Are You Looking for a Christian Finance Workbook?

Are you looking for a Christian finance workbook based on biblical principles? Read or listen to the Introduction to the Your Finances God’s Way Workbook to see why it stands out among finance workbooks. Table of contentsKeeping God’s Word In Your HeartBeing A Doer Versus Only A ReaderFinancial Storms Will ComeThe Importance Of ObedienceResponse Determines OutcomeWisdom and Foolishness RevealedThe Benefit Of Writing On LearningUsing This WorkbookFootnotes Finances are one of our most essential stewardships. If for no other reason, we should want to manage them well. I want to acknowledge and commend your commitment. You've not only read Your Finances God’s Way but also invested in this accompanying workbook. This shows your dedication and willingness to learn how to handle money in ways that please God and bring Him glory. Keeping God’s Word In Your Heart As a pastor, I’ve spent numerous hours counseling people. This experience has familiarized me with the most common problems people face. I have seen them struggle and find solutions in God’s Word, which provides wisdom for every area of life, including finances. When I ask you to trust God’s Word, I do so because I have seen it work in my life and the lives of people I’ve counseled. This workbook is designed to encourage practical application and bring real change (because that’s what applying scriptural truth does—it brings about change). For this to happen, we must keep God’s Word in our hearts, as it repeatedly reminds us: “These words that I command you today shall be on your heart” (Deuteronomy 6:6). “The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip” (Psalm 37:31). “I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart” (Psalm 40:8). “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11). “Receive instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in your heart” (Job 22:22). Your Finances God’s Way is not the Word of God, but it's a guide filled with the Word of God. I've written this workbook to help you apply the teachings from the book and keep God’s Word in your heart. As Jesus said, “The good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart” (Luke 8:15). Being A Doer Versus Only A Reader From years of weightlifting, I’ve had lower back issues. I’ll go to the physical therapist and learn the stretches and exercises I’m supposed to do at home, but I rarely do them. My wonderful wife, Katie, repeatedly says, “Why do you go to those appointments if you’re not going to do what you’re told?” I don’t have a good answer. My actions indicate that I wrongly believe simply going to the appointments helps me, but I’m deceiving myself. We make the same mistake when we read scriptural truth but fail to apply it to our lives. James 1:22 says, “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” This verse reveals a common mistake I make with the physical therapist, and many of us make it with God’s Word: We learn it without applying it to our lives. We do this with our finances when we believe we have done enough simply by learning what the Bible teaches about money, reading Christian finance books, and attending Christian conferences or Bible studies on money. But as believers, our responsibility goes much further than simply obtaining information. We must also apply it, or none of the knowledge we gain will be of any benefit. We do not learn God’s Word only to acquire knowledge. We learn it to apply it and better serve the Lord. Jesus said, “My mother and My brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it…If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them” (Luke 8:21; John 13:17). He also taught an entire parable making this point: Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it (Matthew 7:24-27). I want to begin our journey through the Your Finances God’s Way Workbook with a look at this parable for two reasons: Jesus brought the Sermon on the Mount to a close with this teaching. He wanted to make sure His listeners put into practice what they heard. I pray that this workbook will help you put into practice what you have read in the accompanying book. This teaching shows that there is only one proper foundation for any area of our lives, including our finances: Jesus Christ. By using this workbook, you are off to a great start, being not just a hearer (or reader) but a doer (or obey-er). Financial Storms Will Come Why is it so important to have a strong foundation? Jesus revealed the need this way: “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew” (Matthew 7:25). You have probably seen on the news—or perhaps personally experienced—what can happen to a house under the onslaught of a powerful storm, hurricane, tornado, or tsunami. Jesus was not teaching that the weather would be unpleasant or chilly and we might need an umbrella or coat to protect ourselves. Instead, He spoke of the inevitable trials we all experience (see John 16:33; Acts 14:22; 1 Thessalonians 3:3; James 1:2; 1 Peter 4:12). The words “beat on that house” in Matthew 7:25 are analogous to the struggles that wear on us. Financially speaking, this could be a job loss, bills that pile up, a stock market crash, or a car accident. Not only are many of these storms financial, but statistics show financial storms are the most common we face. Since the American Psychological Association began its survey in 2007, “Stress in America: Paying with Our Health,” each year, it has found that money is people’s most common cause of stress. A survey conducted by Northwestern Mutual had similar findings: Money is the primary source of stress for 44 percent of people, followed by 25 percent who said personal relationships and 18 percent who cited work. In the same way physical storms can knock down a house, financial storms can make us feel like we will collapse. However, with faith and the teachings in this workbook, we can find the strength to weather these storms. How many people have said, “I can’t pay this anymore…I don’t know how we are going to make ends meet…I will lose my mind if we get one more bill”? Let’s note what Jesus was not teaching in this parable: Obeying Him keeps us from experiencing storms. Sometimes, we think that if we are “good Christians,” God will prevent trials, including financial ones, from coming our way. This is prosperity theology, also known as health-and-wealth doctrine, and is false. Note that Jesus said the storms were beating on a house that was built on the solid foundation of His teaching. If obeying Jesus’s teaching does not enable us to avoid the financial storms of life, then what is the benefit of obedience? Jesus promised that obedience allows us to survive the storms: “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock” (Matthew 7:25). Obeying Jesus’s teachings will not help us avoid financial storms, but it will help us survive them. Perhaps you have witnessed people experiencing financial difficulty and thought, "How can they handle that?" I don’t know what I would do if that were me! The great encouragement is that if you obey Jesus’s teachings, you can be assured that you, too, will be able to withstand them. The Importance Of Obedience If we are not building on Christ—which is to say we are not obeying the commands in Scripture—then we should not have much confidence that we will survive the financial storms of life. Jesus made this clear when He said, “The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it” (Matthew 7:27). Jesus’s words are strong, but was He being harsh? Just the opposite! He was loving. He wanted to convince us to build our lives on the Word of God. The Sermon on the Mount is filled with incredible teachings for every believer. Still, those who familiarize themselves with its teachings without obeying are no better off than those with no familiarity with the teaching. Your Finances God’s Way is a book filled with the Bible’s counsel on money, but if you do not obey what Scripture says, you will be no better off than those who never read the book in the first place. Christ is the firm foundation we need to manage our finances well, but that requires us to do and not merely read. Response Determines Outcome The accounts of the wise and the foolish builders are almost identical: They both seem to be talented builders. There was nothing to indicate any difference in their houses; they both achieved the goal of building strong, sturdy houses. They faced the same storms; verses 25 and 27 say, "The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house.” The two widely differing results are shocking: “it did not fall” versus “it fell. And great was its fall.” The builders had nearly identical circumstances but completely different outcomes. The only noteworthy difference was the foundation under each house. Similarly, the size of our paychecks or the amounts in our checking, savings, and retirement accounts are not of greatest importance. Instead, it is the foundation we are building on. Wisdom and Foolishness Revealed In Your Finances God’s Way, I wrote: