marquitabp

February 5, 2010March 20, 2012

Daily Devotion

Return On Investment

‘He said to his disciples, "The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields."’ Matthew 9:37-38

The finance concept ROI, return on investment, or ROR, rate of return, measures the percentage of money gained or lost versus the money invested. I did not fully learn this until last year when I was preparing for my Security+ certification. I know you say what relevance does it have? Well, as a government employee, and any information security professional for that matter, we must determine all sorts of situations and the likelihood of them happening. That also takes into consideration procurement of systems. This mainly applies to the maintenance and use of those systems; i.e. how long before it breaks down and will we get past that initial investment based on the use we got out of the system. But anyway, that made me think about the global area of return on investment, and as a Christian, am I reaping a good return? Am I investing all the time I can in my relationship with God and am I living up to His standards in this walk?

Are there any stocks out there that are mutually beneficial? Meaning, does it benefit you the investor initially and for the long haul, and the creator of the stock?

Being that God is our creator, the stock we invest in is our salvation. God invested Christ to give us that salvation. This is the only thing that is mutually beneficial because both parties are getting something out of it–God redeems us from the curse and we are saved from eternal damnation. Yes in business there are some stocks where the creator of the stock and the investor both benefit, but there is no direct connection.(And business folks please correct me if I'm wrong) Most times an investor goes through a stock broker to procure stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc. The broker and the stock creator make money off the purchase of new shares; the investor only hopes to do so. Often, the investor does not see a return immediately, and most times takes a loss if he is not careful. It is something that has to be cultivated over time, sometimes many years of being watched, adjusted and reallocated at times to provide a nice profit. Sometimes the stocks go belly-up and everybody loses.

Trusting in God, and holding on to His promises even through the most tumultuous of “stock periods” will always give us a good return. In the darkest hour, when most turn to God, He still reigns supreme. He still provides, still protects, still conquers, and He is still on the throne. Just like you invest your money, time, and patience in your financial future, try do the same with God. Tithe and give offerings (Malachi 3:8-10), spend time praying (James 5:13), reading (1 Timothy 4:13), and sometimes you have to be patient to see what God has in store and until He has brought His will to pass (Romans 12:12).

February 3, 2010March 20, 2012

Daily Devotion #2

In The Context of the Times

“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.” Proverbs 23:7 KJV

‘They are always thinking about how much it costs. "Eat and drink," they say, but they don't mean it.’ NLT

Now I am not telling you how to interpret a particular scripture, passage or idea in the Bible. No one can tell you how YOU are to interpret God’s word but God. I was going to use the scripture above in my previous devotion. But I just looked at all the different translations and the entire scripture before I copied it. I even went back to the beginning of the chapter. It was in no way talking about or in relation to what I was talking about. I would have only been able to use the first part, and even then depending on the translation it would have been irrelevant!

I guess that’s the point of reading the bible, and getting your own personal understanding. People misquote scripture all day long; I know I have especially after reading this one! What we have to realize is that there are a thousand different ways to understand a particular concept or here, scripture. This is a good reason for Bible Study. Some people based their understanding off of what their pastor or spiritual leader teaches, some take a literal understanding, while others just nod and agree with whatever someone says. That is how cults get started! Learning for me involves questioning sometimes. Have a mind of your own, a mind wise enough to call out to God for understanding! James 1:5 says “If any of you needs wisdom to know what you should do, you should ask God, and he will give it to you. God is generous to everyone and doesn't find fault with them.”

You have to understand who wrote it, why they wrote it, what they were trying to say when they wrote it, what was going on at that particular time period, what that person was dealing with and the overall lesson to be taken away. I’m sure there is probably more that can be gotten from a particular passage, but you have to read it all together. After my near mistake this morning, I definitely plan to read the surrounding scriptures to get the context. The author in the scripture above was talking about being around stingy people! A stingy person thinks about how much something costs all the while falsely offering things to you, most times not at all. But you can see how you could think otherwise from the KJV translation of that scripture. I said all of that to say that you must go to the source for understanding; yes I believe it’s okay to consult others about the word, but be sure that you go to God first before anyone else and even read it for yourself. He might direct you to the proper person to explain it to you, or reveal it to you Himself. Your mind is fertile ground, so be careful who you allow to plant seeds there!