September 14, 2025 • 30 mins
Money talks—but what is it saying about your heart? In this eye-opening episode of Life Talk podcast, Nate sits down with Jonathan Bush, co-leader of LifeHouse Church's financial counseling ministry, to unpack what biblical investing truly means beyond portfolios and retirement accounts.
Jonathan shares his personal journey from receiving his first credit card as an Air Force lieutenant to discovering financial freedom that allowed him to transition from military service to teaching aviation. Through vulnerable stories and practical wisdom, he reveals how financial choices reflect our deepest values and either enable or restrict our ability to follow God's calling.
"It's not that we need more money," Jonathan explains, "it's that we need to be better with the money we've got." This powerful perspective shifts the conversation from acquisition to stewardship—challenging listeners to examine whether their financial habits align with Scripture or cultural expectations. The hosts tackle common misconceptions about debt, retirement, and financial success, offering a refreshingly countercultural view grounded in biblical principles.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
What's up Life Talk family.
Welcome back to the Life Talkpodcast.
This is Nate coming to youtoday and excited to be still
continuing through the month ofSeptember.
Our theme this month is weInvest, so investing.
You heard last week from JasonKreidler for those who are part
of our Lifehouse campus here inMiddletown and Townsend, odessa.
(00:36):
He brought the word to us andreally talking about the
importance of investing.
And so today, as we continuewith that theme, I have a super
special guest.
We only bring special specialpeople on the podcast, but I
have my good friend and brother,jonathan Bush.
Man, how's it going today?
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Well, good morning, thank you.
It's a privilege to be on today.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
I'm glad you see it that way.
We like to think it's aprivilege, right?
But so, for those who don'tknow, jonathan Bush is a very
faithful part of LifeHouse.
He and I both co-lead ourfinancial piece financial
counseling ministry here atLifeHouse.
Some may not know we even hadthat, but Jonathan has a real
heart and lots of knowledge whenit comes to the finance, and so
(01:20):
, since we are WeInvest, wethought it'd be a great idea to
really focus an episode onfinances like investing in the
sense of what that looks likebiblically, not just, as Jason
said, stock markets and IRAs.
That's a component of it, butwhat does it really mean
biblically?
But before we get all the wayto that, jonathan, maybe you can
(01:41):
just share a little bit aboutwho Jonathan is, tell us a
little bit about yourself andyour walk, and just help the
audience get to know you alittle bit.
Absolutely Well, thanks.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Nate, yeah, I was just telling you know, when I
share my testimony.
A lot of times for me I wasfortunate.
I grew up in a Christian homewith a strong mother and father
who both shared Christ with meat an early age mother and
father who both shared Christwith me at an early age and so
(02:09):
kind of like some of our kidsthat have grown up from the
beginning sharing God and whoJesus was, I knew from when I
was at five my mom sat me downand we were at church.
We were watching this end timesapocalyptic video.
I really didn't understand it,but what she said was is
essentially, and what Iunderstood was that we all were
(02:32):
condemned and we needed Christwas salvation, and so made sense
to me.
That's, you know, that's thebeauty of the gospel, it's, it's
very simple.
And so I understood that andaccepted that.
And then from there growing up,obviously, obviously you know,
we got the process ofsanctification.
There's a lot of uh sin westill have to deal with in our
lives.
Uh, but in high school I uhreally is when that relationship
(02:55):
really kind of took off with meas Christ.
Um, I, I, uh was veryintentional at that point.
Um, I had a, um, veryintentional at that point.
I had a ski retreat, that highschool ski retreat, with another
church and it was where Godjust became really real to me.
That relationship wasn't justthe knowledge of and that's in
(03:16):
my head, but my heart knowledge,the desire to do and follow
Christ, obviously when you leavefor college.
I was fortunate enough to gointo the Air Force.
I got selected to go in the AirForce Academy back in 1999.
You know us older guys thatseems like just yesterday, but
obviously you know it was awhile ago.
But back then, like many youngmen, you have to kind of learn.
(03:42):
What do you believe and is that?
Are you going to stick to that?
And so you know there were somebattles there.
I had to, had to work through.
But you know, going beingcommissioned 99 as a Lieutenant
in the AirM, uh, which isbasically a mobility pilot, is
what I ended up getting selectedfor.
(04:08):
So I flew a C-130s uh, greatopportunity to go all around the
world.
I'm stationed in Japan.
I got to spend some time inGermany, um, I obviously back in
the States.
I was in Texas, florida, uh,but time I always tried to
connect into a church.
So I got a lot of opportunitiesto see a lot of different
(04:29):
churches, but also during thattime I also met in.
Japan was where I met Christine, my wife, and so we over the
years.
Now we got married back in 2004.
And Elijah was born our oldestback in 2010.
We had Hannah a few years laterand then, most recent, ezra,
(04:52):
who's now going to be eight thisyear, which is just crazy.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
Like you say time flying.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
Yeah, about two years ago or just over two years ago,
I guess, going on three yearsnow, almost Wow.
And about two years ago or justover two years ago, I guess,
going on three years now, almostwow the time in the Air Force
came to a close.
I just felt that, you know, Ialways told my commanders that
you know, I'd always wanted anopportunity kind of to continue
to grow, to develop, and I justfelt kind of like at that point,
(05:27):
if I was staying in the AirForce, it was just to collect a
paycheck, just to kind of puttime in.
It really didn't have a purposeof getting somewhere, it was
just kind of, you know, hold ina flying world.
We'll say, you know, in aholding pattern.
So.
So at that time we made thedecision, and part of it too was
for family and you know, kindof looking at the investment and
what was Jason kind of talkedabout to some light is with our
time and realizing time isprecious.
(05:47):
And so really my heart's desire, like here at Lifehouse, has
been to be able to maximize thetime in my kids, but then the
kids here, you know, helpingwith LSM, um, but then also
there's the other aspect is thepractical practicality of
investing, um, and, and moneyreally is what it is, you know
(06:09):
what it gets down to, which, uh,is a very revealing topic yeah,
it's not a topicmost people want to discuss or
you know, especially if it's notgoing well right, um, but um, I
was fortunate enough again.
Um, a few of you may know LarryBurkett.
He was a gentleman that startedCrown Financial, okay, kind of
(06:32):
before the Dave Ramsey era, ifyou will.
He did pass but he kind ofhanded that baton.
Or you could say Dave Ramseykind of picked that up baton.
Or you could say, uh, daveramsey kind of picked that up,
but under the I guess it was onthe radio is really where I
heard it was uh, listening tolarry the the kind of the
biblical principles of managingmoney, and so, um, I never, or I
(07:00):
guess the first uh kind offoray into me being tested with
that was my first credit card.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
Oh, wow.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
And that was back in.
