Author: Nick

Prayer is not a technique for getting things, a pious exercise that somehow makes God happy, or a requirement for entry into heaven. It is much more like practicing heaven now by leaping into communion with what is right in front of us. Richard Rohr Prayer may be the most misunderstood “exercise” of life. Most people would say that they pray. Most of them don’t mean the same thing. Sometimes we cry out for help when things are the worst and a miracle is our only hope. Sometimes we engage in rituals, believing it will make us or confirm us as righteous. At times we recognize our existence as beneficiaries of God. We try to express our thankfulness and we call it prayer. I’m not sure what God thinks of these “prayers.” I suspect he appreciates our efforts and understands why we fall short. What He really wants is communion with us. He wants it of our own free will, so he sets opportunities before us that are not so overwhelming as to steal our will, but are powerful enough to draw us to him. He knows that in that communion He seeks, we will get glimpses of heaven, […]

I have managed to practice law, fairly successfully, for nearly 40 years. I think my secret is simplicity. My submissions, legal documents and oral presentations are usually 25% shorter than those of my opponents. Lawyers, in particular, seem to think that the more complex the better. Not so. Decision makers appreciate it when you make the decision easy for them and that usually means simple. Jesus, the greatest teacher of all times, was a master of simplicity. His opponents sought to defeat him by posing seemingly complex questions. Jesus responded with simpllicity. His message was simple: Follow me. His encouragement was simple: Fear not. Attempts to complicate his message or dismiss his encouragement are based on pride. Jesus is the mediator between God and man, the God-Man. Men, acting as “leaders” of his church, through pride, have sought to insert themselves as mediators between Jesus and man. No such mediator to the mediator is necessary. Our own pride has attempted to complicate the message. We are too proud to rest in Jesus’ promise that his work is complete, that He has done it all. We believe that we have to do something if we are to get credit. And […]

My biggest hinderance to a full walk with Jesus is that I grossly underestimate the glory of grace. FORGIVENESS – It’s easy enough for me to accept that grace means forgiveness. I am familiar with forgiveness as a human construct. I have sometimes, but not often enough, forgiven others. I have far too often than deserved, been forgiven. I understand that the forgiveness of God found in grace is a much bigger deal than human forgiveness, but I’m okay with that because I so desperately need it. FORGET IT – It’s a bit more difficult to accept the forgetfulness of God that comes with grace. As difficult as it is for me to forgive, it is nearly impossible for me to forget. I have the memory of an elephant when it comes to slights. It seems a difficult concept that God with all his brainpower, his all-knowingness, can forget my slight stumbles and my outright rebellions. But that’s what He promises and I am surely okay with that. FAMILY STATUS – Get this: God not only forgives and forgets, but He adopts. His grace grants inclusion into His family for those who follow his Son. He deals not only […]

COVID has changed life as I know it. I don’t post blogs as frequently as I have in the past. I went to a church service on Easter for the first time in months. I bought my wife a new car for trips and we have taken none. I have worked from home for years but now I am joined by many in my profession and others. I keep a mask in each vehicle and sometimes one in my pocket. Some of these life changes are good; some not so much. Some are important and others are silly. I find myself wearing my mask driving alone in my car. It’s not for protection. It’s just a habit. My wife and I decided on vaccination which made us wise to some, heroes to others, and ignorant lab rats to a third group. I guess the important thing is to wisely and prayerfully distinguish between the good and bad habits we have picked up. This exercise will be, of necessity, very personal. Working at home will work well for some and for others will be a productivity and home life disaster. Watching church from home provides, frankly, better sermons and music, […]

Everyone I know is excited to see 2020 come to an end. That’s surely understandable. 2020 truly sucked. A New Year brings hope and hope is a good thing. However, it would be wise to remember that it’s just a New Year, a man-made method of recording dates. It’s not a miracle. Much will be unchanged at midnight on the 31st. COVID-19 will still be here. Vaccines are great. It’s good that more folks are following guidelines to limit the spread of the virus. However, it’s still around. There will not be a magic date when everything will go back to normal. Hopefully, the danger will gradually reduce and we will, gradually, have an opportunity to go back to normal, but will we? Thirty Days to Become a Habit. I recall reading somewhere that if we start doing something new or stop doing something old, that it will become a habit after thirty days. We have been dealing with this pandemic for nearly a year. We have not all adopted the same new habits, but most of us have. For example, Do you still shake hands? Will you go back to that. Do you wear a mask when outside […]

One of the creations of this weird year is the focus on Safety Zones. To defend against the Corona virus we attempt to make our homes safety zones. We limit visitors for example. We don’t hug or grandkids or have coffee with out friends. We try to create mobile safety zones when we leave home by social distancing and wearing masks. In this year of social violence we hope our neighborhoods are “safety zones” and that the looters and rioters will limit themselves to other cities and other neighborhoods. We encourage policing and try not to attract political attention. We became upset, as Christians, when our ability to gather in the “safety zones” of our churches was limited. We proclaimed that the church is not a building, but we still longed to gather and failed to do anything really significant when we were denied access to our comfortable church family. Sadly, safety zones don’t really insure safety. Folks who ignored social distancing and didn’t wear masks caught the virus, but so did those who were fanatic adherents to both. Our churches aren’t really safe. In fact, their appearance of safety make them dangerous. We may see less of the […]