Seek God First

By Gloria Copeland


Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. - Matthew 6:33

Whenever Ken and I talk about living by faith, I know there are some people who think, "Oh, that's easy for you. You're preachers. You have it made!" And, in some ways, we do. We have it made because our calling demands that we give God our attention, and giving God your attention always brings success.

But we haven't always lived that way. In fact, the first time I ever saw Kenneth Copeland he was about as far from a preacher as I figured you could get. He flew planes and sang in nightclubs. As for me, I was a college girl who said she would never marry a preacher and who had never even heard about the new birth.

Right after we got married, Ken went into a business enterprise that we thought was going to make us rich. So I quit my job and went to work for this new company. Two weeks later it folded.

We ended up sleeping on a rented roll-away bed that sagged in the middle. We had a wrought-iron coffee table Ken made in high school and a black and white TV. Nothing else. No refrigerator. No stove. I cooked in my coffee pot and an electric skillet and used a cardboard box on the porch to keep our food cold.

We were flat broke. Unemployed. Deeply in debt. I had nowhere to go. No furniture. No nothing.

Then one day I picked up the Bible Ken's mother had given him for his birthday. In the front she'd written this verse, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." I turned and read Matthew 6. It said God cared for the birds. For the first time in my life it got into my heart that God cared where I was and what I was doing. I figured if He cared for birds, He cared for me! I knelt in that bare room and told Jesus that if He could do anything with my life, He could certainly have it. That's all I remember saying.

I had no idea I'd just been born again. Two weeks later Ken found a new job. We moved to a new furnished apartment and bought a better car. In the midst of it all, something else happened--Ken got born again.

Don't worry if you don't "have it made." We certainly didn't when all this started. Just stick with God and let Him make you. He is a good God who is good to all (Ps. 145:9).

Make a decision in your heart to seek HIM first. Then all the other things will be added.

Stir Up the Power

By Kenneth Copeland

Greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears....I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you.... For God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind. - 2 Timothy 1:4,6-7

There are times when you know what God has called you to do, but you just don't feel you have the inner resources you need to do it. Somehow you've simply run dry. You know the Word says that "out of your belly shall flow rivers of living water" (John 7:38). But, during those times, you can't even find the creek bank, much less the river.

The Word of God tells us how to handle those situations through a clear command: "Stir up the gift inside you."

YOU stir YOURSELF up! Everything you need is already in you. Jesus put it there. Everything you'll ever need to accomplish what God has called you to do has been placed inside you by God Almighty.

Faith is in there. Power is in there. Love is in there. Believe that. Speak it out. Say it to yourself now, right out loud:

"In the Name of Jesus, I stir up the gift that's within me by faith. I'm stirring up my faith. I'm not going to wait until I feel stirred up. I'm stepping out by faith and expecting my feelings to follow!

"I'm stirring up the love of God that's in me. I'm stirring up the power. I'm stirring up myself and running the devil out of my affairs. I'm stirring myself up in the Spirit of the living God! I AM stirred up!"

Source from kcm.org, 

Delight Yourself

By Kenneth Copeland

Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. - Psalm 112:1,7

The man who makes a habit of delighting in God's Word will have a heart that's fixed! He can make it through disastrous situations without losing his balance. His mind's made up before he ever gets to the disaster. He's victorious before he ever gets there. A person like that is hard to whip!

The sad thing is that most believers wait until the disaster hits before they start trying to establish themselves on the Word. They wait until their back is against the wall. Then, suddenly, they get real spiritual and start fasting and praying...and all too often they find they've started too late.

That's like a guy who finds out a burglar is in his house and then starts looking for the barbells, so he can build up enough muscle to throw the burglar out. He ain't gonna make it! If he'd been working out instead of watching television every night, he'd have been ready. But as it is, he's headed for a painful defeat.

Be ready before the devil breaks into your house. Get your heart fixed. Turn off the television. Turn off the distractions of the world and turn on the Word. The time to start establishing yourself on it is right now!

