BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

“Paul learned to be content whatever state he was in,” Christy says. “So did I. I knew I had an addiction the Lord was dealing with in me. I was in the process of getting healed. If I’d divorced Tom then, I knew I would have been right back in an unhealthy relationship. The Greatest Offense “Tom never used street drugs. He faked sickness to get strong narcotics from doctors. Once, while he was in the hospital, I was struggling to learn what I should and shouldn’t say. I didn’t tell the doctors that he was an addict.” One day his doctor pulled me aside. “Is your husband a drug addict?” “Why do you ask?” “Because we’ve given him enough morphine to kill 10 men, but he’s watching the clock for his next dose. His tolerance is too high. We’re ordering a psychiatric evaluation and a chemical dependency evaluation.” Tom refused both evaluations and every offer of help. Christy was sitting in the hospital waiting room when she heard the Lord speak: 'You’ve done all you can. I release you.' Jake had been 9 months old when Christy filed for divorce. Two years later, he was dead. “The morning after Jake died, I woke up with supernatural joy,” Christy remembers. “I knew that the only way I could keep that joy was to give it away. I couldn’t go back to being an angry, bitter woman. I had learned to live free and I wasn’t willing to give it up. All that practice forgiving Tom day after day had led to this moment when I had to choose to forgive the greatest offense ever: Even though he was responsible for the death of our son, I chose to forgive. Difficult Days “Following the divorce, I was prideful about my ability to spot red flags and recognize character instead of charm. I thought I could date anyone and just guard my heart. That was a big mistake, because I met the devil in blue jeans and was addicted to him from the start. He was everything I thought I wanted in a man, but nothing that I needed. “I’d also been asked out by John Johnson, who was a wonderful, Christian man. When the devil in blue jeans called to ask me out, I was honest with John. I told him about my journey to freedom and said I needed to see if I could get free. John was kind, understanding…and he prayed for me. “One evening John and I prayed together. During that prayer, God knit my heart with John’s. I felt love like I’d never known. I sensed that I had to protect this love and not take advantage of it. I broke up with the devil in blue jeans and never saw him again. “That doesn’t mean it was easy. When I was tempted and struggling with memories, I told John and he prayed with me. God taught me how to put up good boundaries and avoid traps. He taught me that there were things I didn’t ever need to remember—I had to retrain my brain. I had to learn to take my thoughts captive. If a song came on the radio that I danced to with someone in the past, I changed the station. “I think shame is contagious. If I’d still been ashamed about my past when I talked about it with John, it might not have gone so well. But I don’t wear shame. I was the woman at the well. We were both what I call “love junkies.” But when we encountered Jesus, everything changed. “The teachings I learned from KCM helped me get free and stay free. Too often the Word of God gets watered down, but Kenneth and Gloria taught the whole truth and nothing but the truth—and it set me free. I also found that the Copelands’ faith was contagious. I remember when they first began believing for a million Partners. That