Cathy Bryant's Blog: CatBryant.com ~ Journey Blog, page 82

Chosen and Adopted

I've always imagined that adopted children must surely grow up with a
keen sense that they were especially chosen by their adopted parents.
What a benediction of peace, joy, and love that must bring to their
lives!



The adoption process is the perfect analogy of what God has
done for us. Through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus, God has chosen and
adopted us and brought us into His family. I'm awed by that thought.
When I take the time to reflect on it, contentment and serenity rain down on my soul.





You can tell for sure that you are now fully adopted as his
own children because God sent the Spirit of his Son into our lives
crying out, "Papa! Father!" Doesn't that privilege of intimate
conversation with God make it plain that you are not a slave, but a
child? And if you are a child, you're also an heir, with complete access
to the inheritance. (Galatians 4:6-7, MSG)

 

Not one of us
who cry out for our Papa are ever turned away. He longs to carry on an
intimate conversation with us. The heavenly benefits of being His heirs
are ours, and the riches of Heaven await. We're His adopted children,
birthed by His grace and bound by His unfailing love.



Thank
You, Papa, for choosing and adopting us. We were helpless and hopeless
until You reached across time and chose us for Your own. Help us to
remember who we are in You--beloved children of the King and co-heirs
with Christ. May we bear the privilege and responsibility in a way that
makes You pleased and proud. Amen.

A Product of Prayer

No two ways about it--my life is a product of prayer. I grew up
knowing that my grandmothers (& others!) prayed for me. I shudder to
think how differently my life would have turned out without those
prayers.



When I consider the above paragraph, I realize with fresh intensity both the privilege and responsibility of praying for others.



Samuel, the Israelite judge who anointed King David, sums it up succinctly: "As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you." (1 Samuel 12:23, NIV)



I
believe in the power of prayer, and I believe when we pray for others
we release God's incomparable power into their lives. Prayer changes
people (us included) and circumstances. Most importantly, prayer brings
us into communication with the One True God who indwells us. Why would
we not want to pray?



It's all too easy to fail to pray for others
the way we need to. I've determined that I will never tell someone I'm
praying for them without making it a reality. And I'm working on
stopping to pray for people and situations as soon as I'm asked. If I
accomplish nothing else on this planet, I want to be a prayer warrior.



We'll
never know this side of heaven how our prayers for others have affected
change, but like Samuel, we can realize the sinfulness of hoarding our
prayers for our own selfish pursuits. We can make a heavenly difference
in the lives of those around us through prayer. (I sometimes pray for strangers that I pass wordlessly on the street, asking God to bless them and reveal Himself to them.)



May
we often consider the people who have prayed for us and recognize the
times when our lives were forever altered by prayer. Let's take a good
look at the people we come into contact with--some are strangers, and
others are those we see on a regular basis--and unleash God's miraculous
power into their lives through intercessory prayer.



Father,
thank You for those who have gone before us in the journey of
faith--especially those who set aside time to pray for us. Lord, I pray
we won't drop the torch that's been passed to us. May we pray for others
throughout the day, lifting them heavenward, and releasing Your
dynamite power in them. Help us to realize the importance of prayer in
Your Kingdom work, not to spend vain words on selfish agendas, but to
bring about lasting change in the lives of those who cross our paths.
May the world be filled with intercessory prayer warriors who bombard
Heaven's gates on behalf of others. Amen.

The Importance of Gratitude

A recent status update on Facebook changed my day. It was simply
this: "What if God blessed you tomorrow based on what you thank Him for
today?"



Astounding thought,isn't it?



We are so quick to take
our problems and requests to God, and we certainly need to. But we're
also reminded (and commanded!) throughout scripture to give thanks, and
this is where we fall short.



Here are a few examples:



When you sacrifice a Thanksgiving-Offering to God, do it right so it will be acceptable. ~Leviticus 22:29 (MSG)



Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
   His love endures forever. ~1 Chronicles 16:34 (NIV)




Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. ~Psalm 100:4 (NIV)



Now
when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to
his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three
times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. ~Daniel 6:10 (NIV)



One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked Him—and he was a Samaritan. ~Luke 17:15-16 (NIV)



Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ~Philippians 4:6 (NIV)



...give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. ~1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV)



"Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!" ~Revelation 7:12 (NIV)



God
is sooooooo worthy of our thanksgiving, even when we're going through
rough times. He has given His Son as the sacrifice for us, so that we
might be healed of mankind's worst and most deadly disease ever--sin! If that isn't reason to thank Him, I don't what is.




