BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

VOL. 51 : N o 2 : IN PRINT SINCE '73 INSIDE FEB Editor's Letter Innocent, Even When Guilty! "You got what you deserved!" I don't know the number of times I heard that growing up, especially living in a household with four siblings—all boys! Children have a tendency to want to "run and tell mom" whenever a sibling does something to them that they don't like. They look to mom to correct the situation—to come to their defense. But when the truth comes out, and it's determined that they were actually the cause of the trouble, there is no defending. Instead, coming from mom they hear a stern chastisement that goes something like, "Well, baby, you got what you deserved." Getting what we deserve. That's the way the world's system most often handles situations when the time comes to mete out justice. Or, at least, that's how our judicial system is designed to work. "Innocent until proven guilty" is how it's described. Thankfully, our heavenly Father doesn't copy the world's way of doing things when it comes to dealing with us when we've done wrong. If that were the case, we'd all have been punished in some way by now. Instead, God's judicial system is based on love, mercy and grace. When we go to Him in sincere repentance, seeking His forgiveness for whatever wrong we've done, God declares us "innocent, even when guilty." Psalm 103:8-11, New Living Translation, says: "The LORD is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth." We all make mistakes—some worse than others. And sometimes we really do deserve to be punished. Thankfully, God doesn't see it that way. If we are willing to acknowledge our wrong; ask His forgiveness; and turn from wrongdoing to love, obey and serve Him, God will wipe our slate clean (1 John 1:9). Rather than giving us what we deserve, He will forgive our sin, and act as though it never happened. Wrong is wrong. No one is ever given a license to commit sin. But it's comforting to know that when we do mess up, we can turn to a loving God who will pardon rather than punish us. He will declare us innocent, even when we're actually guilty. Ronald C. Jordan Managing Editor Managing Editor 4 Listen When You Pray by Kenneth Copeland 10 Rest In Troubled Times by Melanie Hemry 18 The Freedom That Comes From Forgiveness by Richard Roberts 22 Shake It Off! by Dennis Burke 26 Seek and You Will Find by Gloria Copeland 10 4 26 "In three years I went from working at a bakery and making minimum wage to becoming a corporate financial relationship counselor and earning $120,000." — DaVon Alexander W hen The LOR D f irst spoke to us about sta r ting the Believer's Voice of Victory magazine, He sa id: This is your seed . G ive it to everyone who ever responds to your ministry, and don't ever allow anyone to pay for a subscription to it. For 50 yea rs it has been our joy to bring you good news through the teachings of ministers who write out of living contact with God, a nd the testimonies of believers who took God at His WORD a nd experienced His victor y in ever yday life. —Kenneth & Gloria Copeland Believer's Voice of Victory is published monthly by Eagle Mountain International Church Inc./ Kenneth Copeland Ministries, a nonprofi t corporation, Fort Worth, Texas. © 2022 Eagle Mountain International Church Inc. aka Kenneth Copeland Ministries. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is prohibited. Believer's Voice of Victory and the JESUS IS LORD globe logo are registered trademarks of Eagle Mountain International Church Inc./Kenneth Copeland Ministries. Printing and distribution costs are paid for by donations from KCM Partners and Friends. Printed in the United States of America. Because all Believer's Voice of Victory issues are preplanned, we are unable to accept unsolicited manuscripts. Director of Communications/ Laura O'Brien Managing Editor/Ronald C. Jordan Writers/Melanie Hemry Gina Lynnes Christopher Maselli Gena Maselli Proofreaders/Jean DeLong Michelle Harris Karen Wirkkala Senior Designer/Michael Augustat Project Manager/Deborah Brister Type Coordinator/Joyce Glasgow Pass this magazine on to a family member or friend. kcm.org/magazine-signup Spanish edition es.kcm.org/LVVC Get your free magazine @Copelandnetwork

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