Stand Up and Be Counted

By Kenneth Copeland


I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. - 1 Timothy 2:1-2

We are commanded to pray for our country and our leaders. But having prayed, God expects us to act. The elections in the United States are vital to the future of this nation. Our country is in the midst of a spiritual outpouring, and it's vitally important that the right people be elected. We must see to it.
Don't wait until election time is upon us before you start seeking God for whom to vote. Begin to pray now so that the news media and other voices from every corner cannot influence you and cannot draw you in a direction away from the Spirit of God. Pray so that you won't be influenced by natural reactions and natural responses to cleverly designed commercials and ideas.
Start praying now about the coming elections. Whether they are small local elections or major national elections, make them a part of every prayer you pray. Then thank the Spirit of God for His wisdom concerning your vote. Thank Him for giving you His wisdom about what to say and when to say it to others. Thank Him for giving you wisdom to declare the Name of Jesus and declare that this shall be a God indwelt, God-ordained, God-overseen administration.
So register. Pray. Vote. Then stand up and be counted by the power of the living God. Source- kcm.org

Be Courageous

By Gloria Copeland

Be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. - Joshua 1:7

Living a life of faith takes courage. Most people don't realize it, but it does! It takes courage to stand up in the face of sickness and declare you're healed by the stripes of Jesus. It takes courage to believe for prosperity and put your last dime in the offering plate when poverty is staring you in the face. There are going to be some days when you'd rather pull the covers over your head and hide than take another faith stand against the devil. But you can't. Because the battle of faith isn't fought once and then forgotten. If you want to keep living in victory, you have to fight it again and again.

There's no way around it. Of course, some of God's people still try to find one. The Israelites, for example. They thought their battles should be over when they crossed the Red Sea. So when they heard reports of giants living in the Promised Land, they decided they couldn't face the fight. Their courage failed them. So they took a 40-year detour through the wilderness.

But you know what? They still couldn't avoid that fight. When the time came for the next generation to enter the Promised Land, the giants were still there!

This time, however, they found the courage to face them. Where did they find it? In the Word of God.

Their leader, Joshua, had obeyed the instruction of the Lord and kept that Word on his mind and in his heart day and night. He'd meditated on it and let it constantly remind him that God was on their side.

If you're going to fight the good fight of faith to the finish, you'll have to do just like Joshua did. You'll have to continually draw courage from the Word of God. So make up your mind to do it. Get into that Word and let it change you from a coward to an overcomer. Then march into battle and slay the giants in your land. 

No Consolation Prize

By Kenneth Copeland

But let patience have her perfect work, that ye maybe perfect and entire, wanting nothing. - James 1:4

I talk a lot about faith. But there's another force that goes along with it that's just as important. It's patience, the ability to stand fast on the Word of God even when your victory seems slow in coming.

Patience is not automatic. It won't go to work unless you let it go to work. So many people don't understand that. They somehow think faith and patience will go to work for them without their help. They just let the devil tear their lives apart and then they say silly things like, "Well, I guess God sent that trial to strengthen my faith."

Don't you ever get caught saying that!

In the first place, James says, "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God" (James 1:13). And in the second place, that trial isn't going to make your faith stronger. In fact, it'll destroy it if you'll let it.

If I were to give you a set of weights, would that set of weights make you any stronger? No. As a matter of fact, if you dropped one of them on your foot, you could end up painfully weaker. It's what you do with them that counts, right?

Well, the same thing is true when you run into some kind of trying circumstance the devil's brought your way. If you just lay down and let it run over you, it will damage you. But if you'll let patience have her perfect work, if you'll remain consistently constant, trusting in and relying confidently on the Word of God, you'll end up perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

"Wanting nothing." That phrase alone should convince you that patience is no consolation prize. It's a first-rate power that will put the promises of God within your reach. It's a force that will make a winner out of you.

Get Out From Under

By Gloria Copeland

Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. - 1 John 4:4

Under the circumstances... Have you ever caught yourself using that phrase?

"I suppose I'm doing pretty well under the circumstances."

If you've ever said something like that, I want you to kick those words out of your vocabulary right now. Because you, as a victorious child of God, don't have any business living your life "under" your circumstances. You don't have any business letting problems and situations rule over you.

