A principle, belief, or set of tenets laid down by an authority as undeniably true. It typically expects acceptance without doubt or question and is most commonly used to describe established religious doctrines or rigid political and philosophical ideologies.
It is necessary for the church to be clear about what it believes. The problem with dogma is not about being clear on what we believe is the truth (which we should do) but about expecting others inside and outside of our religious organizations to accept it without doubt or question.
Doubts and questions are inevitable. In fact, they are beneficial. People who accept new information without testing its veracity are susceptible to error and delusion. Enquiry is the very pathway to learning. Luke chapter two records a time when Jesus was 12 years old, and His parents lost Him and went searching for Him for 3 days. When they finally found Him, He was sitting among the religious teachers, listening to them and asking questions. The end of the chapter records that Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature. Asking questions was an intrinsic part of Jesus’ growth.
This seems to be a forgotten pathway to wisdom, as our Sunday schools often seem to emphasize learning Scripture passages by rote and discourage questions and debate, favouring instead unquestioning acquiescence. Then we wonder why our children drift from the faith when they encounter contradictory world views in university or if their beliefs are tested by the storms of life. Our very church setup is mostly a one-way flow of information from the pulpit, rather than a two-way dialogue. Sadly, even the Bible study small groups often fall into the same format. That’s one of the things we deliberately designed out of our Authentic Joy discipleship groups. We share some information beforehand, and then the entire meeting is a healthy and enriching discussion where everyone participates, and we ensure that everyone feels safe to be authentic.
Beliefs accepted only because some authority figure said it was the truth have shallow roots. Truths must be turned over and inspected from different angles, tested against our experienced reality, and interrogated thoroughly so that our eventual adoption is not based on mindlessly going-with-the-flow but a full-bodied and conscious seizing of the best model that we have for life (given what we know up to that point).
Humble and wise Christians always leave room for doubt because we know that we see now dimly. We older folks, especially, have already had the experience of changing our stance in areas where we thought we were absolutely right. So we know that what seems self-evident now can become less evident later on.
So, how do we create a culture that is safe for people to doubt, struggle, and question? I have a few suggestions:
Keep statements of faith or ‘what we believe’ as short as possible. Cover the core tenets. I believe that the Nicene Creed is sufficient for every Christian church. This leaves more room for diversity of views and healthy discussion and debate.
Stop expressing beliefs like dictatorial edicts in conversation. Own your beliefs as just that – your beliefs.
Remove as many penalties as possible for not holding a popular opinion. Sometimes we restrict people’s eligibility to be a member, participate, or serve if they do not believe what we believe. At my local church, we say that you can belong before you believe. I think it’s a good credo.
When someone expresses a ‘contrary’ view, don’t shout them down, dismiss them, shame them, or speak to them condescendingly. Instead, listen, be curious, ask questions. When they push the boundaries of our ability to defend our view, take it as a challenge to dig deeper instead of becoming defensive and dismissing them or using our positional or social power to bend them into submission.
In my lifetime, I have held, and still hold, some unpopular religious beliefs. I have found some who agree with me wholeheartedly, some who disagree with me vehemently, and some who find talking about our beliefs unimportant and uninteresting (they are happy to accept what they are told without doing any mental hard work). What is rare are persons who disagree but remain open, curious, and willing to engage. I treasure such people, and I hope that I myself can be a safe space for doubters like Thomas and questioners like Job.
Copyright 2026, Matik Nicholls. All rights reserved.
The capital ‘C’ Church is a dynamic, multi-facted, global, mosaic of people whose hearts are truly devoted to Jesus. These people are sprinkled across the globe. They are in all denominations and in no denominations. Some may be Muslims or Hindus, but secretly their hearts are set on Jesus. This is the mystery of the Church. It is a living organism, led and orchestrated by Jesus, not by human hands, and it is growing and maturing daily. This is the rock that King Nebuchadnezzar saw.
Daniel 2:31-35 (NLT)
31 “In your vision, Your Majesty, you saw standing before you a huge, shining statue of a man. It was a frightening sight. 32 The head of the statue was made of fine gold. Its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs were bronze, 33 its legs were iron, and its feet were a combination of iron and baked clay. 34 As you watched, a rock was cut from a mountain, but not by human hands. It struck the feet of iron and clay, smashing them to bits. 35 The whole statue was crushed into small pieces of iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold. Then the wind blew them away without a trace, like chaff on a threshing floor. But the rock that knocked the statue down became a great mountain that covered the whole earth.
The common ‘c’ church comprises the Christian organizations across the globe. Within many of these organizations, there are true disciples of Christ who are part of the Church, but there are also the crowds (those that are only there for the blessings) and the Scribes and Pharisees (those who get their power and relevance from the organization but whose hearts are far from God).
I have a vision in my heart of a community where there is a pervasive mutuality, where there exists a mystical wonder of everyone being so personally submitted to the leading of the Holy Spirit that there is a sacred unity and accord, where there is a genuine, deep, unconditional love and acceptance of every son and daughter of God, where the presence of God is palpable.
My favorite revival – the Welsh revival of 1904 – had meetings described by Evan Roberts like this:
“There was no programme. There was no printed order of service. There was no choir director, no song-leader, no master of ceremonies. There was not even a sermon in the traditional sense. I did speak sometimes briefly. Sometimes at length. But I never prepared my words in advance. I left all of that to the Holy Spirit. Sometimes I would stand and say a few sentences. Sometimes I would sit in silence for long stretches while the Spirit moved through the congregation that needed no human guidance. And sometimes I would simply pray or weep or sing. The meetings belonged to the people. Anyone might stand up and pray at any moment. Anyone might begin singing a hymn. Anyone might confess a sin, share a testimony, or cry out for mercy and these things happened not in an orderly one at a time fashion but often all at once. A great chorus of prayer and praise, and weeping, and singing, that rose to heaven like incense from 100 altars.”
