Nick’s Walk

. . . unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven —Matthew 5:20 The scribes and Pharisees stand for the proposition that a Christian is more than a person who does good things; he has been made good by the supernatural grace of God. The characteristic of a disciple is not that he does good things, but that he is good in his motives, having been made good by the supernatural grace of God. The only thing that exceeds right-doing is right-being. Jesus Christ came to place within anyone who would let Him a new heredity that would have a righteousness exceeding that of the scribes and Pharisees. No one can make himself pure by obeying laws. Jesus Christ does not give us rules and regulations. The great wonder of Jesus Christ’s salvation is that He changes our heredity. Even when we find ourselves “doing good” we must consider why we do what what do. Do we adore the adoration? Do we thrive on being considered “good” by others? Or are we compelled to what our new nature demands and what Our Lord directs, no matter […]

. . . how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! —Matthew 7:11 I must never lose touch with the character of God. If I can remember His love for me, I will never feel alone or without worth. If I remember the universality  of His love, I will respect the worth of all men and try to love as He loves. If I can remember His power, I will never feel incapable or overwhelmed. If I can remember His control over all,  I will do fearlessly the things I should do. This is easier to say than to do. I have learned that those I have placed faith and trust in before can disappoint.  In fact, they will always, at some time, disappoint. Humans are inconsistent. So I must remember that my God never changes. He is the great I am. I can rely on His unchanging love, power and control.    The more I trust in His character, the more I learn that He deserves that trust. The more I recognize the good things He has given me, the more I realize what is really good and […]

I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians . . . —Romans 1:14   There is no doubt that I am indebted to Jesus. Not only is He my savior; but my Lord. Every good thing I have, I owe to Him. I could never repay Him for all He has done or is doing.  Paul had a keen sense of that indebtedness. You are not your own . . . you were bought at a price . . .” ( 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ). Paul sold himself to Jesus Christ and he said, in effect, “I am a debtor to everyone on the face of the earth because of the gospel of Jesus; I am free only that I may be an absolute bondservant of His.” That is the characteristic of a Christian’s life once this level of spiritual honor and duty becomes real. Quit praying about yourself and spend your life for the sake of others as the bondservant of Jesus. That is the true meaning of being broken bread and poured-out wine in real life.   Is it time to turn from our “needs” and recognize them as “wants?” Is it time to open our eyes […]

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 […]