A question that comes up often is:  how much should I save versus give?  Or a different variation of this question might be:   should I give when I have so much debt?  Should I aggressively pay off the debt instead?  The Bible doesn't give us concrete answers.  But there are some guidelines to follow.  Here are some thoughts based on my investigation of biblical stewardship principles.  First, we should start with two funadamental truths about God and stewardship. This post will be on the fundamentals and the next post will be drilling down to specifics about how to balance the goals of saving, giving and debt reduction. 

1.  God owns everything- I Chronicles 29:11-12

Every decision about how we spend money, abilities, time and health is a spiritual decision.  When we understand this principle, we don't separate activities or days into sacred and secular.  Every aspect of our lives becomes a sacred trust. 

2.  We are called to be stewards of His resources- Genesis 1:28; Luke 12:48

God's stewardship mandate began in the Garden of Eden.  God gave mankind a command to cultivate the Earth's resources.  Jesus in Luke 12 gives a warning about being prepared and ready for the Lord's return.  He says that "everyone to whom much has been entrusted; much will be required." 

JC Ryle said, "Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people." 

How can we live in a way that prepares us for our permanent home?  There are 4 stewardship principles to embrace:

1.  Reject the American Dream

The American Dream is taking early retirement at 55 and withdrawing from life to a golf course or beach location.  I've seen clients do it against my counsel and warnings.  It is a life that will lead to emptiness and ultimately is not pleasing to God.  The Biblical mandate is to work until your health gives out.  Souls are at stake- John 9:4. 

2.  Develop disciplines of generosity

Habits of giving should be based on 4 P's: Priority; Percentage; Progressive; Prompted

Proverbs 3:9 tells us to honor God first with wealth that is entrusted to us- make it a priority.  We should choose a percentage target of money to give away of our overall income and seek to increase that percentage each year in a progressive way.  Finally, we should seek to be in a healthy financial position so that when prompted to give to needs by the Holy Spirit, we are able to give. 

3.  Simplify

Simplifying and getting out of debt go hand in hand.  Romans 13:8 tells us to owe no one anything.  Debt is a form of slavery and entanglement.  We want to strive to be free of entanglements so that we can serve God and others when called.  For some this might mean saying no to vacation homes; boats; toys; newer cars; possessions that require too much money and time to pay and care for. In terms of embracing a simple lifestyle keep this motto always in mind:  discipline weighs ounces; regret weighs tons. 

4.  Habit of saving

If the goal of saving isn't the American Dream what is the goal?  Financial freedom.  Being free to serve God in any way that the Spirit calls you to serve Him.  Saving allows for prompted giving- helping others in times of need.  Proverbs 21:5 tells us that diligence will lead to abundance; but hastiness leads to poverty.  Balancing the goals of saving, simplicity and giving lead us to a position of strength. 

I read the best-selling book 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss on the recommendation of some clients.  Ferriss' philosophy of life is one that is at odds with the one I embrace. Ferriss writes, "I believe that life exists to be enjoyed and that the most important thing is to feel good about yourself."  In contrast, I believe that life exists to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.  While I disagree with the worldview that motivated the book, there are some good ideas worth highlighting- especially from a systems/structure perspective.  Here are five:

1.  Retirement should be considered worst-case-scenario insurance.  Ferriss writes, "Retirement planning is like life insurance.  It should be viewed as nothing more than a hedge against the absolute worse-case scenario:  in this case, becoming physically incapable of working and needing a reservior of capital to survive."  He suggests mini-retirements throughout life instead.  Ferriss builds his lifestyle around periods of focus/productivity work and then what I would call vigorous recreation.  His formula is two months of work projects and then one month of high-intensity learning. 

2.  Focus on being productive rather than being busy. Ferriss writes, "What you do is infinitely more important than how you do it."  He believes most things make little difference and being busy can be a form of laziness- path of least resistance.  A few of his specific suggestions I find worth mentioning: 

• If you had a heart attack and had only two hours per day to work, what would you do?
• Ask yourself daily, "If this is the only thing I accomplish today, will I be satisfied with my day?"
• Do not multitask- give each task your full undivided attention.

3.  Embrace doing activities that you know are important but you fear.  Ferriss spends time discussing how we tend to avoid activities that may lead to success because they are uncomfortable or uncertain.  He says, "Most people will choose unhappiness over uncertainty."  We should resolve to do one thing each day that we fear that we know leads to success- uncomfortable conversation or activity.  He relays a story in his book about the need to be a nuisance when it pays to be one.  He was a student at Princeton.  One of his tests, he received a "B" on so he made an appointment with his professor during office hours and had prepared 2-3 hours of questions to "better understand what this professor looks for in the grading process". He says this accomplished two things:

• Gave him a better understanding of how this professor grades.
• Put the idea in the professor's mind that a repeat 2-3 hour office visit might be repeated if Ferriss was given less than an A on future essays.  

4.  Consume a low-information diet.  Ferriss suggests asking the question in relation to news:  will I use this information for something immediate and important?  This wasn't an idea in the book but it is related.  If you have a book list (like I do) of books you want to read that is 100+ books deep, read the first chapter and last chapter (credit my friend Andy Blakeslee for the suggestion).  An author often communicates the most important ideas in the first and last chapter.  If the book captivates your interest after reading those two chapters, continue on.  If not, you probably got the important ideas in those two chapters; move on. 

5.  Be vigilant with time wasters.  Some of his suggestions:

• Answer emails once per day.  For example, set aside 4pm-5pm to answer all emails.
• Most issues are non-urgent.  Steer people towards the following means of communication in this order:  email/text; phone; in-person meeting.
• Respond to voicemails with emails whenever possible- avoid back and forth of missing each other.  
• Meetings should be for decisions only and not to define a problem. 
• Define the end time of every meeting.

These five points only scratch the surface.  There is a lot of content in the book to make you think and re-evaluate how you do work.  He suggests using Evernote for almost all organizational needs.  I evaluated Evernote and decided on a similar product- Springpad.  Evernote and Springpad are productivity applications that can be downloaded for free with mobile devices.  I've been using Springpad to keep lists and capture important ideas and am thankful for the suggestion.  We live in an age of amazing productivity tools. 

Ashley Hodge

My wife captured this picture of my little girl praying.  Prayer for me has always been a weakness in my spiritual life.  I'm studying prayer with a group of guys.  We are using D.A. Carson's A Call to Spiritual Reformation as our guide. 

Carson has some practical tips for improving the quality of our prayer lives:

1.  Plan to pray- set aside time each day to pray.  Make it an appointment that you do not break.  For me this means, making a 30 minute appointment for the next day to pray each night prior to going to bed.  Some days this is first thing in the morning.  Other days, I'm rolling out of bed to go to the gym so the appointment might be around lunch time. 

2.  Adopt practical ways to impede mental drift- Carson recommends vocalizing your prayers.  One benefit is avoiding mental drift.  Another benefit could be modeling for your family.  He recalls as a kid his father praying out loud in his study every day without fail.  It is probably no accident that the man is writing books on prayer many years later.  He also suggests praying over Scriptures- mingling prayer with the reading of God's Word and using God's Word to guide prayers.

Journaling is another suggestion.  Writing down your prayers can help with mental drift and also foster self-examination.  Socrates said, "The unexamined life is not worth living." 

3.  Develop partners in prayer- the disciples learned to pray from the model of Christ.  Praying with partners can focus our prayers and also encourage our prayer life as we see prayers answered through others.  Carson suggests setting a period of time to commit to praying wtih someone else (6 months for example); setting a meeting time each week and making sure the focus is on praying (not gossip or venting/bitterness). 

4.  Choose models- a good model for prayer should be someone who has a balance of seriousness; ability to use Scripture as basis of prayer; and a combination of humility and boldness in prayer. 

5.  Develop a system for prayer lists- my system is based on an iphone app called Pocket Prayer Requests Pro.  I have my iphone with me a lot so this helps.  I schedule prayers for my immediate family daily; prayers for people that I come into contact with and ministries I support on a weekly basis (men in my Bible study; guys I see at the gym; neighbors; close friends; ministries my family contributes to); prayer for clients and acquaintances on a monthly basis (I pray for 5-6 clients per day so that I am praying over my clients once per month). 

I bought the latest guide of Operation World at the recommendation of Andy Blakeslee- one of my friends in our Bible study.  This book and website has a daily prayer calendar that helps us pray for all the nations of the world- that God's kingdom, power and healing may advance. 

6.  Mingle praise, confession and intercession but when you make requests of God tie as many requests as possible to Scripture- one of the great themes of the book is that when you study the prayers of Paul, you notice a pattern of Paul praying for God to be glorified in all circumstances and for believers to be glorified in Christ.  Character development/ fruits of the Spirit are the natural requests of Paul and not material comforts. 

7.  Work at public prayers- those who are asked to pray in public should use those opportunities to communicate God's heart.  Make prayers brief; bold and powerful.  Effective communication with boldness and clarity in public prayer can have a lasting impact on others. 

8.  Pray until you pray- pray long enough to get past the feeling of formalism. 

For all that read this, my prayer is that some of these tips are implemented and communication with the One who gives us each passing breath is improved. 

For Christ's Glory,

Ashley Hodge

“As long as it is day, we must do the work of Him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.” John 9:4

Benjamin Franklin once asked, “Do you love life? Then do not waste time. For time is the stuff that life is made of.” Many Christians buy into the lie that time doesn’t matter. We waste our lives by squandering time or pursuing the things of the world instead of Christ.

What do you value? If you were to keep a daily time log, you would discover the answer. I first started keeping a time log years ago. I discovered the bulk of my waking time was spent on work, sports and television. My life was out of line with the priorities of the gospel. Christians are called to redeem the time for God– Ephesians 5:16.

How much time do you spend on priorities that build faith and promote the good of your neighbor? What are the important time priorities that train us to be more like Christ? There are six that I identify: prayer, Bible study, work/service/ministry to others, developing friendships, fitness pursuits and intellectual development.

In contrast, how much of your time is spent watching television, playing video games, attending sporting events, shopping, watching movies or other forms of entertainment? How much of your time is spent paying for, taking care of or using material possessions? You have one short life to live. Guard your time as a precious commodity. We will give an account to God for every minute that He has given us.

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” Colossians 3:23

We are equipped with unique giftedness. God has given us skills, talents and abilities that we should use to worship Him and perform the maximum amount of good to many people.

Studies have indicated that only around 10% of workers enjoy the work that they perform daily. The average worker will spend close to 100,000 hours working during their career. With that many hours at stake, finding a calling that fits with the unique talents and gifts that God has entrusted to us is crucial.

Mark Twain once remarked, “The secret to life is to make your vocation, your vacation.” I don’t agree that this is the secret to life. But I agree with Twain that if we are going to spend this many hours working, we should enjoy the purpose of the work.

God is the ultimate Creator. Creativity is a gift that He has given to us. All honest work is sacred to Him. Discovering the design that God has for us can give us great joy as we serve others by implementing our gifts. With only 10% reporting satisfaction in their jobs, it is important to constantly ask questions:

1. How can I serve God most effectively through my natural gifts? 
2. What am I passionate about? What do others say I excel at? 
3. If I could design my ideal job, what would it look like? 

God’s promise is this: if we walk in obedience to Him, He will not withhold any good thing– Psalms 84:11; Matthew 6:33. By seeking His direction for our work through prayer and hard work, we can be greatly used by Him.

“You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body.” I Corinthians 6:19-20

A neglected part of stewardship for many professing Christians is the stewardship of health. God gives us one body. We should prepare it for a long life of service to Him. A wise person said, “We should care for our body as if we will live forever, but care for our soul as if we would die tomorrow.”

Disease and death are curses of this fallen world. Some will experience the effects of this decay even though they work hard to take care of their health. Many will simply reap what they sow. When we trash the body God entrusts to us through neglect, gluttony, laziness or mistreatment, we will suffer the consequences.

We do not know the day that God will call us home. When He does, we can rest from our labors and feast continually on the presence of Christ. The life to come is one in which all sin will be removed. Death, suffering, pain, tears, disease- all will be cast out of Heaven forever– Revelation 21:3-5. But until then, we should fight the good fight of faith by training our bodies to be faithful servants of Christ.

The world worships self-indulgence on one hand and an unrealistic view of beauty on the other. Both extremes are to be avoided. The Christian should care for his/her body not out of vanity. But to serve Christ with greater focus, energy and longevity.

Proper rest, exercise, a natural diet, moderation and self-denial are areas of stewardship that we can all improve on. Every good gift that God has given us is one that we will give account to Him for. Moses writes, “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”- Psalms 90:12.

“So if you have not been trustworthy in the handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches?” Luke 16:11

Christ challenged His audience in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

There is a natural tendency to love the things that bring us immediate pleasure and to ignore the love of our neighbor. Greed, selfishness and financial corruption are rampant in this world.

People of true faith understand that we are not to love money or possessions. Instead, we are to view them as a stewardship that we will one day give account to our Righteous Judge.

God owns everything on the earth and in the heavens– including our money. This truth should influence every spending, saving and giving decision that we make.

There is a need for more frugality towards self and greater generosity to others among Christians. God doesn’t need 1, 5, 10, 50 or even 99% of our income. He desires 100% of our hearts. How we save, spend and give money reflects the state of our hearts.

What is your plan for becoming a better steward of the money that has been entrusted to you? What year will you become debt-free? How can you live self-controlled with spending decisions? What is your goal for saving each year? How can you become more generous each year?

If God has prospered you, it is for a purpose. He has blessed you with an abundance in order that you would be a blessing to others.

Peter Thiel- co-founder of Paypal- garnered plenty of headlines within the past few weeks with some comments on higher education. He believes that the cost of college is a bad investment proposition for many. His comments were featured in an interview with Sarah Lacy on techcrunch.com. He brings up a couple of issues that have been circulating in my head for a while. Those two issues:

1. MIT does an admirable thing by offering almost all of their courses online for free through MITOpenCourseWare. This is an unbelievable resource for those who have the motivation and intellectual capacity to pursue this. So you can receive an MIT education for free or you can spend around $250k to obtain a degree from MIT.

One of the points Thiel brings up is if schools like Harvard, MIT and Stanford are such difference makers for people, why don't we franchise them? Why do these schools insist on elitism?

One of the beliefs that I have had about college in general is that the actual education component is worth very little. Any individual can receive a fantastic education by reading and watching videos on their academic discipline of choice. The true value of college is the relationships you form. The network is where the value is.

I spent around $40k for a business degree at Baylor University in the late 80s/early 90s. The cost of a Baylor education has probably quadrupled since then. For me, the $40k was money well spent. The network of relationships has been worth a large multiple of that figure. But would it have been worth the money if I wasn't a business major? I have my doubts. Would it have been worth $160k as a liberal arts major? Hard to imagine that it would have been.

2. How much of the rapid rise in college tuition prices in the last 20 years has been due to easy access to loans? There are plenty of students who graduate from college with over $100k in loans to repay. Costs tend to escalate when you are spending other people's money. Most people don't think about the consequences. Mark Perry had a blog post highlighting similar problems with healthcare costs. Fifty years ago, health care costs were distributed around 45% out of pocket and 55% to insurance; employers; or government agencies. Today those numbers are 10% out of pocket and 90% other people's money. And we wonder why costs have escalated out of control.

The average student debt was around $8,000 in 1990. That had tripled to over $24,000 in 2009. That figure is higher for students graduating from a private university. And has escalated to over $100k average for students graduating from medical school. Without the leverage in the system (easy access to loans), prices of education would fall. Just as they have for houses in the last 3 years as the availability of credit has tightened.

Put me in the camp of believing that college costs are artificially inflated. This could be potentially good news for those who have younger kids. The prevailing opinion today is that college costs will continue to escalate. Just as that same opinion existed about housing four years ago. If sanity returns to the financing of education debt, you'll probably see costs fall just like the real estate market in recent years.

Ashley Hodge

I enjoyed this interview with Bill Paul and Consuelo Mack. Bill Paul has been following the alternative energy sector for many years and had some fascinating opinions on the future of energy- specifically the potential revolution involving smart grids.

Cisco Systems put out a short four minute video explaining the smart grid.

Listening to this interview got me in a reflective mood. Many investment newsletters that I read today discuss the idea that we are in a natural resource boom that will last for the foreseeable future. You only have to listen to talk radio shows for a short period of time to hear commercials selling gold or precious metals with ominous warnings about the future of the US dollar and US economy.

I believe having natural resources as part of a diversified portfolio of investments has its place. There are some compelling arguments for owning these investments in a portfolio including:

1. The debt problems of mature economies- US, Europe, Japan- that may lead to temptations to devalue those currencies- US dollar; Euro; Yen. A devaluation of currency might lead to higher inflation and higher natural resource prices.

2. The growth of the emerging markets- China, India, Africa, South America, etc...-could produce a lot of consumers that are going to consume a lot of food, energy and the materials needed to build out infrastructure in those countries.

But I believe a healthy dose of skepticism and caution is warranted about prices of food, gold, silver and oil continuing to increase. There is a economics saying, "There is no cure for high prices like high prices." At some price, the incentives for alternatives and innovation kick in high gear. With enough incentives and revenue potential, innovation can happen quickly. And innovation can drive prices lower.

One of my favorite blogs to follow is Mark Perry's Carpe Diem blog. He had a recent post on how the cost of food as a percentage of disposable income has decreased dramatically over the last 80 years. You can find his support here.

John Hussman included this chart in a recent newsletter. The chart should make any student of history a bit nervous about "loading the boat" in natural resources right now. The story of history is progress. I like to refer to it as biblical progression. There will be cycles along the way.

But God has a plan that He is unfolding from creation to re-creation of the heavens and earth. But his stewardship mandate remains intact for humans to use the gifts and talents towards the ends of creating a better world as we eagerly hope for the day when the curse will be removed and progress will be unhindered by greed, decay and corruption- Romans 8:19-22.

As we await the complete fulfillment of this promise, we should heed the words of Sir John Templeton. The four most dangerous words in the English language are: "this time is different."

Just finished a book recommended to me called When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett & Brian Fikkert. They have a website that explores the ideas they share in this book.

I'll use some future blog posts to highlight some of my takeaways from this book. In general, the book is about poverty alleviation. Trillions of dollars have been spent on poverty aid and yet 40% of the world still lives on less than $2 per day.

Many Christians (myself included) have given to poverty alleviation programs or have invested thousands of dollars to go on short term mission trips without deeply considering the question: does it help?

This book tackles that question. We have seen evidence that government welfare creates a tough cycle to escape and an unhealthy dependency. Are we practicing a form of Christian welfare by giving money only to others without addressing deeper needs?

Many short term mission trips cost a church $25,000+. Is this money well spent? Before reading this book, I would have thought that the cost was worth it for a couple of reasons:

1. Lives and perspectives of those who go are changed and some decide to devote their lives to full-time missions as a result.

2. Those who go on short-term missions become generous givers to the cause of missions in the future.

However, the evidence documented in this book says different. For the most part, short term missions is a poor allocation of resources in alleviating poverty.

How do we define poverty? Those of us that have material comfort are likely to describe it as a lack of money. The poor describe poverty as shame; inferiority; powerlessness; humiliation; fear; depression; social isolation.

Poverty alleviation efforts often communicate the wrong message: that the poor are inferior and need our superiority for what we can give them. In reality, we each need something from the other. We that have resources are not ok. We trust in those resources instead of trusting in God. We need to learn from those who have less what it is like to depend on God for everything.

And those that are poor need from us help to break the cycle of poverty. Together God can fix us. Fikkert and Cobert define poverty alleviation as the ministry of reconciliation: moving people closer to glorifying God by living in right relationship with God, with self, with others, and with the rest of creation.

Looking forward to fleshing out more thoughts from this book- a thought provoking read.

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

Run the race well. Fix your eyes on the prize. Don't forget why you are running and the hopes and dreams who wish to obtain. Realize that there will be those who want to see you fail. But also many who have already finished the race and are cheering you on. Embrace discipline as you daily train. Get rid of every hindrance that keeps you from running your best race.

These are some of the lessons from the book of Hebrews. I just finished studying the book with a group of friends. Below are some of the important lessons I am taking with me from the book and also how I hope to apply those lessons to my life.

Lesson One: do we want to know God? Do we wish to know His character and His mind? Study Christ. Hebrews 1:3, "Christ is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His nature..."

Lesson Two: One of the great dangers in the Christian life is apathy. Every day we need to prepare our heart for battle to fight the tendency to drift. Hebrews 2:1, "Pay close attention to this gospel, lest we drift away from it."

Lesson Three: Never quit. Have you given in to a sin every day for the last 10 years? Today is the day to start taking back territory from the enemy. Have you drifted away from Christ? Today is the day to re-engage in the battle and cling to Him who leads us in war against sin and every evil force. Hebrews 3:14-15, "Encourage each other every day as long as it is called "today" that none of you are hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end."

Lesson Four: Rest in the finished work of Christ to secure our salvation but do not rest from doing good works in response to this radical grace. Christ worked and then rested. We rest in Him; work for Him and then enter His rest (Heaven). We can approach Him with confidence to receive His grace daily as we strive to live for Him. Hebrews 4:16, "Let us draw near to the throne of grace with confidence, that we may receive mercy and find grace in the time of need."

Lesson Five: Embracing suffering as the path to obedience is the normal Christian life. Through many trials and hardships, we will enter the kingdom of Heaven. Hebrews 5:8-9, "Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what He suffered. And being made perfect, He became the source of salvation to all who obey Him."

Lesson Six: We have a strong encouragement to hold fast to the promise of God- His guarantee of an oath and the unchangeable nature of His character. Our hope in Christ is a steadfast anchor for the soul. Hebrews 6:12, "Do not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises."

Lesson Seven: A multitude of priests served the people before Christ- constantly offering temporary sacrifices for sins. Jesus is our permanent Priest- He offers a forever sacrifice for our sins. Hebrews 7:16, "He became a Priest not on the basis of lineage, but by the power of an indestructible life."

Lesson Eight: God is in the business of installing the new covenant in our lives. He wrote His laws on tablets to the people of Israel under the Prophets. Now he writes His laws on our hearts through the power of the Holy Spirit. Hebrews 8:10, "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God and they shall be my people."

Lesson Nine: This life is our opportunity. There is no reincarnation; no second chances to respond to the purposes of God. He appeared once to deal with sin. He will appear a second time to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him. Hebrews 9:27-28, "And just as it is appointed for man to die once and after comes judgment, so Christ having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him."

Lesson Ten: God will remember our sins no more. We can never be more justified in God's eyes than we are now. God has dealt with the consequences of sin through the sinless death of Christ. In response, we are called to hold to Christ unswervingly. We are to encourage each other in fellowship and spur each other on to do good deeds. Hebrews 10:36, "For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised."

Lesson Eleven: It is impossible to please God without faith. We have faith that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him. Faith does not guarantee a life of blessings. Some people receive blessings from God for faithfulness in this life. Others get killed; live in caves; are considered outcasts. God has purposes for each of us, but one thing is certain: He is just. He will right all wrongs in eternity. Hebrews 11:1, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."

Lesson Twelve: Embrace discipline as our friend. We have a race to run. Don't ask the question is it sinful? Ask- does it hinder my ability to run my best race? Sanctification is a process that is 100% the work of the Holy Spirit in us. And 100% our striving to be trained well for the race. Without holiness we will not see God. We receive an unshakable kingdom, we must be thankful and worship God with reverence and awe. Hebrews 12:1-2, "Therefore since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God."

Lesson Thirteen: Show love to strangers and fellow Christians. Be submissive to authority. Flee sexual immorality. Shun greed. Hebrews 13:5, "Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for He has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'"

Application to my life: Hebrews was a much needed wake up call for me. Apathy in the Christian life had set in. Sins that I used to battle against were creeping in and taking up residence in my heart. Weeds were overtaking the garden. The book was a glass of ice cold water in my face as I fell asleep. I thank God for it.

The message of Hebrews is to not drift; hold on tight; fight; run the race hard and steady; go to war each day; strive for the things of God each day. My applications were two things:

One- a renewed commitment to spend time with the Lord at a set time each morning. Reading His word; keeping journals of prayers for a transformed life; my kids; and the clients God has entrusted to me. I have made a commitment to memorize a verse of Scripture every day. How great would it be to have 365 verses of Scripture stored away in the heart each year? And over 3000 verses in the course of 10 years?

Two- redeeming the time at the end of the day. I had fell into a pattern of retreat from 6pm-9pm (watching TV; wanting time to myself, etc...) instead of investing that time in my kids. So my renewed focus to redeem that time engaging with my family and taking a no/low technology pledge during those hours.

Resources if you want to study Hebrews:

Hebrews for Everyone by N.T. Wright: quick overview of the book.

The Letter to the Hebrews (Pillar Commentary Series) by Peter O'Brien: worth the effort; readable in depth study of Hebrews.

John Piper Sermon Series on Hebrews: 52 sermons; typical Piper- outstanding and Christ centered; no fluff.

For the glory of Christ,

Ashley Hodge

I'm a lover of quotes. Here are a few that I wrote down this week while studying the book of Hebrews and some other quotes I have pondered recently.

John Calvin: In each of our hearts are the seeds of insanity. Our will is carried away by some sort of insane impulse to rebel against God... even though we know rebellion leads to despair and death. And obedience leads to peace and life.

CS Lewis: Those who claim Jesus knows nothing of weakness make a ridiculous claim. Those who give in to temptation after 5 minutes of struggle against it know nothing about temptation. Only those who struggle day after day in the face of temptation and yet do not give in... those are the ones who know fully about weakness and temptation. We have a high priest who identifies with our struggles.

From the Stewardship Bible: In the old covenant, the people of God offered sacrifices and tithes in anticipation of something greater. Under the new covenant, we give and sacrifice to God in response to the fulfillment of that promise.

Henry David Thoreau: Most men live lives of quiet desperation. I have chosen to live deliberately.

Also I think about this scene from the movie the Book of Eli. To me it differentiates the mindset of someone who believes God's goodness is dependent on circumstances versus a person of faith who believes God is always good despite circumstances.

There is a gun battle between Carnegie (an evil leader of a town) and his men versus Eli/Solara (the heroes in the movie).

Eli (Denzel Washington) is seriously wounded. Carnegie comes up to him and is about to finish him off.

Carnegie: "God is good, isn't He?" (sarcasm)
Eli: "All the time."
Carnegie: "Not all the time" (as he shoots Eli and leaves him for dead)

I thought about that scene as I read Romans 8:35-39:

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

What an encouraging word! No trial or amount of suffering in this world can take from us the promise of God's Presence and God's Place- Heaven/the new Jeru (city)Salem (of peace).

For God's Glory,

Ashley Hodge

I'm blessed to have relationships with many godly men and women as clients, friends and mentors. Here are some snippets of things going through my mind lately- most of which had been gleaned from conversations with these people.

Marriage/relationship advice: don't read books on your needs or love languages which tend to focus your mind on how your spouse is falling short in those areas. Instead, concentrate on loving God and how your relationship with your spouse or friend is an outpouring of your desire to serve God.

Drifting: The dangers in the Christian life are not usually the sinful behaviors we know are wrong and repentant about- lust, pride, greed, deceit, selfishness. The chief danger in the Christian life is usually related to drifting away. Hebrews 2:1, "We must pay careful attention, therefore to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away." Good things in life become idols- basketball, golf, the pursuit of money, family, vacations, friendships. These things must always be viewed as resources to honor Christ and not ultimate pursuits.

Contentment: the mature person is grateful every day. Much of the world spends their time, money and energy pursuing clean water and food. Anyone reading this is blessed beyond measure and needs to be reminded daily how merciful God is to us. We deserve God's wrath. He has poured out mercy upon us. We are called to be a funnel for His mercy. A comical reminder that we live in an amazing time.

Fundamentals: we never outgrow the need to practice the fundamentals of the Christian faith. Every day we must stay on the path towards God- prayer; studying the Word; encouraging each other with truth; serving others. Without the daily practice of these disciplines we drift. Psalms 1:1-2, "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night."

Without this meditation, we start by walking in the counsel of the wicked. Then we stand and stay awhile. The final progression is pitching our tent near Sodom and sitting down with the mockers. Only a holding on to Jesus daily will prevent our hearts from growing cold and finding comfort in the pleasures of sin.

Fix Your Thoughts on Jesus,

Ashley Hodge

I'm thankful to live in a country that enjoys a great deal of freedom and prosperity. I'm grateful for the sacrifices that many have made to make the United States a great nation. I realize that there is a tension between freedom and entitlements. The further we move down the road towards entitlements- government funded health care; government funded education; government funded retirement, etc... the less freedom we will enjoy. I am praying for our nation and hopeful that better days lie ahead.

I recently watched the "Book of Eli". Very violent film with bad language. But the faithfulness to a message of preserving the Word of God at all costs was inspiring. I thought Denzel Washington did an excellent job as Eli- a man who felt the Holy Spirit was guiding him to an unknown place to deliver the last Holy Bible remaining on Earth in a post-apocalyptic world. Definitely made me meditate on how important it is to treasure and memorize the Word of God.

Some books that I have been working on lately:

Genesis: Beginning and Blessings by Kent Hughes- highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to study a book of the Bible that is integral to the Christian faith. The book is a commentary on all 50 chapters of Genesis but the chapters are usually less than 10 pages so it makes for a good devotional each day.

Hole in the Gospel by Richard Stearns- Stearns is the President of World Vision. He calls Christians to demonstrate the hope of the gospel in practical ways to a hurting world. This book came highly recommended by two of clients who I respect immensely. So I felt God was trying to get my attention to read it.

Some advice that I have been gleaning from the plethora of investment articles and conference calls that I have been listening to:

Emerging market stocks and high quality multinational stocks appear to have the most favorable risk/reward characteristics of the stock market- Jeremy Grantham

Deficits, debt and demographics are major headwinds for investment returns. An inflation spike is probable in the next 10 years due to the need to devalue our debt problems as a nation. Buy the inflation protection now while it is cheap to buy (TIPs; commodities; shorting long-term treasuries)- Rob Arnott

Concentrate on stock, bond and real estate investments that pay consistent income and funds that have the flexibility to move between asset classes (absolute return funds); these type of investments do much better in the environment we are in. Steer clear of investments that depend on debt to grow- David Rosenberg

I'm thankful that Baylor survived the conference realignment discussions and continued as a member of the Big 12 (minus 2). I'm a basketball junkie and I have really enjoyed Baylor's ascent as a basketball program. Playing on television a lot is critical to Baylor being able to continue to recruit well. I'm looking forward to a fun basketball season as a Baylor fan this year with a nucleus of Quincy Acy, Lace Dunn, AJ Walton and incoming freshman- Perry Jones who many predict to be drafted in the top 3 picks in the NBA draft in 2011. Andy Katz has Baylor #4 in his preseason ESPN poll.

Perry has sick talent- one of my dreams is to be able to play basketball like the video attached to his name in my resurrected body in a restored Earth.

Finally, I thought this quote was good that I heard on the Dennis Prager show today while driving around lunch time. "The believer in God has to explain the problem of evil. The believer in atheism has to explain everything else."

For God's glory,

Ashley Hodge

Ecclesiastes 7:29, "See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes."

We make our lives more complicated than they need be. I was thinking today about how many people are employed in jobs only because human nature is to crave complexity versus simplicity.

Take the Christian faith. One of favorite authors JC Ryle said, "I wish to be as broad as the Bible, neither less nor more." How much more effective would the Christian faith be if all Christians lived by this motto? Millions of dollars are wasted in arguing over areas of the faith that the Bible is not crystal clear on. Seminaries are constructed to defend these doctrinal differences. In a class that I took at a seminary, my professor joked when discussing the mode of baptism, "This is what we call a theological controversy. Or in other words, job security for guys like me."

