“The Danger of Debt”

4 Mar

Here are the notes from the message preached March 4, 2012.  There was too much information to get through it all.  I trust that it will be a help and a blessing.

I Timothy 6:6-10

-Today’s consumer has a total of 13 obligations on record at a credit bureau.  Credit cards, store cards, installment loans.  9 are likely to be credit cards.

-The median US household income is $43,000 and the typical credit card balance is nearly 5% of their annual income.

-Median balance on credit cards is $2200.

-8.3% of households owe $9,000 or more on their cards.

-The typical 1st grader can evoke 200 brands and will accumulate an average of 70 new toys a year.

-40% of financial planners working with divorcing couples say that money is a “key factor” in the decision to divorce.

Neither this message or this series is intended to be an indictment on any single person.  It is simply intended to encourage each of us to live lives that will allow us to be all that God wants us to be.  To be free from the self-imposed bondage that keeps us from ever realizing the life that God intends for us.

Indicators that you may be in bondage to debt:

1. You are living month to month

2. You are paying the minimum payments

3. You are moving balances instead of repaying balances

4. You are unable to give or tithe or respond to the call of God on your life.

Using money well and staying out of the bondage that debt can create requires:

I. A content heart (6-8)

We live in a society that teaches us to feel entitled.  We deserve things and the world owes us things.  Much of what takes place politically is not truly political but a reflection of our spiritual condition.  We believe that the government should take care of us when we stop believing that God can and will take care of us.  There is a lack of contentment in our lives because we have come to believe that if others have things that we do not that there is something inherently unfair about that.

To get out of debt you may just have food and clothing for awhile!

Proverbs 15:16 Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith.

Colossians 3:5 ¶ Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:

Greed is idolatry! It is lifting something up above your relationship with God.

Living simply is to live freely.

There is a whole world dedicated to taking away your contentment.  Some say that the economy exists by such.  It is creating idolatry.

Money and things are a competitor to your heart’s desire to love God.

You must choose to either serve God or serve money.  Choosing to get into debt is putting yourself in the precarious position of serving money.

Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

II. A cautious spirit (9)

I believe that we are provided by God, if we are willing to do the things that God tells us to do, all that we need to be and accomplish what he wants us to accomplish.

There are financial traps that we can fall into however, that can put us in a place where the resources provided to us by God are not enough to maintain that life that we have decided to live.

1. Presuming on the future

Proverbs 27:1 ¶ Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

2. Spending wants before needs

Proverbs 21:17 ¶ He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.

3. Poor planning

Proverbs 21:5 ¶ The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want.

4. Living beyond your means

Ecclesiastes 5:11 When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes?

5. Never having enough

Proverbs 11:28  He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch.

III. A correct view of money (10)

Not something to love, but a part of life. Not love but a test of your loyalty and wisdom.

Ecclesiastes 5:10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.

Proverbs 11:28 He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch.

So what do you do?

1. Put God first.

Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

-This is understanding the ownership of God.

Ask these questions to know if you have put God first:

a. Am I presuming on God by buying this today?

b. Would God be honored and I learn patience if I saved up for this?

2. Analyze your situation

Proverbs 27:23  Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.

3. Stop Borrowing!

Proverbs 22:7 The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.

Decide, “If I cannot pay for it yet, than I do not need it.”

4. Make a payback plan

a. Little by little

b. Double payments

c. Sell off if you need to

d. Pay higher interest first.

Psalm 37:21 The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.

5. Get back under the Lordship of Christ

Matthew 6:25  Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27  Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Conclusion

Ultimately Debt is a spiritual issue.  The question always comes back to the same thing for a Christian:  “Who am I serving and living for?  For Christ or for myself.”

How we spend our money and the things that we allow to have us in bondage answers that question.

Wherever you may be today on this issue, decide that you will surrender every area of your life to the Lord and trust Him to provide for you.

Reject the modern convenience of debt and begin moving down the path to financial freedom.

“Lessons Learned in Iraq”

15 Dec

As I have listened over the last few days to the reports of the U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq, I have spent more time than usual thinking of my time there in 2003. I was privileged to have been a part of the First Battalion Fifth Marines, the first Marine infantry unit into the country.  We were also the battalion that secured objectives in Baghdad on April 10 which was the largest battle of the war up to that time.  I learned quite a bit during that brief period of life and can say with certainty that those few months changed the way that I look at the world.

While I am sure that I missed some of the lessons that I should have learned, here are a few that come to mind as I reflect on those days:

1. God is sovereign.

It occurred to me one day that the best that I could do was not enough to keep me out of trouble.  Those on the other side do not care where I went to school, who my parents are or what town I grew up in.  I need to be prepared and do the very best that I can, but at the end of the day I must rely upon the sovereignty of God. When I stopped believing that it was all up to me I was finally able to experience peace regardless of my situation.

