Become a Candidate for Increase - Gloria Copeland

It’s easy to see how following God’s instructions to get out of debt affected our prosperity. But the fact is, our decision to obey other, seemingly unrelated commands we saw in the Word also had an impact on our finances.

That’s because you can’t separate God’s financial principles from the rest of His principles. They all work together. So you have to take the whole Bible to have a good foundation for godly prosperity.

The primary commandment Jesus gave us, for example, is to “love one another” (John 15:12). To the casual observer that commandment may seem to have nothing to do with money, yet to have true prosperity love must be the guiding force of your life. You must be quick to apply scriptural principles for living like these found in 1 Peter 3:

Finally, all [of you] should be of one and the same mind (united in spirit), sympathizing [with one another], loving [each other] as brethren (of one household), compassionate and courteous (tenderhearted and humble). Never return evil for evil or insult for insult (scolding, tongue-lashing, berating), but on the contrary blessing [praying for their welfare, happiness and protection, and truly pitying and loving them]. For know that to this you have been called, that you may yourselves inherit a blessing…For let him who wants to enjoy life and see good days…keep his tongue free from evil and his lips from guile (treachery, deceit). Let him turn away from wickedness and shun it, and let him do right … (verses 8-11, The Amplified Bible).

Think of it this way. Every right action you take, every godly decision you make, every time you go love’s way instead of the selfish way, you’re putting another block on your foundation of prosperity.

When you pray for your enemies instead of hating them, you become a candidate for increase. When you turn away from immorality, you’re turning toward blessing. When you see things in your life that you know aren’t right and you correct them according to the Word of God, you’re preparing yourself to handle greater financial abundance.

The book of Proverbs is full of God’s wisdom about everyday things and decisions. It will help you learn how to handle your affairs in a way that is pleasing to God. And since it has 31 chapters, by reading a chapter a day along with your other Bible reading, you can finish it in just a month. It will increase you to read Proverbs over and over.

In Proverbs you’ll find out, for example, that the quality of faithfulness and the blessing of prosperity are tied together very closely. Wherever you find one, you’ll find the other. For as Proverbs 28:20 says, “A faithful man shall abound with blessings … ” According to Webster’s dictionary, a faithful man is one who “adheres to duty, of true fidelity, loyal, true to allegiance, and constant in the performance of duties or services.”

Luke 16:10 says, “He who is faithful in a very little [thing], is faithful also in much; and he who is dishonest and unjust in a very little [thing], is dishonest and unjust also in much” (The Amplified Bible). So if you want to be trusted with more and be promoted to a better job, be faithful and honest in the job you have right now.

You may think Christian people don’t need to hear about honesty and faithfulness, but they do. I know personally of cases where Christians have stolen money from their employers.

They may not have intended to “steal” anything. They may have just thought, Well, I’ll borrow this money for a couple of weeks and then I’ll put it back and no harm will be done. The problem is, you can’t borrow something from someone without their permission. That’s stealing and you can’t be blessed and steal.

Taking that money may have seemed all right to those people when they did it. They may have made excuses and justified it in their own mind. But if they’d been studying and obeying the Word of God, they wouldn’t have fallen for those excuses. That’s because the Word discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). It teaches you what is right and what isn’t.

It reveals not man’s way, but God’s way of doing and being right. It enables you to lay a firm foundation for godly prosperity.

Become a Candidate for Increase - Gloria Copeland

Prepare To Prosper: Seek First Things First Pt 2 By Gloria Copeland

It is God’s will for us to believe Him to care for us. I also learned that as believers, we’re not to seek after material riches. We’re not to pursue money like people do who are without God. They have to pursue it. They don’t have a covenant with God, so if they don’t seek material goods, they won’t get them!

But we’re not like those people. We’re not in the world without God and without a covenant (Ephesians 2:12-13). We have God’s promise of provision. He has assured us in His Word that He will not only meet our needs, but give us an abundance.

