Nick’s Walk

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.Philippians 4:6 25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father […]

This morning I took my grand son to school. He has to be there for 6:20. That’s ridiculous, but another story. We stopped for breakfast at Waffle House. The cook was busy cleaning the grill. He had worked all night and was about to get off before he went to his second job that began at 8 a.m. Lord, I repent of every consideration of my life as hard or any trial as significant. I had no trouble believing that Jesus really loves that guy. Richard Rohr is a controversial catholic priest. I agree with him about 80% of the time. About 10 percent of what he says is great. About 20 percent, he’s just “out there.” I guess he would have to be labelled “left-wing.” Here’s one of his “great” quotes: Only converted people, who are in union both with the pain of the world and the love of God, are prepared to read the Bible with the right pair of eyes and the appropriate bias, which is from the side of powerlessness and suffering instead of the side of power and control. Jesus clearly identified with the poor and the outcast. He seemed most concerned about widows […]

Easter weekend has come and gone. It was one of the most blessed Easters my wife and I can remember. We attended church and watched our grand-daughter take part in a sharing of testimonies. The pastor gave a brief sermon pointing out that the pen is in our hand to write the story of the rest of our lives. I needed to hear that. We had the whole family at the house for a great lunch and a lazy afternoon. I was motivated to restart my swim regime on Friday. I had gotten out of the habit. In fact, I have been in a funk for some time. I really needed a strong Easter this year. I am talking about more than a crawfish boil and a cold beer. I mean more than wearing my birthday gift new shirt to Easter service. Although I was quite stunning. It’s a deeper spiritual need than that. It’s even more than the annual reminder that Jesus rose from the dead some 2000 years ago. It’s even more than the realization that He is alive today. It’s more personal than that. I needed a personal Easter, an individual resurrection from being pretty near […]

Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. Matthew 26:40 The enormity of the Passion of Christ is beyond our understanding. We have no experience of the physical pain and the weight of the sins of the entire world. Before the pain and crushing weight of all our sins, came the aloneness of Thursday night. In the garden, Jesus felt the horrible aloneness of separation from the Father and the nonsupport of his disciples. This aloneness is one aspect of the passion that we have some experience with. Even in a world with exploding population, we experience the sense of aloneness. We are victims of Satan’s strategy of separating us from the flock. He has the cunning ability to make us feel that it’s “just me.” We believe that our sins and struggles are unique and that we are alone in them. The God that we follow doesn’t always “feel” present so we can conclude that we are alone. We are created for relationship and grafted into the Body of our Lord. Jesus ministered with his disciples. When He sent them out to minister, […]

I know I sound like a madman, but I have served him far more! I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. 24 Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. 26 I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. 27 I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm. 28 Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches. 2 Corinthians 11 Sometimes I wonder if I’m any kind of follower of Christ. Saturday night I fell ill. I […]

I think I’m learning something about sharing the gospel from the current presidential campaign. I know that sharing the gospel is more than recounting what you say you believe and why. It takes more than doing a good job explaining theology. It takes more than talk. It takes passion and a consistent life. Talk – Let’s compare. Some give really great speeches. Some give really good sermons. I want to hear something that makes sense. I want to be touched in areas of my life that are of real concern. I want relevance.  Through speeches and sermons,  a listener might be motivated to make a change; whether it be in political direction or spiritually. I’m not sure these talks alone are enough, however. Passion – I want more than good ideas or even powerful argument. I want to feel something. I want to see some passion in the words. I want to know the speaker cares about not only what he is saying, but about those who are listening. I want to walk away with a wish to be involved. I don’t want to just agree. I want to want to join in. I don’t just want to agree […]

Today I got together with a group of men from my church. We met for coffee. There was no agenda. There was no devotional. Unless it happened before I got there, there wasn’t even any prayer. It was just what I needed. We shared everyday problems and kicked around solutions, some helpful, some just silly. In recent weeks my church participation has fallen off. Our “small group” stopped meeting before the holidays and has not started up again. I have lots of tough issues to deal with in my life, like everyone. It’s easy to begin to feel alone. It was great to spend some time with other men to relax and just to be in their company. Men don’t get together like they used to. There use to be male social clubs and lunch groups, hunting trips and sports road trips. Such gatherings have gone out of style and have even a hint of political incorrectness. I think it’s more than a societal change. I think it’s a spiritual attack.  We now speak of a man “cave” a place we can go to be alone and uninvolved. Years ago the church  I attended had a wonderful annual men’s […]

I am concerned that too many of us are getting our theology from Facebook. It’s not the same as going to the original words of Scripture. For example, I am told that God will never give me more than I can handle. That’s just so wrong. God sends me lots of stuff I can’t handle. It’s not, I’m sure, that I’m a bad guy or that God doesn’t love me. God allows bad stuff to afflict all those He loves. The goal is not that we be independent, but that we be God dependent. We were not created to handle stuff. We were created to rely on God. I am convinced that’s why it’s so tough for rich guys to make it. It’s why Donald Trump has never seen the need to seek forgiveness. He thinks he has enough money to handle anything. If, God forbid, he becomes president it might be fun to watch him try to handle a country buried in debt. I face things every day that I can’t handle on my own. I marvel at those who think they are “handling” things on their own. If you are in doubt spend some time in the […]