The tax code is another example. If you were designing a tax system from scratch would you ever dream of it being 70,320 pages long? I was chosen at random a couple of years ago for a line-by-line audit of my full tax return. There were some questions during the audit that came up where my auditor was confused as to what the tax law was. And how could you not be? A tax code that started with 400 pages in 1913 is now 176 times more complex.

In health care, 40% of the money that goes into the system never comes out. The middle consumes it- administration. That makes no sense. It is estimated that we spend over $700 billion per year on excess administrative costs. It would cost less than $200 billion per year to cover all the uninsured.

As humans, we are naturally predisposed to make our lives complicated. It is part of our fallen nature. But one of our greatest needs is to seek simplicity daily. John Piper in a sermon that I watched online recently proclaimed, "We never outgrow our need to hear the gospel." It is a simple faith. Question #1 in the 1647 Westminster Confession: "what is the chief end of man? To know God and enjoy Him forever." We could spend our whole life asking God to help us fulfill this.

The cares and clutter of life will consume us and render us ineffective if we allow it. I have some practical steps for simplifying life.

1. Time with God as the first priority of every day. Read and meditate on His word. Write down God's promises to you and commit them to memory. Keep a prayer journal where you record requests and answers to prayer.

2. In your work, focus on doing a few things well. Recently, I have kept a list of 4-5 things that I want to accomplish that day. Eliminate or decrease distractions. Set aside an hour each day to return phone calls and emails. Crave simple focus. Don't multitask. My wife- Amy- and I were watching a PBS program about the ineffectiveness of multitasking. The program showed the declining academic results at Ivy League schools because so many kids are using smartphones or laptops to surf the internet during lectures. Retention suffers dramatically when we don't give a task our full attention.

3. Set aside a few hours each day for relationships. Whether it is connecting with friends, family, neighbors or acquaintances, strive to give undivided attention to the relationships that you value. For me, 6pm- 8pm is this time daily.

4. Purge, purge, purge. Purge things out of your life every day. Possessions that are choking up space in your home need to be given away. Make it your motto in everything you do to find the simplest way to live. Don't sign up for activities that you don't value greatly. Don't be afraid to say "no". The good is the enemy to the great.

5. Simplify your health- being healthy usually comes down to 3 things: eating good foods but in less quantity; exercising 5 hours per week; and managing stress well by getting the proper amount of rest and keeping short accounts with God and others. Romans 12:18, "If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all." Romans 12 is a simple approach to the Christian faith. It wouldn't be a bad idea to read these verses every day for a month so that they are imprinted on the mind and heart.

As always I preach to myself first.

For the simple life and faith,

Ashley Hodge

Around four years ago I wrote some blogs about Ed Young Jr. of Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas. I questioned the transparency and financial ethics that were taking place in the leadership of the church.

Those blog posts can be found below:

http://stewardshipmandate.blogspot.com/2006/01/tale-of-two-pastors.html

http://stewardshipmandate.blogspot.com/2006/05/how-now-shall-we-give.html

This past week, I noticed some activity in the comment section of that first blog. I figured something was up. A friend informed me that WFAA- the ABC affiliate in Dallas/Fort Worth had run an investigative piece on Ed Young Jr concerning his luxurious lifestyle.

The video and article of that piece can be viewed here.

I take no joy in having insight or discernment on this issue. My commitment is to pray for Ed and the ministry of Fellowship Church and that others will not be lead astray by the false idols of prosperity and luxury. I believe many people have come to a conversion experience with Christ through Fellowship Church and I rejoice in that.

My concern is that what is taking place with the prosperity gospel crowd is potentially going to jeopardize tax-favored status for the majority of minsters of the gospel who are not earning large sums of money and who are laboring for the advancement of the kingdom of Christ.

Let's be serious here. Million dollar pastoral salaries; $240k per year "parsonage" allowances to buy and support expensive homes; using $8 million private jets purchased with church funds to travel and take personal vacations; dressing in the finest designer clothes; and undergoing elective plastic surgery are all viewed by most ordinary folks with disdain.

It would not shock me if tax exempt status for religious organizations is removed or revamped as a result. There are plenty of voices pushing for it already and stories like this give those voices ample ammunition. As the government looks for ways to increase revenue to pay for large deficits, ministries like Ed Young's that are allegedly using tax-exempt status to line pockets with wealth become easy prey.

Praying for an outcome that glorifies God,

Ashley Hodge

I just finished a book that had been recommended in one of my financial advisory trade magazines. The book The Road to Prosperity by Patrick Toomey lays out a succinct plan to grow the American economy. Toomey has a sharp business mind and could be a strong voice for reform on the national political scene. He was a Republican Congressman in Pennsylvania 1999-2005. From 2005-2009 he has been the President of the Club for Growth. He plans on running for Senate in Pennsylvania in 2010 in a Democrat leaning territory but currently holds a 4-6 percentage point lead over the Democratic candidate- either Arlen Specter or Joe Sestak.

The Road to Prosperity lays out four principles for a prosperous economic future:

1. Property Rights- Ownership is the Foundation of Markets

Clearly defined rules in regards to property ownership is the trademark of a free, prosperous economy. Property is defined as real property (land, buildings, houses), personal property (movable goods- cars, boats, planes, clothes, money) and intellectual property (songs, books, software, trademarks).

The evidence is overwhelming that a respect for personal property rights has led to prosperity in the past. And a lack of respect for property rights (communism and dictatorships) has led to economic distress.

As governments limit involvement in property to defining and protecting ownership, prosperity is the end result. As governments increase their role in defining how property should be used/confiscated for the "common good", prosperity is threatened.

2. Markets Work- Let Them

Austrian economistFredrik Hayekcalled the elitist belief that government can manipulate the marketplace for the good of the people "the fatal conceit." Regulation has its proper role and place. We need police to keep the peace and act as a deterrent to evil minded criminals. But as Adam Smith wrote in the Wealth of Nations, it is the pursuit of self-interest, voluntary exchange, specialization and division of labor that promotes economic prosperity.

Too much regulation leads to the law of unintended consequences. For example, high minimum wage laws can lead to higher unemployment. Government subsidized prices can lead to lower prices for consumers in the short run, but in the long run usually results in an ineffective allocation of resources and taxpayer bailouts of industries that cannot produce profits without government help.

Free markets undergo periods of creative destruction. Old, archaic industries that no longer meet consumer needs die over time- plain old telephone service, watches, newspapers. New, innovative industries emerge- mobile/wireless communication. Resources move to areas of the economy that are more productive. Government interference in this process sustains failing industries longer than needed and obstructs the efficiency of free markets.

3. Taxes and Spending- The Lower the Better

If you tax something, you get less of it. There have been articles in the past year about the folly of states raising income taxes and then watching their high income earners move to other states. Walter Wriston, "Capital goes to where it is welcomed and stays where it is well treated."

Corporations don't really pay taxes- they just collect taxes from the consumer and pass it along to the government. This is terribly inefficient- US corporations pay one of the highest tax rates in the world. We are taxed in many complicated ways, but the taxes that discourage productive work are the worst. Higher income taxes and capital gains taxes make work less attractive than leisure to the higher income tax brackets.

The evidence has long supported that the wealthy pay more tax when marginal tax rates are lower. The larger problem is that government is way too fat and bloated. Toomey says this is due to two factors. One, concentrated benefits beat dispersed burdens. Second, the seen trumps the unseen. Governments claim that they create jobs and help people but the reality is that they redistribute wealth and hinder the private sector in the process with many unnecessary burdens. In other words, every job that the government "creates" comes at the cost of higher taxes on the private sector which is always the engine of true job growth.

4. Stable Money

Money should serve three purposes. First, as a unit of measure. Second, a medium of exchange. Third, a store of value over time. Therefore, money performs well when the value is stable and predictable. Since this is the primary function of money, government policy should be consistent with promoting stability. But this has not been the case. The problem according to Toomey has been the mandate from Congress to the Fed to promote maximum employment, stable prices and moderate long-term interest rates.

By trying to accomplish the goal of maximum employment, the Fed has sacrificed stable prices and moderate interest rates. The negative, unintended consequence of trying to maintain full employment has led to credit bubbles, devaluation of the currency and inflation. Inflation destablizes money and is therefore bad for the economy.

Toomey believes that the Fed should focus solely on a stable currency. In the long run, this will be better for employment and moderate interest rates.

The rest of the book discusses some of the problems with government spending; tax policy; the advantages of free trade and some solutions for economic reform- flat tax; social security reform and school vouchers.

I found it interesting that Toomey blames government manipulation and Fed policy for the crisis in 2008. Much has been written about the "evils" of capitalism in creating the crisis. And how government spending/intervention has helped to "save" capitalism from implosion. Just like the saying in foxholes there are no atheists. In times of crisis, there are no capitalists only Keynesians that believe government needs to step in and save the day.

I agree with most of Toomey's conclusions. Less government and taxes is better. The Fed should concentrate on stable monetary policy only. Property rights should be protected and treasured. Free markets need to be promoted absent government manipulation.

My problems with these libertarian views is that the Bible makes it clear that the unregenerate heart of man is wicked. In a world free from sin, libertarian views work. The problem with allowing every one to pursue their own self-interest is that some enjoy the thrill of power that comes from oppressing others. Of course the argument can be made that the heart is equally wicked in the hands of a "noble" government administrator and a cold-hearted, power hungry capitalist.

Incentives matter. It seems that the role of government should be to encourage stewardship and productivity in its citizens. If policies were formulated with these questions in mind, we would all be better off:

1. What policies would encourage/incentivize the maximization of money, abilities, time and health in our citizens?

2. What tax and spending policies would encourage productivity and less reliance on government for the future?

What is discouraging about the current attitudes in government is that there is less respect for property rights; more taxes and government expansion in the economy; more regulation for the markets and an unstable monetary policy that will lead to high inflation.

We are headed the wrong direction and need a revolution towards less reliance on government and more reliance on the only One who can provide for all of our needs.

For God's Glory,

Ashley Hodge

In the last 30 days, I had the privilege to attend some good conferences. Here are some of my notes/thoughts from those events.

Generous Giving Conference- Austin, TX 10/22-10/24

GenerousGiving is an organizationthat exists to promote joyful giving among Christians. There were many inspirational stories of believers who were challenged to be radically generous and obedient to God's calling with the resources that God had entrusted to them. Here are some of my thoughts from this conference:

Stanley Tam- 94 year old businessman from Ohio.

He signed a legal contract early in his life that God was the owner of his business- US Plastics. God has chosen to prosper this business. Stanley took a moderate income from the business as a salary and turned over the vast majority of profits to fund the works of Christian ministry. The business has given over $120 million to works of Christ.

My key takeaway here was that when God spoke to Stanley, Stanley obeyed. His driving passion is evangelism and everything in his life is oriented towards this end.

There are some terrific videos on his life/testimony that are worth the investment of time to watch here.

Chip Ingram-pastor of a church in California. Link to his media ministry.

He gave two excellent talks. One on being surrendered to God. The other on the genius of generosity. On being surrendered to God, he walked through three case studies about people who had a specific knowledge/expertise. Each of these three had stumbled upon a treasure that was worth infinitely more than the asking price. One involved rare coins. The second was an original Picasso painting. And the third was Jesus' parable of hidden treasure.

In each case study, the person who discovered the hidden treasure was required to sell everything they had to acquire the treasure. In each case, the reward was far greater than the cost.

Chip used the life of Stanley Tam as an example of what should be the normal Christian experience. We are offered a choice to trade stuff that doesn't last/satisfy for treasures that last forever. This is not weird or fanatical as society views it. It is just smart. It is rational.

Chip's talk on the genius of generosity highlighted the generosity staircase using the Christmas story as an example. It is easiest to be generous with money (Magi). It is harder to be generous with our time (Shepherds). Even harder to be generous with our reputation (Joseph). Harder still to be generous with our future (Mary). Next our life (Jesus). And finally our most precious possession (God- The Father).

Ingram emphasized that as the cost went up in each of these areas on the generosity staircase, the rewards and intimacy went up as well.

Allianz Investors Conference- Newport Beach, California 11/11-11/13

I was excited about attending this conference because I have invested money for clients with PIMCO (manages close to $1 trillion for investors the majority of which is in bonds) for many years and some of their top minds were presenters- including Paul McCulley, Bill Gross and Rob Arnott.

Here are some short notes that I jotted down from the presentations of those three speakers.

Paul McCulley- Managing Director/Portfolio Manager

Paulspoke on the New Normal. Some bullet points:

• A Depression is off the table. The economy was in cardiac arrest last year but government programs kept the patient alive. The patient was sick from double bubbles (property and leverage). Too much debt on too much property declining in value too fast.
• Government injected socialism in our economy and it worked in the short-term. Just as there are no atheists in foxholes... there are no capitalists in financial meltdowns.
• McCulley expressed his fondness for the economic theories of Hyman Minsky who promoted a financial instability hypothesis. Human nature has a tendency to go off the rails every 40 years or so.
• Minsky believed there were three types of financial borrowers in the marketplace. First, the hedge buyer (traditional fixed rate mortgages- 20% down; fixed rate; ability to pay back loan). Second, the speculative buyer (little money down; interest only loan; ability to pay interest but not principal). Third, the ponzi buyer (no money down; betting heavily that values go up or will default on loan).
• The crisis was a result of too many speculative and ponzi buyers/lenders before the meltdown. 20 million Americans have negative equity in their homes currently. McCulley compared it to an underage drinking party with Moody's and S&P handing out fake ids (these two agencies were giving "safe" ratings to loan paper that was extremely risky).
• The housing and auto industries are shrinking. These sectors were fueled by home equity loans in the past. US consumers still have the will to be hedonistic but not the wallet or access to credit.
• McCulley saw three main issues in the economy: 1. Wealth effect is a headwind not a tailwind currently. 2. Unemployment rate will be slow to come down. 3. Lack of demand going forward as the household sector spends extended time in the Betty Ford clinic for balance sheet rehabilitation.
• McCulley predicts the next 10 years will bring returns in these neighborhoods for investors: bonds (3-6% annual); US stocks (6-8% annual); emerging market stocks (8-11%).

Bill Gross- Founder and co-CIO

He didn't give a presentation, but he did speak to a group of advisors for about 30 minutes on the PIMCO trading floor at the end of trading. A couple of brief notes on his comments:

• The FED is going to keep interest rates near zero until the economy shows sustained growth above 4% for GDP for at least 18 months. This is likely to fuel prices that are artificially high in many markets- stocks, real estate, bonds, commodities. But this is by design as policy makers desire to reflate the economy.
• Priorities should be: job creation, job creation, job creation. Some large incentive programs to become the leaders in clean energy, education and health care for the world.
• Global imbalances are still large. We have income that equals 56% of GDP. Our consumption is 72% of GDP. The difference is made up by government borrowing. This needs to come into balance.

Rob Arnott- PIMCO investment manager; Chairman of Research Affiliates, LLC

• Bonds have outperformed stocks from 1968-2009. When you have heard that stocks are always the best long-term asset to own, it usually comes from a post 1980- pre 2000 mindset.
• The discount (cheapness) of value stocks relative to growth stocks is near the largest in history- exceeded by the end of the tech bubble in late 1999-early 2000.
• Deflation is the issue for the next 12-18 months. Government programs like the homebuyer incentive program actually work to keep CPI low because they remove renters from the marketplace which is a key component of how the CPI (Consumer Price Index) is calculated.
• Large inflation is coming to our economy. Total debt is 5 times GDP and this historically has never ended smooth.
• Three options on our national debt issues: 1. Pay down the debt slowly over 20 years. This is politically unpopular because it involves sacrifices, less entitlements, etc... Those are the things that politicians don't give up easily. 2. Quit paying our debt- we owe Japanese, Chinese and other countries a good portion of our debt. We could just default. This is not a good solution because it leads to wars- military and trade. 3. Use the printing press to allow inflation to run. If we have $70 trillion total debt, we can allow it to be only $35 trillion if inflation doubles over the next 10 years.
• Arnott is betting that #3 is our path- the most painless way out of the mess. He was asked what areas of fixed income would perform the best and he responded favorably to Treasury Inflation Protection bonds and floating income bonds because they do a good job of passing through inflation.

Please keep in mind that this is in no way meant to be specific investment advice. Seek counsel from your trusted advisers for advice pertaining to your individual situation.

For God's Glory,

Ashley Hodge

Lamentations 3:22-23: "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness."

I have been studying the book of Romans for the past few months trying to memorize a few passages in the book along the way. Romans 6:12-14, "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace."

Each day presents a new opportunity to put to death sin in our lives which wreaks havoc on relationships and distorts our minds and hearts. Each day is an opportunity to desire God and His healing ways.

If you are reading this blog, I would encourage you to dwell on the truth that you have been released from the prison of sin if you have submitted your will to Christ. You may have committed horrible sins consistently for many years. If you have, you are no different than me. Those habits are deeply entrenched in your heart and to depart from them is going to seem unnatural.

But if you are in Christ, you are a new creation. You are no longer a slave to sin. You have the Spirit in you that enables you to overcome all kinds of hardship and struggles. Today is a new day to live as a slave to righteousness and not sin.

Martin Luther said about the internal struggle with sin, "You cannot keep the birds from flying around your head. But you can prevent them from building a nest in your hair."

Let us choose:

• stewardship over waste
• growth over apathy
• freedom over slavery
• faith over fear
• generosity over greed
• purity over lust
• patience over anger
• love over callousness

For the freedom that only comes from living in peace with God through Christ,

Ashley Hodge

This idea could gain some traction in a difficult economic environment. Here are some reasons that paper and coin currency could become an antiquated idea going forward:

1. There is an estimated $2- $2.5 trillion in unreported income in the United States each year. Much of this income comes in the form of cash payments which are hard to track. With $500 billion plus in tax revenues each year not being collected due to tax fraud, the government has a large incentive to eliminate cash and set up a system that is more transparent.

2. Cash is dirty. CNN recently reported that 90% of cash had traces of cocaine on it. With fears of global pandemics like the swine flu, cash and coins may be voted out of existence for "health" reasons.

3. Counterfeit problem: I recently took a trip to San Diego and bought a soda at a convenience store. I only had a $100 bill. The clerk scanned the bill to verify its authenticity. I asked him if he only did that for $100? He said that he does it for all bills over $20. He told me that he had received over 5 counterfeit bills in the last 30 days. Right now, it is a small problem with less than $100 million of counterfeit money in circulation. But as computer printing continues to advance, it becomes easier for criminals to circulate fake money.

4. Cost of printing money and producing coins would be saved. This is probably a low figure in the grand scheme of things- under $100 million per year. But that $100 million could be allocated towards grid and internet security.

Reform the tax system with a flat tax

1. The cost to run and regulate the tax system according to Watson is 10-20% of total revenue received. The federal government takes in around in around $2.5 trillion in revenues. $1.1 trillion of that is federal income tax. The other $1.4 trillion is corporate, fica and excise taxes. This does not include all of the state and local taxes that we pay. A flat (or fair) tax of around 20% would reduce a large amount of expense (around $250-$500 billion annually) that is inefficiently spent on managing a complex tax system.

2. The idea that lower tax rates leads to more tax revenue and stronger economic growth is controversial in academic circles. But the evidence historically supports tax cuts producing higher tax revenue/growth. Arthur Laffer presented a theory that there is an optimal tax rate for an economy. If you cut taxes too much, you don't have enough money to fund the things that citizens view important- national defense, social service programs, etc... If you raise taxes too much, you disincentivize earning profit and therefore tax revenues fall.

3. Make all government worker income tax-free. It makes no sense at all for the government to pay workers and declare the income as taxable. And then take back a percentage of it in taxes which just adds to the costs of maintaining our tax system. 8% of all jobs are government jobs. Why not just pay these people in tax-free income at a lower rate than require them to give a portion back to the government that they work for?

God has made us simple. We have sought out our own complexity. I'm sure there are some holes in these ideas. But I am prayerful that common sense will prevail and that the economic difficulties of today will lead to better policies and ideas for tomorrow.

Watson had a great quote at the end of his book, "It is safer and lazier to be pessimist. Optimism takes work. It requires commitment, energy and ideas."

Excited about the future because I know Who controls the future,

Ashley Hodge

Heard a thought provoking sermon by Robert Morris at Gateway Church yesterday. He's doing a series called "Overwhelmed by Grace." Yesterday, he brought up the point that the decision of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden wasn't a choice between evil and good. It was a choice between life and death.

The tree of life in the Garden represented choosing obedience to God and submitting to His ways so that we may have life. The tree of knowledge (of good and evil) represented choosing death- rejecting the ways of God. Scriptures started coming to me as I thought about this.

Exodus 20:12, "Honor your father and mother, that your days may be long..."

Deuteronomy 6:24, "The Lord commanded us to do these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive..."

John 10:10, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they have life and have it abundantly."

John 11:25, "Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.'"

I am sure these verses only scratch a tiny surface of what God is trying to teach us about death and life. This was a helpful mind shift in thinking about warfare against sin in terms of choosing life versus death. God is good and wants to give us life. Stewardship/obedience is just choosing the paths of life instead of destruction.

For example, when we have harmony in relationships, we have more peace and less stress. This leads to better health and longer life. By choosing reconciliation over strife, we are following God's plan to give us life over death. By making wise choices in terms of our health habits (exercise/eating/ rest), we are choosing life over death. Doing business honestly leads to less conflict and greater trust. This is a less stressful path and one that leads to life versus death.

Naturally, we are all on a path towards physical death due to the effects of one man's disobedience. But thanks to the grace of God, those who choose to follow Christ are on a path of life even though our physical bodies are dying. 2 Corinthians 4:16, "So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day."

One of the most important scriptures to grasp is Romans 5:17: "If, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ."

Health Care Costs

This Fall is likely to be an explosive time in the debate for health care reform. My wife has endured many health struggles in the last five years so this is a topic I have been following with interest and empathy.

I hope that whatever compromise is made... that the result is not a government controlled single payer system. I'm all in favor of monarchy/one person making the decisions for the masses. But I don't want that until Christ is the King. The lesson of history is that centralized power is bad for people. It would be okay if the leaders/rulers were men and women above reproach in all circumstances with the interest of the people always the primary concern. There are certainly many leaders who fit this description, but unfortunately not enough to make government control the utopian answer.

Some good resources to point out if you are interested in digging into the facts of health care reform:

Rusty Leonard of Stewardship Partners has a frightening chart of government medicare projected costs versus actual costs. You can find the chart on page 4 of his quarterly newsletter.
Government projections are usually rosier than the reality. A government run health care system is likely to put a burden in terms of taxation and strain on future economic growth that will hinder our economy for decades to come.

Mark Perry- economics professor- keeps up a blog called Carpe Diem that has some thought provoking entries on how to deliver effective health care without bankrupting the country in the process.

Finally, the Congressional Budget Office has some good resources on their website concerning the projection of health care costs.

There is no doubt that reform needs to take place. My personal preference is go the route of automobile insurance. Costs under $5000- $10,000 per year are covered out of pocket with some tax incentives (HSA accounts) to cover those expenses. Over $10k per year, there should be insurance for citizens of the United States even if that cost has to be subsidized by states or the federal government.

We also need incentives to line up correctly to control costs- focus on reducing obesity; early detection of cancer and heart disease. I wrote a blog entry on this topic in more detail last year.

Crazy Love by Francis Chan

If you are looking for a quick read, I highly recommend Crazy Love by Francis Chan. He set up a website with short video chapter previews to give you an overview of what the book is about. The book was recommended by a client/friend. It has really challenged me and re-motivated me to live with purpose.

For The Promises of God's Presence and Kingdom,

Ashley Hodge

Traditional retirement planning focuses on these areas:

*Setting an expected date to retire
*Managing risk with investment assets to fund retirement
*Income projection from assets, pensions and social security

One neglected area of planning is honing your skills and abilities. A friend of mine who is also a financial advisor sent me a link to a Barron's article: Next, The Retirement Bubble

The article expresses some thoughts that I have been blogging about for a while- although in harsher terms. The idea of retirement that is so prevalent in American thinking is pure fantasy for most people working today. And that is not a bad thing.

The biblical model is clearly a model of productivity for the Lord as long as there is breath in your lungs and blood pumping to your heart. Jesus expressed this in John 9:4, "We must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work." This life on earth is day. Death is night. The works of God can mean many different things and it may not always be income generating.

But the truth is that most people are living longer. And assets are in decline overall due to the financial crises of the last nine years. Society cannot afford to pay people income for thirty plus years while they are not contributing to the growth of the economy.

If the trend continues, our economy will be in shambles. We would have a vicious cycle of large population blocks of active voters insisting on social security and medicare benefits that stay at the current levels or better. This would lead to unsustainable tax increases. That would lead to a sluggish economy and taxpayers fleeing the United States for economies that offer lower taxes and greater growth prospects.

The good news is that many forward thinkers on these issues believe that this outcome will be avoided. For example, the authors of The Fourth Turning- Strauss and Howe- believe that history is cyclical (a view I do not share entirely). In their view, the current crisis was caused by a 20-year cycle that was highlighted by apathy and addiction to leisure. This led to unsustainable levels of debt and a financial crisis.

Strauss and Howe believe that the next cycle will be one that values hard work and a return to productivity. This will lead to another cycle of prosperity down the road.

So what is the point of all this? Like the author of the article in Barron's, I believe that we are facing a reality that most people are going to dramatically rethink the idea of retirement. I promote the strategy of never retiring to a life of leisure to anyone who will listen. I believe it is a less stressful, more fulfilling life.

But I agree with the article that most people should consider a 3-5 year sabbatical instead of traditional retirement. And this is where honing your skills comes in. We should be on a constant path of personal growth. The economy rewards flexibility and adaptation to change.

What this means to me is that I need to constantly hone my skills as a financial advisor so that I am at the top of profession in terms of knowledge and wisdom. But it also means having a diverse enough set of skills so that if Congress passed a law tomorrow that was devastating to the financial planning profession, I would be able to transition into another productive career within a short period of time.

The idea that you work for a company for 30 years and retire at age 55 into a life of leisure for 40 years is dead. It was never a healthy thing. Pray for God to reveal your gifts. Use those gifts for God-glorifying productive work. If you have recently lost a job or you are facing the dread of an uncertain future, stay encouraged.

If you are in Christ, you have the power of the Holy Spirit in you. You have innovation, courage and perseverance at your disposal. Here are a few resources that can help you hone your skills and work towards a position of greater financial flexibility so that your time will be freed up to spend as God directs.

For He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day you meet Christ,

Ashley Hodge

There is something better than freedom. Don't get me wrong. I love freedom. I cherish it every day.

Freedom is not to be taken for granted. The fact that I can write this blog; invest my time today in the activities I choose; worship Christ freely; and pursue a career that I desire are all results of God's grace and the blood and sacrifices of those who came before me.

I was discussing the topic of freedom with my five year old boy yesterday. He asked me the question, "Did Jesus die on the cross for the devil, too?" Five-year olds ask the most complicated questions... I explained to him in the simplest way that I knew how that God granted all humans and angels free will.

Some angels chose to serve God. Some angels wanted to be like God and would not submit to His authority. The fates of these spirits have now been forever sealed. The angels are with God ministering to the needs of His people and are going to be with Him in the Kingdom of Heaven forever. The fallen angels (Satan and demons) are in constant warfare with the purposes of God and are doomed to darkness.

Freedom has a season and then our fates are sealed. Our time on earth is a time of freedom. Some people enjoy more freedoms than others. But all people have the freedom to respond to the revelation of God through creation and Christ. This life is a time of choosing. After death, our fates are sealed like the angels/demons.

Augustine called this the fourfold state of the will:

1. Pre-Fall Man (Adam/Eve in the Garden of Eden)

They were granted the power to sin and the power not to sin.

2. Post-Fall Man (All of humankind in a depraved state in need of a Redeemer)

Since the fall, we have the power to sin and we are unable to avoid sin.

3. Reborn Man (those who trust in Christ and are given the unlimited power of the Holy Spirit)

The reborn man is restored to the state of Adam and Eve. We have the power to sin and the power not to sin.

4. Glorified Man (After death, believers are sealed like the angels to a state of eternal obedience to Christ)

The glorified man is in a state of being able to sin and unable to sin.

To many people there is no worse idea in the world than to lose their freedom. Sadly, these people are often the ones who refuse to submit to God's authority. I was listening to a Francis Chan sermon this week. He recounted something J Vernon McGee said, "This is God's universe and He does whatever He wants. You can do whatever you want... when you get your own universe."

I thank God for freedom. But I especially thank God that one day I will no longer be free to sin and choose to rebel against Him. This is the most precious of gifts. Because His ways are always better than mine.

For His Glory,


Ashley Hodge

I feel like I have been wandering in the wildnerness lately- unfocused in terms of following the stewardship mandate that I acknowledge as truth. I read something by JC Ryle- my favorite author- this morning that struck a chord with me.

Ryle says, "Our hearts are like the earth on which we tread; let it alone, and it is sure to bear weeds." What a truth! Daily connection to Christ and the purposes that He has for us are essential for our growth. John Calvin said in the Institutes of the Christian Religion, "Man's nature is a perpetual factory of idols."

We fill our hearts and time with stuff. For me lately, it has been too many temporal pursuits and not enough focus on the eternal. But I am re-calibrating. Hopefully, some of these thoughts will be an encouragement for you to do the same or carry on in the path of biblical stewardship.

My four focus areas of stewardship are: money, abilities, time and health (MATH). Here are some thoughts on how to glorify God in the use of these resources.

1. Organizing your time and day

I have been guilty of living a reactionary life for the last year. This is not good for many reasons because growth is stunted. My new resolve is to block my time in this fashion each day:

5am- 8am: Spiritual growth (Bible study, prayer, reading); Fitness (cross fit training; basketball; weights)

8am- 1pm: focus on one task and doing it well. It might be reviewing client accounts; reading something important for my business; scheduling appointments; seeing two clients face-to-face.

The point is to have 4-5 hours where you are not constantly distracted by returning phone calls; checking email 15 times and aimlessly browsing the web or watching media.

1pm- 6pm: similar focus of one task.

This may include studying something in-depth; anything related to performing my calling more effectively would qualify in these time blocks.

6pm- 10pm (and weekends): family/relationships/projects

Invest time in my wife, kids and friends- constantly winning over their hearts. Improving our home or the organization of treasures (photos/ journals/memories).

2. Healthy habits

I love the way I feel when I am living in a disciplined way. Eating a calorie-restricted diet of whole foods; breaking addictions to certain foods/sodas; having a gameplan for exercise that includes improvement in strength and endurance.

3. Managing/eliminating distractions

Meditate on the rewards for living a life of stewardship. Focus the mind on the promises of God for becoming a better manager of money, ability, time and health. Realize that Christians are promised not only Heaven when we die physically. But we are called to redeem this fallen world with the authority and purposes of God. There is no time for waste in any form.

Here are a few passages of Scripture to encourage us to keep our minds on the rewards of faithfulness to God:

Philippians 3:13-16, "...But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained."

2 Corinthians 4:16-18, "So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight and momentary afflication is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."

I Peter 5:6-11, "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all of your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To Him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen."

Living under the rule of One King,

Ashley Hodge

Here are some blogs/websites that I frequent relating to the stewardship of money/investing.

1. Carpe Diem: Economist Mark Perry gravitates towards the optimistic side of things. I like that. Chris Davis of Davis Advisors said a few years ago, "You sound smarter when you are pessimistic but history has tended to reward optimists."

2. Infectious Greed: Paul Kedrosky links articles of interest that relate to investing/managing money.

3. Hussman Funds: John Hussman gives excellent weekly commentary on his view of investing. He has compiled an impressive track record of conservative growth in a difficult decade to be a growth investor.

4. Greg Mankiw: Harvard professor's economics blog.

Less frequent posts, but I enjoy reading their commentary:

5. GMO: Led by Jeremy Grantham. This firm has compiled a good track record predicting asset class returns for 7-10 year periods.

6. Crestmont Research: Ed Easterling's research on stock market cycles.

7. Stewardship Partners: Rusty Leonard's quarterly newsletter highlighting his view of world markets and biblical stewardship principles.

