MONEY MATTERS
Personal Suggestions for
Peace and
Success
this New Year
BY RAJEN DEVADASON
“ Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty,“ and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”
if you’ re like most people, then as the countdown to Christmas and the New Year continues, it may feel as though your blood pressure is spiking. It’ s a sad reflection of our times that every Christmas, as the Big Day looms, traffic jams worsen, credit card balances balloon, and tempers flare. So each yuletide season, it would be good for us to remember that our Saviour, who descended on Earth as a bundle of joy in Bethlehem around 4 BC, wasn’ t just some good person who accidentally altered human history.
Jesus was – and is – infinitely more. So, as carols fill the air, as children tremble with excitement at the sight of Christmas trees and presents, manger scenes and rotund, jolly bearded men bursting their red suits, we must focus on our Scripture-based understanding that two millennia ago, God Almighty, the Creator of the Universe, visited Earth to help, save and prepare us for a life with Him now and for evermore.
Jesus beckons every one to enjoy His full and abundant life. John 10:10,“ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”( Or as the King James Version eloquently words it:‘... I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly!’)
Even as economic conditions worsen in many countries, most notably amongst fossil energy exporters, the promises of God’ s blessings always hold true. That includes the staggering commitment of God to His people in Malachi 3:10(“ Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be
32 ASIAN BEACON 48 # 1 December 2016- January 2017