I just graduated as alieutenant and the banks
basically USA was the bank atthe time and there's a few
others that came in, you know,pitching the as a lieutenant.
Here's your brand new creditcard you get.
I think it was like $3,000credit limit or something like
that.
It's going to help you get allthe things you need.
And so I did.
(07:27):
I.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
I did get one um at the time, even though I knew I
was like well, it's not good toborrow, it's kind of what, what
I knew but um, and maybe justthere you know kind of sharing
in your faith story and and allthat you know didn't get a lot
of financial education or howdid you kind of feel you know at
that time, biblically, what wasyour kind of views?
(07:49):
Like you say, you're getting tohear these voices, just kind of
keeping this tied into ourfaith walk.
You know, we start to reallynot something we immediately
think about and, like you said,it's not something we always
want to talk about, but maybe alittle bit into like kind of
just your thoughts at the time,you know, is that that was
starting to impact you?
Speaker 2 (08:06):
Well, I mean, you have culture which tells you,
and so culture, with the bankscoming in and everything
everybody's like, okay, sign meup.
And it was just kind of a giventhat, um, this was another
means of, uh, some resourcesthat you could use to get
whatever you wanted.
Um, uh, if any of you reallyknow me, or one of the things I
like hobby wise is computers,and that started, you know, kind
(08:28):
of like some guys, like cars, Ilove building computers, uh,
software anything.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
Every time I see you, you get some little new gadget
you're working on.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Yeah, exactly, like right now, I got my ipad here
and my phone and everything, butalways kind of technology is
just something I really enjoy.
But at the time obviously, um,computers aren't cheap, right.
And so, coming out of themilitary, in the military, we
were given back then it was likea 486 desktop computer you know
, for for the young guys that's.
(08:57):
Uh, it was a big old behemoththing that you, it was probably
like 20 pounds and you know, hada CRT monitor et cetera.
But uh, with that that was kindof the the oh well, this credit
card, if I had that I could buy, I could upgrade or get
something else for for for thishobby, if you will.
And um, and I quickly what?
(09:20):
What I quickly realized is, uh,what Dave Ramsey talks about is
about how the borrower is slaveto the lender.
Because what happened was backthen it wasn't as easy to do the
payment process because youbasically were doing it through
the mail and a check, and so myfirst deployment basically is I
(09:43):
had thought that the check hadgone through, I guess I had
missed the address or something,and I was TDY for like two
weeks or so and basicallydefaulted on that first payment
and realized the interest andwhat I was really paying and the
risk associated when you borrow, and so that it was more of a
life lesson than justnecessarily the teachings.
(10:04):
You know, like my probably myparents were most instrumental
in the teaching I had withfinances.
School I really didn't havemuch but it was just, you know,
balancing the money you have andbeing responsible with what you
have.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Yeah, I can.
For me, like you say, we kindof have those experiences that
maybe wake us up a little bit.
And for me, like you mentioned,the parents of have those
experiences that maybe wake usup a little bit.
And for me, like you mentioned,to parents, for me it was a
little bit the opposite.
My stepdad, who I love to death.
He was a huge figure in my lifebut one thing I learned not to
do was run up credit cards Likehe almost again.
It was second marriage after myparents divorced and I mean he
(10:40):
would run up credit card billsmultiple times and mom would
have to bail him out and itwould cause all kinds of stress.
You know, in the marriage.
I know we could spend time onthe financial aspects just in
marriage how that impacts, youknow, for those who are in
married life, if you're not onthe same page.
But, and like you said, wedon't get a lot of education in
our society, society, frankly,you mentioned the word culture,
(11:07):
which is super important andpart of our we invest.
You know journey is how we'reto be different from our culture
, that our culture is going totell us things that aren't
biblical and I think, when itcomes to money, we're getting a
lot of that.
So maybe you can kind of talk alittle bit more how that worked
out.
You know your heart for, foryou know kind of doing that in
your own life and then segue alittle bit how you've come to
(11:27):
want to teach that to othershere at life house yeah, so um,
like nate was saying um, and orlike you were saying, I guess,
like we're teaching class forthose who don't know, we uh, we
co-teach and we're talking likewe're uh teaching class you.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
I guess the principles was founded upon kind
of in the class itself.
And so when in 2004, whenChristy and I were getting
married, one of the things notjust the marriage counseling we
also went through a financialpeace class together.
I had kind of done one on myown.
I'd kind of hit or miss alittle bit.
(12:10):
I didn't quite make everything,but so we were both.
You know, that was when we bothwere on the same page working
on it.
And uh, and after the class, Ijust kind of realized as well,
this is a very practical way andand it also, um, you know, like
the Bible says that, you know,money itself isn't evil, but it
(12:32):
reveals the heart, and how weuse money or whatnot, really
shows and enables us more ofwhat our heart is right to to
help others, be generous withwhat you can, to, uh, you know,
(12:55):
impact the world for for christ,then then that is what that
will enable you to do.
But vice versa, if you're justdoing it to, you know, selfishly
, build up your own wealth, ownnet worth, etc.
Um, then that, that, that youknow the darkness.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
You know like we're learning this last.
You know jason was.
Know the darkness.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
You know, like we're learning this last, you know
Jason was pointing out thedarkness is great.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
I think, like you say and we teach this in class, you
know, if you come to our classwe'll share a little bit more at
the end.
On that, we'd love to havepeople maybe hear this feel the
need.
We do a nine week course basedon already mentioned Dave Ramsey
.
But one of the things we teachis money's not going to solve
your problems.
It's going to make you more ofwho you are.
(13:37):
It's going to reveal idols inyour life or it's going to
reveal sin.
You know a lot of the.
You know a lot of lotterywinners.
A lot of professional athletesgo broke, you know, very quickly
because their heart's not right, you know.
So your heart has to be able tohandle that money, and in a
faithful way.
And you know, if you you getlots of money dumped on you then
(14:00):
and you're an angry person,it'll probably just make you
angrier, you know.
And if you're a good person,it'll be something used to bless
others.
You know, if your heart's inthe right place, like we talked
about you mentioned Jason, it'sthe eye.
In Matthew six, jesus talkingabout the eye being lighter
darkness.
You know.
So how do we do it?
Why do we do it?
And you know I alreadymentioned debtor being slave to
(14:21):
the lender, and when we're indebt, you know that's because
we've had a self-centered likeyou said with the computers kind
of thing, like if we're runningup debt.
