Niki’s Thoughts

  "But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that is was Jesus. The Jesus said to them, "Children, have you any food?" They answered him, "No." Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish which you have just caught... Come and eat breakfast..."" John 21:4-5, 10, 12 (For the whole story, read John 21:1-14) Picture this, you're on a boat. There is a Man on the shore asking if you caught anything. As you tell Him that you have nothing, He tells you to cast your net into the sea. You do it. Immediately, your net becomes so full of fish that you cannot draw it back into the boat! Your friends in another boat make their way over, and between all of you, somehow you drag the net ashore. The Man on the shore has already prepared a fire, and He was already cooking - for you! He invites you to share a meal with Him, right there on the shore.  Maybe fishing, and boats aren't your thing and this story...

 "Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed." Mark 1:35 "So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed." Luke 5:16 "But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly." Matthew 6:6  Early on in Jesus' ministry, we see Him take time away from the crowds, and away from His disciples, to have some quiet, meaningful, one-on-one time with His Father. Throughout the Gospels there are numerous times we see Him continue this practice. Those last moments before His arrest, torture, and crucifixion? He removed Himself to pray. Jesus gave us the recommendation also, that we should likewise remove ourselves, close ourselves in our room even, and pray in secret.  In the time when Jesus was actively preaching, there were many so called c...

 "Wives, submit to your husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as also Christ is the head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church... So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself." Ephesians 5:22-23, 25a, 28 NKJV Full reading = Ephesians 5:22-33 God has given me a precious gift; He has given me a man that loves me, protects me, and cares for me in a way that I truly believe emulates what Paul is describing in Ephesians Chapter 5. My husband does this even though I do not always successfully emulate how Ephesians describes wives should submit to their husbands. I have an admittedly stubborn, independent streak that sometimes rears its ugly head. It is something I am working on, through prayer and Bible study. I believe a strong, Christian household is firmly rooted in God, His Word, His love, and is an enormous blessing from ...

 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9 "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." Matthew 6:34 "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." II Timothy 1:7 I could not locate the quote, but I feel like I have heard someone else say this sentence that has dominated my thoughts this week: "Faith is the absence of fear." I think the danger of this ultimatum-like phrase is that it could lead to feeling defeated, to feeling like you are failing in your faith if you are ever afraid. I don't think God wants us, His redeemed children, to live in defeat.  Rick Warren once said, "Fear is a self imposed prison that will keep you from becoming what God intends for your to be. You must move against it w...