American vs. Christian

Happy Thursday all! I am going out of town this weekend and so will not be able to send emails on Saturday as normal so I figured I would send a “retro” Thursday message {for those who are newer my emails used to be Thursdays when I first started sending my weekly emails J}.  I was in a patriotic mood this morning on the way to work and could not figure out why at first.  As I pondered it more I started comparing being an American to being a Christian.  I know there is all sorts of controversy about being an American, who is an American, and what rights immigrants and illegal aliens should be afforded.  I don’t want to go off on a terribly long rant about it but I will share some of my opinions.  I sometimes wonder and wish about what it would have been like to be living in the40’s and 50’s in this country, or even earlier, what about the 1800’s?  Americans back then knew how to be Americans, they may have had German, Polish, French, English, Swedish, Danish, Scottish, Spanish or a hundred other ancestries but when they came to this country it wasn’t to be German-American or Danish-American, it was to become an American, 100% love and devotion for the land of the free.  That’s how I see being a Christian in a way too.  We may be a mother, a father, a sister, a friend, a member of the clergy, a son, or a lot of other things but we are first and foremost a Christian, a son or daughter of the most high God and when we become a Christian it is to give 100% love and dedication to our Father, Lord, Savior and Counselor.  If we put being a mother, father or spouse above or before being a Christian then we are losing out my friends!  I read a verse this week, Matthew 10:37-39, “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” This is Jesus talking to His disciples, when He is sending them out to, “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,[b]drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” {verse 8}.  This speaks to me that in this day and age no matter who we have here on earth to care for, love and cherish, be responsible for, they should never come before Him who has blessed us with their presence by His grace!  So put God first and feel His love run over, love God the most and receive His love in abundance, seek God and He will bless you eternally!! I pray this week that you are able to give God 100% of your love and dedication, to love Him more than anyone else in your life, and I pray He allows you to feel the amazing changes it brings in your life.  I continue to ask that each and everyone of us please pray for Summer and her family, please pray for our soldiers and please pray for each other.  I am daily thanking God that He continues to allow me into your email box each week and I pray that He inspires you through my messages.  Finally, I will always pray that God surrounds you with His love, favor and blessings, this day, this week and forever.

  Have an awesome weekend and week ahead!
Love through Christ,
Niki

His Victory Plan For You

 

As I have been personally studying the Bible this year I have read so far Genesis through Deuteronomy and have begun reading Joshua...it occurs to me that {and I knew this in my heart but had never dwelled in thought on it} we are not the only people who have had our ups and downs.  The Bible is filled with stories that tell of victory and despair...mountains and valleys is maybe a more well used term.  Here's the thing that really hit me hard, the victories always come after a time of despair to those who have devoted and re-devoted their lives to God.  Maybe it has been a while since you have attended Sunday morning service, you've gotten down to praying only once a day or not at all, maybe it is even less subtle than that...whatever it may be that could be drawing us away from God and towards a valley of despair we need to remember that when we devote our lives to Him, when we place Him at the center of our daily lives than the victory is not too far away, the high points will be in view.  We just need to keep our faith in His promises, and believe we are His people whom He wishes to bless.  I am sorry this comes late and may seem to leave the topic open and not concluded...I pray you are able to listen to your heart for our Lord's voice to guide you to the conclusion of His victory for your life.  I continue to ask the each and everyone of us please pray for Summer and her family, please pray for our soldiers and please pray for each other.  I am continually thankful that God continues to allow me into your email box each week and I pray that He inspires you through my messages.  Finally, I continue to pray that God surrounds you with His love, favor and blessings, this day, this week and always.

  Have an awesome week ahead!
Love through Christ,
Niki

Where's The Road?

 

Gotta love technology, especially when it is working!  But what about when it isn’t working?  Friday evening I signed off the computer sometime after 9:00pm and when I woke up Saturday morning at 5:30am I no longer had a means of getting online…in the words of the 4th technician I spoke with Saturday, “It’s like you have the car but the road has disappeared.”  Isn’t life like that sometimes?  Think of our bodies as the car and sometimes when we don’t focus on God as the number one priority in our lives then the road or path we are on seems to disappear.  If we do not remember to put God first and let Him guide our car then all too often that road can become harder and harder to navigate and ultimately it can…POOF…disappear all together!  But when we hand over the wheel to our Heavenly Father and ask Him to drive us to where He wants us to be then the road before us will become clearer and clearer.  I’m not saying the road will be easier, no one ever said the road of life would be easy!  However, if life is hard anyway then what better decision than to leave Him in charge of navigating the rocky terrain for us and with us.  So let’s hand over the wheel, admit we can’t do this on our own, let go and let God!!!  My prayer this week for you is that you are able to ask God to take the wheel from you on this road of life and that you have the faith and trust to truly then let Him be in control.  Please continue to keep Summer and her family and friends in your prayers, she has made some progress with God’s amazing grace but still has a very long road ahead of her.  Please also continue to pray for our troops here and away and for their families.  Finally, I ask you to please pray for each other, there is strength and power in prayer and we can keep each other inspired through our prayers!!  I am praying continually praying that God keeps protecting and delivering each and everyone of you…and that His favor, love and blessings go before you and surround you today and every day! 