2. There is no substitute for good leadership.

Much could be said here on the topic of good leadership, but I have always been thankful for the leadership of First Battalion Fifth Marines.  From our Battalion Commander to the small unit leaders there was a focus and professionalism that was nothing short of amazing.  I believe that it was largely due to this factor that we were so successful.  I saw firsthand the tremendous impact that upfront leadership has on a team.

3. The team will win if they practice to win.

While I am thankful for the opportunity to have served with each of the men of First Battalion Fifth Marines, I was honored to have served as the Platoon Commander for the Counter-Mechanized Platoon.  While these were without a doubt some of the craziest people that I have ever known, they knew how to win.  I learned an awful lot during my time with this platoon (some of which I have worked hard to forget) but the greatest lesson that they taught me was this; If you work hard and train hard and maybe even break some stuff in the process, when the moment comes that you must win, you will. For two years we trained for a fight that we were not sure would come and when it did the Marines, as always, performed flawlessly.

4. The most difficult times in life may become your fondest ones.

While I have never had the desire to return to the time that I spent in Iraq, those days will always be some of the proudest of my life. I am thankful for those that I was able to serve with and for the many lessons that I learned.  It is often the really difficult things that we are later grateful to have been a part of.

5. Your initial impression is often wrong.

I do not remember one situation during those early days of the war where something turned out to be exactly what we thought it was going to be.  Situations were always changing and we learned to be ready for anything because you never knew what was just around the corner.  This is one of those really important life lessons that this time illustrated so clearly. Gather all of the information that you can, whether it is about people, a circumstance, or a geographic location, and then hold off judgment until you are actually there.  We often come to conclusions that just are not true and end up hurting us. If you can wait to draw a conclusion you will probably be better off.

6. The people “back home” are dealing with the war too.

At the time that I was in Iraq my two oldest children were three and four.  My wife was taking care of them by herself while also dealing with the many administrative issues of life.  I knew what I was involved in and how that was affecting me, but often forgot the impact that being away from my family was having on them.  We tend to forget that when any member of the family is going through a difficult time that every member of the family is affected.  We do not live in isolation and must consider the impact that what we are doing is having on the ones that we love.

I am sure that there are many other lessons that I should have learned and am even hopeful that other things will come to mind as I continue to reflect. These are just some of the things that I have been considering over the last few days.

While our involvement in Iraq may be coming to an end, I will always be proud to have been a part of 1/5.

“A Christmas Meeting”

6 Dec

Last night I was privileged to be a part of  a very important meeting.  The mood was serious and each person at the table had an agenda that they were trying to press. Often the job of the meeting moderator, a job that I fulfilled, is to simply find common ground that everyone at the table can agree on. This is easier said than done but with enough time and energy can typically be achieved. There was a great deal at stake but I think that we came out OK. This was the annual Stalnecker family Christmas meeting.

Each year our family sits down together to plan the weeks in the month of December that lead up to Christmas.  Each person in the family, regardless of age, has an opportunity to share what they would like to do and then, in a very democratic fashion, we vote on our favorites. I am inclined to use Everett’s vote as the “swing” since, as a two year old, he will vote with me every time. For the most part though, we do try to work everyone’s Christmas activities into the agenda for the coming weeks.

While I understand that Christmas is foremost an opportunity to celebrate the birth of our Savior and to lift up God, a fact that we work deliberately to teach our children, this season does present some very unique family activity opportunities.  In an attempt to make the most of these opportunities we have a family meeting so that we are able to enjoy the time together.  Having a meeting accomplishes the following:

1. Everyone in the family has the opportunity to be a part of the planning process and tell what they would like to do.

2. We are able to set specific dates to activities so that time does not pass while we say, “We will do that later.”

3. Laying out a plan gives everyone something to look forward to.

4. We are able to make deliberate, meaningful family memories.

5. Much of the inherent stress of the season is removed because we have a plan.

We must not forget that Christmas is first and foremost about celebrating the birth of our Savior and Redeemer.  I look forward to the many opportunities over the next few weeks that we will have to do exactly that.  I am thankful as well that there will be special opportunities to spend time with my family and make some great memories.

The meeting was tough, and the personalities were tougher, but I am confident that the planning will all pay off in the end.

“An eternal purpose”

6 Dec

We all want to live for something that matters. I believe that even though the fast pace of life tends to keep us from thinking too much about the things that “really” matter, in our clearer moments we all know that we have finite opportunities to really invest our lives.  We need to be careful to understand that the only way that we can invest in an eternally significant way is as we invest in the work of the Lord and serve Him with our lives.  The Bible says this of Jesus:

Colossians 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

With this in mind we understand that even though there are many good things that we can be involved in, only that which is done for Christ really matters.  The following are three reasons that we can be confident in our eternal investment as we serve the Lord.

I. He is Eternal

 John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

 Ephesians 3:11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:

II. His work on earth was eternal

 John 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

III. He is our Goal

Romans 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

2Timothy 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

Will the things that you are living for today matter in eternity? You will never regret living your life for the Glory of God!

“The restorer of paths to dwell in”

28 Nov pathway

It is no secret that we live in a broken world.