It’s important for us to remember, however, that a covenant is always between two parties. It has two sides to it. A covenant says, If you do this, then I’ll do that.

God’s part of the covenant is to prosper us—spirit, soul and body as well as financially. What is our part of the covenant? It’s not to seek after that prosperity. If we do that, we’ll get sidetracked. Our part of the covenant is to seek first His kingdom, His way of doing and being right!

Our part is to say, “Lord, I’ll do whatever You tell me to do. I’ll obey Your Word and do what is right in Your sight—even if it looks like it will cost me.”

Of course, obeying God’s Word never costs in the long run. It pays! You always put yourself in a position for increase when you seek after God and do things His way.

I’ll be honest with you though, there will be times when you can’t see how that increase is going to come. Ken and I know about those times. We’ve been through them.

When we saw in the Word of God that we were to “Keep out of debt and owe no man anything, except to love one another…” (Romans 13:8, The Amplified Bible), we weren’t too excited about it. At that time in our lives, it looked to us like we’d never be able to do anything financially without borrowing money.

We thought, How will we ever get a car? How will we get a home? How will we finance our ministry? We’re doomed!

But we had already decided to obey God no matter what the cost, so we committed to Him to get out of debt even though we thought it would be to our disadvantage. Of course, that decision has since turned out to be one of the wisest financial decisions we’ve ever made.

That’s the way it always is. Obeying God always works to your advantage in the end!

Prepare To Prosper: Seek First Things First Pt 2 By Gloria Copeland

Prepare To Prosper: Seek First Things First By Gloria Copeland

The wages of sin is death. That is an inescapable fact. So, when people get money and use it to sin, it does them more harm than good. As Proverbs 1:32 says, “…the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.”

In light of that truth, it’s easy to see why God wants us to increase financially at the same rate we increase spiritually. He wants us to outgrow our fleshly foolishness so our prosperity will bring us blessing and not harm.

“But Gloria,” you say, “I need financial help fast!”

Then get busy growing. Get busy building your foundation for prosperity.

How? By finding out what God says in His Word and doing it.

You see, the foundation of prosperity is a continual lifestyle built on the Word of God. It is doing whatever God tells you to do, thinking whatever He tells you to think, and saying whatever He tells you to say.

Godly prosperity is the result of putting God’s Word—all of it, not just the parts about financial prosperity—first place in your life. It comes when you apply His principles on a continual basis—not just because you want money, but because Jesus is your Lord and you want to follow Him. It comes when you start obeying the instructions Jesus gave us in Matthew 6:

I tell you, stop being perpetually uneasy (anxious and worried) about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink; or about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life greater [in quality] than food, and the body [far above and more excellent] than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth much more then they? And who of you by worrying and being anxious can add one unit of measure [cubit] to his stature or to the span of his life? And why should you be anxious about clothes? Consider the lilies of the field and learn thoroughly how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his magnificence (excellence, dignity and grace) was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and green and tomorrow is tossed into the furnace, will He not much more surely clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry and be anxious, saying, What are we going to have to eat? or, What are we going to have to drink? or What are we going to have to wear? For the Gentiles (heathen) wish for and crave and diligently seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows well that you need them all. But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right], and then all these things taken together will be given you besides (verses 25-33, The Amplified Bible).

 

I remember back before Ken and I knew we could trust God to take care of us financially, I thought it was my job to worry about how we were going to pay our bills. I spent a great deal of my time thinking things like, What am I going to do about this light bill? How am I going to keep the electricity from being shut off? To me it would have been irresponsible not to worry about such things!

Then I found out it wasn’t God’s will for me to worry. It was His will for us to believe Him to care for us. I also learned that as believers, we’re not to seek after material riches. We’re not to pursue money like people do who are without God. They have to pursue it. They don’t have a covenant with God, so if they don’t seek material goods, they won’t get them!

