The Nicholas Tribe

We are Sinking

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Jason Nicholas

Jonah showed this video to me the other day and I though it was hilarious but it also got me thinking….Are we really listening?

We are all good talkers but are we really good listeners? Not just listening for the sake of it but allowing people to open up and share?

Jesus knew his disciples because he spent time with them, He listened to them, He heard their struggles, their triumphs and probably some big fish stories too!

I think it would be safe to say that they followed Jesus not just because of what he said, but also because of what he didn’t. People will want to be around you and “follow you” if they know you will listen.

In the video the guy thought he understood but really he was off…way off. It’s funny for this video but it’s not when we were talking about people.

Loving on people and being Christ like doesn’t mean you have all the answers….It might just mean you’ve got the ears!!

Take time and listen.

The death of hymn?

Posted on August 10, 2011 by Jason Nicholas

Now at first I am sure some of you are getting worked up about this and are waiting for me to say something harsh towards hymns. Well….Im not.

I love rock n roll, distortion, electric guitars, drums and all that goes with it but I also have a great appreciation for the simple old-time hymns.

Today I have found myself playing a variety of hymns and just worshiping. It’s not my normal “play my guitar to kind of music” but I have enjoyed it.

My Grandma whom I love deeply always tells me that hymns will come back around but really I don’t think that they have ever left. They are the foundation for many of the songs being written and sung today.

The hymn’s music were written simply (piano,organ) but the words had depth and meaning(Something that we have gotten away from). I love hearing hymns that have been redone or worked into existing songs that we sing today and even just singing it like the original.

Will hymns die out? Of course not. Will they play a supporting role in the worship music of tomorrow? I don’t know…but we shall see!

Theres a few hymns that are my favorite, what about you?

Are you loaded?

Posted on August 3, 2011 by Jason Nicholas

We were leaving Brandi’s parents house the other day and Jonah really wanted to shoot a rabbit with his air soft pistol. So as we were leaving I saw a rabbit in the middle of the driveway.

I stopped, Jonah quietly got out and shut the door.

Now Jonah loves to hunt so he had no problem sneaking very close without scaring off the rabbit.

Brandi, Jada and I sat in anticipation in the 4runner waiting for the kill. He took aim, held the pistol tightly, pulled the trigger and ……nothing.

Jonah was so excited about what was going to happen that he forgot to load the gun.

We laughed at the situation, Jonah on the other hand was devastated.

I was thinking this morning about how often do we go into battle with our guns blazing but we dont have any ammo. As a follower of Christ we have to be prepared. Our preparation(ammo) is spending time reading the bible and seeking God. Thats how we are going to know His heart and what he wants for us. Pastor Craig Groeschel said this Sunday that “Boldness comes from knowing Christ”. How can we pray BOLD prayers if we dont even know what God wants for us?

If were planning on going to battle we better have some ammo.

Relationships grow in time. 1.5hrs a Sunday isn’t really enough time to grow that relationship. You’ll have some ammo, but not for long.

Go after God. Make time to pray and read. Turn off the tv or get up 15 minutes earlier. If its imprortant to you you’ll make time for it.

Lets do our best to be prepared and be fully loaded! Be BOLD!

Why so emotional?

Posted on July 28, 2011 by Jason Nicholas

Music stirs emotion? No way…. heck yea it does!

You know that one song that you remember blasting in your car with your friends, windows down and your hair blowing? I bet you can even remember the smells from that moment too! I know I can hear a certain song and be in that “place” just like that!

Worship does the same thing! It could be a song you remember that spoke to you in a certain time or maybe the day you gave your heart to Jesus. Could be a song from a youth camp or a retreat of some kind but it takes you “back” to that moment in time.

I love the fact that music stirs up emotions. It can make you cry, laugh, jump around, yell, and has even caused some people do dance a jig :)!!

The point of our corporate time of worship on Sundays is to come as one and life up the name of Jesus and its ok to get emotional. You can dance, you can clap, you can cry and even jump around.

Lets look at Psalm 95

1 Come, let’s shout praises to God, raise the roof for the Rock who saved us!2 Let’s march into his presence singing praises, lifting the rafters with our hymns!

3 And why? Because God is the best, High King over all the gods.4 In one hand he holds deep caves and caverns, in the other hand grasps the high mountains.5 He made Ocean-he owns it! His hands sculpted Earth!

6 So come, let us worship: bow before him, on your knees before God, who made us! (MSG)

Our worship should be directed toward GOD! That is the point. Our emotion should come from the sheer fact that HE has saved us. That HE loves us and wants to actually be with HIS creation and “God is the best, High King over all the gods.”

Let go…Be free….Let your worship be directed to God…Dont let others around you dictate your heart of worship.

I get excited and will not apologize for that. I will jump(sometimes off things), yell, cry and seek HIS presence with all of my being.Im not going to hold back so neither should you.

Don’t Hold Back,

A little QT!!

Posted on July 26, 2011 by Jason Nicholas

There is always seasons in our lives that can make things easier or harder. It may be something your going through at that time that can make life seem like a mess or like you have it all together. Whatever the case may be we NEED some Quality Time with God!

Usually we turn to God in desperation because of a situation (Oh God, Oh God, I need a miracle) but what would happen if we lived in a desperation mode for God all the time? What if we lived our lives knowing we are consistently in need of Him?

If you want to know someone you spend time with them. You talk….. and you listen. If your married and you want to know what makes your spouse tick you listen. You know they like a certain food or what their favorite movie is. You just know what matters to them and what they see as important. The more QT we spend with God reading the Bible, praying and listening the more we will know about God and His heart.

I encourage you to take just a few minutes if thats all you have and just pause…….maybe just listen! See what God is saying to you today. He knows us, so now we need to get to know Him.