I had a big problem with notthat I loved muscle cars, but I
was terrified of driving an oldcar and being broken down the
side of the road.
So I made really dumb decisionswhere I would buy brand new
(14:43):
every time I got to have a brandnew car because I want the
warranty, and then, as soon asit started to get a little old,
I traded in, which we knowfinancially is the dumbest thing
you can do because you'relosing so much equity.
You're financing this.
You constantly have carpayments just being examples.
So I don't know if you haveother examples.
You know that you would share.
But I think what we wantespecially the audience to hear
(15:06):
you know again what we'refocused on with investing is
that how we manage our money,how we view our money biblically
, is super critical.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
I think you know, if you're listening with um, a lot
of times it's until you reachthat point to realize you got a
problem.
You know like the first step ofsalvation is to acknowledge that
I'm a sinner, Um, like withmoney, is to realize, wow, maybe
the way I'm like where I'm atright now it's not working and
(15:35):
um, and you know, again, kind ofgoing back with the financial
peace class, when one of thethings that's brought up is, you
know, being sick and tired ofbeing sick and tired with not
having that financial peace.
It's not that the money is thepeace, but it's that you're
utilizing it in a way thathonors God and that allows for
the way God intended money to beused, which is for his kingdom,
to build his kingdom, and thepeace is really from Christ.
(16:00):
And what he gives.
But I would say, at least if youare having kind of like, we all
acknowledge we're all sinnersand so that is a very humbling
thing for anybody to realizethat I'm saved by grace, through
faith.
But but when I, when I havethat rock, you know of salvation
(16:23):
.
You know, similarly, when itcomes to finances, is is that
you know, kind of what we'redoing now is trying to help
others and share in.
You know this time that we caninvest if you come.
You know kind of what we'redoing now is trying to help
others and share in.
You know this time that we caninvest If you come.
You know to, like the financialpeace classes, kind of step out
with what that looks like.
You know we talk about babysteps.
You know the practicality ofwhat needs to be done.
(16:44):
We talk about, um, how to put abudget together, um, really,
even you know, like for couples,a lot of times it's not the
money, it's the communicationand it's getting on the same
page and being able to havesimilar goals and understand,
okay, this is what we need to doto get there, Because, honestly
(17:07):
, it's not that we need moremoney, it's we need to be better
with the money that we got.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
That's right.
So more doesn't necessarilymean better.
It doesn't mean if anything.
I think a really good book thatI read it's not necessarily
biblical but it had a lot ofbiblical principles called the
psychology of money by MorganHouse.
You'll definitely recommendthat.
You know, you have to realizewhat's enough.
You know, and so he's speakingmore from a secular standpoint.
(17:33):
But biblically, is Christenough?
I think if you know that God,your Redeemer, your salvation,
that's enough, you view moneytotally different, because now I
always have enough, I haveexactly what I need when I need
it and I need to be a faithful.
We can bring in the wordstewardship.
That's definitely somethingChrist teaches us.
(17:53):
We are given, some might begiven given one talent, some
might be given 10, but maybekind of we can play that forward
to investing.
So how do we look at that?
You know, financially?
How would you say biblically weshould view investing when it
comes to our finances?
You know, if we're kind ofbuilding on this, you know, in
those ways finances.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
you know, if we're kind of building on this, you
know, in those ways, well, yeah,and like uh kind of was brought
up this last week that Jasonmentioned with investing.
You know, I thought it waspretty cool to have that little
uh discussion, you know amongstourselves.
Speaker 1 (18:26):
You know what, what is, what is investing, you know?
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Um and uh.
You know I was talking withChristine, my wife.
Uh, you know it's um.
You know I was talking withChristine, my wife.
You know it's.
You know time, our resourcesand our time, essentially, and
what we're so what we're talkingabout is our resources and I
think part of that withinvesting is having an
intentional plan and a goal,that end goal of over time.
(18:51):
This is why and where we wantto end up, Um, you can.
You know there's a lot ofapplications when it comes to,
like, sports, physical activity.
You know um, you know anybodythat's had like a goal of um,
you know, getting better in asport or uh, maintaining weight
or those types of things.
You, you don't just wake up andgo, okay, I'm going to be 10
(19:15):
pounds lighter today or I'mgoing to be able to lift 20 more
pounds.
You have to.
You realize, okay, to get there.
This is the work I have to putin, this is what I have to do,
um and so it's a process and um,and in that process, uh, so, so
the first, the beginning of theprocess is and kind of what we,
(19:40):
you know.
Again, getting back to theclasses you, you have a budget
and so the investing is a pieceof that.
And and looking intentionallyout into the future, to say,
okay, some of my goals are andthen, and then, what does that
require?
Like for me, just to kind ofsquirrel trail here uh, is um, I
, I know a lot of times,investment, or you look at like
(20:00):
wealth management, it's like, ohwell, how much money do I need
to retire and to to um, to befinancially secure, if you will?
And for me, that's not my endgoal, right?
Uh, I, I don't ever plan not towork.
I think Christ or God, when hecreated us, he created us to
work.
That doesn't.
(20:20):
But but what that work lookslike is, I think, will change
over time, in that you know when, early on, I just needed a job
because I needed the resourcesfor to support my family, that
type of stuff, because I neededthe resources for to support my
family, that type of stuff.
But, as you, part of what Iinvest in is that my ability.
(20:42):
Now that I don't, I don't needjust any job or I don't.
There's not a a level of incomeper se, because now I can
invest in work that more or lessaligns with, you know, the
ministry and the work I wantedto do, and so, for instance,
like my current job, if I wasfinancially in debt and living
paycheck to paycheck, I couldn'tdo this job that I'm currently
doing.
But I can, and so you know, I'm, you know and I'm, so I'm
(21:05):
blessed to be able to work at.
You know, I currently work atDell State University in the
aviation department, and soteaching students how to fly and
, um, yeah, so Because you were,like you said, financially
responsible over time allows usGod to use us in big ways, you
know.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
It allows a lot of freedom, a lot of flexibility.
We don't use peace for nothing.
We have peace because we havebeen faithful, we have been
living within our means what Godhas provided.
We're not trying to get what wewant in our time and the reason
, like you talk about doing itis so we can invest.
So we can invest Maybe it'smore time.
You mentioned retirement.
(21:44):
We talk a lot about that.
We're kind of, in this cultureand society, sort of obsessed
with retiring so that we can gosit on a beach somewhere, which
really lovingly not biblical,you know like being a Christian
is a lifelong walk.
It doesn't mean that you haveto be working 80 hours a week,
blah, blah, blah.
