What's most important to you when it comes to choosing your financial advisor? Someone who's aligned with your biblical values. How about someone who will take the time to explain your options? Certified Kingdom Advisors are professionals who meet high standards in competence and integrity, and have been trained to offer biblical financial advice.
To find a Certified Kingdom Advisor in your area, visit faithfi.com and click Find a CKA. We love because He first loved us. 1 John 4.19.
Hi, I'm Rob West. Those six words beautifully capture the foundation of our relationship with God. We can only love and give because He first gave to us. Today, Sharon Epps joins us for a fascinating discussion on the generosity of women in the Bible. And then it's on to your calls at 800-525-7000.
That's 800-525-7000. This is Faith in Finance, biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. Well, it's always one of my favorite times when Sharon Epps takes the time to join us. She's busy as president of Kingdom Advisors and we're so grateful for her insight. She's been studying the women who financially supported Jesus and were named in Luke chapter 8. And Sharon, it's great to have you here.
Well, it's wonderful to be here. I'm excited to unpack the first few verses of Luke 8 as it talks about the women who actually supported Jesus. And could I just read the Word of God for a moment?
Please. Yeah. Soon afterward, he went through cities and villages proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the 12 were with him and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities. Mary called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's household manager, and Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their means.
Now, listen to that last phrase. These women provided for this traveling entourage out of their own means. Take a particular note of one of the women. Her name was Joanna. She was the wife of King Herod's household manager. And in this position, Joanna would have had wealth and a royal lifestyle. But we also see that Jesus met her in a weakened state. The Bible says that these women had been healed of spiritual or physical infirmities. So in this context, we see that Joanna's first act of generosity was actually receiving from Jesus rather than giving. Oh, that's an interesting observation.
Why do you think Luke records that fact, Sharon? Well, I think it's probably to remind us that money doesn't solve all of our problems and that we must receive before we have anything to give. Yeah, that's right. Before we can give money, we have to first have money. But this idea of receiving first isn't limited to just money, is it?
It really isn't. I mean, at the most fundamental level, we must receive the breath of God before we have life. That's right. We have to receive intelligence and skills and abilities. We receive love from God and our family. And in fact, in First Corinthians, Paul says, What do you have that you did not receive?
And the answer is, of course, nothing. We often fail to recognize that giving by design starts with receiving. We receive, then we give. And that process creates a virtuous cycle.
Oh, that's so good. Let's talk about Joanna a bit more. What do you think motivated her generosity? Well, wouldn't you think it has to be her love for Jesus and just gratitude for what he did for her?
For sure. Later in Luke 24, we actually find that she's heartbroken and confused at the empty tomb. She was there when the women encountered the two angels, and she remembered the words of Jesus when they were at the tomb. And it was she, Mary Magdalene, and Mary, the mother of James, that went and told the apostles what they saw. And her response was, I want to tell others what Jesus has done for me.
Oh, wow. Yeah, that's an awesome biblical account. Well, we always want to apply this to what we can take away. So what lessons would you share with our audience here? Well, I think for me, the thing I've been really reflecting on is that generosity is a journey, and it involves our relationship with Christ. As it grows deeper, our response to his love grows as well. And so Joanna shows us this sacrificial kind of giving that's an expression of extravagant love for Jesus. And my prayer is that I continue to receive so well so that I can be a conduit of Christ's love through generosity.
Wow. And I'd really like to make it even practical. I guess I'll just share where the Lord's had me in asking some questions of myself. First of all, what is something that I need to recognize that I received from Christ before I can be an extravagant giver? So often I think we look at just what we hold in our hand as mine, but I'm recognizing that it's a gift from Christ. And I ask myself, secondly, am I safe or sacrificial in my giving? And then thirdly, what does my current giving indicate about how well I've actually received?
Those are powerful. Folks, I would challenge you as well. Ask those questions to yourself today.
I'll do it. And let's see where the Lord might take us. Sharon, these are powerful observations from God's word about the women who financially supported Jesus. Thanks for your time today.
Glad to be here. That's Sharon Epps. She's president of Kingdom Advisors, a frequent and much appreciated contributor here at Faith and Finance. All right, folks, your calls are next. The number 800-525-7000.
