Nick’s Walk

My plans for last weekend were to spend some time with my grandson working in our yard and catching up on the weed eating. That didn’t happen. Instead I now am eligible to wear a tee-shirt which reads, “I survived the Great Flood of 2016.” It is somewhat miraculous that I survived the Great Flood of 2016. Our home is the lowest in our neighborhood. It is 15 to 20 feet below the level of most of our neighbors. The lot floods for every “rain event” although water has never gotten into the home, which is on piers. Once again, although the water got higher than we have ever experienced, the house remained dry inside. I hope I have learned some lessons from the survival of the Great Flood of 2016. If I have to be marooned with anyone, I just as soon that it be Rosemary, my wife of 46 years. We are used to quietly enjoying each other’s presence even in silence while winds blow, waters rise and sometimes power ceases. Love you babe. Tragic circumstances illuminate character. I have seen very impressive responses to the flood from many people: relatives and strangers I watched on TV. […]

God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles… Galatians 1:15-16 There is an entire wing of the Christian Library of Theology devoted to being “in Christ” or “Christ in me.” I wonder sometimes if we forget the purpose of indwelling Christ. As Paul said, the Son is revealed in us so that we might preach him. If Christ lives in us we should begin in some small way to reflect His character and His heart. “36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”” Matthew 9 Consider this, when Jesus looked at the unsaved people of his day he saw their sin and their lost state, but he was not moved to disgust nor did his turn his eyes away, he instead was moved to compassion “because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Someone in the  sinful […]

I want to be Caleb. You remember him. When the children of Israel approached the promised land, Moses sent twelve spies in to check things out. All saw the same thing, a land filled with promise but with challenges. Ten counseled caution. We can’t do it. Aaron and Caleb said with God’s help, we can do it. For all, God’s redemption of them from Egypt and the destruction of Pharos army, were fresh memories. You would have thought that more than 2 of 12 would still have been pumped about the power of God. Forty-five years later the generation of the unfaithful were all dead, except for Caleb and Aaron. Caleb was 85 years old and still ready to take on the challenge of invading the promised land. I want to be Caleb. I haven’t posted a blog in a while. I haven’t known what to say in light of terrorists, cop killers and cop killings. I have read lots of opinions and haven’t completely agreed with any of them. I’m not a police officer nor am I black so I’m haven’t had subjective experience to challenge or confirm all that I’m hearing. I have friends on both sides […]

If you are reading this you are one of the lucky and blessed ones. I’m not saying that this post is all that great. What I am saying is that if you are reading this, you are alive. You have made it to another day. There are many who have not. You and I are blessed, so what are we going to do about it? Pass the Test.  We all face death. We have a limited amount of time to justify our existence. This life is a test. It’s an opportunity to choose to follow Jesus, not just in a one time decision, but in a continuing life. We follow by placing our trust in Him and being in obedience to His commands for our lives. We live to know Him and to make Him known to others, to make disciples. If we haven’t made that decision, we may be technically alive, but are, in fact, Walking Dead. The first obligation of those of us blessed to still be alive is to pass the test of life. Enjoy the rest.  Did you know that “Eden” means “delight?” God created man and placed us  in an environment which is meant […]

Today we celebrate Independence Day. It’s a good time to do some thinking. This country is very different from the one I grew up in. We spent the weekend in Houston. We didn’t see many folks who could speak English. I am not saying that’s a bad thing. It’s just one piece of evidence that the country is changing. The people who make up America are changing. We have always been a melting pot; it just seems that lots of the new folks aren’t melting in. I’m not sure that’s good. The new folks don’t seem to be aware of or grateful for how we got to be independent. Even the young folks who were born here seem to have that problem. We have always been free; but I wonder how free we are. I feel more controlled and watched and limited by government than ever before in my life. I have never known a time when the IRS and the justice department and the Congress in general was so corrupt. it’s not a question of “might be” corrupt. There isn’t much issue about it. I think we are less free than ever.  What worries me more is that […]

I have come to believe that we can measure our maturity by how we value people, things and ideas. Consider with me: Self. When young we tend to value ourselves by what we do. This is not surprising since strength, beauty, brains, energy and a life time to do, all belong to the young. We think we have capacity, opportunity and time to succeed and measure ourselves accordingly. It’s only after years of fighting, failures, and unfairness, that we begin to realize that our value can’t be in what we do, since what we do is so much less than what we dreamed. The realization that our worth is in who we are is slow to come and difficult to keep up. If we have had the blessing of coming to know Christ, we learn that it’s not about what we have done, but what He did. Our worth is in being His and being loved by Him. What we do is as filthy rags; what He does through us is the stuff of  miracles. If we fail to reach this level of maturity, we die in failure and hopelessness. If we learn to live in Him, we live in […]

Sometimes I amaze myself at just how clueless I am. When listening to my grandchildren I only understand about 10 percent of what they say. When I drive off the paths I take most days, I see things that I forget about. I see poverty and shacks in which I am sure hunger stalks. I walk in crowds and see empty eyes and blank faces that show a complete absence of the love Creator God has for them. Occasionally I hear things that shock me to the core.  There are employees working in private homes who are forced into serving and/or fraudulently convinced that they have no option to leave. Women, men or children are forced into the commercial sex industry and held against their will by force, fraud or coercion. Human beings are forced to work under the threat of violence and for no pay. These slaves are treated as property and exploited to create a product for commercial sale. Individuals are compelled to work in order to repay a debt and unable to leave until the debt is repaid. It is the most common form of enslavement in the world.Women and children are forced to marry another without their consent […]

To all those fathers who do their best to be all they can be to their children, “Thank you.”  Society doesn’t appreciate your effort or understand the value of your calling. You are the butt of jokes and the easy one to blame.  You are making a difference. Don’t give up. To all those who try to fill the shoes of absent fathers, “Thank You.” Your efforts are often not recognized, sometimes spurned or misunderstood. Carry on. You are desperately needed. To all those whose father is absent, physically, spiritually, or emotionally.  Know that you are loved by the Lord and Father of all. Turn to Him. Be especially blessed this Father’s Day when you feel you have no one to thank or to honor. To my own special father, now gone too many years. I am so sorry I never recognized the great job you did while alive. Who today could raise nine children on almost no money and not end up with any in jail or on drugs? To my descendants, here and gone and yet to be. I am so sorry for the times I have been absent, or too distracted or too busy. I am […]