Nick’s Walk

Today is the first day of school. That’s just not right. School is supposed to begin in September, sometime after Labor Day. It seems the first day of school has been inching earlier for years. I remember when the school board first set the first day of school before Labor Day. Many parents just ignored them and didn’t send their kids until after the Jerry Lewis Telethon. I miss that kind of independence. Of course, it’s not the Jerry Lewis Telethon any more. He’s gotten too old. This year for the first time he won’t be on the show. Why does school need to start so early? Are they teaching our children more than they taught us. I don’t think so. Are they afraid that parents will have too much time with their kids? Okay that sounds like a conspiracy theory.  I remember the start of school as a good thing. I liked getting back with friends. Having clean empty notebooks and new textbooks. The start of school meant football and gumbo weather wasn’t far away. That just isn’t so when school starts in the middle of August. It is important that we get a fresh start on our […]

Knowing Jesus “9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. .” 2 Corinthians 8:9 Last night was the first Saints’ exhibition of the year. Although it really doesn’t count for anything, it was fun to watch, as familiar players mixed with the new guys. Everyone fighting for positions. This morning at breakfast I found myself engaged in deep conversation over the relative merits of the players I had watched the night before. The truth of the matter is that I never played football and have never met a single member of the team. Yet, there I was, expounding on their faults and virtues like I knew them personally. Sadly, that’s how it is for many with Jesus. There are many who have never heard of Him; but there are many more who think they know Him because they know some facts about him.To put it in modern terms, it’s like going to a stranger’s Facebook page and, after having reviewed the “facts” there, conclude that we know that person. In scripture to “know” another implied the […]

This weekend is the Louisiana  Bible Prophesy Conference. It features Dr. Dave Reagan, Dr. Tim LaHaye, Al Gist and Don McGee. It begins tonight 6-9 pm and continues tomorrow 9 to 5 at First Baptist Church of Broussard, 211 South Morgan Street, Broussard. I plan to attend with Rosemary. I have to admit that I am not a Prophesy fanatic. It’s clear that scripture contains an extraordinary number of prophetic passages. I guess my prophesy theology is simple: the Lord is going to return at a time we don’t know. I believe the faithful will be raptured  before the tribulation. But I have to admit that’s based as much on hope as it is on careful scriptural analysis. I also believe that time is very near. There are just too many signs that point to the soon return of Jesus.  I believe we should be aware of the signs of the times and, like the mentally challenged orphans in a recent devotional, we should be smudging our windows looking for His return. But I also believe that we can be so focused on the details of His return that we have no time for the work we should be […]

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18Jack Graham recently shared this story. He heard a man who was the head of a Christian orphanage in Kentucky talk about his charges who are all mentally handicapped. “You know, we have a maintenance problem at the home. We teach these precious children the Bible and they don’t understand a lot of what we’re saying. But we tell them about Jesus and that Christ came to save them. And not only that, but we also tell them that Christ is coming again and when He does, everything’s going to be perfect and they’re going to be perfect. “We’ve got a maintenance problem. And the maintenance problem at our home is the windows! We can’t keep the windows clean because […]

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not My ways.” [This is] the Lord’s declaration. “For as heaven is higher than earth, so My ways are higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”—Isaiah 55:8–9    A few years ago, while working in my wife’s garden, I injured my knee. I try not to let her forget this all started because I was working in her garden…. It was painful for several weeks. I saw an orthopedic surgeon. He did an MRI and diagnosed arthritis and some soft tissue damage. I was not alone with my knee problems, my pastor and one of our best friends had similar problems. I was prayed for and the pain stopped. I had not symptoms and took no medication for several years. In the meantime, my pastor and others I knew had knee replacement surgeries and worked their way back to good health. I could not understand why I received a miracle and others, more spiritual than I, did not. The Lord says, “Your ways are not My ways.”   On my birthday on March 16, I twisted my knee and the old pains returned. I have […]

As Christians we have security in Christ. Because we are His we know we have value and purpose. How should this make us different from those who live without Him? He promises us a full life so consider this:The lost, lacking the security that comes with Christ, have difficulty establishing good, lasting relationships. If someone doesn’t recognize their value, they can’t imagine that they can add value to anyone else’s life. Without the belief in having something to offer another, real relationship isn’t possible. As Christians we should be blessed with good, lasting relationships.. The insecure (the lost) are often viewed as prideful or snobbish. Lack of confidence can cause  withdrawal from others, which can easily be mistaken for an act of arrogance.What often appears as snobbishness is often lack of security. As Christians, we should be humble. We know we have value, but not because of what we’ve done; but because of who He is. The lost are often indecisive and fearful. People can be so consumed with self-doubt that they can’t make any decisions at all. They wonder, What if I make a mistake? They don’t have a standard by which to make decisions. As Christians, we […]

I don’t like August and I don’t like Sunday nights. So Sunday nights in August are a real downer for me. August is just too hot. “Dog Days” (Latin: diēs caniculārēs) are the hottest, most sultry days of summer. In the northern hemisphere, they usually fall between early July and early September, so basically… August. Dog Days can also define a time period or event that is very hot or stagnant, or marked by dull lack of progress. So basically, we are still talking about August. We have trees in our yard that start dropping their leaves in August. It isn’t because of the first chill of fall. I think they just give up from the heat. Talk of football is in the air, but it isn’t football weather yet. I guess these feelings come from my youth when August signaled the end of vacation and the threat of school days ahead. Sunday nights are similar. I suppose the emotions they bring come from the days when I had to go off to the office on Monday morning coupled with the realization that a too short weekend was over. My office has been in my house for years and […]

…but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Romans 5:8-11  I had a colonoscopy a few years ago. When I woke up from the procedure I was given bad news.  They had removed a growth. The doctor told me that it was “the kind we worry about.” He said it would be biopsied and he would call me with the results in a few days. It took over a week and when he called it was good news, It was  not malignant. If someone tells you, you don’t have cancer. It isn’t a big deal unless you’ve had some time to consider that you probably do have that dread disease. The lesson here is that […]