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Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God,  instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.  And God permitting, we will do so. Hebrews 6:1-3 On Sunday our Pastor preached on “What’s Next.” I got stuck on the verse above from Hebrews and the whole issue of elementary teachings. Do we really have a grasp of the elementary teachings? What is elementary? If asked to summarize Christianity in a paragraph, could I do it. These questions worry me, because it’s so important to get the basics right. Don’t we all know Christians who love to discuss graduate level Christianity, but seem to have no concept of the basics? I’ve been a lawyer for 33 years. When encountering new attorneys I sometimes wonder what they are teaching in law school these days. These “kids” don’t seem to know how to phrase a question, deal with another lawyer or show respect to the court. They can spout complex legal theories, but have no idea about the basics. They want to win but have […]

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:35 In court, we have witnesses swear to tell “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” In over thirty years of court room work,  I don’t recall getting the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth even once. Witnesses don’t know the whole truth. They have recollections which may approximate the truth, but they don’t know it all. In our society, we are used to fudging the truth and, finally, witnesses often just lie. Lately I have heard a lot about the truth. People want 100% of the truth. They say things like, “It is better to be divided by truth than united by error.” What does that even mean? The Christian church stands “divided by truth.” There are hundreds of denominations and sects. All of them think they have the truth. They hopefully have some truth but they can’t all have the whole truth. I pray the “truth” they have is Jesus. The truth is God hasn’t given us all […]

I have moved Nick’s Walk to a new website. You shouldn’t experience any major changes but I would appreciate your patience while I work out the kinks. Have a blessed day and Go Saints. Nick

24 Now Thomas[a]), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, 26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”John 20 I think Thomas has gotten a bad rap. We all know him as “doubting” but really he just wanted what the other guys had. He wanted to see Jesus. He wasn’t going to take someone else’s word for it.  What’s so bad about that? We talk about Jesus as a personal savior. He made a special appearance for Thomas. He showed him more than the others had seen. But, you say, the Lord said that those who have not seen but believed would […]

Should Churches worship services be designed to encourage and strengthen Christians or to appeal to and win non-Christians?   The truth is that our worship services should be geared to sinners in need of God’s rescue—and that includes everyone. We all need the deliverance of the gospel. We in church need to abandon the “us” and “them” mentality.  The gospel isn’t simply a set of truths that non-Christians must believe in order to become saved. It’s a reality that Christians must daily embrace in order to experience being saved. The gospel not only saves us from the penalty of sin (justification), but it also saves us from the power of sin (sanctification) day after day. Or, as John Piper has said, “The cross is not only a past place of objective substitution; it is a present place of subjective execution.” Our daily sin requires God’s daily grace—the grace that comes to us through the finished work of Jesus Christ. We all need to be in the Word daily. Those who are lost need it’s convicting power. Those who are saved need it’s encouragement and guidance. As a church, we are not a social club with those who have been […]

9 Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him. John 12 Wouldn’t a miracle be great? That sure would convince that hard-hearted relative to believe in Jesus. That would show all those non-believers I have to deal with every day. Wouldn’t that be something? Jesus performed many miracles and many believed because of them. Not everyone had that reaction. Raising Lazarus from the dead was one of his most dramatic miracles. Yet for many of the Jews it was just another reason to kill Jesus AND Lazarus. Folks say they crave a miracle, but do they really? When I had my knee replacement surgery I prepared myself for a long and painful recovery and rehab. It didn’t happen. I had no pain and had only a few rehab visits at home. I had complete range of motion from the day after surgery. Needless to say I was excited and wanted to tell everyone. I was surprised at the response. I was told I just had […]

Next Saturday our church will start a 21 day period of prayer and fasting. To prepare for that, our pastor on Sunday discussed prayer and fasting. Like any good sermon, his words got me thinking. I will add a bit to what he had to say. There are many biblical examples of prayer and fasting to prepare one to take on a task that seems impossible. The Israelites did it before battle.  Jesus did it before beginning His ministry. The early church did it before sending out missionaries. Jesus told us that some demons come out only after doing it. Basically, anytime we need power beyond the natural, prayer and fasting is called for.  In the natural we operate on human power. We feed our minds with words from those around us. We draw strength and comfort from eating and drinking. When we need something extra we pray. We listen to God for instruction and encouragement. We set aside food or drink and draw our strength and comfort from Him.  Prayer and fasting isn’t a religious exercise. It’s not giving up something to get something. It’s recognizing there is more to life than the natural. It is acknowledging that […]

This is the time of year for review and resolution. I’m not much for resolutions but reviewing is not a bad idea. It seems wise to periodically stop, take a breath and evaluate where we are. Life is pretty messy. Over the course of a year we can accumulate bad habits (a pattern of sin), resentments, hurts, unforgiveness. We can also rack up some seeming positives, achievements, victories, and advancements.  It’s a good idea to look at our lives and see what’s on our slate.  Sin – It seems so much easier to gain a bad habit than it is to initiate a good one. We do one “little” thing that we know isn’t quite right. The next time it’s easier to do. After a few times we become comfortable with our sin. We need to pray for insight,  look at our lives, and identify behavior that needs to be changed. Hurts – We can’t live without accumulating hurts. Some cause great damage. Some less so, but still leave visible wounds. Others seem to cause no lasting marks at the time, but damage occurs “beneath the skin” and when least expected rises to the surface. It’s good to do […]