Becoming Rich...

Recently over the past several weeks, my wife and I have been searching for new ways to make money online. Last year I had tried an online business that eventually failed, due to lack of good advertising, meager efforts, and an onslaught of Nigerian scammers out there who were persistent in hijacking my auctions, emailing me their crap, etc. But, as we face the very possibility of bankruptcy and foreclosure, and after spending time praying, it is time to act and find a way.

So we have delved into the world of online affiliate-marketing. This is where you set up a blog or website, and then join affiliate networks such as Commission Junction and others like it so that you may advertise on their behalf using your own webspace. Let me tell you that even if there are many visitors to your site it really does not count unless they click on your ads. Or, you have a special agreement with the specific company you're advertising for. But, we have made some dollars with Google's Adsense. And I thank the LORD for every penny He has given us.

**Sigh**. A few months ago I was listening to the radio while driving to work. A radio commercial aired wherein a male voice was promoting a home loan business. It caught my attention due to our situation, and I thought I'd listen in just in case they might have something good to offer for a family like mine. Then, in the midst of the broadcast, the male voice said over the air, "If you are facing foreclosure or bankruptcy your only hope is God the Father. The bottom dropped out of my equilibrium. I had heard this commercial before several times. It was at that point that usually the male voice would speak the punchline of the company he represented, something that greatly promotes their business. But NO!! He clearly said that my only hope is in God the Father!!!

I don't know what anyone else may have thought of what I heard. Nobody else was with me at the time. But, I knew what I heard. My only hope is in God the Father. Yes, he could have said Jesus Christ. But hey, Jesus and Father God are one. I knew it had to be from God Himself because in saying, "God the Father", it denoted a relationship not based on servant-master, but rather parent-child, a relationship based on sonship. It meant closeness with the Father, obedience to the Father, and all other things that pertain a small child's relationship to their father. Therefore, what I really needed to do was to focus on my relationship with God as my Father. The Bible says, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you."

Ah, seek ye first the kingdom of God. This means that when we make God's desires our priority, He will then make our needs His priority. When we care about the things of God and put Him first in our lives, then He will give us great blessings. So, no matter what I try to do, I must keep in mind that I live by every word that comes out of the mouth of God.

Yet, for all the stress we are enduring at this point, I somehow feel no worry (though I should be). I feel stressed, but I am not tearing my hair off. Unlike in 1997, I am not feeling as if it is the end of the world. I'm not worried that I'll be out on the street. And even if I were going to be, I do not feel worried. I know that the LORD, that God my Father will take care of me.

God has a great sense of humor. Earlier this week my wife found a $100.00 (one-hundred dollars) bill under her boot when she walked outside a gas station's little store. She couldn't believe it, but she thanked the LORD immediately for this provision. Happily she remarked that now she had some money to buy the kids their Christmas presents. I believe it was God's way to reassure her, saying that He will take care of us. Whether or not we foreclose and go bankrupt ONE THING IS CERTAIN -- God the Father will always take care of us.