Nick’s Walk

I am convinced that God keeps his children, those who really try to be His disciples in the Sweet Spot of Dependence. That’s the place where we can  most easily put all our trust in Him. This spot is easy to establish for the poor, the prisoner, and the desperately ill. Those folks know they can do nothing to advance their situations and thus dependence on God is easy. The church always flourishes in centers of poverty and persecution. Not so much on the sunny side of the street. Dependence on God is easy for the poor; It’s tough for the rich. Those with money and power and resources fight the illusion that they are in control of their lives. That’s a truly dangerous place to be. The sweet spot of dependence isn’t static. It’s dynamic, moving as our life situations change and our relationship with God adjusts. God will challenge us in various aspects of our lives as we move forward. At some points it may be our health that turns us to him. At other times, rebellious children or unfaithful spouses turn us to dependence on God. For those without independent means, finances is always a dependence […]

I am excited with and for my granddaughter Samantha who is being confirmed today. Most Christian traditions that do infant baptism also do confirmation. It’s a admission that at some point each of us has to make a personal decision to follow Christ. In the Methodist tradition this can occur more than once. That makes sense to me. We are frequently having to confirm our commitment to Jesus. I like to think of it as moving from being just a fan of Jesus to being one of His followers. Jesus called each of the disciples to “follow” HIm. He didn’t ask them to study Him or appreciate, honor or even worship Him. His command and/or invitation is to follow. Following is different from fandom in three important ways. To Know and not just know about. I am a fan of many athletes. I don’t know any of them. If I approached them on a personal matter they would say what Jesus said, “I never knew you.” I follower is in intimate relationship with Jesus and has much more than head knowledge of Him. To seek his face and not his hands. Lots of fans want something from Jesus. They […]

On Sunday I had the privilege of witnessing two of my great grand kids being dedicated to the Lord. It was great. Afterwards we had supper at a local restaurant. The second grader went to the rest room on her own about three times She doesn’t have  a bladder issue. When you get to be about 8 years old you start to exercise your independence at every opportunity. Kids that age should be able to ride their bikes around the block, go to the park, go to and from their school bus stop,  and go alone to public restrooms. Many might think that we were great risk takers letting an eight year old go to a public rest room on her own. We were at BJs which is a family friendly sports bar. You don’t see any men dressing as women or thinking they are women at such a place. The sad thing is there are dangers even at a place like that. There are men who dress as men and women who dress as women who have evil in their hearts and pose a danger to little ones. In fact, until you are big enough and strong enough […]

I spent a little time last night watching the NFL draft. The best of college football players waiting around to be picked by an NFL team. It reminded me of my youth when teams were picked and I just hoped not to be the last one picked. I usually was. Last night the big men on each of their college campuses suffered insecurity based on how long it might take for their name to be called. These guys were supermen on their college teams, but they were moving to a higher level of competition.  It isn’t just about whose the best, but the needs of the various teams. It was critical for these guys to keep perspective. Even if they weren’t picked early; they were still way ahead of those who wouldn’t be picked at all or who never had a chance to play college football. Insecurity just seems to be a fact of life. There are plenty of reasons to be unsure of our value. It’s easy to seem insignificant and unimportant. The world doesn’t seem to place much value on the attributes we believe we have. Those attributes seem small in comparison to the “giants” of the […]

Yesterday was elevated by a Louisiana State Trooper who pulled me over for “no seat belt.” Really? This highly  trained professional was spending his day on seat belts. There aren’t enough speeding or reckless or drunk driving violations going on? I hope he slept well last night knowing how he had spent his day. I wonder if he’s spending as much time on his motorcycle on this rainy day as he was in yesterday’s nice weather. I realize that I should wear my seat belt. It’s safer. I just don’t think it’s the job of the law to make sure I do. You would think that as a lawyer I would be a big admirer of “the law.” I’m not. The problem with the law is that it involves itself in areas where it has no business. It reminds me of “Christians” who keep wanting to revert to the law. I guess Jesus isn’t enough.  They don’t want to re-establish the entire Levitical law; just some of their favorite parts. The don’t want to re-establish the temple or do blood sacrifices or give up some of their favorite foods. They just want to stone a few folks or get to […]

Years ago we used to celebrate Passover Jesus style. It’s amazing how the many traditions of the Passover meal are types of Jesus.  Even in the basics of the event, there are things for us to consider. The Lord told His people to sacrifice a lamb and spread the blood on their door posts. When the angel of death passed, he spared the blood marked homes. There is so much going on these days that I am tempted to spread some blood on my door post and pray that the darkness will pass my family by. There is persecution of Christians, not those that just use the name, but those who really follow Jesus.  In fact, I have been intentionally trying to avoid identifying myself as Christian. It’s not to avoid persecution. It’s just that the term has become meaningless. It is often associated with hateful behavior that’s nothing like Christ called his followers to. Andy Stanley recently discussed Anne Rice, a famous author from New Orleans. She is known for her series of vampire books and less known for some pretty racy stuff she wrote under a pen name. Several years ago she became interested in Jewish history and […]

Do you sometimes wonder if prayer is a gimmick? We will get whatever we ask for, as long as it is God’s will. Doesn’t it seem that if it’s God’s will we shouldn’t have to ask for it? Won’t He do it anyway? Sometimes we forget that God’s love for us is perfect. He only wants and provides what’s best for us. We often have no idea what’s in our best interest. Maybe the purpose of prayer isn’t a request line to God. Maybe it’s time with Him designed to allow us to get to know Him and to learn from him what’s best for us. Maybe it’s all about will alignment. Consider the Lord’s Prayer. Paternity “Our Father, who art in heaven” We were created for relationship with Him. His first desire is to be our Father. We sometimes think that He is father to all. That’s not so. He offers inheritance to all; not all accept it. “But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:12. All prayer should begin with the acknowledgment and thanksgiving for the blessing of His paternity. All else flows from that. […]

I suspect most of us have experienced anguish, excruciating or acute distress, suffering, or pain. It’s when “ordinary” distress, suffering or pain gets kicked up to the next level. It so horrible that we are willing to do anything just to make it stop. We witness it in dying cancer patients and those who have lost loved ones, It’s suffered by those who are hopeless, widows, orphans and the imprisoned. It would certainly seem like something to be avoided. Yet Francis Chan speaks of a Holy Anguish, that anguish we should feel about the lost, especially those close to us. Yet many of us Christians, even some who have long walked with Christ and who seem devoted, even fanatical, don’t feel that anguish. Shouldn’t that anguish be part of it? Should it not motivate us to be compulsive about the great commission? There may be many reasons for the Holy Anguish to be elusive. Perhaps we are so flooded with images of horror that we are dulled to their impact. The recent earthquakes with huge death tolls made me shake my head, but no real sorrow and certainly no anguish was felt. The persecutions of Christians, including murder, even crucifixion […]