My True friends!

Recently I have been wondering and pondering about friendship. That is a strange word and it eludes many people. Some people throw out the term “he/she is my best friend” like throwing out the garbage. A friend is great, but best friend is something that takes time to cultivate. Jonathan and David were friends according to the Bible. In fact they were more than friends. According to Joe O’Day, who is the author of the book “The Art of Friendship” wrote that “our preoccupation is usually with having friends. The Bible’s focus is on being a friend.” In this same book O’Day writes that Jonathan was closer to David than a brother. This was the same commitment that a man would have with his wife. The bottom line is that when a person has a true friend; well, words cannot describe that. This is not a friendship that should be looked at as in a sexual way between a man and wife, but in a way that is a bond between the two friends, who desire to partake of the joy of knowing each other. Read about the friendship in I Samuel 19 and part of Chapter 20.

I met this “friend” three years ago in March of 2010. I first saw him standing on a ladder working on the foyer of a house. I instantly took a liking to him. I don’t know why. He didn't like to fish and hunt like me. He was good at mechanics and I definitely wasn't  He was good at all sorts of “jack of all trades” type stuff, and I can assure you I wasn't capable of doing any of that. So, why was I drawn this man? I believe it was just the Word of God. I think we were meant to be Jonathan and David’s. It just felt right.

I was only blessed to be in his presence for seven short months. We moved away and we haven’t seen each other since then. Barring a miracle from the Lord, we will probably not see each other again until we meet in Heaven. He has his life, family, work, etc. and I as well. No complaints with that for we both have our obligations. But it is so sad that this friendship is separated by miles. My wife and I use to basically live in their yard or their car or their house. They were the same toward us. In other words, we spent many days during the week riding around the countryside together or eating together or worshiping together. We painted a garage together to help a church member out. We helped clean out a church member’s apartment together. We peeled a busload of potatoes together for a gathering. We enjoyed the fellowship together like friends are supposed to enjoy. We traveled together and now that the snow is about a foot deep in his hometown, it reminded me of our first road trip together. Someone was in the hospital about an hour or so away. It was snow on the ground, and well, I have never driven that much in snow. So, he drove. We visited the person and then went to a Hamburger place to eat lunch. What I saw next made me think that this man must be someone I needed to know. His windshield needed to be cleaned and he picked up a handful of snow and cleaned his windshield on the outside. I laughed so hard, I hurt my side. (You just had to be there).

To all of you, who read this; let me stress the importance of friendship. I miss my friends that live so many miles away from us. Never lose that friendship or never allow anyone to come between you and them regardless of what happens. People make mistakes and the Lord knows that I have made my fair share of them. These two people were our friends. You can’t buy that over the counter. Through that being said, one day, we will visit again, and that will be nice, but it will be just that, a visit. One day if the Lord will not let us to live near each other again, then in Heaven, we can spend time together. To my dear friends who Debra and I cherish with all of our heart, we do miss you guys. Stay true to the call and never allow the enemy to destroy what God is doing in your lives. Debra and I love you    R** and C***y.

Women with stethoscopes and Men with hair on their chest do not work well together

I knew better from my first Heart attack that I should shave my chest. But noooo, I am a Man and…Well, that nurse came in and started pasting away those evil pieces of gorilla type sticky pads that they hook the wires to monitor my heart. Then she said, “Oh goodness, I put this one in the wrong place.” My eyes went misty, not because of her minty fresh breath. Not because of her expensive perfume. Not because of the eye shadow that made her eyes glow. My eyes went misty because she must have been mad at her husband and I looked like him. She slowly and let me reiterate the word slowly, started pulling off that evil vicious gorilla sticky wire holder. I winced with emotional pain as she said, “oh I should have pulled this off faster.” Then she stuck another one in almost the exact spot. She only moved it over just a smidgeon.  After I came home I stood in front of the mirror while my family members were outside and I bit my lip and yanked my friends; Yanked I say! I snatched those things off. Once my pain level was down and my heart quit beating out of my chest, I commenced to shave….not my beard. I will be prepared.

Now that I got your full attention and I pray you will finish this letter, let me share my true feelings about my third heart attack. Yes, what I wrote above is true and I say 110% true. But, what I am about to say is just as true. I am not lucky as some say. I am blessed. I have as of this writing which is Saturday afternoon around 4:00 P.M. just SURVIVED my third heart attack. I cannot express my deepest sympathy to some of my friends who have lost loved ones on their first heart attack. However, I was discharged around noon today because my Cardiologist cannot perform the surgery to place my fourth stent in my heart until Monday. So, I had two choices. Stay in the hospital or come home. I chose to come home. That probably makes me dumb and not smart, but home is better than staying in a hospital bed over the weekend.

