BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

When the “shelter-in” order was first issued, I said to my husband, Dennis: “I’ve been ‘sheltered in’ the secret place of the Almighty for 50 years!” I thought it was great that the unbelieving world was using words the Church could agree with. Then I said, “This is our finest hour. When the world has gone completely crazy with fear, hopelessness and despair, we have the answer!” It’s Not a Cliché, It’s the Truth! It’s not a cliché to say Jesus is The Answer to all the issues facing us today. It’s absolutely the truth! But if we make a habit of listening to the world’s voice, we won’t see what God is doing. One of my favorite scriptures, Jeremiah 17:5-6, makes this very point: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the LORD. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited” ("New King James Version"). You may say your heart hasn’t departed from the Lord. But if you’re looking and listening more to the world’s report about current events than to what the Word of God has to say, this verse says you won’t even see good when it comes! Good things are happening right now, during these times of unrest and uncertainty. Can you see the good things God is doing, or are you too focused on the problems you’re facing? In contrast, those who rely on God have quite a different outcome! The Bible goes on to say in verses 7-8, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.” Look at the results of those who put their hope in God. They flourish even in a drought! Rather than not seeing when good comes, they don’t see when the heat comes. Instead of being like shrubs inhabiting parched places in the wilderness, they are like trees with deep roots planted near the river that never stop yielding fruit throughout times of heat and drought. What a way to live! If that’s not what you’re experiencing, it certainly can be. As Christians, we must not get caught up in what the current-day doomsayers are saying. We must recognize the unrest, hatred and antichrist spirit for what it is: a fearful response of the kingdom of darkness. This level of disturbance in the natural realm reflects the activity in the spirit realm, as Satan’s forces seek to thwart the plan of God and disrupt the great, last days outpouring of the Spirit that looms on the horizon. When there is the level of unrest in the natural that’s on full display in this present hour, you can be sure there is much activity in the spirit. These times can be somewhat likened to the decade of the ’60s. Up to that time, there had never been so much turmoil concentrated in one decade in the United States. It included: • Four prominent assassinations: John Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X • The Watts riots and looting • The forming of the Black Panthers • The Cuban missile crisis • Civil rights protests • Freedom Riders • Drug and hippy movement • Peaceful protests turned violent • The Vietnam War—unlike any other war in history 12 : BVOV

• Cover