Everything in this world fades, possessions, accomplishments, even financial security. But scripture reminds us that true riches never fade. In my 21-day devotional, Our Ultimate Treasure, I want to help you reorient your heart from what's temporary to what's eternal. Through daily scripture, reflection, and practical application, you'll explore what it means to steward God's resources with wisdom, generosity, and trust so your financial life reflects what you truly believe. Whether you're just beginning your stewardship journey or longing for deeper alignment between your faith and finances, my hope is that this devotional gives you a clear, hope-filled path towards seeing God as your ultimate treasure.
You can get your copy or place a bulk order for your church or small group at faithfi.com slash shop. That's faithfi.com and click shop. What if the greatest shift you could make in your financial life didn't start with budgeting, investing, or earning more, but with surrender? Hi, I'm Rob West. We don't usually think of surrender as a financial word, but Jesus does.
Today we're talking about the life-changing truth that God owns everything and how that single conviction can transform the way we live, give, and steward our resources. Then it's on to your calls at 800-525-7000. This is Faith in Finance, biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. When we talk about money, we tend to ask familiar questions. How much do I have?
How much do I need? Am I doing well? These are common questions, but they're not the first question Scripture asks. From the very beginning, Scripture establishes God as the owner. Before humanity ever managed a garden or named a creature, God formed, filled, and ruled creation.
Psalm 24, 1 later declares it plainly: The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. Simply put, God is the owner, and we are the stewards. For many of us, that's a familiar idea, but familiarity doesn't always mean surrender. We may believe God owns the universe, but we instinctively act as if we built our lives with our own hands. We say things like, I worked for this, or I earned this, but Scripture adds a crucial line: it is He who gives you the power to get wealth.
That's in Deuteronomy 8:18. Even our ability to work is a gift from God. Jesus picks up this idea in the parable of the talents in Matthew 25. The master entrusts resources to three servants. Two invests courageously.
One buries what he's been given out of fear. When the master returns, he doesn't praise the servants for increasing his net worth. He praises their faithfulness. That's a key detail. God doesn't measure stewardship the way the world measures results.
The world defines success by outcomes, God defines success by trust and faithfulness. If God owns everything, then we are not owners, we're managers. The Greek word scripture uses for steward oikonomos means household manager. A steward manages resources they didn't generate for purposes they didn't define under a master they serve. That may sound restrictive at first, but in reality, it's freeing.
Because if I'm not the owner, then I'm not the ultimate provider and I'm not the ultimate protector. Like Ron Blue always says: if God owns it all, you can't lose anything. Ownership carries weight. Stewardship carries trust. And when we truly embrace stewardship, everyday choices become opportunities for worship.
Budgeting becomes an act of aligning our desires with God's priorities. Giving becomes a reflection of the generosity we've received. Planning becomes obedience instead of anxiety. Even investing becomes a way of multiplying what belongs to the Lord, not to secure independence from Him. There's a famous line from the Puritan preacher Thomas Watson.
What we keep, we may lose. What we give to God is kept forever. It's a reminder that ownership is temporary, but stewardship is eternal. We brought nothing into the world, Paul says, and we can take nothing out of it. that reality isn't meant to discourage us, it's meant to liberate us.
When we stop clutching what we cannot keep, we're free to invest in what we can never lose. Of course, this raises the practical question, if God owns everything, what does he expect of us?
Well, Jesus answers it simply, one who is faithful in very little is also faithful in much. Faithfulness is not about size, it's about surrender, and surrender always begins in the heart. When we embrace the conviction that God owns it all, we gain two things the world can't offer. humility and hope. humility because we stop boasting in our own accomplishments hope because we realize we're not carrying the burden alone.
God equips, God guides, and God provides.
So let me ask you, where is God inviting you to shift from being an owner to a steward? Is it in your giving, your planning, is it your savings, your lifestyle, or maybe in the quiet belief that your security depends more on markets than on the God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills? Stewardship isn't about God getting something from you. It's about God doing something in you. It reorders the heart so that money serves its proper place, not as a master, but as a tool.
If this idea resonates with you that God owns it all and stewardship begins with surrender, I'd love for you to explore it further in my devotional Our Ultimate Treasure: a 21-day journey to faithful stewardship. It's available now at faithfi.com/slash shop. You can order a copy for yourself or place a bulk order for your church or small group. That's faithfy.com/slash shop. All right, your calls are next.
The number 800-525-7000. This is Faith in Finance. We'll be right back. I was in ministry full time and I was always looking for a way to integrate my faith with this new industry around money and finances. This is Mark.
