Gloria Copeland
Be faithful to keep meditating the promises in the Word until they overtake your life. Everything you receive from God starts with the Word in your heart.
Gloria Copeland
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Receiving isn’t just praying for something and hoping it happens. Receiving is reaching out with the hand of faith and taking what you pray for.
Gloria Copeland > Be Courageous
"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. Gloria Copeland > Put Your Foot on Healing Ground: Don’t be moved by time or by symptoms or by anything else!
"Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you...." (Joshua 1:3) If you need healing in your body today, you need to possess it like the children of Israel possessed the Promised Land. Joshua and the people of Israel had to put their foot on what belonged to them, if they were going to enjoy the blessing of God. The same thing is true today with healing and every other blessing. If you are a believer, healing already belongs to you. Isaiah 53 clearly says Jesus has borne our griefs, sickness, weakness and pain, and carried our sorrows, and that by His stripes we are healed and made whole. As far as God is concerned, healing is yours. Jesus has already paid the price for it. But for you to receive it, you have to put your foot on it. You have to go in and possess the land! That’s not always easy. It wasn’t necessarily easy for Joshua either. To do it, God told him he would have to be “strong and very courageous” (Joshua 1:7). The people of Israel had to arm themselves and go up before their enemy. They had to put their foot on that land. In the same way, taking the land of healing requires spiritual strength and courage. Why? Because the manifestation of healing doesn’t always come instantly. We want it instantly—and many times it comes that fast—but other times it takes longer. When you think about it, that’s not so unusual. After all, in most cases, sickness and disease do their destructive work gradually. They don’t just appear one moment—and kill you the next. They take effect over time. So it’s not surprising that healing often displaces their effects gradually as well. If you need healing today, you need to put your foot on the healing land. You need to step out on the Word, take it and say, “Healing is mine. The devil is not going to steal it from me. No one is going to talk me out of it. It belongs to me. Today, this day, I receive my healing!” Once you’ve said that, don’t ever say anything contrary to it. Don’t be moved by time or by symptoms or by anything else. Just stay with it. Continue to take God’s medicine—the Word—every day and you will continually improve. When the devil comes back next week and tells you you’re not going to get your healing, laugh at him and say, “Too late! I’ve already gotten it. I received my healing last week. I put my foot on healing ground and it’s mine.” Just refuse to give up, keep on taking the land and your healing will come to pass. Gloria Copeland > Kick the Habit
"The cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful." (Mark 4:19) Most people these days don’t think much about worry. They’re so accustomed to it. To them it’s normal. Some people are proud that they worry. They seem to think that to love their family is to worry about them. But Jesus considered it deadly! He listed it as one of the few things that can kill off your harvest—even after the Word has taken root in your life. No doubt the coming year will fly by as quickly as the past year, but, praise God, you can make it more glorious and more victorious than any year in your life. How? By making one decision, right now, before the year gets underway. You can decide that this is the year you’ll quit worrying! “Quit worrying?” you ask. “Gloria, you might as well tell me to quit breathing! I’ve worried all my life. And this year I have more reason to worry than ever!” On the contrary. The more problems you’re facing, the more reason you have not to worry! You see, the Word of God can overcome any problem in your life. If you’ll plant it in the good soil of your heart and let it grow unhindered, it will eventually grow up and produce a harvest greater than any problem. Notice I said it must grow unhindered. The greatest tool of the devil to hinder the Word from working in your life is described in Mark 4:19. The “cares of this world” in that verse mean one word: worry. “OK, Gloria, I’m ready to quit worrying. This is the year for me!” If you’re ready to make that decision, great! But let me warn you up front—worry is a habit. If you’re going to rid yourself of it, you’ll have to be diligent. I know that from experience. I come from a long line of worriers. I’ll never forget the verse that helped me kick the habit: “Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed” (Proverbs 16:3, The Amplified Bible). When I read that verse, I decided to believe it. Once I did, I began to quit worrying like an alcoholic quits drinking—one moment at a time. I’d have a worried thought and I’d roll it over on the Lord. About 60 seconds later, I’d have another worried thought so I’d roll that one over on the Lord too. I did that over and over every few minutes. But as I continued to resist worried thoughts and to feed on God’s Word, those thoughts began to be further apart. I hardly ever have a worried thought anymore! So kick the habit! Apply Proverbs 16:3 every time worry knocks at your door. Pretty soon, it’ll be normal for you not to worry! You’ll be free! Gloria Copeland > Take a Crash Course—And Then Expect More
"Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Romans 12:2) If you’re just getting started in the things of God, you may be wondering exactly how you “jump into faith.” It’s simple. Romans 10:17 says faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. When Ken and I first learned about the life of faith, we were so hungry for it that we took a crash course in the Word of God. Day and night, we listened to tapes of the preached Word. In fact, for the biggest part of that first year, we hardly did anything but read and study and listen to the Word of God. We were so tired of being failures that we weren’t interested in anything else. Ken was traveling at the time and I was staying home with the children. But I was having revival all by myself! I was in my own little world of God’s Word and faith. I spent all my extra time in the Word and listening to tapes. One day I was hanging clothes on the line to dry, thinking about what I’d been learning, when the telephone rang. I ran inside to answer it but I was so caught up in my excitement about the Word, that instead of saying “Hello,” I accidentally said, “Hallelujah!” My well was overflowing. You may think that’s extreme—but I recommend being extreme. I recommend you so saturate yourself with the Word of God that there’s not room in your thinking for unbelief, doubt and fear. Saturate your heart until the Word naturally begins to flow out of your mouth. Let it completely take over and renew your mind. Then, when Satan lies to you and tells you that God is not listening to your prayers, that you won’t receive your healing or get that new job, don’t listen to him. Instead, begin to tell him about God’s mercy. Tell him, “The Lord is good to all. He’s full of compassion. His tender mercy is over all His works—and that includes me! I’m one of God’s favorites!” If you’ve been afraid to come to God with your needs...afraid to expect His blessings to come your way, start meditating on His mercy today. Spend some time thinking about the ocean of goodness He’s longing to pour into your life. Then open the door of faith and let it in! Take a crash course in His Word and let the blessings flow until you’ve reached the limit of your expectations. Then expect more. Experience the good life God has prepared for you. Gloria Copeland > Why Didn’t You Say Something?