It is a tough time economically. The future is always a mixture of difficulty and opportunity. No one sees the future clearly except our Lord. But wise counsel always helps in understanding some of the risks and possibilities of what the future has in store.

For God's Glory,

Ashley Hodge

I'm a reflective guy. Tomorrow I turn 40. The number 40 has a great deal of biblical significance. The number symbolizes a long period of time. There are many examples in Scripture: 40 days Noah was in the Ark; 40 years Israel wandered in the wilderness; Jesus was tempted in the wildnerness by Satan for 40 days, etc...

My prayer is that I have at least 40 more years left. I hope that the next 40 years are my best years for service to God and usefulness to my fellow journeyers.

Today I am reflecting on the lessons that I have learned in my previous 40 years. And how these lessons can help the years ahead be more fruitful.

1. The sweeter the sin, the bitter the taste in my mouth.

It's a line from a U2 song. It is true. Unfortunately, I have tried most of the sins that there are to try. The ones I haven't tried, I have thought about. The result is momentary pleasure and lifelong regret. Proverbs 14:12, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death."

I have discovered that you can establish a good reputation and have a wicked heart. A line from a study in Romans has stuck with me the past month: Reputation is what people think about you. Character is what God knows about you. I need to always elevate the pursuit of godly character. Reputation will take care of itself.

2. Pursuing God has to be active.

God seeks us. The Bible makes this clear in many places. But feelings have to be trained. Those who wake up early to exercise know that many days the body tells us that we are crazy. If the body could speak, it would say, "Sleep in, this is insane. Why do you torture me this early?" But our minds know that many benefits come from exercise: endorphin rush, better health, less aches and pains in the long run, longevity, etc...

Wanting to spend time with God- at least for me- comes and goes in waves. There are many days I don't feel like praying. Many days I don't feel like opening up the Bible to receive daily nourishment. Many times where I struggle through a spiritually rich book. But my mind knows that James 4:8 is true, "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you." I have discovered that we need a battle plan for growing closer to God rooted in prayer and study.

3. Stewardship is the path

I know that I was created for a purpose: to glorify God. I know that my soul and body will be resurrected to a destination: Heaven or Hell. I know that I deserve Hell because I have a sinful heart. Sinning comes easy. I know that Heaven is an unmerited gift of God's redeeming grace available only through the cross of Christ.

Overwhelmed by God's mercy, I know that stewardship of all that God has entrusted to us is the right path. I fall of this path so quickly. I have an enemy who wants me off the path of faithful stewardship. Because it is where the power of authentic faith lies. When we manage money, ability, time and health with a purpose of building God's kingdom, our lives have influence and power.

I know these things to be true. I pray that the next 40+ years are spent in faithful application of these truths.

4. Every discipline affects every discipline

I think I first heard this on a self-help tape. I have found this to be true. When we are disciplined in our spiritual lives, we tend to be more disciplined with health. When we are disciplined in these areas, we tend to be more disciplined with our tongue. Those disciplines lead to further discipline with money.

The chapter in the Bible that most speaks to me is Hebrews 12. Hebrews 12:11, "For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness for those who have been trained by it."

There are many other lessons, but these stick out today. Birthdays are a time for reflection and an opportunity for renewal. Thank God for new opportunities and new chances.

Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus- Philippians 3:13-14.

Life begins anew at 40,

Ashley Hodge

1. To look at Mount Rushmore and say that erosion formed this work of art?
2. To look at this world and not acknowledge an Intelligent Designer?

There is a good article out about values in the stock market by Jeremy Grantham. Grantham is a legendary investment figure who oversees GMO Global Asset Management. In 1998, GMO made predictions for asset returns over the next 7-10 years that ended up being as accurate as any forecasts I have seen. For example, GMO predicted negative returns for US stocks at a time when very few people were that bearish.

They recently released predictions for the next 7 years that were more optimistic. In his view, we are not heading down a black hole. Business will go on and brighter economic times are ahead. Here's the article.

What I am telling clients in regards to money...

1. Don't retire
2. Live like a pessimist
3. Invest like an optimist

Doomsday predictions are plentiful. And more are coming. Here's one that a friend/client showed me in the last few days. Wilkerson wrote a book many years ago called The Cross and the Switchblade which detailed his experience sharing the gospel to gangmembers in New York City. You always have to respect a man who has poured his life into serving the inner city with the good news of Christ. But...

There is a history with him of making apocalyptic predictions since the early 1970s that have never materialized.

It has me thinking though. What is prudent preparation for disaster/social unrest? Here is my list:

• 30 day supply of water
• 30 day supply of dry foods
• Weapons/ammo
• Shortwave radio
• Batteries/flashlights
• First aid kit
• 30 day supply of medications
• Copies of important documents

I don't think it is nutty to have these basic provisions. The odds of a long-term breakdown of our social order is minimal. The odds of a short-term disruption due to natural disaster (Katrina scenario), war/attack on a city or riots is also low. But the risks do go up in tougher economic times.

If I have to take my family on a camping adventure, we are toast. But if we had to hole up in our home for 30 days without access to electricity, water, transportation and groceries/supplies, we could make it work with a little preparation.

The fact that I am even writing this is probably all the indication that you need to know that we are close to an economic bottom :)

For God's Glory,

Ashley Hodge

I finished a book called The Fourth Turning that was written in 1997 after loosely discussing the theme of the book with a friend. The book is a pessimistic guess on what the American experience might look like from 2000- 2020. It has gathered attention because some of the predictions have materialized to some degree: war on terror and global financial crisis.

You can read a brief summary of the book here. The authors- Strauss and Howe- lay out three views for history:

1. Chaotic time: history has no path. It is just a series of random, meaningless events.

2. Cyclical time: there is a pattern to history. Just like the seasons of Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall, history follows a process of renewal (high), awakening, unraveling, crisis.

3. Linear time: time is a progressive story with a beginning and an end. There will be struggles along the way but ultimately mankind is on an upwards, progressive path.

From my understanding of biblical revelation, I believe there is a fourth option that Christians would adhere to:

4. Combination of cyclical/linear time: God has created a natural order. There is certainly a cyclicality to this order as we see evidenced in the Seasons. God has also revealed a progressive redemptive plan. Mankind starts in a pristine garden (Genesis). We end up in a restored city (Revelation). The biblical story of Creation, Fall, Redemption and Restoration has a definite linear quality to it.

Strauss and Howe take the view that history is cyclical. They propose the theory that the US will experience crisis every generation (80 years or so). They point to: the American Revolution in the 1770s; Civil War in the 1860s; Great Depression/World War II in the 1930s/1940s to make their point.

In their view, we are due for a life altering crisis that will redefine our nation. I don't know how to think about their views. History may look at this period of 2000-2009 as a significant enough crisis to qualify for their gloomy view. However, Strauss/Howe believe things will get much worse. They see a period similiar to the 1930s and 1940s in store for us. They think we will experience political upheaval, potential world wars, economic distress and the potential collapse of American society.

It is scary stuff. What should a Christian do about these type of predictions? Some things never change. God has a plan that He is unfolding. We are privy to the end result but not the process. We are called to live a biblical lifestyle in every economic period- a balance between pessimism about the nature of man and hopefullness centered on the goodness of God.

I have a quote on my desk by John Kenneth Galbraith, "The function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable." Only God knows the future. It is a good future for those who have been called according to His purpose. We must proceed in faith, wisdom, hope and love.

America is going through a natural economic cycle of reaping economic distress caused by the carelessness of consumers and the greed/stupidity of policymakers. The results have been worse than I saw coming. But there is hope that if we return to prudence, stewardship and sound financial principles that we will recover and build a stronger tomorrow for our children. We seem to be at a crucial moment in our country's history. We need to pray for God's favor and for leaders who are filled with wisdom in navigating these problems.

More than anything, we (I) need to be reminded of this truth. It is a trustworthy statement that deserves full attention, Christ came to save sinners of which I am the worst of them- I Timothy 1:15. At the root of our nation's problems is the same culprit of every problem: sin. Greed, addiction to leisure, presuming on tomorrow, selfishness, laziness, lust and pride. These things don't unchecked for long. We cannot sow bad seeds and pray every year for crop failure. It is time to sow seeds that produce good crops: love for God and neighbor, unselfishness, generosity, humility, courage and goodness.

Trusting in God's Plan,

Ashley Hodge

2008 was a disaster year for investors. The economy is likely to be very weak in 2009. It will probably see improvement for investors in most asset classes. If you go back and look at all the years that the Dow or S&P 500 lost over 20% in a year, you will notice a strong up trend in the following year. The exception to that is the Great Depression from 1929-1932.

The downward spiraling economy has created lots of opportunities to improve our use of financial resources. Here are some ideas that are on the top of my mind:

1. Refinance your mortgage.

If you have a mortgage on your home and you have equity, now is a good time to refinance your home. I was recently quoted 4.375% for a 15-year mortgage. There is some speculation that rates may get as low as 3% before this recession bottoms out. But that is all speculation. I would feel comfortable with any rate in the low 4% range.

2. Renegotiate with service providers

Some of the services that I use for my home were made at times when the economy was healthier. If you are looking at the budget and can't justify the current price you are paying for some services that add value/save time, call up the provider and see if they will accept a lower price. I was able to knock a couple of hundred dollars a month off my budget by doing this at the first of the year.

3. Re-examine your energy costs

The freefall in energy prices is good for consumers. Rates on electric service have dropped from $.15 per kWh to around $.11. It is a good time to shop and make sure you are getting the right deal. This could save you over $1,000 in the course of a year.

4. Plan your clothing and gift expenses well

Retailers are offering huge discounts and are likely to be doing so all of 2009. Shopping online and shopping smart can cut these budgets by 1/3 to 1/2 in the New Year.

All of these things need to be balanced with a compassion of how it affects others. I don't think being frugal at the expense or detriment to others is God-honoring. But at the same time, we should balance this concern for others with a healthy dose of reality that the economy is much different than it was a year ago.

We should always strive to be a good manager of the resources God has entrusted to us and eliminate as much waste as possible.

Ashley Hodge

I just finished reading a book by John Bogle- founder of Vanguard Mutual Funds- called Enough. Bogle reminds his readers of what made the US such a prosperous nation. He urges readers to return to the roots of viewing work as a calling that you never retire from; having a stewardship versus salesmanship mentality and returning to 18th century values of frugality, thrift and contentment.

We are in the midst of a financial mess worldwide. At best, we could be in store for a nasty recession. It can get worse if habits are not changed.

World governments are going to throw trillions of dollars at deflationary pressures in hopes to prevent anything close to another Great Depression. It is likely to have some success. But every solution has the potential to cause another problem.

I have a short list of changes that need to be made to lift our nation out of financial distress and leave our kids and grandkids with a brighter future.

1. Health care needs to be reformed. I have some optimism that this is going to happen in 2009. I read Tom Daschle's book Critical. Daschle was recently appointed Health and Human Services Secretary. He knows politics and why Harry Truman and Clinton's plans to reform health care failed. Democrats have the votes to get something significant passed and there is also the political will.

Initially, the plan will be to work with the current employer provided health care structure with an option for uninsured to adopt a plan that is similar to what is offered to government employees. The Democrats goal is to eventually move to a single payer system. Surprisingly, more conservatives are moving to this camp.

Eventually, I hope that employers are not in the health care business. It is terribly inefficient. Too many workers are working in jobs that they don't prefer just for health care benefits. Too many employers are making decisions to lay off older workers due to health care costs.

Daschle wants to set up a medical board similar to the Federal Reserve board for monetary policy. This medical board will be entrusted to make decisions on what treatments are the most effective. There are plenty of valid arguments against large government intervention. But I think radical reform is the only path towards fixing a broken system. Hopefully, through trial and error a better system will emerge that can deliver quality care, eliminate waste and cut costs.

2. Push the retirement age for social security and medicare back to age 75. Politically, this will be unpopular. But we need to face reality. It is the only cure to preserve the entitlement promises made to Americans. The vast majority of Americans are able to work well into their 70s and 80s.

Social security and medicare were set up at a time when life expectancies were in the 60s. Now people are living on average to their 80s. Adding 20 years of pulling benefits out and not contributing to the taxes is completely unsustainable. The problems could be fixed by telling the population that there is a new reality. And that reality is that you need to think about retiring at 75 versus 65.

3. Tax any investment that is held less than a year at 50%. Cut the capital gains tax to zero for investments that are held longer than one year. Our investment markets have become too much like a casino. The average holding period for stocks is around 6 months. From 1935- 1980, the average holding period for stocks was over 3 years. The focus has become on speculation and trading versus investment. This is not good for investors and not good for our economy.

You can reorient this gambling/speculative mindset by taxing speculation. People can still speculate, but let them pay a big penalty to do so. Reward long-term investors which has much greater economic benefit and stabilizing force by eliminating the capital gains tax on any investment held longer than a year. We need to encourage the average holding period for stocks to increase.

These are all secular reforms. What we really need in this land is the same thing that is needed in every corner of the world. We need reformation of hearts towards God. We need people who are living and breathing for the kingdom of Christ. One day we will live under a perfect economic system. Until then, we need to live for changes that align with God's revealed will. We need to live and model biblical principles daily. This is our hope of true and lasting change.

Looking forward to a New Economy,

Ashley Hodge

America has a new President. He's not the one I voted for. But my impression of him as a person has been favorable (outside of his policies). He ran a terrific campaign. Made no big mistakes. He did some smart things- like participate in the Rick Warren led Values Forum. He had lots of favorable tailwinds that helped him soundly beat John McCain.

He might go down in history as one of the most popular US Presidents. He inherits the economy when stock valuations and expectations are depressed. If things get better, Obama will likely get the credit just as Reagan did when he inherited a mess in 1980.

I am always of the opinion that politicians have the ability to really screw things up and Mr. Market will do what Mr. Market will do- making some Presidents look like they are economic geniuses and others look like they have no clue. This is what it is. But hopefully, Barack will not meddle too much and let the economy prosper on its own by allowing freedom and opportunity to rule.

Aside from all that, I will be supporting and praying for Obama regularly now that he is the Commander in Chief. I hope that conservatives are not as angry and bitter towards Barack as liberals have been towards Bush. I think Barack's presidency is a great opportunity for evangelical Christians to show that they live out what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches this in regards to supporting and praying for our President.

Romans 13:1-2, "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment."

1. We must learn to submit to authority with a humble attitude.

We will all submit to the only One who offers true hope and change- Christ. We will submit to Him either to our pleasure and ultimate good. Or we will submit to Him unwillingly when all truth is fully revealed to our destruction. Submission to authority and to each other is one of the crucial aspects of living a biblically consistent life.

2. All leaders are established by God.

God has a plan that He is unfolding. We can be assured that nothing happens in this world outside of His control. The Bible teaches us to rest in God's plan and to be active in aligning ourselves with His purposes.

3. Do all things without complaining.

Complaining is mostly worthless. Complaining without good ideas of how to improve things for the better is worthless. Philippians 2:14 teaches, "Do all things without grumbling or complaining." I would encourage all Christians to resist the temptation to be a divisive voice regarding this election.

There are certainly things worth fighting for like the undeniable fact that life begins at conception. But minds are not ever changed by bitter diatribes. Minds are changed and persuaded when the truth is presented firmly and gently with compassion and understanding.

Pray for Barack. Pray for his stewardship of this nation. Pray that his heart is transformed by Christ- who he claims to know. Pray that this nation has a renewal or introduction to the ways of Christ. Christ is our only hope of salvation and glory- Colossians 1:27.

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

That was fast. Two months ago most financial assets were worth 25%- 40% more than they are today. October was on pace to be the worst month in stock market history before it rallied over 10% the final week.

Greed has left the building. Fear is ruling the day. It is important in uncertain economic times to be tethered to the truths that are eternal. If you were following biblical principles in regard to finances, you are doing okay.

You would have heeded biblical warnings against presuming on tomorrow. A biblically based lifestyle includes the areas that I outlined in my prior blog entry.

Now that fear and pessimism are taking control of people's minds and hearts, it should be noted that the Bible has plenty to say about hoarding as well.

One verse that I stumbled across recently is Isaiah 23:17-18, "At the end of seventy years, the Lord will visit Tyre, and she will return to her wages and will prostitute herself with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth. Her merchandise and her wages will be holy to the Lord. It will not be stored or hoarded, but her merchandise will supply abundant food and fine clothing for those who dwell before the Lord."

These verses can be interpreted in a lot of different ways. I see them as a clear warning that wealth that is hoarded is not honored by the Lord. The consistent message of Scripture is that capital is to be re-circulated, invested and employed for good.

We see evidence of that in Luke 12:16-21. Jesus tells the story of a man who hoards resources and calls the man a fool. In times like these, we must be constantly reminded of what our purpose is. We are created for a Person- Christ. We are created for a place- Heaven. Our task on earth is to do the maximum amount of good to the maximum amount of people as Jonathan Edwards often said. We must point people to this Person and Place.

We must walk the balance between pessimism and optimism. We should live like pessimists- frugal, moderate towards our own needs. But give and invest like optimists- not being afraid to give and invest at times when people need it most.

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

I have been studying the book of Isaiah using some commentaries for insight- Calvin and Brueggemann.

The Scriptures often speak to me in whatever circumstances I find myself in. I found Isaiah 7 particularly relevant to current events.

There is a sense of unease with many that I talk to about the economy. Our nation has experienced problems in the housing market and lending institutions that has threatened to put a lot of banks out of business. Credit is tight. Fear and pessimism are high.

Our federal government has announced a plan to stimulate the economy that could cost taxpayers billions. The byproducts of a poor economy are more government spending, higher budget deficits and higher inflation.

What does Isaiah say to the believer in God's control over all things in this world during this time? Two verses:

Isaiah 7:4, "Say to him, 'Be careful, be quiet, do not fear...'"

Isaiah 7:9, "If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all."

We have a choice: to walk in faith or fear. What a great opportunity for believers to demonstrate that our trust is in Christ and not the fickleness of world economies. It is also a good opportunity to show that biblically based financial planning works.

What are the basic principles of biblical finance?

1. Keep your lifestyle much lower than your income stream.
2. Save and give a significant percentage of your income.
3. Work hard- use your abilities to serve God and others.
4. Diversify your investment assets- have a plan to manage principal and inflation risk.
5. Be organized- don't leave your family with an estate mess.
6. Act in faith, not fear. Pray for the prosperity of the city you live in and be active in seeking the renovation of creation for God's purposes.

What has been formed by God has been deformed by sin and needs to be reformed by Christ.

For God's Glory,

Ashley Hodge

As I have stated in previous posts, I think the three great opportunities for reinvigorating the US economy lie in energy, health and education reform.

Education reform is a topic that I take particular interest in because I have two young children and have a passion for learning. Unfortunately, most of this passion came after age 22 when most of my formal education days were behind me.

I am the product of public schools all the way through high school and then attended and graduated from Baylor University. I have gone back to school as an adult- taking classes at Westminister Theological Seminary.

I deplore waste- even though I am sure I can be rightly accused of hypocrisy in many areas where I am wasteful. Our government wastes incredible amounts of money on public education. If people knew the truth of how much waste goes on in the name of educating children, there would be cries to overturn the entire system.

Some statistics to support my claim. There were 31 industrialized nations ranked on educational criteria. Who spends the most per child on education? The United States (some studies say Switzerland, but the US is either #1 or #2). How does the United States rank on basic skills? Should be #1 or #2 right?

Math: 19 out of 31

Science: 14 out of 31

Reading: 15 out of 31

Lots of money spent for mediocre results. Switzerland also ranks middle of the pack. The nations that get the bang for their buck are Japan, Finland, Korea and New Zealand. One of the problems is that we have created huge administrative bureaucracies. Compare public education to private education. A 2006 study in Arizona showed these results:

• Public schools in Arizona spent 50% more per student than private schools.

• Teachers made up 72% of the employees at private schools. Less than 50% of the employees at public schools.

• Public school teachers are paid 50% more than private school teachers.

• The results for private versus public school student performance is virtually the same except for Jesuit schools which hold a significant educational advantage in terms of output.

In other words, we spend a great deal more on public schools for results that aren't better than private schools. The study I read compared students in similar socio-economic categories so that the data wasn't skewed by poverty/inherit advantages.

One more story underlining the need for massive reform. Thomas Sowell writes about this in Economic Facts and Fallacies. The University of Colorado's law school was one of the best bargains around. Tuition was $6,700 per student because they used inexpensive faculty (actual practicing judges and lawyers) and spent much less on a law library than other schools- choosing to use online resources.

Yale University's law school charges $44,000 per year. So what school had a greater number of students passing the bar on the first try? University of Colorado at 92%.

The American Bar Association was horrified at these results and quickly laid more than $40 million in spending requirements to get the University of Colorado up to ABA accreditation standards. Tuition rose 154% at the University of Colorado law school and the bar pass rate fell.

What are some solutions to the educational mediocrity that currently exists in our nation? I have two that should be included:

1. School choice through vouchers.

Competition brings better products. Look at the postal service. Do you think you would be able to ship goods overnight anywhere in the the US for a reasonable fee if UPS and FEDEX weren't competiting with the US Postal Service? Milton Friedman's Foundation releases an annual report on the success of school vouchers here.

2. More emphasis on life skills- personal finance skills; discovering natural giftedness; healthy lifestyle choices- diet, exercise, sleep habits, stress management; managing time effectively.

The leaders who come up with great solutions for energy, health care and educational reform are going to lead our economy into a more prosperous, better future.

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

I am no expert on health care. But I recognize that there is tremendous waste and inefficiency in the current system that we have. My wife- Amy- has endured a rough 5 years of various health problems. During that time, she has been diagnosed with a degenerative neurological disease- Charcot-Marie-Tooth.

She has had 5 surgeries. I have lost count of how many MRIs, scans and doctor visits. We have been blessed to have had an insurance safety net- which we pay large premiums for through the Texas High Risk Pool because no other insurance company will cover her. Our total health care expenses have been over $200k in the last five years. Unfortunately, too much of her time is spent fighting with insurance over what expenses we are responsible for and what expenses insurance will cover.

Any family that has experienced health challenges can relate to this. Doctors have to practice defensive medicine because we live in an over litigous society. This defensive medicine leads to testing that is probably unnecessary. But who can blame the doctors? If I was in their shoes, I would do the same thing.

There is also the possibility of a low cost mri device that you hook up to your personal computer. This device could alert you if there is something that needs further examination. If multiple millions are produced and sold, the cost falls to something that rivals any electronic device. Imagine how many lives would be prolonged and saved if early detection of cancer and heart disease was the norm. Imagine how much money this would save our health system?

7. Reorganize education requirements for doctors and allow some medical functions to be performed by trained nurses or physician assistants. Doctors spend over $150k and 12 years to become a physician. There has got to be a way to train them effectively that doesn't require so much time and money.

I would rather see a doctor with 8 years of experience and 4 years of education in a field than 8 years of education and 4 years experience. We need an overhaul of our education system. But this is a topic for a future blog. There are many functions in medicine that law requires a doctor to perform that should be delegated to a trained professional where the cost of a 12-year education is not being passed on to the consumer.

I am extremely optimistic that many of these changes are coming. There is no cure for high prices like high prices. Energy, education and health care reform have the potential to revitalize the US economy. All three areas could see dramatic price decreases if technology, innovation and wisdom are embraced. This will provide relief to so many families who need the relief.

Looking forward to a perfected, resurrected body where these issues become moot,

Ashley Hodge

I was reading Psalms 62 this morning. Psalms 62:1 states, "My soul finds rest in God alone." That got me thinking that this verse probably inspired Saint Augustine's famous words in Confessions, "My heart was restless until it came to rest in Thee, O Lord."

• Bull markets are born on pessimism, grow on skepticism, mature on optimism, and die on euphoria.
• There is no cure for high prices like high prices.
• You make your money in bear markets, you just don’t know it at the time.
• There are old pilots and bold pilots. But there are no old, bold pilots.
• Your money is like a bar of soap. The more you play with it, the smaller it gets.
• Gambling is investing for people who are extremely bad at math.
• You don’t know who is swimming naked until the tide rolls out.
• Economists have successfully predicted 14 of the last 3 recessions.
• The four most dangerous words in the English language: ‘this time is different’.
• Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.
• Successful investing is anticipating the anticipation of others.

Perhaps the most important thing one needs to remember as it pertains to investing or anything in life- God is in control of all things in this world. Psalms 84:12, "O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man (or woman) who trusts in You."

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

I plan on hashing out some reform ideas on the three biggest drains on our pocketbooks: energy costs, health care costs and education.

• Less than 5% of Americans telecommute, but 40% could telecommute.
• 70 minutes per day are wasted in an office setting chit-chatting with co-workers.
• Telecommuting saves each person approximately $900/year at $4 per gallon of gas.
• 26 days are eliminated each year in commute time.
• If 40% of the workforce telecommuted, we would cut our dependence on foreign oil by 80%.
• After an initial adjustment period (usually lasting around 60 days), telecommuters have been found to be more productive than traditional office workers; less likely to miss work; enjoy the work more.

2. Emphasize the 4-day work week

Some jobs don't lend themselves to telecommuting. Many of these jobs can offer workers 4-day work weeks instead of a more traditional 5-day work week. This will provide similar benefits as telecommuting in reducing oil consumption, traffic congestion, wasted commute time, etc...

I think you need to emphasize 10-hour work days versus 8-hour work days to make this viable. Worker productivity would need to stay high for the US economy to remain competitive. But I would venture to say that most workers would accept a trade-off of 4 10-hour days versus 5 8-hour days.

3. Go nuclear

My dad holds a PhD in physics and has worked for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for over 30 years. So I am sure he has contributed to my pro-nuclear energy beliefs. The case for nuclear energy at this point is overwhelming.

Patrick Moore- co-founder of Greenpeace was anti-nuclear in the 1970s. He wrote an opinion piece in the Washington Post two years ago making the case for nuclear energy. Basically:

• It costs less than coal
• It is cleaner energy
• It would help us achieve energy independence by reducing our need for foreign oil

We can also drill for oil off our shores. This is supported by over 75% of the US population and would signal an important move in the direction of energy independence.

This website has a petition going with over 580,000 signatures to encourage Congress to start getting real about our need for energy reform. But ultimately, we need to reduce our oil consumption. Telecommuting, the 4-day work week and a move to nuclear energy will help accomplish this need.

Ashley Hodge

"For I myself am an optimist. It doesn't seem to be of much use to be anything else," Winston Churchill.

• Economic prosperity unimaginable to someone living in 1800: air conditioning; heating; dishwashers; ovens; televisions; computers; cars; airplanes; the Internet, etc...
  
  
• Life expectancy of around 80 years versus 35 years.


• Less than 1% of infants dying in childbirth versus 30% of infants dying in childbirth.


• Freedom. No slavery. No religious witch hunts. The ability to practice a mulititude of faiths and beliefs without fear of death or imprisonment.


• The ability to travel safely from California to New York without fear of death by disease or lawlessness. For that matter, the ability to travel almost anywhere in the world without huge risk to life.

The list could be pages long. We have a huge case of ungratefulness and excessive complaining disease in this country. I am hopeful that the national mood will change. I believe that the future strength of our nation depends on it.

Christians should be living by example with a foundation of optimism and hope. I have three reasons why I believe an optimistic outlook is called for:

1. The future is extremely bright.

From a biblical perspective, we are called to be optimistic. God has revealed some things about our eternal home- Heaven. We can point to a multitude of verses on this issue, but perhaps none as powerful as Revelation 21:3-4:

"Now the dwelling of God is with men and He will live with them. They will be His people and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

The hope of a resurrected, perfected body in a resurrected, perfected earth is our hope. This hope is an anchor to the waves of trials that toss us around and attempt to make our minds and focus unstable.

I am optimistic about life because I am optimistic about God. Am I optimistic about human nature? No. But a quick view of history shows an amazing story of God working through time and human stewardship to bring about incredible progress. Every period of history had its share of potential problems that were going to derail the planet and doom civilization. And yet God has restrained evil and promoted good to give us a partial glimpse of eternity where evil will be non-existent and good will be natural.

For this reason, I am optimistic about the future. God will do some great redemptive works through humans. His common grace causes the sun to shine on the righteous and unrighteous. We often look at the future and all we see are problems. But the future always holds difficulties mixed with opportunity. It is our job to focus on the opportunities and how we can participate with God in redeeming creation.

2. I believe there will be significant reform in energy, education and health care and these reforms will usher in a new era of economic prosperity.

There is an old saying in economics: "there is no better cure for high prices than high prices." People always have a tendency to think that prices that have risen in the past are going to continue rising at a similar rate. But then innovation occurs. Scale happens. Prices fall. The personal computer and mobile phone are two examples.

We have some bright minds in America. The economic incentives are in place. I expect mind-boggling innovation in the areas of energy, education and health care. The potential for greater efficiency at lower prices in all three industries is huge. These three industries have the potential to revolutionize the US economy for the better.

Of course, all three industries could be screwed up worse than they already are through excessive government intervention and waste. But history is on my side here. The world is moving towards greater personal responsibility and freedom. It will be hard for a society to go against that trend and remain competitive long-term.

3. Optimism attracts opportunities

I am not talking about self-help silliness here. The book of Proverbs is full of this truth. "Without vision, people perish"- Prov 29:18. "As a man thinks in his heart, so he is"- Prov 23:7. A friend of mine- Gary Randle- says, "God takes care of the birds of the air. But they don't sit around on wires with their mouths open. They go looking for worms."

We should always maintain an optimistic view of God's ability to provide for our needs no matter how dark the situation looks. God often works His greatest miracles in our lives at our times of greatest despair and weakness.

I watched a movie a few weeks back called "The Mist". It was a Stephen King film. I don't recommend the movie. It is a depressing film. Basically, an army experiment goes bad and infests a town with human sized insects that kill anyone in their path. One group holds out for a long time in a grocery store and then makes a daring escape in a car to drive out of the mist. They run out of gas.

The situation looks so dismal and bleak that they agree to have the main character kill everyone in the car rather than being eaten by these insects. He has enough bullets to kill everyone but himself. After he kills his friends and young son, he walks out of the car to meet his grisly fate. But then the cruel irony sets in. He is rescued within minutes. If only, he hadn't given up. If he would have persevered to the end...

I think the lesson is good there. Never, ever, ever, ever give up. Persevere even when odds look dismal. God is with us. Romans 8:31, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" We should be overflowing with hope, faith and optimism.

As always I preach to myself first.

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

I have just passed my 15th year of being in the financial advisory business.

• Spend less than you make
• Work harder than the average person
• Save on a regular basis
• Be a patient investor- sticking to a plan despite current economic climates

One example of many is a client that I have had for 14 years. She was a school teacher who never made more than $35k per year. But she was frugal, a hard worker and a saver. And she has over $1 million invested with me. Less than 15% of that money came from inheritance. The rest is from personal savings and compound interest over the years.

2. Invest like an institution to enjoy better results over time.

There are three reasons why institutions generally perform better than individuals over time:

• Follow an investment policy (philosophy) with discipline
• Avoid emotional extremes
• Properly diversify to reduce large losses

A recently released study by Dalbar showed that institutions averaged 10% per year from 1997-2006 and individual investors averaged 6% per year during that same time frame. On an investment of $100,000 the difference is having $259,000 at the end of 10 years or having $179,000.

Most institutions follow a strategy that includes assets such as: stocks, bonds, real estate, absolute return, commodities and currency investments. They spread the risk and don't allocate a huge percentage to any one area. Each of these assets has its advantages/disadvantages. But a properly diversified portfolio can help an investor manage inflation and principal risk.

3. A simplified, organized life leads to less stress and greater effectiveness.

I was talking with one of my clients last week who had made the decisison to downscale housing by purchasing a house that was 1/2 the cost, 1/3 of the yard and less square feet. I asked her if she ever regretted that decision? Her answer, "It was the best decision I made. I have much less stress and things to worry about."

