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FREEDOM IN JESUS-JESUS AND MONEY

“The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me.” (Matt. 26:11)

Before we look at the promises of prosperity for those in Christ, it’s important that we take a look at something else, too…the poor.  With one single verse, Jesus has taken the mystery out of one thing: In spite of the Lord’s promises of prosperity, the poor will always be here among us. How come? First of all, the promises of prosperity were made specifically to God’s kids. Non-believers are not heirs to that promise, even though many of them become wealthy in their lifetime, many will also be poor. Secondly, there are many Christians that live in poverty, as well.

The question is, if God has promised us prosperity, why are so many missing it? Did God lie? Or maybe he meant we would be wealthy and prosperous in heaven, but, here in THIS life we just have to suffer along with everyone else?

Well, we know God didn’t lie. And while I’m sure we’ll have wealth beyond compare in heaven, I’m just as sure that he never intended for us to wait til we get there to receive it. I’m also sure we’ll never know the full answer or answers as to why so many Christians live on limited means…but maybe we can know SOME of them. And if we can know SOME of them, maybe we can help somebody, somewhere, overcome the obstacles they face to reach the other side…freedom in Jesus!

Some of us may remain in poverty because of generational curses…things they don’t know how to break free from…but I think a lot of us remain where we are because of our lack of understanding and knowledge of the promises God has already fulfulled to us through Jesus! (Actually, these two things go hand in hand). I’d like to share some things with you…food for thought…that may help shed a lil light on what I mean.

“In a loud voice they sang: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!”" (Rev. 5:12)

Jesus was slain, in part,  to receive wealth. Did you know that? And since we are co-heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17), then we received wealth as a result of his sacrifice, too…it’s not something we’re GONNA get…it’s something we’ve ALREADY gotten…just like our salvation. We don’t have to wait til we die to get it, it’s already ours! We just need to figure out how to see it manifested in our lives. Which leads to the next part of this post…some steps we can take that may help manifest a change in our lives, not just in the area of finances, but in all areas…things that might help us to find a little more of our freedom in Jesus! In the next post or two, I’ll share with you so many promises of prosperity from God that it can’t be denied…but for now, if you would accept it as a reality, we’ll move along.

There are three things that I believe limit us, as Christians, not just in our finances, but in many other areas, as well. The first one, of course, is knowledge. If you don’t know it, you surely can’t believe it or act on it. The second thing is faith. And the third thing is having a better understanding of how the enemy and his kingdom work against us! Some of the habits we’ve developed are so subtle, yet so powerfully captivating, that we don’t even realize we’ve endangered ourselves!

Now, I”m gonna shift gears here for just a minute, and we’ll get right back to this…and hopefully we’ll tie it up a little for this post. The single most important event in a person’s life is receiving the salvation that is freely offered in Jesus. NOTHING else a person can do will affect his or her  future like this one single event. Now Paul wrote…

“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Rom. 10:9)

This is where this thing is going: If this statement is true, that if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that “Jesus is Lord,” and that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved…if this statement about the single most important event in your entire life  (past, present or future) is true…then how true must it be of lesser events, too? What I mean by that, is this: that if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that you’re poor…you will be. Or that if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that you’re sick…or that you’re worthless, or that the situation is hopeless…

How many times have we proclaimed that…

“I can’t afford it.”

“We never have any money.”

“I’ll guess I’ll always be poor.”

“There’s never enough money to pay the bills.”

If you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart…wow!!! And if we didn’t believe it in our heart, we wouldn’t be confessing it…

“…For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matt. 12:34).

WOW! Now that’s Jesus, himself, making that statement! And we don’t even realize we are condemning ourselves by our words! How come? Because we’ve been so conditioned by the kingdom of the world…

HOME BUSINESS BLOG-MY FREE HOME BUSINESS

Today, I’d like to share with you just a little on how to promote your free home business. Of course, there are as many ways to promote your free affiliate websites as there are people to promote them! I’d like to share a few of those with you today, along with the pros and cons of each one.

