Investing: Gold/Silver & or God?

Invest/Investing . Ezekiel 7:19 . Ezekiel 7. Matthew 6:19-21 . Zephaniah . I Peter . Proverbs/Mishle . I Timothy . James 5:1 . Gospel of Matthew. Gospel of Luke . Gold/Silver . Treasure . Wealth/Riches . Lord/God

Wonder why I'm sharing on this area? I was invited to stay with a friend on the weekend and we talked about our Sunday School Lesson. I shared my notes with her & in the mean time I looked at some of her books and magazines and noticed some things that I begin to ponder on.

Now understand that I have no Seminary/Theological teaching/training, but read and study the Scriptures for yourselves.

Ezekiel 7 ... Israel's final desolation. Mournful repentance of those who escape. Under the type of a chain is shewed their miserable captivity. The enemies defile the sanctuary because of the Israelites' abomination.

Matthew 6:19 ... Our treasure. Where our treasure is to be laid.

Ezekiel 7:19 ... They shall cast their ... silver ... in the streets, and their ... gold ... shall be removed (for a separation, or uncleanness); their ...silver(Proverbs/Mishle 11:4/Zephaniah 1:18) and their ... gold,... shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock (Ezekiel 44:12; 14:3,4) of their iniquity.

Civil & Social Life; Social Relations & Duties; Riches, Of No Real Profit to the Wicked

Matthew 6:19-21 ... Lay (Proverbs/Mishle 23:4; I Timothy 6:17; Hebrews 13:5; James 5:1) not up for yourselves treasures upon earth where moth & rust doth corrupt, & where thieves break through & steal: ... But lay (Matthew 19:21; Luke 12:33,34; I Timothy 6:19; I Peter 1:4) up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, & where thieves do not break through nor steal: ... For where your treasure is, there will you heart be also.

Eschatology/Last Things; Heaven; Descriptions of Heaven, A Secure Abode


Scripture reference used/taken from: The International Teacher's Handy Bible Encyclopedia/Concordance KJV Precious Promise Bible & KJV Topical Reference Bible

Biblical Teaching: Biz & Affairs ... Decisions & Plans

Godly Worldview . Ideas . Ventures. Business . Proverbs/Mishle/Mashal . Solomon . Poor/Poverty . Temple . Tabernacle . Festival/Feast of Tabernacle . Abraham . Lydia

Through this article there are about seven excerpts from some books that I shared on June 6, 2013 with a small Church.


Proverbs 16:3; 17:8,23; 18:16; 19:21: 28:8

Proverbs 16:3 ... The Upright Are Blessed & Prospered (Prosperity means different things to different individuals) ... Man Redeemed; Faith; The Duty of Believing

Proverbs 18:16 ... Civil & Social Life; Manners & Customs; Gifts, Their Use


Proverbs 17:8,23

Verse 8 ... Civil & Social Life; Manners & Customs; Gifts, Their Use

Verse 23 ... Civil & Social Life; Manners & Customs; Gifts, Their Abuse


Proverbs 19:21 ... Works Of God; God's Providence In Man's Temporal Affairs; God Overrules Human Designs


Proverbs 28:8 ... Prosperity in Business .... Industrial Employments & Products; Trade & Commerce; Usury Forbidden (usury: act or practice of lending money at interest, esp., at an exorbitant rate).

Book of Proverbs 'Hebrew' title is 'Mishle,' the singular of which is 'mashal,' usually translated "proverb."


John 12:8 ... (Deuteronomy 15:11; Matthew 26:11) ... Jesus Christ; Christ's Ministry; His Ascension

Poor/Poverty ... Kindness to (Psalm/Tehillim 82:3-4; Proverbs/Mishle 22:22) ... By the apostle Paul (Romans 15:25) ... Churches at Macedonia & Achaia (Acts 11:29-30) ... The good Samaritan (Luke 10:33,35) ... Christian Church at Jerusalem ( Acts 6:1).


Abraham (Abram) (father of a multitude) called by God, & sent to Canaan (Genesis 12:1-5) ... blessed by Melchizedek, king of Salem (Genesis 14:19; Hebrews 7:1).

Sowing & Reaping ... Hebrews 7:1-2; Malachi 3:10-12; Galatians 6:7-10; Luke 6:38






Leaders Read, They are Managers, Speakers, Stewards in Service, Writers & they use Digital (Internet) Avenues. And yes there are pros and cons. Leadership is about Character. If you don't enjoy writing you will not be good at blogging. (25 Principles For Leadership That Matters by Dr. R. Albert Jr., President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary).



Millionaire Mindset not based on Hollywood ... 29% stumbled across a great opportunity, 27% discovered after trial & error, 12% disliked or lost previous job, 2% discovered at Franchise Fair. 52% Attend religious services, 47% pray & 22% Bible/Devotional reading. Their spouses: down to earth, traditional values, patient & understanding. (The Millionaire Mind by Dr. Thomas J. Stanley, author, lecturer, & researcher who studied the affluent since 1973).


