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Category: Christianity

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Introduction To Kingdom Culture

It was Peter Drucker who said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” I have found this statement to be profoundly true. You can have the best strategy and be executing planned activities diligently but if the culture does not support your strategy the results will not follow. Conversely, a mediocre strategy with activities that don’t quite hit the mark executed in the context of a culture that supports the organization’s highest ideals will bring surprising rewards.

Truth is truth and applies equally in secular and religious spheres. Therefore, it behoves us to ask, “What is kingdom culture?” What are the ideals that should shape the culture in our local churches to ensure that what we are building is truly founded on the cornerstone of Christ? The question of culture in our churches is more important than issues of evangelism strategies, worship format or youth programmes for example. Culture is what will colour everything in our church and ultimately determine whether we are truly light and salt to the earth or just a religious part of the world culture.

Let’s start with the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-14):

1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.

2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

The first point I wish to make is that all of the things that are called ‘blessed’ here are not things that are generally highly esteemed by the world culture. Jesus esteems poverty, the world values riches. Jesus esteems mourning, the world is looking for happiness. Jesus esteems meekness, the world values status. Jesus esteems hunger and thirst, the world values excess. Jesus esteems mercy, the world says, “Make them pay!”, Jesus esteems purity, the world glorifies sin. Jesus esteems the peacemaker, the world glorifies the soldier. Jesus esteems the persecuted, the world glorifies the strong. Heaven’s culture is diametrically opposed to the world culture. The core ethos of all of the ‘blessed’ statements is that in the kingdom you lose your life to save it, the greatest is the servant of all and the last will be first. This is the kingdom economy. The saint lives in a constant awareness of his lack and weakness so that his riches, righteousness and strength comes from and is attributed solely to the presence of Christ in his life. It is a glorious calling!

Sadly, the church in general is severely contaminated with the world culture. In many instances we have the same values just different jargon. We run after riches and call it blessings. We cry vengeance for our persecutors and call them heathens and demons. We walk around puffed up because we are ‘Christians’ (or belong to a particular subdivision or have a particular title) and make war in the name of God and truth and doctrine. We heap up titles like apostle and pastor and reverend, building our own religious hierarchy and fawning over the higher ups like corporate sycophants.

We need to expunge these world values from the church. We need to be clear on the tenets of the culture of the kingdom and be intentional about the culture that we are crafting. In future blogs I will go into more details. To conclude for this introduction, it is no coincidence that after the beatitudes, Jesus makes this statement (Matthew 5:13-16):

13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Copyright 2019, Matik Nicholls. All rights reserved.
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Love Is Invincible

I recently attended a wedding where a Catholic bride was wedded to a non-denominational Evangelical groom 😊. Before the nuptials his pastors had hoped that she would get ‘saved’ and baptized and her priest had impressed upon him that the Catholic Church was the only true church. They each listened politely but were unfazed. Their love for each other and respect that they had for their equally fervent but slightly unique faiths in God had been cemented in Christ by the Holy Spirit beyond the reach of doctrinal dogma.

The wedding started with the Latin song Veni Creator Spiritus, inviting the Holy Spirit. And He came. The church filled with joy, peace and love, mirroring the natural ambience created by the sunlight that filtered through the stained-glass windows and a light breeze that wafted through the sanctuary.

I suppose men will be arguing points of doctrine until Christ returns but you know what you can’t argue with? Love. God IS love.

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Love is the greatest! There is no higher law. Everything else will fade, everything else will give way under the sheer force of love. In the midst of our dark ignorance, constant failures and stumbling faith, God will still show up… for love.

In the midst of that church, a bridge of love was forged in the Spirit. Pastor and priest joined hands with bride and groom and God smiled. Two families united and the Holy Spirit danced. A multitude of sins were covered over and Jesus was glorified.

Copyright 2019, Matik Nicholls. All rights reserved.
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How To Spot A Fake Christian

Newsflash! There are fake Christians. Yep. This is no surprise I’m sure. There are lots of people who call themselves Christians but within that group there is a subset that I refer to as the true disciples of Christ. So how do we tell the sheep from the goats or the wheat from the tares? Let me introduce you to the Acme Christian Test.

But before I do that, sniffing out fake Christians doesn’t in itself seem very…well..Christian so let’s change the question… How can I tell if I’m a real Christian? I’m so glad you asked. Here’s how:

I’m going to bring together a few concepts from the bible that hinges on this passage:

John 15:1-8

1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

Voila! I’m sure you see verse 8 jumping right out at you. Jesus’ disciples bear much fruit which is proof (evidence) that they are:

  1. Connected to the vine (Jesus), and;
  2. Being pruned

Let’s focus on the fruit first. What is this fruit? For that we will turn to another passage:

Galatians 2:22-23

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

So, the first part of the test of a real Christian is to ask yourself if you are exhibiting the following qualities:

  1. Love
  2. Joy
  3. Peace
  4. Patience
  5. Kindness
  6. Goodness
  7. Faithfulness
  8. Gentleness
  9. Self-control

Spend some time on each word. Do some introspection. I find that some of them make me wince a bit (or a lot) while others I feel I’m ok with. That last one, self-control, always makes me cringe. Ouch. But we need to be bearing all the fruit not just a few.

