About Us | TruthForFree.com

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Welcome to TruthForFree.com. So, you want to know about us? Well, the truth is that the "us" is actually, pretty much, a "me" (hi, my name's Dave - there's a little more info about who I am in the link provided below) as I am the sole developer of this website; TruthForFree.com (formerly prayershack.com). There are some good friends of mine that assist me in the presentation here as well (a little more about them too later on). This site is simply a labor of love presented for "those who have ears to hear" and not intended to come across as some sort of "professional ministry". I am not a professional pastor, I do not oversee some kind of religious organization, I do not endorse any particular denomination, and I am NOT paid for doing this, nor do I request donations of any kind. My heart is simply to share some things that I believeGod has enlightened me with along the path of truth and to share it for free; hence the site's name "Truth For Free". The Bible itself is plain on this matter: *"Get the truth and don't ever sell it."* (Proverbs 23:23) I prefer to consider Truth For Free a statement simply vocalizing the primary intent of this offering, rather than the title of some kind of "organized ministry". You'll soon discover that there are very few things I write "briefly" about so grab your cup of Jo and enjoy my long-winded introduction (hehehe).... Or, if you just don't care (grin) you can go right to the links below for specifics (in other words more long-winded explanations - hehehe). Bless ya! :) Click the desired link below for more information: Perspective and Purpose Beliefs Statement (also see statement below re: the Gospel) Doctrinal & Financial Position Message To Those Visiting This Site (whether churched or un-churched) About The "real" Prayer Shack About The WebServant; Dave Y. Privacy, Content & Copyright Information The author of this website believes the full Gospel of Jesus Christ, which (by-the-way) has nothing to do with altar calls, observing Sabbath days, keeping the 10 Commandments, attending church, going to confession, getting baptised, participating in religious activites or trying to emotionally persuade people to make decisions based on emotional experiences or intellect alone. Those things are NOT the Gospel. I believe that the Gospel is something that God Himself provides faith to believe (Romans 12:3) and, therefore, He is the one who calls the lost unto Himself through the work of the Holy Spirit. This leaves man no room to boast in his own efforts concerning salvation. For this reason, I do not believe in attempting to persuade people by manipulating their emotions or through mere intellectual reasoning. While a person's experience of hearing and believing the Gospel may involve very real emotions as well as illumination of truth through various thought processes (initiated by God's own will and choosing), the Gospel is what it is and can only be accepted by faith in the Grace of God who saves us and this exchange is something quite personal between a believer and the Lord. To those who may be interested, I encourage you to read What Is The Gospel? - by Dr. Harry Ironside. This is an excellent, concise article presenting the simple Gospel of Jesus... as well as a brief statement on what the Gospel is NOT. Too many people today (largely due to the traditions of men) have no idea what the Gospel is, according to Scripture. Even many church attending Christians (including many pastors) in recent years have demonstrated a disturbing lack of knowledge concerning the Gospel. This article presents a basic, eye-opening look at the plain message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ without any extra frills or doctrinal twists, leaving the reader to make a decision based on the conviction of the Holy Spirit rather than the inflated traditions and doctrines of men. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 - Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance : that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. John 3:16 - For God had such love for the world that He gave His only Son, so that whoever has faith in Him may not come to destruction but have eternal life. Romans 10:8-11 - Salvation that comes from trusting Christ-which is the message we preach-is already within easy reach. In fact, the Scriptures say, "The message is close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart." For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. As the Scriptures tell us, "Anyone who believes in Him will not be disappointed." ABOUT TRUTHFORFREE.COM Early on, when this site was first developed (back in 1995), I lived with two other brothers in the Lord (John Drummond and Curtis Flowers) and this site predominently documented the testimony of the prayer meetings that were transpiring in my home at that time (which we nicknamed "The Prayer Shack"). The bro's (and myself) have since moved out and on and much has transpired since those days, so of necessity this site has also embraced some new direction and purpose. The principle inspiration, however, remains the same; the heart is to glorify Jesus and encourage others in the pursuit of intimate realtionship with Him - leaving all distractions