Author: Joshua Nickel

Pentecostalism’s Unlikely Grandfather – John Wesley and the Organized Pursuit of More

When Vinson Synan’s book, The Holiness-Pentecostal Movement in the United States, was released in 1971, the first sentence of the first chapter read as follows: “John Wesley, the indomitable founder of Methodism, was also the spiritual and intellectual father of the modern holiness and Pentecostal movements which have issued from Methodism within the last century.” … Continue reading Pentecostalism’s Unlikely Grandfather – John Wesley and the Organized Pursuit of More →

Power in the Pursuit of Love – 1 Corinthians 13 in Context

1. The All-Purpose Chapter Love never fails. In other words, love always works. This is a biblical truth. “Love never fails” is a quote from 1 Corinthians 13:8. It is always the right time to love. Love is always appropriate. In fact, one of its characteristics is that it does not behave inappropriately. According to … Continue reading Power in the Pursuit of Love – 1 Corinthians 13 in Context →

Watchman Nee’s “The Normal Christian Life” Summed Up in Six Key Quotes

Take a book and boil it down to a handful of short, memorable quotes that best express the ideas of that book. This is a not an easy task, especially for a great and greatly quotable book like Watchman Nee’s The Normal Christian Life. Nevertheless, this is what I have tried to do in this … Continue reading Watchman Nee’s “The Normal Christian Life” Summed Up in Six Key Quotes →

The Failure-Free Conscience – How the God Who Forgives Sins Can Help You Move Beyond the Failures of the Past

As a Christian, I rejoice that my sins are forgiven. I have sinned a lot in the past, but I am not bothered by guilt. My conscience is clean. Guilt and shame are washed away. This is the great blessing of the grace of God in Jesus Christ. It is real and powerful. But what … Continue reading The Failure-Free Conscience – How the God Who Forgives Sins Can Help You Move Beyond the Failures of the Past →

Prayer as an Entrance into Freedom

Making Friends with the Spaciousness: Lessons from Gerald G. May’s Addiction and Grace Part 3 of 3 You cannot become addicted to God. We learned this in the first post in this series. We are going to consider this again. You will want to see this clearly, because this God-you-cannot-be-addicted-to is the perfect one to … Continue reading Prayer as an Entrance into Freedom →

Seven Mind Tricks that Hinder People from Breaking Addictions

Making Friends with the Spaciousness: Lessons from Gerald G. May’s Addiction and Grace Part 2 of 3 A house divided against itself cannot stand. Someone who struggles to overcome an addiction will learn this lesson well. In Addiction and Grace, Gerald G. May described his struggle by comparing it to quicksand: Even when I consciously … Continue reading Seven Mind Tricks that Hinder People from Breaking Addictions →

A Christian Psychologist Looks at Addiction

Making Friends with the Spaciousness: Lessons from Gerald G. May’s Addiction and Grace Part 1 of 3 Gerald G. May didn't offer any guaranteed solutions or easy answers to the problem of addiction. He didn't make any grand promises. What he did was struggle to confront and understand his own addictions in the light of … Continue reading A Christian Psychologist Looks at Addiction →

Learning to See All of Life as Worship

“One of the greatest hindrances to internal peace which the Christian encounters is the common habit of dividing our lives into two areas, the sacred and the secular.” This is how A. W. Tozer began the last chapter of The Pursuit of God. That chapter, "The Sacrament of Living," was an attack on what he … Continue reading Learning to See All of Life as Worship →