Author: Nick

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you —James 4:8 After a night of watching election returns on television, it seems strange to be confronted with the subject, “the Authority of Truth.” It seems in the natural world truth is relative; that there is my truth and your truth. As Christians we know that there is A truth and it is Christ. As we draw near to God, His truth becomes undeniable. It blots out all of the pretenders to truth.  Truth becomes reality when it is acted upon. It is essential that you give people the opportunity to act on the truth of God. The responsibility must be left with the individual— you cannot act for him. It must be his own deliberate act, but the evangelical message should always lead him to action. Refusing to act leaves a person paralyzed, exactly where he was previously. But once he acts, he is never the same. As we draw near to God and His truth becomes undeniable; we are compelled to action. As Jesus described Himself as the Way, the Truth and the Life. Truth requires action. Truth acted upon becomes Life. The only Life we […]

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me . . . —Galatians 2:20 A bondservant is different from a slave. A bondservant, by his own consent, binds himself to His master, to serve and obey him.  It is a fair picture of the breaking and collapse of my independence brought about by my own hands, and the surrendering of my life to the supremacy of the Lord Jesus. No one can do this for me, I must do it myself. God may bring me up to this point three hundred and sixty-five times a year, but He cannot push me through it. The passion of Christianity comes from deliberately signing away my own rights and becoming a bondservant of Jesus Christ. Until I do that, I will not begin to be a saint. Be faithful and bound and be blessed. Nick Sigur

If you love Me, keep My commandments —John 14:15 First comes love, then obedience. Our obedience flows from our relationship with Him. Self denial and following of Him, also flow from relationship: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself . . .” (Luke 9:23).  Ours is not a set of rules. It is a standard provided by Our Lord along with the power to meet that standard. . If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation. If I hesitate, it is because I love someone else, myself. Jesus Christ will not force me to obey Him, but I must. And as soon as I obey Him, I fulfill my spiritual destiny. If I obey Jesus Christ in the seemingly random circumstances of life, they become pinholes through which I see the face of God. Then, when I stand face to face with God, I will discover that through my obedience thousands were blessed.  Nick

Do you not know that . . . you are not your own? —1 Corinthians 6:19 We like to think that we are own man (or woman) in this world. In fact, it is a taught goal for most of our lives. It expresses an independence that we cherish. But once we are His, we are no longer our own. There is no such thing as a private life, or a place to hide in this world, for a man or woman who is  in  Christ.  We are not sanctified for ourselves. We are called into intimacy with the gospel, and things happen that appear to have nothing to do with us. But God is getting us into fellowship with Himself. Let Him have His way. If you refuse, you will be of no value to God in His redemptive work in the world, but will be a hindrance and a stumbling block. When we become His, we slowly become aware of, and a part of, a new reality. We have new concerns and priorities. We lose ours and become united with His. This occurs through His power made possible by our Faith. Be Faithful and lose yourself. Nick

If you have faith as a mustard seed . . . nothing will be impossible for you —Matthew 17:20 Faith brings us into the right relationship with God and gives Him His opportunity to work. Perhaps I should change my devotional closing from “Be Blessed” to “Be Faithful.” Faith by its very nature must be tested and tried. And the real trial of faith is not that we find it difficult to trust God, but that God’s character must be proven as trustworthy in our own minds. We have to learn through experience that God really is who He says He is. Life is full of trials; but the trial of Faith, is faith in God coming against everything that contradicts Him— a faith that says, “I will remain true to God’s character whatever He may do.” The highest and the greatest expression of faith in the whole Bible is— “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15). Be Faithful, Nick

Without faith it is impossible to please Him . . . —Hebrews 11:6 The world is divided into those who operate by “common sense” and those who operate on “faith.” Faith can be mistaken enthusiasm and narrow-mindedness, and common sense is often a mistaken reliance on reason as the basis for truth. The life of true Faith brings the two of these into the proper relationship. Common sense operates in the natural.  When one moves from common sense in the natural he is being impulsive. In the spiritual, where faith operates, actions are not based on “common sense” and what is “inspiration” may appear as impulsiveness.  The teachings of Jesus Christ turn common sense on it’s head, but it is revelation truth.  Faith, which can appear silly and unreal to the natural man, when applied and put to the test becomes real in your life.  The life of faith says, “Lord, You have said it, it appears to be irrational, but I’m going to step out boldly, trusting in Your Word” (for example, see Matthew 6:33). Faith is the entire person in the right relationship with God through the power of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Step out in Faith […]

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him —2 Corinthians 5:21 Christ died as a sacrifice for sin. Yet the modern church shies away from discussions of sin or His death.  When death is discussed, it necessity is avoided. The modern view of the death of Jesus is that He died for our sins out of sympathy for us. Yet the New Testament view is that He took our sin on Himself not because of sympathy, but because of His identification with us. He was “made. . . to be sin. . . .” Our sins are removed because of the death of Jesus, and the only explanation for His death is His obedience to His Father, not His sympathy for us. We are acceptable to God not because we have obeyed, nor because we have promised to give up things, but because of the death of Christ, and for no other reason. We say that Jesus Christ came to reveal the fatherhood and the lovingkindness of God, but the New Testament says that He came to take “away the sin of the world!” (John […]

If when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life —Romans 5:10 I am saved by Faith. I am not saved by believing— I simply realize I am saved by believing. Believing is less than faith. Even the demons believe in Jesus and tremble. Faith has as a principal element: trust. And it is not repentance that saves me— repentance is only the sign that I realize what God has done through Christ Jesus. The danger here is putting the emphasis on the effect, instead of on the cause. Once I put my trust in Him; I turn (repent) from everything  else, an effect and not a cause. Perhaps the greatest misconception is that it is my obedience, consecration, and dedication that make me right with God? It is never that! I am made right with God because, prior to all of that, Christ died. When I turn to God and by belief accept what God reveals, the miraculous atonement by the Cross of Christ instantly places me into a right relationship with God. And as a result of the supernatural […]