The Biblical Way of Investing In Our Future

 One of the greatest discoveries I have ever made from reading the Bible for myself is that God has
established spiritual laws that govern every area of life. Just as the physical world operates according to natural laws, the Kingdom of God also operates according to spiritual principles. When those principles are understood and obeyed, they produce predictable results because God remains faithful to His own Word.

Among all the principles I have discovered, none has impacted my life more profoundly than the biblical principle of caring for the poor.

For many years, I believed what I had been taught by much of modern Christianity—that the primary way to increase financially was simply to give money to God, or to religious ministries, with the expectation that God would multiply it back to me. At the same time, the world taught a completely different philosophy: accumulate as much wealth as possible, protect it, and keep increasing it for yourself. Although these two systems appear different, they often produce the same result—our focus remains primarily on ourselves and our own prosperity.

However, when I began reading the Scriptures independently, I discovered that God repeatedly places extraordinary emphasis on how we treat the poor, the needy, the oppressed, the widow, the orphan, and those who cannot repay us.

That discovery completely changed my understanding of what true biblical investment really is.

God's Investment Strategy

Psalm 41:1-3 declares:

"Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.

The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies.

The LORD will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness."

Notice something remarkable.

God does not merely promise financial increase.

He promises protection.

He promises preservation.

He promises deliverance.

He promises favor.

He promises victory over enemies.

He promises strength during sickness.

These promises touch virtually every important area of life.

This passage completely changed how I viewed generosity.

I realized that every act of kindness toward someone who can never repay me is actually an investment in my own future.

The Greatest Investment You Can Ever Make

The world's investment strategy is simple:

Invest in stocks.

Invest in businesses.

Invest in property.

Invest in retirement accounts.

While there is certainly wisdom in proper financial stewardship, Scripture reveals another investment that reaches far beyond financial markets.

God teaches us to invest in people.

Not wealthy people.

Not influential people.

Not people who can promote us.

But people who have absolutely nothing to offer us in return.

This is where biblical investment begins.

When I feed someone who is hungry...

When I clothe someone who cannot afford clothing...

When I help someone burdened by life's hardships...

When I extend kindness to someone society has forgotten...

I am making deposits into an account that Heaven itself acknowledges.

Jesus revealed this profound truth in Matthew 25:35-40 when He declared that whatever we do for "the least of these," we are actually doing for Him.

What an incredible perspective.

The poor become an opportunity to serve Christ Himself.

Understanding Proverbs 11:24

One verse that transformed my thinking is Proverbs 11:24:

"There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty."

At first glance, this verse appears to contradict human reasoning.

How can giving away resources cause someone to increase?

How can holding on to possessions eventually produce poverty?

From a purely human perspective, that makes little sense.

But God's Kingdom often works contrary to natural human thinking.

The person described as "scattering" is not wasting resources recklessly. Rather, they are distributing them wisely and generously where God desires them to go. As they release what God has entrusted to them, God continues supplying them because they have become faithful stewards rather than owners.

The second individual continually withholds more than is appropriate. Fear, greed, or self-preservation causes them to cling tightly to everything they possess. Ironically, the very thing they are trying to avoid—lack—becomes the direction in which they are moving.

The principle is simple.

Generosity invites God's continued provision.

Selfishness eventually restricts it.

The issue is not merely money.

It is the condition of the heart.

God looks for people through whom He can continually channel His blessings.

My Personal Journey

As I continued studying Scripture, I gradually had to unhinge myself from beliefs that no longer aligned with what I found throughout God's Word.

I also had to reject the world's philosophy that fulfillment comes from endlessly accumulating wealth while giving as little away as possible.

Instead, I embraced God's economy.

I began viewing every opportunity to help someone in genuine need as an opportunity to invest in my own future.

What amazed me was that the more I aligned myself with these biblical principles, the more I witnessed God's faithfulness in ways I could never have imagined.

