Sow a Seed

2 Corinthians 9:10-11
Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

1 John 3:16-18
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
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If I didn’t mention money at all, I wouldn’t do justice to the subject of prosperity. My pastors taught about many other things that affect our prosperity—repentance, walking in love, believing God, refusing to sin, refusing to worry, and forgiving those who have offended us, to name a few. But let me leave you with a couple of final thoughts about giving and receiving.

1) To prosper, we have to sow a seed. If you need a blessing, you have to be a blessing to someone else. If you need healing, pray for someone else’s healing. If you need a job, pray for someone else who needs a job.
2) God supplies the seed for us to sow. If we don’t have money, we can also sow a seed by giving of ourselves. Give someone a ride to church, help an elderly neighbor with yard work or shopping, or visit someone in jail or in the hospital
3) The first 10% of your earned income (the tithe) belongs to God. Don’t expect Him to bless you if you withhold it. The other 90% is yours—but it will go a lot further if you dedicate it to the Lord.
4) When you sow a seed, believe God to bless you with a specific result. One man I know wrote a check to his church equal to one mortgage payment. In the corner he wrote, “Mortgage, paid in full.” Within 6 months, his house was completely paid off.
5) Start sharing what you have NOW with those who have less. If you are faithful to honor God and love others with the little you have, He will bless you with more.

Sometimes I don’t feel like I have much to sow, but over the past two weeks I have been helping a homeless woman in recovery from crack cocaine and alcohol, who has even less than I have—and God has poured out blessings on my family as a result.
· As we drove home from church last Tuesday, my kids started complaining that we had no food in the house. I made them stop complaining and start thanking God for everything He’s given us and for supplying all our need. The next morning, a friend called unexpectedly and took me shopping at Costco for over $200 of food.
· Two days later, another lady took my teenage daughter shopping and bought her several new outfits.
· The day after that, my daughter was given a full scholarship to go on a Christian retreat at Hume Lake, which normally costs around $400.
· By the end of the week, I was out of gas and low on money. That night, one of my pastors handed me a check for $200. Even the homeless lady I had been driving to church gave me $10 for gas. (If you’re thinking I should’ve turned it down, I started to—but she insisted because she wanted God to bless HER finances!)

God is faithful to His word. He will provide seed for you to sow, and He will bless you abundantly for sowing it.

God bless you abundantly as you pursue prosperity in every area of your life—for His name’s sake.

Cathleen

Put Pressure on the Word

Isaiah 55:11
So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

Hebrews 4:12 – For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

“Mary” is one of the most amazing women I know. About 15 months ago, a friend brought her to our church. She was over 50 years old, addicted to drugs, and desperate. The house she was living in had just burned down, destroying everything she owned. She had no car, no clothes, and no money. She hadn’t been able to find a job due to a felony conviction for possession of drug paraphernalia—a charge she had accepted to protect her boyfriend (who later ended up in prison on another charge).

The friend who brought Mary to church stopped coming after a few weeks, but Mary refused to give up. She came to church every time the doors were open (which at that time was every night of the week). She always sat in the front row, singing with all her heart and shouting “Amen!” “Hallelujah!” and “Praise You, Lord!” throughout each service. Seeing her sincere devotion to God, the pastor hired her to clean the church. She tithed on every penny she earned, and one day a church member gave her a car. When she heard there was a job opening at a Christian bookstore, she prayed for God’s favor and they hired her, in spite of her criminal record. Her boss and co-workers love her so much that they told her they wish they could hire three more just like her.

Mary glows with love for Jesus like no one I’ve ever met. She says the ONE THING that made the greatest difference in her life was when Pastor Amy taught, “Put PRESSURE on the Word.” “Pressure” means: never stop reading the word, believing the word, praying the word, and speaking the word. That’s how Mary lives. You can’t be with her for two minutes without the word of God coming out of her mouth. And God’s word cannot fail—it always accomplishes what God intended.

Mary isn’t the wealthiest woman I know by worldly standards—but she is one of the happiest. God has completely transformed her personality and her circumstances, just through the power of His word. Her every need is met because she looks to God as her Source.

Would you like to see a transformation in your personality or circumstances? Put a little extra “pressure” on the word and see what happens.

Cathleen

Teach Your Children

Deut 6:3, 5-9
Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you… Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
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Another ingredient to prosperity really caught me off guard--teaching God’s word to my children. I thought I had been doing a good job because I quote the Bible to them a lot, and I make sure everyone goes to Bible study at least twice a week.

But when my pastor brought up these verses, I felt a twinge of concern. Did my children really know the word of God? Was I really doing a good job? Back when they attended Christian schools, I knew they were learning the Bible every day, but is twice a week at church enough? And it only increased my concern when my pastor said we need to go after our older children and not give up on them.

I have two sons that are over 18. One of them is a self-proclaimed agnostic who is always declaring that God, heaven, and hell are imaginary. He knows the truth, but he feels God messed up his life by giving him an abusive and mentally unstable father. So his revenge on God is to declare that He doesn’t exist. The other son knows the Lord, but he rarely reads the Bible and never goes to church. I also have a 17-year-old daughter who lives with a non-Christian lady and never goes to church. I pray for my children every day, but I want to do more.