We'll be right back. Are you looking for a financial professional who aligns with your biblical values? Certified Kingdom Advisors are trusted financial, legal or accounting professionals who have completed a rigorous certification program to ensure they provide biblically wise financial advice as part of their practice. You can find a local C.K.A.
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Running your business or caring for your kids and have peace of mind while doing it. Visit CHMinistries.org to enroll today. Well, so great to have you with us today on faith and finance. If you'd like to join the conversation today, it's quick and easy when you call 800-525-7000 again, that number 800-525-7000.
Why would you call that number? Well, together each day on this program, we help you make decisions in your financial life based on the principles we find in God's word. Marrying God's timeless truths with the practical decisions and choices you need to make each day as a steward of God's resources.
That's what we all are. Our goal? Well, faithfulness. Faithfulness to the opportunity that has been given to us.
That's right. Each of us, according to our ability, needs to steward or manage or care for what God has entrusted to us, however little or however much. Some may find themselves, as you listen to my voice right now, in a season of plenty, of abundance. You have more than you need. Others might be in a season of scarcity where you're looking to figure out how you're going to make that next payment. And maybe you're feeling a little like you're drowning in debt and just trying to figure out how to make a path forward. And, you know, typically there's more month than money on a monthly basis. Well, we want to help you in either scenario and even in between as we think about how to hold loosely what God has entrusted to us, recognizing money is a good gift from God.
We want to use it as a tool to accomplish his purposes. So if you have a question today, we'd love to tackle it. Call right now.
800-525-7000. Before we head to those phones, in the news today, a third of U.S. adults have layoff anxiety. That's the result of a survey of a thousand Americans by the business financing firm Clarify Capital. It also found that Gen Z'ers fear being laid off the most, with 40 percent indicating they worry about it. The survey also showed a shift in how workers feel about their jobs. Two thirds said they now put job security as a priority over career growth. One third said they would take a 10 to 20 percent pay cut to avoid being laid off. While a certain amount of layoff anxiety is always to be expected, experts say that fear can be channeled into things that enhance job security. They encourage workers to take advantage of any resources their employers offer to build job skills, including certification programs, perhaps online classes, even continuing education courses.
Seems like those efforts are always a good idea, but they're even more important if you're concerned about being laid off. So we want to work as unto the Lord. Remember, ultimately, we're working for the Lord Christ.
We're not working for our employer, and so we want to do everything in a way that honors Him. We are clearly in Scripture, under a biblical worldview, to work hard with our hands. Remember, we were created in the image of a worker himself. God creates out of nothing. We take His creation, the latent potential in it, and we improve it and order it and use it for flourishing and to love our neighbors and to promote the good in the world.
And there's a virtuous cycle there as we work hard and we give back that allows us, I think, to flourish in a way that God intended. But good news is the job market is still relatively strong, although we'll certainly keep a close eye on that. All right, let's head to the phones today. We're going to tackle your financial questions.
You can call right now 800-525-7000. The calls are coming in, but we've got room for a few more. Let's begin in Virginia today. Hi, Dan. Go ahead, sir. Hello, Rob. Thanks for taking my call. I really enjoy your program when I get to listen to it.
It's required in the steward to be found faithful and my wife and I want to be faithful with what God has given to us. I'm retired. We're both 68. A few years ago, we bought this house. We did some renovation. We borrowed money and got a term life insurance plan at that time.
We have no debt now at all. And I have a pension from the place that I worked with. We have Social Security.
She's still working some. I just want your thoughts on that term life policy. Of course, the premiums keep going up. Yeah. So you are beyond the original term that you took it out for. Is that right? Well, I thought it was a term policy.
OK. Yeah, it may not be. I mean, the idea behind what they call level term is that during the term, you know, the premiums stay the same. And then they increase dramatically at the end of the term, whether that be a 10 year term, 20, even a 30 year term. And, you know, normally you would either drop it or replace it at the end of the term because it becomes cost prohibitive.
The question I would ask, though, even before that is, is this and this is maybe why you're calling today. Is this even a necessary expense? Because when we take a step back and we say, OK, what is the purpose of the life insurance? Normally, the way we view life insurance is we have it during our working years while we're building assets to offset a risk, namely the risk that you or your spouse would pass away, your income would go away, and that would create a hardship for the surviving spouse. And so that life insurance is there primarily to fill that gap and provide a death benefit that would then be able to produce the equivalent income or maybe or and pay off a mortgage. And then perhaps thirdly, most commonly, folks will say, all right, I want to 10 to 12 times my income. I want to pay off the mortgage and I want to fund a college education for each of my kids.
