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The Worker Is Worthy of His Wages

Wages

Susan writes Bible studies for women and does speaking tours around the USA. She is the founder of Living Water Ministries, and reaches millions of women with her events and books.

Her latest Bible study of Philippians is called The Surpassing Worth of Knowing Jesus, and you can buy the digital workbook for $20. Conference tickets to her Philippians study tour are $85 for adults. Live streaming tickets are also available, but if you live within a 150 mile radius of where the conference will be held, you are not allowed to stream the event. The streaming cost for a small group of up to twelve people is $125. If you have more than twelve, you must pay $20/additional attendee. Once you purchase the streaming access, the video recordings will be available to you for only 30 days after the event. You can own the digital download of the entire five-session study of Philippians for $50. The ministry website also has the option to give a donation.

Susan has never thought about an alternative way to do what she does. She grew up around the selling of ministry, and in her circles no one has ever questioned it.” –Adapted from SellingJesus.org

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Posted by Eddie Lawrence in Money

Freely You Have Received

Freely

In my previous article I mentioned that we Christians are doing something that “distorts our message, undermines our credibility, and leaves us slaves to a master we aren’t aware we are serving.” What are we doing to shoot ourselves and our message in the foot? We have commercialized Christianity. Jesus said, “Freely you have received; freely give” (Matt. 10:8), but we aren’t giving freely. We’ve found ways to make money from the gospel. It’s so ingrained in our culture we don’t even recognize we are disobeying Jesus. While we may be nearly oblivious to this “pulpit capitalism,” you may be assured that those outside the church see it very clearly.

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Posted by Eddie Lawrence in Money

Chasing Money: Trading Peace for Pennies

Money

Though centuries of wisdom scream against it, money remains our modern idol. In the time that has elapsed since Paul wrote to Timothy, people have written volumes about the dangers of the love of money. Adding my voice is probably redundant.

Nevertheless, I have recently been made aware of a money problem which festers in the Western church like cancer. This silent scourge distorts our message, undermines our credibility, and leaves us slaves to a master we may not be aware we are serving.

I’ll elaborate on this later, but first let’s heed the wisdom of the Scripture lest this insidious problem grows worse.

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Posted by Eddie Lawrence in 1 Timothy, Money

What Would You Sacrifice for the Kingdom?

Sacrifice for the Kingdom
Iron slave shackles. Photo: BiblePlaces.com

Becoming a Christian in the modern Western world typically doesn’t entail significant personal sacrifice. Sure, we must repent of our sins and make lifestyle changes to follow Jesus. Nevertheless, this usually doesn’t create personal hardship in occupations. This hasn’t always been the case. In the early days of the church, the demands of the gospel required many Christians to sacrifice personal freedoms. Following Jesus may sometimes demand a significant sacrifice for the kingdom.

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Posted by Eddie Lawrence in 1 Timothy

Use a Little Wine for Your Stomach’s Sake

Use a Little Wine for Your Stomach’s Sake

“No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments” (1 Tim. 5:23 ESV).

This parenthetical comment seems to interrupt the flow of the passage. Perhaps after Paul’s comment about Timothy keeping himself pure, he wanted to assure him that drinking wine appropriately would not negate his purity. His motive for abstaining may have been to set a good example in light of the drunkenness that seems to have been a part of the Ephesian problem.

“Paul tells Timothy to μηκέτι, “no longer,” drink only water. It is interesting to ask why Timothy was abstaining since it obviously was detrimental to his health. The answer lies in the Ephesian situation. Paul’s opponents were drunkards, and to disassociate himself totally from them and their teaching, Timothy apparently had chosen to abstain to the point that it was hurting him physically. His abstinence was an example of not exercising his Christian liberty when it might damage another’s faith (cf. 1 Cor 8:13; Rom 14:15, 21). While this was admirable, Paul did not want Timothy to think that the preceding statement was an endorsement of his decision to abstain, and in fact Paul thought that Timothy should change his habit and use a little wine because of his physical problems.”1 

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Posted by Eddie Lawrence in 1 Timothy