Introducing The Lord Of Blessings And What Currencies Mean
Return To The Lord Of Blessings
Return to the Lord of Blessings is a heartfelt, confrontational, and spiritually charged invitation to return to God with sincerity, humility, and faithful stewardship—especially through the act of tithing. The author, Happy Riches, draws from personal testimony, biblical narrative, economic commentary, and theological critique to expose what he sees as rampant ingratitude, hypocrisy, and spiritual ignorance among many professing Christians.
This treatment of the topic is structured around key
themes:
- The spiritual importance of tithing, as a
reflection of gratitude and faith.
- Economic principles
(like currency value and confidence) used as metaphors for spiritual truth
and divine order.
- A critique of modern Christianity’s detachment from
truth, especially regarding money, faith, and obedience.
- A call to spiritual maturity, repentance, and a
genuine relationship with the living God—not mere religiosity or dogma.
- Identification and refutation of ten heresies
that prevent believers from experiencing the fullness of God's blessings.
- The danger of bibliolatry and false teaching, with an emphasis on the need to seek the Holy Spirit for true discernment.
- Passionate and provocative: The writing pulls no punches, particularly when
addressing spiritual apathy, doctrinal error, or false teachers. There's a
prophetic boldness akin to the voice of the biblical prophets.
- Autobiographical depth: Personal testimony is interwoven throughout,
especially in the Preface and introductory sections, adding authenticity
and emotional gravity.
- Scripture-heavy:
The manuscript is saturated with biblical references, often quoted in
full, supporting its arguments with layered theological depth.
- Philosophical and reflective: Sections delve deeply into ideas about measurement, truth, money, faith, and human psychology. This philosophical thread helps elevate the argument but occasionally risks overwhelming the reader.
- There is a strong emphasis on the Holy Spirit, spiritual gifts, experiential
knowledge of God, and personal righteousness.
- There is clear disapproval of cessationism, institutional
hypocrisy, and cheap grace theology.
- The book insists on faith with action—a lived obedience rather than intellectual assent alone.
- Each chapter transitions from narrative to teaching,
and then to exhortation.
- The chapters are not only thematic but also build on
one another in terms of moral and spiritual urgency.
- The section “What Do You Believe?” stands out as a theological linchpin, connecting spiritual truth with economic metaphor and faith-action.
- Unique voice:
The author’s blend of testimony, theology, economics, and Scripture makes
the book highly distinctive.
- Courageous messaging:
The unapologetic tone is rare and refreshing, especially in a Christian
landscape often marked by soft-pedaling.
- Biblical foundation:
There is no doubt this book takes Scripture seriously. It demands readers
do the same.
- Timely appeal: The book addresses materialism, hypocrisy, and false teaching—issues rampant in today’s church climate.
Essentially, this is a bold, Spirit-filled appeal to Christians to return to sincere, obedient faith in the living God—specifically through the forgotten discipline of tithing. The book confronts modern misconceptions about money, stewardship, biblical interpretation, and spiritual maturity, exposing the dangers of intellectualism without encounter, grace without gratitude, and belief without obedience.
Return to the Lord of Blessings is a convicting, rare gem—the kind of book that few
have the courage to write. It’s not designed to soothe or flatter, but to
awaken, warn, and restore. It reads like a spiritual defibrillator in an age of
apathy.
*****
CONTENTS
Preface
Introduction
****
Preface
When I became a Christian, I was not aware of tithing as a principle. About three months after encountering Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, someone showed me what is stated in Malachi, chapter three, regarding robbing God. This person had nothing to gain from sharing this Scripture with me. As soon as I read those words—that the Lord does not change and that if we are to return to Him, we need to bring the tithes and offerings into His storehouse; otherwise, we are robbing Him—I immediately decided to backdate my tithe to the day I became a Christian. I was not going to rob God.