And if if I knew all of that was covered, then if I pass away, the Lord calls me home, you know, my spouse has what he or she needs to continue to maintain their lifestyle. But in this case, you're debt free. You've got your income in place through your pension and perhaps Social Security. You don't have college educations to fund. And so this expense, it was necessary during your working years.
Now, it really isn't. And so you could redirect that into more productive purposes like savings, like additional giving, things like that. But give me your thoughts on that. I thought that's the type of thing you were going to say, and it is a fact that if I died, I believe my wife would be fine without the insurance. We do have some savings and other income from investments and my pension and Social Security and her Social Security. And I mean, I really believe she could be fine with without the life insurance.
Yeah. And the other factor here that you pointed out earlier is it is going to get more and more costly over time. And so the idea that you would go ahead and eliminate this expense, which would give you an immediate savings. Now, it's going to get even more beneficial for you to cancel it just because in the future to maintain that death benefit as you age. And therefore, you know, you're you know, the mortality tables are going to work against you as you get older. That's going to make that death benefit more costly.
And so I think, you know, taking this money and redirecting that into savings or, you know, whatever it might be, I think makes a lot of sense. So and if it truly is a term policy, then you just cancel it if it's not. And perhaps it's something different than you thought. I would certainly look to see if there's any kind of cash value that has accumulated. Perhaps not. But it's a little interesting that you're saying the premium is already increasing and you believe you're still in the original term.
That would not normally be the case. So I think that's my best advice is just to really scrutinize whether this is necessary. And if it's not, let's get rid of it and get it back in the budget.
Thanks so much for your call. Before we head into our break, let me remind you, you know, as we look at God's word and think about our role as managers of God's money, we can pull principles out of Scripture that are practical, but they're also timeless. For instance, the big ideas that we want to communicate is first that God would be your ultimate treasure. But then as we get into money management, we want to spend less than we earn because that's the key to every financial success.
We want to avoid the use of debt because debt mortgage is the future. We want to set long term goals because the longer term your perspective, the better your financial decision today. We want to have margin to fund those goals that God has given us. And we want to give generously because giving breaks the grip of money over our lives.
Well, I hope what we're sharing today is an encouragement to you and above all else, I hope it draws you into a more intimate relationship with the Lord. We're going to take more phone calls just around the corner. But first, this break, we'll be right back.
We'll be right back. As a do it yourself investor, no matter what's happening in the market, a short video webinar about that is available at soundmindinvesting.org. Financial wisdom for living well, soundmindinvesting.org. Thanks for joining us today on faith and finance for taking your calls and questions. The number to call 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000.
Let's go right to the phones to Palm City, Florida. Kobe, how can I help? I appreciate the program.
Been listening back since the Larry Marquette days. I've got a 401k through work and I believe it's pretty much invested in like high risk type things. Because when the market's good, it makes money hand over fist.
But when it's not doing so good, it loses like big time. Through the company, it's called Empower. It used to be Prudential and in their literature, there's an area where it says if you need help investing. But I'm just wondering your thoughts as far as investing through that company or I don't know if there's any other options as far as since I'm still working with the 401k.
Yeah, yeah, very good. Yeah, that's Empower is one of the largest retirement plan record keepers in the United States. So they, you know, offer employer sponsored retirement plans and the typical range of investment categories.
You know, you've got your, your target date funds, which are kind of the simplest way to make sure that as you're getting closer and closer to retirement, the mix of investments is automatically shifting from aggressive to conservative. Then you got your index funds, you know, which track the S&P 500. And then there's actively managed funds, both on the bond and the stock side. And then kind of the run of other types of categories, you know, large cap, mid cap, small cap, domestic, international, that type of thing. And then they do have managed account services where they will essentially manage your account for you. I wouldn't be able to say whether or not you know what that has added in terms of a historical performance, and whether you know Empower can justify the fees that they're charging and and give you a better rate of return because at the end of the day, that's what you'd be looking for is somebody to outperform, you know, the the indexes or the managed accounts, because you're gonna have to pay for that service. So perhaps you reach out to them and just find out what kind of data they can give you on how their performance has done versus the market. Apart from that, if you feel like you're being too aggressive, the target date fund could be a great option, where essentially you're still kind of in the broad market. But you're ensuring that as you get closer and closer to retirement, you're not too concentrated in stocks and therefore too aggressive.
