Bright Lights Videos

We finished Bright Lights for the year!

Visit the links below to view a slideshow of pictures from this past year and the video from our final meeting. This has been an amazing season of growing in the Lord and fellowshipping together. I'm so happy that some of you were able to be included by watching the videos and reading the updates!

Many blessings, Christina

Slideshow ~ vimeo.com/126018154

Final Meeting ~ vimeo.com/126017582

Soli Deo Gloria ~ To God Alone Be the Glory!

Colossians 1:10

"So as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, 

bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God." 

~ Colossians 1:10

Answers in John 15:1-17

John 15:1-17 is such a beautiful passage (one of my favorites) in which Jesus teaches us about growth. One of my friends sent me the following outline, where he saw Jesus answering his questions about fruit bearing throughout the passage. I hope you enjoy this unique way to read this section of Scripture and are encouraged as you seek to bear fruit and to grow in Christ! Blessings, Christina

1. How do we "bear fruit​"?

I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.

​2. How do we abide in Him?​
If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.

​3. How do we "abide in His love"?​

If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.

​4. Why should I want to abide?​
These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

​5. ​Okay, I I have that settled. Now what is this commandment you're talking about?
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.

​6. What does being your friend mean?​
No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.

​7. How are we your friends and what are we to do now?
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. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

​"And that's it."

Levi Pierpont - https://levipierpont.wordpress.com

Soli Deo Gloria ~ To God Alone Be the Glory!

Psalm 50:1-2

"The Mighty One, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth."

~ Psalm 50:1-2

Sunshine In the Raindrops

"For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, 

to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." 

~ 2 Corinthians 4:6

I was in the kitchen washing dishes the other day when I looked out the window and it struck me that the rain drops looked different. It was easy to see the individual drops and they were sparkling. Then I realized that the sun was shining through the rain. What a wonderful miracle to perceive!

In my life, there is sunshine in the raindrops. My hope and my light are found in Christ, so His radiance, like the sun, is always shining on my life. Times of the rain of difficulty and pain will come and they help me grow, just like the rain helps things grow. But in the midst of the rain, the sun still shines. God is good and He always near, shining on me! He is always my glorious, radiant, wonderful Sunshine.

You are my Sunshine, my only Sunshine.

You make me happy, when skies are grey.

You know, Lord, how much I love you.

Oh, please don't take my Sunshine away.

(He never will!) 

I hope you see the sunshine of our the Lord in your raindrops…And don't forget to look for rainbows…

Blessings,

Christina

Soli Deo Gloria ~ To God Alone Be the Glory!

The Rose

“Let the rose,” he said, “be the emblem of modesty, as it resembles the blush which rises to the cheek of a modest girl. But there is another lesson to be learned from the rose. After its beautiful colours have faded, it still retains its fragrance; when its leaves are brown and withered, they are even sweeter than in their fresh and lovely youth. Thus it is, dear Mary, with a true Christian. Thus let it be with you. The cheek of youth will fade, outward beauty will decay, but strive to acquire those graces of the mind which are unfading and imperishable.” ~ James, Mary’s father, in The Basket of Flowers

Ephesians 2:4-5

"But God, being rich in mercy,

 because of the great love with which he loved us, 

even when we were dead in our trespasses, 

made us alive together with Christ

—by grace you have been saved."

~ Ephesians 2:4-5

Photo Credit: Lindsey B.

Boring…or Faithful

Has someone ever asked you if you're a Christian? What's your answer? Most likely, "Yes." Does your voice express excitement or boredom? Are you bored with Jesus? I know that I sometimes am.

You know, part of our problem with finding Christ boring is that we mistake faithfulness for dullness. Think about a newlywed couple. They are so in love and there's lots of feeling and excitement surrounding their new married life. As time goes on, they still love each other, but the love isn't so obvious and overpowering because being married becomes more normal to them. Now, their love is a more faithful, gentle, continuing love. Yes, there will still be times when that overwhelming emotion returns, but from day-to-day, it's a sweet burning ember of love rather than a hot flame.

In our relationship with the Lord, we may start out with lots of feelings and lots of excitement. We see Him with new eyes, love Him because He loves us, and long to know Him more. Then, it changes as it becomes a normal part of life (which it should!). God is faithful all the time, so as we walk with Him, we can walk in this unending love and trust that He will be there for us. Our hearts may not be aflame with passion all the time, but there is a deeper sense of trusting love that responds to His love for us. There still should be times when we are overwhelmed by God and delve more deeply into Him and His love (I love it when this happens!). But we shouldn't expect this to always be the case. Really, if you think about it, the beauty of our relationship with Christ is that it is a continual, faithful relationship, because of all that He has done.

God is so faithful and forever. One of the joys of my heart is knowing that no matter what I'm feeling or what is going on in my life, God is always there, loving me. I love it when I have passion for the Lord and we'll look at cultivating that passion in our next post, but you know, it is so peaceful to rest in God and delight in Him and what He is doing in my life. He is so good.

