Category: Uncategorized

. . . Peter . . . walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid . . . —Matthew 14:29-30 Walking with Christ, like walking on water, is a matter of focus. If we can keep our focus on Jesus, everything is fine. When we start to notice the winds and the circumstances, we start to think. The wind really was boisterous and the waves really were high, but Peter didn’t see them at first. He didn’t consider them at all; he simply recognized his Lord, stepped out in recognition of Him, and “walked on the water.” Then he began to take those things around him into account, and instantly, down he went.    We step right out with recognition of God in some things, then self-consideration enters our lives and down we go. If you are truly recognizing your Lord, you have no business being concerned about how and where He engineers your circumstances. The things surrounding you are real, but when you look at them you are immediately overwhelmed, and even unable to recognize Jesus. Then comes His rebuke, “. . . why did you […]

Judge not, that you be not judged —Matthew 7:1 A weekend spent with inmates at Angola can’t help but raise many issues. One, of course, is the issue of judging others. For most, the hardest part in bringing one to a life committed to Christ is to achieve recognition that we are all sinners. Most folks think they are “pretty good” relatively speaking. We need to learn that God doesn’t grade on the curve. For the inmate at a high security prison, sentenced often to life without benefit of probation or parole, their sinful state and guilt is not an issue, in fact, it is a mattr of public record.  What they need to to learn of Jesus’ forgiveness and His commitment to love them unconditionally. That’s the message we try to bring. We go, listen and love them without condition or judgment; Jesus’ instructions with regard to judging others is very simply put; He says, “Don’t.” The average Christian is the most piercingly critical individual known. One of the great inhibitors to church growth is the “judgmental attitude” of Christians.  Criticism is one of the ordinary activities of people, but in the spiritual realm nothing is accomplished by […]

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. . . . I have called you friends . . . —John 15:13, 15 Laying down our lives, is not dying. Jesus does not ask me to die for Him, but to lay down my life for Him. He wants us to live for Him. It is much easier to die than to lay down your life day in and day out with the sense of the high calling of God. We are not made for the bright-shining moments of life, but we have to walk in the light of them in our everyday ways.  We hold our lives in our hands. We “control” them or believe that we do. It is God’s gift of free will.  Jesus calls us to give it up and put Him in the driver’s seat. Put Him in control of our lives. There was only one bright-shining moment in the life of Jesus, and that was on the Mount of Transfiguration. It was there that He emptied Himself of His glory for the second time, and then came down into the demon-possessed valley (see Mark 9:1-29 ). For […]

Also . . . add to your faith . . . —2 Peter 1:5 One of the “gems” I picked up this weekend was this. There is no growth on the mountain top. Growth and life is in the valleys.  It’s a hard truth. Think of the mountain tops, they have exciting views and the exhilaration of being “above it all” but there is little plant or animal life or fertile soil. All that’s down in the valley. The days after a Kairos weekend are filled with prayer for the residents and the team as the valley of every day life  becomes real. We must take the spiritual high and turn it into a new day-by-day life. This is not automatic. We have God’s help, of course, but something from us is required. What we are really trying to grow in the valley is our character. No one is born either naturally or supernaturally with character; it must be developed. Nor are we born with habits— we have to form godly habits on the basis of the new life God has placed within us. This consists of doing the things we should and ceasing to do the things we […]

Monday Abide in Me . . . —John 15:4 To “abide” means to continue to remain firm to endure. A weekend like I just lived through helps me to abide in Christ. It renews my enthusiasm for the life I have in Him. It makes me  want to continue the walk leading to perfect harmony with my Lord. God will not make me think like Jesus— I have to do it myself. Our Lord’s inner abiding was pure and unblemished. He was at home with God wherever His body was. He never chose His own circumstances, but was meek, submitting to His Father’s plans and directions for Him. Just think of how amazingly relaxed our Lord’s life was! But we tend to keep God at a fever pitch in our lives. We have none of the serenity of the life which is “hidden with Christ in God” ( Colossians 3:3  ).Think of the things that take you out of the position of abiding in Christ. You say, “Yes, Lord, just a minute— I still have this to do. Yes, I will abide as soon as this is finished, or as soon as this week is over. It will be all […]

. . . come, follow Me —Luke 18:22 I write this on the final morning of the Kairos  weekend. We have been passing on Christ’ invitation to “come, follow me” to a group of residents of Camp D. I will always remember this Kairos as the “Little Kairos that Could.” We were short of volunteers, money, cookies. We had to cut back from our usual 7 tables to 5; Still the Holy Spirit showed up. My favorite memory may be of the man who has been incarcerated here for 57 years. On the first night he would not even introduce himself. Yesterday he was happily sharing with anyone who would listen.  We have a muslim who yesterday admitted that we were Christians as defined by Our Lord, he could indentify us by our love. Yesterday we made lists of those persons, often including ourselves, whom we hold in unforgiveness. As the day concluded we burned the lists in a special ceremony. I recall the man who said, “Last night when I went to bed, it was like I wasn’t even in prison.” Or the man who proclaimed, “You made me feel like a man, not a criminal.” Or the […]

We are watching God give many “new names” as we move into Saturday at Camp D Kairos. I will have many stories to report when it’s all over. Continue to lift us up. They said to Him, ’Rabbi . . . where are You staying?’ He said to them, ’Come and see’ —John 1:38-39 Where our self-interest sleeps and the real interest is awakened. “They . . . remained with Him that day . . . .” That is about all some of us ever do. We stay with Him a short time, only to wake up to our own realities of life. Our self-interest rises up and our abiding with Him is past. Yet there is no circumstance of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus.“You are Simon . . . . You shall be called Cephas” ( John 1:42  ). God writes our new name only on those places in our lives where He has erased our pride, self-sufficiency, and self-interest. Some of us have our new name written only in certain spots, like spiritual measles. And in those areas of our lives we look all right. When we are in our best spiritual mood, you would […]

I was unable to get on the internet yesterday from Kairos. Things are going well. Please continue to pray,. Come to Me . . . —Matthew 11:28 On Friday of the Kairos weekend, this is what we want the resident to hear: “Come to me” from the lips of Jesus. We want them to put aside whatever ideas they have about heaven and hell, religion and God and just hear Jesus call to them personally to come to Him, personally. For many, it is an incredible new experience. Pray that many will hear that call today in Camp D at Angola. I have a talk to give about 11 a.m. It is entitled, “Friendship with God.” It introduces the simple but powerful idea that God wants to be the friend that we have spent our lives looking for. Pray with me that my words will be used by the Holy Spirit to plant that revolutionary concept in these minds. The questions that truly matter in life are remarkably few, and they are all answered by these words— “Come to Me.” Our Lord’s words are not, “Do this, or don’t do that,” but— “Come to me.” If I will simply […]