"I believed...therefore have I spoken." (2 Corinthians 4:13) Consider the following scenario: “Where do you want to go eat, honey?” the husband asks. “Oh, I don’t care. Anywhere you want to go is fine with me,” she’ll answer. Taking his wife at her word, the husband will go to his favorite restaurant. The problem is, the wife doesn’t really like that one. Once they get there and start to order, she’ll be acting a little aggravated. “What’s wrong?” “Oh nothing,” snaps the wife. “Something is bothering you. What is it?” “I didn’t want to eat here. I want to eat somewhere else.” “Well, why didn’t you say something?” he’ll ask in exasperation. Now, that’s just a small example, but it illustrates a very solemn truth. Someday, when our earthly lives are finished, when we stand before Jesus, someone might say, “Lord, I really needed clothes for my children when I was on earth...I really needed healing for my body...I really needed deliverance from my circumstances.” And I can just hear Jesus saying to us just what the husband said to his wife, “Well, why didn’t you say something?!” Those words may shock you. You may be sitting around in the midst of a crisis waiting for God to act—when all the time, He’s waiting for you. Jesus is waiting for each one of us to take the power and dominion He gave us and use it to put those devil-generated crises where they belong—under our feet! Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore [you] go!...” (Matthew 28:18-19, New International Version). You lay hands on the sick and they’ll recover. You cast out the devil. In other words, Jesus was saying, I’m giving you My authority, so use it! Whatever crises you’re facing right now, stand up, take authority over the devil and say something! Say, “Satan, in the Name of Jesus, I take authority over you and your assignment against me and my family. I take authority over you in this situation, and I declare deliverance and victory in the Name of Jesus! You take your hands off me. I am a child of the living God. I am covered by the blood of Jesus. And I am delivered! Amen.” Now the challenge is to leave that place where you made your stand of faith and keep saying what you believed—what you want to come to pass (Mark 11:23). If you want a change, why don’t you say what you want? Jesus said you can have what you say. Gloria Copeland > Get Caught Up!
"I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return] developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you." (Philippians 1:6, The Amplified Bible) From the moment you were born again, God began to peel things away from you that were holding you back, things that were stopping Him from operating in your life with power. And He’s still doing that. You’re still growing. You keep growing and allowing God to talk to you and deal with you. He keeps speaking to you about things you need to change, things you need to drop out of your life. But it’s not just about dropping things, it’s about taking on new things. Taking more of the things of God unto ourselves. We grow further by learning the Word and the truth of the Word. The old habits and old lifestyle lose their hold on us and fall away. The more you get to know God, the less you want the old things. The more you know God, the more of the old is peeled away. You could just say, “OK, I’m not going to smoke cigarettes anymore. I’m not going to do it anymore. I just won’t.” That’s better than saying you will do it. But there is a much better way. The best way is to get so caught up in the things of God that God’s Spirit and His power begin to throw those things off you. You have to put your will in gear, and will to do what’s right, but when you do, my, oh my, His power will change you. So get in the Word. Meditate on it. Listen to tapes of the Word preached. Don’t ever stop. Remember, you should always be growing. Just get caught up in Him. Gloria Copeland |
Shield of Faith Blog
AuthorBorn in South Carolina, Heather is happily married, and has three standard poodles and one shih tzu. Having travelled to over 14 countries, she has a great appreciation for living in the USA. She has a calling on her life to tell others about her healing and what Jesus has done for her. She is alive and well because of Him. Archives
July 2015
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