But we’re not like those people. We’re not in the world without God and without a covenant (Ephesians 2:12-13). We have God’s promise of provision. He has assured us in His Word that He will not only meet our needs, but give us an abundance.

 

Prepare To Prosper: Seek First Things First By Gloria Copeland

God Never Changes His Plans (Compassion Has A Plan) - Kenneth Copeland

One thing I’ve discovered about God: When He makes a plan, He never changes it. Therefore, though Adam and Eve bowed their knee to the devil, threw away God’s blessing, and opened the door to the curse, God refused to give up His original intent. He kept on declaring His will would eventually be done. He kept on telling His people they were destined to be a blessing and fill the earth with His love.

He told Abraham, “I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing…and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12:2-3).

He spoke through the psalmist and said, “Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous” (Psalms 112:1, 4).

He spoke through the prophet Isaiah of One to come who would be anointed with God’s own Spirit “to preach good tidings unto the meek; to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness” (Isaiah 61:1, 3).

Of course, every one of those declarations pointed to the coming of Jesus. He was Compassion’s plan—ordained before the foundation of the world to come into this painfully messed-up planet and set things straight again. He was the One destined to take upon Himself the sin, sickness, weakness and pain that had robbed mankind—and all the earth—of the blessing of God.

Jesus came to restore God’s original plan.

Do you realize what that means? It means those of us who have believed on Him have been restored to the spiritual position Adam and Eve occupied in the Garden of Eden. Through Jesus, we have received the same blessing and divine commission they did. We’ve been called to perpetuate God’s love in the earth, to fill it up with His compassion, to be a blessing everywhere we go, to everyone we meet!

That’s God’s plan for every New Testament believer.

God said it to Adam and Eve. He said it to Abraham. He said it to Jesus. And now He has said it to us. You are called to be a blessing! So wives, bless your husbands. Husbands, bless your wives. Love one another as I have loved you. Do good to all men. Bless, bless, bless!

Can you see now why walking in love is so important to God? It’s the reason He created us!

You may never have thought about it in just that way before but, the truth is, you already knew that. Every born-again believer does. I could stop a Christian on the street anywhere in the world and ask him if we, as believers, are supposed to love one another, and I’d get the right answer every time. Everyone knows Christians are called to live by the law of love.

Are we all doing it? No, we’re not. So, clearly there must be a problem. II Peter 3:1-2 tells us what it is. There the Apostle Peter wrote to people just like us—people who knew full well they were called by Jesus Himself to live by the law of love—and said: “This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: that ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour.”

If Christians in Peter’s day needed to be reminded to keep the commandment of love, we do too. Just like those first-century believers, sometimes we just plain forget to walk in love toward one another. We forget to make compassion our priority because we don’t keep it in the forefront of our thinking. We get our lives out of line with love because mentally we neglect to put first things first.

But, according to the Bible, we can correct that problem. We can stir up our pure minds by way of remembrance. We can build love into our memory so that we think of it before we get dressed in the morning. We can so renew our minds to it that we think of it when we leave the house every day, or sit down at the table to eat, and even before we go to bed at night.

When we keep love on our minds like that, it changes how we interact with people. No matter what they say or do to us, our first thought is to respond in love. If we disregard that thought by yielding to the flesh and acting in a way that’s unloving, we’ll immediately be aware that we’ve been disobedient, and we’ll repent. Then we’ll get right back on track.

God Never Changes His Plans (Compassion Has A Plan) - Kenneth Copeland

Expect the Impossible By Gloria Copeland

I am fully expecting to see miracles in the days and months to come. In times past, we’ve had people who were very small in stature because of disease or abnormality come to Healing School and ask us to pray for them that they might grow. Naturally, their DNA had patterned their body to be very small. But that’s not their heavenly DNA. That’s not how God designed them to be. That’s just something that happened as a result of the devil’s work in this world. Through thousands of years of getting people to sin, he’s been able to mess up God’s perfect plan for people-not only spiritually but physically.

