Authority As Sons

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The Bible speaks about authority in a number of places, but it begins with our position. The reason we have the right to wield God’s authority is our Sonship (Romans 8:16)—not just as ones who have been adopted in, but legitimate children, made so by Jesus Christ. When Paul spoke to the Romans about adoption, he knew they understood the permanent and irreversibly binding rights and authority a child received when he or she was adopted, but when he wrote to the Jews he was not speaking about adopted children, but rather that we are born from above and are new creations with God’s DNA within us. Jesus spoke the same to Nicodemus, saying he must be re-born from above (John 3:5-8). As legitimate children, we have all of the rights and responsibilities of God’s heirs; we are heirs alongside Jesus (Romans 8:17; Galatians 4:7).

To understand what this means influences both how we use authority and how we live in general, so we need to grasp what the Bible says about sonship with God. Galatians 4:1-2 explains it like this, “What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave although he owns the whole estate. The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father.” In other words as God’s children, we have to have others watch over us—and not just other believers, but Holy Spirit and even the angels to help us grow into maturity. In the same way that we wouldn’t let a three year old have full reign of the house, likewise God doesn’t necessarily give us everything without some limitations early on. This isn’t to keep us from things, but to safeguard us until we mature.

This idea holds true when studied out in the scriptures. The New Testament uses a few different words that usually translate as “child”—the words nepios, teknon, and huios. A nepios son is basically an infant or young child and needs constant supervision. A teknon child is like those mentioned in Galatians 4:1-2 above—one who still needs an authority figure to watch over him and help him with daily affairs, but who is no longer a baby. A huios son (or daughter) has become a mature member of his household and is able to wield the full authority he possesses as an heir.

To understand our authority and role as believers we need to know the difference between nepios, teknon, and huios sons. Not all the verses in the Bible that refer to sonship and being children of God can be read the same way. 1 Corinthians 13:11 says, “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.” The word child here refers to a nepios son—one who is literally a baby and is extremely childish in his ways. Romans 8:16-17 says that we are teknon sons of God, who are older but still need assistance. The verses state, “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” The point I believe Paul was making here was that as immature sons and daughters of God that we are still heirs—not having yet inherited the fullness, but that Holy Spirit resides within us and marks us with God’s seal, designating us as His children for all time and allowing us the legal right to inherit the fullness He has planned for us. This is as differentiated from a huios son, which Paul mentions only two verses prior. Romans 8:14 says, “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.” The word children here is better translated as mature children or mature sons/daughters of God. Even Jesus, when it states that he is God’s only begotten son (John 1:18, 3:16, 3:18; 1 John 4:9), is referred to as a huios son.

Those huios sons and daughters, led by God’s Spirit, are brought into maturity and are able to wield their authority as heirs of God’s estate, and His estate extends beyond the earth into the entire cosmos, even the heavens. (Faith To Raise The Dead, pp 81-83)

The above text is an excerpt from my book Faith To Raise The Dead. I hope it has encouraged and brought clarity to you regarding our authority as God’s children. To learn more, click on the link above or the image below.

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Faith To Raise The Dead — The Book Is Out!

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Hey Friends of Eden!

I am super-excited to announce the official launch of our new book Faith To Raise The Dead. This book is designed to help the Body of Christ grow in our understanding of the abundant life Jesus purchased for us. Of the 6 books I have written so far, I am the most excited about this one because I believe God is going to use it to renew hearts and minds to engage His goodness on a deeper level and to encourage faith to raise the dead, heal the sick, and much more!

We will also be doing a drawing for three Resurrection t-shirts on Friday, April 21st via Facebook Live at 6pm PST so be sure to follow along. Just forward your confirmation email to: faithtoraisethedead@gmail.com. Your name will be added to the list and we will draw it Live on the
21st. If anyone who does not win the drawing still wants a shirt, we will provide information on how to get one at that time.

The back cover of the book is as follows: When Jesus walked the earth, he taught his disciples many things, but he only commanded them to do a few: Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons” (Matthew 10:8a). Raising the dead is a pivotal part of Christianity—without resurrection, it wouldn’t exist. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15:20 that, “But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died” (New Living Translation).

