Category: <span>thoughts by Alec Niemi</span>

We are told that there are things that accompany salvation (Hebrews 6:9). The things that accompany salvation are probably innumerable. Here are but a few.

Abundant life  –  John 10:10
Being sanctified – 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
Christ in us  –  Colossians 1:27
Deliverance from the power of darkness  – Colossians 1:13
Eternal life  – 1 John 5:11
Forgiveness  – 1 John 1:9
God being for us  –  Romans 8:31
Hope  – Acts 24:15
Illumination  –  Hebrews 8:1
Joy and peace  –  Romans 15:13
Knowing the things God has freely given –  1 Corinthians 2:12
Learning Christ  – Ephesians 4:20
Married to Christ  – Romans 7:4
No condemnation  – Romans 8:1
Our names written in Heaven  –  Luke 10:20; Hebrews 12:23
Peace with God  –  Romans 5:1
Qualified to partake of the saints’  inheritance  –  Colossians 1:11-12
Righteousness, peace, and joy –  Romans 14:17
Strength in the inner man  –  Ephesians 3:16; Romans 8:11
Taste of the Lord  –  1 Peter 2:3
Understanding eyes  –  Ephesians 1:18-19
Victory in overcoming the world  –  1 John 5:4-5
Whole armor of God  –  Ephesians 6:11-18
Extra ordinary miracles  –  Acts 19:11
Yearning heart of the Lord  –  Jeremiah 31:20
Zeal for the Lord  –  Roman 12:11

What a joy when our hope is in Christ!

My prayer for you this week

Creator God, thank-you for making the unchanging nature of Your purpose very clear to us by confirming it with an oath. You did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for You to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek. Thank-you, in Jesus name, Amen.”  Hebrews 6:17-20

by Alec Niemi
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Knowledge is not wisdom; you may know how to pick a lock, or steal a car, but it would be wiser to do neither.’ (Author unknown)

It is often said that knowledge is the accumulation of information. Wisdom is the proper application of that information.

The Bible tells us:

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise. Psalm 111:10

For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understandingProverbs 2:6

The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom, and their tongues speak what is just. Psalm 37:30

It follows then that knowledge is to know the Lord and wisdom is to speak of the Lord, sowing the Gospel of Jesus and His love.

My prayer for us this week

Heavenly Father we are so grateful that the wisdom you give us is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Please help us to be wise peacemakers who sow in peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. In Jesus name, Amen.”  James 3:17&18

by Alec Niemi
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Christmas devotional on Ephesians 3

It’s Christmas time again and all that goes with it, including the traditional drawing of names for the gift  exchange with the family.

And I am reminded again of the ultimate gift exchange. Jesus exchanged His life for ours. He gave us a new life. One that is eternal. And in gratitude we should give Him our life. Not the old life. He died for that one. We need to give Him our new life. The one that He can use for His glory.

My prayer for us this week:

We kneel before you the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. We pray that out of your glorious riches you strengthen us with power through your Spirit in our inner being, so that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith. And we pray that we, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that we may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. In Jesus name, amen.” Ephesians 3:14-19

Have a great week

by Alec Niemi

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Devotional on John 15:5

We planted an apple tree in our back yard a couple of years ago. Each year we have pruned it and watered it and it is growing nicely. Last year it had a couple of apples on it and this year it is loaded with fruit. We can hardly wait for them to get ripe. I’m Looking forward to some delicious homemade apple pie!!!

We are called to be part of God’s orchard. Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. We have been designed to bear fruit. And as we stay on track with His desire and design we will be fruitful. And of course He prunes us and waters us too! I’m thinking that He is also looking forward excitedly for the fruit that we will produce.

My prayer for us this week

Jesus, you are the vine; we are the branches. If we remain in you and you in us, we  will bear much fruit; apart from you we can do nothing. If we do not remain in you, we are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If we remain in you and your words remain in us, we may ask whatever we wish, and it will be done for us. This is to the Father’s glory, that we bear much fruit, showing ourselves to be your disciples. Amen.” John 15:5-8

By Alec Niemi


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devotional on prayer

A neighbor left his keys in the ignition of his new truck and then locked the doors. He tried everything to get the keys out including phoning the local tow company who tried all their tools to get in. When he was asked if he had “Onstar” (the feature that allows the vehicle to be unlocked via satellite) he said that he thought it had expired.  He phoned Onstar and found out that it was still active. They then tried to open the locks but nothing happened. By the time the tow truck operator had tried all his tools he had inadvertently pulled the linkage off the locks so Onstar wouldn’t work.

