Nick’s Walk

” Jesus Christ not only changes what you do; He changes what you want to do.” Ravi Zacharias Although we seem to be living in the beginning of the Great Falling Away prophesized in the Book of Revelation, there has been no decrease in the interest in spirituality. What is it that drives man to the spiritual? Since the Garden of Eden, man has been incomplete. He was created to be in relationship with God. That relationship was broken by his sinful state. Most sane men recognize something is missing. They know that they are not all that they were meant to be. Though they may attempt to fill that emptiness with material things, the failure of those things to ultimately satisfy leaves them hungry for something else and guilty for their foolish attempts to find that something in the wrong places. In almost all of its forms, spirituality seeks to fill that emptiness. Some are attempts to climb up to God. Others are attempts to find God inside. Still others seek to make Man into God. Of all these forms of spirituality, only Christianity works. The modern new spirituality teaches that there are many ways to God. That’s […]

“As sin has gone out of vogue and evil has remained a legitimate category, though limited, religion has gone out of vogue while spirituality remains a valid pursuit.” Zacharias, Ravi (2012-01-25). Why Jesus?: Rediscovering His Truth in an Age of Mass Marketed Spirituality . Hachette Book Group. Kindle Edition.  I love Ravi Zacharias. I believe he is one of the strongest apologists for real Christianity we have today. He’s so smart that he is often difficult to follow. I have been trying to digest his “Why Jesus” for a few weeks. It’s not the kind of work you can ingest in one sitting, but it is full of truth. Here’s my take on the background: I “came of age” in the sixties when “Jesus Freaks” were in. They were basically hippie types who were so anti-establishment that they couldn’t deal with the straight laced church of the 60s. Church people supported the war in Vietnam. They couldn’t go with that. The church people also rejected the “free love” mantra of the hippie culture. The Jesus Freaks knew that Jesus talked about love and they figured He would probably be cool if it were free. While most of us weren’t […]

Sunday I had the pleasure of attending services at Asbury United Methodist Church. I was there to make a pitch for Kairos. The church has been very supportive of Kairos for years so I also took the opportunity to thank everyone for their past support. I have many Methodist friends but I  believe that this was my first chance to be in a Methodist service. In fact, I attended two. I enjoyed them both very much. Although the service was quite different from what I am used to in my non-denominational home church, there were key elements that were the same. Jesus and His Holy Word were at the center. The people showed a love for both. I was well received by friendly loving people. I noticed several acquaintances that I had not realized were Christian before.  As with many churches today, the congregation had more old than young. We all struggle with keeping our youth in the faith. But one young family baptized a member and joined the church, so growth continues. It is so easy to narrow our focus to the small piece of Christianity which is our experience. I will be happy to be with my church […]

Today I would like to try to address concerns expressed by a relatively young Christian who has been attacked. The attack on the human level came in an email which was critical. It called the recipient a “bad Christian” apparently based on incorrect and/or old information. Remember we battle not against flesh and blood. Spiritual forces are at work here. Satan knows that young shoots are the most vulnerable. A gardener knows that very new sprouts need to be protected before being placed in the Garden. Satan knows that the new Christian doesn’t have enough experience to be confident in her relationship with Jesus or be sure of the reality of forgiveness. God puts our past as far from us as the East is from the West. Other Christians…not so much. So how do we respond? First we pray. Before you skip over this step. Think about it this way. When attacked and hurt, isn’t talking to a good friend an excellent response? That’s what prayer is. Spend some time with the Lord and listen for His guidance. One of the subjects of this prayer might be help in separating hurt from truth. An attack can be particularly hurtful […]

Recently I noticed an article “25 Christian Blogs You Should Be Reading.” Of course I read it to see if Nick’s Walk was listed. It wasn’t. It did make me realize how many Christian blogs, devotionals, and other material is available for study. There’s lots of competition out there. It does raise a concern that we may become too focused on secondary sources and spend less time directly with the word. I think most of us are intimidated by scripture to some extent.   To that end I noted another article with some great tips for better bible study.  I have modified them here and hope they help: 1. Study with other Christians. I am often amazed by the things I learn from the most unlikely of fellows. God once spoke through a donkey; don’t minimize the possibility he may speak through a brother.  2. Ask for Holy Spirit guidance and come with an open mind and spirit. We often turned to scripture hoping to justify some position we want to be correct.  3. The goal is not just information but transformation.  4. Transformation comes with knowledge OF Him, not just ABOUT Him. 5. Don’t just get into the […]

I normally blog daily, but sometimes it’s necessary not to  allow a posting to sit out there too long. This is especially true when you are trying to make a point with a bit of dramatics. I became concerned that some folks who didn’t read my earlier posting carefully, and who does, might think I was advocating turning churches into taverns, or only slightly less offensive, a social club. Relax this is not so. My point was that we are fond of saying that Christianity is about relationship. We often refer to the relationship between the believer and Christ. That relationship is the key stone of Christianity. But Jesus talks as much about the relationship between believers. The article I referred to was written by a pastor who spent ten years away from church. He was discussing the factors that brought him back. Being welcomed into a community drew him in, but does not a church make.  In fact, I belonged to a church years ago that was excellent at making folks feel loved and accepted. At first that was the first step and the members were led to relationship with Christ and work toward fulfilling the great commission. […]

I recently read an interesting article by a young person who returned to church after being gone for ten years.  The most fascinating portion of the article for me was a list of things that did NOT influence his decision. They were: I didn’t care that much about the preaching. It didn’t matter to me that there wasn’t an elaborate music program. I was all right with the fact that there weren’t tons of small groups to instantly “plug in” to. In fact, I just wanted to hang out with people I liked, and who cared about me. I didn’t care what denomination the church was a part of. I didn’t care about whether they had doctrines or creeds they all agreed on. I didn’t care if the carpet was nice, the garden was manicured or the bathrooms smelled like lilacs. Take a careful look at that list. Isn’t just about everything that we think draws folks to church listed? Before reading any further, stop and consider why you attend the church that you attend. If you don’t attend or if you attend without much enthusiasm, consider why that is as well. INVITATION: The author of the article indicates […]

2 Timothy 3 1This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 6For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 7Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Are we in the End Times? It seems clear based on this letter to Timothy. How descriptive is this list? Two parts stand out: “having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof” and “every learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” As Christianity becomes less “in” it seems to become more prevalent to be Christian in form only. Church attendance remains relatively high, at least in America. Yet the attendants don’t seem to look to their relationship with Christ as the source of their […]