BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Later that day I thought about the scene again, and how that man had inched his way around one little spot in the street with his broom and his dustpan, and suddenly the realization hit me: Faith would work for that man! It would work for him just as well as it would work for the president of the United States. If he had faith in God’s Word and knew how to use it, he could be doing big things—things he could really get excited about. Instead of being a halfhearted street sweeper, he could be a mountain-mover in the kingdom of God. He could be one of the “whosoevers” Jesus talked about in Mark 11:23 when He said: “For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.” I know from personal experience what an amazing difference faith in God’s Word can make in someone’s life, so right there in my hotel room, I prayed for that man. I asked God to send someone to tell him that Jesus loves him. “Lord,” I said, “send someone to tell him he can have faith!” I knew it was a prayer God would answer because He has wonderful plans for that man’s life. He doesn’t want him to be stuck in a dead-end job he doesn’t enjoy. He doesn’t want him to be standing in one place, doing nothing and going nowhere. God has a destiny for him to fulfill. He has a divinely ordained race for him to run. A race that will satisfy his heart’s deepest desires. A race that will bless him beyond anything he could ask or think, and make him a blessing to others in ways beyond his wildest dreams. In It to Win It Actually, because God loves us all, He’s planned a great and satisfying race for each of us. That’s why we all need to have faith. If we’re going to successfully run our race we have to be able to do what Jesus said and speak the Word of God to the obstacles that try to hinder us. We have to be able to believe in our hearts that what we say will come to pass. “But Gloria,” you might say, “I just don’t have that kind of faith.” Yes, you do! You got it when you received Jesus as your Lord and Savior. His faith was born on the inside of you the moment you were born again. Hebrews 12:2 confirms it. It says that Jesus Himself is the “author and the finisher” of your faith. Jesus always does a good job at everything He does. So you can be sure that the faith He authored in you is of the very highest quality. You can also be sure that, as its finisher, He’s going to help you develop your faith until it’s so strong that when you cross the finish line of your life on earth you can say, like the Apostle Paul did: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me...” (2 Timothy 4:7-8, New King James Version). ******continues on p. 29****** BVOV : 27

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