BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

If we don’t watch ourselves, we can forget how important it is to seek out correction from our heavenly Father. We can become so casual in our attitude toward His commands that, instead of going to Him for help when we break them, we act as if disobeying Him is no big deal. I’m telling you right now, that’s a dangerous attitude! Disobeying The LORD is always a big deal. Breaking His commands is sin, and sin is deadly. Sin will open the door to the devil to come into your life to steal, kill and destroy. Sin will stop you from walking in THE BLESSING of God and cause you to fall prey to the curse. “But Brother Copeland,” you might say, “I’m a believer. Doesn’t the Bible say I’ve been redeemed from the curse?” Yes, it does. In Galatians 3:13 it says that “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.” It also goes on to say this: “That the blessing of Abraham might come on [us] through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (verse 14). Those two verses together put a very high value on faith! They say it’s “through faith” that you receive redemption and the promise of the Spirit. It’s through faith you connect with THE BLESSING of Abraham and experience its benefits in every area of your life. In other words, faith is what’s standing between you and the curse! Faith is what continually delivers you from the effects of that curse and all the ugly things that are included in it. That’s one reason you don’t want to get sloppy when it comes to dealing with sin. Sin will stop your faith from working. Why? Because “faith…worketh by love” (Galatians 5:6), and sin always violates the law of love. As the Scripture says: "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself'" (Galatians 5:14, "New King James Version"). "For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law" (Romans 13:9-10). Not a Suggestion, but a Law This is something we, as believers, need to understand if we want to walk in the fullness of THE BLESSING: For us, walking in love isn’t just a suggestion. It’s a spiritual law. It’s our New Covenant commandment, and obeying it is a very serious matter. How serious? Read Deuteronomy 28 and you’ll see. There, God told the Israelites after giving them His Old Covenant commandments that their obedience or disobedience would mean the difference between a BLESSED life and a cursed life. He said: "It shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day…all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee…. It shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee" (verses 1-2, 15). Those words still apply to us as God’s people today. Even though we’re living under a new and better covenant, we, like the Israelites, have a commandment to keep. If we obey it and walk in love, faith can flourish in our hearts and we’ll be able to receive everything God has provided for us. We’ll be able to believe His WORD and His BLESSINGS will come upon us and overtake us. * * * * * article continues on p. 6 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Points to Get You There: Protect your faith. Forgive everyone of everything. Walk in love all the time and be BLESSED! Here are some points to get you there: 1) God has commanded us, as New Testament believers, to walk in love. Galatians 5:14 2) When you keep that commandment, your faith flourishes, and you can believe and receive the manifestation of THE BLESSING in your life. Deuteronomy 28:2 3) When you break the commandment of love through unforgiveness, your faith falters, and you become vulnerable to the curse. Deuteronomy 28:15 4) This is why Jesus connected forgiveness with the prayer of faith. Mark 11:25 5) Get rid of the poison of unforgiveness, and keep your faith strong by feeding it with The WORD of God. Romans 10:17 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BVOV : 5

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