Some might think that I am being self-righteous in saying that I would not rob God; therefore, I tithe. Perhaps it is the self-righteous who refuse to tithe. I can honestly say that when I decided to backdate my tithe to the day I became a Christian, it was the attitude of a grateful heart in a person who had found life and a sure hope of better things, because he now had a reason for existing beyond being born into futility.
Until I wrote the previous paragraph, I could not figure out why people had an issue with tithing. I thought that maybe they did not have enough faith, or they did not trust the people to whom they were giving their money, or they were still caught up in their selfishness and had not heard of the blessings that come from being generous. But I have just realized that the reason people do not tithe is that they are not grateful for what the Lord has done. In other words, they do not truly know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. They are merely believers, like the majority of spiritualists who believe in the supernatural but not in the promises of God. These are the rabble that came out of Egypt, who fell in the wilderness and never made it to the Promised Land because they did not appreciate the freedom they had from being in bondage to Pharaoh.
One person I know, who was still a registered Baptist pastor when I met him, expressed his unbelief in the power of God. This person would claim that he is a great believer and adheres to what the Bible teaches, except for the parts he does not like, such as the gifts mentioned in the book of Corinthians and the belief that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is for today. He even refused to acknowledge Pentecostals in any way, and when the word “Pentecostal” was mentioned in conversation, he suddenly had other things to do. Yet God, in His grace, extends mercy to those like him who believe as best as they can. However, when I meet naysayers of this person’s ilk, I am so pleased that I actually know Lord Jesus Christ and that He has so much more for us. I believe what the Bible says is true from cover to cover, even if some things do not necessarily apply today, such as bringing animals to be sacrificed to the Levitical priesthood. However, the lessons associated with those sacrifices are applicable today. Many people have been misled into disregarding the lessons associated with the Mosaic covenant. In doing so, they throw out the baby with the bathwater, as is often the case. Experiencing the reality of God in our daily lives and realizing that the Lord of lords and King of kings reigns in the present is the difference that takes us from a life of futility and drudgery to a life of hope and excitement that transcends wishful thinking.
When the Bible records, “Return unto me,” says the Lord, we are talking about walking with God and knowing what it means to enjoy the righteousness available to us in Christ Jesus—He is our righteousness. However, faith without works is dead.
If we claim we love God but doubt and suffer episodes of unbelief, we do so because we are not looking to our Heavenly Father and do not truly believe He can raise the dead. This is evidenced in our attitude toward tithing. If we delight in bringing the tenth of our income weekly, or as soon as we receive it before the Lord, we do this because we want to honor our Heavenly Father for the love He has for us.
I know many people who do not tithe and call themselves Christians, and I can see the difference in those who do tithe with a grateful heart. The blessings in the lives of those who tithe tell the story, for it is not just a matter of dollars and cents. If we love God, we cannot rob God, because we will want to give Him all the glory. Amen!
All who read this book will be blessed, and even more so when they give to the Lord His portion and give Him all the glory for the things He has done. Hopefully, you are one of those who also live to tell the story of how great is the Lord God’s glory.
Happy Riches
November 2014
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Introduction
Money is a word that evokes strong emotions in most people. Surprisingly, many believe they have no attachment to money because it is merely paper or coins. However, for all of us who know that we can exchange this paper and these coins for goods and services, money takes on a significance of its own.
Knowing how to value and use money is often the difference between those who have and those who have not. This implies that money does not have inherent value; rather, the knowledge of how to use money is the true value. Nevertheless, it is also true that some money is of less value than other money.
If we take the American (US) dollar and the Australian dollar, we will notice that over the last century, there have been times when the American dollar was worth two Australian dollars, as well as periods when the Australian dollar was worth more than the American dollar. There was also a time when both currencies were at parity, with one Australian dollar equaling one American dollar.
