“Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap it if we do not grow weary.” -  Galatians 6:9

New England has the well-deserved reputation of being a spiritually challenging area—some would even say a spiritually dead area. But I am so pumped up by what the Lord is doing in this part of the country. On Saturday, I had the opportunity to speak at Iron Sharpens Iron men’s conferences in Worchester and Hudson, Mass.  About a 1,000 men attended and the Spirit of God clearly was present and moving in the hearts of these men.

I believe that Compass is playing a key role in what I pray, is the beginning of a revival in New England. Our New England Executive Director, Yvonne Mitto, has been a gift from our Lord. A native of Jamaica, Yvonne is an extraordinarily godly and capable person. A growing number of people have joined her who are passionate about teaching others God’s way of handling money.  The outstanding Blount Radio Network carries our half hour MoneyWise throughout much of New England.

I’m flying out of Boston as I write this blog, and what strikes me is the size of this major metropolitan area with its millions of people. I am deeply saddened. My heart is breaking as I realize most of them do not know Jesus Christ as their savior. They are destined to live separated from Christ throughout eternity in an indescribably dreadful place . . . unless we pray and encourage the work of Christ in this area.

I pray that you’ll join me and Yvonne and her team is praying for God to open many hearts to be receptive to the message of Christ and His way of handling money.

God bless you,
Howard

Many of us have heard or read this story of Peter walking on water. I recently was reading
this passage during one of my devotional times and wanted to share a few things that stuck out to me and challenged me as well- I hope they do the same for you.

The disciples have been out in a storm for potentially ten hours, going roughly only three and a half miles. I would imagine they are not only discouraged, but feeling pretty beaten up. Having been in a few actual storms myself, it becomes hard to see with a piercing rain in your face, your body tenses with every flash of lightning and I can only imagine that ten hours of this would be exhausting.

The disciples are in survival mode, doing whatever they can to conquer this storm and come out of it alive. There are no lifeboats and no coast guard to bail them out if things get worse. They will need to rely on their instincts and experience to get out of this storm.

And that’s when Jesus comes on the scene- and not in your normal fashion. As he walks on
water, the disciples are freaked out. The toll of the storm has left them weary and exhausted. The violent winds, rain and water continue to skew their vision. They recognize the voice but are pretty hesitant- it’s not everyday you see somebody walking on top of the waves.

Most of us know what happens at this point- it is Peter who jumps out of the boat after Jesus tells him, begins walking on water, takes his eyes off the Lord and proceeds to sink. I don’t know about you, but I can relate to Peter and the disciples here. Sometimes it is really hard to see the Lord when going through a “storm” in our lives. The tendency for most folks is to try to push through it and “fix” it ourselves.

Matthew 14: 22-33 gives us a great picture of how to respond when a storm comes your way and you are having a hard time seeing the Lord in your circumstances. These three things have had a profound impact on me when I have experienced challenging  circumstances in my life.

Know that God is in control- Understand that God is ultimately in control of every event, even the difficult ones- it was Jesus who calmed the storm. This is much easier said than done- even the disciples didn’t recognize that God was in control until after the storm died down, but the following verses can be an encouragement to you when feeling like the storms in your life are out of control. (1 Chronicles 29:11, Psalm 115:3, Psalm 135:6, Luke 1:37, Isaiah 45: 6-7).

God has a purpose for adversity- God can use difficult times to draw us closer to Him and help us grow in our relationship with Him (James 1: 2-4, Romans 8: 28-29). The end result of this storm in Matthew is the disciples saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” My guess is that this was a pretty pivotal moment in their relationship with Jesus.

Never go through a storm alone- Although the disciples were all in the storm together, they did have each other to lean on. Having someone alongside you during a storm gives you the opportunity to hear from others expertise, wisdom and insight. More importantly, it gives them an opportunity to pray for you and your particular storm.

