Posts

Everyone Needs a Budget

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Everyone Needs a Budget By Mike Peek “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?” (Lk.14:28, NASB95) Budgeting has increasingly fallen out of favor among everyday Americans. Many households now rely on credit to bridge the gap between income and expenses, often using credit cards or loans to cover shortfalls rather than strictly managing cash flow. Very few people set aside money in advance for major future purchases such as a car replacement or vacations. Instead of saving over time, many choose to finance these expenses when the need arises, often resorting to loans or credit cards to make up the difference. This reactive approach can lead to increased financial stress and long-term debt, further highlighting the importance of proactive budgeting and planning. For example, on January 1, 2006, Darlene and I faced a negative net worth. At that time, we owed $22,752.14 more than we had...
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Give Purposefully and Cheerfully

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  I have worked in the health care industry for more than half of my life. From doctors to nurses to ancillary personnel high consumption is the norm. To live on less than one makes as abnormal. Several years ago, we made a conscious decision to be abnormal. I recently wrote about our journey through the seven baby-steps as laid out in Dave Ramsey’s book, The Total Money Makeover. I wrote both about our successes and our struggles. Today, living in baby-step seven, we find ourselves in a much different place than we were just a few years ago, much-less, when we began that journey. “There is one who pretends to be rich, but has nothing; Another pretends to be poor, but has great wealth.” (Proverbs 13:7, NASB) Often, in the media, and among the populace, there is a misunderstanding about wealth and income. A high income does not mean wealth. Income usually defines level of consumption rather than wealth. Income is what you bring home but wealth is what you have. If you spend everyth...
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Financial Fitness: Freedom From Debt

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Financial Fitness Freedom From Debt by Mike Peek We began the year, 2006, deeply in consumer debt. We were a household of four, husband, wife, with two children: a boy, and a girl. We had good jobs and were driving new automobiles. From the outside, we were living the American dream; however, we were in a budgetary crisis. We were living paycheck to paycheck. It was as if our checking account was a money laundering service, moving money from our employer to the debt industry. I was a master juggler; therefore, we never missed a payment and had FICO scores above 800. I knew what we would have available, after making credit card payments, automobile payments, mortgage payments, and utility bills to spend on groceries, clothing, and lifestyle. We would use the amount, between what we owed, and the credit limit to pay for things. I was even able to predict interest, thereby, avoiding going over the credit limits. It would be a strain for awhile, then we would get a credit card in the mail...
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Salvation Is From The Lord

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I have been thinking about salvation today because of a lesson taught on Matthew 16:13-20, something said to me after class, and a sermon preached on Psalm 67. Today I spoke up because the topic is very close to my heart. I believe that my salvation is from the Lord and I believe that the salvation of all the elect is from the Lord. The instructor asked, “What are your first thoughts when you heard this passage read.” His question assumed the historical debate between Catholics and Protestants about the apostle Peter. However, my first reading of this text had nothing whatsoever to do with this debate. I first read this scripture from a clean slate. When I read this text for the first time, my thoughts were on Jesus’ question to his disciples. “But who do you say that I am?”  The first time that I read this text I was an unbeliever, and had no prior knowledge about the historical church positions regarding the apostle Peter; therefore, my focus was on the question posed, “Who is J...
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True Love

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Think about what this text is saying. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” Does one give good things to those one hates? The answer is no! And one would certainly not give ones best, but that is exactly what God did, he gave is only begotten Son.  Valentines Day is a day in which people think of romantic love but this is not the love that God demonstrated to the world. Romantic love can be a selfish love because romance makes one feel good. The love of God is not a romantic love but a love that is compassionate and gracious. The sinner is the enemy of God, yet God gave his only begotten Son for sinners.  The second part of this text says, “That whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Some have made things out of this text that they ought not, considering that the entire context from which this passage comes is a rebirth that comes by the Holy Spirit. It is not a person choosing God, but God choosing the person. One bel...
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Bought at a High Price

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I began writing this blog during the summer of 2010. I did not even know what a blog was, but I had a burning desire to exalt Jesus Christ, so I sought ways to do that. Writing this blog was one of the ways in which I sought to honor God.  Early into writing, I named the blog, “A Slave of Jesus Christ,” because this is the way that apostle Paul saw himself, as did the other apostles. They would address their letters to the churches,  insert apostles name , a bond-servant of Jesus Christ. The actual Greek word translated into English bond-servant is δοῦλος doulos, which literally translated means slave. So if these men, who were first in the church of Jesus Christ saw themselves as slaves of Christ, should I think myself anything else? The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:20, “For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” (NASB) The price that the Corinthian Church was bought at, the price that we have all been bought at, is the body and blood...
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Brotherly Love

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I have wondered, why  do  authors quote from an older English version of the Bible, like the KJV? When reading a writing in which the author quotes much scripture, he will use several English translations and often much of the KJV. Most English versions allow only a set number of verses quoted without special permission and there is no copy right on older translations like the KJV; therefore, a writer is free to quote from this translations as much as he desires. I believe that there is no other commandment greater than to love ones neighbor. I know! I know! Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with everything, and the second is to love your neighbor as yourself. But how did Jesus teach his disciples to love God. He taught his disciples to love God through loving ones neighbor. The apostle John wrote in 1 John 4:20-2, “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how ...
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