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Issue link: http://magazine.kcm.org/i/1487522
the one who is trying to steal from them and destroy them every time they turn around. God is endeavoring to bless us and give us abundant life. Jesus Himself told us that in John 10:10: "The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that [you] may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overfl ows)" (Amplifi ed Bible, Classic Edition). Jesus said if we would just connect with His plan by loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and love our neighbor as ourselves, we would live and "enjoy active, blessed, endless life in the kingdom of God" (Luke 10:28, AMPC). He didn't tell us that God would do bad things to His obedient children in order to teach them something. On the contrary, Jesus said: "Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?Or if he asks for a fi sh, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!" (Matthew 7:9-11, New King James Version). The Apostle Paul later echoed those truths when he wrote, "Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy" (1 Timothy 6:17, New King James Version). Clearly, God isn't the one trying to make us miserable. He isn't the one hounding us with sickness, lack and destruction. The Bible fl atly contradicts such thinking. It assures us that because we're His children and He is a loving Father, God wants us to enjoy life. He wants to give us good gifts. As 3 John 2 says, He wants us to prosper and be in health, even as [our] soul prospers. Don't Buy the Same Old Lie The devil, however, has been lying to God's people about Him since the world began. He's been talking them out of God's Master Plan by telling them that God can't be fully trusted, that He wants to rob them of the best life has to o er. Ever since the Garden of Eden, the devil has been slithering around telling people God isn't really good, after all. He's been saying, "If you'll just follow me, I'll show you a better way. I'll free you from the bondage of God's command so you can truly live the good life." That's what he told Adam and Eve. Amazingly enough, they believed it. That, in itself, is a marvel. After all, God had already demonstrated His goodness to them in every conceivable way. He had created a world for them where everything was good. He'd put them in a beautiful place where their every need was abundantly supplied. Their food grew on trees. They didn't have to sow or reap. They didn't even have to cook or wash dishes. Adam had a perfect wife. Eve had a perfect husband. There was no pain, sickness or grief in their lives. God had given them full fellowship with Him and complete dominion on the earth. His Master Plan for them was to enjoy His blessings, be fruitful, multiply and reign as kings over this planet. Talk about a great plan! What else could anyone want? But they let the devil deceive them out of it. Then listened to him when he told them the one command God had given them was meant to deprive instead of bless them. They believed God was trying to keep them from blessings by telling them not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They let the devil convince them he had a better plan. Before the day was out, Adam and Eve found out what his "better plan" included: spiritual death and separation from God, the darkness of sin, and the curse that comes with it. If Adam and Eve had chosen God's path, they would have never experienced sickness, sadness or death. There would have been no murder, homelessness or lack in their family, as they later experience. But they made the wrong choice. They stepped o God's shining path onto the devil's—a slippery slope that always leads to sorrow and death. That's the di erence between God's path and the devil's. The devil's path often looks 2 8 : B V O V JAN BVOV BROADCAST CALENDAR Sun., Jan. 1 God Is the Great BLESSING God Kenneth Copeland January 2-6 Knowing the Truth Makes You Free Part 1 Kenneth Copeland Sun., Jan. 8 God's WORD Is First Place, Final Authority Kenneth Copeland January 9-13 Knowing the Truth Makes You Free Part 2 Kenneth Copeland Sun., Jan. 15 Faith Activates the Power of God's WORD In You Kenneth Copeland January 16-20 Living in THE BLESSING System Kenneth Copeland Sun., Jan. 22 The Manifestations of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit Kenneth Copeland January 23-27 It Is Always God's Will to Heal Kenneth Copeland Sun., Jan. 29 Seven Core Values for a Victorious Life Kenneth Copeland Watch the Spanish broadcast Enlace or es.kcm.org WATCH ON Broadcasts subject to change without notice Daily broadcast: Mon. - Fri. 3 a.m. | 7 a.m. 11 a.m. | 7:30 p.m. | 10:30 p.m. Weekly broadcast: Sun. 6 a.m. | 8 p.m. also Mon. 4:30 p.m. | Sat. 7:30 a.m. | 8:30 p.m. ET C H A N N E L WATCH ON WATCH ON Daily broadcast: Mon. - Fri. 3 a.m. | 7 a.m. C H A N N E L Kenneth Copeland