But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. ~1 Corinthians 15:57 (NIV)

 



Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! ~2 Corinthians 9:15 (NIV)




Heavenly Father, forgive us for our lack of gratitude. On
our best days we remember to say thanks for the blessings of that day,
but help us to remember to thank You in the midst of difficulty as well.
Thank You for all the things we take for granted: a bed to sleep in,
clean water, food, shelter, health, our families, and so much more.
Thank You especially for the victory that is ours through Jesus Christ!
Amen!




Thanksgiving's not just a day; it's a way of living...

Total Dependence

Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
   don't try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
   he's the one who will keep you on track. ~Proverbs 3:5-6 (MSG)



When I wrote my last book, A Path Less Traveled
(book two in the Miller's Creek, Texas series), I chose Proverbs 3:5-6
as the theme for the story. At the time, I never dreamed how the Lord
would bring me to a place of having to depend on the truth of this
verse. In my head, I thought I understood this scripture, but now, in
the current circumstances of my life, it has become so real to me.



I
wish I could say that I always lived by this truth--that I didn't have moments
of fear, trembling, and downright panic--but in all honesty, I have to be
reminded of it several times a day. When I truly live out this passage,
life falls into a comfortable easy rhythm where the Lord leads and peace
indwells. But when I start to depend on my own understanding, worry and
doubt plague me like a growling dog snipping at my heels.



Leaning on our own understanding, is a normal human tendency. The problem lies in the fact that our understanding is flawed because we're flawed. We can't see the big picture, but our big God can.



Worry and faith can't co-exist. When one moves in the
other moves out. We have to choose. If we lean on our own understanding,
we're depending on ourselves instead of Jesus. True faith calls for
total dependence on Him. Not our own limited knowledge, not our bank
accounts, not our careers, not our strength. Nothing.



Trusting Him
means believing that He is able and that He will provide. It means not
stepping in to help Him out. It entails seeking Him instead of seeking
answers and solutions. Total dependence.



Dear Father,
thank You that You are able. We praise You because of who You are--a God
who sees and knows every detail of our lives down to the number of
hairs on our head--a God who has promised to provide. Help us to trust
You completely. Forgive us for the times we depend on ourselves instead
of You. Teach us that half-trust is no trust. Help us to seek You moment
by moment. Thank You for the peace that flows over us when we do. Thank You for directing our paths. In
Jesus' Name, Amen.

More Powerful Than A Locomotive!

No, I'm not talking about Superman. I'm talking about words.



As
a writer I've learned the importance and power of not only words, but
the right words. As Mark Twain so aptly puts it: "The difference between
the almost right word & the right word is really a large
matter--it's the difference between the lightning bug and the
lightning."



Words have the power to change people and to change
circumstances. To impact people for better or for worse. To make or
break someone's life.



I tremble to think of the careless
statements I've spoken without giving thought to how my words affect the
other person. I'm embarrassed and ashamed to admit that at times I
withhold words that could make a difference in the life of another. The
Bible even says our tongues hold the power of life and death (Proverbs
18:21).



I once saw a short film where a blind man sat on the
street with a sign that said: "I'm blind. Please help." In front of him
sat a tin can where those who passed by could drop their spare change.



A
young businesswoman hurried past, saw the sign, and came back to write a
message on the opposite side of the cardboard. Now the man was showered
with money.



When the blind man heard the familiar clip of the business woman's shoes, he asked her: "What did you write on the sign?"



A
smile touched her lips. "I wrote the same message, just in different
words." As she walked away, the camera came to rest on her sign.



It simply said: "It's a beautiful day and I can't see it."



A word fitly spoken in like apples of gold in pictures of silver. -- Proverbs 25:11



May our words be precious and beautiful to those around us, impacting them in a powerful and positive way.





Father,
make me more aware of the words I speak and write. Help me to realize
the power and impact of my words. May I be ever mindful to do away with
hurtful comments and to instead breathe words of life and encouragement.
In Jesus' name. Amen.

The Biblical Way To Handle Conflict

If there's anything we can be assured of in this life, it's this:
Conflict is gonna happen. Most of the time these conflicts are
compounded by a lack of communication, and this is just as much a
problem for believers as it is unbelievers.



Thankfully, the Bible
is not only God's Word, it's also the best way to live. Within scripture
are practical words of advice on how to relate to God and to others.
Consider the following words spoken by Jesus during His Sermon on the
Mount.



