Nick’s Walk

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good–except God alone.Luke 18:19 I found myself recently making a common mistake: calling someone good. That’s just not right and it’s not right for several reasons. The main reason, of course, is that Jesus told us that only God alone is God.  That should be plenty enough reason. When we call a person “good” we cut the value of the word. God is good because he’s perfect. When we describe anything as “good” except God, we allow the word is include things which aren’t perfect. It’s tough enough to describe our Holy God without negating the few words that accurately portray Him. I shouldn’t do it because it leads to lazy speech. When I say someone is “good” I know that’s not what I mean. I’m trying to express some other quality, but “good” is just an easy substitute. The last time I used “good” to describe someone, on further thought, what I really meant was: faithful, kind, and gentle. I should have used those words. When we describe folks as “good” we set up a “grade on the curve” mentality. That’s very dangerous. We tend to think […]

My church lost one of its really good men yesterday when Glen “Doc” Williamson passed away in his sleep. Doc had been a hard worker at church. He served on the Board. He was a faithful usher. He and his lovely wife were members of the prayer team. I don’t think he was an “official” greeter, but his firm handshake and bright smile greeted me every Sunday. Last Sunday I filled in for our Pastor at the 9 a.m. teaching and as usual Doc and Virginia were present. During my presentation, he had a look of deep concentration on his face. I thought perhaps he was not agreeing with what I was saying. However, afterward he sought me out and greatly encouraged me with how much he had enjoyed my talk. As a matter of fact, every time I have spoken and he was present, he came forward after with a word of encouragement. Doc was a great encourager. One of the things I mentioned during my talk was how unfortunate it is that we really don’t get to know other folks in the church as we should. It’s sad that we often learn things about a fellow worshiper for the […]

Most Christians don’t seem to experience the joy and satisfaction they expect from the Christian walk.  I think the main thing is that they fail to work in a ministry. The most fulfilling and joyful times in my walk have risen from opportunities to work in ministry. If we are called to fulfill the great commission, we can’t expect fulfillment in anything else. Finding our place in ministry is tough. The modern church is  very “clergy” oriented. We are trained to believe that ministers minister and that the “lay” people just give money and prayer support. That concept did not exist in the 1st century church and has no basis today. We are all called to serve. Finding a spot to serve is tough. There just don’t seem to be that many opportunities out there. What about training? Most ministry requires training, doesn’t it? Don’t we have to go to seminary or bible college first? What about time? Our days are so filled with work and family responsibilities. When can we find the time? Then there’s fear. We know that at least we all have a salvation story to tell. We just never seem to be brave enough or […]

At the end of today, don’t you want to feel like you’ve made a difference? This requires some intentionality. Why not do at least one of these things you know you should today? 1. Call your mom or dad. They’ve done so much for you. Let ’em know you’re alive and love them. 2. Kiss your spouse and mean it. 3. Do something unexpected for someone who always seem to be serving you. 4. Spend some face time with a friend. 5. Listen to someone who has lived and learned more than you. 6. Be the person you wish people think you are. 7. Try to understand why someone feels so strongly about something you don’t care about. 8. Call someone you start to text. 9. Surprise someone. 10. Pray for an enemy. Have a nice day.

Life isn’t fair. Yet most of us burn untold energy in trying to achieve fairness, in trying to end unfairness, in crying about unfairness. If we are ever to enjoy life, we need to forget about fairness. It’s not fair that the hardest working people don’t make the most money. It’s not fair that those who do the most to help others are often the least recognized or rewarded. It’s not fair that some are judged by the color of their skin, the language they speak, or the place they were born. In our relationships, we need to stop believing that we should get as good as we give. We can’t enjoy our relationships if we carry about account books in which we log every good thing we do for someone else and every good thing they do for us. Don’t expect balance in relationship. The joy is in putting more in than we can every expect to get out. It’s not fair that for some the hardest thing about being a Christian is being marginalized while for others it means being killed. We need to stop whining about how we no longer live in a “Christian” nation while […]

Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades.  In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed.  One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?”  The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.”  Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” John 5:2-8   My Pastor used the above verse for his sermon on Sunday. It was a great sermon. One line stood out for me, “Do you want to be healed?” This seems an incredibly stupid question for Jesus to ask. After all the man had been an invalid for thirty-eight years and had lain near the healing pool at Bethesda for “a long time.” Wasn’t it obvious that the man wanted to be healed? Maybe it’s not so obvious. We don’t always want to be healed from our conditions. In some […]

The One True God has revealed Himself as the eternally self-existent “I AM”, the creator of heaven and earth and the redeemer of mankind. He has further revealed Himself as embodying the principles of relationship and association as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Theology is the study of God. Man makes a mistake in trying to understand the universe and his place in it by studying Himself. Real understanding can only come through knowledge of the one who was here first and started it all. God provides a mirror of himself through the wonder of His creation. Scripture presents God through His Son empowered by the Holy Spirit, but only Christianity provides knowledge of God through a relationship with Him. Judaism provides for a system of dealing with a holy God through rules and rites performed by a priest. Islam also offers rules and rites to one God, but it’s not the true God. Don’t let anyone tell you that Allah is Jehovah God the Father of Jesus. Hinduism breaks the vast complexity of God into multiple mini gods, each with their own personality. Atheism substitutes self for God. Only Christianity allows for personal relationship with God, which is what […]

The infallibility of scripture is the cornerstone of Christian Theology, but it’s an increasingly difficult pill for modern society to swallow. Modern man doesn’t grasp that anything is absolutely true. He’s been trained to think that truth is dependent on situation, culture and person. At first blush there’s much freedom in that kind of thinking, but it’s the top of a very slippery slope. Life in a gray, versus black and white, world is scary. There is no peace in never knowing whether our actions are right or wrong. There is joy in being on the right path and not wandering lost in a dark forest. One of the challenges of promoting scripture is that it outlines a way of living that with each generation seems more outdated. How can this generation be convinced that scripture has answers as applicable today as ever? We need to accurately portray the bible for what it is, cover-to-cover, the story of Jesus. God reveals Himself to man through His son. It is part history, part song book, part prophecy, part guidebook, and part theological exposition. We make things hard on ourselves by focusing on the less significant and more difficult to prove parts of […]