Faith & Finance

That’s from the Christmas Story in Luke, Chapter 2. The angels announce the coming of the Savior to a group of shepherds. It sounds simple enough … but there’s more to the story. Jerry Bowyer joins us to talk about it. Our guest, Jerry Bowyer, is the author of The Maker Versus the Takers: What Jesus Really Said About Social Justice and Economics. It’s loaded with amazing insights about Jesus' time on earth from an economic perspective. Angels carried probably the most important message in history … why deliver it to shepherds? Weren’t they social outcasts?Shepherds were under social outcasts because they couldn’t keep their sheep from going into their neighbors yard and eat the grass - thereby committing theft against your neighbor. The Temple system ran on sheep. They used a lot of sheep for the sacrifices. So there was a country set aside for sheep to be raised. This was near Jerusalem. Jesus, the Lamb of God, was born in the city where lambs for the Temple system were bred.So God’s master plan included finance. We know a little more about Mary than we do Joseph at this point. Does she have an economic philosophy?Mary’s song, Magnificat, has words concerning economics about the rich being torn down and set away empty, and the poor being filled.Mary visits Elizabeth in Judea, a little higher society. Elizabeth subordinates herself to Mary, this is a reversal of status.Jesus uses parts of the Magnifcat in one of His sermonsMary was exposed to multiple languages, and had some intellectual teaching/learning. How did the birth of Jesus threaten the ruling temple class in Jerusalem?Herod understands that the birth of Jesus will unset everything and bring justice to the world, and as a tyrant, he was disturbed with this idea.Jesus will ruin many people’s livelihoods, etc moneychangers in the Temple. In Matthew, Chapter 2, the Magi come to worship the baby Jesus and give him very expensive gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. What was timely about that?The Magi brought Jesus things that would be brought to the Temple. ON TODAY’S PROGRAM, ROB ANSWERS LISTENER QUESTIONS: Anna bought a 2014 Buick. She is currently not making enough money to keep up with the payments and still owe $20,000 and the car is not worth that. She wants to know the options that would be available.Evelyn just sold their home and need to rent for 6 months before buying another home. How should they invest this money from the home sale in the meantime? RESOURCES MENTIONED:FaithFi appEdmunds.comKellyBlueBookBankrate.com Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on the Moody Radio Network as well as American Family Radio. Visit our website at FaithFi.com where you can join the FaithFi Community, and give as we expand our outreach. Remember, you can call in to ask your questions every workday at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on Moody Radio Network and American Family Radio. You can also visit FaithFi.com to connect with our online community and partner with us as we help more people live as faithful stewards of God’s resources. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

With everything going on in Israel right now why is it important to funnel resources to Lebanon?Because the level of despair in Lebanon is at an historic high. And . . . Because God is working there like never beforeThere is an urgency to this situation - 2.5 million refugees in a country of only 4 million. More per square mile than any place in the worldA collapsed economy - World Bank calling it the worst economic collapse in 150 years. 85% of everyone living there needing aid and 99% of every refugee family looking for their next meal. In the middle of this despair though - - HOPE is rising. I know you have made a number of trips there personally - how have you seen God working in the hearts and lives of the people there. Because of the relational ministry philosophy of Heart for Lebanon, everything they do points to the opportunity to share the Gospel. Lebanon remains the most democratic free society in the middle East. We are free to share the Gospel and More Muslim Cultured people are coming to Christ than at any time in our generation. One of my visits there I meet a refugee family in a farmer’s field. They were displaced in the middle of the night and went on the run. But Heart for Lebanon met with us and shared with us who Christ is and how He came to save them. How can people help today?(JH) $116 helps provide survival essentials AND the Gospel to a poverty stricken child and their family. Go to faithfi.com/lebanonThe website again is faithfi.com/lebanon. ON TODAY’S PROGRAM, ROB ANSWERS LISTENER QUESTIONS: Sharon will be done paying for her home mortgage next July. What should she expect?Marie has a received a lump sum for a pension she didn’t realized she had. She’s paid the taxes on it, paid tithe and now wants to know how to best invest it.Cora has money in a high rate savings that was at 3.75% and now is .08%, can we transfer that someplace that is higher?Laura wants to share saving for her 6 grandsons that was not a 529, in case one of them decides not to go to college. RESOURCES MENTIONED: FaithFi.com/Lebanon - Certified Kingdom AdvisorBankrate.comJoinChristianCommunity.com Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on the Moody Radio Network as well as American Family Radio. Visit our website at FaithFi.comwhere you can join the FaithFi Community, and give as we expand our outreach. Remember, you can call in to ask your questions every workday at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on Moody Radio Network and American Family Radio. You can also visit FaithFi.com to connect with our online community and partner with us as we help more people live as faithful stewards of God’s resources. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