God Bless, Kyle

In my job, I have the ability to “trade” my regular schedule for more work, when it becomes available.   With two kids in college, money is going out faster than it is coming in.  I now find myself trying to “up the paycheck” at every opportunity.  I was considering working more days to be a better provider, but it would be a trade-off.  I would be losing time with my kids, while they were home from college between semesters.

Before moving on to the next task of the day, I took a break to scan through the first chapter of Proverbs, and there in verse 19, my eyes caught these words, “So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain; It takes away the life of its owners.”  This moved my heart.

It’s not that providing for my family was wrong, it’s just that I had fallen into a trap, trying to wear myself out just to have more.  I sensed that I was losing my balance between having more money vs. time with those I love.

Winning the balancing act is not about running down the pipe as fast as you can, it’s about staying in the game, steady all the way to the end.

Brad Jack
Executive Director, Texas

I have found fasting can essentially be an “extended pause”. Regardless of how long the fast is, its purpose is to draw us closer to the Lord, to put us in a position to hear His small, still voice and to allow Him to lead and guide us.

One of the things we teach people to do before making any “major” financial decisions is to pause before making a purchase. This helps to eliminate impulse buying and instant gratification. It puts us in a position to allow the Lord to guide and direct us before making purchases, to help differentiate wants and needs. It has been a great exercise that Danielle and I have learned to practice over time.

The expectations of instant gratification don’t react well to the denial of self. But it is when we give up a “perceived” necessity that we are able to see God reveal himself to us in remarkable ways. I have seen this many times as Danielle and I have paused when making decisions, waiting for the Lord to either give us clarity or to put us on the same page. The Lord has protected us many times through applying the “principle of pause” in our lives and has used this practice draw us closer to Him and each other. I would encourage you to give it a shot the next time you sense you are in a position to make a major decision that is driven by impulse, instant gratification or lack of clarity.

I pray that you have a wonderful week as we approach celebrating the risen Savior!!!!

God Bless,
Kyle

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Kyle Hasbrouck is the Vice President of Compass – finances God’s way. For more information about Kyle, please click HERE.

Bill Wade recently joined Compass to serve the Atlanta area. He just lost his mother and wrote this Widows & Peanuts article that I thought you’d enjoy.

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Going back to the family farm in Florida’s Panhandle always brings back fond memories of my childhood, such as, chasing the cats while being pushed by my brother in my red wagon. We also worked hard at the farm.

My grandmother was always cooking. I can remember walking in from the fields and hearing the weight jiggling on the top of the pressure cooker. This usually meant we were having our favorite: freshly boiled green peanuts!

During a recent visit to see my mother just before she died, she said, “I sure would love some boiled peanuts.” My heart sank because the peanuts already had been harvested. Nevertheless, I walked out to the field to see if any had been left.

I began looking along the edges of the field, and sure enough, the green peanut vines had been left! The trick to digging peanuts is loosening up the soil so the peanuts can be pulled up by the vine without losing many. I dug till the wheelbarrow was full. I’ll never forget the smile on my mom’s face when she saw all the peanuts!

Finding the peanuts for my mom who was so ill reminded me of Deuteronomy 24:19.  “If you forget to bring in a stack of harvested grain, don’t go back in the field to get it. Leave it for the poor, including foreigners, orphans, and widows, and the LORD will make you successful in everything you do (CEV).

All too often, we consume all we produce—whether it’s crops or income—and leave nothing behind to give to the poor and the widows. When you put your budget together, do you have anything left over? More than 70% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, which means even the edges are being consumed. One of our goals at Compass is to help people create a surplus in their finances as they learn God’s way of handling money, so that they can become more generous to fund God’s kingdom and to help meet the needs of the poor, widows and orphans.

In memory of my mother Shirley Wade
December 16, 1939 - February 21, 2012

Bev and I just returned from our first trip to Israel, and those 8 days were a once in a life time experience. Bev had been praying for months that Israel and Iran would resolve their nuclear differences, or at least, put them on hold until we returned. Thankfully,God answered her prayers J

The trip was amazing in many ways—from getting caught in an impressive storm while sailing on the Sea of Galilee to being at the Wailing Wall Saturday evening as the Jews celebrated the end of the Sabbath.

