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 Brother Lawrence was born Nicholas Herman around 1610 in Herimenil, Lorraine, a Duchy of France. His birth records were destroyed in a fire at his parish church during the Thirty Years War, a war in which he fought as a young soldier. It was also the war in which he sustained a near fatal injury to his sciatic nerve. The injury left him quite crippled and in chronic pain for the rest of his life.     He was educated both at home and by his parish priest whose first name was Lawrence and who was greatly admired by the young Nicholas. He was well read and, from an early age, drawn to a spiritual life of faith and love for God.     In the years between the abrupt end of his duties as a soldier and his entry into monastic life, he spent a period of time in the wilderness living like one of the early desert fathers. Also, prior to entering the monastery, he spent some time in private service. In his characteristic, self deprecating way, he mentions that he was a “footman who was clumsy and broke everything”.      At mid-life he entered a newly established monastery in Paris […]

To be honest, I’m not a great fan of Father’s Day. First off it’s one of those Hallmark holidays, created by the greeting card companies to sell more cards.Further, when I was a young father, it always seemed to me that on Mother’s Day the preacher would honor all the great moms and on Father’s Day he would lecture all the less-than-perfect dads. Maybe I was too sensitive. But it must be said that in 2011, Fatherhood as an institution is not in great shape. According to the U. S. Census Bureau there are approximately 13.7 million single parents in the United States today who are raising approximately 26% of the children and 84% of those are women. So there are fewer fathers today than ever before. Many of the fathers who are physically present or emotionally absent. Plus our image of fathers is more negative than ever before. Consider for a moment and try to think of a single television or movie father who is portrayed positively. Even those who are old enough to remember Father Knows Best, will remember that the title was a bit tongue in cheek. Mom ran that household not Father. Father didn’t know best; he […]

“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.”John 15:2 I have heard it said that men get their sense of value  from what they do; women derive a sense of value from who they are. Maybe that’s why men struggle so much with Christianity. Religion is doing with the hope it will lead to spiritual being. Life in Christ is being that leads to doing.  When you think about it, a branch doesn’t “do” very much. It bears fruit completely as a function of its attachment to the vine. We so misrepresent Christianity when we focus on “do’s” and “don’t.” What we have to offer is a relationship to Christ from which good things spout; yet we insist on conveying the idea that we must do good things to deserve Christ.  We “know” we could never do enough; but that doesn’t stop us from preaching it. By focusing on works, we detract from the relationship that makes it possible. Consider being afraid of God instead of having a fear of God. If we are afraid of God we want […]

Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.  He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. Colossians 1:12-13 As Christians we are citizens of a new kingdom, but we often act as if we were still under the power of the Prince of Darkness. God has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. We seem to have trouble becoming acclimated to our  environment. There is a new king in town. We aren’t subject to the old devil any more. But he still “appears” to exercise power over us. Like a roaring lion he makes noises designed to keep us frightened and enslaved. He convinces us that life was great in the old kingdom. We believe we will miss the old life of sin. He’s a deceiver and he’s really good at it.  It’s important that we renew our minds to the new kingdom and the new life we’ve been blessed with. Focus on the Word is crucial. It serves as a […]

While picking up groceries this morning I spotted a beautiful orchid. I thought of Rosemary. When I see beautiful flowers I think of her. It has been a habit of mine to bring her flowers on no special occasion. She also greatly misses working in her garden. She loves gardening, but is now very allergic to wasp stings so gardening in our wasp infected yard is too dangerous for her. So I try to bring a little garden beauty inside. She has been a beautiful thing in my life for forty-two years. I have been bringing her flowers for that long. I’m never sure of her response though, even after all these years. Today she looked at me sheepishly and said, “Did I forget something?” Maybe it’s been too long since I brought her flowers for no reason. Laughing I relieved her by assuring her that her memory was still relatively fine.  We are blessed with many beautiful things in our lives, family being just one of them. But with time can come familiarity and a forgetfulness to be thankful of God’s gifts. Gifts we have enjoyed for years are not less valuable for the time we’ve had them; […]

But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” —1 Peter 1:15–16 We are understandably proud in America for our right to pursue happiness. Our problem is that we have lost the path. One sure way to unhappiness is to spend your life pursuing it. Happiness is not a goal; it’s a by product. Now hold your breath, it’s a by product of the pursuit of holiness. I know that sounds radical. Conventional wisdom is that seeking holiness is an alternative to seeking happiness. But that’s not true. God wants us to be holy because He is holy and because we were designed to be holy. We will only be happy if we achieve that for which we were designed: holiness. Now I know it’s fashionable to think that happiness is not an appropriate Christian state. We distinguish “joy” from “happiness.” Joy is okay; but happiness is worldly. That’s just silly. Joy is just a deeper more abiding state of happiness. We tend to think of happiness in terms of material things and joy in terms of spiritual; but the bottom line is […]

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding.  To him belongs eternal praise.” Psalm 111:10 NIV Rose and I attended the second session of Fear of the Lord last night. This series is excellent with a very good workbook for follow up study. If you missed the first two sessions, I greatly recommend you join us for the remaining sessions. Todays’ devotional is not based on that series. It takes a slightly different perspective on fear of the Lord. I would like to think about boundaries. We set boundaries for our children. Don’t touch the hot stove. … Don’t run into the street.  Show respect to other people. These boundries often don’t make sense to the children they are designed to protect. But we set these boundaries because we love them and want those things we know are best for them. As parents, we are in a better position to know what’s in their best interest. God in his love has set boundaries for us, his children. It is popular to consider that these boundaries are arbitrary and old-fashion. Modern man believes he is wiser than God. Yet,the wisdom […]

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according go his purpose. Romans 8:28 How else may we get more of Jesus in our lives? We can do so if we embrace God’s purpose for our life single-mindedly and wholeheartedly. We drift from Jesus when we drift in our lives. Successful athletes are similar in their single minded focus. Everything they do has the improvement of their game in mind. The first step is to gain a clear sense of God’s purpose for our life. We share the same general purpose of serving Him and living for His glory; but each of us has an individual purpose which He will reveal to us if we patiently listen to His voice. We can never achieve satisfaction if we don’t know our purpose. Once we know our purpose, anything that doesn’t move us toward that purpose is useless. Stay focused on what God wants for your life, and do all you can to fulfill that purpose well. This move toward the purpose then guides every decision in our lives. Should I sleep or pray more? Should […]