The first way I’d like to touch on today is email marketing, or safelisting. Rule #1, you do NOT want to start sending out a bunch of random emails to people you don’t know without their permission. You know, as well as I do, that nobody likes to be spammed (plus it’s illegal)! There are ways, however, to send emails out to folks you don’t know WITH their permission! One way to do this is with landing pages, which we’ll cover later. Today, though, we want to look at safelisting.

Safelists are lists that you can join that are full of people that have agreed to receive your emails. In return, you agree to receive their emails. While this can be an effective way to get your business out there, keep in mind that the same people that are receiving your email, agreed to do so in order to be allowed to send YOU their offers! While you can join most safelists for free (of course, most of them offer upgrades), the free ones are often ineffective.

Once you upgrade, you can email a lot more members a lot more often. Another benefit of upgrading is that you often receive a LOT less email! The typical set up is this: Free members can email free members once a week, and receive emails from everybody in the list. Upgrade to “pro” and you may be able to email all free and pro members two or three times a week…and receive emails only from the pro and “executive” members. Upgrade to “executive” and email ALL members of the list as often as you like…and receive emails only from other executive members. The upgrades are normally fairly modest in price.

Obviously, the executive memberships are far more effective if you decide you want to try safelisting. Whether the lists are free or paid, the list is already there for you. You can have an instant list of thousands! The downside, is that it’s very competetive, and can be very expensive if you upgrade in a few of them. If you’re making money from them, it’s worth it, of course, but if you’re just starting out or if you are on a limited budget, it might not be a wise investment. Personally, while I do use a few of them, I don’t spend too much time or money on them.

I will share with you a few that I do like, though, and that I’ve found to be fairly responsive. Number 1 on the list is:

ListJoe is a great list to start with. It’s a little pricey to upgrade, but worth it IF you want to make safelisting one of your preferred methods of marketing. If you’re not intending to do much with safelists, I would recommend you starting as a free member.(Actually, it’s more of a list builder than a safelist, but it works much in the same way…but it has the added benefit of building your list, too.)

List-twister is another good viral list builder. It’s still fairly new (and fairly inexpensive to upgrade), and as it grows, so will your list!

Herculist seems to be a pretty good safelist to start with. Of course, you can join as a free member, or upgrade to different levels. Either way, it currently has a list of around 56,000 members. I’ve been a member for awhile now, and it might be worth your taking a look.

TargetProBlaster is another one I use, mostly because there’s a lifetime upgrade of only $10 to send out emails to a list of around 50,000 currently.

One of the absolute favorites on my list is the Pearls of Wealth safelist group. You can join any or all of them. Most of them are free to join, and you can join as many or as few as you like. If you’d like to try the safelist submitter, feel free to do so, as long as you understand there is a monthly membership fee (that you can cancel at any time). The Pearls lists are generally pretty responsive, and are all over the world (which is great for your international free home business!). I would recommend you joining a few of them for free and getting your feet wet before jumping into the submitter, unless it’s something you can easily afford. Another great alternative that I’ve used a few times is that you can send out a one time ad to all lists for $5. That might be something else you’d like to try before you commit to a paid membership. See how it works for you.

Just as a note of caution here, if you happen to run across these blasters that charge you $20-30 for a lifetime membership to “blast” your ads to millions a day…STAY AWAY! I’m sure there are probably a few legitimate ones out there, but I also know that many of them are just wanting your thirty bucks. I’m not talking about some of the safelist submitters (which are different altogether) like Pearls of Wealth, or iPostAd…but about the blasters that promise to send your ads to 150-700 million people a day for a one-time lifetime payment. It’s your money, but…

Safelists can be quite effective. I’m not a huge fan of them, although I do use them on occassion, too! Don’t rule them out totally, but don’t get too hung up on ‘em either! There are other ways (totally free) that work just as well or better!

If you’d like to follow along on My Free Home Business blog for more info and tips, feel free to click the link!

