Some inspirational quotes to get you through the tough times.

“God loves each of us as if there were only one of us”- Augustine

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose. ~ Jim Elliot

“The will of God will not take us where the grace of God cannot sustain us.”― Billy Graham

“I used to ask God to help me. Then I asked if I might help Him. I ended up by asking God to do His work though me.” – Hudson Taylor

If God is your partner, make your plans BIG!- D.L. Moody

Never lose an opportunity for seeing anything that is beautiful; For beauty is God’s handwriting–a wayside sacrament. Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every fair flower, And thank God for it as a cup of His blessing. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Employ whatever God has entrusted you with, in doing good, all possible good, in every possible kind and degree…- John Wesley

Faith is a living and unshakable confidence. a belief in God so assured that a man would die a thousand deaths for its sake. — Martin Luther

Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase. – Martin Luther King Jr.

The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. – Zephaniah 3:17

Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations. – Deuteronomy 7:9

“God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him”― John Piper

“Faith does not eliminate questions. But faith knows where to take them.” ― Elisabeth Elliot

“We never grow closer to God when we just live life. It takes deliberate pursuit and attentiveness.”― Francis Chan

“We may speak about a place where there are no tears, no death, no fear, no night; but those are just the benefits of heaven. The beauty of heaven is seeing God.” ― Max Lucado

“A woman’s heart should be so hidden in God that a man has to seek Him just to find her.” – Max Lucado

“He said “Love…as I have loved you.” We cannot love too much.” ― Amy Carmichael

“Always, everywhere God is present, and always He seeks to discover Himself to each one” ― A.W.Tozer

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”   – Martin Luther King Jr.

“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows; it empties today of its strength.”   – Corrie Ten Boom

“Don’t pray when you feel like it. Have an appointment with the Lord and keep it. A man is powerful on his knees.” ~ Corrie Ten Boom

The Christian life is not a constant high. I have my moments of deep discouragement. I have to go to God in prayer with tears in my eyes, and say, ‘O God, forgive me,’ or ‘Help me.’  – Billy Graham

Beware in your prayers, above everything else, of limiting God, not only by unbelief, but by fancying that you know what He can do.  – Andrew Murray

One act of obedience is better than one hundred sermons. – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.  – C.S. Lewis

Forbes ranks the 10 wealthiest Pastors of the world. WOW

Forbes Magazine is famous for its annual list of the world’s wealthiest billionaires. If Forbes compiled a list of the world’s wealthiest religious leaders, I wonder how people would rank on such a list and what their net worth would be estimated at.

Complicating the matter of estimating net worth is that many televangelists/pastors live in extravagant homes owned by their “non-profit” ministry or church. Some also travel in private jets owned by their ministry. So these assets would not necessarily be included with personal net worth.

Nehanda Radio based in Zimbabwe has compiled a list of 10 of the wealthiest pastors and the list has spread rapidly on the Internet. Almost 300 people have liked the article via Facebook.

This list includes five pastors from Nigeria. It also indicates the estimated net worth for some pastors but doesn’t include the sources used in compiling this list.

Nehanda Radio’s List:

1. Bishop T.D. Jakes – net worth $150
2. Bishop David Oyedepo – net worth – $150 million
3. E A Adeboye
4. Benny Hinn – net worth $42 million
5. Chris Oyakhilome – net worth $30 to $50 million
6. Creflo Dollar
7. Kenneth Copeland
8. Billy Graham – net worth $25 million (note: this amount is questionable, see below)
9. Matthew Ashimolowo – annual income $200,000
10. Temitope Joshua – net worth $10 million to $15 million

Well known pastors Rick Warren, Joel Osteen and Edir Macedo are not included in this list. Brazilian pastor Macedo is founder of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God. According to Forbes, Macedo is worth $1.1 billion.

In 2009 World Magazine examined book royalties for pastors and reported:

Royalty figures are among the publishing industry’s best kept secrets, but industry insiders estimate that Warren gets at least 20 percent of the wholesale price of the book. All of this means that Warren’s royalties from The Purpose Driven Life and its spin-offs, some of which have been certified gold and platinum themselves, likely approach $100 million.

World also estimated that Osteen has received $25 million from the sales of his books.

These pastors do not disclose to the public how much they pay in taxes or how much they give to charity which also makes it difficult to determine net worth. Jesus told his disciples to do their works of charity in secret so there is a valid reason for Christian philanthropists to give anonymously.