This book answers the challenge to those commands and to raise up an army of believers—followers of Jesus who are ready to reap the great harvest of all who have died. Through scripture it lays a groundwork of understanding for this miracle, then follow up with practical steps and hard-earned wisdom. God doesn’t need someone special to raise the dead—He needs someone willing. And if this is you, then join the journey to reveal Faith To Raise The Dead.

US Paperback: http://amzn.to/2nX3HHD

US Kindle: http://amzn.to/2nXgdqm

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06Y4CG9BF/

Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/Faith-Raise-Dead-Abundant-Life-ebook/dp/B06Y4CG9BF/

When Do I Quit Praying to Raise the Dead?

The following is a book excerpt from my book Practical Keys to Raise the Dead, in the chapter titled “When Do I Quit Praying?” The book addresses real-life issues that come up when a loved one dies and we pray to raise them from the dead.

“The whole stopping praying thing is difficult to communicate clearly in writing because it is so situational. It is hard to know when (or if) to stop actively pursuing resurrection, and the ‘when’ will vary for each situation. Part of what makes the idea of ceasing a prayer attempt difficult is that the God of the Bible is the God of the living and it is always His will for everyone to be raised, every time, period. As such, there is never technically a “right time” to stop from a theological standpoint, but there may be one practically. The best I can do is give you some guidelines and ask questions that should help you to make the wisest decision possible for your circumstances.

Do you have the time to keep going? If you stop other things in your life, how long can you keep that up until it causes problems that will be hard to recover from whether the attempt fails or succeeds? For example, this may involve taking time off work. If the attempt fails and you keep taking time off work such that you lose your job, you may be in far more hot water than just losing your loved one. On the other hand, if losing your job is what it takes to get your loved one back, it may well be worth it. If it were my wife or grandchild and all I had to do was give up my job to get them back, it would be an easy decision to make—but there are no guarantees. You may be able to use provisions under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to take unpaid time off during this period while keeping your job legally protected on your behalf. Talk to wise counsel and get advice on the best way to approach this issue for your unique situation.

Do you have the money to keep going? Financial considerations are a hard, cold, and very real part of this issue. Often the resurrection attempt involves paying for the body to be housed somewhere. If you have to borrow the money, how long will it take you to recover financially if the attempt fails? I don’t recommend you gamble on “if it works then I will be fine.” The truth is it might not work, and wisdom makes a plan based on the worst scenario, not the best one. If you blow through money in a few weeks that will take you a decade to recover from (depending on your financial situation), that may be a poor decision. Your attempt to walk in faith will put you under financial bondage. On the other hand, God may lead you to do exactly that and then provide the means for you to come out from the bondage to debt, with a resurrected loved one to boot! God is not limited by money troubles, so you don’t have to be either, but this is still a very real consideration, and there is no shame in deciding it is simply something you cannot manage. Again, this is a situational thing you will have to decide (and live with the decision). Wise counsel is recommended.

Another question to consider is are you actually standing in faith, or has this moved into denial? It is legitimately possible to couch denial in “faith” terms. In other words, you may have shifted away from believing the person is going to return, but you are having trouble coping with the loss and don’t want to deal with it. The longer you try to raise him, the longer you can push the unpleasant grief away. This is unwise and is probably a good reason to stop—at least for a season. Under such circumstances, the attempt has probably gone on for weeks already, not just a few hours or days, and you may need to work on finding a way to move on. I don’t say this to suggest that grief means you need to stop, but if it has become unhealthy, it may be time to go forward with your life.

Is the body even still there? If the body has been buried, I personally recommend you stop. This sounds like a strange piece of advice, but I know of multiple situations where people are trying to raise their beloved years and years after the fact. It can get to the point where it becomes an unhealthy obsession, completely halts the grieving process, and is essentially detrimental not just to you but to those around you. When you are emotionally paralyzed to the point where you cannot get past the fact that the person is dead and the attempt failed so you keep trying, you are most likely being bound by demons who intend to keep you in denial and/or grief, and this doesn’t bode well for your future. In this case it shortchanges your own life because you are so focused on trying to continually bring the person back that you don’t live an abundant life of your own. I am not saying this applies if it is hours or days after the fact, but if you are months or years later still trying to raise someone and it is sucking the life out of you, this is a good indicator that you need to get help to move on.