LEGITIMATE FREE HOME BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

The age old question: Are there such things as  legitimate free home business opportunities? The answer may surprise you! First of all, let’s look at the reason you’re investigating this avenue in the first place. Maybe you were laid off and in today’s economy, it’s pretty tough to find a decent job…or even a not so decent job. Maybe with the economic turmoil, you just need a little extra cash! Don’t despair…and don’t run around throwing money at a lot of different programs that promise to bring the cash rolling in with the click of a button!

Back to the question: Are there really such things as legitimate free home business opportunities? There are a surprising number of “free” home businesses, that (not so surprisingly) really aren’t free. They may be free to join, but they often require you to upgrade or maintain a certain dollar amount in monthly purchases to qualify to receive your money. The money YOU earned! In spite of those guys, there really and truly are a few legitimate free home business opportunities on the internet! We’re not talking about the survey thing, or the clicking ads for pennies type thing, but real, true, honest-to-goodness home business programs that can earn you a substantial income!

Most of these offer upgrades too, but don’t REQUIRE them, like many other “free” opportunities. Of course, the upgrades offer the potential to earn even more money, but it’s a choice that YOU make. You can honestly remain “free” as long as you like and still receive your earnings…and with a little time and effore, those earnings can be rather lucrative!

Likewise, you can spend as much as you want on advertising or promoting your new business…but it’s really not necessary if you’re willing to put in a little time and effort in learning about the free ways. Yep, it may take a little longer and require a little more effort, but it’s just as effective, and in the long run, the advantages lie with the free ways. They can self-produce for you over a very long period of time, simply by putting in a little work in the beginning.

Even the free home business programs may cost a little bit to start up, though. We’re not talking about a major investment, but even with a free affiliate website, for instance, you’ll need a place to host it. There are tons of hosting services out available for very little cost…usually less than ten bucks a month! And you might be interested in getting your own domain name…another small investment. It’s really easy to find those for well under ten bucks, too!

A lot of internet business folks recommend autoresponders, as well. Do you HAVE to have one? Not at all. Especially if you’re selling affliate products! That’s a choice you have to make for yourself, but it’s an investment that you might want to consider at some point down the road, especially if you’re selling your own products or trying to build a list. Another twenty bucks of so a month. You can easily do without the autoresponder, as many affiliate programs will have their own, but even if you go all out right off the bat, with the domain name, the hosting and the autoresponder, you’re looking at forty dollars or less a month to operate your home business. There’s NOWHERE else where you can do THAT!

Are there really such things as “legitimate free home business opportunities“? You bet! You just have to take a little time to find it…

PERSONAL HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN

If you’re like millions of Americans, finding a personal health insurance plan that you can afford has been a difficult task…and it’s getting harder and harder each day. The insurance companies keep increasing premiums, covering less, and if you have a pre-existing condition, you can pretty much hang up any chance you had at grabbing onto some strand of relatively ineffective insurance. Many people that used to be able to get reasonable insurance through their employer have seen rates skyrocketing, the coverage dwindling, or the option of providing health coverage disappearing altogether.

Long waits for health care are becoming more commonplace. Haggling with your insurance company over needed or recommended procedures are another every day occurance, not just concerning the time frame and coverage, but whether or not they’ll cover it at all. With medical costs going through the roof, and little or no relief in sight, there are estimated to be 45 million Americans without health insurance. And countless others that are seeing household budgets strained by trying to keep up their premiums in today’s economy. It’s not uncommon to find households paying between $300 and $600 a month just for health insurance!

Can you imagine, in today’s struggling economy…without any type of health coverage…the relief and peace of mind of finding an affordable alternative for the entire family?

Believe it or not, there is such an alternative available! While many people aren’t aware of such programs, there are programs available that are NOT insurance companies, but rather professional medical savings programs, that require no medical exams and that accept anyone (including those with pre-existing conditions!). If you find the RIGHT professional medical savings program, the benefits they offer often rival, or exceed, the “coverage” provided by many far more expensive insurance companies!

