BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

That’s the way all of us, as born-again believers, should be about the Word of God. We should be as loyal to it as we are to the dinner table. After all, God’s Word is spiritual food! It nourishes our spirit just as physical food nourishes our body. You can’t go far physically without food in the natural and you can’t go far spiritually without spending time in the Word. You need to be feeding on it every day! Actually, when you’re going through a fiery test or a trial, you should feed on the Word as often as possible all day long. Instead of wasting time watching secular television or doing some other silly thing, you should get into the Word and stay there. If you’ll do that, you’ll be well on your way to walking in victory, because when you require the Word the same way you require physical food, God says, “You shall live!” Don’t Take the Road of Least Resistance “But I have been spending time in the Word,” you might say, “and nothing has changed yet!” Well, just stick with it. Don’t quit now! If you quit you won’t have any hope at all. So keep giving God something to work with. Stay in faith—and while you’re at it, make sure your behaving matches your believing. That’s what Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego did. They not only believed God’s Word in their hearts, they honored Him with their actions. They obeyed God’s commands and became living illustrations of Isaiah 33:14-15: “Who among us can dwell with that devouring fire? Who among us can dwell with those everlasting burnings? He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly...” (AMP). If you want to be a person who comes through the fire without getting burned, you must do the same. You must not only believe right on the inside, you must do right on the outside. You must be obedient to the Lord’s commands. “But I thought you said faith is what matters!” It is—and obedience is inseparable from faith. Think about it. If we believe what God says, we’re going to do what He tells us to do. We’re going to walk uprightly and talk uprightly, even when we’re faced with trying situations like sickness, poverty or persecution. Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not suggesting that as faith people we never stumble or miss it. I’m just saying that when we do, we are quick to repent. We don’t try to hide from God or justify our disobedient actions. We just say, “Lord, I was wrong. Please forgive me. I plead the blood of Jesus and receive its cleansing power. I ask You to help me and give me grace so I’ll never do that again.” Then we get right back on track. We go back to walking and talking in line with God’s Word. As a result, when trials do come, we have the confidence we need to stand against the devil, who is the one behind them. We can shake our fingers in his face and tell him to get his hands off our health, our finances and our families in the Name of Jesus! “But Gloria, I’m not sure the devil will listen to me.” Then you need to study what the New Testament says about the subject. It plainly teaches that as born-again believers we have authority over the devil, and when we resist him he flees from us (James 4:7). It also says that we’re the ones responsible to keep the devil out of our lives and give him no place (Ephesians 4:27). *****ADVERTISEMENT********* KCM & United Theological Seminary Doctor of Ministry Degree FULLY ACCREDITED Strengthen and refine your pastoral skills—no matter where you live. Kenneth Copeland Scholars Program Kenneth Copeland & Dr. Stephen L. Swisher ******** With hands-on training by Dr. Stephen L. and Kellie Swisher, Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, Dr. Harold Hudson and others, you’ll discover how to engage our culture with the principles of faith through: • Learning to preach faith with power to impact your community for Jesus • Impacting the world with international TV broadcasts • Creating subscription-based ministry magazines from start to finish • Harnessing the power of social media • Using every available voice—from motion pictures to podcasts—to spread the gospel And much more. Apply now! Fall semester starts in AUGUST. kcm.org/uts or call 1-817-252-2792. ********************************* MAY '14 : BVOV : 7

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