There are some complexities when it comes to understanding how the Australian dollar can be less than the American dollar at one time, valued more than the American dollar at another, and sometimes equal in value to the American dollar. This situation resembles one person saying to another at different times during the year: “What you give me, I will give you the same in return,” or “If you give me less, I will give you more,” or “If you give me more, I will give you less.” The fluctuations can seem nonsensical. Currency exchange rates fluctuate so much between certain currencies that people are often at a loss to explain why this is the case.
When it comes to the reasons a currency inflates in value against another currency, this is usually related to issues of uncertainty rather than stability. When a country is stable and there is a sense of good governance, the people are productive, and the exchange of goods with other countries occurs without inconvenience, this creates confidence, and the currency will be valued more highly than that of a country plagued by civil war or a weak government.
Civil war or weak governments need not be the only reasons for a loss of confidence in a currency on the world markets. In 1997, the Indonesian currency traded at 2,000 rupiah for every American dollar. By June of the following year, the exchange rate had risen to 16,800 rupiah for every American dollar. [1] This was due to the Asian financial crisis, which was believed to be the result of major currency manipulation, as well as the level of corruption that existed within Indonesia at the time.
Some governments have purposely devalued and revalued their currencies on the world market to stimulate their economy or slow down inflation. Revaluing a currency increases imports because imported goods cost less, whereas devaluing a currency restricts consumers' capacity to import because the goods cost more. While governments can do this to a point, ultimately, the worth of a currency relies on the confidence that people from other countries have in that country's economy, not on what its government may claim.
When a country like China refuses to allow the value of its currency to reflect the true worth of its economy in the world markets, it creates a major distortion within the global economy that will eventually have to be rectified, unless there is a dramatic revolution that plunges the country back into the days of communism and causes the economy to regress. Nevertheless, those who operate in the money markets have other means of counterbalancing this distortion and are able to hedge against any future losses that may occur when the Chinese currency is permitted to trade at a true market value that reflects the strength of the economy.
Economists use a ratio of gross national product to individual incomes as a major component in evaluating an economy’s strength. This is not a completely reliable yardstick because of the many variables that exist from country to country, which cannot be measured with sufficient accuracy. Consequently, what economists develop is a rule-of-thumb index reflecting the comparative strength of the economies of different countries around the world. Due to the unreliability of this measure, a consistent standard that does not change has always been sought.
Measurements are one of the key factors that enable us to think and determine truth. Measurement is about accuracy, and accuracy is about truth. An inaccurate measure is an untrue measure; therefore, only if we have an accurate measure can we determine something to be correct and any claims otherwise to be false. What we are discussing is possessing or developing a standard by which we can make measurements and evaluate the worth of something. Hence, we have measurements of length, weight, and volume, as well as other aspects of existence such as heat, brightness, and time. The measurement standard is what determines the value and truth of a given quantity or quality.
An economics journalist working at The Economist, a weekly magazine, came up with the idea that the Big Mac would be a good means of establishing a standard for measuring the relative strength of global currencies because it features the same ingredients worldwide. This began as a novelty, but as time has passed, “burgernomics”—the measurement of economic performance using the Big Mac burger as the standard—has proven to be a reliable means of establishing the comparative worth of currencies. Using the price of a Big Mac, the value of currencies around the world can be assessed, and according to the cost of the Big Mac in each country, the currency of that country can then be compared to the index. For instance, if the average price of a Big Mac is 100 on the index in the United States but only 48 in China, this would indicate that the Chinese Yuan is undervalued.[2] The Big Mac index is proving to be a reliable means of indicating which currencies are undervalued or overvalued.[3]
The value of money really depends on confidence and the integrity of the people who attribute value to the currency. Where there is no integrity, people lose confidence. Doubt leads to unbelief, which becomes a source of fear and hostility. Remove doubt, and unbelief cannot flourish. This is because when doubt and unbelief are removed, people’s fear of each other diminishes, preventing distrust, ill will, and violence from arising out of feelings of hostility within hearts and minds.