This is what I long for! This revival emptied the jails and courthouses and transformed the entire society.
Sadly, what I have experienced in church is that instead of mutuality there is hierarchy, instead of submission to the Holy Spirit there is submission to a personality, instead of love and acceptance there is evaluation and classification.
The church, by very nature, is not compatible with the Church. There will always be friction between the two. An organization is, by definition, a man-made construct. It must be defined by rules and controlled by human systems. We like church because it is predictable and manageable. We can control the outcomes and measure the performance. Predictability and manageability allow us to keep our idol of control intact. We don’t want a rock; we prefer bricks. We can build our kingdom for God with bricks – people conformed to a mold by systems, structures, and domination. We cannot build with a rock, far less an ever-expanding rock which is not under our control! Therefore, the church system will always demand we be a brick, and those who are part of the Rock will always be perceived as a threat.
The truth is that, like the statue in Daniel, the Rock will destroy all of our man-made systems and structures.
Daniel 2:44-45 (NLT)
44 “During the reigns of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed or conquered. It will crush all these kingdoms into nothingness, and it will stand forever. 45 That is the meaning of the rock cut from the mountain, though not by human hands, that crushed to pieces the statue of iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold. The great God was showing the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its meaning is certain.”
To all those who are disenchanted by the church, here’s my advice:
Do not lose heart. Do not look upon the natural. Stay in the secret place with God, with your eyes set on Jesus. That is your strength. Find the Church within the church. Be a subversive force of quiet rebellion within the system, not through force but through humble sacrificial love. Stay pure. You may be ostracized and persecuted like Christ was… love still… serve still. Do not separate from your sisters and brothers, and do not become an antagonist or a critic, but also do not compromise on who God called you to be and what He has called you to do. Do not let them force you into the brick mold! Obey God rather than man – in your family, in your workplace, on the streets. Do not let man prescribe your boundaries – no man can limit what you can do for God. Respect the boundaries set in your church organization, but God is bigger than the organization.
Christ set up the kingdom, and He showed us what it looks like. He continued healing when His ‘church leaders’ said not to. He continued to ‘break’ the Sabbath when they said to stop. He continued declaring that He was the Son of God when they said it was blasphemy. But when they attacked Him, He did not retaliate. He suffered. He took up His cross. He died. He was never swayed from His calling – neither by submitting to their dictates nor by getting suckered into fighting at their level. It is a hard road to walk. Often, you might look like the rebellious one. Often it will be painful. Ensure that it is for following Christ and not for anything that misrepresents Him, and ensure that you do not fight back.
The Kingdom will, in the end, destroy all the man-made kingdoms and become a big mountain and cover the whole earth! The dream is true, and its meaning is certain!
Copyright 2026, Matik Nicholls. All rights reserved.
I have largely kept silent on my views surrounding American politics and geopolitics in general. However, this week, two things happened: 1) I was inspired by a brilliant Ted talk by Ian Bremmer (watch it here), and 2) I felt that God was releasing me to share my perspective.
My perspectives are based on considering the world through the lens of community – a global community – and through the lens of an unfolding plan of God.
First, let’s get a little historical context. According to the United Nations website:
In the summer of 1945, leaders from 50 countries gathered in San Francisco to agree upon an international treaty to enshrine the equal rights of all people and maintain peace.
This resulting treaty, the UN Charter, is the founding document of the United Nations, which pledged to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war. In over 70 years since its creation, the United Nations maintains international peace and security, protects human rights, delivers humanitarian aid, supports sustainable development and climate action, and upholds international law.
Four years later the North Atlantic Treaty was signed by 12 countries. According to NATO’s website:
NATO’s purpose is to guarantee the freedom and security of its members through political and military means.
POLITICAL – NATO promotes democratic values and enables members to consult and cooperate on defence and security-related issues to solve problems, build trust and, in the long run, prevent conflict.
MILITARY – NATO is committed to the peaceful resolution of disputes. If diplomatic efforts fail, it has the military power to undertake crisis-management operations. These are carried out under the collective defence clause of NATO’s founding treaty – Article 5 of the Washington Treaty or under a United Nations mandate, alone or in cooperation with other countries and international organisations.
Both the UN and NATO were created against the backdrop of the devastation of World War II and a fragmented Europe. Having seen the ravages of war, the world decided to take a step away from individual interest-seeking toward global cooperation and peaceful co-existence.
Fast forward to today. Self-interest is on the rise across the globe. Without going into the details just yet, what I believe we are seeing is community dynamics. Think of the following 4 stages of community:
No community – Individual interest is the order of the day. Those with more power (financial, political, social, physical/military) have a disproportionate influence on swaying circumstances to their advantage.
Formation of fake community – A decision to put the good of all above the good of a few held together by enforced norms, codes, or laws. Equal rights for all group members are pursued with a focus on ensuring those without power are treated fairly.
Destruction of fake community – Individuals with power (financial, political, social, physical/military) rebel against the enforced norms that do not suit them and steer back to individualism.