But one the most powerful experiences may surprise you. Located by every front door of every motel room was a small metal cylinder. When we asked our guide what it was, he said, “Well, it contains Deuteronomy 6:6-7, of course.”

It says, “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.”

The more I thought about it, the more I became convinced this is one of the keys to why many Jews have maintained their culture in the midst of being disbursed to nations around the globe for the last 2,000 years. Generally, they do a fabulous job of teaching the younger generation the Old Testament and the traditions of the Jewish faith.

This is a wake-up call for those of us who know Christ as our Savior. We need to ask ourselves from serious questions. Are we instilling in our children a love for God’s word and a deep desire to follow Christ no matter what the cost.

When an Israelite turns 18 years of age, they join the army. Every boy participates in the army for three years, every girl for two years. All of them visit two sites: The Holocaust Museum, which tells the story of six million Jews being exterminated by the Nazis during World War II. And Masada, the mountain peak where a band of 900 Jews held off the powerful Roman army for three year. The day before Masada fell to the Romans, they decided to commit suicide rather than subjecting their women to abuse and the men becoming slaves.

The message is clear: Never again another Holocaust even if we must fight to the death.

May we make a similar type of commitment as we train our children to love Christ and follow Him. Make it a priority. Help them understand that they are in a spiritual war. Let’s pass the good news of Christ on to future generations.

Think about it and grow.

Warmly in Christ,

Howard

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Howard Dayton is the Founder and CEO, Compass – finances God’s way. For more information about Howard, please click HERE.

The Donald and Kim Kardashian beat Bible on money advice!!

I was privileged to work with the American Bible Society (ABS) in producing the Financial Stewardship Bible. ABS did a terrific job with this very helpful Bible with all 2,350 verses dealing with money and possessions highlighted–in green, of course.

The Bible has just been publicly released, and USA Today conducted a survey to find out who the public would trust more for financial advice: the Bible, Donald Trump (several of his properties have been through bankruptcy) or Kim Kardashian (the reality show star).

Please go to http://usat.ly/zypXei to see the article and the results. I sent this link to a friend last night, and his response says it all:

“It never ceases to amaze me how glitter and superficiality in our culture take precedence over true and real values and meaning. Glamour over God’s Glory, so the world thinks. But this results only in meaningless detraction and depression rather than having eternal definition and purpose.

Pray for the work Compass has been called to do. We have a long way to go in equipping people in our country to handle money God’s way.

Warmly in Christ,
Howard

Last week I was delighted to reconnect with a close friend, Dale Jones, who told me an amazing story of God’s provision.

Dale and his wife sold their Atlanta home and moved to Washington, D.C. just before the housing market fell apart. They purchased a home in D.C. and began to invest a great deal of effort in serving the needy in their community. Later, he began to feel uncomfortable because of the size of the home and its mortgage. He knelt by his bed and cried out to the Lord to enable them to sell the home.

The next day there was a knock at the door. The man at the door told Dale that he liked the looks of the home and that he wanted to buy it. When told the purchase price, he immediately agreed. Think about this! There was no For Sale sign. It wasn’t listed with a real estate broker. He buyer didn’t even ask to see the inside of the home! But he bought it for cash with no contingencies. No question about it—God alone brought this buyer in this challenging market!

Dale and I were weeping because of the kind faithfulness of Jesus Christ. When I asked Dale why he thought the Lord had acted so quickly, he didn’t hesitate in saying, “Oh, it’s because of Isaiah 58. God honors those who care in practical ways for the needy.”

Read this slowly. Let the words of this passage sink deeply into your heart. “Is this not the fast which I choose . . . divide your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into the house; when you see the naked, to cover him; and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?  Then your light will break out like the dawn, and your recovery will speedily spring forth; and your righteousness will go before you; the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.  Then you will call and the Lord will answer; you will cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ . . . give yourself to the hungry, and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness, and your gloom will become like midday. And the Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places, and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail” (Isaiah 58:6-11).