He is a certified kingdom advisor. As a CKA, one of the best things I offer my clients is trust in knowing that they're working with a professional that understands their values. And I think in all of the different challenges that clients go through, if we can go back to trusting in God, then He'll make the path straight. You can find an advisor like Mark at findacka.com. Faith in Finance is thankful for support from The Good Investor, a book by Robin John.
In his book, Robin shares his journey from an immigrant child struggling in school to co-founder and CEO of Eventide Asset Management, a faith-based investment firm. This Faith and Work memoir seeks to inspire readers to view their work and investments as opportunities to honor God and bring blessing to the world. More information is available at goodinvestor.com. That's goodinvestor.com. Um I'm so glad you're with us today on Faith and Finance.
Our goal is to help you live as a wise and faithful steward, encouraging you, taking you back into God's Word, giving you wise advice that's theologically sound. We do that each day on this program around your financial questions. If you have one of those, a financial question, call right now, 800-525-7000. We've got several lines open. We'd love to chat with you.
Let's go to Tennessee. Hi, Amy. Go ahead. Hi, thank you for taking my call. I listen to your podcast faithfully.
So that's great. Appreciate you. I just have a quick question. I'm kind of trying to figure out right now, you know, my budget. And I am contributing to a four hundred one K, but I was wondering whether I could if I should just stop contributing to a four hundred one K.
And instead have just six months of emergency savings, like Saved up first before I do that. Yeah, it's a great question, Amy.
So, how much do you have in your emergency run right now? How many months? Not even too much, but close to two months right now.
Okay, good. Yeah, that's great. And you're not putting anything in the 401k currently? I am. I'm putting in 15% right now.
Oh, wow. That's tremendous. And so, are you getting any matching? Yeah, I am. I'm getting like 5%.
So Okay. But what what I'm hearing is, though, that because you're doing the 15%, you're not having anything left over, so you're not able to add to the emergency fund anymore. Is that right? Yes and no. It's very tight right now, but the good thing is that I am debt-free because I paid off my student loan last year.
So hallelujah. Thank the Lord for helping me through that.
Well, here's where I would go from here. I think it's great. I would absolutely take full advantage of the matching. But beyond the matching.
Now, if you can dial back other spending so that you can contribute a meaningful amount to your savings, so you're continuing to head towards six months' expenses, that would be great. I'd rather you pull it from other places than the 401k if you can find it. You know, maybe there's a subscription you could cancel, or maybe you don't eat out quite as much. I mean, whatever it is. But if truly the thing that's preventing you from really getting your emergency fund up to six months in a relatively short period of time is the 401k contributions, I would say dial that back so that you're still getting the full match, but you're not quite doing the 15%.
And then, when you get up above three months' expenses or perhaps close to six months, then maybe you turn that back on. But, you know, I'd rather you have a fully funded emergency fund at this point in your life than I would you putting the full 15% in the 401k, as long as you're still getting the matching portion. Does that make sense? Yes, it does. That actually it Completely just helps to me.
Thank you so much. You're welcome, Amy. Thanks for calling and for being such a faithful listener. We appreciate it. Let's go to Ramon in Winter Haven.
How can I help? Yes, I have a family issue. My mother, who died, left my sister a house in Puerto Rico. And I'm wondering, since she's got the house, my mom didn't even get to put the name there. I'm wondering in Puerto Rico, What is the form that you 'cause she my sister's been living there for about like a year.
What is the form of getting a deed or or getting the ownership of the house notarized and for my sister or something something like that? Yeah. And where is the property located, Ramon?
Okay, so the property is in Puerto Rico, and that's where your sister and your mom, uh, your mom who passed away lived? Yeah, my mom passed away lived there, but then gave it to her. She asked me if I wanted any of it. I said, no, leave it to my sister. Yeah.
Yeah. The challenge is because the property is in Puerto Rico, the answer depends on Puerto Rican law, not the law of the state. You know, where you live, certainly. I mean, the general principles are: if your mom had a valid will that left the home to your sister, that would go through the legal process in Puerto Rico, so the property could be transferred into her name. If there's no will, the estate would likely go through Puerto Rico's intestacy process, similar to the U.S., where the property would be distributed according to inheritance laws.
It may not automatically go to the sister in that case. And even if everyone in the family agrees that mom intended for the sister, your sister, to receive the home, the intent alone is not generally enough to transfer the legal title. The proper legal process would have to be followed. But at the end of the day, you need to contact a Puerto Rico probate attorney or a notary experienced in. Puerto Rico estate law to kind of walk you through the process, I would not be able to tell you how that would work.
Right, and it's kind of hard because back in the old days, the parents are, you know. They were kind of slow to do things. And back in the old day, and you know, a little bit, you know, not smart enough, you know, like. like today's generation, but you know, we love 'em, they helped us grow up. But they didn't do these little things like have a notary saying that this belongs to my sister to take it to Puerto Rican county and file it and everything.