However, bearing fruit is not enough, we also need to be pruned. The second part of the test is to ask yourself if you have been increasing in these qualities. We may all start at different places so a snapshot of a point in time is not really the acid test. Let me illustrate. If I came from a really bad home situation where all the examples around me contained very little of these qualities, I might be quite impatient. Maybe it’s so bad that a single badly chosen word triggers a violent response from me. On the other hand, if Jane was raised in a wonderfully loving home it might take quite a lot to even get her to become angry. Now, Jane and I both convert to Christianity at the same time and after a year through the work of the Holy Spirit I’ve stopped beating up people, but I still get angry pretty easily compared to Jane. But the comparison with each other is irrelevant. The true comparison is with our former selves.

The true disciple is in a constant process of transformation that leads to more and more fruit. Jesus calls it pruning so that we bear more fruit. All true disciples (branches that bear fruit) are pruned. So, you want to know if you are a true Christian? Look back and examine yourself. Do you have more joy, more peace? Have you become gentler, kinder? The moment you stop growing is the moment you were a Christian. You see, a person living in constant contact with Christ cannot help but be transformed. Relationship with Christ changes you at the most fundamental level.

I have found that these are not the questions that trouble most Christians and that troubles me. We are caught in a quagmire of doctrine and religion. The fake tests for fake Christians are for the fake fruits:

  1. Church/mass attendance
  2. Bible verses memorized
  3. Doctrinal accuracy
  4. Spiritual gifts
  5. What church/denomination you belong to
  6. Not going to parties
  7. Political affiliation

None of these are fruit. They are not evidence that you are being transformed by Christ. They are not even evidence that you have any relationship with Christ. Measuring yourself by such external attributes leads to destruction:

Matthew 7:15-23

15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Every day I have to ask myself, am I a real Christian?

Copyright 2019, Matik Nicholls. All rights reserved.

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A Maccabean Tale

In the Catholic bible there are two books called 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees. The books chronicle the history of the Jews during the period 175 BC to 134 BC. The introduction sets the scene… Alexander the Great had advanced his kingdom to the ends of the earth, plundering many nations. All nations were forcibly brought under his domain and paid him taxes. His world reign as emperor lasted 12 years and then he fell ill and realizing he was about to die, divided his empire among his generals. The story begins with Antiochus Epiphanes who was a descendant of one of Alexander’s generals. In 143 BC, he set his sights on the land of Israel and the city of Jerusalem. He slaughtered many of the people, desecrated their temple and took woman and children as prisoners. After a couple murderous campaigns he decided to unite the world by commanding all nations to abandon their own customs. Many Jews adopted the official pagan religion and abandoned their laws and customs under the penalty of death.

Then one day a Jew called Mattathias stood up to the enforcers of the king’s decree and refused to obey the decree in public. He also killed one of his fellowmen who was offering a pagan sacrifice and killed the enforcer. This was the start of a rebellion of all those faithful to the Law and that is the main subject of the Maccabean books. The faithful Jewish people rallied around Mattathias and when he died he appointed one of his sons Judas Maccabaeus as commander of what was now an army. Judas waged war on all who opposed Israel and the Law with great zeal. His exploits were great and the Israeli army grew to the thousands. They routinely defeated enemies who were better armed and in far greater numbers.

What is noticeably absent from these books is a relationship with God. Hitherto the hallmark of the Jewish nation was that God was with them. There are no prophets or words from God in Maccabees. God was silent. Perhaps this was one of the reasons why these books were omitted from the King James Bible? I don’t know but when I read these tales I couldn’t help but think of some Christians today who have similar characteristics; we live a bible-centred life but have little relationship with God.

As I read the heroic exploits of the Maccabees, defeating all in their way in their zeal for the Law, I could not help but superimpose bible-thumping, hell and damnation preaching believers cutting down sinful idol worshipping pagans with their words left and right. Like the Maccabees some of us are self-styled heroes. Lost without a personal relationship with God but yet carrying on desperately clinging to the bible while our soul lies dead inside. Without a relationship with God, the law, the bible, the church attendance… it all means nothing and it is all for nothing.

