Author: Nick

I got a mailing from the Honda dealer yesterday advising me that they could put me in a new Accord for the same monthly payment I have on my old Accord and without a further down payment. I threw the letter away. I’m not in a market for a new Accord. You and I get pitched for a variety of goods and services everyday. Most of these pitches we ignore because we are not “in the market” for what is being sold.  I have recently come to the realization that telling folks how great my church is is not unlike the pitch from the Honda dealer. The ones who really need what my church can offer aren’t in the market. They don’t perceive that they have a need for what I am selling. They are perfectly happy spending their Sunday mornings reading the newspaper, enoying a lazy breakfast or catching some sun at Starbucks. I’m not impressing them by telling them about our great worship, kid’s programs, or fellowship. Most of them have ipods, pads or iphones and can listen to all the music they want any time they want, while playing a game or catching up on the news. There […]

I had a strange dream last night. I was a child visiting a home with other children in a very poor place. It was the kind of dream that was just a flash, a very small snippet. I must have asked for a glass of water and the children told me there was none, but there was a place “down town” where you could get water. It flowed all the time. The dreamy look on their faces as they told about this place where fresh water always flowed was haunting. We are so blessed we are spoiled. We are so blessed that many of the references of scripture, originally delivered at a poorer time, have lost their power. I think of Jesus describing Himself as “Living Water.” He gave that description to a woman who was drawing water from a well at the hottest time of the day. We learn more about her through the story. We learn she is there because she is a woman of poor reputation. She can’t draw water in the cool of the morning or evening when most of the women of the town are there. She is a woman “with a reputation.” The […]

My grandson reminded me yesterday that women are “sometimes” smarter than men. As proof he offered that fact that men will not ask for directions. They will wonder aimlessly refusing to ask for directions or to even admit that they are lost. It’s a guy thing. Face it, we all lose our way some time. In fact, for me, I know I am in the Lord’s perfect will a lot less often than I feel that I am on course. He sends us signs when we drift from the path. Like the rough areas along the side of the highway that cause our tires to make rumbling noises, he sends us messages that we are drifting off track. Sometimes, however, we don’t drift, we simply make a wrong turn or fail to turn when we should. That’s a tougher situation. When we realize that we have made a mistake we are often far afield. We can try to get back on course, but sometimes our attempts simply get us further lost. We may have to return to the spot when we last knew for certain we were on course. Our time off course can cause damage to ourselves and […]

I recently read an article on leadership designed to encourage church leaders. It stressed the importance of finishing well. It occurred to me that its lessons are applicable to all Christians living at the end of the Christian age. As it becomes less politically correct to be a Christian, it becomes all the more important to lead as Christians. So consider these points adapted from the article. If we are to be salt and light leaders, there are things we must do. 1. Never stop learning. The leader isn’t the one who knows it all. He’s the one whose teachable spirit is an inspiration to others. Besides although biblical truth never changes, circumstances due and we need to keep up.2. Be a light. Be salt. Be loving. Leaders sometimes get so caught up in being the boss, that they forget to lead by example. How many leaders can you name who crashed and burned when they failed to maintain character? It’s not our knowledge and wisdom that is needed most (but it is needed) it’s our love. Our savior told us that by our love will others know us. Keep loving. 5. Once salt and light, always salt and […]

Jesus said to him, “I am the truth, and

Everyone knows that Karl Marx said that religion is the opiate of the people. But very few go on to finish what he said next; that it is the sigh of the oppressed and the illusory sun that revolves around man as long as man doesn’t revolve around himself. The New Spirituality has solved that dilemma. We have found a religion that has helped us to revolve around ourselves, and once we have believed that the spiritual imagination needs no boundaries because we are gods, everything becomes plausible and nothing needs justification. Ravi Zacharias I spent the last 24 hours in New Orleans. The trip included seeing the still-remaining reminders of the power of Hurricane Katrina and a trip to the Aquarium. Both served as much needed reminders of the wonder and power of our God. God didn’t have to created such a wonderful, diverse and beautiful creation as was on display in tank after tank at the Aquarium. We had taken Nicky our grandson as a reward for having to make a 24 hour trip us most of which was spent in the car. But the adults were as impressed by the displays as he was. It’s so […]

” Jesus Christ not only changes what you do; He changes what you want to do.” Ravi Zacharias Although we seem to be living in the beginning of the Great Falling Away prophesized in the Book of Revelation, there has been no decrease in the interest in spirituality. What is it that drives man to the spiritual? Since the Garden of Eden, man has been incomplete. He was created to be in relationship with God. That relationship was broken by his sinful state. Most sane men recognize something is missing. They know that they are not all that they were meant to be. Though they may attempt to fill that emptiness with material things, the failure of those things to ultimately satisfy leaves them hungry for something else and guilty for their foolish attempts to find that something in the wrong places. In almost all of its forms, spirituality seeks to fill that emptiness. Some are attempts to climb up to God. Others are attempts to find God inside. Still others seek to make Man into God. Of all these forms of spirituality, only Christianity works. The modern new spirituality teaches that there are many ways to God. That’s […]

“As sin has gone out of vogue and evil has remained a legitimate category, though limited, religion has gone out of vogue while spirituality remains a valid pursuit.” Zacharias, Ravi (2012-01-25). Why Jesus?: Rediscovering His Truth in an Age of Mass Marketed Spirituality . Hachette Book Group. Kindle Edition.  I love Ravi Zacharias. I believe he is one of the strongest apologists for real Christianity we have today. He’s so smart that he is often difficult to follow. I have been trying to digest his “Why Jesus” for a few weeks. It’s not the kind of work you can ingest in one sitting, but it is full of truth. Here’s my take on the background: I “came of age” in the sixties when “Jesus Freaks” were in. They were basically hippie types who were so anti-establishment that they couldn’t deal with the straight laced church of the 60s. Church people supported the war in Vietnam. They couldn’t go with that. The church people also rejected the “free love” mantra of the hippie culture. The Jesus Freaks knew that Jesus talked about love and they figured He would probably be cool if it were free. While most of us weren’t […]