Author: Nick

By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain . . . —1 Corinthians 15:10   I still remember from childhood Popeye’s refrain, “I am what I am and that’s all what I am. I’m Popeye the Sailor man… toot toot.” It’s a good thing to know what we are. I was watching a movie last night and was saddened by the words of one character, “Who am I?” It’s crucial to know who we are. In doing so precision is crucial. It’s prideful to think we are more than we are and an insult to our Creator to be falsely humble.  Some like to say they are just “a sinner saved by grace.” True enough that we WERE sinners, but through the miracle of salvation and sanctification we are SAINTS. That doesn’t mean we are perfect; but He has sanctified us enough to allow us to be in His presence. Conversely, the things that sound humble before God may sound exactly the opposite to people. To say, “Thank God, I know I am saved and sanctified,” is in God’s eyes the purest expression of humility. It means you […]

He will glorify Me . . . —John 16:14 There are so many “expressions” of Christianity today. Visit a few churches. Spend some time watching “Christian” TV or surfing the internet. You will wonder what this “Christianity” thing is all about. How could so many exercise Christianity in such a variety of ways? The New Testament example of the Christian experience is that of a personal, passionate devotion to the Person of Jesus Christ. Every other kind of so-called Christian experience is detached from the Person of Jesus. There is no regeneration— no being born again into the kingdom in which Christ lives and reigns supreme. There is only the idea that He is our pattern. In the New Testament Jesus Christ is the Savior long before He is the pattern. Today He is being portrayed as the figurehead of a religion— a mere example. He is that, but He is infinitely more. He is salvation itself; He is the gospel of God! Jesus said, “. . . when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, . . . He will glorify Me . . .” (John 16:13-14). When I commit myself to the revealed truth of the New […]

. . . being justified freely by His grace . . . —Romans 3:24 We have decided in our family to give only to the children for Christmas. We know that it is more blessed to give than to receive and, sometimes, I think it is easier for us to give than to receive. To accept the generosity of another we must admit that we need something. There is a certain pride in people that causes them to give and give, but to come and accept a gift is another thing. I will give my life to martyrdom; I will dedicate my life to service— I will do anything. But do not humiliate me to the level of the most hell-deserving sinner and tell me that all I have to do is accept the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. We have to realize that we cannot earn or win anything from God through our own efforts. We must either receive it as a gift or do without it. The greatest spiritual blessing we receive is when we come to the knowledge that we are destitute. Until we get there, our Lord is powerless. He can do nothing for […]

. . . by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world —Galatians 6:14 A bit late for today’s devotional. Chalk it up to a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. How do we accomplish being IN the world and not OF the world. Our Lord was not a recluse nor a fanatical holy man practicing self-denial. He did not physically cut Himself off from society, but He was inwardly disconnected all the time. He was not aloof, but He lived in another world. In fact, He was so much in the common everyday world that the religious people of His day accused Him of being a glutton and a drunkard. Yet our Lord never allowed anything to interfere with His consecration of spiritual power. We must never allow anything to interfere with the consecration of our spiritual power. Consecration (being dedicated to God’s service) is our part; sanctification (being set apart from sin and being made holy) is God’s part. We must make a deliberate determination to be interested only in what God is interested. The way to make that determination, when faced with a perplexing problem, is to ask yourself, “Is this the kind of […]

. . . except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . —Galatians 6:14 Isn’t it strange that we move from Thanksgiving Day to Black Friday. We transition from a spirit of thanksgiving to the biggest shopping day of the year. If we have so much to be thankful for, why the need to go shopping? Oh I understand that much of the shopping is for others, but not all. And isn’t that still a dramatic change of focus?  Isn’t most of our gift giving totally expected? Doesn’t our shopping list consist of people we “need” to buy gifts for?  Maybe it would be better if we focused on Good Friday instead of Black Friday. If we want to know the power of God (that is, the resurrection life of Jesus) in our human flesh, we must dwell on the tragedy of God. “Look to Me. . .” (Isaiah 45:22).  We have to focus on the great point of spiritual power— the Cross. If we stay in contact with that center of power, its energy is released in our lives. It’s fine to give gifts, but our best buys on Black Friday won’t change lives. Let’s […]

Have a Blessed Day.

My God Thank You.For Your Son, whose love for me is still beyond my understanding.For Rosemary, whose love for me for over 40 years is also beyond my understanding.For Allison, whose beauty, growth and energy, make me want to demand that she take a blood test to assure myself that I am her father.For Jason, whose time with me was limited and whom I miss.For Jessica, whose life is still new and whose potential is great.For Martha, whose view of life makes me look at things from new prespectives.For Nicholas, whose enthusiasm energizes me.For Samantha, who still thinks crawling on PawPaw’s lap is okay.For Kaydence, who is still young enough to think I’m pretty great.For Donna, who is old enough to know I’m really not.For brothers and sisters who I don’t see enough, but who, when I do,  still remind me of the wonderful years of my youth.For my church and its leaders who encourage, bless and strengthen me.For Kairos, for allowing me a place to minister where I can’t mess it up.For America, for reminding me if you want to be great you can’t rely on your past, you better work today to ensure your tomorrow.For a world […]

Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters . . . , so our eyes look to the Lord our God . . . —Psalm 123:2 A servant looks to his master’s hand for many things: direction, substance, correction; so should we look to the Lord our God. Like a servant we are unable to direct, sustain and make good use of our lives without our Master. But notice this about the verse, we are to look to Lord our God completely, not just at his hand like the servant does. We get more from God than the servant gets from the Master. We get every thing. We get love and eternal life. His claim on us is greater than a master’s. He made us. He sacrificed for us. He is our everything. To look anywhere else is folly. In the words of the hymn: Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim. In the light of His glory and Grace. Be blessed. Nick