If you claim to be a follower of Jesus, or if you don’t… Be Real. Your not better than anyone no matter your social status or your check book. Be a Man/Woman of your word. Be honest. Treat people the way you want to be treated.
Have no other debt but to love….
J
You know when you read a book that changes you? One that really messes you up? I just read that one, Its called Jesus is____? by Judah Smith. He doesn’t give some new theological statement or discovery he just lays some things out plain and simple. One of those things is that Jesus is a friend of sinners. Now I know that may come as a complete shock to you and think im whack but its true- very true. So true that the “religious” ones in the bible had a fit that he would be seen with people like tax collectors (Mark 2:16) or a woman who had been sleeping around (John 4). I really think that if Jesus was walking the earth today churches and “church” people would be freaking out because who he was hanging with.
How many of us have friends outside of our Jesus bubble? Anyone know a drug dealer? Anyone have friend that’s a stripper? How about a homosexual friend? When’s that last time we had a conversation with some one that wasn’t in your group? We talk about being the church and loving on people but it seems we’re better at loving on the people who are more like us. Yes it’s true and I know I’m guilty.
Is that what its all about? I’m not talking about standing outside a gentleman’s club with a sign telling them their all going to hell, Heck to the NO!! If we as the church can’t imagine having “those” people in our service then we should just stop now and not plan on having any more services altogether.
Lets be different. Like for real…
We don’t need to talk about, heck we don’t even need to pray about it. Look outside of your comfort zone rather than surrounding yourself with the people that make you feel good.
We’re living in a hurting and dying world.
Talk is cheap.
Lets put actions behind our words.
Loving on them and being a friend to them doesn’t mean you agree or support their lifestyle. ( I know someone will take it that way)
People can tell if your being real to them and if they see Christ’s love coming through you. So don’t try to pick someone as a project… find someone to love on.
Be a friend, a friend to sinners.
Someone took the time to be a friend to you!
Now its your turn.
GO FOR IT!!
J
I have been learning some new (to me) hymns lately.
Now for years I heard my Grandmother tell me I needed to sing more hymns because “the young people needed to learn them”. I will agree that there are some great ones to be learned so my Grandma had a point. Actually, I wish I would have listened a long time ago because there are some hymns that I wish I would have learned a long time ago.
A couple of weeks ago was one of those times but I came across some words in a song that I had no idea what it meant.
As a worship leader it is always great to expand your vocabulary and this was one of those times.
As I was studying what it meant I realized that this could be a teachable moment for myself and the church! I bet most people who have sung this don’t know what it means either. Ever happened to you?
The song we sang is Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing which has the line “Here I raise mine Ebenezer” in it. When I first read the line I was like….What the heck is that? So I did a little studying!
In 1 Samuel 7:12 it says:
Then Samuel took a stone and called its name Ebenezer for he said, Till now the lord has helped us.
The Hebrew Translation of Ebenezer is “Stone of Help”
The Israelites had finally defeated the Philistines and had taken back the Ark of the Covenant.
Samuel set up a marker stone to identify and remind people of Gods faithfulness.
God has been faithful in the past, In our present and He will be in our future.
So on that Sunday we passed out rocks. Now if you think they may throw them at you then you might want to rethink it. 🙂
We took our little stone as a reminder of His faithfulness. We all have battles. We’ve been through them, we may be going through them now and they’ll come. We need our Ebenezer. We need our reminder. When things seem to really suck our first reaction or thought is to quit or give up. What would happen if the first thing we did is remind ourself of Gods faithfulness? Remind ourself that God had been faithful, that He has saved you, that He sent His son to die for you. I guarantee you can think of at least one thing to remind yourself of His faithfulness.
Its time to raise your Ebenezer! Its time to set a reminder.
Worship leaders its time to expand your vocabulary, its time to get creative. Use rocks if you have too.
Heres the video of it. It was filmed on an iPhone!! Ebenezer Video
J
Today is 13 years that we have been married. Honestly its crazy to think that. Yes its cliché to even say it but oh so true… why she married me is still a mystery.
I was a punk, I had white hair from bleaching it so much. An eyebrow ring, 5 or 6 earrings and really was not her type. Forget that, I know I wasn’t her type. I was a kid and she was a woman.
