Identified in CHRIST: A Collection of GODaEUR(tm)S Wisdom... Pursuit of Oneness in HIM

By Doris E. Pratt

CHRIST in You-the Hope of Glory!

The Apostle Paul had instructed the early church to be equipped with

'...the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of GOD.'

He knew the struggles ahead in proclaiming CHRIST to the world.

Today is no different.

Our reflection of GOD'S Love and Wisdom is the only path

that brings Glory to HIM.

This is Our Calling!!

Identified in CHRIST is the Spiritual Self-Help book that bears eloquent witness to GOD's purpose. The author's personal collection of Biblical references; complimented by passages from renowned authors, pastors and theologians; reveal to the reader GOD's Word and HIS perspective in achieving victory.

Guidance in Living for CHRIST

Possessing HIS Blessings, Healing, Peace, and Love

Necessity for Faith, Forgiveness and Prayer

HIS Attitude Toward Money and Humility Biblical Strategies to Combat Satan

Knowledge of Who CHRIST Is; and Who HE Says We Are In HIM

And So Much More...

Pages to Journal Personal Reflection Follow Each Topic

GOD'S Wisdom Is Timeless

Strengthens Spiritual Growth

Increases Intimacy in Relationship with CHRIST

Reflects HIS Love to the World and Glory to HIM!

For Such a Time as This...

May GOD'S Will be Accomplished Through HIS Children

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: May 15, 2024
• ISBN: 9781639033218

Book preview

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Identified in CHRIST

A Collection of GODaEUR(tm)S Wisdom... Pursuit of Oneness in HIM

Doris E. Pratt

ISBN 978-1-63903-320-1 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-63903-321-8 (digital)

Copyright © 2024 by Doris E. Pratt

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements and Dedication

Introduction

Part One: Bible Gems

The Reason Why

A–Z to Memorize Scripture

The Armor of God

The Beatitudes

The Ten Commandments

A Time for Everything

Favorite Verses

FAVORITE VERSES

The Fruit of the Spirit

Love is Indispensable

Psalm 23

Psalm 103

Part Two: Strengthening the Body

Christian Living

CHRISTIAN LIVING

CHRISTIAN LIVING

CHRISTIAN LIVING

CHRISTIAN LIVING

His Commands

HIS COMMANDS

HIS COMMANDS

Emergency Directory

EMERGENCY DIRECTORY

EMERGENCY DIRECTORY

EMERGENCY DIRECTORY

My Finances/His Money

MY FINANCES/HIS MONEY

MY FINANCES/HIS MONEY

MY FINANCES/HIS MONEY

MY FINANCES/HIS MONEY

Forgiveness

Forgiveness

FORGIVENESS

Friendship

Friendship

Healing

HEALING

Humility

HUMILITY

HUMILITY

Problem Solving

Relationships

Relationships

Satan's Favorite Strategies

Satan's Favorite Strategies

Self-Worth

SELF-WORTH

Seven Deadly Sins

Things God Hates

Part Three: Empowering the Soul

Believers

BELIEVERS

BELIEVERS

Blessings

BLESSINGS

BLESSINGS

God Is Good

GOD Is Good

Hope

Love

LOVE

LOVE

Obedience to God

OBEDIENCE TO GOD

OBEDIENCE TO GOD

Peace

Peace

Prayer

PRAYER

PRAYERS

PRAYERS

PRAYERS

Prosperity

PROSPERITY

Sacrifices

Satan's Temptations

SATAN'S TEMPTATIONS

Sorrow and Sympathy

Think Great Thoughts

THINK GREAT THOUGHTS

THINK GREAT THOUGHTS

THINK GREAT THOUGHTS

THINK GREAT THOUGHTS

THINK GREAT THOUGHTS

Trials and Suffering

TRIALS AND SUFFERING

TRIALS AND SUFFERING

Part Four: Aligning with the Spirit

Faith

FAITH

FAITH

FAITH

FAITH

Holiness

Holy Spirit

HOLY SPIRIT

HOLY SPIRIT

HOLY SPIRIT

HOLY SPIRIT

HOLY SPIRIT

HOLY SPIRIT

Voice of God

VOICE OF GOD

VOICE OF GOD

Who He Is

WHO HE IS

WHO HE IS

WHO HE IS

HIMSELF

Himself

One Solitary Life

Who I Am in Him

WHO I AM IN HIM

WHO I AM IN HIM

WHO I AM IN HIM

WHO I AM IN HIM

Wisdom and Knowledge

WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE

WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE

WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE

WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE

Word of God

WORD OF GOD

Credits

About the Author

Acknowledgements and Dedication

I dedicate this book first and foremost to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. For the purpose of our lives is Him working in us! And to my family and friends, who've given me the life experiences confirming the need and urgency to stay focused on Him.

A heart-felt thank-you to all who contributed along the way to get this book published. And especially my friends who encouraged me and understood the book's purpose and potential.

I especially thank my dear friend, Bonnie Gregus, who first suggested a decade ago to get published. Although I put it off for years, when the Lord began nudging me in the same direction, I seriously started to move forward.

To Kathy Anderson, another dear friend, who has encouraged me with her enthusiasm and desire to have her own copy. My not wanting to disappoint her, helped to keep me focused and moving forward.

And to my dear friend Terry Arin, who edited the Introduction and cleaned up my Jersey grammar.

In addition, a huge thank-you and appreciation to my favorite authors and pastors from whom I incorporated quotes and passages throughout this book; adding essence and eloquence in highlighting the quality of His Word.

Introduction

My Personal Testimony

Throughout my life, I have heard from the Lord through various means of influence. Four were major events and stand out as turning points that guided my life's focus towards Christ. There are two that directly influenced my work on this book.