Finally he had the truck towed to the car dealership and they got in.

Isn’t it just like prayer? We try everything else first instead of praying first.

My prayer for you this week:

Father, you said in Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding“. Give us a holy, fear and knowledge of you–so we can become wise and have understanding. Amen.

By Alec Niemi

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devotional free onlineAccording to the Old Testament a Hebrew servant (or slave) was to be freed after six years. However they could choose to stay after the six years if they so desired. If they chose to do this they had an ear pierced with an awl as a sign to the rest of the world that they had become a permanent servant, or as stated in the word, a bond-servant for life.
(Exodus 21:2-6)

James calls himself a bond-servant of God and of Jesus in James 1:1. As Christians we too become bond-servants, committing our lives and putting our freedom under God’s control. We have chosen to be servants of God for life.

Metaphorically, rather than having our ear pierced, we have to allow our hearts to be pierced for Christ.

My prayer for us this week:

Lord God, our hearts have been pierced; we are your bond-servants. Trusting that this tumultuous tremendous triumphant truth takes trials to a new understanding, we seek divine appointments that take us out of our comfort zone, yet closer to you. In Jesus name, amen.” James 1:1-2

by Alec Niemi

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devotional blind now I see

The ninth chapter of the book of Acts tells the story of Saul’s conversion.

  • In verse four we see that the Lord called to Saul.
  • In response, verse five has Saul asking, “Who are you, Lord?”
  • Verse six Jesus identifies Himself and instructs Saul to go into the city and get further  instructions.
  • We find in verse seven that the Lord blinded Saul and that he had to be led by others to the city.
  • Verse seventeen tells us that Ananias, in response to the Lords directives, prayed over Saul and his sight was restored and was he was baptized.
  • Verse twenty says that he immediately went to the synagogues to preach that Jesus is the Son of God.

From this progression of events we can see parallels for our own lives.

-God calls out to us
-We question the call
-He gives us directions for finding Him
-When we follow the directions, we receive our spiritual sight.
-We go and tell others that Jesus is the Son of God.

My prayer for us this week

Our heavenly Father, thank you for the call, thank you for allowing us to question and then giving us direction to your Son Jesus. Thank you for restoring our spiritual sight that we might fix our eyes upon Jesus and follow instructions to tell others about Him. Amen and amen.

By Alec Niemi

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devotional on peaceful

Down, dejected, depressed, determined to carry the weight of the world upon himself, he expressed how everything was coming apart and that so many things were wrong in his life.

Listening for a time as he anguished over his list of woes I finally asked him if he had considered giving it to God and letting Him sort it out. He said that he hadn’t prayed in years.

Is there a correlation here?

My prayer for you this week:

I pray that you are “casting all your cares on the Lord because he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall. Amen.” Psalm 55:22

Have a great week.

By Alec Niemi

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devotionalI met with a man the other day who was bemoaning the fact that earlier in life he had missed the opportunity to be the family leader he had intended to be. Neglecting his responsibilities he lead a life of selfish indulgence. Now later in life, he is missing the joy of being involved with family… including his grandchildren. Reflecting back over the past he acknowledges that his walking away from his early love of the Lord and doing his own thing has invoked irrevocable consequences. He is back on track with his walk with the Lord. I can only pray that the Lord would bring healing into his family struggles.

My prayer for you this week

Lord, Oh, that our hearts would be inclined to fear you and keep all your commands always, so that it might go well with us and our children forever! In Jesus name, Amen.” Deuteronomy 5:29

Have a great week

By Alec Niemi

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devotional

I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is, and was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:8

Read that verse again, and this time let it soak deeply into your soul. Doesn’t it bring you comfort?

Alpha is the first letter in the Greek alphabet, and Omega is the last. God is saying He is the beginning and the end—of your day, every day and also of your life. I have heard it said that we should sandwich our day in prayer. This means we invite Christ into our lives the moment our eyes pop awake, and then ask Him to bless and keep us as we close them. Another saying often depicted on plaques and in cross-stitch patterns states, “A life knotted in prayer at both ends won’t unravel.” Begin and end your day with God.

