Category: The Spiritual

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 […]

I got a new wallet. It seemed like a good idea. My old wallet was really old. It is kind of big and bulky. It was just inconsistent with my new perceived lighter and slimmer image.  The new wallet was really cheap, but is “genuine” leather. It holds one picture id. It has three slots for various cards. It has a really cool magnetic clip for cash. It’s just perfect for my new quick and lighter life style. When it arrived I excitedly pulled out my old wallet and began the transfer process. That’s when the trouble started. I had to decide which cards would make it to my new slimmed down wallet. I put my cash in. I don’t carry much cash so that was pretty easy. Then I slipped in my driver’s license in the slot designed for that purpose. My debit card was next. It’s the reason I don’t carry much cash.  I was feeling pretty cool and modern. I just had to decide what would go into the other two slots. That’s when things got real serious. What about my medicare card, my medicare supplement card, my drug supplement card. I solved that one with an […]

I am excited  about a new ministry opportunity I will be involved in this fall, AMI Kids Acadiana Prayer and Share. AMI Kids Acadiana has a residential facility in Branch, Louisiana. AMI Kids provides an opportunity for teen age boys to separate a troubled past from a bright future. These boys have been placed in the AMI Kids program as an alternative to incarceration. The AMI Prayer and Share group will provide a weekly prayer and share experience for the boys as well as individual mentors for each boy. Our ministry group consists of men of varied races and denominations. It’s a great group of Christian guys. On August 29, we will have a kick off event. It will be a barbecue at the facility to give the kids an opportunity to met the men and learn about the ministry. We could use some help with desserts and side dishes. If you would like to assist please let me know. We will also need, of course, prayer support. I will try to periodically report on the ministry through this blog. You may contact me at 337-205-2353 by phone or text or nick@nicksigur.com. Thanks for listening.

It’s time to go back to school. As a Christian student, you don’t want to be intimidated. You want to know that you have rights. You do. You don’t give up your constitutional rights when you choose to follow Jesus. Not everyone, including many school officials, realize that. I recently experienced the knee jerk reaction that the current politically correct climate fosters. An inmate complained about a blog I wrote. Violating their own written policies in their rush to respond, ministry leaders suspended me. It’s all been cleared up, but it made real for me the battle we face in the current climate. Just today, I read that chaplains have been suspended from their ministry to juvenile offenders because they would not agree to refrain from calling certain acts sinful.  We have the same rights as everyone else as Christians. However, we may have responsibilities that others can ignore. We have to be careful not to be so focused on talked about Jesus that we fail to be Jesus. In school or anywhere else, you can meet with other Christians. You can talk about your beliefs. You can distribute literature. You can pray. You can carry and study your bible. You […]

Seems like everyone has trouble these days and more is on the way. Our world seems on the verge of political chaos and economic collapse. We are mired in what we politely call morality confusion; what we use to call sin. We can distance ourselves from these big picture troubles, but trouble comes home to roost. Nearly everyone I know has issues of finance, family, or health. Everyone seems to struggle with purpose. “What’s it all about? Where do I fit in? What’s my purpose?” Trouble seems to attack from all corners. If we dodge trouble coming from the left, we are hit by trouble from the back. Trouble seems to be coming from everywhere and everyone. The world. Jesus told us that “in this world you will have trouble.” The very nature of the world produces trouble. Folks have to make a living, eat, find shelter. Getting these things is troublesome. For those of us who have the basics, we see trouble in not having more. Satan. That roar you hear is Satan looking to cause you trouble. Don’t doubt it. He’s a professional trouble maker. God. I know He’s the loving Father, but the trials and test […]

I haven’t posted to my blog all week. Okay you in the back no need for high fives and “Praise the Lord.” It’s been a very busy time and not full of positive stuff. I have followed the adage that if you don’t have anything good to say, shut up. I guess my daughter was surprised this morning when she asked how I was and I responded with a list of great things going on in my life. I’m not sure that circumstances have changed that much. Perspective, however, certainly has. Jesus spoke often about focusing on today, not worrying about tomorrow, and trusting our heavenly Father. Maybe he spoke of these things so often, because they are so difficult to do. Living in the presence, focusing on today is important. Living for what? Focusing on what? That’s what I love about the above graphic. It provides an answer: “Look around and serve God.”  Today was so much better because when I stopped and looked around I saw many doors opening for service. In the Kingdom, joy comes with service, not with rest, not with abundance, not with a life without obvious problem or clear challenge. It comes with […]

We welcome a new soul into the family this week. While I admit to prejudice, I think he is awful cute. I have to admit that one of my first thoughts is that this kid has really bad timing. I can’t think of a worse time to come into the world. Things are such a mess. The economy is in the tank. Radicals world-wide want to kill us. Morals are in the toilet. Politics smell like the toilet. People are nervous about just going see a movie. Your timing sucks, Logan James. But God brought me up short. I don’t hear from Him every day. I did hear from Him when those thoughts began to cross my mind. “My timing is perfect.” He said. “This world has many needs and Logan James is here to help. Every one of my children has a special purpose and he is no different. ” God is right. Who would have thought. This child has a chance to be special. Every child does, but this one God placed here. He’s got great parents. His big sister is awesome. He comes into an extended family that loves and serves the Lord. He’s going to […]