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 John 17:  20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. Isn’t it amazing how Jesus will settle for nothing but the best for us. He calls for us to be perfect as His heavenly Father is perfect. He prays for unity for us like He and the Father are one. Yet we seem willing to accept so much less. Perfect unity is what He prays for us. We try to construct unity with giving His church a wide umbrella or watering down His message to make it more palatable to more people. This is not the way of perfect unity. On Sunday night as we continue to study what it means to Be the Church, we will look at the question of Unity as Jesus intended. Please consider unifying with us. We have been learning, having fun and becoming The Church. Come and be blessed. Nick  

Matthew 19:13-15  Jesus blessses Little Children 13 Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray ; and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 15 After laying His hands on them, He departed from there.  We are born needing to be touched. For nine months we are surrounded by our mothers. During that time we became dependent on touch to feel secure. The skin of a newborn, which has over five million sensory cells, thrives on sensation. Touch enhances bonding and facilitates trust between a parent and a child. The calming effect of touch also helps adapt an infant to its new surroundings and to the large and intimidating world. Conversely, many studies have been done on children raised in orphanages who were not regularly touched as infants or who suffered prolonged periods of time without any human contact whatsoever. The result of this lack of touch was almost always a failure to thrive. Infants who were not soothed and nurtured by touch did not […]

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7  Sometimes we can take in the entirety of God’s word for us. These verses are a good example. Occasionally we can cast a worry upon Him for a while; but we seem unable to case ALL our cares upon Him, PERMANENTLY. It really is a question of pride. That’s why this verse ties humbling ourselves with casting our cares. To cease worrying means to let go of control; that’s all about pride. We seem grotesquely fond of our worries. We must have a love for them since we have such difficulty casting them away. Jesus has told us “Don’t take an anxious thought for tomorrow.  Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof.”  There is a reason that our time is wrapped into 24 hour cycles. God a plan in giving us things “new every morning.” We just are not wired to handle more than 24 hours of responsibilities. When we try to handle more; we fail to do what we must do TODAY. When we worry about tomorrow, […]

The Truth Shall Make You Free      “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32   Elephants are controlled in the circus by chaining them to a small stake in the ground. The elephant could easily pull up the stake; but he doesn’t try. In fact, elephants have died in fires chained to stakes they could have easily pulled up, but don’t. You see when an elephant is very young he is chained to a tree. He learns that he can not break away. As he grows older the lesson sticks with him, well past the point that the confinement is no longer effective. I know that I am, in some ways, similar. If I tried and failed at something long ago, I won’t easily attempt it again. But I’m not the same person. In the natural, I am older and more experienced. In the spiritual, I am a completely new man. How true that is of you and me who have ingrained thought patterns in our lives. We say, “I am chained to this habit and I can’t break free.” Or we say, “I’m not good enough.” All kinds of lies […]

Jesus, Lover of My Soul. How did your Valentine’s Day go? Not exactly as you hoped. Maybe you’re “alone” and didn’t expect much from it. You could cheer yourself by recognizing that it’s just a day created by florists and the greeting card industry; or you can just remember that you are loved.   “The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love.” Jeremiah 31:3   Our Lord loves us with an infinite love, an everlasting love, and an indescribable love. Are you without a valentine today? Take heart…His heart. He has set His affection on you. Jesus has purchased you, not with silver or gold as a bridegroom would have in Jesus’ day, but our Lord has purchased you with the silver of His tears and with the gold of His blood. You are loved by the One who loves best! Love Nick 

Saint Valentine  is the name of several(14 in all) martyred saints of ancient Rome. The name “Valentine”, is derived from valens (worthy, strong, powerful). Of the Saint Valentine whose feast is on February 14, nothing is known except his name and that he was buried north of Rome on February 14. It is even uncertain whether the feast of that day celebrates only one saint or more saints of the same name. Today Debbie Reed announced a service program for the women at Amana. The ladies will meet on Wednesday mornings, have a devotional and then, as led by the Holy Spirit, will perform service ministry. Sounds like a great idea. How about it men. What should be our response?  Let me suggest that men meet for prayer at 6 a.m. on Wednesday. I promise that group will provide prayer support and any man help that might be needed for spirit inspired ministry. Let me further suggest that you support your woman tomorrow by promising to support her in this service ministry. Backing her up with prayer, help at home and, perhaps, an occasional helping hand with the service is is called to perform.  Candy and flowers are great, […]

It’s Sunday again, already. It amazes me how time flies. Days go by in a blink. Weeks seem to take no longer than a deep breath. I know that it’s a function of age, the old I get the quicker time moves. It must be part of God’s master plan; somehow tied to the aging of the body. Both phenomena designed to be a constant reminder that we don’t have unlimited opportunities left. We need to take every shot we get at doing the important things. Did you do anything really special yesterday? Will you do something of eternal significance today? Here are some suggestions. Tell someone you love them. I know it’s Valentine’s Day on Monday; but I’m not talking about that special person that God has given you. We don’t, often enough, tell all the great people in our lives how we feel.  Tell someone you love that you do, someone you haven’t told in a while. Forgive someone. We all walk around with unforgiveness: that disease that focuses on others but hurts no one but us. If you want to do something special forgive someone. Do a secret good deed. All around us are folks with […]

Matthew 13:24-30 (New King James Version) The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares 24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’” This is a parable about the church. It is my wife who pointed out to […]