Formation of true community – There is a possibility for true community only if individuals can find the motivation to persevere through the conflict of the previous step and come out on the other side with a deeper understanding of and genuine value for others. True community is formed when individuals voluntarily choose to love others as they love themselves without trying to make others conform to their personal preferences. This is true unity in diversity.
I believe that pre-WWII, was the era of no global community. For the last 80 years, what we have seen is a fake global community and increasingly so as international organizations and local governments have ramped up efforts to enforce harmony, cooperation, and the valuing of all members. 2025 for me, is the year when we are officially not pretending to get along or go along anymore. The trend has been going on for a while, but 2025 seems like an inflexion point. Here are some of the indicators that I have been seeing:
Brexit
The global rise in popularity of right-wing political parties
The global rise in anti-immigrant sentiment
The war in Gaza
Russia’s attack on Ukraine
US withdrawal from the World Health Organization
Trump
Pulling out of anti-bribery agreements
Pulling out of environmental agreements
Hard stance on immigrants
Tarriffs on China
The Trump factor is pivotal in this global shift, and what is even more interesting for me is the widespread Christian support for Trump and his policies. So, generally, we have a shift toward self-interest supported by Christians. How did that happen? How did a group that should be the ethos of selflessness come to be associated with the exact opposite? Well, I believe there are two things at play:
American Christians got tired of being told that they had to call men women and women men. They got fed up of being forced to accept LGBTQ+ narratives but increasingly being suppressed from advocating and pursuing lifestyles based on Christian values. The pendulum had swung so far in the direction of protecting the rights of a minority that the majority’s rights were being trampled. An untenable situation.
There is a question that must be answered about the values of Christians in America: Are their values based on what Christ taught or on the American dream of freedom, wealth, and success? Is the church in America American-Christians or Christian-Americans?
So what is God doing in all of this? I believe that this current era of destruction of the fake global community is absolutely part of God’s plan to get to true community, starting with the church. This will be a season of testing and refining for the church. All of the dross hidden under a veneer of Christian make-up will be coming to the surface. It already has. The name-calling, vitriol, and hate that spewed from the church during the US elections revealed the hearts. It was rampant everywhere, but the church should have been a light in the darkness.
There is no hope for global community and peace until and unless the global church stands united in love that is bigger than gender, race, economic status, social status, and country. Christ loved the world and died for the world. There is no non-immigrants first or America first or rich people first in the kingdom. In fact, Christ is decidedly on the side of the weak and powerless. Let me address a few of these issues head-on from scripture.
The Immigrant & The Poor
Leviticus 19:33-34 (NIV)
33 “‘When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. 34 The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.
1 John 3:16-18 (NIV)
16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
Matthew 25:41-45 (NIV)
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
Wealth
Matthew 6:19-21, 24 (NIV)
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Power
Matthew 20:25-28 (NIV)
25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
The Environment
Revelations 11:16-18 (NIV)
16 And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying:
“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. 18 The nations were angry, and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your people who revere your name, both great and small— and for destroying those who destroy the earth.”
Community
Philippians 2:3-4 (NIV)
3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
Mark 12:31 (NIV)
The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
The present age calls for great courage from the church. Not the self-righteous kind of courage that looks like outrage against our persecutors. Persecution is par for the course. Rather, it is the courage to fight with prayer and sacrificial servanthood instead of laws, economic bullying, and military might. You see, the great mistake at this point would be to trade one fake community for another – a more Christian-favourable one. Community cannot be made through laws or sanctions or tariffs. Christ modeled the only pathway to peace and unity – love expressed in sacrificial servanthood. We, the Christians, must have the courage to serve and love those who hate us. This is the narrow way.
Copyright 2025, Matik Nicholls. All rights reserved.
I am a simple farmhand. I live on the island of Malta with my wife and three children – two boys and one girl. We all work on the estate of the chief Roman official – Publius. I was once called Abibaal – son of Baal. This is the name that my parents gave me at birth. I want to tell you the story of how I came to be called a different name – the name I now carry – Abiabba.
It was early morning. A storm had ravaged the coastline during the night. I stood in the doorway of my hut on top of the hill and breathed in the damp air. I loved the smell of the sea, especially after a storm. It smelled new, clean, and today, very wet. It was like breathing in a cloud. I pulled my cloak tighter as the moisture condensed on my hands and face. I surveyed the beach, eager to see what interesting things had washed up overnight or what had been taken out to sea. Not the boys’ favourite coconut tree with the swing I hoped.
“Come see this, Elissa! Boys!” I called excitedly to my family. I had spotted a trail of cargo on the Western end of the beach. We loved it when treasures drifted up on our beach. It was like exploring lands from far away. But then, as I looked further out, I saw a ship, wrecked on the outer shoal and I could see her inhabitants beginning to make their way to shore. My excitement waned as a wave of apprehension rose up in my stomach. Some swam while others held on to pieces of wood and drifted in with the tide. By now Elissa and the boys were all watching the scene with me.
“Go help them, Abibaal,” my wife said with concern written on her face.
“Can we come Baba?” the two older ones chimed in unison.
“Yes, but go call the rest of the workers first.”
I kissed Elissa and then went in to kiss my little princess Adama. She was very ill and couldn’t even get out of bed anymore. The doctors said that she would not last much longer. That is the way of this life, I guess. It was like a cloud of darkness over the family. We prayed every day that she would be well. But nothing.
I negotiated my way down the steep path to the beach not knowing what to expect from these mariners. I said a quick prayer to Baal and waded out to begin helping the men to shore. They seemed friendly enough. I soon realized that there were soldiers, sailors and a prisoner named Paul who they treated with more respect than seemed customary for a prisoner.
