Author: Nick

. . . your life is hidden with Christ in God —Colossians 3:3 It is the season of Peace on Earth. But if we look around we see a world sorely lacking in Peace. It’s because it’s a world living without God. The most dangerous and unsure thing is to try to live without God. For one who is born again, it is easier to live in a right-standing relationship with God than it is to go wrong, provided we heed God’s warnings and “walk in the light” (1 John 1:7). When you really see Jesus, I defy you to doubt Him. If you see Him when He says, “Let not your heart be troubled . . .” (John 14:27), I defy you to worry. It is virtually impossible to doubt when He is there. Every time you are in personal contact with Jesus, His words are real to you. “My peace I give to you . . .” (John 14:27)— a peace which brings an unconstrained confidence and covers you completely, from the top of your head to the soles of your feet. “. . . your life is hidden with Christ in God,” and the peace of […]

God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . —Galatians 6:14 Tonight is our traditional Sigur family Christmas gathering. I was born the oldest of nine children. Our mom and dad and one of my sisters have gone on to be with the Lord; but the rest of us enjoy getting together each Christmas Eve Eve. I am proud of our family. Our parents did a lot better raising us than I realized they were doing at the time. I am proud of my beautiful daughter, grand and great grand children. My beautiful wife and I have been together for over forty years now. It’s a wonderful time. It makes all the more impressive the admonition that I should not boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Do I long to be so closely identified with Jesus that I am of no value for anything except Him and His purposes? I don’t think I am there yet. It is said that the proof that your old life is dead, having been “crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20), is the amazing ease with which the life of God […]

No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him . . . —John 6:44 The Father draws us but not with intellectual arguments. It is a call of His will to our will. We respond as an act of will alone. For us the response is an issue of commitment. But will I commit, placing myself completely and absolutely on God, and be willing to act solely on what He says? If I will, I will find that I am grounded on reality as certain as God’s throne. In preaching the gospel, always focus on the matter of the will. Belief must come from the will to believe. There must be a surrender of the will, not a surrender to a persuasive or powerful argument. I must deliberately step out, placing my faith in God and in His truth. And I must place no confidence in my own works, but only in God. Trusting in my own mental understanding becomes a hindrance to complete trust in God. I must be willing to ignore and leave my feelings behind. I must will to believe. But this can never be accomplished without my forceful, determined effort […]

We have received . . . the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God —1 Corinthians 2:12   Most of us know someone (maybe the man in the mirror) who has run from place to place looking for spiritual experience. Rallies, retreats, and revivals are all great, as are mission trips and ministry where God moves. These experiences can excite and encourage our faith; but can not be the basis of our faith. Faith based on experience is not faith; faith based on God’s revealed truth is the only faith there is. Faith grows fed by the day-to-day movement of God and the working out of His revealed truth in our lives.   Praise God when He blesses you with mountain top experience; but praise Him also as He walks with you through the valleys in victory and joy.   Nick

And I, if I am lifted up . . . will draw all peoples to Myself —John 12:32 Folks generally love Christmas. A child born in a manger isn’t very intimidating. We can handle that kind of God. Shepherds, sheep, wise men and angels. Again no problem there. When the lost are attracted by the beauty of Christmas, we need to hit them hard with the cross. A God who comes as a child is one thing; one who comes to die is something else. Very few of us have any understanding of the reason why Jesus Christ died. If sympathy is all that human beings need, then the Cross of Christ is an absurdity and there is absolutely no need for it. What the world needs is not “a little bit of love,” but major surgery. When you find yourself face to face with a person who is spiritually lost, remind yourself of Jesus Christ on the cross. If that person can get to God in any other way, then the Cross of Christ is unnecessary. If you think you are helping lost people with your sympathy and understanding, you are a traitor to Jesus Christ. You must […]

I did not come to bring peace but a sword —Matthew 10:34 People want the blessing of God, but they can’t stand something that pierces right through to the heart of the matter.  We must drive the message home so forcefully that a person cannot possibly hide, but must apply its truth. Deal with people where they are, until they begin to realize their true need. Then hold high the standard of Jesus for their lives. Their response may be, “We can never be that.” Then drive it home with, “Jesus Christ says you must.” “But how can we be?” “You can’t, unless you have a new Spirit” (see Luke 11:13). There must be a sense of need created before your message is of any use. Thousands of people in this world profess to be happy without God. But if we could be truly happy and moral without Jesus, then why did He come? He came because that kind of happiness and peace is only superficial. Jesus Christ came to “bring . . . a sword” through every kind of peace that is not based on a personal relationship with Himself. Nick Sigur

We know that all things work together for good to those who love God . . . —Romans 8:28 I just spent some time on Facebook. Perhaps the stress of the season is starting to take hold.  How was your day today? Did you start to “lose it” with the people you had to deal with, the traffic, the harried employee in the store, the child a little too anxious for Christmas.  Are the circumstances taking over your Christmas? It is only a faithful person who truly believes that God sovereignly controls his circumstances. We take our circumstances for granted, saying God is in control, but not really believing it. We act as if the things that happen were completely controlled by people. The goal of faithfulness is not that we will do work for God, but that He will be free to do His work through us. God calls us to His service and places tremendous responsibilities on us. He expects no complaining on our part and offers no explanation on His part. God wants to use us as He used His own Son. Tomorrow is the last Saturday before Christmas. Only a week left to go. Why […]

The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him . . . —1 Corinthians 2:14 The majority of people think of themselves as being completely moral, and have no sense of need for the gospel. It is God who creates this sense of need in a human being, but that person remains totally unaware of his need until God makes Himself evident. But God cannot give until a man asks. That is the plan He has established for the way of redemption. Through our asking, God puts His process in motion, creating something in us that was nonexistent until we asked. This is the meaning of redemption— it creates and it satisfies. Jesus said, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself” (John 12:32). When we preach our own experiences, people may be interested, but it awakens no real sense of need. But once Jesus Christ is “lifted up,” the Spirit of God creates an awareness of the need for Him. The creative power of the redemption of God works in the souls of men only through the preaching of the […]