So how would God's word in particular give us guidance on this giving portfolio approach?Jesus gives His mission here on earth in Luke 4:18-19 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”This is a really is a model for a giving portfolio So how do you take that and apply it to giving?Well, he really talks about 3 categories of giving. God's mercy. People that are in need, poor and needy. The prisoners, basic recovery ministries and just basic human needs like water and food, shelter and those kinds of things.God's justice, the people that have been oppressed, widows, orphans, more the helpless, the victims. God's Word. And as you know here at FaithFi, we encourage you to do your first giving to the local church, but then also to other evangelism and discipleship ministries.I love that the ministry of God's mercy, God's justice in God's word. So those are the key themes from God's word. But now we use this word portfolio. So how do you treat your giving like it's a portfolio?A portfolio simply means that there are multiple buckets to put money in with intended multiple purposes. And so when you put multiple buckets and multiple purposes, it makes a portfolio. It helps with your giving as well. And so where we choose to give around these themes can be done whether we have a widow's might or whether we have multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars to give. This is powerful because it really gives you a filter or a lens to look at your giving, evaluated in light of your passions, but also God's word, and then see if there's any gaps. ON TODAY’S PROGRAM, ROB ANSWERS LISTENER QUESTIONS: Ethan and his wife are trying to get out of college debt and looking for health insurance. The places they are employed at offer policies, but they are wondering what is best and cost efficient.Nancy is thinking about changing her living situation and figuring out our monthly expenses. Don’t know how to figure for inflation, putting away for savings, and how do you plan for things that don’t come up every year.Jim and his wife retired 2 yrs ago, he moved 401k into an IRA and combined it with traditional IRA and a small amount in a Roth. Is it a good idea to slowly convert IRA to Roth?Jack had heard a past Faith and Finance program that talked about a looming recession and wondering what experts are saying about this today.Danita is asking that with interest rates going up, is it a good idea to buy a home right now? RESOURCES MENTIONED:Kingdom Advisors Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on the Moody Radio Network as well as American Family Radio. Visit our website at FaithFi.com where you can join the FaithFi Community, and give as we expand our outreach. Remember, you can call in to ask your questions every workday at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on Moody Radio Network and American Family Radio. You can also visit FaithFi.com to connect with our online community and partner with us as we help more people live as faithful stewards of God’s resources. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Please tell us about your list titled, “Your 10 Most Important Financial Moves for 2024.”We want to help people choose the best 10 ideas that specifically fit their situation. So we discuss over 60 suggestions in the article and encourage each reader to select their personal Top 10 list. We’ve found that those who go through this process of making a personal Top 10 list — and then follow through on those action steps — become better stewards and make tangible progress toward their long-term goals. These suggestions are broken into several categories. Help us understand spiritual and financial fundamentals …We try to set the appropriate context before diving into the nitty gritty financial stuff. And that begins with understanding what God says about us, and about our money, in scripture. So a few highlights from this section include:Resting in God’s love. His love isn’t based on our worth or merit.Invest time in studying what Scripture says about money and material possessions. SMI has long believed the #1 financial mistake Christians make is ignoring biblical wisdom about financial matters and looking to secular advice instead. The next category is “the world around you.” What does that cover?Improve your understanding of the problems and policies shaping today’s economy.Another “big picture” topic to understand relates to the rapidly expanding level of federal debt. The next category is “strengthening your foundation.” What do we have there?Building an adequate emergency fund — before risking money in the stock and bond markets.Invest time creating and following a budget. This is probably the most powerful single step many people can take to make tangible financial progress in the year ahead.Committing to giving generously even if you’re paying off debt. Getting out of consumer debt is crucial for long-term financial stability. The next section now is “developing your investing plan.”Face your fears, overcome your inertia, and start investing! Don’t wait for the “perfect time” to get started. A second step for relatively new investors is to become a dollar-cost averaging investor — and ideally automate that process so it’s out of sight, out of mind. “Dollar-cost