By now many of the villagers were on the beach. Some were tending wounds. Others began bringing water and what food they had on hand. My boys and I set ourselves the job of getting a fire going to keep them warm.
We set everyone that was able the task of gathering wood for the fire. As Paul laid a bundle of sticks on the fire a deadly serpent struck out and bit him on the hand. We all saw it and knew that he would soon be dead. First, he would swell up though. It was a painful, ugly death but it was fate. Clearly, he was a murderer or worse. It was only a matter of time. We went about our business with one eye always on the prisoner. But nothing happened. Impossible! We had seen many die like this. They always died! He must be a god. Maybe even Baal himself!
The boys ran off to tell their friends and soon the whole village was talking about this god-man named Paul.
Even Publius himself heard about it and came to the beach to welcome Paul and the rest to the island. He allowed them to stay on the estate until they could find another ship departing in their direction.
As for me, I began to wonder if Paul could heal my Adama. Something about this man made a sliver of hope begin to rise in my heart. The more I thought about it the more I was convinced. He could heal her! Baal had answered our prayers by shipwrecking this vessel off our very beach! Hadn’t we been the ones to first see them!? It was a sign from the gods!
The next morning I got up early and wrapped Adama in a blanket and told Elissa, “Our baby will live! Come with me!” We left the boys in charge and went to find Paul in one of the huts that Publius had arranged for them.
“Good morning, is Paul awake?” I asked one of the soldiers guarding him.
“Yes, what do you want with him?”
“I want him to bless my daughter.” The guard looked slightly amused but also curious.
“Paul, there’s a villager here to you.” Paul walked out rubbing his back and smiling.
“Good morning. How can I help you?”
I launched into my prepared speech, “I believe Baal has sent you to heal my daughter. Will you please bless her?”
“Have a seat.” He gestured to a log and sat alongside us. His eyes became intense, almost ablaze, as he looked me in the eyes and said, “I have been sent to heal your daughter but not by Baal. I come in the name of Jesus Christ my Lord and saviour!” As he said it, it was like a wind blew against my face but there was no wind this morning. I think the soldiers felt it too because they looked startled.
“Who is this Jesus?” I asked.
“He is the son of God.”
“Who is this God?”
“Abba – Father”
“Will this God and His son heal my little girl?
“Yes.” And with that he stretched out his hand over my little girl’s head and closed his eyes in prayer. “Be healed in the name of Jesus.” he said with tenderness and authority. Then my Adama, my little girl, opened her eyes and looked up at me.
“Baba, I’m hungry.”
Elissa gasped and covered her mouth. We hugged our little girl and wept for joy. It was the most joyous moment of my life. We sat for hours on that log as our friends brought food for Adama and we all gathered around Paul as he told us about his Jesus and Abba and the Holy Spirit. Right then and there I knew what I had to do. I wanted to serve this God. This God who would send Paul across the sea to heal my daughter. This God who heard prayers that I did not even pray to Him! This God who had the power to heal! No longer would I be called son of Baal. I would be known as Abiabba – son of Abba!
Copyright 2023, Matik Nicholls. All rights reserved.
It’s Easter! A wonderfully sacred time for most of the Christian world. A time to remember the sacrifice that changed everything and reset the world calendar. Most importantly, a time to renew our devotional life. As I read again the epic drama of the days leading up to Christ’s crucifixion, I felt my heart stir as the Holy Spirit breathed on me afresh through the scriptures.
I saw the frenzied crowds faced with a choice; set Jesus free or release the revolutionary – Barabbas. We know what they chose, “We want Barabbas!” My heart broke for their choice. They couldn’t see it. They couldn’t see their salvation in the form of a humble mystic. They wanted a revolutionary who would overthrow their Roman oppressors. My heart broke for us too. We still want Barabbas. Despite Jesus’ example of revolution through sacrificial love and humble service, we still want violence.
The Barabbian gospel is perhaps the most difficult anti-Christ principle to rid ourselves of… View our history – the Crusades, conquest and colonization of America and the 3rd world. As Jesus said to Pilate as he was being cross-examined, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.”
Hopefully, today we have seen the abomination and oxymoronic nature of using physical violence to expand God’s kingdom. Sadly however, we Christians are still leaning on earthly power in more ‘acceptable’ ways. Perhaps it is our religious ego overcompensating for our lack of real spiritual authority? Our Barabbian nature lingers on in subtler forms – protests, political movements that support ‘Christian’ laws or judges, vomiting hate toward those who we deem ‘sinners’ or ‘heretics’. It’s the same now as in Christ’s day – we want the political or social power to overthrow our modern ‘oppressors’. These Barabbian false prophets would have us believe that Christians and our way of life are under threat, and we must fight back! But Jesus offered another way – dying for those who want to kill you. Now that is revolutionary!
“We want Barabbas!” wasn’t the only cry that fateful day. There was another cry, this time from the leading priests and temple guards, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Why? Because Jesus was undermining the religious system from which they drew their identity, significance and power. This was their real God – the thing they had to protect at all costs.
