Nick’s Walk

I find myself thinking that God and I are okay, at least on the main points. I have nagging feelings that we are missing each other but not on the big things. “Beware of ever thinking, “Oh, that thing in my life doesn’t matter much.” The fact that it doesn’t matter much to you may mean that it matters a great deal to God. Nothing should be considered a trivial matter by a child of God.” One of our great defense mechanism is “minimization.” Each day we strive to “hit the high points” and “do the important things.” Tragically, when we have time to reflect, we often realized we missed the important things. We confuse the urgent and the important. Don’t you hate in when you are  at a place of business, talking to someone there, and they stop the conversation to pick up the phone. That’s a case of confusing the urgent and the important. The same kind of confusion causes folks to stop what they are doing multiple times a day to “check emails” or to “answer a text.” As the illustration demonstrates, some things are urgent but not important; some are urgent and important; some are […]

“. . . the joy of the Lord is your strength” ( Nehemiah 8:10  ). We spoke yesterday of burdens. Some burdens which we should never carry and others which we carry but should always share. There is another burden. It brings joy and by its very nature it is shared. It is the burden of the presence of God. This burden belongs to the believer and it brings joy when the believer makes a moral decision about sin and the ever-present God can begin His work. “Where do the saints get their joy? If we did not know some Christians well, we might think from just observing them that they have no burdens at all to bear. But we must lift the veil from our eyes. The fact that the peace, light, and joy of God is in them is proof that a burden is there as well. The burden that God places on us squeezes the grapes in our lives and produces the wine, but most of us see only the wine and not the burden. No power on earth or in hell can conquer the Spirit of God living within the human spirit; it creates an inner […]

Cast your burden on the Lord . . . —Psalm 55:22 We should never carry a burden alone. In fact, some burdens we shouldn’t care at all. The burden of sin should never be ours. If it is our past sin that burdens us, we need merely to confess and forget. He does. If it is a current sin or temptation, we need to focus on Him and all else dims. We should never bear a burden of doubt, because there is no doubt. He is who He says He is and will do what He promise He will do. There are some “appropriate” burdens: responsibilities that God gives us, assignments if you will. Even these we are not meant to carry alone. As OC says “God wants us to roll them back on Him— to literally “cast your burden,” which He has given you, “on the Lord . . . .” Perhaps our greatest failings when it comes to burdens, is our failure to share them with our brothers and sisters. The early church had “all things in common.” I think this included more than their material possessions. The sharing of burdens in the modern church is rare. […]

“ knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. .”Romans 6:9-11   Pastor Kerry asked, “What language do you speak?” Is it the language of death or life? My problem is I want to be bilingual. And I think that I can do it. No matter how many times scripture makes it clear that I face a choice; that it is God’s way or the highway. I still think I can have it both ways. I think I can run my own life; I just need a little help from time to time. I think I can handle sin. I can control it; it won’t control me. And when I mess up, God will bail me out. Give it up, Nick. I can have life or death. I can have sin or God. I can live the life I was meant to live […]

If we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection . . . —Romans 6:5   Ever notice the similarities that develop between owners and pets or between couples who have been together for many years? “The proof that I have experienced crucifixion with Jesus is that I have a definite likeness to Him.” As we identify with Christ, our likeness to Him increases. As we are crucified with Christ, and rise with Christ, we become more like Him.  For many, Christianity is only a guarantee of heaven. But “I can have the resurrection life of Jesus here and now, and it will exhibit itself through holiness.” This is not a holiness based on our improved behavior; but it is the holiness of God now resident in us and living out Its will in our lives. The world sees not a better us, but the emergent Christ.  As the Spirit works out life within us, our identity diminishes and only Jesus is seen. This is, of course, completely contrary to nearly everything the world teaches as the path to joy. It teaches individuality. It screams “Be […]

. . . our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin —Romans 6:6 I feel like I need a bumper sticker or, at least, a postcard to put on my refrigerator that reads, “Sin is not my friend.” I know that it sounds silly; but sin is like a persistent “friend” that I can’t seem to get rid of. It seems to have my best interest at heart. It tells me that I can’t have any real fun without it. It shows up when I’m down and says, “Forget it. Let’s have a good time.” It tells me that I’m the most important thing in the world. It assures me that everyone else is wrong and foolish. It tells me how good-looking I am (But I know it’s kidding when it pulls that one.) I tell it to go away; but it assures me that it wouldn’t be a real friend if it left me in my time of need. Most importantly it knows me. It seems to know things about me that no one else does. It knows things that […]

OC is again on the theme of knowing God. God does a faith dance with us. He can not reveal Himself completely to any man. Such a revelation would over power our free will. He wants us to know and love Him, but He must reveal Himself in small layers. As we take steps of faith, he reveals a bit more, we respond with more faith and move closer. OC asks an intriquing question today: “Have you seen Jesus?” My initial reaction is that I have. I have seen Him as He operates through other believers. I have never seen a “vision” of Jesus. I believe this is part of the unveiling process. I have shown the small amount of faith necessary for Him to show Himself acting through His people. As I move closer with more faith, He will show me more.  Part of OC’s discussion today turned a light on for me.”Being saved and seeing Jesus are not the same thing. Many people who have never seen Jesus have received and share in God’s grace. But once you have seen Him, you can never be the same. Other things will not have the appeal they did before.” […]

Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory? —Luke 24:26 This is the best I could come up with in looking for our Pastor with a pained expression on his face. I cropped it from a photo taken in Israel. It’s hard to find a photo of Pastor T doing anything but working or smiling. I wanted something showing close to pain, because he’s had a little of that this week. He had a knee replacement on Monday and the first few days are tough. He’s doing better today and is looking to go home. During this time of discomfort he was not focused on the pain but the destination: a pain-free knee. As usual he serves as an example.  “Our Lord’s Cross is the gateway into His life. His resurrection means that He has the power to convey His life to me. When I was born again, I received the very life of the risen Lord from Jesus Himself. Christ’s resurrection destiny— His foreordained purpose— was to bring “many sons to glory” (Hebrews 2:10 ).” How did He get through the agony of the cross? He focused on His destiny. When we […]