Pastor Nigel

NEW 'REVELATION' DEVOTIONAL eBook.

Just to let you know that a brand new FREE Devotional eBook based on songs from Third Day’s REVELATION album has been added to Third Day’s website.
Simply put, this book is both a snapshot into the heart behind the songs of the Revelation album, as told by Mac, Mark, Tai and David themselves, and also a series of devotions inspired by the songs. The devotions have been written by me and can be used personally or in a group setting.
Most of you will have the album already, and will have even heard the songs live... Here’s an opportunity to go even deeper!

You can find links to  the eBook at www.thirdday.com/index.html

By the way-if anyone wants to contact me about these devotions specifically or any question in general then my email is nigel@igniteme.org - I've always posted my email on my personal blog but have never gotten around to putting it on the pastor's blog.

SOUTH AFRICA TOUR.

On the  start of our South Africa tour I was conscious that we would only be in country for 4 days and needed to really hear from the Lord as to how best make an impact.

We studied together Matthew 10 verses 1-16 and used the words of Jesus as he sent out the disciples two by two as a guideline for our attitude and practice on this tour.

Rather than share what we discovered I will list the questions I asked and let you study for yourselves.

Why do you think Matthew distinguishes between 'disciples' and 'apostles'?

verse 1- what does it mean for us to go in power and  authority of Jesus?

verse 6-what does going to lost sheep of Israel mean to us today?

verse 7-how would you define a KIngdom message?

verses 9 and 10-what do these verses tell us about shunning luxury and excess?

verses 11-15-how can we give  our peace? Can we take it back? What do these verses tell us about meeting and relating to people for the first time?

verse 16-what does being as shrewd as a snake and as innocent as a dove really mean? How do we work that out in daily life?

As always, if you want to email me with your answers or leave a reply then go ahead!

Highlights of the South Africa tour from a ministry perspective have been the band sharing the platform with Angus Buchan in Durban and with Louis Brittz and Retief Burger in Pretoria. Angus Buchan is a Scottish farmer who has become one of South Africa's foremost evangelists. He had over 200,000 attend his MIghty Men conference this year, and his lifestory has been told in the book and film 'Faith like Potatoes'. Louis and Retief are at the forefront of a new wave of worship music written and sung in the Afrikaans language.

 

THE WISDOM OF GOD.

We haven't spent as much time in the book of Proverbs on this tour as I'd expected-we've found ourselves talking and praying about other things that the Lord has brought to our attention. But here are at least some thoughts we've pondered.

READ PROVERBS 1.1-7 ( The Message would be a good addition to whatever other version you normally read.)

 The Godly wisdom found in Proverbs is designed to help us live on earth as it is in heaven, and the word 'wisdom' in the Bible literally means 'skill' as in:

•  the skill of the tabernacle craftsmen in Exodus  31.6
• the wits of seasoned sailors in Psalm 107.27
• the administrative ability talked about in 1 Kings 3.28
• the wise advice of a counsellor in 2 Samuel 20.22

Wisdom is about both moral strength and mental discernment. The wise person is not just a person with knowledge but the person who knows how to apply that knowledge in order to live their life in a more Godly way.

Here's a selection of my favorite 'wisdom' proverbs:

11.2, 19.8, 28.26      and some longer passages: 2.1-12, 4.4-11, 24.3-14.

In 4.4-11 we see that wisdom brings us three benefits: Life, Security, and Honor.

In the next blog I'll focus on Jesus and Wisdom. We may never get to what Proverbs says about Words, Work, Wealth, and Witness but I'm sure you can dig deep into the book of Proverbs and find out for yourselves!

GATEWAY SCHOOL VIDEO.

Back in August a pastor buddy of mine from Cardiff visited the Come Together Compound in Rajahmundry, India, and took this great little video clip of life at the Gateway School.

The C.R.O.S.S. of Communion.

In a brief moment of peace in an otherwise hectic day in St. Augustine, Florida, we gathered Third Day and Glory Revealed personnel for Communion. Having studied the Lord's Supper a lot lately I was able to mention 5 key reasons why we celebrate Communion in fellowship with one another and with the Lord:

Covenant-  it reminds us of the New Covenant sealed in the blood of Jesus. An indication of God's love and commitment towards us despite our sinfulness and waywardness.

Remembrance- we have been commanded to remember the Lord's death until he comes. The Greek word used here for 'remembrance' signifies not just remembering but also identifying with the act being remembered.

Obedience- if for no other reason, Christ commanded us to participate in the Lord's Supper. That's good enough for me!

Spiritual food-Paul talks about the physical dangers of entering into the Lord's Supper with the wrong attitude, and conversely recognizes that by partaking humbly and with an element of honest self-examination we receive spiritual strength and sustenance, even healing.