Practically speaking, if the body is buried underground, for the resurrection to succeed the body will have to be both supernaturally translocated to an aboveground location and simultaneously resurrected. We don’t typically have crypts or tombs that someone can climb their way out of if he returns—he will have to break out of a coffin in a sealed vault beneath a layer of dirt in the middle of an otherwise uninhabited field. And while God is the God of the impossible and *can* do anything, there comes a point where you do have to move forward on some level. I am probably the first to suggest resurrection any and every time, but you have to use wisdom and learn to recognize when enough is enough. I suggest that unless God has clearly spoken otherwise, when you decide to bury is a good time to stop attempting a resurrection. If it is someone else’s decision to bury and you are praying from the sidelines so to speak, then I recommend stopping once the body is buried as well although it seems entirely reasonable to me to pray up until the minute the body is in the ground and being covered over.

If you or those around you are able to get clear guidance from God, ask Him to show you what to do, and if it comes to that point (which hopefully it will not), to lead you in when to stop. Two different women I spoke with who prayed for their deceased loved ones, the Lord gave specific dates by which the family member would either be raised or the family should stop praying. When those dates came, even though it hurt their hearts, they stopped praying according to the Lord’s direction. If you don’t know how to hear from God, then look at the situation with the recommendations and questions shared above and make your best decision possible. At the end of the day you can’t really make the “wrong” decision if you do your best. God is very kind and will generally let you know one way or another what to do.

If you are interested in reading more, you can find the book Practical Keys to Raise the Dead on Amazon by clicking the photo below:

Practical Keys to Raise the Dead

My latest book, Practical Keys to Raise the Dead, is now available on Amazon in both print and on Kindle!

God has taken me on a journey these past five-plus years to gain wisdom and understanding about raising the dead, including conversations with others who have tried, whether they succeeded or failed. Unlike the other books out there on resurrection that talk mostly about faith and testimonies, this book is all about practical things–the nuts and bolts of actually “doing it”. How and where to store the body, how long it can be kept above ground, ways to actively and practically walk in faith to see it through, and even how to figure out if you need to stop praying and move forward. This book is short–only 47 pages in print, but it is chock full of simple and practical wisdom not otherwise in print. Please share this news with your family and friends and help get the word out, and I pray this book blesses you as I share with you Practical Keys to Raise the Dead!

Where I Am Headed: An Update from the King of Eden

For regular followers of this blog, you know that immortality is in my blood. I haven’t written about it for months, which is a bit uncommon for me. Truth be told, the past few months have been a bit up and down for me. At any point in time there are many things spiritually that vie for my attention, and as much as I am interested in a bit of everything, I have to pare down my interests to focus in on the few things God is doing with me right now. I have met with some challenges in the past months as well. For example, my most recent book, Practical Keys to Raise the Dead (which will be released in the near future) took me far longer than expected given its size, and I have been focusing a lot on faith, resurrection, and how to express them in down-to-earth ways how to release the life of Christ. I hope to have a longer book, preliminarily titled Faith to Raise the Dead, published before Christmas, but with that deadline ahead of me I greatly appreciate your prayers.

A few months ago I had a dream that had a lot of confusing elements to it, but the one key part was a clear directive to write and put out the message of the Gospel of Immortality. I have started this process by laying the foundation for abundant life with the two books on Resurrection, but once Faith to Raise the Dead is finished I will be writing a book that lays a scriptural foundation for immortality throughout the entire Bible. It is all throughout the Old Testament, the New Testament, and in the gospels, especially the Gospel of John.

Physical immortality is a truth that God is restoring to the Body of Christ in this hour, and He is raising up men and women across the globe to share this message. It is my hope to set up a teaching curriculum on this subject in the future, but for now I value your prayers as I work on getting the resurrection books written and published, then buckle down to tackle what I consider to be the true message of the gospel–that Jesus died so you don’t have to. Thanks in advance for your love, prayers, and encouragement! As a side note, if you have a testimony of raising the dead that you would consider allowing me to include in Faith to Raise the Dead, please email me at thekingsofeden@gmail.com. Blessings!

Gemstones And Angel Feathers From Heaven – Podcast hosted by Steve Bremner

Listen to the Fire On Your Head Podcast with Steve Bremner and your’s truly, Michael C. King.

In the above podcast fellow author Steve Bremner and I discuss my two books Gemstones From Heaven and Feathers From Heaven, and move on to a number of other related and unrelated topics.