Somalia is a country that has been ravaged by war for decades, rendering money virtually worthless. Nevertheless, people needed to exchange goods and required a currency that would hold its value. The government that issued the Somali shilling ceased to exist in 1992. The notes that were in circulation in 1990 are still considered legitimate currency today, even though they are not backed by any government or bank. These notes have acquired legitimacy because people value them as trustworthy currency for exchanging goods and services. There have been a number of competing currencies, but the shilling has endured due to the confidence attributed to its value by warlords and local moguls. This is partly because of their limited number, as they are no longer manufactured. Amazingly, due to the confidence accorded to the currency, the Somali shilling has been tracked by Bloomberg (a major New York financial services corporation employing 15,000 people). Of the 175 currencies tracked by Bloomberg, this non-government-backed currency rose nearly 60 percent in value against the American dollar from March 2013 to March 2014, outstripping its closest competitor, the Icelandic krona, by six hundred percent, proving to be the strongest rising currency at the time. [4]
When discussing the strength of a currency and the reasons for currencies holding value, it is important to note that while the underlying reason for a currency to possess worth remains, the human factor can create volatility, uncertainty, doubt, and a lack of confidence very quickly. The stock market is renowned for its volatility, which people often attribute to emotion; however, manipulation of stock prices is the most logical reason for this volatility. If the shares of publicly traded companies were not manipulated, those who attempt to profit from such manipulation would not suffer from the emotions of greed or fear, and the markets would be more stable.
When we talk about money, we are discussing assets, exchange, value, income, wealth, lifestyle, status, influence, power, and the right to reign.
Money is the means by which we exchange goods and services to generate income, which provides a lifestyle that enables us to accumulate wealth. This, in turn, allows us to aspire to a status within the community that will enable us to influence enough people to give us the power to reign over the lives of others.
The most powerful media mogul the world has known is Rupert Murdoch. Some have claimed that his power to influence people in the community is due to the status his accumulated wealth has given him. In addition to this, Murdoch has a lifestyle representative of those who have a yearly income that exceeds the value of an average person’s lifetime work in exchange for money. Murdoch has been said to reign in this world, even though he does not officially hold the title of “King.” One does not have to be crowned a king to reign in this world; all one needs is wealth, status, influence, and power. As the German Emperor Wilhelm I is said to have exclaimed upon sighting Ferrières (a palace 19 miles northeast of Paris) for the first time: "Kings couldn't afford this. It could only belong to a Rothschild!"
Rothschild was not a king and possessed no title. Yet James Rothschild, who built Ferrières, was said to be significantly wealthier than all the bankers in France put together. The Austrian Prince Metternich's secretary wrote of the Rothschild family as early as 1818, "... they are the richest people in Europe." Author Frederic Morton wrote that the Rothschilds had "conquered the world more thoroughly, more cunningly, and much more lastingly than all the Caesars before..." The poet Heinrich Heine was said to have been referring to James Rothschild when he stated: "Money is the god of our times, and Rothschild is his prophet."[5]
The lives of the rich and famous are paraded for the poor to look at, dream of emulating, and sing about. The music group ABBA had a worldwide hit entitled “Money, Money, Money.” They made a fortune with the theme that it is a rich man’s world, telling the story that the only way for the poor to ascend into the realm of the rich is to devise a plan to win a fortune in a game, so that their lives may never be the same.
Money does not grow on trees, but there is a belief that those who know where the money tree can be found live in Beverly Hills, California. However, one comedian tells the story that he knows this is not true because he once dug up every garden in Beverly Hills, and although he found some money, jewelry, and contraband hidden in the backyards, he never found a money tree.