Well, what do you think God did when He saw that the devil’s work had perverted His divine plan and made that person abnormally small? Do you think He said, “Oh, my. I guess the devil won this time. I’d better go back to My book, scratch out My perfect physical plan for this person and write in ‘midget-size,’ instead.”

Certainly not. God never changes. He just kept the original entry in His book which says that person’s DNA is perfect. Now He’s waiting for somebody to agree with Him and believe for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

If faith in the Word of God is spoken and released without wavering, I believe we can see that small person G-R-O-W up and become normal right before our eyes.

You might think that would be impossible and, naturally speaking you’d be right. “With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). “All things are possible to him that believeth” (Mark 9:23) so we need to start believing.

We need to start expecting the impossible!

Expect the Impossible By Gloria Copeland

God Has Your Miracle on His Mind by Gloria Copeland

What do you need from God today?

Stop and think about that for a moment. It’s a serious question. Picture yourself the way you want to be, healthy and whole in every area of your life. That is the will of God for you, you know. I Thessalonians 5:23 says, He desires you to be “preserved sound and complete [and found] blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah)” (The Amplified Bible).

God wants you to be sound and complete. It’s His perfect will for you to be whole, undamaged and intact—spirit, soul, and body—before Jesus returns. In light of that fact, let me ask you again: What changes would you need God to make for His will to be fulfilled in your life? What would it take for you to be whole?

It would take a miracle.

That may well be what you’re thinking right now. If so, I am here to tell you God has one for you. He has as many miracles as you need. He is the God of the miraculous.

What’s more, He is thinking about you today. That’s amazing, isn’t it? The fact that the Almighty God, the creator of heaven and earth has you and me on His mind is almost more than we can comprehend. Yet we know it’s true because the Psalmist says, “How precious it is, Lord, to realize that you are thinking about me constantly! I can’t even count how many times a day your thoughts turn towards me. And when I waken in the morning, you are still thinking of me!” (Psalms 139:17-18, The Living Bible).

Just imagine that! When you woke up this morning, God was thinking about you. He was aware of your needs. He was mindful of the blessings He has laid up for you and He was making plans to get them to you.

In other words, when you awoke this morning God had your miracle on His mind.

God Has Your Miracle on His Mind by Gloria Copeland

How To Raise Godly Children Pt 2 - Kenneth Copeland

Like most parents, Gloria and I had to deal with the problems of rebellion in our children.

This is what we did. We used the Word and exercised our authority over rebellion at work, but we didn’t stop there. We took every opportunity to minister love to the children. Whenever they came around us, we would express our love in some way. It didn’t take long for them to begin responding to that love. Don’t hesitate to show love to your children. They will respond to it.

It wasn’t always easy. There were times when we wanted to break down and cry or lose our temper or do something in the natural, but we would remember Jeremiah 31:16-17, “Thus saith the Lord; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they [your children] shall come again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border.”

My own mother cried over me for 15 years. Then one morning she threw her Bible on the kitchen table and said, “Lord, I’ve cried over him for the last time. I’m turning him over to You. If You can do anything with him, do it. I’m through!” In less than a month from that day, I was saved!

Mothers, take God’s Word for it. Receive Jeremiah 31:16-17 for yourself. Stop weeping for your children and start believing the Word. That’s the only thing that will bring them around.

Fathers, I am speaking to you too! It’s time for the fathers to get involved in the spiritual activities of their families. For too long, the women have carried more than their share of family responsibility. Husbands and fathers, get on your knees before God and accept your place as head of your household.

You are the prophet from God to your family. This is not a lightweight thing; it takes a commitment on your part to fulfill your responsibilities. Get yourself straight before God, then see to your children. If necessary, go to your kids and ask their forgiveness for neglecting them. I have had to learn these things the hard way, and I know what I am talking about.

