BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

No, they’re not. If they were, the Bible would tell you to examine their faith. But it doesn’t. It tells us to evaluate ourselves. First John 5:4 says, “This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” So when it comes to living in victory, our own faith—not someone else’s—is the issue. Other people can’t do our believing for us. Although at times we can and should help each other, ultimately our faith is our own responsibility. We’re the ones who must get it going and working the right way—and that requires us to expend some effort. It requires us to be attentive to the things of God, and to apply some diligence, discipline and determination. The faith life is not for wimps. It’s not for lazy people who just want to do what’s easy on their flesh. Faith is for the strong of heart who will take the Word of God and act on it regardless of the circumstances. It’s for believers who will operate according to what Jesus taught in Mark 11:22-24 where He said to His disciples: "Have faith in God. 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. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." Be Proactive: Have Faith in God When it comes to living by faith, those verses are the big guns. Ken and I can testify to it! We’ve depended on and lived them for 48 years. Time and again, they’ve helped us do supernaturally what we could never have done on our own. So, let’s take a quick faith checkup right now by reviewing what they say. The first thing they tell us is to “have faith in God.” What, exactly, does that mean? It’s believing what you see in the Word regardless of what’s happening in the natural realm. It’s believing, even when you have symptoms of sickness in your body, that by Jesus’ stripes “ye were healed” (1 Peter 2:24). It’s believing, even when your stack of bills looks bigger than your bank account, that “God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). How do we get that kind of faith? It’s simple. According to Romans 10:17, it comes “by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” You can believe God for anything you want that’s in accordance with His Word! It doesn’t matter how big it is or how impossible it might seem. “With God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26) and “all things are possible to him that believeth” (Mark 9:23) so, with faith, you can have anything God has promised. You won’t get it, however, by just sitting around waiting for it to fall on you like ripe cherries off a tree. You have to be proactive about it. You have to do your spiritual homework. If you want something, you must search the Word and find out what God says about it. Personally, I like to put together lists of scriptural promises that pertain to all different aspects of my life. I have lists of verses about healing, for instance, and about family matters. I also have a list of prosperity promises. Those lists help me a lot. If you haven’t already done so, I’d encourage you to put some together for yourself. That way, when you face a challenge, you’ll know right where to go. When the flu starts going around at the office, you can say, “Let me get out my list of healing scriptures,” and immediately shore up your faith. Better yet, you can go over those lists all the time. You can stay strong and ready by feeding your spirit every day on God’s promises. If things aren’t moving along in some area like you think they should, you can double up on your intake of the Word in that area and get rid of any doubt that’s crept into your heart. *****article continues on next page***** *****ADVERTISEMENT***** Activate God’s Creative Power You can create the world around you by what you believe in your heart and say with your mouth! In this foundational teaching by Gloria Copeland, learn how to live an effective life of faith. Step by step, she will show you, through Scripture and personal experience: • How your words reveal what’s in your heart • Four things that hinder faith • The creative power that faith-filled words have • How to grow from one level of faith to another "Faith School—Learn to Activate God’s Creative Power for All You Need" 5 CDs $14.99* reg $20 #B150902 MP3 $14.99* reg $20 #B150903 kcm.org/mag 1-800-600-7395 U.S. only +1-817-852-6000 *FREE standard shipping included. Offer prices valid until Sept. 30, 2015 ********************************* 28 : BVOV

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