If your car won’t start, don’t be so prone to get angry, slap the steering wheel and spout some kind of Christianized profanity at it, such as “Dad-Gummit!” The spirit behind that kind of reaction is the same one behind swearing.
It’s destructive to act that way even when you aren’t directing your anger toward other people because it’s a form of practicing bad temper. If you practice anger and ill temper, they will stay on the surface and activate before you have the opportunity to stop them. Don’t express anger even against material objects. Instead take authority over that anger and say, “No, you don’t. I’m not yielding to you. You get back under control right now.”
That will be easy to do when you’re practicing God’s presence because you know He is lovely, kind and gentle; and you will not want to offend him by displaying an ugly attitude toward anything at any time. Granted, you won’t be able to make all the changes you want to make in the first hour and a half. It takes time to do this. But you can make the decision in the next moment and a half and then walk it out moment by moment.

Joshua 1:8

KJV—This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

Moffatt—This lawbook you shall never cease to have on your lips; you must pore over it day and night, that you may be mindful to carry out all that is written in it, for so shall you make your way prosperous, so shall you succeed.

NIV—Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

Matthew 12:34-37

KJV—Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

Amp—Out of the fullness—the overflow, the superabundance—of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man from his inner good treasure flings forth good things, and the evil man out of his inner evil storehouse flings forth evil things. But I tell you, on the day of judgment men will have to give account for every idle (inoperative, non-working) word they speak. For by your words you will be justified and acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned and sentenced.

Moffatt—The mouth utters what the heart is full of. The good man brings good out of his good store, and the evil man brings evil out of his store of evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment men will have to account for every careless word they utter; for by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

As you study the subject of prosperity, it becomes clear that God is a God of justice as well as mercy. He is fair in all His dealings. In His Word, He has given clear instruction of how to live a godly life, which is the foundation for prosperity. When we are obedient to follow His ways, He will take care of us and bless us. But those who refuse to go God’s way will have a different outcome. Psalm 37:28 in The Amplified Bible says, “The Lord delights in justice and forsakes not His saints; they are preserved for ever, but the offspring of the wicked [in time] shall be cut off.” And Proverbs 28:8 says, “He who by charging excessive interest and by unjust efforts to get gain increases his material possession, gathers it for him [to spend] who is kind and generous to the poor.” It is an immutable law that one cannot truly prosper in all areas of life if he does not serve and obey God (see Deuteronomy 28:15-68). God prospers those who love and obey Him.

Some people may feel that God is taking a long time to fulfill some of His promises, but 2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord does not delay and be tardy or slow about what He promises, according to some people’s conception of slowness, but He is long-suffering (extraordinarily patient) toward you, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should turn to repentance” (The Amplified Bible). God is giving the unrighteous plenty of time to repent, however, He is well aware of what they are doing in the meantime (Proverbs 5:21, 15:3). They may appear to prosper through evildoing, but their success will be short-lived (James 5:1-4; Psalm 37:7-9). The Word of God indicates that in the last days, there will be a transfer of wealth from the hands of the wicked to the hands of the just. God is actually giving sinners the job of storing up wealth for the righteous (Ecclesiastes 2:26).

That wealth can come into the kingdom of God in different ways. There are those who receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior and bring their resources with them. This is really what God wants for all sinners—to have them become a part of the family of God. Then they can become partakers of the blessings of God.

Another way the wealth can be transferred is through faith and the Word of God operating in believers’ lives—such as through the hundredfold return. People who are increasing their giving as they grow will see ever-increasing returns on their giving—as the reservoirs that have held riches from unjust gain are tapped. The wicked rich who refuse to obey God will begin to see their wealth dwindle. Riches will return to the hands of the givers.

So learn to give. Get your words in line with God’s Word. Believe for the hundredfold return—and for the wealth of the wicked to come into your hands, because “The wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just” (Proverbs 13:22).

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

“Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts.” — Isaiah 55:7

“It doesn’t matter how hard I try, everything I do turns out wrong!”

Have you ever felt that way? I certainly have. There was a time in my life when everything I put my hand to fell apart. Back then, I chalked it up to “bad luck.”

But I was wrong.

I’ve found out in the more than 30 years since then, there’s no such thing as luck—good or bad. In fact, I’ve taken the term completely out of my vocabulary.

It’s not luck that determines how things turn out in our lives—it’s choices. When we make really good ones, things go well for us. When we make bad ones, things go wrong.

No doubt, some folks would dispute that. They’d tell me about times when they did everything right. Times when they gathered all the information, listened to the experts and made a wise choice that, due to circumstances beyond their control, got them in trouble.

But the truth is, no matter how “right” you think you were at the time, a decision that brings trouble is a poor decision.

“Oh, but Brother Copeland, there’s no way in the world I could have known in advance what would happen in that situation!”

No, there may not have been any way in this natural world you could have made a better choice. But, if you’re a born-again believer, you aren’t restricted to making choices according to
this natural world. You have another, far more powerful option.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

Prosperity encompasses many good
things, including favor. When you have
favor, it opens doors for you and causes
things to go your way—even when, in the
natural, it may not seem possible.

