BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Proverbs 22 continues: “For it will be pleasant if you keep them in your mind [believing them]; your lips will be accustomed to [confessing] them.” As you begin to habitually say the Word that the Lord gives you, you become accustomed to saying it. We put ourselves in a position to hear the Lord’s direction when we decide we’re going to obey it before we ever hear anything. Then when we hear it, we absorb it and decide, I’m going to do this. Once we have listened, applied our minds and believed the Word of God, we begin to say it habitually, and it becomes a lifestyle. A while back, we received a criticism about Superkid Academy. Some people said, “We don’t agree that you should have kids saying the Superkid Creed when you know they aren’t obeying their parents or living up to what they are saying.” I wanted to ask, “Do you listen to this ministry much?” Many people don’t understand why we say what isn’t yet true. But we know that we must speak by faith to ensure that it becomes truth. When we say we’re healed while we’re hurting, or when we say we’ll walk in love even while we are struggling in our relationships, we’re retraining our minds. Our minds are being renewed “so that [our] trust (belief, reliance, support, and confidence) may be in the Lord” (verse 19, "AMP"). After we begin to say His words habitually, it becomes easy to trust the Lord. It’s what God meant when He had the Apostle Paul write, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). We hear the Word and then speak the Word. We get so comfortable speaking it that it becomes habit…and then faith comes. I’m not talking about some spooky New Age experience. I’m talking about real, concrete faith. Faith comes because this process of hearing and speaking builds trust in us. Suddenly, trusting in the Lord is easy. See Peter in a New Light Just look at Peter. He’s one of my very favorite people in the Bible. So often we look at Peter for his failings, the times when he didn’t have faith, but I want to look at the passage of him walking on water in a new light. "And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away…the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God" (Matthew 14:22-33). Peter had found himself on a boat in the middle of a storm with the other disciples. We usually remember this passage because Peter took his eyes off of Jesus and sank, but I want us to consider it from a different perspective. First, consider what was happening at the time. In the midst of a life-threatening storm, Peter set his eyes on Jesus. He took his eyes off of the situation around him and instead focused on Jesus. What a beautiful thing! Second, walking on the water was Peter’s idea, not Jesus’. Think about that. Peter called to Jesus, asking Jesus to allow him to do the impossible. He hadn’t been limited by natural laws. He knew Jesus superseded those laws. Third, let’s give Peter props for even getting out of the boat. The other disciples could have jumped in behind him but they didn’t. Of all Jesus’ faithful pupils, Peter was the only one willing to follow the Lord into a seemingly impossible situation. And in fact, at first, the disciples had been afraid of Him. They had thought Jesus was a ghost. They had cried out in fear before the Lord responded. Then it says Peter answered Him. Peter overcame his fear and answered the Lord without hesitation. **article concludes on next page** ************************************************************** APRIL Read Through the Bible Old Testament/New Testament Wed 1 Deut. 34; Josh. 1 / Acts 15 Thu 2 Josh. 2-4 / Acts 16-17 Fri 3 Josh. 5-6 / Acts 18 Sat 4 Josh. 7-8 / Acts 19 Sun 5 Josh. 9-10 / Acts 20 Mon 6 Josh. 11-12 / Acts 21 Tue 7 Josh. 13-14 / Acts 22 Wed 8 Josh. 15 / Acts 23 Thu 9 Josh. 16-18 / Acts 24-25 Fri 10 Josh. 19-20 / Acts 26 Sat 11 Josh. 21-22 / Acts 27 Sun 12 Josh. 23-24 / Acts 28 Mon 13 Jdgs. 1-2 / Rom. 1 Tue 14 Jdgs. 3-4 / Rom. 2 Wed 15 Jdgs. 5-6 / Rom. 3 Thu 16 Jdgs. 7-9 / Rom. 4-5 Fri 17 Jdgs. 10-11 / Rom. 6 Sat 18 Jdgs. 12-13 / Rom. 7 Sun 19 Jdgs. 14-15 / Rom. 8 Mon 20 Jdgs. 16-17 / Rom. 9 Tue 21 Jdgs. 18-19 / Rom. 10 Wed 22 Jdgs. 20-21 / Rom. 11 Thu 23 Ruth 1-3 / Rom. 12-13 Fri 24 Ruth 4; 1 Sam. 1 / Rom. 14 Sat 25 1 Sam. 2-3 / Rom. 15 Sun 26 1 Sam. 4-5 / Rom. 16 Mon 27 1 Sam. 6-7 / 1 Cor. 1 Tue 28 1 Sam. 8-9 / 1 Cor. 2 Wed 29 1 Sam. 10-11 / 1 Cor. 3 Thu 30 1 Sam. 12-14 / 1 Cor. 4-5 “Read Through the Bible in a Year Plan” written by Marilyn Hickey, and used by permission. 24 : BVOV

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