We’re still doing it today. Oh, when will we awaken to truly see Christ? Ironically, this even plays out in our very celebration of Easter. There are enclaves within the Christian world that refuse to celebrate Easter because they believe it is rooted in a pagan fertility ritual and furthermore, nobody knows what day it was on, etc. They crucify all who dare to uphold the practice. “If you were truly Christians,” they say, “you would not be involved in such an unscriptural practice!” Typical leading priest/temple guard rhetoric. What month or day Jesus was crucified, the roots of the word Easter, how it started many years ago… it is all inconsequential. The choice here and now, the opportunity, is to lift up Jesus together with believers across the world in sincerity of heart and unity of worship. If our hearts say no to that then we have to ask ourselves, “What is really important to us?” Are we more concerned with saying no to something that undermines our belief system (just like healing on the Sabbath in Christ’s day) or saying yes to the opportunity that Easter presents for unbelievers to hear the gospel and be healed? (Hint: Jesus chose to heal.)
I have been faced with my own inner crowd and leading priest lately. Jesus has been asking me if I am willing to live a sacrificial life. Am I willing to be crucified with Christ that I may be resurrected with Him? Am I willing to let the parts of me that I am still clinging to die? It is as though Jesus has set Himself in front of me, gently held my shoulders, looked me in the eyes, and said, “This is it, Mat. If you want to go any further, it requires sacrifice.”
I can’t say that I was all gung-ho about choosing the way of Jesus. I wanted to. Oh, how I desperately wanted to! But I didn’t feel I had the ability to follow through, not really, not truly, not authentically. I have seen myself choose my way over Jesus’ too often. So many times it felt like my heart would break in utter despair.
But… perhaps this is the mysterious power of Jesus’ sacrifice? Perhaps this is what makes the way of Jesus superior to religious power or political power? Jesus’ sacrifice actually has the power to transform my life really, truly, authentically. And so, I say boldly, “I CHOOSE YOUR WAY JESUS!” I choose to join you in your death and resurrection. Crucify me Jesus. That I may die, and You may live in me. This is the way.
Copyright 2023, Matik Nicholls. All rights reserved.
I have come to be convinced that there are only three root practices that underpin the life of every thriving Christian. There are many beneficial habits or disciplines but they all draw from these three in my opinion. It may sound like an oversimplification, but I have found that most truth is simple. It is not necessarily easy to walk out but it is not complicated. Here are my three power habits of Christianity:
Intimacy – Pursuing deepening relationship with God.
Transformation – Pursuing hearing and obeying His voice with greater and greater frequency, accuracy and immediacy.
Dominion – Pursuing expansion of God’s kingdom in your sphere.
Put another way:
Connecting more and more with Christ.
Becoming more and more like Christ.
Connecting the world more and more with Christ.
These habits are sequential and cyclical. By sequential, I mean that we can only become like Christ to the degree that we are intimate with Him, and we can only expand Christ’s dominion to the degree that He is in us. This means that intimacy with Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit is the #1 pursuit of the Christian life. Everything we do such as praying, worshipping, fasting, and bible study, should be mainly toward this end. If it is not, then we are wasting our time.
The second habit is the transformation of our lives by hearing AND obeying God’s voice. Some of us may assume hearing simply means reading the bible. Let me be absolutely clear here – we can read the bible and never hear His voice. Only those intimate with God hear His voice. There must be an unmistakable awareness that our lives are guided by a person, not just biblical principles. We must be constantly led by the Spirit. The final habit, dominion, is the demonstrated power of God in our lives. Our Christianity must actually work. Demons must flee. Sickness must flee. Christ must transform our families and businesses and communities from brokenness to wholeness.
By cyclical, I mean that this is not a one-time 1-2-3 and then we have arrived at the pinnacle of Christianity. It is more like we get a little closer to Him, then we become a little more like Him, then we influence our world a little more, and then we draw a little closer again, and on and on in a beautiful upward spiral of grace.
These three things are a pattern that can be observed in scripture from beginning to end. Let’s take Moses and Joshua taking the Israelites from Egypt to Canaan. We have Moses refusing to go without God’s presence and building a temple for Him to dwell among His people. We have God giving the law on Mount Sinai and commanding the Israelites to walk in obedience to all His laws and commands. And we have Joshua leading the Israelites to displace the inhabitants of Canaan and occupy the land. Temple, Law, and Land. Intimacy, Transformation, and Dominion.
Consider also the Israelites returning from captivity in Babylon. There are three waves of Jews returning from exile. The first wave is led by Zerubbabel and the focus is on rebuilding the temple – Intimacy. The second wave is led by Ezra and the focus is on re-establishing obedience to the law – Transformation. And the third wave is led by Nehemiah and the focus is on rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls – Dominion.
Finally, all is fulfilled in Christ who is the way (making a way to true intimacy with God), the truth (the Word made flesh – our model and means for transformed life), and the life (living with absolute kingdom dominion over sin and death).
So, if you want to thrive make these practices the foundation of your life:
Commitment to the single-minded pursuit of intimacy with God.
Commitment to hearing God better and obeying Him more completely.
Commitment to a lifestyle of stepping out in faith to see results in real life.
Christ be with you!
Copyright 2022, Matik Nicholls. All rights reserved.
If you haven’t yet, check out our FREE Spiritual Growth Foundation Course in which we cover the four foundational principles for spiritual growth and much more! In addition to on-demand videos which you can watch at your leisure, there are downloadable handouts for those who prefer written content.
DESCRIPTION: Participants will be taken on a 10-week journey that explores topics such as intimacy with God, identity, transformation, what it means to be a mature Christian, and how we can become mature. The sessions will include teaching, discussion, reflection, and activation in an environment of loving community.
TARGET AUDIENCE: This workshop is open to anyone seeking to walk more intimately with Jesus Christ and become more like Him.
