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. . . till we all come . . . to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ . . . —Ephesians 4:13 Christianity is not a singular pursuit. There is no place for Lone Rangers. We are to act as a body. We are, therefore, concerned about the development of the body and each member of it. Christ died to redeem humanity and each human. He died for His church. We are not here to develop a spiritual life of our own, or to enjoy a quiet spiritual retreat. We are here to have the full realization of Jesus Christ, for the purpose of building His body. When any part of the body is less than it should be, the entire body suffers. It is not enough to gather as a group, to worship, to pray, to listen to sermons. We have some responsibility for the souls which sit on either side of us or who walk out their salvation across the globe. We are all assigned a function as part of the whole.   In two weeks, we have an opportunity to serve the children of our church and our community. Maybe you are […]

. . . that I may know Him . . . —Philippians 3:10 At the beginning of a Kairos Retreat we lead the participants in a meditation called “Know Yourself.” It’s an important exercise. The first step in knowing Christ is to know ourselves, our good points and bad points, particularly that we are sinners in need of a savior. Sadly, it is fashionable these days to encourage folks to spend a lifetime knowing themselves, engaging in exercises of self-realization. Folks are taught to look within until they see “god.”  That’s a course doomed to failure. Salvation is not within. The answers to the deep questions of life or not within. We are not gods within. To have the Holy Spirit within is not the same as being the Holy Spirit. We are not gods no matter how much actualization we experience, no matter  how much we self-realize. A saint is not to take the initiative toward self-realization, but toward knowing Jesus Christ.  The Holy Spirit is determined that we will have the realization of Jesus Christ in every area of our lives.  Self-realization only leads to the glorification of good works, whereas a saint of God glorifies Jesus […]

Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together . . . —Hebrews 10:24-25 I missed the Men’s Meeting at church last night. I deeply regret that I couldn’t make it. Assembly with the saints is important. Not just assembly for prayer and worship, but assembly to stir each other up. We are all capable of being spiritually lazy saints. It is easy to believe that the purpose of a spiritual life is to gain peace. We picture “spirituality” as something that happens alone on mountain tops or in quiet  secluded forests. The world is loud and harried and we consider our spirituality as a means of a peaceful retreat from the world.  That’s just not biblical spirituality. The true test of our spirituality occurs when we come up against injustice, degradation, ingratitude, and turmoil, all of which have the tendency to make us spiritually lazy. While being tested, we want to use prayer and Bible reading for the purpose of finding a quiet retreat. We use God only for the sake of getting peace and joy. We seek only our enjoyment of Jesus Christ, not a […]

Joshua said to the people, ’You cannot serve the Lord . . .’ —Joshua 24:19 Joshua told the people that they could not serve the Lord, because they had served other Gods. We may not serve graven images, but when we rely on anything but the Lord Our God, we are serving “other gods.” We do well to frequently review our actions to see exactly on what we rely. Do you have even the slightest reliance on anything or anyone other than God? Is there a remnant of reliance left on any natural quality within you, or on any particular set of circumstances? The purer our reliance on Him; the greater our growth and productivity. When we fully rely, we are fully blessed. Nick

. . . choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve . . . —Joshua 24:15   This day whom have I decided to serve? We serve something. We may think we are Masters of our lives; but we serve something. There is a default. Unless we choose something different, we will serve Satan. It is only in his best interest for us not to decide.  We must choose to follow Christ. This is not just a one time decision. We must make that decision “this day” and every day. By choosing to follow Christ we are taking control by releasing control. Self control of our lives is not an option. Choose to be controlled by the One who loves you more than anyone. The One who has proved that control by dying for you and wanted the best for you. The Christian life is a life of willful exercise of following Him, a daily decision and a daily walk. If we want direction and meaning in our lives there is only one way: a constant and repeated decision to follow Him. Openly declare to Him, “I will be faithful.” But remember that as soon as you choose […]

Enter by the narrow gate . . . . Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life . . . —Matthew 7:13-14 I have a tendency to take the easy way. When I do that I know that I am settling. Accepting less because it is easier is not the Christian way. It is interesting that Christians are considered weak. The Christian walk is the most difficult of all. It is, indeed, narrow. But it is so worth it. We should never consider that we are doing it the hard way now, in exchange for heaven later. For the Christian way is the best way now. It is life as it was meant to be: life now and life eternal. We can’t shy away from the difficult; for the difficult it what we are called to.  Do we appreciate the miraculous salvation of Jesus Christ enough to be our utmost for His highest—our best for His glory? Thank God that He does give us difficult things to do! His salvation is a joyous thing, but it is also something that requires bravery, courage, and holiness. It tests us for all we are worth. […]

The parched ground shall become a pool . . . —Isaiah 35:7 Yesterday we discussed that planning is not really for the Christian, at least not planning without God. God has the plan, He conveys orders to us to guide us in the fulfillment of the plan. He sometimes gives a vision of His plan. We all have visions. A vision of warm beaches or cool mountains can lead to a vacation. A vision of a wonderful meal can lead us to a restaurant or the supermarket. A vision of unemployment can get us up and to work in the morning. Visions arise from our lives and the people in our lives. If we have a relationship with God, they will come from Him. The receipt of visions is a mountain top experience. We see the final product; but He sends us into the valley to work out the fulfillment of the vision. Let me give you a practical example. Last week before going on mission, Pastor asked me to convey information to the church on the events of the trip. He would text me updates and I would get them to the  church via the web. That was […]

Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass —Psalm 37:5   Most of us spend way too much time planning. Since we don’t know what tomorrow holds, planning on our own is just guessing. It leads to worry and the misplacement of resources. Consider I have a dollar. What should I do with it? Save it. Give it to missions. Buy something for a family member. Treat myself. If we are walking life alone we have to make a decision and planning will come into play. But if we are in relationship with God, He tells us what to do. In the first case we are just guessing as to what is best and we are setting ourselves up for worry. Did I make the right decision? If we are walking with God, we just do what He says knowing it is right and trusting in him for today and tomorrow.  We can tell when we have been walking on our own rather than in relationship. God seems to have a delightful way of upsetting the plans we have made, when we have not taken Him into account. We get […]