Are You A Thief?

My Balanced Life Family,

Are you a thief? Do you steal? Your first response, if you are a Christian, should be of course not. Let’s look at the scripture. "Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings." Malachi 3:8  

As Christians we are required to pay tithes. The word tithe means one-tenth. That means that one-tenth of your pay check or your increase belongs to God. Actually, it all belongs to him, but he requires us to give one tenth back. Then there is your offering, but we’ll talk about offering in another blog. Let’s concentrate on tithing for now.

Often times, people don’t have a problem paying tithes when they don’t make a lot of money, but when that check starts growing, the tithing obligation does as well. That’s when the devil begins to tell you to “Use your head and be reasonable”. “Are you really going to pay 7, 8, 9 hundred dollars in tithes?” “You need that money.”

You must remember that ten percent doesn’t even belong to you. That’s only ten cents out of a dollar, but if you spend it, you’re a thief. You’re robbing God!

Don’t let the devil fool you. You can’t afford NOT to pay tithes. Read  Malachi 3:9 "Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation." He’s speaking of those who fail to tithe. That means you won’t receive the blessings that a tither would receive, so don’t even look for them. You'll be cursed.  If you pay tithes the scripture says that God will "open the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." Malachi 3:10  That means you’ll have more than enough.

So don’t let the devil fool you. Don’t be a thief. Don’t rob God. Pay your tithes!                             

Command Your Day

Greeting Balanced Living Family,

How are you feeling today? Is your spirit up or down? Are you rejoicing or are you sorrowful. The scripture says "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24    Now, exactly which day was the scripture speaking of? It’s speaking of the day that the Lord made, which is every day. That lets us know that we should rejoice and be glad every day. Is that possible? Yes!

We all know that life is not going to be just a “bowl of cherries”, but we who are Christians have help. When we face hard times, trials, disappointments and so on, we can rejoice and be glad to know that we are not alone. God will never leave you or forsake you when you belong to him. Trust in God and he won’t let hard times, trials, or disappointments break you, they’ll make you stronger in Christ. Now that’s something to be glad about!

Determine in your mind to rejoice and be glad daily. Didn’t you know that you have the power within yourself to command your day? Yes you do! Tomorrow when you wake up, make up your mind that no matter what happens, you are determined to have a good day, then have a good day ON PURPOSE! Go ahead, say it out loud. “I will have a good day! “ Command your day! I’ve tried it. It works.

 Remember that no matter how bad things seem to be, they ALWAYS could be WORSE. As for children of God, we know that "all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28  Everything that happens won’t be good, but through the process of time, it’ll all work out for your good.  So go through your day rejoicing and thanking God that things are as well as they are, because they certainly could be a lot worse.   

Sometimes we hold ourselves back from greater blessings from God simply because we are not thankful for the things that God has already done for us. We mumble, grumble and complain when we should be grateful.

Life is short. Each day is precious. A wise somebody once said, “Yesterday is the past, tomorrow is the future, but today is a gift. That’s why it is called the present.”  Just as you treasure a present, let us treasure and make the most of each day of our lives.

Be grateful, rejoice, be glad and COMMAND YOUR DAY! Then have a good day on purpose.

Get Movin

Hey Balanced Living Family,

We need to be equally balanced, both physically and spiritually. Today I’m talking about taking good care of that body that God has given you. We only get one you know!

Our bodies were not made to be sedentary. We're meant to get up and move around. You’ve heard the saying, “If you don’t move it, you’ll lose it.” Well it’s true. Our bodies need exercise if we don’t want to lose our figures and our mobility.

Now, I’m not going to tell you to do anything that I don’t practice. I work out at LA Fitness 5 days a week. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday at 5am, and Saturday 8 am.  I include cardio, stretches, and weights in my workouts. I try never to spend more than 1 hour & 30 min. in the gym.

 I’ve been working out for many years so if you're just starting, please don’t try to follow my schedule. Start out a little at a time, as I did. You may start out by taking walks a few times a week. If you’re not comfortable walking outside, try walking inside a mall. You may prefer taking a bike ride. I want you to understand that you don’t have to spend money on a membership at a gym if you don’t want to. Getting involved in sports is great for people who really don’t want to start off with basic exercises. Maybe you know how to swim. Start swimming 2 or 3 times a week. Bowling, tennis, biking, skating, volleyball, aqua aerobics ... there are so many good sports. Choose one that is of interest to you.

For those of you that want to get a gym membership, get one. And when you get a membership use it. I know people who have paid faithfully each month for membership for years and never used it. Don’t let that be you. Start going 2 or 3 times a week. You’ll feel so much better. Let me caution you. “DON’T OVER DO IT!”  If you start out doing too much, you’ll probably burn yourself out and you won’t want to do anything. Just do a little at a time and gradually increase. So, if you want to look better and feel better, let's GET MOVIN!