Yeah, yeah. No, I certainly understand that. I'm sure they passed on a lot that was really valuable to you all, but maybe they were not as skilled in this area of having their estate in order and financial management. Nevertheless, I think the key here is: given where we find ourselves, there's going to be a process for intestacy in Puerto Rico, just like there is here, where there's not a valid will. The estate, you know, the probate courts would likely be the ones, according to Puerto Rican law, to tell you exactly how this needs to transfer in the, you know, given the absence of a valid will.
And however that plays out, you know, if there's agreement, it could ultimately get to the hands of your sister, who's, I suspect, still living there. But that's all going to need to work through the legal process there in Puerto Rico.
So that really is your next step to maybe help her get connected with an attorney down there and just kind of walk through the steps here. You sound like a great brother. I'm confident you'll be able to guide her in this. We appreciate your call today. Thanks for being on the program.
Quickly to Florida Hamilton. How can I help? Yeah, it's not a relative. who have siblings, they inherited property and they get them calls from people from out of town wanting to help them sell the property. And I was curious, would there be a good CKA That could be helping them.
Yeah, in terms of a real estate professional or an attorney, what are you thinking? Um Since it's real estate, I would think real estate attorney. Yeah, I mean, I think having somebody who can walk alongside them just to make sure what is the title, how is it structured, who, you know, what is the ownership structure, and making sure that, you know, ultimately that's handled properly, just given that it's an inheritance and there's several properties, and you're going to want to make sure everything's free and clear. And then you're going to want, you know, the executor should be able to help you understand, you know, if it was left, if any of the properties were left to multiple heirs, kind of what is that ownership structure now and what portion belongs to each person. You got to sort all that out.
And then ultimately, you're going to need a real estate professional that's, you know, really skilled in not only real estate transactions, but also has some expertise in the particular locale of where these properties are. That's where you're going to be able to maximize the value. I think all of that could be a referral from a certified kingdom advisor there in Florida because any CK would have. Not only an estate planning attorney that they would work with regularly, or a couple of them, but probably have a real estate professional that they could refer you to.
So I would head to findacka.com and then reach out to those individuals, let them know you listen to this program, and just ask for a referral, and they should be able to help you.
Okay. Thank you for taking my call. Absolutely, Hamilton. Lord bless you, sir. We're going to take a break, folks.
Much more on the way, plus your phone calls, 800-525-7000. You can call right now. We'll be right back. If budgeting feels like a second job, the new Faith Phi Pro was built just for you. It learns your spending patterns, categorizes your transactions, and helps you build a budget based on your real life.
Plus, scripture readings and biblical devotionals help you manage God's money God's way. Try Faith Phi Pro free for 30 days and lock in 25% off a pro subscription. Download the Faith Phi app from your app store or at faithphy.com/slash app. That's faithfi.com/slash app. Are you a financial professional looking to grow your practice while offering advice that aligns with your Christian values?
By becoming a certified kingdom advisor, you'll gain the biblical wisdom and professional credibility to serve clients who are seeking faith-based financial guidance. Each year, more than 75,000 people search for a certified kingdom advisor. Join our community. And share your expertise with clients looking for someone who shares their faith and values. Start your journey today by going to kingdomadvisors.com/slash get certified.
Hey, thanks for joining us today on Faith and Finance. I'm Rob West. We're taking your calls and questions today, 800-525-7000. You can call right now. Let's go to Ohio.
Lou, how can I help you? I'm wondering what would be the best strategy. Strategies for IRA that I have that's been growing since my husband died. We always made decisions together and I feel Pretty lost without uh knowing what to do now. Um I don't have debt or a mortgage.
Everything is you know, squared away. We tithed all the time and God's taking really good care of me. Wow. But I'm just w wondering what the best wisest thing would be to do with this. I I do have four kids and some grandkids and I want to be able to steward what I have.
Well, Lou, I'm so sorry about your husband's passing. If you don't mind me asking, how long ago was that? A couple of years ago.
Okay. Yeah. So we don't want to make any major financial moves in the first six to twelve months, but obviously or a couple of years beyond that, what do you all have in the way of investable assets roughly? If you don't mind sharing. Um, a little over a million.
Okay. And you're living on your husband's Social Security, the survivors' benefit, and is that enough to cover your expenses? Or are you also pulling from those investments? I work part time as well and together. Um we're good.
Yeah, great.
Well, one of the blessings is that you and your husband were wise stewards, and you managed this wisely. It sounds like he was a wonderful man that took great care of you in life and now after his passing, just given the way that everything is positioned. And that's a blessing and a gift. And yet, now you are the steward, and we need to get wise counsel around you and give you the ability to manage this as somebody with your own passions and purpose and understanding what God has called you to and using this money as a tool to both provide for you and your family to enjoy, but also to give and invest in a way that reflects your values as a Christ follower. Did you all have an advisor, Lou, that you worked with, or did you all just manage everything yourself?