It seems nearly impossible to expect it in today’s world, but there are programs that offer savings, not only on health care, but dental, vision, hearing and prescriptions, all in one complete package, through one PPO (Preferred Providers Organization) or another! Excellent savings programs can be found for under $100 a month that include savings for the entire family! Many insurance companies today don’t offer that kind of coverage at anything close to an affordable price for the average family! In addition, there are no claim forms to fill out and no waiting for the insurance company to “approve” the doctor (or the visit)!

The “drawback” is often seen as a modest increase members may pay for a doctor’s visit. At the same time, while one may pay an additional $10-$20 at the doctor’s office, quite often, the savings for hospital visits and major medical expenses are greater than what the insurance companies can offer. Add that to the fact, that the members pay less than $100 a month to participate in the program, compared to $300 or more for insurance, and there is quite a significant savings! The average family would have to visit the doctor roughly 8-12 times a month, EACH month, in order to benefit from the average medical insurance coverage (compared to the savings program)!

The days of the affordable personal health insurance plan appear to be gone forever. If you, or anyone you know, is without adequate health care plan, be a friend…suggest they check out the possibility of joining a professional medical savings program. If you, or anyone you know, is paying $300-$600 a month for health insurance, be a friend…make the same suggestion. The benefits may surprise you, and the savings will definitely help ease the financial burden!

Mmmmmmmm….how great would it be to sleep all night again, just by getting that one monkey off your back!!!

WHY I PROMOTE HOME BUSINESS PROGRAMS

Now for the spiritual side of why I choose to promote home business programs…the number one motivator for me! I truly believe that we, as people, are to spend our lives working. I don’t, however, believe we are to spend them “earning a living” or just getting by! To me, the Bible has promised us prosperity. It has promised us freedom through Jesus Christ. It tells me about a God of abundance, who provides all our needs…and a God who gives generously to all. In fact, there is nothing anywhere…not on heaven, nor on earth…that can be earned from God.

We can’t earn salvation. That’s very clear. Yet, He gives it freely. We can’t earn healing. Yet, He gives it freely. But we think we have to earn a living…even though He has already promised to provide our needs! The problem is, we would rather depend on our human peers to provide for us through a means we call “employment,” than to depend on God (and the abilities that He’s given us) to provide for ourselves and our families. What’s the difference and where did we go wrong?

It started in the garden of Eden, when Adam ate the forbidden fruit.

“Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” (Gen. 3:17-19)

Everyone assumes from this verse that we are doomed to a life of labor and toil. The Bible also says, “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.” (2 Thes. 3:10).

There are, however, a couple of things most people don’t stop to think about! The first, is this:

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” (Gal. 3:13)

We’ve been redeemed from the curse of Adam! Jesus did that on the cross! The second thing we don’t stop to think about is this: before Adam ever even thought about eating the forbidden fruit, he was…working!

“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” (Gen. 2:15)

Adam was put in the garden to work before it ever became a curse! It was a BLESSING to work! After the fall, it became a curse. But then Jesus came along to redeem us from the curse…and work SHOULD have become a blessing again…but it didn’t for most of us! How come? Because by then, we were so ingrained in our ways of being enslaved to someone else that it never occurred to us that we were set free!

What kind of work blessed Adam? The work that God put him here to do…tend the garden. What kind of work blesses you? Tending a garden? Playing music? Painting pictures? Creating things from popsicle sticks? Working in a gas station? Then THAT’S WHAT YOU SHOULD BE DOING!!! Instead, we crawl around from one “job” to another, scratching out our meager existance and wonder why God is putting us through this horrible ordeal. Only it’s not by His choice that we do it…it’s by our own.

He takes a lot of blame for a lot of things we bring on ourselves, dear friends. Instead of blaming God, find your blessing and pursue it. A good home business (whether online or not) will allow you to do just that. I choose to promote those that cost little or no money for someone just starting out, because most folks that are looking for ways to make money, don’t have any. These can be a great stepping stone and help you get started on your path to financial freedom. Please, whether you choose any of these programs or not…please, take whatever steps you have to take to get out from under the curse.

Jesus paid the ultimate price for your freedom and mine. Let’s try not to waste it…

Many blessings!