I discovered that generosity is not merely an emotional response to human suffering.

It is participation in one of God's spiritual laws.

The Bible repeatedly teaches this principle.

Proverbs 19:17 says:

"He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again."

Imagine that.

God considers our generosity toward the poor as a loan made directly to Him.

And God never defaults on His promises.

Likewise, Proverbs 22:9 declares:

"He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor."

Paul echoes the same principle in 2 Corinthians 9:6-11, teaching that God supplies seed to the sower and increases the harvest of those who generously share with others, so that they may continue to abound in every good work.

These passages reveal a consistent biblical pattern: generosity is not designed merely to reduce someone's need today, but to position the giver to become an even greater blessing tomorrow.

Investing Into My Own Future

Today, when I read Psalm 41:1-3, I no longer see it merely as a beautiful promise.

I see it as one of God's greatest investment principles.

Every time I intentionally bless someone who cannot repay me, I am investing in my own future.

I am investing into my family's future.

I am investing into God's promises over my life.

I am investing into divine protection.

I am investing into divine preservation.

I am investing into God's intervention during times of trouble.

I am investing into His healing power.

I am investing into His favor.

I am investing into blessings that no financial institution, government, employer, or investment portfolio could ever guarantee.

Conclusion

After years of studying the Scriptures, I have become convinced that the greatest investment anyone can ever make is not first into financial markets, property, or earthly possessions.

It is investing into the lives of those who can do absolutely nothing in return.

The poor are not interruptions to our prosperity.

They are often God's appointed opportunities to activate His promises.

Psalm 41:1-3 reveals that God Himself becomes personally involved in the life of the one who thoughtfully considers the poor. He delivers, preserves, strengthens, protects, and blesses that person in ways that extend far beyond material wealth.

When we embrace this principle, we are doing far more than helping another human being—we are participating in God's economy.

In God's Kingdom, generosity toward the poor is never merely an expense.

It is an eternal investment.

And when one faithfully engages the principle of Psalm 41:1-3, they are, in reality, investing in every area of their own life and in the future that God has prepared for them.

Pastor Kevin L.A. Ewing

www.kevinlaewng.com

www.kevinlaewing.blogspot.com

ewinglakevin@icloud.com

 

The Spirit of Offense: One of Satan's Most Effective Weapons Against the Believer

There aren't many evil spirits that I can think of that have crippled more relationships, divided more churches, destroyed more ministries,
and robbed more believers of their peace than the spirit of offense. It is subtle, deceptive, and often goes unrecognized because it rarely announces itself. Instead, it disguises itself as wounded feelings, justified anger, personal hurt, or righteous indignation. What begins as a seemingly minor disagreement can, if left unresolved, develop into bitterness, unforgiveness, resentment, and ultimately spiritual bondage.

Offense is not merely an emotional reaction to being hurt. While every human being will experience moments of disappointment, rejection, betrayal, or misunderstanding, Scripture warns that allowing those experiences to take root in the heart creates an environment in which destructive spiritual influences can flourish. The Bible repeatedly emphasizes the importance of guarding the heart because it is the birthplace of our attitudes, decisions, and actions.

"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life."

— Proverbs 4:23

The heart is more than the seat of human emotion. Biblically, it represents the center of a person's thoughts, desires, motives, and will. Whatever is permitted to settle there eventually shapes a person's words, actions, relationships, and spiritual condition. For this reason, Satan continually seeks opportunities to plant seeds of offense within the believer's heart. If those seeds are nurtured through bitterness, pride, anger, or unforgiveness, they can grow into strongholds that influence every area of life.

The book of Proverbs reveals just how powerful offense can become:

"A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle."

— Proverbs 18:19

This remarkable statement paints the picture of a fortified city surrounded by massive walls and secured behind iron gates. Solomon compares the heart of an offended individual to such a fortress. Once offense has established itself, the offended person often erects invisible emotional and spiritual barriers that become increasingly difficult to penetrate. Communication breaks down. Trust disappears. Reconciliation becomes nearly impossible, not because God is unwilling to restore the relationship, but because offense convinces the individual that maintaining distance is safer than extending forgiveness.

