BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

when you live by faith, there is always a time of patiently waiting for God's promises to be realized in your life, it is possible to speed things up a great deal. If you're a wise spiritual farmer, you can shorten the time between seed planting and harvest! How? By carefully tending the soil of your heart. When you think about it, that just makes good sense. After all, no farmer just sows seed in the ground and leaves it there untended. Even in the natural world there's no such thing as an e– ortless harvest. If you want a good crop, you fertilize the ground. You water it. You keep the weeds out. Beware of Vain Amusements The same thing is true in the realm of the spirit. There are some things you have to do if you want your faith to produce e– ectively. What are those things? I can sum them up in two words: Sanctify yourself. Sanctify is a scriptural word that means "to separate yourself " in two ways: 1) from the things of the world; and 2) to the things of God. Some Christians don't want to do that. They want to go the places worldly people go, watch the things they watch, spend their time the same way other people spend their time—and still reap a harvest of blessings. But I can tell you, that's not going to happen. We live in a world that is going the opposite direction from the Spirit of God. On every hand, things are getting darker. Things that wouldn't have been said or done in public 25 years ago are now being said and done every night on prime-time television. We have come to that time Paul was referring to when he said to Timothy: But understand this, that in the last days will come (set in) perilous times of great stress and trouble [hard to deal with and hard to bear]. For people will be lovers of self and [utterly] self-centered, lovers of money and aroused by an inordinate [greedy] desire for wealth, proud and arrogant and contemptuous boasters. They will be abusive ( blasphemous, sco˜ ng), disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy and profane. [They will be] without natural [human] a– ection (callous and inhuman), relentless (admitting of no truce or appeasement); [they will be] slanderers (false accusers, troublemakers), intemperate and loose in morals and conduct, uncontrolled and fi erce, haters of good. [They will be] treacherous [ betrayers], rash [and] infl ated with self- conceit. [They will be] lovers of sensual pleasures and vain amusements more than and rather than lovers of God (2 Timothy 3:1-4, Amplifi ed Bible, Classic Edition). Break the Habit Those verses accurately describe the way the world is going. But you're not of the world. If you're born again, you're not to conform to the image of this world, you're to conform to the image of Jesus. That means your lifestyle shouldn't be the "normal" lifestyle of this world. Now, I'm not just saying you shouldn't be involved in gross sin. That is true, of course. But the things of the world that trip up most believers are more subtle. Many of them would fall into the category of "vain amusements." For example, I think one of the worst enemies to the growth of God's people today is the television—that box that's always ready to show us adultery, sin, murder and bad news. Of course, we don't necessarily intend to watch those kinds of things. It's just that at those times when we want to relax, when we don't want to have to think—the television is right there for us. We can just turn it on and let it feed us. It requires no e– ort on our part. What's more, it's addictive. Some people can't go 10 days without their television fi x. But you can unplug it for a few weeks and break that addiction. In fact, you'd be amazed at how e– ective that one decision could be in revolutionizing your life. I'm not telling you it's wrong to watch TV. But I am telling you this: You can't feed constantly on its junk and expect your spirit to be ready to manifest the power of God. 2 6 : B V O V The fruit of the spirit are powerful spiritual forces. More than just nice Christian character traits, they're supernatural powerhouses— expressions of the might of God Himself that make us more than conquerors in every situation! Each fruit equips us with an aspect of divine power that enables us to meet the challenges of life and come through in victory. Walking in the Fruit of the Spirit by Gloria Copeland paperback Even in the natural world there's no such thing as an e– ortless harvest. If you want a good crop, you fertilize the ground. You water it. You keep the weeds out. Beware of Vain Amusements spirit. There are some things you have to do if you want your faith to produce e– ectively. What are those things? I can sum them up in two words: Sanctify yourself. Sanctify "to separate yourself " in two ways: 1) the things of the world; and 2) of God. The fruit of the spirit are powerful spiritual forces. Live The Overcoming Life KCM.ORG/MAG 1-800-600-7395 (U.S. only) FREE standard shipping included. Offer price valid through June 30, 2024 $ 14 99 reg.19.99 #B240601

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