How to Get Out of Debt and Into Praise - Softcover

Meeks, James T.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0802429939 ISBN 13: 9780802429933

Verlag: MOODY PUBL, 2001

Inhaltsangabe

Money is a spiritual issue. The failure to handle it properly can impede the vitality of our relationship with Christ and others. Reverend James Meeks offers this practical manual to help believers obtain freedom from debt so they can properly love and serve others in need. He exhorts people to get out of debt and encourages them that it's possible. He gives readers a definitive method to get out and stay out of debt. Readers will be encouraged that it's possible, and inspired to achieve it.

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REVEREND JAMES T. MEEKS (B.A., Bishop College) is the founder and senior pastor of Salem Baptist Church in Chicago’s Roseland community. With over 20,000 members, Salem is the largest African American church in Illinois and one of the fastest growing in the nation. He also serves as the joint chairman for the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus and as an Illinois State Senator for the 15th Legislative District. Rev. Meeks is the author of How to get Out of Debt and Into Praise and Life-Changing Relationships. He and his wife, Jamell, reside in Chicago and are the proud parents of four children.

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How To Get Out of—Debt and into Praise

By James T. Meeks

Moody Press

Copyright © 2001 James T. Meeks
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-8024-2993-3

Contents

Introduction: Our Dirty Little Secret, God's Redeeming Plan, 
1. Out of Hopelessness: It Starts in Your House, 
2. Out of Excess: Slaying the Giant, 
3. Out of Debt—Part 1: How to Get There, 
4. Out of Debt—Part 2: Discovering Total Freedom, 
5. Out of Idleness: Use It or Lose It, 
For Further Study, 

CHAPTER 1

OUT OF HOPELESSNESS: IT STARTS IN YOUR HOUSE

If there is someone with you in the room as you're beginning this chapter, turn to that person and say: "Neighbor, God wants you out of debt and into praise." If you're alone, then repeat this to yourself: "God wants me out of debt and into praise."

It's true. God wants you to get out of debt and into a lifestyle of service and worship. Did you ever notice how difficult it is to give God your full attention when you're fretting about this bill or that finance charge? Liberation from worldly entanglements is liberation to give God your full self. The more you start speaking this and believing it, the closer you will be to debt-free living.

Perhaps the most important thing to know right now as we begin this journey is that God has canceled debt before. Debt cancellation is nothing new for Him. Indeed, the very foundation of the Christian faith is based on the fact that God forgave our debt of sin through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. But God was in the debt-forgiveness business long before that supreme event. In fact, we can go all the way back to the Old Testament to see His record on the matter. Look at 2 Kings 4.

Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen. (2 Kings 4:1)

Elisha was the protégé and successor of the great prophet Elijah. They served the nation of Israel as spiritual leaders during a dark period in the wake of King Solomon's reign, when the kingdom had been split into two and weakened by a series of bad kings. Once a mighty and unified nation, Israel was now the object of frequent invasions from foreign armies.

Though they were both heroic men of God and their names were similar, Elijah and Elisha were quite different in the way they operated. Elijah battled a king and the priests of Baal in spectacular confrontations of spiritual power. He separated himself from everyday folks and preached fiery messages of judgment that demanded repentance.

Elisha, on the other hand, lived among the common people. He made it his business to hang with down-and-out folks. As a preacher, his primary message was one of grace, mercy, and hope. So it was not unusual for a poor, distraught woman to come to him in search of assistance.

Before we go any further, there is an important point that should be underscored in this passage. This "certain woman" is a widow. If you are a widow who is in debt, understand that God cares about you. If you have fallen on hard times through no fault of your own, know that God is aware of your situation and that He is merciful. Even if it was your fault, God is still on your side. He has a special concern for the needy among us.

This particular widow's late husband was apparently one of Elisha's associate prophets. Then, like today, ministry was not a lucrative career, so this prophet's family was already poor. His death simply plunged the family into deeper financial crisis.

It's possible that the associate prophet had borrowed money or goods to support his wife and sons, perhaps to keep a family farm running. This would not have been out of the question for a man of God in that day. The Mosaic Law encouraged the practice of lending (Deuteronomy 15:7–8; Psalm 37:26; Matthew 5:42), and by extension made allowance for the practice of borrowing. The system included various checks and balances designed to keep lenders honest and borrowers from accumulating massive amounts of debt. For instance, lenders were discouraged from charging excessive interest (Proverbs 28:8; Ezekiel 18:8, 13). And every seventh year, the financial obligations of all individuals who were members of the nation of Israel were canceled. More on that later, but now, back to the widow.

Certainly the widow's husband was not expecting to die before paying off his debt. But he did, leaving the burden to his family. Today, one would hopefully have life insurance and a will in place to ensure the financial stability of the family. That was not an option for this man.

In those days, the taking and selling of children was a legal means of collecting on a debt. And since mercy did not seem to be in the heart of the widow's creditor, her two sons were now in danger of being taken as payment for the family's outstanding debt. In desperation she goes to Elisha, who had been her late husband's supervisor in the ministry.

It's important to note that this woman had the kind of faith to believe that whatever trouble she was in financially, God could work it out. She didn't go to the bank; she went to the man of God. She didn't go to the pawnshop; she went to the man of God. Playing the state lottery never occurred to this woman. Some of us, however, are looking for worldly solutions before seeking biblical solutions. Some of us are looking for earthly help before seeking heavenly help.

Jesus said, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (see Matthew 6:33). It is always prudent to seek heavenly help first. If you are God's child, and everything that exists belongs to Him, then doesn't it make sense to turn to Him first?

This widow was lacking wealth, but not wisdom. She went to the man of God.

A FAMILY THING

And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? Tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil. Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full." (2 Kings 4:2–4)

Elisha, himself a farmer, certainly did not have the financial means to rescue the distressed widow—but he served a God who did. And the widow understood this. She appealed to Elisha on the basis of her husband's faithfulness as a believer and servant. She said, "You know he feared God."

Elisha replied, "What shall I do for you?" more to himself than to the woman. Then he asked her directly, "What do you have in your house?"

Now, this is important. Whatever counsel he is getting ready to offer to help the widow out of her financial straits starts in her house. Write this down: It starts in your house. If you want to get out of debt, the answer will always start with you. Simple actions that you can start doing in your own household must be at the foundation of your plan to get out of debt. If you're not willing to do the things that you can do—usually practical steps that can be taken right away—then you will never get out of debt. It starts in your house.

The widow told Elisha that she had nothing at home but a jar of oil. He instructed her to borrow additional containers from her...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: MOODY PUBL
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2001
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0802429939
• ISBN 13: 9780802429933
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 128
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar