Participants: Bill Santos
Series Code: IIWC
Program Code: IIWC201227
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00:02 >>Bill: Morris Siegel was a street person in Los Angeles.
00:05 He lived like most street people roaming about in back alleys, sleeping 00:10 out-of-doors, carrying everything he owned in an old shopping cart. 00:14 He was found in an alley, dead of natural causes, perhaps heart trouble. 00:19 The interesting thing about Morris is that he had $207,421 in the bank 00:25 at the time of his death. 00:30 It seems that Morris' father died and left him the money ten years 00:33 earlier. 00:35 When Morris did not claim it, the Division of Unclaimed Property tracked 00:39 him down, and his family forced him to accept it. 00:43 He took only enough of the money to buy an old car, where he slept in bad 00:47 weather. 00:49 Relatives rented an apartment for him, but he never went there. 00:53 He died December 14, 1989, with three dollars in his pocket and an untouched 01:00 fortune in the bank. 01:16 ANNOUNCER: It has stood the test of time. 01:19 God's book: the Bible, 01:23 still relevant in today's complex world. 01:27 It Is Written, 01:30 sharing the messages of hope around the world. 01:58 >>Bill: As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his 02:01 knees before him. 02:04 "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 02:11 Mark 10: 17 - 23 03:38 That's a tough teaching, especially for a generation that has to 03:43 rent out mini-warehouses in order to store all their stuff. 03:47 But there it is. 03:55 Money is a big deal in our lives. 03:58 Let's confess it. 03:59 We like nice things. 04:02 We like things that are new, things that work. 04:05 How many have been lusting after a new flat-screen plasma 04:08 television? 04:11 How many wouldn't like to replace slightly-worn living room furniture with 04:15 something much more attractive? 04:18 We like nice things, and in order to have nice things we've got to have 04:18 money. 04:23 But Jesus is warning us that money can ensnare us and separate us from God. 04:30 Preacher Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick once said something quite profound. 04:53 And we know it's true. 04:55 But it's our culture. 04:57 And it is very difficult to cut ourselves loose from our cultural 04:59 obsession with things. 05:02 There is a story about an old monk who has been mentoring a young 05:08 disciple. 05:11 Believing that he has the ability to be on his own, the monk allows the boy to 05:16 live in a lean-to near the river bank. 05:20 Each night, happy as a lark, the young disciple puts out his loincloth, 05:25 his only possession, to dry. 05:30 One morning he is dismayed to find that it has been torn to shreds by rats. 05:35 So he begs for a second loincloth from the villagers. 05:40 When the rats come to destroy that one, he gets a cat to keep the rats 05:43 away. 05:46 But now he has to beg not only for food but also for milk for the cat. 05:52 To get around that, he buys a cow. 05:56 But then he has to seek food for the cow. 06:00 He concludes, finally, that it would be easier to work the land around his 06:04 hut, so he leaves off his prayers and meditations, and commits himself to 06:08 growing crops to feed the cow. 06:12 The operation expands. 06:14 He hires workers. 06:16 He marries a wife who keeps the household running smoothly. 06:19 Pretty soon he is one of the wealthiest people in the village. 06:23 Several years later the monk comes back to find a mansion where the lean-to 06:28 had been. 06:30 "What is the meaning of this?" 06:32 the monk asks. 06:34 The disciple replies, "Holy Father, there was no other way for me to keep 06:39 my loincloth." 06:42 In the Hebrew tradition, wealthy people were the ones who could spend time 06:47 reading the scriptures and praying. 06:50 In Fiddler on the Roof, Tevye sings, 07:14 But that's not what is happening with us. 07:18 The more stuff we have, the less time we have for God. 07:23 How can we disentangle ourselves from the social pressures as well as the 07:29 inner greed that causes us to fill our lives with material things? 07:36 First of all, we need to take control of our finances. 07:42 Many families are putting themselves under unnecessary pressure 07:47 because of finances that are out of control. 07:51 A father gave his daughter a generous weekly allowance, on the 07:58 condition that she kept good records of how she spent the money. 08:03 At the end of the month, the dad was going to check on how she spent the 08:06 money. 08:08 When he checked on how she did, he was delighted that she had kept good records. 08:13 But he came across several items that were listed as TLOK. 08:21 In fact, about 1/5 of her money was listed this way. 08:27 He asked her what TLOK meant. 08:32 She said, "Well, it's this way. 08:35 Sometimes I did not jot down the amounts I spent. 08:41 When I sat down to try to jot down all that I spent, I couldn't for the life of 08:46 me remember where I had spent all that money. 08:49 I couldn't make my accounts balance, so I placed several dollars 08:52 under TLOK." 08:56 The father said, "But what does it mean?" 09:00 She said it means, "The Lord Only Knows!" 09:06 I suspect that a lot of families live by the TLOK method of bookkeeping. 09:14 We really don't know where the money goes. 09:19 Some need to cut up their credit cards. 09:22 Some need to cut back on eating out. 09:26 Some need to sit down with a credit counselor and ge out of debt. 09:30 Letting our finances get out of control can quickly become a spiritual 09:35 problem. 09:39 It can place an unnecessary burden on our marriage, on our family 09:44 life, even on our heart and emotions. 09:48 Take control of your finances. 09:52 Two. 09:53 Take control of your desires. 09:56 This one is a little more challenging. 10:00 Ask yourself, what would really improve your quality of life? 10:06 Often the things that will improve our lives are available without a great 10:10 outlay of money. 10:14 A couple of years back, a book came out titled Trading Up. 10:21 This book traced the roots of some of our misconceptions about 10:25 wealth. 10:27 The 1950s were a time of increasing prosperity in the United States. 10:33 But even as personal wealth grew, spending habits changed little. 10:40 The primary reason why Americans didn't become instant shopaholics, 10:45 according to these authors, is guilt. 10:49 This was a generation raised on hard work, thrift, and personal 10:54 sacrifice. 10:57 When marketers realized the potential wealth that was accumulating in 11:01 Americans' pockets, they changed their advertising campaigns to encourage 11:06 more spending. 11:43 In other words, advertisers sold us a picture of the good 11:47 life--that it consisted of the possessions that we accumulate. 11:53 And many bought into it. 11:57 How do you escape the trap? 12:01 Think about the really pleasurable times in your life. 12:07 Was money really necessary to your enjoyment? 12:11 For example, most of us need more exercise. 12:17 How about, rather than sitting all evening in front of the TV, we 12:23 resolve to take a walk each evening with our spouse? 12:29 The time spent together can be most pleasurable, as well as being healthier 12:36 than being a couch potato all evening. 12:38 Are there people you enjoy being around? 12:43 Some people get involved in church-- because they enjoy the give and take of 12:47 being with other like-minded people. 12:53 The method will differ for each of us, but we don't have to move in lock-step 12:57 with the materialistic society around us. 13:03 If we set our minds to it, we can find alternatives to a lifestyle that 13:08 requires constant accumulation. 13:12 Finally, and most important, remember that in our finances as well as 13:20 everything else, God comes first. 13:26 If anything in life comes before God, then we are not following Jesus 13:33 Christ. 13:35 If we can buy season hockey tickets, but cannot tithe, we have a spiritual 13:42 problem. 13:45 If we can make a payment on a nicer home, but cannot meet our 13:49 responsibilities to the church and to the poor, we are worshiping mammon and 13:58 not God. 14:01 That's tough talk, I know, I owe it to you to tell it like it is. 14:10 All that I am, all that I have 14:16 I lay them down before you, O Lord. 14:23 All my regrets and all my acclaim, 14:29 The joy and the pain, I'm making them yours. 14:37 Lord, I offer my life to you; 14:42 Everything I've been through, 14:46 Use it for your glory. 14:50 Lord, I offer my days to you, 14:54 Lifting my praise to you 14:59 As a pleasing sacrifice; 15:05 Lord, I offer you my life. 15:16 Things in the past, things yet unseen, 15:22 Wishes and dreams that are yet to come true. 15:28 All of my hopes and all of my plans, 15:34 My heart and my hand are lifted to you. 15:45 Lord, I offer my life to you; 15:50 Everything I've been through, 15:54 Use it for your glory. 15:57 Lord, I offer my days to you, 16:02 Lifting my praise to you 16:06 As a pleasing sacrifice; 16:13 Lord, I offer you my life. 16:20 Lord, I offer you my life. 16:34 My life. 16:41 >>Bill: Let us pray. 16:43 Gracious loving heavenly father, we thank you for the countless blessings 16:47 that you give each and every one of us. 16:50 We thank you for life, we thank you for your mercy, we thank you for your 16:53 grace. 16:55 And at this time, we think of those that may be suffering under the burden 16:59 of financial pressures. 17:02 Father, may they put you first in their life. 17:07 May they seek the kingdom of God first and realize in Jesus, all of their 17:14 needs can be fulfilled, for in his name we pray, amen. 17:53 >>Bev: Hi, everyone. 17:55 You've been hearing me talk about eating more raw, plants-based foods, 17:58 and today, I've got three super, super-easy, delicious ways to do just 18:01 that. 18:04 Eating more raw food is a powerfully effective way to improve your health 18:07 dramatically. 18:10 I'm talking about clearer skin, improved eyesight, reversal of chronic 18:12 diseases including cancer. 18:16 In fact, studies show that eating raw, fresh fruits and vegetables is more 18:20 effective at keeping us healthy than taking supplements that have a 18:21 limited number of phytochemicals. 18:27 There are just so many phytochemicals in vegetables and fruits that 18:29 haven't been discovered as yet and they all work in beautiful synergy 18:31 together. 18:37 So I have here the dynamic cookbook Eat Raw, Eat Well by my friend and chef 18:40 extraordinaire, Douglas McNish. 18:44 And today, I'm going to show you his trio of pastas. 18:47 I'm just going to adapt them a little bit. 18:49 You will not believe how fast and easy raw pasta can be. 18:53 And I know you're thinking, "Raw pasta? 18:55 " Watch and see. 18:58 First, we'll do the zucchini noodles and I'll add a little tomato sauce 19:00 to it. 19:02 All you need for this is a zucchini and a nifty little kitchen appliance 19:06 called a Spiralizer. 19:09 Zucchinis are a fantastic alternative to wheat pasta because there's so few 19:11 calories in the zucchini. 19:14 One cup has only twenty calories. 19:18 There's no fat, no cholesterol, very little sodium, plus there is 19:22 vitamins A, C, some of the B vitamins, and minerals calcium and iron. 19:27 You can substitute carrots, beets, parsnips, or sweet potatoes for the 19:31 zucchini. 19:32 Let me demo it for you. 19:35 You just have to insert the zucchini into this little apparatus here. 19:41 And, using manual labour. actually, I'll do it this way so you can see it 19:48 better. you just have to crank that out. 19:51 And you see, pasta. 19:54 Beautiful. 20:03 I'm going to just add that to my little stash there. 20:06 So that is zucchini pasta. 20:09 How easy was that? 20:12 Be careful with salt-containing toppings, though, when it comes to 20:15 zucchini, because salt can take the water out of the zucchini. 20:18 So let me place this over here. 20:22 And I'm just going to put the zucchini on this plate here and add a nice, fresh 20:30 tomato sauce to it. 20:37 Doesn't that look yummy already? 20:40 Beautiful. 20:44 Okay, so next, carrot fettuccini. 20:48 And all you need for this is your carrot and a vegetable peeler and a 20:53 sharp knife. 20:55 This is so easy. 20:57 All you're doing is using your vegetable peeler and doing that. 21:00 Nice and easy. 21:04 And if you wanted to. I won't do it this time 'cause these are pretty 21:06 small. 21:08 But if you wanted to, you would then stack these up and then just kind of cut 21:11 them in half. 21:14 But these ones are a nice, small size anyway. 21:16 And what I've done here, I've got some already marinating, I added a 21:19 little bit of vegetable oil and then a little bit of lemon, and the lemon is 21:23 going to soften them up beautifully and a little bit of sea salt. 21:27 Carrots, as we all know, are an excellent source of vitamins A, the Bs, C, and 21:32 K. 21:35 And again, there's no fats, no cholesterol. 21:36 There is potassium, calcium, and iron. 21:40 And although carrots are high in natural sugars, one cup of raw carrots 21:42 only has fifty-two calories. 21:46 So here we go. 21:48 I'm going to soften this up. 21:50 The lemon softens it. 21:52 And look, doesn't it look like pasta? 21:55 Here we go. 21:57 I'm going to plate this. 21:58 Look at that. 21:59 The colours are so gorgeous. 22:02 Beautiful. 22:05 And what you could do is to use a little bit of pesto and you could 22:08 actually just kind of pesto that in. 22:13 Isn't that gorgeous? 22:16 Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. 22:18 Okay. 22:21 The third one, and this one will amaze you, I'm sure, beets. 22:25 I'm going to make beet ravioli with a red pepper, dill, and cashew ricotta 22:30 cheese. 22:33 Okay. 22:34 We've got here the mandolin. 22:37 The good thing about all of this is, it's all vegan. 22:40 It's wonderful. 22:42 Beets are fantastic for your liver. 22:45 They are wonderful for their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and 22:49 detoxifying properties. 22:54 When you're using beets, be sure to also use the beet greens, as they're 22:55 loaded with great nutrition. 22:59 So for this recipe, for the beet recipe, all we need to make this ravioli 23:03 are some beets and a mandolin. 23:08 Now, your mom probably bought one of these, like my mom did, years ago. 23:10 So I've got my beet already stuck on here. 23:14 And I hope this is going to work nicely. 23:16 Let me get rid of that. 23:20 All you're going to do is slide it like so to get a nice, thin. there we go. 23:27 Beautiful. 23:28 Nice, thin slices. 23:33 And I have some already in here. 23:35 They've been marinating. 23:37 Again, just a little bit of olive oil and some of that lemon juice because 23:40 the lemon juice helps to soften it. 23:43 And also, some of the sea salt is going to soften it up. 23:46 So what we're going to do is. watch this. 23:50 I'm going to take that and see how it's nice and pliable now, very pliable. 23:56 And I'll take another one. 23:58 No, let's get a better one. 24:03 Ah, this one will do. 24:09 Okay, what we're going to do is, I've got this wonderful cheese that I've 24:12 made from cashews and dill and other nice things. 24:18 We're going to put a little bit in the middle like a regular ravioli and 24:23 then we're going to cover it with the second beet. 24:28 And see how pliable it is. 24:30 Just like so. 24:33 And so you've got your ravioli. 24:35 Put that there. 24:39 Let's make another one to round it out there on the plate. 24:43 Okay. 24:47 And I'm just going to put a little bit of the cashew, ricotta cheese, 24:53 and then we'll cover it with this guy. 24:57 Beautiful. 25:01 Look at that. 25:04 You've got yourself some raw pasta. 25:08 See how fast and easy all of that was? 25:11 With wheat pasta, you'd still be boiling it. 25:14 Doing it the raw way means there's no loss of antioxidants, no loss of 25:18 vitamins, minerals, or fiber. 25:20 And look how beautiful. I'm just going to wipe my hands on these leaves to 25:26 get rid of the red. look how beautiful the colours are. 25:28 You've got the red of the beets, the orange of the carrot, the red of the 25:31 chunky tomatoes with the gorgeous green of the zucchini. 25:37 Isn't God so good at providing mouth-watering, nutritious food for us? 25:40 I hope you'll be inspired to eat more raw foods. 25:43 I'll see you next time. 25:53 >>Dave: God is great and beyond all human comprehension. 25:57 We are told that his eye is even on the sparrow, and therefore, his eyes 26:01 are on us. 26:03 Pastor Bill has prepared a book that includes all the messages in this series. 26:07 The book is called Fear Not, for I am With You. 26:10 We would like to send it to you as our gift. 26:14 Here's the information you need to get your copy. 27:15 >>Bill: Well, we've come to the end of another It Is Written program. 27:19 I want to thank you so much for joining us again this week. 27:23 Until next week, remember to visit our website, www.itiswrittencanada.ca. 27:28 On the website, all of our programs are archived. 27:32 You can send your prayer requests in. 27:35 And you can even send an online donation if you feel so impressed to do 27:38 that. 27:41 And if you do that, please know that that donation will go a long way to help 27:44 keep this ministry on the air. 27:46 We also have a youtube channel. 27:48 It's a great way to see all of our programs. 27:50 Youtube.com/iiwcanada. 27:53 You can refer that to a friend. 27:56 You can also follow us on Twitter and you can like us on Facebook. 28:03 We'll be praying that the good Lord allows us the privilege of being back 28:07 together with you again next week. 28:09 Until then, you remember, it is written: Man shall not live by bread alone, 28:16 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. 28:23 $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ |
Revised 2015-02-06