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In that day you will ask in My name . . . —John 16:26 Communication is an absolute requirement in any relationship. It is more than a need for an exchange of information. Participants in a relationship need to communicate because they need to KNOW each other, so that they may be one with each other. The Cross of Christ represents the result of our communication with  Him, absolute identification with the Lord Jesus Christ— and there is nothing in which this identification is more real to us than in prayer, our communication. “Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” ( Matthew 6:8  ). Then why should we ask? The point of prayer is not to get answers from God, but to have perfect and complete oneness with Him. The cross is the symbol of our oneness with Him. Pray consistently that we may be one with Him, Our Lord and Savior. Be blessed. Nick

’. . . and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.’ . . . But they understood none of these things . . . —Luke 18:31, 34 At Men’s Prayer this morning we lifted up a variety of life situations: joblessness, sickness, family troubles. This led us to a discussion of the value of tough times. That it is in these times that we meet God and grow into what He calls us to be.  God called Jesus Christ to what seemed absolute disaster. And Jesus Christ called His disciples to see Him put to death, leading every one of them to the place where their hearts were broken. His life was an absolute failure from every standpoint except God’s. But what seemed to be failure from man’s standpoint was a triumph from God’s standpoint, because God’s purpose is never the same as man’s purpose. It’s important as we consider the “difficult” situations we face, to consider how God might be viewing these matters. Is He looking forward to triumph as we learn to trust in Him and to consider ourselves less than we have before? Is He looking to […]

He took the twelve aside . . . —Luke 18:31 Jesus’ plan to grow His church is to grow it one Christian at a time as we share what He has done for us. We are told that’s the plan. There is no plan B. We are the “A” Team. That seems a bit radical. What was God thinking? I wouldn’t trust us with the plan of salvation. Man in general and, me in particular, are unsuited to saving the world.  There is nothing good in me and I have no value. Ask my wife.  That is exactly why He chose you. As long as you think that you are of value to Him He cannot choose you, because you have purposes of your own to serve. It is not a matter of our equipment, but a matter of our poverty; not of what we bring with us, but of what God puts into us; not a matter of natural virtues, of strength of character, of knowledge, or of experience— all of that is of no avail in this concern. The only thing of value is being taken into the compelling purpose of God and being made His friends […]

He . . . said to them, ’Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem . . —Luke 18:31 Jerusalem, in the life of our Lord, represents the place where He reached the culmination of His Father’s will. Jesus said, “I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me” ( John 5:30 ). Seeking to do “the will of the Father” was the one dominating concern throughout our Lord’s life. And whatever He encountered along the way, whether joy or sorrow, success or failure, He was never deterred from that purpose. “. . . He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem . . .” ( Luke 9:51  ). Regretfully my focus is not so great. I am easily distracted. I sit in my chair for a moment of rest and the next thing I know the day is wasted. Or I pick up something as a bit of recreation, and the same thing happens. Or a word from another wounds or distracts and my purpose is foiled for the day. Even worse, I suspect that I distract others, taking their focus for God’s purpose for them. Jesus accomplished His mission in three short years. […]

In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world —John 16:33 It is not usual to be cheerful in tribulation. When the world sees a Christian who is cheerful in adversity, they have questions. The answer is: Jesus has overcome the world. What is there in the world that needs to be overcome? Fear, death, and the grave. The world offers a loveless self-centered life. Jesus offers a life of power, love and fulfillment. But it’s not “magic.” God does not give us overcoming life— He gives us life as we overcome.  If we remember that Jesus in the clouds, we know that growth is in the clouds, in adversity. We develop our spiritual muscles as we strain in adversity. We build our faith as we realize that Jesus (not us) has already won the victory. A saint can “be of good cheer” even when seemingly defeated by adversities, because victory is absurdly impossible to everyone, except God.

When Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples . . . He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities —Matthew 11:1 He comes where He commands us to leave. The Holy Spirit is the teacher whether by shining light on the Word or by leading us through actions and experience. Our duty to to obey. We are not responsible for others; but only for obeying Our Lord whether it relates to our spiritual life or the life of others. If we can accept this truth then a great weight can be lifted from us. It is ours to obey and His to be responsible for the results.  He teaches where He instructs us not to teach. “Master . . . let us make three tabernacles . . .” ( Luke 9:33  ). This truth is especially applicable to our family, our children and their children. After we have lived a few years and made our share of mistakes and possibly learned a bit about our God, we want to pass this on to others. We want to convey information and spare our loved ones the pain that can come with experienced learning. It’s not the way of […]

Let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing —James 1:4 God is timeless. We will live eternally too; but for now we see only a life of a few decades. Maybe that’s why patience is so hard for us. We know that repeatedly doing the same things and expecting different results is the very definition of insanity; yet God patiently waits for us to learn this lesson.  Ultimately, God will allow nothing to escape; every detail of our lives is under His scrutiny. God will bring us back in countless ways to the same point over and over again. And He never tires of bringing us back to that one point until we learn the lesson, because His purpose is to produce the finished product. It may be a problem arising from our impulsive nature, but again and again, with the most persistent patience, God has brought us back to that one particular point. Or the problem may be our idle and wandering thinking, or our independent nature and self-interest. Through this process, God is trying to impress upon us the one thing that is not entirely right in our lives. And […]

Jesus did not commit Himself to them . . . , for He knew what was in man —John 2:24-25 There is a truth we must come to if we are to truly live the Christian life: that we can only completely trust and rely on Jesus Christ. No other will live up to our expectations or completely deserve our complete trust. To expect such from anyone but Christ is unfair to that person. No one can live up to his complete faithfulness.  Many of the things in life that inflict the greatest injury, grief, or pain, stem from the fact that we suffer from illusions. We are not true to one another as facts, seeing each other as we really are; we are only true to our misconceived ideas of one another. According to our thinking, everything is either delightful and good, or it is evil, malicious, and cowardly. Things are simply not that black and white. Much of the relationship pain is based on this misunderstanding. Young lovers place each other on pedestals which neither can stand up to forever.  Disappointment is assured. When the love one doesn’t measure up to this impossible standard, relationships are broken. […]