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If God knew we couldn’t follow the law…and if following the law perfectly
is necessary in order for us to gain access to heaven…then why did he give
it to us? As some sort of twisted joke, maybe? Not at all….

“Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of
the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.” (Rom. 3:20)

“Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we
might be justified by faith.” (Gal. 3:24) KJV

“To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not
charged against anyone’s account where there is no law.” (Rom. 5:13)

The law was given to teach us what sin is. It was given so that we might be
made aware of our sin…and as a schoolmaster to lead us to Jesus. It was
given so that we could understand our need for a Savior…Jesus!

“But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known,
to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through
faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe…” (Rom. 3:21,22)

“For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh,
God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.”
(Rom. 8:3)

Folks, there is absolutely nothing that you and I can do to be
righteous in God’s eyes. The great thing is, we don’t HAVE to do anything…it’s
already been done. By Jesus. For you and me…all WE have to do is accept it!

“What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him
as righteousness.” (Rom 4:3)

“It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise
that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by
faith.” (Rom. 4:13)

“The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but also for
us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised
Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and
was raised to life for our justification.” (Rom. 4:23-35)

Wow! God gave us his own righteousness through Jesus…his very own perfect
righteousness. A righteousness we never could have gotten on our own. A
righteousness that’s acceptable in his sight. If we can only believe…

Many blessings…

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Ok…back to the subject! As we learned in our last post, Adam was created to work. Just as a reminder, Adam was created to work BEFORE the taking the plunge with the forbidden fruit. It was a gift from God to Adam. A blessing!

Once Adam ate the forbidden fruit, it did a complete 360…it was no longer a blessing, but became a curse:

“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. 3:19)

Together with Paul’s statement, that if one doesn’t work, one shouldn’t eat (2 Thes. 3:10), one gets the impression that we must “earn a living”. Sounds great! Just one problem. It’s not Biblical. What IS Biblical is that God will provide all our needs! It WAS Biblical for around 4000 years, but when Jesus came and died on the cross for us, he redeemed us from the curse! The WHOLE curse…not just the part about sin! Folks, we have been set free by the redeeming work of Jesus!

“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 pole.” (Gal. 3:13)

Now, this isn’t to say that we aren’t to WORK. Once again, there is a GREAT difference between “working” and “earning a living”. But we no longer have to “earn a living”! If we are faithful in performing our “work”, then the Lord will see to it that we are provided for!

Here are a few examples of what I mean:

The elderly Walmart greeter I already told you about. He wasn’t earning a living…he was performing his work! Alan Jackson is a great example. I heard him on an awards ceremony once make the following statement: “I can’t believe I get paid to play music!”

I’ve heard athletes make similar statements: “I can’t believe I get paid to play football!”

If you can say that about YOUR job, you’re in the right place! If you can’t (which I would guess applies to most of us!) then you’re not doing what God put you here to do, my friend…and not only THAT, but YOU are robbing God, and you are robbing your brothers and sisters in Christ! Your “work” is a gift to you, and from you, that was meant to be a blessing to YOU, to God, and to your brothers and sisters in the Lord!

The thing is, most of us are so busy and wrapped up in “earning a living” and just getting by, that we’re too tired, too busy and too broke to do our WORK…and we end up cheating ourselves and each other out of the blessings God has intended for us! Our attitudes suck, our families suffer, we neglect God and each other…because we’re worn out from “earning a living” when we should be “creating wealth” so we’ll have the time, energy and resources to do our WORK!!

I’m getting ready to shift gears a little here, but before I do, I thought it might be a good idea to take a look at where all this began and how we got in this mess to start with. When Adam was in the garden of Eden, and he took a big bite of that forbidden fruit, God made this statement:

“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. 3:19)

Because of that one statement, coupled with Paul’s statement that if a man isn’t willing to work, he won’t eat (2 Thes 3:10), mankind, in general, has fallen prey to the mistaken belief  that he has to “earn a living”. There are a couple of crucial things that the general population of mankind has overlooked.

One of the first and most important is this:

“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)

God put Adam in the Garden of Eden to WORK it and TAKE CARE of it BEFORE Adam took the condemning bite! It was God’s plan all along for Adam to WORK! That’s one of the reasons he was created…to WORK! Man was created to WORK! But here’s the thing…the work Adam was
given to do was given to him as a blessing…a gift!

(Just a little side-note here: Isn’t it interesting that God created Adam to be a GARDENER? Like Father, like son (John 15:1). (After all, who “planted” the Garden of Eden? Gen. 1:11,12) Isn’t it also interesting that the world as we know it began in a garden (Eden), entered the current fallen state in a garden, and was redeemed in a garden (Gethsemane) by another gardener (Jesus)? (I feel myself getting off on a tangent here, but I can’t help it cuz it’s SO FREAKIN AWESOME!) 

