Blueprint Reflections on money, wealth and possessions Mark Lloydbottom
Table of contents PART 1 1 Bible is a blueprint for living 3 Ownership 4 Day 01 How wonderful is our Fathe rs handbook 9 Day 02 God s part and our part 13 Day 03 Principles and promises 19 Stewardship 20 Day 04 The character of stewardship 25 Dau 05 Stewardship and contentment 29 Provision 30 Day 06 What is our attitude toward our treasures? 34 Day 07 Giving materialism a wide berth
PART 2 41 Free to serve Him 43 Debt 44 Day 08 The stanglehold of debt 49 Day 09 When the debt may be the way 54 Day 10 Tough times don t last 61 The Practical Provision 62 Day 11 Love and compassion 66 Day 12 Becoming debt free - part 1 71 Day 13 Becoming debt free - part 2 77 Day 14 Avoiding bankruptcy 81 Advice and Counsel 82 Day 15 Seeking wisdom 86 Day 16 Counsel PART 3 93 Growing in generosity 95 Attitude in Giving 95 Day 17 Should you tithe? 96 Day 18 Giving 103 The amount to give 109 Day 19 Good news for the poor 114 Day 20 Laws of prosperity 119 The Human response 120 Day 21 Work and business
PART 4 125 Save. Invest. Spend 127 Income exceeds Expenses 128 Day 22 Building godly integrity 132 Day 23 Being content 136 Day 24 Investing principles from Psalm 23 140 Day 25 Financial planning 145 Lifestyle 146 Day 26 Staying honest in all things 151 Day 27 Work and our talents 155 Day 28 Marriage and money 160 Day 29 Training our children - part 1 164 Day 30 Training our children - part 2 169 Day 31 Where to invest - part 1 174 Day 32 Where to invest - part 2 179 Perspective 180 Day 33 Work - productivity and income 186 Day 34 Finances and preparing for retirement 191 Day 35 Planning to leave an inheritance 196 Day 36 Leaving it all behind PART 5 203 Just do it 205 You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today 206 Day 37 All eyes on eternity 211 Day 38 Making it happen - part 1 215 Day 39 Making it happen - part 2 219 Day 40 Just stretching
1 Bible is a blueprint for living Ownership Stewardship Provision
Ownership 3
BLUEPRINT DAY 01 How wonderful is our Father s Handbook The Word of God well understood and religiously obeyed is the shortest route to spiritual perfection. And we must not select a few favourite passages to the exclusion of others. Nothing less than a whole Bible can make a whole Christian. A W Tozer I am profitably engaged in reading the Bible. Take all of this Book that you can by reason and the balance by faith, and you will live and die a better man. It is the best Book which God has given to man. Abraham Lincoln The Bible amazingly reveals God s plans. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God and the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us (John 1:1,14). Jesus the Word was there before the beginning and the role the members of the holy trinity played in Creation is made clear in Genesis. God s written Word is powerful today. It teaches us everything we need for life: as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3, NKJV) and indicates we can do good works to please Him (Ephesians 2:10). It even teaches us how to please him: for example in our social interactions, as employees, in marital and family relationships, and most importantly in the handling of money and possessions. The Living Word (Jesus Christ) gave us the written Word so that we will know how to live for Him. How amazing to know God s only Son, Jesus, died that we might live forever. God s love is so great that He prepares a place for us in eternity. Our life on earth is so short although in younger years it does not appear to be so. The Bible reminds us that we may have a life span of just over 650,000 hours (seventy five years), yet He cares for us moment by moment and day by day. 4 DAY 01
PART 1 OWNERSHIP YOUR DAILY DEVOTIONS These daily devotions are not a replacement for your own Bible study. Blueprint seeks to illuminate the truth of the Bible and give us understanding when we allow the Holy Spirit to speak to our inner self through meditation and prayer telling God what you want Him to know and listening to Him. Prayer is indeed a two-way process of speaking to God and listening for God. This devotional journey will focus on hearing God in the area of handling money and possessions. Many view the Bible as hard to understand and sometimes unfathomable. If this is you, take heart, you are not alone. Many have never read the Bible from cover to cover and some who have may not fully comprehend all they read. The Bible is nearly impossible to fully understand much less obey without the enabling of the Holy Spirit. For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12 THE ONLY BOOK GOD HAS WRITTEN The Bible is the only book that God ever wrote. We should read the Bible recognising it is the manufacturer s handbook. The Bible is where we look, just like an owner s manual for a household appliance, to find how to live, how to avoid problems, how to fix problems, how to succeed and how to live our lives according to His Word. Unlike other handbooks, however, the Bible needs no updates. Furthermore it does not start at the beginning or finish at the end with life on earth, for at the end of life on earth eternity is promised! DAY 01 5
