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These are 234 dozen cookies baked by members and friends of Amana Christian Fellowship in Maurice, Louisiana.  Tomorrow they will head to Angola, once the bloodiest prison in America, no longer so.  They were baked in kitchens throughout the area by boys and girls and men and women. They will join many other cookies baked by Baptists, Catholics, Methodists, Episcopalians, and many others. They will be mixed with cookies baked by blacks and whites and some in between.  Over this weekend they will be consumed by convicted murders, rapists, drug dealers and some guys who did some bad stuff and never got caught. They will be munched on by men hearing about Jesus for the first time and by some hearing about Jesus for the first time in a new and exciting way. They will be consumed by men from the outside sitting along side men on the inside. They will convey love and prayers and concerns. They will help make memories and change lives.  Some will be taken back deep into the prison and given by men as an offering of forgiveness to men with whom they have fought and struggled. They will be shared with correctional officers, […]

Yesterday, we talked about God sending storms so that we will have an opportunity to exercise our faith and allow God to act in power. Sometimes, storms require further action from us. Paul was caught in a bad storm in Acts 27. He was a prisoner at the time and being transported to Rome. It was a bad trip from the beginning. At first there were no favorable winds. Paul heard from God and advised those in charge to stay in port, but they ignored him and wound up in a storm of hurricane (if not biblical) proportions. The crew tied ropes around the ship to try to hold it together. They threw items overboard to try to lighten the load. The storm lasted for days and in the narration we learn that Paul encouraged his guards and assured them, though they would suffer a ship wreck, eventually they would be safe. One of the frequent effects of a storm is selfishness. When in danger, our own survival takes priority. We need to remember that if we are in a storm, it is likely that others are being affected. Fear is running through everyone involved and our faith is […]

Do you ever wonder why God allows, maybe even sends, storms into our lives? Remember when He sent one into the lives of the disciples? They were crossing the lake. Jesus was asleep in the boat. A storm came up. They panicked. They turned to Jesus. He calmed the storm and saved the day. So, it seems, God sent the storm so Jesus’ power could be demonstrated. Most of the time it’s really no different in our lives. It takes no faith to trust in Jesus when every thing is going well. We are all happy Christians when the sun is shining. The disciples were “lovin’ it” when they were on the mountain side with Jesus teaching and miraculously feeding the multitudes. They weren’t so happy in the middle of the stormy waters.  How easy is it to call the doctor when we feel sick before turning to Jesus. Don’t we do that? We reach for the medicine bottle when we hurt, call the bank when we’re financially short, look for a counselor when we’re depressed. Sure all these things are sometimes necessary; but Jesus should be our first option. He can’t show his power unless we show some […]

Brother Lawrence believed that religion’s substance is faith, hope, and charity. In practicing these virtues we beome united to the will of God. All things are possible to him who believes. They are less difficult to him who hopes. They are more easy to him who loves.  Faith opens up possibilities to us. It makes the spiritual, the unseen, attainable. Through faith we not only believe in the unseen  but the unseen becomes real. The faithful Christian not only believes there is a God; but that He is real and acts in the lives of men. Hope makes life less difficult. Hope allows us to see past current difficulty. Our ultimate hope, life with our Lord, keeps us putting one step in front of the other as we walk through life. I can not image life without hope. I sometimes get a small glimpse at the desperate life of the unbeliever: hopeless and pointless. It is not the fate of those of us who believe.If hope makes life less difficult, love can make it easy. Love empowers us to do what we are called to do. It is easy to for our children and spouses; because we love them. […]

John 13  1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.2 And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, 4 rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. 5 After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. 6  Feet get really dirty in a society that has few paved roads and in which nearly every walks in open sandals. No host would allow visitors into his home without having their feet washed. Such would be an insult to the guest and result in a messy house for the host. It was a nasty dirty job and traditionally fell to the most junior servant in […]

It’s been a while since Rose and I had a night alone with Kaydence. We did tonight. Took her to see Winnie the Pooh, with pancakes for supper. Probably is a good thing we don’t get her alone too much. Now she’s having a bath with Mimi then movies in Mimi and PawPaw’s room. Okay so now I know why we don’t get her to ourselves too often.But it’s been great. The movie was simply great. I mean it was great because it was simple. No 3D. No special effects or super sound track. Just a simple story for kids.Maybe we have made life too complicated. The Pooh is simple he just wants honey and to be with his friends. He’s not the brightest, the most courageous, or the best looking; but somehow in the end he stumbles into getting things right. Maybe if we kept things simple, we would up the number of times we get things right.I think I hear the girls getting out of the tub. Maybe I’ll join them in bed and watch kid movies. Sounds pretty good and pretty simple doesn’t it.Later.Nick

Do we really believe God? We would like to say that the answer is an obvious “yes.” But it isn’t really. From the time of our salvation to our final destination in heaven, God is trying to get us to trust Him completely. He promises us that is the route to a full life. Brother Lawrence said we ought, once and for all, heartily put our whole trust in God, and make a total surrender of ourselves to Him, secure that He would not deceive us. Yet since we don’t fully trust, the reason must be that we don’t completely believe the promises of God. We say He is all powerful; but we act as if our problems are too much for Him. We say He loves us, but we act as if our problems are too little for Him. We repeat that if we seek first the Kingdom of God, we will receive else; yet we feel we have to “take care of business” before we can take care of ministry, often never getting around to it. We “know” that we, as new men, are not made for this world, yet we continue to seek our fulfillment here. […]

We sometimes make too big a deal about prayer. We think we have to have complete silence and bow our heads and formulate just the right words in our minds before we begin. Sometimes we think really important prayers require “professional” prayers. We need to “go upfront” in church to be prayed for on Sunday Mornings or go to a “healing” service.  As kids, perhaps we were taught great form prayers or to repeat prayers over and over. Maybe we learned that it’s helpful to go to intermediaries rather than straight to God.  While it certainly is a good thing to pray in public and to use great examples, like the Lord’s prayer, and to have others pray for us, a real prayer life is much simpler.  Brother Lawrence felt it was a great delusion to think that the times of prayer ought to differ from other times. He knew prayer was simple communication with the Father. Often words are not even necessary. I love to watch older couples together. I mean couples who have been together and loved together for years. There often isn’t a lot of talking, but each seems to know what the other is thinking. […]