Just as our road to redemption led to the garden of Gethsemane, isn’t it interesting that after the crucifixion, Jesus was buried (or “planted”?) in a new tomb “IN THE GARDEN” (John 19:41)? Isn’t it also interesting that when Mary went to the tomb and found it empty, she began crying,  thinking someone had stolen the body of the Jesus, when, in fact, he was now risen? But that’s not the interesting part…THIS is:

“He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” THINKING HE WAS THE GARDENER, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” (John 20:15)

Now, why in the world would Mary have thought he was the gardener? BECAUSE HE WAS AND STILL IS THE GARDENER!

“It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches.” (Luke 13:19)

“Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” (John 12:24)

Folks, we serve the Master Gardener of all creation…THE seed of all we are or ever have been or ever will be…the Master gardener of ALL creation! But we’re afraid to rely on him to provide for our needs! And just as Adam was the “seed” of all mankind, Jesus is the “seed” for all the children of God!

“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”
(John 1:12,13)

I realize that a good part of this post has absolutely nothing to do with the subject at hand, but it needed saying, just because it’s so incredible! Can’t you see the PLAN? The DESIGN? None of it was a mistake! Not the creation of man, not the fall of man, not where it started or ended or even HOW it started or ended. It was all PLANNED! Gardener, garden (God, the Father). Gardener, garden (Adam in Eden). Gardener, garden (Jesus in Gethsemane). We are the fruit of the garden of the world, folks! We are the fruit of God, the fruit of Adam, and finally, the fruit of Jesus. We are the harvest that God has been waiting for to get ripe!

The Gardener is NOT going to do harm to His own fruit! He WILL provide the soil, the fertilizer, the water, the pruning, the Sonshine and whatever else we need in order to reach our time of harvest! Whew! WOW!!

“Let EVERYTHING that has breath praise the Lord!” WOW!! And why not? He is, after all, the gardener!

Well, I don’t apologize for getting off the subject, here…and I promise that the next post will pick up where I originally planned to go today…unless He changes my plans for me again… 

I think that all too often, we depend on ourselves and our own abilities to provide for ourselves and our families, rather than depending on God to provide. This, in itself, is a big part of the problem. The first question that comes to mind, is this: Would you rather recieve the benefits of the riches that you, yourself can create, or the benefits of the riches of God (Phil. 4:19)?

Before I go on too far, let me make one thing clear…there is nothing wrong with working at a “job”, if that’s what you were created to do! I read of an elderly man that passed away a few years ago, who spent his last years working as a greeter at Walmart (this story was in a national newspaper). When he left this world, there was a big article on how much he was loved and how he would be missed.

Again, this story of the “unknown” Walmart greeter was in a NATIONAL newspaper! Hundreds of customers reportedly attended his funeral. If you love your job the way this man obviously loved his, then you’re in the right place! If you don’t, then this is my second question: WHY ARE YOU THERE?

I don’t believe this man was depending on the riches of Walmart for his provision. I believe he was depending on the riches of God….and, true to His word, the Lord provided. I believe he was living out Colossians 3:23:

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters…”

Most of us work to please our human masters (so we can retain our meager paychecks), rather than fulfilling our purpose and receiving from the riches of God’s storehouse. The purpose of the elderly Walmart greeter was not to work at Walmart…but to touch people’s lives. And that he did. He simply used Walmart as a tool to carry it out.

A famous theologian was once speaking on creation having the purpose of giving God glory. A skeptic asked, “How, for instance, would an earthworm give God glory?” The theologian replied, “By doing what God put it here to do.”

There are people that are fantastic artists that work in a factory. There are people that write great songs working in construction. There are people that have a gift for cooking or serving that work behind a desk.

It’s no wonder that so many are unhappy…we’re so consumed with “earning a living” that we aren’t fulfilling our purpose! There’s nothing wrong with factory work…IF THAT’S WHAT YOU WERE PUT HERE TO DO! There’s nothing wrong with construction or working behind a desk…IF THAT’S WHAT YOU WERE PUT HERE TO DO!

When you do what you were put here to do, there’s less stress in your life. You’re far happier. You’re likely to be just as successful, if not more so. What’s then is the problem? (This is another entire study in itself) It’s a lack of faith. We don’t think God will provide for us while we follow our dreams and passions, so we take matters into our own hands and try to make our own way. Instead of working for the Lord, we end up working a Just Over Broke, in misery. The thing is, who do you suppose put those dreams, passions and abilities in you to begin with?? If God gave you these abilities and desires, don’t you think He’ll stand behind you while you pursue them?

Before I leave you today, I’ve got something special coming for you with the next post! If you get the opportunity, PLEASE, PLEASE find a few minutes for it…I think it will be a tremendous blessing!

