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Vol.1 No. 4 | April 25, 2006
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This week
“The Bible teaches that Christians are totally different from anyone else.” -
Peter Jeffery, Evangelicals Then and Now (Buy Now)
Dear Wisdom Seeker,
If you or a loved one suffers from Alzheimer's, there's new evidence that you can battle this disease without dangerous drugs. I'll show you how this week and next.
I hope you're enjoying Wisdom's Edge. If so, please take a moment and pass it on to your friends and family and encourage them to sign up. We'd love to bless them too.
Thanks.
– Steve Kroening
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Finance
How to Start a Lifetime of Investment
At one time, I spoke with the director of an investment company and asked him what a person with only $500 available should invest in. His reply was along these lines. Get them to borrow another $2,000 and invest $2,500 in the stock market. Over time – he thought about 5 years – the investment will double, and the investor should be able to pay off the loan, leaving him a cool $3,000 (less interest charges on the loan, of course).
Well, I thought about that and came up with a better idea. What if the person with $500 bought a lawn-mower and offered to mow lawns every Saturday afternoon for four hours and charged $20 an hour. That’s $80 a week (less expenses) and, if it were done for 30 weeks in the year, the $500 investment has turned into a $2,400 revenue stream. Do that for 5 years, and you can see the lawn mower beats the stock market investment no matter how you calculate it.
It has some additional advantages. First, you get out of the house and get to meet people and build a circle of contacts that will help you in any other business venture you might start.
Second, it has some health benefits. You get plenty of exercise. No need for expensive gym memberships with this job.
Third, if you’re good at it, you get to build a business that can grow way beyond the two hours a week that you’re putting in to it.
Now, if you’re a woman reading this, you’ll probably think that there’s no way you’re going to get on the end of a lawn mower. That’s fine ... you don’t need to.
Jan, a client of mine, was in a predicament. Her husband had left her, she lived in a nice part of the city, her kids went to private school, so she had a lifestyle she wanted to maintain. Relocating to the lower end of town to get cheap public housing had no appeal.
So she bought a sewing machine. A good one. She set it up in the back room in her house, and went out and found paying jobs. Three years later, she was out of the house and had a business turning over $2.7 million that was expected to grow to $4 million over the next couple of years. And she was making garments for some of the top names in the country at a time when everyone said the local rag trade was dead.
So, if you’re just starting out on the investment trail, find a business that interests you, that you can spend some time on, and work on it to make it grow. It will be the best investment you can make.
– Dr. Ian Hodge
(Dr. Hodge is author of the book Making Sense of Your Dollars: A Biblical Approach to Wealth.(Buy Now)
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Health
Huge Alzheimer’s Breakthrough - Researchers Discover Easy Way to Protect Your Brain
If you think that once Alzheimer’s begins nothing you can do will stop it, I’ve got great news for you. You’re wrong! Not only can you easily prevent this terrible disease, but you can also reverse it once it starts.
This breakthrough came when researchers discovered what causes Alzheimer’s. They found out years ago that the disease develops when a toxic protein builds up in your brain over many, many years. In fact, the build-up starts while you’re still young and healthy.
The toxic protein they discovered is called beta amyloid. If you have high levels of beta amyloid in your brain cells, it’s very likely you will develop Alzheimer’s. So keeping beta amyloid under control is the primary way to prevent this dreadful disease.
What researchers have struggled to figure out is what causes the build-up. Just how do you control beta amyloid? It was a difficult question that has finally been answered.
And the answer is actually so simple, it may surprise you.
You control beta amyloid by controlling triglycerides.
New studies show that when triglycerides are high, the brain cells become loaded with beta amyloid. This leads to the formation of the plaque we find in Alzheimer’s patients. Simply keep your triglycerides low and you stop the build-up of plaque in your brain.
The best news is elevated triglycerides can be brought down naturally. Next week, I’ll show you how – and the earlier you start, the longer your memory will last.
– Steve Kroening
Source: James Balch, MD, Prescriptions for Healthy Living, 800-728-2288.
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Family & Relationships
The Second Most Important Characteristic to Look for in a Potential Spouse
Sometimes the things people use as their criteria for marriage make me laugh. I heard a country song recently that listed the following for all the positives one guy found in a girl who caught his attention. She had: her daddy’s money, her mama’s good looks, a sense of humor, an imagination, and an education. But the two that really tickle me: “She’s a good bass fisher” and she’s “as country as a turnip green.”
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with any of these things. In fact, I try to get my wife to go bass fishing with me every year (sometimes it works; most of the time, it doesn’t). But none of these characteristics will ever make a solid foundation for a marriage.
If you’re thinking about getting married, there are two things you need to look for in a spouse. The first, of course, is that the person be a Christian. Most Christians realize it’s not wise to marry an unbeliever. That’s a sure way to bring trouble into your marriage.
But if both of you are believers, there’s one other characteristic that needs to be present before you consider marriage. If you can find this one characteristic – and exhibit it yourself – your chances of having a successful marriage for the rest of your life are quite good.