The Psalmist wrote, "For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in your faithfulness" (Psalm 26:3). Doesn't this sound so restful and continual? I love this picture! Here we see a day-to-day, moment-by-moment walking in the Lord and His faithfulness. This is such a restful, amazing walk. It's sweeter than the beginning flame, where I didn't know much about Him. There is a deeper sense of Christ now that I'm still growing in, but it's wonderful!

God told His people, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you" (Jeremiah 31:3b). This continued, everlasting love and faithfulness is a daily, momently phenomenon. God has always loved us and He always will. We don't ever need to doubt that He doesn't love us. He loves faithfully, forever.

"If we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself" (2 Timothy 2:13). To be unfaithful would be for God to deny His very self. Even if we are unfaithful (and as sinners, we will be at times), we can know that each day, God is faithful and He always will be.

May we realize fully how faithful Christ is each and every day of our lives. It's not boring to have such a God who is always there, always good, always true, always loving. It's absolutely amazing! This is something that I need to be continually reminded of in my own life. He is true and forever and knowing this is part of the sweetness of a maturing relationship with the Lord. We may not always feel it, but there is freshness and much delight in reflecting upon the continued faithfulness of Jesus Christ. He's not boring. He's faithful.

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?… No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" 

~ Romans 8:35, 37-39 ~ 

Delighting in our ever-faithful Lord,

Christina

Soli Deo Gloria ~ To God Alone Be the Glory!

Matthew 28:6

"He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay."

 ~ Matthew 28:6

Our Great Savior

"But he was pierced for our transgressions; 

he was crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, 

and with his wounds we are healed."

~ Isaiah 53:5

A man on a cross, covered in blood, writhing in pain and agony. 

Tears in His eyes, face wrenched with pain, hurting body.

But more than that, on His shoulders lay the weight of sin.

For God's wrath in its fullness was laid upon Him.

I stood in the crowd, mocking Him, saying, "Save yourself!

"You saved so many others, why can't you do yourself justice?"

He seemed so weak, this man from Galilee.

I couldn't see it, why some treated Him so specially.
He offended us, our customs, our ways.
It seemed that He did something else wrong each and every day.
I mocked Him for His failure to do right things,
For making me feel like I didn't know anything.
To claim that He was God and to presume we would Him follow.
There was not a chance that to Him my heart would bow.

Pained, body and soul, suffering greatly,

He looked at us, even me, and said, so very lovingly,

"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

In the midst of His suffering He showed love anew.

I stood in utter shock as I heard His words.

My mouth was stopped as I lifted my eyes Him toward.

Who had I mocked, ridiculed, and derided?

Who was this man who would forgive those who Him hated?

Heart melting in my chest, tears burned on my cheeks.

This was Someone so far beyond weak.

His strength was divine, eternal, and complete.

The man on the cross was someone who it would be worth it to seek.

Wiping away the tears that I didn't understand, 

I saw the man try to speak and as I listened I clasped my hands.

"It is finished" he cried, and the earth trembled. 

A soldier nearby removed his hat with a look both full of awe and sadness.

"Truly this was the Son of God", he said.

I looked again at the man who was now dead.

Could it be that He was the One God promised He would send?
Had He really done such wrong things,
Or was it us who really didn't know, about God, anything?

Was this the Messiah, the King of all Kings, who deserves renown?

I turned away from the cross and walked toward the town.

This man wasn't a weak carpenter with crazy ideas.

He was God in all of His greatness.

How could I have mocked Him and treated Him so badly?

This was God, deserving of my honor only.

Lying in bed at night, everything seemed so dark.

My sin against my God was to me so very stark.

Through the next days, things were sad.

I wondered if things would always be so bad.

But then, on the third day, I heard the news from His followers,

They told those who loved Him, "He has risen! He is dead no longer!"

It made my heart leap with joy, thinking, perhaps there would be hope for me.
It wasn't long before I heard that He had ascended to the heavenlies.
Could I ever receive the forgiveness He offered on the cross?
Would He accept me, when all I offered was loss?
One morning, the disciples were spread throughout the city.
Ringing through the crowds, their voices spoke so clearly.
I drew near so that I might hear what they were saying.
In my heart, so deeply, for answers I was longing.
Peter preached a sermon and I listened to what he said.
He spoke the truth about Jesus and the Spirit He had promised.
Then someone called from within the group of people,
"Brothers, what then should we do?"
Face full of the joy of the truth and the Spirit, Peter replied,
"Repent and be baptized
Everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ
For the forgiveness of your sins, and you'll receive the Holy Spirit."
There again was the word, "forgiveness" and my heart rejoiced.
Despite my sin, there was hope in my precious Messiah, the Christ.
Clasping my hands with ecstasy, joy flooding my soul.
I believed, I repented, I wanted to be made whole.
There was life in my Lord to be found, life anew, abundant and complete.
No longer would there be anything that my soul would need.
For all eternity, in my Savior would I be found.
How glorious and precious to know how much His love, for me, abounds.
Along with the other three thousand baptized that day,
I stood in the water and knew that I was really alive, in my Lord to stay.
Tears flooded my eyes as I was lifted from the water,
Raising my hands in victory, I cried, "What a great Savior!"