That has been my common experience in talking with clients over 15 years. Simplicity is the better path. Ecclessiastes 7:29, "God has made us simple, but we seek out our own complexities."

Speaking from personal experience, organization is key. I went through a random line-by-line audit of my tax return in 2006. I considered myself fairly organized before the audit, but there is nothing like a full line-by-line audit to expose the weaknesses in your organizational plan.

The audit turned out fine. But I spent probably 40-50 hours preparing and locating documents that were needed for the audit. Since that experience, I have started some new organizational processes. In addition to being ready for an another audit if it ever occurs, I have seen some fruit from these efforts.

For example, I update a mileage log daily. By measuring this regularly, I have noticed that my business mileage has decreased some. I start to question the wisdom of making trips that I wouldn't have questioned in the past. Some of this probably has to do with higher gas prices. But I am convinced the biggest factor is better organization.

The more important things you measure, the greater your success will be with those important things. I believe the key is to determine what is important to measure and focus on and to get rid of everything in your life that is unimportant.

Henry David Thoreau's quote has always stuck with me, "Most people live lives of quiet desperation, but I have chosen to live deliberately." Better organization leads to greater awareness. Greater awareness leads to better decisions. Better decisions leads to less stress and greater effectiveness.

4. Work until your mind and/or body quit working.

Very few people can afford to fully "retire" from paid work in their 50's or 60's. If you can't live on a 4% income stream from your accumulated assets, you probably can't afford to quit working.

I am convinced that biblical wisdom encourages leading a productive, others focused life until we die. Jesus said, "We must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work"- John 9:4.

If you are in a strong financial position to make working for pay optional, you should still consider how to use your time and resources to positively affect others. If you are worried about not saving enough for "retirement", you should consider working for pay at something you enjoy and not trying to place high assumptions on your financial assets to perform above expectations.

I read this week that 27% of Americans believe that they can pull 10% per year from their retirement assets (Investment News, USA Today). You would have to be fully invested in growth assets and have a raging bull market for the next 30 years to make that doable which is likely pure fantasy.

My experience is that the people with the highest expectations are the most likely to pull out in panic when we have a bad stretch. So keep your expectations low and work as long as you can. Several studies on happiness have shown that one of the keys to happiness is low expectations.

5. Reduce or eliminate debt and build up cash reserves

When things are going well for you economically, there will be a temptation to buy things- a boat, vacation home, art, etc... But wise people make sure the basics are taken care of before purchasing luxuries. Two of those basics are:

Eliminating all debt. Romans 13:8, "Let no debt remain outstanding except the debt to love one another." You can make some financial arguments for certain debt- low interest mortgage; education; investment/business loans. But debt can lead to unexpected disasters as we have seen with the credit crisis on Wall Street this past year. You are better to strive towards a debt-free lifestyle.

Building up cash reserves. There are plenty of online banks competing for your cash with attractive FDIC-insured yields. You should strive to keep at least a year's worth of expenses in a cash account. Not only does this provide help in times of unexpected financial emergencies for your family. But it also puts you in a position to help others in need.

Obviously, you can take this to an extreme where you hoard money. Our trust should never be in our net worth. It should always be in the God who controls the future. But saving for disaster is a biblically wise goal. One example of many in the Bible is Joseph feeling led to store 20% of the grain for seven years of abundance in preparation for a great famine that was coming.

Hopefully, you have been reminded of some important ideas to concentrate on if you are reading this. I heard a sermon last week where the preacher said, "We never, never, never, never, never, never, never, ever outgrow our need to hear the gospel preached to us over and over." Our hearts are prone to wander. Likewise, we never outgrow our need to be reminded of financial wisdom.

It is probably my greatest motivation for keeping this blog. To remind myself of what I know in my heart to be true, but occasionally lose sight of.

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

I saw some feature clips from a 60 Minutes episode on the topic of happiness this past week. They interviewed a professor at Harvard named Tal Ben-Shahar who has studied happiness for years. What I found so compelling about the story was that so many biblical themes were present although they were never credited to the Bible or Christian beliefs.

1. Simplify life
2. Exercise regularly
3. Embrace the gamut of emotional experience
4. Be grateful daily for what you have
5. Continual growth- the good you see appreciates as you practice appreciation

The topic inspired me to come up with my own happiness list from my 15 years of experience as a financial advisor to many families. These are my own personal observations as to what makes people truly happy in this life.

1. Simplify

I wholeheartedly agree with Ben-Shahar here. One of my favorite verses in Scripture is: "God has made us simple, yet we seek out our own complexities"- Ecclesiastes 7:29. Walden was wise when he urged, "Simplify, simplify, simplify."

I don't believe in radical simplicity that makes life more difficult- like the Amish for example. I respect their choices to do what they do. But give me computers, electricity, air conditioning, etc... any day. But I think we need to constantly evaluate what makes us truly happy and be in a continual process of uprooting the weeds that choke our devotion to God and our general happiness.

My wife- Amy- has been a huge help to me in learning to say "no" to good things. Too many "good things" in your life will lead to the inability to be great in anything. So we need to prioritize, simplify and get rid of unnecessary stuff.

Financially, this is huge. You ask yourself what brings me the most fulfillment in life? Are there things I own that I am not using that I can get rid of?

I remember talking with a college friend of mine Eric after he and his wife sold or gave away most of their possessions to spend 3 years as missionaries to Russia. Eric commented that there was something liberating about owning so little. He could feel the stress decreasing. Most of us have experienced this after giving away or selling some possession- it is a good feeling to have less to care for.

2. Reinvent Retirement

My observation is that people who are happiest in their "retirement" years have some or all of these traits in common:

• Ability to limit withdrawals of investment income to 4% of principal base.
• Working part-time as long as the mind and body allows productive work.
• Finding purpose in the 2nd half of life. Using time and abilities towards helping others- whether it is family or community.
• Lower stress because they keep expectations modest.

They make sure their houses are built on rock and not sand. So when the storms of life come, they have a firm foundation.

Retirement is undergoing a big makeover due to baby boom generation. I think most of the changes are healthy. Thirty years ago, people retired at age 65 and then died in their 70's on average. Today, people are living into their 90's routinely. More money is needed to sustain longer life spans. Rising costs to social security and medicare put these programs at risk in the future.

A person who retires at 60 and never works again is in danger of running out of money unless he/she has saved a lot of money. The road to less stress is to work as long as you are able to in a job that brings great fulfillment. Very few people can work in jobs for 50-60 years that they don't enjoy. But as Mark Twain said, "The secret to life is to make your vocation, your vacation." When you find that kind of satisfacation and joy, you can work until you die.

So you see lots of new ways of doing "retirement". Many people take 5 years off from the workforce and then launch a new career. Some incorporate new educational training after 50. The goal should be financial freedom and not traditional retirement. Traditional retirement is a very unbiblical notion. The Bible encourages us to do productive work until the day we die- John 9:4.

3. Yale Model of Investment Allocation

I am surprised that more investors don't implement this type of investment strategy. Traditionally, we are told about investing in stocks, bonds and cash. The Yale Model (or multi-asset class model) encourages a broader amount of diversification. The idea is that if you mix different types of asset classes into your investment portfolio, it is possible to achieve greater returns with less risk.

How is that possible? David Swensen- the portfolio overseer for Yale University's huge endowment fund- explains his methodology in several books. You can read a recent Smart Money article about this investment philosophy here.

The Yale Model proposes that you spread out your investment risk among many categories of investments: fixed income; domestic (US) stocks; foreign stocks; absolute return investments; private equity; real estate; commodities; cash.

Five years ago, the opportunity to invest in many of these areas was only available to millionaires. Now, there are a multitude of options available that are attractive to small investors. Diversification is important because no one really knows what the future holds- Ecclesiastes 11:2. It is wise to devise a plan that balances inflation risk and principal risk.

4. Capture the Sweet Spot of Insurance

I see many people that are terribly underinsured. If disaster strikes, they will be in trouble financially. I also see others who rely on insurance as if it takes the place of God. They spend a fortune on insurance to attempt to eliminate many risks.

Life is full of risks. You simply cannot insure every risk. But you can manage these risks by having the sweet spot of insurance. What do I mean by this?

Here is my brief philosophy about certain types of insurances- obviously these are all generalizations so you should speak to a competent professional about your personal needs:

• Health: I believe most people should consider a policy that covers expenses over $5000 per year. Anything under $5000 per year should be paid for out of pocket or through a health savings account.
• Life: the most critical need for life insurance is for the 20 years when families are raising children. Term insurance is a cheap way to protect the family from financial catastrophe if a spouse were to die during this time.
• Disability and long-term care: the sweet spot of disability/long term care insurance is a policy that covers a percentage of your income/expenses for 5 years. The odds that you would need help past 5 years are low. If you are disabled during your working years, you would have access to social security payments.
• Home/Auto: As I feel about health insurance, I believe that you should insure some worse case scenarios: a wreck that totals your car; fire destroys your home; flood; etc... High deductibles will likely save you money over the years because these disasters usually don't happen to you over the course of a life with great frequency.

5. Have an ongoing organization plan

The Lord told Hezekiah to set his house in order for he was going to die- 2 Kings 20:1. We will all die. If we are unorganized, we are leaving a burden to our family to settle things. I urge all my clients to keep a list of important phone numbers on one sheet of paper so that a family can handle affairs quickly if there is a sudden death.

I recently went through a full line-by-line random IRS audit on my 2006 tax return. I keep pretty good records. But I promise you that this audit process was painful enough to encourage me to keep better records going forward. I have now systemized everything that has anything to do with my expenses and taxes. The audit was a blessing in that regard. It has led me on a path of greater accuracy and organization.

Life is so busy. Organization takes time. But the rewards are worth the effort. I have read that lack of organization leads to an average of 30 minutes per day searching for items that should be easy to find.

Greater organization leads to a happiness circle. Because the more you simplify, the more organized you will become. The more organized you become, the more you will resist adding more crap to your life.

I firmly believe that happiness is attainable. There are some fundamentals that we need to practice daily whether it is dealing with our finances or our lives in general. The answers can be found in God's Word. If you practice these principles, you will have greater peace and live a happier life.

For God's Glory,

Ashley Hodge

I took a seminary class last year called Apologetics. One of the assigned books to read was a book called Constructing a Life Philosophy: Opposing Viewpoints. It is an interesting read because it contains short essays from a variety of life philosophies- Atheism, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Secular Humanism, Liberal Christianity, Conservative Christianity, etc...

One of the essays that I found most interesting was called Challenging the Idea of a Life Plan by Charles Larmore. Larmore argues that the good life cannot be achieved by following a life plan. He points out that the human experience reveals that happiness is often the result of unanticipated events.

This went against the grain of everything I thought to be true. I am a financial planner by trade and I like to fool myself into believing that I can take the uncertainty out of life by managing risk or behavior appropriately. I am a huge goal-setter and often get annoyed by events that sidetrack me from achieving goals.

But the reality is that as I reflect upon my life, I have to admit that Larmore is correct. Planning is good. There is great satisfaction in dreaming big dreams and watching those dreams come true in some form. I believe that what you measure tends to improve over time.

1. We should not be passive about life. A fatalistic view that life just happens is irresponsible. God has entrusted us with talent, financial resources, time and health. Hiding these resources in a hole of fatalistic apathy will likely meet with the same result as the slothful servant who hid his talent in the ground- Matthew 25:25-30.

2. We should not be planning zealots. We can easily get puffed up with false pride when things go our way. We can have fake pity on the poor saps who just keep having waves of adversity- probably because they don't set goals. God's path for each of us is mysterious. There will be unexpected trials and blessings along the way that seem to come out of nowhere.

The whole book of Ecclesiastes covers this topic. One of my favorite verses in that book is Ecclesiastes 7:14, "In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find anything that will be after him."

My word to myself: Set lots of goals; strive for holiness; seek discipline. But be joyful always; give thanks in all circumstances. Embrace structure in some form. But have a good glass of wine along the way. Life will always be a balance between what we plan and the unexpected good and bad that comes our way. The unexpected is often our greatest source of happiness, change and growth.

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

I am looking forward to this year. What a great time to be alive. We enjoy so many of God's blessings that past generations could only dream about. We have an awesome responsibility before us as we prayerfully consider how to allocate God's resources.

1. Live on less than $8000/monthly for housing, auto and living expenses- fell short of this goal. Lifestyle on those items was closer to $9k/month.
2. Give over $25,000 for Christian work; Save over $25,000- was able to achieve both of these goals.

Abilities

1. Pray for clients daily. Pray for every client at least once per month- fairly consistently prayed for 5 clients per day which allowed me to pray for my client base each month.
2. Upgrade stewardship resources; offer free version of book through pdf file and create audio version that will be available at no cost. Read 12 investment/financial books- recently revised http://stewardshipmandate.com/ which will allow me to update information more easily. Did not revise book or create audio version as planned. I read only 4 investment/financial books in 2007.

Time

1. No technology from 6pm- 5am. Use this time for family; devotions; relationship building; reading; projects and sleep- did a miserable job at this goal; watched too much television in the evening.
2. Average 3 hours per day of spiritual growth; 40 hours per week of focused work; two hours per day playing with, instructing and loving on our kids- averaged 2 hours per day of spiritual growth activities- prayer, Bible study, reading, meditation; 35 hours per week of focused work; didn't keep track of time spent with my kids playing, reading, instructing. I doubt it was a focused 2 hours per day though.

Health

1. Average less than 300 calories per day of cola and processed foods. Discipline in eating foods that are healthy- did a terrible job at this goal. I gained 8 lbs in 2007 and I doubt it was muscle. Cola intake increased which is disappointing.
2. Exercise at least 4 hours per week; sleep at least 6 hours per day- I was able to accomplish both of these goals.

2008 Goals

Money

1. Spend less than $10,000/month on housing, auto and living expenses.
2. Give over $40,000 to Christian work. Save $40,000 towards financial freedom goal.

Abilities

1. Pray for 5 to 6 clients per day; use this as an opportunity to review these 5 to 6 clients needs, portfolio and goals so that every client is being reviewed prayed for monthly.
2. Revise Stewardship Mandate book online; write 2 blog entries per month- one general entry and one entry that is a work-in-process update of Stewardship Mandate. My goal here is to have this be a more collaborative effort of anyone that has valuable input into how to become a more effective steward so it is not just my ideas.

Time

1. No technology from 6pm-4am three nights per week. Use this time for relationships- family, neighbors, connecting with friends, etc...
2. Average 2 hours per day of spiritual growth activities- Bible study, prayer, fellowship with other believers; 40 hours per week of focused financial planning work; 2 hours per day of focused time with kids- playing, instructing.

Health

1. Fast on Mondays by having no soda, saturated fat or processed foods on this day. Cut soda intake to less than 18oz per day.
2. Play basketball 3 times per week; lift weights 2 times per week; sleep on average over 6 hours per night.

There are lots of serious topics swirling around in my head. Lately, I have been working on an updated, improved version of http://stewardshipmandate.com/ which should go live in the next week.

One of my heroes is JC Ryle. I want to emulate him in many ways. I have read several biographies about him and I am amazed at the kind of life and influence that he had. He was married 3 times and buried each of his wives. Two of his wives were very ill and bed ridden for many years in the prime of their lives. This placed a large burden on Ryle- not only to provide income, but also to take care of children- one of whom was disabled. But Ryle did not complain.

One of JC Ryle's beliefs was that we needed a more muscular form of Christianity. He was a bishop in the Anglican church (modern day Episcopal). The term muscular Christianity was coined in the 19th century as a reaction to the effeminate leanings of the Anglican church in the 1800's. Men were dropping out of church life. The church became more and more irrelevant to men. There are similar problems and conversation in the church today.

Ryle believed that we needed a more strenous form of Christianity and that men needed to step up and be tough/tender leaders. Tough exterior with tender hearts. Ryle's belief was that we needed to train our bodies physically so that we could serve God with vitality; protect the weak; defend what is true and subdue the earth as stewards of God's resources.

The muscular Christianity movement spawned many good things- including the YMCA and a sport that I love- basketball. I have been meditating on the need in my own life to be tough and to instill that toughness into my son and daughter. We need tough men and women who will live and die by convictions and values but who also have the humility to be broken and shaped by a transforming God.

Here are four values that relate to the need for muscular Christianity that I wish to reinforce daily in my life and the life of my family:

1. Embrace discipline in all areas of life. But specifically discipline in the areas of spending; giving; saving; eating; exercise; sleeping; time management and reading. I can improve in every one of these areas. Being a muscular Christian means to me that I need to exercise daily the spiritual disciplines that will lead me into a more Christ-like life.

2. Do all things without complaining- Philippians 2:14. There is nothing more unattractive that a discontent heart. To be a muscular Christian means that I will look for joy in all circumstances- I Thessalonians 5:18- and will put to death my ungrateful, complaining nature.

3. Embrace and persevere through trials. Life is tough. It is tough to keep a good attitude many days. We have financial, health, relationship and marital problems to work through. It never goes as smoothly as we envision in our minds. I have found the secret to being happy is to have very low expectations of this life and very high expectations of the heaven that God has promised to those who love Him.

4. Fight daily. I like and admire fighters. My wife is this way. She has incredible health challenges to deal with, but she is a fighter. We have enemies to face- sin; death; illness; worldliness (consumerism- the god of this age); evil. These enemies will plow us over if we don't go on the offensive. We need to aggressively fight these things by being obedient to the will of God. Of course, death will conquer each of us physically. But if we fight with the power of God's Spirit, we will be able to say with Paul: "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?"- I Corinthians 15:55.

We need a more vigorous, muscular Christianity. We need some JC Ryle's in this age to lead us by example in applying the truths of God to life and leading our families into a kingdom which cannot be shaken.

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

"I will never, ever drive a mini-van." These were the words spoken by my wife- Amy- back in 1999 when we were dating.

It was such a rich quote that I decided to write it down and save it for the ages. Fast forward 8 years and sure enough we are purchasing a mini-van for our family of four- the Honda Odyssey.

It has been my secret mission ever since 1999 to have my wife's words come back to haunt her. Not really. But I am having plenty of fun with her about it.

Actually, what I want to write about today is what to do with used cars. If you are able to do so; you should consider gifting your used vehicle to charity. Not every family is in a position to do this. But I have some reasons to recommend this course:

1. When given to the right charitable organization, the vehicle can be a life-changing gift to a needy family. I chose to give our 2000 Infiniti I-30 to Cornerstone Assistance Network in North Richland Hills, TX. This organization is constantly in need of reliable cars because they serve single mothers, reformed drug addicts, prisoners, people with financial hardships, etc...

In my situation, I have a car worth around $5000 as a trade-in according to http://edmunds.com. If I traded that car into a car dealership, I might have received that amount. But it would have been a battle. New car dealerships make their large profits on underpaying for trade-ins and selling you lots of stuff you don't need in the F&I (Finance & Insurance) office. But what happens to your car after that?

It might be sold at auction. This is the best outcome you can hope for.

In reality, it is often put on a tote-the-note lot and sold to a person with bad or unestablished credit. The car is likely marked up $2-$5k and the interest rate on these loans is 15% plus. In other words, your car contributes to a great problem. You are helping those who prey on the poor.

2. You do receive a tax benefit for giving the car away- if you itemize your deductions. You will receive either the fair market value of the car if it is used by the charity. Or you will receive a deduction equal to the what the car is sold for at auction if the charity sells the car. If the car is worth over $5,000, you will need to get a certified appraisal to back up your deduction claim.

The IRS puts out a publication that outlines the rules to follow in this area:

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/pub4303.pdf

If you must sell your car due to financial necessity, there are some other options to consider besides trading it in to a car dealership where you will often not receive a good outcome.

Another option: you could sell the car yourself at a reasonable price. If you are dealing with someone who might buy their cars at a tote-the-note type car lot, you could even finance the deal. Charge 6% instead of 15%+. Sell the car for $500 over trade-in value instead of $3k over trade-in value. You are taking some financial risk here if you choose this option. The person who buys the car from you might not make the payments. But you are helping someone in need obtain a deal that they could not obtain otherwise.

This blog is not meant to make anyone feel guilty if they routinely trade their cars into dealerships. Nor is meant to indict all car salespeople as dishonest. I sold cars for a year right out of college. I know honest, hard-working salesmen. Unfortunately, those with high integrity get lumped into the poor reputation that the industry has due to the poor practices of some.

There are honest car salesmen who do not contribute to the predatory practices that take advantage of the poor and needy. If you find such a person, by all means sell them your car. My greater concern is for the practices that appear to be widespread in the industry dealing with used cars worth under $10k.

There are over 300 verses in the Bible that relate directly to God's concern for the poor. Proverbs 29:7, "The righteous is concerned for the rights of the poor; the wicked have no such concern."

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

This is a question I have been wrestling with. My wife was diagnosed with Charcot-Marie-Tooth- a neuro-muscular disease that has slowly ravaged her body. Her muscles have atrophied. Her nerves have died. It sucks. There is really no good spin to put on it.

We are not without hope, however. I know that one day God will resurrect her body with a perfected, resurrected body that is like Christ. This is the hope of Christianity. Though we are now subject to death, disease and the curses of the Fall; one day we will not be subject to these enemies. Christ will return. The curses will be removed. And we will all experience life as it is fully intended.

But she is only 38. She likely has 50+ years to struggle through this disease. Will God heal her? I pray for it daily. I pray for the gift of healing. I have seen people cured from diseases that defy medical explanation.

It is a great burden to me. I have two friends who have babies that have bleak medical prognosis due to diseases that are likely to cut their lives short. I have many clients and friends suffering from chronic pain, cancer, heart defects, neurological disease, brain tumors. I cry out to God for their healing daily.

After studying the topic, I have come to the following conclusions. I am all ears if anyone has something to add to the discussion.

1. Jesus gives us a foretaste of the perfect health that will be ours for eternity by healing those who are diseased.

In the pages of Scripture, Jesus healed. We are told several places in Scripture that we are healed by the wounds of Jesus- Isaiah 53; I Peter 2; Matthew 8. Jesus explains a prophecy about Him in Isaiah 61 in Luke 4:17-19:

"The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, He found the place where it was written: 'The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

Jesus proclaims His purpose is to set free, heal and comfort the afflicted.

Wayne Grudem in Systematic Theology gives four purposes for healing:

• Authenticates the gospel message by showing that the kingdom of God has come.
• Brings comfort and health to those who are ill, demonstrating God's mercy to those in distress.
• Healing equips people for service as physical impediments are removed.
• Healing provides opportunities for God to be glorified as people see physical evidence of His goodness, love, power and presence.

After reading Grudem's comments on the gift of healing, it is interesting to note the common methods used in healing during the period when the New Testament was written. These miracles are most frequently accompanied by the laying on of hands. If you do a study of miracles in the New Testament, you will see the laying on of hands prominent in nearly every miracle.

Another method was to anoint with oil- Mark 6:13; James 5:14-15. Anointing with oil seems to be symbolic for the Holy Spirit's power to come and heal the sick.

2. It is right to ask God for healing.

Jesus healed those who were sent to Him and did not say, "It is good for you to remain ill." Jesus came to deliver us from evil. Sickness, disease and death can be used for God-glorifying purposes. But they are evil at the root. Paul calls death our last enemy- I Corinthians 15:26.

Grudem says that we should seek all medical remedies to curing disease. But we should never rely on medicine alone. God also expects us to pray and seek healing from Him. God has ordained doctors, nurses and medicines to be used in the healing process. Grudem gives this advice for advising people in relation to praying for healing:

"We can tell people that God frequently heals today and that it is very possible that they will be healed. But that we are still living in an age when the kingdom of God is 'already' here but 'not yet' fully here. Therefore, Christians in this life will experience continued healing (and many other answers to prayer), but they will also experience continuing illness and eventual death. In each individual case it is God's sovereign wisdom that decides the outcome and our role is simply to ask Him and wait for Him to answer."

3. God will often not heal us in this life.

This is a hard truth for those who are sick to accept. We should eagerly pray for and expect healing. But we must also wait patiently for the true healing to take place- the redemption of our bodies. For we know that all things work together for good with those who are called according to His purposes- Romans 8.

That good may manifest itself in this life through material abundance, healing, easier relationships, etc... But that good may be put on hold. We may experience poverty, suffering, illness, hard and bitter relationships. Hebrews 11 teaches that some are rewarded for faith in this life and some live in caves and are sawed in two. All of these reasons are mysterious to us. But God has a plan and a path for each of us.

In every circumstance in life, we should give thanks and praise God that He knows what is best for developing our character and soul better than we do. Because eventually, we all will physically die. But we are not without hope. God will redeem those who love Christ. He will raise our lifeless, sick, diseased and dead bodies from the grave and will restore us to perfect health and vitality.

Do I believe the gift of physical healing exists today? Yes. Do I pray for that gift? Yes in this sense: that God's power would flow through my prayers and hands as I pray for people. I believe that God does grant this gift to people in different measures. Have I ever seen somebody instantly healed from blindness, terminal cancer, paralysis? No. I have heard stories that seem hard to discredit. But I have never witnessed it with my own eyes. Personal observation and experience tell me that God does not habitually heal people in this dramatic fashion.

These miracles seemed to occur more frequently in the pages of the New Testament. Isn't the same authority and power available to His followers today? I know the arguments that say no. The miracles were to establish the authority of the church and New Testament. But there are too many clear passages in Scripture that would seem to contradict the belief that miracles have ceased in this age and were only for a previous time.

I want to differentiate this gift from quacks like Benny Hinn or others who peddle this "gift of healing" in a flashy and unscriptural way. When did Jesus ever gather a crowd together, sell tickets and parade people up on stage and then ask for "love" offerings? Never. Jesus healed because He cared. But He also told many whom He healed not to tell others about it. He didn't want His life to be a circus and to deflect any attention from the power and glory of God.

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

One of the themes that has been dominating my thoughts lately is the idea that all Christians are called to be missionaries. A few may feel God's urging to go overseas to a foreign land and culture. But the vast majority of us are sent to be missionaries to our families, clients, co-workers, friends and neighbors.

The New Testament is filled with Jesus' commands that followers of Christ are sent to teach and live His message. "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations.., " Matthew 28:19.

"As you have sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world," John 17:18.

"The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field." Luke 10:2

In the past, it has been very easy for me to ignore these commands and to be busy doing spiritual things. Going to church and getting involved in good programs have led to passive participation on my part. As I look at my life, I am frustrated at what little effect I perceive that I have had on others. I know Christ as a result of faithful men and women who did not ignore the call of God to proclaim and reinforce His message to me. They sought me, just as God sought me.

I want to share with you some of my thoughts and practical ways that I am trying to be faithful to God's call on my life to be sent: proclaiming Christ in actions and words.

1. I feel a burden to be a missionary to my family. I am troubled reading the statistics. 90% of kids who are involved in youth ministries drop out of any church related activity by their sophomore year in college. Only 4% of 16-31 year olds have a Christian worldview based on answers to a survey of questions about beliefs.

The church in America is in trouble. 80% of the giving comes from those 55-years and older. I think Barna is right that the institutional church may lose half of its members by 2030 if these trends hold (I am praying that they don't and that we have another Great Awakening in this country).

Unless there is a dramatic change, it is likely that my kids will grow up in a culture that is thoroughly humanistic and where faith in God is looked at as weak or irrelevant. So first and foremost, I am a missionary to my family. I establish spiritual habits with my kids- prayer, reading the Bible, talking about God regularly, etc... where they see authenticity and consistency in daily life.

2. I feel a burden to be a missionary to my neighborhood. My family recently moved into a new home in Hurst. The neighborhood is new and this is a plus for building relationships. People seem a little more open to community. We had some good believing friends- the Chang's- that moved in across the street. We have talked about starting a home fellowship and potentially allowing it to become a church plant in our neighborhood. We had our first meeting last night. We have four couples- including my family and the Chang's- who have expressed interest.

For now, we are focusing on building relationships, prayer and preparation. I printed out a map of my neighborhood and started filling in names of families as I meet people. Hudson- my 3-year old- and I walk in the evening on weekdays and mornings on weekends. This has lead to many conversations. I pray for my neighbors. I don't believe God has placed me here by accident and I am excited to see what He will do in this neighborhood.

3. I feel a burden to be a missionary to my clients. I have a practice that is probably 60% believers and 40% unbelievers. I like that. I hope that my clients identify me as a Christian by the concern I have for them and the service I provide. I am surprised that I don't drive more of them away with my material on http://stewardshipmandate.com. I pray that doors are open to share the hope that is within me and that my clients make progress in their relationship with God.

I pray for 5-6 clients a day. Every month I pray through my client base. I know that my clients are not clients of mine by accident. God has a purpose in everything. I want to be available to how He might use me in building a relationship with my clients.

My heart is not where it should be on any of these things. But I thank God that it is further along than it was. Deeper faith in God daily. Life transformation. Service/usefulness to others. These are my goals. Jonathan Edwards once said, "My aim is to do the maximum amount of good to the maximum amount of people." I pray that this becomes my aim also. Lord, prune me so that I will bear much fruit for Your kingdom.

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

One of my 3-year old son's favorite movies is Jungle Book. In that movie, there is a song called The Bare Necessities. Being the strange person that I am, I tend to analyze and think about lyrics to almost every song I hear.

God seems to be reinforcing an old message to me in many ways: simplify, simplify, simplify. I just finished reading a book called Simple Church. This book makes the claim- backed up by research- that churches with simple processes and purposes grow. Most churches stagnate because they get caught up in doing good things. But those things distract the focus and the church becomes ineffective as a result. The same is true in business. As Clint Eastwood said in a Dirty Harry film, "A man has to know his limitations."

The last verse of The Bare Necessities reads:

And don't spend your time lookin' around
For something you want that can't be found
When you find out you can live without it
And go along not thinkin' about it
I'll tell you something true
The bare necessities of life will come to you

Look for the bare necessities
The simple bare necessities
Forget about your worries and your strife
I mean the bare necessities
Old Mother Nature's recipes
With just the bare necessities of life

We have a tendency to make life more complex than is necessary don't we? I was struck by a fact that was released over the weekend. The United States is arguably the wealthiest, most technologically advanced nation in the world. But our life expectancy is 42nd among nations. This means 41 nations have longer life expectancies for their citizens than the US. There are reasons for this: overindulgence and stress would be high on my suspect list.

I am beginning to re-evaluate everything in my life (again) with the goal of returning to a more strategic simplicity. Ecclesiastes 7:29, "God has made man simple; but man seeks out many complexities."

I am thinking about the implications for stewardship. I feel called to make whole-life stewardship my purpose in life. My vision is to help others make progress in becoming better stewards of money, abilities, time and health in order that God would be glorified through a transforming life.

My method for promoting this has been too complex. I have encouraged clients and friends to set goals for making progress in stewardship. Some have participated in this exercise. The focus or lack of focus I should say has been on setting a large amount of stewardship goals- somewhere between 10-25. What has happened in my own life is that this number is way too large to focus on and therefore accountability to these goals has been low.

My renewed simple concentration is to set four goals for making progress in daily stewardship of the Lord's resources. One goal for each letter in the MATH acronym (Money, Abilities, Time and Health). These goals will be my focus for six months. Hopefully, at the end of six months they will become such entrenched habits that I can move on to another set of four goals. But if they are not, I will continue with these original goals until they become part of my daily life.

Soren Kierkegaard said, "Define your life forward and live it backwards." We all need a transformation process to shoot for. The Lord is in the transformation business. Paul says, "He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day Christ returns"- Philippians 1:6.

The goals of every Christian should be:

1. Deeper understanding and relationship with God (Father, Son, Spirit).
2. A transformed life into the image of Christ.
3. A commitment to the mission of God to redeem others. We are to be ambassadors for His kingdom on earth as it is and will be in heaven.

We make it more complicated than it should be. Everything else is noise. Simplify, simplify, simplify.

