BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

3 0 : B V O V This New York Times bestseller unlocks the secrets of true living. Discover the 10 keys God taught Gloria Copeland that will deliver you from sickness, poverty, distress and trouble of every kind. Find out how you can live a successful and prosperous life by practicing the same biblical principles. God's Master Plan for Your Life by Gloria Copeland righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:33, NKJV). You Can't Live Without It According to the Amplifi ed Bible, Classic Edition, when God says, "Seek My face," He means "inquire for and require My presence as your vital need." A vital need is something we can't live without. People who think they can live without seeking God are greatly mistaken. Without God, they're just existing. They're totally missing out on real, abundant life. Once we, as believers, fully understand this, we'll get serious about seeking God. Once we realize it takes the wisdom and knowledge of God for us to live a truly blessed life, we'll fi nd time to search out that wisdom, no matter how busy we are. We'll get up early in the morning to spend time with the Lord or we'll go to bed a little later and seek Him at night. We'll even turn o the television. (Think of that!) We'll do whatever we have to do. Obviously, it's going to take some e ort. We can't just be casual Christians and fi nd the fullness of God's wisdom and plan for our lives. We can't just show up at church once a week, sing some songs and listen to a sermon. Going to church is good, and any measure of seeking God will bring us a certain amount of blessing. But if we want to live in power and victory, if we want to operate in the gifts of the Spirit and see miracles in our lives, seeking God must be our No. 1 priority. That's true whether you're the president of the United States, waiting tables or scrubbing fl oors. To be a success, you must make a lifestyle of going after God for yourself. You must be determined to get to know Him personally and fi nd out what He has to say. Be willing to seek…and seek…and seek. Exactly what does it mean to seek something? According to the dictionary, it means "to try to fi nd, to search for, to look for, to explore, to ask, inquire for, to learn, discern, try to acquire, aim at and pursue." That defi nition, by itself, gives us a lot to think about. But the Hebrew defi nition for the word seek adds another dimension. I discovered that defi nition when I was reading a book by a Jewish rabbi who became interested in what the Old Testament said about the Messiah. He went to various Jewish scholars and teachers and asked them about the subject, but they wouldn't talk to him about it. Finally, after he became a rabbi himself, he decided he would do his own scriptural study on the Messiah. He discovered many scriptures that instruct God's people to seek or search for Him. I learned from the rabbi that in Hebrew, the word seek actually means "to research." So the rabbi decided to do exactly that. He studied the Bible and researched every Old Testament scripture he could fi nd about the Messiah. Do you know what happened? That rabbi researched the Messiah…and found Him. He ended up receiving Jesus as Messiah and was born again. Even though you and I are already believers, we can do the same thing the rabbi did. We can research God and get to know Him better. The more of Him we seek, the more of Him we'll fi nd. Where do we do our research? First and foremost, we go to the Bible. When you see the word seek, think "research." I think the word research best describes what it takes to walk with God. It helps you to get hold of what seek really means. It is the best word for what it takes to live victoriously in the earth. That is what Ken and I have done for more than 40 years. We research God. The more we research, the more victory we fi nd. There's nothing in your life more essential than knowing what the Bible says because it's the revelation of God to you. God speaks and shows Himself to you primarily through His written Word. It's the key to connecting with God's will for your life. It's the place you'll fi nd your Master Plan. The Bible doesn't have your name specifi cally written in it. It doesn't spell out what vocation you should choose. It doesn't tell you whom you should marry and how many children you should have. But, even so, if you'll do what it says, step by step, the plan God has for your life will begin to unfold in your heart and before your very eyes. This article is adapted from the New York Times bestselling book by Gloria Copeland, God's Master Plan for Your Life. To order your copy, see the ad on this page. KCM.ORG/MAG 1-800-600-7395 (U.S. only) FREE standard shipping included. Offer price valid until Feb. 28, 2023 hardback $ 12 99 reg. $14.99 #B230102

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