To me, this is the great tragedy of the Maccabean tale. A read through the majority of the Old Testament describes the Jewish people always in relationship with God. He spoke with some of them directly and addressed the nation through the prophets. Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Elijah, Isaiah, they all walked with God. It was Moses who said, “If Your Presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.” He refused to journey on through life without God. David said, “Cast me not away from Your presence, and take not Your Holy Spirit from me.” What had happened to the Israelites that caused them to go on without God? How is it that they went out against the enemy time after time without seeking God’s counsel forsaking hundreds of years of a heritage of, “Lord, shall we go up against them?” How was relationship so easily exchanged for religion?

When I look at my own life, I see how easily it can happen. It takes work to have a good relationship with anyone. God is no different. While it is easy to neglect our human relationships, it is even easier to neglect a God we can’t see. It takes a deliberate seeking. A deliberate pulling away from all distractions. A deliberate waiting to hear that small still voice.

Sometimes we say we are walking by faith but it is not faith in what God has told us, it is a resolute soldiering on (or even grasping at what we want and want now) in the absence of any communication from above. The Maccabean tale is a solemn reminder not to keep walking obliviously along the path when our divine travelling companion has paused. Wait. Wait on the Lord!

Copyright 2019, Matik Nicholls. All rights reserved.
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Living On The Margin

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What do I mean by living on the margin? I mean to walk the line of non-conformance. I mean to be unwilling to swear allegiance to any particular group. As kingdom believers, our allegiance is to the King alone, which means that on this earth we are always on the margin.

Jesus lived on the margin. He went to church every Sunday and he hung out with the sinners during the week. He didn’t belong anywhere on this earth. To the sinners he was saintly. To the supposed saints, he was sinful. They called Him a glutton and a drunkard. They exaggerated of course but the point is this; Jesus was not concerned about fitting in with society’s norms and neither should we.

The margin is my favourite place. Am I conservative or liberal? Both. Do I believe in capitalism or socialism? Neither. Am I Catholic or Pentecostal? Both and none. Am I a corporate executive or a surfer dude? Yes. When we refuse to join the in-crowd or conform to the social boxes, we live in a world where we are a bit of an enigma. Sometimes chastised and frequently misunderstood but always free to express the kingdom unfettered by public opinion.

And that is the issue; freedom. Those who pander to public opinion are slaves to that opinion and cannot truly execute their kingdom assignment on this earth. If we must belong to or support a particular political party, we are slaves. If we must be a member of the ‘right’ denomination, we are slaves. If we cannot associate with a particular person because in Christian circles he or she is known as a heretic or a backslider, we are slaves. If we cannot go here or there because it is a place of ill repute, we are slaves. Every box we put ourselves into, shuts off the kingdom from reaching those outside the walls through us. Who will reach the prostitutes? Who will reach the drug dealers? Who will reach those living alternative lifestyles? Who will bring balance to the group with a lop-sided theology? Who will lift up the preacher fallen in sin? Who will heal the heart broken divorcee? Who? Who? WHO?

The reason that Christians are described as lights and commanded not to hide their light under a bowl is because our assignment is to dispel darkness wherever that darkness exists. The mandate to enforce kingdom rule on this earth as it is in heaven must be so compelling that our need to be accepted or to be seen as right or righteous is overwritten by our zeal to reach the lost!

Dancing on the margin,

Copyright 2019, Matik Nicholls. All rights reserved.
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Pure Bliss

I have often associated the state of bliss with a feeling of euphoria or deep contentment. A blissful moment is one where I would think, “I could just stay in this moment forever.”

Over the years, different things have triggered this feeling for me. It’s currently carnival time in my country and I can’t help but remember one such moment early in the morning chipping to an infectious rhythm behind a music truck for J’ouvert. The first orange streaks of sunrise washed over faces full of joy and bodies covered in paint moving in unison to the music. Time slowed. The celebrations in the street seemed a fitting compliment to the sunrise.  Both seemed to overflow with a joy of just being alive. Pure energy. Pure vibes.

Another time I remember was at the beach with my three kids. We were just frolicking in the waves. We were all children and the ocean was our playground. We ducked waves and dived into the surf. We splashed each other and pinched each other’s toes pretending to be a crab or a fish. When a particularly big wave came we all screamed in mock fear or pretended to be Hulk and smash the wave. We were jubilant. We were alive.

For me, moments like these make life worth living. They somehow remind me that I don’t just exist, I live. I have always been in pursuit of a blissful life.

One online dictionary defines bliss like this: Bliss is a state of complete happiness or joy. Marriage is often associated with this joyous feeling: people who are married and still in love are described as living in wedded bliss. Another common association is heaven or paradise, as in eternal bliss.

Bliss is a state of complete joy… That is exactly what I’m after; complete joy! Yes, I have had and continue to have the blissful moments described above but I’m not satisfied with moments of bliss. I want a state of bliss; perpetual bliss if you will.