That one thing that holds the power to a successful marriage is … drum roll, please … the ability to solve problems biblically!
You read that right! I know it’s not very sexy. And it probably won’t make for a good country song. But the one thing you can count on in marriage is problems. That’s why so many people don’t want anything to do with it. There will always be problems in any marriage. And just because you’re a Christian doesn’t mean you know how to solve problems God’s way. So your key to success is to know how to apply the Bible well enough that you can solve those problems with its wisdom.
So if you’re thinking about marriage, make sure you and the one you’ve got your heart set on can solve problems using Scripture long before you make the vows. You’ll make your married years far more enjoyable if you do. Next week, I’ll give you three keys to solving problems biblically. I think you’ll find them very useful.
– Steve Kroening
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Success
Are Your Prayers Successful?
Have you ever grown frustrated with your prayer life because it just doesn’t seem like God is answering your prayers? Does it sometimes feel like God just doesn’t hear anything you pray for? Maybe you even think He doesn’t care about your prayers. I know I’ve been there.
But what you’re about to read is what I believe is the #1 reason our prayers fail. And what you can do to help bring success to your prayers.
Last week, I showed you how your only priority is God. And I also showed you how that one priority determines how you treat everything else in life. When you love your spouse, it is because it’s God’s priority for you to do so. When you work hard, it is because it’s God’s priority.
The same truth applies to prayer. When most of us pray, we have our priorities as the main topic of discussion. We ask for things that we want, that we hope for, that we need. However, few of us have learned to pray according to God’s priorities.
If you notice the Lord’s Prayer, the first request is for God’s name to be proclaimed holy (hallowed be thy name). And then it requests His Kingdom to come and His will to be done.
The key here is that the Lord’s Prayer is focused on God’s priorities. First, that His name be proclaimed holy. Second, that His Kingdom come. And, third, that His will be done.
All of those are God’s top priorities. And, so, they need to be our top priorities in prayer.
Of course, we are part of God’s priorities. We aren’t neglected in the Lord’s Prayer. In fact, we are told to pray for our basic needs, forgiveness and the ability to forgive, and our righteousness. These are all God’s priorities for us. And we should pray for these.
So any time you see a priority of God in Scripture, start praying that He would manifest that priority in your life. When you see that the greatest commandment is to love God, ask Him to enable you to love Him. You should also pray that He would enable you to love your neighbor. And, while you’re at it, ask for help to love your enemies.
I mentioned last month that God’s purposes will always succeed and that His priorities are based on His purposes. So when we pray according to His priorities, we are guaranteed success.
– Steve Kroening
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Wisdom From History
Correcting Wrongs the Right Way
Charlemagne, one of the greatest leaders of history, often dealt brutally with the violent people of his time. However, this king was also concerned with providing justice for the people he ruled. According to Will Durant, Charlemagne introduced a system whereby every provincial bishop and administrator was required to give an account of his official actions. They would give their account under oath to a selected group of inquirers, known as a jurata—a practice that is the early forerunner of our jury system.
The king also sent out emissaries to review the administration of his dominions. The purpose of the emissaries was to curb corruption in the provinces, and the document that established the emissary system was, in effect, a magna carta for the people of Charlemagne’s kingdom—four hundred years before the English enacted a magna carta for its aristocracy. “That this [document] meant what it said appears from the case of the duke of Istria, who, being accused by the [emissary] of diverse injustices and extortions, was forced by the King to restore his thievings, compensate every wronged man, publicly confess his crimes, and give security against their repetition.”
– Robert Kroening
(Source: Durant, Will. "King Charlemagne", History of Civilization Vol III, The Age of Faith.)
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Word for the Wise
How Do You See Yourself?
“We are humble ‘images of God,’ but we are also dignified ‘images of God.’… The word ‘image’ calls attention to our humble status. In the ancient world of the Old Testament, this term often denoted a statue or figurine – a three-dimensional representation of a person or thing. In the light of this widespread usage, we understand what God meant when he called Adam and Eve his image. They were finite, physical representations of their Creator. As astounding as this description may be, we must not miss how it discloses our humility. We are images of God, but that’s all we are – images…. We are not equal with our Maker….
“Human beings are humble creatures, but look at our label again. We are images, but we are images of God. God did not make Adam and Eve to resemble rocks, trees, or animals. Nothing so common was in his design for us. Instead, God carefully shaped the first man and woman so that they were in His likeness. He determined to make us creatures of incomparable dignity.”
(Quoted from “Designed for Dignity” (Buy Now), by Richard L. Pratt, Jr. P&R Publishing, 1993.)
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Resources
"Making Sense of Your Dollars: A Biblical Approach to Wealth" by Ian Hodge (Buy Now)
"King Charlemagne," History of Civilization Vol III, The Age of Faith, by Will Durant.
"Designed for Dignity," by Richard L. Pratt, Jr. P&R Publishing, 1993. (Buy Now)
Evangelicals Then and Now, by Peter Jeffery (Buy Now)
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