We cover:

What is the purpose of gemstones?
How does Michael answer critics and skeptics?
Job and his friends
Divine healing
Signs and wonders in general
God doing things outside of our box, or things God does that we don’t know “the full picture” of.

Check out the Podcast at Stevebremner.com or click on the link at the top

Related Podcasts:

Listen to Praying Medic and I as we talk about Gemstones from Heaven and what God is doing on his podcast at www.prayingmedic.com
Come join me on “Touched by Prayer” as I discuss the miracle of gemstones from heaven with the host, Lisa Perna at www.touchedbyprayer.com

Feathers From Heaven – Our Personal Story

Below is an excerpt from the first chapter of my book Feathers From Heaven–released on Amazon in Kindle and Print.

“The feathers from heaven began falling for me about ten years ago. The first time I ever saw one appear was in a church I attended while a student in their ministry school. I was at the front of the sanctuary chatting and praying for some people when I saw a tiny wisp of a feather appear in midair at around head height. We all watched as it floated slowly upwards, and then, as if by some trick of the light, the feather became hard to see and then disappeared altogether. I had heard of this phenomenon before but had never seen it. The miracle was pretty astounding.

The second time I found a feather from heaven was after I drove home from visiting a friend, who I am pleased to say is now my wife. She had some pretty intense spiritual activity going on at her house, and feathers, gold dust, and oil were appearing supernaturally with some level of frequency. At any rate, I got in the car and drove home at the end of a night of worship and prayer. As I got out of the car and looked back into the vehicle, a small brown and black feather was on the seat where I had been sitting! I lived in a city at the time and there weren’t any birds hanging around that would have conveniently deposited colored feathers inside the car, especially since there was no feather present when I first sat down! I remembered that when I first got in the car I had made a comment about an angel I had just perceived and had looked at the seat before sitting down. Interestingly enough the angel’s name was Herald and I suspect he was the one who had left the feather. I kept it in my Bible for years after that.

A number of years later, in 2009, I felt the Lord impress upon me to call a prayer meeting on the day of Pentecost. Only myself, my wife, and a friend showed up, but we all got touched by Holy Spirit. For the next week after I saw a feather float by at some point almost every day—once on the elevator at work, another few times randomly at home, and if I remember correctly, one appeared in my car! All of these were the tiny white wisps, but it was super encouraging to me to see visible fruit for what I had been praying and believing for—namely signs, wonders, and miracles.

Since then I have seen so many feathers I can’t even remember half of the times they have appeared. Sometimes it is when we are praying or doing something overtly spiritual; other times they just appear at random with no sort of special preparation or obvious spiritual precursor. One example of this is a day after my wife and I had been at a Christian conference in the area. We were cuddling on our bed streaming a TV show on our laptop when during the show a feather gently floated across the screen. I lightly pincered it between my thumb and forefinger then opened them to look at it. The feather was gone, but in its place, my fingertips were covered in golden sparkly dust. This dust quickly spread to cover that hand. I looked at the other hand and suddenly it was covered too. My wife held out her hands and they, too, were instantly covered. It finally stopped spreading when both of our arms up to the shoulders were covered in this fine, sparkly, beautiful golden dust. I can’t say I understood some deep purpose for that encounter, but it was certainly a nice surprise!

A few years ago I was a nurse case manager at an assisted living facility. I was talking to another nurse, one of my coworkers, about some of the miracles God was doing in our midst, and at that very moment, a feather appeared in midair and floated there. He was pretty astounded. Another nurse entered the office and he immediately started telling her all about it. It was so fun for me to hear him talk because his excitement was genuine. This other nurse wasn’t sure about it and asked him if he was trying to fool her. “Oh my God no, I swear on the Holy Bible it’s true!” he said with excitement. That comment still makes me smile to this day. There is something about the first time someone experiences a miracle that is so precious and real—the emotions are brutally honest, hard to hide, and the shock and excitement is such a joy to witness. The realness in someone comes to the surface because they aren’t hiding behind the masks we so often wear.

