BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

*****Read Through the Bible ***** JANUARY Wed 1--Gen. 1-3 & Matt. 1-2 Thu 2--Gen. 4-5 & Matt. 3 Fri 3--Gen. 6-7 & Matt. 4 Sat 4--Gen. 8-9 & Matt. 5 Sun 5--Gen. 10-11 & Matt. 6 Mon 6--Gen. 12-13 & Matt. 7 Tue 7--Gen. 14-15 & Matt. 8 Wed 8--Gen. 16-18 & Matt. 9-10 Thu 9--Gen. 19-20 & Matt. 11 Fri 10--Gen. 21-22 & Matt. 12 Sat 11--Gen. 23-24 & Matt. 13 Sun 12--Gen. 25-26 & Matt. 14 Mon 13-- Gen. 27-28 & Matt. 15 Tue 14--Gen. 29-30 & Matt. 16 Wed 15--Gen. 31-33 & Matt. 17-18 Thu 16--Gen. 34-35 & Matt. 19 Fri 17--Gen. 36-37 & Matt. 20 Sat 18--Gen. 38-39 & Matt. 21 Sun 19--Gen. 40-41 & Matt. 22 Mon 20-- Gen. 42-43 & Matt. 23 Tue 21--Gen. 44-45 & Matt. 24 Wed 22--Gen. 46-48 & Matt. 25-26 Thu 23--Gen. 49-50 & Matt. 27 Fri 24--Ex. 1-2 & Matt. 28 Sat 25--Ex. 3-4 & Mark 1 Sun 26--Ex. 5-6 & Mark 2 Mon 27--Ex. 7-8 & Mark 3 Tue 28-- Ex. 9-10 & Mark 4 Wed 29--Ex. 11-13 & Mark 5-6 Thu 30--Ex. 14-15 & Mark 7 Fri 31--Ex. 16-17 & Mark 8 “Read Through the Bible in a Year Plan” written by Marilyn Hickey, and used by permission. ****Poor No More cont.***** Forbidden Fruit That’s why in 1985, when Pam caught Tommy up early one Sunday morning watching the Believer’s Voice of Victory broadcast, she was shocked. She scolded, pled and argued, but she couldn’t get him to stop. “Tommy, how can you watch that?” she asked one day. “Just sit down and listen!” Arms crossed, she plopped into a chair and watched the broadcast in silence. The next week she didn’t wait to be asked. Week after week, and month after month, they were stunned by what they heard. It was almost too good to be true, but it was all scriptural. “Of all the things I learned from Brother Copeland, the most powerful one was that God loves me,” Tommy recalls. “Our denomination hammered away at the curse. We’d never even heard about THE BLESSING. Instead of just teaching church doctrine, I started preaching about the blessings and the love of God.” Tommy understood that the consequences of his actions could be severe. If caught listening to Brother Copeland, he would be excommunicated from the church. Yet, two years after he first started listening to Brother Copeland, when Tommy learned that the Copelands would be holding a meeting in Atlanta, he not only attended, he became a Partner with the ministry. “Learning to live by faith only made me dream bigger,” Pam admits. “Over the years I continued working on plans for our home. Then, as soon as Brad and Dwanla started school, I began taking classes at the community college. When I’d taken all they had to offer, I transferred to the University of Alabama and earned a degree in special education with a certification to work with hearing-impaired children.” Taking a Stand Tommy still felt weighed down by debt. Income from his pest-control business was steady, but it seemed as though every time he took a tiny step forward, something happened to drag him down. One day in 1989, Tommy became very depressed over their situation—overwhelmed with a feeling that no one cared about him. The word of the Lord came swift and sure, he recalls. "Do you see that picture?" Tommy glanced at the photograph of his children. “Yes, Sir.” "You know how much you love them?" “Yes, Sir.” "That doesn’t compare to how much I love you." Those words brought fresh revelation for Tommy. Jesus had died to redeem him from the curse! Poverty was not in their lives because God didn’t love them. It was there because they had put up with it! Falling to his knees, Tommy cried out to God: “Lord, I’ve been redeemed from the curse of the law! In the Name of Jesus, I declare that I’m not going to be poor anymore!” From that moment forward, things changed. “Within two years from the day I prayed that prayer, we were totally out of debt,” Tommy says. “Instead of poverty, it was as though I had somehow gained the Midas touch. Everything I touched prospered. When Brad graduated from high school, he got a scholarship to the University of Alabama where he earned a bachelor’s degree. Afterward, he wanted to go to medical school.” 10 : BVOV : JAN '14

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