by Kenneth Copeland

Start today practicing the life of love. One way to do that is by practicing God’s presence in your daily life. Develop an awareness that Love is constantly with you by talking to Him all the time.

And when you talk to Him, just get real. First thing in the morning when you open your eyes say, “Good morning, Lord. I love You and praise You today. I’m so glad You never leave me nor forsake me. I receive Your love for me and I want You to know my desire is to be a blessing to You. Help me, teach me and train me—whatever You desire for me to do, I’ll be willing and obedient. I’ll do it with a happy heart.”

When you start to practice God’s presence like that, it will change how you act throughout the day. You’ll start being more loving and kind—even when other people aren’t around to notice—because you’ll know the Lord is there and you have no desire to grieve Him.

As believers we need to develop that kind
of winning attitude.

Whosoever believeth that Jesus is
the Christ is born of God: and every one
that loveth him that begat loveth him
also that is begotten of him. By this we
know that we love the children of God,
when we love God, and keep his commandments.
For this is the love of God,
that we keep his commandments: and
his commandments are not grievous.

For whatsoever is born of God
overcometh the world: and this is the
victory that overcometh the world, even
our faith. Who is he that overcometh
the world, but he that believeth that
Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:1-5)

Now God is being unusually explanatory
here. He normally does not explain things
written in the Word of God this deeply for a
very good reason: He intends for us to take
what He says by faith, go to Him and allow
the Holy Spirit to reveal it to our hearts. This
way He doesn’t tip the devil to what it means.
God wrote the Bible as a code book. Proverbs
says that God has hidden godly wisdom for
His people. This is the way He wants it. But
here in this portion of Scripture, God goes an
unusual step further and asks the question,
“Who is he that overcometh the world?” In
other words, God is saying, “This is the way I
see this—whatsoever is born of Me overcomes
the world; and who is he that overcomes
the world, but he who believes that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God?”

Now this can be read another way: “Nobody
but those who believe that Jesus is the Christ
will ever overcome the world.” This world will
not be overcome by a government, by a political
system, or by a monetary system. Money will
never overcome the world! When the Bible
talks about “the world,” it is speaking of the
dominion of darkness, the god of this world,
the evil spirit—Satan—that operates in the
world. No man or system will ever—in any
way, form or fashion—overcome the world
without Jesus Christ as Lord. You’ll never be
able to do it unless you’re born of Him. But
on the other hand, if you are born
of Him, you have an absolute, perfect,
God-given, blood-bought right to overcome every
aspect of the world—everything it could possibly
send your way!

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

Make up your mind to control your vocabulary and do not
let words of strife, envy and that sort of thing come out of your
mouth. God will be able to use you. Suppose God gave you His
power and anointing and then turned up the volume inside
you. If you got mad and said things you shouldn’t, you could
deeply hurt a person with the words of your mouth. The Word
says don’t let corrupt communication proceed from your
mouth; be kind and tenderhearted toward one another; minister
grace to one another; grieve not the Holy Spirit (see
Ephesians 4:29-32). When you make the commitment that
your words will minister grace to the hearer or else you won’t
say them, then you will see the anointing of God begin to rise
up within you. Your words will begin to mean something. Then
God can trust you with His power in your mouth. This is the
secret to ministry, to life, to prosperity, to healing. Jesus said
you can have what you say. When your words line up with
God, the problems are over.

Decide to make your conversation becoming to Jesus. If it is
not becoming to Him, do not say it. If you have to talk to somebody,
talk to Jesus. He can do something about the situation.

Don’t criticize until you can do better. Don’t criticize
Billy Graham until you have won millions of souls to Jesus.
Don’t criticize Peter until you have walked on the water.
Husband, don’t criticize your wife’s cooking until you can do
better. Wife, don’t criticize your husband for watching ballgames
in his undershirt until you start looking decent in the
morning. Don’t go around the house with curlers in your hair
and wearing a 42-year-old bathrobe! Begin to look your part.
The wife is the queen and center of love in the home—act like
it. The husband is the prophet and priest of the family, not the
court jester! The children represent what God has done with
the whole human race. They are born of love. Their parents’
love brought them into existence. When these roles in the family
are lived according to God’s Word, the power and anointing
of God will dwell in your home. If you want to fix your church
situation, fix your family first. If you want your nation righted,
start with your own family. My wife and I are on a lifelong honeymoon.
We learned some of these things right after we got saved
and have hardly had an argument. I fought some, but she
wouldn’t—so it never came off. I used to come home looking
for a fight, but the soft answer turns away wrath. We have the
love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost (see
Romans 5:5).

This is life! It’s what living is all about! The love of God.
Why don’t you make a quality decision now and commit to
this life of love, joy, and peace in the Holy Ghost? Pray and
ask God to forgive you of the sin of unforgiveness. As an act
of your will, forgive those who have wronged you. Don’t hold it
inside you. Release it and let God cleanse your heart. Then
make this your confession before God:

“My heavenly Father, in the Name of Jesus, I have seen
in Your Word a glimpse of life free from strife, free from
unforgiveness, and full of Your love and Your peace. I
lay hold on it now by faith and confess that Your love is
active in my home. I commit myself to perfect the love
of God in my heart and life and to bring it to a place of
predominance. Jesus is my Lord. You are my Father and
I am Your child. I am born of the love of God, and this
love in me never fails through the power of the Holy
Spirit. I thank You, Father, and praise You for it, in
Jesus’ Name.”

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

Now Jesus taught a way to get rid of strife. He said, “If you
have something against your brother, go to him and try to settle
it.” He didn’t say to tell everyone else about it! He said to go
directly to that person. He gives us three opportunities to
bridge the gap: alone, with another brother and then before the
whole church (see Matthew 18:15-17). Jesus ended His teaching
by explaining the power of agreement, “That if two of you
shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it
shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew
18:19). There is a way to live in the Body of Christ in a magnitude
of power which absolutely and totally defeats Satan. You
have to resist him, and your resistance will work through this
power of agreement and the power of the love of God.

Have you ever wondered about someone who gets turned
on to God and then everything around him falls apart? I have
seen men who looked as though they were doing fine until they
got saved and turned on to the Word, and then problems came
from every direction. It seemed that they were better off before
they got saved. I thought, “Why does it seem that Satan has
such an inroad anytime he wants it?” Then I realized it’s
because the least discussed, least taught, least functioned area
in the Body of Christ in any denomination is the revelation of
God’s love and how to operate together without strife. We have
heard some people preach around the fringes, “We’ve got to
love one another,” but everyone waits on the other person to
do it.

The love of God is not a feeling. Somehow we have put
compassion and feelings in one capsule. When the Bible says
Jesus was moved by compassion, we traditionally assume He
was moved by a feeling of compassion. Then we wait for some
kind of feeling to move us before we do anything. So people
pray for a “burden to win souls” or a “burden to pray.” Actually,
they are praying for some sort of feeling. They want God to
kick them in the pants and make them do what they know they
should do. Jesus was not moved by a feeling of compassion; He
was moved by compassion Himself. God is love.

Love commanded, “Go into all the world and preach the
gospel to every creature.” That is enough. I heard one wellknown
evangelist say, “My calling is Mark 16:15-20, the Great
Commission. I didn’t get a great revelation. I just read it, decided
to do it, and God honored it.”

Being led by God is being led by His Word. The feelings are
real and they will come; but if you are waiting for the feeling
first, then you will never get anything from God. You will
always be led by ordinary human impulses until you begin to
act on God’s Word and do it simply because He said it.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

Strife is a lack of love and 1 Corinthians 13 shows what will
happen without this love.

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and
have not love, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.”
Your speaking in tongues will be of no use without love.
You’ll just be a noisemaker!

“And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all
mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I
could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing.”
Prophecy will do no good if you don’t operate in love. You can’t
gripe, complain and bad-mouth people, then stand up and say,
“Thus saith the Lord….” Unless you operate in love, your
understanding of God’s wisdom and the mysteries of redemption
will be of no value. Though you have faith to move mountains,
it won’t work without love. Now you can see why strife is
Satan’s number one tool. No matter how strongly you operate
in spiritual things, if he can get you into strife and hamper the
love of God in your life, then he’s got you! He knows where to
strike first!

“And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though
I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me
nothing.” Without love, your giving will be of no profit at all,
even if you gave your own body.

“Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love
vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly,
seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all
things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
Love never faileth.” LOVE NEVER FAILS! When you operate in
love, all these things—giving, faith, spiritual gifts—will work
for you. Praise the Lord!

Although you may not agree with someone over certain issues,
find out on what you can agree with them. Love them and pray for
them; don’t criticize and backbite. You don’t have to associate with
someone to pray for them. You can avoid them, get the strife
out of your life, and still remain in a position to pray for them.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries