Dear Partner,
November is always very special to and for me! After flying a charter trip on Nov. 2, 1962, at 8 p.m., The LORD arrested me, and I became a new creature in Christ Jesus. Never before had I heard of that. I was given tangible evidence of the transformation: For about 30-45 seconds, I couldn’t close my mouth. Profanity was gone from me that day, 62 years ago. When I told Gloria, she shouted, “HALLELUJAH!” Two weeks before, she had prayed, “LORD, take my life and do something with it.” Then in January 1963, the experience described in Luke 24:49 (Amplified Bible, Classic Edition) and Acts 2:1-4 (AMPC), happened to both of us:
- And behold, I will send forth upon you what My Father has promised; but remain in the city [Jerusalem] until you are clothed with power from on high.
Then Acts 2:1-4, AMPC:
- And when the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all assembled together in one place,
- When suddenly there came a sound from heaven like the rushing of a violent tempest blast, and it filled the whole house in which they were sitting.
- And there appeared to them tongues resembling fire, which were separated and distributed and which settled on each one of them.
- And they were all filled (diffused throughout their souls) with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other (different, foreign) languages (tongues), as the Spirit kept giving them clear and loud expression [in each tongue in appropriate words].
There you have it!
“What, Brother Copeland?”
AN EXCEEDINGLY GREAT AND PRECIOUS, BLOOD-BACKED, COVENANT PROMISE WAS FULFILLED.
Jesus, the resurrected Christ (the MESSIAH), seated at the right hand of Majesty on high, according to Hebrews 1:1-3, AMPC:
- In many separate revelations [each of which set forth a portion of the Truth] and in different ways God spoke of old to [our] forefathers in and by the prophets, [but] in the last of these days He has spoken to us in [the person of a] Son, Whom He appointed Heir and lawful Owner of all things, also by and through Whom He created the worlds and the reaches of space and the ages of time [He made, produced, built, operated, and arranged them in order]. He is the sole expression of the glory of God [the Light-being, the out-raying or radiance of the divine], and He is the perfect imprint and very image of [God’s] nature, upholding and maintaining and guiding and propelling the universe by His mighty WORD of power. When He had by offering Himself accomplished our cleansing of sins and riddance of guilt, He sat down at the right hand of the divine Majesty on high.
And let’s back that scripture up by reading Romans 8:26, “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”
And now, look at 2 Corinthians 13:1, AMPC: “This is the third time that I am coming to you. By the testimony of two or three witnesses must any charge and every accusing statement be sustained and confirmed.”
My mother was an intercessory prayer warrior! She said to The LORD, “I have prayed for him [me] the last time!” As she threw her Bible down on her kitchen table, she said, “If he goes to hell, it’s YOUR fault!” Gloria was saved two weeks later, and I was saved two weeks after that!
Vinita Copeland had, out of her desperation, set yet another exceedingly precious, BLOOD-BACKED, Covenant law into motion.
“Can we have two witnesses, please?”
All right. The first is found in 1 Peter 5:6-7, AMPC: “Therefore humble yourselves [demote, lower yourselves in your own estimation] under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you, casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.”
Remember now, worry is fear based. However, my mother “dumped” the fear and “cast” her care, once and for all, over on “the fisher of men,” Jesus!
Witness No. 2 is 1 John 5:13-15, AMPC:
- I write this to you who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) the name of the Son of God [in the peculiar services and BLESSINGS conferred by Him on men], so that you may know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that you [already] have life, yes, eternal life. And this is the confidence (the assurance, the privilege of boldness) which we have in Him: [we are sure] that if we ask anything (make any request) according to His will (in agreement with His own plan), He listens to and hears us. And if (since) we [positively] know that He listens to us in whatever we ask, we also know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we have [granted us as our present possessions] the requests made of Him.
Witness No. 3 is Philippians 4:4-8, AMPC:
- Rejoice in The LORD always [delight, gladden yourselves in Him]; again I say, Rejoice! Let all men know and perceive and recognize your unselfishness (your considerateness, your forbearing spirit). The LORD is near [He is coming soon]. Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God. And God’s peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them].
I suggest you carry that holy, BLOOD-BACKED instruction on over into 2025. Practice it until it becomes eternal conduct for your mind. Let’s turn now to Hebrews 11:1, AMPC: “Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].”
Wow! “The title deed”! Now, look at verse 6, AMPC: “But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out].”
Go ahead and read the “Hall of Fame of Faith.”
Now, dear Partner, read verse 40, and shout! Is it any wonder that one of the personal witnesses wrote in his letter in 1 John 4:4, AMPC: “Little children, you are of God [you belong to Him] and have [already] defeated and overcome them [the agents of the antichrist], because He Who lives in you is greater (mightier) than he who is in the world.” Now look at 1 John 5:4, AMPC: “For whatever is born of God is victorious over the world; and this is the victory that conquers the world, even our faith.
First Peter 5:8-9, AMPC says: “Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour. Withstand him; be firm in faith [against his onset—rooted, established, strong, immovable, and determined], knowing that the same (identical) sufferings are appointed to your brotherhood (the whole body of Christians) throughout the world.”
Resist him, “firm in faith.”
“Brother Copeland, what does The BOOK say about that?”
I’m so glad you asked! James 4:7, AMPC says: “So be subject to God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him], and he will flee from you.”
Back up now to Chapter 1:1-6, AMPC:
- James, a servant of God and of The LORD Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes scattered abroad [among the Gentiles in the dispersion]: Greetings (rejoice)! Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations. Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience. But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing. If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him. Only it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering (no hesitating, no doubting). For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the billowing surge out at sea that is blown hither and thither and tossed by the wind.
“Only it must be in faith…with NO wavering.” Well, that’s another letter for another time. The first sermon I ever preached publicly was in Azle, Texas, in 1965. It was titled: “The Double-Minded Man Is Unstable in All His Ways.”
I pray for you every meal that you prosper—spirit, soul, body, financially and socially.
Remember, God Loves you, we Love you, and Jesus is LORD!