Would you like to experience this promise: “Then your light will break out like the dawn, and your recovery will speedily spring forth; and your righteousness will go before you; the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.  Then you will call and the Lord will answer; you will cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ . . . your gloom will become like midday. And the Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places, and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.”

Then let’s care for those in need.

Warmly in Christ,
Howard

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Howard Dayton is the Founder and CEO, Compass – finances God’s way. For more information about Howard, please click HERE.

Last week on the MoneyWise radio program, Jane, one of the callers had a question we all grapple with from time to time. She was clearly feeling stressed out when she said, “I have a really big decision to make. I only want to do what the Lord wants me to do. But how can I be sure to get His direction.”

I completely understood where she was coming from. Fortunately, when it comes to getting the Lord’s direction on the BIG DECISIONS, there are four we should do and one responsibility that God has retained. First, what we should do:

1. Pray often about the issue. If you are married, pray together daily as a couple. If you are single, pray daily with a small group of friends. The Lord is pleased when there is agreement in prayer concerning an issue. Matthew 18:19-20 says, “If two or you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there I am with them.”
2. Spend consistent time reading the Bible. I’ve discovered on my really BIG decisions, that more often than not, the Lord will use a verse to confirm His direction. Before you start reading, ask Him to speak to your heart.
3. Seek counsel from godly people. Proverbs 12:15 says, “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel.”  If you’re married, your first counselor should be your spouse. Get counsel from as many respected godly people as you’re able.
4. Wait. Don’t be in hurry to force the decision or just make a guess. Be patient because often the Lord is waiting until in our hearts we say to Him, “I don’t care what direction you want for me. I am willing to do whatever you make clear.”

When I was in the real estate development business, because the projects were large and expensive, I wanted to make sure that Christ wanted me to do a project before I started. . . since my financial future huge in the balance! On average it took about 6 months before He revealed His direction. It required patience and perseverance to wait that long.

But here’s what is really freeing: It’s God’s responsibility to reveal His direction. It’s not our responsibility, it’s His! We’re to be faithful to pray, read the Bible, seek counsel and wait. God’s job is to reveal His direction in His timing.

Warmly in Christ,
Howard

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Howard Dayton is the Founder and CEO, Compass – finances God’s way. For more information about Howard, please click HERE.

James 4:14 says, “Yet you do not know your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.”

Occasionally, the Lord graciously reminds us that life is short and very uncertain.

While on a trip to Kentucky a week ago, I was brushing my teeth when for the first time suddenly the right side of my face went numb. On the right side, my lips drooped, I was unable to close my eye and couldn’t even wiggle my ear.

God had my undivided attention! Quickly, I called my doctor and described the symptoms, and he said, “Sounds like a stroke. Take some aspirin to thin your blood and get to the hospital—now!

I called my wife, Bev, to ask her to pray and spread the word, and two close friends, Jess and Angela Correll drove me to the Emergency Room . . . I’m pretty sure Angela could easily qualify as a NASCAR driver for the Daytona 500.

Immediately, I was admitted and after several tests they diagnosed the problem as Bell’s pasly, which affects about 40,000 Americans a year. It’s caused by the same virus that causes cold sores, and usually requires about 3-4 weeks for recovery.

What relief! However, the symptoms are still evident and have been a relentless reminder that life of this planet is short. Our next breath is uncertain.

My dear friend, Larry Burkett, who for years battled a fatal type of cancer used to say, “I wish all of God’s people had a fatal disease that was put into remission, because I know from experience it changes everything about our perspective.”

For the past 7 days, I have grown closer to Jesus Christ, have spent more quality time in the Bible, prayed more fervently, and been more grateful about everything.

Dear friends, I encourage you to examine your life. How are you doing in your walk with Christ? Is there an area of sin that needs to be dealt with? Are you loving and influencing others for Jesus?

Think about it and grow.

Warmly in Christ,
Howard

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Howard Dayton is the Founder and CEO, Compass – finances God’s way. For more information about Howard, please click HERE.