BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

“These giants are going to kill us all,” they cried. “Forget Moses and this God he keeps talking about. Let’s pick another leader and go back to Egypt!” As a result, they wound up back in the wilderness. They had to wander around there for 40 years until all the Israelites who’d been 20 years old and over when they came out of Egypt were dead. God never gave up on His plan to bring His people into the Promised Land, though. In the wilderness He prepared for Himself a group of people who would believe and obey Him. He raised up a whole new generation of Israelites who’d never known any God but Him. I remember the first time this dawned on me. I was reading in Jeremiah 2 where God says to the prophet: “Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus says the Lord: I [earnestly] remember the kindness and devotion of your youth, your love after your betrothal [in Egypt] and marriage [at Sinai] when you followed Me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. Israel was holiness [something set apart from ordinary purposes, dedicated] to the Lord, the firstfruits of His harvest [of which no stranger was allowed to partake]” (verses 2-3, "Amplified Bible, Classic Edition"). Wait a minute! I thought. How can God possibly say those things about the Israelites He brought out of Egypt? They weren’t devoted and holy. They were unfaithful and rebellious. Then it hit me. God is referring in those verses to the generation of Israelites who were under 20 years old when they got to the wilderness. The generation that grew up there. That generation of Israelites was indeed “holiness to the Lord.” They’d never had the opportunity to worship the idols of Egypt. With no knowledge of the ways of the world, they’d never looked for provision, protection and direction from anyone but God. They’d been raised on the manna He poured out for them from heaven. They’d traveled around for years following the cloud and the fire of His presence. Those too young to remember all the signs and wonders God had done over the years heard stories about them time and again from their parents. They truly were a generation that had been separated to God…and they were the ones who would take the Promised Land. Big Enough to Finish the Job In those verses in Jeremiah 2, God refers to this generation of Israelites as His firstfruits. In the New Testament He refers to us, as believers, the same way. As His New Covenant, firstfruit people, we’re the group God has separated unto Himself and prepared to take the promised land. We’re the holy ones He’s raised up to walk out His ultimate last days plan. What is that plan? • For us to be “holy and without blame before Him in love…to the praise of the glory of His grace.” (Ephesians 1:4, 6, "NKJV") • For us to all come together “in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:13) • For us to “no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine…but, speaking the truth in love [to] grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ.” (verses 14-15, "NKJV") In other words, God’s plan is that we grow up to be living revelations of Jesus! That we give ourselves to Him so fully that when the world looks at us, they see His reflection. They see His love, His goodness, His abundant BLESSINGS, His righteousness, His glory and His resurrection life. I realize that may sound like a tall order. But God has been working on the Church for 2,000 years to get her there and He’s big enough to finish the job. We just need to cooperate with Him and avoid the mistake that first batch of Israelites made. Instead of letting unbelief stop us at the edge of the promised land, we need to press on in faith toward the prize of our high calling. Instead of giving in to the pull of the world, we need to exhort each other daily and say, “We’ve come this far, let’s not draw back now. Let’s lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and finish our race looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (see Hebrews 12:1-2). “But Gloria, what if I’ve tried really hard in the past to lay aside worldly habits and sins and I’ve failed?” Then stop trying so hard and instead focus on drawing near to Jesus! Staying in living contact with Him is the key to everything in the Christian life. The more you cultivate your union with Him, the easier it is for you to say yes to God and no to the flesh and the devil. The more you fellowship with the Lord in prayer and in the Word, the more His presence and His truth will separate you from the world and transform you into His likeness. BVOV : 29

• Cover