual since money is not my focus. Rarely did anyone talk to me about millionaires, let alone three people in one week.

One of those three people was Pastor Mark Jarvis, my closest friend next to Julia. Mark has never been wealthy and is not concerned if he ever will be. He had never talked to me about millionaires before.

The other two people I met for the very first time in Grapevine Texas in June 2004 while attending the national annual convention for the Christian Medical and Dental Association (CMDA). One of them was Dr. Ed Read, an emergency room physician with a lead role for the CMDA in Virginia.

The other person was Vern Six, someone who went out of his way on a work day to come visit me at the Gaylord Texan Resort where I was staying and the convention was being held. Vern is a very successful Christian entrepreneur, who developed the email SPAM filter I was using at the time. Less than one week before the CMDA convention began, a tornado hit Texas where Vern worked knocking out his computer servers and my email service. That is how I learned Vern lived in Texas and how we connected personally.

When Vern and I met at the Gaylord Texan for an hour or so, we had a great conversation. It was clear that Vern understood business well and he had a generous heart. Shortly before we left one another, Vern recommended I read “The One Minute Millionaire” book.

I was very leery about doing this, but given the extremely unusual set of circumstances, I decided to visit Amazon.com to read the reviews on this book. Most of these reviews praised the positive spiritual aspects of the book. So I ordered the book. After reading that, I ordered the audio-book on CD, which I listened to several times. What a blessing!

Here’s my take on the subject of wealth. Most Christians never fulfill God’s assignments for their lives because they lack the financial resources necessary to do that. Most view financial wealth as evil. Yet Jesus talked more about money than any other subject and He said “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)

Here are proper Biblical perspectives on money:
1) We are to be good stewards with all that God entrusts to us.
2) We are to invest our time and money wisely, expecting a significant return.
3) We are to share our wealth with those in need while we are alive.
4) We are “blessed to be a blessing,” not to soak up the blessings ourselves.
5) Retirement is not biblical.

Prayer Power
Heavenly Father, You are the source of all true and lasting wealth. Some day, each of us will lose all the money we’ve ever made. Bless me with a healthy respect for my time. Bless me to be a good steward of the financial wealth you entrust to me. Bless me with a generous heart that is always receptive to the leading of the Holy Spirit as to when and how much to give. Thank You Jesus. Amen.

Link of the Day
The One Minute Millionaire (audio-book)
http://www.amazon.com/One-Minute-Millionaire-Enlightened-Wealth/dp/0553713833/sr=1-3/qid=1162722148/ref=pd_bbs_3/002-3686514-7376041?ie=UTF8&s=books

Blessings to have a healthy respect for the value of your time!