This post was originally written for my church's blog.
One of my favorite things to teach over in the Reformed theology class is Perseverance of the Saints. If you haven't joined a class, this week you can make a one-week cameo appearance in our class and I believe you'll love it.
The reason I love this class so much is that more than anything else studied, this concept is something that is tremendously enlightening and exciting. You see, the fact that it is God who preserves our salvation is incredibly encouraging. Knowing that my identity being cemented forever as a child of the one true King is enough to excite even the most doldrummed observer of the Christian faith.
The problem I usually see if that most people reduce this tremendous promise of Perseverance of the Saints to merely Eternal Security. While it is true that it includes the promise that our eternal destination is secure, to say that is all that is included in this historical truth is like saying that the only benefit of eating is sustenance. It is an invaluable, and perhaps even the most important, part, but it fails to grasp the entirety of the gift God has given us.
Surely, as we study the historical truth of Reformed theology, we realize that God gets complete credit for our salvation. When we know this truth, we understand that it being sustained is also to his credit. However, there is another glorious truth contained within this concept. Perseverance is not limited to the act of continuing. It also involves the journey itself.
In this case, we learn that God's perseverance of us does not just have to do with our eternal destination, but rather with the way we relate to him while still here. A former pastor of mine once said, "You were not elected you to go to Heaven. You were elected to live a righteous life to His honor and glory. Heaven is a by-product."
Our perseverance allows us to live lives that honor Him. It allows us to reflect our God in this life here. And learning about that can bring honor to our God is so exciting, how can I help but be super-enthused about it? This is a class we'll all enjoy!
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Investing for the Future
As I was watching Friends recently, I learned what Ross Geller would do, if in fact, he won the lottery. Obviously, the comedic elements don't necessitate an actual answer, but the reality is investing is an important part of life. I've previously stated that investment is important. As a real estate professional, I am incredibly biased, but I believe real estate is a tremendous place to invest one's money.
Investing one's money is such a complicated subject that there is no way I could get into every nuance, even if I knew them all. While it can be used to increase one's current standard of living, I will address the concept of investing for one's retirement. While I believe it is possible (and even common) for one to idolize the concept of retiring, it is a worthwhile venture to plan for when working, as much and as often as you currently do, is (or almost is) impossible. The government has allowed several different ways to invest for retirement with tax benefits, including an IRA and a Roth IRA.
My primary thought is that most people do not know how to invest this retirement money in anything other than stocks. Stocks can be a fantastic investment and one of the pastors at my church, Mike Graham, can tell you how if his grandparents had listened to his 12 year old brother, they would be the richest family in the USA. Obviously, a tremendous amount of wealth can be gained by investing properly in stocks. I guess my main beef is that I have an MBA, feel like I understand relatively well how stocks work, and I can't name a single stock that I can (with any accuracy) predict what it will do in the future. This may be the primary way I display my ignorance, but it is where I live.
I believe the most under-used investment tool for IRA's in investing in real estate. So you ask, "Can my IRA really invest in real estate?" The answer is USUALLY Yes! I say underused, because I believe if a 100 person survey (Family Feud Style) were taken on what is a better investment-stocks or real estate, a certain number of people would say real estate. Whatever that number is (you've got one in your head at this point), the answer is probably more than 1. If it is, the concept is underused, because less than 1% of the population uses its IRA money on real estate.
If you are in that portion of the population that feels real estate is the better investment, but never considered using it for your own retirement account, contact NuView and set up a self-directed IRA. Then, call or email our office, so we can guide you through the specifics of choosing good real estate investments. Then, when you retire, you can have a healthy amount in your retirement account to make it fun to do things like travel, visit grand-kids, or just give your favorite blogger nice gifts!
Investing one's money is such a complicated subject that there is no way I could get into every nuance, even if I knew them all. While it can be used to increase one's current standard of living, I will address the concept of investing for one's retirement. While I believe it is possible (and even common) for one to idolize the concept of retiring, it is a worthwhile venture to plan for when working, as much and as often as you currently do, is (or almost is) impossible. The government has allowed several different ways to invest for retirement with tax benefits, including an IRA and a Roth IRA.
My primary thought is that most people do not know how to invest this retirement money in anything other than stocks. Stocks can be a fantastic investment and one of the pastors at my church, Mike Graham, can tell you how if his grandparents had listened to his 12 year old brother, they would be the richest family in the USA. Obviously, a tremendous amount of wealth can be gained by investing properly in stocks. I guess my main beef is that I have an MBA, feel like I understand relatively well how stocks work, and I can't name a single stock that I can (with any accuracy) predict what it will do in the future. This may be the primary way I display my ignorance, but it is where I live.
I believe the most under-used investment tool for IRA's in investing in real estate. So you ask, "Can my IRA really invest in real estate?" The answer is USUALLY Yes! I say underused, because I believe if a 100 person survey (Family Feud Style) were taken on what is a better investment-stocks or real estate, a certain number of people would say real estate. Whatever that number is (you've got one in your head at this point), the answer is probably more than 1. If it is, the concept is underused, because less than 1% of the population uses its IRA money on real estate.
If you are in that portion of the population that feels real estate is the better investment, but never considered using it for your own retirement account, contact NuView and set up a self-directed IRA. Then, call or email our office, so we can guide you through the specifics of choosing good real estate investments. Then, when you retire, you can have a healthy amount in your retirement account to make it fun to do things like travel, visit grand-kids, or just give your favorite blogger nice gifts!
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