Walkin' In Son-shine

 

I John 1:5-7 “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”

Maybe it is just me but what I cling to here in this verse is the light and purity that God is offering each and every one of us through the blood of Jesus.  Powerful stuff here!  But we cannot claim that we are in fellowship or communion with Him unless we stop living in the dark!  The dark sinful places are not just physically important but we must also keep our minds, hearts and souls in His light as well.  I know I am still learning how, and still trying to fully live in the light and maybe I always will be learning and trying but that’s why I like the saying, “we are ever becoming Christian.”  It is be something we need to strive for everyday, something we need to take one day at a time but if we are to be in that fellowship with God and with each other then we need to continue to try.  To live by the truth, to live out of the darkness…I don’t think it means that we have to be perfect to be in fellowship with Him, He knows we are sinful and only Jesus is perfect…what I do think we need to do is repent as soon as we realize we’ve done something that brings us away from His light.  Then, by the blood of Jesus, we are forgiven and continue to be in His fellowship.  I believe to walk in the light is to give all of our effort into being a Christian, imitating Christ and repenting as soon as we know we have sinned.  The power of the blood of Jesus ishuge stuff!  It purifies us from ALL sin, no matter what we’ve done wrong in the past or how many times we’ve done it; Jesus’ blood has the power to purify us, to wipe the slate clean so really we have Son-shine!  It also says we will have fellowship with one another when we walk in the light.  I feel this is a very important key, because as Christians we all need each other!  When we ourselves begin walking in darkness we may not always find our way back to the light, we may not always know we have stepped into the darkness.  But if we can surround ourselves with fellow light-walkers, with others living in the Son-shine, then they can help us to see where the light is and how to get back into it.  Bottom line: God wants us to walk in His light with Him and He has given us the tools we need to accomplish it...we just need to reach out and accept them.  I pray that God's light surrounds you this week and that you are able to walk in the light with Him.  I keep you each in my prayers that God will surround you with His love, favor and blessings!  I also pray He protect you and deliver you from any darkness by the power of the Blood of His Lamb! 

Love through Christ,
Niki
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God Calls, We Choose

Passage Ephesians 4:7, 11-13 "But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.  It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ."

 

Wishes for a blessed and prosperous weekend to one and all!

We all know that we should never judge others, but I think that sometimes, especially in this overly politically correct world, we may forget the most important reason why we shouldn't judge...only God knows what each of us has been apportioned by Christ to do.  Each of us have been specifically called and appointed and given grace to do different jobs for Christ and therefore we are not equipped to judge whether other people are "living up to snuff" and furthermore we are not to worry ourselves with others in that way.  In that same way, we cannot judge our own lives by others either!  If we push ourselves and/or our families, children, spouses, etc to try to keep up with and live like others around us we are setting ourselves up for disappointment.  Ultimately, I think God wants us to not judge others or ourselves because He has important jobs for us to focus on.  It's my thought that He wants us to spend our time searching our hearts and souls for His voice which is telling us His plan & calling for our lives!  Then, as in verse 13, He wants us to "all reach unity in the faith!"  If we can attain unity in the faith then we can attain unity in the churches, all of them as one...then as one Body of Christ we can focus on serving God and sharing His love to those who have never heard it.  How exciting a prospect is that!  I am sure you are thinking, "wishful thinking there Niki," and maybe it is....sin causes the divisions in the church, it has always been the barrier that holds us back from "attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ" but we can choose to strive for less sin in our lives.  We have the power to choose whether or not to worship God, the power to choose if we will let Him lead our lives...the power to choose if we will follow His plan for our lives by living for Him and asking Him to grant us His wisdom so that we may know which way He is leading us.  I pray that we each may choose to ask the Holy Spirit into our hearts and minds that we may find quiet and peace so we can hear God's call.  My prayers are also for the Holy Spirit to guide every step of the way in your path appointed by Christ.  I hope you do not tire of hearing this for I never tire of praying it...I continually pray that God will surround you with His love, favor and blessings and that He protect you by the Blood of His Lamb, now and always.

