June 25th - July 1 Reading List

The following is a list of fantastic postings from around the dividend world:

Dividend Mantra presents: What are your dividends for?

Jae Jun (on Seeking Alpha) breaks down the fundamentals: Value Stocks Like a Pro: The Absolute PE Model

Dividend Growth Investor presents: Eight Golden Geese Laying Golden Eggs for Shareholders

Dividend Growth Stocks gives an inside look into the fantastic effects of compounding interest: 3 Powerful Concepts for Compounding Wealth with Dividend Stocks

The Dividend Guy gives a 6-step plan to preparing for retirement: How to Build a Solid Dividend Retirement Portfolio

The Passive Income Earner shows the steps necessary for early retirement: Financial Freedom at 45

God Owns Everything

Being a Christian, one of the most common questions I ask myself is, "What does God want to for my life?" Often, I ask this question to God in terms of my marriage, my friendships, my career, or how to overcome difficulties in my life. However, I often forget to ask God what he wants for my financial life. Therefore, I want to challenge myself to study more and gain a better understanding of what God wants for my family's finances. Each week, I am going to write about my studies, and I hope that you will join me, challenge me, help me, and pray for me on this path.

The place I wanted to start is with the understanding that God own everything. The very first sentence of the Bible says,

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (Gen. 1:1).


Now that seems like a really simple place to start, but when you think about the magnitude of that sentence, you realize that God created everything, and in creating everything, he owns it as well.

God makes his ownership claim very directly in the Book of Haggai. In this book, which is set in 520 B.C. in Jerusalem, the Jews are struggling to rebuild the temple. Morale is low and funds are running out for completion. Most importantly however, the Jews are focused on their own issues and not on God's work. Therefore God challenges them by saying,

Why are you living in luxurious houses while my house lies in ruins...Look at what's happening to you! You have planted much but harvest little. You eat but are not satisfied. You drink but are still thirsty. You put on clothes but cannot keep warm. Your wages disappear as though you were putting them in pockets filled with holes!" (Haggai 1:4-6)


Then a little later, as if that challenge is not enough, God makes it abundantly clear to the Jews,

"The silver is mine, and the gold is mine." (Haggai 2:8)


God owns everything in the universe, including money and wealth, and we are merely temporary possessors of that wealth. Therefore, we need to turn to God and ask him how he would like his wealth spent.