BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

6 : B V O V could hardly wait. Sometimes, when he came in, he would say we were getting up early the next day to go fi shing. The evening before our trip, I couldn't sleep. I would get up in the middle of the night, make sure my tackle box was full, and lay out my fi shing clothes. Then I would wake up at 4 o'clock the next morning. When Dad came in to get me up, I would already be dressed, with rod, reel and tackle box in hand. I was ready because we were going fi shing. It was glorious! Now the same man could come home from his travels, tell me something di erent and get a totally opposite reaction from me. He could say we were going to get up early the next morning to work in the yard. Strangely, I wouldn't be eager at all. Why not? Because yardwork was my idea of absolutely nothing to do. Even today, I don't like it. I have never liked it. If it were left up to me, we would cement the whole yard, paint it green, and forget about it. Gloria can go out there and dig and scratch around in that dirt all she wants to. I will buy her all the tools she wants. But as long as I have a choice, I'll leave all that yard work up to her and whomever else she can fi nd to help her. As for mowing grass, there isn't a lawn mower made that is fi ne enough to make me want to use it. I have no desire to work in the yard, no matter the enticement. If someone ever invents one that will fl y, I might decide to try it a time or two just to see what it's like, but aside from that, I'm not interested. When I knew my dad was going to get me up early to work in the yard, my response was not the same as when we were going fi shing. I didn't wake up during the night and look for my work clothes. The next morning when Dad came to wake me up, I wasn't up already, with a smile on my face and a hoe in my hand. I was sound asleep. He had to call me at least three times. Even then, I had to drag myself out of bed. What was the di erence? My will. My dad was the same man in both instances. I loved him just as much in either case. Whether we were going fi shing or digging, I felt exactly the same way about him. I willed to go fi shing. I didn't will to do yardwork. Our will determines whether we act with enthusiasm or with dread, in faith or in fear, and whether we act on what God says or on what the devil says. It is like a thermostat on the wall. The thermostat has no power to cool a room. It just sends a signal to the air conditioner, telling it that the room temperature has reached the point that some cool air is needed. This alerts the air conditioner to turn on until the thermostat says, "OK, that's enough." Like that thermostat, our wills send out information—requests and commands. Do you need healing? Your faith won't come in line until the thermostat of your will sends a message: "Healing, please." It makes no di erence what sickness it is, whether cancer or a head cold. Your body doesn't know the di erence, and your will and faith shouldn't either. There is no law, no demon, that can overcome faith. Only you control your faith. We have done The LORD a terrible injustice by not honoring Him in receiving what He wants to do for us, through us and about us. Why have we done Him this injustice? Because of our lack of knowledge, which a ects our will. We did the same thing for a long time with the Holy Spirit. The Body of Christ, for the most part, refused to receive Him. We did the same thing with the gifts of the Spirit, refusing to receive them. What happens when we use our will to honor God? The Father honors us in return. He says to us: "Because you have honored We're currently hiring for a variety of roles. Visit kcm.org /careers Come Change the World With Us! "Our will determines whether we act with enthusiasm or with dread, in faith or in fear, and whether we act on what God says or on what the devil says."

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