BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

'Yes. And one day you will leave here and preach around the world. But right now you don’t know much. This is your Bible school.' A Seminar on Love I thought I knew more than I did. My Christian upbringing provided a good foundation. I felt qualified to bring my husband, Kent, into the paths of righteousness. Kent and his father were born again when Kent was 16. His family, a loving one, hadn’t regularly attended church. I pressured him into tithing and church attendance by begging, accompanied with tears. And when Brother Hagin announced he was going to teach on walking in love and I was to put it into print, I felt qualified. Steno pad in hand, I came to the seminar with confidence. To sum it up, Brother Hagin taught that the love we are to walk in is not natural, human love. It is the God kind of love. Natural human love is selfish. The God kind of love is God Himself. For God is love (1 John 4:8). At the new birth, the God kind of love is shed abroad in the newly created spirit by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). It is not in the mind or the body. It is in the heart, the spirit. To walk in love, the spirit must dominate the flesh. I remember what he taught as if there were steps. 1. Be born again. Walking in the God kind of love is possible only to children of God. 2. Know Romans 5:5. “The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” The love in our hearts is released by faith through words and deeds. 3. Know the definition of the love of God in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. The "Amplified Bible, Classic Edition" has the fullest revelation of the Greek. 4. Judge yourself to see if you are walking in the God kind of love. I can almost hear his voice as he taught from the "Amplified Bible, Classic Edition" phrase by phrase. “‘Love endures long and is patient and kind’ (verse 4). Some people endure long, but they’re not patient and kind while they’re enduring. A husband or wife may be putting up with a lot of things, but they want everyone to know, including their spouse, what they’re suffering.” His comments on every phrase were enlightening. You can read them in his book "Love: The Way to Victory." I felt pretty good about myself until he said, “Now this is the divine love gauge—love’s thermometer. ‘Love…is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong]’ (verse 5).” What! I thought. My beloved grandmother is touchy; and she’s Holiness. My mother is touchy. Sometimes one needs to notice what others do in order to get them to do right. I’d practiced this, particularly with Kent. For instance, Kent never remembered my birthday. Almost every year, beginning with our anniversary a short while before, which he also never remembered, I’d start building up steam. One Dec. 6 morning, I remember slamming his breakfast down on the table. He didn’t seem to notice. When he came home at noon, lunch was on the table, but I was in our bedroom with the door shut. That night, there was no supper. I was still in the darkened bedroom where I’d cried all day saying, “He doesn’t love me. If he did, he’d remember my birthday.” Kent opened the door and said, “What’s wrong with you? Is it your birthday or something?” Then came the old excuse, “I thought it was Dec. 8th.” Space doesn’t permit me to tell other such incidents, or to say how loving, giving and faithful Kent was. But until I heard Brother Hagin comment on the love thermometer, I thought I was so right and Kent was so wrong. When the light dawned, I saw that I was wrong for noticing. My heart convicted me. I wanted to walk in love. I wanted my faith to work (Galatians 5:6). So I listened intently to what Brother Hagin said and I did it. Victory He said, “You will locate your problem area in one of these verses. When you do, write that verse on 3-by-5 index cards and put them in your places of attack.” I wrote out several cards and strategically placed them. One I placed inside my kitchen-cabinet door. Our old house had a big country kitchen where much of our family life took place. It was here that my love walk knew attack. I shall tell you about two attacks. * * * * * article concludes on p. 23 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * WORDS ON FAITH “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32 Reborn Free by Gloria Copeland It’s up to us to obey God if we want to walk supernaturally free. We have a manual of freedom that tells us what to do, what to say and how to act. It’s foolish for us as born-again, Spirit-filled Christians to spend our time doing what the world does when we could spend time doing what God says and be totally free. It takes a lot of time to be sick. It takes a lot of time to be in bondage. We could spend that time in the Word and live a happy, fulfilled, peaceful, whole life all the time. That is the will of God. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 22 : BVOV

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