"For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: 
that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 
that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day
 in accordance with the Scriptures."
~ 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

Psalm 27:4

"One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: 

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, 

to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple."

~ Psalm 27:4

Photo Credit: Lindsey B.

Strengthen

Have you ever had really delicious, specially-made, dark chocolate? And then, have you ever taken a bite out of a cheap dark chocolate bar or had a dark chocolate kiss? Well, I can tell you from experience that the cheap chocolate just doesn't compare to the more expensive, special chocolate. In our walk with the Lord, if we cultivate a hunger for the deep richness Him (like special, dark chocolate), the one who is perfectly pure, right, and true, we won't desire other, lesser things (like cheap dark chocolate) so much. We can cultivate this hunger and fresh desire for God by building things into our lives that strengthen and refresh our walk with Him rather than weaken it and make it dull to us and others.

Scripture

"For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart."

~ Hebrews 4:12

God's Word is one of the greatest tools that will increase our hunger for Him and help us see Him in a fresh way. As we spend time in His Word, we get to see, know, and love Him more. Keep Scripture fresh by reading it every day, meditating on passages, doing reading plans, reading from various books, memorizing verses, etc. God stays fresh, new, and alive to us as He reveals Himself to us through His Word.

Prayer

"But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord. At an acceptable time, O God, 

in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness."

~ Psalm 69:13

Spending time just talking with the Lord through prayer strengthens our relationship and walk with Him. As we commune with the Lord and talk to Him like we'd talk to someone in the room, we share our hearts and build closeness with Him. There is such freshness in coming to God each day with something new to tell Him, ask Him, confess to Him, or praise Him about. For me, it's hard to stay focused on praying, so I like to write my prayers in a journal or pray out loud (quietly, though!). Be creative, but just pray. Spend time talking to the Lord and knowing Him more each day as you draw near to Him.

Music

"Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth!

Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day."

~ Psalm 96:1-2

God has given us the gift of worshipful music to point us to Him and refresh our relationship and walk with Him. There have been so many times when a song has ministered to my heart and reminded me of all that Christ is and has done for me. Just yesterday while I was cleaning at work, the song "Before the Throne of God Above" played on my radio. It was full of truths of which I needed to be reminded. Listen to Christ-exalting music and let it refresh your heart, remind you of all He is, point you to Him, and draw you nearer to Him. (I like to listen to music during my devotion time. It helps keep my focus on God!)

Books/Sermons/Devotionals/Etc.

"And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." 

~ Ephesians 4:11-13

There are so many different books and sermons that have been written or preached about God and Christianity. Some are good, some aren't. Find those good books, sermons, and devotionals that strengthen your faith. Look for books that make you want to spend time with the Lord after you read them and encourage and build you up in your walk with the Lord. (Christian biographies are great for this, too!) Listen to sermons that build up your faith and encourage you to love and serve God more. Study devotionals that teach you and renew your heart and mind. As we seek to know God, we can use the tools of those who have gone before us and studied the Word in order to encourage us and press us nearer to God.

Strong Christians

"Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing."

~ 1 Thessalonians 5:11

When I'm around strong Christians, I feel stronger. As I spend time with people who really love and serve Jesus, I want to pursue Him and serve Him more. Through spending time with believers who are faithful to the Lord and seeking after Him, we can be encouraged and learn from each other. We shouldn't be afraid to talk about things of God and pray together. That's one of the greatest joys of walking this path together! We can encourage each other in new ways to love the Lord more, hunger for Him, and see Him more freshly each day.

Service

"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 

knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. 

You are serving the Lord Christ."

~ Colossians 3:23-24

Taking the time to serve the Lord strengthens our faith. When we are looking ways to serve God by seeking to serve and love the people in our lives, fulfill needs, help, and come alongside them, there is a fresh joy that comes from the Lord. If we are stagnant, like the Red Sea, only taking in God's love and truth and never sharing it with anyone, our faith will grow dull, boring, and mediocere. But when we are sharing the truth and love of Christ with the people around us, there is a flowing joy and beauty that comes from within our hearts. We are sharing Christ and as we share Him, we grow stronger and we are refreshed in our walk with Him.

Life

"I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."

~ John 10:10b

Christianity isn't just a "closet" thing. It's a life thing! We live out our faith each day in our words, actions, relationships, etc. By walking with the Lord through life and experiencing life with and in Him, our faith will be strengthened and refreshed. As we are pursuing Christ in everything, by His grace, and desiring to walk each moment with Him, there is such sweetness and beauty and renewal as we live life in our precious Lord.


There are so many things that can strengthen our walk with God and keep Him fresh before our eyes. Let's limit the “weakeners” and fill our lives to the brim with the things that point us to God and refresh our hearts. There is so much joy and beauty when we have a strong, vibrant walk with Jesus! Join me and let's seek together to be stronger in God and to know Him more each day!

Blessings,
Christina

Soli Deo Gloria ~ To God Alone Be the Glory!