Faith and Seed

By Erin Daniel Bryant

In the middle of the most pitiful hell I have ever known, God broke the chains of sin and set me free while sitting in Arizona State Prison for a terrible crime. Jesus made a way for me. I was without hope, recently divorced, and facing eight years in prison when I was set free from a lifetime of pain. I was broken, thirsty, and lost; and this is where I was blessed with salvation in a New International Version (NIV) Bible with plenty of time to read. I was blessed to learn about the new life that I had heard so many "Jesus freaks" talk about. This is the very real testimony of the Lord's power to change a heart from evil to righteousness, from damnation to salvation, and from hopelessness to infinite hope.

My testimony is of our God's awesome power to save. He is reaching into the darkest prisons and the bleakest of places with a message of forgiveness and love. No one has walked in my shoes, but the Lord has numbered my steps for his glory. If being saved from hell is too hard for you to believe, then maybe this book will change your mind. I once was sure I would certainly die and go to hell, until God showed me his Son, Jesus Christ!

I sing a constant song of gratitude from the heart, and now I am a "Jesus Freak" born again, child of God too! Many blessings to you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 2, 2024
• ISBN: 9798890434005

Book preview

cover.jpg

Faith and Seed

Erin Daniel Bryant

ISBN 979-8-89043-399-2 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-89043-400-5 (digital)

Copyright © 2023 by Erin Daniel Bryant

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

All biblical citations were taken from the New International Version of the Holy Bible unless otherwise indicated.

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

My Baptism

Chapter 1

Faith and the Seed

Chapter 2

Inner Man of the Holy Spirit

Chapter 3

Repentance through Worship

Chapter 4

Faith before Works

Chapter 5

Testify of Christ

Chapter 6

A Leap of Faith

Chapter 7

A New Perfect Purpose

Chapter 8

Powerful Provider

Chapter 9

A Pathway of Prayer

Chapter 10

The Whole Measure

Chapter 11

Blessings through Trials

Looking Glass

My Baptism

On December 3, 2019, at about 9:30 a.m., I was baptized into Christ. It was a ceremony with six of my prisoner brothers included. We were baptized by two volunteers from Calvary Chapel, Phoenix, Arizona. John Johnson was our personal friend who came every week from Calvary Chapel on Tuesdays for a Bible study class. He presided over our baptisms after a prayer and a brief testimonial from each person being baptized.

On Easter Sunday of 2019, I was watching a Christian broadcast on TV. I was overcome by the Holy Spirit and had a brief experience like a vision. I had bowed my head in tears and was contemplating my sinful past. During this contemplation, I had a profound feeling I was standing before the Lord. In this waking vision, I could see the Savior on the cross before me with his hands and feet pierced. I was crushed. I spent the evening in prayer and studying Scripture. That day, I decided I would ask to be baptized. I mentioned my desire to John sometime in the following months. Eventually, baptisms were scheduled, and the other men from Bible studies were baptized as well.

We were joyful to declare Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. The baptisms were done in a one-man tub fashioned of a canvas overlay fold-out tub provided to the prison by an organization called ARM Prison Outreach. Leading up to our baptisms, we had all shared Bible studies with John. Many prisoners here have been greatly blessed by the fellowship and prayers along with studies.

Before my calling and new life in Christ, I have been incarcerated many times. I will be released after serving eight years in prison for a current charge. I have been incarcerated for a total of seventeen years. I was first incarcerated for auto theft at nineteen years old and served three years. I have been in Douglas Complex, Gila Unit. I have been in SMU 2 in the Central Unit, known as the Walls. I have been in Kingman, Cerbat Unit, and presently in Cibola Unit, Yuma, Arizona. It has been such a hard road, and I am really blessed to have God's mercies! I can know without a doubt it is his miracles that have brought me to repentance. Every day is a new blessing for me to share a testimony with any who will hear of our Savior.

On Easter Sunday of 2021, about fifteen of my prisoner brothers in the pod shared the body and blood of our Lord. We came together in the center of the pod, building 6, A and B pod. In reverence and praise, we prayed, broke bread, and made small cups of grape Kool-Aid. We began with an opening reading of Isaiah 51. It was deeply humbling to share and to see these men, even in this place, as hardened criminals, graciously remembering the Savior together on Easter with the sacrament. I know miracles happen through the Holy Spirit and Jesus every day! I am a living testimony of his grace!

Chapter 1

Faith and the Seed

As a man who has been lost and to whom the gospel of faith in Christ is the greatest treasure I have ever discovered, I would like to share the story of my own redemption from the hand of the enemy.

Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story, those He redeemed from the hand of the foe (Psalm 107:2 NIV).

This is a time of true hardship in my life. My current situation is a trial and a tribulation of seemingly insurmountable size. In the middle of this travail—in prison, with relief escaping me—a tiny seed of faith began to grow in my heart. With just one spark of God's light, a bright and vibrant glow started inside my heart. A prayer, a Bible, and a year later, a brand-new man has been born. I came to realize that through this experience, God was building my heart upon his Word. The Lord God of the world is powerful to save and restore a person in every way. His Word can straighten a man and plant his feet on the solid rock of Christ's salvation.

My purpose in writing this book is to display the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. His life and sacrifice bring hope to the lost, faith to the faithless, life to the spiritually dead, and truth to those who have been deceived. My prayer is for salvation from our Lord for those who have not yet received his Son, Jesus Christ. My prayer is for the washing and regeneration of their soul, through the Holy Spirit, for all who receive Christ in their hearts.

Through this experience, I've come to know the basic principles of the gospel as invaluable tools. Tools of profound importance are essential to a life of freedom in this very troublesome world. My story is one of hope, victory, and spiritual freedom while in the middle of this storm. It is born in the middle of extreme circumstances. In prison, because of a sinful life, the light of our Savior reaches into the darkness. His light reached into my heart and mind—a violent criminal and even into this damaged soul of a scoundrel. There I was looking into the mirror as a five-time convicted felon, hopeless!

The ambition of this effort is not to sensationalize or glorify my past life. The details of my actions and my current prison situation will be concise; they are very real results of my sinful nature. While here in the Arizona Department of Corrections, I have learned about immeasurable peace in the rest of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I am currently serving an eight-and-a-half-year sentence for a violent crime. In one fearful moment, I attacked and caused severe injury to a man who had pulled a knife on me. His forehead and face were cut, and his left ear was nearly severed completely from his head. I am guilty of so many awful things. So many people have been harmed because of me, and I had no hope of wiping the stain of shame and disgrace from my heart and soul without the words of Jesus Christ.

Jesus answered, Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life. (John 4:13–14 NIV)

As I read these words of our Savior, the Holy Spirit of God began to pour this life-giving water upon the seed of faith that has been in my heart. The seed is now firmly planted by all of the words I have heard and read about Jesus Christ.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His