But there's a real emphasiswhen you retire, it's you're
(22:05):
retiring from something, butwhat are you retiring to?
And if you have a relationshipwith the Lord, I would lovingly
say, like, what is God callingyou to?
So for your case, now you getto pour into students.
You know it's a next step.
You know for me it was ablessing being able to step into
ministry because of being ableto budget and have made good
decisions to where I didn't haveto keep working a job that I
(22:27):
didn't, you know, feel Godcalling me to any longer just to
pay my bills.
You know, so, like when we dothose things, it allows us to
invest, like you said, time,talent, resources and so being
faithful.
So, you know, what would youkind of counsel people who may
be struggling with that,struggling with being in a place
(22:48):
where maybe they've made somebad decisions, maybe they want
to invest, but they kind of needto turn that around?
What would be some of your kindof number one things we would
want to share Absolutely?
Speaker 2 (22:59):
yeah, the.
I think one of the things mostpeople realize is that time's
always a factor, and so, but Iwould caution you to be careful
not to feel, though, that youhave to just all of a sudden oh,
I got to plus up my 401k orwhatnot Because really, you got
to first take care of what theissue is, and the issue, if
(23:24):
you're in debt, is that you'vebeen spending more than you're
making, and so you have to getyour spending under control,
because you can.
you know there's a lot of toolsor resources out there to try to
help, you know, curb that.
But if you don't change thatproblem of overspending, you're
going to be right back in thesame boat that you're in.
It's why people that if theyget a bunch of wealth why a lot
(23:45):
of times you know the win, thelottery or something like that
uh inherit something.
If they don't manage well then,uh, then it's going to
disappear.
And so the first is, uh, makingthat change and figuring out
okay, why is it that you know myfamily or I am in debt, and
then what needs to change?
(24:05):
And so, and then being able andthat's where like a financial
peace class can help it's alsogood to have, you know, a mentor
or someone that can hold youaccountable.
If you're married, a lot oftimes, your spouse is a great
person to be able to.
Together.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
You usually are good balances for each other,
although that is also wherestress sometimes can crop up,
but if you have a sense of humor, he usually puts the spender
and the saver together tobalance each other out.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
Yep, yep, yeah, it's not uncommon to have a spender
and a saver, and um cause youdefinitely both of those
extremes aren't healthy.
Uh and so that can bring balancethere.
Um, but once you have that,once you understand and you're
you're able to save, and youhave and you're able to manage,
well, then it's looking at well,what is it?
(24:56):
You know, for me I was lookingat well, god, what, what is the
plan?
Five, 10 years from now,because you know, probably I may
or may not be in this currentjob, years from now, because you
know, probably I may or may notbe in this current job.
And so you know there's some ofthe tactical pieces of that.
You know we like to say in theclass it's like 15% or so of
(25:16):
your income.
So again, it's not a end numberper se, but it's just your
routinely setting aside a setpercentage.
But to go along with that, Iwould also say, is you can
invest now, just with your titheand your support of
opportunities that pop up, soneeds that arise in the church
and things like that.
So it's kind of this dualprocess that's ongoing, at least
(25:40):
when I look at my budget everymonth is I have, right at the
top, is taking out that tithefor the church to be able to
minister.
Um.
I have other ministries that wegive to as well.
That that um, I'm able tosupport directly, which which is
a blessing, and then um, andthen set aside some so for to be
less relied upon.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
you know the, the job I currently have and um, and so
a little more financial youfinancial when it gets back to
that financial freedom and, likewe talked about, you can't lay
up a lot of treasure in heavenif you haven't been faithful
with your finances, your time.
We talk about it's more thanmoney.
We are focusing on finances inthis episode because it is a big
(26:23):
thing, it's a big deal and whyit's talked about so much in the
Bible.
But when we are faithful withit, we're able to then use that,
we're able to put that forwardand really, I'd say a big theme
from our conversation is likewhy, why are we doing this?
Why are we laying this aside?
And it's to be able to begenerous.
You know this is the number one.
You know we don't want to spoilour class.
(26:43):
You know I hope any of youmight want to come take it.
We've had a lot of good classes,a lot of good experiences, but
the end goal is to be generous.
You know, outrageously generous.
And so when you are superfaithful, you know you've worked
hard, you have money set asidethat's earning interest, you
know.
So you've got all this.
But we would, you know, if wewanted to use the cultural, you
know economic, like passiveincome where, like I, don't even
(27:06):
have to work, but I've savedmoney and so I can just give it
away.
You know like I'm just able to.
You know, help people.
I'm able to help my church andyou know we've talked about our
work.
Now I've got so muchflexibility and peace because I
have time, because I don't feelthat pressure.
So when we are faithful inthese ways, when we do order our
lives to our wants and findingour satisfaction in Christ, it
(27:30):
just makes a huge differencewhen it comes to our money.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
Absolutely, and and that's, I mean, one of the fun
classes I think of the nine weekcourse is that last generosity
class, and it's, it's just, it'sthat um, because the most fun
you'll have with money I agreewith what Dave says, uh is is
when you give it away and you'reable to enable just um,
(27:54):
blessings and and, to some level, that you can tie it in it.
Usually it'll tie in with hey,I'm doing this because God has
blessed me and is allowing tobless you, and so it's just fun
to see how God shows up,sometimes in a very practical
way, to meet a need that's veryin the face, if you will, of
whoever currently has that need.
(28:16):
And that is what I think, forthe church is a strong testimony
in general.
And so one of the things I'llchallenge you is that if you
aren't able to do that, youaren't fully realizing what God
has called you to do.
And it doesn't mean that youhave to have a big job.
It just means that financialpeace all comes down to is
(28:40):
managing our resources well andreally being satisfied with what
we have, Cause I thinkculturally that's the biggest
undercurrent is just, you know,never being satisfied.
I have to have the next,whatever.
Speaker 1 (28:56):
Well, jonathan, I know we could talk for we love
this stuff If the audiencehadn't figured that out.
We just want that for otherpeople.
We want to see financial peaceand we know it makes a huge
difference in our homes and ourmarriages and, like you said,
our opportunity as the church tobe the church, to be generous,
to do what God called us to do.
So we would encourage youdepending on when you're
(29:18):
listening to this, we'rerecording it in early September,
here at Lifehouse Church, weoffer financial peace at least
twice a year.
Jonathan and I both have a hugeheart to help those who may be
struggling in this area.
So, as with many of ourministries, we want you to be
walking, as Christ calls us towalk, and be faithful.
So be faithfully different.
That's our continued theme forthe year and so, jonathan,
(29:42):
thanks so much for your timetoday Again for the audience
hopefully this was helpful.