When I had just started to work on this book, my wife and I had the blessing of spending all afternoon and evening with a dear friend who was ordained by Ruth Ward Heflin. We spent hours discussing gold dust, gemstones, and hearing her share her own wonderful glory realm stories and memories with Ruth at the Campmeeting in Ashland, Virginia. It was a fantastically glorious time, and my heart was soaring. Late in the evening we prayed for my wife as she had been dealing with some health issues. As we began to break witchcraft off her, I had my eyes closed in prayer. When I opened them and looked down, a feather that was about two inches long had appeared on my arm and caught me totally by surprise. The angels were hard at work warring on her behalf! My wife was ecstatic and said, “They came for me!” She reported that her head felt better after the fact as well.

A few months later, we made some new friends in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho and met the senior pastors of Gateway Christian Fellowship who had their own exciting feather stories that they graciously shared with us, found in Chapter 7. I took some pictures of the feather in their story and was blessed to be able to use it as the cover picture for this book. Yes, the feather on the cover is a real feather from heaven! Not only that, but toward the end of that weekend, we had feathers appear in our hotel room after we had spent much of that time discussing the glory realm and signs, wonders, and miracles.

Feathers continue to appear on an ongoing basis—sometimes more frequent than others, but each time I am reminded of the Father’s love for me, the angelic protection that is around me, and that I am surrounded by a realm that is both unseen and highly active in my life. There is something special about this manifestation, both simple and elegant. It has the ability to turn our focus toward God at a moment’s notice, interrupting the daily doldrums with the breath of heaven. It is my hope that this book—the divine revelation, our stories, and the stories of others—will open this arena of miracles, angelic visitations, and the glory realm of heaven for every reader, and that they, too, would experience and see an increase in the manifestation of feathers from heaven.”

If you enjoyed what you have read so far, check out the complete book! If you enjoy what you read, leave a positive review and help other readers locate the book. Many thanks to you and may you be richly blessed with feathers from heaven!

Kindle version

Print version

Faith and a Feather

Gems From Heaven:

Part 1: “Our Experiences”

Part 2: “What Do They Mean”

Part 3: “How Do I Know This Is God?”

Why I Love Gemstones From Heaven

Gemstones From Heaven Podcasts

Feathers From Heaven – The Book is Out!

I am excited to announce that my newest book
Feathers From Heaven
is finally out in print and Kindle!

We are living in exciting times—where signs and wonders are jumping off the pages of the Bible and people experience miracles in everyday life. Stories of crying statues, clouds of gold dust, and people being raised from the dead are increasing across the globe as Jesus of Nazareth displays His power through His Church.

Feathers have long been recognized in many cultures as being signs from God, portents of angelic activity, and messages from deceased loved ones. The Bible speaks of feathers as having a number of different meanings—all of which have relevance to daily life. Whether you regularly find heavenly feathers or have never heard of this phenomenon, this book will deepen your understanding of what they mean, why they matter, and how you can encounter this miracle for yourself. Come discover why feathers are falling from heaven!

US Print: http://amzn.to/2aNw1Zj

US Kindle: http://amzn.to/2aBjox2

Here’s what you will find in this book:

Our Personal Story – This is our family’s personal story of how we started finding Feathers from Heaven.

The Meaning in the Manifestation – This takes a look at God’s plans and purposes through this miracle.

Discernment and Deception – This answers the question “How do I know this is God?”, providing wisdom to help navigate the miracles.

Ruffled Feathers – This addresses some common concerns and objections people have about this manifestation.

Feather Stories – This shares many stories from others recounting their miracle-moments finding heavenly feathers.

How Do I Get This To Happen? – This looks at how we can partner with God to encourage our own feather encounters.

Feathers from Heaven – This is a unique transdimensional feather story meant to expand our beliefs of what is possible.

Join us Live Tonight: UnCommon Christianity Blogtalk Radio

Come join us tonight as we discuss how games and the Kingdom are both related and relevant, and my newest book The Gamer’s Guide to the Kingdom of God.

“If you’ve ever wondered why the Christian life is as hard as it is, ask yourself: Have you ever wondered why the main character in your favorite RPG has it hard? Michael talks to us about what led him to write this book, why he felt it was needed, and just exactly what a magical talisman with a +3 defense enchantment has in common with the Holy Spirit! You do NOT want to miss this show!”

Click here to listen in on UnCommon Christianity, 8pm PST and 11pm EST. Dial 347.989.8865 to call in, tweet them @UCC_Show, send a message via facebook.com/uccministries or join in the live chatroom. We hope to see you tonight!

What Do You Have in Your House?