Two thousand years ago, Jesus--the One Who is in you--ransacked Satan's kingdom. Through His death at Calvary, He legally entered the regions of the damned and stripped Satan of everything. He took away all his armor. He took the keys to death and hell. He bound that strong man, looted his kingdom, and Colossians says He spoiled principalities and powers and made a show of them openly, triumphing over them.

Then Jesus turned around and gave that victory to you. YOU are of God. Remember that! You have overcome through Jesus because He lives in you. You never have to live "under" the circumstances again!

Leave Behind the Past

By Kenneth Copeland

 But this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 3:13-14

Spiritual bumps and bruises. Inner aches and pains that just don't seem to go away. Most all of us know what it's like to suffer from them but too few of us know just what to do about them.

We limp along, hoping somehow those hidden wounds will magically stop hurting, thinking that maybe (with a little extra sleep or an extra helping of dessert) that nagging sense of depression will finally disappear.

But does it ever happen that way? No!

I know. I've been there.

But thank God, I'm not there anymore. You see, over the past few years, I've faced some fierce spiritual battles. And I've found out those battles can leave you bruised and beat up on the inside just as surely as a fistfight can leave you bruised and beat up on the outside.

Before I was born again, I learned just how physically devastating a real slug-it-out kind of brawl could be. Yet as bad as I felt, a few days rest would take care of me.

The healing of a bruised and beaten spirit, however, doesn't come that easily. In fact, the passing of time often worsens this condition.

The reason is this: Instead of putting painful failures behind us, we often dwell on them until those failures become more real to us than the promises of God. We focus on them until we become bogged down in depression, frozen in our tracks by the fear that if we go on, we'll only fail again.

But there is a way out. If depression has put you into a spiritual nosedive, all you have to do to break out of it is to get your eyes off the past and onto your future--a future that's been guaranteed by Christ Jesus through the exceedingly great and precious promises in His Word.

Chances are, that won't come easily to you at first. Your mind has probably had years of practice in focusing on the past. Like an old horse that habitually heads for the barn, your thoughts will probably start galloping that direction every time you give them any slack.

So, don't give them that slack. Keep the reins tight. Purposely meditate on the Word of God. Replace thoughts of the past with scriptural promises about your future and be diligent about it. Then, instead of being a wounded soldier, you'll become the conquering warrior God made you to be.

 Source kcm.org

Nothing to Lose

 By Gloria Copeland

 Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him. - Isaiah 3:10-11

Have you ever been afraid to give yourself totally to the Lord because you think you might be deprived of some pleasure in this life? Chances are, you have. That's because Satan is working overtime to convince you that he can really make your life worth living. But don't believe him for a minute. The real truth is, yielding completely to the Lord won't cost you anything that's worth having. It will only cause you to live life to its fullest!

Jesus' life on earth was a perfect example of a totally yielded life. He was a walking example of the benefits godly living brings. Everywhere He went, Jesus made the deaf to hear, the blind to see, the lame to walk. He lived in perfect peace and absolute victory.

That all sounds pretty good to me. All He missed out on was the devil getting dominion over Him to kill, steal and destroy. In fact, the devil couldn't do anything to Him until, by the Father's will, He laid down His life. Until that time Jesus walked in total victory over the enemy.

Do you think you would miss out on a lot if you lived that way? Of course not! You can walk in that same anointing and power and glory of God that Jesus did.

Do you have to give up your whole life to do it? Yes! You have to trade your life for the life of God. You have to trade your sickness for His healing, your poverty for His prosperity, your anxiety for His peace, your sin for His righteousness.

So why hesitate? When it gets right down to it, you really have nothing to lose.

Source kcm.org

Don't Overlook the Blessings

By Kenneth Copeland

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. - 2 Corinthians 4:17

It's easy to get your spiritual eyes fixed so firmly on the problems in your life, you overlook the blessings completely! As a result, you end up suffering through situations that should have you rejoicing.

Let me show you what I mean. Not long ago, this ministry was facing some terrific financial pressures. I stood in faith against them. I battled against them with the Word and in prayer.

What I didn't realize was this: During that time when the problems seemed so great--the blessings were even greater. This ministry was growing faster, ministering to more people, writing more letters, printing more publications, sending out more teaching tapes than ever before! It was a breakthrough time...a time for rejoicing. But I didn't know it because I was too busy thinking about the problems.

