April 2010 Johnna and Phil Bevilacqua - Kenneth Copeland Ministries

y K e n n e t hCopelandNo matter what shaking is going on in theworld, we are connected to a different Source.LivingInsideThe BlessingWe are living in a day of calamitiesand confusion. The planet is bucklingunder the weight of sin. Its inhabitants arehungry for answers, confused by problemscaused because the Blessing Wall is downand man’s system of doing things withoutGod is falling apart.Catastrophic weather, political unrest, global economicinstability and confusion are on every front. They are allfactors in what the Bible describes in Romans 8:19: “Forthe earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for themanifestation of the sons of God.”The earth is under a strain. That’s what that verse isdescribing. The whole creation is groaning under the weightof man’s sin, waiting for someone who is willing to rebuildthe wall of protection that has been torn down.It is a cry for THE BLESSING of Abraham to bereleased on the earth. It is a cry for those who know how torebuild the Blessing Wall. This is our time. This is the dayfor a generation of believers that knows how to live out ofheaven’s supply instead of the world’s.This is the day for those who practice Malachi 3:10to rise up: “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse,that there may be meat in mine house,and prove me now herewith, saith theLord of hosts, if I will not open you thewindows of heaven, and pour you out ablessing, that there shall not be roomenough to receive it.”A Way Throughthe World’s WoesI was born in 1936, in the closingyears of the Great Depression. Myparents started out their married lifejust before it all hit. They were godlypeople who were fiercely committed toliving by the revelation they had.One thing they understood wasthe principle of tithing. They wereso committed to that revelation, theyincluded tithing in their wedding vowswhen they got married in 1927. Theyvowed they would tithe all the days oftheir lives.Though they may not have knownthe full impact of what they were doingat the time, they put up a Blessingwall in their lives that neither theDust Bowl nor the Great Depressioncould penetrate. That wall protectedthem in 1929, when the stock marketfell. It protected them in 1930 and1931 in West Texas where they livedwhen the rain stopped, and in 1932and 1933 when the topsoil blew off ofthe whole Great Plains region of theUnited States.They tithed faithfully when timeswere good, and when they weren’t. Andduring the whole Great Depression,when people in their area of the countrywere packing up and leaving, my dadSalvation PrayerIf you do not knowJesusas your Savior and Lord, simplypray the following prayer in faith,and Jesus will be your Lord!Heavenly Father, I come toYou in the Name of Jesus. YourWord says, “Whosoever shallcall on the name of the Lordshall be saved” and “If thoushalt confess with thy mouth theLord Jesus, and shalt believe inthine heart that God hath raisedhim from the dead, thou shaltbe saved” (Acts 2:21; Romans10:9). You said my salvationwould be the result of Your HolySpirit giving me new birth bycoming to live in me (John 3:5-6,15-16; Romans 8:9-11) and thatif I would ask, You would fillme with Your Spirit and give methe ability to speak with othertongues (Luke 11:13; Acts 2:4).I take You at Your Word. Iconfess that Jesus is Lord.And I believe in my heart thatYou raised Him from the dead.Thank You for coming intomy heart, for giving me YourHoly Spirit as You have promised,and for being Lord overmy life. Amen.If you have just prayedthis prayer, please contact usand let us know of your decision.We have a free SalvationPackage we would like to sendyou to help you begin your newlife in Jesus! Simply write andask for offer #50801, check thecircle on the response form inthe center of this magazine,call 800-600-7395 or go tokcm.org and type SalvationPackage in the search box.never went 24 hours without a job. When one job wouldend, my mother and dad would join hands and pray thenext morning before he went to find another job.My mother told me she would keep praying until shecouldn’t see him anymore. Then she would go inside,continuing to thank God all day for a job and for takingcare of us. And time after time, when Daddy came homethat night, God would have maneuvered him into theright place at the right time, and he’dhave a job.Learning to Take Our PlaceThere was a principle at worksustaining my parents through thosetough times: The tithe connected themto THE BLESSING.The tithe is the Blessingconnection. It anchors us in remembranceof and connects us to the reality that,no matter what shaking is going on inthe world or in our circumstances, weare connected to a different Source. Itestablishes our connection to God’sprovision, regardless of what happens.Remembering what God has done forus, and honoring what He continuallygives to us, positions us to live as giversand not takers—as men and women whohave allowed God to disconnect us fromthe world’s systems born out of fear andlack, and to connect us to the unlimitedflow of heaven’s abundance.Now when I talk about tithing, I’m notjust referring to an amount or a percentagewe might put in an offering plate or inthe mail. Deuteronomy 26:1-9 makes itclear: Tithing is more than the titheitself. Tithing is not complete withouta corresponding action of the heartand mouth. The 10 percent is the tithe.“Tithing” is done with words.Look at part of what the Israelites wereinstructed to say in verses 8-9: “And theLord brought us forth out of Egypt witha mighty hand, and with an outstretchedarm, and with great terribleness, andwith signs, and with wonders: and hehath brought us into this place, and hathapril '10 | BVOV | 5