behind and embracing only His truth. Please know that my intention with this site is simply to provide an encouraging resource to viewers. I do not claim to have the "market cornered" as it concerns truth. I always encourage everyone to test all things with Scripture and follow your convictions as the Lord leads you. 1 Corinthians 13:12 says, "Now we see things imperfectly as through a dark glass, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God knows me now." For this reason I am well aware that even my best insights along this walk through life may be flawed on occasion (as likely will some of yours), though I always speak from sincere conviction and doing all in my power to align wholly with clear Scripture and sound reason. It is this author's opinion that too many believers today have become distracted with the organization of religion (content to go with the flow of what is traditionally accepted as "Christian" instead of knowing what Scripture teaches and the Holy Spirit designs) and too few know how to really discern the body of Christ, which is a living organism and a SPIRITUAL house of living stones - not defined by religious buildings, lifeless programs and denominations. This is not to say that there is never any benefit to organization so long as we are following the lead of the Holy Spirit... but our freedom, joy and spiritual strength in this life depends on the nourishment we receive through our submission to Christ alone and our willingness to follow Him regardless of whether His Way aligns with our "traditions" or not. Often our "organization" too quickly mutates into stale tradition when we try to box God's purpose and leading into a comfortable static routine that we control. Before long, our "program" no longer bears any similarity to the thing God ordained to begin with (not to mention the fact that our traditional thinking often warps what God inspired us with before we even set out to accomplish it). Because so many who are steeped in traditional church patterns tend to think according to those influences and therefore often operate from a mindset that is not planted in full submission to Christ to begin with, just about anything they endeavor to organize ends up digressing further and further away from His perfect will almost without even trying. The end result can be anything from a sense of "spiritual dryness" to "burn out", disgruntlement with leadership, concern over false doctrines being propogated, recognition of problems in the modern church system, or even a total frustration concerning what is perceived as "Christianity" altogether. For others they seem to develop a sort of numbness to things that enables them to just keep going through the motions, week after week, with virtually no complaint or thought that anything is wrong. Some feel that something is wrong, but can't seem to put their finger on it and so they end up running after all the latest spiritual fads (i.e. books, ministries, doctrines, teachings, principles, keys, programs, conferences, prophets, worship services, etc.). Whatever the varied end result happens to be of our fascination and intoxication with the program of religion, it seems that most Christians, when interviewed (whether they happen to agree with the idea of organized or institutionalized religion or not), tend to admit that today's church looks virtually nothing like what they read about in the pages of the New Testament. Most Christians would chuckle at the thought of Jesus taking up an offering after feeding 5,000 people (you know, to help pay for all His ministry's expenses) or the silly thought of Him exhorting the masses not forget to attend Sunday School next week before service. Even many pastors (some that I know personally), who are some of the biggest supporters of today's traditional religious program, admit that we are a long way away from the life, joy and power of the Christian life that was manifested so vibrantly in the first Century Church. Isn't it funny though how so many believers look at the Scriptures today and acknowledge that therein is an example set forth that we should earnestly seek after, yet in the first centry they had no church buildings, no pews, no pulpits, no church choirs, no static liturgy of service, no media merchandising (Paul the apostle didn't charge $19.95 for his great new book called "Letter to the Galatians"), they had no organizational oversight/covering, no senior pastors, no denominations (and when these kinds of mindsets rose up they were shunned by the apostles - e.g. 1 Corinthians 1:12-13 - and even Jesus Himself - Matthew 20:25-28), and virtually none of the things most Christians think are so essential to what they call "church" today. Together those early believers walked, as family, following the Master day by day, house to house in His loving grip. The Truth was FREE! The simplistic reality of sharing in His life with one another was void of the anxiety to turn every kind of motivation to serve others and the Lord into some kind of official "ministry" or "religious agenda" (let alone any concern to figure out how to finance it). Yet, somehow, these truths about the Lord's Church as revealed in Scripture are widely overlooked and men continue to pursue their programs, their rituals, their business-like religious