Yes I am blessed and that means as of this writing that God must have something still for me to do in Brent, Alabama where we pastor a very small, and let me stress that again, a very small church that we planted. Debra and I do have a vision for this church and we, with great anticipation believe it will prosper and grow. We are not in competition with any other church. We are just trying to reach that one person who is searching for help. I have been preaching for going on 34 years and I have preached it and I still believe it that the Word of God sheds light on the fact that we ALL with take our final breath in these earthly bodies. As of this moment, God has not allowed me to stand before Him today. No, I am not lucky, I am blessed, because that means God still has a work for me in my town.

The Apostle Paul spoke of this when he said that if he died it would be ‘gain’ for him, but if he lived it would ‘Christ.’ If it was my time, then I would be in heaven and I would as of this writing be talking with our third child that I have never met. I would have spoken with so many prophets of old and others. However, it was not my time. I am still here for a reason and that is why I am writing you today. I will not waste my time any longer. If God has chosen me for this reason to continue to live, then there must be a reason that I cannot ignore any longer.

Life is hard and we must focus on what is important. The President and this gun issue are really not that important in the real sense of things. Some of you are going absolutely stupid on this second amendment stuff. Don’t you realize that before guns, we had God? Don’t you know that if it is successful and they remove our guns, that we still have God? I believe that my God with no guns is still better than the world with guns. My goodness Saints. Read the Word! David slayed a Giant with a rock and GOD! Doomsday preppers are going wild by storing up food and water. Worrying about who will win the Oscar and who is dating who and who is doing what in Hollywood is not that vital to what is really important. What is important? Naturally your family, friends, etc. Those things are grand, but what is really important is the relationship you have with Christ. Is your relationship with Christ to a point that you can take your last breath and be ready to spend eternity with or sad as it may be, without Him?

I have determined after walking out of that hospital today knowing that I have to walk back in Monday and put to sleep for the fifth time due to my heart, that regardless of the outcome, I am secured in my trust that no matter what happens to me, God knows about it. He is still in charge of me and I will from this moment on realize that God has not allowed me to take my final breath last night around 6:00 P.M. when my heart started hurting and the pain in my jaw was excruciating. I am alive for a reason and I feel that reason is to be a light. Now, let me digress to the ‘godly skeptics’ out there who will read this. Yes, Ron Nichols has committed a lot of sins. I confess that. I have committed some whoppers in my day. Yes, I know that I have hurt a lot of people and some of those were friends. Living 53 years will lead to hurting a lot of people. But, one thing skeptic is this. I have asked God’s forgiveness and I know that He has forgiven me for my sins. Man, I have done some dumb things in my life and I wish I could take them back, but I cannot do that. I can only ask God’s forgiveness and trust that He will. Praise His name I know that He has forgiven me.  Through it all, I state it emphatically that I am standing on the solid Rock of Jesus Christ and I will be a light to help someone find the true light, which is Jesus Christ.

I am alive today my friends and I do not deserve to be alive. I am a horrible individual that has been saved by the grace of our Lord. I do not deserve such grace, but I have accepted His love for me. He should in all reality smite me down to the uttermost depths of this world, but no, He saved me by His grace and mercy. Yes, I am alive. I did not ask Him to keep me alive. I cannot hinder the hand of God when He decides that my time is up. But, today I am alive and I will find someone who isn’t alive (spiritually) and try and help them. I ask you just three questions today and I pray you answer them completely.

1: Are you hanging on to past grudges that you know cannot set you free if you continue to grasp those issues? Those friendships with close friends are no longer due this. Let go and forgive.

2: Are you living the entire Bible, or just parts that suit you? When Christ said to follow Him, and you chose to follow Him, then you must be willing to follow Him in all things. You cannot pick and choose which parts of the Bible you want to follow. Christ had to not only die a horrible death on the cross, but He had to be beaten and humiliated for our sins. He even tried to get out of it, but to no avail. Please stop picking and choosing the good parts of the Bible, but choose all of it.

3: Does your co-worker, neighbor, waitress at your restaurant know you are a Christian? If not, then you have problems. When you praise the Lord during church service’s and then leave a chinky tip or constantly complain when your food is not right at your Sunday afternoon lunch to that waitress that did not attend church, and then ask yourself this question. What if she came to my church tonight and watched the way I act in church? You cannot and let me stress that again, you cannot be a Christian in church and live like a heathen during the week.

Today I am alive. Tomorrow(It is Sunday now when I am posting this) I may not be. You who have read this are alive, tomorrow you may not be. What are you doing for the Kingdom of God today?

Ron Nichols

Lead Pastor

The Journey Church

Brent, Alabama