Believe & Speak

This episode is for anyone going through a season of lack right now. I am right there in the desert with you. The drought I’m in is being magnified by the smell of smoke that is so thick from the California wildfires near my home that it’s blocking out the sun at times.

We need rain. We desperately need rain, and I’m reminded of the drought in my own life each time I look out my window and see the smoky air.

Are there any rainclouds above that thick, brown haze?

When the resources I count on dry up, God calls me to look up. To look above and beyond the haze, and trust Him to bring rain in due season. Our all-sufficient God has unlimited resources, and He provides more than enough to meet our needs—with plenty left over to share.

When we’re needy, giving away what we have seems impossible. How can we be generous to others when we don’t have enough to meet our own needs? But our declaration to believe and speak this week summarizes the truth in 2 Corinthians 9:8.

“God generously provides all I need so that I can generously share.”

Monday evening, when I was putting my thoughts together for this episode, I stopped writing and started praying for rain. I told the Lord that I believed that there ARE rainclouds somewhere above all that smoke. I told Him that I believe He is able to meet all my needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:19)

I fervently asked for rain. Rain to put out the fires, rain to wash away the smoke, and a rain of resources to wash over my dry season of lack. Shortly after I closed my prayer, my weather app popped up with a notification informing me that rain would begin falling soon and would last for about 30 minutes. Wow! God hears us when we pray, so keep believing and speaking his promises, my friend. Your tongue has power. Use it for good.

This week's scripture: 2 Corinthians 9:6–11a

 

Discover the healing power of Psalm 139 in my book, Longing to Belong: Discovering the Joy of Acceptance.

Available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Walmart.com, Booksamillion.com and Christianbook.com.

Also available as an audiobook from Audible, and as a digital download to your Kindle or from the Apple store for your iBooks app.

Take the 10-day journey with me and let Scripture heal your heart.

Look for the Longing to Belong Reading Plan on your mobile device via the YouVersion Bible app.

God directed me to read from Psalm 32 today, and so I went to my usual sources—those versions of the Bible that take pains to accurately translate the original languages, which for the Old Testament is Hebrew and the New Testament is Greek. As a Bible teacher, I esteem the versions that stay true to the original text. Sometimes, however, I choose to read from a modern interpretation. While putting together today’s episode, I reviewed Psalm 32 in several different versions and was drawn to the Passion Translation. I love how it presents both the promise and the admonition in the verses I’ll be reading today from Psalm 32.

Our declaration comes word-for-word from verse 7, which is followed by an interesting interpretation of the word “selah”. According to Abarim Publications, “selah” appears 71 times in the Book of Psalms. Usually, the word appears once or twice per psalm, but Psalm 32 records the word “selah” three times.

Many versions of the Bible print the actual Hebrew word into the context of the Psalm. Perhaps you’ve read the Psalms and come across the word “selah” and wondered what it meant. Well, you’re in good company because its meaning is in doubt. Most scholars agree that the Psalms are meant to be set to music and sung. Many scholars have interpreted “selah” to mean "silence" or "pause". Others interpret it as a louder strain of music that makes room apart from the lyrics for a spontaneous, joyful noise to be made.

The New Living Translation interprets “selah” as “interlude” and that’s probably as accurate as you can get. It simply isn’t clear whether “selah” calls for a pause in the music, allowing time for silent reflection, or whether the term guides the congregation of worshippers to stop singing while the musicians amp up their instruments to invite vigorous dancing and joyful shouts of praise. Whatever the reason for the interlude, Psalm 32 assures us that our God surrounds us with songs of gladness and joyous shouts of deliverance.

In Psalm 32, David writes about the joy he feels upon finally confessing his sins and receiving God’s forgiveness. No wonder David admonishes us not to be stubborn but to come clean with God. When we do, we can hear God’s glad songs of deliverance all around us. Don’t miss the opportunity to listen for what your God is singing over you.

This week's scripture: Psalm 32:7-11

 

Discover the healing power of Psalm 139 in my book, Longing to Belong: Discovering the Joy of Acceptance.

Available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Walmart.com, Booksamillion.com and Christianbook.com.

Also available as an audiobook from Audible, and as a digital download to your Kindle or from the Apple store for your iBooks app.

Take the 10-day journey with me and let Scripture heal your heart.

Look for the Longing to Belong Reading Plan on your mobile device via the YouVersion Bible app.

Today’s episode is centered on one of those if/then passages in the Bible. In other words, our Bible reading contains a conditional promise. According to James 1:12, God promises untold blessings to those of us who persevere under trial. If we choose to hang on, press through, and keep believing God, then we will receive a victor’s crown.

I memorized this conditional promise many years ago, having learned it from an older edition of the NIV. “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”

The if/then conditional promise is this: If we withstand the test, then we will receive the crown of life.