As always, reach out to us, hopeto see you in one of our
classes and in church tooAwesome.
Thanks, Nate Yep.
Appreciate it, Audience.
We'll see you next time.
See you later.
Thanks for tuning in to theLife Talk podcast.
If this episode encouraged you,please be sure to like, comment
(30:04):
, subscribe and leave a reviewso others can find this content
as well, and we'll look forwardto seeing you next Monday for
another great episode.
What's up Life Talk family.
Welcome back to the Life Talkpodcast.
This is Nate coming to youtoday and excited to be still
continuing through the month ofSeptember.
Our theme this month is weInvest, so investing.
You heard last week from JasonKreidler for those who are part
of our Lifehouse campus here inMiddletown and Townsend, odessa.
(00:36):
He brought the word to us andreally talking about the
importance of investing.
And so today, as we continuewith that theme, I have a super
special guest.
We only bring special specialpeople on the podcast, but I
have my good friend and brother,jonathan Bush.
Man, how's it going today?
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Well, good morning, thank you.
It's a privilege to be on today.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
I'm glad you see it that way.
We like to think it's aprivilege, right?
But so, for those who don'tknow, jonathan Bush is a very
faithful part of LifeHouse.
He and I both co-lead ourfinancial piece financial
counseling ministry here atLifeHouse.
Some may not know we even hadthat, but Jonathan has a real
heart and lots of knowledge whenit comes to the finance, and so
(01:20):
, since we are WeInvest, wethought it'd be a great idea to
really focus an episode onfinances like investing in the
sense of what that looks likebiblically, not just, as Jason
said, stock markets and IRAs.
That's a component of it, butwhat does it really mean
biblically?
But before we get all the wayto that, jonathan, maybe you can
(01:41):
just share a little bit aboutwho Jonathan is, tell us a
little bit about yourself andyour walk, and just help the
audience get to know you alittle bit.
Absolutely Well, thanks.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Nate, yeah, I was just telling you know, when I
share my testimony.
A lot of times for me I wasfortunate.
I grew up in a Christian homewith a strong mother and father
who both shared Christ with meat an early age mother and
father who both shared Christwith me at an early age and so
(02:09):
kind of like some of our kidsthat have grown up from the
beginning sharing God and whoJesus was, I knew from when I
was at five my mom sat me downand we were at church.
We were watching this end timesapocalyptic video.
I really didn't understand it,but what she said was is
essentially, and what Iunderstood was that we all were
(02:32):
condemned and we needed Christwas salvation, and so made sense
to me.
That's, you know, that's thebeauty of the gospel, it's, it's
very simple.
And so I understood that andaccepted that.
And then from there growing up,obviously, obviously you know,
we got the process ofsanctification.
There's a lot of uh sin westill have to deal with in our
lives.
Uh, but in high school I uhreally is when that relationship
(02:55):
really kind of took off with meas Christ.
Um, I, I, uh was veryintentional at that point.
Um, I had a, um, veryintentional at that point.
I had a ski retreat, that highschool ski retreat, with another
church and it was where Godjust became really real to me.
That relationship wasn't justthe knowledge of and that's in
(03:16):
my head, but my heart knowledge,the desire to do and follow
Christ, obviously when you leavefor college.
I was fortunate enough to gointo the Air Force.
I got selected to go in the AirForce Academy back in 1999.
You know us older guys thatseems like just yesterday, but
obviously you know it was awhile ago.
But back then, like many youngmen, you have to kind of learn.
(03:42):
What do you believe and is that?
Are you going to stick to that?
And so you know there were somebattles there.
I had to, had to work through.
But you know, going beingcommissioned 99 as a Lieutenant
in the AirM, uh, which isbasically a mobility pilot, is
what I ended up getting selectedfor.
(04:08):
So I flew a C-130s uh, greatopportunity to go all around the
world.
I'm stationed in Japan.
I got to spend some time inGermany, um, I obviously back in
the States.
I was in Texas, florida, uh,but time I always tried to
connect into a church.
So I got a lot of opportunitiesto see a lot of different
(04:29):
churches, but also during thattime I also met in.
Japan was where I met Christine, my wife, and so we over the
years.
Now we got married back in 2004.
And Elijah was born our oldestback in 2010.
We had Hannah a few years laterand then, most recent, ezra,
(04:52):
who's now going to be eight thisyear, which is just crazy.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
Like you say time flying.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
Yeah, about two years ago or just over two years ago,
I guess, going on three yearsnow, almost Wow.
And about two years ago or justover two years ago, I guess,
going on three years now, almostwow the time in the Air Force
came to a close.
I just felt that, you know, Ialways told my commanders that
you know, I'd always wanted anopportunity kind of to continue
to grow, to develop, and I justfelt kind of like at that point,
(05:27):
if I was staying in the AirForce, it was just to collect a
paycheck, just to kind of puttime in.
It really didn't have a purposeof getting somewhere, it was
just kind of, you know, hold ina flying world.
We'll say, you know, in aholding pattern.
So.
So at that time we made thedecision, and part of it too was
for family and you know, kindof looking at the investment and
what was Jason kind of talkedabout to some light is with our
time and realizing time isprecious.
(05:47):
And so really my heart's desire, like here at Lifehouse, has
been to be able to maximize thetime in my kids, but then the
kids here, you know, helpingwith LSM, um, but then also
there's the other aspect is thepractical practicality of
investing, um, and, and moneyreally is what it is, you know
(06:09):
what it gets down to, which, uh,is a very revealing topic yeah,
it's not a topicmost people want to discuss or
you know, especially if it's notgoing well right, um, but um, I
was fortunate enough again.
Um, a few of you may know LarryBurkett.
He was a gentleman that startedCrown Financial, okay, kind of
(06:32):
before the Dave Ramsey era, ifyou will.
He did pass but he kind ofhanded that baton.
Or you could say Dave Ramseykind of picked that up baton.
Or you could say, uh, daveramsey kind of picked that up,
but under the I guess it was onthe radio is really where I
heard it was uh, listening tolarry the the kind of the
biblical principles of managingmoney, and so, um, I never, or I
(07:00):
guess the first uh kind offoray into me being tested with
that was my first credit card.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
Oh, wow.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
And that was back in.
I just graduated as alieutenant and the banks
basically USA was the bank atthe time and there's a few
others that came in, you know,pitching the as a lieutenant.
Here's your brand new creditcard you get.
I think it was like $3,000credit limit or something like
that.
It's going to help you get allthe things you need.
And so I did.
