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Sunday was a great day at church. The Spirit was moving and much kingdom business was done on an individual basis. The Spirit was moving so much that the Pastor never got to complete his sermon. This isn’t completely unusual. In fact, it happens quite frequently. That’s often a good thing. I’d rather have the Spirit than a full sermon any day. We did get a hint at the sermon and it seem like it would have been a good one. Pastor proposed these New Year Resolutions. The good thing about New Year Resolutions which are proposed on the 8th day of the year, is that you don’t feel bad that you’ve already broken most of them. I don’t know what Pastor intended, but this is what I would have done with these. Here they are, with my comments, of course:   I will carry my own Bible to church every Sunday. This is a good one. I carry my bible because my iPhone is always with me. Sometimes I even have my iPad. I have bibles on both. But I don’t get much credit for this. Even when I’m diligently following the discussed scripture, people think I’m checking my Facebook page or my […]

16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.  18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore

Listen to My Own Little World Most of us would benefit greatly from a fresh perspective, a healthy dose of reality. Most of the world woke up this morning concerned about survival. Their biggest concern isn’t a Saints or Tiger victory. They need food for the day, shelter for tonight, health care for that mysterious pain they have tried to ignore for weeks.  Most of us don’t worry about the source of our next meal. Our concern is whether we will have the restraint not to overeat. We know where we will sleep tonight; we’re only worried that it’s not as big or as new or as pretty as someone else’s place. We complain that government has messed up our health care, without being thankful for our access to any level of heath care. Most of our problems are problems of perception, not issues of reality. We aren’t thankful enough for what we have and aren’t aware enough for what others lack. Click on Matthew West above and listen to him sing. If you don’t come away a little bit ashamed, then shame on you. Time for a dose of reality. Don’t you think? We are truly blessed and […]

39 If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give it up for me, you will find it. Matthew 10:39 One of the hardest lessons to learn is that to really gain something you have to let it go. Tightly gripping something in your hand kills and smothers it. The war hero is a hero because he’s let go of his life long ego. Living is not the most important thing. The Christian is really following Christ when He lets go of his life. Then he really starts to live.  With the grip comes the illusion of control. If I hold on to something I believe that I can make it what I want it to be. It will do what I tell it to do. That might have some value  if we had any clue as to what to do. We are clueless. We can’t direct our lives because we don’t know what’s best for us Let go.  Let God. It’s more than a wise saying. It’s the only way to live.  Nick

It is very early in the political season and I’m sick if it already. We have seen one after another Republican presidential candidate rise  and fall. I still haven’t seen the man or woman I really want to be the next president. I guess the reason I’m sick of it is I want everyone to say what they really believe so that I can decide who really believes what I believe to be the truth. Stop telling me what you think I want to hear. We are killing folks telling them what we think they want to hear. Politics has gotten to be a mess and so has the church. We are so concerned about preaching what people want to hear; that we are not concerned enough about preaching the truth. The goal of politics is for us to have an opportunity to select those to lead us who will make the best decisions for our country. What good is there in finding someone who has the best chance of winning, if we won’t be any better off once that person is the winner. We are so concerned about filling our pews that we forget the goal is to […]

If 2012 is to be better than 2011, I need to do a better job of controlling intake. Garbage In: Garbage Out is the old computer phrase. This is true in nutrition as well as information. It occurs to me that most of us would benefit from a food and information diet. Consider implementing these intake procedures: 1. Record your intake. I have the feeling that if I made an accurate measurement of the food and the information I consume I would be shocked. Not only do I take in too much, but the quality of my intake is not real good. Try this for a brief period, a month, a week, or even a day. Record everything you consume. For food, that’s relatively easy. It’s impossible to record every piece of information you absorb, so just try noting the major things: Television programs, radio programs, Internet sites, conversations, books, articles. The good thing about doing this is that the mere act of making a record will force us to change our habits. Before we make a note of something we are about to eat, or a piece of information we are about to absorb, considering the consequences may […]

The LORD is my strength and my shield;          My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped;           Therefore my heart greatly rejoices,           And with my song I will praise Him.  Psalm 28: 7 Well, how’s the New Year resolution thing working out for you so far. I have to admit to kind of limping into 2012. It’s the third day and I’ve overslept three days in a row. I’ve gotten to bed early enough. I just can’t seem to get motivated to get up when my eyes first open.  I plan to forward a daily bible reading on to everyone on my distribution list and that’s not working right. My bank hasn’t adjusted my balances since last year so I have a stack of first of the month bills that I don’t have much confidence in mailing out. Even our water dispenser stopped dispensing and I just noticed I have a doctor’s appointment this morning that I’m not going to make because I forgot I had it.  How about you? Those promises to read your bible more or watch your diet or whatever, how are  you doing? If you’re like […]

Every New Year presents new challenges, new blessings, new successes, new failures… just lots of new stuff. This one started off differently. I overslept. I don’t know if this is a harbinger of things to come or just a one time deal.  For the last few days I have considered the New Year and now it’s here. In many ways it’s no different than last year, so far. It’s just as dreary outside this morning as it was when I went to bed last night. Two birds just committed suicide by running into our windows. They have been doing that for years. I will go go church and thereafter prepare my “traditional” New Years Day meal. In our family, it’s tradition that I do the cooking on New Year’s Day and my repertoire is limited so the guests, if any, will know what to expect. I guess what I’m trying to say is that this year will only be new if we are new. The world around us is going to be pretty much the same. If we want anything to be different, we need to act differently and not insanely. By that I refer to the old saying that insanity […]