Does that make sense? Sure. Is there like an average as far as percentage that they normally charge? Yeah, I'm not familiar with them. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if they're charging somewhere between one to one and a half percent a year if it's actively managed of the total investable assets. But that would be one of the first questions I would want to know. Can you give me some historical performance on how your managed account has performed versus the market and the other passive options and what are your fees?
Kobe, I hope that helps. Thanks for your call. Let's see. We're going to go to Tennessee and welcome Esther. Hi there. Hi.
Thanks for taking my question. Yes, ma'am. I am retired. I live on Social Security.
I need to know if I need a will or a trust for when my daddy dated me my property, he dated it to me and the errors in my body. Okay. Yep.
So the property that you're living in right now is deeded in your name. Is that right? That's correct. And the errors in my body. Okay.
Yeah. And so, you know, it's your property, if your name is on the deed, now we've got to decide how are you ultimately going to pass your assets at your death. And you can use a basic will, where it's simple to create if you don't have one, you could put one in place, it would go through probate, which is the court process. After death, the assets would transfer including the home to whoever you name. The benefit of a trust is you can give full control of the assets prior to death if you're incapacitated, or after death if you don't want it to pass immediately to an heir, if you wanted that to happen down the road, you know, beyond your death, that's where a trust can come in. It also allows you to keep the everything private, because it's not filed with the court. But if you're not worried about privacy, and you're not worried about it going through a probate, then a simple will is going to take whatever you have, including this piece of real estate. And it's going to tell the probate court and the, you know, the person, the executor of the estate, who gets your assets at your death, and that may be all you need. So with it being to me and the heirs of my body, then my son, it wouldn't automatically go to him.
Yeah, you would want to check with an attorney about that. I'm not familiar with that term. I know that's a legal term, and that appears in older wills, you know, that basically is just in my estimate, my understanding, and I'm not an attorney, so you should get one that refers to a person's direct biological descendants. And so, you know, that is outdated language. And it probably is an indication that you should update your will, or if you're referring to your father's will, then you need your own will, and ask the attorney how to handle that, kind of given that older language that was used, meaning the heirs of my body.
So here's my recommendation. I would go see an attorney and have the attorney look over the will that you're referring to and help you determine what you need to do moving forward, whether that's a trust for yourself or your own will, in order to make sure that your wishes are honored. Okay? It's not a will. It's a deed. Okay. He didn't will it to me. He deeded it to me.
Okay. Yeah, you're going to need to get an attorney to jump in on this. I can't give legal advice.
That is not my capacity. And so you need either a real estate attorney or an estate attorney to look over the deed and advise you on where to go from here, just so everything is done properly and in accordance with the the laws of the state of Tennessee. And unfortunately, I'm not I'm not able to advise you on that, Esther, but I'm confident you could get that decision.
You could ask for call your church and ask for a referral to a real estate attorney or an estate attorney or any one of our certified kingdom advisors could give you a referral as well. If you're comfortable on the web, you could go to our website, faithfi.com and click on find a professional and do a search there. All the best to you, Esther. Thanks for calling today. We appreciate it. Well, as we round out the broadcast today, let me remind you, if you're looking for a certified kingdom advisor, you can do that on our website at faithfi.com.
Just click find a professional. Now, if you're unfamiliar with that term, C.K.A., this is the only financial services industry designation for biblically wise financial advice. That's right.
C.K.A. 's have met high standards and character and competence. They've had a pastor and client reference.
They've had a regulatory review. They've met significant experience requirements as well. And you can have confidence when you choose the C.K.A. that you're choosing a financial professional that shares your values as a Christ follower. If you'd like to find a certified kingdom advisor in your area, just head to our website. Again, that's faithfi.com and click find a professional. You'll find C.K.A.
's in five disciplines, financial planning, investments, taxes, insurance and estate planning attorneys. Faithfi.com. Just click find a professional. Well, that's going to do it for us today. A big thanks to my team, Taylor Stanrich, Amy Rios and Tahira Haynes for the entire team. I'm Rob West and we'll see you next time here on Faith and Finance. God bless you.
