INTRODUCTION TO PROVERBS

The book of Proverbs is sometimes defined as belonging in a group of books in the bible. The name of the group is Wisdom Literature Group. The other 2 books belonging to this group is Ecclesiastes and Job. The book of proverbs is located in the Old Testament. One of the definitions of the word Proverb is a short verse of truth or moral lesson. Proverbs deals with the practice and theory of wisdom. It's characterized by insight, instruction, knowledge of divine truth and the importance of applying the wisdom and knowledge received toward your life. Proverbs is rich with advice and an answer to even today's challenges and problems.

Starting today, I will be blogging about the importance of Proverbs. God has led me here to inform and help you to understand Proverbs. Also, to help you apply the book of Proverbs into your life. I will quote Proverbs to help us relate to some of today's headlines and news. I will talk about problems and issues we are having now in our lives and what God has said about it through proverbs. With everything going on now, we need God more than ever. Why do we need God? Let's look at the God U Said It verse and see what he said about our needs.

In Philippians 4:19 King James Version it says "And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus." God is aware that we have needs for him to fulfill. Whether it's a situation, problem or direction, God has the answer to our needs. Some of the needs we have can be only solved through God. When you have a need that you can't provide for, you're going to turn to someone to help you. Seek God first and see if he will provide for your needs. It may not be the answer you want or what you expected. However, God knows what is best for your life at that particular moment. We just need to be obedient and have an ear to hear what God has to say. Next time we will talk about who Solomon was and get to know him better. Until then, may God continue to bless you and keep you.

 

Walt G.

 

Bernard Madoff downfall part 2

Last time, I wrote about Bernard Madoff. He was the investor who pleaded guilty on March 12, 2009 for investor fraud. He committed the largest investor fraud in history by swindling investors out of an estimate 65 billion dollars. Today, I want to focus on the scheme that was used and how it works. Also, how the victims of this scheme were affected. Then, we will get the God U Said It verse to help us get a better understanding on what happened.

The fraudulent investment operation that was used is called a Ponzi scheme. You may be asking how a Ponzi scheme works. A promoter will place an advertisement that promises extraordinary returns on an investment. For example, it may say you can earn 20% on a 30-day contract. The objective is usually to deceive people who don’t have any in-depth knowledge of finance or financial jargon. They’ll use words that sound financial and impressive but they are meaningless such as “High-Yield Investment Programs” or “Hedge Futures Trading.” Thirty days later, the investor pulls his original investment out plus the 20% return. This will give the investor the incentive to reinvest their money plus their returns back into the scheme. Also, they will probably tell other investors about their high returns. These new investors will also invest their money. However, the only returns the initial investors are getting are being paid out of the investments of new investors and not out of profits. They will send out realistic financial statements showing the investors how much money they earned. In addition, to minimize withdrawals, the promoter will offer new plans to investors. Often these plans will require your money to be frozen for a longer period of time in exchange for higher returns. Usually, after a period of time, the promoter will vanish, taking all the investment money minus the payouts with them.

 What makes Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme so unique is he deceived not only 1st time investors but also financial professionals. His scheme affected Florida retirees, hedge fund managers, international banks, movie stars, professional athletes, non-profit organizations, charities and even a Nobel Peace Prize winner. The scheme wiped out pensions, life savings, trust funds and known foundations to name a few. It’s believed that two people were so devastated by their loses, it pushed them to commit suicide. It not only damaged and destroyed the lives of the initial investors; it also affected the lives of the future generations. Their inheritance was wiped out before they had a chance to see it. The people using these non-profit organizations now have to go without help or find an alternative. Charities were forced to shut down because of the financial lost. Also, the organizations counting on these charities suffered and fell into financial hardship or in some cases failed completely. I could go on and on about the devastation that this scheme caused.

 What is the God U Said It Verse for the day? In Proverbs 23:23 the New International Version states: “Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline and understanding.” These are powerful and sobering words. For some of these people if they took hold of this verse, they could have avoided hardship and pain. I know they didn’t mean for this to happen. My heart and prayers goes out to these people. For those of you who have investments or thinking about investing please hear me. Buy the truth means if you don’t understand your investments or finance, pay someone who does. You may need to pay an accountant, financial advisor or an attorney to get the truth. Don’t sell it means do not give up ownership to the truth you gain from them. People will try to talk you out of the truth and substitute it with lies and deception. Study for yourself; get wisdom and a better understanding on what’s going on with your investments. Be disciplined: if it sounds too good to be true it probably is. Until next time, may God continue to bless you and keep you.

 

 
Walt G.

Bernard Madoff downfall part 1

On March 12, 2009 Bernard Madoff pleaded guilty to pulling off the largest Ponzi scheme in history. In addition, he committed the largest investor fraud by a single person in history. On June 29, 2009, he was sentenced to 150 years in prison. Madoff swindled about 65 billion dollars out of investors. It makes you wonder how a person could have no sense of morals. How could a person be so ruthless and uncaring? Didn’t he realize what kind of harm and damage he caused to these investors? Some people lost everything investing and putting their trust in this man. Madoff said he begun the scheme in the early 1990’s. He started it as a short-term way to weather the early 1990’s recession and was unable to untangle himself as the years went by. He had to continue the scheme to satisfy the expectations of high returns promised to his clients. Madoff himself admitted that he knew the day would come when he would be caught and arrested. If he knew that he was going to get caught eventually, why did he keep doing it? Let’s go get the God U Said It verse and see what he said about this type of situation.

Some of you have heard part of 1st Timothy 6:10. The King James Version says “For the love of money is the root of all evil.” However, what I want to look at is 1st Timothy 6:9. The New Living Translation states “But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.” What a powerful word and revelation toward this difficult situation. Madoff fell into temptation of not only being rich, but staying rich. He knew when the recession hit in the 1990’s that he would have problems satisfying the expectations of high returns. He made a promise to his investors that he had to keep. Otherwise, there would be questions and possibly an investigation into his financial activities. He gave into his foolish and harmful desires by developing and executing a Ponzi scheme. This was supposed to be temporary until the recession was over. However, he did the scheme for so long and got so deeply involved that he couldn’t see a way out. This involvement plunged him into ruin and destruction. At 70 years old, his life will never be the same again.

It goes to show that God knows what he is talking about. A lot of situations happening now positive and negative can be traced back to the bible. There is nothing wrong with being rich. There were wealth people in the bible. God said himself that he can make people wealthy. However, it must be done using God’s wisdom, knowledge and power. The trouble starts when your love for money is more than your love for God. Next time we will look on the other side of this tragedy: the victims. Until then may God continue to bless you and keep you.

Walt G.