How or why or what (besides God) that helped her make the decision to marry me is still crazy.
I know she didn’t know what she was getting into and neither did I. Thankfully she didn’t or she might have said no!
I worked construction, was in a band and helping out at a youth group. She was a college graduate and had good job. Yea…We didn’t really go together. I still can remember what she was wearing on our first date! I know people go crazy talking about love at first sight but this girl had my heart after our first date.
Did she know that marrying me would mean living in Charlotte or in a fishing village in Thailand, or now moving to Metro NYC?
I would say NO. Actually… I know so because she told me. 🙂
I love that she thinks I’m cheesy, I love that she calls me Jas, I love her smile, I love her laugh, I love her Hazel eyes, I love the way she loves me, I love that she love Jesus, I love that she has stuck with me through the good and the bad, I love that she supports me, I love that she believes in me, I love she is willing to go wherever we feel God is sending us, I love the way she loves our children, I love the fact this blog will embarrass her, I love how creative she is, I love her style, I love she knows me better than I do, I love when she’s stubborn, I love that she is more gorgeous today than when I met her(seriously), I love that she is adventurous, I love she can be a city girl and still love the outdoors, I love that we trust each other, I love to make her laugh, I love to hear her laugh, I love that she loves teeth, I love she is always singing or humming, I love she lets me dream big, I love love to love her.
I know for a fact that I didn’t love her this much when we got married. She had my whole heart then and apparently my heart has gotten bigger because she has even more of it now. I am truly grateful that she chose to spend the rest of her life with me.
I love you Brandi Nicholas. I love you with every part of me.
You have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on.
These Pictures prove that she has only gotten more beautiful!!
Yep… Last week I had the honor of watching some one from our church get baptized. This gentleman is new to church and recenlty new to Jesus. Kevin stepped out of death into Life in the last couple of months. He’s fresh, hes excited and he is pumped….And he is on the Worship team!!
Our Pastor went to change his clothes and Kevin didn’t. I figured he had some shorts on under his jeans until he took off his jeans.. and shirt and stood in the church with a bunch of friends and family in his briefs. I laughed out loud. I also loved it. He didn’t care, he didn’t know, no one told him other wise. Why didnt they you might ask? Because there weren’t other “church” people there besides the Pastor and myself. Did we care? Nope..
Its time to get nearly naked. Its time to not be so worried about what people are going to think. Its time to Be real, Its time to be raw. Are we meeting people where there at or do they have to fit in our box first?
Heres His story,
I wanted to let everyone know whats going on with the Nicholas Family!!
Well here it is…
At the end of May we will be moving to NY!
I have recently taken a job at First Baptist Church Brewster in Brewster, NY. I have actually been flying back and forth since January but we will be moving up as a family at the end of May. I was hired as the Worship Arts Pastor but have recently been made the Associate Pastor. I am still over the Worship Arts Department but I also oversee Education (small groups, youth, kids ministry)!
The Village of Brewster / The Town of Southeast
The Village of Brewster is 58 miles outside of Times Square in the town of Southeast. It is in the New York City Metro area. The Pastor of First Brewster is actually a southerner too! Rick Julian is his name and he is from Greenville, SC and he spent some summers in Canton, NC which is pretty close to Franklin. Small world…. I am very blessed to work with someone like Rick. He is truly a Pastor and he is unlike anyone I have ever met. His wife’s name is Rachel and they have two kids, Abby and Brooks.
We are very excited about this humongous and scary faith step but we know were headed in the right direction. NY is nothing like NC when it comes to church’s. In case you didn’t know there is not one on every corner in the North. Actually a bible believing, bible teaching church is few and far between. A lot of them are avenues for the Pastor to share their political views or discuss what is going on in the news. The opportunities to reach people here are unbelievable. This area could truly be considered a mission field… Forget that, it is a mission field.
Did you know that there is around 800 languages spoken in NY?
And,
1 out of every 16 people in the United States lives within a 75 mile radius of Times Square!!
Dang… Thats a lot of people.
One of the things that we loved about the church was that it actually had a variety of people. It really is a church for everyone. From Homeless to the top of the Corporate ladder and everything in between you name it and First Brewster has it. It is a regional church which means some people drive up to 1.5hrs just to come to church!
