How to be Blessed to Give Freely to Others
Salvation is FREE but it cost Jesus his life. Following Jesus is free but discipleship has a cost in terms of a life fully surrendered. So bear in mind that anything "free" has a cost, and it's usually costly. We need to understand as well that God blesses us, not so we can gain and keep a lot, but that others will be benefited from the blessings we give away to them. Blessings are NOT designed to be kept to ourselves. God wants them given away. All this to "build" the temple of GOD on earth. We build it by giving.
The article immediately prior to this, which I titled "True Stewardship," got this query a long time ago: "What do you mean by money expense to beautify our lives? Do you mean the temple of the Holy Spirit?" The answer is a big YES. But the "temple" is not church buildings or church altars. Church buildings are not God's temple. Our bodies are. Our life.
Picture above by Saad Chaudhry, Unsplash.
Building (erecting) and enhancing the temple of the Holy Spirit really means building people's lives. We build the lives of believers because their bodies and our bodies, together, is the temple of the Holy Spirit. It takes lots of spiritual caring by the Word and the presence of God aided by prayer, worship, genuine spirit fellowship (spirit-to-spirit connection among true believers), and discipleship as Jesus did it---plus lots of real money expense. REAL MONEY EXPENSE. Ministry costs a lot. For one, you have to give to the poor. Jesus' discipleship ministry is really how we sell everything we have and give to the poor. That's a lot of money.
“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. [Luke 12.32-33]
Part of real Kingdom ministry is selling. "Sell your possessions." God gives us possessions we need to sell. In our case, as a small house-church ministry, we don't have much except our e-books and all-natural health affiliate products. We sell them to get blessed and give to the poor. Soliciting (which is begging) is not God's plan for the church, but selling clearly is. The church in the Book of Acts sold their properties and goods, which means they engaged in real estate and product selling. They didn't solicit. Neither did Jesus.
So GOD's Next Move is a ministry that sells stuff so we can provide for ourselves and give to the poor. Evangelism and mission work is closely tied to this. Jesus fed and healed the peope as he preached the Gospel to them, and the church should follow suit. We need to preach the Gospel, give to the poor, heal the sick, and help build their lives. The Acts church "gave to anyone who had need," [Acts 2.45].
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Many today sell books at an exorbitant price. They should take a look at what the bible says about "buy wisdom and do not sell!" Some sell bibles at exorbitant prices. I used to sell all my e-books but now I'm giving some of them away for free. You may donate a sum of money if you want to, and I provide the GCash or Paypal account to send the donation to. But with or wiithout donation, the e-books are for free.
Why only "some"? Why not give away all my e-books? Because ministers of the Gospel should also get their living from it. We have to balance this passage with Proverbs 23.23.
In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. [1 Corinthians 9.14]
Buy the truth, and do not sell it, [Proverbs 23.23]
The e-books I give away are not really "for free" because God's going to "pay" me. And it's not so much as "payment" as it is a spiritual reward. I expect God to reward me when I give away valuable things for his glory. And anyway, you don't really know who I am, so my giving is still in secret.
But don't get me wrong. Don't rely too much on free giveaways. Sometimes, you have to pay for good books to learn, and then give your knowledge away for free like Jesus did. But the Word also says we ministers have to earn a living through the Gospel. To me, this means we shouldn't charge so much for our books or e-books. This is why I ask for just a donation for my free e-books, although you may have them even without a donation. And as far as bibles are concerned, I believe we shouldn't make them too costly.
I see lots of pastors depending on freebies. They're happy when they get free books and free meals during conferences. Jesus' audience got free meals and free knowledge, but Jesus and his disciples didn't rely on freebies themselves. They produced goods---spiritual and material. Some they gave away; some they sold, like in Acts 2.45.
And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
In a sense, they were also providers. Pastors should be like that and not act like paupers or beggars, begging for freebies. Get the reputation of being a provider. If not, then at least do not be in the habit of begging or waiting for people to take pity on you or soliciting for money. If you ask for donation, there must be something substantial in return. It's okay to receive from willing donors, but it's not okay to beg.
If someone blesses you, take it and thank the Lord for it. Take it because you want the giver to be blessed by God. Don't beg or have the reputation of always begging for free handouts. Jesus was never like that. Be a blesser, and don't bless in public. Bless people secretly to please the Father who watches in secret.
People love getting things for free, and that's understandable. I myself love getting freebies. But I just wish people would be more interested in God's FREE gift of salvation from sin and hell by receiving Jesus as Savior and Lord and totally surrendering their lives to HIM.
GOD's Flesh E-Book
You want this 100-plus page e-book?
It's about the radical move of God for the church in these last days. I believe God inspired me to write the first edition which was published and sold to a select few. But the original copy was lost. So I can't reproduce it anymore.
But God again urged me to write a second one, and this one's a lot more radical than the first. I myself am sometimes shocked when I read it.
It's about the radical move of God for the church in these last days. I believe God inspired me to write the first edition which was published and sold to a select few. But the original copy was lost. So I can't reproduce it anymore.
But God again urged me to write a second one, and this one's a lot more radical than the first. I myself am sometimes shocked when I read it.
Get it for free, though you may opt to give a donation. This is for my ministry support.