God always keeps his promises. Always. You and I can know for certain that God will give us victory if we don’t shrink back, if we don’t fall away, if we hang on through life’s difficulties. After you have stood the test, you will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. As a lover of God, you will continue to experience the untold blessings of God—even as you experience excruciating hardship.

So, stand firm and stay faithful. God sees you and is more than able to strengthen you.

This week's scripture: James 1:12

 

Discover the healing power of Psalm 139 in my book, Longing to Belong: Discovering the Joy of Acceptance.

Available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Walmart.com, Booksamillion.com and Christianbook.com.

Also available as an audiobook from Audible, and as a digital download to your Kindle or from the Apple store for your iBooks app.

Take the 10-day journey with me and let Scripture heal your heart.

Look for the Longing to Belong Reading Plan on your mobile device via the YouVersion Bible app.

Yom Kippur begins tonight at sundown. Yom Kippur, known as the Day of Atonement, is the holiest day of the year for people of the Jewish faith. This important day is marked by prayer and fasting and repentance. In recognition of Yom Kippur, I’ll be reading fifteen verses from the book of Hebrews in today’s episode of the Believe & Speak podcast.

The New Testament book of Hebrews was written to followers of Jesus who were very familiar with the Old Testament Law of Moses and the Day of Atonement.

Christians believe that Jesus is our high priest and he made atonement for us with his blood on the cross. Aren’t you thankful that we don’t’ have to wait a whole year to be purified from sin?

The Bible teaches that only the high priest entered the inner room of the tabernacle—the Most Holy Place. He entered it only once a year, and never without blood, because without blood there is no forgiveness of sins. When Jesus died on the cross, the curtain shielding the Most Holy Place was torn in two! Jesus made a way for us to boldly approach the mercy seat of God any day of the year to receive forgiveness. Jesus is our high priest and he made atonement for us—once for all time!

Your sins have been washed away by the blood of Jesus. Romans 10:9 says, “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Believe and speak the truth about your redemption today.

This week's scripture: Hebrews 9:1-15

 

Discover the healing power of Psalm 139 in my book, Longing to Belong: Discovering the Joy of Acceptance.

Available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Walmart.com, Booksamillion.com and Christianbook.com.

Also available as an audiobook from Audible, and as a digital download to your Kindle or from the Apple store for your iBooks app.

Take the 10-day journey with me and let Scripture heal your heart.

Look for the Longing to Belong Reading Plan on your mobile device via the YouVersion Bible app.

This week, I’ve been consciously looking for reasons to give thanks. I decided to read Psalm 138:1-3 from The Message, because I love how this version of the Bible interprets these three verses regarding praise and thanksgiving. Since the tongue has the power of life and death, I want to fill my mouth with thanksgiving to the author of life. He is always worthy of praise!

The New Living Translation puts Psalm 138:3 this way: As soon as I pray, you answer me; you encourage me by giving me strength.

Isn’t that a good reason to be thankful today?

The original Hebrew for the word “embolden” in our declaration is taken from verse three. The NIV actually uses the word “embolden” in verse three. “When I called, you answered me; you greatly emboldened me.”

The NLT translates the word as “encourage” and The Message has the phrase “make my life large”.

The Hebrew word is râhab, which is a verb that means to act stormily, boisterously, arrogantly.

How interesting! Plenty of other scriptures teach us that God does not honor pride and arrogance. But he wants us to be confident in him. God has not given us a spirit of fear or timidity, but of POWER. The boldness expressed in the promise from Psalm 138:3 could lead people to assume that we are so confident, so secure, so firm in our access to God’s mighty strength that we come across as arrogant. Boldness is not arrogance. Don’t let the devil fool you. He wants you to back down and be wimpy. But God wants to greatly embolden you.

Be thankful, even when you are backed into a corner. Kneel before God and stand tall in the face of lies, knowing that God hears you the moment you call out. He steps in and makes your life large with strength.

This week's scripture: Psalm 138:1-3

 

Discover the healing power of Psalm 139 in my book, Longing to Belong: Discovering the Joy of Acceptance.

Available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Walmart.com, Booksamillion.com and Christianbook.com.

Also available as an audiobook from Audible, and as a digital download to your Kindle or from the Apple store for your iBooks app.

Take the 10-day journey with me and let Scripture heal your heart.

Look for the Longing to Belong Reading Plan on your mobile device via the YouVersion Bible app.

Today, I’ll be reading 1 John 5:1-5. These verses are such an encouragement to me when I feel like evil is gaining ground. I know that God has never lost a battle and that he has promised victory to every single one of us who believe in his Son.

