Rick Nier...Woo!

The leadership had discussed, deliberated and decided. There had certainly been debate. People felt strongly on both sides.  ‘If we allow this to happen, everything we stand for will mean nothing.’ Honestly, both sides were saying it and both felt it was a matter of salvation. ‘Agree with me or I don’t know how you could possibly be a Christian.’ After all, all the facts support my view. If you choose to believe otherwise, it is only because of  your preconceived or ill-conceived view of matters. I cannot possibly be judged for considering you to be less intelligent, less caring, or less than Christ-like if you oppose my view.  That’s what everyone, on both sides of the argument, was saying. The issue at hand was, of course, circumcision. I’m sorry, did you assume I was talking about something else?   The Council in Jerusalem had just met. It’s recorded in Acts 15 if you’d like to review it. Everyone who was anyone was there and they made certain their voice was hear...

If I told you that you needed to trust in God, you might assume that you already do. After all, you've went to church, or at least you did before a global pandemic hit our planet. Now you watch church and you're doing your best to balance the realities of our new normal with the lessons on trust you remember from your past. After all, God never said you shouldn't go see a doctor, and I'm not advocating that you only practice home healthcare.  But considering all the many amenities available to us, even during a worldwide crisis, it's fair to ask ourselves if we're living lives of trust or simply living with enough less to differentiate ourselves from those gluttonous monsters who never acknowledge God.  Do We Really Want to Compare? If comparisons are your game, let's play this game we can't possibly hope to win. Would you spend 100 years of your life building a boat in preparation for a worldwide flood? Never mind that Noah had previously never heard of...

Do you know what would make a great name for an epic hero? Nimrod. That’s right. Nimrod. The name you might hear relatives and friends calling someone they find to be stupid. Oh, wait, that doesn’t sound epic, does it? It didn’t to me either. But at one time... “Cush was the father of Nimrod, who grew to be a mighty warrior on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; that is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.” ~Genesis 10:8-9 Nimrod was such a warrior that the next few verses detail the cities he built and the kingdom he established. Warrior, hunter, hero. Thy name is Nimrod. Making Your Own Great Name One would assume the name of the first mighty warrior to walk the earth would still be revered. But go ahead and tell someone they remind you of Nimrod and see how that goes over for you.  via GIPHY See, unlike other biblical names which are hard to spell and harder to pronounce, Nimrod now has a negative con...

Buckle up boys and girls. We’re about to go on a wild ride today. When we consider the early chapters of Genesis, there are basically two camps; those who believe God created other people after He created Adam and Eve. And there are those of us who believe the early years were a purer version of Kentucky. You know what I mean, where kissing cousins is encouraged. Don’t come at me Kentucky. I know it’s not everyone down there, but you know where they are. We're going to do some math today. But wait, before you tune me out, we're also going to talk about sex. That's right. You'll be glad you stayed. So what are we talking about? How much coupling could the first couple couple? Math Time! How many kids are we talking about here? So, why all the baby math? I was conversing with friends about whether or not God created other people after He created Adam and Eve. As is normally the case when this conversation comes up, the question bothering people is whether ...

Have you ever come across someone who was really bold, but not necessarily in the good way? It's the person you agreed to give a ride to, and along the way they ask you if they can make a second stop. It's someone asking for money and then you watch them spend it on something they didn't need. It could be the child who comes to the dinner table and announces why they don't like what you cooked. Maybe it is the people who refuse to help, yet criticize the work being done. The nerve of some people, right? It's the guy being crucified next to God. This guy being crucified for being a thief. Yeah, the guy who, according to Roman rule, deserved to be there. We're given no indication that this guy, this thief, had anyone there who was about to miss him. That guy. He turns to Jesus and asks if he can get into Heaven.  Do you believe that? The only thing more incredible than his request is the answer he receives from Jesus.  Yes. Yes?  Are you k...

I've said it to teens for years and I am now drilling it into my own children's heads. We do the right thing for the right reason . With that in mind, I have two posts to share from the same guy. Adam McLane is a youth guy, part of The Youth Cartel. He writes about all kinds of things, but this first post had to do with faithfulness in our choices . Good stuff. The second post has to do with a guy and his cat . I may have to expound on this idea at some point, but Adam makes a great point with few words and a sad YouTube video. Woo!

Excuses. We're full of them. We use them all the time to get out of trouble, perceived or real. Why? Because we all have an image we're trying to protect. Again, this could be an actual reputation or one we're trying to convey to people. What if we didn't? What if, instead of protecting our image, we worked on creating it? You know, become the type of person we want to tell people we are. We could live out the eulogy we would want to hear read at our funeral. This would be simple and difficult all at the same time. Simple because we'd no longer be pretending. Difficult because, let's face it, living the right way can get you into trouble. And I think I have found the poster child for this kind of life, way back in the first book of the Bible. His name was Joe. Now I'm not saying he was perfect, but this guy also didn't seem to know how to protect his own image. He talks openly of dreams he has, causing his brothers to sell him into slavery. But o...

Of all the wild prophets, Elijah set the bar pretty high. Elijah was kind of a head-case. He did some great things for God, even got a get-out-of-death card. But there's a scene or two where he goes all narcissistic on us and thinks it's all about him. It's not just that it happens, but when it happens that surprises me. It's right after he defeated 450 Baal prophets in a God-contest. Yeah, he won. He should be high-fiving the king or chest-bumping other prophets. Instead, we find him all alone on a mountain, wanting to die. When asked why, he said he was the only one following God. He said he had done all he could do. He said he was done. What's admirable is the passion he put into what he did. But he misses the point here, if only for a moment. Elijah assumed he was all alone. But God had 7,000 just like him. When your count is off by 7,000, that's a pretty big deal. Try it sometime. Mess up your checkbook by 7,000 and see how your spouse reacts. Bette...

I doubt most people have ever thought of Nehemiah as a tough guy. I know I haven't. To be honest, most people don't think about Nehemiah. He's the guy from the Bible. He organized the rebuilding of the wall around Jerusalem. I think most people, if they think of him, imagine some small-ish guy leading a less-prideful Israel. A lot of this may be due to the children's song about Knee-High-Miah. That's unfair. I'll give you a few reasons why I think Nehemiah was like his generation's Mark Driscoll, but without grabbing headlines. 1. He's a leader. Think less Ross Perot and more Arnold Schwarzenegger. This guy was leading reform and knew how to get it done. When he talked, people listened. 2. He helped rebuild a wall. He's a construction worker. Ever walked past a construction site and seen that 98-pound kid you knew from middle school? If it's the same kid, he's not 98 pounds. Or if he is, you just walked past a Lego construction site, which is...