Webster’s Dictionary defines favor as
“friendly or kind regard, good will, approval,
unfair partiality or favoritism.” That is what
we, as children of God, receive from our
Father God. He does show us favoritism,
because we’re His kids. When we are
obedient to do what His Word says and
also stand on the promises found there, He
can cause people to show us favor.

Proverbs 12:2 says that a good man finds
favor with God. If we walk in love, mercy,
kindness and truth, we will find favor with
God and man (Proverbs 3:1-6).

We should seek the approval and favor
of God, not man, because “if God be for us,
who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). God will
make a covering over and defend those
who put their trust in Him. He surrounds
them with a shield of favor (Psalm 5:11-12).
And He “is able to make all grace (every favor and
earthly blessing)” come to us in abundance
(2 Corinthians 9:8-11). When we have favor
with God, people just can’t help but help us.

Genesis 39:2-4
KJV—The Lord was with Joseph, and he
was a prosperous man; and he was in the
house of his master the Egyptian. And his
master saw that the Lord was with him, and
that the Lord made all that he did to prosper
in his hand. And Joseph found grace in
his sight.

Amp—The Lord was with Joseph, and he
[though a slave] was a successful and prosperous
man; and he was in the house of his
master the Egyptian. And his master saw
that the Lord was with him, and that the
Lord made all that he did to flourish and
succeed in his hand. So Joseph pleased
[Potiphar] and found favor in his sight.

Moffatt—The Eternal was with Joseph, and
he prospered; he was kept inside the
household of his master the Egyptian, and
his master noticed that the Eternal was
with him, and that the Eternal prospered
everything he took in hand. Joseph was
popular with him.

NIV—The Lord was with Joseph and he
prospered, and he lived in the house of his
Egyptian master. When his master saw that
the Lord was with him and that the Lord
gave him success in everything he did,
Joseph found favor in his eyes.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

But, you know what? You have an even better
reason to have a winning attitude than the general
did. God has guaranteed your success. Let me
show you what I mean. Imagine you’re about to
tackle a really tough job. Before you even get
started, God speaks to you right out loud and
says, “I just want you to know, I’m going to
personally see to it that this project you’re
working on succeeds.” Wouldn’t that give you a
tremendous feeling of confidence? Even if you ran
into some rough spots, you wouldn’t worry about
failing because you would have God’s word that
you were going to succeed. That would make it
easy to have a winning attitude, wouldn’t it?

Well, let me tell you something. You do have
God’s promise that you’ll succeed. He said in His
Word that you’re an “overcomer”! In Him, you can
overcome any problem the world throws your way.

Read 1 John 5:1-5:

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?

God is being unusually explanatory here. He
doesn’t normally give such in-depth explanations
of things that are written in the Word of God. The
reason: He intends that we take what He says by
faith, go to Him, and allow the Holy Spirit to
reveal it to our hearts. That way the devil isn’t
tipped off to what it means.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries

When it comes to prosperity, the Word of God
is the secret to your success. But just reading the
Word isn’t what makes you successful.

When God instructed Joshua about what to do
to become prosperous and have good success, He
told Joshua three things to do with the Word on a
continual, night-and-day basis. He said to speak
the Word, meditate on the Word, and do (obey)
the Word (Joshua 1:7-8).

When we get actively involved with the Word,
allowing it to fill our thoughts, direct our conversation
and determine our actions, that’s when
we really become doers of the Word. And God
promised us, the doer of His Word is who will be
prosperous and blessed.

Leviticus 26:3-5

KJV—If ye walk in my statutes, and keep
my commandments, and do them; Then I
will give you rain in due season, and the
land shall yield her increase, and the trees
of the field shall yield their fruit. And your
threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and
the vintage shall reach unto the sowing
time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full,
and dwell in your land safely.

Amp—If you walk in My statutes and keep
My commandments and do them, I will give
you rain in due season, and the land shall
yield her increase, and the trees of the field
yield their fruit. And your threshing [time]
shall reach to the vintage, and the vintage
[time] shall reach to the sowing time; and
you shall eat your bread to the full, and
dwell in your land securely.

NIV—If you follow my decrees and are
careful to obey my commands, I will send
you rain in its season, and the ground will
yield its crops and the trees of the field
their fruit. Your threshing will continue until
grape harvest and the grape harvest will
continue until planting, and you will eat all
the food you want and live in safety in
your land.

Leviticus 27:30

KJV—All the tithe of the land, whether of
the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the
tree, is the Lord’s: it is holy unto the Lord.

Amp—All the tithe of the land, whether of
the seed of the land or of the fruit of the
tree, is the Lord’s; it is holy to the Lord.

Moffatt—The tithe of all the land, whether
in grain from the field or in fruit from the
tree, all belongs to the Eternal; it is sacred
to the Eternal.

NIV—A tithe of everything from the land,
whether grain from the soil or fruit from
the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to
the Lord.

Kenneth Copeland Ministries