One of the greatest dangers of offense is that it distorts perception. An offended person frequently begins to interpret innocent actions as deliberate attacks, sincere correction as personal rejection, and genuine concern as criticism. Conversations become misunderstood. Motives become misjudged. Small disagreements become major conflicts. As offense grows, it continually rehearses past wounds until they appear larger than the blessings God has provided.

The New Testament repeatedly warns believers against allowing unresolved anger and bitterness to remain in their hearts because these attitudes create opportunities for the enemy to exploit.

"Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil."

— Ephesians 4:26–27

Paul's warning is significant. Anger itself is not necessarily sinful; even Jesus expressed righteous anger. However, anger that is allowed to linger and mature into resentment becomes dangerous because it gives the devil "place"—an opportunity to influence the believer's thinking, relationships, and spiritual effectiveness.

Likewise, the writer of Hebrews exhorts believers:

"Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled."

— Hebrews 12:15

Notice that bitterness is described as a root. Roots grow beneath the surface long before they become visible above the ground. In the same way, offense often develops quietly within the heart before its destructive fruit appears outwardly. Eventually it produces resentment, division, harsh speech, broken fellowship, and spiritual stagnation—not only affecting the offended individual but also influencing families, friendships, churches, and entire communities.

Throughout Scripture, Satan consistently seeks to divide God's people rather than confront them openly. If he cannot destroy a believer through persecution from without, he often attempts to weaken them through offense from within. A divided church loses its effectiveness. A divided family loses its unity. A divided marriage loses its intimacy. An offended believer gradually loses spiritual sensitivity, joy, and peace.

This is why the Apostle Paul reminds believers that the true battle is not ultimately against people:

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

— Ephesians 6:12

The objective of this article is not to encourage believers to become suspicious of everyone around them, nor to excuse sinful behavior committed by others. Rather, its purpose is to help Christians recognize the destructive power of unresolved offense and to respond biblically whenever they are hurt, misunderstood, rejected, or betrayed. Scripture calls believers to discern spiritual realities without losing sight of personal responsibility. We are accountable for how we guard our hearts, respond to injury, pursue forgiveness, and seek reconciliation.

As we examine the Scriptures together, we will discover how offense develops, why it becomes so difficult to overcome, how it damages spiritual growth and relationships, and—most importantly—how God's Word provides the pathway to freedom. Jesus Christ did not call His followers merely to avoid conflict; He called them to overcome evil with good, to forgive as they have been forgiven, and to walk in the freedom that comes from a heart fully surrendered to God.

Only when we refuse to allow offense to rule our hearts can we truly experience the peace, unity, and spiritual maturity that God desires for every believer.

Pastor Kevin L. A. Ewing

www.kevinlaewing.com

www.kevinlaewing.blogspot.com

ewinglakevin@icloud.com

Could Your Breakthrough Be Waiting on Your Obedience?

Countless believers are patiently waiting for their breakthrough. They have prayed, fasted, wept before
God, sought the prayers of others, and faithfully trusted Him for a major turnaround in their lives. Yet many continue to ask the same question:

"Why hasn't God answered my prayer?"

What if the answer is not that God has ignored your request?

What if He has already answered it, but you rejected His provision because it did not come packaged the way you expected?

This possibility deserves serious consideration.

God's Word Is His Law

The Bible reveals that God governs His Kingdom by spiritual laws and principles. His promises are certain, but they are often realized as we cooperate with the instructions He has given.

Whenever we ask God for something, He frequently responds by leading us to participate in one of His divine principles. When we reject His instruction, we may unknowingly reject the very pathway God has established to answer our prayer.

That is why Solomon wrote:

Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life."(Proverbs 4:13)

Notice the strength of this command.

