BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

to our spirit man through the Holy Spirit. The desire to honor Him rises up through His life in us. As you get into His WORD, and allow it to get on the inside of you, as you allow it to become you, honor will well up in you so full, you'll have no desire to walk in anything else. Your spirit will experience conviction about the smallest of commitments. You'll become so tuned to His WORD and His Spirit that you will become honorable in everything. As you become honorable you will speak the truth. You will take your words seriously. You will never distort the truth or speak idle words. You will be able to make commitments and keep them. You will be able to be faithful. You will act with the utmost of integrity. You won't want to say anything else, because Matthew 5:37 says all else proceeds from evil. Next, seek honor from God only. Jesus did not play the honor game. "I receive not honour from men.... I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?" (John 5:41-44). The honor game gives each other "honor" or medals or titles in order to boost one's own sense of self-worth. It is saying you'll do something to please men, to please their ears. It makes vain commitments for fear of what men will think. It is a dishonor to God, however, to seek the honor of others rather than that which comes only from The LORD. I made a decision a long time ago to walk in the honor that comes from God. I made a choice to stand on my word, and His WORD, and to walk in integrity. I made a choice to please Him and not men⎯at any cost. I made a choice to stand and not fall...and I'm still standing. You can keep standing, too. Think about it. Pray about it. Then choose the honor that comes from God. When God honors you, what di erence does it make what anyone else thinks? Your word and your commitments will be as good as His⎯He guarantees it. He's given you His WORD. B V O V : 9 You may not realize it, but if you're a born-again believer, you have a quality within you that is in great demand in the world today. It's a quality employers prize so highly that they'll promote people who have it—and often pay top dollar for it. It's a quality so valuable it can make you a success in every area of your life. What quality could possibly be so precious? The quality of faithfulness. Employers are desperate for faithful people. The world is full of employees who will just do enough to keep from getting red. It's full of people who may come to work—and may not. That's how worldly people are! But it's a treasure for employers to nd a person who works wholeheartedly at his job, who is trustworthy and dependable and honest. So when an employer nds a person like that, he's usually eager to promote him. The fact is, every believer ought to be that kind of person. Each one of us should live a lifestyle of faithfulness. As Ken says, we should make it a lifestyle to do what's right, because it's right. Anything less is disobedience to God's Word. We should follow Colossians 3:22-24. It's God's instruction for employees. Ken and I have seen some of the staff members in our ministry take that attitude and, as a result, be promoted again and again. One man started out with the job of duplicating tapes for us, but over the years he was so faithful that he eventually became the director over the business affairs of the entire ministry. You may think, Well, that wouldn't work in my case. My boss is an unfair man. He wouldn't reward my faithfulness. That's no problem. The Scripture doesn't say your reward will come from your employer. It says your reward will come from the Lord! You see, God has established a principle of sowing and reaping in the earth—and that principle is always at work (Galatians 6:7). If you plant faithfulness in your job, you will receive blessing in return— even if that blessing means a different but better job. So make up your mind to put your whole heart into your work, no matter how menial or unpleasant it may seem to be. Do it well. Do it with a smile and an attitude of enthusiasm and say, "Lord, You know I am believing for another job. And I am sowing faithfulness into this job as seed for a better job." I guarantee you, a better job will soon come along. The Sure Path to Promotion "Servants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not only when their eyes are on you as pleasers of men, but in simplicity of purpose [with all your heart] because of your reverence for the Lord and as a sincere expression of your devotion to Him." B V O V : 9 The Scripture doesn't say your reward will come from your employer. It says your reward will come from the Lord! Colossians 3:22, Amplified Bible, Classic Edition by Gloria Copeland

• Cover