“The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who
LEADS THE WHOLE WORLD ASTRAY. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.” (Rev. 12:9)

“…in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.” (2 Cor. 2:11)

“Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” (Eph. 6:11)

“You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer
from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native
language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. ” (John 8:44)

Folks, we’ve been had! We’ve fallen prey to the schemes of the serpent…

The problem is, that “earning a living” is the way of the world. (And who is the prince of this world?–
John 12:31,14:30 and 16:11)

The way of the kingdom of God is “producing wealth”! I realize that some of this may sound a little
far-fetched to a lot of people, but if you’ll hang in there a little longer, you may start to see where this
thing is heading! Jesus really did set us free…it’s just that we’ve been blinded by deception for so long
that it’s hard for us to break through and see the truth!

Question: What can a man do to earn salvation? Nothing. It is a gift from God (Eph. 2:8)

What can a man do to earn healing? Nothing. It’s a gift from God. What can a man do to earn ANY
blessing that God has in store for us? Nothing. They are all gifts…freely given by our Creator. Check this out:

“But my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:19)

But MY GOD shall supply ALL your needs according to HIS riches in glory by Christ Jesus! God said
HE will provide for ALL our needs…so why do we think we have to EARN a living? Because of
2 Thes. 3:10, which basically says, “if you don’t work, you don’t eat”! What we fail to realize is this…
Paul said we need to WORK to eat…he didn’t say anything about “earning a living”! And in the next
post we’ll take a closer look at this! 

For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one
who is unwilling to work shall not eat.” (2 Thes. 3:10)

The problem here is, we humans tend to think this applies to “earning a
living”. NOT! If you’ll bear with me….

“But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability
to produce wealth…” (Deut. 8:18)

God has given you and me the ability to “produce wealth.” Again, it is a
God-given ability. “Earning a living” and “producing wealth” are two entirely
different things! For most of us, “earning a living” is just barely squeaking by.
“Creating wealth”, on the other hand produces exesses of wealth that we can
share with others. What’s the difference and what can we do about it?

Most of us were raised with the mindset that “earning a living” means getting
a job, working hard, competing for pay raises, eventual retirement and so on.
I’m convinced our well-meaning parents THOUGHT they were doing us a
valuable service, but I’m also convinced they were wrong! (Said with all love,
guys!)

The internet marketing world uses the word “job” as an acronym for Just
Over Broke. For most of us, that’s very true…we’re Just Over Broke, while our
employers are producing wealth at our expense! I also find it interesting that “job”
and Job (the suffering servant in the Bible) have a lot of similarities and parallels for
a lot of people! MOST honest and hard-working people are actually in a state of
“suffering” induced by “earning a living”!

Think about it next time you’re stuck in traffic. Look at the peole around you…at
their faces. Stress. Tension. Anger. Why? Because they’re running late, trying to get
somewhere they don’t want to be in the first place…their job. They are suffering!
Why? Because they (like us) were taught they had to “earn a living”…to just get by.

Another interesting point…have you ever stopped to consider that we (as employees)
are nothing more than hired servants? Paid slaves? We are told when to arrive, when
to leave, how to dress, what duties to perform, how to act…there is no freedom in
“earning a living”…and yet, Jesus came to set us free! (John 8:36)

Jesus came to give us life more abundantly (John 10:10)! Yet, here we are enslaved,
suffering and Just Over Broke for our efforts! Even more cruelly, we have been convinced
that this is the Christian way…

“There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.” (Prov. 14:12)

So, what’s the real poop on wealth for Christians? It is ok, or is it not?

Short simple post today.

“But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.” Deut. 8:18

Why would God give us the ability to produce wealth if it is evil? Abraham was a wealthy man. So was Jacob. David and Solomon. Job. There’s a HUGE list of wealthy people of God in the Bible.

“The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it.” Prov. 10:22

One of the blessings of the Lord is wealth. Wealth is a BLESSING of the Lord. I could fill the post with nothing but scriptures on wealth, but if you’re not willing to RECEIVE it, it’s a waste of time for both of us. Wealth is not evil…it’s not bad…it’s not a sin. It’s our ATTITUDE toward wealth that can be sinful. In a perfect world, there would be no poor Christians…but many of us are. And this isn’t a perfect world. It’s NOT God’s fault! It’s His intention to pour out wealth upon His kids!

Some of us are poor because of some bad decisions we’ve made in the past. Some of us curse ourselves into poverty. Some of us lack faith. Some of us seem plagued by things beyond our control. Weather, thieves, sicknesses, accidents…there are an awful lot of reasons that the world has poor Christians. But we don’t have to STAY poor. And even in our “poverty”, we are far richer than many in the world today in terms of wealth.

If you have clothes, be thankful. Many don’t. If you have food, be thankful. Many don’t. Do you have a pot to cook in? A chair to sit in? A computer to read this post on? A phone? A car? Lights, radio or television? Then you have more than a lot of folks in this world. You have more than a lot of people who really and truly are poor. While you are busy being poor today, thousands will die from true poverty.

