Nick’s Walk

Released From the Law, Bound to Christ (NIV) 7 Do you not know, brothers and sisters—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law has authority over someone only as long as that person lives? 2 For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law that binds her to him. 3 So then, if she has sexual relations with another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress if she marries another man. 4 So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.5 For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death. 6 But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the […]

How would you like an opportunity to be involved in a meaningful way in spreading the truth about Christmas around town? Beginning on December 12, 2014, for 12 nights,  local choirs, churches, and individuals will be joining together to celebrate the upcoming birth of our Lord and Savior.  In Lafayette, a nativity scene will be placed at Parc Sans Souci.  Each night from 6:30 pm -8:30 pm enjoy Christmas caroling and worship music.  Local groups will be providing refreshments and it is FREE to the public! Bring your blankets, lawn chairs and your families and come celebrate the TRUE meaning of Christmas. This project is the brain child of Kelly Mouissett. You can learn all about it and catch a  listing of the performing choirs. A couple of nights are still available. Money and assistance is also sought. Check it out at Kelly’s website. Pray for this endeavor. Plan to attend at least one night and maybe participate as well. It will make for a great famiy outing. Kelly’s blog is pretty cool, too.  

 12For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. 13But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 12-13 At the last meeting of our Tuesday night share group, I discussed Faith,  Hope and Love. These are the essentials of our faith. They are the components of Christianity. They are not given; but they are gifts which we are to continually seek. We ask the Lord to give them to us, calm faith, bright hope, burning love and a compassion for souls. Calm Faith Faith addresses our anxiety about the purpose and meaning of life. It calms our fears, steadies our emotions, and puts peace in our walk. Burning Love Love is our gasoline. It motivates and fuels our lives. Bright Hope Hope is the beacon that draws us forward. It is the promise of the glory of our destination. This expression of these gifts comes from my favorite worship album of all time. The song is Calm Faith and it comes from Encounter’s Free to Live. The album can be downloaded from I-tunes […]

I have put it off as long as I could. I must address the 14 proposed Constitutional Amendments that will be on the ballot next week. I can’t justify voting all yea or all nay, just to avoid having to figure out the amendments. So here goes. I will share how I have decided to vote. I hope my thought processes will help you, even if it’s just to show  you what NOT to do. Remember you can get much more detail in the PAR guide or from guidance put out by many partisan groups. Amendment One: Give constitutional protection to provisions in the Louisiana Medical Assistance Trust Fund and set a baseline compensation rate for nursing homes and certain other healthcare providers that pay a provider fee. YES. Louisiana and 43 other states use this procedure to get matching federal funds. Fees are assessed against nursing homes and certain other healthcare facilities. The feds match these funds. In the past this money has been diverted from the providers who pay the fees to other health care needs. That’s just not right. I understand that more money you protect from diversion, the less available to handle problems that come up. […]

  This morning I read 10 Things That The People Who Love Their Lives Are Doing Differently. How can you not read an article with a title like that? It appeared on-line in Elite Daily – The Voice of Generation Y.  I wondered if following Jesus would produce the same, perhaps even better, results.  Hudson observes, “It’s the way that you live your life that largely decides whether or not you will live happily.” It’s hard to argue with that. Christ followers certainly believe that happiness, and more importantly joy, comes from what you do. Let’s look at these 10 things and compare. They don’t bother trying to make others like them — mainly because they don’t care if they’re liked. Followers would certainly give a big Amen here. Jesus told us if we follow him don’t expect to be liked, in fact, expect to be hated and despised. Hudson says, “They like themselves and they are the only people they ever answer to.” Well, here’s where Christians differ. We answer to Jesus. We don’t care what others think of us. We, too don’t answer to others, but we also don’t consider ourselves the final authority. We answer to Jesus. They […]

Constitutional Confusion It seems that every election we face Constitutional Amendments. I am an attorney. I got good grades in Con Law, yet trying to understand these amendments always gives me a headache. I acknowledge that my mind has slipped since my law school days, but shouldn’t everything on the ballot be understandable? I challenge you to read the 14 amendments and then explain even one of them to someone else. That might make for a great reality show. It should not be so, but it is. The Nature of Constitutions Constitutions contain the fundamentals of governments, and the rights of the citizens. They should contain permanent basics. Since 1974, the Louisiana Constitution has been amended 175 times. The U. S. Constitution has only been amended 27 times since 1789. The first ten amendments, The Bill of Rights, were adopted almost immediately. Many voters, recognizing that amendments should be rare and deal only with serious matters, are tough to convince that an amendment is worth approving. They vote against every amendment unless convinced otherwise. The Nature of Politics On the other hand, once an amendment to the Louisiana Constitution is presented to the voters at least two-thirds of both the Senate and […]

The lines on November 4th in Louisiana, may not be like these, but we will be standing in line. We will face a complicated ballot with several important races and the dreaded Constitutional Amendments. Better have a plan. Know where to vote You won’t have to stand in line if you can’t find the right line to stand in. If you’re not sure where to vote, find out here. https://voterportal.sos.la.gov/Mobile/Main.html Get a sample ballot Don’ go into the voting booth with no idea about the decisions you will have to make. You don’t want to be a victim of “vote rage” which may occur if you face the ballot for the first time with a long line behind you. You can get a ballot for your precinct here:  https://voterportal.sos.la.gov/Mobile/AddressSearch.html By inserting your address, you can get a sample ballot unique to your precinct. Your homework is to get a sample ballot. After the surprises, you might be motivated to have a plan. Next time: The dreaded and usually unexpected Constitutional Amendments.

Only informed citizens should vote. You won’t be informed if you: Trust the media. Media outlets are businesses that need to make money.  They will run any ad and stir up any mess to get audience. They tend to fail to separate news from opinion from advertising. Count signs. Signs don’t vote. Do you really want to vote for the guy or gal with the most signs? Even if signs represented votes, would you really want to vote based on what the most think? Trust what a candidate says about his opponent. If you want to know what a jerk I am talk to my enemies. If you want to know what a saint I am talk to my acquaintances. If you want to know the truth, talk to my wife. It might be informative to talk to spouses of the candidates. Rely on the opinion of others. Really. Can’t you think for yourself. Be particularly careful about ads put out by groups not associated with the candidate. They may or many not express the views of the person seeking office.   Between now and election day I will provide information about how to be informed. I won’t try […]