endeavors, their man-made traditions - all housed in their religiously-dedicated temples - and somewhere along the way they actually have convinced themselves that it is these things, not purely what Scripture reveals, that are essential. I believe that organized religion, for all of its "godly-looking" exterior show and alleged intention to accomplish some "spiritual good", it rather has the general effect of progressive digression away from the purposes of God and serves mostly to make Christians weaker, not stronger, in their faith and more dependant on men and "the system" than upon God. I probably wouldn't be able to make such confident statements in this regard if it weren't that I have been guilty of falling prey to much the same kind of mindsets about such in the past as well (not to mention the fact that I have stood amidst others who were captivated similarly and watched this digression happen before my very eyes). What may have started out to be a good thing, even motivated by Christ and coupled with pure motives, can easily turn into death when we stop allowing Him to lead and take the reigns wholly to ourselves. And when it comes to pass that His Spirit is no longer leading a group of people because they chose to have things according to what seems wise in their own eyes, they often begin to instinctively substitute life for counterfeit life (which is no life at all). This is generally why the organized church system thrives on scores of rules, regulations, legalistic benchmarks and unspoken expectations (because real spiritual life is absent from it and there is little or no real trust of the Holy Spirit). Additionally, it seems that those who "buck the religious norm" (so to speak) for the sake of desiring to follow the truth are perceived as negatively critical individuals who only desire to pick apart everything. It's true that as God begins to open our eyes to the problems inherant in various facets of organized religion, there may be some temptation to be too critical and less discerning (not to mention forgetting to respond to people who disagree with grace and humility); however, those who complain about the critics also ought to humbly examine the possibility that they themselves can sometimes so heavily over-spiritualize and emotionalize things to justify their traditional comforts that they are actually led much more easily into error and deception because they really do not regard the teaching of Scripture or the pure leading of the Holy Spirit so highly. How sadly typical it is today to see multitudes of church-attending individuals running after the latest book or seminar which promises to unlock the hidden keys to revelation, healing or deliverance. Emotion-charged "revival" services, wild manifestations or astonishing "new" teachings are so easily accepted today, almost unanimously without question - so long as a church organization's leadership endorses it. Christians can actually be led into massive deception simply because they are not as "critical" as they should be and they neglect to recognize that this kind of discernment is essential and biblical. A lot of Christians also tend to throw around the words "God told me" or "the Lord laid it on my heart" far too easily, when all many of them are really doing is seeking to make their opinions and religious comforts unchallengable by others. I think if many of them were embarassingly honest about things, they would likely have to admit that their perceptions of things do not always confidently come from the Holy Spirit directly but thorough some other kind of influence (be it the instruction of a pastor, prophet, seminar training, a book, Christian television program, etc.). I think it's probably safe to say that most religious organizationally-affiliated people don't have a necessarily biblical or revelational comprehension of what the Lord's Church really is (and I might even be bold enough to add - neither do many of them really care - so long as they are comfortable and feel validated spiritually by the routines they engage in and how they make them feel emotionally). Some have a theological comprehension of the truth, but most even go beyond this and indeed believe "the church" is a building and a weekly program... but this is an idea wrought from the influence of tradition (even historical pagan culture) not Scripture and not the Holy Spirit. Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the "business" of "doing church" and lose sight of the revelation that, if we truly belong to Christ, we ARE the Church. If we claim to be His then we must acknowledge the fact that we are His body and He alone is our Head. Sometimes even seemingly good things can turn out to be obstacles to our spiritual growth and exercise of faith in Him if we are not careful to maintain a proper focus and build on only the foundation of Jesus Christ. "Ephesians 4:14-16 - that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head; Christ; from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love." The intent of this site is to pay no respect to anything other than the absolute essential truth of the Gospel of the Kingdom, to encourage readers with the uncompromised truth of Scripture, and to compel believers to rely on the strong guidance