I was so tunnel visioned, all I could see was the pressure, and I suffered through some hard times when I should have been shouting the victory.

But thank God, He woke me up before it was over. He woke me up to the blessings and reminded me that the problems are temporary, or subject to change, but God and His Word of victory are never subject to change!

If you've been suffering through some hard times lately, wake up to the blessings around you. You'll be much more effective in battling the problems if you're giving God the glory for the solutions He's already provided. Take your eyes off the trouble and look around you. You'll soon be shouting the victory!

Protected by Love

By Kenneth Copeland

Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven. - Matthew 5:44-45

Love your enemies...turn the other cheek...to most people that sounds like a pretty weak way to handle somebody who's causing them trouble. But, the truth is, it's the most powerful way there is. It's the way Jesus did it-- and His way never fails.

Do you remember when Jesus went back to Nazareth and the religious folks were angry with Him and wanted to push Him off a cliff? What happened? He just walked right past them, and no one could lay a finger on Him. Another time they decided to stone Him, and He didn't retaliate that time either. He just walked off. No one could touch Him.

When Jesus walked through that crowd, He wasn't afraid. He knew they couldn't hurt Him because He was walking in the love of God.

When Jesus said to turn the other cheek, He didn't mean for you to stand there and have your brains beaten out. He meant for you to stand there in love and in faith believing that the protecting power of God that accompanies that love would keep you safe. He meant for a man to swing at you and not be able to hit you!

The story of Nicky Cruz as recorded in David Wilkerson's book, The Cross and the Switchblade, is a perfect example of that. Nicky was reputed to be the most ruthless gang leader of his time. Yet, when David Wilkerson stood in front of him, telling him about Jesus, Nicky was totally unable to hurt him. He thrust his knife at David several times. But every time he did, David just said, "Nicky, you can cut me into a thousand pieces and every piece will still say, 'I love you and God loves you.'" Because of love, Nicky couldn't get his knife close enough to David to hurt him. A supernatural force always stopped it short.

"But I don't have that kind of love!"

Yes, you do. Romans 5:5 tells us that the love of God is shed abroad in your heart by the Holy Spirit. All you have to do is make the decision to be motivated by that love rather than your own human feelings.

My friend, love never fails! You don't have to be afraid of failure anymore. In fact, you don't have to be afraid of anything. If you're walking in the love of God, you're living the most powerful kind of life there is.

Source from kcm.org

Don't Think Like the world

By Kenneth Copeland

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. - 2 Corinthians 10:4-5

If you think like the world thinks, eventually you will act like the world acts. Unrestrained thoughts produce unrestrained actions. So control your thoughts by bringing them into obedience to the Scriptures.

Program your mind with the Word of God. The Word is spirit and it is life. When your mind is totally saturated with the Word of God, your will becomes strong to exercise authority to overcome every ungodly thought and evil habit.

Don't let Satan deceive you into sacrificing the glory of God in your life for a few moments of self-indulgence and sin. Restrain your thought life. Meditate the Word instead of selfish, carnal thoughts. Keep your eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith.

Source kcm.org

God is Healing Our Land

By Kenneth Copeland


Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid. - Romans 3:3-4

Faith-filled words. That's what changes things. They'll move mountains into the sea. They'll turn sickness into health. They'll turn a sinner into a saint.

They'll also take a sin-ridden nation and turn it into God's own country. That's right. Then, if we believers would back up the prayers we've been praying for this nation with words of faith instead of doubt and discouragement, we'd soon begin to see spiritual resurrection in the United States.

God promised us that if we, His people, would humble ourselves and pray and seek His face and turn from our wicked ways, He would heal our land. And let me tell you, there are prayer warriors all over this country (I hope you're one of them) who are doing what that promise requires.

But, even so, you don't hear many people saying, "This is great! God is healing the land." You don't hear people speaking out by faith the promise of God. Instead, you hear them saying, "Oh my, oh my, did you hear what those terrorists are doing?" or some other destructive thing they've seen on television.

Listen, we need to stop preaching what the terrorists are doing and start telling what God is doing! God said He is healing this land.