We are very excited about the ministry possibilities here. They are pretty much endless and I feel God has some really amazing things in store for my family and I. We know God is going to use us to make a difference in the North East!
One thing I would ask of you is this:
PRAY FOR US!!
We would love to have you praying for us! Prayer works and we need it!
A few immediate ones are,
Would you commit to pray for us once a week?
If that’s something you are interested in would you email me at jnicholasfamily@gmail.com and let me know! We will send you more updates and keep you posted with whats going on. I have some really awesome stories I look forward to sharing with you!
Excited about the adventure,
Jason, Brandi, Jonah and Jada
Here is a few video links:
Here is Pastor Rick
Hear is our Easter Egg Hunt from last week!
And Heres one we made for Easter Sunday
When I was younger my Grandad took me all over to different army bases. He was an Army Captain in WW2 so he had lots of stories and back then he had clearance to do some crazy things. I got to drive tanks, shoot some crazy guns and go and hang out in some “off limit” areas. As a kid I though that it was the greatest thing that could ever happen. My Grandad and I were close and I spent a lot of time with him.
Last night I watched a movie about a war veteran that was telling his young grandson all about it. He was talking about different things that happened, friends he lost, battles he won. It totally made me think of HIm. Made me think about how much I miss. Grandad passed away a little over 2 years ago.
He is a man that changed my life. He taught me how to be a man, how to treat my wife and kids. Most importantly he set a Godly example for me. One that never swayed. He is someone that I hope to be like.
Grandad didn’t always have lots to say, but when he spoke…People listened. He had wisdom that I hope one day I can have.
Sometimes encouragement can come from places you never expect. Today it came for me from a song from Phillip Philips. Yes he was the guy that won American Idol last year but I have to say I like this guys music.
Traveling back and forth from “home” can be tough. Today was one of those days. Now I don’t get discouraged easily but I really just missed my family and felt anxious at the moment. I turned on my radio and his song “Home” came on. Here is the chorus….
Settle down, it’ll all be clear
Don’t pay no mind to the demons
They fill you with fear
The trouble it might drag you down
If you get lost, you can always be found
Just know you’re not alone
Cause I’m gonna make this place your home
For me this was good! It was I needed to hear at that very moment. I thanked God right then for the encouragement knowing that God has sent us, He is in control, and I am not alone!
God can speak to you through all sorts of ways. Are we listening? Are we paying attention? Do you realize that you are not alone?
Make it a point this week to be more attentive to hearing from God. We don’t have to be the ones doing all the talking!
J
Last week my family and I were in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee for a night.
Pigeon Forge is a place most people have visited for one reason or another. To me, it’s kind of like Myrtle Beach without the beach. It has stores, shops,outlet malls and everything in between.
That morning I decided to go for a run through the town. When I was running I noticed how easily distracted I was by all the things around:lights, flashing signs, cars, and people everywhere. If you have a short attention span it could drive you crazy. Running through the town I seemed to get lost in everything around me that was wanting my attention.
Pigeon Forge is in the Smoky Mountains and the mountains are truly beautiful, especially this time of year. If you looked beyond the city you could see the mountains. The problem with seeing the beauty is all the junk that was distracting me.
I like to talk to God when I run and I felt him speaking to me that morning.
I knew God was telling me that it’s time to look beyond what is around me. Its time to stop being distracted by the pointless things that are wanting my attention but aren’t of Him and look beyond to what was greater.
I knew He was saying “It’s time to see the beauty”.
Don’t allow little things that can wait to take you away from the beauty.
(No I’m not talking about your children or spouse)
Be strong and look past the distractions.
Look beyond and see the beauty.
Even if you don’t think you can see it… Its there!
J
There are messages that you hear that change everything. The ones that make you think and act. The ones that you listen to more than once. The ones that you tell your friends about! This message was one of those for me. Its called The Waiting Room by Holly Furtick from Elevation Church. It was actually recommended to me by a friend that apparently knows me well!
If you’re in a season, out of a season, maybe chest high deep in a season or maybe the season has hit the fan I would recommend taking the time to check it out!! It will be well worth your time.
Just click on this link! The Waiting Room
The Nicholas Tribe 