BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Hot-Rod Heaven My daddy was a hot-rodder. He raced automobiles and rode motorcycles. He represented everything I wanted to be. I had a need for speed and my daddy saw to it I got it—from the fastest bicycles and go-carts to the meanest motorcycles and hot rods—all my life! I grew up on a racetrack, and that was my world. I loved the noise, the smell, the dirt and clay flying—man, that was living! Carolyn, on the other hand, hated it. She thought it was of the devil. Her whole life centered on God and church, and if I wanted to date her, I had to go to church. I hated that! The first time I took her to a racetrack, my dad saw her up in the stands with her hands over her ears, and he said to me, “Son, your racing days are over. I can tell by the look on Carolyn’s face, she’s going to pray all this out of you.” When I came to the Lord, I wanted to show God He was No. 1 in my life. At the time I had two ’36 Ford coupes, a ’39 Chevy pickup, and a ’69 Triumph Bonneville. I gave them all up. God didn’t make me. It was my choice. About 10 years later a man came to me and said his family had been so blessed by our ministry he prayed and asked God how he could bless me personally. He said God told him to buy me a motorcycle. I told him I appreciated it, but no thanks, that wasn’t part of my life anymore. He said, “Well, I guess I can hear God as good as you can.” I said, “Excuse me. I’ll be right back.” I walked away and asked the Lord about it. He said, 'I told him to buy you a motorcycle because I know I can trust you with it now and it won’t come between you and Me. I also know it will bring you joy; and if it brings you joy, it will bring Me joy. Thirdly, I want you to turn your former passion into a tool for evangelism.' I told the man, “You have heard from God. Bring me my motorcycle.” That bike did bring me great joy, and it was used mightily as an evangelistic tool. I later established Chariots of Light motorcycle club and we have chapters all over the world, and we’ve won thousands to Christ every year through this powerful tool. It’s the result of God’s nature of giving! His nature is abundance! He’s not the God who takes away; He’s the God who gives. Proverbs 10:22 says, “The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich….” One of the major characteristics of the blessing of God on a person’s life is increase. In Psalm 23 David said, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.… My cup runneth over.” That’s overflow! Remember when Jesus fed the 5,000? The Bible tells us after they were full, there were 12 baskets left over. That’s abundance! Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were all prosperous in land and cattle. David took millions from his own personal treasury to build the Temple. Job was the richest man in the East. The book of Acts tells us the Apostle Paul traveled around the known world three times. This is the same man who wrote in Philippians 4:12, “I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound.” Blessed to Be a Blessing Psalm 65:11 says, “Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness.” In Hebrew the word fatness is translated abundance. That’s God’s nature. Deuteronomy 28:11 says, “And the Lord shall make you have a surplus of prosperity...” "Amplified Bible, Classic Edition"). That’s one of the blessings of Abraham. Surplus means “more than enough, overflowing and abundance.” It means you’ve got so much left over that you can now help meet the needs of others! Expect to be blessed! We are blessed to be a blessing. We are distribution centers for God. We don’t consume all the blessing upon ourselves. We distribute and keep it flowing. We’re givers. That’s who we are. That’s what we do. It’s our nature. V Jerry Savelle is president and founder of Jerry Savelle Ministries International and founder of Heritage of Faith Christian Center. For information or ministry materials, visit jerrysavelle.org. BVOV : 23

• Cover