“Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.” — Proverbs 4:7-8

From this moment on, I want you to stop thinking of the Bible as a storybook. I want you to stop thinking of it as a religious textbook. I want you to stop thinking of it as a history book. I want you to start thinking of it as a handbook for living.

That’s what it is, you know. It’s the wisdom of Almighty God written down for you so you can apply it to your life and circumstances.

Consistently read and applied, the Bible will turn you into a winner. Not just now and then. Not just here and there. But every day in every single area of your life!

Does that sound too good to be true?

Then don’t take my word for it. Let the Lord speak for Himself. In Proverbs 4:7-8, He says, “For skillful and godly Wisdom is the principal thing…Prize Wisdom highly and exalt her, and she will exalt and promote you; she will bring you to honor when you embrace her” (AMP).

Be advised, though, this promise isn’t meant for those who want to dab a little of the Word on their lives now and then when they get in a scrape. It’s talking about those who are willing to put the Word of God first place in their lives day after day after day!

Look again at the first part of that scripture. “Skillful and godly Wisdom is the principal thing.” Principal means “first in importance.” According to that verse, you’re going to have to make God’s Word the most important thing in your life. Instead of being content with an occasional scanning of the Bible, you’re going to have to develop a passion for it. You’ll have to prize the Word highly, putting it before all your other activities.

When you do that, God promises that the Word will exalt and promote you and bring you to honor. Who could ask for anything more?

Gloria Copeland

Jesus said, “Nevertheless I tell you the
truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for
if I go not away, the Comforter will not come
unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto
you” (John 16:7). Jesus has personally sent the
Holy Spirit to you. He arrived in the fullness
of His ministry on the Day of Pentecost and
is still here.

Jesus told His disciples to wait in
Jerusalem until they were furnished with
power: “And, behold, I send the promise of
my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city
of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power
from on high” (Luke 24:49). When you made
Jesus Lord, you became His disciple, and you
should not do another thing until you are
endued with the same power that was in and
on Him.

On the Day of Pentecost, Peter told
the people, “This Jesus hath God raised up,
whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being
by the right hand of God exalted, and having
received of the Father the promise of the Holy
Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now
see and hear…. For the promise is unto you,
and to your children, and to all that are afar
off, even as many as the Lord our God shall
call” (Acts 2:32-33, 39).

This promise of receiving the Holy Spirit is
to all—even as many as the Lord shall call. It is
to you and your children. God has already given
the Body of Christ the Holy Spirit. You, as a
member of the Body, must individually receive
what He has already given. The Holy Spirit has
been sent to you to endue you with power. You
don’t have to be a weak Christian. The provision
of power has been made for you.

If there has ever been a day when believers
need the power of God manifest in their lives,
it is today. Don’t try to get by on your own
strength any longer. Set your faith to receive
this enduement of power without delay.

You may have hands laid on you by a
believer or by someone in the ministry, or you
may receive in your own place of prayer alone
with God.

Study the following scriptures about
receiving the Holy Spirit so that you will
believe and act in line with God’s Word.

Gloria Copeland

Amp—Because of faith also Sarah herself
received physical power to conceive a child,
even when she was long past the age for
it, because she considered [God] Who had
given her the promise, reliable and trustworthy
and true to His word.

Moffatt—It was by faith that even Sara got
strength to conceive, bearing a son when
she was past the age for it—because she
considered that she could rely on Him who
gave the promise.

NEB—By faith even Sarah herself received
strength to conceive, though she was past
the age, because she judged that he who
had promised would keep faith.

2 Corinthians 12:9
KJV—And he said unto me, My grace is
sufficient for thee: for my strength is made
perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore
will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the
power of Christ may rest upon me.

Amp—But He said to me, My grace—My
favor and loving-kindness and mercy—are
enough for you, [that is, sufficient against
any danger and to enable you to bear the
trouble manfully]; for My strength and power
are made perfect—fulfilled and completed
and show themselves most effective—
in [your] weakness. Therefore, I will all the more
gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities,
that the strength and power of Christ,
the Messiah, may rest—yes, may pitch a tent
[over] and dwell—upon me!

Moffatt—But he told me, “It is enough for
you to have my grace: it is in weakness that
my power is fully felt.” So I am proud to
boast of all my weakness, and thus to have
the power of Christ resting on my life.

NEB—But his answer was: ‘My grace is all
you need; power comes to its full strength
in weakness.’ I shall therefore prefer to find
my joy and pride in the very things that are
my weakness; and then the power of Christ
will come and rest upon me.

