Anxiety, Depression, Marriage, Healing and Love are just a few of the many indexed scripture and affirmation topics included in Affirm The Word, which contains over 700 scriptures, prayers & affirmations and devotional reflections needed to overcome the trials of life. It was created to help believers read and speak LIFE, no matter the circumstance, with faith and intention; for Divine transformation and the supernatural manifestation of God’s promises.
Anxiety, Depression, Marriage, Healing and Love are just a few of the many indexed scripture and affirmation topics included in Affirm The Word, which contains over 700 scriptures, prayers & affirmations and devotional reflections needed to overcome the trials of life. It was created to help believers read and speak LIFE, no matter the circumstance, with faith and intention; for Divine transformation and the supernatural manifestation of God’s promises.
Why Affirm The Word?
Proverbs 18:20-21 says: From the fruit of his mouth, a man’s belly is filled; with the harvest from his lips, he is satisfied. The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
I have been a believer (AKA follower of Christ) since I was 12 years old; however, notice I didn’t say, “A practicing believer.” Maybe a pretending believer, an ignorant believer, an inconsistent believer, and possibly a number of different types of believers all of us have had the pleasure or misfortune of encountering. But one thing I can truly say about myself is that no matter how off I was in my efforts to follow God, I always maintained a sincere desire to become all that He called me to be. I had no idea exactly how to do that, and until a few years ago, I had no idea where to start to ensure lasting and consistent transformation. But I knew I had to start somewhere.
At the time, I was enduring a serious situation on my job. You guessed it; I’d gotten myself into a terrible work “situationship.” I wouldn’t dare classify it like that at the time, as it indeed had all the elements of a relationship. But whatever one wants to call it, “it” was not good. However, I couldn’t, and quite possibly didn’t want to see that at the time. My almost twenty-year marriage had just ended, and after doing things “God’s way” most of my life, and being miserable, I was determined to really, once and for all, do things “my way,” but with God’s help, of course.
Eventually, after many scrapes, bruises, tears, and tantrums, I was beginning to see that I could no longer do things as I had always done. Meaning, I could no longer try to live righteously in my own strength, formulate plans steeped in my own self-interest (yet with a righteous objective), barter with God to bless said plans through sacrificial service, fail miserably, formulate my own methods of rescue and retaliation, fail miserably, beg God for rescue, rinse, and repeat. Even though I’d become more selfish in meeting my direct wants and needs, I was still behaving the same way I did when I was “serving God” because my service had always been about trying to protect myself and secure my future.
Therefore, my usual M.O. of trying to come up with ways of getting out of the situation, pleading and threatening the offender, bartering, consulting friends and family, and soliciting outside intervention, was not an option. Also, Ms. Cleo, the TV Psychic, had passed away and she too was no longer an option, so there wasn’t even that last shred of hope in the all too familiar, “Call me now!” – Lol! May she rest in peace.
In all seriousness, I am thankful that during that time, I met a woman who gave me some valuable insights. I’d heard that she had the spiritual gift of knowledge, and although I was not sure that still existed, I wanted to find out for myself. I’d actually met her on Facebook through an old friend, and on learning that she was starting a Brick and Mortar operation and was looking for a graphic designer, I sent her a message that I did logo design. We soon connected, and as we were reviewing her spec sheet, I began to tell her a bit about what was happening with me. I wasn’t sharing with her so much about the situation, just where I believe I was going, and where I wanted to be in my spiritual walk. She then began to tell me about all that was happening in my life, the people who were around me during that season, and what she was seeing concerning my walk with the Father and my spiritual gift.
About an hour into our call, I decided that I needed to start recording because I could not believe how accurate she was concerning me — internally. She asked me straight out, “Why won’t you commit to fully following God.” WOW! I asked her how she knew that. I mean, that was a major question because I had never spoken about my hesitation, but had thought of the specific reasons why many times. It was years before that I’d decided internally that I would not completely turn myself over to God in total surrender. Oh, I believed in Him. I wanted to follow Him so that He would bless me, but I wasn’t trying to be a minister or anything. I wasn’t trying to be “perfect.” Why? Well, the main reasons were: #1) I didn’t want to start something I couldn’t live out, #2) I didn’t want God to ask me to do something I didn’t want to do, and #3) I didn’t want to become a holy-roller, walking around with opaque stockings and a doily on my head; I’m just keepin’ it real! Simply put, I wanted to retain my false sense of control.
She went on to say that angels were telling her this, and she was just simply repeating what they were saying. She then proceeded to tell me what my spiritual gift was, not meaning the practical application but the result of my gifting poured out in service on this earth. She also told me about the supernatural developments that would take place in my life if I finally surrendered myself to God. This included how to do so; surrender, that is. And lastly, she told me about a book that would change my life.
The name of that book was The Game of Life and How to Play It, by Florence Schoval Schinn. The name alone had me totally intrigued, and change my life it did. To this date, I have now read and/or listened to it almost 100 times. Not only has it taught me about the power of Christ that lives in all believers, but it also taught me the power of speaking the Word to manifest change within us, ultimately changing our surroundings, both naturally and spiritually.
