Nick’s Walk

I just finished reading a great thriller. It was one of those page turner, hard-to-put down books. Although the book wasn’t huge it was broken into 100 chapters. Each chapter was well written and left you wanted to read the next one.  God organizes our lives that way. Our stories are broken into small chapters. God wants us to focus on the chapter we are in, not past chapters or future chapters. Satan, on the other hand, is the great historian. He keeps wanting to bring up the past: past mistakes, past errors, past stumbles, past fears. We have to get better about closing chapters in our lives.  God has written your story. The next chapter is always better. Dive in and Be blessed. Nick

It’s back to school and, for some, back to work day. The holidays are past and it’s back into the world. On Facebook this morning I saw more “Oh No It’s Monday” posts than usual.  Maybe we have had a vacation from dealing with people that make life hard for us: teachers, bosses, customers, folks with a chip on their shoulders.  We are coming off the season that celebrates love. Let’s start this working year off with a better set of spiritual eyes. When a person is gruff with us or unkind, let’s try to see beyond that to what might be going on in that person’s life that put that frown on their face. Let’s remember to pray before we react. Give a thoughtful, prayerful response to folks that seem bent on dragging you down. Saturday I spent much of the day in Baton Rouge at the first team training meeting for the Kairos which I will attend in February. It was great to see the faces of so many I love and to hug and get hugged. It was also great to “catch up” with what’s going on in the lives of others. But it served as […]

Matthew 19:26 New International Version (NIV) 26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Since we are so eager to package Christianity so that it will be easier to accept, we have created a false impression that the Christian’s path is the easy path. If in doubt about this, ask the Christians in China or the Sudan.  We don’t follow Christ down a primrose path. We take up a cross and do in Him, things that are not possible on our own.  This doesn’t mean that being a Follower is a grim and joyless road. Quite the opposite. Since following Him is what we were created for, it’s the only really joyful path. Once we turn from sin and begin to follow Him, its like He opens a door to possibilities we would not have even considered when we were headed in the wrong direction.  The secret, of course, is to stay in Him. We must allow Him to do in us what He will and give up trying to do things on our own. There is probably nothing easier to say and yet harder to do. When He makes […]

“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God” Psalm 20:7 The holidays are over. The resolutions made. It’s time to get back to work. It’s time to plant our feet firmly on the ground and see where we are.  All the aspirations expressed in our resolutions and all the “Peace on Earth” felt in our holiday celebrations must now give way to grinding it out on a daily basis.  This is where the rubber meets the road. This is where we demonstrate who we really are. The politicians have “fixed” the fiscal cliff. Get ready to pay more and have less. All the bills for Christmas you put on your credit cards is about to come due. All that stuff you put off until, “after the First of the Year” has just moved to the top of your stack of to dos.  It’s time to really act like our trust is in the Name of the LORD our God. That’s easy to do when we are on holiday. It’s not a challenge when we are sitting at home watching football. It’s a bit tougher when we have to […]

Some days change your life forever. They form  the way  you look at things, your hopes and your blessings for the rest of  your days. On December 31, 1969, a pretty young red head was excitingly preparing to go out for New Years Eve. She had a new boy friend and a brand new outfit. She was looking forward to a great night out. She was pretty disappointed when the boy friend showed up at the door dressed very casually and obviously with a less spectacular agenda for the evening. It turned out to be a very important night nonetheless. The boyfriend decided that night that he didn’t want to spend the rest of his life without the red head in it.  Rose and I have ever since celebrated New Years Eve by staying home. It was easy when the kids were young. It was tough getting babysitters on that big night out. When the kids got older, it was tougher as we stayed home and prayed, while they went out and partied. We developed other New Year traditions. I usually make the cabbage and black eyes. This year we will probably just eat out. Only she and I will […]

1 Peter 3:15 New International Version (NIV) 15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, The time of transition from old to new is a good time to focus on where we are, where we have been and where we are going. We should all have our Life Story ready to give. It may end up being a blockbuster best seller, a Broadway hit or a made for tv movie; but it should start out as three simple paragraphs. 1. Me BC. What was I like before Christ? Be careful it’s tempting to juice up this section with too many gory details. The bottom line for us all is that we were lost. The unique part is exactly how we were lost.  2. Me, After Jesus. What a difference He has made in our lives? This is the good part, the easy part. We need to make clear that we haven’t been made perfect, just forgiven. Everything didn’t change instantaneously, mainly our direction. It’s important here to be honest and simple. 3. His Vision for us. If we are still here, we are […]

Yesterday we discussed resolving to encourage each other through prayer,  principally through connect groups. That’s the best way to connect, but there are others. If you aren’t part of a connect group, but you have a prayer concern, you can get others to start praying for you almost immediately. Send an email to me at nick@nicksigur.com or send an email to amanaprayerpartners@googlegroups.com. Each request is briefly reviewed to avoid spammers, but very shortly after being sent there will be folks praying for you. We try to follow up in a few days to find out how you are dong. Be more proactive about connecting at church. Before service starts, approach at least two folks, introduce yourself and start a conversation. If your memory for names is as bad as mine, take notes on the persons you meet and end the conversation by promising to keep them in your prayers.  Consider inviting someone to lunch with you after church. That’s a great way to connect. Don’t take the easy route of inviting someone you are already comfortable with. Invite a stranger and really be blessed. One simple way to connect is to choose a different spot to sit during services. […]

Pray constantly for your friends and then let them know you are doing so, so that you may always serve as an encouragement. The time between Christmas and New Years is typically spent trying to extend the Christmas Season, watch some football and considering some resolutions for the New Year. I came upon the above quote on Twitter and it made me consider just how self-centered we start each year. We look to improve us. Consider how we can be better or make our lives better. I think it might work better if focus less on self-improvement and more on encouraging others.  I would like to consider starting this New Year with a more outward view. Wouldn’t it be great to resolve to “pray constantly for our friends as an encouragement.” I can almost guarantee that it would lead to a better year than resolving to lose weight or exercise more or to quit some crude habit. When I think of it, most of my problems have their origin in my self-focus. When I focus on others, things are always better.  Perhaps more importantly, when I engage in a prayer relationship I connect. I connect first because as trust […]