Author: Nick

I have been studying what it meant to be a disciple in Jesus’ time. A disciple was essentially an apprentice. He “moved in” with the Rabbi or teacher. His goal was to, one day, be as nearly like the rabbi as possible. He would seek to imitate the rabbi, not just to learn all that his master knew, but to be all that his master was. We talk about knowing Christ and making Him known. I think too often we mean knowing “about” Him and not knowing Him. We can gain knowledge “about” a person by reading what they have done and said, and what others have said about them. We can amass facts and opinions. Our knowledge can become encyclopedic. We might still not know Him. To “know” a person is to know what they are thinking, how they are feeling, what they need, what they want. It means having a high degree of comfort in their presence when they are at peace and when they are not. It means feeling their absence acutely, their hurts personally, their desires passionately. It means having their heart and mind. It means doing what they need done without being told. There […]

Let there be no mistake, Followers of Jesus, we are at war. There is an increasing number whose declared intent is to shut us up, marginalize us, de-franchise us, persecute us and, yes, kill us. Label me a nut if  you wish, but the evidence is overwhelming.  Sadly, so far our response has been ineffective. Some of us haven’t gotten the message. Some of  us are afraid. Some of us don’t understand this kind of war. I want to address only the last group today. If you haven’t gotten the message try watching the news. If you are still afraid, talk to Jesus. This isn’t the kind of war we see on television. It’s not waged from behind computer terminals with deadly long distance weapons. This is hand-to-hand combat. Our fight is personal and face-to-face. We don’t fight a traditional war. Our aim is not to occupy territory, cut off supply lines or kill our enemy. Those are the goals of the enemy. They are not ours. Confused? We have to move from being reactive “Christians” to proactive followers. We can no longer just respond instinctively or emotionally. Here’s the deal: We need to be guided by His plan. 16 Then […]

It’s been over a week since I posted anything. It’s amazing how time is flying. My excuse is that I have been busy. I have had real work to do and that’s a good thing. I wrote three articles for Covenant Spotlight. I have led a connect group on Sunday nights which involves preparing a teaching and a PowerPoint presentation. It’s been wonderful but time-consuming. I’m filling in for Pastor T, our Senior Pastor, next Sunday. Rose and I just finished doing two nursing home visits a week while Bill and Anne were out-of-town. We are planning a getaway to the beach. I just exhausted myself. The truth is that I got out of the habit of posting every morning. It’s incredible how difficult it is to begin a new “good” habit and how easy it is to abandon it. I enjoy posting daily and would appreciate  your prayers so that I may get back into the habit. Something I saw on Facebook this morning forced me out of my dry spell. I will steal what I read because it precisely expresses my feeling, “I’d like to introduce my dear friends the Reauxs (Jonathan, Megan, Lyla, Jed & Gabriel). They […]

I really enjoyed War Room. Apparently I wasn’t the only one. According to USA Today, it topped the box office for the Labor Day Weekend. “With War Room at No. 1, the summer box office is ending on a blessed note. The Christian drama topped the four-day Labor Day weekend with $12.6 million in just over 1,500 theaters, according to box-office tracking firmRentrak. Made on a budget of just $3.5 million, the PG-rated film has earned $27.9 million in just two weekends of release.” Not only was it an entertaining movie but it has motivated me to animate my prayer life. I wonder how many closets are being cleaned out around America. I’m not cleaning out one. I don’t have room anywhere else for my stuff. I’m also not the kind of guy who sits in a closet with sticky notes on the walls. I’m more of a “in the cloud” nerd type of prayer dude. My first thought was that there must be an “app” for this. It turns out there is. There is a War Room for Prayer app.  I checked it out, but wasn’t really impressed. Plus it costs $.99. I did find an app for my […]

Last night I say War Room with my wife and a bunch of friends from my church. I highly recommend it.  Here’s why. NO SPOILERS It’s a good movie. The story is engaging. The acting is great. The production is superb. The characters are interesting. The plot is relevant. It’s funny. It’s touching. It has an important message. That equals a good movie. It’s got a great message. Here are just some lessons about prayer I picked up while eating pop corn and snuggling with my sweetie. Prayer works. Prayer starts at home. There are lots of problems out there, but there are lots of problems with home and family. The enemy wants to steal your family, your life and your joy. It’s a war. It’s a spiritual war. Your friends and family are not the enemy. Writing down the promises of scripture helps make them real. Writing down the things we are praying about documents that God answers. It’s not that God doesn’t know our problems. It’s that we don’t. Problems are the doorway to time with God. Prayer is contagious. Your kids might even catch it. It’s okay to pray for your spouse. Your other movie choices […]

It’s the Labor Day weekend. Most of us are at least a bit excited. Why? Because this weekend we will do something at least a little different, even if it’s just not going to work on Monday. Different is good and exciting. “We are what we repeatedly do.” Aristotle. We are creatures of habit. Consider how much of what we do each day is what we did yesterday and what we will do tomorrow. When we rise, when we go to bed, what we eat, what we wear, what we say… all habits. It’s kind of discouraging to consider just how unoriginal we are. We consider it a good or even exciting day, when we just do something different.  Much of what we do, many of our habits, we aren’t really thrilled about. We have habits not always because we’ve discovered the best or most satisfying way to do something. It’s just what we do, because it’s what we always do. Frightening how little sense that makes. Most us feel our lives could be better. We could be doing a better job of whatever we believe we should be doing. For example, as Christians we believe we should be growing […]

Summer is over. Praise the Lord. I know that’s not “official” and there are many hot days left, but when school and football starts, summer is over. I’m glad to see Summer 2015 go. It was one of the most miserable I can remember. The weather was dreadful, hot and dry. Our family seemed to be under constant attack on many fronts. It seemed the life we have lived for many years was threatened. Trouble. Trouble. Trouble. Then there were Wednesdays. God never gives you more than you can handle. There are always bright spots in the dark, cool oases in the desert, vacations from stress. For me, it was Wednesdays. My wife and I agreed to fill in for friends, Bill and Anne, doing their nursing home ministry while they travelled out west to be with family. My wife soon emerged as the teacher on Wednesdays and she and the residents of the nursing home in Abbeville quickly grew close. We would leave home early each Wednesday, travel to Abbeville and Rose would meet with the residents. I would wait outside in the car playing lawyer on phone and ipad.  We would spend the rest of the day […]

Christianity is a hard sell these days, at least the way we package it. Followers of Christ face marginalization and even persecution. We suggest folks should face this and give up the fun of today for the joy of a distant future. The sad thing is that we paint this picture because it’s what we believe and have experienced. Before we can share “good news” we need to fully experience it. I’m not talking about the “accept Jesus and get rich” lies. I am not suggesting a life of perpetual good health and no problems. Life is hard and even more so for those who choose to follow Him. There are crosses to take up. However, let’s consider what we do have now. We have forgiveness now and the grace to leave our pasts behind. We have graceful power to live as God intended. We have an advocate before the throne of the Almighty God. We have assurance of eternity. We have the knowledge that any problem or trial is temporary, while joy is permanent. We know that we are never ever alone, out of his mind or hand. We forget that we will live one day on a […]