BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

*************************************** “gems” “Today you are a picture of what you spoke from your heart in the past.” *************************************** I like living my whole life curse free! I don’t mean just living without having to listen to bad words. I mean living free from the curse that came on the earth through man’s sin. That curse is a miserable thing! Everything bad in the world is included in it: sickness, poverty, destruction, defeat and disasters of every kind. These are all manifestations of the curse. Back before Ken and I got saved, we experienced a lot of those manifestations firsthand and, I can tell you, it was a drag! I wouldn’t want to go back to those days for anything. No matter how hard we tried, we just couldn’t get ahead. We were under pressure all the time. Something was always going wrong. If the refrigerator worked, the car was broken. The bills would pile up and we had no money to pay them. The flu would hit, and because we didn’t know any better, we’d just give in to it. We’d jump into our pajamas and head for bed thinking things like, 'How long are you going to be with us this time, flu?' Truth be told, we even lived that way for a while after we got saved. We thought it was normal. Like a lot of Christians, we assumed that because the curse came on the earth when Adam sinned, it was always going to be a part of our lives. We figured we just had to put up with it until we died and went to heaven. But our attitude changed when we found out what the Bible says in Galatians 3:13-14: “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” I’ll never forget when the reality of those verses first started to dawn on Ken and me. We thought it was the best news we’d ever heard! We were thrilled to find out that Jesus not only stepped up to pay the price for our sins so that we could go to heaven someday, but that He bore the entire curse and every bad thing included in it on our behalf. He offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sake and said to God, “I’ll take their place, Father. I’ll go to the Cross and deliver them from the curse so that they can live a curse-free life.” Step Into a Whole New Adventure It’s sad to say, but many Christians can hardly imagine living free from the curse. They’ve let the devil take advantage of them for so long, they can’t picture what life would be like if they weren’t perpetually afflicted with lack and sickness and defeat. When you tell them Jesus wants them to live a BLESSED life, they don’t even know what that means. Really, though, it’s very simple. The curse is the penalty for man’s disobedience. Just as the curse includes every bad thing (Deuteronomy 28:15-68), THE BLESSING includes everything good. It covers every area of life. Nothing is left out. When you’re walking in THE BLESSING, your body is healthy and strong. Your kids are doing well. You’re prospering financially. Even your house and your car are blessed. As Deuteronomy 28:6 says, “Wherever you go and whatever you do, you will be blessed” (New Living Translation). Of course, if you’ve never been born again you’re not yet connected to THE BLESSING. You’re still connected to the curse. But you can change that in an instant. All you have to do is give Jesus your heart and receive Him as your Lord and Savior. All it takes is one simple prayer. 'Could it really be that easy?' you might wonder. Yes! I’m living proof of it. Back in 1962 I got born again by praying a prayer that was only one sentence long. I knew almost nothing about God at the time. But I was desperate. So when I came across the Bible Ken’s mother had given him for his birthday, I looked up the scripture she’d written in the front. It was Matthew 6:33: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” I needed a lot of things added to me in those days so I decided to take God up on His offer. Responding to that little bit of scriptural light I said to Him, “Take my life and do something with it.” I had no idea how much difference that one little prayer was going to make. I certainly didn’t expect God to do all the wonderful things He’s done for me. But this is a fact: When you get in the will of God, life gets good—and giving your heart to Jesus is the first step into the will of God. Once you’ve taken that step, a whole new adventure opens up to you. You can start reading the Bible and learning how to live curse free. You can begin to renew your mind so that you can cooperate with the ways of God and experience the fullness of THE BLESSING Jesus purchased for you. “But Gloria,” you might say, “I don’t know how to do that!” No problem. Just follow the instructions God gave in verses like these: “Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many. When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble. Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life” (Proverbs 4:10, 12-13). “My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee” (Proverbs 3:1-2). **Curse-Free Life continues on next page** JAN '14 : BVOV : 29

• Cover