Author: Nick

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.  Watkins, James (2016-01-12). The Imitation of Christ: Classic Devotions in Today’s Language (Kindle Locations 237-238). Worthy Publishing. Kindle Edition. This one sentence, pulled from Romans 12 is packed with truth.  Consider: Copy cats.  We are pathetically unoriginal.  We copy the behavior and customs of this world. We talk like the folks on TV. We wear what the models wear. We buy what’s in. We love what’s trendy.  Mirror minded.  Our attention is riveted on us. “It’s all about me.” We say with a smile, but with all seriousness. Our perceptions go no further than our physical reach. We don’t care enough about others to have any idea what they are going through or need.  We are so self-absorbed that we don’t hear what others are saying, instead looking for an opening to turn the conversation to the most important thing, us.  Sayers not doers. We believe that what we say is more important than what we do. We profess our love but would not submit ourselves to a moment of inconvenience to put a smile […]

Back in the 60s we had “Jesus Freaks.” These were folks who were bananas for Jesus. They weren’t “churchy” people. They were mostly converted hippie types. I don’t know any Jesus Freaks these days. I know some church freaks, some missional freaks, some holiness freaks, and some “grace” freaks, and quite a few just freaks. That’s sad, because I think we are called to be “Jesus Freaks.” “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14: 6). Without my way you cannot go. Without my truth you cannot know. And without my life you cannot grow. I am the way which you must follow, the truth you must believe, and the life for which you must hope. I am the way never changing, the truth never failing, and the life never ending. I am the straight way, the supreme truth and the true, blessed, and uncreated life. “ Watkins, James (2016-01-12). The Imitation of Christ: Classic Devotions in Today’s Language (Kindle Locations 212-214). Worthy Publishing. Kindle Edition. We mouth agreement that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, but we don’t really think or live that […]

Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. Ephesians 5: 1– 2 It seems to me that there are two conflicting myths about Christianity. Some say Christianity is about what you believe. Others insist it’s about what you do. The truth is that neither is correct.  Christianity is about trusting in God’s Grace. Through His grace, we are forgiven, and by His grace, we are empowered to live lives of love.  Children naturally imitate their parents. Boys love to play like they are shaving. Girls love easy bake ovens and tea parties.  When we trust in Jesus, our nature is changed and we become His children. It becomes “natural” to us to want to be like Him, to imitate Him. God, however, is perfect. His ways are an “impossible” standard to live up to. Plus our history of living for ourselves drags us down. Enter Grace. Through God’s grace, our past is forgiven and forgotten. Through grace, we are empowered to change, to become more each day like our Lord Jesus. What is required of us? Taking our eyes off ourselves and on […]

An old friend today gave me a copy, leather-bound no less, of The Imitation of Christ, Classic Devotions in Today’s Language, by Thomas A. Kempis, compiled and edited by James N. Watkins. It’s amazing how excited I am to get a copy of a book I read  fifty-five years ago. The book is a Christian classic. I read a earlier version while a student at Immaculata Seminary in 1962 and 1963.  The devotional classic, second only to the Bible in sales, was written anonymously in Latin in the Netherlands. Thomas Haemmerlein (1380– 1471), better known as Thomas à Kempis, is generally credited as the author/ editor, but purposely avoided claiming its authorship. The hand-copied manuscripts of the book were first circulated as early as 1420, with its first publication in English in 1696. Through the centuries, the book has been recommended by such diverse leaders as John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, and Thomas Merton, the popular twentieth-century author and Catholic monk. The Jesuits, a Catholic order of priests and brothers, honored the book. Their founder, St. Ignatius of Loyola, was inspired by The Imitation of Christ to formulate his own Spiritual Exercises. The book has been published as […]

Last week I “celebrated” my 68th birthday. Principally because I have a great family, I had a wonderful day. I did take pause to consider how birthdays change over a lifetime. As a kid, we enjoy birthdays as “me” events. The day is all about us. We get gifts and cake and ice cream. It’s a day that’s all me.  As we get older, we see birthdays as milestones on what seems a very slow march to adulthood. It’s amazing how long a year used to be when I was 8. It seems like barely a month at 68. Once we hit adulthood, the birthdays begin to come quickly and the youth we didn’t appreciated when we were in it, begins to spin away. I laugh now at folks who get black balloons at 40. Kids are so silly.  As retirement years approach, we experience a bit of panic as we begin to realize that our time is limited and that life has not been all we imagined and we feel we better start really living. These are the years of mid-life crisis. At 68, I realize I could have gone on social security years ago. I finally got […]

Yesterday I went to see “The Shack.” I loved it. I really loved it. Before you pan me or the movie, please see the movie. I am NOT endorsing the book or the theology of it’s author, William P. Young, who has also written an awful non-fiction book Lies We Believe About God . I would have to re-read “The Shack” to analyze all the differences between it and the movie. I would rather just see the movie again. We don’t fully know God. I understand the discomfort in seeing Father God portrayed as a full-figured black woman. We have no problem accepting God as a Jewish carpenter or described as a lion or a lamb in scripture or portrayed as a lion in literature. I guess our discomfort about the black woman thing says more about us than about God. We don’t know all about God. We forget that.  Critics claim the movie portrays God as we would like Him to be and not how He is. I think the truth is that God is so much greater than we know or, in this life, can imagine. The movie dramatically lays out some truths about God that the world, and a […]

On Sunday, my pastor did a good job of explaining the Power of Fellowship.  God’s desire for humanity is that we be Saved and Sanctified. In other words, that we come to know Him and to be more like Him.      That second thing,  the sanctification, is a process of being set apart. His goal for us is that we make a difference. It’s hard to make a difference if we are not different.   He accomplishes this “difference,” through the work of the Holy Spirit who spurs us through fellowship with His Word, His Presence, and His People.      Fellowship is life-changing. We are changed by what surrounds us, our environment. Our moms were wise to be concerned about where we were and who we were hanging around with. Our sanctification, our change occurs, when we surround ourselves with the Word of God, the Presence of God and the People of God. We are creatures of mind, spirit and body. The Word of God impacts our minds and our thinking, the Presence of God communes with our spirits and the people of God hang around our natural fleshy selves. We are balanced in our transformation into Christ […]

About a decade ago, when The Shack the book came out, it was pretty much universally slammed by “the church.” It was viewed as  inconsistent with scripture and main stream theology. The movie is out this month and it’s being proclaimed a tool for evangelism. What changed? Apparently the movie isn’t the book. Check out the outreach.com statement.  However, I think the world and “the church” have both changed in 10 years. The world is much less “Christian” and the church is much less “orthodox.” That’s too much a subject for a blog. It would take a book to fully discuss that. I’m going to see the movie and I have my reasons. It’s topical.  People I love, people I know, and people I want to reach for Jesus are all going to see the movie. I want to be able to discuss it intelligently and accurately. I’m open.  I am open to fresh perspectives about God.  Please don’t excommunicate me or demand I return my “Follower of Jesus” credentials. I still believe Jesus is the only way. I am just open. I don’t know everything there is to know about God and I don’t know anyone who does. There […]