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I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also —Matthew 5:39 In this verse, Christ is not telling us to be cowards. In fact, He is telling us as Christians we are to take courage to a whole new level. We are to put our natural tendencies aside and exhibit Christ in our lives. To be a Christian is always to be more, not of ourselves, but of Christ in us.  A disciple realizes that it is his Lord’s honor that is at stake in his life, not his own honor. We know that we are to live so that Christ is seen in our lives. For in seeing Him, others will be drawn to Him and the salvation He offers. We sometimes interpret this to mean that we are to be as good as we can be: being nice, giving  to the poor, going to church. That’s evidence of a “good” person. But such is not evidence of Christ inside. We evidence Him when we act as only He could do. Such as turning the other check. Being not all that we can be, […]

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord . . . —Isaiah 6:1 Many years ago Rosemary and I had friends who were deeply devoted Christians. They were however, enamored of a TV “Christian” personality. When the personality fell, these good people were nearly destroyed. Thankfully their spirituality was deep enough to refocus and restore them.  Our soul’s personal history with God is often an account of the death of our heroes. Over and over again God has to remove our friends to put Himself in their place, and that is when we falter, fail, and become discouraged. It is crucial that our focus is always on God not some person. It is equally important that we don’t allow ourselves to be the focus of someone’s spirituality. Years ago we belong to a church. It seemed to be a wonderful thing; it was only later clear that for many the church was the focus of many of the members and not the Lord. When the church turned out to be imperfect, many fell away. My vision of God is dependent upon the condition of my character. My character determines whether or not truth can even be […]

. . . 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. […]