(07:27):
I.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
I did get one um at the time, even though I knew I
was like well, it's not good toborrow, it's kind of what, what
I knew but um, and maybe justthere you know kind of sharing
in your faith story and and allthat you know didn't get a lot
of financial education or howdid you kind of feel you know at
that time, biblically, what wasyour kind of views?
(07:49):
Like you say, you're getting tohear these voices, just kind of
keeping this tied into ourfaith walk.
You know, we start to reallynot something we immediately
think about and, like you said,it's not something we always
want to talk about, but maybe alittle bit into like kind of
just your thoughts at the time,you know, is that that was
starting to impact you?
Speaker 2 (08:06):
Well, I mean, you have culture which tells you,
and so culture, with the bankscoming in and everything
everybody's like, okay, sign meup.
And it was just kind of a giventhat, um, this was another
means of, uh, some resourcesthat you could use to get
whatever you wanted.
Um, uh, if any of you reallyknow me, or one of the things I
like hobby wise is computers,and that started, you know, kind
(08:28):
of like some guys, like cars, Ilove building computers, uh,
software anything.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
Every time I see you, you get some little new gadget
you're working on.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Yeah, exactly, like right now, I got my ipad here
and my phone and everything, butalways kind of technology is
just something I really enjoy.
But at the time obviously, um,computers aren't cheap, right.
And so, coming out of themilitary, in the military, we
were given back then it was likea 486 desktop computer you know
, for for the young guys that's.
(08:57):
Uh, it was a big old behemoththing that you, it was probably
like 20 pounds and you know, hada CRT monitor et cetera.
But uh, with that that was kindof the the oh well, this credit
card, if I had that I could buy, I could upgrade or get
something else for for for thishobby, if you will.
And um, and I quickly what?
(09:20):
What I quickly realized is, uh,what Dave Ramsey talks about is
about how the borrower is slaveto the lender.
Because what happened was backthen it wasn't as easy to do the
payment process because youbasically were doing it through
the mail and a check, and so myfirst deployment basically is I
(09:43):
had thought that the check hadgone through, I guess I had
missed the address or something,and I was TDY for like two
weeks or so and basicallydefaulted on that first payment
and realized the interest andwhat I was really paying and the
risk associated when you borrow, and so that it was more of a
life lesson than justnecessarily the teachings.
(10:04):
You know, like my probably myparents were most instrumental
in the teaching I had withfinances.
School I really didn't havemuch but it was just, you know,
balancing the money you have andbeing responsible with what you
have.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Yeah, I can.
For me, like you say, we kindof have those experiences that
maybe wake us up a little bit.
And for me, like you mentioned,the parents of have those
experiences that maybe wake usup a little bit.
And for me, like you mentioned,to parents, for me it was a
little bit the opposite.
My stepdad, who I love to death.
He was a huge figure in my lifebut one thing I learned not to
do was run up credit cards Likehe almost again.
It was second marriage after myparents divorced and I mean he
(10:40):
would run up credit card billsmultiple times and mom would
have to bail him out and itwould cause all kinds of stress.
You know, in the marriage.
I know we could spend time onthe financial aspects just in
marriage how that impacts, youknow, for those who are in
married life, if you're not onthe same page.
But, and like you said, wedon't get a lot of education in
our society, society, frankly,you mentioned the word culture,
(11:07):
which is super important andpart of our we invest.
You know journey is how we'reto be different from our culture
, that our culture is going totell us things that aren't
biblical and I think, when itcomes to money, we're getting a
lot of that.
So maybe you can kind of talk alittle bit more how that worked
out.
You know your heart for, foryou know kind of doing that in
your own life and then segue alittle bit how you've come to
(11:27):
want to teach that to othershere at life house yeah, so um,
like nate was saying um, and orlike you were saying, I guess,
like we're teaching class forthose who don't know, we uh, we
co-teach and we're talking likewe're uh teaching class you.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
I guess the principles was founded upon kind
of in the class itself.
And so when in 2004, whenChristy and I were getting
married, one of the things notjust the marriage counseling we
also went through a financialpeace class together.
I had kind of done one on myown.
I'd kind of hit or miss alittle bit.
(12:10):
I didn't quite make everything,but so we were both.
You know, that was when we bothwere on the same page working
on it.
And uh, and after the class, Ijust kind of realized as well,
this is a very practical way andand it also, um, you know, like
the Bible says that, you know,money itself isn't evil, but it
(12:32):
reveals the heart, and how weuse money or whatnot, really
shows and enables us more ofwhat our heart is right to to
help others, be generous withwhat you can, to, uh, you know,
(12:55):
impact the world for for christ,then then that is what that
will enable you to do.
But vice versa, if you're justdoing it to, you know, selfishly
, build up your own wealth, ownnet worth, etc.
Um, then that, that, that youknow the darkness.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
You know like we're learning this last.
You know jason was.
Know the darkness.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
You know, like we're learning this last, you know
Jason was pointing out thedarkness is great.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
I think, like you say and we teach this in class, you
know, if you come to our classwe'll share a little bit more at
the end.
On that, we'd love to havepeople maybe hear this feel the
need.
We do a nine week course basedon already mentioned Dave Ramsey
.
But one of the things we teachis money's not going to solve
your problems.
It's going to make you more ofwho you are.
(13:37):
It's going to reveal idols inyour life or it's going to
reveal sin.
You know a lot of the.
You know a lot of lotterywinners.
A lot of professional athletesgo broke, you know, very quickly
because their heart's not right, you know.
So your heart has to be able tohandle that money, and in a
faithful way.
And you know, if you you getlots of money dumped on you then
(14:00):
and you're an angry person,it'll probably just make you
angrier, you know.
And if you're a good person,it'll be something used to bless
others.
You know, if your heart's inthe right place, like we talked
about you mentioned Jason, it'sthe eye.
In Matthew six, jesus talkingabout the eye being lighter
darkness.
You know.
So how do we do it?
Why do we do it?
And you know I alreadymentioned debtor being slave to
(14:21):
the lender, and when we're indebt, you know that's because
we've had a self-centered likeyou said with the computers kind
of thing, like if we're runningup debt.
I had a big problem with notthat I loved muscle cars, but I
was terrified of driving an oldcar and being broken down the
side of the road.
So I made really dumb decisionswhere I would buy brand new
(14:43):
every time I got to have a brandnew car because I want the
warranty, and then, as soon asit started to get a little old,
I traded in, which we knowfinancially is the dumbest thing
you can do because you'relosing so much equity.
You're financing this.
You constantly have carpayments just being examples.
So I don't know if you haveother examples.
You know that you would share.
