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Full Transcript Below
You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.
From The Desk of A.B. Ridgeway:
The devil is stopping you from being happy with your finances.
We can probably tally up a long of excuses on why we are not successful and why the market is not doing well right now.
The war in Ukraine
Biden is spending too much money
Inflation is still a problem
My job isn't giving me a raise
But this is nothing but the devil's work. Yes. What you may be feeling is the Devil's first deception in the Bible. In the book of Genesis after God creates heaven and earth, he gives a command to Adam that he can eat of every tree in the Garden except the Tree of Good and Evil. Here is the scripture for context: Genesis 2: 16-17 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Then in the first verse of Chapter 3, we see the devil at work and he asks Eve, "And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" If the negatives are confusing, I'll put it in plain English, "Couldn't you eat from every tree in the garden?" See what the devil did? He created doubt by re-wording what God said and making her question what God had made very plain. I also want you to point out the half-truth that the devil puts into her mind. The devil conveniently left out the second part of that statement in verse 17 which was, but not of the Tree of Good and Evil. We see this on social media where news outlets and influencers will tell you the good part but conveniently leave out the bad part. "We can make more money than your advisor by trading these great stocks" But conveniently leaves out the part of increasing your risk and potentially losing more money and going broke. That is what happened to Eve. Soon Eve started to focus on the benefits of the tree of Good and Evil instead of the millions of trees she currently had access to. And because of this, Eve lost everything. She lost her paradise. Now what once was her abundance has truly become her lack. The devil's first deception was taking Eve's eyes off of her abundance and focusing it on what she lacked. As Christians, many of us are unhappy because we are focusing on what we lack, instead of focusing on the abundance that we have. We have to understand that financial success and happiness are not things that you obtain, they are things that you create and work on. Crops do not grow all year round. They have seasons. Farmers plant in Spring, they nurture in Summer, they harvest in Fall, and in Winter. The same goes for the stock market. There is an adage in the stock market that goes "we have really short harsh winters and very long pleasant summers." But it is what you do in those periods of Winter, that is going to determine if you are going to be financially successful or financially unhappy. Because if sell your farm because nothing is growing in Winter, you will never have the pleasure of seeing the abundance when Fall comes. Famers have a saying, "Either you learn to plant seeds in the Spring, or learn to beg during the Fall" The world and the devil have been telling you half-truths. They tell you to worry about recessions, they tell you to worry about inflation, they tell you about overspending by the government, and yes, these are horrible and disgusting things and they need to change. But the reality of it, is that it is here and we have to make adjustments accordingly. When you are writing out that list of excuses on why I'm not happy financially, make sure you add yourself to the top of the list. Because you have the power to make the change. Today's Scripture: In the book of James 4:2- it speaks on lack and the dangers of when we focus on what we don't have. It can cause disease in our bodies that will make us do ungodly things, like murder and fight. Concerning your finances, it can make you yell at your family, your bankers, your friends, and other people who care about you. But God tells us that we have not because we ask not. Ask yourself, "Are you praying for abundance?" Are you focused on what you want and cultivating the knowledge and assistance to get it down? Just as you are the top reason on your list of excuses on why you don't have. You can be the top reason on your list of accomplishments on why you do! Today, I want you to take control of your success and happiness and understand you are here to build it. It is winter time and things are not the best, but we need to take this time to prepare for Spring because we have some work we need to do if we are going to have an abundant harvest.
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About the blog:
Many Christians struggle with the seemingly conflicting views about our faith and the pursuit of financial gain. They were taught that poverty was piety and that a lack of money was the only way to truly detach themselves from the love of money. Our blog debunks some of those claims, teaches you that you can be rich and righteous, and at the same time fulfill your obligation to tithe and give to the less fortunate. We are dedicated to helping you become cheerful givers by organizing your personal finances, providing investment tips to help you create wealth, and encouraging you to create a gifting strategy that will make your family and God proud.
Meet the Author:
A.B. Ridgeway, MBA (info@abrwealthmanagement.com) is the owner and Christian Financial Advisor with A.B. Ridgeway Wealth Management. With a decade in the finance industry, his goal is to give believers clarity around the most confusing topic in the Bible, money, and tithing. A.B. Ridgeway helps tithing Christians become cheerful givers but unlocking their money-making potential, so they can prosper and be the great stewards of the wealth God has entrusted them with.
This communication is not intended as an offer or solicitation to buy, hold or sell any financial instrument or investment advisory services. Any information provided has been obtained from sources considered reliable, but we do not guarantee the accuracy or the completeness of any description of securities, markets or developments mentioned. This is strictly for information purposes. We recommend you speak with a professional financial advisor.