Skip to content

Joshua Mark Nickel

  • about/contact
  • blog

free download

TheGospelMysteryOfSanctification

pdf version

mobi version (for kindle apps and devices)

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

To Live Is Christ

30 Days with God's Servant Paul

Available at Amazon:

Kindle

Paperback

Study the life of the apostle Paul with this 30 day devotional.

Spend five minutes a day with Paul and get a sense of his life, understand why he did what he did, and, most importantly, see Jesus Christ glorified in his life so that He may be ever more glorified in yours.

From his conversion to his death, this book covers the important events in Paul's life. It also looks at his principles, and how you can apply them to your life.

Get Paul's Christ-centered perspecive on the following subjects and more:

  • ministry
  • suffering and sacrifice
  • joy
  • relationships
  • spiritual mentoring
  • eschatology
  • interpreting Scripture
  • waiting on God
  • planning ahead
  • facing death

 

Introduction

In Romans 1:14, Paul spoke of his obligation to proclaim the gospel to all Gentiles, whatever their background: “I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise.” These words are precious to me because my ancestors, about 50 generations ago, were barbarians. When Paul wrote these words they were about 1,500 miles northwest of him, doing whatever it is that barbarians do.

I don't really know that much about my ancestors. I spend much more time thinking about my spiritual forefathers, people like Abraham, Moses, David, and Paul himself. I can confidently claim these men as my ancestors even though I am, and will always be, a Gentile, a descendant of barbarians, also known as the “unwise.”

Paul was a debtor to my ancestors. He lived his life for their sake. And while they themselves didn't get to hear Paul preach in person, his message, the gospel for the Gentiles, reached them eventually, and they passed it down to me.

This is a study of Paul's life. It can be read one chapter per day for 30 days, or it can be read all at once. Read it however you choose.

When I refer to Paul's life, I mean life in this sense of the word: his energy, his motivation, his values, his behavior. Paul once wrote to Timothy, saying, “you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance...” (2 Timothy 3:10). This book is a study of Paul's manner of life, and the underlying purpose behind everything he did. It's a study of the way that Christ manifested His character through Paul.

This book is also about the life of Paul in another sense: a series of significant events in which he was involved. Reading through this book will give you a sense of Paul's life according to that definition as well, but only a general sense.

I have broadly followed the outline of Paul's life according to the consensus of conservative scholars. However, there are disagreements among scholars on specific issues, for example, when he wrote some of his letters. So, on some points I have not stressed the details. This book is not primarily about deciding chronological questions, but about seeing the kind of man Paul was.

Many of Paul’s letters have been preserved in the New Testament. The book of Acts also talks a lot about Paul. God obviously wants us to get to know the man.

So here are thirty meditations, in roughly chronological order, about the least of the apostles of Christ.

Available at Amazon:

Kindle

Paperback

Personal Transformation the New Testament Way

14 Practical Lessons from Horatius Bonar's 1864 Classic God's Way of Holiness

Available at Amazon:

Kindle

Paperback

Surprise yourself. Become the person only God knew you could be.

Tap into the wisdom of previous generations. Come under the full influence of the gospel of grace. There is a version of yourself that you have not yet imagined, waiting to be discovered.

A century and a half ago in Scotland, pastor and hymn-writer Horatius Bonar wrote God's Way of Holiness. In it, he explained the biblical pattern of personal and spiritual growth.

Here are some of the best ideas from that book, presented in a way that is easy to follow, digest, and put into practice.

The 14 lessons:

  • Believe in the Miracle That Is Your Sanctification
  • You Find Your Faith by Believing
  • You Will Believe in the Miracle of Sanctification Only as Much as You Believe in the Sinfulness of Sin
  • Know Yourself and You Will Not Trust Yourself
  • Once You Know Yourself Well Enough Not to Trust Yourself, Let This Sink In: God Has Trusted You with the Gospel
  • The Power of Forgiveness Is Your Secret Weapon Against Sin
  • Holiness and Peace Go Hand in Hand
  • The Cross of Christ Is Your Center of Gravity
  • The Person of Christ Is the Theological System in Which Your Transformation Takes Place
  • Your Transformation Is a Settled Question
  • Understand the Place of Effort
  • Learn to Speak the Language of Obedience
  • Expect Sin to Fight Back
  • Accumulate Small Victories (Because There Are No Small Victories)

Available at Amazon:

Kindle

Paperback

The Foolishness of God, the Hidden Wisdom, and the Mind of Christ

30 Lessons from 1 Corinthians 1-4

Available at Amazon:

Kindle

Paperback

Introduction

In 1 Corinthians 1:18, the apostle Paul called his gospel “the message of the cross.” This was the message that he had preached and lived by when he had first come to Corinth.

There was a problem, however. The Corinthians had already heard a message of the cross, as preached by the Roman Empire.

The cross already had a message before Paul ever came to Corinth. Before Jesus was ever crucified, the cross was being used by the Roman Empire to speak its own word.

Crucifixion was not the most efficient way to execute a criminal. It was used because it sent an unforgettable message. It communicated shame, defeat, weakness, and humiliation in the most visceral and immediate way the Romans could find.

“If you defy the Roman Empire you will lose.” The Romans wanted this to be clear and unmistakable, and nothing said “loser” any louder or faster than a crucifixion did. The Romans got their message across, and everyone took it to heart—almost everyone, that is.

We are told in Hebrews 12:2 that Jesus despised the shame of the cross. That means He scorned, ignored, and thought nothing of it. He understood the shame that the cross was meant to evoke, but He didn’t take it seriously. He blew it off.

Paul, likewise, was unintimidated and unashamed. He knew what the cross of the world was supposed to say, but the cross of Christ had said something much more important, and it had said it with much greater authority.

Fortunately for the Corinthians, and for us, Paul took the time to explain, in 1 Corinthians 1-4, what his “message of the cross" looked like in real life.

This book consists of thirty lessons taken from 1 Corinthians 1-4, sometimes looking at several verses at once, sometimes looking at just one verse or less. These lessons are not based exclusively on what is said in the first four chapters of 1 Corinthians, but draw from other parts of the Bible as well.

These lessons can each stand alone and can thus be read out of order, but I hope that reading them in order will also give you a sense of the progress of Paul’s argument in 1 Corinthians 1-4.

Above all, I hope that this book will deepen your appreciation for a great passage of the Bible and for the message of the gospel.

If you have resolved to proclaim, in word and in deed, by your life and by your example, the message of Jesus Christ and Him crucified, then it would be a honor if this book can serve you in any way. I hope it brings edification and encouragement to the people marked by the cross.

Read a Chapter:

Jesus in the Small Words

Leaders, Fathers, and Idols

Available at Amazon:

Kindle

Paperback

Blog at WordPress.com.
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: