Author: Nick

We certainly want to be ready when Jesus comes for us. It is very helpful to consider often during the day whether He would be pleased to find us doing what we are doing.  But I think this verse means more than that. We need to be alert to surprise visits from Jesus. Sometimes He touches our lives and we only realize it was Him when the moment has passed. We can see Him in a beautiful scene. He can surprise us in the loving actions of one of His children; often one we didn’t recognize as a child of His.  Sometimes He surprises us with encouragement; but He can also rebuke or warn. His visits are particularly surprising when they come from children or “ordinary” people.  Not ever word from the Lord comes in church or from a Minister. He speaks to us and reaches to us always. It is our task to be alert and sensitive to Him. One of the truly sad things is that we can be “so absorbed in our service to Jesus Christ that we are not ready to face Jesus Himself at every turn. The greatest need is not facing our beliefs […]

On the surface, OC is a bit obvious today. He tells us to just do what Jesus says. But for me it’s never that simple. If I know Jesus is telling me to do something, mostly I’ll do it. There are some problems. First, I don’t always know what Jesus is telling me to do. This is another way of saying that I don’t always recognize His voice. This is, of course, my fault. I have not developed a keen enough ear to hear Him. I am not so in the habit of continuous obedience that I always recognize His voice. I know in most situations this is just an excuse. I have His written word. I know that every word in it comes from God; but I don’t follow every word of it. I do just what OC warns against. I sometimes conclude the Word is “mistaken” or “a bad translation” or “meant only for that time and place and not a universal truth.”  I know if I will just obey His clear written Word, I will be living in His presence and become more sensitive to those special instructions He gives us in our special situations.  “I […]

My posting is a bit late today – about 12 hours. Some days just don’t go as you plan. I normally write my posts between 3 and 5 in the morning. I didn’t wake up until 7:30 this morning and Samantha had spent the night. When she spends the night, we go to Mel’s for breakfast. She likes the smiley face pancakes. Then my brother, who I promised not to name today, and I had projects to do. Then Nicky came over for his overnight. They I took Nicky and Sam to see “How to Train a Dragon.” Great movie. By now, it’s 4 in the afternoon. Today, OC is discussing a higher state of mind and spiritual vision that can only be achieved through the higher practice of personal character. I feel completely inadequate to discuss a “higher practice of personal character.”  I think we sometimes over-spiritualize such things. Sometimes a higher practice of personal character is as simple as spending time with people you love and letting them do as they want rather than doing what you would otherwise do: whether it’s having pancakes, or going to a movie or playing with your iphone. I am reminded […]

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God —Matthew 5:8 Purity is not innocence— it is much more than that. Purity is the result of continued spiritual harmony with God.” Some seem to see God in everything. Others seem to never see God at all. For most of us, God moves in and out of our vision. Does it seem to you that the God who is concerned with every aspect of your life, who loves you and who wants the best for you is more real on Sunday than on Monday? He is no less present on Monday. The problem is with us. Isn’t that a result of our state of spiritual harmony with  Him?  After a Kairos weekend, after seeing God move with power, after being focused on Him for an entire weekend, it seems I can see Him in everything. But that vision soon begins to fade, as the dust and dirt of the world makes its way back into my life. We know that time spent with God is important and it’s not just because we have so much to learn; it’s because we need to be “in tune” with Him. We […]

Today OC is way ahead of me: “Goodness and purity should never be traits that draw attention to themselves, but should simply be magnets that draw people to Jesus Christ. If my holiness is not drawing others to Him, it is not the right kind of holiness; it is only an influence which awakens undue emotions and evil desires in people and diverts them from heading in the right direction. A person who is a beautiful saint can be a hindrance in leading people to the Lord by presenting only what Christ has done for him, instead of presenting Jesus Christ Himself. Others will be left with this thought— “What a fine person that man is!” That is not being a true “friend of the bridegroom”— I am increasing all the time; He is not.” I’m just not at the point of being concerned that my goodness and purity may be drawing attention to myself instead of to Christ. If any of you who know me personally have had that problem, PLEASE let me know. Instead I am feeling more like I need to go back to the beginning to ground myself in my relationship with Christ so that […]

LaDonna Taylor will be with us at Amana on Sunday at our 10 a.m. service. I look forward to her visit since last time she was with us Jesus healed my knee. My knee was as bad as Pastor T’s or Sally’s. I had a prognosis of continued pain and an eventual knee replacement. Since LaDonna’s visit, I have been pain-free. I have no explanation why Jesus would heal me instantaneously while others who love more and serve better need surgery for relief or continue to suffer. I do know that, should He choose to, Jesus heals, for His reasons, in His time. I am learning that we can’t save, heal or fix ourselves. In my sinful arrogance, I am somewhat slower to learn that I can’t save, heal or fix anyone else. Dr. Taylor has apparently learned this lesson. Perhaps that’s why her ministry is so blessed. She just does what she does best, play her violin, and point to Jesus.  When Jesus uses us in any small way to do the mighty things He does, we tend to think it’s all about us. Worse the person blessed may conclude that it was us and not Jesus. That’s […]

When I begin to work on my blog each morning, i do a couple of things. Sometimes I will look for the  definition of a key word. Today I did that for Carnality. It wasn’t much help. It means “worldly, earthly or relating to the physical.” Then I will do an image search using the same word. I got an eyeful when I did that with carnality. After reading and rereading OC, carnality reminds me of chewing gum, stuck on the sole of your shoe. Just when I think my walk is going pretty well, I get a reminder that I’m still pretty worldly. “Where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal . . . ?” —1 Corinthians 3:3 Maybe I’ll get involved in some “envy, strife and division” or maybe some temptation, thought long ago banished will return. “The natural man, or unbeliever, knows nothing about carnality. The desires of the flesh warring against the Spirit, and the Spirit warring against the flesh, which began at rebirth, are what produce carnality and the awareness of it.” I think what OC is saying is that before salvation, these pieces of gum on our shoes […]

Down in the valley I don’t do well in valleys and I think I’m in one. Saturday I attended a two and a half hour meeting that should have taken twenty minutes. It’s for a ministry I love, but it’s not the part where we see God work, but where  we do mundane planning. It’s not where God is in view but where we produce work that God will really have to miraculously transform. This week I face mostly paperwork. I like being a trial lawyer because I like being in trial, not doing paperwork. My big project at home, new steps for our patio, has moved from the won’t-it-be-great stage to the will-it-ever-be-done stage. Finally, I love winter, but really will this one ever end. I was as cold yesterday as I was all winter. Mainly I was looking forward to the hills of spring and have had enough of the valleys of winter. To top it all OC is particularly cryptic today. But I think he’s talking about what I’m going through, as usual. “Did not our heart burn within us?”Luke 24:32 “We need to learn this secret of the burning heart. Suddenly Jesus appears to us, […]