We are not merely told to hear instruction—we are commanded to hold tightly to it, guard it, and treasure it.

Why?

Because instruction is life.

Every instruction that God gives is designed to preserve us, guide us, and lead us into His blessings. His instructions are never random; they are the protocols that govern His promises.

The Consequences of Rejecting Instruction

If treasuring God's instruction brings life, what happens when we reject it?

The answer is equally clear:

"Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction: but he that regardeth reproof shall be honored."(Proverbs 13:18)

This verse should cause every believer to pause.

Notice that Solomon does not attribute poverty and shame solely to a lack of prayer. Instead, he identifies refusing instruction as a cause.

Conversely, those who receive correction, embrace God's wisdom, and obey His instructions position themselves for honor.

This is an important biblical principle.

Many people pray for God's promises while simultaneously resisting God's instructions.

Yet throughout Scripture, God's blessings are consistently connected to obedience.

God's Instructions Are Often the Answer to Our Prayers

Consider two familiar passages:

"There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth. (Proverbs 11:24)

And:

"Give, and it shall be given unto you..."(Luke 6:38)

These verses are much more than inspirational sayings.

They reveal spiritual laws established by God.

Now consider this scenario.

You have been crying out to God for financial breakthrough. Bills are piling up. Your mortgage is behind. You desperately ask God to rescue you and provide more than enough to meet your needs.

Only hours later, a homeless person asks you for assistance.

You ignore him.

The following day, while scrolling through social media, you discover that a friend has created a GoFundMe campaign because they are about to lose their home and have exhausted every available resource.

You scroll past it without giving it another thought.

Later that evening, you pray once again:

"Lord, why haven't You answered me?"

But what if He already had?

What if those opportunities to help someone in genuine need were not interruptions, but invitations?

What if they were God's way of inviting you to participate in the very spiritual law connected to the breakthrough you have been praying for?

Prayer Does Not Replace Obedience

Please understand.

Prayer is essential.

Fasting has its place.

Corporate prayer is valuable.

Agreement with other believers is biblical.

However, none of these practices were ever intended to replace obedience.

Too often we want God to fulfill His promises while ignoring the principles He established to release them.

God frequently answers prayer by allowing us to obey.

Sometimes His answer does not arrive as money in our bank account.

Sometimes it arrives disguised as a person in need.

Faith Requires Action

Scripture reminds us:

"Faith without works is dead."(James 2:26)

Faith is not merely believing God can do something.

Faith responds when God provides an opportunity to obey.

Perhaps your breakthrough has not been delayed because God is unwilling.

Perhaps it has been delayed because the instruction connected to your breakthrough has repeatedly been overlooked.

A Question Worth Asking

Before asking God why your breakthrough has not yet come, perhaps ask yourself another question:

Have I treasured God's instructions enough to obey them?

Have I embraced His principles?

Have I acted upon the opportunities He has placed before me?

Or have I prayed for provision while refusing the protocol that governs it?

The Pathway to Breakthrough

God's promises never fail.

But His promises are often experienced through obedience to His instructions.

Treasure His Word.

Receive His correction.

Practice His principles.

Walk in obedience.

Then trust God to fulfill His promises in His perfect way and in His perfect timing.

Your breakthrough may not be waiting on another prayer.

It may be waiting on your next act of obedience.

"Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life."(Proverbs 4:13)

"Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction: but he that regardeth reproof shall be honored."(Proverbs 13:18)

The choice is ours.

Spiritual protocol will always require us to treasure God's instructions, obey His principles, and trust Him to bring the breakthrough only He can provide.

Pastor Kevin L. A. Ewing

www.kevinlaewing.com

www.kevinlaewing.blogspot.com

ewinglakevin@icloud.com

The True Recipients of Biblical Wealth Transfer

Throughout Scripture, God reveals that wealth is not merely accumulated by human effort nor ultimately controlled by earthly systems. Rather, He is the sovereign Owner of all things and has established spiritual laws that govern the flow of resources. One of the most overlooked principles in the Bible is that God often transfers wealth into the hands of those who demonstrate compassion toward the poor and faithfulness in stewardship.

