Nick’s Walk

“Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?” Matthew 6:30 As Christians, we should never be stressed. But we are. Consider that  the basis of stress is a concern that we will be lacking something we think we need. As Christians, Jesus is all we need. Our problem is that we upgrade our wants to the level of needs. But for us only one thing is important – Jesus and His righteousness.  When you feel the stress moving in, stop and consider. What is it that you think you need that you fear you won’t have? Identifying the cause of your stress allows you to realize that you’re stressing over something that doesn’t deserve it. For in Him, we have all we need.  He has alway been faithful. He will always be faithful.  Stress? What stress? Don’t stress. Be blessed. Nick

I write this as the finals of the NCAA Basketball tournament is on television. The tournament has become so popular we now know it as “March Madness.” Did you know that basketball began as a Christian outreach?  The inventor of basketball,  James Naismith wanted a more effective way to win men for Christ. In 1891, there weren’t a lot of good indoor games. Naismith set out to invent a new indoor game that students could play during winter. He came up with basketball. Basketball served as an important evangelical tool during the next 50 years.  In 1941, Naismith wrote that “whenever I witness games in a church league, I feel that my vision, almost half a century ago, of the time when the Christian people would recognize the true value of athletics, has become a reality.” The next time you’re watching a basketball game with friends, particularly young ones, why not use the history of the game as an opportunity to turn the conversation to spiritual matters.  We could be doing a lot better with our young who are leaving the church and rejecting the faith of their fathers in alarming numbers. We need to be more creative and energetic in sharing […]

Titus 2:11-14 (New King James Version)11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. I took on the subject of abuses of Grace at our Sunday night session tonight and did a really poor job of it. To those who were there, I apologize and ask you to consider what I say here. To those who were not there, and, thankfully,  many more of you missed the session than attended, please consider this. God’s grace is unmerited favor. It’s something we don’t deserve. It comes in two potent forms: Forgiveness of sin and the power to live without sin. We need to proclaim  that in Jesus there is forgiveness of sin and the ability to live as His disciples.   We owe a lost world the truth: that they are living in sin which condemns them, that in faith in […]

There is a tendency to confuse God and the church. For the non-believer, this provides an opportunity to reject God based on the imperfections in His church.  A believer may turn away from God having been hurt by His human church.  God is good. All the time. The church is not always good. The church, albeit the body of Christ, is still made up of human beings – redeemed to be sure, but still sinners. As a preacher from New Orleans puts it, “Sinners gonna sin; you gotta expect that.” How does this play out in our lives? We must put our faith in God. We should testify how God has saved us and is sanctifying us. We often err in putting faith in man or it believing that our goal as Christians is to get the unbeliever into church. Our goal is to lift up Christ and have Him draw men unto Him. This does not diminish the importance of the church and our need, as Christians, to be a part of it. It is in and through the Church that we live out our call to “make disciples.” It is where we love so that all may […]

Acts 10:43—”Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.” Forgiveness, we all need to receive it and to extend it. Guilt is the cause of sleepless nights and filled psycho wards. Our recent tendency to deny the concept of sin confuses the guilt issue. For modern man guilt is often generalized and vague. There is a “feeling” of guilt but nothing to specifically pin it on, having denied the existence of sin. But relating to another the recognition of sin is tough. To say “all have sinned” is biblical truth but not specific enough to explain individual guilt. To say “you are a sinner” means little to a world who doesn’t understand the word. I believe the answer lies in our personal testimony. Anyone can relate to a story which says, “I was eaten up with guilt until I realized it was based on my having offended God. And the good news that there was forgiveness for that offense in faith in Jesus released me from that guilt.” We also need to be honest and confess that our failure to forgive others has produced pain, maybe in […]

Today is April Fool’s Day. It is said this day dates back to 1392 in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.  There is a web site which lists the top 100 April Fool’s Day hoaxes.  The photo comes from the number 1 hoax: 1957: The respected BBC news show Panorama announced that thanks to a very mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop. It accompanied this announcement with footage of Swiss peasants pulling strands of spaghetti down from trees. Huge numbers of viewers were taken in. Many called the BBC wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti tree. To this the BBC diplomatically replied, “place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best.” It’s amazing what folks will fall for. It’s even more amazing the truth that they won’t believe: That God loved them so much that He sent his only son to die for them so that whosoever believes in Him might be saved. Try that one on some folks and they will look at your like it’s an April Fool story. But do it anyway; it’s what we are called to do. […]

“My voice shalt Thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee, and will look up.” Psalm 5:3  Christianity is not a religion; it’s a relationship. I have heard that for years, but I’m not sure I have understood all the implications of that. I know I am suppose to love Jesus and you cannot love someone that you do not know. And you cannot know someone that you don’t spend quality time with. To know Jesus is to love Him.To love Him is to trust Him.To trust Him is to obey Him.To obey Him is to be blessed. Why the morning for our time with Him? In the morning all things are new. Our energy levels and focus should  be at their peak. Our initial input (in the morning) directs our day. Consider if we begin the day with the newspaper or the morning show or listening to the news channel on our way to work, we have set our attitude for the day and it is based on what’s happening in the world. But what if we begin our day in quiet company with Him, considering His word and […]

“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” Matthew 5:11 Most of us Christians in America are getting the feeling that persecution isn’t far off. We see the signs of the end times. Even believing in the rapture, we know that things will get worse before they get better.  Christ never promises his faithful people an easy road of faith. And if you live for Jesus Christ and stand for him, you will likely suffer, to some extent, for what you believe. If we’re not suffering now, maybe it’s because we are not standing.  If it became a crime to be a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict us? There are lots worse things than being persecuted for Christ. It’s been said many times that the will of God will never lead us where the grace of God cannot keep us. But could we even stand ourselves, if it became clear we were fearful Christians?  It is a great blessing to be persecuted for Christ. If we don’t feel persecuted, maybe we need to be a bit more obvious that we are Christian. […]