There are days I try to jump start on my own without inviting my Lord into them. There are nights I cast my worries upon my pillow instead of onto Him. But the days I start and end with acknowledging God in my life seem to go better. Not that bad things don’t happen on those days, but their impact on me is not as devastating. I find that once I invite my Lord into my day, I am more aware of Him being with me throughout it. He was there a heartbeat ago, He is here now, and He will be there a few breaths from now. Alpha and Omega—the beginning and the end, and every time in between.

My Lord, spur in me the desire and discipline to make You my first and my last thought each day. I know when I let you into my life I become more aware of Your presence, Your love and Your guidance. Teach me to praise when I arise and thank You when I retire for the night. And in between, remind me I can rely on You to be there, always. Amen.

Thought: For the next week, consciously make an effort to pray as soon as you wake up and then again right before you go to sleep. See if your attitude becomes more joyful and positive

By Julie Cosgrove

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We had two cats. A few weeks ago one disappeared. Hopefully, to another good home but likely to the wildlife food chain.

Percy, the one who we still have, has become a totally different cat. Before, we hardly saw him and he was always outside doing his own thing, only coming in when he wanted something – usually food! Now he is playful, attentive, inquisitive, constantly underfoot wanting attention and quite a joy to have around.

Am I like that with the Lord? So busy doing my own thing? I wonder if He finds me quite a joy to have around…

My prayer for you this week:

I pray that you are devoting your heart to Him and stretching out your hands to Him, knowing that 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. You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid, and many will court your favor. Amen.
Job 11:13-19

By Alec Niemi

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The most common fear of all man is rejection. The converse of that is man’s struggle to be accepted by man. In our drive for acceptance by man we will even deny God.

The fear of man brings a snare, But he who trusts in the Lord will be exalted.Proverbs 29:25

My prayer for us this week

Lord and Heavenly Father we have taken courage and are not afraid because Jesus has not rejected us. Amen.” Mark 6:50

By Alec Niemi

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by Alec Niemi

Do you long for righteousness (being morally right) but find that self-righteousness (being morally superior) keeps getting in the way!

James addresses this issue, saying: “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us?  But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.James 4:1-6 (NIV)

If you long for righteousness but self-righteousness keeps getting in the way then, ‘let go and let God.’

My prayer for you this week:

Our Heavenly Father, please help us with our pride that we might be made humble. We submit ourselves to you. We resist the devil that he might flee from us. We come near to you knowing that by doing so, you will come near to us. We wash our hands of sin, and purify our hearts from double-mindedness. We grieve, mourn and wail. We change our laughter to mourning and our joy to gloom.  We humble ourselves before you, oh Lord, that you will lift us up. In Jesus name, amen.” James 4:6-10

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sceneryby Alec Niemi

Jesus asks,Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?Luke 6:46

Is there repercussion for not listening to the Lord?

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:Listen! I am going to bring on this city and all the villages around it every disaster I pronounced against them, because they were stiff-necked and would not listen to my words.’” Jeremiah 19:15

Seems like it, doesn’t it?

My prayer for us this week

Our Lord, our God, our Creator, we come to you and repent of our selfish attitudes and ask that you heal our stiff necks and help us focus on what it is you ask of us. We worship you and you alone. In Jesus name amen and amen.

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by Alec Niemi

“The chief priests accused him of many things.  So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.”  But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.
Mark 15:3-5

Have you ever been amazed at God for not answering? Maybe it is because the ‘ask’ is for the wrong reason. And perhaps, as with the chief priests who obviously had a wrong spirit, it is with wrong motives.

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”  John 15:7

With a submissive heart and a right spirit we are able to ask God for something to be done because we are then listening to the prompting of the Holy Spirit who directs us to the right ask.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10

The result of our ‘ask’ should be abiding fruit.

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.” John 15:16

My prayer for us this week

Heavenly Father, we stand amazed in your presence. Amazed that you would give us a clean heart and a right spirit if we should but ask. We know that you chose us and appointed us and that too is amazing. We submit to you. Please cleanse our hearts and give us a right spirit so that when we encounter divine appointments they might bear fruit that is glorifying to you. In Jesus name amen.

Have a great week

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