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

I have been reading with interest about a growing movement around the world to redefine how church is done. Books like Revolution by George Barna; Organic Church by Neil Cole; The Forgotten Ways by Alan Hirsch and The Radical Reformission by Mark Driscoll. These books and others have challenged conventional thinking about how a church should be organized and executed.

In summary, these authors make the case that the institutional, attractional model of church is in decline. The organic, missional model of church is in rapid growth. In this blog, I will attempt to outline some of the important ideas that I learned from these books and also define some of the terms that surround the traditional church growth model and the organic church growth model.

First, we should start with a definition of church. Wayne Grudem writes in Systematic Theology that church is the community of all true believers for all time. Grudem goes on to write that the church is local and universal; visible and invisible. The visible church is as Christians see it. The invisible church is as God sees it. The church may be a local group of believers meeting in a private home. It may also be a large group of believers meeting in a large building.

Grudem writes, "We should not make the mistake of saying that only a church meeting in houses expresses the true nature of church, or only a church considered at a city-wide level can rightly be called a church... Rather the community of God's people considered at any level can be rightly called a church.

There is an unhealthy debate going on in some circles about what constitutes a pure church. Many who have embraced the "house church" movement believe that this is the only viable church model. Others who have been trained to think of a church as only a large building and institution believe that you can only have church in this context.

Common sense would lead us to believe that the model is not the issue here. There are heretical, scripturally unsound house churches and institutional churches. And there are many biblically sound, Spirit-filled churches of both types as well.

But a bigger question is this: what is the most effective model to reach our culture with the gospel of Jesus Christ? Are we not supposed to follow the Great Commission that Jesus commands in Matthew 28:19-20 to go and make disciples of all nations?

Let's look at two methods of accomplishing this task: the traditional church growth model that has been prevalent in America; and the organic, missional church model that is rapidly gaining interest especially on the West and East Coast.

Traditional, Institutional Church Growth Model (Attractional)

This is the model we are all familiar with. The way the model looks in 2007 is that you build a church that seeks to attract believers and non-believers. Churches that have large growth usually follow this formula:

• Excellent preaching on subjects that relate to the real life experience of hearers.
• Inspiring worship by professionally trained musicians
• Parking facilities that minimize inconvenience in finding a parking spot
• Emphasis on children and youth programs
• Cell groups where you can connect to church members socially and build community

There are some great churches that have built dynamic organizations upon this model. Thousands perhaps millions have come into the kingdom of God through these type of churches. I praise God for the faithful men and women who have served Christ and continue to serve Christ in these type of churches. I have been members of these type of churches and have grown spiritually through my involvement in them.

There are some potential weaknesses however. First, the model can promote passiveness among church members. Trained ministry professionals do the teaching. The rest of the people do the listening. This can stunt the spiritual growth of those who are not actively participating in church.

Second, many of the fastest growing churches are growing through pew-swapping (attracting other Christians to leave their current church and join this fellowship). Some churches are doing a great job of seeing growth through new converts. But other churches are seeing numbers increase without the conversions.

Also, this model is becoming increasingly ineffective in reaching an unchurched culture. Adult church attendance is at 18% nationally and dropping. Some churches using this attractional (let's bring them to us) model are growing. This gives inspiration to the 80%+ traditonal growth model churches that are stagnant or in decline from an attendance standpoint.

Organic Model of Church (Missional)

Frank Viola defines organic church to mean: a non-traditional church that is born out of spiritual life instead of being constructed by human institutions and held together by religious programs. Organic church life is a grass roots experience that is marked by face-to-face community, every-member functioning, open-participatory meetings, non-hierarchical leadership, and the centrality and supremacy of Jesus Christ as the functional Leader and Head of the gathering.

This model is gaining acceptance and interest in the West. It has been the primary model for church in the East for financial and political reasons. The model has been inspired by two great church growth stories:

1. The early church grew from around 25,000 Christians in AD 100 to 20 million by AD 300. It did this under intense persecution, without buildings, seminaries, Bibles, books, etc... People were attracted to the devotion, community, love and integrity of these early believers. As these early believers lived out their faith, the Spirit was active in bringing multitudes into the truths of Christianity.
2. The Chinese underground church. Estimates say that there were 2 million Christians in China when Mao Tse Tung tried to expel all religious life in the 1940s-1950s. Tung killed, imprisoned and tortured many Christian leaders. Yet, the number of Christians grew rapidly. It is believed that there are as many as 100 million evangelical Christians in China today- most of whom worship in small house churches. The similarities to the early church are many: persecution; no church buildings; no evangelical seminaries, etc...

Alan Hirsch in Forgotten Ways says that this explosive growth happened for six reasons:

• Simple confession: Jesus is Lord.
• Focus on disciple making. These churches worshipped Jesus and wanted to become like Him.
• Outward focus towards others. The emphasis was how can we connect to the world of our friends, family and co-workers and share with them this life-changing truth.
• Passionate, Spirit-filled leadership. Leaders were filled with a vision to see lives transformed daily by the gospel.
• Organic system- no centralized institution to block growth through control. The early church and Chinese house church stories spread like viruses and were structured like networks and not organizational charts.
• Communitas- shared mission that lies beyond self. Persecution helped to create tighter focus and mission among Christians as they were reminded daily that faith cost something.

There are potential weaknesses here as well. The organic church can lack organization, focus and leadership. Without a continual focus on biblical Christianity, these types of churches can quickly venture into unhealthy cults.

Many of the books I have been reading advocate a return in mission and focus to what made the early church and the Chinese church such great Jesus movements. It appeals to me because I am convinced that we make things more complicated than they have to be. I have absolutely nothing against professional Christian workers. I think they are needed. I have nothing against church buildings. They are often useful to accomplish the purposes of ministry.

But I believe every Christian should be asking the question: what are we doing here? Are we creating an environment where people can learn to love God with all of their heart, mind, strength and soul and love their neighbors? Are lives being transformed for the better? Are we becoming more useful servants to our world? If not, change is needed. May God raise up churches and people to effectively do His work irregardless of the type of church model used.

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

Gambling and sports have been in the news lately. NBA referee Tim Donaghy is under investigation for conspiring with mafia types to affect the point spread on basketball games that he officiated.

It is no secret that gambling is huge business. Casinos seem to be on every corner. Nearly half of the US population buys at least one lottery ticket each year.

I was amazed when I did some quick web searches to discover that the 50% figure is consistently spread across all income and education levels. In other words, poor and uneducated people play the lottery as often as rich, highly educated folk.

If you channel surf cable or satellite television, you are likely to land on 2-3 poker programs. Some churches have been scrutinized for using bingo, poker games or monte carlo nights to raise funds for various ministries and agencies.

How should a Christian feel about gambling? Is it a fun diversion? Or does it ruin lives and therefore should be not only avoided but opposed?

I used to think it was the former- a harmless diversion. Before I came to strong anti-gambling convictions, I was an occasional gambler. I played a few hands of blackjack at casinos. I bet on sports games. I played my share of poker with friends. I bought a couple of lottery tickets. I bet on horses at the racetrack. It never really did anything for me. But I chalked it up to entertainment.

One trip I made to Vegas in 2001 was the turning point for me. I stared at the floor of a casino and felt tremendous sadness and empathy for what I saw. I saw thousands of people acting like addicts feeding slot machines as fast as humanly possible. There was no joy in their eyes. Just monotonous repetition and noise. From that point on, I have considered gambling to be a disease and not a fun little diversion.

I continued to play NCAA basketball pools until last year. Even though I occasionally won a pool, I enjoyed the tournament a whole lot more last year when there was nothing at stake. My disdain for gambling has recently extended to trying to avoid investing in any companies that profit from gambling.

Everyone has their hot buttons. You can make similar arguments against alcohol that I make against gambling. Alcohol destroys many lives. But I enjoy drinking wine and an occasional beer. Alcohol has some redeeming value when enjoyed in moderation. But the same cannot really be argued about gambling. I believe there will be alcohol in the new heavens and new earth but I doubt there will be gambling.

Jesus tells his disciples after sharing wine with them at the Last Supper in Matthew 26:29 , "I tell you, I will not drink of this wine from now on until I share it with you in my Father's kingdom." Alcohol is a good gift when used moderately. It can be terribly destructive when abused.

But gambling has no good purpose. Christ never mentions anything about the joys to be experienced from putting the financial resources that God has entrusted to you at risk through games of chance.

Hypocrisy you say! This is a man who makes his living from taking chances with investment money every day. True. But the investment markets use socially constructive methods to spread risk. It is a potential win/win proposition. Gambling is parasitic. It is almost always lose/win (as is network marketing where only 3% of participants ever turn a profit).

Other than writing this blog, I don't go around bashing people who gamble. I don't think it is healthy for Christians to be known only for what they are against. But gambling is a major issue with confessing Christians that is largely ignored from the pulpit. We should be taught to avoid gambling for four major reasons:

1. Gambling appeals to luck and chance disregarding the sovereignty of God.
2. Gambling violates the stewardship of money, abilities, time and health.
3. Gambling undermines a biblical work ethic and promotes materialism and a love of money.
4. Gambling destroys many lives and is potentially addictive.

Many biblical verses can be used as support to build a position of avoiding gambling. One of my favorite is Proverbs 12:11, "He who works his land will have abundant food, but he who chases fantasies lacks judgment." Gambling is investing for people who are really bad at math.

What do you think? Am I too hard on gambling? Your thoughts are welcomed.

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

Have you ever wanted one resource that explained biblical Christianity? Have you been confused by some of the subjects debated about the Bible? Have you wondered what the Bible teaches about God's sovereignty; free will; the age of the earth; baptism; the authority of Scripture; the attributes of God; sin; salvation; Jesus Christ; church and what will happen in the future? If so, you should purchase and read Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology. You can purchase it here: http://www.amazon.com/SYSTEMATIC-THEOLOGY-Introduction-Biblical-Doctrine/dp/0310286700

It has been a while since I posted anything. My life has been in some turmoil the last 30 days. We have moved into a new home. It has been complicated by a wife with a broken leg and two children under 4 years old. Getting anything done during this season of life seems to move in slow motion.

But things are settling down, so I am looking forward to blogging again. This post will be rather short.

I just lost a client because I had told her that a safe withdrawal rate in retirement is 4%. In other words, you can feel reasonably confident that you will be able to live on your savings the rest of your life if you limit your withdrawals to 4% of principal.

This is not what she wanted to hear. So she went out and found someone who would promise her a higher withdrawal rate. She found that person. She was told that she could withdraw 8% and have no worries about running out of money.

There are plenty of "planners" who will tell people 8%. I like Dave Ramsey and think no one does a better job of motivating people to get out of debt. But Dave also teaches that you can withdraw 8% from your retirement savings. It's crazy talk and here are two reasons it is crazy.

1. To take an 8% withdrawal you will need to invest with a heavy emphasis on growth investments. Growth investments have averaged 8-12% per year over long periods of time. But it is never a smooth 8-12%. There are periods where you will have to absorb significant losses in order to get the high average returns.

If you invested your money in 1969 and withdrew 8% a year. You would have run out of money in 1981 (right before the bull market raged from 1982-1999). There are many other periods we can point to.

2. High expectations presume on tomorrow. For all we know, 4% may be a poor assumption. We could see periods of bad economic times that will blow away all of our best laid plans. But 4% has some historical prudence behind it. 8% is presuming that you will be withdrawing money during very good economic times. You will need a solid bull market to support this rate of withdrawal.

There is a story Jesus told in the Sermon on the Mount about a wise man who built his house on a rock. A foolish man built his house on the sand. The storms came to both men. One of the houses was able to withstand the storm. One house was destroyed by the storm. Although Jesus was not making any comments on wise financial planning here (Matthew 7:24-27), the lesson endures.

It is wise to expect storms and be prepared. Err on the side of conservative assumptions. It will allow you to sleep better at night.

For God's Glory,

Ashley Hodge

Have you heard about the best-selling book and DVD series called The Secret? It has sold over 2 million copies by explaining that the secret to life is the law of attraction. You become what you think about.

I heard Oprah Winfrey say that this was true, so I thought I would give it a try. Good things happen to people who think only good thoughts. Bad things happen to people who think bad thoughts. If you have a disease, trial, disappointing relationship, etc... it has come as a direct result of your thinking.

Hmmm! Sounds interesting. I tried it on a couple of life events. I am tired of getting up every 3 hours to change my baby girl's diaper and give her to my wife to feed. So I tried to think positive about her sleeping through the night. It didn't happen. I also tried this week to think that the stock market would go up every day and create great wealth for my clients and self. But it lost value. Is the universe against me?

I am all for positive thinking. I enjoy being around positive people. I don't like to hear constant complainers. But there is a problem with the Secret. It doesn't work. I mean it might "work" for some people. But is something true, if it doesn't work for all people all of the time? You can think nice thoughts all day long. But you will die. You can think every day will be sunny. But one day it is going to rain. And it might rain hard.

It is has been raining hard for my family lately. My wife got diagnosed with a neurological disease called Charcot-Marie-Tooth about 3 years ago. Her muscles are wasting away because her nerves are not working properly. And there is no current cure. The Secret can't help her.

On top of that, she had a spinal cord tumor 2 years ago that we feared was cancerous and deadly. Praise God it wasn't but she had to have surgery to remove it and this tumor may reappear over and over again with more surgeries to come.

Despite these health trials, God continues to sustain and bless us. We have 2 healthy children. We sold a house in Dallas and we are building a home that was supposed to be completed in March of this year. We don't deserve it. But we are grateful.

Because our house wasn't ready, we had to move our selves and kids to live with my wife's parents for a few weeks. Not being in your own bed is a little inconvenient, but no big deal. But building a house is stressful- lots of things go wrong. Not the kind of stress that comes from not knowing where your next meal is coming from. Or the stress that comes from being in continual pain. But stressful nonetheless. I guess if I lived in the world of The Secret, the new house would have been completed on time.

Life was difficult enough with the new home; a 7-week old baby; a 3-year old; my wife's ongoing health concerns, etc... But then she fractured her leg last week. She did this in Joe Theismann like fashion. She was screaming as I rushed to her. I saw her ankle hanging to the side. In a panic, I reset her ankle which caused her extreme pain.

I don't know why I did this. I have to credit God's Spirit. I know it wasn't The Secret. But it ended up being the right thing. The surgeon told me that it might have saved her leg. If the ankle hadn't been reset, she could have had a broken blood vessel or major nerve damage. I am sitting with her in the hospital right now as she recovers from surgery. She will be wheelchair bound for 3 months. I don't look forward to it- I have to be honest. It is a whipping.

I guess you could say that we are living the anti-Secret right now. But God is enough. He sustains us through every trial. He is our joy. We don't need good health to be thankful. We don't need stuff- although God has given us an abundance. This is the message that must be communicated to the world. God is not a slot machine. Jesus is not the ticket to prosperity.

Jesus invites us to come to Him and die, "If anyone wants to follow me, let him take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it."- Luke 9:23-24. Sound attractive? Not to the Secret followers.

But Heaven can wait. I believe in the Secret in this sense. God will have abundance in store for those who yield to Him and follow Him. He will make good on His promises when He eliminates sin, disease, war, evil, pollution, etc... He will give His children a perfectly renovated earth in a resurrected body. He gives us a taste of this goodness during this life. But to really experience this, we must die. This life is not heaven. There are problems. But one day all wrongs will be made right.

The Apostle Paul told us, "To live as Christ and to die is gain."- Philippians 1:21. There is no secret to that. The gospel is believing God's promises of eternal bliss. But is also a willingness to travel a hard road to get there. A faith that costs nothing is worth nothing. Jesus told his disciples, "I told you these things that you may have peace. In this world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."- John 16:33.

Life is full of trials. Thinking them away won't do anything to help us avoid them. But God gives us grace to handle them one day at a time.

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

One of my financial planner friends- Michael- encouraged me to balance my attack on tithing with a picture of what grace giving should look like under the new covenant of Christ.

I agreed that this was a good idea and this post is my attempt to do so. Let me start off by saying that one of the dangers of taking a stand on something is that people will view you as a hypocrite when your life doesn't match your beliefs.

For example, Al Gore speaks about the need for environmental reform. But he spent over $30k on electricity and natural gas in 2006 in his 10,000 square foot home. This makes him an easy target for critics that he is unwilling to make necessary sacrifices to be environmentally friendly.

In that sense, I admit that I am a hypocrite. The ideals that I espouse are goals that I strive for but fall short of. I am painfully aware that I could consume less than I do. I eat too much. Live in a house that is more than I need. I have more stuff than I need. I buy things and then days later ask, "Why did I do that?" I am not as conscious about waste as I should be. I give less than I could if I was willing to make more sacrifices, etc...


I am aware of my faults and try to make improvements as I journey through this life. My heroes are those who are content with less and view money and possessions as something to be funneled to others in need. I love what the English pastor John Stott said, "We should travel light and simply. Our enemy is not possessions, but excess."


In a nutshell, this is what I believe about grace giving under the new covenant. Possessions and things are gifts from God. Everything that God has created is good. We are to enjoy natural beauty and the improvements on creation that have come through the cultivation/innovation of mankind who are instructed to be stewards of God's resources- Genesis 1:28. We are to enjoy these things with gratitude.

God has showered the US with great financial wealth and abundance. Have we done anything to deserve this? No. It is the outflow of God's mercy. Has this abundance come directly as a result of tithing to a local church? I believe the answer is no. God's common grace showers plenty of evil men and women with abundance also. This is why the prosperity gospel is false.

Tom Verace a pastor in Arlington said this in a recent sermon, "Sometimes we are selling popsicles in the midst of a heat wave." Our prosperity can be attributed to good economic times not a direct result of God owing us anything for our faithfulness.

So the question is: what should we do with the resources that God brings our way? I believe there are some key questions we need to ask ourselves:

1. How much do I need to live?

We should evaluate what is needed for our families. This should be a prayerful process. What is wrong for one family might be right for another. But the challenge should be towards getting rid of excess in every area of life. For me this has had some practical implications: dropping 40 lbs of excess body weight; building a house with a small yard; purging any possession that has not been put to use in the last 12 months.

A recent song by Switchfoot titled American Dream has these lyrics,

When success is equated with excess
The ambition for excess wrecks us
When the top of the mind becomes the bottom line
When success is equated with excess

I want out of this machine
It doesn't feel like freedom
This ain't my American dream
I want to live for bigger things

2. How much do I need to give, save and/or pay down debt?

Most Americans don't save enough. But some save too much. Too much money in the bank at the end of life can be as worthless as too many possessions. There should be a finish line for every Christian. Howard Dayton writes, "you don't see runners crossing a finish line of a race and continuing to run." Once we determine our Number, we should consider radical generosity with everything above this Number.

In other words, I believe that financial freedom is a worthwhile goal. We owe it to our spouses and kids to be striving for financial strength. Financial freedom allows us to use time and money in ways that are glorifying to God. When we are saddled by debt or financial worries, there is a tendency to make decisions that are less than ideal.

Debt should be attacked aggressively. Wise King Solomon said, "...you know not what disaster may happen..."- Eclessiastes 11:2. Being completely debt-free is wise. But being debt-free on a 8000 square foot home is different than being debt-free on a 2000 square foot home. Are you really free if your lifestyle requires massive overhead each month just to break even?

I believe that giving is a discipline. I am always in favor for setting giving goals each month/year and stretching towards those goals. But as I have written before, I just don't see the scriptural argument towards saying that 10% of your income must be given to a local church.

Everything we own or will own belongs to God. I have never earned a dollar that is not the direct result of God's grace. He can take my breath away any moment He desires. He can strip me of materials and abundance in a second and I will have no basis for complaint about God's unfairness in doing so.

But if He chooses to bring resources my way, my responsibility is to view every dollar and decision as part of a sacred trust. I am His steward. Whether I spend, give, save or pay off debt; I am to do all things for the glory of God.

Naturally the steward's heart will want to give generously. My desire is that Christ would increase and I would decrease- John 3:30. What this means to me is that I should strive for moderation and strategic simplicity in the way I live. And if my income rises, I should give a greater percentage each year. I don't believe the percentage matters. God sees the heart and he sees through all the ways we try to justify our goodness and faithfulness.

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

If you attend a Christian fellowship long enough, you are likely to hear many sermons on the subject of tithing. Sometimes the sermons are called something different like "Biblical Stewardship" or "God's Plan for Your Finances". But the message is usually the same: you are required to give a tenth of your finances to the local church if you want God to bless you. If you don't tithe (give 10% of your gross income), you will be under the curses of God and things will not go well for you.

For most of my life I believed this to be true. I had many well-respected pastors and Christian writers reinforce this idea in many creative ways. The popular texts to "support" this view are: Malachi 3:8-10; Matthew 23:23 and a multitude of old covenant laws- Leviticus, Deuteronomy.

I decided to study the topic in detail in 1999. I read over 20 books on the subject- many written from a pro-tithing view. Some written from an anti-tithing view. Let me clarify. I believe that most Christians- myself included- would applaud anyone who gives 10% or more of the income that God has provided for the purpose of meeting real tangible financial needs to spread the gospel of Christ. When I say pro-tithing, I mean that an author expouses a belief that giving 10% of one's income is mandated today. Anti-tithing simply means that the author believes this requirement is no longer valid.

There are huge problems with the way tithing is taught in a large percentage of congregations. The give-to-get philosophy is rampant. The law of attraction nonsense that has inspired the best-selling book The Secret is all too prevalent in Christendom. But I will assume for arguments sake that pro-tithing teachers have no ulterior motives for espousing this doctrine.

The question becomes: should tithing be taught as a principle that applies to Christians today? I believe the answer to this question is "no". Why do I believe this? I have five major reasons:

1. The Word of God does not teach tithing as a principle for believers in Jesus Christ. There are some Old Testament verses that teach the importance of tithing. These verses can be easily manipulated to formulate a belief in tithing for Christians today. But Israel was under a theocracy. God was their Ruler. Tithes were taxes paid to priests who administered the laws of God. We do not live under this form of government. God is still our Ruler. But we now pay taxes to the governments that He has installed to rule us- Romans 13:1.

John MacArthur is a well-respected Bible teacher. He explains this in an answer to the question: does God require me to give a tithe of all I earn? I whole-heartedly agree with his response: http://www.biblebb.com/files/macqa/IA-tithe.htm

2. Tithing diminishes the joy from giving. No one joyfully pays taxes. At least I don't. I suppose there are people out there who love to give 10% of their income to their local church because their pastor has convinced them that there are God-ordained goodies in store for them as a result of their faithfulness. But the New Testament clearly teaches that giving should be cheerful and not under compulsion. 2 Corinthinans 9:7 teaches, "Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."

My conviction is that the amount of money and where that money is disbursed should be continually motivated by God's Spirit. We should support the poor and needy; proclamation of the gospel and people/ministries that are discipling us. We are not required to finance massive building campaigns and cushy lifestyles for ministry professionals.

3. Tithing is counter-productive to the clear biblical message of whole-life stewardship. A Christian believes in Christ and submits to Him in every area of life. God now owns 100% of our money, ability, time and health. There is no separation of sacred and secular to the committed believer. The Christian should prayerfully decide how to allocate every resource. In the case of money, we should work hard to obtain honest wealth. But here is where it gets tricky.

Does it honor God to charge your customer twice as much so that you can give more to your local church? Is it really more spiritual to give money to your local church than to provide for your family; help a person in need; pay off debt or save? Common sense tells us that there are plenty of dilemmas that cannot be solved by some black and white rule. We should daily seek the Holy Spirit's guidance on how to distribute the resources God entrusts to us.

4. Tithing is inequitable. Many pastors teach that you are required to give 10% of your gross income to the local church. For the Ed Young Jr's; TD Jakes; Kenneth Copeland's of the world this is easy to teach. If you are making over $1,000,000 per year, you can spare $100k without much of a problem. But what about the single mom of three kids who is scraping by on $30k per year. Is it fair to require her to give $3k per year to the local church?

Shouldn't we ponder Andrew Murray's words: "How different our standard is from Christ. We ask how much a person gives? Christ asks how much a person keeps?"

The idea that all people should give 10% of their gross income to the local church reminds me of Jesus' stern warning to the Pharisees- religious leaders of Israel in Jesus' day. Luke 11:46, "Woe to you Pharisees! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers."

5. Church history is noticeably silent on the topic of tithing. The teaching of tithing for believers has only come into vogue since 1900. Jesus only mentioned it once in the Gospels- Matthew 23:23- and this was not an endorsement of it for his followers. Paul never mentions the tithe. Nor does Peter, James or John. The author of Hebrews mentions the tithe but again only to illustrate a different theological point.

Martin Luther and John Calvin- two of the most voracious students of Scripture- did not teach tithing as applicable to the new covenant believer. Luther said this in a sermon dated August 27,1525: "But the other commandments of Moses, which are not (implanted in all men) by nature, the Gentiles do not hold. Nor do these pertain to the Gentiles, such as the tithe...

Early church leaders wrote the following comments in reference to the subject of tithing:

“The wealthy among us help the needy…As for the persons who are prosperous and are willing, they give what each thinks fit.” Justin Martyr, 160 A.D.

“Instead of the Law commanding the giving of tithes, He taught us to share all our possessions with the poor.” Irenaeus, 180 A.D.

“On the monthly day, if he likes, each puts in a small donation- but only if it is his pleasure and only if he is able. For there is no compulsion; all is voluntary.” Tertullian, 197 A.D.

Why is tithing taught in churches today? It's good business. The more a church takes in, the more financially secure and comfortable things are. But is it biblical? My conviction is no. Believe me it would be easier to say and think otherwise. The pro-tithers is a larger club. And they tend to take care of their own. They don't enjoy dissenting opinions.

But I have to stand on conviction. Perhaps God will show me different in Heaven. But I won't bet on it for the reasons I have stated above. Hopefully, all pro-tithers and anti-tithers can agree on this: all resources should be maximized for God's glory and the advancement of His kingdom.

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

I love the game of basketball. I attempt to work into my schedule at least 3-4 hours of basketball every week. When it is just me, a basket and a ball, I often have my best thinking time. This is the time I come up with blog topics.

Yesterday, I started thinking about the link between basketball and a resurrected body.

Have you ever seen a really talented player who didn't understand the game and think: why did God distribute that kind of talent to someone who is wasting it? Likewise, I have played with guys who are fun to play with because they understand the team concept. But the skills are limited.

I look forward to a resurrected body and mind. I look forward to glorifying God by focusing passions without the hindrances and limitations of sin. I am excited about the potential pick-up basketball games in the new heavens and earth.

I started thinking about a pick-up game with a potential God Squad- guys who have made a public profession of faith in Christ and seem to have a demeanor that matches this profession. These names come to mind:

C- David Robinson
PF- Dwight Howard
SF- Dwayne Wade
SG- Pistol Pete Maravich
PG- Chris Paul

It would be a tough team. But I believe many ordinary Joes like myself will be able to compete and play on their level with a resurrected body and mind. I love basketball so much that there was a time in my life- before marriage to Amy- that I thought...

"I should just rent a simple apartment next to some good outdoor courts and an indoor gym. Then I could play pick-up basketball 4-5 times per week. And if I stay single... I could watch every college and NBA game that I want... And..."

Fortunately, I matured. But the longing for this has just been delayed to enjoying it fully in heaven. Now, I catch a glimpse from time to time. I understand Eric Liddel's line in Chariots of Fire, "God made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure." God didn't make me a tremendous basketball player, but He did create in my heart a desire for the game. And when I play, I feel His pleasure.

In heaven, playing basketball and having time to read all the books I want to read are going to be permanent realities. I believe this. Because I believe heaven is the earth renovated. Our purest longings will be fulfilled as we enjoy the full presence of Christ and the elimination of the curse of sin. Psalms 107:9, "He satisfies the longing soul and the hungry soul He fills with good things."

One other plug for basketball... If you are a fan and you don't know about Bill Simmons' basketball blog, you need to read this. Here's a link:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/blog/index?name=simmons

Simmons understands the game better than any sports writer I have ever read. He is to writing as Hubie Brown is to announcing. They are in leagues by themselves.

Praising God for the Gift of Recreation,

Ashley Hodge

1. We have too much stuff. This is the obvious one. But never does it become more glaring than when you go through a move. Despite vowing to have nothing stored in the attic, we managed to fill a 1700 square foot house with lots of things. My wife and I promised each other as we spent days packing: we are okay with owning high quality things. We just want to commit to own less of it and have room for our family and possessions to breathe. As great as we think possessions are, it all becomes one giant hassle when you pack and move them.

Jesus said to them, "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions." Luke 12:15

2. There is great freedom in having less. Currently about 95% of the things we own are being stored. To me it is freeing to have less stuff to care for. One of my favorite parts of moving is the excuse it gives me to purge and recycle possessions by giving them to charity. I love to purge. My wife used to hate it. But lately she has been admitting that she sees my view- which makes me giddy. We were created to live simple but we constantly gravitate towards complexity.

Ecclesiastes 7:29, "God has made men upright, but they have sought out many devices." It is probably stretching the original meaning some but I have always felt that verse telling me that God made us simple, but we have sought out complications.

3. Nothing in this life goes as planned. In my pride, I congratulated myself for my precise planning. We had sold our home to an acquaintance without going through the hassles of listing it. We leased it back and gave ourselves ample time to move into our new home (we thought). But pride always has a way of embarrassing us. God has many lessons to teach us and the one I must learn over and over is to never place trust in my own cleverness. I get knocked down every time.

Proverbs 16:18, "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling."

4. This world is not our home. Every time I start to place confidence in this world, I get disappointed. The new home we envision doesn't turn out quite as nice due to shoddy workmanship. Our dreams are never realized because we live in a world that shows daily reminders that it is fallen. Sin has distorted this world and will continue to do so.

An aside... I am all for the new focus on environmentalism (as long as it is reasonable). I think we should consume less and care more for God's creation. But as my friend Gary Randle said to me recently, "All this talk about going green. We are trying to save a planet that God tells us is going to burn." (2 Peter 3:12). Our hearts are meant to be fixed on heaven. This world under the curse of sin will never be paradise. We have glimpses but nothing to set our hearts on. We should travel light in this life.

I John 2:17, "The world and its desires are passing away, but the one who does the will of God lives forever."

Moving builds in me much needed humility. It reminds me that life is never about stuff. It teaches me that we are currently living in a wilderness in temporary tents. We are seeking the Promised Land.

But often we seek heaven on earth instead of seeking heaven in heaven. All of the grandest homes are one tornado, hurricane, tsunami, fire or earthquake away from being destroyed. Life is about God and others. We can enjoy great prosperity in the eternal life to come (as we fully enjoy God and others). Possessions become our comfort too easy. Thank you God for continuing to destroy these idols in my heart by any means that You see fit.

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

• The average home was 6,145 square feet and valued at $3.1 million.
• CEO's who lived in above average homes returned 3.35% per year less than companies whose CEOs lived more modestly.
• CEO's who lived in homes over 10,000 square feet underperformed their peers by 6.9% per year.

To me this is interesting stuff. From personal experience it rings true. I don't (nor plan to) own a boat or second home. I don't think owning these things is sinful. But I understand fully the distractive nature of possessions. I firmly believe that God created us to be free from the clutter of stuff and yet we have sought out ways to complicate our lives- Ecclesiastes 7:29.

Our family is in the final stages of constructing a new home and although the home is less than 1/2 of the square footage of the average CEO and about 10% of the cost, I constantly ask myself, "Is this worth the hassle?" My mind cannot even fathom taking on 10 times the financial commitment and all the headaches associated with that.

We would be wise to listen to the words of Henry David Thoreau in his book Walden, "Simplify, simplify, simplify." This means different things to different people. But this article about CEO homes and stock performance indicates that possessions have a distracting influence on our focus. Christ said, "Take care and be on your guard against all forms of greed because one's life does not consist of the abundance of possessions"- Luke 12:15.