By using a search engine I determined the website therichest.com is the source for net worth for Benny Hinn and Billy Graham. This website doesn’t explain its criteria for determining net worth and some of its estimates could be very inaccurate. For example, it estimates televangelist Pat Robertson’s net worth as $30 million. In 1997 Robertson sold the parent company of Family Channel to Fox for $1.9 billion. (Source: Los Angeles Times)

A Midwest Today article challenges the net worth reported for Billy Graham:

“Early on, Graham put himself on a modest salary and abolished ‘love offerings’ — donations made during and at the end of crusade services. He accepts no speaking fees or honoraria and has given away his book royalties.”

Graham’s annual compensation from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association is also a matter of public record because it is disclosed in the Form 990 which is available through Guidestar and the Foundation Center.

There are plenty of megachurch pastors that earn more than $200,000 which is Matthew Ashimolowo’s income. Trinity Broadcasting Network claims to be a church in its 2011 Form 990 filed with the Internal Revenue Service. This document lists Jan Crouch’s income as $395,073. TBN has also given some of its employees a clergy housing allowance.

In the future the IRS could consider new rules to prevent excessive compensation. Leaders of non-profit organizations are not supposed to excessively profit off their tax-exempt organizations.

P.S. Author Ginny Dent Brant (her father worked with Billy Graham) contacted me with information that the Billy Graham Library and The Cove (a conference center) are both property of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association rather than personal property of Billy Graham. It is possible these properties were mistakenly included in the net worth estimate for Billy Graham.

Hanging on to hope during the hardest of times.

On November 7, 2013, evangelist Billy Graham will be broadcasting a Gospel message entitled “My Hope America.” One of those leading music will be Darlene Zschech who is an Australian Christian singer. She wrote a special song for the televised event.  Her testimony is one of hope. Darlene became a Christian at 15 after a family tragedy. “My heart was lost and very broken,” she said. “I was living outside our family home, and when my dad became a Christian, he came and picked me up on a Friday night and took me to church. I was one of two people at the altar call. My life has never been the same. It’s been a journey, entirely wrapped in grace and the heart-changing love of Jesus Christ. I remain overwhelmed and grateful.” “Everything about my family’s life message is based around hope,” she said. The congregation Darlene co-pastors with her husband, Mark, is called Hope Unlimited Church, based in New South Wales, Australia. The missions arm of the church is “HOPE: Global.” Even their closest friends’ last name is Hope. “But actually for us,” the singer-songwriter said, “Hope is a person, and His name is Jesus. It’s all about the cross, all about the finished work of Christ.”

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” – Hebrews 10:23

 

No matter what trial we find ourselves, our Hope lies above in Jesus Christ. Today in prayer, give thanks to the Lord that He is our Rescuer and our Hope.

 

“One day we will meet beside the river and our Lord will dry every tear. For now, we must live in the joy of that promise and recall that for every generation life is hard, but God is faithful.” – Bodie Thoene

 

God’s Word: “But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation– if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.” – Colossians 1:22-23

Are you struggling with finances? Here are some reasons and ways to fix it.

“If a person gets his attitude toward money straight, it will help straighten out almost every other area in his life.” Billy Graham

What an incredible statement above by Billy Graham. In today’s economy and uncertain future, money has become the number one reason for worry in this nation,and throughout the world. We see people who used to have as much faith as money, now lose their faith as well as their money. Along with that loss comes a lack of understanding of how they went from rags to riches.

Today is one of those days where I could go on and on about a subject, but instead, I would like you to look at the scriptures below and pick the ones that apply to your situation and see if you can change your place by obeying God‘s Word. Some of the passages will apply to people who are comfortable in their finances as well as to those who don’t have enough money to buy food. Either way. like Billy Graham says, if you get your attitude towards money right, the rest will fall into place. I encourage you to pray on this and let me know if it makes any difference.

Luke 6:38 Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full–pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”

Proverbs 11:24 Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything.

Proverbs 22:9 Whoever is generous will be blessed because he has shared his food with the poor.

Malachi 3: 10″ Bring one-tenth of your income into the storehouse so that there may be food in my house. Test me in this way,” says the LORD. “See if I won’t open the windows of heaven for you and flood you with blessings.

2 Corinthians 9: 6-7 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Deuteronomy 15:10 Give generously to the poor, not grudgingly, for the LORD your God will bless you in everything you do.

Mathew 6:2 When then you give money to the poor, do not make a noise about it, as the false-hearted men do So that your giving may be in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will give you your reward.

Jeremiah 17:10 “I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.”

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Barack ‘Bad Fruit’ Obama Redefines Christianity

English: Barack Obama delivers a speech at the University of Southern California (Video of the speech) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Jesus told His followers that the way to recognize Christian brethren is by inspecting fruit.  Jesus said, “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.”  Thus, “by their fruit you will recognize them.”

At the National Prayer Breakfast, partial “bitter clinger” Barack Obama, missing only a gun, tried to tell the crowd of 3,000 that he was a Scripture-quoting, Bible-toting Christian.  Using the Word of God to justify the advancement of liberal policy, the president linked left-wing economic policy with obedience to Scripture and, by doing so, dared critics to disagree with God.