WHY I PROMOTE HOME BUSINESS PROGRAMS

I suppose it would be easy to assume that the #1 reason I promote home business programs is for the money. In truth, that’s a valid reason, but it comes somewhere down the list. The #1 reason, however, has nothing to do with money. Neither does the #2 reason. If you’ll allow me…

From a strictly secular standpoint, when we work for someone else, they have total control over when (or if) we work, how much money we make, the hours we may or may not work, etc. In other words, they control an awful big part of our lives. They control what time we wake up…after all, we don’t want to be late! They control the amount of time we spend with your family. For most of us, they control a large portion of what we can or can’t enjoy in our “off” time, simply by controlling our wages. In other words, in a sense, we are slaves of a system that throws us a few scraps every Friday to keep us coming back for more!

Job security? Years ago, maybe, but it’s a thing of the past. Again, it’s in the control of the powers that be. From CEO to parking lot attendant or dishwasher. You never really know. Aside from that, we spend a large portion of our lives frantically trying to get somewhere (that most of us don’t want to be in the first place!), so we can perform duties (that most of us don’t wish to be performing!), just so we can catch a few scraps on payday! Then we wonder why we’re stressed out!

There are great artists working as prison guards. Writers working in gas stations. Folks that would be great at decorating your home working in a factories. And there is nothing wrong with that…IF that’s what you enjoy! I remember reading an article in the newspaper (I live in Virginia) about an elderly man in California that worked as a Walmart greeter, and how he had influenced the community…his story was in newspapers across the country! He was doing what he was put here to do…be a greeter at Walmart! He was where he belonged! He wasn’t enslaved by the system, he was completely free!

But how many of us can say that we are doing what we’re supposed to be doing?

If you hate working in the bank, then WHY ARE YOU? Start your own home business! It doesn’t have to be on the internet, although there are advantages to it. You don’t have to have a lot of money, or a lot of time to START. Start small. Start slowly. Just START! And be patient. Be persistent. Do what you were put here to do! Enjoy life. Enjoy work. Enjoy your family and your off time! LIVE FREE!

If you would like more information on a great home business that you can start today…and for free…please click here!

MY FREE HOME BUSINESS PROGRAMS

I’ve got two favorite free home business programs, and they’re favorites because they work if you apply yourself! With that said, there are all kinds of ways to make money from home! I, personally, prefer to battle my way through to wealth on the internet! I have a much larger potential customer base! With that said, I really don’t want to be too repetitious, so instead of copying myself here, I would much rather just send you to “My Free Home Business Blog” for those who might be interested in it! That way, I won’t waste your time, or mine, by sharing something you may not be interested in. Sooooo… if you’d like to take a look and follow along, simply click the link that says, “My Free Home Business Blog”! Just don’t forget to open it in a new window, or to come back here when you’re done!!!

“…if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20

Wow! Faith. This is a subject that will end up with it’s own category simply because there’s so much to it! For now, though, let me ask you a question. What is the single most important decision you will ever make in this life? If you’re a Christian, that decision was to accept Jesus as your Savior. Actually, even if you’re NOT a Christian, it’s still the most important decision you’ll make because it affects your entire eternal future! To accept Jesus as your Savior, Paul says this:

“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9

Think about this for a moment. If you “confess with your mouth” and “believe in your heart” that Jesus is Lord and that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. That is the single most monumental decision you will ever make (or not!). With that in mind, if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart the insignificant stuff, wouldn’t they, too, become just as real for you? For instance: “I can’t afford it.” If you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that you can’t afford it, then you can’t. “I don’t have the money.” “I’m broke.” “I’m poor.” “I can’t pay my bills.” “I don’t make enough.” If you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart…

And if you’re confessing it with your mouth, then you’re believing it in your heart, as well…because:

“…out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” Matthew 12:34

I’ll be the first one to admit, that sometimes the appearance of things makes it seem that we can’t afford it…or that we have no money. (This area of study, too, will have it’s own category…things are not always as they appear!). The thing is,”…my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19). No matter how it APPEARS, God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus! What most of us experience here on earth, is not lack, so much as it is deception. And we fall for it! Everything belongs to God. He’s given it all to Jesus. We’re co-heirs with Christ! So the problems don’t lie with God’s provision. They lie with our lack of faith and mis-management of the provisions he’s given us.