BLUEPRINT Blueprint is grounded in Scripture and godly wisdom. The Church in Thessalonica received the Word with readiness and searched the Scriptures to find out whether what the disciples taught was true (Acts 17:11). Since the Bible is our reference source let us look at its background after all it is the book to which Christians turn to learn more about God, His ways, His plans, and His purposes. I am a creature of a day. I am a spirit come from God, and returning to God. I want to know one thing: the way to heaven. God himself has condescended to teach me the way. He has written it down in a book. Oh, give me that book! At any price give me the book of God. Let me be a man of one book. John Wesley BIBLE FACTS The word bible means books. There are 66 of them comprising 1,189 chapters in the King James version that includes 31,102 verses and more than 775,000 words! The Bible was written over a period of 1,500 years the oldest book is Job, whose authorship is unknown. There were more than 40 authors whose occupations were as diverse as kings, peasants, philosophers, tentmakers, shepherds, fishermen and scholars. It was written on three continents (Asia, Africa and 6 DAY 01
PART 1 OWNERSHIP Europe) and in three languages (Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek). It includes more than 1,200 promises, almost 6,500 commands and over 8,000 predictions. Although the Bible may have been penned by men the author is unquestionably God himself. It is HIStory. In the middle chapter and verse (Psalm 118: 8) we read the Bible s central theme that it is, better to trust in God than in man. If you want to find out what God wants you to know about prayer or faith you have a resource of about 500 Bible verses for each. If you want to learn what God has to say about how we handle our money, wealth and possessions there are 700 direct verses referring to money and in total 2,350 verses referring to money, wealth and possessions. Fifteen per cent of Jesus recorded words are about handling money and possessions. If you have listened to a preacher and thought that the Bible spoke mainly about giving (to the Church), be blessed, amazed and encouraged as you study these forty devotional readings. The sheer scale of what the Bible has to say demands our attention for it is clear that God knows the financial temptations that lie in this area. And His wisdom found in Scripture will help you avoid many financial pitfalls. GOD S FINANCIAL SYSTEM UNVEILED In 2 Timothy 3:16 we read, all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness (KJV). Note that He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. James 1:18 DAY 01 7
BLUEPRINT Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:17 the Bible says all Scripture and not some. Through faith we accept Jesus Christ as Saviour. If our salvation is only about eternity why would we not go direct to heaven instead of living here on earth? It is because our purpose on earth is to share our faith and live a life that pleases Him. There is a close correlation between our true spiritual condition and how we handle our money and possessions. There are many areas where we may wonder how God wants us to handle our finances but we do not need to conjecture because the Bible is very clear in this area. God s biblical financial system differs from that of the world s and one of the main differences is that God s economy works whereas the world s does not! God s economy says you are more blessed by giving than receiving. God promises much for our obedience, especially in financial matters as we shall explore during these devotional studies. Thank you, Father, for speaking throughout the ages with love, hope and relevance to everyone in every era through your written word, the Bible. It is wonderful that you are interested in every aspect of my daily life including how I handle my finances. I want to learn and apply your financial principles in my life give me a fresh hunger for your word, open my ears to hear and a willing heart to obey and change my ways to your Kingdom ways. In Jesus name. Amen 8 DAY 01