We must start speaking about this country by faith instead of going around spouting bad news all the time. Of course, that will sound odd to most people. Some of them may even think we've slipped a few cogs. But that's nothing new.

Let me tell you something: One handful of believers who are listening to, trusting in, and speaking out the good news of God are more powerful than all the devils on earth. One handful of believers are more powerful than a whole army of unbelieving doomsayers. Their unbelief will not make the faith of God of no effect!

That's why over the last 25 years, Gloria and I have learned to turn a deaf ear to the bad news and just start praising and thanking God for His deliverance. Every word of praise we speak releases faith in our heart.

Get determined with Gloria and me right now. Take a firm stand with us that things are changing in this country. Settle it in your heart as you pray. Speak it out. Call it forth. God is healing the land!

Source from kcm.org

God's Discipline

By Kenneth Copeland

For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? - Hebrews 12:6-7

There's a terrible misunderstanding among believers today about God's method of disciplining His children. They'll point to some kind of disaster-- a tornado or a car accident-- and say, "I guess God sent that catastrophe to teach us something."

No, He didn't! A loving God doesn't send death and destruction on His children to instruct them. He doesn't unleash His bad dog to bite us on the leg, so we'll learn to wear our boots!

How does He chastise His own? With His Word.

Second Timothy 3:16-17 says, "Every Scripture is God-breathed--given by His inspiration--and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, and for training in righteousness, So that the man of God may be complete and proficient, well fitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work" (The Amplified Bible).

If you'll look in 2 Corinthians 7, you'll see an example of this. There the Apostle Paul talks about a situation in the Corinthian church that needed correction. That church had gotten out of line and had to be disciplined.

How did Paul do it? Not by asking God to send an earthquake to shake them up! He did it by writing them a letter. He wrote them a word of reproof that hurt so badly they would have preferred being beaten with a stick. It cut deep into their spirits and brought them to repentance.

Your heavenly Father loves you and because He does, He will chasten you. But He'll do it with spiritual, not fleshly tools. He'll use the spirit power in His Word to chasten unbelief and purify your spirit in such a way that you'll come out strong, not weak and condemned.

So quit bowing down to disasters and start subjecting yourself instead to the Word of God. Yield to the Word. Let it correct you and trim away the flesh and the lusts that lead you astray. Remember, the Sword of the Spirit is two-edged--one side is for Satan and the other side is for you. Let God use it to keep you in line!

Source from kcm.org

No More Dying to Do

By Gloria Copeland

But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. - Hebrews 2:9

Death. It's not a popular topic--even among believers. In fact, a great many are just plain scared of it. Oh yes, they talk about having eternal life. Yet when the devil tries to threaten their earthly survival with sickness or calamity, they panic.

Why? Because they haven't learned to look at death through God's eyes. Even though their spirit has been made immortal, they haven't renewed their minds to include that truth. If they had, when the devil tried to push their panic button, they'd just laugh and say, "You can't scare me, devil. I've done all the dying I'm ever going to do!"

That's true, you know. The Word of God says that you, as a born-again believer, are never going to see death (John 8:51). Jesus has been your substitute. He suffered death, so you wouldn't have to. And when He was raised, Hebrews 2:14-15 says, "He destroyed him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And delivered them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage."

If you've made Jesus the Lord of your life, the only death you'll ever experience is behind you now. It occurred the instant you received Christ. At that moment, your old self--the one whose nature was to sin and rebel against God--died. Your body didn't die, but your spirit man--the real you-- died to Satan and all of his works. You became "a new creature" (2 Cor. 5:17), immortal and absolutely incapable of death!

When you're finished with your work on the earth, you're not going to die. You'll simply shed your earthly shell and relocate to a far more glorious place.

Go to the Word and get God's perspective on death. Make a study of it. Once the reality of your immortality begins to dawn on you, the devil will never be able to threaten you with it again.

Source from kcm.org

Later is Here!

By Gloria Copeland

Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household? - Matthew 24:45

The Word tells us that God shows Himself strong in behalf of those whose hearts are "perfect" toward Him (2 Chron.16:9). That word "perfect" doesn't mean that we have to do everything just right and live without making a mistake. Thank God, we don't have to do that. It means "devoted"--a heart consecrated, dedicated, loyal and faithful to God.

