Author: Nick

Summer is over. Praise the Lord. I know that’s not “official” and there are many hot days left, but when school and football starts, summer is over. I’m glad to see Summer 2015 go. It was one of the most miserable I can remember. The weather was dreadful, hot and dry. Our family seemed to be under constant attack on many fronts. It seemed the life we have lived for many years was threatened. Trouble. Trouble. Trouble. Then there were Wednesdays. God never gives you more than you can handle. There are always bright spots in the dark, cool oases in the desert, vacations from stress. For me, it was Wednesdays. My wife and I agreed to fill in for friends, Bill and Anne, doing their nursing home ministry while they travelled out west to be with family. My wife soon emerged as the teacher on Wednesdays and she and the residents of the nursing home in Abbeville quickly grew close. We would leave home early each Wednesday, travel to Abbeville and Rose would meet with the residents. I would wait outside in the car playing lawyer on phone and ipad.  We would spend the rest of the day […]

Christianity is a hard sell these days, at least the way we package it. Followers of Christ face marginalization and even persecution. We suggest folks should face this and give up the fun of today for the joy of a distant future. The sad thing is that we paint this picture because it’s what we believe and have experienced. Before we can share “good news” we need to fully experience it. I’m not talking about the “accept Jesus and get rich” lies. I am not suggesting a life of perpetual good health and no problems. Life is hard and even more so for those who choose to follow Him. There are crosses to take up. However, let’s consider what we do have now. We have forgiveness now and the grace to leave our pasts behind. We have graceful power to live as God intended. We have an advocate before the throne of the Almighty God. We have assurance of eternity. We have the knowledge that any problem or trial is temporary, while joy is permanent. We know that we are never ever alone, out of his mind or hand. We forget that we will live one day on a […]

Sometimes it takes a combination of events to get a message through my hard head. Motivated by the great weather my wife and I enjoyed a fun and active day yesterday. It seems I was busy “doing” all day. I observed lots of road work, but with many of the workers taking breaks, sitting or lounging on the side of the road, checking their phones. I read an article entitled “Why Sitting Too Much Harms Our Bodies.” All this got me thinking about how important it is to move from thinking about things to caring passionately about them, to doing something about them: from head to heart to hands. Recently there has been renewed interest in  the life and writings of Francis of Assisi, principally because the new Pope chose to adopt his name. Francis shook up the church of his day with his emphasis on doing over meditating and contemplating.  As Richard Rohr has noted: Those who have analyzed the writings of Francis have noted that he uses the word doing rather than understanding at a ratio of 175 times to 5. Heart is used 42 times to 1 use of mind. Love is used 23 times as […]

What an absolutely glorious morning. I know this even though just the first hints of dawn are peaking through. I am doing something I almost never do. I’m sitting on our patio drinking a cup of coffee and absorbing the cool dry air. From where I sit I can watch as the light begins to fill the eastern sky over Bayou Tortue. I can hear the birds as they begin to stir. They must be female birds, talking so much so early. A day like this has to be filled with wonderful promise and all good things. I didn’t feel like this when I laid my head down last night. I was tired, discouraged, and drained. I fell asleep wondering what new horror the next day would bring. I needed rest and refreshment. I get it by falling asleep with Christian radio playing through my earbuds. The night alternates periods of restorative sleep with minutes of encouragement and hope piped into my soul. The combination performs the miracle of night. The prosperity teachers are such liars. The Follower isn’t promised an easier life. I have observed that the more we strive to follow Jesus the harder, not easier, life […]

We began registration for the Focused Fantastic Follower series yesterday at Amana. I was thrilled with the response. We are going to have a great group. Registration isn’t necessary. Drop ins are actually welcome. It is helpful to know if  you are planning to come, even if not every week so we can have enough material for everyone. Here are the basics again: Focused Fantastic Followers Beginning August 30 on Sunday nights from 6 to 7 at Amana Christian Fellowship, 310 Milton Highway, Maurice.  Here’s a map.  The sessions will last for 12 weeks and will be loosely based on Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People We are going to give Covey’s great work a Follower of Christ spin. There is no charge. We aren’t selling anything. You don’t need to have a copy of the book, but you may want one. It’s available in paperback. There is a Kindle  version and an audiobook version. All available from Amazon or from local bookstores. I have even see it at Wal-Mart. Yes I shop at Wal-Mart. Let me know if you would like to be added to the list. Nick@Nicksigur.com If you can’t join us, your prayer support […]

I was working on the Fantastic Focused Follower program, listening to praise music, when the song, Soul on Fire began. It summarizes what the Fantastic Focused Follower concept is all about, a Soul on Fire. Consider the first verse: God, I’m running for Your heart I’m running for Your heart Till I am a soul on fire Lord, I’m longing for Your ways I’m waiting for the day When I am a soul on fire Till I am a soul on fire The essence of being a Fantastic Focused Follower is not just having a desire to know and share the heart of God,  but to do so with such enthusiasm that it’s best described as “running” for that heart. It’s not just wanting to have the heart of God, sharing His desires and His thoughts but “longing for Your ways.” I don’t know why we think that we can have the heart of God without action. After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do. Acts 13:22. We have to run after the […]

I love Kyle Idelman’s Not a Fan: Becoming a Completely Committed Follower of Jesus. It convinced me that we are called to be more than fans of Jesus. It lead me to stop being satisfied calling myself a Christian, a term which has lost real meaning. Folks call themselves “Christian” if: Their mom was a Christian. They go to church. They’ve been baptized. They live in a “Christian” country. They are a good person. They believe in Jesus. I can claim all of those criteria (well maybe not the Christian country), so what? That doesn’t define who I am in Christ. I’m a follower of Jesus. The problem is I’m not always a “Completely Committed Follower of Jesus.” A Completely Committed Follower of Jesus, it seems to me, needs to be focused and fanatical.  Isn’t that what it means to be “Completely Committed?” I am sometimes unfocused, sometimes unenthusiastic, and sometimes drift. Sometimes I’m all three simultaneously.  I don’t think I’m the only one. We should be called “fanatical.”  I agree with Idelman that it’s not enough just to be a fan, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be fanatical. That means we are zealous, extremist, extreme, militant, dogmatic, radical, diehard,single-minded, […]

I love the fall. To me it’s the season of new beginnings. I guess this goes back to beginning the new school  year as a kid. I loved the fresh start of new books and empty notebooks. The break in the summer heat is welcome. Every football team is undefeated. Every football fan loves this time of the year. I know its only mid-August but the daily rains seem to have broken the back of the oppressive heat and at least a few leaves are falling. I’ve already started acting like it’s fall. I’ve planted seeds for a fall garden and the new plants are emerging. Fall seems to me a better time for fresh starts than the days of New Year resolutions or the “new life” season of spring. That brings me to Fall’s Fresh Focused Fantastic Fans. I’ll be leading a group on Sunday nights at my home church, Amana Christian Fellowship in Maurice. It’s a project I’ve had in the works for years. In the 90’s I was fascinated by Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change which was first published in 1990, and it continues to be a business bestseller with more […]