For example, it’s not how much you make that gets you in trouble. It’s how much you spend. If you make $10,000 a year and spend $8000 a year, you’re doing well. If you make 10 million a year and spend 12 million a year, you’re in trouble. It’s true that few people could live off of ten grand a year under their own power. But when you throw Jesus into the equation, manage your money wisely and depend on HIM rather than your own resources…well, you can literally move that mountain of debt. Read that verse again…it says YOU can say to this mountain, “move” and it will move! But it takes more than just speaking. It takes faith…not in your own abilities, but in his!

Please bear in mind, that this is not a prosperity based ministry, or a name it and claim it ministry. I don’t necessarily endorse either one as a whole, though they each DO have some Biblical validity in part. That, too, is for another time and place, though. For the moment, I would ask you to reflect on the thoughts and ideas behind this faith thing…the power of faith, and the power of the words we sometimes speak without thinking. If we truly realized that “…out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks,” we might ALL be more careful of what we say!

Just as a reminder…what is faith?

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1

That’s all faith is. Being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. We hope for prosperity, but maybe we’re not seeing it right now. There are two choices we can make. We can accept the fact that because we don’t see it today, that it must not exist for us…or we can believe the promises of prosperity that God has already given us, and be sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see because God has promised us these things. Again, we have to use a little wisdom and follow his guidance…but at some point, by following these principles, by following his guidance…by keeping our faith…we shall say to the mountain of debt, “Move from here to there” and it will move.

Keep in mind, too, that it doesn’t require a great deal of faith. It requires only the faith as small as a mustard seed.

“…the infant of the poor is seized for a debt.” Job 24:9

“Do not be a man who strikes hands in pledge or puts up security for debts…if you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be snatched from under you.” Proverbs 22:26,27

“Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.” Matthew 18:25

“The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” Proverbs 22:7

Starting to get the idea? It’s not a good idea to be in debt! It’s ironic that we shudder at the thought of giving 10% to the Lord (when it all belongs to him anyway!), but we think nothing of paying our credit card company 12% or more in interest every month. Even more so, when you stop and think that I’ve actually seen credit card bills, that if you made the minimum payment, you’d actually be LOSING money, because the interest is more than the principle payment! We won’t even talk about finance companies and their 30% or more! Or the rent to own companies, cash advance, etc.  (Now, I know that rent to own companies don’t charge you “interest”, but when you end up paying $800 for a $150 television set…well…something’s wrong.

We are surely the slave to the one we owe! Owe the bank? Don’t pay ‘em and see what happens. You’ll do whatever they say to keep from losing your home. They are your master until your debt is paid. Why do you go to work in the morning? Because your lenders want their money. We’re slaves alright. Slaves to a worldly system…which is what this site is all about. Setting ourselves free, not just from debt, but from the worldly system! Debt just happens to be the first one we’re dealing with because it’s so entwined with our way of life!

It’s strange that the man with money that pays his bills on time can pay off his debt. The man with no money, who is late on his payment, pays a late fee. They demand MORE money from him for not having money to pay on time in the first place! Why? Because we are slaves to those we owe. Because they can. They are the masters.

If you’re like most of us, it’s probably too late for you to stay out of debt. But there are ways you can reduce it and eventually eliminate it. For instance, pay a little extra on your smallest bill and try to pay it off a little early. Then take that money and apply it to the next smallest bill…work your way from there. For a lot of us, it’s hard to find even a few extra dollars, but maybe you can try some of the free ways of making money we have listed on this site. None of them will make you rich fast, but with a little time, patience and sharing with others, you can build yourself a stream of extra income that you can use to apply toward your debts…and they are free.