The first had to do with a prayer at the age of nine, which brought me into communication with God. My aunt's family had come to visit one weekend, and my cousin Sharon would be bunking with me. That night I observed their bedtime routine and listened carefully as they ended with a prayer. This was the first time I had ever seen anyone I knew pray to God, and I instantly had a desire to have this prayer to say at night, too. I was aware of God; however, all I knew about Him was through the Christmas story and what I once read in the 23rd and 24th Psalms, as a first grade assignment. That same year Bible Education was dropped from the public school curriculum. In my home there wasn't any acknowledgment of God displayed; not until I witnessed my aunt praying with her daughter. In that moment, God became real to me and I was determined to have a prayer I could say to Him at night.

What first caught my attention about this particular prayer was how it began: Heavenly Father, guard my sleep… Being raised without a father in the house, my heart felt a sense of peace imagining how God loved us, watched over us and wanted to comfort us. I understood the absence of my earthly father was out of my control. But that night I realized to have the Heavenly Father in my life was in my control; and apparently all it took was saying a prayer!

When Monday came and the relatives were gone, I came up with a plan to briefly intercept my aunt's next ‘nightly chat' on the phone with my mother. Prepared with paper and pencil in hand, I patiently sat by the phone after dinner to pick up before my mother could.

My aunt happily granted my request and slowly dictated the prayer repeatedly until every word was spelled correctly. I memorized it that night and faithfully recited it to the Lord every night thereafter throughout my childhood.

I give credit to my aunt as the person who introduced me to God through a simple bedtime prayer; and thus cracked opened a spiritual door to communicate with Him. Having been a child growing up without any knowledge of God spoken in the home and rarely at school; little did I know then just how precious a gift she had given me by her example. Thank-you, my dear Aunt Marty!

When I reflect back on my childhood, the tragedy was not the absence of a father figure, as much as the absence of hearing God's Word spoken in my home or school each day. My family rarely attended church, and we weren't encouraged to read the Bible or learn anything about God. As a result, I never heard the importance of a relationship with Him or what that would look like. During my youth, when I felt the Lord might be trying to make Himself known to me, I did not understand why, and doubted it was really Him.

When a person hasn't learned the knowledge of the nature of God, or His Will for their life; being able to achieve any level of obedience to Him becomes nearly impossible. For this reason God's attempts to communicate with me often, not always, but often fell on non-respondent and doubting ears. I was an adult before seriously believing about who God is, what He Wills for my life, and then becoming willing to obey what He was asking of me.

A Defining Moment

The second major event, a defining moment in my relationship with the Lord, was an audible encounter with Him when I was in my thirties. With one command, He not only got my attention, but led me into a life-long desire to pursue an intimate relationship with Him. A deep relationship which is available to everyone for the asking.

I had lived in Anchorage, Alaska for seven years and earned my B.Ed. in Elementary Education before moving to Omaha, Nebraska in June of 1990. My mother had since passed away, and I was seeking to build a closer relationship with my sister and nieces. Although it was a culture shock moving to the Midwest; things fell right into place. I was blessed with immediate full-time employment, found an excellent church to plug into, and a new home. In less than a year I began dating a gentleman I met at church; and for the first time in my life I decided to express my feelings for someone in a poem.

For weeks I carried a small pad in my purse and worked on editing the poem when time permitted. One Saturday afternoon while driving around doing errands, I had the poem out working on the flow of a couple of lines. The verse read, My heart bubbles over with joy with just the thought of seeing you again.

I soon arrived at my next stop, parked and stepped out of the car. Suddenly I heard a voice as loud as if someone were standing beside me, say, The way you feel in this poem, feel that towards Me.

Immediately I froze beside the opened car door, wondering if I'd hear more. In that moment I realized the lack of depth in my relationship with Jesus was about to change.

I never considered ‘having joy in my heart for the Lord' as being a requirement for my walk with Him. And I had no idea how to get there. I gave my life to Jesus five years before; and this was the first mention of displaying ‘emotional excitement' for Him. I later considered maybe it was just assumed. But on that day, I became instantly aware that achieving an intimate relationship with Jesus, needed to include more joy in my heart for Him than I presently possessed.

I always loved Jesus, but it felt more like respect for what Christ did for us on the cross. Up until this point, my ‘Christian walk' consisted of regular church attendance, Bible studies when I could fit them in, teaching Sunday School classes, showing compassion for others, and attempting to align my actions with His Word. In all that I was doing for the Lord, the truth was, it did not take me too far out of my comfort zone. My attitude was, as long as I was ‘doing things' for Him, then I was doing my part. The thought about giving 100% of myself 100% of the time to Jesus had never occurred to me. I did not understand then, the true meaning of being holy and sanctified. And because of this, I regularly lowered the Christian bar to gratify my present wants and desires. In reality, I was still ‘reigning on the throne of self,' and making excuses that it was Ok with Him.

But on that day, I became instantly aware that my lack of knowing God's Word and obedience to it, had everything to do with my degree of joy and devotion to Him. I was faced with a major truth about myself I hadn't been aware of before. Although I knew Jesus personally since surrendering to Him at a Billy Graham Crusade, my relationship with Him was on my terms, not His. More or less, I was fitting Him in when convenient for me. Because of this, my personal Bible reading had become limited to once a week studies, and I became satisfied with hearing about God's Word second-hand through sermons. God Himself was about to further the ‘molding' process, as a Potter does with a mound of clay. Unbeknownst to me, by keeping my relationship with Christ on my terms, my knowledge of Him and my love, joy, and excitement for Him were on a surface level. God wanted to show me what it really means to be in love with Him because of His great love for me, and as a result, fill me with His overflowing joy for Him; the joy that only comes from Heaven.

While still processing this encounter a couple of weeks later, the Lord brought to my attention a particular rebellious time in my