It’s disturbing to see so many that want or need a financial change, but refuse to do anything to try to change it. God has given us the ability to produce wealth! Why? As a part of His blessing! So we can help those who truly ARE poor…but many of us don’t or won’t take the initiative to try to change our circumstances. We’re always going to have poor people to help (Matt. 26:11), but how can we help them when WE don’t have it ourselves? We’d rather sit around complaining about our woes and letting someone else gather His bountiful blessing!

“I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.” (Luke 16:9)

I can tell you, that if you take a little worldly wealth to one of those dying from poverty…and if you use it to save and then change that person’s life…YOU are going to have a friend! Not the kind that chases after you because of what you have, but a true friend. And when you share with them why you did it, you’re also going to find yourself with a treasure in heaven someday…because that person will have met Jesus through you. There are reasons to seek a degree of wealth. It doesn’t HAVE to be because of greed….

How about this? “Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” (1 Tim. 5:8). Are YOU providing for your household? Or is the government providing for your household? Now, I’m not against those who get help from the government…that’s not the point. The question might be asked in a better way…are you TRYING to provide for your household and accepting assistance until your circumstances change? Or are you simply taking what you can get from the system because it’s “free”? Everybody needs help sometimes.

Then again, if we, as Christians, were doing our part in being generous, how many government programs would we need? Probably not nearly so many as we have today. But it’s hard to be generous with what you don’t have…which brings us back to God having given us the ability to produce wealth. Are we using our God-given ability? Or are we accepting where we are and what we are?

FREEDOM IN JESUS-JESUS AND MONEY

While we’re on the subject of money…let’s take a quick look at how it deals with freedom in Jesus! This one particular aspect of freedom in Jesus could be studied for a good long time, as can each of the others. For the sake of time, we’re gonna look at some basic information here, but try not to get too terribly bogged down, so we can move on to some other things that are just as important, if not more so!

First of all, we all know that money is NOT the root of all evil…the LOVE of money is (1 Tim. 6:10).

“Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income…” (Eccl. 5:10).

Money, itself, is not “evil”…rather, it’s a tool that can be used for either good or evil, depending on who is in possession of it and how they choose to use it. With that said, it’s also fairly evident that God loves to bless his kids with prosperity. In the last post, for instance, it was pointed out that Abraham was a wealthy man. Abraham was not, by any means, the only wealthy man in the Bible. In fact, the list of wealthy followers of God is a long one that includes Jacob, Job, David, Solomon… countless others…great men of God that were blessed with great wealth! There’s a passage in John that hints that Jesus, himself, may have been blessed with a degree of wealth.

“When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.” (John 19:23)

In today’s society, even with so many things done by machine, how much would a seamless garment cost you (assuming you could even find one!)? A seamless garment. Think about that for awhile…how was it made? Who made it? How did Jesus come by it? Either someone thought enough of Jesus to offer him this garment, that was surely an expensive article of clothing…or Jesus bought it for himself. If it was given as a gift, Jesus didn’t refuse to take it because it was expensive…he accepted it! If he bought it for himself, then he obviously had enough money to buy it! Now there are all kinds of directions we could go in here, and all of them would make interesting studies, but for the moment, just realize that however he came to possess it, Jesus owned that seamless garment!

In other words, it’s perfectly acceptable for kids of the King to have and enjoy nice things without feeling guilty over them. At the same time, we’re warned against greed and selfishness, and encouraged to share what we have, whether a lot or a little, with those in need. The gospels proclaim the fact that it’s hard for a rich man to enter heaven. How come? It’s not because he’s rich…but because he’s selfish and greedy! Wealth is perfectly acceptable in the kingdom of God…in fact, as we shall see, it’s not only acceptable, but it’s a promise from God to his kids! (Noooooo, this is not a “name it and claim it” type teaching, and it’s not promising everyone great riches…lol…it’s simply a look at what the Bible says about wealth!)

For instance…

“The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it.” (Prov. 10:22)

Now, I realize that that’s only one passage from the entire Bible, but this post isn’t about our prosperity as Christians…it’s simply taking a look at whether or not it’s ok for us, as Christians, to have wealth. The reason? So many people, Christians and non-Christians alike, think, for some reason, that having wealth is a bad thing or sinful. It’s not! NOT having wealth isn’t a bad thing either! It’s not what you have, but how you USE what you have, whether it’s a little or a lot. I really don’t want to hang around and dwell on this thing too much longer, cuz there’s so much more to learn about so many other things!

Before we move on, though, let me repeat one more time…wealth is not a bad thing. Lack of wealth is not a bad thing. Hopefully, in the next few posts we’ll be able to see how this ties in a little with the kingdom of God and 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!

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!