Second Peter 2:9 says that God knows how to deliver. He knows how to do it, so give Him the opportunity. It doesn’t matter where your children are—in the room or a thousand miles away. You don’t have to be in their presence to take authority over Satan.

How To Raise Godly Children Pt 2 - Kenneth Copeland

How to Raise Godly Children Pt 1- Kenneth Copeland

I have received many letters from parents who ask about raising children according to the Word of God. Gloria and I have searched the Word for scriptural foundation in this area, and I want to share some of these things with you.

First of all, Galatians 3:13-14 says, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”

This is a very familiar scripture to most believers. It is a foundational truth in our lives. We have been redeemed from everything under the curse of the law. We don’t have to put up with it! There has been much teaching about our redemption from sin, from sickness and disease, from poverty, but not much teaching about the part of the curse that has to do with our children. That is what I want to focus attention on here.

The curse of the law, stated in Deuteronomy 28, mentions children in two verses: Verse 32 says, “Thy sons and they daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long: and there shall be no might in thine hand.” Verse 41 says, “Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity.”

This is the testimony of many parents today. They watch helplessly as their children are taken captive by the world—drugs, alcohol, perversion and so forth.

As believers, we can use our authority and stand against these forces. According to Galatians 3:13, Jesus has broken the power of the curse, so we have the right to order Satan out of our children’s lives.

Like most parents, Gloria and I had to deal with the problems of rebellion in our children. We realized that it had to be stopped quickly before it developed into a serious situation. Don’t be guilty of ignoring symptoms of rebellion when your children are small. Don’t simply excuse it as a stage they are going through and think that they will grow out of it. If you ignore it when they are small, you won’t be able to handle it when they get older and the rebellion has had time to develop into a strong force.

When we saw this occurring, we immediately went to the Word. Gloria spent much time searching for scriptures we could use to combat these forces. Then we came together and confessed these scriptures before God. We took authority in the spirit world and refused to give Satan any room to operate. This is our responsibility as Christian parents.

A child does not understand the spiritual forces coming against him, so it is up to the parents to fight the spiritual battles and keep Satan out of the child’s life.

 

How to Raise Godly Children Pt 1- Kenneth Copeland

Dressed And Equipped For Supernatural Living: Establish an Intimate Relationship By Dr. Leroy Thompson Sr.

Look at Ephesians 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.”

Notice it refers to God as Father. That means God is your Father. And how does a father treat his children? Jesus said, “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” (Matthew 7:11).

That’s a father’s heart. He wants nothing more than to give good things to his children. He wants that because of the intimate relationship the two of you share.

Seeing God as your Father brings you into the place of spiritual wealth, where there is an inheritance waiting for you. Once you reach that place, it’s no sweat getting those things you desire in the natural. Healing, long life, peace, houses, cars, land—they’re all yours to have because they have already been given to you in heavenly places.

Philippians 2:5-6 says, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God.”

Well, the Bible says we are “heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17). That means we are equal with Jesus in all that He has inherited from God the Father. If you are in the form of God, you should be thinking like God.

You can speak things out from a godly or spiritual standpoint and see them happen because your words carry power. If you are operating in faith and the knowledge and understanding of your inheritance in Christ Jesus, this earthly system has to obey you.

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises, of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

As believers, we have kinship with the Father. But the Body of Christ hasn’t much acted like it. We are supposed to be reigning now—on this earth! But that can only happen when we have spiritual knowledge of our position and the authority we possess—and act on it!

God has blessed us with all spiritual blessings, or privileges. Everything has been freely given to us, including wealth, health, peace and joy. Some people just don’t want to walk in the blessings. They would rather use their own limited resources and go their own way rather than depend on the God Who declares Himself their Father.

Don’t be like that, because you can easily find yourself in the position of a beggar—going to God and pleading your case rather than asking, as His child, and receiving.

I get a picture of that whenever I think about that story of the blind man who stopped Jesus on the way to Jericho. He wasn’t a believer, but the situation was the same. “And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging” (Luke 18:35).