The mistakes we make will not stop God from working in our lives. Only our lack of faithfulness can do that.

Who is faithful? The one who spends his time doing what God has called him to do. Or as Jesus put it, the one who takes up his cross and follows Him. The one who denies his fleshly desires and spends his life on the things God desires him to do.

Maybe God has been urging you to spend more time in His Word and in prayer or dealing with you about ministering more to the people around you. He may be calling you to pray for the sick or to teach the Word. But you're busy, so you glide on with good intentions and tell God you'll do it later. Well, later is here!

Decide today that you are going to be the faithful and wise servant. Find out what is stealing your time from the Lord. Serve His interests instead of your own.

Do you want to be a ruler in the household of God? Do you want Him to show Himself strong for you? Then take up Jesus' thoughts today. Take up His purposes and His plans. Now is the time to be faithful!

Source from kcm.org

Be Willing!

By Gloria Copeland

If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land. - Isaiah 1:19

A healthy body. Enough money to pay all your bills and extra to invest in the work of the gospel. A godly marriage and happy, healthy children. Peace of mind. God has prepared a banquet full of blessings for you.

But those blessings are not just going to fall in your lap. You must be willing as well as obedient if you're going to eat the best from God's table.

So, be willing!

Don't be willing for Satan to put sickness on your body. Be willing, instead, to be well! In honor of Jesus' sacrifice at Calvary, refuse to accept anything less than divine health.

Don't be willing to live in lack, but be willing instead to live in divine prosperity and abundance. Refuse to allow Satan to stop the flow of God's financial blessings to you.

Be willing to receive God's best plan for your marriage and your children. Don't settle for the "norm" in the world. Live above it in a home full of love and harmony, a home that is what God meant it to be.

Don't allow Satan to substitute anxiety and ulcers for the peace and undisturbedness that Jesus bought for you. Be willing and obedient to cast all your cares on Him, for He cares for you.

Refuse to be robbed of the banquet of blessings that have belonged to you since you became a believer. Be willing to eat the good of the land!

Source from kcm.org

Viva la Difference

By Kenneth Copeland

If one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. - Ecclesiastes 4:12

There's power in unity. The devil knows that. That's why he's continually fighting it. He takes the differences between us, differences God put there to make us stronger, and tries to use them as a wedge to drive us apart.

Take men and women, for example. He's deceived us into fighting about which one is superior over the other. But I can settle that argument right now. Women are superior to men. If you don't believe that, you boys try having a baby. But then, men are superior to women. If you don't believe that, you women try having one without us.

It's the differences combined that make us strong!

People have even argued about whether God is male or female. But the Bible itself tells us that. He's both! That's right. In the Hebrew language, all words have gender. They're either male or female. But the Hebrew word "Jehovah" is both masculine and feminine. He's as much female as He is male and as much male as He is female.

Originally, mankind was that way too. When God first made "man," he was as much female as he was male. Then God separated the female part out and made "woman" or, "the man with the womb." After that, man and woman had to come together to be perfectly whole.

That's still true today. For example, when He puts together husband and wife teams, He often puts people together who have major personality differences. Where one is weak, the other is strong, and vice versa. So, when they become one, they're more powerful than they ever were apart.

There was a time when I didn't understand that. I got aggravated with God for calling me a wife who didn't care for so many things that I liked. But I finally realized God knew what He was doing. If He'd given me a woman who was as nuts about flying as I am, we would have spent the rest of our lives in the clouds. We wouldn't be preaching the Word. We'd be in some silly airshow flying upside down. "The Copeland Team!" or something.

Do you have people in your life who are irritatingly different from you? Don't let the devil use those differences to drive you apart. Thank God for them! Let Him teach you how to appreciate them. Let Him show you just how powerful you can be... together!

Source from kcm.org

God's Medicine

By Gloria Copeland

The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. - John 6:63

We've seen some tremendous medical breakthroughs in our generation. We've seen "miracle drugs" developed that can conquer many kinds of sickness and disease.

