After having lived “by faith”, trusting God for our every need for over 40 years, we are often asked “how do you do it”. Sometimes people will say “Isn’t that difficult?” or “I could never do something like that”. But actually, it’s not difficult at all! All you have to do is live the way Jesus lived, and do the things Jesus said to do. And how did Jesus live? What kind of sample did he give to the people? He went about everywhere “doing good”, continually pouring out and giving to others. (Acts 10:38).

After Jesus called his disciples to be “fishers of men” in Mt. 4:19, He gave them specialized training in Mt. 6:19-33 so they would now be able to live without a “normal job” or a fixed income. Everything they needed would now be “added unto them” as they “sought first the Kindgom of God” (v. 33). In Mt. 10:9-10 the instructions continued: “Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.” What was their work? It was preaching the Kingdom of Heaven as they healed the sick, cleansed the lepers, cast out devils, and raised the dead! Then later in Luke 22:35 He asked them, “When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, nothing.” One way of preaching the Kingdom of Heaven is simply showing how things work in the Heavenly realm – trusting God utterly and not leaning on or relying on the “arm of the flesh” (2 Chr. 32:8, Jer. 17:5).

Of course we are in no way perfect, but we try to live our everyday lives in such a way as to be a living sample of what Jesus taught – a sample, not a sermon. And in so doing, I can tell you we are continually flooded with God’s blessings! And not just material blessings, but also health, protection, favor, etc.

One good illustration of this is regarding a businessman friend of ours who over a number of years has donated thousands of dollars worth of clothing items and blankets for us to distribute to those who had suffered in post-war ex-Yugoslavia. We always try to bless our friends and neighbors by sharing with them the love of Jesus along with the abundance of provision that continues to come into our hands for distribution to others. We are like a conduit between the needy on earth of the bountiful resources of the Heavenly realm. And as we pour out, He pours in, and we can never outpour Him!

Witnessing about Jesus in this way is so different from what people have ever seen or heard before! But it’s merely showing the joy of the Lord and being a sample of His Love. The world is so indoctrinated into the capitalistic “me first” system that people are actually shocked when someone wants to give them something without asking for something in return! This is the devil’s doing. (Lk. 6:33, 14:12-14)

Recently we were given many large boxes of good quality shoes that we wanted to share with some Christian youth who were attending a discipleship training seminar. We laid out the boxes of shoes and told everyone to freely take what they needed, and they actually hesitated, thinking the shoes were for sale. Even after we had said they could freely take, they kept asking the price. We had to repeat ourselves that God had freely given them to us, and we were merely passing them on. They were amazed!

Jesus put little or no emphasis on money. He often taught about faithfulness in little things and stewardship, but gave NO importance to money (See Mark 6:8, Luke 9:3). He told the rich young ruler in Luke 18:22 “sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.” He multiplied the loaves and fishes, and the wine at the wedding feast, and even sent Peter fishing when it was time to pay their taxes. Jesus knew firsthand how things operate in the Kingdom of God, and an emphasis on money and things is NOT of any importance there, where instead of asphalt, the streets are paved with gold! He wants His children to show their trust in Him by living the Kingdom lifestyle. In fact He told us to pray for it: “They Kingdom, come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven” (Mt. 6:10)
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