For the Advancement of God's Kingdom and Glory,

Ashley Hodge

The Apostles' Creed from the 3rd-4th century reads:

I believe in God the Father Almighty;
Maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord;
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary;
Suffered under Pontius Pitlate, was crucified, dead and buried;
The third day He rose from the dead;
He ascended into heaven;
And sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
From there He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit;
The holy catholic Church;
The communion of saints;
The forgiveness of sins;
The resurrection of the body;
And the life everlasting. Amen.

This is put beautifully to song by the late Rich Mullins. My 3-year old boy- Hudson- loves this song and can recite it word for word. I don't understand why churches don't sing this creed versus reciting it as some dry reading, but I digress... Here's the video of the song. I encourage you to take time to listen to it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHWoDwxyKUE

A lot of people who would label themselves as Christian believe that the resurrection of Christ is a symbolic thing and did not actually happen. They say, "C'mon people do not rise from the dead." Of course, we see it in nature all the time. Things die and come back to life. Winter comes and then comes Spring. Trees lose their leaves and then a miraculous rebirth occurs and new buds pop out of lifeless (seemingly) limbs.

Easter is about the resurrection of Christ. The hope of Christianity rests on this literal resurrection. The apostle Paul realized the importance of the literal resurrection. A whole chapter is devoted to it: http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?go=Go&q=1+Corinthians+15. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul writes that Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead. He appeared to Peter and the apostles. He appeared to over 500 people. Paul says that our faith is worthless if Christ did not literally resurrect.

One my favorite passages in all of the Bible is 1 Corinthians 15:19-20, "If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of peoples most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead..."

Many skeptics have sought and seek to disprove Christianity. Very few actually study the Scriptures and investigate the literal resurrection of Christ. Some that have gone to this trouble have come to a disturbing conclusion: the literal resurrection of Christ is true. In 1930, English journalist/Christian skeptic Frank Morrison wrote Who Moved the Stone? Morrison came to the conclusion that the resurrection was true.

Josh McDowell wrote Evidence That Demands a Verdict after a similar study. Avowed atheist and legal editor for the Chicago Tribune Herald Lee Strobel investigated the claims of Christianity and found them true. He wrote about his journey in The Case for Christ. CS Lewis underwent a similar journey and wrote about his discoveries in many of his books.

I believe in the resurrection and I believe in life that never ends. I believe that one day God will take this sinful dying or dead body and resurrect it with a perfected body just like He does in nature every Winter/Spring. I believe that God will take this worn out, disease filled, dying earth and resurrect it with a renovated earth free from pollution, sin, disease, death, waste, greed, etc... I believe that God will do this just as He shows us it is possible in nature every Winter/Spring.

I believe that my hope is firmly planted in the resurrection of Christ. He died on the cross for my sins and the sins of all who believe in His sacrificial love. I believe that His resurrection from the dead makes my resurrection from the dead possible. I believe that He will return to judge the earth and everyone in it. I believe that the only way to escape the just wrath of God is to be a follower of Christ. I believe that He will return to establish a kingdom of truth, mercy, righteousness, love and good that will never end.

My daughter Hope is due any day now. Her birth is eagerly awaited by her mother and me. But there is a hope that I long for even more than the birth of my daughter. I long for the return of Christ and the resurrection of the dead. I love my kids and would die for them. But I would also stake my life on the truth of Christ's literal resurrection from the dead. If it is only in this life I have hope, I am to be pitied.

One more video: Bruce Springsteen's version of When the Saints Go Marching In:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aff_zv76sCY&mode=related&search=

For The Hope of Resurrection,

Ashley Hodge

Today is a reflective day for me- I turn 38. Birthdays are days to reflect on all the blessings and trials in this life. I am reminded although I deserve much worse, the Lord's mercies are new every morning.

Lamentations 3:22-23, "Because of the Lord's great love, we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning, great is Your faithfulness."

I am not as thankful as I should be. It is hard to live up to I Thessalonians 5:18, "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

Here are seven things I am currently thankful for- in no particular order:

1. I live in a great country. Is it the best country? It is debatable. But for some great providential reason, God has chosen to bless this nation for a long period of time. We experience many good things and life is not the daily grind for most Americans that it is for people in other nations. For this, we should give thanks. But also remember that with great prosperity comes great responsibility. "To the one who has been entrusted with much; much more will be asked."- Luke 12:48

2. Answered prayer. I have way too many to list them all. But one recent specific prayer that God granted was the sell of our home. I had prayed every day for six months that God would bring us a buyer for our current home and that the hassles would be minimal. There were many reasons for me to plead with God for this request. I office from home. We are building a new home. My wife- Amy- is 9-months pregnant and coping daily with neurological problems. We have a 3-year old active little boy.

We wanted to avoid as much chaos as possible. God brought us a family that we knew to purchase our home. We avoided having to list it and have people coming through our home constantly. Our buyers- the Blakeleys- were gracious enough to allow us to lease the home back until our new house is ready. If you have ever sold a house, you know these things don't happen. I can only attribute it to God's graciousness to answer this specific prayer.

I am not saying all prayers are answered on my timetable. I pray daily for my wife's neurological issues to be healed and that has not happened yet. There is never a formula. God has His reasons for saying yes to some prayers; no to some; and wait for other prayer requests. His ways are mysterious. But He can be trusted. Read Psalms 25. It is a powerful chapter. Psalms 25:5, "Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are my God and my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long."

3. I am thankful for hope. When I reflect on my sin, I am discouraged that I am not further along. I let people down. I say things that I intend to fulfill but then make a liar out of myself by not doing them. I am prideful. I complain a lot. I struggle with lots of other sins. But I have hope. I rely on God's promises that He will perfect me in time. I am hopeful that my 38th year will be a little more faithful; a little more worthwhile to others. Philippians 1:6, "Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

I am thankful for the hope of resurrection and the coming day of Christ Jesus referrenced in Philippians 1:6. One day, God will make all things right. Evil will be destroyed. Good will triumph. Disease, death and decay will go bye-bye. Christ will rule a renovated earth and His followers will reign with Him. I believe this. And for this reason, I have hope that all things in this life can be put into perspective. I love the word hope. So much that I convinced my wife to name our daughter Hope- who is due in April.

4. I am thankful for family. I have a great wife who puts up with all my quirks and idiosyncracies. She has a tough job being married to me. But she perseveres daily. I am thankful for Hudson and Hope. I never thought I could experience as much joy as I experience daily being a parent.

5. I am thankful for basketball and for the friendships with William, Jay and others that have been formed on the courts at Lifetime Fitness. I feel God's pleasure when I play basketball. I am not very good, but I love the game and am grateful that I can play at a competitive level at 38 years old. Despite teeth being knocked out, bumps, bruises and nagging injuries, I enjoy the exercise and release that basketball provides.

6. I am thankful for my financial planning business. I have terrific clients. They are patient, disciplined and optimistic as a whole. It makes my job not seem like work most days. I am continually inspired by my clients. I have the privilege of working out of my home which is a tremendous blessing.

7. I am thankful for the men in my life that have impacted me in so many positive ways. My grandfather, dad and father-in-law have shaped me in many good ways that I am grateful for. There have been Christian men that have modeled the faith well- they have shown me what it means to be a man who loves God and balances toughness and tenderness. I know that every positive contribution that I am able to make to this life will be an indirect result of God working through other men and women to light a path for me.

I have rambled long enough. I am thankful for the life I have. God has given me 38 years. I consider every day a bonus. What do I have to complain about? Nothing legitimate.

Thank You God for what You have done in my life and for what You are going to do,

Ashley Hodge

I spent a couple of days in New York City this past week for an investment conference. I enjoy NYC for two major reasons:

1. It is the most vibrant city I have experienced
2. It is a melting pot of all the different races, ethnicities and peoples of the world

For me, these two points give me cause to contemplate Heaven- the true home that awaits God's children. I envision that Heaven will be like NYC in these ways.

Heaven will be vibrant- full of life. One of the promises of Christ is that He came to give abundant life- John 10:10. This of course is twisted by many "believers" to rationalize seeking pleasure and comfort in this life at any cost. But my point is that vibrancy is to be expected and longed for. I believe cities of Heaven will be like New York on steroids in this regard.

Heaven will also be a melting pot. We are told that every tongue, tribe, people and nation will be represented at the end of time worshipping Christ who was sacrificed for the sins of the redeemed. Christ has chosen people from every corner of the earth to serve God and reign over the earth- Revelation 5:9-10. We will fulfill the stewardship mandate- Genesis 1:28- for which we were created.

This verse is summarized in a song by the Newsboys called He Reigns:

It's the song of the redeemed; Rising from the African plain;
It's the song of the forgiven; Drowning out the Amazon rain;
It's the song of Asian believers; Filled with God's holy fire;
It's every tribe, every tongue, every nation; A love song born of a grateful choir;
It's all God's children singing glory, glory, hallelujah, He reigns.

I sat in a sports bar on Friday night watching my beloved Baylor Bears play a very competitive game against Kevin Durant (can't wait until he goes pro so I don't have to see him play against the Bears again) and the Texas Longhorns in the big 12 basketball tournament. As I was watching the game, I observed at least 15 different races represented in that one place. People mingled together as if there were no racial divisions or prejudices to overcome. I thought this is Heaven like. This is what I long for- learning from and appreciating people from every race with a common love for God.

What makes Christianity so unique among the religions of the world is that it is so inclusive. Islam is predominately North Africa and the Middle East. Judaism is also widespread, but predominately Israel, Europe and North America. Hinduism is predominately Indian. Buddhism is the Far East. But Christianity is spread out among all the lands and peoples of the world. The fastest growth is in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

But Christianity is also exclusive. Christianity believes the words of Christ are true. Christ and the apostles said some exclusive things. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, the life. No one comes to God except through me."- John 14:6. The Apostle Peter said that there is no other way to be saved except through Christ- Acts 4:10-12. Truth by its very nature is exclusive. This is one of the great deceptions of our postmodern age: that as long as you are spiritual you are on the right path.

It is true that world religions are basically the same except for some small little matters such as how we were created; who God is; sin; salvation; what happens to us after we die; free will; evil and a couple of other things. Other than that, all religions are the same. Pascal's wager on Christianity needs to be considered: http://www.peterkreeft.com/topics/pascals-wager.htm

There are parts of the world today where declaring Christianity as exclusive truth is considered hate speech. If it is untrue, it is certainly a cruel belief to expouse. But if it is true, it must be declared. It will would be cruel to be silent. I believe what Christ said is true. There is no other way to Heaven than to submit our wills to Him, have faith that His promises are true and seek to obey what He taught. The Apostle Paul said, "Let God be true and every man a liar."- Romans 3:4

Christianity is inclusive. Christ says: Come; Believe; Trust Me. But it is also exclusive. It is not vague. It declares one way to God. It says: Believe or reject. But don't play games.

I look forward to Heaven. I long for the best things this earth has to offer. But I am ready to leave the sin and limitations. I look forward to experiencing Christ in a resurrected body and a resurrected earth. I pray that everyone reading this will experience it with me. We will grow and learn as God's stewards over paradise restored. Only by God's mercy.

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

I recently had this dilemma. I was invited to New York City for a few days of listening to some of the top money managers on Wall Street speak. The meetings are business casual as is customary for these types of events. But the dinner is tie and jacket required.

This was not popular with me for two reasons. First, I only wear ties to weddings and occasionally funerals. I gave all but a small handful of ties to charity when I left the big brokerage firm world of Merrill Lynch and UBS. Second, bringing a suit and tie would require me to bring two bags on my trip and check one of them. Airlines have a history of misplacing my bags so I try to avoid checking bags whenever possible.

I posed the dilemma to my friend- William Reymond. I met William at Lifetime Fitness in Dallas and we have enjoyed philosophizing on many subjects. Plus, we share a common addiction to the game of basketball. William is an author from France who is living in the US and author of a recent #1 selling book in France- Toxic. The book is about the problems with chemicals being added to foods and how this is contributing to the obesity epidemic. It sounds great. Unfortunately, I don't speak or read French. If you do, you can find out more at http://williamreymond.com.

William thought it was a no brainer. The food would be overpriced. The company boring. Skip the dinner and watch basketball in the hotel room. I agreed and decided to do that. William sent me a blog written by Mark Cuban- owner of the Dallas Mavericks. It is an excellent read about how ridiculous it really is for owners of companies to require their employees to wear dress up clothes to work. You can read it at http://blogmaverick.com. It is titled "Why I don't wear a suit and can't figure out why anyone does!"

One of the reasons I love working from home is that if I don't have appointments that day, I can wear shorts and a t-shirt. On days that I have appointments, I wear business casual. I don't think my clients or prospects care. In fact, many of them have commented positively that the more casual dress elicits confidence in them. There is something to the phrase "empty suit" or belief that someone in a suit screams salesperson. My dry cleaning and clothing budgets have been a freefall since my days at Merrill Lynch and UBS.

I have many friends that wear suits every day because they are required to by the company they work for. I have other friends who own companies and choose to require their employees to wear suits and ties. Although I respect the decision, I concur with Mark Cuban's comments about the whole thing. Does dressing up really add to effectiveness at work? Does it add something to the bottom line? Doesn't it add a financial burden to workers who are already burdened with higher gas prices, daycare costs, etc...?

It seems like it would be better stewardship of resources to allow employees to ditch the ties and suits. Now this can go too far. Obviously, you don't want people showing up in ratty t-shirts and shorts if they are meeting with customers. I am also a big fan of personal hygiene. I don't want the people that I meet with to skip showers and brushing their teeth as they do in some parts of the world for days on end. But the tie around the neck seems ridiculous. It is a conspiracy, man (I have watched Cars too many times with my little boy).

If you have control over this area, use the money that you would spend on suits and ties to pay off debt, save or give more. I haven't even touched on wearing suits and ties to church. This to me is silly. Proponents argue that it shows reverence for God. But when I read the New Testament, I don't get the impression that worship of God was ever about playing dress up. In fact, Jesus pointed out how foolish the Pharisees were for seeking to impress others with their dress- Matthew 23:1-7. Jesus impresses me as a come as you are God.

Towards the Continual Goal of Better Stewardship,

Ashley Hodge

So many great potential blog topics this week. It was difficult to choose one. First, you have financial "guru" Suze Orman claiming that she has a net worth of around $25 million and that she has $1 million of that invested in the stock market. She says, "I don't care if I lose that." Is this the type of person America wants to be taking financial advice from? Can someone so cavalier about losing $1 million be giving sound financial advice to the average American?

Second, you have some interesting findings coming out of the Tennessee Center for Policy Research about Oscar-winner Al Gore. Al Gore's consumption of electricity and natural gas at his Tennessee mansion according to this report is $1,500/month or 20 times more than the national average. I will likely revisit this on a future blog.

But the blog idea that won out for me this week was whether Juice Plus is a worthwhile supplement. I hesitate to write this because almost everyone I know takes Juice Plus. Hopefully, I don't lose any friends over these opinions of mine. If you haven't heard about Juice Plus, it is a capsule that you can take daily that is supposed to give you many of the same benefits that you receive from eating lots of fruits and vegetables.

I listened to a cd that was put out on the product about a year ago and it seemed convincing. A quick web search turned up some testimonials from medical professionals swearing to the benefits of this product. Friends who used the product regularly claimed that they were avoiding colds and had noticed some health benefits. So, my family started taking the product.

I was a little surprised that it costs so much. A four-month supply of the fruits & vegetable pills and gummies for children (loaded with corn syrup) costs $244. My skepticism was raised due to the expense initially. I started researching the product online. I spoke to a vitamin consultant at a health foods store. The consultant's exact quote to me was, "I have been in the vitamin business for 25 years. First of all, there is no substitute for fruits and vegetables. Period. Second, there are supplements that make similar claims and have similar ingredients to Juice Plus that you can purchase at 1/3 of the price."

That comment made sense to me. That same week my wife- Amy- attended an educational lunch where the guest speaker was a registered dietician. The woman sells Juice Plus and gave a presentation on why proper nutrition is important and how Juice Plus can help. In an email conversation with my wife a comment was made that really got me thinking. The comment was that Juice Plus is legitimate because Ron Blue endorses the product.

Ron Blue is president of the Christian Financial Professionals Network- an organization that I am a member of. Ron Blue has been a well respected voice in the financial planning community from a biblical perspective. A search on Yahoo showed that you can obtain a cd from Juice Plus with a talk given by Ron Blue on the opportunities of a virtual franchise. I think virtual franchise is one of the new code words for network marketing; home-based business opportunity; multi-level marketing; etc...

You can read and study on Juice Plus and whether it is a good product to take. My family is going to a less expensive alternative personally. You can find some interesting research about the product at a wikipedia page on Juice Plus: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juice_Plus

But a bigger issue to me is should a person of considerable influence in the church be endorsing products that are sold through network marketing? This is not meant to be a criticism of Ron Blue and I intend to ask him this question face-to-face next time I have the chance.

I am a cynic in many ways. I admit it. Sometimes, I wish I wasn't. Life would probably be more enjoyable. One of my thoughts that swirls through my head is that many of these large churches that exist in America are primarily in business to make leaders of the church filthy rich. Either through ministry related activities- Ed Young Jr, TD Jakes, Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen- come to mind. Or through the peddling of multi-level marketing products. I know some charismatic people who are in positions of leadership in the church who have amassed great wealth through a network marketing opportunity.

But this is not the norm. And here lies the problem. According to R. Hawkins research on network marketing:

1. 95% of people drop out of network marketing within 6 months.
2. 99% of people lose money or make absolutely nothing.
3. The 1% that stay in average around $2,000 a year in profit

You can read about it at http://www.falseprofits.com

With those stats in mind, wouldn't Christians be better off if people of influence endorsed gambling as a better financial strategy than network marketing? Aren't the odds better at the blackjack table?

I don't endorse gambling. It is investing for people who are very bad at math. But the point is: why are so many people sucked into network marketing? And why was I sucked into buying a product that is overpriced and sold through this method? Perhaps we want to believe in the magic solution.

But there are no shortcuts to wealth or health. There are many great people who are involved in network marketing believing something about the product or opportunity that will likely not be found true in the end. Proverbs 13:11, "Wealth obtained by fraud dwindles. But the one who gathers by labor increases it."

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

It starts early. We can see the lack of contentment in our children before they turn 3. My son whom I adore- Hudson- loves trains. I enjoy buying him trains because it brings him so much joy.

But even after I purchase him train after train in the Thomas the Train series at ridiculous prices- $10- $20 per train, the lack of contentment becomes evident.

He watches Thomas videos and says, "I don't have Toby, Diesel10, etc..." My wife- Amy- and I constantly remind him to concentrate on what he has instead of what he does not have. He agrees with us. But then two seconds later it is back to, "I don't have..."

My wife asked me this weekend: what is your biggest fear? I thought about it and it isn't a typical answer: death, public speaking, dying young, etc... My biggest fear is living an unfruitful life.

Jesus tied an unfruitful life to being distracted by the love of possessions. Jesus teaches in Mark 4:1-20 about a sower that sows seed on the ground. He says the sown seed is the Word of God/the Gospel- Mark 4:14.

The seed is placed among many different types of soil. One of the types of soil is thorny ground. Jesus explains, "And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful."- Mark 4:18-19.

This is our problem in this country. We are receiving the Word of God on thorny ground. The battle for more comfort and more things is one that we will likely take with us to the grave. The lure of things is so subtle. But the danger is that it has the capability to create in our hearts a lack of contenment, gratitude and distraction from things that matter.

I preach this word to myself as I am in the process of upgrading my housing needs. A daughter on the way and the daily desire to office from my home has created a "need" for more space. But sometimes, I wonder if I am just providing justification for my desires.

Sometimes these decisions must be made. But it is important to see the thorns in the whole mess. They are there to choke out our commitment to Christ and this is never a good thing. We must weed our garden daily.

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

We all have our pet peeves in life. One of mine is when I see someone litter. I don't claim to be the most efficient steward of the environment. I am trying to improve.

But there is one thing I cannot tolerate: litter. If you think about it, it is one of the most self-absorbed acts out there. The mindset to litter is: "I am the most important person in this world. If I decide to throw my trash out of my car or while walking around it is because I have the right to do it. Someone else will pick it up. But if they don't pick it up it doesn't matter because this world is all about me."

Littering must stem from one of three motives: unabashed laziness, self-absorbtion or ignorance. To me the sin nature of humans speaks loud and clear when they litter. Does it bother you also? I long for a world where God's justice is revealed (after His mercy is displayed towards us). A world where things are put right.

Litter is a constant reminder of the Fall and why we will be disappointed if we view this world under the curse of sin as paradise. A better day and place is coming for those who trust the promise that Christ will return to rule this world in peace and justice. But in the meantime, as Christians we should strive to make this world a more beautiful place. One small way that we can do that is to never litter and to gently correct those who do.

I have to admit that I have been guilty of correcting those who litter but not with gentleness. My wife- Amy- gets on me for my temper when I see someone throw trash out the window. A couple of recent stories:

One day I pulled up behind a car of teenagers at a red light and watched the driver chuck out a fast food back on the street. To his credit, he did go to the trouble of putting all of his trash in the bag instead of scattering it piece by piece. I quickly put my car in park, got out of the car, grabbed the bag and knocked on their window. They rolled it down and I said sarcastically, "You accidentally dropped this." The driver was embarrassed and said, "Thank you" and took the trash back into the car. It felt good. But that outcome could have been less than favorable with the wrong person.

Another incident was a young woman throwing out a host of trash in the neighborhood I live. I decided to follow her for a few blocks laying on the horn the whole way. It is not pretty. I lose all sense of maturity when I see things like this. Hopefully, one of these stories isn't the prelude to my funeral.

Jeremiah 2:7 tells us, "I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and produce. But you came and defiled my land and made my inheritance detestable."

We should always be asking ourselves tough questions with how much we need to consume. And for God's sake: don't litter!

For the Glory of His Creation,

Ashley Hodge

I am reading through a chapter on God's Providence in Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem. It has been a reminder to me that what we believe about the sovereignty (control) of God over all things is an important issue to how we view stewardship and life.

I did not come by Calvinism naturally. I was first introduced to the ideas by my father-in-law eight years ago. I became interested in learning about the differences in philosophies between Arminianism and Calvinism. Those who agree with John Calvin's (1509-1564) interpretation of Scripture on the issue of God's sovereignty and human free will are often referred to as Calvinists. Those who agree with Jacobus Arminius (1560-1609) on these issues are called Arminians.

A quick summary of the beliefs of each of these camps:

Calvinism's main points can be remembered by the acronym: TULIP

1. Total depravity: Because of the fall of man, every person is born into the world enslaved by sin. Because we are by nature inclined to serve our own selfish interests, we will not choose God.

2. Unconditional election: God's choice from eternity of those He will bring to Himself is not based on merit or virtue. It is unconditionally centered on God's mercy.

3. Limited atonement: The death of Christ takes away the penalty of sins of those on whom God has chosen to have mercy.

4. Irresistible grace: The saving grace of God is effectually applied to those He has determined to save. His grace can overcome the most stubborn, callous heart.

5. Perseverance of the saints: Any person who has been truly converted to Christ will persevere in the faith. The word saint is used in the sense that people are set apart by God to pursue obedience to Him.

Arminianism's five beliefs are:

1. Free will: The fall of man was not total. Every person has enough good in them to accept Christ as Savior.

2. Conditional election: God's foreknowledge of who would believe and man's act of faith are the conditions that lead to salvation. God foreknew those who would freely choose Him.

3. Universal atonement: Christ died for everyone. God never wills that anyone should die apart from Christ, but each person must exercise their free will in trusting this atonement in order to be saved.

4. Obstructable grace: The Holy Spirit woos people to Christ. God's will to save all men can be frustrated by the will of man. Every person must exercise their own will first and then they can be born again.

5. Falling from grace: People can lose their salvation by choosing to fall away from Christ. Mankind must continually believe in order to be saved.

A few comments are in order. First, I consider this debate to be of secondary importance. There is great mystery in how the sovereignty of God and human free will co-exist. I affirm the idea that God is sovereign and humans are responsible. I believe that most people in both camps would agree with that statement.

I have close friendships with Christians who fall into the Arminian category and I have close friendships who are devout Calvinists. I would never hope to jeopardize those relationships over an issue that at the end of the day, we have to humbly admit that there is mystery and lack of clarity.

I came to the conclusion that Calvinism is the better understanding of God's sovereignty/human free will because of three major factors.

1. The weight of Scripture. Both sides of this debate can point to troubling verses for the other side to explain. But after studying the whole Bible on this issue, I conclude that Calvinism is the easier position to defend. There are too many verses that defend the total and complete sovereignty of God over everything in His creation- including human free will- for me to believe in Arminianism.

2. The weight of church history. The proponents of Calvinism have a larger list of theological heavyweights: Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, JC Ryle, BB Warfield, Spurgeon, George Muller, John Owen to name a few. If you read about these men's lives, you can't help coming away with an awe of their study habits. The fact that they came to Calvinist conclusions was persuasive to me. We always stand on the shoulders of giants when we clarify these issues.

3. The belief that faith in a God who is completely in control over all things is much easier to live with than a God whose purposes can be thwarted by the free choices of humankind. There are some tough issues to work through around why evil exists in defending Calvinism. But I am comfortable with understanding that in the new heavens and earth. God has given us the answer to evil in Christ. But the issues surrounding Arminianism- like the potential for us to fall from grace in heaven; God's inability to control the future; etc... are way too hard for me to accept.

I believe that a complete trust in the sovereignty of God is the basis for stewardship. It is because I believe that God is methodically and wisely unfolding a plan for all of creation to be restored under the rule of Christ that I desire to be the best steward of this life.

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

• Small-Cap Stock Index (Russell 1725): 8.02%
• Large Growth Stock Index (Russell 1000 Growth): -0.75%
• Large Value Stock Index (Russell 1000 Value): 7.76%
• International Stock Index (EAFE): 6.70%
• Real Estate Index (REIT Index): 18.65%
• Multi-Strategy Hedge Fund Index (Barclay): 11.90%
• Bond Index (Lehman Brothers): 5.44%
• Commodity Index (Goldman Sachs): 14.10%

You have an extra $10,000. What is the most spiritual decision?

A. Give the money to a charitable organization
B. Save/Invest the money for future needs
C. Pay down debt
D. Any of the above

I believe the answer is D. We should commit the matter to prayer. But you can find Scriptural support for any of these three options.

The Christian is told to give generously with a cheerful heart: "The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has made up in his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver," 2 Corinthians 9:6-7.

I have seen truly generous people continue to attract resources. This allows them to be even more generous. It is a spiritual law that God has set in His universe. It doesn't make sense to the rational mind. A false generosity that only gives to get may experience the rewards of "you scratch my back and I will scratch yours." But the true blessings are never fully enjoyed unless generosity comes from a heart that has been changed by Christ.

The Christian has biblical examples of why it is important to save. I read one example this morning. God instructed Joseph to tell Pharaoh to save seven years worth of grain for a famine was coming on the earth. Joseph tells his brothers, "And do not be distressed or angry with yourselves that you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing or harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors." Genesis 45:5-7.

I believe there are times when God puts the desire in our hearts to save. The reasons may not seem clear at the time. But then the economy turns down and you lose a job. A friend or family member has a crisis. A giving opportunity comes that you didn't expect. How could you help in a tangible, financial way unless you had savings?

Finally, I believe the Scriptures are clear that paying down debt is a worthwhile goal. Debt is a way of life for most American families. I carry debt on my home- although I am striving to pay it off quickly. Debt on a potentially appreciable asset can be argued for- home, business, education. But debt on depreciable assets- clothes, furniture, cars- doesn't make good financial sense. We are told by Paul, "Owe no one anything, except to love one another..." Romans 13:8.

The point is that we should not be manipulated to think that any one of the above uses of money- give, save, pay off debt- is better than another. The biblical Christian should work towards all three objectives and pray for the Spirit's leading. A commitment to strategic living that properly balances spending, giving, saving and paying off debts helps us to be in a position where God can use us for His purposes.

"A wise man saves for the future, but a foolish man spends whatever he gets," Proverbs 21:20.

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

There is a book coming out in February of 2007 called Firms of Endearment: the Pursuit of Purpose and Profit by David Wolfe, Rajendra Sisodia, and Jagdish Sheth. This book takes a look at the difference in performance between stakeholder centered companies- like Whole Foods- and traditional businesses that seek to maximize profits for shareholders (investors). The chart below compares the difference in stock performance between stakeholder companies (SC) and other companies in the S&P 500.

The stakeholder centered companies in the study include: Amazon, Best Buy, CarMax, Caterpillar, Commerce Bank, Costco, eBay, Google, Harley Davidson, Honda, JetBlue, Johnson & Johnson, Progressive Insurance, Southwest Airlines, Starbucks, Timberland, Toyota, UPS, and Whole Foods Market.

This idea reminds me of John Templeton's philosophy. Templeton outperformed the market by an average of 3% annually per year after fees from 1954- 1992. He accomplished this in large part by buying shares of companies that perform a service beneficial to the world. He avoided buying shares in companies that prey on human weakness. One of Templeton's fund managers in the 1990s- Rusty Leonard- has incorporated this investment approach with a distinctly biblical worldview.

2. Executives should be compensated fairly but not outrageously. Whole Foods implements a policy that the highest paid executive makes only 19 times the average paid employee. The average for the S&P 500 was 411 times the average paid employee in 2005. As stewards of stakeholders' interest, executives should become wealthy as long-term stakeholder value is created.

Mackey contends that the best way to deal with envy is to become more transparent with compensation. Whole Foods shares the salaries of all employees. Mackey contends that by having this type of transparency people can see what types of skills are valued and rewarded in the organization and manage their career objectives accordingly.

Along those lines, Whole Foods distributes stock options so that employees can share in the creation of stock value over time. Only 7% of stock options go to the top 16 executives at Whole Foods. In comparison, 75% of stock options go to the top 5 executives at a typical S&P 500 firm.

3. Mackey believes that the stereotypes of good, altruistic non-profit organizations and greedy, selfish corporations are wrong. Mackey contends that the majority of non-profits are inefficient, wasteful and stagnant. He argues that both non-profits and businesses need to migrate towards a holistic model. Business and capitalism can be forces for enormous good in this world. The world has gone from nearly 95% poverty 200 years ago to 60% poverty currently. And with the emergence of China and India, the poverty rate is likely to be less than 25% by 2050. This reduction in poverty is attributed to increased profits, prosperity, technological innovation, etc... But the pursuit of profit at all costs is not a good thing for society and this is why Mackey urges businesses to adopt Conscious Capitalism.

I find Mackey's thoughts line up with my understanding of biblical stewardship even if Mackey doesn't share evangelical, biblical beliefs. A point that I have made in other blog entries is that God gave Adam a stewardship mandate in the Garden of Eden to grow, cultivate, take dominion over the resources that God provides- Genesis 1:28. Many environmentalists long for a return to the Garden like paradise. But God moves creation from a Garden- Genesis to a City- Revelation. Progress is a good thing if it is done according to God-honoring stewardship principles. We should not seek repristination. We should seek biblically progressive reformation. The good that was formed by God has been deformed by sin and needs to be reformed for the purposes of God.

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

1. It motivates me further to excel at areas of whole-life stewardship. Knowing that I have made some of these objectives public to the few people that read this blog adds an extra layer of accountability to keep me focused. Paul instructs us in 2 Corinthians 13:11 to aim for perfection.
2. I hope that this will encourage you to set goals for stewardship in 2007. I am a huge believer in the idea that: what you measure will improve. Proverbs 16:9, "In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps."

I believe that we should pray for God to lay some areas on our heart that are consistent with His will for our lives and will bring Him glory. This is at the root of what Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:7-11. God desires to grow us in faithfulness and usefulness. He delights in all those who fear Him and put their trust in His unfailing love- Psalms 147:11.

