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Matthew 28 Jesus Has Risen  1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.  2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.  5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”  8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go […]

Holy Saturday. A day, in some ways that was likely harder for the disciplines than Good Friday. With the horror of His torturous death still a vivid memory, the disciplines began to consider “What now?” “How could I have been some blind?” “He wasn’t who He said He was?” “I had attached all my hopes and dreams on Him and now He’s dead. Will they come for me next?” As His disciples, we have days, and sometimes weeks, months and years, like that. After the flash of salvation, the grind of daily life sets in and we begin to question. “Am I really a Christian?” “Can I believe what He said?” “Why is He so hard to follow?” “Why can’t I hear His voice?” And in response it seems heaven is silent and the world and our “friends” laugh and mock. It would be so easy to drop it all and believe only in what we see instead of what He promised. As I have mentioned, I have been reading “Has Christianity Failed You?” by Ravi Zacharias. He addresses many of these doubts and questions. But the bottom line is Jesus is everything He said He was and His […]

I don’t handle Good Friday very well and, as I look around, I see I’m not the only one. I am conflicted on what I should do and how I should feel. I remember the Holy Weeks of my youth. I was always impressed with the solemn Good Friday ceremony with its long reading of the Passion, stripping of the altar and covering of the statutes in church. It was the strangest day of the church year, a ceremonial attempt to convey the import of a death 2000 years ago.  The very name of the day, Good Friday, betrays an uncomfortable contrast. How can a day memorializing the torture death of the Savior be “Good.” I know all the theological explanations but the discomfort remains.  In modern times, Good Friday is the actual holiday of the Easter weekend. It is the day off, the free day that makes up the three day weekend. In Acadiana, it’s the day of the year with the largest consumption of crawfish. There’s a fun fact for you. Is that consistent with the death we are memorializing? We like to rush through Good Friday with our eyes half closed focused on the brightness and […]

15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk. 16 And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men. 17 Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”  18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? 19 Show Me the tax money.”  So they brought Him a denarius.  20 And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?”  21 They said to Him, “Caesar’s.”  And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22 When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way. Tax season has come to an end. It means different things to different folks. To many it means the government gives back some money which they have held and used all year, to others it means the government gives some folks’ money to other folks, and finally there is the increasingly small group that writes the checks and pays the bills. […]

This is the era of multitasking. I work on my computer while watching TV, text while driving, listen to my ipod while doing everything. In one of the many letters he wrote to his son in the 1740s, Lord Chesterfield offered the following advice: “There is time enough for everything in the course of the day, if you do but one thing at once, but there is not time enough in the year, if you will do two things at a time.” It has been proven that multitasking really isn’t more efficient than doing one thing at a time. I know I have to rewind the story on my ipod often just because I’m thinking of something else while listening to a book.  Here’s some great advice: Wherever you are, be all there. Our minds are so cluttered that we overlook the joy just in being alive today.The Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus, “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity.” (Ephesians 5:15–16) Every moment of the day we should be fully engaged in the most important thing that needs to be done at that time. Notice […]

We live in the era of the “fuzzy line.” It seems to most folks nothing is definite; all things are relative. One of the strangest verses that ever fell from the lips of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, is this: “Think not that I have come to send peace on the earth. I came not to send peace, but a sword.” A sword from the Prince of Peace? A sword is a dividing tool. He is saying, “I came with a sword to put a line of demarcation between truth and error, between light and dark, between sin and righteousness.” When God’s standard of righteousness is set, there will always be division. Without righteousness there can be no peace. Peace can never come where sin remains. God will never make a peace treaty with sin, never. That kind of definite clear line drives some folks crazy. For those kind of people, “it all depends” is a proper answer to every question. Christ put an end to that. After Christ, things are good or bad, right or wrong. To those who believe there is much peace in having moral clarity. But it will make some unhappy. It will destroy the peace of the […]

Thanks to all who prayed for my court date today. I have been struggling with knee pain for a month and had a court day today which I was not looking forward to. I felt all your prayers. I thought I would be in court for a couple of hours,  but it turned out that I was there all day. I never felt pain in my knee (until now at home). God also granted favor with the court in several rulings. Although a decision was not rendered, I am confident that it will turn out fine. Thanks again to all your prayers. It works. Be blessed. Nick

      “Why is there suffering in the world?” The question is asked by atheists, intent on using the existence of suffering as proof that there could be no God. The question also comes up among the faithful who are challenged by the very real suffering that exists and who feel overwhelmed by the enormity of it all. We know, but easily forget, that much suffering arises from the fallen nature of our world.       However, part of our problem is that we see suffering as always a bad thing. This isn’t the case. Sometimes suffering is used by God to bring us to Himself.  When we are broken by the sufferings of life, we run into the arms of our Abba Father, Daddy God. Remember how the churches filled up on the days after 9/11 or after Hurricane Katrina? When there is suffering or danger, he gathers us to himself, calls us by name, and tells us we are his own. Our tender heart and aching soul listen and respond to his call. When we are still and rest in his arms, we begin to recognize the basic truth that God is God and we are not. It […]