averaging” (DCA) just means investing the same amount of money at regular intervals — for example, investing $300 every month. Tell us what “broadening your portfolio“ is.Become a “diversified” investor. This includes starting to learn about different types of stocks and bonds and how to combine them in a portfolio. This is also where a person would start thinking more closely about retirement taxes and the best way to utilize traditional and Roth accounts. And for the gold bugs out there, we’ve got a separate action item about gold investing. Let’s talk about retirement.Start thinking through your later-life decisions when you’re in your 50s. Most people put this off, but research suggests it’s wise to think this through earlier. There are lots of tangible retirement items relating to Medicare, how to optimize your Social Security benefits, and so forth. The last category is what you might call,” everything else.” It includes children, work, college technology and insurance.For parents — and grandparents — Be intentional about training your children to be wise and faithful stewards. Other ideas here include insurance items, specifically making sure you have enough liability insurance coverage, because the default liability coverage in a lot of homeowner and auto policies is insufficient. Disability insurance is another one to consider here. And of course, for those with young children, the topic of saving for college is always of particular interest, so learning about the best ways to approach that is time well spent. ON TODAY’S PROGRAM, ROB ANSWERS LISTENER QUESTIONS: Alan wants to know if solar panels will help with paying his bills now and going into the future.Kristen is a widow. Her husband recently passed away. He was a pastor and their church was putting away in a 403b for his retirement. What is the best way for the church to give her the money without being penalized? RESOURCES MENTIONED:The Sound Mind Investing HandbookSoundMindInvesting.orgGoogle project sunroofCertified Kingdom Advisor Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on the Moody Radio Network as well as American Family Radio. Visit our website at FaithFi.com where you can join the FaithFi Community, and give as we expand our outreach. Remember, you can call in to ask your questions every workday at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on Moody Radio Network and American Family Radio. You can also visit FaithFi.com to connect with our online community and partner with us as we help more people live as faithful stewards of God’s resources. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

If you’ve made a resolution to manage your money better this year, how can you be sure to keep it for the long haul? Today we’ll help you avoid the pitfalls of resolution failure. No matter when you make them, resolutions are hard to keep. The most common excuses for giving up on our resolutions are…lack of willpower, forgetfulness, and plain old laziness. Break old habits and develop new good habits. Make a clear plan. Financial resolutions are almost guaranteed to fail if you don’t set up a budget. Have accountability. Don’t go it alone. Don’t do it all in your own strength. We need to lean on the Lord. As Isaiah 40:28 says, that’s where the power is. The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Here’s a new way to approach your new year’s resolutions.First, pray. Ask God to show you his will for you. As with any goals, your financial resolutions need to be SMART. Specific – The more detailed and clear your plans are, the easier they’ll be to follow. That’s where a spending plan comes in. Measurable. Your detailed budget will allow you to keep track of where your money’s going. Achievable. Don’t expect to pay off all your debt at once or build up your emergency fund in just a couple of months. Be patient with the process.Realistic. It’s okay to dream, but your spending plan needs to reflect your real income and your real expenses. Timely. If you’re saving for something, or paying down debt, give yourself a reasonable timeline, and stick to it. Set up your spending plan and track it weekly…or even daily… so you always know where you stand. If you need help with a spending plan, or getting out of debt, or saving for the future, download the Faithfi appfrom your app store. ON TODAY’S PROGRAM, ROB ANSWERS LISTENER QUESTIONS: Jim and his wife are both retired, home is in a trust for all the children. We want to put an addition on our home for us and for our children to be able to buy our home and move in. We are concerned with mortgage rates. How do we do that?Jean is asking about where to put a CD that is coming due.Diana is on disability since 2012, in 5 years my monthly income is going to drop by one-half. I have an option to take out my pension, at one-third, in a lump sum. What should I do?Harriet is 58 and has term life insurance, is it wise to have life insurance? RESOURCES MENTIONED: FaithFi app Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on the Moody Radio Network as well as American Family Radio. Visit our website at FaithFi.comwhere you can join the FaithFi Community, and give as we expand our outreach. Remember, you can call in to ask your questions every workday at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on Moody Radio Network and American Family Radio. You can also visit FaithFi.com to connect with our online community and partner with us as we help more people live as faithful stewards of God’s resources. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.