50 Days of Transformation - Financial Health

Transforming How I See & Use Money
I Timothy 6:17-19

We cannot be conservative in our theology and at the same time heretical in the way we use money and still have God’s blessing.

Five Biblical Principles of Money Management

1.   God has provided enough. Philippians 4:11-13 

2.   Spend less than you earn.  Proverbs 13:11

3.   Avoid the use of debt.  Proverbs 22:7

4.   Build an emergency fund. Proverbs 6:6-8

5.   Set long term goals.  Proverbs 21:20

“Revelation in Reverse” is when a “discovery” of man is present in the scriptures but only recognized when brought to our attention from a world source.

Too many are living beyond their means due to “poorchoices” instead of purchases they have made.

Jesus doesn’t praise the manager’s dishonesty but he does praise his shrewdness.

What Not To Do With Your Money

1.   Don’t Waste It  Luke 16:1

2.   Don’t Trust It  Luke 16:3

3.   Don’t Love It.  Luke 16:13

God does not want to give you money as much as purpose and peace!

4.   Don’t Expect It To Satisfy  Ecclesiastes 5:10; Luke 12:15

Your self-worth has little connection to your net-worth.

What To Remember Every Day About Money

1.   It All Belongs to God. Luke 16:1a

2.   God Is Using Money To Test Me.  Luke 16:10

Unmanaged finances are a symptom of an unmanaged life.

3.   God Will Use a Good Manager Luke 16:11-12

There is a direct connection between spiritual maturity and the way we spend money.

4.   Money Is a Tool  Luke 16:9

The Bible says you are to love people and use money.

Three Good Things The Manager Did  

1.)   He Looked Ahead  Luke 16:3a

2.)   He Made A Plan  Luke 16:4a

A budget is telling your money where you want it to go rather than wondering where it went. 

3.)   He Acted Quickly  Luke 16:5

5.   The Best Use Of Money Is To Use It To Get People Into Heaven.   Luke 16:9

50 Days of Transformation - Emotional Health

Facing the Fears the Ruin Relationships
Genesis 3:1-18

God loves you just the way you are.  He loves you unconditionally.  But he loves you too much to let you stay that way.  So he wants to help you grow.  He wants to help you become more like his Son.

If you can’t handle relationships, you can’t handle life.

The search for a friend is like the search for a home.  We want a place to be ourselves; to be accepted.  The person in that place is our friend.

Every relationship must seek its proper level.  No one can be required or expected to be our close friend.

I. How Our Fears Ruin Relationships  Genesis 3:9-10

A. The fear of exposure makes me distant.

As long as you are in denial or fear to face your problem there’s no recovery or transformation.

Vulnerability is a characteristic of strong and intimate relationships but requires deep trust.

God doesn’t want you to fake it but face it when it comes to fear in relationships.

Three Phases of Fear in a Relationship

Phase 1:  Shame Genesis 3:7a

Shame says I am wrong, guilt says I did wrong.

The fear of being rejected if someone knows our weakness keeps us from intimate relationships.

Phase 2:  Cover up Genesis 3:7a

Phase 3:  Distance from God Genesis 3:8

God doesn’t expect you to be perfect but he does expect you to be honest.

B. The fear of disapproval makes me defensive. Genesis 3:12

The Dance Of Destruction.  Couples do not have a lot of fights; they just have the same one over and over.

C. The fear of accountability does not excuse.   Genesis 3:16

II. Overcoming Fear with God’s Love  1 John 4:18

Perfect love casts out fear because it is intentional love not emotional love.

Jesus Understands! Hebrews 4:15-16

Being a Friend of God

·      I’m completely accepted.  Titus 3:7

·      I’m unconditionally loved.  Isaiah 54:10

·      I’m totally forgiven.  Romans 8:1

·      I’m extremely valuable.  1 Corinthians 6:20

50 Days of Transformation - Emotional Health

How to Deal with How You Feel
Proverbs 25:28

God loves you just the way you are.  He loves you unconditionally.  But he loves you too much to let you stay that way.  So he wants to help you grow.  He wants to help you become more like his Son.

“What we don’t talk out we act out!”

A person who is at the mercy of their emotions has thrown themselves into the hands of the devil.  1 Peter 5:8

Emotions and feelings are God-given for us to experience life.

What Exactly Are Emotions, Feelings and Moods?

·  Emotions are chemicals released in response to our interpretation of a specific trigger.

·  Feelings happen as we begin to integrate the emotion, to think about it, to “let it soak in.”

·  Moods are more generalized.  They’re not tied to a specific incident, but a collection of inputs.

When properly discerned, emotions orient me to my world.  They connect me to what is around me and properly relate me to what surrounds me.

It is most important for each of us to learn that we create our own moods. Our responses are shaped by our thoughts – by what we tell ourselves.

Feelings handed off to feelings create problems. Feelings handed off to logic create solutions.

Emotions are far more prone to exaggeration than logic and can lead to reactions instead of responses.

Our Emotional Cup Luke 6:45

·  We live in a fallen world, we're surrounded by fallen people, and we ourselves are fallen. It's not a matter of if we'll get hurt; it's just an issue of when.

Refilling our Emotional Cup Ephesians 4:29

·  Painful emotions remain; positive emotions must be replenished.

Why I Must Learn To Manage My Emotions

·       Because My Feelings Are Often Unreliable  Proverbs 14:12

·       Because I Don’t Want To Be Manipulated

·       Because I Want To Please God Romans 8:6-8

·       Because I Want To Succeed In Life  1 Corinthians 9:24-25

When you say, “I gave my heart to Jesus,” you gave your emotions to Him to be managed by Him as Lord of your life..

50 Days of Transformation - Mental Health

Change Your Life By Changing Your Mind
Proverbs 4:23

God loves you just the way you are.  He loves you unconditionally.  But he loves you too much to let you stay that way.  So he wants to help you grow.  He wants to help you become more like his Son.

Why I Must Manage My Mind

·  Because my thoughts control my life. Proverbs 4:23

·  Because whatever or whoever gets your attention gets you. Romans 8:6

·  Because it’s the key to peace and happiness Colossians 3:15

·  Because mind is the battleground for sin.  Romans 7:22-23

The devil wants to capture, control, and corrupt the minds of men.

How Temptation works - James 1:14-15

Step 1: Desire -

Step 2: Doubt - “Did God really say...?”

Step 3: Deception -

Step 4: Disobedience & Defeat - Psalm 119:112

Three Enemies of Freedom 1 John 2:16

·  Our old nature.  Romans 7:23

·  The world’s value system  1 John 2:16

·  Satan.  I John 4:4b

Strongholds  2 Corinthians 10:3-5

·  A lie that I believe over God’s truth. 

·  A false value system or world view I have adopted from the culture. 

·  A damaging personal attitude or behavior. 

·  A worry about yourself or another.

How to Overcome Strongholds

§ Claim God’s power over your weakness. 

§ Expose the lie!

§ Recapture your mind for God. 

§ Submit your thoughts to God.

Three Daily Choices For A Healthy Mind

1.     I must feed my mind with truth.   Matthew 4:4

2.     I must free my mind from destructive thoughts.  Romans 8:5

3.     I must I must focus my mind on the right things.

·      Think about Jesus.  2 Timothy 2:8 ;  Hebrews 12:3

·      Think about others.  Philippians 2:4;  Hebrews 10:24

·      Think about eternity.  Colossians 3:2;  1 Corinthians 2:9