of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes this emphasis on truth (despite possible controversy due to conflict with traditional mindsets) may admittedly offend some readers, but this is of little concern so long as truth is not in compromise. Truth indeed holds the capacity to offend our comfort zones and especially the motives of those who do not love the truth. Furthermore, we are instructed in the Scriptures to love not the world and not to follow its mindsets, but to submit ourselves to God so that we may resist the ungodly mindsets of it and flee the schemes of the devil (James 4:4-7) so, in some cases, offenses will be inevitable the closer we move to truth and the crucifixion of our old mindsets and even some of those stale, stumbling religious ways. The eneavour here, however, is not to offend (as much as is "humanly" possible) but to share the truth in love and lift up the name of Jesus Christ and His message... and to do so FREE OF CHARGE! Another very important thing I wish to convey is that, with this site, I hold no intention of encouraging an "us versus them" mindset as it pertains to progression of knowledge in matters of truth. I believe soundly that Christ Church is His body and it is important that we maintain love in all of our endeavors. Obviously we will not all agree on everything and some convictions may indeed make it difficult to walk together at times for that reason, but such should not cause us to react in bitter fashion. Love can very easily delight in the truth without having to force itself on others - and those who do not love truth or those who may simply not yet understand we pray will be convicted by the Holy Spirit - but not because they sense any shred of manipulation from those who do. May God help all of us to walk humbly and receive directly from His hand. There is a very real temptation among those (myself included) who no longer identify with participation in organized religion to embrace an isolated, even elite, mindset regarding our convictions and therefore a tendency to also definitively separate ourselves from anyone who is still engaged in the system of organized religion. While sincere conviction will likely require a kind of separation on some level (so that we avoid compromise), we should stay alert to the fact that the enemy may lay a snare of pride before us and cause us to think of ourselves more highly than we ought. The simple fact of the matter is that, despite the many flaws and illegitimacy we attribute to organized religion, many of God's dear children are still to be found inside those walls and many of us were there not so long ago ourselves while God continued to show mercy and lead us along to truth. While indeed some of those people may be tares among wheat (something we are not always able to discern so easily), we cannot dismiss the fact that some are absolutely legitimate children and therefore just as valid a part of the family of God as you and I who may not frequent their meetings and organized plans. In other words, we don't have the luxury of just dismissing everyone who doesn't fully understand or agree with us. We should rather entreat God's wisdom to help us to communicate His truths and especially through love to those who are observing us and asking questions. I hope this site will also aid in this direction as well. We must be cautious in our fault-finding to expose the system itself and its errors but appeal to our family in Christ with love for many of those inside the walls are just as hungry for truth and to be closer to Jesus as we are. If any of us become arrogant in our dealing with them, we may even cause them more damage than religion itself at this point and make it that much harder for them to understand the freedom we now enjoy. Love MUST guide us and God will give us wisdom to stay on the path, covering us with His grace and truth. "...there has come an expanding vision and a profound conviction that somehow, if this is real Pentecost, there must come out of it eventually the thing that Pentecost produced in the early church and that was the real body of Jesus Christ. Not a church but the Church; not an organization, but the real organism that we have always recognized; not an ecclesiasticism, nor a dictatorship, nor a bureaucracy; but a group of Holy Ghost-baptized souls in which dwells and through which is manifest, the life of the Lord." John G. Lake (March 24, 1927) On occasion you may find me using the term "us" or "we" instead of "me" or "I". Mostly it's due to habit. For a long time the "us" represented the three guys that lived in the same house and those who were close to us and a part of the inspiration for the articles and information the site featured. I suppose it may be said that "us" is still applicable since the physical "Prayer Shack" of yesterday as well as this site today (TruthForFree.com) and its intended purpose has never been about "me" or "my ministry" (or even a concept of "organized ministry" in general) per say, but about the Lord Jesus and people who are desparate to know Him close - and who believe in sharing His truth freely. In other words, I see this service as being much larger than myself. I am but one small part of the body of Christ. While I do willingly take responsibility for everything displayed directly on this