Second Coming of Jesus- the Lord's Supper is to be taken 'until he comes' and the certainty is that one day He will return. Communion reminds us of the hope of that confident  expectation.

READ 1 Corinthians 11.22-33

LATEST TOUR DEVOTIONS- WISDOM.

Having not written a blog since just after our UK and European dates in June, I'm now sitting in a hotel in Washington DC about to fly to meet the band in Florida for the first of 12 shows.

My devotional focus with them is going to be from the book of Proverbs- the wisdom of Solomon. The Lord asked Solomon to choose anything he wanted:

 That night God appeared to Solomon in a dream and said, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!”

Solomon replied to God, “You have been so faithful and kind to my father, David, and now you have made me king in his place.

 Now, LORD God, please keep your promise to David my father, for you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth! Give me wisdom and knowledge to rule them properly, for who is able to govern this great nation of yours?”

2 Chronicles 1.7-10 NLT

So Solomon chose Wisdom over anything else, and wrote much of this wisdom down in the book of Proverbs. In our devotional times we'll be examining what Solomon wrote about:

WISDOM

WORDS

WORK

WEALTH

WITNESS

And we'll be making sure to reference the life of Jesus in each study that we do.

Join us on our devotional journey- I'll be posting updates frequently.

FIRST CHILDREN AT GATEWAY SCHOOL ON THE COME TOGETHER COMPOUND.

Last week saw the first official school day at the Gateway School in India. The Come Together compound was full of excited pupils from local villages, and by the end of this week the school will be operating at full capacity of approx. 350 children.

To see pictures of the first school day visit the gallery on my personal blog.

MUSIC MINISTRY 2.

Our Europe/UK devotions on the power of music also looked at the following passages:

1. AMOS 5.21-24

-where the prophet speaks God's warning about 'show' and 'pretense' and the dangers of singing religious songs when doing so hypocritically-especially when ignoring justice and social concern.

It has been interesting over the last few years to see Third Day's increased passion not just for worship through music but also service through social action and justice projects around the world.

2. EPHESIANS 5.15-20

-where Paul challenges the Ephesian church to be filled with the Spirit and says that a consequence of that will be the singing of spiritual songs and an attitude of thanksgiving. If you want a question to ponder then ask yourself what Paul means by 'making music to the Lord in your hearts' (New Living Translation).

MUSIC MINISTRY.

On our European and UK tour opportunities to get together for devotions have been a little sporadic, with much hectic traveling early on going into Slovakia and Denmark on successive days, and then time off in London with some of the wives accompanying the guys.

However, when we have been able to read the Bible and pray together I've been looking at what Scripture has to reveal to us about music-not just songs with lyrics but music itself.

If you want to discover what we've been learning then read the following:

GENESIS 4.19-22 and 26

Here we see musicians sandwiched in between two very important skills- farmers/herdsmen and metalworkers/tool manufacturers. In other words, God ordained musicians from the earliest of times to have a significant role in society. It's no coincidence that at the end of this chapter people first begin to worship the Lord.

EXODUS 32.17-24

A natural part of the Israelites worship was music and dancing, albeit in this story their worship was misdirected.

2 CHRONICLES 20.20-30

Here it can be seen that praise is a passport to a better place. Jehoshaphat puts out a worship band at the front of the army before a crucial battle. He made a habit of praising God before and after a critical situation. Many of us might cry out to God whilst we are in a desperate place OR some of us might thank Him after passing through a crisis, but here we see praise at all times being modeled.

TELL THE STORIES WITH THANKSGIVING IN YOUR HEART.

Our devotional focus on the last couple of dates of the tour has been firstly one of thanksgiving for all that God has done through us, and secondly one of telling the stories of God's goodness.

In the band devotions yesterday we meditated on this verses:

 Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. 

Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. 

Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. 

Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always. 

Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced, 

Psalm 105.1-5

We did indeed thank God for all he has done on this tour, and we took the opportunity to reflect on the lessons we had learnt-especially with regard to relationships with God and people, and with planning. What wisdom from this tour should we carry into the future?

Today in our final all tour devotional service, I reminded everyone that we have been engaged in a battle-a battle already won by Christ on the cross- but a battle between the forces of light and darkness nevertheless. I read this verse:

 They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Revelation 12.11

In this picture of the final battle in Revelation, the saints are victorious because of the blood of the Lamb AND their own testimony. I challenged the assembled bands and crew to remember the good news stories of this tour, and we shared many of them. I encouraged people to keep on telling the stories from this tour-stories which will give them more faith, will encourage others and will give glory to God.