Spiritual Formation 301 was EXCELLENT!! Like the previous Sessions SF 101 & 201, packed with solid Biblical content, thought provoking, life transforming activities and discussions. I believe the facilitators through the leading of Adonai took us all on a journey each session where we were confronted, inspired and motivated to pursue authentic deeper intimacy with our Father. All my relationships have benefitted significantly from what I have gleaned as a participant in these sessions and if possible I would be willing to do them over again!
Thank you Matik and Tricia for making yourselves available and willing to process life with us in community as we provoke each other unto good works, and grow up into mature sons. God bless you and your ministry. We love you.
Rose, Turks & Caicos
It was a great pleasure to be a part of Spiritual Formation 101, 201 and 301. It has been a very enlightening, informative and eye-opening experience.
The purpose of these sessions was to encourage spiritual growth; to move from a place of immaturity to a place of maturity in Christ. It was about teaching the participants how to form new habits to help us grow and be more intimate in our relationship with others and with God. We identified where we were at in these relationships and through teachings and practice, looked at ways to find our identity in Christ. We learned and discussed ways to move from individual mindsets to a Kingdom mindset.
I loved that this was an open place to share. I had quite a bit on my plate at the start of 101, and being in that space was a healing in itself. It renewed my trust in God. At that time, my husband was having some issues with his sight; he couldn’t see. But listening to the teachings and hearing what others had to share helped me to see God’s hand working in my life, and that of my husband, even in that situation.
It seems like there was something happening in my life for each fraction of Spiritual Formation. In 201, I was having some issues with my alcoholic brother. He was drinking and getting into fights. But being in a place that I felt safe to share and being taught about God’s continued grace, helped me through. During 301, I was not in the best place spiritually; I wasn’t giving God His due, not spending enough time in His presence. But Matik’s presentations (practice and assignments) helped to pull me out of that place and be more focused on my relationship with God.
I truly believe that spirituality is much more important than religion. I also believe that God isn’t about saving only one religion but all of mankind. These three ‘courses’ reiterated that fact. Interacting with people of different countries, religious persuasions and socio-economic backgrounds, taught me that I take a lot of things for granted in my life.
I truly enjoyed these sessions and looked forward to them. I would this again if given the opportunity, because there was so much to learn that I’m sure I missed something(s).
Thanks so much for this Matik! May God continue to bless your efforts to spread His Kingdom message to others.
Jeneil, Trinidad & Tobago
Hi everyone. My name is Gillian. My husband and I met Matik and Tricia virtually during our search for a greater level of understanding of the Kingdom of God and desiring a greater daily impact in our lives through a deeper intimacy with God. I have had the great opportunity to sit expectantly through the Spiritual Formation sessions for the 201 and 301 courses. At the time when the 101 course was being offered, I was not available, but caught up, I believe, with the Basic, and Phase One sessions on the Authentic Joy website- https://authenticjoy.org/.
The Authentic Joy journey has been a real eye opener for me. In their loving way, I was encouraged to ask myself some deep questions, that allowed me to understand who I am and who God created me to be. My fellow course-mates helped in the process by sharing their experiences and what they gleaned as well. I especially liked the exercises and the habits we were encouraged to develop. Journaling is still a challenge but I appreciate the value of it and will settle in one day. Our model was always Christ Jesus and I learnt that real life was thriving in His love, joy and peace and not the false self of the survival mode where I had the tendency to perform for acceptance.
We are all to continue to seek the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness and in this, mature in love and purpose. I encourage you to go on this journey of Spiritual Formation. For me although the course has ended, the transformation journey continues. I am committed to ardently pursue intimacy with Father, Son and Holy Spirit. My life depends on it.
Thank you, Matik and Tricia for your passionate pursuit of God and joy in giving this course. I love you both.
“My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.”
John 18:36b (NLT)
This was Jesus’ answer as Pilate questioned Him about being king of the Jews. It is a reality that informed everything that Jesus did and the way in which He conducted His life. But perhaps more to the point that Jesus is making here is what He didn’t do. He did not vie for leadership of the Sanhedrin. He did not come as a king like Hezekiah or David to free the Jewish people from their oppressors. In fact, he made no attempt to free them from Roman rule at all. He never tried to gain any earthly power, whether through political means or through violence. His kingdom was not of this world and therefore was not enforced by earthly means.
As 2021 comes to a close, I cannot help but think that we (Christians) still haven’t learned the lessons of 2020. We are still desperately trying to build a spiritual kingdom with earthly tools. Utter futility. Nothing, I believe, illustrates this better than US abortion statistics:
First of all, it is worthy of celebration that abortions have been falling since 1990. I think that this is good news no matter if you are pro-life or pro-choice. However, what is striking is the fact that the greatest declines in the number of abortions took place under Democratic administrations (shown in blue). We can conclude from this chart that there either is no correlation between a pro-life administration and reducing abortion rates or more astoundingly an inverse correlation.
Many well-known Christian leaders publicly and vociferously supported the Republican candidate in the last US elections and cited his policy on abortion as a deciding factor (if not the deciding factor). This one issue absolved us Christians from any responsibility for the pettiness, bigotry, hate, and division that he spewed forth daily. We were saving innocent lives. Only, as it turns out, we weren’t. The CDC’s statistics on abortion for 2018 and 2019 reveal something that has not happened in a long time – two successive years of rising numbers of abortions. (https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/data_stats/index.htm)
Could it be that what influences a nation is not so much the legal policies but the spiritual atmosphere? Could these scandalous statistics be a message from the unseen realm… “My kingdom is not of this world!”