If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell him—work it
out between the two of you. If he listens, you've made a friend. If he
won't listen, take one or two others along so that the presence of
witnesses will keep things honest, and try again. If he still won't
listen, tell the church. If he won't listen to the church, you'll have
to start over from scratch, confront him with the need for repentance,
and offer again God's forgiving love. ~Matthew 18:15-17 (MSG)



How much more practical and too-the-point can you get?


Go to the other person involved in the conflict and try to straighten it out between the two of you.
If that doesn't work, take some witnesses to "keep things honest."
If all else fails, take it before the church.
In the midst of it all, keep loving the other person and continue to hold them accountable.

It's
been my experience that problems--not handled in the practical way
Jesus commands--take on a life of their own. They turn into "he
said"/"she said" gossip sessions, until the truth lies buried beneath a
pile of rumors and lies. If there is a breakdown in any part of the
process, this will happen, so we would be wise to ask ourselves the
following questions:


Did I try to straighten this out in a one-on-one session with the other person?
Have I done my part to get reliable witnesses involved with both parties of the conflict?
As a last resort, have I brought it to the attention of the church?
Have I done my best to be loving while keeping the other party accountable for their actions?

Another
point I'd like address is what we do when we hear information about a
conflict among other believers, because our response can make the
problem even worse. First, don't gossip about it. Secondly, don't take
sides without allowing both sides to explain their position. To do so
means that we make assumptions and jump to conclusions without the
complete story. In a nutshell, don't judge!



"Judge not, that
you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be
judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do
you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the
log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me
take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye?
You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you
will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye." ~Matthew
7:1-5



Father, our earthly conflicts must surely
grieve You. Forgive me, Lord, for the times I've tried to handle
difficult conflicts in a worldly way. For the times I've been judgmental
without knowing all the facts. Thank You for Your Word. It truly is a
light for my feet and a lamp for my path. Give me the courage to live
out Your Word in a way that pleases You, especially in times of
conflict. Amen.

Already There

Once more the Philistines raided the valley; so David inquired of
God again, and God answered him, "Do not go directly after them, but
circle around them and attack them in front of the poplar trees. As soon
as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the poplar trees, move
out to battle, because that will mean God has gone out in front of you
to strike the Philistine army." So David did as God commanded him, and
they struck down the Philistine army, all the way from Gibeon to
Gezer.   ~1 Chronicles 14:13-16 (NIV)



God is often referred
to in the Bible as the Lord of Hosts. When I was younger, I thought of
this as a reference to an angelic choir. As I've grown in my faith, I've
come to realize that it's an angelic army.



Our Christian walk is
sometimes described as a battle or soldier-hood (Ephesians 6; 2 Timothy
2:3). That is indeed an apt description. Life is a struggle for all of
us. And for Christ-followers, there is the added spiritual dimension to
the life struggle. Satan and his demons are directly opposed to us and
will do whatever they have to do to bring us down and make us
ineffective.

But we need not fear or hunker in the bunker! Our
Commander-In-Chief goes before us. The battle belongs to Him (2
Chronicles 20; 1 Samuel 17). Victory is guaranteed (see the book of
Revelation).



At a particularly difficult time in my life, I longed
and pleaded for God to break through my doubts and fears and give me
assurance that He was indeed moving. He did!



I stepped from my car
one Sunday morning. Before entering the building, I watched as the wind
scattered dry leaves across a cemetery. Then above me, I heard the
sound of marching feet.



How quick I am to doubt! The first thing I
did was check my pulse to see if what I was hearing was my own
heartbeat pounding in my ears. The two beats didn't match up. In awe I
listened to the steady stomp over my head. Just like a parade, it grew
louder above me before it gradually grew softer and moved off in the
direction we would soon be moving.



People may call me foolish or
crazy. They can say I was "just hearing things." I don't care. Here's
the truth: Our God is STILL the LORD of Hosts! He is STILL victorious!
He STILL moves on behalf of His people! Don't be afraid to set out in
the direction in which He is leading--He's already there!



The
LORD your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as He did
for you in Egypt, before your very eyes ~Deuteronomy 1:30 (NIV)



Lord,
forgive my tendency to doubt and to flee the battle. Gird my heart with
the truth of who You are. Strengthen my arms for combat. Steady my
stumbling feet and wobbly knees. All praise belongs to You, our
victorious Savior and LORD of Hosts! Amen!

A New Perspective

A shiny penny winked at me from the pavement. As I stooped to snatch it up, I realized it was embedded in the asphalt.