My 2006 Stewardship Goals and the results in red:

Money

1. Strive to live on less than $7000/month for housing, auto and living expenses. Our family fell short of this goal by around $700/month. This included all expenses except for taxes, health insurance, savings and giving.
2. Give over $20,000 to the work of Christ in 2006. We accomplished this goal through God's provision.
3. Save at least $20,000 in 2006. We exceeded this goal.
4. Contribute an additional $1000/month towards paying off home. I started strong here, but quit making extra payments in the summer of 2006. Part of my rationale for not continuing was due to an upcoming move to another home. Cash needed to be more liquid.

Abilities

1. Read 12 financial/investment books in 2006. Attend continuing education classes to hone skills and bring practical wisdom to clients. I read 9 financial/investment books in 2006. I did attend two conferences- LPL and CFPN.
2. Pray regularly for clients-souls, health, finances, personal growth, families. I did consistently pray for clients. I pray for 5-6 clients each day so every month I am praying through my client list.
3. Execute vision of Stewardship Mandate- edit book, update website regularly, quarterly newsletters and client events. I did not finish editing the book. But I hope to have a new and improved edition out in 2007. I did update the website regularly and send out quarterly newsletters. The quarterly client events never happened.
4. Quarterly reviews of client assets and a proactive approach to adding value to their lives. I did review every client account quarterly and suggested appropriate changes. I hope to improve on the proactive approach to adding value in 2007.

Time

1. Three hours per day of focused spiritual growth- Bible study, prayer, ministry to others and reading spiritual growth books. Time spent in these areas was closer to 2 hours per day in 2006.
2. Less than one hour per day of television. We accomplished this goal.
3. Invest at least one hour per day playing with, reading to and teaching my son- Hudson. This goal was accomplished.
4. Average 40 hours per week of concentrated work- financial planning and client service. I averaged 37 hours per week of focused work in 2006. This does not include some areas that others might categorize as work- travel time; socializing with clients.

Health

1. Exercise for at least four hours per week. Goal of having a 33 inch waist with less than 10% body fat. I exercised on average 6 hours per week in 2006. My waist starting the year at 36 inches and ended the year at 34 inches. I never measured my body fat. Although my guess is that it is below 15% but not below 10%.
2. Drink an average of 100 ounces of water per day. Limit cola intake to less than 20 ounces per day. I averaged 105 ounces of water daily. My cola intake in 2006 was over 30 ounces per day. Although this has dropped to less than 20 ounces per day in the last six weeks due to my decision to eliminate all diet drinks.
3. Partial fast once per week- less than 1000 calories per day on Wednesdays with no cola intake. I completely bombed on this goal. I think this lasted about 2 weeks.
4. Average at least six hours of sleep per night. I averaged 7 hours per night of sleep.

Goals for 2007

Money

1. Live on less than $8000/monthly for housing, auto and living expenses.
2. Give over $25,000 for Christian work; Save over $25,000.

Abilities

1. Pray for clients daily. Pray for every client at least once per month.
2. Upgrade stewardship resources; offer free version of book through pdf file and create audio version that will be available at cost. Read 12 investment/financial books.

Time

1. No technology from 6pm- 5am. Use this time for family; devotions; relationship building; reading; projects and sleep.
2. Average 3 hours per day of spiritual growth; 40 hours per week of focused work; two hours per day playing with, instructing and loving on our kids.

Health

1. Average less than 300 calories per day of cola and processed foods. Discipline in eating foods that are healthy.
2. Exercise at least 4 hours per week; sleep at least 6 hours per day.

I also want to have some fasting discipline built in, but I need to pray about something I can actually accomplish on that end.

God is good. My New Year's wish is that we would all celebrate His goodness in 2007 by striving to become the most effective steward of the resources that He entrusts to us.

I would love to hear from you. If you have some stewardship goals to share for 2007, please let me know. I would welcome the opportunity to pray for you and ask that you pray for me.

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

One of the impediments to a life of stewardship is continual distractions. We live in a distracted age. It is difficult to have conversations that go beyond the superficial because most people never think about the important questions in life. They are too busy being distracted to discover purpose or meaning in life. The spirit of the age is summed up in the lyrics of Edie Brickell's song What I Am:

I'm not aware of too many things
I know what I know if you know what I mean
Philosophy, is the talk on a cereal box
Religion, is a smile on a dog
I'm not aware of too many things
I know what I know if you know what I mean
Choke me in the shallow water before I get too deep
What I am is what I am are you what you are or what?

We are too busy during the holidays to think and meditate on Christ and how devotion to Him should be our focus. We have too many holiday parties to attend. Too many presents to buy. Too much television to watch. The urgent chokes the eternal.

This is not a new problem. Blaise Pascal- the brilliant mathematician and philosopher- wrote about this in Pensees. Fragment 133 he writes, "Being unable to cure death, wretchedness and ignorance, men have decided, in order to be happy, not to think about such things." Pascal describes some of the ways that people choose diversions rather than contemplating the big questions in life.

Pascal writes on how people are too busy hunting, gambling, going to war and amusing themselves. We shun anything of significance. Gambling is still distracting people daily. But Pascal would have had a stronger case to write about in 2006 than he did in 1660. He did not foresee the greatest of all distractions: entertainment on demand. We live in an age where we can avoid ever having a serious thought.

Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 11:3, "But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ." As we enter a time of reflection at the end of the year, my prayer is that we will reflect on the big questions and seek to limit distractions to those questions:

1. Why am I here?
2. What happens to me after I die?
3. Is there something true to live and die for?
4. How can I glorify God the most?
5. How can I be the maximum amount of good to the maximum amount of people?

Jonathan Edwards wrote in his 70 Resolutions: "Resolution 9- Resolved, to think much on all occasions of my own dying, and of the common circumstances which attend death." Thinking about death is the gateway to living. The big questions are calling? Will we answer?

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

1. Reduce Stress.

Stress is an often neglected part of the health picture. People can exercise, eat well, get proper rest and still be on unhealthy if they do not manage stress well. Exercise, diet and sleep are all integral parts of reducing stress. But there are other areas that are important for us to focus on- four areas come to mind:

Meditation- prayer and reflection on the Bible should be the starting point of every believer's day. David tells us that everyone who is godly should offer prayers to God at a time when He may be found. He is our hiding place to preserve us from trouble- Psalm 32:6-7.

Plan- Thoreau said, "Most people live lives of quiet desperation, but I have chosen to live deliberately." Many good things happen to us despite our plans. But planning is a God-given skill that helps us reduce stress. The disorganized life leads to stress. We should constantly ask ourselves: what do I need to purge from my possessions and schedule to make my life simpler and less stressful?

Forgiveness- How many people do you know that add constant stress to their lives by harboring bitterness and a lack of forgiveness? A lack of forgiveness is stressful. Grace is the peaceful, pleasant way. Jesus says, "If you forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive you."- Matthew 6:14-15. We must daily forgive. We are much worse than we could ever imagine and God is far more graceful than we would ever give Him credit for. The truth of this must compel us towards forgiveness.

Quiet- Life is too noisy and stressful. We should make intentional efforts to reduce the noise. Kierkegaard and others have labeled noise- the tyranny of the urgent. The piece of mail/email we have to read to be better informed; the compelling news story; the important sporting event on television. All of these areas ask for our time and focus, but do they add value to our lives? My family is attempting to turn off all technology from 6pm- 5am. This is a work in progress. I have been recording sporting events that I want to watch. And a funny thing happens... after I check the score in the morning, I don't want to watch most of the games I record. We need to cultivate quiet in our lives.

2. Rest

About 25% of the US population have reported problems with insomnia. Eclessiastes 5:12, "Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep." Solomon was telling us something profound here. We should hold on loosely to all of life's cares and travel light. More stuff equals more worry. If you are having trouble sleeping, you should make changes to your routine. Meditation on some key passages of Scripture about anxiety- Matthew 6:25-34; Psalm 23- or reading Dale Carnegie's How to Stop Worrying and Start Living may be helpful.

The National Sleep Foundation advises the following if you are not getting adequate rest:

• Consume less alcohol and caffeine; avoid nicotine.
• Avoid heavy meals and drinking lots of fluids before going to sleep.
• Exercise regularly, but do so in the daytime.
• Try a relaxing routine- soaking in hot water or turning off all technology after 6pm.
• Establish a regular bedtime and time to get up each morning.

3. Diet

I struggle most in this area. I have a hard time doing anything in moderation. I have the type of personality that will purchase a food that is not good for me- cookies or ice cream. Next, I proceed to eat that item sooner rather than later to purge that food from my home. And when I crave it again, I buy more and repeat the cycle. I know in theory how important moderation is, I just have a hard time practicing it. I pray that God will empower me to make improvements in this area.

Luigi Cornaro wrote an excellent short book on this topic. Luigi was told by a doctor that he would die within weeks; Luigi was in his 30s. Luigi pleaded with God to spare his life and made changes in diet. His strategy was to avoid gluttony and seek moderation. God not only spared his life but Luigi lived to be over 100 years old- quite a feat considering he lived in the 15th century when the average life expectancy was below 50 years old.

Luigi's book Discourses on the Sober Life can be downloaded here: http://www.stewardshipmandate.com/Health_HowtoLive100Years-Cornaro.pdf

I also am coming to understand more and more how important it is to rid our bodies of chemicals that affect our moods, bodies and thinking. We have been sold a bill of goods that prescription drugs are the answer to what ails us. Drugs may be necessary in some cases, but they are too quickly prescribed and too often relied upon.

I recently quit drinking diet sodas through the urging of a friend who had researched the effects of natural sweeteners on the brain. This was hard for me- I had a psychological and physical addiction to them. I have concluded in the two weeks that I have had no diet sodas that my thinking is clearer. I grind my teeth at night and have noticed that this has declined substantially after quitting diet sodas. I ran across a website that has a lot of helpful diet related information that is free of trying to push certain health products on you. It is a wee bit radical but interesting: http://newstarget.com.

4. Exercise

Every muscle in our body needs to be exercised regularly including the brain. Obesity costs this nation $100- $240 billion per year depending on what study you prefer. Diet is partially to blame but we also live inactive lives. Texas is one of the worse states for obesity. Houston, Dallas and San Antonio routinely make the list of 10 fattest cities. Walking is discouraged in these cities and reliance on cars is encouraged.

One of the most important commitments for our weeks should be to schedule exercise time. For me- I attempt to go to the gym 3 or 4 times per week for 2 hours each time. When I am there, I lift weights, read while riding the stationary bike and play basketball. The hour of basketball allows me to overcome some of my dietary excesses.

Exercise should be: regular and intense. Too many people don't exercise often enough. Others don't expel much effort when exercising. Something is better than nothing but if you want to see benefits, you must do it consistently and intensely.

Good health is a process. We should strive for the philosophy of Ashley Montagu in regards to exercise. Ashley said, "Die young as old as possible." One day all of those who trust in Christ will have a resurrected, perfected body. But until that day, we must strive to be the best stewards of this temporary, decaying body that the Lord has entrusted to us.

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

• Create incentives. Some parents offer to match their children dollar-for-dollar in paying off debt. Other parents match savings or giving. There are some unique ways to encourage the right behavior patterns if you meditate on the end goal.
• Encourage memories. Family vacations are a terrific gift. Why not enjoy the inheritance with them and plan some special events for those you love?
• Give inheritance money to a charitable trust or donor advised fund. This could be a great tool for training children to be generous and wise managers of dollars to be used for the benefit of others. It would be a low cost family foundation.
• Pay for education- not only for your children but also for grandkids. As the chart above shows, it is hard to beat education as an investment in your family's future.

Because I have witnessed so many ruined by inherited wealth, I believe people should be very thoughtful in how they distribute their estates. I believe there is a strong argument to be made for not permanently repealing the estate tax and just having some high exclusion amount- such as $5 million per family. This would protect most family farms and family businesses.

Yes- the estate tax is double taxation. I realize that. Yes- I think the government will be poor managers of your estate. I am in favor of less government any day. But, you can choose to distribute an estate that is over $5 million- which applies to less than 1% of the population- to charity instead of government. If you are in the 99% that has less than $5 million- as most of us are- you should still consider the most effective use of the assets that have been entrusted to you.

The goal of the Christian should always be more generosity to others and frugality towards self. It is easy to theorize about but tougher to practice. But intelligent generosity is needed. Throwing money to poor stewards- whether it is your kids or a charity- is as wasteful as mindless consumption. Excellent stewards who understand the stewardship mandate- Genesis 1:28- deserve the opportunity to do good with greater amounts as they look to grow, expand and cultivate the beauty of God's creation for His glory.

In His Mercy,

Ashley Hodge

Hebrews 4:9-11, "So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience."

Striving to enter rest seems like a paradox. Does it take diligent effort to rest? Yes- in the meaning of this passage we are being taught to strive for holiness that we may prove our faith. We want to enter into God's rest (Heaven) where His beautiful creation will be restored and renovated to perfection. Sin and all the effects of the Fall will be destroyed.

Christians are saved through faith in Christ. It is this faith alone which justifies us before a holy God. But as the Protestant reformers often said, "It is faith alone which justifies, but the faith which justifies is not alone." Good works follow true faith just as Fall follows Summer.

I also believe that we need to strive to obtain proper rest on earth. My thoughts on this issue were sparked by a recent sermon that Neil Tomba at Northwest Bible in Dallas gave. He talked about how our hearts are not quiet before God and that meditation and rest are lost arts. Americans are sleeping less each year. But surprisingly this is not due to working longer hours. The American work week is shrinking. The culprit for a lack of rest is how we invest our leisure time.

I was convicted by the sermon to make some changes in my own life and try to impose those changes on my family. I typically sleep 6-7 hours per day. My work schedule is usually 7am-6pm with some lunch basketball games and work-outs a few days per week. At night, I had fallen into the bad habit of trying to get work done on my laptop computer while my wife and two year old watch television. I would play with my son but my attention was diverted.

This rut led to "working" after the family had gone to sleep. But often this working was not focused because I would keep the television on and watch sports. Or I would surf the internet for news or sports related information. So my new goal is to fast from all technology starting at 6pm every night at least during the week. My wife is in agreement.

I have only done this for a few days, but wow what a difference it has already made. I feel more rested. My mind is sharper throughout the day because I am going to bed earlier. We are spending the time reading at night versus watching television- recording "can't-miss" shows. We often don't realize the noise that we allow into our lives that impedes rest.

The light bulb has been one of the greatest inventions in history. But we have turned it into one of the worst. It has made our lives easier and more productive. But it has also choked out quiet and rest. God designed our bodies to be tired at night- releasing melatonin- and more alert during the day- releasing seratonin. Randy Frazee says we should pattern our lives off of the Hebrew Day Planner. 6am-6pm is designed for productivity/work. 6pm-6am is designed for relationships and rest. Frazee writes about this in length in Making Room For Life.

One of the definitions of rest is: relief or freedom from noise or disturbance. I believe we were designed to have longer periods of this relief and freedom than we often allow ourselves.

Looking Forward to the Eternal Rest,

Ashley Hodge

1. Go to bed early and wake up early. I am more productive in the mornings. I tend to do the things that are important to my values early in the morning before my son wakes up. Sometimes I have to work late at night to get done what I need to get done. But I often waste time at night on television, managing my fantasy football team and internet surfing.

2. Plan out your schedule and weigh the cost of every decision you make with your time. I believe that every minute that you spend planning the next day will save you five minutes by avoiding wasted time. Is it necessary to see that person face-to-face? Would a phone call or email be as effective? Do you need to make that short car trip to the store? Would you make less trips if you planned ahead? Does my child really need to be in every activity? Do I have to say "yes" to every invitation that seems good? The good is often the enemy to the great. I am convinced that most of us who run around like chickens with their heads cut off do this by choice.

3. Make less transactions financially. Every transaction that you make creates paperwork- more receipts to track, mail, thicker statements. A personal example- I do the grocery shopping in my family at Sprout's and Wal-Mart. I probably go to these stores eight times per month. One change that I have implemented this month is to buy $500 gift cards at each store and use those cards for purchases. When I reconcile my monthly budget, I only have the $500 entries to be concerned about. The chance of identify theft also declines. The same is true with charitable contributions. If you are able to do so, make fewer contributions that are larger rather than smaller, multiple contributions. It is less paperwork for both parties to deal with.

4. Make the commitment to have less stuff. Possessions require time commitments. I don't think there is anything wrong with boats, second homes and things that bring us joy. But I personally don't want to own some of these things, because I understand the time commitment to use, store, maintain and pay for them. If you have extra money burning a hole in your pocket, I think it is wiser stewardship to rent these items on vacations and then use the extra money to pay off all debts, build up emergency funds and/or give.

And since I do not desire to take up more of your time reading this email, I will leave you with this verse: "We must do the works of Him who sent Me (Christ) while it is day (life); night (death) is coming where no one can work." John 9:4. Our time belongs to God. Many of the leisure pursuits that we strive for will be enjoyed and fulfilled in the eternal life in a resurrected earth with a resurrected body. But until that great day, Christians have work to do. Effective stewardship of time is in our job description. We work for a fair, just and gracious Master.

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

Being organized and simplifying is a battle that must be fought daily. Clutter like weeds in our yards takes on a life of its own if we are not vigilant to root it out.

I wanted to share a solution for reducing the amount of paper in your home that will take some time to implement. But in the long run, it will make your life a lot easier. And it also protects files from theft- physical and identity- and natural disasters. That solution is to use an online storage facility.

I recently evaluated a host of online storage facilities to safekeep important files and chose http://box.net. I chose them because the site is easy to use and free from advertising clutter. The great benefit of online storage is that once you upload files, pictures and scans, you can access those documents anywhere in the world that you are able to obtain internet access.

I spent thirty minutes talking with one of the technicians at box.net to alleviate any concerns that I had about how this information is safeguarded and protected. As long as you are using this information for your own private use and you protect your username and password, you should never have a problem. These websites are in great competition with each other and the security of information is priority #1.

Box.net and other online storage choices are free if you are uploading smaller documents. If you have needs for larger amounts of storage, the fees are reasonable. I pay $50/year for the amount of storage that I need.

I recommending organizing your documents, pictures and scans into three categories:

1. Essential- birth certificates, tax returns, family contact list, key pictures, passports.
2. Would like to keep- these files should be uploaded to the online storage and then deleted, shredded, thrown out to free up computer or file space.
3. Don't have a use for- throw out.

My personal goal is to spend 15 minutes a day reducing clutter. On every non-business email that I receive, every article I read, every piece of mail, I ask: what are the chances that I will ever reference this again? If it is less than 25%, I throw it away. When in doubt, throw it out.

Being organized is a huge stewardship issue. When you have less stuff, you have more time to devote to things that matter. I have read that close to 45 minutes per day are wasted searching for things that we can't find. I have no way of verifying the truth of that statement. But what if it is true? Wouldn't it be worth investing 45 minutes a day for as long as it takes you to be organized and then using that freed up 45 minutes per day doing something useful?

Ecclesiastes 7:29, "I have found this to be true. God has made men simple. But they have sought out their own complexities."

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

1. We are commanded in the word of God to avoid complaining. Philippians 2:14 tells us, "Do all things without complaining or arguing (NIV). God knows our nature is to complain. Therefore, He had to command us to avoid this behavior. One of the prayers that I ask God for daily is to eliminate complaining in my vocabulary, thoughts and actions. Some days I do better than others.

I stress this daily with my 2-year old son and have him already reciting Philippians 2:14 to me when he whines. I say, "Hudson what does God want us to do? Do all things without complaining or ______?" He replies, "whining." If we desire to honor God, we will work hard to eliminate complaining from our daily life. Repeat with me: I will not complain because God has commanded that I avoid it.

2. We deserve nothing. The two most destructive words in the English language are "I deserve". If we want to be biblical, we quickly see what we deserve. Paul tells all who reject God's Son, "Because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when His righteous judgment will be revealed."- Romans 2:5.

CS Lewis says it well, "God is the only comfort, He is also the supreme terror: the thing we most need and the thing we most want to hide from. He is our only possible ally, and we have made ourselves His enemies. Some talk as if meeting the gaze of absolute goodness would be fun. They need to think again. They are still only playing with religion. Goodness is either the great safety or the great danger--according to the way you react to it. And we have reacted the wrong way."

We deserve death and misery due to our sin. God has been patient and merciful. He has given common mercy to us all- oxygen, water, food, climate stability, etc... He has given specific mercy to all who trust fully in Christ. "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."- John 3:36. Repeat with me: I will not complain because I deserve nothing good. Everything good in my life comes from a merciful God who has commanded me to avoid complaining.

3. Many who deal with far greater adversity daily than I do exude daily joy that puts me to shame. I am not belittling the trials that we face. Every one of us has a cross to bear in this life. It might be health-related. It may be a family crisis. It may be a financial problem. It may be regret over a big mistake. It may be a relationship that is hard to deal with. Job 5:7, "Man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward." Acts 14:22, "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God."

Trials are a sign of God's love not displeasure. He has important lessons to teach us. The person who avoids trouble is likely avoiding the will of God. John Calvin calls the man/woman who runs from trouble constantly: self-centered, self-absorbed, gluttonous individuals who like pigs are unaware that they are being fattened up for the day of slaughter. Loving others involves pain.

I look at someone like Joni Eareckson Tada- a quadrapeligic- who is helping thousands upon thousands with her joyful perseverance in the midst of daily handicap and I feel like a loser for every complaint that comes out of my mouth. I think about the millions of people that would trade places with me to have the opportunity and advantages of living in America. What do I have to complain about? I met a man blind from birth today at the Ziglar corporation- Blake Lindsay- who exuded joy. God uses these "chance" encounters to remind me to be thankful. Repeat with me: I will not complain because I am blessed. If I am breathing it is because God has willed it. I am to make the most of every moment God has entrusted to me.

4. Complaining chokes out all the blessings God has in store for me. Specifically, complaining chokes out the hope of experiencing God as Father, Son and Spirit in a resurrected body and a resurrected earth- the eternal promise.

Dan Stewart is a friend, neighbor and life saver for me. Dan knows how to fix anything. He runs a handy-man business. When something breaks in my home, I call him. Dan has a relaxed way about him and is never in a hurry. He works efficiently, but you can tell there is a peace. I enjoy spending time with him because Dan loves Christ and we talk about the things of God. He has a bumper sticker on his truck that sums up his life: "I am too blessed to be stressed."

Jesus warns us that thorns will attempt to choke out the truth of God- Matthew 13:22. We need to daily fixate our hearts on every reason that we have to be thankful. There are millions. To be more thankful, we need to be more thinkful. Think about everything we take for granted. As Zig Ziglar would say, "We need a check-up from the neck up." Repeat after me: I will not complain because I have been lavished by the grace of God. He has entrusted blessings to me so that I might bless others and glorify the name of Christ in the process.

The self pep-talk is finished. Thanks for bearing with me. Complaining is a cancer. It destroys life. Thankfulness is the cure. "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."- 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

1. What am I most passionate about?
2. What have others said that I excel at?
3. What are the things that I do that feed my energy rather than drain it?
4. How can I sharpen my skills to maximize the natural abilities I have been given?
5. What areas do I need to commit to prayer so that God can fully use me?
6. If I could design my ideal job, what would it look like?

We should set goals for the stewardship of abilities. Create a mission statement. Think about how to execute that mission. Eliminate distractions. Avoid or delegate work that you do not do well. Play to your strengths. Manage around your weaknesses. Focus, focus, focus. We have one life to make a difference on the destiny of souls.

Read books about how to find your calling if you don't feel that you have a grasp on what it is. I have listed some resources that have helped me under the Abilities section of my website: http://stewardshipmandate.com.

Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.”

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

1. If you died today, would your spouse or family members know where to find all of your important financial documents? Have you prepared a list of family advisors on one page for them to contact? 2 Kings 20:1, “…Thus says the Lord, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die…’”
2. Have you adequately protected your family from these three financial risks: death before seventy years old, living past ninety years old and/or a disability? I Timothy 5:8, “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”
3. What is your plan for paying off all debts including your home? Romans 13:8, “Owe no one anything, except to love each other…”
4. Are you striving to live out the call of Christ to be more frugal towards self and generous towards others each year? John 3:30, “He (Christ) must increase, I must decrease.”
5. What is your plan to increase the percentage that you give to the work of Christ every year? Are you giving out of guilt or in response to the grace of God that has transformed your heart? 2 Corinthians 9:7, “Each one must give as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
6. Are you saving on a regular basis for the goal of financial freedom- to be able to free up more time to serve Christ in creative ways? Do you save in order to help others in times of need? Proverbs 21:5, “The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.”
7. Are you a wise investor? Do you invest with patience and discipline? Do you have a plan for investing to combat the two risks- principal and inflation- that every investor faces? Ecclesiastes 11:2, “Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on earth.”
8. Are you encouraging/modeling strategic living free from the love of possessions? Luke 12:15, "Take care and be on your guard against all covetousness for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

If you want to print out these questions in a pdf format, you can find them on the home page of http://stewardshipmandate.com under Critical Questions.

If you only set one goal in these areas and worked towards accomplishing that one goal, you would be further along in your stewardship journey than if you did nothing.

We were created to be stewards over all of God's resources. Adam was given a stewardship mandate- Genesis 1:28- to take dominion over all the earth. Sin has screwed up this plan. We have become wasters of money, abilities, time and health as a result. But when Christ returns, we will once again be ideal stewards of all God's abundance. Until then, we train. We strive. We press on. We set stewardship goals and work towards achieving them. We seek progress each year in faithfulness to Christ. We realize that He who began a good work in us will bring it to completion on the day Christ returns- Philippians 1:6.

For the Ultimate Goal of Perfected Stewardship,

Ashley Hodge

There is a problem facing the world's largest economies. That problem is guaranteed pensions. It is projected that the United States, Europe and Japan will have over 1/3 of their combined population over 60 years old by 2040.

People are living longer and therefore spending a greater amount on every day expenses to live. Health care costs alone are currently $5300 per person each year and are expected to rise to over $10,000 per person yearly in the next 10 years.

What happens to the economies of the United States, Japan and Europe if 1/3 of the population that is able to work is not working but rather consuming? It will put a tremendous strain on the economies of each of these countries if expectations are not altered. Companies will have trouble paying pensions as obligations continue to grow and asset growth cannot keep up. The governments will not be able to meet social security and medicare obligations.

Is there a solution? Yes. Don't retire or retire later. Most of these problems would be solved if the average retirement age is increased to age 75. We will see the social security and medicare ages increased to age 70 very soon. The United States cannot afford to have a majority of its citizens consuming and not producing. One of the trends that I am most excited to see is the trend of people working and being productive well after 60 years old.

I had a conversation with my dad about this yesterday. He is still working daily for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission as a nuclear physicist at age 65 despite having quadruple bypass heart surgery this year. He is able financially to retire but chooses to work. I have a client who is a doctor still seeing patients daily at age 71. Another client runs his Plastics company daily at age 75. Each of these live purposeful; less stressful lives (my dad's heart problems were not related to job stress).

The retirement of the future needs to look different. Life is a growing experience. Travel, learning, purposeful work, serving others and leaving a legacy are the things that make life rich. I see more people over age 60 choosing to take a few years off from work and then launching another career or starting a business. Or working part-time as they mix goals of travel and spending more time with family. We need less emphasis on pursuing leisure and more emphasis on pursuing purpose.

There is only one example in the Bible of someone retiring in the traditional sense- the Levitical priests who retired at age 50- Numbers 8:25. But these priests were then expected to mentor younger priests. Jesus tells us, "We must do the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; night is coming when no man can work." John 9:4. As Christians, we should strive to be productive and serving until the day the Lord calls us home. This may or may not mean working for income.

For those who choose to work for income and continue to produce, I believe you are doing a good thing for society. The greater sacrifices we can make for the common good; the better futures will be in store for our children and grandchildren.

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

• Promises a lot but the fact is that less than 1% of all MLM distributors ever earn a profit.
• Is an ineffective way to distribute products. Less than 1% of all retail sales are made through multi-level marketing.
• Feeds into basic impulses of living a life of luxury and materialism. In every network marketing organization, there are a chosen few who are making tremendous incomes at the expense of the masses at the bottom of the pyramid.
• Rarely sells more than 20% of its products to people outside the organization.

I will acknowledge that there are probably a handful of decent products sold through network marketing. I have bought a couple. But the system is faulty. In preparation for a sermon that I will be delivering Sunday, I have been meditating on 1 Timothy 6:6-12.

1 Timothy 6:9-10 says, "People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people eager for money have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."

Network marketing at the very core feeds this desire to get filthy rich without having to work for it. Whatever happened to acquiring wealth as the direct result of many years of hard work? The steward realizes that the words of Scripture are true. Proverbs 12:11, "He who works his land will have abundant food, but he who chases fantasies lacks judgment."

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

1. Contentment- true happiness cannot be circumstantial. Economic circumstances change, people will disappoint and die on us, our health is fragile. True happiness must be outside all of these things. The apostle Paul said, "I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." Philippians 4:12.
2. Peace- the truly happy person will be at peace with the past, present and future. They may regret many things, but they will press forward with a peaceful heart. "One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13-14.
3. Hope- happy people must live independent from this world. They must have their hope set on Heaven. The person who places their hopes in sex, family, sports, leisure, retirement, money, work, vacations, etc... is building on a foundation of sand. All of these things have their fulfillment only in the perfection of the everlasting life. Paul again, "Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there- the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body." Philippians 3:20-21.

I agree with JC Ryle's conclusions on how a true Christian can be truly happy. He offers three suggestions:

1. Work every year to grow in grace. The holiest people are always the happiest. Beware of standing still. Let your aim be to be more holy every year- to know more, to feel more, to see more of the fulness of Christ. Search the Scriptures more earnestly; pray more fervently; hate sin more; become more humble; die to self more; seek more direct personal communication with God.
2. Work every year to be more thankful. Learn to have a deeper sense of your own wretched sinfulness and be more grateful to God you are what you are. Put to practice Philippians 2:14 which says to do all things without grumbling and complaining.
3. Work every year to do more good. Jonathan Edwards said that the goal of his life was to do the maximum amount of good to the maximum amount of people. This should be the goal of every Christian. Psalms 119:68 tells us that God is not only good but He does good. We should seek to imitate Him in every way.

I have some things off the top of my head that I am happy about today:

• Air conditioning- it is 107 degrees in Dallas. I am also thankful for a small house that allows me to pay my utility bills without too much pain.
• Gary Joe Kinne Jr. committing to play football for Baylor. It is has been a long time since a QB this talented has committed to the Bears out of high school- chose Baylor over Florida, Tennessee and Oklahoma.
• Great clients- God has blessed me with some tremendous people to serve.
• A loyal and beautiful wife. A son who brings laughter and joy to every day.
• Contentment, peace and hope. I don't want to imagine my life without Christ. I long for a resurrected body in a resurrected earth serving a righteous King.

Jesus explained the way of happiness to us in Matthew 5:3-12. One of the things that I learned by taking Greek is that although these verses start with the word "Blessed," a better understanding in our day is probably "Happy". We long for happiness. Our deepest need is to be content, peaceful and hopeful. None of this can be accomplished apart from Christ.

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

1. Creation- God created all things in perfect order.
2. Fall- Sin has completely distorted this world. There is currently a mixture of the good and the bad in all of creation.
3. Redemption- A Holy God has offered a solution for our sin problem. To throw ourselves on the mercy of God by trusting in His gift of Christ dying for our sins.
4. Restoration- The redeemed man/woman submits to the Kingship of Christ and proclaims that He will return to this earth to judge sin. Paradise will be restored to its perfect state and this earth will display beauty without the decaying effect of sin.

Genesis 1:28 is an interesting verse, "And God blessed them. And God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth'.”

God created us to be stewards. In paradise, Adam and Eve were commanded to be great managers of God's resources. The potential was astonishing. But something went terribly wrong- sin entered the equation. The results have been devastating. We have now inherited a nature that is anti-stewardship. We have become wasters of resources. We use money, abilities, time and health for our own selfish ends rather than maximizing these resources for the glory of God.