I don’t always feel victorious. But I believe in Jesus and I also believe the Bible is His Word of truth. God’s Word tells me that I’m victorious. So, even when I don’t feel that way, I speak the truth—like proclaiming today’s declaration in a voice louder than my doubts.

Declaring truth helps me fight back against the pull into disbelief and discouragement. One thing that really helps me redirect the downward spiral of negative feelings is music. I’m including a link in the show notes to one of my favorite victory songs: “Never Lost” by Elevation Worship with Tauren Wells. You can’t sing that song and feel anything else but victorious!

God is our undefeated champion. We’re victorious not because he is on our side. We’re victorious because we are on his side. God has never lost a battle and never will. As a child of God, you are on his side—and you can achieve victory. Even if evil seems to have the upper hand at the moment, you are a conqueror who can defeat this evil world—and your victory is guaranteed because you believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

This week's scripture: 1 John 5:1-5

 

Discover the healing power of Psalm 139 in my book, Longing to Belong: Discovering the Joy of Acceptance.

Available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Walmart.com, Booksamillion.com and Christianbook.com.

Also available as an audiobook from Audible, and as a digital download to your Kindle or from the Apple store for your iBooks app.

Take the 10-day journey with me and let Scripture heal your heart.

Look for the Longing to Belong Reading Plan on your mobile device via the YouVersion Bible app.

Today’s reading is John 10:1-15 from The Message, which opens with Jesus speaking truth. May you hear the voice of your Shepherd as I read his words in this episode of the Believe & Speak podcast.

According to John 10:3 Jesus “calls his own sheep by name.” Jesus knows your name, my friend. I want us to believe and speak that precious promise. Jesus, the Great Shepherd knows you personally. He says in John 10:14, “I know my own sheep and my own sheep know me.”

I’ve mentioned before that The Message version of Scripture is an interpretation rather than a direct translation of the original manuscripts. I love how The Message words this in verse 15. “I put the sheep before myself, sacrificing myself if necessary.”

Jesus knew he would have to lay down his life. He knew his sacrifice was necessary. Even as he told this precious story about how much the sheep mean to the shepherd, Jesus knew that he was going to willingly lay down his life so that we could live with him eternally.

Even if you haven’t yet accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, he knows you. He knows everything about you, and he loves you enough to die for you. The Bible says, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8 NLT)

How I pray you won’t be ravaged and scattered by the wolf when you can come to Jesus and find safe pasture. The Good Shepherd is calling you by name even now. He wants to give you a better life than you ever dreamed of. Listen for His voice and let him lead you. He will keep you safe, my friend.

Last week, I mentioned I’d make an exciting announcement today, and here it is! My book, Longing to Belong: Discovering the Joy of Acceptance is now available as an audiobook!

Read about how the recording project came to be, and visit my website for more information about my audiobook.

 

Longing to Belong: Discovering the Joy of Acceptance is available for purchase on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Walmart.com, Booksamillion.com and Christianbook.com. It’s also available for download to your Kindle or from the Apple store for your iBooks app. Or visit my website to purchase a copy at shawnamariebryant.com

Enjoy this 10-Day Reading Plan on the YouVersion Bible App

This week's scripture: John 10:1-15

This week’s episode is inspired by a fable one of my pastor’s recently posted to Facebook. It’s called “Don’t Argue with a Donkey”, and since it’s about a lion and a donkey, I thought it might be one of Aesop’s fables. I searched the Internet and couldn’t find a proper attribution, but I liked the lesson in the fable, so I wrote an adaptation with a nod to one of Jesus’s parables found in Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43. The parable ends with a promise that the righteous will shine like the sun.

You might not feel like a very bright light, but even a tiny spark is visible in the darkness. You may think you can’t make a difference in this world. Especially in light of all the noisy negativity that surrounds you. When you feel like your voice of truth is being drowned out, remember this parable of Jesus and understand that you are surrounded by weeds.

Speaking of weeds… here’s the fable I rewrote and now call “Don’t Argue with a Weed.”

The weed said to the wheat, "The grass is blue.”

The wheat replied, "No, the grass is green."

The discussion heated up, and the two held their ground, unbending, disturbing the peace. The weed and the wheat continued their argument until the owner of the field came into view. At once the weed began to shout, “Hey, isn’t it true the grass is blue? The wheat disagrees and annoys me. You should punish him."

The owner declared, "The wheat will be punished with a season of silence."

The weed danced about cheerfully and sang with glee: "The grass is blue. The grass is blue.”

The wheat accepted the owner’s judgment, but asked, “Why have you punished me? After all, the grass is green."

The owner replied, "In fact, the grass is green."

"So why punish me?"

"Your punishment has nothing to do with the color of the grass.” Said the owner. “May your season of silence teach you not to argue with fools who care more about the victory of their beliefs than they care about knowing the truth.”