That’s how I see Christians who don’t know their rights and privileges. They’re just like beggars. “Oh, God, please heal me.” “Oh, God, please pay my bills.” “Oh, God, my sister is going to hell if she doesn’t straighten up. Please save her.”

Dressed And Equipped For Supernatural Living: Establish an Intimate Relationship By Dr. Leroy Thompson Sr.

Compassion Has A Plan: Created by Love for Love By Kenneth Copeland

Why is God so divinely determined for us to live a life of love?

Recently, I started asking the Lord that question. When I did, the Holy Spirit was quick to answer me. He started out by reminding me that love is the one word that fully encompasses God’s nature. The Bible says, “God is love” (I John 4:8). It affirms again and again that He is completely filled with compassion.

In Psalms 78:38, for instance, the Bible says that even when the Israelites sinned and rebelled against God, “He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath.” And in Psalms 86:15 it says that He is “a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.”

Psalms 111:4 says, “He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the Lord is gracious and full of compassion.” And in Lamentations 3:21-23 we read: “This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”

Those are especially powerful statements when we realize compassion means “to have so much mercy and tenderness for someone else that it actually causes pain.” It is the deepest desire to show love and goodness. Compassion is what moves God to do everything He does.

Compassion is what compelled God to create the earth. It’s what inspired Him to prepare the Garden of Eden as a home for the family He was about to create. It is also what moved God to reproduce Himself and make man in His own image. He didn’t just want someone to love, He wanted a family through whom His love could be multiplied—that would bless and fill the earth with His own compassion. That’s why, immediately after He created Adam and Eve, “God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth” (Genesis 1:28).

God’s plan was not just for man to be blessed, but for mankind to be a blessing to everyone and everything he came in contact with. He planned for them to subdue and rule this planet with His compassion until the whole place became a Garden of Eden.

That was Compassion’s plan.

Compassion Has A Plan: Created by Love for Love By Kenneth Copeland

Dressed and Equipped for Supernatural Living: Adopted Into the Royal Family By Dr. Leroy Thompson Sr.

There are many promises in the Word of God that deal with wealth and prosperity. And God doesn’t intend for you, as a believer, to wait until you reach the “sweet by-and-by” before you can enjoy them. He wants you to live in wealth and prosperity while you’re here on this earth.

But if you’re going to walk in the fullness of what God has promised where natural wealth is concerned, there are some things you first need to know concerning your spiritual wealth. You’re going to have to understand what your position is as a member of the Body of Christ and the authority that position carries. And you are going to have to understand the kinship relationship you have with God.

Not only is God your Lord, but He is your Father. And as your Father, the Scripture says, He has blessed you with all spiritual blessings. We find that in Ephesians 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.”

Paul wrote these words to the church he had established at Ephesus. The people there were strong in the Word, but it was the unbelievers who had all the natural wealth. Paul saw that the church needed a better understanding of their position in Christ, and their rights and privileges, so they could obtain natural wealth. When you understand your inheritance as a child of God, you won’t have any problems believing God for the natural.

You’ll see that you’ve had a total change of status. You don’t have to wear your beggar’s clothes anymore. You’ve been prepared for something special. You’ve been dressed and equipped for supernatural living.

Dressed and Equipped for Supernatural Living: Adopted Into the Royal Family By Dr. Leroy Thompson Sr.

How to Have a Harmonious Marriage The Number One Problem in Marriages—Strife Pt 2

Strife feeds on selfishness. And one of the easiest places to remain selfish is with those dearest to you, in your own home. Being in front of other people often provides an added incentive to operate in love. You can find yourself being nicer and more courteous to friends and acquaintances than to your own family. At home with your family, temptation can come to allow selfish privileges that promote disharmony—as if selfishness had no consequences at home. You may find yourself saying things to those close to you that you wouldn’t dream of saying to anyone else. Thoughtless, hurtful words spoken to our spouse or children can set us up for a strife-ridden home life.

