BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

The Bible is full of His unwavering excellence revealed to mankind down through the ages. What’s more, when Jesus stepped out of heaven and into this natural realm, He was no less excellent than His Father. The New Testament recounts how His life and ministry on this earth was one of excellence. So where does that leave you and me? We are, after all, the children of God, too. We are sons and daughters of the Most High God...the Most Excellent God. Shouldn’t there be some mark of excellence in our lives, as well? Excellence Takes Heart Throughout the Scriptures there are many accounts of God-fearing men and women who demonstrated excellence in their lives. One of those was Daniel. In Daniel 6:1-3, we are reminded of the favor Daniel received during his lifetime from the different kings of Babylon, and why: “It pleased [King] Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom; and over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage. Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes.…” Here was Daniel, an exiled Hebrew slave, basically running the entire Babylonian empire. In fact, Darius actually trusted Daniel more than he did all of the other people who had political authority in the land. What made Daniel so special? Verse 3 goes on to tell us that it was “because an excellent spirit was in him.” Daniel had a spirit of excellence. In studying the life of Daniel and others like him, it’s obvious that a spirit of excellence does not come easily, and that it does not come by being lazy. Walking in a spirit of excellence—walking in excellence of thought, excellence of action, excellence of speech—only comes with diligence. The Apostle Paul gave us a good idea of what it takes to lay hold of the spirit of excellence when he said: “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in [the Anointing of] Jesus” (Philippians 3:14). Excellence in spirit requires pressing toward the mark, pressing toward the finish line for the prize of the high calling—which is simply another way of saying, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness,” and as you do, things will be added unto you (Matthew 6:33). To be excellent in something, or excel, means “to go to the highest place.” Excel can also be defined as “to prosper.” So when we talk about a spirit of excellence, we’re talking about prospering in the things of God, desiring and walking in the highest place, the highest realm of God’s power, His Word, His goodness, His grace, His mercy. Psalm 66:12 speaks of a wealthy place in God, a place of abundance in Him. It is a place of divine favor (such as Daniel knew), divine health, divine protection. It includes a wealth of goods, properties, assets, influence and so on. Jesus referred to this wealthy place when He said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). Later, the Apostle Paul expanded the revelation of this life of abundance when he wrote: “For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in [the Anointed] Jesus [and by His Anointing], [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live]” (Ephesians 2:10, "The Amplified Bible, Classic Edition"). BVOV : 17

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