BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

* * * * article from p. 26 continues * * * * Even though we have the Holy Spirit within and are empowered by grace to do what God says, all too often God still has trouble getting Christians to obey Him. He still finds Himself stretching out His hands to contrary people who, while they claim to love Him, won’t honor Him by doing what He says. As a result, He’s not been able to do for them all He desires. “Well,” someone might say, “I don’t always have to do what God says in order to honor Him. I can love Him and still choose sometimes to do things my own way.” Not according to Jesus. He told us that love for God and obedience to Him are inseparable. “Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me,” He said, and “anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching” (John 14:21, 24, "New International Version"). God makes this point very vividly in the book of Jeremiah. After telling His people over and over through Jeremiah, “Hearken! Hearken! Hearken to the Word of the Lord!” He sent Jeremiah to a particular family of Israelites and instructed him to tell them (oddly enough) to go to the Temple and drink wine. The family refused. “We don't drink wine,” they said, “because Jehonadab son of Rekab, our ancestor commanded us not to. He promised if we followed that command that we would live long, good lives in the land. So we have obeyed him.” (See Jeremiah 35:6-8, "NIV") "Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying…Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will ye not receive instruction to hearken to my words?... The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are performed; for unto this day they drink none, but obey their father's commandment: notwithstanding I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye hearkened not unto me. I have sent also unto you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return ye now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings…and ye shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers: but ye have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened unto me" (verses 12-15). From Down and Out to Up on Top Notice in that passage both the Rechabite’s’ father and God gave a command and made a promise. They said, “Hearken to what I say, and you’ll enjoy your Promised Land. Listen and obey, and your lives will be good and you’ll be BLESSED.” God is still saying that to us today! It’s what turned life around for Ken and me all those years ago. Desperate for help from God, we simply started hearkening to His Word and acting on it. We started listening to Him and doing what He said to do. Right away, our lives began to change. We began moving out of poverty and debt and into prosperity. We went from being failures to experiencing the kind of victory and success that only God can provide. Over the years, we’ve seen the same thing happen to countless others. We’ve known people in terrible situations, facing everything from business fiascos to deadly illnesses in their body, with seemingly no way out. Yet when they began to hearken to God and His Word, the seemingly impossible happened. They were delivered. They were healed. They went from being down and out of options to being up on top and thoroughly BLESSED. If God had His way, every one of His children would have that testimony. He’s wanted to lift us up and make us a BLESSING to the whole earth ever since the days of Abraham. He just needs us to cooperate with Him and allow Him to do it. 28 : BVOV

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