Nick’s Walk

9 Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him. John 12 Wouldn’t a miracle be great? That sure would convince that hard-hearted relative to believe in Jesus. That would show all those non-believers I have to deal with every day. Wouldn’t that be something? Jesus performed many miracles and many believed because of them. Not everyone had that reaction. Raising Lazarus from the dead was one of his most dramatic miracles. Yet for many of the Jews it was just another reason to kill Jesus AND Lazarus. Folks say they crave a miracle, but do they really? When I had my knee replacement surgery I prepared myself for a long and painful recovery and rehab. It didn’t happen. I had no pain and had only a few rehab visits at home. I had complete range of motion from the day after surgery. Needless to say I was excited and wanted to tell everyone. I was surprised at the response. I was told I just had […]

Next Saturday our church will start a 21 day period of prayer and fasting. To prepare for that, our pastor on Sunday discussed prayer and fasting. Like any good sermon, his words got me thinking. I will add a bit to what he had to say. There are many biblical examples of prayer and fasting to prepare one to take on a task that seems impossible. The Israelites did it before battle.  Jesus did it before beginning His ministry. The early church did it before sending out missionaries. Jesus told us that some demons come out only after doing it. Basically, anytime we need power beyond the natural, prayer and fasting is called for.  In the natural we operate on human power. We feed our minds with words from those around us. We draw strength and comfort from eating and drinking. When we need something extra we pray. We listen to God for instruction and encouragement. We set aside food or drink and draw our strength and comfort from Him.  Prayer and fasting isn’t a religious exercise. It’s not giving up something to get something. It’s recognizing there is more to life than the natural. It is acknowledging that […]

This is the time of year for review and resolution. I’m not much for resolutions but reviewing is not a bad idea. It seems wise to periodically stop, take a breath and evaluate where we are. Life is pretty messy. Over the course of a year we can accumulate bad habits (a pattern of sin), resentments, hurts, unforgiveness. We can also rack up some seeming positives, achievements, victories, and advancements.  It’s a good idea to look at our lives and see what’s on our slate.  Sin – It seems so much easier to gain a bad habit than it is to initiate a good one. We do one “little” thing that we know isn’t quite right. The next time it’s easier to do. After a few times we become comfortable with our sin. We need to pray for insight,  look at our lives, and identify behavior that needs to be changed. Hurts – We can’t live without accumulating hurts. Some cause great damage. Some less so, but still leave visible wounds. Others seem to cause no lasting marks at the time, but damage occurs “beneath the skin” and when least expected rises to the surface. It’s good to do […]

Before that night nearly everything seemed impossible. Man, created for relationship with God, found himself in a state of sin which made it impossible to stand in the presence of a Holy God.  Sure, there was a system of sacrifices designed to address individual infractions, great and small, but as soon as one sin was dealt with another arose. It was the sin nature that was the problem and the law did nothing to address that. It was all Holy Impossibility until that night. On that night, in the form of a tiny babe, the impossible became possible. Man who was unfit to stand in His presence became a candidate for sonship, not just any relationship but ultimate relationship. The law system of sacrifice to be replaced by an ultimate, one-time-for-all sacrifice. It was not all perfected that night. It has not all been perfected even now. But it became possible. Hope was reborn. Into the darkness, there came a great light. If today you face what seems impossible, this is your remembrance. No hill is too high. No relationship is too broken. The babe brought hope. Him crucified brought salvation. His return will bring completion.  All is now […]

Several years ago Michael English wrote and recorded Mary Did You Know. It was not released at Christmas nor was it meant to be a Christmas song, but over the years it has become a Christmas favorite. It explores the question of just how much Mary knew about who Jesus was and the enormity of what He would do. I don’t think Mary had complete knowledge of Jesus. I don’t think any of us really understand all the possibilities that a relationship with Him means. Nor do we understand the enormity and life long impact of what we do. Michael English won numerous Dove awards. Just days after one of the award presentations it was discovered that he fathered a child for a woman to whom He was not married. The scandal seemed to ruin His career. His marriage ended in divorce and he was not heard of for several years. The scandal had enormous impact in the Christian community, shaking the faith of many.  After several years of repentance He  re-emerged as a force in Christian music, remarried and started his life over. We don’t alway know the impact of the good, and the bad, we do. We […]

I didn’t normally eat very well when I was a kid. If you find that hard to believe, you need to know I was very thin when younger. I was the oldest of nine kids, we were poor and my mom was not a great cook. Let me rephrase that: she wasn’t even a good cook. Meals were not normally something I looked forward to. We certainly ate to live and did not live to eat. Except for the holidays, my mom had inherited a great cornbread dressing recipe from her mom. Best I could tell it was the only thing that she inherited. This wasn’t one of those awful chicken broth based dressings, or one of those dry corn bread dressing casseroles. This was “real” corn bread dressing made with ground beef and pork and lots of beef consomme’. It was juicy and delicious. I remember the smell of it cooking. I remember sneaking tastes out of the pot before it was ready. I remember having huge servings during holiday meals. I remember it heated over with other left-overs for days after.  There were many Christmases when we didn’t have much. We usually got to pick out one present from […]

It seems Christians are lining up to support Phil Robertson, of Duck Dynasty. Phil was asked in an interview about sin and chose to talk about the “sexy” sins, like adultery and homosexual acts. These things are listed as sins in scripture. Phil was right to include them. He chose not to mention much more frequent sins like acts of pride, murder, dishonesty, gluttony, and bearing false witness.  Of course, the supporters of gay rights are in arms  because they like to read out  certain clear portions of scripture. However, they aren’t the only ones who skip certain portions of the word that hit too close to home.  Conservative Christians are taking up Phil’s cause in support of “free speech” however, these same folks would like certain others to “just shut up.”  Many Christians are proclaiming that it’s about time someone talked more about sin. Well, let’s step back for a minute. Jesus didn’t talk that much about sin and when He did. it was usually in connection with forgiveness. It’s true that some are preaching a watered down gospel that is really no gospel at all. Repentance is clearly a necessary step in the salvation and redemption process. […]

8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:10-11 With a week to go until Christmas, how’s your Great Joy meter? This is where the stress level explodes. It’s when we realize that we forgot several someones who bought us something and now we need to go back to the Mall. It’s when we begin to think that we should add another dessert or vegetable to the Christmas day menu or that our choice for the main dish now sounds weird instead of exotic. It’s when Christmas cards start coming in from folks we didn’t send cards to, and we have run out of the pretty personalized cards we bought.  Is the joy slipping away? What can we do? 1. Remember […]