Too many Christians overlook some very important truths because they have a misguided understanding of money. This stems from the impoverished mindset they have developed. They are like the comedian who claimed he went looking for the money tree but could not find it. Some Christians often think that the rich get rich and the poor get poorer for no other reason than being born into wealth or poverty. Many Westerners turn to Buddhism because of their disgust for the materialism of those claiming to be Christians. Unlike the Buddha, those claiming to be Christians are not doing their best to extricate themselves from their grievances and ties to the world of the flesh. The lust of the eye—often called the evil eye—still finds a place on their foreheads. It is prophesied, the mark of the beast is to be imprinted in the same place. And more tellingly, Moses instructed the Israelites to put the Shema in frontlets on their foreheads between their eyes. Today, the Shema is found in the Tefillin, pointing upwards on the foreheads of devout Jews. The idea is to remind people that their thoughts should be directed toward God and not mammon, the god of this world.
There is a story about a man who was unemployed and had a high opinion of himself. Since he had no money left, he either had to find a job or go to the streets to beg or scavenge. He sought out an employment consultant, who sent him to a prospective employer. When the consultant contacted the employer to see how the unemployed man fared, the employer said, “I realized he had such a high opinion of himself that I gave him a job as a talent scout. I am confident that if he were to find someone whom he thought to be more intelligent and industrious than himself, that person must be exceptional. Therefore, I would be a fool not to hire the person he finds.”
Brian Houston wrote a book entitled You Need More Money. On page seventeen, he wrote: “Many people have an attitude that says, ‘All I need is enough money to put food on my table.’ Well, that is actually a selfish way to think. Imagine if you were in the position to put food on the tables of countless families.”
Money can be a blessing or a curse. It is a curse if we live for money alone or if we decide to waste our lives on Earth and luxuriate in sumptuous living. Money becomes a blessing when we understand that its value is intrinsic but depends on how we use it as a resource. Brian Houston (pioneer of Hillsong) expresses his thesis this way: Money says to land, “I can own you.” Money says to vision, “I can fulfill you.” Money says to buildings, “I can build you.” Money says to things, “I can buy you.” Money says to a missionary, “I can support you.” Money says to the poverty-stricken, “I can feed you.” Money says to opportunity, “I can accept you.”
Jesus said that we cannot serve two masters; we will either hate the one and love the other. This means we cannot serve money and our Heavenly Father. However, this does not mean we cannot serve our Heavenly Father by helping the poor, visiting the sick, and feeding the hungry, using money as the means. In fact, money provides us with the means to help the less fortunate.
Jesus had a lot to say about money, and it was not all bad. Many Christians like to say that money is the root of all evil, as Jesus warned of it trapping people and preventing them from worshipping God. They cite stories Jesus told about those who had wealth, such as the rich man who stored up his wealth only to die the very night he retired; the rich young ruler who claimed he kept the commandments but refused to give up his money to help the poor; and the rich man who refused to help Lazarus the beggar but, in anguish, sought his help to warn his brothers when suffering from thirst after he died, having found himself in hell.
What these Christians overlook is that the parables about the Ten Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) and the Ten Pounds (Luke 19:11-27) are about money and not abilities, and Jesus said that we were to tithe (Matthew 23:23). Rather than getting the log out of their own eyes, finger-pointers are more intent on defending their own beliefs and have more zeal for accusing others of being reprobates or heretics.
There is no doubt that money is the god of this world, and those who crave its favors will perish along with all who put their trust in the temporal things of life. What Christians need is an understanding of what the Bible says about money. The following pages will reveal some truths of God that will astound you because you may not have heard of them before; but they will liberate you, as you will now understand some of the hidden secrets that are only revealed to those who walk with God and seek the truth.
[1] http://www.fleur-de-coin.com/articles/worthless-money —retrieved Oct. 10, 2014
[2] Burgernomics: A Big Mac™ Guide to Purchasing Power Parity —https://research.stlouisfed.org/publications/review/03/11/pakko.pdf
[3] The Big Mac index. http://www.economist.com/content/big-mac-index —retrieved Oct.
10, 2014
[4]
too.http://blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/2014/03/20/the-curious-tale-of-the-world-beating-somali-shilling/—retrieved
Oct. 10, 2014
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