Author: Nick

I love Christian music. I sleep with ear buds and an iPhone playing K-Love. I was awake a good bit of the night last night and I noticed something about the lyrics. They are more Friday than Sunday lyrics. By that I mean the songs are saying things like, “When you don’t move the mountains I need to move, I will trust you.” Titles like “How can it be?” “Trust in you.” “Chain Breaker” “I have this hope.” and “Forgiven.” Those aren’t Sunday songs. They don’t proclaim a victory won, but a fight in progress. Those are Friday songs. Those are lyrics that say that there is still a fight going on. There is still work to do. Sin is still significant, but there is hope. It’s still all about the blood. Unlike earlier in the week; however, there is a clear hope and an expectation of joy real soon. Isn’t that what Friday is? It’s a day on which the weekend and relief shine close and bright, but there is still work to be done. There are still sacrifices to make. I suspect most successful folks make good use of Fridays. They don’t stop working on Thursday night.  This […]

“Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’” Matthew 25: 37-40 Nothing has blessed me more in this life than the time I have spent at Angola ministering to the inmates there. I realize that sounds like a selfish motivation, but I think it’s important that Christians realize that feeding the hungry, showing hospitality, clothing the naked or visiting the prisoners is a blessing like nothing else.  I don’t know why we think that because Jesus commands us to do something, that it will be something hard to do. I freely admit that I dragged my feet when first asked to do prison ministry and I was more than a little nervous the first time I pass through the gates at Angola. Now I look […]

You must understand the worthlessness of money and riches. You must not chase after honor and fickle praise. These things all pass away with the world, and they bring no joy if the spirit of devotion is missing. Neither will you experience peace if it is sought from anyone or anything but God. Watkins, James (2016-01-12). The Imitation of Christ: Classic Devotions in Today’s Language (Kindle Locations 503-505). Worthy Publishing. Kindle Edition. We don’t know of many who, on their deathbeds, wish they had made more money, won more contests, or built a bigger empire. The only things worthwhile are the things we can take with us, or perhaps more accurately, the things that go on before us.  I have spent a fair amount of time in nursing homes. What is of value there are visits from family or notes from friends. On the tiny bed tables aren’t pictures of houses or cars or camps. There are photos, often grayed and frayed, of family or cards once barely noticed but now deeply cherished. In that way, nursing homes are like prison cells, there too the memories of family and friends too infrequently seen or heard from, are the most […]

We fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. 2 Corinthians 4: 18 What are you putting your hope in? You know what you’re suppose to say, but where is your hope, really? In your job, or your bank account, your health, your family, your education, your property or investments? All futile. Don’t depend upon yourself, but put your hope in God. Watkins, James (2016-01-12). The Imitation of Christ: Classic Devotions in Today’s Language (Kindle Locations 478-479). Worthy Publishing. Kindle Edition. The great “gottcha” in this life is that the things we can see and put our hands on are the things that rust, deteriorate, and waste away. It’s the things we can’t see that last. We are fooled by this repeatedly. Drive around sometime. There are once great cities that are in ruins, yes, even in this country. There are abandoned malls. The August 2016 flood reminded us just how temporary and futile is trusting in material things.   Perhaps the best way to refocus on what is important but unseen is to imagine us on the last […]

It’s amazing just how unloveable we are.  We all know folks who are unloveable, but we don’t really have to look further than our mirrors to spot an unloveable person. The fact that there may be some less loveable than ourselves, doesn’t save us from the unloveable label. This is particularly true when we consider the love of God. That the perfect holy being loves us and, in fact, loves us unconditionally is beyond understanding. We are too foul and unholy to even be in his presence. Only the sacrificial death of his son makes even approaching the most high possible.  Even with this in mind, we still place unreasonable expectations on God. While there are millions in the world who wake up each day not knowing where their next meal is coming from, we feel justified in expecting God to provide us with long term assurance of safety and comfort.  We feel betrayed and abandoned if we suffer any pain, loss or inconvenience. In fact, we believe our “status” as his children should guarantee us life long security and peace. The fact that this is totally inconsistent with the history of the church and the lives of the […]

“If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine.” Matthew 10: 37 This is one of those verses that make me say, “I must be missing something.” Until I give it some thought. It makes stark the reality that we are supposed to love Jesus above all.  One day, we will be separated from family and friends— whether we wish it or not— but we will never be separated from Christ. Watkins, James (2016-01-12). The Imitation of Christ: Classic Devotions in Today’s Language (Kindle Locations 436-437). Worthy Publishing. Kindle Edition. Face it. We can’t trust anyone like we can Jesus. Everyone else will turn on us, will disappoint us, will put something above us. We need to realize what this verse says and what it doesn’t say. It says we are to put Jesus first. It doesn’t say we are not to love others. In fact, the way we are identified as followers of Jesus is the way we love others.  In fact, putting Jesus first is a matter of putting […]

15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. John 15:15 The idea that the Lord of the Universe would send His son to die for mankind is an overwhelming thought. It is very difficult for us to get our minds around that idea. Somehow, we do. More difficult is the concept of a personal savior. We have a love/hate relationship with intimacy. We deeply wish for someone to know us completely and yet to love us. Yet we are far too familiar with the darkness inside. We know what rests in the dark corners of our souls. We can’t believe that someone would completely know us and still love us. It’s the greatest insecurity that we carry through life.  We play games in our relationships. We put forward an “us” that is not a true or complete picture. We show only part of us. I have known my wife for forty-eight years. We know each other pretty well and are still in love. Even after all that, we are reluctant to share every […]

In order to be spiritually healthy the love of God has to flow freely within us. Sometimes that flow gets blocked by our propensity for unforgiveness.  Sometimes we just need an unforgiveness cleanse. Every once in awhile, I like to sit down with a pad of paper and record my unforgiveness status. First, I consider what patterns of sin I have fallen into and what I need to bring to the Father in confession. That’s why I need a pad of paper. The list is usually pretty long. Then I turn to those whom I need to forgive. Sometimes at this point I need a whole new fresh pad. In this rough and tumble world it’s pretty easy to get bruised and hurt. Those kinds of bruises don’t just fade away with time. It seems they have to be specifically addressed. I then turn to those who probably have reason to hold me in unforgiveness and who probably need some move toward reconciliation from me. This is the toughest list. It requires a humbling admission that I have been causing some bruises to others as I bump and grind through life. The tough part of this is to decide […]