It is this quest that has led me inexorably to Christ. In the presence of God I find pure bliss. Sometimes people ask me incredulously why I’m not going to any parties or not having sex. I’m guessing that they don’t understand what could be worth giving up those blissful moments. And I totally know where they are coming from because I’ve been there, and had I not experienced what I’ve experienced, I would still be there. But having tasted the goodness of God… Oh my! I can’t get enough!

That’s why I have no interest in religion. It’s just not attractive to me. It has nothing to offer me. I’m not interested in looking righteous or avoiding some future hell. Religion is dead. But Jesus Christ offers life and life more abundantly than we’ve ever known. It’s like when He rose from the dead, the life force that rushed into His body exploded in the earth, overflowing to every heart that would receive it.

Every time I think of Jesus and reach out my heart to His, He floods my soul with peace and love and joy. He makes even the bad days better and the times playing with my kids or dancing and singing in worship to Him are ten times sweeter. I have found that bliss comes with doing what you were born to do. I was born to dance, born to play, born to love and be loved but most of all I was born to worship God. I’m a Christian hedonist pursuing eternal heavenly bliss.

Join me,

Copyright 2019, Matik Nicholls. All rights reserved.
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Where Has Your Zeal Gone?

When I was in my early twenties there was a group of us who were full of zeal for the Lord. We wanted to do great things for God. We talked about God and following His will for our lives and doing greater things than Jesus did endlessly! Every day was an adventure!

Today I look back at our group and I wonder what happened to us. I would say only a couple of us still have that fire burning. Why? It seems that life got in the way of our dreams. We got married. We had children. The mundane became the norm and soon it seems that the mundane was all that we expected. We relegated the stories of the bible to the domain of a few…not applicable to us; to normal people. The sad truth is we lost faith.

Church leaders will warn against backsliding from the pulpit. If you take part in carnival, you are a backslider. If you stop coming to church, you are a backslider. But I propose that there are hundreds of backsliders in church every Sunday. Christians who have absolutely nothing supernatural about their lives. Churchgoers who are just good people with no Living Water flowing into or from their lives. Jesus aches for these people to return to Him. If only we would believe again.

One of the phrases that I’ve come to view with extreme suspicion is, “With age comes wisdom.” Almost every time I’ve heard this in church its not been wise at all… it’s been a faith cop-out. A sad attempt at an excuse for playing it safe and ignoring the call of God to extreme risk for His cause. We were made to put it all on the line for the name and fame of Christ! Nothing less will do! We are called to forsake ALL and follow Christ!

There are people who will try to quench your faith and squash your dreams… Don’t let them! When they call you young and zealous say “YES I AM!”. Run with those who are laying it all down. Gravitate to the older heads who will stir your passion and give you real wisdom; the benefit of their experience to help you go further than they did.

Beloved, stir up your faith again like when you were young and full of zeal.

Copyright 2019, Matik Nicholls. All rights reserved.
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Everybody Wants To Be A Hero

Everybody wants to be a hero. We want to be the hero for our children or in our company or maybe in our community. It’s a natural desire but pushed to the extreme it can do more harm than good.

When we have this hero complex, what often happens is that we do not allow others to shine. Much has been published about helicopter parenting and the negative effects of solving all your children’s problems for them. Our children can only actualize their full potential if we are willing to step down from the pedestal of needing to be idolized and allow them to rise to the challenges of life. Self-esteem comes from observing yourself achieve something that was not easy to accomplish. This growth in our children is what we sacrifice when we put on our cape and swoop in.

The same is true in other arenas. The old adage is true; “Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Heroism shies away from giving away the secret of your success. Instead of focusing on empowering others we perpetuate a dependency on ourselves so that we are always the ones who get the accolades. This has been the strategy of successive governments in Trinidad and Tobago and it has been to the detriment of the country. The message on the political platform in some form or other has been, “Choose us. We will save you.” I eagerly await the day when some courageous leader will transform the dialogue from dependency to empowerment.

Another arena that is a passion of mine is the church. Many church leaders have also devotedly perpetuated this dependence syndrome in their congregations. Instead of teaching everyone how to hear from God and interpret scripture for themselves there has been a sick ultimate leader syndrome that discourages respectful disagreement or independent thought. Blind obedience is glorified and taking the initiative is discouraged as causing confusion or being overly-zealous. Of course, the need to covet glory for ourselves is part of the unsanctified human condition that has reared its head from since the early days of the church until now. Religious men have always set themselves up as THE middleman to God. Instead every pastor, elder and priest should be consistently and earnestly pointing everyone to Christ. “Do not depend on me, depend on God alone. Don’t look to me to solve your problems and give you guidance. Look to God.” This should be the message. There should be a constant redirection of worship and dependence and glory to the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

In THE story; the unfolding epic saga of the whole universe for all time, in my humble estimation, there is only one hero who deserves all the glory and His name is Jesus Christ! He is the real hero!

Copyright 2019, Matik Nicholls. All rights reserved.