BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Don’t ever make the mistake of thinking you’re too busy to spend time in the Word of God. The truth is, you can’t afford not to spend time in it. Even if you’ve walked with the Lord for years, you can’t afford to rest on your spiritual laurels and just try to live on the Word you heard in the past. You can’t afford to give all your attention to natural things and think, Well, if trouble comes my way I’ll grab my Bible and build up my faith. That’s a dangerous way to operate! Jesus already warned us, “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33, "New International Version"). So trouble is coming your way, no question about it; and wherever you’ve been putting your attention is where you’re going to turn when it hits. If you’ve been attending to God’s voice, you’re going to turn to Him for solutions. If you’ve been attending to the world’s voice, you’re going to turn to the world. The world is a pitiful place to have to go for help when you’re in trouble! Its resources are extremely limited. It can’t heal you from a disease the doctor says is incurable. It can’t promise you protection when danger is all around. It can’t provide prosperity for you, regardless of economic conditions. God, however, can do all those things! That’s why He wants you to continually put Him and His Word first place in your life. It’s why He said in Proverbs 4:20-23: “My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” One time years ago, Ken and I were ministering in Manila and I was preparing to preach on those verses. As I was studying in the hotel room, I happened to look out the window. Outside I saw a big fountain shooting water way up in the air with tremendous force. As I watched it, I realized the water coming out of that fountain made it impossible for any trash to get into it. Even if the water was turned down to the point where it was just barely coming out, as long as it was flowing at all, it would push out the trash and keep the fountain clean and junk free. As I stood there thinking about that, the Lord showed me that’s the way it is with our hearts. If we’re diligent to keep them full of the Word, the forces of divine life will constantly flow out of them. They’ll push back the forces of darkness, and Satan won’t be able to put his garbage in us! That’s not to say he won’t try, of course. He’ll continue to bring his ugly stuff around and do his best to contaminate us with it. But he won’t be able to make it stick because the Word in our hearts will cause the life of God to spring forth from us like a fountain and repulse the work of the enemy. In the New Testament, Jesus put it this way. He said: “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 7:38, 8:31-32). * * * article continues on next page * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Points to Get You There: 1. What you consistently put in your heart will determine whether you walk in victory or defeat. Proverbs 4:23 2. Staying continually in the Word liberates you from the bondage of the devil. John 8:31-32 3. You fill your heart with the Word by listening to it and looking at it every day. Proverbs 4:20-21 4. As you feed on the Word and listen to God’s voice the fruit of the spirit flow out of you and overcome the law of sin and death. Galatians 5:22-23 5. Time spent with God is never wasted, it always pays rich dividends. Galatians 6:7-8 BVOV : 27

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