Chapter 11: Empowerment & Enfranchised ... (SHAPE) Spiritual Gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality & Experiences were given to us before we were born. Leutrell 'Mike" Osborne Sr. in the last 25 years, have increased his core competency talents. He developed a third core competency leading the (SBA) Small Business Administration. In 1984, he quit the C.I.A. after 26 years to become an entrepreneur working as an international food broker. (And yes, I have a autographed copy of his books .... Black Man In The C.I.A. by Leutrell M. Osborne Sr.)


Solomon (peaceful), King of Israel (II Samuel 12:24; I Chronicles 28:9,29) asks of God wisdom (I Kings 3:5; 4:29: II Chronicles 1:7) ... build the temple (II Chronicles 3-5) ... visited by the queen of Sheba (II Chronicles 9; Matthew 6:29; Mathew 12:42)

Temple ... built about B.C. 970, standing until B.C. 587, destroyed by the Babylonians (II Kings 25:8,9) ... Zerubbabel's Temple (Ezra 3:8) ... decrees of Cyrus & Darius for rebuilding (Ezra 6:3,13) ... Christ drives out buyers & sellers (Matthew 21:12; Luke 19:45) ... symbolical of the body of Christ (John 2:19-21) ... of God & Holy Ghost, Christians are (II Corinthians 6:16)

Tabernacle/Mischan ... its construction (Exodus 25-27; 36-38; 40) ... typical (Hebrews 8:2; 9:2) ... The First Tabernacle was doubtless the dwelling or headquarters of Moses, & the place where the public business of the nation was transacted.

Festival/Feast of Tabernacles (Hebrew) great feasts or festivals in the Jewish Year. Tabernacles was in the fall. There were also three lesser feasts. Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:25; John 7:37,38; John 8:12)


Lydia of Thyatira (Acts 16:14,40) ... a country of Asia (Ezekiel 30:5) ... She was a seller of purple (costliness) Purple between crimson & violet (Exodus 25:4; 26:36; Judges 8:26; II Chronicles 2:14)

Lydians ... A country of people in the N. Africa or Asia Minor (Isaiah 66:19; Jeremiah 46:9)

Purple, Red, Crimson, & Scarlet: Of conquest, Types & shadows of the Atonement, of iniquity, of prosperity (Isaiah 63:2; Revelation 12:3; Hebrew 9:19-23; Isaiah 63:1-3; Isaiah 1:18; Revelation 17:3-4; Proverbs/Mishle 31:21; II Samuel 1:24)


Day 289: Most people want instant success. God promotes with precision & judges your heart. When God promotes; He will sustain. God has to establish your roots so you/I can be strong when the storm comes. Being a servant first allows your roots to be established so you will know what to do once appointed a king! (Getting To The Root of Your Problem by Dr. Rico D. Short, Endodontist or Root Canal Specialist to the Stars, Celebrities, Actors, Producers, Writers, Comedians, TV Anchors, Sports Athletes, & Music Artists).


America's Family Financial Expert on Debt: When Ellie Kay & her husband married they were in $40,000 consumer debt & within 2 1/2 years they were debt free & haven't looked back since. This is my goal. (The Debt Diet: An Easy - To - Follow Plan to Shed Debt & Trim Spending by Ellie Kay, America's Family Financial Expert).


How To Protect Financial Data (Chapter 9) ... Various options you can use to protect your Financial Information data & files. Bonus CD-Rom included. (Financial Statements.xls: A Step by Step Guide to creating Financial Statements using Microsoft Excel by Joseph Rubin, CPA).


Free & A Word of Caution ... Some of the Internet's best promotional opportunities are FREE. Good ideas have been stolen from naive, cash-starved individuals by those possessing a lack or scruples & the where-withal to capitalize upon them. This is book is for anyone (for he states the only color that anyone should be interested in is 'green') but especially for Blacks/African Americans for he knows their struggles. (The Complete Startup Guide for the Black Entrepreneur by Bill Boudreaux, MBA, CPA).


Scripture Reference used/taken from: The International Teacher's Handy Bible Encyclopedia/Concordance KJV Precious Promise Bible, KJV Topical Reference Edition Bible, The New Devotional & Practical Family Bible (copyright 1879 by J.R. Jones), & Reader's Digest Oxford Complete WordFinder

Our Troops .. Encourage Them & Their Families .. Book Review (2007)

Troops . Flag Day . Military Families . Active Duty . Reserve . Matthew 25 . Care Packages

As we know Flag Day is June 14, 2013.

Sharing suggestions from a book I reviewed over five years ago ...
Be a source of strength and encouragement for military families as these committed soliders, both active duty and reserve, protect our freedoms and defend.

Several ways churches can help military families feel appreciated:

Post prayer reminders in church bulletins listing parishioners or their family members still in action, and hold a special service to honor them.

Ask families and Sunday School class to adopt military members. Check on their loved ones. Pray for and write them.

Take donations for care packages (The Department of Defense recommends using Operation USA Care Package, http://www.usocares.org) Include items such as church bulletins, prepaid long-distance cards (available at http://www.operationuplink.org). (Camouflage pocket-sized New Testaments and devotionals are available from Campus Crusade for Christ's Military Ministry, http://www.milmin.org)

Start support groups for spouses of deployed members.




