Devotional 11th September

Devotional 11th September

Here is a challenging question:
Do we need to develop our SQ now that we use
our IQ so much?
According to Guillen, (2004) we need to develop
our IQ and our SQ [spiritual quotient].
Some people think that now humanity has used
intelligence to attain great advances in science,
engineering and exploration, we no longer need
the spiritual side to look to an all-knowing, all –
powerful, all-loving God.
Jesus speaks to this challenging question in
Matthew 22:37 & 38. Jesus said this in answer to a
number of educated people who were discussing
the challenging questions of the day.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and
all your soul and all your mind and all your
strength.
The heart in this sense does not mean the coronary
muscle. It represents the wellspring of love and
care for those people and things that we care
deeply about.
The soul refers to the life force, the inner life,
encompassing desires and emotions. The soul is
the part of a person that does not die.
As you know the mind, describes the intellect, so
Matt 22:37 encourages us to use our intellect to
question, research, discuss, to find out and to
learn. At the same time, using our hearts and souls
to love the Lord our God.
Therefore, our minds are not a barrier to our faith
in God, however, your spiritual quotient is every
bit as important and your intelligence quotient.
Are you working to develop your spiritual
quotient?
Reference: Guillen, M. (2004) Can a smart person believe
in God? Nashville, Tennessee: Nelson Books.

Contributed by Cheryl Wigmore

Devotional 11th September

Devotional 8th November

Do you think that God cares what you do with your money? He certainly does! The Bible has 2,500 references about money and how to handle it. That is five times more than faith and prayer!
One memorable story Jesus told is The Talents Story (Matt 25: 14-28). At the time Jesus told this story, talent was a unit of currency. Our language has changed, now talent has come to mean skill and ability. God wants us to be trustworthy with the skill and ability as well as money that he entrusts us with.
Money is very easy to borrow, in today’s markets and many New Zealanders make the mistake of spending money they do not have on things they don’t really need. The burden of debt that accompanies that habit can be debilitating to the borrower’s state of mind. The joy and enlightenment that they could have from living in a plentiful and peaceful nation slips away from them because they know that every pay day they owe a portion of their wage to their credit company.
I really believe that God does not want any of His children to constantly live with a debt burden. I believe that we are to thank God for the money that comes into our hands, and think carefully about how to use it to meet our immediate and future needs, and to bless others with the surplus.
Proverbs 2:11 Wise planning will watch over you, Understanding will keep you safe (NLT)

Contributed by Cheryl Wigmore