Our Guest: Kathy Branzell

Kathy Branzell is president of the National Day of Prayer Task Force. She is a woman of faith who also founded Fellowship and Christian Encouragement for Educators and served as a Rapid Response Chaplain for the Billy Graham Evangelical Association, National Coordinator of LOVE2020, and National Facilitator for the Mission America Coalition. Find out more about the National Day of Prayer at NationalDayofPrayer.org.

Key Thoughts and Scriptures: Faith Value

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Colossians 2:6-7 NASB Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.

The 2022 National Day of Prayer theme was “Exalt the Lord who has established us.”

2 Corinthians 10:5 NASB We are destroying arguments and all arrogance raised against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

Luke 6:45 NKJV A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

We need to not only rethink our words, but our tone.

Psalm 51:10 NKJV Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

We need a right spirit in us so there’s a right spirit of what comes out of us.

Proverbs 25:4 NKJV Take away the dross from silver, and it will go to the silversmith for jewelry.

Even before the boxes were unpacked, they went to church.
Even if the time to be spent in a location was short, they recognized that God had established them and they had mission and meaning there.
It was important to have that solid family foundation of faith.
Housewives get to be the Chief Evangelism Officer of their families.
Wherever you are, your value is in Christ.

Proverbs 3:6 NKJV In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

Sometimes God is directing our paths even when we think He’s abandoned us.
“It’s a dark day when you hear your doctor say, ‘You have a brain tumor.’”
My path was to run headlong into His throne room to His feet and cry for help.
Always keep your sense of humor in everything.
There came a point where God said, “Enough!”
Every minute has mission and meaning.
“I wasn’t going to sit around and wait.”
Look at the opportunity in front of you.
Continue to speak faith knowing that God is always faithful.

Matthew 6:19-20 NKJV “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

Malachi 3:2-3 NKJV …For He is like a refiner’s fire and like launderers’ soap. He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness.

Lessons from the Refining Faith:

Trust Him with everything.
Don’t take anything at face value; Take everything at faith value.
“God, what are you up to?”, “Come up and see!”
God will give you Heaven’s view if you ask Him.
Trust God in the moments.
Don’t get ahead or behind Him, but keep in cadence with His Heartbeat for you.
A pity party only puts you in a pit.
Celebrate life every single day.
You still make plans, but you’re willing for God to frustrate them.

“Either way, I win,” – Kathy’s 16 year old son after being diagnosed with cancer.

“Jesus decides my days.”
The family foundation of faith is critical at every stage of life.
It’s never too late to start building that foundation.
Tell the stories of God’s faithfulness in your life to those around you.
Build up their God confidence.
The stories of other believers can give you confidence that God will work in your life too.
The stories are even more impactful when you hear it directly from the believer.
“This is what God did for me.”
Write it down.
The enemy has always been after each of us to shut us down because of the plans God has for us.

Jeremiah 29:11 NIV For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

We all walk in Kingdom purpose.

Ezra 8:31 NASB …and the hand of our God was upon us, and He rescued us from the hand of the enemy and the ambushes by the road.

Have your kids stop and notice God’s faithfulness.
No one has come into a relationship with Jesus Christ by being yelled at or spit on.
We fight the enemy on our knees.

Matthew 22:37-40 NKJV Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

Everything must be done out of love.

Matthew 14:14 NKJV And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.

When we pray for people, God pours His love for people into us. When we open ourselves up to that, then we can pour it out to others.

John 7:38 NKJV He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

We need to look at our words and our thoughts and ask ourselves, “Is this truth or trash?”
Am I drawing people to Christ or driving them away?
Our love for others can go wrong when we don’t even love ourselves.

John 13:34-35 NKJV A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

“As God has…” should be our goal.
Prayer is caught, not taught.
So many times we honor people for worldly things rather than their character.
Every human being needs acknowledgement.
Stop and give people your focused attention.
Don’t withhold great affection from people.
Prayer is a conversation with the One who loves you more than you could ever understand and the One who could do anything and everything above what we could imagine.

Ephesians 3:20 NKJV Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.

Kathy’s Two Most Spoken Prayers:

- Help!
- Shut my mouth!

Psalm 141:3 NLT Take control of what I say, O Lord, and guard my lips.

Prayer comes from the heart.
Be willing to learn different parts of prayer.
We praise God for who He is.
We thank God for what He does.
Your prayer life can grow.
God speaks to everyone.

To Tell the Difference between God and Your Own Thoughts:

Be deeply steeped in the Word of God.
- God will never tell you to do something that is opposed to what is in His Word.
- The Word of God and prayer go hand in hand.
You can always ask God for confirmation.
If you’ve lost your peace, stop and wait on God.
- He will guide you.

Always pray about it.
- You could be getting in God’s way.
- You could be stealing someone else’s blessing.
- It could be taking up space in your life that belongs to God’s next assignment for you.
- “I need to see what’s on the page from the One who authored my days.”
God’s timing is important in His design.
God’s “No” is because there’s a greater “Yes!”

Deborah’s Story

Judges 4-5 NKJV We’re at war, contending for the soul of our nation.

Ruth NKJV Ruth’s Story

Ruth was traveling with someone who called herself, “Bitter,” yet she was sweet and faithful.
She was willing to journey with the bitter.
We need to be willing to journey with the bitter, the hurting, even the hateful and show them the love of Jesus Christ.
There are so many hopeless and hurting people that we need to be more like Ruth and be willing to serve them and love them.

Habakkuk 3:2 NIV Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.

The Lord is the same yesterday, today and forever.

1 John 4:19 NIV We love because he first loved us.

Psalm 139:17-18 NIV How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand— when I awake, I am still with you.

Galatians 5:22-23 NIV But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Self-control coming from the Holy Spirit plugs us into the Spirit.
Fruitfulness, not feelings, should run our lives.

Psalm 20:1 ISV May the Lord answer you in the day of distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.

Fun Facts/Suggestions:

“Life Means So Much” by Chris Rice

Books on Faith and Prayer:

An Invitation to Prayer: Developing a Lifestyle of Intimacy with God by Kathy Branzell
An Apple a Day: 365 Devotions for the Heart of a Teacher by Kathy Branzell
Prayer Warrior by Kathy Branzell
40 Days of Love: A Prayer, Care, Share Devotional by Chris Vennetti and Kathy Branzell
From Heaven’s View by T.W. Hunt
The Hiding Place and Tramp for the Lord by Corrie Ten Boom
Of Whom the World Was Not Worthy by Marie Chapian

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I Take Things At Faith Value, Kathy Branzell’s Story (Episode 11)