Prosperity in the New Year - God Promises Great Returns on Investments

Jeremiah 29:11-12 "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you," says the Lord.

Sometimes it seems a paradox that God says he desires above all things that we prosper and be in health --

3 John 2 "Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers."

—yet our prosperity is not of the things we possess.

Luke 12:15 Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

We can trust that God will care for us and bless us with prosperity. This is not a promise of abundant material blessings but of sufficient provision to do what God really desires. As we become good stewards of God’s riches, He will bless us with more and more.

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We need to understand clearly that God is the source of everything in our lives. Having wealth and abundance in our life has nothing to do with our own efforts.

Deuteronomy 10:14
To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it.

1 Chronicles 29:11
Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendour, for everything in heaven and earth is yours.

God owns everything that we call "ours". He owns our house, our car, all our possessions and all our savings and investment accounts. He owns all our animals, all our assets, all land and all buildings.

John the Baptist tells us that, through Christ, we worship a God of abundance.

John 1:16-17
From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another, For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.

Jesus tells his disciples why he came to live among us.

John 10:10
The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).

Our God is rich beyond our imagination to grasp. He is also generous. Despite the fact that it all belongs to him, he wants to share it with us.

Not only does God want us to have what we need for our daily life, he wants us to have all the godly riches we can hold.

That is why he has given us his promise to provide us with all we need, and then some, so that we may not only live abundantly, but also give abundantly.

Galatians 6:7 (The Message)
Don't be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he'll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God's Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.

–Treat Your Neighbours As You Wish to be Treated

James 3:17-18 (The Message)
Real wisdom, God's wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honour.

When we sow with real intention to grow plentiful crops, and when we care for the seeds we have sown, we reap more than we sow. God gives us more and more blessings in the form of more seed, as we prove ourselves worthy of his trust. God will continually and abundantly bless us with more as long as we continue to share his blessings.

– We Reap More Seed

2 Corinthians 9:10-11
Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

- A Portion of the Extra Seed We Reap Must Be Used for More Planting

It is important that we put aside part of our harvest to plant next year. And it is important that we share our harvest with our neighbors. As Paul tells the Corinthians in the verses above, part of the generous harvest God provides the righteous giver is to be used for new sowing. This way God will continue to bless us with more than enough food for our table and with a greater harvest for replanting and sharing.

In the book of Ruth when Ruth returned with her mother-in-law Naomi to Naomi’s land, Boaz allowed Ruth to follow behind his harvesters and pick up handfuls of wheat and corn. This practice was encouraged to permit the poor to gather food for their families.

Today, we see many grocers giving non-saleable produce (imperfectly shaped potatoes, 2-day-old raspberries, etc.) to “food banks” for distribution to the homeless and hungry.

Deuteronomy 24:19-22
When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow. When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow.

Leviticus 19:9-10
When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God.

When we plant more than we need, we reap a greater crop than we can use. We then can give happily a good portion of our harvest to others who are in need. God promises to bless us with more than we need when we are willing to share our surplus with others.

2 Corinthians 9:6-9
Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. As the Scriptures say, “They share freely and give generously to the poor. Their good deeds will be remembered forever.”

Jesus says that we must clear away all things (attachments and addictions that give us pleasure) that interfere with obedience and devotion to him. We must die to those areas in our life that hold us captive—those things that are the most difficult to give up.

If We Plant the Seed, Let it Die, and Trust God to Let it Grow—it Will Be Fruitful

Our part is to plant the seed. God’s part is to reproduce the seed many times over. Not only do we plant the seed in the earth (God’s Kingdom) and let it die (give up our fear of lack), we must continue to nourish the seed by watering it faithfully (being good stewards) and with patience, God promises a wonderful harvest.

We Must Be Willing to Die to Our Old Selves (bury the kernel of wheat) so We May Be Born Anew (reap our harvest) in Christ

The S-106 nebula called the "Snow Angel" nebula is found in a relatively isolated part of our Milky Way, approximately 2,000 light years away in the direction of the Cygnus (Swan) constellation.

This beautiful nebula measures several light years across, and contains vast clouds of gas that resemble outstretched wings amidst an hourglass shape. This image was released by NASA in December 2011.