Nick’s Walk

Today marks the 238th anniversary of the Continental Congress approving the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776. That fateful day not only sealed the future for those brave men who approved that document but that paper also established the principles by which America became the most successful nation of the past three centuries. Sorry to be politically incorrect but the 56 who signed were all white men. There were no Jews or Muslims or Hindus. There were not even any Mormons or Jehovah Witnesses. They were Christians. They may not have all been religiously so but there were at least culturally so. Sorry, but that’s the truth. They were brave because by their signing they were declaring themselves to be rebels, some would say traitors. It was a tough thing to do. They had been English for generations and were generally loyal subjects of the crown, until now. They were starting a new thing. It was a bold and brave experiment and it worked. Those who started it knew why. Of the fifty-six men who signed this document, the last to pass away was Charles Carroll, who died at the age of 95. Before his passing, New York City asked him […]

  8 “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. 9 I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown. 11 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death. The purpose of a spouse, apparently, is to keep  you straight. I recently discussed the Church at Philadelphia and commented, in error, that it was the only church about which the Lord had nothing negative to say. My wife has pointed out that Smyrna also invoked no negative comment. It’s characteristics were poverty and persecution. Smyrna was one of the most beautiful cities in the empire. It’s loyalty […]

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39 We are facing an epidemic of insecurity. 9/11 taught us our skies are not secure. The economy has taught us our money is not secure. Crime has come to middle America and taught us we are not safe in our homes and cars. Televisions reminds us we are not thin enough or pretty enough or strong enough or young enough. We go to church only to learn that we are not good enough or holy enough. Is there any wonder that we are insecure? Insecurity is uncertainty or anxiety about who we are. Who are you? I used to be a poor kid. I remember growing up feeling very insecure. Our family was poor. My father was sometimes unemployed and almost always underemployed. I was the oldest of nine kids. That’s who I was and it wasn’t very secure. When you have a childhood like that, you […]

7 “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. 8 I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9 I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. 10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth. 11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. 12 The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven […]

My grandson and I went to the movies yesterday. It was a good movie. For us that means it was sci-fi with action, special effects and a good story. A good story is a powerful thing. It involves a situation gone wrong, an agent of change and situation corrected. In the movie, a change in one character changed the course of history. It was a powerful story enlivened with action and special effects. We left the theatre believing that a change in one person can change everything. As Christians, it’s a truth we should know, but of which we sometimes need a reminder. Jesus was a big  believer in the power of stories. A good speaker knows that his audience will likely forget the details of theory or theology he is trying to convey, but they will remember a good story and its point. We all have a story and, for those of us who are Christians, we have a Jesus story. A Jesus story relates a life gone wrong, Jesus and a change of direction. Jesus stories are stories of grace, grace as forgiveness and an agent of change. For there to be a real change of direction […]

An off-duty police officer is shot down while investigating a suspicious circumstance. A young child dies in her home when a drunk drive runs way off the road trying to run from an accident. These can only be described as senseless killings. Senseless killing is on the rise. Nearly twice as many Christians died for their faith in the past year than in 2012, according to Open Doors International’s 2014 World Watch List. We should not make the mistake of being comfortable in our lives. We can’t think that we can put off anything. It’s foolish to put off the important to deal with what is pressing. We can’t plan to someday, spend more time with family, enjoy the wonder and beauty of the world God placed us in, or share eternal truths. God has ways of reminding us that our time is limited. As we age, our bodies don’t work as well and start to weaken and collapse. The closer we come to our end, time speeds up. Senseless killing is just another way that God reminds us that we need to do what needs to be done and we need to do it now. We should honor officers […]

No one spends a day flying there and a day flying back to spend a day in Los Angeles. I did. The full story is on my Facebook account. I have to wonder why God would have me go through the last three days. Is there a purpose? Is there any eternal significance or deeper spiritual meaning? I didn’t really do anything there. I drove up to Beverly Hills and Hollywood and out to Venice Beach. I didn’t see anything I hadn’t seen before. I lived in California while in the Navy. It hadn’t greatly changed. The Mexican and Oriental food is still the best.The weather is still awesome. There are still way too many people. Not having travelled much by air in recent years I did learn a few things. 1. Air travel sucks. 2. If you have to fly avoid summer afternoons in the south when thunderstorms are  common. 3. Check your bag. It’s a lot less hassle. 4. If you are tall, pay a little extra for extra leg room if available. 5. Assume there will be delays. 6. Bring a charger for your phone. See number 5 above. 7. Don’t fly out of Lafayette. The […]

“Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession…Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.” ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer “Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: ‘Ye were bought at a price’, and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.” ― […]