Nick’s Walk

And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 Yesterday I took a walk in the Mall. I haven’t done that in a long time. My bad knee was only part of the reason. I’m just not much of a shopper. Rose was looking for a jacket for our trip to Tennessee and my knee feels better with activity than with sitting in a vehicle. I stopped by one of my favorite shops, Brookstone. They have an incredible collection of cool things.  Things nobody needs. A walk through the Mall can lead you to think there’s an awful law of stuff  you don’t have and might need. The Mall isn’t really about fulfilling needs. It’s about satisfying wants. You could go through  your entire life in a very satisfactory manner and never set foot in a mall. Like most folks I have a tough time separating my needs from my wants. That leads not only to wasteful spending but to an unnecessary sense of dissatisfaction.  A need is something that is necessary to our purpose. Wants are a distraction to our purpose. […]

Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. Matthew 26:40 This morning I went with my men’s group to pray for one of our members who is dying. It was a great privilege and a blessing to those of us who went and, I hope, to our brother who is headed home. Our friend is dying courageously, but it’s tough. Why do we think he ought to do that alone?  It reminded me that as men we stubbornly fence in parts of our lives from contact with others. Obviously there is death, sickness, and trouble in life. Yet some seem to teach that such things are not an appropriate part of the Christian life. We are told that we are not to “confess” illness or death or trouble. Have these people read the bible? Have they experienced life at all? Where is it written that we will never die a physical death, that we won’t be ill or that we won’t face trouble? No where. In fact, we are told just the opposite. We are warned that the life of the Christian isn’t […]

I have a shed in the back of my property in which I store yard equipment. I haven’t done my own yard work for a long time. I went to the shed a couple of weeks ago, for the first time in a long time,  to look for an ice chest. I rediscovered a bunch of stuff I had long forgotten I had.  Yesterday we talked about the process of identifying vision. We begin with taking inventory. Satan tries to cut us off by confusing us in this process. He points us to what we don’t have. Don’t be fooled. We tend to forget some of the most important gifts we’ve been given.  Consider: Time: We tend to believe we don’t have time for anything else. If we take a careful inventory we will discover how much time we waste. If we can find time to watch tv or chill, we can find time to devote to our vision. Contacts: This morning I was exploring a new application that combines your contacts, email, Facebook, Twitter, etc. I was amazed at how many people I know, and who must know me. We tend to minimize our sphere of influence. It’s […]

Then the Lord replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. (Habakkuk 2:2 NIV) I’m not a big fan of folks who talk a lot about vision. I guess we are all victims of our past to some extent. I’ve been in churches that talked about vision constantly. Maybe that was the problem. If you’re talking, you’re not doing. If you have to struggle with defining your vision that says much about you. It says you don’t know where to go and, therefore, you aren’t going anywhere. I don’t like much talk. I’d rather do something. I don’t find that I get anywhere when my mouth is open. That’s why I liked the sermon I, and many of you, heard yesterday about vision. It was simple and straightforward. It told us how to get a vision: Inventory, Listen. Write it down. I like that because if I did that more often I would avoid many problems. I often go to the store for my wife and the trip is a bust. I haven’t completely checked out what we have in the pantry and refrigerator before I leave. I […]

Nehemiah 5:1-6 New Living Translation (NLT) Nehemiah Defends the Oppressed 5 About this time some of the men and their wives raised a cry of protest against their fellow Jews. 2 They were saying, “We have such large families. We need more food to survive.” 3 Others said, “We have mortgaged our fields, vineyards, and homes to get food during the famine.” 4 And others said, “We have had to borrow money on our fields and vineyards to pay our taxes. 5 We belong to the same family as those who are wealthy, and our children are just like theirs. Yet we must sell our children into slavery just to get enough money to live. We have already sold some of our daughters, and we are helpless to do anything about it, for our fields and vineyards are already mortgaged to others.” 6 When I heard their complaints, I was very angry. 7 After thinking it over, I spoke out against these nobles and officials. I told them, “You are hurting your own relatives by charging interest when they borrow money!” Then I called a public meeting to deal with the problem. In the last week two different Christians whom I greatly respect have referred to Nehemiah. Yes, we […]

John 10:10 ( NKJV ) The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. We have an alarm system at our house. An intruder has never set it off. We are pretty good about arming it. It’s kind of a pain; but we do it anyway. We have signs around the house that advise potential thieves that we have the alarm system. I suspect the signs are worth as much as the actual system. I am a devoted fan of David Jeremiah (but a follower of Jesus). For the last month he has been promoting his new book, “God Loves You. He always has and he always will.” For a donation of any amount, his ministry will send you a yard sign, wrist bands, and witness cards to support this theme. In a political season in which we are putting up yard signs which might contend with those erected by our neighbors, it seems a great idea to have a campaign to remind ourselves and others that God first voted for us. My yard sign and kit came […]

Last night, as so often happens with a Good God, I got just what I needed. I spent time listening the members of the Massai channel Jesus. I don’t want that to sound too new age; but it best describes what I saw. Joy like that only comes from Jesus. It doesn’t come from possessions or accomplishments. As one of these tribesmen told us last night, America needs Jesus.You can come away with many different things from an event like this. I came away with this: There is evil in the world. There is good in the world. The only real good comes through Jesus and that’s the Good News. Why have we made the gospel so complicated? Typically these Christians would introduce themselves with their names and the phrase, “I’m saved.” Is anything else of eternal significance. If you can get saved in Massai Land. You can get saved where you are.If you missed last nights service, bad on you. But God is a God of second chances. These brothers and sisters will be with us for a while. Catch them somewhere. I suggest Pamoja Bonfire, Sun, September 30, 7pm – 9pm, at Harvest TIme in Abbeville. It’s near the […]

Last night my wife and I gathered with some old friends. It was great as we remembered the past, caught each other up on our lives and enjoyed powerful prayer together. It seems inevitable when “old” friends gather that comparisons will be made between the lives we have lived and the lives being lived around us.  I am sure that each generation has struggled with the changes they see in the world as they move through life. I am not just talking about technology or politics or sociology. It seems that today there is a different concept of the purpose of life and the place of God in that life. The gathered group last night shared life histories that included one marriage partner who was your first and only romantic love. The group shared concepts about what is right and what is not and a disconnect with younger loved ones whose concepts and life experiences are already so different.  There is a tendency to believe that God changes as we change or if He doesn’t He must be dead or never was. I can’t help but wonder what God thinks about all this. I am as convinced of His […]