Nick’s Walk

[33] “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.[34] “Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.[35] “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart* brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.[36] “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.[37] “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12 NKJV   I am often shocked at what comes out of my mouth. I’d like to believe in the concept of “slip of the tongue” the idea that some things we say come from . . . well, nowhere. But that’s not what Jesus said. He taught that the heart and mouth are connected. Our words reveal our hearts.  We normally control what comes out of our mouths, pretty words  that aren’t really us.  You know how it is. […]

“But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one. Matthew 5:37 NKJV  Communication is tough but we make it harder than it needs to be. We can’t seem to just say what we mean. Sometimes it’s political correctness that muddles our speech, but mostly it’s just cowardness that keeps us from saying what we mean.  We do great damage to our relationships for fear of hurt feelings. Sadly, we have no problems telling others what we would not say directly to the one involved.   Trust is necessary to avoid these problems. If we really trust someone, we have no fear of losing their friendship or love if we are honest with them. In fact, complete honesty builds trust and strengthens relationship.  But trust is extremely fragile.  Years of honest communication and the trust established can be lost in an instant. A lie will do it obviously. But even a little less than a lie can hurt. We don’t think of flattery as a lie, but it is and it can kill trust. So can a broken promise. It doesn’t help that we had every intention of […]

There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, but the tongue of the wise promotes health. Proverbs 12:18  One out of our young people say they have never had a meaningful conversation with their father. That’s just one of many alarming statistics that could be cited. When it comes to communication most of us stink. We all “know” that communication is vital to any relationship.  We just can’t seem to accomplish it.  It seems easy enough. We can be sailing along in conversation and one wrong word slips out and suddenly we are at war. It is so frustrating, many give up on it and stop trying altogether. And without the fuel of communication, relationships wither and die.  The thing I remember most about my first date with Rosemary was how easily we talked. It may surprise you to know I wasn’t much of a ladies man. I had no experience talking up the ladies. So it was shocking how easily the words flow. We both knew from that first encounter that we were meant for each other.  We can give up on communication. It’s too important.  Have to acknowledge that it’s not easy but worth […]

 16 We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? 1 John 3:16-17 NLT If we want to be successful in love, we have to be willing to sacrifice. We need to live each moment of each day by the motto “It’s not about me.” This is radical thinking because the prevailing modern attitude is that it’s all about me.  There’s proof everywhere we look: our divorce rate, our crime rate, the state of our country.  All scream, “It’s all about me.” A selfish attitude is a guarantee of a life of misery. The biggest smiles on Christmas morning are on the faces of those who have learned that lesson.  Real joy comes in putting others first.  It’s the miracle of sacrifice.  Is John telling us we need to give our lives like Jesus did because of the need of others, or because it’s the secret to joyous living? I think in some strange twist it […]

 7 Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory. Romans 15:7 NLT We seem to have a natural aversion to anything, or anyone, different. This makes our lives very boring. If we live only with those that are like us we may be more comfortable, but we are a lot less challenged and stimulated.  We also have a problem separating the sin and the sinner. Often when we refuse to accept others, we claim it’s because of their sin. But all sin, why do we refuse to accept certain sinners. Sometimes this arises from our own experience. If we specialized in a certain sin before Christ, we are often intolerant of those who suffer from that vice after we are freed from it. There is nothing worse than an ex-anything.  Sometimes we avoid certain classes of sinners, because we are sorely tempted in the areas in which they err. Who can forget the famous preacher who hollered about sexual sins by day while prowling prostitute infected motels at night.  We are called to hate the sin and love the sinner. We could all do a better job of that.  Nick

If we’re going to enjoy loving relationships, we have to learn to forgive. Hurt follows relationship like night follows day. We can’t deeply connect with another without hurt. In fact, the closer the relationship, the deeper the hurt. But forgiveness seems so hard.  Maybe it will help to remember what forgiveness isn’t. Forgiveness isn’t forgetting. When we confess our sins, God forgives and forgets. In case you’re confused, let me set you straight. You’re not God. Don’t expect to have His qualities. Pray that He will help you forget. But forgiveness is a decision that doesn’t automatically promise forgetfulness.  Forgiveness isn’t a return of trust. Just because we have forgiven, doesn’t mean we immediately can trust, or that we should. We are often hurt because we were unwise about whom we chose to trust. Forgiveness doesn’t mean we have to be stupid once again. A key to successful relationships is not just learning to trust, but learning whom to trust.  Forgiveness includes self. Self is involved in forgiveness in two important ways. First, it’s all about self. We don’t forgive to help the offending person. They are likely unhurt and often unaware of our unforgiveness.  We forgive because He commands […]

1 We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. 2 This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy.5 This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. 6 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. 7 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us […]

We are called to live a Christian life.  It’s all about relationship, vertical, with our God, and horizontal, with mankind. If we are to spread the gospel, we  need to talk less and live more. This life requires that we make vital decisions: to know, to sacrifice, to accept and to forgive.  The decision to know. We can’t really claim to be in relationship unless we know the object of our relationship. In scripture this is often referred to as fellowship. We can’t know others until we first know God. “But if we are living in the light of God’s presence, just as Christ is, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin.” 1 John 1:7. Real fellowship begins with life in Christ. More about this tomorrow.  Spend some time in 1 John today and begin to meditate on it.  The decision to sacrifice.  Any relationship that doesn’t begin with the idea that I am going to give something is doomed. Too many relationships begin with the idea, how great this is for me.  We must decide we are going to give.  The decision to accept. This one […]