We live in a world where broken families, broken relationships and even broken churches abound.  Whether it is simply the pressures of life, the disappointment of expectations unmet or the sin that afflicts us all, brokenness is everywhere.

As Christians we understand that this does not have to be the case.  In fact, the reason that Jesus come to earth and died for our sins was to restore brokenness.  He died so that man could be reconciled to God through His shed blood. Christians who are called to follow the example of Christ should then live to heal brokenness and to restore the damaged path of life.  Sadly though, it is often Christians, those that have been forgiven, healed, and restored by Christ that are the cause of the brokenness around them.

Isaiah 58 deals with this issue by painting a word picture that describes not only the problem but also the solution.  As we look at this passage we are given the picture of those who believe in God and have been taught how to properly worship Him sitting on a broken path surrounded by a broken wall.  We are told that the poor and hungry are desperately seeking for food in a world that is increasingly dark.  As the poverty increases and the darkness begins to overwhelm, those who know God only do those things that make them feel good.  They ignore the situation around them while worshiping God contrary to His Word and yet demand that He respond to them.

Half way through this chapter we see God’s response to the scene before Him.  He declares that if these “believers” would stop living for themselves and would align themselves to His Word that restoration would come. As these believers worshiped Him by serving others they would become the light to expel the darkness.  The result of this life of service to others is clearly explained in verse number 12:

“And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.“

There is a great lesson in this passage for every true follower of Christ.  If we are to live lives of meaning and purpose in a way that will make an eternal difference to the world around us, we must stop living for ourselves.  We can be the light that is so desperately needed and the one who is used by God to restore the broken if only we will respond to the needs around us instead of living solely for our own.

Let us each determine to live lives focused on ministering to others so that we may be called, “The restorer of paths to dwell in.”

Thanksgiving Sunday

22 Nov

One of my favorite holidays in this very busy holiday season is Thanksgiving.  There are so many reasons to enjoy this day. From the meals and the desserts to the time spent with family, this has always been a day that I look forward to.  Perhaps the thing that makes this holiday standout though is the fact that it is entirely focused on being thankful.  This is a time that has been set aside, not for the purpose of receiving, but for the purpose of saying “Thank You” to those that have given.

At our church we have established a “tradition” of coming together as a church family so that we can fellowship and express our thanks to the Lord for all that He has done throughout the year.  We enjoy a great meal together followed by a time of testimony that is always an encouragement.  What a blessing it is to hear the testimonies of so many in our church that have had a difficult year and through it all give praise to God. I am grateful for a church family that takes times every year to stop and give thanks to the giver of every good gift.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and
cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no
variableness, neither shadow of turning.   – James 1:17

 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in
Christ Jesus concerning you. -I Thessalonians 5:18

“Picture Time”

17 Nov

The holidays are a wonderful time of year.  With opportunities to give thanks and celebrate the birth of our Savior, a chance to start fresh in a new year and special family time, there is so much to like.  As with anything else though, there are also a few things that this season brings that, personally, I do not look forward to.

At the top of the, “Things I do not look forward to” list would have to be family picture time.  Typically this comes only once per year, for which I am grateful, and precedes the sending of the Christmas Cards.  I do understand that this is one of those things in life that you must do, but that does not make it any more enjoyable.  This year family picture day came last Monday.  I would have written about it sooner, but it has taken me this long to recover.  As seen in the picture above, when you are a family of six it is not easy getting everyone to smile and look at the camera at the same time not to mention the difficulty of keeping hair in place and clothes looking good.  Were it not for large amounts of hair spray and a heavy dose of bribing, the smaller children with candy and the larger with money, we may have never pulled it off.  Thankfully though, when all was said and done, our Christmas picture will show a happy, smiling, well put together family.  We fell apart on the way back to the car but as far as anyone who only sees us once a year in the annual Christmas photo is concerned, we don’t have a care in the world.

I really am thankful for my family and appreciate the results of a well done Christmas card.  It is fun to look back at previous years and see how the kids have grown. As I was reflecting on all of this I could not help but see a spiritual application.  It is amazing how much effort is put into presenting a picture that depicts our family at its very best.  When we choose a picture to mail to our friends and family it will definitely not be the one above. It will be the one that captures us at our best.

It is amazing how often we do this in our lives.  We all have struggles and difficulties.  We all have times of discouragement and trial and yet we live and act as though it is always “Picture time.”  We work to present an image of ourselves to others that does not accurately reflect what is going on inside.  While I do not think that we need to walk around telling everyone about every trial that we have, it is good to know that we have a Heavenly Father that promises to never leave us or forsake us.  A God that knows every trial that we face and every situation that we are dealing with and wants us to cast our cares upon Him.  I am thankful that He can see past the picture that we present and meet our deepest need.

Remember, God knows you and loves you and wants to have a relationship with you.  He is not interested in the “perfect” you but in the real one.  The one behind the picture.  What a blessing it is to know that we are accepted. Funny faces, dirty clothes, out of place hair and all.

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