We’ll be having a post on some other ways to earn money, as well. Ways that take into account the gifts that God has given you to use for the blessings of others. You don’t have to make extra money online. You may not have to make extra money at all. But it would be wise (like the ant) to 1. tithe 2. save 3. give 4. reduce or eliminate your debt. If you can do that without extra income, you’re in great shape!

Control your spending! It’s not how much you make (or don’t make). It’s how much you spend in relation to what you make. There are folks pulling in hundreds of thousands of dollars a year that are just as much in debt as the guy making $15,000 a year! Why? Because they spend more than they have to spend. Debt. Plan a little. Make a budget. It’s Biblical.

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?…” Luke 14:28

God has a plan and a purpose. He didn’t just slap together a bunch of stuff and see where it would end up! That means it’s ok for you to plan too! Do you realize why Joseph stored up grain in Egypt for the upcoming famine (Gen. 41:48)? He was planning ahead! Plan what you NEED…then cut where you can, or try to make a little extra on the side. Then start working on getting rid of the master of debt!

Jesus came to set us FREE, my friend! It’s our own doing and our own devices that keep us enslaved, simply because we don’t understand the differences between the way the world works, and the way the kingdom of God works. That’s why you’re here! So stay tuned!! :0)

May the Lord bless you abundantly!

“Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.” Matthew 5:42

With that, we have principle #3…give!

Here we have a very important reason to live by Biblical principle #2…because how can you give what you don’t have yourself? On top of paying yourself so you’ll have the necessary funds for unexpected things that pop up in life, you want to pay yourself so you can have a little something to give to others! Why? Because it’s sharing the love of Christ in a way that can be understood. A hungry fellow on the street corner may not be in the frame of mind to understand that Jesus loves him, because he’s blinded by his circumstances…but give him a sandwich or a hot meal, and that, he can understand!

“…Freely you have received, freely give.” Matthew 10:8

Granted, this verse (at least to me) is not referring to money or material things. But it’s just as true of money as it is of the spiritual things. We have freely been given far more than we will ever deserve or earn. It’s our responsibility to give to those who have less. At the same time, we have to use a little wisdom here. For instance, it’s not very wise to go into debt in order to be able to give! Debt is another Biblical principle we’ll take a look at, but for now, just know it’s not using common sense to borrow $500 from the bank or credit card, just so you can buy lunch for the people at the homeless shelter! If you have $500 in the bank from following principle #2 and that’s what you feel led to do, then by all means, do so. But don’t go into debt in order to give!

Money is a tool that the Lord has given us to put to work for him, as well as for ourselves. We are supposed to use it for his kingdom and his glory. The problem is, most churches today don’t teach us how to manage our money…or how the economy has shifted for us…from the “wordly” economy to the “kingdom” economy. So we just go with what we know (the worldly system) and try to make it work in the system of the kingdom of God. And when it doesn’t, we can’t figure out where we went wrong. Generally speaking, debt is not a good thing to get into, even if your intentions are good.

Giving is a Biblical principle. But you have to have it (by saving some for yourself) first!

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ ” Matthew 25:31-40

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38

I know you’ve heard it said that you can’t out-give God. It’s very true. But again, you have to use a little wisdom and common sense.

“Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”" Matthew 19:21

I don’t believe Jesus was teaching against prosperity here. I believe Jesus was teaching the gentleman in question, that the man was more in love with his material wealth than he was with his Lord. Anyway, with that said, if you feel led to sell all your possessions and give to the poor, then do so. But nowhere in the Bible does Jesus imply that you should go into debt to give to the poor! Give wisely and with a little common sense! But do give!

“He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses.” Proverbs 28:27

Maybe you don’t have much yourself. Maybe some of it is your own doing. A lot of it probably has to do with being deceived by the worldly system of doing things. But as you begin to apply these principles…starting with #1 and #2…you will soon be able to follow along with #3. Be patient in following these principles. Be faithful. Be wise…and as you learn…as you begin to see changes in your own situation…then share it with others! Don’t stick you lamp under the basket…share it with your brothers and sisters!

The next principle we’ll touch on, is one mentioned in this post…debt! So be sure to check back soon!

Til then, may the Lord abundantly bless you!