Every fable has a moral, and the moral of this story is that some people do not have the capacity to understand the truth, no matter how much evidence you present to them. Others do not have the will to accept the truth. Blinded by bigotry, resentment, or pride, they will never allow you to prove them wrong.

I revised the fable to illustrate that Jesus knew what he was doing when he allowed the weeds to grow among the wheat. Please don’t let those weeds distract or discourage you. Whenever you are drawn into an argument that doesn’t make sense, be still. Pray for God’s kingdom to come, and don’t forget that you already shine! You don’t have to wait until the end-time harvest to shine like the sun. You are the light of the world, my friend. So don’t argue with a weed. Instead shine the light of Jesus right where you are planted.

The brightness of your testimony will make the weeds around you whither and the wheat around you multiply.

 

Longing to Belong: Discovering the Joy of Acceptance is available for purchase on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Walmart.com, Booksamillion.com and Christianbook.com. It’s also available for download to your Kindle or from the Apple store for your iBooks app. Or visit my website to purchase a copy at shawnamariebryant.com

Enjoy this 10-Day Reading Plan on the YouVersion Bible App

This week's scripture: Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

In light of yesterday’s resignation of Governor Cuomo, I was drawn to share the portion of Scripture that talks about praying for those who rule over us in government. I looked back over my notes and discovered I read that Bible verse, which is 1 Timothy 2:2, in Episode 44.

The declaration back then focused on how praying for those in authority marks our lives with godliness and dignity. It’s a good word for us today—especially in light of the leadership transition in New York with Andrew Cuomo’s resignation—and so I encourage you to listen to Episode 44. Today, I’m shifting the focus of our declaration from prayer to salvation.

Last week’s declaration was this: I belong with the faithful ones who are saved.

Hallelujah! Those of us who have accepted Jesus are among the faithful ones who are saved. But God wants everyone to come into the fold, he wants us all to belong with the faithful ones.

1 Timothy 2:4 says, “He wants not only us but everyone saved.” Jesus died to set every single one of us free. I love how The Message says in verse 6, “Eventually the news is going to get out.” Oh, how I want to be part of getting that news out! Jesus offered himself in exchange for those who are held captive by sin, to set them all free. God wants to save everyone by his grace. All we have to do is believe by faith that God raised Jesus from the dead. Our salvation is a gift from God. And that gift is available to anyone.

I’m super passionate about this week’s declaration. It’s such a good word for a lost and broken world.

 

Longing to Belong: Discovering the Joy of Acceptance is available for purchase on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Walmart.com, Booksamillion.com and Christianbook.com. It’s also available for download to your Kindle or from the Apple store for your iBooks app. Or visit my website to purchase a copy at shawnamariebryant.com

Enjoy this 10-Day Reading Plan on the YouVersion Bible App

This week's scripture: 1 Timothy 2:1-7

My pastor likes to say that the Bible wasn’t written to us, it was written for us. The author of Hebrews writes to remind persecuted believers to think back on the days when they first learned about Christ and how they remained faithful—even though their profession of faith led to terrible suffering. These believers had lost many things because of their faith in Jesus, but they knew they had something better that no one could take away from them. The verses I’ll read today weren’t written to us, they were written to a suffering and persecuted church. But I believe the author of Hebrews has a message for us when circumstances rattle our faith and make us question God.

A few years ago, I wrote a blog post about Hebrews 10:36 and 38. In a nutshell, I blogged about a season when I was really struggling to keep the faith. I had opened my Bible memory verse app to look for “Faith Building” verses, and as I scrolled through the list, I thought I saw Hebrews 10:36. I had already memorized that verse, and I knew it said, “You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.”

Recalling that verse made me mad, and I told God, “I HAVE persevered. I HAVE done your will. So, where’s my promise? I haven’t received it. I can’t believe this is supposed to build my faith.”

Then I looked again and realized the listed verse was Hebrews 10:38 (not 36). I didn’t know that verse by heart, and so I looked it up. It began with the word “but.” When a verse interrupts your negative thoughts with “but…” you know God’s Word is alive.

Tears stung my eyes as I read, “But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.” I’d never willfully do something God would take no pleasure in. No matter how my faith is tested, I can’t stop trusting God. I won’t stop trusting God. I do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed. I choose to persevere no matter what.

 

Longing to Belong: Discovering the Joy of Acceptance is available for purchase on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Walmart.com, Booksamillion.com and Christianbook.com. It’s also available for download to your Kindle or from the Apple store for your iBooks app. Or visit my website to purchase a copy at shawnamariebryant.com

Enjoy this 10-Day Reading Plan on the YouVersion Bible App

This week's scripture: Hebrews 10:34-39