This truth is not isolated to one passage of Scripture. It appears repeatedly throughout both the Old and New Testaments, revealing a consistent pattern of God's dealings with humanity.

A Generous Eye Attracts God's Blessing

Solomon writes:

He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor."

(Proverbs 22:9, KJV)

The phrase "a bountiful eye" literally describes a person who is generous and compassionate in helping others, especially the poor. Rather than viewing wealth as something to be hoarded, this individual sees it as a tool through which God can bless those who are less fortunate.

Notice that the blessing is not attached merely to possessing wealth, but to sharing it.

This principle establishes an important truth:

God blesses those who become a blessing.

Throughout Scripture, generosity toward the poor is repeatedly presented as an act of worship unto God Himself.

God Redirects Wealth

Solomon continues this theme in Proverbs 28:8:

He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor."

The Hebrew text teaches that a person may increase wealth through exploitation, greed, or oppressive financial practices, yet God has already determined its eventual destination.

The wealth will ultimately find its way into the hands of those who show mercy to the poor.

This is not merely poetic language.

It is a declaration of God's sovereignty over earthly wealth.

People may gather riches through dishonest means, but they do not determine where those riches will finally rest.

God does.

God Causes the Sinner to Gather

Ecclesiastes 2:26 reinforces the same principle.

"For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God."

The sinner gathers.

The sinner accumulates.

The sinner heaps up.

Yet God ultimately transfers those resources into the hands of those who please Him.

When this passage is read alongside Proverbs 28:8, the picture becomes remarkably clear.

Who are those who are "good before God"?

Proverbs answers:

Those who show compassion toward the poor.

God's economy often operates differently from the world's economy. He remains sovereign over wealth, and He directs resources according to His righteous purposes.

The New Testament Continues the Same Principle

The Apostle Paul confirms this same divine pattern in 2 Corinthians 9.

Quoting Psalm 112, Paul writes:

"He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor; his righteousness remaineth for ever." (2 Corinthians 9:9)

Then Paul continues:

Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness."

(2 Corinthians 9:10)

Finally,

"Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness" (2 Corinthians 9:11)

Notice God's order.

The believer gives.

God supplies more seed.

The believer gives again.

God multiplies the seed.

Why?

Not merely so the believer can accumulate greater possessions.

Rather,

"being enriched in everything for all generosity" (ESV)

The increase serves a purpose.

God increases faithful stewards so they may become greater channels through which His blessings flow to others.

God Rewards Faithful Stewardship

One of the greatest principles governing God's Kingdom is not merely generosity but faithfulness.

Jesus repeatedly emphasized that God entrusts greater responsibilities and greater resources to those who prove faithful with what they already possess. For example:

In Luke 16:10, Jesus declared:

"He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much"

Faithfulness in small matters qualifies a believer for greater trust.

Likewise, in the Parable of the Talents, the master commended his faithful servant:

"Well done, thou good and faithful servant... I will make thee ruler over many things. (Matthew 25:21)

Similarly, in the Parable of the Talents, Jesus said:

"Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities." (Luke 19:17)

God's promotions are never arbitrary.

They are connected to proven faithfulness.

Jesus further explained this principle in Luke 16:11–12:

"If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?"

Money becomes a test of the heart, a challenge that, regrettably, most individuals fail.

Not because God needs our finances.

But because finances reveal our hearts.

Those who faithfully steward earthly resources demonstrate that they can be trusted with greater responsibilities in God's Kingdom.

God's Financial System

When these passages are placed together, a remarkable pattern emerges.

The wicked gather wealth.

God oversees its destination.

The compassionate receive it.

The generous distribute it.

