Nick’s Walk

I greatly enjoy spending time at Angola. The fellowship, prayer and praise and worship are always great. But at a real personal level I am lifted up because I come away with a sense of thanksgiving. I get a new perspective on just how blessed I am. I’m not spending the rest of my life in prison. Pretty much any little wrinkles in my life seem pretty smooth when compared to that life story.  But there is more to it than that. Most of these guys are not satisfied with their life story. Some are middle aged guys who have been in prison since they were teens and will die there. That would seem to be a life story written and completed. Yet these men recognize that with Jesus we are new men with new beginnings and a new story.  Some of us don’t get the full benefit of salvation because we view it as simply assurance of heaven one day and don’t learn that with Jesus comes a new life story now. Before we get too far along in life we settle into a story of our lives. We have parents we’ve come from, education we’ve had or […]

A big day today. I will spend four hours in a crowded vehicle travelling on what will apparently be storm soaked roads. I will be locked up for hours with convicted murderers, sex offenders and drug dealers.  I will have a lunch of take out pizza. It will be dark when I leave home and probably dark when I get back.  Those who know me can attest I am no super Christian or martyr. Those who know the guys who I will be with all day know they aren’t particularly special or cool or even great to be around. I enjoy preaching and teaching. I won’t get to do that today. My assignment is to read a long passage word for word without an original thought of my own.  Yet, I have looked forward to this day for weeks and I am sure it will be the highlight of a four day weekend. I can’t completely explain it.  I am particularly at a loss to explain it to anyone who has never done ministry. By ministry I mean working with other Christians of different denominations, colors and backgrounds on a job for Jesus.  That’s the source of the joy that will come from […]

In a 2001 Census in Britian over 70% of those completing the form marked the box “Christian.” In the United States I would bet the percentage would be even higher. But when you looked further,  you have to wonder what “Christian” meant to those completing the form. 65% of ‘census Christians’ said they were not religious Only 6% of ‘census Christians’ had attended a church in the last week Only 48% of ‘census Christians’ believed Jesus was a real person who was the son of god, died and came back to life. Only 30% of ‘census Christians’ say they have strong religious beliefs 60% of ‘census Christians’ have not read the Bible from choice in the last year Only 10% of ‘census Christians’ say they seek most guidance on questions of right and wrong from religious teachings or beliefs, with over 50% preferring to draw upon their own inner moral sense Only 28% of ‘census Christians’ say that it is a belief in the teachings of Christianity which makes them tick the Christian box, with over 72% saying it is because they were christened and 38% because it was their parents’ religion. I hope I’m not a judgmental person. […]

For several days my daughter-in-law, Martha, was struggling with her phone. It just wasn’t working right. I took it in and found out it had water damage. (Bet there’s a good story there.)  The good news: she was eligible for an upgrade. She now has a newer model of her old phone and is communicating  with better efficiency than ever. Sometimes I feel like I need a spiritual upgrade. The old “equipment” I have been using just is providing the same level of communication with my Lord that I would like. I may have suffered some “water” damage. Maybe I need to sharpen my word study skills or just spend more time in the word. Maybe I can’t remember the last time I prayed “in the spirit.” Maybe a need some time alone. Maybe it’s a little time in ministry I could use. Maybe a more dramatic upgrade is needed. Am I in the right communion of saints. That sounds more impressive than it is. I just mean maybe I’m not fellow shipping with the right folks.  I just need a change. Maybe I need a new mentor or someone new to mentor. We should never assume that we are completely […]

It seemed every area of Albertson’s was given over to flowers yesterday morning. There was a Valentine’s Day panic on. I picked up my ten year old grandson and he was embarrassed that he had forgotten it was Valentine’s Day. He had put together a little box of trinkets to give to me. It was precious. My three year old great grandchild came home with an armful of Valentine’s Day stuff. Rose and I waited for an hour for a table at one of our favorite restaurants to celebrate the event. Maybe it’s just me but there was a sense of obligation or duty in the whole thing. There seemed to be a concern that no one be left out from three year’s old and up.  I had a feeling that if I failed to give a valentine to someone, it meant I didn’t love them. It brought back memories of elementary school when your parents bought a box of little valentines and instructed you to make sure everyone got one.  I have the sense that we live in a world that is desperate to love and be loved and yet doesn’t understand true love anymore. In case you […]

So if our Christianity is not determined by our “religion” what, then is a Christian? My favorite definition is that a Christian is a Follower of Christ. I like the term “Follower” for several reasons. First, we are all following something. We can call it the world or sin or fashion or some one or some thing. When we become a Christian we change direction. We stop following what we have been following and follow Christ. That’s where the term “repentance” comes from. We turn away from what we have had our faith in and put our faith in Jesus. Following is an act of faith. We determine that the one we are following knows where we need to go and can take us there. Following is a full time job. Consider life as a deep forest. If we take our eyes off of Jesus for just a second, before we know it we have lost our way. A Follower of Christ has his eyes on Jesus full time, all the time. Following is a step by step process. We follow one step at a time. We don’t worry about where we are headed or where we have been. […]

This video has gone viral. As of yesterday it has 18,765,830 hits. Not everyone loves it. It has 309,971 likes and 47,389 dislikes.  I decided it was time to check it out. I don’t disagree with a word of it. In fact, you can find the lyrics here. I’m not a fan of rap and I think this “white rap” is just silly. But it’s hard to argue with the words. Jesus didn’t come to establish a religion. Religion has started wars. Religion doesn’t equal Christianity.  I’m reminded of Keith Green a Christian radical from years ago who once said, “Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than going to MacDonald’s makes you a hamburger.” So why has this video become so popular and why so controversial? I think it shows the dissatisfaction of much of this generation with religion and with what passes for the church. So for those who have turned away from “church” it provides a justification. For those of us who live in “church” it provides some discomfort. Now clearly many in the church are really Christian and churches do great works. But too many identify their salvation with their church. They […]

In the early morning hours I often sift through the news apps on my IPad looking for inspiration for this blog. This morning it seems I was staring in the face of atheism and it wasn’t pretty. There seem to be article after article about atheists or written from an atheist’s point of view. It was depressing. Perhaps I am prejudiced by my first introduction to atheists. While a clerk for Judge Tom Clark on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, we had a case in which Madelyn Murray O’Hare was a party. She showed up with a party of her atheist buddies. They were not an impressive lot. The one word that best described the group was “unhappy.” Ms. O’Hare had an engaging enough personality, but she seemed so angry. As did all of her buddies. Maybe it was that history that worked my mind this  morning as I perused the atheist articles. There was one which was topped with a photo of an attractive woman smiling and holding a sign which read “Be happy. There is no hell.” To me the smile seemed pretty shallow. Maybe because I realized that if the woman was right and that […]