seemed so big, and it helped me stretch what I was believing God to do in my life.” A Healthy Marriage In 1999, John and Christy were married. The first two years of their marriage, they read Kenneth and Gloria’s devotional book "Pursuit of His Presence" every day and discussed it. They devoured the "BVOV" magazine each month. John had so much compassion for Tom that he helped him as much as possible. For many years, before Tom died in 2018, John would invite him to their home for the holidays to be with his children. Although Christy and John never stopped praying for him, Tom never kicked his drug habit. John and Christy Johnson have enjoyed a glorious marriage now for 21 years. During that time, the vision Christy saw more than 30 years ago has come to pass. Today, she is a life coach, helping countless women get out of despair and live soul-healthy lives. In addition, she has written two books: "Love Junkies" and "Free Looks Good on You." Finally, Christy is fulfilling the call of God on her life and setting the captives free. V Editor’s Note: To learn more about Christy’s story, go to christyjohnson.org. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Join John & Christy in teaching believers how to use their faith. KCM.ORG/PARTNERNOW ****************************************** ****************************************** ****************************************** JANUARY Read Through the Bible Old Testament / New Testament Fri 1 Gen. 1:1-3:7 / Matt. 1 Sat 2 Gen. 3:8-5:20 Sun 3 Ps. 1-5; Prov. 1:1-19 Mon 4 Gen. 5:21-8:5 / Matt. 2 Tue 5 Gen. 8:6-10:19 / Matt. 3 Wed 6 Gen. 10:20-12:20 / Matt. 4 Thu 7 Gen. 13-15 / Matt. 5 Fri 8 Gen. 16:1-18:21 Matt. 6 Sat 9 Gen. 18:22-20:13 Sun 10 Ps. 6-9; Prov. 1:20-33 Mon 11 Gen. 20:14-22:24 / Matt. 7 Tue 12 Gen. 23:1-24:49 / Matt. 8 Wed 13 Gen. 24:50-26:11 / Matt. 9 Thu 14 Gen. 26:12-27:40 / Matt. 10 Fri 15 Gen. 27:41-29:35 / Matt. 11 Sat 16 Gen. 30:1-31:21 Sun 17 Ps. 10-13; Prov. 2 Mon 18 Gen. 31:22-32:32 / Matt. 12 Tues 19 Gen 33:1-35:8 / Matt. 13 Wed 20 Gen. 35:9-36:43 / Matt. 14 Thu 21 Gen. 37-38 / Matt. 15 Fri 22 Gen. 39:1-41:13 / Matt. 16 Sat 23 Gen. 41:14-42:24 Sun 24 Ps. 14-17; Prov. 3:1-18 Mon 25 Gen. 42:25-44:17 / Matt. 17 Tue 26 Gen. 44:18-48:16 / Matt. 18 Wed 27 Gen. 48:17-50:26 / Matt. 19 Thu 28 Ex. 1:1-3:12 / Matt. 20 Fri 29 Ex. 3:13-5:21 / Matt. 21 Sat 30 Ex. 5:22-7:25 Sun 31 Ps. 18; Prov. 3:19-35 ****************************************** ****************************************** ****************************************** FEBRUARY Read Through the Bible Old Testament / New Testament Mon 1 Ex. 8-9 / Matt. 22 Tue 2 Ex. 10:1-12:28 / Matt. 23 Wed 3 Ex. 12:29-14:14 / Matt. 24 Thu 4 Ex. 14:15-16:21 / Matt. 25 Fri 5 Ex. 16:22-18:27 / Matt. 26 Sat 6 Ex. 19:1-21:11 Sun 7 Ps. 19-21; Prov. 4:1-19 Mon 8 Ex. 21:12-23:9 / Matt. 27 Tue 9 Ex. 23:10-25:22 / Matt. 28 Wed 10 Ex. 25:23-27:8 Mark 1 Thu 11 Ex. 27:9-29:9 / Mark 2 Fri 12 Ex. 29:10-30:21 / Mark 3 Sat 13 Ex. 30:22-32:29 Sun 14 Ps. 22-24; Prov. 4:20-5:14 Mon 15 Ex. 32:30-34:35 / Mark 4 Tue 16 Ex. 35:1-36:30 / Mark 5 Wed 17 Ex. 36:31-38:20 / Mark 6 Thu 18 Ex. 38:21-39:43 / Mark 7 Fri 19 Ex. 40:1-Lev. 2:10 / Mark 8 Sat 20 Lev. 2:11-4:35 Sun 21 Ps. 25-27; Prov. 5:15-23 Mon 22 Lev. 5:1-7:14 / Mark 9 Tue 23 Lev. 7:15-8:36 / Mark 10 Wed 24 Lev. 9:1-11:19 / Mark 11 Thur 25 Lev. 11:20-13:28 / Mark 12 Fri 26 Lev. 13:29-14:32 / Mark 13 Sat 27 Lev. 14:33-15:33 Sun 28 Ps. 28-31; Prov. 6:1-19 ******************************************** 28 : BVOV

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