Maybe (and I admit that this is a hypothesis) what made a difference was the prayers of the church lifted up during pro-choice administrations as opposed to resting on our spiritual laurels during pro-life administrations? Maybe…
Looking forward into 2022, the pandemic rages on and many of our churches continue to be preoccupied with earthly kingdom business. Our big concerns – being forced to wear masks and get vaccinations. As over 5 million people worldwide (including many clergymen and women) have now died from Covid-19, one would think that there would be bigger things on the minds and hearts of God’s people than the infringement of our ‘religious freedoms’. Surely.
Our kingdom compass is desperately in need of recalibration. Where does the anchor of our hope find ground? In Christ or in our government? What is the motivation for our actions? Love of neighbour or love of self? Are we moved by God’s voice or the latest conspiracy theory? What’s our priority, our freedom, or our responsibility as ambassadors of Christ?
Do you have strong convictions about taking or not taking vaccinations? Great! Take a page from the Hebrews in Babylon. They stood up for their convictions and depended on God to deliver them from the earthly authorities of the day. We can rest assured that if we are in the purpose of God, He will protect and provide for us as He did for Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Our King is much more powerful than any earthly power. Daniel and his friends never sent around a petition for signatures or started a campaign against the king or plead their case or even asked God to judge the authorities. They just stood by their decision and left the rest to God come what may. They knew that their kingdom was not of this world.
Let’s flip the script in 2022. Let’s show the world the power of God like Daniel did… like Jesus did! Let’s be radical demonstrations of the love of Christ. The demonstration of Christ’s kingship was not in His ability to bend men to His preferences through legislation, political power or social pressure but His ability to destroy the power of sin, sickness and demonic oppression in the lives of men. In the physical realm, Jesus spent His life as a sacrificial demonstration of love. In the spiritual realm, He completely undercut the power darkness that was at the root of all evil. This is how we shine in the present darkness. We wrestle not against flesh and blood. Our weapons are mighty for spiritual battle.
Let’s get radical. Let’s see thousands healed of Covid as churches send out intercessory teams to surround hospitals with prayer. Let’s see churches give radically to care for the sick. Let’s elevate our minds above these worldly affairs of masks, vaccines, and politics and begin to really follow Christ into His kingdom. Let’s demonstrate the indefatigable love and power of Jesus Christ!
Copyright 2021, Matik Nicholls. All rights reserved.
If you haven’t yet, check out our FREE Spiritual Growth Foundation Course in which we cover the four foundational principles for spiritual growth and much more! In addition to on-demand videos which you can watch at your leisure, there are downloadable handouts for those who prefer written content.
“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence! You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too.
~ Matthew 23:25-26 (NLT) ~
If you want to grow, you must do the inner work. Inner work is the washing of the inside of our cup. It is facing our dirt and finding the root cause of how it got there and why it keeps coming back. It is getting healing from trauma. It is confronting our shame and facing our fears. It is bringing our selfishness and greed and pride to the cross to be crucified with Christ. This is the most sacred type of work and the most neglected.
I think there are three reasons why inner work is so neglected by Christians. Firstly, it is unseen, especially in the early stages. As you first begin to tackle your inner demons, not many will come up to congratulate you or encourage you on the excellent work you are doing. There will be no acclaim or reward for taking up that broom and mop and getting down in the muck of your inner life. The motivation to do inner work must come entirely from within (ultimately from God)… the militant commitment to give up your fake-life to follow Christ. Your sight of eternal life (not in heaven but here and now) must be larger… more attractive… more valuable… than the Pharisee-life of religious superiority and praise of men.
Which brings me to the second reason that inner work is so neglected. It requires us to be honest about our mess and that type of honesty will not win you many friends in the church. The vast majority of the church is in the business of cleaning the outside of the cup – managing sin – modifying behaviour. Jesus says we have to clean the inside first. Transformation, Jesus’ way, cleans the heart first and then (after some time) the outside becomes clean. This type of transformation is lasting, genuine and Christ glorifying. The problem is that while we are doing the inner work, our mess is visible and that is uncomfortable to our ego. Often, to really sort out the inside of our cup we will have to seek professional help, confide in family and close friends and generally be OK with not being ‘blessed and highly favoured, praise God’. For many, that price is too high.
The final barrier to inner work is the lack of tangible results. We are driven to perform. ‘Only results matter’, says the management adage, and we have bought it wholesale. Inner work is slow, and tangible results are not evident for a long time. You have to be more committed to the process than the results. This was my greatest challenge to my inner work. I saw men and women of God walking in great purpose in their 20s and, “What was I doing in my 40s?” my inner critic said. Nothing much. Decades of just trying to know God better and confront my own depravity without much evidence of the greatness I felt called to. There is this pressure to achieve something… anything… to exit the process prematurely.
This performance culture is a delusion and a distraction. Why are we more inclined to listen to a pastor who has twenty books, leads a mega-church and has hundreds of thousands of followers on twitter than the little faithful old ladies in our church? I’m a big fan of little faithful old ladies. Without these pillars, there would be no successful pastors. Often, they are full of the wisdom of inner work gurus. Our eyes and ears need recalibration. Success defined by numbers of followers and size of empire is not a kingdom definition. I’m not saying that these things are bad, just not a good goal for your life. They are better achieved as a byproduct of more of Christ in us. There are men and women with big outward success that have cleaned the inside of their cups and some that have not. To the uncalibrated eye they may look the same, but the former are such treasures while God takes no pleasure in the latter.
