Author: Nick

(Wives) do not let your adorning be external–the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear–but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. 1 Peter 3:3-4 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” Romans 12:1-2 MSG Pornography generates more income than all combined revenues of professional football, baseball and basketball franchises. Millions of Americans are on prescription medications for stress. Americans spend billions on reconstructive surgery, diets, and cosmetics. […]

Growing up in Crowley one of the most impressive families I knew was Dutch. The parents had experienced the tyranny of the Nazi regime. The oldest son is a minister today. This family would be distressed by the state of the church in Europe today, specifically in Holland. Some church leaders in the Netherlands want to transform their small nation into a laboratory for rethinking Christianity. It seems this “rethinking” is already well along. One pastor doesn’t believe in life after death, nor even in God as a supernatural being. He describes the Bible’s account of Jesus’s life as a mythological story about a man who may never have existed, even if it is a valuable source of wisdom about how to lead a good life.” The pastor, Klass Hendrikse is an unbeliever, but in the largest Dutch denomination, he is considered a minister in good standing. As a matter of fact, he is not even unusual. A study undertaken by the Free University of Amsterdam determined that about one of every six Protestant ministers is either agnostic or atheist. Rev. Kirsten Slettenaar, another minister of the church, refers to “Son of God” as a mere title. “I don’t […]

The key to solving any problem is to know what the problem is. Many today believe that their problem is a lack of knowledge. They seek enlightenment. There is great consolation in thinking everything would be all right if I just knew a bit more. But is that the problem? Satan convinced Eve that it was.  “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.  “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:4-5  Even if we knew everything that God knows, that wouldn’t solve the problem. We would still lack His power and holiness. No, the problem isn’t lack of knowledge. It’s sin. It’s certainly not very popular to admit that truth. It sounds so “judgmental.” It makes one seem “holier than thou.” But it is the problem.  We were created to be in fellowship with God not to be as wise as God. Our rebellion and turning from Him (let’s just say our sin) has separated us from Him.  It’s such a vast separation that we, on our own, can’t close it. That’s where Jesus comes in. So […]

I have been up for hours watching the Weather Channel. Of course we are the big news. All over the world people are feeling sorry for us suffering through this storm. But for us guys who are here and who are experienced with these things, all is not bad. There is lots to be happy about in this situation. It’s cool. This may not be the gumbo weather we are all looking forward to, but it’s much better than 100 degrees. We can watch football all day. Okay, we were going to do that anyway, but now we can do it without guilt. No one can really expect us to be doing yard work and we are not being dragged to Labor Day sales. We don’t have to barbeque. Labor Day is one of those holidays when the guys are expected to cook. We drag out the pit. Stand in the heat over hot coals and try not to burn meat. No one can expect us to do that this weekend. In fact, in our house the nesting instinct is running wild. Rose checked out her cook books, broke out recipes she hasn’t made in years and made an […]

These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold–though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. 1 Peter 1:7 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.  James 1:13 Today we continue or KISS (Keep it simple, stupid) series. Every Christian has been confronted with “Why does God allow bad things to happen to good folks?” or by the person who has abandoned the Christian walk because of some perceived wrong God has committed. Here’s the simple point:Trials are sent by God to cause us to stand. Temptation to sin is sent by the devil to cause us to stumble. Put another way: God wants to strengthen us. Satan wants to weaken us. One is meant for our maturity. The other is meant for our misery. For this stand point it’s a question of intention. God intends things […]

What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh?

But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicitythat is in Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:3 I like to think I’m a pretty smart guy. However, there is mounting evidence to the contrary. Last night, before I finally fell asleep, I was having great difficulty following the British mystery Rose and I were watching. This is the second time I fell asleep on the movie. I’ll have to ask my wife, “Who done it?”  I have a game on my i-phone which I have never been able to beat, but my granddaughter, who is in 2nd grade, has beaten it seven times. The evidence continues to mount.  Lucky for me, the things I really need to know are very simple. I heard a great quote yesterday. A sermon was described as “mustard gas to faith.” The author was dealing with a situation in which the preacher had so complicated the message that the congregation was wallowing in confusion and simple faith died. In my brief stint as a pastor I was very concerned that I didn’t know enough to lead a congregation and there is evidence that […]

if we are faithless,    he remains faithful,    for he cannot disown himself. 2 Timothy 2:13 Iphones, Ipads, Facebook, Twitter, How things are changing. But it’s not just cool technology. We are changing the way we live. Most of us live in urban rather than rural environments. In my area, Broussard and Youngsville there seem to be no more intersections, just traffic circles. More don’t work for a living. More live together and don’t get married. Even our churches are changing. They are often bigger and flashier.  The message is often designed to be friendly and “practical” instead of spiritual and challenging.  All this change can be exciting, but it can also be confusing. The older I get the less exciting and more confusing it gets. We need to make sure that just because we change and our lives “evolve” our God doesn’t change. He’s the same God who created man, the same God who led His people out of bondage, the same God who sent a Savior.  Spend some time in God’s word, especially the Old Testament. God didn’t change when Jesus was born. There is much to be learned from those sections of scripture that come before Matthew.  […]