Gloria Copeland

Romans 4:16-21
KJV—Therefore it is of faith, that it might
be by grace; to the end the promise might
be sure to all the seed; not to that only
which is of the law, but to that also which is
of the faith of Abraham; who is the father
of us all, (As it is written, I have made thee
a father of many nations,) before him whom
he believed, even God, who quickeneth the
dead, and calleth those things which be not
as though they were. Who against hope
believed in hope, that he might become the
father of many nations, according to that
which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.

And being not weak in faith, he considered
not his own body now dead, when
he was about an hundred years old, neither
yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb:
He staggered not at the promise of God
through unbelief; but was strong in faith,
giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded
that, what he had promised, he
was able also to perform.

Amp—Therefore [inheriting] the promise is
the outcome of faith and depends [entirely]
on faith, in order that it might be given as
an act of grace (unmerited favor), to make
it stable and valid and guaranteed to all
his descendants; not only to the devotees
and adherents of the Law but also to those
who share the faith of Abraham, who is
[thus] the father of us all, As it is written,
I have made you the father of many nations.—
He was appointed our father—in the
sight of God in Whom he believed, Who
gives life to the dead and speaks of the
nonexistent things that [He has foretold
and promised] as if they [already] existed.
[For Abraham, human reason for] hope being
gone, hoped on in faith that he should
become the father of many nations, as he
had been promised, So [numberless] shall
your descendants be.

He did not weaken in faith when he considered
the [utter] impotence of his own
body, which was as good as dead because
he was about a hundred years old, or [when
he considered] the barrenness of Sarah’s
(deadened) womb. No unbelief or distrust
made him waver or doubtingly question
concerning the promise of God, but he
grew strong and was empowered by faith
as he gave praise and glory to God, Fully
satisfied and assured that God was able
and mighty to keep His word and to do
what He had promised.

Moffatt—That is why all turns upon faith; it
is to make the promise a matter of favour,
to make it secure for all the offspring, not
simply for those who are adherents of the
Law but also for those who share the faith
of Abraham—of Abraham who is the father
of us all (as it is written, I have made you a
father of many nations). Such a faith implies
the presence of the God in whom he believed,
a God who makes the dead live and
who calls into being what does not exist.
For Abraham, when hope was gone, hoped
on in faith, and thus became the father
of many nations—even as he was told, So
numberless shall your offspring be.

His faith never quailed, even when he
noted the utter impotence of his own body
(for he was about a hundred years old) or
the impotence of Sara’s womb; no unbelief
made him waver about God’s promise; his
faith won strength as he gave glory to God
and felt convinced that He was able to do
what He had promised.

NEB—The promise was made on the
ground of faith, in order that it might be
a matter of sheer grace, and that it might
be valid for all Abraham’s posterity, not
only for those who hold by the law, but for
those also who have the faith of Abraham.
For he is the father of us all, as Scripture
says: ‘I have appointed you to be father
of many nations.’ This promise, then, was
valid before God, the God in whom he put
his faith, the God who makes the dead
live and summons things that are not yet
in existence as if they already were. When
hope seemed hopeless, his faith was such
that he became ‘father of many nations’, in
agreement with the words which had been
spoken to him: ‘Thus shall your descendants
be.’

Without any weakening of faith he contemplated
his own body, as good as dead
(for he was about a hundred years old),
and the deadness of Sarah’s womb, and
never doubted God’s promise in unbelief,
but, strong in faith, gave honour to God, in
the firm conviction of his power to do what
he had promised.

Gloria Copeland

Hebrews 10:35-36
KJV—Cast not away therefore your confidence,
which hath great recompense of
reward. For ye have need of patience, that,
after ye have done the will of God, ye might
receive the promise.

Amp—Do not, therefore, fling away your
fearless confidence, for it carries a great
and glorious compensation of reward. For
you have need of steadfast patience and
endurance, so that you may perform and
fully accomplish the will of God, and thus
receive and carry away [and enjoy to the
full] what is promised.

Moffatt—Now do not drop that confidence
of yours; it carries with it a rich hope of
reward. Steady patience is what you need,
so that after doing the will of God you may
receive what you were promised.

NEB—Do not then throw away your confidence,
for it carries a great reward. You
need endurance, if you are to do God’s will
and win what he has promised.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5
KJV—For though we walk in the flesh, we
do not war after the flesh: (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.

