Nick’s Walk

45 Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. 47 Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. 48 He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out,50 because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 51 Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed,52 for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened. Mark 8 We are in the middle of what is forecast to be a week of stormy weather. It’s important that we know about storms, the dangers, the effects and  the opportunities. How we understand and handle storms is critical. Seek Shelter.  It’s elementary that during a […]

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy,and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven,where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21 At various times yesterday I spent time with my wife, my daughter, my grandson and my great grand-daughter. They are treasures. They put faces on the “heavenly treasure” Jesus spoke of. I think we err when we consider “heavenly treasure” to be solely good works that we store in heaven instead of money we store here. It’s obviously foolish to invest in things that we can’t take with us and that “moths and vermin” can destroy. However, it’s a better motivation to put a face on the treasures we are storing up. It inspires us not only to treasure these people, but to do all that we can to ensure they are with us in heaven. I have known and know many who are busy storing up treasures here. They fear the destruction of their treasure. As the end draws near they begin to […]

We have just finished celebrating the most significant day in history, Resurrection Sunday. The church going, family gathering, dressing up and egg hunting is over. Today I call your attention to what is a more personally significant day. I call it Make Up Your Mind Monday. It might not be literally Monday. It begins, actually, the day after you come to the realization that Jesus came, died, rose and will return one day. That realization prompts a decision, a response, so what? All that Jesus did makes no difference unless we incorporate it. I saw a lot of joyful responses to what Jesus did yesterday. It’s great to be appreciative and thankful. It’s not, however, what Jesus asks. His requested response is at once simple and comprehensive: Follow me. It’s not just to “accept him” or call ourselves “a Christian.” It’s not being just being baptized or joining a church or going “up front” at a church service. It’s following. Following isn’t a one time thing. It’s not something we can check off a list and be done with. It’s a continuing process. It’s not something that can be compartmentalized to one day a week or prioritized anything other […]

It’s Sunday that makes all the difference. Friday provided the once for all sacrifice that gives us the blood that brings forgiveness. Sunday gives us the power to live. We can be Followers because of Sunday. We partake of the divine and become Sons of God because of Sunday, Glorious Sunday. We don’t do a good job of teaching or living the Sunday life. We are used to calling on the blood for forgiveness when we fail. We don’t do as good a job calling on the power to resist sin and follow Him. It’s Sunday. The tomb is empty. Death is conquered. Fear is banished. Life is possible.  Alleluia.

Friday was a noisy and frantic day, crowds screaming for blood, the cold sound of nails into flesh and wood. It was a visual day with darkness in the middle of the day and the renting of the temple curtain. Saturday was different but no less frightening. The silence was chilling. The disciples had to wonder if the Jews and the Romans would be making sweeps to clean up the “cult” of Jesus followers. They had to spend frightening time in silent thought wondering if they had erred in following, if they had misunderstood Him and His purpose. Silence is like that. We wonder what the devil is up to and where God is. We wonder how we got to where we are and if we will be left there to fend for ourselves. It may be scarier than the flashing and loud days when the spiritual battle is visible even in the natural world. Silence challenges our faith, our hope and our love. We are reluctant to break the silence, fearful that we will call attention to ourselves and be, like Peter, tempted to deny.  We consider that our faith may have been in vain. We see no […]

It’s time to square up to the cross of Christ, to all that happened on this Good Friday and take responsibility. It’s time to drop all the universalist language and stop saying “He died for the sins of the world.” Just admit it. He died for me. If I had been the only person in the world, not only would he have died, but His death would have been just as horrible, painful, humiliating, and gruesome. It’s all about how bad sin is. I’m not talking sin in the generic. I’m talking about personal sin, mine and yours. When I first met my wonderful fundamentalist wife, she kept talking about a personal savior. It took me a long time to get it. It’s all about Jesus and me. It’s about me and Jesus. It’s about my sin, my salvation, my savior. Failure to Face Friday is the reason for anemic churches and powerless Christians. We want to claim the blood without really looking at it. We want resurrection power, by skipping to Sunday. It won’t work we have to face Friday. Today, enjoy your crawfish boils, and fish fries. Enjoy your time away from work. Enjoy the beautiful spring weather […]

 3 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, 4 and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. 5 “But not during the festival,” they said, “or there may be a riot among the people.” Matthew 26 The chief priests and elders saw the people hail Jesus as Messiah and give Him a royal welcome into Jerusalem. They couldn’t have that. It threatened their place and power. They reacted like all cowardly leaders: they schemed in secret. We need to be aware of how the world will react when followers begin to truly believe and faithfully follow. They will react like threatened animals. They will become dangerous.  While His enemies schemed, Jesus continued on His mission: He taught in the temple. Believe Followers the scheming in secret is going on. Our natural tendency to try to smoke out the schemers needs to be resisted. They are a distraction. We need to act as Jesus did. We need to stay on mission. Increase in scheming and raging among the “heathen” are signs that the mission is on target and the return of Christ is near. When persecution […]

Jesus Curses a Fig Tree 18 Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry.19 Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered. 20 When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked. 21 Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. Matthew 21 On the week before He died, Jesus cursed to withering a fig tree because it bore no fruit. You would think that everything that Jesus did, including lessons he taught, were particularly important in his final week. The withered fig tree is such a lesson. The purpose of a fig tree is to bear figs. What good is a fig tree that fails to do that? Our purpose is to bear fruit. What good is a Christian who fails […]