site, I am always open to glean wisdom and inspiration (and even correction) from various members of the body of Christ. In fact, if you have an article you've written or a website you feel is pertinent to the expressed vision of this site, please CONTACT ME. I would love to review your suggestion and possibly post it here on this site! I also maintain fellowship with some really close friends (Joseph & Deanna Rodriguez) who have often contributed to the layout and content of this site through their suggestions, shared insights, prophetic promptings and continued close communication with me. They are among my most trusted family in Christ who help to hold me accountable to truth and encourage me on an almost daily basis. Their friendship is invaluable to me and I am so blessed that God brought their family (which includes their great kids, Joshua and Caleb) into my life. Joe and Deanna hail from Austin, TX. Joe's a self-employed tile worker and Deanna is a stay-at-home mom who also formerly served in the White House during President George W. Bush's first term in office (as well as when he was Governor of Texas). Both Joe and Deanna formerly served in the leadership of a local church before obeying the call of God to leave and serve Him outside the walls of organized religion. Through them I've also met some great new friends; Gabe & Elle, Jim, Jeremy, along with their families and friends. Truly an incredible bunch of people! There are others whom God uses to encourage me and challenge me in the truth. I have appreciated the friendship of Sean Dietrich (whom I am currently working with on a new website project), Drew and Carey Ecker, Johnny and Lynne Johnson, Chuck and Jan Shupe, Matt Deter, Orland Myhre, Russ Kelly, and others who have all encouraged me over the past several years as we've walked together knowing the Lord. I've also been deeply impacted by the relationship I had with (and the example I learned from) my father, Allen, who passed away in 2001 and I am always encouraged by the strong faith, encouragement, acceptance, humor, love and continual prayers of my awesome mother, Ruth. God has truly blessed me with some amazing friends and family in God and I do not take any of that lightly. You will notice that this site features a host of resources, including articles by a number of authors and links to a number of different websites (many of whom I am aquainted with in some way or another and a few that I am close to). My sincere desire is that you will be encouraged, edified and strengthened in your walk with Christ through the ministry of the actual body of Christ (or, in other words, by various brothers and sisters in the Lord, from various backgrounds and locations, who have walked with God and have some precious wisdom to share with those that desire more than just traditional religion). I sometimes receive requests from people asking for permission to copy the material on this site for use in group Bible studies/discussions, websites, personal use, etc. If this is your desire, you are very welcome to do so. However, please do not alter the material and please give the citation of where you found it and the author noted on the material. Also, please be sure to observe the Privacy, Content & Copyright Information as provided in the link for details concerning legal use of this material. In general you are free to photocopy any material you find on this site. My desire is to make it freely available to all. Make as many photocopies/print-outs as you like and feel free to share them with anyone you like, just please do not seek to make a profit from the material. If, somehow, you do, please put the funds back into producing more material. If you receive freely, freely give. Again, please feel free to use the material, print it, distribute it free of charge; link to the pages; or to the site (this is preferred since pages may sometimes be changed or moved and linking to individual pages can slow this site down). Just simply use it for the propagation of the true Gospel of Jesus and edification of the body of Christ. God bless you! Click the desired link below for more information: Perspective and Purpose Beliefs Statement Doctrinal & Financial Position Message To Those Visiting This Site About The "real" Prayer Shack About The WebServant; Dave Y. Privacy, Content & Copyright Information To insure that you can trust the content of this website to be completely family and child safe, this site has been rated with SafeSurf, ICRA, and is an official, ICCS Certified, licenced member of iWatchDog (a.k.a. The United Federation of Child Safe Websites). To all of you first time visitors and old friends alike: WELCOME! God bless you a ton!!! May you sense His presence and know that His love is great for you. Now, on with the details (hope you've had your coffee, this could take awile)... © 1995-2007 TruthForFree.com & The Prayer Shack. All rights reserved. Please do not reproduce without permission. TruthForFree.com, The Prayer Shack and design logos are trademarks owned by TruthForFree.com & The Prayer Shack, Pasco, WA. Other site graphics are either used by permission or assumed to be in the public domain. If you see an image that you think should not be here, please contact the webmaster at info@truthforfree.com. Privacy Statement.