Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Last Week's Combined Readings
from "The One Year Devotional Guide":
Leviticus 9:7-20:21
Mark 4:26-8:38
Psalm 37:30-42:11
Proverbs 10:6-17
May 2nd's Combined Readings
from "The One Year Devotional Guide":
Leviticus 20:22-Numbers 3:51
Mark 9:1-12:17

Psalm 43:1-47:9
Proverbs 10:18-25

Focus: "Christ is risen from the dead! He trampled death by death, and to those in the tombs He has granted life."

In our church this is our Easter hymn which we sing on Easter and throughout the following 40 days. The words are powerful on their own but to participate in the joyous singing with the entire congregation raising their candles (lit with Christ's light) in unison is a goosebumps and happy tears experience. In that moment it is as if all of heaven is joining us and one feels closer to Christ...at least I know I do. Unfortunately, this year I missed out on this extremely Spiritual moment thanks to a nasty stomach virus... It got me thinking though, about how to achieve this closer to God, goosebumps, happy tears feeling every day. I don't think there's one right answer to this, rather I believe that we each have to find our own. Just as we each have a special and unique relationship with our Savior, so also I believe we each must find our own special connection that draws us nearer to God. It could be a hymn from church, or a Bible passage, or a Christian rock song on the radio that speaks to our soul...or maybe it is more than one of these! Once we pinpoint how we can achieve that "wow" closer moment with God then I believe we should re-visit it often! Daily, or if we're finding it is a particularly rough day then perhaps revisit it hourly! No matter what, I think that this is an important daily step in our journey with our Lord. Please pray with me:

Dear Lord,
I praise Your glorious resurrection! I thank You Lord for the special moments we share and I ask You to please grant me a Spiritual nudge daily to remind me to seek these closer times with You. Lord, I want to thank You for all of Your leaders in Your world, Your countries and most especially in Your churches. Please continue to bless all of them and continue to grant them Your wisdom so that they may lead us, Your people, in the right direction. We also thank You for all of Your soldiers, young and old, present and past and we pray that You please bless and protect them as well as Your families which You surround them with today and always. Father, You alone can heal us, no matter what ails us. Please grant You extraordinary healing, be it spiritual, emotional, physical or mental, to all those in need but especially to Lee, Pam, Jeff, Helen, Larry, George, Karen, Gary, Tim, Jeff, Joy, Ward, Jeff, and all those we each name to You now. God we know that Your will is perfect and therefore we ask that all these things be done according to Your wishes and not our own. We pray all this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Have a blessed and awesome weekend and week ahead!!!

Love through Christ,
Niki

(I will be out of town this weekend for my husband and my anniversary but will have a Weekly Thoughts ready by May 2nd. Thanks!!!)

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Our Hope

This Week's Combined Readings
from "The One Year Devotional Guide":
Leviticus 9:7-20:21
Mark 4:26-8:38
Psalm 37:30-42:11
Proverbs 10:6-17
Next Week's Combined Readings
from "The One Year Devotional Guide":
Leviticus 20:22-Numbers 3:51
Mark 9:1-12:17
Psalm 43:1-47:9
Proverbs 10:18-25

Focus Verse(s): Psalm 38:16
"For in You, O Lord, I hope; You will hear, O Lord, my God."

I'm still fumbling, learning and "becoming Christian" but I am finding that one of the keys to a strong faith is hope. We have to set our hope in our Lord and we have to hold firmly to that hope. This seems to me especially crucial when we are stumbling in the valleys and through the dark...it is usually pretty easy to keep your hope in God when things are going good! However, when we are struggling it is then that we desperately need that Spiritual light at the end of the tunnel. When our sinful, human nature wants to get swallowed up by a pity party and shut down the hope switch we need to remember that our hope is in God, He will hear us, He will NEVER leave us and He is bigger than what troubles us. Remember, "don't tell God how big your problems are, tell your problems how BIG your God is!" If we can focus on this, on securing our hope in our Lord, then I believe we will find ourselves walking closer with our Father...growing stronger in our relationship with our Savior...following our Holy Spirit's guidance and overall feeling less alone. Will you pray with me:

O Lord, my God,
Thank You for being our hope, for hearing us. Please help me to remember to cling to You and to secure my hope in You always. Lord, I want to thank You for all of Your leaders in Your world, Your countries and most especially in Your churches. Please continue to bless all of them and continue to grant them Your wisdom so that they may lead us, Your people, in the right direction. We also thank You for all of Your soldiers, young and old, present and past and we pray that You please bless and protect them as well as Your families which You surround them with today and always. Father, You alone can heal us, no matter what ails us. Please grant You extraordinary healing, be it spiritual, emotional, physical or mental, to all those in need but especially to Lee, Pam, Jeff, Helen, Larry, George, Karen, Gary, Tim, Jeff, Joy, Ward, Jeff, and all those we each name to You now. God we know that Your will is perfect and therefore we ask that all these things be done according to Your wishes and not our own. We pray all this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Have a blessed and awesome weekend and week ahead!!!

Love through Christ,
Niki

God Is Calling

This Week's Combined Readings
from "The One Year Devotional Guide":
Exodus 35:10-Leviticus 9:6
Matthew 27:32-Mark 4:25
Psalm 34:1-37:29
Proverbs 9:7-10:5

Next Week's Combined Readings
from "The One Year Devotional Guide":
Leviticus 9:7-20:21
Mark 4:26-8:38
Psalm 37:30-42:11

Proverbs 10:6-17

Focus Verse(s): Mark 1:17-18
"Then Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men." They immediately left their nets and followed Him."

How many times in our lives do we immediately drop everything and follow Jesus when He calls?If you're like me then it probably isn't often enough! Here I am (incredibly) late again in my tiny weekly effort to share His love and not yet resuming the Daily Verses...yup, not immediately putting God's call into play the way I should be. Sure there's a LOT going on in my life, I'll bet there is a lot going on in yours too, but I'm sure the the disciples all had plenty on their plates too. The difference, I believe, is that they did not use their busy lives as an excuse for not doing what the LORD called them to do. Jesus wants to make all of us His fishers of men... But who among us will answer His call? Who among us will not make any excuses? I hope and pray God will continue to use me to do His will...and I pray I'll be able to drop my excuses once and for all. Will you join me in this journey and listen for God's call in your life? Please join me in prayer:

Dear Jesus,
Please forgive me - I've heard Your call but have not immediately followed. Please help me - send Your Spirit to dwell within me and grant me the strength and discipline to follow You when You call. Lord, I want to thank You for all of Your leaders in Your world, Your countries and most especially in Your churches. Please continue to bless all of them and continue to grant them Your wisdom so that they may lead us, Your people, in the right direction. We also thank You for all of Your soldiers, young and old, present and past and we pray that You please bless and protect them as well as Your families which You surround them with today and always. Father, You alone can heal us, no matter what ails us. Please grant You extraordinary healing, be it spiritual, emotional, physical or mental, to all those in need but especially to Lee, Pam, Jeff, Helen, Larry, George, Karen, Gary, Tim, Jeff, Joy, Ward, Jeff, and all those we each name to You now. God we know that Your will is perfect and therefore we ask that all these things be done according to Your wishes and not our own. We pray all this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

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