Nick’s Walk

Jeremiah 17:7-8 New Living Translation (NLT) 7 “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord    and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.8 They are like trees planted along a riverbank,    with roots that reach deep into the water.Such trees are not bothered by the heat    or worried by long months of drought.Their leaves stay green,    and they never stop producing fruit. A few years ago I planted a scrawny little tree in our back yard. I planted it in an area that sometimes floods and sometimes is dry for weeks. We had a tree “expert” on the property a few weeks later who advised that the little tree would never make it. We should just pull it up. I had faith in the little tree and today it’s doing great. You see I planted it a few feet from a ditch that is always full of water. It’s not as picturesque as a riverbank, but the same principle applies.  It’s important that we associate with wise and experienced people. It’s a good thing to have a great teacher as a pastor. We should seek out the best teachers from among the many choices we have. We should read good material and associate with strong Christians. […]

Matthew 14:22-33 New International Version (NIV) Jesus Walks on the Water 22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. they said, and cried out in fear. 27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! 28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” 29 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,”

No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him… I Corinthians 2:9 How’s your day going? No matter how badly or how well, it’s going to get better. At the end of the road lies heaven; where everything lasts forever, where love fills every heart, where praise never stops, where pain never enters. This is not all there is. The great things in this life are just a taste of what God has prepared for those who love Him. We need to keep our focus on heaven while our feet are firmly planted in the lives we are living. Be encouraged and be blessed. Nick

I haven’t posted on  my blog in several days. I’ve been busy. But the real reason is that I haven’t had anything to say. I have been observing. People are easily distracted. They are bombarded with information and if you want to be heard, you better have something worth saying and you better just say it.  Maybe these thoughts are birthed in two weeks of watching political conventions. After a few hours of that I just want to scream, “Just tell us the simple truth.” “What’s really important? What are you trying to say?”  I was in a restaurant last night with my wife, grand daughter and her boyfriend. I noticed that within minutes of getting seated out came the smart phones. Not just at our table but throughout the restaurant. We’ve got cable TV, high speed Internet, instant messaging, smartphones, video games, Facebook, Twitter, and satellite radio with 150 channels. We live in an age of communication overload. Yet we don’t seem to get the point. We don’t give even those we love much chance to reach us. Because we are easily distracted, if we are to make a point, even with those we love, we better get to […]

Genesis 2:15 15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. Proverbs 24:30-34 30 I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense, 31 and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns; the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down. 32 Then I saw and considered it; I looked and received instruction. 33 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, 34 and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man. Colossians 3:23 23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, Labor Day is an American federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September (September 3 in 2012) that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers. Labor Day pays tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers. It also symbolizes the end of summer for many Americans, and is celebrated with parties, parades and athletic events. Wikipedia Yesterday about 4 in the afternoon it clouded up a bit and seemed (at least from my air conditioned living room) that it had cooled a bit outside. I donned […]

1 Timothy 3 1-7If anyone wants to provide leadership in the church, good! But there are preconditions: A leader must be well-thought-of, committed to his wife, cool and collected, accessible, and hospitable. He must know what he’s talking about, not be overfond of wine, not pushy but gentle, not thin-skinned, not money-hungry. He must handle his own affairs well, attentive to his own children and having their respect. For if someone is unable to handle his own affairs, how can he take care of God’s church? He must not be a new believer, lest the position go to his head and the Devil trip him up. Outsiders must think well of him, or else the Devil will figure out a way to lure him into his trap. I love the plain speaking style of The Message. If anyone wants to provide leadership then GOOD. We need leaders. Note not just A leader but leaders. Perhaps as we consider the qualifications of those who would be leader, we should consider ourselves. Are we willing to lead or just take shots at the leaders? If we would lead, do we qualify? As we consider the qualifications of 1 Timothy perhaps what […]

It’s been an interesting week. I’ve combined storm watching with convention watching. It’s hard to decide what was scarier. We have a strange way of selecting leaders in this country. We say anyone can grow up to be President and, I guess, theoretically that’s true. You would hope in a country of this many  million people that the “best” candidate would, like cream, rise to the top. The best man for the job, it would seem, should be obvious.  Watching this weeks Republican convention and the responses to it demonstrated how deeply flawed the system is. Roughly half of America thinks Mr. Romney should take over and roughly half believe President Obama should keep his job. Each half thinks the other half has lost its collective mind. A handful of folks who aren’t sure and who probably don’t care as much as the rest of us will make the decision.  It’s the tyranny of the undecided and uncommitted. We Christians will hang on to the hope that God is in control and He is guiding the whole process. Looking at the process makes that a real stretch of faith. I am living through this process on a smaller scale […]

Yesterday I took Nicky and Sammie to the movies so their mother and grandmother could shop. It was a foolish move in so many ways. Why should I make it easier for those ladies to spend money? To make it worse I took the kids to the movie they wanted to see, ParaNorman. In ParaNorman, a small town comes under siege by zombies. Who can it call? Only misunderstood local boy Norman , who is able to speak with the dead. In addition to the zombies, he’ll have to take on ghosts, witches and, worst of all, moronic grown-ups, to save his town from a centuries-old curse. But this young ghoul whisperer may find his paranormal activities pushed to their otherworldly limits. Maybe this was not my finest moment as a Christian grandparent. I’m glad I was with them. Before you take little ones consider this review from a Christian perspective. I’m glad I took them because I know kids think about death, especially kids who have lost a parent or someone else close. ParaNorman presents the world view about death which is that the best you can hope for after this life is a peaceful sleep. You don’t want […]