BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

kids. Susan had an ex-husband and two kids. And there was more: J.B. was $246,000 in debt. He closed the book and thought about what it said. To be a Christian, you're supposed to be born again? Who knew? Radical Change "I read that book in January of 1978, and it changed my life," J.B. remembers. "Growing up, my family attended church now and then. When I was 15, my mother died, and my dad turned to alcohol. "During my senior year, I bailed him out of jail three times. The pastor took me under his wing. I wanted to be like him, so he pointed me to ministry. "Suddenly, I realized that I'd pastored two churches without knowing Jesus as my Savior. In addition to getting born again, the book said you should give Jesus all your problems. 'Visualize your problems in the palm of your hand,' the book said. 'Raise your hands to heaven, and then turn them over and shake them out.' "I said, 'Jesus, if You're real, I'm asking You to forgive me of my sins and come into my heart.' Then I took the debt, drugs and all my problems, and gave them to Him. Afterward, I felt 20 million pounds lighter." While J.B. had been a farm boy, Susan had been raised in country club circles. Her crazy cousin had given her that book, Hotline to Heaven, six years earlier. She'd talked about speaking in tongues, but Susan had never been interested. But now, sitting on the side of the bathtub smoking dope and drinking beer, she had bowed her head and invited Jesus into her heart. Looking up, she saw herself in the mirror. A halo glimmered around her head. Standing, she walked across the room. Leaning into the mirror, she looked again. The halo was still there. "Lord," she said, "if You'll heal J.B.'s ankle, I'll serve You for the rest of my life." It had only been two weeks since J.B. broke his ankle. But the cast was flopping around loosely. He called a friend who was a surgeon. The doctor cut off the cast and X-rayed the ankle. It was completely healed. Cleaning House Stunned, J.B. and Susan started attending church. One Sunday night, the pastor posed a question: "If Jesus came into your house, would there be anything that you'd be ashamed for Him to see?" On the way home Susan told J.B., "We're pouring all the beer down the drain. And we're going to flush the drugs." "Have you lost your mind? We'll drink the beer and smoke the pot. When it's all gone, we won't buy any more." "Nope," Susan said, "this is it. We're getting rid of the stuff tonight." That's what they did…and never missed it. J.B. had always thought the reason he'd left the ministry was that he only made $350 a month. Perhaps the real reason he hadn't been successful was that he wasn't saved. After leaving the ministry, he'd made a lot of money selling pianos and organs. He'd opened his own business in Hanes Mall in Winston- Salem, N.C. His venture into drugs and debt had all but collapsed the business. J.B. and Susan got saved in 1978. A few months later, they married. From the time he gave his heart to Jesus, J.B. had been more interested in getting people saved than anything else. When people came into the store, he would ask if they knew Jesus. He led many people to the Lord. In 1980, after committing to pay all his debts, J.B. closed the store. He took a job for a company that sold high-end pianos, organs and harps. His territory was the worst in sales in the nation. The Word of Faith That same year, a friend introduced them to the Holy Spirit and Kenneth Copeland Ministries. In 1981, J.B. and Susan attended one of the ministry's Believers' Conventions in Charlotte, N.C. A man named Jerry Savelle preached a message called "Sowing in Famine." He took up an offering, declaring that they could believe God for a hundredfold return that year. "We didn't have any money," Susan recalls. "I don't mean that we didn't have any on us. We didn't have any money, period. We didn't have any in our pockets or in the bank. We didn't even have a credit card. "So, J.B. wrote an IOU for $100 and put it in 1 6 : B V O V Old Testament New Testament MARCH READ THROUGH THE BIBLE Sat 1 Lev. 18:19-20:7 Sun 2 Ps. 28-31; Prov. 6:1-19 Mon 3 Lev. 20:8-22:25 Mark 16 Tue 4 Lev. 22:26-24:9 Luke 1 Wed 5 Lev. 24:10-25:46 Luke 2 Thu 6 Lev. 25:47-26:46 Luke 3 Fri 7 Lev. 27-Num. 1:29 Luke 4 Sat 8 Num. 1:30-3:4 Sun 9 Ps. 32-34; Prov. 6:20-7:5 Mon 10 Num. 3:5-4:16 Luke 5 Tue 11 Num. 4:17-5:31 Luke 6 Wed 12 Num. 6:1-7:35 Luke 7 Thu 13 Num. 7:36-8:4 Luke 8 Fri 14 Num. 8:5-10:13 Luke 9 Sat 15 Num. 10:14-11:35 Sun 16 Ps. 35-36; Prov. 7:6-23 Mon 17 Num. 12:1-14:10 Luke 10 Tue 18 Num. 14:11-15:31 Luke 11 Wed 19 Num. 15:32-16:50 Luke 12 Thu 20 Num. 17-19 Luke 13 Fri 21 Num. 20-21 Luke 14 Sat 22 Num. 22:1-23:26 Sun 23 Ps. 37; Prov. 7:24-8:11 Mon 24 Num. 23:27-26:34 Luke 15 Tue 25 Num. 26:35-28:8 Luke 16 Wed 26 Num. 28:9-29:40 Luke 17 Thu 27 Num. 30:1-31:47 Luke 18 Fri 28 Num. 31:48-33:9 Luke 19 Sat 29 Num. 33:10-34:15 Sun 30 Ps. 38-41; Prov. 8:12-36 Mon 31 Num. 34:16-36:13 Luke 20

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