With the younger kids, I gave them a little test. I asked them if they knew what the “greatest commandment” is. They all thought it was, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Now they know the greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and the second greatest commandment is to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:29-31). I’m determined to teach them something new from God’s word every day as we drive to and from school and church.

With the older kids, it’s a little harder. I invited all three of them to church, but so far they aren’t interested. However, I do have a backup plan! Recently one of my senior pastors gave out copies of “Driven by Eternity,” by John Bevere (available on walmart.com or directly from John Bevere’s website, www.messengerintl.org ). She also played the CD dramatization of the parable in the book during her weekly Bible study. I highly recommend both the book and the CD. They changed my life, and I guarantee they will change yours, too! I got a book for my oldest son and I am ordering CD’s for the other two. Get one for yourself!

If your children are older adults and long gone from home, don’t give up! I have seen miracles at my church where parents stood in faith that their older children would come back to the Lord, and they have. One of them came back to the Lord at age 44 and is now bringing his children to church with him.

Cathleen

What Do I Have to Do to Prosper?

Deut. 5:32-33
So Moses told the people, "You must obey all the commands of the LORD your God, following his instructions in every detail. Stay on the path that the LORD your God has commanded you to follow. Then you will live long and prosperous lives in the land you are about to enter and occupy.

Joshua 1:7
Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.
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The greatest secret to prosperity really isn’t the big mystery we all think it is. It isn’t very glamorous, either. In fact, it’s hard work. And it can’t be done once in a while—it has to be done consistently, every single day, day after day, year after year.

Our prosperity hinges on a 4-letter word: OBEY.

There, I said it. Not very exciting, is it? I’ll bet you think you’re already obeying God in every area of your life. But if let the Holy Spirit shine a floodlight in those dark corners of your heart and take a closer look, you’ll see little areas where you compromise. Speaking unkindly or gossiping about others, skimming money off your tithes (or not tithing at all), loafing on the job because it’s boring (sorry about that one, Lord), watching movies or television shows that dishonor God, being unkind or impatient with our children or spouse… all those little things can interfere with our prosperity.

I don’t know about you, but being lazy is a lot more comfortable for me than being diligent. On the other hand, being careful to obey God in the little things (as well as the big things) has hidden rewards. It’s kind of like brushing your teeth before going to bed. NOT doing it doesn’t seem to make a big difference at first, but it has hidden consequences that show up later--cavities. On the other hand, making the extra effort has hidden benefits that we don’t necessarily notice--healthy, white teeth.

Are you happy with where you are in life? In your career, ministry, finances, relationships, and health? Then keep doing what you’re doing. But if you’re not where God wants you to be, soften your heart and let the Holy Spirit convict you of areas in your life that are not pleasing to Him. God wants you to prosper. Don’t stand in your own way.

Your sister in Christ,
Cathleen

Does God Want Me to Prosper?

John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

3 John 2 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

This week the Lord put it on my pastor’s heart to hold a “Prosperity Conference” at our church. Every night, we had dinner at 6 pm and Bible study at 7 pm. It was an incredible, blessed week.
The first thing he taught us is that “prosperity” isn’t just about money. The definition of prosperity is “to flourish, grow, do well, succeed, increase, BOOM” in every area of our lives, including health, relationships, career, ministry, family, and finances.

God created us to prosper, just as He blessed Adam and Eve in the garden when He told them to be fruitful and multiply and have dominion over the earth. Sure, Adam and Eve messed up. But that didn’t change God’s original intention.

If you’re a parent, you didn’t have children because you had a burning desire to watch them struggle, suffer and fail. When they were born, you had high hopes that they would ultimately succeed in life and be blessed, in spite of the unavoidable challenges they will face. So, how could we imagine that God would have evil intentions for our lives? How could we think for a moment that He enjoys seeing us live in constant struggle, failure, and defeat?

No, I have come to believe that, while trials and tribulations are an inevitable part of life in this fallen world, we bring much of it on ourselves because that’s what we EXPECT from life. We are lulled into thinking life is supposed to be all about failure, and there’s nothing we can do to change it.

The truth is, there’s a lot we do to bring failure and defeat into our lives. If we just float along with the tide, our lives will be miserable indeed. But if we start believing God’s promises and obeying what He tells us to do, if we truly become “new creations” in Christ Jesus and leave the garbage behind, we will start to live in a His kingdom right here and now—a kingdom of miracles, blessings, abundance, and VICTORY over our circumstances. I don’t know about you, but I have decided to settle for nothing less.

If you aren’t willing to fight the good fight of faith and pursue the prosperity God intended you to have for your OWN sake, remember that your life reflects on Him as your Lord. When people look at your life, are they drawn to Jesus? Or do they feel like they’re better of without Him?

Think about it!

Your sister in Christ,

Cathleen