Have an awesome weekend and week ahead!
Love through Christ,
Niki

Thank Him for Your Problems

Through It All Lyrics can be found on Selah website: http://www.selahonline.com/lyrics_hidingplace.html 

Several of you may have already heard me talk about this wonderful song, Through It All, because I have been listening to it for weeks, memorizing it, soaking it in on all its levels...If you have the time I strongly encourage you to follow the link and read the song before reading the rest of this week's message. We'll still be here, promise!  So many times when struggles and trials are blocking our path in life we react in a, "Why God" response.  "Why did this happen to me or my loved one?" "Why is this so hard?" "Why can't You make this go away?" I know this because I used to react like this, it was almost a first instinct in a sad way...but it should not be my first instinct, it should not be how any of us react.  I didn't want to list the lyrics above and have the song take up the whole email but one of the lines says, "my trials only come to make me strong." Whoa!  Okay, so it's not needless torture, eh?  God is not intentionally harming us but He is capable of using our faith in Him to solve all of our problems.  Ok, so your saying to me, what about the ones that haven't been solved?  It has been so long and _____ is still suffering from _____?  No matter how long it takes He is still solving all our troubles...in this high tech world we are constantly in a hurry and we want answers and resolutions now.  God is not on our fast paced schedule though, He is on His own divine schedule.  Truly it is not an easy thing to thank and praise Him for our difficulties, concerns, sufferings, but it is the right reaction.  Next time you raise your head up to whine to God stop yourself and try thanking Him instead.  You may not see immediate resolution of whatever your concern is but I guarantee if you continue to praise His name and thank Him for using the situation to strengthen you and to increase your closeness with Him then you will feel less inclined to complain.  You will feel your spirits lift and your hopes soar in Him because His Spirit will fill you with the strength and comfort you need to get through whatever the situation may be!  I pray this week you will turn your sorrows, trials, sufferings and any concerns into praise and thanksgiving to our Lord and that He will lift your spirit with His Spirit to show you He is in charge and He will solve that problem!  I continue to ask the each and everyone of us please pray for Summer and her family, please pray for our soldiers and please pray for each other.  I am continually thankful that God continues to allow me into your email box each week and I pray that He inspires you through my messages.  Finally, I continue to pray that God surrounds you with His love, favor and blessings, this day, this week and always.

  Have an awesome weekend and week ahead!
Love through Christ,
Niki

Niki's Thoughts: Completing The Puzzle

Job 11:13-18 "Yet if you devote your heart to him and stretch out your hands to him, if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent, then you will lift up your face without shame; you will stand firm and without fear.  You will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by.  Life will be brighter than noonday, and darkness will become like morning. You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety."

I love the way the Bible addresses essentially the same matters over and over but each time from somewhat different perspectives; ultimately tying them all together!  To me, it gives such an awesome and whole image of our Lord and really shows how we should strive to be like Him.  In this passage from Job I see many topics, some found in several of my past emails, such as fear, hope, light... Each issue that in other passages may be handled seemingly separate, are here in these verses collectively gathered.  This combination shows us that when you take all the pieces together they support each other and become a whole picture.  In this world it sometimes seems that every time we turn around we are pushed harder and harder to question everything we believe in.  However, the Bible is like a map that is handed to us by our Lord to find our way to Him and also back to Him when we stray.  If you take it one verse at a time it is almost like this enormous puzzle that needs to be put together to find the right path.  But the more we read it, the more verses or pieces that we put together, well then the more we see this all-inclusive canvas, a faultless image, the complete picture!  You can talk about how God does not give us the spirit of fear but even the strongest of people may still struggle with some type of fear if they don't have the other portions.  You can strive with all of your effort to walk in the light with God still if you are missing the other items you may find that darkness is closer than you want or expect it to be.  Only we don't need to struggle and fear and fall into the darkness if we look at the divine blueprint God has provided us with.  If we read His map as a whole instead of a jumbled puzzle of single pieces then I believe it will become more and more natural to devote our hearts to Him...He will take all the fear, darkness and hopelessness and turn it into safety, light and hope that will make all of our troubles seem to be floating away behind us.  God certainly put a lot of effort into creating us, then when we fell He picked us up and over many years He composed this guide for our lives and now we are so very blessed to have the Bible in its entirety to lead us to His treasure!  I pray that you are looking toward the whole picture that God is giving us in His Word.  I also ask that you please continue to pray with me for Summer who has not yet completely woken from her coma, for her family and friend to stay strong in our Lord, for our troops who fight to keep us all safe and for each other.  Additionally, I am praying daily that our loving Father, to whom all Glory and Honor should be given, may protect and surround each of you, granting you His love, favor, blessings and deliverance now and always!

Love through Christ,

Niki