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Jesus said to her, ’Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?’ —John 11:40 Some who call themselves people of faith, attempt to conform that faith to common sense. They  process scripture and the promises of God through the filter of common sense. The fact that such a process screens the miraculous from a life of faith, seemingly does not disturb them.  But common sense is not faith, and faith is not common sense. In fact, they are as different as the natural life and the spiritual. When you are on the mountaintop, it’s easy to say, “Oh yes, I believe God can do it,” but you have to come down from the mountain to the demon-possessed valley and face the realities that scoff at your Mount-of-Transfiguration belief (see Luke 9:28-42 ). Christ does not call us to a spiritual life that reduces the life of faith by a factor of reality. We are called to test the limits of what we believe to be reality and discover the wonder of the really miraculous world that the child of God inherits. If we will but test our faith and trust in […]

. . . one of His disciples said to Him, ’Lord, teach us to pray . . .’ —Luke 11:1   Why would a disciple ask this question? Prayer was certainly known to these guys. Prayer was a part of the spiritual life in Israel before Jesus came. But not prayer like this. No one prayed like this Jesus prayed. For Him, prayer was more than just petitioning God, or even talking to God. For Jesus it was a life of communion between the Son and the Father. The disciples wanted what they saw in the life of their leader. “Lord, teach us to pray.” Prayer is not a normal part of the life of the natural man.  Prayer like Jesus prayed is only possible for the renewed man, the born again child. Jesus could communicate with the Father because He was the Son. We can pray like Jesus, after we become children of the Father. But relationship is more than an incidence of birth, or rebirth. It requires work. A couple has a relationship after their marriage, but can’t base it only on the piece of paper. It requires time, focus and attention. We must nourish the relationship […]

Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you . . . —John 12:35 There is nothing quite like the emptiness of a missed opportunity. There is no future in living in a world of “what ifs” and God is a god of second changes, yet we should  beware of not acting upon the moments on the mountaintop with God. If you do not obey the light, it will turn into darkness. “If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” ( Matthew 6:23 ). It is tough to work out the wonder of salvation and sanctification in daily grinds of life.  If you say you are sanctified, show it. The experience must be so genuine that it shows in your life. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can move from an intellectual Christianity to a Christian life and that’s where the blessings are. Nick

I have called you friends . . . —John 15:15 This is one of the most amazing statements in scripture. He is God, Savior, and by His own words, friend. He proved His friendship by surrendering His life for us. Our friendship with Him is confirmed the same way, by surrender of our lives to Him. For many reasons, we resist.. Control is a powerful feeling. In our world today, it seems we have lost control of much, our government, our day to day lives, our families. We are, therefore, reluctant to give up control of anything. We fail to see that surrender to Christ is joy, the greatest joy we can know. We will never know the joy of self-sacrifice until we surrender in every detail of our lives. Yet self-surrender is the most difficult thing for us to do. Our surrender is aided by the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit comes into our lives, our greatest desire is to lay down our lives for Jesus. Yet the thought of self-sacrifice never even crosses our minds, because sacrifice is the Holy Spirit’s ultimate expression of love. “I have called you friends. . . .” Our friendship with […]

What man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? —Matthew 7:9   Notice that the presumption of this verse is that the petitioner is a son. When we ask things of God, and He doesn’t seem to answer, we often dive into analyzing why He doesn’t. Doesn’t He care? Doesn’t He know what I need? We need to consider if we are, in fact, acting as His good child.  Is our relationship right with spouse, children, and others? Are we a “good child” in those relationships? Have I been asking God to give me money for something I want, while refusing to pay someone what I owe him? Have I been asking God for liberty while I am withholding it from someone who belongs to me? Have I refused to forgive someone, and have I been unkind to that person? Have I been living as God’s child among my relatives and friends? I am a child of God only by being born again, and as His child I am good only as I “walk in the light” ( 1 John 1:7 ). For most of us, prayer simply becomes some trivial religious […]

When you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly —Matthew 6:6   Battles are generally open and public affairs. At the beginning of the civil war, the upper crust of Washington went out in buggies as on a picnic to observe the federal army thrash the upstart rebels outside of town. Things didn’t turn out that way and the day ended in disaster for the union with army and observers alike scrambling for the safety of the city. Our biggest spiritual battles take place in secret. Jesus tells us to go into a quiet secret place to commune with the Father. He tells us thus because the greatest battle of prayer, as it is with any communication, is focus. One of the things we try to teach volunteers for the Kairos ministry is how to listen. Listening isn’t easy. It requires focus. Most of us, engaged  in conversation, are not really listening when others are speaking. We are, rather, plotting what we will say when the other persons finally shuts up and  we […]

I indeed baptize you with water . . . but He . . . will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire —Matthew 3:11 The beginning of Jesus is at the end of us.  I will never know what the baptism of the Holy Spirit means until  I indeed am at the end, and I cannot do anything more— but He begins right there— He does the things that no one else can ever do.  Repentance doesn’t start at the point when I recognize myself as a sinner; for all have sinned and fallen short. It begins when  I realize that I am absolutely unworthy and helpless, and I know that through and through I am not worthy even to carry His sandals. Have I repented like that, or do I have a lingering thought of possibly trying to defend my actions? The reason God cannot come into my life is that I am not at the point of complete repentance that is, a recognition of my complete unworthiness.  Get to the end of yourself where you can do nothing, but where He does everything. The His baptism will sweep over us, in spirit and in truth and […]

Blessed are the poor in spirit . . . —Matthew 5:3 In the year after Law School I clerked for a Federal Judge in Atlanta. I would arrive in downtown Atlanta early in the morning. I would have to literally step over folks who had slept in the streets in front of the courthouse the night before. It was very disturbing at first, but like most things in life, after a while I didn’t even notice them. It was like they weren’t there. The New Testament notices things that do not seem worthy of notice by our standards. “Blessed are the poor in spirit . . . .” This literally means, “Blessed are the paupers.” Paupers are remarkably commonplace! The preaching of today tends to point out a person’s strength of will or the beauty of his character— things that are easily noticed. The statement we so often hear, “Make a decision for Jesus Christ,” places the emphasis on something our Lord never trusted. He never asks us to decide for Him, but to yield to Him— something very different. At the foundation of Jesus Christ’s kingdom is the genuine loveliness of those who are commonplace. I am truly […]