We did pretty much ourselves, although I have a good friend who is a financial advisor and he Kaylee has stepped into the role. Trying to advise me. Great. Yeah. Well, that's really important.
You know, I think wise counsel is really key to have somebody that's a sounding board, that understands the heart of God in scripture, but who's skilled in both financial planning. And in your case, you also need somebody who's skilled in investment management. Because, you know, we really want to think about what is the best way to position these assets where you're being tax efficient in your withdrawal strategy whenever that comes. When you're thinking about your multiple streams of income, you've got your survivor's benefits, you're working. At some point, you're probably going to have required minimum distributions that you have to take out of these accounts.
And all of that has an effect from a tax standpoint on things like Medicare premiums and so forth.
So having somebody who can walk alongside you and in the estate planning to make sure that you've got the proper things in place, whether that's a will or a will and a trust, which can provide some efficiency in passing assets to your heirs. Without probate. It can also help in terms of making sure the timing of the inheritances, if there are any that are planned, rather than you just giving it all away at death. If you want the timing to be based on certain triggering events, a trust can be helpful. And then there's the mix of investments that's the right fit for you so that you're not taking unnecessary risk.
But we're still growing these assets, the sizable assets that you and your husband have accumulated, so that you can outpace inflation and that this can be there if you needed it for, let's say, long-term care, which can run $100,000 or more a year if you needed skilled nursing care at some point down the road.
So having that advisor to journey with you is going to be key. Do you feel like, Lou, that the friend who's an advisor is the person you'd like to use for that financial planning going forward, or would you rather have somebody who is new to the relationship? I'm not sure about that. I mean, I've known this guy since before my husband and I even married. He we go way back.
Um But he's not local. And I'm not sure if his values and my values are the same. Yeah. Well, I think that's an important call out because I'm a big believer. If you listen to this program, you hear me talk about it all the time.
That somebody who shares your values is really key.
Now, we need to make sure that this is somebody who's competent, who's experienced, who's got impeccable character. But I think somebody who also shares your values as a Christ follower and understands the counsel of scripture is really key. Just because money decisions are heart issues at the end of the day, and your desire to give and invest and provide and enjoy, you know, we really start with God's word as we think about each of those things because the Bible has a lot to say about that. I also think it'd be helpful for you to have somebody local, somebody that you can, you know, go into their office a few times a year and somebody you can call, certainly when you have a question, but somebody where you're meeting, because I think peace of mind is going to come from you knowing there's a plan and that you know. Know what that plan is, and that that plan reflects what's most important to you.
And somebody who's going to take the time to uncover what your passions and purpose are, so that as you lean into your identity, which is a steward in Christ of God's resources, that you're then free to be able to work alongside that professional to use these assets and hold them loosely, but to manage them in such a way that reflects your priorities as a steward. What I would recommend as a next step, Lou, just because of the importance of this role of an advisor, is to head over to findaceka.com. CKA stands for Certified Kingdom Advisor and see if there isn't a certified kingdom advisor in your area there in Ohio. I might interview two or three and find the one that's the best fit. But I think once you find that trusted advisor who does share your values, who perhaps is local, starting with a planning engagement where there's a lot of discovery, the Advisor would spend a lot of time getting to know you and your goals and objectives, your income needs, your assets, your tax situation, your giving desires, your current investment mix, and then together working on a plan and then ultimately having somebody who can manage these assets so you're not having to think about, well, do I buy this investment or that?
And do I sell this or sell that? And where's the market going in the future? That, in my view, unless that was something you were just really wanting to do or you were passionate about it or you were trained in it, I delegate that to an advisor who can do that for you. And then you don't have to bear the weight of that.
So, that would be my recommendation: is that you head to findacka.com, find that trusted advisor. And then I also wanna send you a book. It's called Wise Women Managing Money. It's by Miriam Neff. Her husband, Bob, when he passed away, she started a ministry serving widows.
And she wrote this book for women just like you, Lou, and we wanna send that to you as our gift. Stay on the line, we'll get your information, we'll get this book out to you. And then I'd head to findacka.com to find a local advisor. And if I can help along the way, give us a call back. Thanks for your call today.
Folks, that's going to do it for us. A big thanks to my team today: Jim Henry, Devin Patrick. We're also grateful for Pat as well as Adam, who work as a team to handle our phones. You have a great day and come back and join us tomorrow. We'll see you then.
Bye-bye. Faith in Finance is provided by FaithFy and listeners like you.