I
puzzled over the penny. This was my regular walking route. I had
literally traveled this same path thousands of times. Why hadn't I seen
the penny years earlier?



Then it dawned on me. Since we had
recently changed homes in the same neighborhood, my return route had
been altered by one block. In other words, I could see the penny now
because my perspective had changed.



Our lives are much the same.
When we're going through one of the many storms of life, it can be
difficult to see things that are right beneath our feet. Only later,
after the seas have calmed, can we look back with fresh eyes and see
from our new vantage point the good God has produced from the raging
waters.



Consider the story of Joseph. What a storm! Envied by his
brothers, sold into slavery, falsely accused and imprisoned. I'm sure he
had trouble understanding why! He spent thirteen years of his life in
prison for a crime he didn't commit. But God had a purpose for it.



He
(God) called down famine on the land and destroyed all their supplies
of food; and he sent a man before them—Joseph, sold as a slave. They
bruised his feet with shackles, his neck was put in irons, till what he
foretold came to pass, till the word of the LORD proved him true. The
king sent and released him, the ruler of peoples set him free. He made
him master of his household, ruler over all he possessed, to instruct
his princes as he pleased and teach his elders wisdom. (Psalm 105:16-22,
NIV)



If you're in the midst of storm-swept seas, trust the
One who has placed you there to accomplish His good and perfect work.
Allow His furnace to prove you true. Know that one day you'll be able to
see it all from a new perspective.



Father, teach us
that so much of what we complain about and question is simply a matter
of perspective. Help us see Your hand in everything that comes into our
life--both the good and the bad. May we trust You through every
circumstance. In spite of his difficult life, Your Word tells us that
Joseph was successful because You were with him in everything he did.
Grant us the same testimony. May our lives be successful--not by earthly
standards, but by Your standards--because of Your presence with us and
in us. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Silenced Voices

I watched both movies in the same weekend. The Lord must have wanted me to get the message. I did.



The
movies I'm referring to are The Help and The King's Speech. My hubby
and I were enjoying a weekend excursion and saw The Help at a movie
theater. When we returned home the next day, our Netflix package was
waiting for us in the mail. We watched The King's Speech that night.



Now
I'm not gonna spoil the movies for those of you who haven't yet had the
opportunity to see them (I highly recommend both), but I will say that
both movies dealt with silenced voices.

It was definitely an
"aha!" moment for me as God's Spirit whispered truth and life into my
soul. I realized we allow so many things to silence our voices for
God--fear of criticism, what others might say or think, traditionalism,
apathy--the list could go on and on.





Our human nature is embedded with a desire to avoid pain at any
cost, but the enemy is well aware of our tendency to flee confrontation
and to hunker down in the bunker. The prince of darkness always attacks
through the chinks in our armor.



In retrospect, I'm so ashamed at
my allowing Satan to silence my voice. Rather than being a victorious
warrior forging ahead for the Kingdom's work, I plugged up the spring,
refusing to allow one more drop to squeeze through.



But our
Almighty God, the Lord of Hosts, is always victorious, even when we're
not! He gently and patiently rains down more grace and love on us, until
living waters swell and break through the barriers we've built. Then we
can't keep silent because our heart longs to shout to the world about
the gospel of peace and the Lover of our souls.



May the words
of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O
LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. ~Psalm 19:14



When He came
near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole
crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all
the miracles they had seen: "Blessed is the king who comes in the name
of the Lord!" "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" Some of the
Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!"
"I tell you," He replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."
(Luke 19:37-40, NIV)

A Message You Can Trust

Messages are being hurled at us from every direction, and in the
chaos of life, we often take them in without much contemplation. At
other times, we're attracted to a particular message because it's what
we want to hear, regardless of its truth. For those of us who struggle
with trust issues, it's difficult to know which messages to trust.



Really
the trust we struggle with is often over the messenger. After all, if
we can't trust the messenger, how are we supposed to trust what they
say?



Thankfully, there is a message which can be trusted, and it's
author is completely trustworthy. The Bible is God's Word to a world He
created and loves. It's a message of hope and redemption. It's a
revelation of who God is and His perfect plan to save lost and dying
people.



So in this world where we are constantly bombarded by
subtle and not-so-subtle messages, we have a place of refuge. When
something thrown into our path confuses us, we have a place to turn.



Instead
of accepting everything at face value, hold every tidbit of information
up to the divine light of God's Word. He loves you and knows what's
best for you. His message is the only one you can really trust.



I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. (Psalm 119:11, ESV)



Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. (Psalm 119:105, NIV)