Thorns, Barns & Oil Jars Audio Book

The Thorns, Barns, and Oil Jars audio book explains how to position yourself to receive true lasting financial prosperity. Many Christians hold an unbiblical view of finances. I did. Do you? How you relate to money is paramount, regardless of how much you have or don’t have. I wrote the Thorns, Barns and Oil Jars audio book from my real life experiences with money over the last two decades.

“If you know the Lord has more prosperity for you than what you are experiencing, I believe this book is for you. Open your heart and mind as Ashley leads you on a journey that will take you to a new level of having your needs supernaturally met.”  -Andrew Wommack President and Founder of Andrew Wommack Ministries, Inc. and Charis Bible College.

“Ashley’s wisdom on finances isn’t just strong— it’s grace-filled. He approaches money from a spiritual, intentional level and will empower you to achieve new levels of wealth!”  -Billy Epperhart Successful business entrepreneur and nationally known author and speaker featured by CNN, NBC News, Fox News, BBC, Time Magazine, and more.

MP3 or WAV Audio Book, 2 hours 8 minutes 56 seconds

Read by Ashley Terradez.

This book is also available in paperback form and features a study guide for leading small groups.

See other products from Ashley Terradez about God’s financial provision.

 

Introduction to Thorns, Barns & Oil Jars

Download Sample File

Years ago as I sat reading a book waiting for my plane to land, one of my traveling companions leaned over and asked, “What’cha reading, Ashley?” I showed him the book by a well-known Christian author, and he said, “Oh, finances. I thought it was something important.” His comment really bothered me. And for the next several days, I thought about it often. Why are finances considered unimportant? Everybody deals with them. Why doesn’t the Church teach about true biblical prosperity? They’re always asking for money. Why do Christians file finances under “nonspiritual” aspects of life? As I kept mulling over those thoughts, I came to the conclusion that finances scare people—especially Christians.

An Unbiblical View of Finances

Many Christians hold an unbiblical view of finances. Their ideas and expectations about money are often based on the world’s system or unbalanced church doctrines when they should be based on biblical principles. Jesus taught about finances more than any other subject. Why? Because heart issues are extremely important to God, and finances reflect what’s happening in our hearts. Ecclesiastes 10:19 says, “Money answers everything.” It touches every aspect of our lives. Without money, we can’t care for our families. We need money to buy food, clothes, housing, healthcare, and even education. Without money, ministries can’t preach the gospel or feed the hungry or help the orphan. Yet Jesus called money “that which is least.” He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? Luke 16:10-11

The way we deal with personal finances is the way we deal with other things in life. Money is a reflector. If we’re stingy with our money, we’ll be stingy with our time. When we aggressively seek money, we’re likely aggressive in relationships. If we’re late paying our bills, then we’re probably late for work or meetings. The way we handle money reflects the issues of our heart and ultimately spills over into other areas of our lives.

Leading or Being Led?

A few years ago, I got my first dog. It was a cute little Chesapeake Bay retriever puppy, but I knew nothing about training dogs. I thought, It’ll be okay; it’s just a puppy. But my wife told me, “That puppy is going to grow up to be 100 pounds of guard dog! You’d better think about training it.”

I understood what she meant a few weeks later. The pup had gotten ahold of some meat, but it was too much for him to eat. So I bent down to grab it from him. In that moment, my cute little puppy turned on me, and “GRAH!” he snapped. It was terrifying! And somehow my cute little pup had become a vicious monster in my eyes. How embarrassing to be scared of my own dog! So I sought the advice of an expert. He said, “You’ve got to be the alpha dog. Dogs are designed to either lead or follow. There is no middle ground. You have to show him you’re the leader.”

It’s the same with finances. Jesus put it this way: “You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matt. 6:24b) None of us intends to serve money, but money is often the determining factor in our decisions. One of the biggest characteristics in a servant-master relationship is the master’s responsibility to tell the servant what to do. The master leads; the servant obeys.

Who is Your Master?

How do you decide what to eat at a restaurant? Do you order what you’re in the mood to eat or do you look at the menu and order based on price? How do you decide where to go on vacation, what car to buy, or how much to give in an offering? If your money (or lack of it) is the determining factor in these decisions, then your money is leading you.

Please understand, I am not talking about stewardship here. I’m talking about the heart issues many of us deal with when we talk about finances. Nothing else contends for our heart like finances. Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matt. 6:21) Our hearts and our finances are connected. That’s why it’s so important we have the right relationship with finances and understand the biblical tripod of financial prosperity. We have to learn to lead our finances or our finances will lead us, and someone will get hurt!