Nick’s Walk

Psalm 150 English Standard Version (ESV) Let Everything Praise the Lord 150 sanctuary;    praise him in mighty deeds;    praise him according to his excellent trumpet sound;    praise him with harp! 4  Praise him with dance;     praise him with pipe!5 Praise him with sounding everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! This week lots of our kids and kids from outside the church “Got Their Praise On.” This happened because some volunteers were willing to give a week of their time and (as this photo demonstrates) a considerable amount of their dignity to the cause.  As a result kids had fun and learned a bit more about Jesus. Some of them took this enthusiasm and knowledge back to homes that really need it. For the past weeks we’ve been talking about being followers instead of just fans. This week some folks we all know did that. We’ve talked about being radical. These folks did that as well. And, as a result, some kids and their families are better for it. So when you head to church this morning, leave some of those inhibitions at home and be a follower, get a little radical, and be willing to “Get Your Praise On.” You know you want to and we know you need […]

Only our heavenly Father is perfect and relationships are complicated. So most of them could use a bit more honesty and a lot of forgiveness.  If you were to believe Father’s Day cards and the things we say on Father’s Day you would think there were a ton of perfect fathers out there. We know better. We would do ourselves some good if we would bring some honesty into our observance of Father’s Day. For most of us our dads did the best they knew, but what they knew wasn’t nearly enough. Most of us carry some scars and have issues with our dads. For some of us, there was no present dad or we would have been better off if he had been out of the picture. But as we get older it’s just not cool to tell it like it is. I don’t recognize the guy my daughter describes as the father she remembers from her childhood, thank God.  Built up resentments and hurts don’t help anyone. So, first of all, let’s be honest. Dad could have done better. But let’s also remember that only the Heavenly Father is perfect. So how about a little forgiveness. Dad […]

Tell me, when did feminine gifts become synonymous with Christian goodness? Early Christians were known for risk taking, power, aggression, and heroic sacrifice. But somewhere in church history, somebody monkeyed with the definition of a Christian! Today, a good Christian is known mostly for meekness, sensitivity, passivity, and sweetness. This standard of Christian behavior is very tough on men (even those who are sold out to Jesus) while it’s easier for women to achieve. Men have gotten this message: you’re flawed the way God made you. You need an extreme makeover. (You need to be more like a woman.) And we wonder why men hate going to church. Why Men Hate Going to Church, David Murrow With Father’s Day on Sunday and a Men’s Meeting at church tonight it seemed a good time to consider why it’s so hard to get men to connect with church.  Here are some reasons why most men do NOT connect with church. Men are not challenged at church. Challenge is the love language of men. Men thrive on challenges. Men want to save the world, defeat the enemy and kill the dragon. Most church messages are focused on relationships and love, things men need […]

Recently I blogged about Christian maturity. I think I made some good points, but I also missed some. I read an article recently about 10 things I wish I had known when I was 21.  I thought that was a rather catchy title. But once I read the list I realized that it included things I still haven’t learned at 63. Maybe a better title would be 10 THINGS I WISH I HAD LEARNED BY NOW. With my alternations here they are: 1. Everyone needs to be healed from something. It seems none of us gets full grown without some damage. We could all use a little healing from the scars of growing up.  2. Mercy is greater than justice. Isn’t it time we stop looking for justice for the bad guys and mercy for us. Said another way, isn’t it time we realized, “I looked for the bad guy and found him in my mirror.  3. Kindness is better than being right.  Like Yogi I’ve always considered myself “smarter than the average bear.” It’s no good to be smarter. Folks don’t care what you know ’til they know you care. You’ve heard that one for years, so how come you haven’t […]

1 Thessalonians 5:11 English Standard Version (ESV) 11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. When my dad was alive I used to take him to all the UL basketball games. I love UL basketball. Dad loved watching the cheerleaders. I admit I too would watch them from time to time. The truth is I find cheerleaders a bit irritating. All that smiling and perkiness is a bit much. I admit I wouldn’t make a very good cheerleader. I don’t have the figure for it.  I’m the kind of fan who says “We won” when my team wins and “They lost” when my team doesn’t. Cheerleaders aren’t like that. They keep on jumping around and getting excited when their team, down by forty points, makes a lousy first down. While I admit I’m not a very good cheerleader. I have to say I desperately could use a couple. I would like someone to be excited about everything I do. I would like to see a smiling face and hear an encouraging word even when I am not setting the world on fire.  I think we Americans are so competitive that we find it hard […]

Ephesians 4:14-16 (New Living Translation) 14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. While looking at Facebook yesterday, yes I “facebook” I saw a picture of an old friend I haven’t seen in years. Man did he look old. It dawned on me that I am now 63 years old. It’s time for me to be mature. Maybe too mature to be spending time on Facebook. When will we finally be no longer “immature like children.”   When we are no longer chasing after new fad teachings! The older I get the better the unvarnished word of God sounds, the more I can […]

Perhaps the most important practice in becoming a radical Christian, in moving from fan to follower, is not covered in any of the books on the subject. It is the radical practice of silence. The most frequent complaint of Christians may be that they don’t hear from God. The most frequent reason is that they never stop talking. Particularly in the West, we have an abhorrence to silence. The first thing we do when we wake up is turn on the TV. As soon as we get into our vehicles, our hands move to the radio on button. How often is there silence even in a church service? Silence makes us nervous. It’s creepy. But how can we expect to hear from God if we never listen? How can we listen if we never practice silence? Radical silence is really just a part of prayer. It’s the part where we finally stop talking and start listening. It’s where we get the answer to our prayers that we complain we never get. It’s where we get so much more.  Try driving without the radio. Try taking a walk without the earphones. Try sitting quietly in a room and just listening. First, ask […]

Experiment: for the next year: pray for the entire world; read through the entire Word; sacrifice your money for a specific purpose; spend your time in another context; commit your life to a multiplying community. Platt, David (2010-04-17). Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream (p. 185). Random House, Inc.. Kindle Edition.  We’ve talked about being radical. We’ve looked at being a follower instead of a fan. It’s time to stop thinking and talking. It’s time to start doing. Where do we start? 1. We could give away all we have and move to a foreign mission field. This would certainly be radical. But maybe we don’t have to start that dramatically. But we do have to start. 2. Pray for the entire world. To be radical we have to change our perspective. We need to have a world view. There is no better way to get a new perspective than to begin to pray for the entire world. This may seem impossible or overwhelming, but there are ways to do this. Check out this website as a great place to start: http://www.operationworld.org/. I will help out here. Every day I will be forwarding a prayer reminder for […]