Love through Christ,
Niki

 

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Jesus Stays the Same

Greetings and blessings to all!

Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

This is so comforting to me!  The more I read and study my beloved Bible, the more pieces to the puzzle, so to say, I find.  God is all powerful, all mighty, all loving, Emmanuel - always with us…and SO much more!!!  In consistently reading the Bible you can see how He never left His people, He never forgot or went back on His promises, His word and His covenant.  When we believe that God the Father, the Son and the Spirit are all one and the same, the trinity, well then reading Hebrews 13:8 is very reassuring!  If He never left or forgot His people in the Bible and if He is the same always then He will never forget or leave us!  Maybe it is just me but I take GREAT consolation in this!  I feel a real peace in knowing that no matter what I am going through, no matter where I am and no matter if every person in this world has left me alone, my Jesus will never leave me!  I cling to that and when I feel all alone, or I start to worry, then I can remember that His promises, ALL of them, are not going to be broken!  The waiting can be tough, at times it can take us to the downright edge of sanity, but we need to remember He is the same God, the same Jesus now as He was then…the God of Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, David…He is our God too!  He hasn’t changed and when we remember that we can hope and have faith because He will work all things in our lives for good.  I know it’s true because my Bible says so! I am so thankful that Jesus is the same then, now and forever, and thankful that His Word, His Bible is certain and sure.  I pray that according to His promises He grant each of you protection and deliverance.  I pray that you may be comforted in knowing that the promises in the Bibleapply to you as He is the same God in the Bible, in today’s time and forever.  I pray thanks to our Lord that you continue to allow me the great joy of sharing my faith with you each week.  Now and always I continue to pray daily that God's love, favor and blessings may surround and protect each and everyone of you who is reading this message.

Love through Christ,
Niki
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God's Blessings

 

Good evening and wishes for a blessed and happy Saturday to one and all!!

This week I have begun a journey that will bring me through the entire Bible this year.  I have been reading Genesis and refreshing some well known stories that I haven't read since I was in school.  I was surprised at how quickly the first book of my beloved Bible goes between telling of God's blessings, men's sins and back to His blessings again.  The one thing I seem to really take away from this and that sticks in my mind is that nearly as long as there has been man, there has been the need for God to forgive, bless and keep him in His care.  The more I read this the more I also begin to better understand that when we love God, truly and deeply to our core, then we want to do good things for Him and for others in His name...we want to be like Him and we want to glorify Him with our lives and in all that we do.  When we deeply and purely love God then we want to do this as our small way of thanking Him for all that He has done for us...yet it seems that the more we live this way and glorify His name and live for Him and thank Him through our words and actions then the more He grants us His blessings and favor and righteousness!!! He did this for Noah, He did this for Abraham and He continues to do this for us today!  I know we all have times when we stumble and find it hard to see the blessings in our lives but not all of the blessings are big...opening your dresser and finding that the exact shirt you wanted to wear is sitting on top, cooking a meal you have made a hundred times and having it turn out better than the other 99, opening your email to a reply from a friend you'd been thinking about and wanted to hear from, catching every green light...these are all blessings from God!  All flow thru and from Him!  But we must also remember that they will come in His time...in Psalm 37:7 reminds us, "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him..."  Patience can be a hard lesson but always a rewarding one when you are patiently waiting for the Lord's blessings!  I pray this week that God shows you all the blessings in your life, small and big alike.  I pray His Spirit assists you in your quest for patience while waiting for the Lord's blessings.  I always andcontinually pray that God's love, favor and blessings surround and protect each and every one of you who reads this message.

Love through Christ,

Niki

 

***If you have special prayer requests please allow me to pray for you or your family/friends by sending me a quick response to this email***

 

If you feel inspired to pass along my email, please do!  And/or if you or someone you know would enjoy receiving my weekly thoughts, please send an email to Banklady79@aol.com

 

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