Nick’s Walk

I read a thought-provoking article this week, “The Ridiculous Emphasis Christians Place on the Bible.” Take a deep breath before grabbing the torches and pitchforks. I think the article was intentionally provocative, but made some good points:     We didn’t have the New Testament in its complete form until 367 A.D., when Bishop Athanasius of Alexandria listed all 27 books of the New Testament for the first time. That’s over 300 years of a church without a bible. A period in which the church took over the known world. 100 years after Jesus left, some churches had copies of the collected letters of Paul and a gospel or two, but that’s it. Many had collections with books of debated authenticity that were later ferreted out. No-one owned their own copy of the Bible for personal “Bible study” unless they were wealthy enough to pay the real cost to have it transcribed (see Luke 1:3-4). With the high rate of illiteracy, having a personal copy of the Bible would have been useless anyway. Most Christians wouldn’t have been able to read it. The period of the church’s greatest growth and expansion (33–mid 300’s A.D.) occurred during the time when there wasn’t (1) […]

There seems to be a lot of confusion about “sin” these days. You would expect that out in “the world” but there seems to be just as much confusion in the church. What’s that all about? What is sin? I have heard it said that sin is “missing the mark.” I guess that’s pretty good. I like to think of it as doing something that hurts yourself or others or failing to do something that helps yourself or others. I don’t think God just made up an arbitrary list of do’s and don’ts just to test us. I think He loves us and knows what is best for us. It seems even in “modern” times we are learning that a lot of the seemingly arbitrary rules of the old testament, like rules about food, are pretty good nutrition advice.  Sadly, I have learned that we don’t always know what’s good for us. Some folks just stick with the do’s and don’ts as recorded in scripture. That would seem to be pretty wise, but we seem to think that “times change” and that, therefore, the rules change. Most people I know aren’t smarter than God and it seems to me what […]

Not a great fan of Father’s Day. It seems wrong to guilt kids into honoring their fathers on a certain day each year. They either appreciate their dad or they don’t. The older we get the greater our appreciation. My own dad died several years ago. He did a better job of raising nine kids than I was aware of at the time. My daughter has grown into a fine woman and there is little I can do now to help her any further. My son died early several years ago, never having found his path.  There are guilty memories there that can’t be altered. I try to make up for those with his son. It helps. When you get to my age your fathering has pretty much ended. You may be occasionally asked for advice but the world has changed so much you feel pretty inadequate to give any really helpful guidance. About all you can offer is a patient listen and a hug. As to grand and great grandkids, you have neither responsibility nor authority. You hold your breath as they take steps you are pretty sure aren’t right that turn out to be fine. My descendants […]

Putin was hold up in a fancy New York hotel. I was part of a team sent to ask him questions. My senior pastor was the team leader. I was  Putin’s counsel. He was reluctant to speak at first. Then he gave some smarty-pants answers to the questions. Finally, he took my legal advice not to answer any questions and shut up. Then I woke up. Yes, it was a dream, a dream I had last night. It was one of those vivid dreams that require a few moments of stark reality before you can understand that it was just a dream. It’s always been fascinating to try to explain my dreams based on what’s going on in my life. This wasn’t too tough. These days there are people with no moral or legal authority conducting way too many “investigations.” Putin and the Russians have become part of our national psyche in a more pervasive way than they ever dreamed.  He’s moved into our heads (like he moved into a New York hotel in my dream.) It seems many of us are having trouble separating the real from dreams. Lots of folks dreamed of the first woman president and […]

If you put a buzzard in a pen that is 6 feet by 8 feet and is entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of its ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner. The reason is that a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a run of 10 to 12 feet. Without space to run, as is its habit, it will not even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner for life in a small jail with no top. The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a remarkable nimble creature in the air, cannot take off from a level place. If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about helplessly and, no doubt, painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw itself into the air. Then, at once, it takes off like a flash. A bumblebee, if dropped into an open tumbler, will be there until it dies, unless it is taken out. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom. It will seek a […]

I’m a big fan of obstruction of justice. In fact, I am a beneficiary of obstruction of justice. I have done things for which I deserve eternal damnation. Where it not for obstruction of justice, I would be spending eternity in hell. I am thankful beyond belief that Jesus has obstructed the justice I deserve. By his death and resurrection and my faith in Him, I not only escape the penalty of hell but receive the glorious benefit of life eternal with Him. It’s so easy to fall into the trap of thinking I deserve good things instead of the justice I, in fact, deserve. It’s easy to complain when it rains for several days when others have bigger houses, nicer vacations or faster cars. I have, and will forever have, so much more than I deserve. In addition to providing me with much more than I deserve for eternity, God gives me glimpses of His glory now, that I don’t deserve. I see snatches of his beauty in the world in which He has placed me. Rainy weeks are followed by days of glorious beauty. He has hinted at his great love in the hugs of kids and […]

Radicals have gotten a bad name. The Muslim radical terrorists are mostly responsible for this. Their murdering of innocents in the name of Allah is headline-garnering stuff. It’s made it easy to say that radicalism is bad and moderation is the way to go. It fits in with our general feeling that “moderation in all things” is best.  Moderation is clearly the way to go in eating, drinking, exercise, and maybe in politics. Moderation is politically and socially correct. Moderation leaves room for other things. There is just no place for moderation in following Jesus. Jesus was a radical. So are his true followers. The words in red in Scripture call for a radical faith and following. The life of Jesus was in no way moderate; in every way radical. Lukewarmness calls for vomiting. Divided loyalties are condemned. There is no room for Sabbath only religion. The tithe concept that ten percent is God’s is replaced by everything is His.  Jesus radically died, not in a destructive suicide, but in a life-giving sacrifice. Jesus’ radicalism is far different from Muslim radicalism. It’s mind-blowing that anyone would give their lives to a philosophy of hate and death. It’s incredible that […]

For centuries now, Christianity has been centered on Sunday. In fact, now it seems it’s all about Sunday. I am not really interested in how that happened historically. I am concerned that it has happened.   Following Jesus isn’t about what happens on Sunday. It’s not about getting dressed up, dragging the family out of bed, listening to a sermon, singing a few songs and dropping something in the basket. It can’t be about lying to people that you don’t really know that well, how wonderful (blessed) your life is. I don’t see anything in scripture that dictates or justifies any of that.  I have had the opportunity recently to experience Sunday in several churches. Most of them do Sundays really well. The experiences are uplifting and encouraging. They are just not all that much about following Jesus. In some churches, the focus is on the singing and worship, most others are all about the pastor’s sermon. In fact, in most churches, it’s really all about the Pastor. Pastor Francis Chan, after leading one of the most “successful” churches in America for 14 years, walked away after realizing that he was hearing his name more than that of Jesus […]