Up and At Them!

As I sat down today to write this devotion, I realized that it is my Daddy's birthday. He won't be here to celebrate, he died six years ago. And there are still some days I miss him a whole lot. I can imagine how Mary, Mary, and Salome felt as they watched their beloved Jesus' lifeless body placed in the tomb. It hurt!

The grief of Jesus' mends lasted three days. And then, awesomely as Mark 16:6 says, Jesus did not stay lifeless and buried. He had sort of a rebirth day! He got up and started looking for His best mends. That's great news for you and me! You see, through Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection, He made a way for me and my Daddy to have spiritual birth when we accepted Jesus as the Savior of our lives. I can bear missing my Daddy, who gave me physical life, because of Jesus who has given me spiritual life. Because of my spiritual life, I know that one day Daddy and I will have a "rebirth" day just like Jesus.

Happy Easter, Happy "rebirth" day!

Pray: Thank God He let Jesus leave heaven for awhile so He could provide away for us to be able to live forever in heaven with Him and the people we love.

All For One, And Once For All!

Once a month, the postman brings a wad of envelopes to the mail box. When the question is asked, "What's in the mail?" The reply is, "just bills" yuck! It's a ritual, once a month. Get bills, pay bills. Going to work just so we can pay bills is sometimes a drag.

I'm so glad that the debt of my sins doesn't fall into that same category. Jesus paid the bill for all of my sins at one time, at His death! He doesn't have to pay monthly. It blows my mind to think that two thousand years ago, He paid for something I'd do in 1997. The Bible tells me He paid the bill one time, for all time. Not only did He pay my bill, but yours and everybody else's bill, too. He forked up the whole payment, up front. That's how BIG He is!

Does it amaze you that Jesus paid a bill He didn't even owe? His cost, His own death, was bigger than bucks. Why did He do this? Because He loves you, me and all people, verse 18 says He did it so He could bring us to God.

Pray: Praise Jesus for being so big He only had to die once to pay for all of your sins for all time. Thank Him for dying so that you could have a relationship with God.

NEW BORN HOPE

When you think of a living organism as opposed to a nonliving thing, what adjectives come to mind to describe the living thing in contrast to the nonliving thing? In my mind, something that lives, grows and changes. The living doesn't stay the same and in many instances it is active, not stagnate.

When we accept that Christ died in our place in order to pay for our sins our hope in life is born. In 1 Peter 3:3, Peter describes the Christian's hope as living. The hope our new life in Jesus brings should be an active one. A Christian's hope is applied when conflict, crisis, or decision-making time come; we spiritually put it on not based on how we feel, but based on Jesus and God's word found in verses 3 through 5. Our hope grows stronger and bigger as we get to know God better.

With our living hope, we have a distinct advantage over other living things. Our capability of dying, like other living things, is overcome! The Bible says the hope of our life can never be extinguished, perish, or spoil because our hope is eternal-eternal life!

Pray: Ask God to reveal to you more about the living hope He has given to us through Jesus.

Magnetic Personality

When she was younger my daughter received a magnet set. She enjoyed discovering what objects she could attract to the magnet and what objects would not be attracted. It didn't take long for her to discover the objects that were attracted to the magnet all had something in common-they all contained a particular kind of metal.

Magnets are fun, but they are also useful. An electromagnet holds objects so tight they cannot be released until the current is shut off. Also, a compass relies on the earth's magnetic field to point the way toward magnetic north, so that persons can know they are on the right track as they travel.

Our Lord is a lot like a magnet. He draws people to Him, and those people all have something in common - they love the Father and respond to Him. Those who are drawn to Him can also be certain He will hold them securely and deliver them safely on the day of resurrection. Because Jesus is the way to God the Father, believers in Him can also be certain Jesus will keep them on the right track.

If you are a believer, then the Lord lives within you. Because of this, you can be a channel through which Christ draws others to Himself.

Pray: Ask Jesus to draw you closer to your Heavenly Father.

Why is Financial Planning Essential for Women?

By SiliconIndia, Monday, 01 August 2011, 04:30 Hrs

Bangalore: Investments, forms an essential part of financial planning for all individuals, including women. Investments generate returns for the future and take care of financial needs. Women appear to be confused when it comes to their relationship with money, investments, long time finances and retirement planning. Women seem to be comfortable leaving their finances and retirement planning to their husbands/father. Though women consider themselves to be the CFOs at home-strong, dominant, managers of family finances, they seem to be less confident about making their own investment decisions. Apart from working women, homemakers should take to financial planning too. Bottom of Form

It's time that as a woman, you realize your financial situation and learn more about money, more than just balancing the checkbook and paying the bills. Women have to handle their funds in a different way from men. Mostly, due to factors like differences in earning patterns and concerns particular to women. Family conditions, change in locations, or orthodox family backgrounds, birth of children may be responsible for making women put their careers on the back burner. So, the monthly household income drops drastically, changing the situations in a household. Statistics show that, on an average, women live 5 years longer than men, earn 25 percent less during their life time and work 11 years less in their careers. Hence it is essential for women to plan her finances wisely.

Read more to find out how you can handle your monetary situation and turn it to your best.

Plan Separately from your Spouse: It is essential for women to have a detached and personal finance plan from her family. The alarming rates of divorces and lower security of life has increased the requirement for separate finances. If a woman manages her own finances, she will be well equipped to handle monetary issues individually, if ever the need arises.

Budgeting: Track where your income is being spent. There is no easier route to financial freedom than tracking one's own expenses. Financial success comes from spending less than you earn. Not keeping track of money spent leads to overspending. Budgeting starts with savings and savings starts with paying yourself. Set a savings goal per month and plan your spending around the balance. It may seem difficult, but this strategy can and does work.

Invest: Contribute to your retirement plans. Investing is the most important of all.If your employer does not offer a retirement plan, consider Life Insurance, Funds and Securities and Government Provided Investments as they are the best options which you can invest in. You could also compartmentalize your investment into various Fixed Deposits, NSCs, PF, PPF, Stocks and Mutual Funds and also in Gold and other Jewelry.