Amp—For though we walk [live] in the flesh,
we are not carrying on our warfare according
to the flesh and using mere human
weapons. For the weapons of our warfare
are not physical (weapons of flesh and
blood), but they are mighty before God for
the overthrow and destruction of strongholds,
[Inasmuch as we] refute arguments
and theories and reasonings and every
proud and lofty thing that sets itself up
against the (true) knowledge of God; and
we lead every thought and purpose away
captive into the obedience of Christ, the
Messiah, the Anointed One.

Moffatt—I do live in the flesh, but I do not
make war as the flesh does; the weapons
of my warfare are not weapons of the flesh,
but divinely strong to demolish fortresses—
I demolish theories and any rampart
thrown up to resist the knowledge of God,
I take every project prisoner to make it
obey Christ.

NEB—Weak men we may be, but it is not
as such that we fight our battles. The weapons
we wield are not merely human, but
divinely potent to demolish strongholds; we
demolish sophistries and all that rears its
proud head against the knowledge of God;
we compel every human thought to surrender
in obedience to Christ.

Gloria Copeland

If you have faith in your heart and God’s Word in
your mouth, healing will come. But it may take
time for it to manifest in your body. So stand fast
in faith, giving thanks to God until it does. Focus
on God’s Word, not on physical symptoms.

1 John 3:21-22
KJV—Beloved, if our heart condemn us
not, then have we confidence toward God.
And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him,
because we keep his commandments, and
do those things that are pleasing in his sight.

Amp—And, beloved, if our consciences (our
hearts) do not accuse us—if they do not
make us feel guilty and condemn us—we
have confidence (complete assurance and
boldness) before God; And we receive
from Him whatever we ask for, because
we (watchfully) obey His orders—observe
His suggestions and injunctions, follow His
plan for us—and (habitually) practice what is
pleasing to Him.

Moffatt—If our heart does not condemn
us, beloved, then we have confidence in
approaching God, and we get from him
whatever we ask, because we obey his
commands and do what is pleasing in
his sight.

NEB—Dear friends, if our conscience does
not condemn us, then we can approach God
with confidence, and obtain from him whatever
we ask, because we are keeping his
commands and doing what he approves.

Hebrews 10:23
KJV—Let us hold fast the profession of our
faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that
promised;).

Amp—So let us seize and hold fast and retain
without wavering the hope we cherish
and confess, and our acknowledgement of
it, for He Who promised is reliable (sure) and
faithful to His word.

Moffatt—Let us hold the hope we avow
without wavering (for we can rely on him
who gave us the Promise).

NEB—Let us be firm and unswerving in the
confession of our hope, for the Giver of the
promise may be trusted.

Gloria Copeland

John 13:34
KJV—A new commandment I give unto
you, that ye love one another; as I have
loved you, that ye also love one another.

NIV—A new command I give you: Love
one another. As I have loved you, so you
must love one another.

Weymouth—A new commandment I give
you, to love one another; that as I have
loved you, you also may love one another.

John 15:12
KJV—This is my commandment, that ye
love one another, as I have loved you.

NIV—My command is this: Love each
other as I have loved you.

Amp—This is My commandment, that you
love one another [just] as I have loved you.

Romans 12:10
KJV—Be kindly affectioned one to another
with brotherly love; in honour preferring
one another.

NIV—Be devoted to one another in
brotherly love. Honor one another above
yourselves.

Amp—Love one another with brotherly
affection— as members of one family
—giving precedence and showing
honor to one another.

Galatians 3:26
KJV—For ye are all the children of God
by faith in Christ Jesus.

NIV—You are all sons of God through
faith in Christ Jesus.

Amp—For in Christ Jesus you are all sons
of God through faith.

Galatians 3:28-29
KJV—There is neither Jew nor Greek,
there is neither bond nor free, there is neither
male nor female: for ye are all one in
Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are
ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to
the promise.

Amp—There is [now no distinction], neither
Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor
free, there is not male and female; for you
are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong
to Christ (are in Him, Who is Abraham’s
Seed), then you are Abraham’s offspring and
(spiritual) heirs according to promise.

Galatians 6:1-2
KJV—Brethren, if a man be overtaken in
a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such
an one in the spirit of meekness; considering
thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil
the law of Christ.

Amp—Brethren, if any person is overtaken
in misconduct or sin of any sort, you
who are spiritual—who are responsive to
and controlled by the Spirit—should set
him right and restore and reinstate him,
without any sense of superiority and with
all gentleness, keeping an attentive eye on
yourself, lest you should be tempted also.
Bear (endure, carry) one another’s burdens
and troublesome moral faults, and in this
way fulfill and observe perfectly the law of
Christ, the Messiah, and complete what is
lacking [in your obedience to it].

Gloria Copeland