Pastor Nigel

THIEF.

In our Good Friday tour Communion service I shared the story from Luke 23.32-43 of the two thieves either side of Jesus on the cross- sung about by the band in the song THIEF. I'd recently preached this passage at home in Cardiff under the title Saved by Grace, using the song Thief in the service.
Here's my summary:
* This passage shows the identification of Jesus with sinners!
*James and John had wanted to be at the right and left of Jesus- I wonder if they were watching this scene from a distance?
*We are all thieves and murderers- stealing worship from God and being partly responsible for the death of Jesus.
*But where there is sin, there is even more grace!
*When we don’t get what we deserve it’s a real good thing-MERCY
*When we get what we don’t deserve it’s a real good thing-GRACE
*God's grace is immediate- the thief would be in paradise 'today'.
*He showed more faith than the followers of Jesus who had deserted their master.
*The consequences of God's grace are that we are forgiven, restored, reconciled with God, given new life.
*We were sinners but now we are new creations!

After the death and darkness of Good Friday there is always the new life and light of Easter Sunday.
You may feel like it's Friday in your life but Sunday is coming!

ISSUES THAT MEN FACE no.2 -part 2.

Continuing our exploration of Identity we read Luke 4.1-13- Jesus tempted by the devil in the wilderness.
*This epic battle is centred on the identity of Jesus.
*No sooner has God said “This is my son” to Jesus, then the devil attempts to undermine his identity.
*Satan wants to attack our identity and destroy our calling.
*Every time we do something significant for God someone will say “Who do you think you are?”
*Most of the battles in the bible centre on identity- for example, Peter denying Jesus by denying his own identity.
*God’s plan was that Jesus should face up to identity in Him and be strong in it.
*His plan for us is exactly the same.
We discussed a number of questions together about identity in Christ, and one of the questions we spent considerable time on was 'How would we measure success in our relationship with God?'-
Some of the answers the guys gave:
Knowing peace inside
Being able to be at rest
Exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit
The quality of our service to Him
Other people's response towards me.
Then Mark Lee led us to this verse:
Is. 30:15 The Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says, “Only in returning to me and waiting for me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength.

ISSUES THAT MEN FACE. No.2

So today we began to dig into the second of the issues that men face- IDENTITY.
Men can go through the whole of their lives uncertain of who they really are, and having no security in their identity. Is our identity in our job title? Our ability? Our place in society? Our life-role? How others see us?
We opened up the Bible in Luke's gospel and looked at 2 important passages early in the life and ministry of Jesus:
The boy Jesus in the Temple-Luke 2.41-52
The baptism of Jesus-Luke 3.21-23
In the Temple we discovered:
*Jesus speaks about God being His Heavenly Father
*The only words we hear the boy Jesus speak are about His identity and His purpose.
*In verse 52 we saw that Jesus grew in a balanced way-physically, mentally, socially and spiritually. Many people grow unbalanced because of struggles with their identity.
*From this moment on Jesus was able to grow securely into God's purposes for Him because He knew whom His Heavenly Father was. Security only comes in the arms of the Loving Father.
At the baptism of Jesus we discovered:
*God the Father speaking words of love and affirmation over Jesus the Son. He wants us to hear those words too.
*At this time Jesus hasn't even accomplished anything in His ministry- yet God speaks those words of love and affirmation. God's love for us doesn't depend on our accomplishments or abilities, or even our ministry.
*Jesus needed that blessing, and anointing of the Holy Spirit, at the commencement of His public ministry, not as a reward at the end. We go about God's purposes not to earn His approval but because we are loved and affirmed. We minister out of a secure place of identity.

The Bible assures us that God wants to relate to us like a Father- with all the trustworthy, faithful and reliable characteristics we would want to see from our earthly fathers. Before Jesus stepped out into his public ministry, he needed the affirmation of His Heavenly Father. God wants to give us that blessing and affirmation too. We must find our identity as children of God before we can ever be or do anything else.

LESSONS FROM THE ROAD SPECIAL DEAL.

Just spent a good few hours at Mark Lee's house signing 500 autograph plates to go inside the new book from me and the guys in Third Day for a special deal from BooksChristian.com. If you'd like an autographed copy at a great discount price then check it out here if you are from the UK or here if you are from the USA.

PETH NEWYDD ( that's Welsh for 'A new thing')

Despite my intentions of focusing our devotional times on 'Issues that Men face' , God has had other plans.
Tonight, I really felt we needed to be reminded that the Lord delights in doing a new thing. Reading the story of 'new wine' and 'new wineskins' we unpacked what the Greek word 'kainos' means. That's the word which is translated 'new' in Luke 5.36-39; the parable of the wineskins. 'Kainos' isn't simply new but definitely better than what might have gone before. With Third Day entering a new season we recognised that God was wanting to pour out 'new wine' and that we needed 'new wineskins' which were able to stretch and respond as the wine matures. Tai has been talking the last few days about some new ideas and business structures that really fit into the 'new wineskins' example so the Bible passage was definitely a word in season. We prayed for a new blessing in this new season and asked for fresh hope and a new shape that will bring greater creativity, holiness, and impact.
By the way, I set the guys some homework to be completed by next weekend's concerts- Questions about Identity that will help us as we study the second in the 'Issues that Men face' series.

MILITARY MATTERS.

Every so often in our devotional time I try to move the focus completely away from ourselves so that we can pray for other people. In our devotions at Sioux Falls we reminisced about our trip to Kuwait and Iraq, and remembered what a significant moment the tour was. Then we prayed for the US military, and specifically the chaplains, officers, non-commissioned officers, and enlisted soldiers that we had met. We also asked the Lord to give us wisdom as to how we can continue to minister into the military on US soil.
Looking through an army Bible that was given me in Iraq, I noticed prayers for fallen comrades, prayers for the dying, prayers for loved ones who are a long way away, and a suggested order for a worship service when you are on your own. These all reminded us of the exceptional circumstances that those in armed conflict face everyday, but that the rest of us rarely, if ever, experience.

THIRD DAY IN PRINT.

I've been staying with Mark and his family on a few days break from the tour, back in Atlanta. But yesterday Tai, David and I had a very positive meeting with Volney James from Authentic Books USA. This is the company that is publishing Lessons from the Road. We talked about doing an audio version of the new book, with each band member and myself reading our respective parts, and also about a really cool possibility of developing a 'Touring Bible' for disciples on the move. This would most likely feature some of my Ignite discipleship material plus inspirational stuff from the guys as well. I'm excited about this development- Tai and David were full of great ideas for it as well. We'll keep you posted!

THE GREATEST LOVE STORY...

Yesterday in Columbus, Georgia, whilst Tai was jogging near the venue and I was taking a walk, we both spotted the same sign which said; "The Greatest Love Story Ever Told-CANCELED." I was immediately impacted by the symbolism of this, and today Tai said he thought to himself "If Nigel sees this I bet he'll use it in devotions!" Sure enough, in our all-tour devotional time today I started by mentioning the sign and declaring that The Greatest Love Story Ever Told, is still playing near you, it's still running, tickets are available, and they are free.
In Romans 5v1-11, Paul writes about The Greatest Love Story Ever Told, as he describes the supernatural love of God for his children. Once again, here's a summary of what we discovered:
* A love that sets the standard for all other love. 5v5
*A love that defines unconditional love, and comes with no conditions attached. 5v8
*A love that gives us reason to boast in the hope of sharing the glory of God. 5v2
*A love that gives us courage to face the future unafraid. 5v2
*A love that gives us a reason to boast in our sufferings. 5v3
*A love that's revealed by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. 5v6

If we have received that wonderful, lavish, love from God then we have a responsibility not to keep it ot ourselves but to share it. John, in his letters, uses the phrase 'love one another' 20 or so times, and James says this:
So whenever you speak, or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law of love, the law that set you free. James 2.12
Not only are we a part of The Greatest Love Story Ever Told, we have a privilege of being able to keep telling that story with our words and with our lives, and we must keep inviting others into the story.

ISSUES THAT MEN FACE. No.1

On this tour I'll be taking the guys through a series of studies entitled Issues That Men Face. The aim is that we'll be able to effectively connect God's living Word with the day to day challenges of being a man. Too often in the past we have had great Bible studies but have recognised that they haven't always 'scratched where we've been itching.'
So our first study, looking at Acts 15.35-41, focused on the disagreement between Paul and Barnabas. How do we recover from the breakdown of a relationship?
Here's a summary of our thinking- read the passage first:
*John Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, had left Paul and Barnabas and returned to Jerusalem in Acts 13.13
*For whatever reason John Mark left them, Paul felt let down and lost his trust of Mark.
*The writer of Acts, Luke, doesn't hide this disagreement ( although he could have chosen not to write about it) which reminds us that even the early church weren't exempt from disagreements and relationship issues.
*Barnabas takes John Mark off with him to Cyprus, whilst Paul takes Silas with him to churches in Syria and Cilicia.
*In other words God uses this disagreement to double the missionary impetus that was going on!
*Notably, as Paul and Silas head off, the believer's entrust them to the Lord's grace.
*There is eventual reconciliation- Paul mentions Barnabas again in 1. Corinth. 9.6, and Paul speaks highly of John Mark in Col. 4.10, Philemon 24, and in 2 Timothy 4.11 asks for John Mark to visit him whilst he's in prison in Rome.

Here's a picture of the guys on the bus, in a jam session, rehearsing the title song of the new album-Revelation.

As far as the show goes- My Hope is You is back in the set list, which takes me all the way back to when I first heard Third Day. I was a nervous, homesick, preacher on the Newsboys "Step Up To The Microphone" tour in the Fall of 1998 and Third Day were the support act. Each night before I preached I would stand on the side of the stage worshiping and preparing myself to talk, and that song became my anthem.The motto on my USA cell phone as soon as I open it is still My Hope is You.By the way-I'm a Grandad! Visit my personal blog to discover more! Spin Like the Wind.

GOOD GIFTS.

On the first day of the Spring tour we gathered all the bands- Third Day, Sanctus Real, DecembeRadio, Revive- for a short devotion, aiming to start as we meant to go along.
I read from Matthew 7.7-12: the passage where Jesus encourages us to Ask,Seek and Knock. In a nutshell, I challenged us all to be persistent and confident in our prayers for this tour, to remember that God our perfect Heavenly Father intends to give us good gifts- let's pray for those good gifts for our families, our bands, each other and this tour. Jesus concluded this passage by commanding us to treat others in the way in which we'd like to be treated ourselves. If we can be confident and persistent in our prayers, and treat everyone else on the tour openly and positively then who knows what the Lord could accomplish.
We're all sad about Brad not being here, but I watched the whole show from front of house and said to the guys afterwards that it genuinely feels strong and fresh and has a great visual impact. There is an excitement and expectation about the next few weeks, and a desire to see Third Day move into a new season and onto the next level. Today I listened to the new album Revelation from start to finish- all I can say is that Mac believes it's the best album they have ever done, and I'm beginning to believe he might well be correct.