God multiplies their resources.

They become increasingly equipped to bless others.

This is God's cycle of stewardship, not a cycle of greed, but a cycle of generosity.

My Personal Appeal

It is not my intent to encourage the religious community to defund religious institutions or discourage financial support for places of worship. Instead, it is quite the opposite, with a bonus of self-empowerment.

You see, it is my sole desire to empower the followers of these institutions to discover the biblical principles that God Himself established for financial increase.

When believers consistently invest in the lives of the poor, widows, orphans, strangers, and those genuinely unable to help themselves, they position themselves to tangibly experience the spiritual promises revealed throughout Scripture. Which I might add was already in place for us spiritually before the foundation of the world, according to Ephesians 1:3-4. Consistent obedience causes spiritual blessings to manifest physically in a person's life.

As God blesses faithful and generous believers, they become increasingly able to support their churches, ministries, missionaries, and every good work from a place of abundance rather than financial pressure and limitations.

A financially strengthened congregation is capable of accomplishing far more for the Kingdom of God than a congregation burdened by lack.

Giving According to Biblical Principle Rather Than Religious Tradition

It is a must that I stick this point in here to unhinge many of you from a financial system that has nothing to do with us New Testament believers, and that is, there is Much confusion concerning the subject of tithing.

Under the Mosaic Covenant, the tithe was specifically assigned to the support of the Levitical priesthood.

Leviticus 27:30–33 identifies the tithe as part of Israel's covenantal law. Numbers 18:21–24 records that the tithe was given by God to the descendants of Levi because they received no tribal inheritance in the land. Hebrews 7:5 likewise states that "they that are of the sthe sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren (the 11 sibling tribes)

These passages identify the recipients of the tithe under the Mosaic covenant as the Levitical priesthood serving in Israel's temple system, and their sibling tribes as the ones who paid the tithe to them.

In contrast, the New Testament does not command believers to tithe as a covenant obligation. Instead, the Apostle Paul instructs believers to give according to principles that flow from a willing and transformed heart.

He writes:

"He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully."

(2 Corinthians 9:6)

Then he adds:

"Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver." (2 Corinthians 9:7)

And once again Paul points believers toward God's concern for the needy:

"He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor." (2 Corinthians 9:9)

The New Testament emphasis is not on giving under compulsion but on cheerful, purposeful, generous stewardship that reflects God's own heart, while simultaneously revealing the Giver's heart.

The Ultimate Wealth Transfer

Solomon concludes this divine pattern with one final statement:

"The wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just. (Proverbs 13:22b)

This verse does not encourage believers to covet another person's possessions.

Instead, it reminds us that God remains sovereign over every resource on earth.

He can move wealth according to His purposes.

When viewed together with Proverbs 22:9, Proverbs 28:8, Ecclesiastes 2:26, and 2 Corinthians 9:9–11, Proverbs 13:22 completes the picture.

The true recipients of God's wealth transfers are not necessarily the most gifted, the most educated, or even the hardest working.

They are those who prove themselves faithful stewards of what God has already entrusted to them.

They are those who open their hands to the poor. They understand the principle of giving to the poor and the supernatural resources and favor it produces effortlessly.

They are those who understand that prosperity is not an end in itself but a divine trust.

As they faithfully steward earthly resources, God entrusts them with more—not merely to increase their standard of living, but to increase their standard of giving.

May we therefore devote ourselves to living by the enduring principles of God's Word rather than the fruitless traditions of men. God's Kingdom operates according to His unchanging laws, and those who consistently walk in His ways can trust Him to provide, to increase, and to direct resources for His glory. Let us become faithful stewards, cheerful givers, and compassionate servants, so that through our lives many needs are met, many hearts give thanks to God, and His name is exalted above all.

Pastor Kevin L. A. Ewing

www.kevinlaewing.com

www.kevinlaewing.blogspot.com

ewinglakevin@icloud.com