Ellie Kay -- If Bob knows that when he returns from his mission he will have a loving family waiting for him, he is better equipped to perform at the height of his capabilities.

Matthew 25:34-36,40

Jesus also explained that good works alone will not ensure someone a place in heaven. We can't board a chartered "Works Plane" to get us to heaven.

A reserved solider is part of the country's armed forces, subject to call in an emergency.

Our nation called upon its army of volunteers when in 2005 Hurrican Katrina hit the Gulf Coast.

Rick Warren -- Great opportunities to serve never last long. They pass quickly, sometimes never to return again. You may only get one chance to serve that person, so take advantage of the moment.

Tips shared from "What's in the Bible for Women" by Georgia Curtis Ling & Larry Richards, Ph D.

(Georgia is an author & well-liked speaker. She has been teaching & helping women find answers through the Bible. She graduated from Kentucky Christian University with a major in Bible in 1979).

(Dr. Larry Richards -- General Editor, was converted while in the Navy in the 1950's. He has written several Sunday School curriculum for every age group. He has published more than 200 books & his books have been translated into 26 languages).

Business Development of eHarmony .. Book Review (2005)

Book Review . Family-friendly . Dating . eHarmony . business coach host . writer . editor . Failing in Love For all the Right Reasons . Soul Mate . biz development . business development . Christian Worldview . faith based . ethnic backgrounds . religions . races


Sharing some tips from a book that I reviewed in 2005.

I did not want to focus on the dating from the book, so I focused from the business development from the book.

I received a review copy of eHarmony while being the business coach host, writer, editor for a site.

Development of eHarmony.com has more than 500 questions based on 29 dimensions that their scientific research has shown are crucial to long-term success in relationships.

In 1995 Dr. Neil Clark Warren, moved his counseling practice to a new office in Pasadena. Much of his time was consumed with creating materials to teach people how they could have a better marriage. One day while talking with his son-in-law Greg Forgatch, he told him about a study he had done in which he asked 100 married couples to tell him what makes a great marriage.

His son-in-law asked him had he ever thought of creating a service for singles based on that kind of information?
They began to dream of an educational service based on such empirical data.

This data is share in the book "Failing in Love For all the Right Reasons - How to find your Soul Mate" written by Dr. Neil Clark Warren, founder of eHarmony.com with Ken Abraham.

In 1977 Greg and Dr. Warren traveled to Santa Monica, California, where they met Pete Hurt, the former CEO of MasterCard and the current CEO of Advanta ( a financial services company for small businesses).

Pete became convinced that the only way a matchmaking company could succeed was to expand the pool of available partners. And the most helpful way of doing that seemed to be by means of the Internet.




Pete encouraged Greg and Dr. Warren to develop a program and put it on the Internet. Pete told Dr. Warren that he would be his advisor, only if he would use the Internet.

They took another year and a half to gather and analyze their empirical data.

To collect accurate reliable information, they decided to devise a questionaire for married couples to complete. They developed a team of researchers comprised of PdD's and research assistants, many of whom had worked alongside him when he taught graduate -level psychology classes. Dr. Galen Buck Walter, a brillant former student of his, was one of the first to come on board after Greg Forgatch and their friend Greig Steiner.

Galen introduced them to his friend Steve Carter, who was taking a break from his doctoral program for a while. Steve joined them in their quest. Soon Steve brought in antoher friend, Grant Langston, and they started meeting every day, working on questions they wanted to ask married couples.

A friend of Greg's, Kevin Burke, also assisted them greatly in the process. Kevin is the director of Lucid Marketing, a company with great expertise in public relations. It was Kevin who first almost whimsically tagged the fledgling company and future Internet site with the name "eHarmony.com."

Greg informed Lorrie that we were not going to match individuals on external appearances or bank accounts, but on values, character, and other inner qualities, she caught the vision for what we could do.

As they began developing their eHarmony team, they didn't go to other Internet companies in an attempt to hire away their best people. That would have produced an environment of MBA's, marketing people, and Internet techies who would say, "Well, the last five times we created one of these Internet companies, we did it this way."

Although Dr. Warren and Greg approached the problem from a faith-based, Christian Worldview, they have people of various ethnic backgrounds, races and religious faiths harmoniously working together at eHarmony.

Dr. Warren's wife, Marilyn has a background in fundraising. Marilyn raised more than $150 million during her tenure as a library. From the beginning of eHarmony, Marilyn had been their best public relations person.

They had secured a few financial grants to help get them started and had lined up investors to help them afford the initial launch costs. The equipment and technology wweb site cost more than $3.1 million. They had no clients when they first opened for business in August 2000, it cost more than $300,000 per month in overhead merely to keep the company going.

Not only did they pick up new members to eHarmony following his interview on the nationally broadcasted radio show, they multiplied from barely 4,000 people on their site at the time to more than 350,000 singles on eHarmony within twenty-four months.

In 2002 he was invited to return to the nationally syndicated radio show to represent an update. By then they were adding nearly one thousand new users every day and more than two hundred couples had married after being matched on eHarmony.

The corporate culture at eHarmony is rather laid-back, but it is definitely not sloppy.