But Christ says we should pray that His kingdom comes again to the earth as it is in Heaven. In this way, Genesis 1:28 and Matthew 6:10 are linked. God created us to be stewards. Sin screwed it up. God redeems us in Christ in order that we would be stewards again. This life we know is stewardship training for the Christian's ultimate destination. Heaven is the fulfillment of the mandate in Genesis 1:28.

In Heaven, we will reach our potential as we learn and grow in the knowledge of God. My vision of Heaven- shaped by Scripture and books like Heaven (Randy Alcorn) and the Chronicles of Narnia series (CS Lewis) is that the resources of money, abilities, time and health will be used for great ends.

Money will be maximized as we learn to use it for purposes that benefit the growth of God's kingdom. Cities will become vibrant as we build in worship of God. I had this thought as I looked at the building of high-end projects in uptown Dallas. There is a Ritz Carlton going up. A W hotel/condo project recently was finished. There are drawings for a great park in that area. As I looked at the drawing of the park, my thought was- doesn't this picture of the park look great before it gets trashed with debris and people passed out drunk or high? The uses of money in this life are always tainted by the effects of sin. But in Heaven, money will be used for noble purposes.

Abilities will be maximized as we use the unique talents that God has entrusted to us for work that glorifies Him and serves others. I believe that all work that is redeeming in value will be continued in Heaven free from the distractions of sin. What great things will be discovered? What will happen when great minds gather and learn from the Creator of all things? How great of a basketball player will I be when I can do the things my mind conceives but my temporary body cannot achieve? I digress. By the way have you seen the video of the guy that did a 720 degree dunk? That was sick. It can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRdpjxIlhvM&mode=related&search

Time will be maximized as we invest time in learning, loving and doing great things. What could you accomplish in this life that you neglect due to time constraints? What if the stresses of life were lifted and you were able to be devote time to projects that were an outflow of how God created you? Imagine the possibilities.

Health will be perfected. A resurrected body in a resurrected earth- that is something to get excited about. No more disease, disabilities or lack of energy. There will be great adventures to be explored. Mountains to climb. Oceans to dive. Rivers to be rafted. Hikes to be taken. Sports to be played. Beaches to be enjoyed. No financial, time or health constraints to hold us back.

Heaven is going to be sweet. Don't allow the culture shock to be severe. The steward's training is now. We say, "Come quickly Lord Jesus." The very best thing that could happen today for those who are in Christ is for Him to return and restore this earth to it's glorified state. But in the meantime, let us learn to be stewards over the resources He has entrusted to us as we pray for Christ's kingdom to come on earth as it is in Heaven. Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people.

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

1. Go to bed early and wake up early. Most people watch TV when they are tired at the end of the day. Our family has moved from the family room where the TV is to the bedroom after 7pm. In the bedroom, we read to our son, talk and play. In the family room, we typically revert to the idiot box.
2. Get rid of the television in all bedrooms. The bedroom is a place for rest and sex with your spouse if you are married. TV in the bedroom is a terrible idea.
3. Set goals for your time in the evening. Keep a list of books to read to children or for your own development. Study the Bible- set a goal to read 4 chapters of the Bible daily and you will read through the Bible in a year.

The best suggestion of all is to get rid of the TV. But I realize less than 1% of Americans are without a TV. I did it for a year when I was single and still look back nostalgically on all the great things I was able to do with time as a result.

"Make the best use of time..." Ephesians 5:16

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

1. Adversity will come. Whether it is a medical problem, an unexpected downturn in business, a family situation or some type of disaster, you will experience adversity. Job 5:7, "Man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward."

2. Adversity creates opportunity as an investor. Successful investing often comes down to having cash reserves at times of maximum pessimism. Harvey Firestone for example built a fortune in large part because he was able to buy up real estate during the Great Depression.

3. Adversity creates opportunity as a giver. Since most people do not prepare for the future, you will be in a position to show the love of God to them in a tangible way. I am not encouraging supporting financial irresponsibilty. But many who are faithful to God experience unexpected loss- health issues, job losses, divorce. Katrina, 911 and the Tsunami remind us all that disaster can strike a moment's notice.

4. Healthy cash reserves affords peace of mind to allow your longer-term investment and giving plans to work. From an investment standpoint, most people fail because they panic. They sell at times of pessimism and overinvest in times of optimism. A Dalbar study recently confirmed this fact. From 1984- 2002, the average equity investor earned 2.57% per year on their money while the S&P 500 index earned 12.22% per year. From a giving standpoint, I agree with Dave Ramsey in that the reason people don't give is that they are overspent. They have no savings and too much debt, therefore giving among Christians is less than 3% of net income annually.

In saying all of this, I don't want to advocate ever putting your trust in cash. There is only One who is worthy of your trust- a God who saves us out of the trials and adversities we are sure to face. Acts 14:22, "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God." But cash is a good thing- it allows the faithful steward to maximize resources in times of need and opportunity.

Are you building up your short-term cash reserves on a monthly basis? Are you living below your income level? If your outflow exceeds your income, then your upkeep becomes your downfall. Are you aggressively working to retire debt? Are you working towards a simpler life free from the entanglements that distract us so that you can be more available to God's calling?

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

• Average credit card balance in 2005: $9,312 (cardweb.com)
• Savings rate in 2005: negative for first time since Great Depression (marketwatch.com)
• 80% of workers feel that strengths/talents are not being utilized in current work (Now, Discover Your Strengths)
• Amount of television Americans watch daily: over 4 hours (tvturnoff.org)
• 10% of US population is addicted to pornography (International Bible Society)
• 7% of the US population have gambling addictions (National Gambling Impact Study Commission)
• 65% of US population is overweight or obese (obesity.org)

Christians are different, right? George Barna- researcher- had these findings:

• 40% of the US claims to be "born again" but only 4% of the population has a Christian worldview
• Christians give less than 3% of income to the work of Christian ministry
• Less than 3% of Christian parents said that their children's conversion to Christ was the top priority
• No significant statistical difference between Christians and non-Christians in the following areas: divorce, use of pornography, visiting a psychic, getting drunk and having serious debt issues

Stewardship is the essence of the Christian life. Excellent daily management of God's resources: money, ability, time and health are the mandates for a follower of Christ. Why aren't more churches talking about whole-life stewardship? If we could get this right, everything else would fall into place.

"From everyone who has been entrusted with much, much will be demanded." Luke 12:48.

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

• Do I struggle with lust? I am told to flee sexual immorality- 1 Corinthians 6:18.
• Am I tempted to lie? I shall not lie to others because I am a new creation in Christ- Colossians 3:9.
• Do I find myself saying "I deserve?" Philippians 2:14 tells me to do all things without grumbling or complaining.
• Am I tempted to be lazy at work? Jesus commands me to work while it is day because night (death) is coming- John 9:4

Holiness is not an option for the Christian. It is a life goal that must be pursued and fought for. Hebrews 12:14, "without holiness no one will see the Lord." Am I saved by this pursuit of holiness? Absolutely not. I am saved only by the perfect work of Christ on the cross. I put my trust only in His grace. But I am commanded to pursue holiness; therefore I must.

We are a slave to our affections. There was a time in my life when I believed I was a Christian but allowed my continual appetite and affection for sin to control my life. I believed that I was saved by grace and therefore forgiven to commit all kinds of terrible deeds. Looking back, I don't believe I was converted to Christ at that time. I was making a mockery of His grace. His grace is costly. It required my total surrender.

Although I fall short, I must battle, fight, watch and pray. Are you in the battle? Kierkegaard had a powerful analogy in Attack Upon Christendom. Kierkegaard writes, "Imagine a man with a loaded pistol says, 'I will torture you to death unless you make your life here on earth as comfortable as possible.' This would be comical."

Kierkegaard is making a point that Christianity that promotes the easy path is a joke. It makes a fool of the words of Christ that the way is narrow. Unfortunately this is what we see taught in many churches today. Say a prayer. Walk an aisle. Be baptized and you are forever saved. Does that one time intellectual agreement save us? Of course not. We are saved only by continual faith in the promises of God. We are saved by trusting continually in His grace alone. We are saved by a daily fight for holiness and a continual desire to be conformed into the image of Christ.

Are you engaged in daily warfare for His sake?

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

1. Identify your own giftedness.
2. Pay attention to your child's patterns of... energy; activities; behaviors; satisfaction; focus; relationships; roles and circumstances in which they strive.
3. Keep a design journal- write down observations of your child throughout their lives.

Psalms 139:16, "All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Ephesians 2:10, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do."

The Bible is full of references that we have been fashioned, formed and designed for a specific purpose. Our job as individuals and/or parents is to be stewards of God's workmanship. There are many good resources to help you determine your areas of giftedness. These will also equip you with the knowledge to help others determine their talents.

From a general secular perspective, I found two books helpful:

1. Now, Discover Your Strengths- Buckingham & Clifton
2. The Pathfinder- Nicholas Lore

From a more specific biblical view, I recommend:

1. The Power of Uniqueness- Miller & Hendricks
2. Maximizing Your Effective- Aubrey Malphurs
3. From Success to Significance- Lloyd Reeb

I also must insert a shameless plug for a book I wrote- Stewardship Mandate. I devoted a chapter where I summarized some of my favorite concepts from the above books. Soren Kierkegaard says, "At a man's birth, there comes into being an eternal vocation for him, expressly for him. To be true to himself in regards to this eternal vocation is the highest thing a man can practice."

For the Glory of the Triune God- Father, Son & Spirit,

Ashley Hodge

1. Waist size
2. Weight
3. Estimated daily calorie intake
4. Daily water intake
5. Daily diet soda intake
6. Daily regular soda intake
7. Average calories burned from exercise daily

I had read that in order to lose weight, it is a good idea to consume less than 10 times your body weight in daily calories. For me that number was somewhere less than 2000 calories per day. I used www.thecaloriecounter.com to help me estimate/track my calorie intake daily. My goal was to eat five small meals per day and to just say "no" to second helpings.

I also have read that you should consume 1/2 your body weight in ounces of water per day. This number for me was 100 ounces of daily water. I measured soda intake because I was averaging nearly 48 oz of diet coke per day and wanting to cut that significantly.

Finally, I measured the amount of calories that I burned each time I exercised. There is a useful website that helped me track this: www.healthstatus.com/calculate/cbc. In the nearly three months that I tracked my results- which I will continue to do as I seek to maintain and make further improvements in the stewardship of health, I recorded the following results:

1. Waist size: From 36 inches to 32 1/2 inches
2. Weight: From 207 lbs to 190 lbs
3. Estimated daily calorie intake: 1845 (average closer to 2400 calories previous)
4. Daily water intake: 109oz (average closer to 70oz daily previous)
5. Daily diet soda intake: 33oz (average closer to 48oz previous)
6. Daily regular soda intake: 4oz (average closer to 12oz previous)
7. Average calories burned from exercise daily: 408 (225 daily average previous)

I am happy with the physical results. But the greater benefit has come spiritually. My next goal is to take the diet soda intake from 33oz to less than 12oz average daily. God is good. He is faithful to honor the desires of our heart that have His ultimate glory in mind. I hope that my struggles and small successes in this area will inspire you to reach for excellence in the stewardship of health.

I am reminded by a verse in I Timothy 4:8, "Bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds the promise for the present life and also for the life to come." But until the day believers inherit resurrected, glorified bodies, I urge you to take care of the earthly body. When it wears out, we have nowhere else to live until the resurrection of the dead.

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

Several months ago I read Heaven by Randy Alcorn and the Chronicles of Narnia series by CS Lewis. I have not stopped thinking about their descriptions and imagery of Heaven since.

I feel fortunate to have friends that are brothers in Christ to discuss things that actually matter such as our eternal destiny. But vacations always seem too short. Time and financial pressures crowd out the lasting joy that servants of Christ will experience in a restored paradise. What tremendous glory awaits the Christian!

Every Colorado mountain, West Texas sunset, Florida panhandle beach and pristine river is just a glimpse of what God has in store for His chosen people. The hope of Heaven is the motivation for the Christian to enjoy pleasures. But only as a pilgrim traveling to a better place. Places like Colorado give us a foretaste of God's endless creative power. We can taste some of them, but they are not to be our life's pursuit. Heaven can wait- and it will be more spectacular than we can ever visualize.

Imagine skiing in a resurrected, glorified body. God has prepared a place for us- Heaven. He has prepared a Person for us- Christ. But for now, we live under a paradise that has been subject to the curse. Decay, corruption and death are the natural results of sin. We have a disease that only Christ can cure.

My reflection every time I visit a place like Beaver Creek, Colorado is that God is good. My heart gets excited to marinate on the beauty that awaits the invisible church of Christ. But I also reflect on how much I hate sin. I hate its source. I hate its effect on my mind and heart. I look forward to the day when sin will be removed from my life forever.

Creation. Fall. Redemption. Glorification. This is the story of history. It is the story clearly revealed in the pages of the Bible. Endure for a little longer, Christian. Fight for righteousness while there is time. Fight against sin and evil. Remember the hope of Heaven- a resurrected body in a resurrected earth. Meditate on Paul's words in Romans 8:18, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us."

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

During his playing days he was an outspoken ambassador for Christ. After his NFL career was over, he began a quest for truth that lead him to question his beliefs about the Bible and organized religion.

I can relate to some of White's concerns. I would consider myself somewhat cynical of organized religion by nature. John Calvin wrote in his Institutes of the Christian Religion, "In order to hold men's minds in greater subjection, clever men have devised very many things in religion by which to inspire the common folk with reverence and to strike them with terror."

The article about Reggie White and his search for truth is here: http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=dw-white020306&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

I admire White's search for truth and his desire to learn Hebrew and the ancient Near-Eastern mindset to comprehend the words of the Bible. White grew up being taught that the Bible was the infallible, inerrant Word of God. His Pentecostal roots instructed him that the King James version was the word for word accurate translation of God's Word. What he learned when he started to study how the Bible came to be rocked his belief system.

Similar questions led me to take classes at Westminster Theological Seminary in Dallas. From the time that I trusted Christ in faith, I have had questions. Anyone who has entered seminary- at least an intellectually honest seminary- will tell you that some of those questions may get answered but that hundreds of other questions spring up. I believe along with John Calvin that the Bible is the only reliable path towards a relationship with God. Without this revelation, we would be blind.

John Calvin writes in the Institutes that God has put us in a glorious theater- earth- to witness the glory of His creation. This alone is enough evidence to require worship from every creature. But since mankind is easily led into error and is a continual factory of false idols/gods, God found it necessary to reveal Himself through the written Word. The Bible according to Calvin is the spectacles through which we see God clearly. But the truth of the Bible will not find acceptance in men's hearts unless it is sealed by the inward testimony of God's Spirit.

One of the most helpful things that I have learned in seminary in relation to the problems that arise from a study of the Bible is the Incarnational Analogy- God condescending to become man in Christ. I learned this in an Old Testament Introduction class taught by Peter Enns. The analogy is this:

The Bible is messy. It claims to be 100% the Word of God- therefore reliable, inspired by God, authoritative and necessary for daily living. But the Bible also claims to be 100% the word of man. God chose to reveal himself through the personalities, language and messiness of humans. It is due to this messiness that many questions arise- problems with translations, historical data, etc... It is the most scrutinized book ever written. The accuracy is amazing and can only be attributed to God. Yet, some of the issues of the Bible cause men like Reggie White to question everything they have ever been taught.

At the end of the day, we must admit that the Bible is a great mystery. We are humbled by it. It is not always as neat and tidy as some preachers want us to believe. It can never be mastered by the finite human mind. In the same way, Christ is a mystery. He claims to be 100% God- therefore the eternal Creator, All-Knowing, All-Powerful Judge of man. But Christ claims also to be 100% human- subject to the messiness of human existence (yet without sin).

This analogy has helped me deal with the conflict. There are some things too mysterious for us to comprehend. I don't know how I was created- but I trust that God did it. I don't know why God created beings capable of falling from their original glory- but I see evidence everywhere that this universe is in bondage to decay. I don't understand why God chose to redeem humans through Christ- but I trust that this is His plan. I don't know what the afterlife is going to be like- but I have faith that the God who raised Christ from the dead will resurrect my lifeless form and will restore the earth to its original magnificence.

The Bible reveals Christ. It reveals God through Creation, Fall, Redemption and Restoration. It shows humans that they are sinful and far from God's original glory. It reveals Christ as our only hope of restoration to that original glory. It clearly lights a path for salvation through persevering faith in Christ alone. It teaches us to go to war daily against sin. It holds out the hope of Heaven for all who submit to Christ.

I am comfortable with not fully understanding secondary issues. I hope to see Reggie White in a restored paradise and discuss some of these things with him. Until then I will continue to learn and grow in understanding of God's revelation. But I must confess with Augustine, "The more I learn, the less I know."

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

1. Sort- Three important questions: Do I use this? Love this? Does it make or cost me money?
2. Purge- When in doubt, throw it out. There are plenty of charities that will gladly take your excess stuff and offer you a potential tax deduction. One man's junk is another's treasure.
3. Assign a Home- with the items you are keeping, put them in a clearly labeled, safe place where you can easily retrieve them.
4. Containerize- have a reasonable size container to hold your stored items. Once that container is full, you need to go back to step #2.
5. Equalize- this is where the daily fight comes in. Organization is a 24-hour, 7 days a week battle. But the rewards are worth the fight.

I have read- I am too unorganized currently to cite where- that a lack of organization has tremendous costs. If my memory serves me correctly, the cost of not having a budget for personal finances is that people without budgets spend 15-20% more than those who have a budget. The cost of a lack of organization in business is that employees spend on average an hour per day looking for papers, files and notes that are needed to properly do their job.

Realtors say that you will get 10% more for the same home that is clean and organized when you go to sell as you would for that same home that is disorganized. I have read that over 50% of the stuff in people's homes is not used once within a 12-month period. Affluenza by De Graaf, Wann and Naylor is a good read that covers a lot of these topics with well-researched facts.

I challenge myself and you to get and stay organized in 2006. Every discipline affects every other discipline in life. If you are organized, I believe you will see many unexpected improvements in other areas of your life. Organization is a move towards godliness. It allows us to work towards the most important calling of being frugal towards ourselves and more generous to others.

For the Glory of Christ,

Ashley Hodge

1. Society's trend in general to be obsessed with gambling.
2. The trend in the evangelical church to believe that as long as you tithe, you can raise your standard of living as your income increases.

I am reading a book currently called Gambling: Don't Bet on It by Rex Rogers. It is an excellent book that provides research and perspective on the history of gambling in the US. Rogers chronicles how lives are destroyed by a process that usually starts with friendly neighborhood poker games, recreational visits to Vegas or betting on sporting events to add a little excitement to the event. There is an old saying: "Gambling is investing for people that are really bad at math." A Mandalay pit executive was quoted as saying, "Give me a player for six days and I guarantee he'll leave a loser."

But there is another form of gambling that is in vogue in Christian circles. It is gambling on bad teaching concerning giving/tithing. I used to attend a mega-church in the Dallas/Fort Worth area where there was a strong emphasis on tithing- giving 10% of your income back to the local church. I have no problem with teaching tithing as a spiritual discipline. But these sermons usually emphasized the present day blessings and curses of tithing to the local church which I view as a distortion of Scripture. I attended this church for about three years and I think I heard ten sermons that referenced Malachi 3:8-10- verses about robbing God by failing to give tithes and offerings.

The gamble that many Christians practice is a belief that tithing to receive blessings and a lack of tithing producing curses is true. If this what God requires, then we can do our tithing duty and feel confident that the other 90% of income is at our discretion to do what we want. The evidence that many Christians have been taught this and practice this is evident by lifestyles being led.

I see Scripture teaching something radically different. 100% of a Christian's income belongs to God. It is the duty of the Christian to prayerfully decide how much should be:

1. Kept for the needs of the family
2. Given to the work of spreading the gospel and helping the poor
3. Used to provide for wants- vacations, luxuries, etc...
4. Invested/saved towards the goal of financial freedom

The heart of the gospel is to practice an increasing form of denial towards self and generosity to others. Jesus teaches, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven where neither most nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal." Matthew 6:19-20.

Millions of Christians are betting that the 90% doesn't matter to God. This is a very bad bet. Bank on the words of Jesus instead who said to Peter after Peter told Jesus the disciples left everything to follow Him (Matthew 19:27-30). Jesus replies, "Everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, children or lands for My name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life." To trust the words of Christ is a good mathematical bet. To believe anything is else is a foolish gamble.

Listen to what was written about George Muller- who gave his life to house, feed, clothe and train over 10,000 orphans with the love of Christ. A.T. Pierson wrote in George Muller of Bristol- His Life of Prayer and Faith, "Muller along with John Wesley limited expenses to the same amount year after year and even though their incomes rose, they used that money to become better givers. His investments were not in tangible things but in the work of God. He never gave a tithe. He gave all that was left after the simplest and most necessary supply of actual wants."

Pierson continues, "While most Christians see themselves as doing their duty by giving 10% and spending the rest on themselves, God led George Muller to reverse this rule and reserve only the most frugal sum for personal needs, that the entire remainder might be given to those in need. Muller said, 'My aim was never how much I could obtain, but rather how much I could give.' He kept continually before him his stewardship of God's property; and sought to make the most of this one brief life on earth."

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

1. Practice bitterness. Remind yourself daily of the ways in life that you have been screwed. Life is unfair and has treated you poorly, so you should constantly dwell on that.

2. Complain about everything. Be sure to let others know that you aren't going to sit back and allow the troubles of life to go unnoticed.

3. Envy. Seek contentment in stuff, sex and status. Everyone does it, you might as well join the crowd.

4. Don't wait. You deserve the good things in life whenever you desire them. If you want something, have it now at any cost.

5. Be unreliable. Flakiness is a charming quality. You will be sure to endear yourself to family, friends and co-workers if you are consistently unreliable.

6. Be self-absorbed. The world revolves around you. Make sure you run over anyone who gets in the way between you and what you desire.

7. Lie. Say whatever you gets you ahead. Don't worry about telling the truth. Tell the truth only if it is to your advantage.

8. Indulge. You have one life to live. You might as well eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow you die. If it feels good, do it.

If you are faithful to practice these eight things, you will be virtually guaranteed to live a miserable life filled with regret and lack of purpose. I can testify from personal experience that I have at times practiced the qualities listed above and have found them to be a great way towards the goal of misery. In the words of a U2 song, "The sweeter the sin, the bitter the taste in my mouth." Sadly, as I view the pursuits of many people, I conclude that misery seeking is very much in vogue.

I pray that we all find a better path- Galatians 5:22-23.

For God's Glory,

Ashley Hodge

1. Writing goals on paper/computer.
2. Developing a system for measuring these goals regularly.
3. Praying and focusing on these goals.

It's an overused expression- goals are like magnets, they pull you in their direction. But that truth has been demonstrated in my life many times. So my question is: what are your goals for improving your stewardship of God's provision in 2006?

• What are your goals for making better use of money? How can you improve in becoming more frugal towards self and more generous to others?
• What are your goals for using your abilities to glorify God? Have you written a business plan that is centered first and foremost on being obedient to Christ?
• What are your plans for redeeming your time for eternal purposes? Are you spending time in study, prayer and ministry to others or just wasting life by consuming countless hours of entertainment?
• What are your goals for improving your health? Do you practice moderation in diet? Do you schedule exercise as one of the most important activities of the week? Do you get proper rest? Do you manage stress well?

I will share a goal that I have for 2006 in each of these areas. I do this in hopes that it will inspire a few people to do the same.

Money- I have set a goal of giving 10% of my income of a certain dollar figure to ministries that further the gospel of Christ. I hope to give 100% of income in excess of that dollar figure that I have determined will be required to meet my families basic needs, a few wants and an adequate level of savings.

Abilities- I have set a goal of organizing events every quarter to promote the four areas of whole-life stewardship- money, abilities, time and health. I hope to have speaking engagements on radio and in person to promote biblical stewardship principles that I have outlined in my book- Stewardship Mandate.

Time- My goal for 2006 is to spend from 5am-8am every morning studying the Bible, in prayer and reading. I hope to devote one hour per day to each of these activities.

Health- My goal for 2006 is to be below 12% body fat, drink at least 100 ounces of water per day, limit soda intake to less than 20 ounces per day, exercise four times per week and sleep at least six hours per night.

My central focus in doing all of this is not to feel good about myself or to practice a form of legalism that has no beneficial effect on my soul. My main objective is that Christ may increase in my life and that I might decrease- John 3:30. Our lives become more joyful and meaningful as our God-centeredness increases.

Wishing you a God-centered 2006,

Ashley Hodge

1. That the doctors/nurses were able to remove the tumor without any complications.
2. That she recover from the surgery quickly with no paralysis, blood clots or damage to other areas of her body.
3. That the tumor is not cancerous.

Although we are waiting for official word and confirmation on #2 and #3, all indications are that these prayers were answered by God in a positive way. We were overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and prayers that we received from people. Clients, friends, family and neighbors reached out to us with care for our toddler, meals for over a month and continual prayer.

It is a reminder to me to be specific in prayer and to keep a log of what we ask God for. God is pleased to reveal His glory to us and through us. Specific, persistent prayer is one of the means that He enjoys lavishing His people with His abundant grace.

What you measure tends to improve! This fact has been impressed on my mind the past two weeks with my efforts to improve my diet and exercise plan. I dropped 7 lbs and 1 1/2 inches from my waist in two weeks by setting goals and executing a plan with focus. The same is true in prayer.

Do you keep a list of people that you are praying for? Conversions to Christ? Neighbors? Children? Healing? Ministries to expand influence and effectiveness? Marriages? Financial needs? Stewardship goals? God will honor prayer that is centered on promoting His glory and is also persistent- Luke 11:5-13.

For His Glory,

Ashley Hodge

This past weekend, I finished the Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis. I don't remember reading these books as kids. But after reading them, I realized that the books are really intended for adults to bring out child-like enthusiasm for Heaven. I predict that there will be widespread interest in these books and ideas with the upcoming release of The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe as a full-length movie.

God created in each of us a void that can only be filled by Him. He created us to be stewards over all creation and to walk with Him in faith- Genesis 1:28. Something has gone terribly wrong with this world. Winter has fallen over creation. Sin has marred nature, our work, our minds and our hearts. We live in a world that only provides glimpses of Heaven.

Stewardship is the call of every Christian because this is God's original mandate to Adam & Eve. We are called to glorify Him with MATH- money, abilities, time and health. This earth is training for eternity. Imagine exploring the potential for which we were created in a world where sin is absent and God is present.

I love the city in which I live- Dallas. I see two cities within the one. I see a city where crime, poverty, corruption and perversion exists and it makes my heart long for a world where this doesn't exist. But I also see so much potential for this city because many of the people have hearts for God and others. I see churches doing God's work, honest businesses, joyful families, open hearts and homes. It makes me long for a day when this will be the norm not the exception.

I live in a neighborhood that is slowly transitioning from an older 1950's ranch style neighborhood to a place where young couples are buying homes and renovating the older styles. I love to see revitalization, restoration and renovation. It reminds me of the work that God is doing in the hearts of believers and also what He has revealed about His plan for all of creation.

God promises that a day is coming when the earth will be renovated- II Peter 3:13. Peter implores us that since we are waiting for these things, what type of people should we be? We ought to live holy and godly lives. He tells us this in verses 11, 14, 17 and 18 of the 3rd chapter of II Peter.

Friends we are called to be stewards of this life. We need to be diligent, watchful, prayerful, striving, warring against sin, the ways of this world and our Enemy. The time of rest, relaxation and peace is to come. This is our time to sacrifice and deny self for the sake of leading others to Christ. Seek Heaven in Heaven and not on earth. Be good stewards over the MATH that God has given you. Read Luke 12 and meditate on verses 41-48. All of these resources come with responsibility. We are to maximize all things for His glory.

In Christ,

Ashley Hodge

1. Pray as the first business of every day. I concentrate on listing four things that I am thankful for that come from God. Cultivating a spirit of gratitude each morning for me is a critical exercise. I then list four sins that I am actively going to war against during the day and ask for God's power to help me in the battle to suppress all sin. I also concentrate on four specific prayer needs for the day. I keep this prayer journal in a computer file and every Thanksgiving, I review the year's worth of gratitude entries. I review on January 1st the year's worth of daily prayer requests and record God's faithful answers for the year. Seeing God work through the prayers of such a weak person as myself is inspiration to persevere in daily prayer.
2. I have a system to pray for specific people during the week. The system that I use is to pray for: family on Sunday; out of state friends on Monday; Texas friendships on Tuesday; suppliers/vendors to my business and home on Wednesdays; clients on Thursdays; ministries around DFW on Friday; souls of those I am concerned about on Saturdays. This system helps me remember to pray consistently for others at least on a weekly basis. I supplement this by keeping a one page prayer list. On this list, I pray for conversions, neighbors, children of friends/neighbors/clients/family, healing, marriages, ministries, financial needs and also those who have expressed the desire to be accountable for stewardship goals.
3. I keep a journal where I write prayers to my son on a weekly basis. I did this on a daily basis during the first year of his life, but plan on doing it on a weekly basis from here on out. This reminds me weekly to pray for specific areas of character development in the life of my son. It reminds me of the stewardship of his soul that has been entrusted to me.

If you have other ideas that are helpful to you in staying focused on prayer throughout the day, I would love to hear them. I also attempt to make my time in the car by myself to be prayer and Scripture memorization time. Quiet moments around the house are rare and this allows me to re-focus my thoughts on God. The struggle of every day is to abide in Christ and not to be distracted by the cares and snares of this life in the flesh. I relate to the hymn writer's words, "prone to wander Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love."

For God's glory,

Ashley Hodge

1. Give to God first
2. Pay yourself second- forced monthly savings.
3. Pay cash for everything that you can- homes and businesses may be an exception.
4. Aggressively retire debt, save or give with excess monthly income.

Ashley Hodge

1. Enlightenment- God starts to draw the thoughts of men/women towards Him. We start to become aware of spiritual things.
2. Awakening- at this point, we develop a conviction that we are sinners and need a Savior- Christ. Many modern churches teach that this is the point of salvation. A person confesses their need for Christ and then makes a public commitment to Him.
3. Conversion- Edwards taught- rightfully so in my view- that a person is not saved until they surrender their hearts completely to Christ. This means a lifelong effort to make progress in becoming more loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle and self-controlled- Galatians 5:22-23. It means to love God and His revelation. And to hate sin and all of its destructiveness that it causes this world.

JC Ryle taught a similar understanding of salvation. Ryle explains in Holiness that we must be born again- regenerated- by God the Father. We must have our sins forgiven by Christ- justified. And we must strive for holiness- sanctification- through the power of the Holy Spirit. In my own experience, this actual conversion process where I desired to follow Christ and actively declare war on my greed, gluttony, pride, sexual lust and apathy to name a few did not occur until well after I had made a public profession to accept Christ.

Once again, I want to emphasize that no works could ever earn salvation. Salvation is an unmerited gift that I owe only to the radical grace of God. I also continue to sin, but I now am engaged in a warfare against sin and was not before conversion. Would I have gone to heaven if I died before surrendering my life to Christ in my early 30s? I believe most churches today would have thought so. I attended Bible studies, gave money to the church and even showed some signs of commitment. But ultimately my life was a contradiction to the gospel and I was a miserable reflection of Christ for many of those years. According to the word of God, I was still in a lost state. Jesus says, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven.." Matthew 7:21.

If you are confused about whether you have become converted, I urge you to read Holiness by JC Ryle and Religious Affections by Jonathan Edwards. They will lay a clear, scriptural path on what the Bible teaches about salvation.

For the Glory of Christ,

Ashley Hodge

1. God is the Creator of all things.
2. All of creation is affected by the curse of sin and is in need of redemption.
3. Jesus Christ is God's plan for the redemption of creation from the beginning.
4. Christ will return to this earth to redeem mankind and all creation and establish His kingdom.