Disagreements happen in every relationship, but it’s more important to avoid strife than to appear justified in our opinions.

So how do we stop strife? We do it by going to the Word of God to seek His wisdom in settling disputes. The wisdom from above is peace, loving and easily entreated, willing to yield to reason.

A husband and wife will see things differently, but if they are both committed to the Word, strife can’t exist. If each of them walk in love and give the Word of God first place in their life (instead of selfish desires), Satan will have no foothold to bring disharmony and division. Allowing the Word of God to be the final authority in settling disagreements will take the pressure off everybody and it will restore harmony in your home.

A Christian husband and wife who learn to live and pray in harmony are mighty instruments of the Lord Jesus. When they agree and pray together about something, it will come to pass (Matthew 18:19). The rewards of living in harmony and backing each other with prayer are more than worth the effort it takes to walk in love with each other.

Don’t let the devil trick you. The moment that you become aware of Satan trying to move you into an area of strife, stop him immediately with the Name of Jesus. Learn to resist strife just as you learned to resist sin and sickness. The Word says, “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory…” (Philippians 2:3). Obey God’s Word and be free from Satan’s evil works.

If you need further counsel, please consider contacting your local pastor or a pastor in your area who is full of the Word of God. Allow him to minister and counsel with you.

 

-kcmcanada

How to Have a Harmonious Marriage The Number One Problem in Marriages—Strife Pt 2

Compassion Has a Plan by Kenneth Copeland

Set priorities. Put first things first. Major on the majors…and don’t sweat the small stuff.

We’ve all heard the slogans. Experts tell us they’re the key to success. But with so many things clamoring for our attention, how do we determine what things to put first? How do we decide what majors to major on…and what small stuff not to sweat?

Those may sound like tough questions—and for many they are. But as born-again children of God, we don’t have to rush out to buy a self-help book or sign up for a seminar to figure out the answer. All we have to do is open the Bible. It plainly lays out our priorities.

No. 1: Believe on the Name of Jesus.

No. 2: Walk in love.

That’s it. God’s Word says if we’ll put those two things first in our lives, God will do whatever we ask and the rest of our lives will fall into place. Personally, I’ve never had a question about the first of those two priorities. It’s always been obvious to me that since faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior is what gives us eternal life and sets us firmly in the family of God, then believing on His Name is the most vital thing we can ever do.

But honestly, I’ve wondered at times about that second priority. I’ve puzzled over why it’s such a major issue with our heavenly Father. Why is it such a big deal to Him that we live in His love?

It is a big deal, you know. In fact, according to the Bible love is such a paramount issue in the mind of God, when one of the Pharisees asked Jesus to name the greatest commandment of all time, He said: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40).

Think about that! According to Jesus, the command of love is so vital that the entire Word of God—from the Creation account in Genesis to the Amen at the end of Revelation—hangs on it.

Love is literally the ultimate spiritual law. All the operations of God’s kingdom function in accordance with it, and no one on earth is exempt from it.

Compassion Has a Plan by Kenneth Copeland

Having a Harmonious Marriage: The Number One Problem in Marriages—Strife Pt 1

Harmony at home is one of the greatest blessings in life. It’s also one of the easiest blessings to lose if we don’t make a decision to do all we can to nurture our marriage relationship.

From the Scriptures you can learn the proper attitude about marriage: “Let marriage be held in honor (esteemed worthy, precious, of great price and especially dear) in all things. And thus let the marriage bed be undefiled (kept undishonored); for God will judge and punish the unchaste [all guilty of sexual vice] and adulterous” (Hebrews 13:4, The Amplified Bible).

When a couple ceases to view their marriage as precious and dear, they can become selfish and contentious with one another. Left uncorrected this attitude will lead to full-blown strife and can eventually lead to things such as sexual sin, divorce, physical injury or death.

