Author: Nick

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.James 1:2-4 Brother Lawrence’s greatest testimony may not be in his words but in his actions. When he found himself crippled for life and in acute, constant pain, he did not retreat from service, but rather recognized his circumstances as an opportunity for God to be glorified. This is so foreign to our current “victim” culture. We are bombarded with commercials that tell us if we have suffered anything in life, we may have a right to monetary compensation. We have lost touch with the concept that God is glorified in our weakness. Our faith in God has incredible potential to make life complete.   Don’t be mistaken. It wasn’t easy for Brother Lawrence to cook and to serve with constant pain in his back. There is no reason to believe the pain went away. But by practicing the presence of God, this man was able to focus on the Great Positive and deal with the nominal negative.  Can we get to the point that the appearance of a trial is cause for joy bringing with it knowledge […]

Brother Lawrence  was converted at the age of eighteen. He recalls, during that first  year after coming to God,  seeing a tree in winter stripped of its leaves. He recognized that in a little while leaves would appear, then flowers and finally fruit. God provides all of that. The tree does nothing but exist as a tree. From its very nature comes the leaves that provide it’s nourishment, flowers that attract the insects which propagate it and finally fruit from which other trees are produced. Later in life when injured in battle and suffering a chronic painful condition, Brother Lawrence remembered God as provider. Rather than consider himself a victim; he became, even in his injured condition, a servant to others.  What excuses prevent us from living the life God calls us to? Are we too busy making a living or raising our kids, or building up wealth? God provides all that we need to do all that we are called to do. He produces the fruit; it is ours to be aware of His presence and bounty and to grow where we are planted. I remember some years ago we shared our home overnight with two missionaries from […]

 Brother Lawrence was born Nicholas Herman around 1610 in Herimenil, Lorraine, a Duchy of France. His birth records were destroyed in a fire at his parish church during the Thirty Years War, a war in which he fought as a young soldier. It was also the war in which he sustained a near fatal injury to his sciatic nerve. The injury left him quite crippled and in chronic pain for the rest of his life.     He was educated both at home and by his parish priest whose first name was Lawrence and who was greatly admired by the young Nicholas. He was well read and, from an early age, drawn to a spiritual life of faith and love for God.     In the years between the abrupt end of his duties as a soldier and his entry into monastic life, he spent a period of time in the wilderness living like one of the early desert fathers. Also, prior to entering the monastery, he spent some time in private service. In his characteristic, self deprecating way, he mentions that he was a “footman who was clumsy and broke everything”.      At mid-life he entered a newly established monastery in Paris […]

To be honest, I’m not a great fan of Father’s Day. First off it’s one of those Hallmark holidays, created by the greeting card companies to sell more cards.Further, when I was a young father, it always seemed to me that on Mother’s Day the preacher would honor all the great moms and on Father’s Day he would lecture all the less-than-perfect dads. Maybe I was too sensitive. But it must be said that in 2011, Fatherhood as an institution is not in great shape. According to the U. S. Census Bureau there are approximately 13.7 million single parents in the United States today who are raising approximately 26% of the children and 84% of those are women. So there are fewer fathers today than ever before. Many of the fathers who are physically present or emotionally absent. Plus our image of fathers is more negative than ever before. Consider for a moment and try to think of a single television or movie father who is portrayed positively. Even those who are old enough to remember Father Knows Best, will remember that the title was a bit tongue in cheek. Mom ran that household not Father. Father didn’t know best; he […]

“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.”John 15:2 I have heard it said that men get their sense of value  from what they do; women derive a sense of value from who they are. Maybe that’s why men struggle so much with Christianity. Religion is doing with the hope it will lead to spiritual being. Life in Christ is being that leads to doing.  When you think about it, a branch doesn’t “do” very much. It bears fruit completely as a function of its attachment to the vine. We so misrepresent Christianity when we focus on “do’s” and “don’t.” What we have to offer is a relationship to Christ from which good things spout; yet we insist on conveying the idea that we must do good things to deserve Christ.  We “know” we could never do enough; but that doesn’t stop us from preaching it. By focusing on works, we detract from the relationship that makes it possible. Consider being afraid of God instead of having a fear of God. If we are afraid of God we want […]

Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.  He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. Colossians 1:12-13 As Christians we are citizens of a new kingdom, but we often act as if we were still under the power of the Prince of Darkness. God has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. We seem to have trouble becoming acclimated to our  environment. There is a new king in town. We aren’t subject to the old devil any more. But he still “appears” to exercise power over us. Like a roaring lion he makes noises designed to keep us frightened and enslaved. He convinces us that life was great in the old kingdom. We believe we will miss the old life of sin. He’s a deceiver and he’s really good at it.  It’s important that we renew our minds to the new kingdom and the new life we’ve been blessed with. Focus on the Word is crucial. It serves as a […]

While picking up groceries this morning I spotted a beautiful orchid. I thought of Rosemary. When I see beautiful flowers I think of her. It has been a habit of mine to bring her flowers on no special occasion. She also greatly misses working in her garden. She loves gardening, but is now very allergic to wasp stings so gardening in our wasp infected yard is too dangerous for her. So I try to bring a little garden beauty inside. She has been a beautiful thing in my life for forty-two years. I have been bringing her flowers for that long. I’m never sure of her response though, even after all these years. Today she looked at me sheepishly and said, “Did I forget something?” Maybe it’s been too long since I brought her flowers for no reason. Laughing I relieved her by assuring her that her memory was still relatively fine.  We are blessed with many beautiful things in our lives, family being just one of them. But with time can come familiarity and a forgetfulness to be thankful of God’s gifts. Gifts we have enjoyed for years are not less valuable for the time we’ve had them; […]

But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” —1 Peter 1:15–16 We are understandably proud in America for our right to pursue happiness. Our problem is that we have lost the path. One sure way to unhappiness is to spend your life pursuing it. Happiness is not a goal; it’s a by product. Now hold your breath, it’s a by product of the pursuit of holiness. I know that sounds radical. Conventional wisdom is that seeking holiness is an alternative to seeking happiness. But that’s not true. God wants us to be holy because He is holy and because we were designed to be holy. We will only be happy if we achieve that for which we were designed: holiness. Now I know it’s fashionable to think that happiness is not an appropriate Christian state. We distinguish “joy” from “happiness.” Joy is okay; but happiness is worldly. That’s just silly. Joy is just a deeper more abiding state of happiness. We tend to think of happiness in terms of material things and joy in terms of spiritual; but the bottom line is […]