A few years back my wife and I started looking at ways to make more money. We had no income to speak of outside our two jobs, and from a financial-stability perspective it is wise to have multiple sources of income, thereby reducing risk if any of those income sources dries up. We had discussed trying to buy and rent or flip houses, but the amount of startup capital we needed for even a down payment was at the limit of what we could afford, leaving no money to do repairs and no cushion to account for risk. In other words, there was no safe way to start out in real estate. Getting another job for either of us didn’t seem practical, as no one ever got rich off of working multiple jobs, and we were looking to add extra streams of income, not temporary extra employment. We had a couple of potential business ideas, any of which might have worked, but as I prayed about it I felt God bring my remembrance back to a passage in 2 Kings.

The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.”

Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”

“Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.”

Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”

She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.”

But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.

She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.” 2 Kings 4:1-7 (NIV)

God gave me a window into His wisdom to solve financial problems, not just for my wife and I, but for people as a whole. In this story, when the woman went to the prophet, in that culture it was the equivalent of talking directly to God, as the prophet was God’s oracle. God’s response in that situation was “What is at hand? What is currently available to you? What skills and resources do you currently have at your disposal, because that is what I plan to use to solve your problem.”

In Matthew 15:29-29 Jesus is on a mountainside near the Sea of Galilee and speaks to 4,000 men and their families. When it comes time to eat Jesus doesn’t send them away, fearing for their health. Instead he turned to the disciples and asked, “How many loaves do you have?” The question Jesus asked here is much the same as the question God was asking through Elisha in 2 Kings. God wanted to know what they had on-hand so He could fix it! Not only that, but God isn’t interested in just solving your problem–he wants to do one better and solve your future problems!

This is how God has done things all along. He said something similar to the Israelites too. In Deuteronomy 8:18 it says “But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so it confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today. [emphasis mine]” God wants to give us the ability to produce wealth, not just the ability to pray for a solution to the current problem. One of a few determining factors in me deciding to become an author was financial–a book serves as a source of ongoing residual income via royalties that according to copyright laws lasts a lifetime–and seventy years beyond. In other words, by writing books I wouldn’t just be creating income for myself, but potential income for my grandchildren!

Finances weren’t the only deciding factor, as I have planned to publish books since I was 14, and I have a great many things to say I believe the world needs to hear. However, finances did play a part in the decision to begin with writing and move to other income streams later. I figured with the money obtained from book sales I could invest in real estate and pay a management company to run the rentals, thereby freeing my time to continue writing and doing other things. The long-term plan is to take the profit from the above sources and invest further for Kingdom pursuits. I believe God is opening up a new ministry model which involves us doing the things we feel led to do because God has given us the resources, not because we are beholden to everyone else to meet the need. To do this, we have to start somewhere.

I recently had a conversation with a mom who wants to stay at home with her kids but also needs to make money. I suggested a few things but one was something she had on-hand, which in this case was also book-writing. I’m not saying everyone should be an author, but some people have an ability to communicate in written form and it can be both a ministry and a business. I have friends who are fantastic at construction, and they would be fantastic with rentals and house-flipping. I know someone else who is gifted with music and has produced CDs, but isn’t currently trying to market and sell them. While in each case it looks different, the common theme is that they each have something God has given them, and I believe this is a means to an end–the power to get wealth.

For those who struggle financially, or who work a job and aren’t seeing the long-term payoff they desire, who want to reduce financial risk, or just want to provide something for their children or grandchildren, be encouraged–God is 100% behind you on this! Take some time to think and pray about it. As yourself questions: What are your life goals and dreams? How much money will it take to accomplish them? What financial goals do you need to set to make that possible? What abilities has God given you? How can those skills be turned into a product or service that will produce income? How plausible are those ideas? How do they compare with the other abilities and options God has given you? What do you sense God is blessing the most right now?

Once you answer the above questions, I believe you will have a clearer picture of how God wants to bless you financially through the abilities He has already given you. Keep in mind that at the end of the day any product or service of quality is ultimately going to help other people. It doesn’t have to look spiritual, but according to the passages I shared earlier, making money is very spiritual, and there are a myriad of benefits from taking God up on His advice. I encourage you to set aside some time, whether now or in the future, to ponder your life goals and dreams, and how you plan to accomplish them. God may just surprise you with ideas when you start to look at things from His perspective. Have a blessed day!