BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Ken and I often tried to tell him how to enjoy himself while staying out of trouble. But, like most boys, he was pretty determined to do things his own way. So, one day we sat down with John and gave him the bottom line. “John,” we said, “it just boils down to this. Your daddy and I are smarter than you are.” Although that was years ago, and today John is a wise man of God and the chief executive officer of this ministry, I’ll always remember those words because they remind me of what God often says to His children. Time and again He tells us in the Bible, in one way or another, that He is smarter than we are. He knows more than we do, and if we’ll listen to Him and agree with Him we can avoid a lot of trouble and enjoy a BLESSED life: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9). Just as Ken and I always wanted the best for John, God always wants the best for us. He’s a good Father and He’s given us His Word to tell us exactly how we can live in life and peace. But it’s up to us to do what He says. It’s up to us to choose whether or not we’re going to do things His way. It’s been like that ever since the Garden of Eden. When God created Adam, He didn’t force His ways on him. He simply told him what to do and what not to do to be successful. He told him to exercise dominion and subdue the earth, and to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If Adam had chosen to do things God’s way, his life would have been perfect forever. If he had done what God said, he would have never known sickness, toil, poverty or any other part of the curse. All he would have known was goodness! But Adam made a different choice. He chose to ignore what God said and do what he wanted. As a result, Adam missed God’s will for his life. Do you know the same thing can happen to us as believers? Even though we’re born again and God has a wonderful plan for us, if we ignore His Word we can miss His will for us. We’ll still get to heaven when we die. But we won’t experience all the BLESSINGS God intended for us to enjoy on the way. “Well,” someone might say, “I believe God is in control, and no matter what I do He causes all things to work together for my good. After all, that’s what the Bible says.” No, it’s not. The Bible says “all things work together for good to them that love God” (Romans 8:28). And in John 14:21 Jesus said, “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me.” So if we’re not expressing our love for the Lord by finding out and doing what He’s commanded us to do, He can’t make all things work for our good. If we aren’t bringing our thoughts and our lives into agreement with His Word, He can’t help us like He wants to. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * When you think like God, you get His victorious results. So get smart! Renew your mind with the Word and learn to think like God. Here are some points to get you there. 1) There’s no agreement between what God thinks and the way natural man thinks. Romans 8:5-6 2) God’s ways are higher than man’s. Isaiah 55:8-9 3) Neglecting to learn God’s ways can be very costly. Hosea 4:6: 4) We learn God’s ways by renewing our mind with His Word. Romans 12:2 5) The more we walk in the ways of the Spirit the freer we will be. Romans 8:1-2 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BVOV : 5

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