The Word of God teaches that there are two critical things believers must do upon conversion. The first is to be transformed into their NEW, Divine selves by renewing their minds. Conversion is free and only requires us to accept and believe. Transformation takes place via the work of the Holy Spirit in us, as we internalize God’s Word and renew our mind in the process. The second is to follow Christ. One cannot effectively and consistently do the latter without simultaneously doing the former. We will always be a work in progress. The hope, however, is that our constant evolution is ever toward the image of God and not that of our carnal self.
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Romans 12:2 NASB
Learning to follow Christ at such a young age, I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t know if what I was doing was right, or for the right reasons, or anything. When I did try to research, memorize, and live certain scriptures in the Word, I was told by parents, ministry leaders, and other seasoned “saints” that I was doing too much, and no one really did the word “literally.”
I didn’t know that I could ask God to reveal Himself to me in a way I could understand and that He would. I didn’t know that God means what He says concerning His character and how we are to love and serve Him, either directly or via various teachings throughout His Word. I also didn’t know how important it was for ME to speak His work over my life, every day, into my OWN hearing. I always thought the scripture, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17), meant through the preacher.
I was not encouraged to search the scripture for myself, and during the many times I tried, I would eventually get overwhelmed whenever I hit a “thus,” “thither,” “beseech,” or biblical genealogy full of weird sounding names. I would also be admonished for trying to do too much, or be “perfect,” which really discouraged me. Looking back, it would have helped to have key scriptures, in plain English close by, and the understanding of my need to speak them out loud, to help me stay on course. It would have also helped to have certain scriptures or concepts in the bible explained in concise, everyday terms, like, how to really forgive someone or how to cast your burdens on God. Just about everyone I knew seemed to “cast their burdens” on God by getting to the end of their rope, throwing themselves on the altar in desperation, and then getting up from said altar, only to go back to doing the same ol’ thing as before, hoping and praying for a different result.
Now, some people would call that insanity, but I call it ‘just not knowing any better.’ There’s a saying that goes, “when you know better, you do better.” The purpose of this book is to assist believers endeavoring to be transformed into the image of God, with internalizing God's Word and engaging in the spiritual practice of speaking LIFE, while in pursuit of their Divine purpose. Helping you to know better by providing you with indexed scriptures to easily learn the Word, and do better by putting the Word into practice, through the power and assistance of the Holy Spirit.
In my first attempt at committing scripture to memory, I was directed to a topical concordance. If you know anything about a concordance, then you are aware that they house about 20,000 topics, over 100,000 verses, and are usually as large as those old-school coffee table bibles. Affirm The Word, however, contains a small index of what I believe to be critical scripture verses essential to the believer’s walk, for protection against spiritual warfare and assistance with walking in total victory. It is meant to be carried with you daily, and it is spiral bound so that you can quickly reference scripture notations, write and access personal notes, and even tear out a prayer request or two for posting in your prayer closet.
There is no doubt that being created in God’s Divine image, we are all worthy and valued as human beings. But, we must surrender our will to His plan in order for that plan to manifest. By consistently and prayerfully engaging in the practice of speaking God’s Word over your life as well as the vision birthed in your heart through the Spirit of God, you will be empowered to walk in total trust in His ability to transform you into the highest expression of your true “self.”
May the fruit of your efforts bring forth with clarity, your God-ordained purpose in this earth, a purpose He established for your life before time began. And may this book be to you, a pivotal resource to supplement your daily bible reading, prayer time, meditation, and fellowship with our Heavenly Father. For His glory, your good, and the good of others. And it is so!
There is an old saying that say religion exists to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. J. Marie Jones pulls apart the “good book” to challenge those who claim belief in its power to open to its messages and let God reshape their lives.
Affirm the Word: The Spiritual Practice of Speaking & Living God’s Word challenges readers to surrender their lives, plans, and daily paths to God. The author, a self-described former media professional turned into a committed wife, hands-on mom, author, teacher and spiritual mentor, writes a frank, detailed description of her journey toward complete reliance and submission to God’s word and guidance. The most interesting part of the 208-page text is how much her thoughts and experiences will resonate with many readers who have considered whether there can be more to their spiritual lives.
The book is not a guide to the Bible, although as described the author includes nearly 700 scripture quotes and other reflections. It is an entreaty for those on a quest to deepen their spiritual action. J. Marie Jones in effect says, “The journey I am on is far from complete.” She states:
I gave Him an unequivocal “yes”. Meaning– if I was asked to serve in any way, I did so to the best of my ability, unto the Lord. I did not fully commit to an auxiliary or function full-time, because God had not yet confirmed my assignment... During that season, I learned to seek Him in everything because I was in unchartered waters. I also learned to wait on Him and stand firm in what I was assigned to do because I KNEW it was a task, assignment, or lesson that was essential to the next season of my life.
In the same, clarity she urges readers:
Open your heart before him and be willing to yield to His leading concerning the person He would have you be, and path He would have you take; for His Glory, your good, and the good of others.
This is a great book for any thoughtful reader, but especially for pastoral counselors and clergy. I dare you to complete it and not wonder about what more can be done to live the Word.