As the foundation of his faith, Obama referenced a key Scripture from Genesis wherein God asked Cain, after Cain killed his own brother, “Where is your brother Abel?” to which Cain replied, “I don’t know, am I my brother’s keeper?”

The president said his faith is based on “[l]iving by the principle that we are our brother’s keeper. Caring for the poor and those in need.”  He maintained that those values are the ones that define his “faith journey,” which has also translated into “policies that support research to fight disease and support foreign aid.”

Seems the president hasn’t read the Scripture that says, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much,” because Obama-style Christianity is yet to acknowledge the glaring contradiction in wanting to be trusted with the world’s poor while disregarding the “very little” needs of a blood brother, impoverished and living in squalor in a Kenya slum.

Nonetheless, the president said that his faith also inspires him to voluntarily “give up some of the tax breaks” he enjoys.  If Obama has his way, the rest of America will not be afforded the gratification of similar voluntary charitable contributions.  In essence, establishing governmental mandates to support liberal causes is a religion unto itself, whose dogma redirects tithing from the faith community to the federal government, where alms gathered under compulsion are distributed through benevolent bureaucracy.

After the collection plate is filled, give-up-the-tax-break proceeds fund brother’s-keeper essentials like abortion, contraception, sterilization, and fighting disease with an ever-expanding food stamp program.

Barack Obama deciding to openly declare that Jesus applauds the “yes we can” brand has opened him up to public scrutiny.  By exploiting biblical Christianity for political gain, he has invited examination from, among others, Republican presidential hopeful and devout Christian Rick Santorum, who dared broach the subject of the president’s innovative “theology.”

More recently, on Morning Joe, Reverend Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham, a man Obama allegedly prayed with, also compared the president’s words against the backdrop of his actions.  Based on the condition of some wormy fruit, as diplomatically as he could, Graham cast serious doubt on the state of Barack Obama’s tree and expressed uncertainty as to whether the latter is really a Christian.

Graham did confirm his belief that Rick Santorum was “a man of faith … because his values are so clear on moral issues.”  About Santorum, Graham said, “I just appreciate the moral stances he takes on things,” a sentiment Reverend Graham did not express when speaking about Barack Obama.

Under close examination, America’s self-described “Christian” president’s fruit includes anti-Christian stances such as condoning and supporting gay marriage, calling Romans 1:26-27 an “obscure passage,” and being vehemently pro-choice.  The president even opposes saving the lives of infants born alive during botched abortions, which translates into infanticide.

To Christian brethren who deem contraceptive and abortion anathema, in lieu of God’s will, Obama has instituted governmental doctrine by foisting his will on people of faith, denying those with whom he supposedly identifies the constitutional right to freedom of religion.

Someone should remind the president that immediately following the “my brother’s keeper” verse in Genesis, when Cain claimed he didn’t know the whereabouts of the brother he had murdered, the Lord knew and said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.”

Besides the blood of unborn children crying out from the ground, in addition to being a champion of choice, the “peacemaker” president has condoned and helped spread racial division.  While claiming to be a follower of Christ, Obama criticizes, disrespects, and has all but turned his back on Israel, the “apple of God’s eye.”  Against Isaac and the nation of Israel, Barack Hussein Obama has sided almost exclusively with Ishmael.

On his first Christmas in the White House, Barack Obama requested that the Nativity scene be removed from the East Room — a request that was overridden.  Shockingly, when speaking in Christian venues, he has also requested that the crucifix, the universal symbol of Christianity, be obscured from view.  On more than one occasion, the president has misquoted Scripture, and while he often decries injustice toward Muslims, he has yet to speak on behalf of Christians being persecuted worldwide.

Franklin Graham rightly pointed out that under close inspection Obama appears to have some problematic fruit.  Graham said, “Under President Obama, the Muslims of the world, he seems more concerned about them than the Christians being murdered in the Muslim countries.”

Caring for the poor, fighting disease, supporting foreign aid, and publicly declaring the sanctimonious attitude of being willing to give up tax breaks are the noble aspirations that President Obama claims define his pick-and-choose religion.  Barack Obama’s customized Christianity is such that it discounts and mockingly downplays the Sermon on the Mount and then, in order to advance gay rights, resurrects and convolutes Jesus’ teaching of the Beatitudes.

Clearly, the President feels at ease redefining everything from “fairness” to the “American dream” to “traditional marriage,” all the way to the foundational tenets that define America.  But fear not — in due time, the God of the Bible will surely expose the folly of those who, in an attempt to justify a liberal agenda, exploit Scripture and attempt to redefine Christianity.