But, you know, in the 20-plus years I've been a believer, I've discovered another, much more effective kind of medicine: the Word of God. There's never been a miracle drug that could equal it. God's medicine is the answer to every need. It is life. It is health. It is the power of God. And if you put it in your heart and act on it, you will be healed.

Sometimes people ask, "If God's medicine works every time, why are there so many believers who are still sick?" There are two reasons. Number one, because they don't take the time to plant the Word concerning healing deeply into their heart. And number two, because they don't do what that Word tells them to do.

Think of it like this: If a doctor prescribes medicine for you to swallow daily and you decide to rub it on your chest instead, that medicine isn't going to work for you. You have to follow the instructions and use it properly if you expect to get well, don't you? In the same way, if you read God's prescription for health and don't act on it, you won't reap any of its benefits.

Proverbs 4:22 says God's Words are life and health to you. So don't wait until you get sick to start using them. Start now. Begin to put God's Word in your heart in abundance and it will be hard for you to get sick. That Word within you will constantly be keeping God's healing power at work in you.

And don't worry. There's no limit to the amount of God's medicine you can take. You can't get an overdose. The more you take, the stronger you get.

Start growing strong today.

Source from kcm.org

See Yourself Strong

By Gloria Copeland

And we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight. - Numbers 13:33

How does the devil see you? Does he see you as a terrifying and mighty warrior of God...or does he see you as a wimp he can whip in a minute?

The answer to that question depends on you. I realized that one day as I was studying the children of Israel and their failure to enter the Promised Land. The key to their failure is found in these words: "And we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in theirs."

The reason the Israelites were so terrified to fight the giants in Canaan wasn't because those giants were so big. It was because the Israelites saw themselves as so small! It was what they were in their own sight that defeated them.

The same thing is true for you as a believer. It's what you are in your own sight that will make the difference. If, in your own sight, you're a weak, powerless Christian, the devil will run over you three or four times a day or more if he's not busy. But when you begin to see yourself as God sees you, as a conquering son or daughter of the Almighty God equipped with the very power of God Himself, the devil will want to steer clear of you.

The devil would rather do anything than come against somebody who's bold and courageous, because he's a coward himself. In fact, ever since Jesus came up out of that grave, Satan's heart has melted within him at the sound of that Name in the mouth of one who has faith in it.

If you're not strong in the Lord in your own sight, you need to change that. You need to get so full of God's Word and so full of the Holy Ghost that you walk around like a spiritual giant. Turn the tables on the devil and let him find out what it feels like to be a grasshopper for a change.

Source from kcm.org

Take a Stand Against Strife

By Gloria Copeland

The beginning of strife is as when water first trickles [from a crack in a dam]; therefore stop contention before it becomes worse and quarreling breaks out. - Proverbs 17:14

Throughout the Scriptures, God warns us about the danger of strife. Yet, it's still one of the most common problems among believers. We let it get into our homes, our work places, our churches...everywhere!

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 today." We just inadvertently let it slip up on us one minor irritation at a time.

So, I urge you today to take a big stand against those little opportunities for strife. If you have a tendency to let things irritate you, decide to overcome that tendency. Arm yourself against them with the knowledge that this world isn't perfect, that there are people in it that aren't going to be nice to you. There are people who are going to stir you up and annoy you on purpose or by accident.

Make up your mind that, by the power of God, you're not going to let them get your peace. That peace is so important to your well-being. It will keep your body healthy. It will keep your relationships healthy. It will put you in a place where God can guide your steps and save you from some very grave mistakes.

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. You may have to work at it a moment at a time. But you can do it.

I know. I had to do that where worrying is concerned. I'd worried for so many years and had come from such a family of worriers that I did it almost without thinking. When I learned worrying went contrary to the Word of God, I had to give it up one minute at a time. With the help of the Holy Spirit, every time a worried thought would come to me, I would overcome it with the Word of God. And I did that until I broke that worrying habit for good.

You can do the same thing with strife. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you start to notice and overcome it one moment at a time. Then, every time you start to get upset about something, rebuke that strife in the Name of Jesus and resist it. Say right out loud, "I am walking in the peace of God today."

You'll be surprised how much more wonderful living can be.

Source from kcm.org