I invite you to recalibrate. At this time many of us are on a break from work. Spend some quiet time with God. Re-focus on the inside of your cup. He is looking for those who will carry His Living Water, undefiled, to a world in drought.
Copyright 2021, Matik Nicholls. All rights reserved.
If you haven’t yet, check out our FREE Spiritual Growth Foundation Course in which we cover the four foundational principles for spiritual growth and much more! In addition to on-demand videos which you can watch at your leisure, there are downloadable handouts for those who prefer written content.
God has been speaking to my wife, Tricia, and me for months now about our emotional wholeness. The picture that I had in my head of a mature Christian is a stoic guy, resolutely following God and not being swayed or distracted by his emotions. Moreover, he always has his ‘negative’ emotions under control. He never shows anger. He is never fearful, and he’s definitely never depressed. But I’ve been asking myself, “Is this picture an accurate one?”
To begin with, the bible captures God displaying a variety of emotions. Here’s a small sample:
Genesis 6:6 (ESV)
And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.
Zephaniah 3:17 (ESV)
The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.
Matthew 14:14 (ESV)
When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
John 11:35 (ESV)
Jesus wept.
Hmmm God seems so… emotional. Doesn’t that reconfigure your framework for how we, human beings created in His image, are supposed to function? God created our emotions. In fact, on the sixth day, God looked at all that He had made (including mankind, fresh from the dirt, with emotions and all) and said that it was very good!
As I mentioned, Tricia and I seem to be in an emotional masterclass at the moment. My knowledge gap is huge, but I’ve been learning. After attending emotional intelligence training and a LOT of reading, I thought I would share some of what we’ve learned.
First of all, emotions serve a purpose. Emotions are messages. We can choose to process the messages and act on the information, or we can choose to ignore them at our own peril. It’s analogous to sensory information that goes from our senses to our brain. If we push a pin into our skin, our brain gets a pain message that tells us that if we continue pushing that pin, we will be injured. If we are touched affectionately, our brain gets a pleasure message that tells us that this is good for us. Similarly, fear, for example, protects us from danger even before it gets close enough to harm us. If we ignored our fear emotion, we would soon be dead. The interesting thing is that emotions make no distinction between physical dangers/pleasures and things that threaten or benefit our soul. The pain of loneliness can be as strong as a physical pain. It is a warning that we are too isolated from others and damaging our soul. While the joy of seeing a friend encourages us to socialize and connect with others which increases the well-being of our soul.
Secondly, every emotion is an opportunity for self-discovery or connection (or both). The message contains information about what really matters to us. The messages tell us about our heart and processing those messages with God and those close to us creates intimacy because sharing our heart is one of the most relationship-building things we can do. Here’s an example: Tasha comes home after a really stressful day at work. She is looking forward to spending time with her husband, Rico. However, she gets home to a note that says that Rico has gone golfing. She is disappointed. When Rico does get home, he notices that Tasha is a bit cold and begins to get angry assuming that Tasha is angry because he went golfing. This is the moment of opportunity. Any married couple knows that this could easily lead to a bitter argument and disconnection if both Rico and Tasha ignore ‘the signals’ that their emotions are sending them. Let’s assume they get it right: Rico processes his anger and realizes that he is jumping to conclusions and asks Tasha if anything is wrong. Tasha processes her disappointment and tells Rico how much she needed his love and comfort and her disappointment on realizing that he was not home in such an impersonal way. Rico responds by moving closer to her and empathizing with her pain. He apologizes for not calling instead of leaving a note and suggests a movie in bed. The couple ends the night with their relationship significantly strengthened because Tasha allowed Rico to see how much he means to her and Rico reciprocated his value for her by being tender with her vulnerability and prioritizing her needs. (If only I was as emotionally intelligent as Rico!)
Emotions have gotten a bad rep in the modern Christian life. We are so concerned about not being controlled by our emotions that we have completely ignored a necessary aspect of what it means to be a healthy and Godly human. While it is true that emotions should not control us, we are not meant to be left-brained, rational machines. By sheer neglect of our souls, we have become half-hearted creatures trying to love God and people with our minds and a seriously malnourished heart. Not to mention we foolishly think we can love through an act of our will only.
Consider our fictitious couple again. Suppose Rico did everything the same except his face never reflected the pain that Tasha felt. His eyes were cold and his suggestion to watch a movie seemed to be made begrudgingly. He did and said all the right things, but his emotions were not in it. Do you think that would affect the outcome? You bet it would! Love is both will AND emotion. Our love of God and others cannot be decision and duty only. It must also be fully experienced and deeply felt. We have been trying to build relationships with God, marriages, families, and communities of love based on a rational approach that neglects the emotional attributes of our beings. It has not been working.
By neglecting my emotional signals, I have been neglecting my heart. I am dysfunctional (but not uncommon). I am not loving God with my whole heart, my whole mind, and my whole soul and neither am I loving others as God loves me. God pursues me with a jealous love! His love for me is ferocious! Mine is not nearly as hot. I have learned a pattern of behaviour that is not according to design. I have learned to suppress my ‘negative’ emotions and to avoid the vulnerability of intimacy. I have learned to neglect my heart. The process of unlearning is slow and difficult, but Tricia and I are committed to it because we were made to live wholeheartedly! To live passionately! We all are!
Copyright 2021, Matik Nicholls. All rights reserved.
If you haven’t yet, check out our FREE Spiritual Growth Foundation Course in which we cover the four foundational principles for spiritual growth and much more! In addition to on-demand videos which you can watch at your leisure, there are downloadable handouts for those who prefer written content.
