About The Book Store
truthforfree.com
Welcome guests to the TruthForFree page of recommended reading. It seems a bit ironic I suppose that there would be a "bookstore" on a site that intends to proclaim "Truth for Free". Indeed I have contemplated this issue more than a few times. For those interested, you should know that my personal conviction is never to charge for anything that I sincerely believe God has put on my heart for His people. To do so, in my opinion, would be to prostitute His free gift. I often have felt the same discouragement toward authors who feel they must charge for their "revelation"; however, love prohibits me from judging any man too harshly and I have discovered that there are sometimes apparent legitimate exceptions to consider. For example, I have met authors who are very much new to the whole publishing realm of things and haven't yet acquired the knowledge for how to provide downloadable, electronic versions of their works. Some are at the mercy of their publishing companies, which often set the pricing structures. So not everyone who sells a book is, necessarily, in it for the money. I realize this and it's why I don't want to judge other folks too harshly in this. There are also some authors whom I believe have received some real insight from the Lord; however, they may still be under some old religious mindsets that cause them to still approach the money issue from a traditional perspective. Others simply have the opinion that this is a non-issue altogether; that publishing things cost money and so it's reasonable to charge for materials and labor. The opinions are indeed varried. For the record, I don't think that just because someone charges for a book that they likely have nothing valuable to contribute to the body of Christ. While I sincerely wish they would show that the message really means more than the money by offering it freely, only God can change hearts and convict the conscience. I am happy to share my views on this as well, in the hopes that others may consider another perspective, but ultimately it is Him who must open eyes.
I do often make it a point to write various authors and ask them if they have free versions of their works available and/or if they would be interested in providing such as a free download from this site. Often the attitude of their response helps to determine my decision whether to feature their products or not on this page. Some of the authors I have written have expressed an eagerness to offer freely downloadable versions of their works and this is always encouraging. However, I have written some authors whom, though they admittedly have eloquent literary works, I sometimes discover after conversing with them that they have unhealthy alterior motives (whether it be money, popularity, or some other agenda) and I could never, in good faith, recommend another person to their trust. Granted, I am human and subject to make mistakes in discernment at times, but my heart really is to encourage the message of freedom in Christ without distraction. I'm not interested in the red tape of organized ministry, making money, or trying to look important. Basically if there's a way to encourage the body of Christ using the advent of the Internet for free, I think we should go for it while the freedom is available. The Internet holds such a great potential to reach out to one another all across the world and share this message of truth and life with all who have ears to hear.
Having shared these motives with you, I do hope you find some titles of interest here that will also encourage you on your journey with Jesus. Because of their large inventory of books and other resources and their ability to get them into the hands of people in a timely manner, I have an affiliate arrangement with ChristianBook.com, a.k.a. CBD (Christian Book Distributors) and Amazon.com that allows me to recommend titles through direct links and at reasonable prices. Additionally, this affiliate arrangement may allow your purchase to help suport the maintenance of this site; however, this does not at all affect the price you pay for merchandise. Essentially the way it works is that, if you should buy a book from Amazon or CBD through this site, the bookstores this site is affiliated with pay a small percentage of the amount they collect from you to TruthForFree as sort of an advertising gratuity (usually not more than 3% - 5%). They do NOT raise the price for you in order to pay this advertising cost. You get one discounted rate! ...And I'll be honest with ya... as of July 2007 I have yet to see a paycheck from either company and I'm actually not the least bit unhappy about that detail... Because it just tells me that people are finding enough quality resources on this site through the authors and artists who provide their works without any charge at all. I would love it if, throughout the life of this website, I never receive a dime from the bookstore and it would be great to eventually see all or at least most of the titles that are current only available for purchase to one day be offered freely by their authors. I sincerely do everything I can to look for ways to accomplish that.
If these affiliates do not have an item available that I wish to encourage this site's visitors about or if I am aware of other sites with much cheaper prices on the same item(s), I will do my best to provide a link to a site that does offer the book at a more reasonable price or even a free online version if possible. The intent here is that Christ would be glorified and the body edified, not that I would make huge profits. In fact, I did consider initially whether or not the idea of even having a book and music store section of this site was something I really wanted to even provide, because I don't want there to ever be any confusion about the purpose of this website (it is NOT for profit). Please keep that in mind as you browse. Many of these authors/artists have done their best to provide their books/music at the most reasonable price possible. Publishing costs can be expensive (sometimes ridiculously expensive), not to mention a necessary evil of getting a work into mass print for public consumption. I know some of these authors personally and some of them make virtually no profit on the sale of their books and music because they give far more away in person-to-person encounters than they sell or the majority of the cost for their book is to simply cover publishing costs and handling expenses. Many are lucky to at least break even for their expenses and some use the profits to increase widespread access of their materials. One author I know personally has invested over $10,000 of his own money to publish his book and yet he gives it away for free!!!
If I had the financial ability, I would provide whatever resources necessary to those who may not be able to afford them themselves. Unfortunately, I am not always able to do this; however, if there is a title you are searching for and cannot afford it, feel free to contact me as I may be able to share a used copy of my own or direct you to another source. In some cases I may be able to direct you to the author himself or herself. I also try to cover many of the topics discussed in several of these books through the various articles and e-books provided freely on this site, so be sure to check the articles page on this site for topics that may match your inquiries and I hope, if you do purchase one of the books recommended here, you'll be blessed and encouraged in the Lord.
Remember, most of all, that the Holy Spirit is our faithful Teacher whom Jesus promised would guide us into all truth - which simply means that, even without the resources provided by others who have learned various insights, God is able to instruct us in His truth according to His will and purpose so rely on Him and trust that He will lead you and provide all that you need as you seek Him first.
May the Lord bless you as you diligently seek Him!
In His grip,
David Yeubanks
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