BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

********** ADVERTISEMENT ********** SUPERKID ACADEMY Children’s Church Curriculum Putting the Word Into the Hearts of Superkids! Vol. 1: My Father Loves Me! #S190801 Vol. 2: The Fruit of the Spirit in You #S190802 Vol. 3: The Sweet Life: Living in God’s BLESSING #S190803 Vol. 4: The Heart of a Superkid: God’s Character in You #S190804 Vol. 5: The Superkid Creed #S190805 Vol. 6: The Superkid Creed II #S190806 Vol. 7: The Superkid Creed III #S190807 Each 13-week volume includes: ● Weekly, progressive lessons ● DVD with video messages ● Complete teacher preparation CD ● Original praise & worship music ● CD-ROM full of resources and more! Visit SuperkidAcademy.com for free samples. Risk-Free, 60-Day Guarantee $94.50 each reg $249, $229, $199 superkidacademy.com 1-800-606-4190 (U.S. only) FREE standard shipping included. Offer prices valid until Aug. 31, 2019 ******************************************* * * * * article from p. 29 continues * * * * Seek Those Things Which Are Above Such stories are sad to hear. They’re also relatively rare because sin is so foreign to our nature as believers. In our hearts, we really don’t want to walk in darkness because we’re literally born of the Light. That doesn’t mean, though, that we don’t need to take the warnings in the New Testament seriously. If we’re going to shine brightly in this sin-darkened world, when the devil tempts us to become a little more like it, we must remember that the Lord says in 2 Corinthians 6, “What fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?... Come out from among them, and be ye separate…and touch not the unclean thing” (verses 14, 17). To separate means “to disconnect,” and that’s what we must do to live a holy life in this unholy world. We must disconnect not just from the sinful behaviors it considers acceptable, but from its ungodly mindset. We must disconnect from sinful thoughts. Don’t buy the idea that you can fantasize in your mind about sin and it won’t affect you physically. Don’t think, I’m just going to imagine what this would be like, but I’m not going to act on it. You can’t have an unclean mind and a clean body. If you think about something long enough, you’ll do it. So, don’t even go there in your mind. The moment you catch unholy thoughts trying to get a hold on you, take authority over them and steer your mind in a different direction. Separate yourself from them and rise above them, like cream separates from milk and rises to the top. “But Gloria, I’m not sure I can do that. Sometimes my flesh and the temptations of the devil are just too strong for me.” No, they’re not! You’re a child of Almighty God. You’re born of Him and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. “Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4). Unholy thoughts and fleshly lusts can’t conquer you. You have Holiness Himself living inside you. You have God’s holy Word to guide you, and an unlimited supply of His mighty grace to empower you to overcome. All you need to do is avail yourself of it and do what God says in the Bible: • “Seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. [And] set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” (Colossians 3:1-2) • “Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God.... And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:1-2) • “Lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.” (Hebrews 12:1-2) Granted, doing those things takes effort and commitment. But the rewards will be worth it—especially in this day and hour. This is the time of God’s grand finale. The greatest move of God this world has ever seen is starting to take place. Jesus is about to present to Himself “a glorious church,…holy and without blemish,” and you have the opportunity to be part of it. Don’t slough off and waste that wonderful opportunity. Give yourself to God 100%—spirit, soul and body. Drop everything that pulls you away from Him and head toward the finish line of this age, as if how you cross it will matter for eternity, because it will. As the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:24, “Those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize[.] Run in such a way that you may obtain it” ("New King James Version"). By the power of God’s grace, run your race to win! V 30 : BVOV

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