But I think what we wantespecially the audience to hear
(15:06):
you know again what we'refocused on with investing is
that how we manage our money,how we view our money biblically
, is super critical.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
I think you know, if you're listening with um, a lot
of times it's until you reachthat point to realize you got a
problem.
You know like the first step ofsalvation is to acknowledge that
I'm a sinner, Um, like withmoney, is to realize, wow, maybe
the way I'm like where I'm atright now it's not working and
(15:35):
um, and you know, again, kind ofgoing back with the financial
peace class, when one of thethings that's brought up is, you
know, being sick and tired ofbeing sick and tired with not
having that financial peace.
It's not that the money is thepeace, but it's that you're
utilizing it in a way thathonors God and that allows for
the way God intended money to beused, which is for his kingdom,
to build his kingdom, and thepeace is really from Christ.
(16:00):
And what he gives.
But I would say, at least if youare having kind of like, we all
acknowledge we're all sinnersand so that is a very humbling
thing for anybody to realizethat I'm saved by grace, through
faith.
But but when I, when I havethat rock, you know of salvation
(16:23):
.
You know, similarly, when itcomes to finances, is is that
you know, kind of what we'redoing now is trying to help
others and share in.
You know this time that we caninvest if you come.
You know kind of what we'redoing now is trying to help
others and share in.
You know this time that we caninvest If you come.
You know to, like the financialpeace classes, kind of step out
with what that looks like.
You know we talk about babysteps.
You know the practicality ofwhat needs to be done.
(16:44):
We talk about, um, how to put abudget together, um, really,
even you know, like for couples,a lot of times it's not the
money, it's the communicationand it's getting on the same
page and being able to havesimilar goals and understand,
okay, this is what we need to doto get there, Because, honestly
(17:07):
, it's not that we need moremoney, it's we need to be better
with the money that we got.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
That's right.
So more doesn't necessarilymean better.
It doesn't mean if anything.
I think a really good book thatI read it's not necessarily
biblical but it had a lot ofbiblical principles called the
psychology of money by MorganHouse.
You'll definitely recommendthat.
You know, you have to realizewhat's enough.
You know, and so he's speakingmore from a secular standpoint.
(17:33):
But biblically, is Christenough?
I think if you know that God,your Redeemer, your salvation,
that's enough, you view moneytotally different, because now I
always have enough, I haveexactly what I need when I need
it and I need to be a faithful.
We can bring in the wordstewardship.
That's definitely somethingChrist teaches us.
(17:53):
We are given, some might begiven given one talent, some
might be given 10, but maybekind of we can play that forward
to investing.
So how do we look at that?
You know, financially?
How would you say biblically weshould view investing when it
comes to our finances?
You know, if we're kind ofbuilding on this, you know, in
those ways finances.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
you know, if we're kind of building on this, you
know, in those ways, well, yeah,and like uh kind of was brought
up this last week that Jasonmentioned with investing.
You know, I thought it waspretty cool to have that little
uh discussion, you know amongstourselves.
Speaker 1 (18:26):
You know what, what is, what is investing, you know?
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Um and uh.
You know I was talking withChristine, my wife.
Uh, you know it's um.
You know I was talking withChristine, my wife.
You know it's.
You know time, our resourcesand our time, essentially, and
what we're so what we're talkingabout is our resources and I
think part of that withinvesting is having an
intentional plan and a goal,that end goal of over time.
(18:51):
This is why and where we wantto end up, Um, you can.
You know there's a lot ofapplications when it comes to,
like, sports, physical activity.
You know um, you know anybodythat's had like a goal of um,
you know, getting better in asport or uh, maintaining weight
or those types of things.
You, you don't just wake up andgo, okay, I'm going to be 10
(19:15):
pounds lighter today or I'mgoing to be able to lift 20 more
pounds.
You have to.
You realize, okay, to get there.
This is the work I have to putin, this is what I have to do,
um and so it's a process and um,and in that process, uh, so, so
the first, the beginning of theprocess is and kind of what we,
(19:40):
you know.
Again, getting back to theclasses you, you have a budget
and so the investing is a pieceof that.
And and looking intentionallyout into the future, to say,
okay, some of my goals are andthen, and then, what does that
require?
Like for me, just to kind ofsquirrel trail here uh, is um, I
, I know a lot of times,investment, or you look at like
(20:00):
wealth management, it's like, ohwell, how much money do I need
to retire and to to um, to befinancially secure, if you will?
And for me, that's not my endgoal, right?
Uh, I, I don't ever plan not towork.
I think Christ or God, when hecreated us, he created us to
work.
That doesn't.
(20:20):
But but what that work lookslike is, I think, will change
over time, in that you know when, early on, I just needed a job
because I needed the resourcesfor to support my family, that
type of stuff, because I neededthe resources for to support my
family, that type of stuff.
But, as you, part of what Iinvest in is that my ability.
(20:42):
Now that I don't, I don't needjust any job or I don't.
There's not a a level of incomeper se, because now I can
invest in work that more or lessaligns with, you know, the
ministry and the work I wantedto do, and so, for instance,
like my current job, if I wasfinancially in debt and living
paycheck to paycheck, I couldn'tdo this job that I'm currently
doing.
But I can, and so you know, I'm, you know and I'm, so I'm
(21:05):
blessed to be able to work at.
You know, I currently work atDell State University in the
aviation department, and soteaching students how to fly and
, um, yeah, so Because you were,like you said, financially
responsible over time allows usGod to use us in big ways, you
know.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
It allows a lot of freedom, a lot of flexibility.
We don't use peace for nothing.
We have peace because we havebeen faithful, we have been
living within our means what Godhas provided.
We're not trying to get what wewant in our time and the reason
, like you talk about doing itis so we can invest.
So we can invest Maybe it'smore time.
You mentioned retirement.
(21:44):
We talk a lot about that.
We're kind of, in this cultureand society, sort of obsessed
with retiring so that we can gosit on a beach somewhere, which
really lovingly not biblical,you know like being a Christian
is a lifelong walk.
It doesn't mean that you haveto be working 80 hours a week,
blah, blah, blah.
But there's a real emphasiswhen you retire, it's you're
(22:05):
retiring from something, butwhat are you retiring to?
And if you have a relationshipwith the Lord, I would lovingly
say, like, what is God callingyou to?
So for your case, now you getto pour into students.
You know it's a next step.
You know for me it was ablessing being able to step into
ministry because of being ableto budget and have made good
decisions to where I didn't haveto keep working a job that I
(22:27):
didn't, you know, feel Godcalling me to any longer just to
pay my bills.
