BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Fresno State. Driven to succeed, he dabbled in steroids. He drove across the border and bought them over the counter in Tijuana. Back home, he gave them to his teammates and took them himself. Somewhere along the line, James heard one of his teammates share the gospel while in the locker room. James had never heard it before. He prayed the sinner's prayer— adding Jesus to his life, but never really letting Jesus be his life. He hoped Jesus would help him get into the NFL. Now, standing there in his parents' home, he knew his life was out of control. Having just scored cocaine and marijuana, James was enjoying a one-man party. When had he become that guy? Picking a Side "Back at Fresno State to start a new semester, a guy on the team who'd been trying to get me to go to a Bible study invited me again," James recalls. "This time I said yes. I'd figured some things out about myself. I could either be all-in for the things of God, or I could be all-in as a sinner. I wasn't a middle-of-the-road kind of guy. "During the Bible study, I made a public declaration that I was dedicating my life to Jesus. That I was going to live for Him completely. I was in my apartment one night not long afterward when I had a vision. I saw the Lord. He said, 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel.' That's when I knew I'd been called to preach. "Diˆerent ministers began calling me out at meetings and confirming the call on my life. I found a church and started working for a Christian businessman. The first time he picked me up for work, he had a tape series in the front seat by Kenneth E. Hagin. The title of the series was How You Can Write Your Ticket With God. "I'd heard it called 'name it and claim it.' I said, 'Oh, you listen to that positive confession stuˆ ?' He began walking me through the Word of God. He spoon-fed me, answering all my questions about healing, prosperity and faith. "During that time, I came across a book by T.L. Osborn called Healing the Sick. The things I read in that book were confirmed in Scripture. I realized that I'd changed. Before, I had a passion for football. Now I had a passion for ministry. I spent a minimum of six hours a day reading the Bible. "I realized that common themes in the Bible included the power of the tongue, your words and the power of God's spoken Word. That same man shared more tapes with me by Kenneth E. Hagin and Kenneth Copeland." A Divine Appointment In 1988, James met a young woman at church named Terry Tyler. Terry's life had been the polar opposite of his. The youngest of five siblings, she had been nine months old when her birth mother lost custody of Terry and her siblings. Since there was no o–cial foster care system back then, they'd been placed in a juvenile detention center. A family God had told to start a Christian home for children and a Christian school, found them and gave them a home. All five children were taught to play musical instruments. When Terry was in grade school, they traveled across the country. Known as the Tyler Kids, they played and sang to the Lord. Their foster mother, the only real mother they'd ever known, made sure the kids held no grudge against their birth mother. She never said a negative word against her. Quite the opposite, she assured them that their birth mother only wanted the best for them. She even sent their birth mother school pictures and encouraged her to visit. Over the years, she visited at least 10 times. A strong athlete, Terry never had any interest in parties, drugs or alcohol—the things James had clung to growing up. Not caring to be like her peers, she had one goal and one goal only: to serve the Lord. Learning To Live by Faith "The faith message was new to me," Terry says, although just before she left for college, her mother introduced her to a book by Francis P. Martin called Hung by the Tongue. It was from that book Terry began getting bits and pieces of the faith message. She also learned a lot about faith while dating James. "Let me explain what dating him was like," 1 2 : B V O V NOV READ THROUGH THE BIBLE Old Testament New Testament Wed 1 Jer. 33-35 Jas. 1 Thu 2 Jer. 36:1-38:13 Jas. 2 Fri 3 Jer. 38:14-41:18 Jas. 3 Sat 4 Jer. 42-44 Sun 5 Ps. 119:137-176; Prov. 27:23-28:14 Mon 6 Jer. 45:1-48:25 Jas. 4 Tue 7 Jer. 48:26-49:39 Jas. 5 Wed 8 Jer. 50:1-51:19 1 Pet. 1 Thu 9 Jer. 51:20-52:23 1 Pet. 2 Fri 10 Jer. 52:24- 1 Pet. 3 Lam. 2:22 Sat 11 Lam. 3 Sun 12 Ps. 120-126; Prov. 28:15-28 Mon 13 Lam. 4:1-Ezek. 1:21 1 Pet. 4 Tue 14 Ezek. 1:22-4:17 1 Pet. 5 Wed 15 Ezek. 5-7 2 Pet. 1 Thu 16 Ezek: 8:1-11:13 2 Pet. 2 Fri 17 Ezek. 11:14-13:23 2 Pet. 3 Sat 18 Ezek. 14:1-16:34 Sun 19 Ps. 127-132; Prov. 29:1-14 Mon 20 Ezek. 16:35-18:9 1 Jn. 1 Tue 21 Ezek. 18:10-20:32 1 Jn. 2 Wed 22 Ezek. 20:33-22:16 1 Jn. 3 Thu 23 Ezek. 22:17-23:49 1 Jn. 4 Fri 24 Ezek. 24-26 1 Jn. 5 Sat 25 Ezek. 27-28 Sun 26 Ps. 133-136; Prov. 29:15-27 Mon 27 Ezek. 29-31 2 Jn. Tue 28 Ezek. 32-33 3 Jn. Wed 29 Ezek. 34:1-36:15 Jude Thu 30 Ezek. 36:16-38:17 Rev. 1

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