Author: Nick

I have finished the work which You have given Me to do —John 17:4 Folks love to say “God so loved the world” and forget the rest of the sentence “that He sent His only begotten Son.” God forgives sin only because of the death of Christ. His love is not enough. Too much focus on the “love” leads some to conclude “God won’t send anyone to hell…. He is love” or “God loves the world; he’ll save everyone.” Anything that lessens or completely obliterates the holiness of God, through a false view of His love, contradicts the truth of God as revealed by Jesus Christ. Never allow yourself to believe that Jesus Christ stands with us, and against God, out of pity and compassion, or that He became a curse for us out of sympathy for us. Jesus Christ became a curse for us by divine decree. Our part in realizing the tremendous meaning of His curse is the conviction of sin. Conviction is given to us as a gift of shame and repentance; it is the great mercy of God. Jesus Christ hates the sin in people, and Calvary is the measure of His hatred. It is […]

In Him we have . . . the forgiveness of sins . . . —Ephesians 1:7 In my humble opinion, forgiveness may be the most difficult thing we are called to do. Maybe it’s just me. It goes against our sense of fairness and justice. “He did that to me.” “He doesn’t deserve my forgiveness.”  Holding on to the anger and resentment is so satisfying; even if we realize it’s so destructive.  And it’s much more destructive to us than the one we are called to forgive. Think about God. His sense of justice is perfect and we really DON’T deserve to be forgiven. Yet He forgives. It is crucial that we understand why. Beware of the pleasant view of the fatherhood of God: God is so kind and loving that of course He will forgive us. That thought, based solely on emotion, cannot be found anywhere in the New Testament. The only basis on which God can forgive us is the tremendous tragedy of the Cross of Christ. To base our forgiveness on any other ground is unconscious blasphemy. The only ground on which God can forgive our sin and reinstate us to His favor is through the […]

If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed —John 8:36 We are designed with a great capacity for God., but sin and individuality keeps us from getting to Him. God delivers us from sin— we have to deliver ourselves from our individuality.Individuality is highly treasured in our society. We are taught to “be me” and that being “different” or “who we are” is a right. If it is a right, it is to be sacrificed to God. It is what Paul meant in Galatians 2:20  when he said, “I have been crucified with Christ . . . .” His individuality had been broken and his spirit had been united with his Lord; not just merged into Him, but made one with Him. “. . . you shall be free indeed”— free to the very core of your being; free from the inside to the outside. We tend to rely on our own energy, instead of being energized by the power that comes from identification with Jesus.  When other see us they should see Him, and we can’t allow our personality and pride to get in the way. Consider all they energy we expend putting up the image […]

My goal is God Himself, not joy, nor peace,Nor even blessing, but Himself, my God;‘Tis His to lead me there—not mine, but His—At any cost, dear Lord, by any road. Several years ago, while going through some papers, I found a document in which I had listed several short and long term goals. I was very pleased to find that I had accomplished many of the goals. I also was amused to find that some of the goals involved things in which I no longer had any interest. It is important to have goals  and to periodically re-evaluate our goals and our progress toward meeting them. Long range goals should include intermediate goals: steps on the way toward the final goal. But it is also imperative that we recognize the ultimate goal.  My goal is God Himself . . .At any cost, dear Lord, by any road.“At any cost . . . by any road” means submitting to God’s way of bringing us to the goal. Recognizing that God is the ultimate goal is a sign of spiritual maturity. Being good, even pleasing God, is not the ultimate goal… God Himself is the goal. The next level of maturity […]

. . . whatever you do, do all to the glory of God —1 Corinthians 10:31 Kairos #50 just finished at Angola and by all accounts it was wonderful, a true hilltop experience. I did not take part but I know what the participants are going through this week. In the Scriptures, the great miracle of the incarnation slips into the ordinary life of a child; the great miracle of the transfiguration fades into the demon-possessed valley below; the glory of the resurrection descends into a breakfast on the seashore. This is not an anticlimax, but a great revelation of God. We have a tendency to look for wonder in our experience. It’s one thing to go through a crisis grandly, yet quite another to go through every day glorifying God when there is no witness, no limelight, and no one paying even the remotest attention to us. If we are not looking for halos, we at least want something that will make people say, “What a wonderful man of prayer he is!” or, “What a great woman of devotion she is!” If you are properly devoted to the Lord Jesus, you have reached the lofty height where no […]

Peter . . . said to Jesus, ’But Lord, what about this man?’ Jesus said to him, ’. . . what is that to you? You follow Me’ —John 21:21-22 We are incapable of running our own lives. This is often the realization that brings us to the cross. We make such a mess of our lives that we realize that our only alternative is to turn it over to  God. But our desire to control is strong. Sometimes we decide that since we can’t control our own lives, maybe we can control the lives of others. One of the hardest lessons to learn comes from our stubborn refusal to refrain from interfering in other people’s lives. It takes a long time to realize the danger of being an amateur providence, that is, interfering with God’s plan for others. You see someone suffering and say, “He will not suffer, and I will make sure that he doesn’t.” You put your hand right in front of God’s permissive will to stop it, and then God says, “What is that to you?”  God does use us to assist and often advise others; but that comes out of our relationship with Him.  […]

As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me . . . —Genesis 24:27 As we discussed earlier, we know that we are His because we are different. We want different things. Our “consciences” are also different. They are more attuned to His will. We are more sensitive to His leading. We should be so one with God that we don’t need to ask continually for guidance.  His desire and direction for us becomes part of our being. A child’s life is normally obedient, until he chooses disobedience. But as soon as he chooses to disobey, an inherent inner conflict is produced. On the spiritual level, inner conflict is the warning of the Spirit of God. When He warns us in this way, we must stop at once and be renewed in the spirit of our mind to discern God’s will. As His child we also become more aware of the unfolding of His plan as we move through life. We can all see God in exceptional things, but it requires the growth of spiritual discipline to see God in every detail. Never believe that the so-called random events of life are anything less than God’s appointed […]

. . . the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me —Galatians 2:20   As Christians, we are new creations, with baggage. Much of the old man remains. Part of that remainder includes our moods, feelings, and emotions. These constitute our experience. We are used to relying on our experience. If I haven’t done, see or felt something, I tend to believe that it isn’t so. We must break out of our own little world of experience into abandoned devotion to Him. Think who the New Testament says Jesus Christ is, and then think of the despicable meagerness of the miserable faith we exhibit by saying, “I haven’t had this experience or that experience”! Think what faith in Jesus Christ claims and provides— He can present us faultless before the throne of God, inexpressibly pure, absolutely righteous, and profoundly justified. Stand in absolute adoring faith “in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God— and righteousness and sanctification and redemption . . .” (1 Corinthians 1:30). If our faith in Jesus seems insufficient to replace our “experience,” it is likely we are focusing on the “wrong” Jesus. We must continually focus and firmly place […]