Nick’s Walk

“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. 1 Corinthians 3:6 NIV We want so much for those we love. We want them to have all that life offers. We want them to skip the painful lessons and to avoid the traps into which we fell. We want them to love and be loved…more than was in our life. We know that God gave us these loved ones and we feel responsible for the success of their lives. It’s frustrating. We need to always remember our place. We can plant seeds and we can water; but only God can produce the miraculous growth we desire for them. We need to always remember that we were incapable of changing ourselves; we have no hope of changing others—only Jesus can change a heart. So sometimes, beset with frustration in our inability to be agents of change, we fail to play the important part we have been given, planting and watering. We can do these tasks and we can make a difference. Direct them to Jesus. We can’t do this by simply saying “You need Jesus.” We do it by telling how we needed Jesus and how He […]

Here are some reflections from the leader of the last Kairos weekend. Please consider participating in the next weekend in June. Please contact me if you are interested. We need men and women. KAIROS #51 Have you ever been at a loss of words?  Someone asked me how it felt to be a new Dad once.  I just looked at him, unable to speak. After the weekend known as Kairos #51, I have been asked a number of times, “So, how was the weekend?” Fortunately, on the Monday following the weekend, I found myself on a plane, with noise canceling earphones, pen, paper and time. I hope these four experiences from the weekend summarize what has been a life changing event for me, the team and the residents of Angola’s Camp C. “I DOUBT IT” A major issue for Kairos 51 began before we arrived, in the form of transfers.  Camp C was being converted to a trustee camp.  Our weekend happened to hit DURING the transfer and because of this, several residents were asked Friday morning to pack their things and move. Obviously, their move out of Camp C would have resulted in them leaving the Kairos weekend. […]

The godly walk with integrity; blessed are their children who follow them. Proverbs 20:7 NLT Let’s consider “integrity” today. It means the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished; completeness. Proverbs tells us our children are blessed when they follow those who walk with integrity. This is because children are quick to note inconsistency and we are quick to fall into patterns of inconsistency. We are not consistent in our judgments; we hold others to different standards than we hold ourselves. We are inconsistent in the segments of our lives; acting differently on Sunday morning from the way we are on Monday morning. We are inconsistent with our relationships; speaking ill of those whom we hug and kiss when we meet. We are inconsistent in our walk; taking strong stands on one day and drifting away the next. We are inconsistent with our discipline promising dire consequences for failures by our children but shying away when the time for implementation comes. Finally we are inconsistent between our purposes, our principles and our production. When our children consider why we say we are here, what we say we believe and compare that with what we actually do, is there any […]

Have you considered that you may be missing Joy in your life because you aren’t making it a priority? Joy, like most great things in life, doesn’t just happen. It takes some focus and some attitude readjustment.  When we do not discipline ourselves to stay focused on our eternal priorities, we can easily become bogged down by earthly concerns that are unimportant. Consider these thoughts of Paul, written from prison: “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith” (Philippians 3:7-9). Only dependence on Christ’s strength can bring us joy. We must value our relationship with Christ and treasure our gift of joy in order to experience joy at its fullest. Only Christ’s resurrection power can satisfy our empty hearts. Only His power […]

The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in those who tell the truth. Proverbs 12:22 NLT There is a commercial on television these days that I enjoy. It shows “honest Abe” and his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln. She is wearing a “hooped” skirt dress and she asks her husband if it makes her look fat. After a period of embarrassing silence, Honest Abe says, “Maybe a little.” His wife is not pleased. This is the kind of verse that gets a hearty “Amen” from most of us. Who doesn’t despise a liar? The problem is when we think of this kind of verse we are quick to apply it to others and not ourselves. Most of us are guilty of lying almost on a daily basis. Sure, most of those are not “big” lies. And some of them come out of our mouths because we don’t want to hurt others. Many times we don’t want to “confront” a bad situation so a little “white lie” seems the best alternative. I think we just don’t consider how much harm we do when we fail to tell the truth, even when we “shade” the truth to make it more palatable. […]

Indescribable God Yesterday at Amana we began a multiple week study on the Names of God. It was a good beginning. We learned how the children of Israel have come up with many names in an attempt to describe the God who took them as a special people and call them His children. We reviewed some of the names and it quickly became clear that our God is so multifaceted that one name is insufficient to describe Him. But what also is true is that each name is insufficient to describe even one element of His character. Consider “Father” our favorite name for Him and the one our Lord chose when asked to teach us how to pray. When we use “Father” what comes to mind is our own imperfect fathers: men who ranged from the best intentioned to the absent. From men who tried to provide all the training, education and security a child needs to those who were not even present. Not a good start to describe the perfection of God. As I get older, the word becomes more personal as I consider my own feeble efforts to be “father.” I cringe to thing someone would have […]

Matthew 6:31-34 (New King James Version) 31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Read this passage at least a couple of times. If we could really rest on this scripture imagine how it would change our lives. Worry would lose its grip on us. Yet we keep seeking our security in the things the world values—bank accounts, stable jobs, and a strong national and global economy—we are filled with anxiety at every fluctuation. I can attest that the times I have put His Kingdom first, everything else just fell into place; but I keep slipping back into reliance on worldly things and the anxiety that comes with that.  I need to keep in mind that these verses call us to seek two things: His […]

1 Corinthians 12 Spiritual Gifts: Unity in Diversity  1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant: Most Christians have, at some time, have been taught about the Gifts of the Spirit. We know that these gifts are not personal gives but gifts to serve Christ and his church. Yet we treat them like Christmas gifts showing preference for certain gifts and exhibiting more pride in the gifts we are given than in implementing them into our church. We treat the gifts as confirmations of our spirituality even knowing that these gracious gifts are meant to shape our churches into the image of Christ. That way, Christians will be encouraged and unbelievers will be drawn to the Savior. Perhaps most sadly of all we don’t deal with the issue of what happens if Christians do  not know or use their gifts? What are your spiritual gifts? What are your family members gifts? When did you last use your gift? Do you recognize the gifts in others and encourage them to use their gifts? On Sunday night, as we continue to explore Being the Church, we will consider “Why God Gave You Gifts.” Join us […]