We must learn from the Word of God how to live in harmony with each other. If we aren’t doing what it takes to live in harmony, then we are choosing to live in the destructive arena of strife.

Strife is deadly. It opens the door for the devil to steal, kill and destroy our home life. Any time we’re in strife, we give the devil permission to take us captive—at his will. Second Timothy 2:24-26 says, “And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient. In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.”

Strife gives the devil the upper hand! Throughout the Scriptures, God warns us about the danger of strife. Yet, it’s still one of the most common problems among believers. Of course, we don’t purposely let it in. We don’t wake up in the morning and say, “I think I’m going to stir up some major strife at home today.” We just inadvertently let it slip up on us—one minor irritation at a time.

If you have a tendency to let things irritate you, then decide to overcome that tendency. Take a big stand against those little opportunities for strife. If you’ve spent a lifetime getting your feathers ruffled over every little thing, it may take a while for you to break that habit, but you can do it. You may have to work at it a moment at a time, but when you do, you’ll be in a place where God can guide your steps and save you from some grave mistakes

 

-kcmcanada

Having a Harmonious Marriage: The Number One Problem in Marriages—Strife Pt 1

I Want You to Prosper: Tithing in Faith, Love and Righteousness by Kenneth Copeland

What does it mean to tithe according to the Word? Let me refresh your thinking concerning the statement Jesus made on this subject. He said;”Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment (righteousness), mercy (love), and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone (Matt. 23:23).”

Addressing the religious people of the day, Jesus said that they tithed their money but they neglected the important matters of the heart. With this thought in mind, we can expand our definition and say that tithing is bringing the first tenth to Jesus, according to His Word, by faith, in love, through righteousness.

Righteousness, love and faith are directly related to one another. Faith works by love (Gal. 5:6), and righteousness is by faith in Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:22). Therefore, these three cannot be separated. When we tithe, we need to be mindful of all these areas.

 

Tithing by Faith

Let’s look at tithing from the level of “faith first” by studying Genesis 4:1-8; “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

“And in the process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.” (vs. 3)

“And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? And why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.

This incident in Genesis, chapter four occurred at the time of harvest which also coincided with the birth of the lambs. For years, I heard that God would not receive Cain’s offering because he didn’t bring a lamb. But, that isn’t so. Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground unto the Lord. It wasn’t the offering that was the problem. It is impossible to please God without faith. Notice verse three, God had no respect for Cain. When God rebuked him, instead of changing, he got mad and his countenance fell. Cain was out of line with the Word. A man and his offering are one. The offering is nothing without the man.

Hebrews 11:4 tells us that Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice by faith. Faith is a product of the Word of God (Rom. 10:17). Obviously, both Cain and Abel had heard the Word. Their own father received it personally from the Creator Himself. I’m satisfied that the revelation which they received was the knowledge that the whole earth belonged to God and they (who were given the use of the earth) were to tithe a tenth of it back to God (Lev. 27:30; Ps. 24:1; Hag. 2:8). Abel was eager to see that God received His. Cain was not. That’s why God couldn’t accept Cain and his offering.

The New King James Version says it much more plainly;“But (God) did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”

How could he do well? By staying with the Word. Satan was at the door, lying in wait to steal the Word from his heart. Cain only needed to resist the devil so that his faith would not fail.

Do you remember what Jesus told Peter? He said, “Satan has tried to sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith fail not.” Sin was at Cain’s door. The King James Version calls sin “him.” Sin and Satan are the same.

The scripture tells us to give Satan “no place.” Cain would have done well not to have given the devil place through his disobedience and anger. But he did and the result was the death of his brother. No wonder the church has fought over the tithe–the first murder was committed over it.

As the New Testament church, we cannot afford disobedience either. But sin and the hundredfold blessing of God lie at the door. We are the only ones with the authority to let one or the other in. This is one of the reasons that we have been robbed financially.

I Want You to Prosper: Tithing in Faith, Love and Righteousness by Kenneth Copeland