You know, so, like when we dothose things, it allows us to
invest, like you said, time,talent, resources and so being
faithful.
So, you know, what would youkind of counsel people who may
be struggling with that,struggling with being in a place
(22:48):
where maybe they've made somebad decisions, maybe they want
to invest, but they kind of needto turn that around?
What would be some of your kindof number one things we would
want to share Absolutely?
Speaker 2 (22:59):
yeah, the.
I think one of the things mostpeople realize is that time's
always a factor, and so, but Iwould caution you to be careful
not to feel, though, that youhave to just all of a sudden oh,
I got to plus up my 401k orwhatnot Because really, you got
to first take care of what theissue is, and the issue, if
(23:24):
you're in debt, is that you'vebeen spending more than you're
making, and so you have to getyour spending under control,
because you can.
you know there's a lot of toolsor resources out there to try to
help, you know, curb that.
But if you don't change thatproblem of overspending, you're
going to be right back in thesame boat that you're in.
It's why people that if theyget a bunch of wealth why a lot
(23:45):
of times you know the win, thelottery or something like that
uh inherit something.
If they don't manage well then,uh, then it's going to
disappear.
And so the first is, uh, makingthat change and figuring out
okay, why is it that you know myfamily or I am in debt, and
then what needs to change?
(24:05):
And so, and then being able andthat's where like a financial
peace class can help it's alsogood to have, you know, a mentor
or someone that can hold youaccountable.
If you're married, a lot oftimes, your spouse is a great
person to be able to.
Together.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
You usually are good balances for each other,
although that is also wherestress sometimes can crop up,
but if you have a sense of humor, he usually puts the spender
and the saver together tobalance each other out.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
Yep, yep, yeah, it's not uncommon to have a spender
and a saver, and um cause youdefinitely both of those
extremes aren't healthy.
Uh and so that can bring balancethere.
Um, but once you have that,once you understand and you're
you're able to save, and youhave and you're able to manage,
well, then it's looking at well,what is it?
(24:56):
You know, for me I was lookingat well, god, what, what is the
plan?
Five, 10 years from now,because you know, probably I may
or may not be in this currentjob, years from now, because you
know, probably I may or may notbe in this current job.
And so you know there's some ofthe tactical pieces of that.
You know we like to say in theclass it's like 15% or so of
(25:16):
your income.
So again, it's not a end numberper se, but it's just your
routinely setting aside a setpercentage.
But to go along with that, Iwould also say, is you can
invest now, just with your titheand your support of
opportunities that pop up, soneeds that arise in the church
and things like that.
So it's kind of this dualprocess that's ongoing, at least
(25:40):
when I look at my budget everymonth is I have, right at the
top, is taking out that tithefor the church to be able to
minister.
Um.
I have other ministries that wegive to as well.
That that um, I'm able tosupport directly, which which is
a blessing, and then um, andthen set aside some so for to be
less relied upon.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
you know the, the job I currently have and um, and so
a little more financial youfinancial when it gets back to
that financial freedom and, likewe talked about, you can't lay
up a lot of treasure in heavenif you haven't been faithful
with your finances, your time.
We talk about it's more thanmoney.
We are focusing on finances inthis episode because it is a big
(26:23):
thing, it's a big deal and whyit's talked about so much in the
Bible.
But when we are faithful withit, we're able to then use that,
we're able to put that forwardand really, I'd say a big theme
from our conversation is likewhy, why are we doing this?
Why are we laying this aside?
And it's to be able to begenerous.
You know this is the number one.
You know we don't want to spoilour class.
(26:43):
You know I hope any of youmight want to come take it.
We've had a lot of good classes,a lot of good experiences, but
the end goal is to be generous.
You know, outrageously generous.
And so when you are superfaithful, you know you've worked
hard, you have money set asidethat's earning interest, you
know.
So you've got all this.
But we would, you know, if wewanted to use the cultural, you
know economic, like passiveincome where, like I, don't even
(27:06):
have to work, but I've savedmoney and so I can just give it
away.
You know like I'm just able to.
You know, help people.
I'm able to help my church andyou know we've talked about our
work.
Now I've got so muchflexibility and peace because I
have time, because I don't feelthat pressure.
So when we are faithful inthese ways, when we do order our
lives to our wants and findingour satisfaction in Christ, it
(27:30):
just makes a huge differencewhen it comes to our money.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
Absolutely, and and that's, I mean, one of the fun
classes I think of the nine weekcourse is that last generosity
class, and it's, it's just, it'sthat um, because the most fun
you'll have with money I agreewith what Dave says, uh is is
when you give it away and you'reable to enable just um,
(27:54):
blessings and and, to some level, that you can tie it in it.
Usually it'll tie in with hey,I'm doing this because God has
blessed me and is allowing tobless you, and so it's just fun
to see how God shows up,sometimes in a very practical
way, to meet a need that's veryin the face, if you will, of
whoever currently has that need.
(28:16):
And that is what I think, forthe church is a strong testimony
in general.
And so one of the things I'llchallenge you is that if you
aren't able to do that, youaren't fully realizing what God
has called you to do.
And it doesn't mean that youhave to have a big job.
It just means that financialpeace all comes down to is
(28:40):
managing our resources well andreally being satisfied with what
we have, Cause I thinkculturally that's the biggest
undercurrent is just, you know,never being satisfied.
I have to have the next,whatever.
Speaker 1 (28:56):
Well, jonathan, I know we could talk for we love
this stuff If the audiencehadn't figured that out.
We just want that for otherpeople.
We want to see financial peaceand we know it makes a huge
difference in our homes and ourmarriages and, like you said,
our opportunity as the church tobe the church, to be generous,
to do what God called us to do.
So we would encourage youdepending on when you're
(29:18):
listening to this, we'rerecording it in early September,
here at Lifehouse Church, weoffer financial peace at least
twice a year.
Jonathan and I both have a hugeheart to help those who may be
struggling in this area.
So, as with many of ourministries, we want you to be
walking, as Christ calls us towalk, and be faithful.
So be faithfully different.
That's our continued theme forthe year and so, jonathan,
(29:42):
thanks so much for your timetoday Again for the audience
hopefully this was helpful.
As always, reach out to us, hopeto see you in one of our
classes and in church tooAwesome.
Thanks, Nate Yep.
Appreciate it, Audience.
We'll see you next time.
See you later.
Thanks for tuning in to theLife Talk podcast.
If this episode encouraged you,please be sure to like, comment
(30:04):
, subscribe and leave a reviewso others can find this content
as well, and we'll look forwardto seeing you next Monday for
another great episode.
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