BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

That’s why Proverbs 4:23 says, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues [or forces] of life.” Your spirit is where your life is! When it gets weak—when the spiritual forces like faith and healing that are supposed to flow out of it begin to dry up—your soul and body become weak as well. On the other hand, when your spirit is strong and healthy your soul and body are enlivened. The physical part of you is quickened because your heart is pumping out the forces of life. Don’t Just Remember It—Feed on It What is it that keeps your spirit strong and healthy so those forces can keep pumping? The WORD of God! It’s spirit food. It nourishes your inner man just as physical food nourishes your body. The more you feed on The WORD, the more you attend to it and incline your ear toward it, the more abundantly the forces of life keep flowing. The more you keep The WORD before your eyes and in the midst of your heart, the more life and health can be ministered to your flesh. Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.... It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (Matthew 4:4; John 6:63). So, The WORD is the answer to every situation. It’s the first place you turn when symptoms of sickness come on you. Even before you start praying, open your Bible. Read what it says about health and healing. Then pray God’s WORD back to Him. Remind Him of what He’s already said and receive it by faith. Once you’ve done that, keep looking at The WORD. Stop looking at symptoms and practice envisioning yourself without them. Particularly if it’s a situation you’ve been dealing with for a while, set aside some time to just sit and meditate on the healing scriptures. Take verses like 1 Peter 2:24 and say, “LORD, I believe this. Now help me with my imagination so that I can see myself walking in it. Help me see myself healed.” * * * * article continues on p.8 * * * * ****************************************** VICTORIOUS LIVING by Gloria Copeland The Sure Path to Promotion “Servants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not only when their eyes are on you as pleasers of men, but in simplicity of purpose [with all your heart] because of your reverence for the Lord and as a sincere expression of your devotion to Him.” Colossians 3:22, Amplified Bible, Classic Edition _________________ You may not realize it, but if you’re a born-again believer, you have a quality within you that is in great demand in the world today. It’s a quality employers prize so highly that they’ll promote people who have it—and often pay top dollar for it. It’s a quality so valuable it can make you a success in every area of your life. What quality could possibly be so precious? The quality of faithfulness. Employers are desperate for faithful people. The world is full of employees who will just do enough to keep from getting fired. It’s full of people who may come to work—and may not. That’s how worldly people are! But it’s a treasure for employers to find a person who works wholeheartedly at his job, who is trustworthy and dependable and honest. So when an employer finds a person like that, he’s usually eager to promote him. The fact is, every believer ought to be that kind of person. Each one of us should live a lifestyle of faithfulness. As Ken says, we should make it a lifestyle to do what’s right, because it’s right. Anything less is disobedience to God’s Word. We should follow Colossians 3:22-24. It’s God’s instruction for employees. Ken and I have seen some of the staff members in our ministry take that attitude and, as a result, be promoted again and again. One man started out with the job of duplicating tapes for us, but over the years he was so faithful that he eventually became the director over the business affairs of the entire ministry. You may think, Well, that wouldn’t work in my case. My boss is an unfair man. He wouldn’t reward my faithfulness. That’s no problem. The Scripture doesn’t say your reward will come from your employer. It says your reward will come from the Lord! You see, God has established a principle of sowing and reaping in the earth—and that principle is always at work (Galatians 6:7). If you plant faithfulness in your job, you will receive blessing in return—even if that blessing means a different but better job. So make up your mind to put your whole heart into your work, no matter how menial or unpleasant it may seem to be. Do it well. Do it with a smile and an attitude of enthusiasm and say, “Lord, You know I am believing for another job. And I am sowing faithfulness into this job as seed for a better job.” I guarantee you, a better job will soon come along. V ********************* BVOV : 7

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