SPIN LIKE THE WIND-the blog of Nigel James.

TOO MUCH RAIN, NOT ENOUGH RUNS

Spent yesterday afternoon and evening at Sophia Gardens, the home of Glamorgan County Cricket Club, for the historic first official England one-day international game at the ground. England played Pakistan and didn't score enough runs when they batted.
Then a persistent drizzle interrupted play for an hour or so, Pakistan batted chasing a revised target, the heavens opened again and the game was called off. At least our group- me, my Dad, Richard Lewis the worship pastor at City Temple, and Paul Zealey a young friend of mine about to spend a year-out on overseas mission, had a good time together eating plenty of food and occasionally huddling under a couple of umbrellas! A soggy end to a big day for cricket in Wales. Actually given England's humiliating one-day results this summer, an abandoned match was their best result since beating the might of Ireland back in May.

INVULNERABLE OR INVINCIBLE?

Chris Patten makes the point in his book, with regard to the USA as a world power, that there is a big difference between being Invincible and Invulnerable. These two words sparked a whole range of thinking off in my mind. Invincible means incapable of being defeated or beaten.
whilst Invulnerable means incapable of being hurt or damaged.
Patten's observation is that the USA rightly sees itself as invincible but has been foolish in imagining it is invulnerable.
I took an honest look at my life as a Christian and recognised that I've perhaps made the same error that Patten points to, albeit in a totally different context. I've confused the fact that in Christ I am and will finally be victorious with the illusion that therefore I should be free from hurt or damage. Patten argues for invincibility and vulnerability and that hit me like a lightning bolt. I haven't got to play at being invulnerable but because of Jesus I am invincible. My life will have plenty of hurts and I'll carry around some damage but ultimately God will win. I don't need to pretend I've got it all together and shouldn't be surprised or dissillusioned by difficulties and disappointments. Instead of playing the 'Nigel's invulnerable' card I should be trumping it with the 'God's invincible and he lives in me' card.

NOT QUITE THE DIPLOMAT

One of the books in my holiday reading was 'Not Quite The Diplomat' by Chris Patten. He's been a Conservative government minister, the last Governor of Hong Kong, and a European Union Commissioner. He's also a committed Catholic Christian. I wrongly assumed the book would be an autobiography full of juicy titbits about characters he'd come across. In reality it's a political book which has taught me a lot but has needed me to concentrate hard to understand the depth with which he delves into issues. He's unashamedly pro-American AND pro-European but realistic about the deficiencies of both. Reading this book has made me realise just what a shallow understanding I've had about US-European politics, the 'special relationship' between the USA and the UK, the democratic process in the UK, the growth of the European Union, and especially the continued conflict in the Middle East.
As an avid reader of the back pages of newspapers, not the front pages, I'm not sure I'd have got hold of this book If I'd fully realised it's content. Light holiday reading it ain't but I'm glad I've ploughed through it.

ON HOLIDAY

So here we are in the lovely coastal town of Cala D´Or in Majorca. We have a great apartment with a view of the Marina, and are eating loads on the all-inclusive deal. Beth and I went on a speed boat ride yesterday around the nearby coves- exhilarating. I don´t have the required England football shirts, tattoos and shaved head to really fit in with the crowd here, but there is Sky TV to watch cricket and keep up with the news! I´m reading a lot while Gill and Beth are sunning themselves.There are some photos in the holiday album listed.

HOLIDAY

Gill, Bethan and I are about to head off to Cardiff Airport for our flight to Majorca. We're looking forward to a relaxing week in the sun at a resort called Cala D'Or.

Malcolm and Alwyn

Just been downloading some music from i-Tunes for my hols and discovered that legendary Christian singing-songwriting duo Malcolm and Alwyn have three albums listed. They were pioneering in the 1970's in the UK and later had songs covered by Phil and John, Cliff Richard and The Cost of Love.
I've downloaded the Live(Remastered) album with standout songs 'I Love' and 'Fool's Wisdom'. I met Alwyn Wall once in the early 90's when he was the support on a Phil and John gig in Cardiff. Last seen diving into the back of a transit van with a load of PA gear and a bottle of something to keep him warm on the drive back to Derby... and they say it's not glamorous in the Christian music industry!

SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO?

Here's my answer to Josh's latest tough question.
There’s no doubt that the Lord Almighty is a sending God. He sent Moses, He sent Jonah, He sent Paul, He sent Philip, He sent His son to die a sacrificial death for us and He sent His spirit into the world. The words of Jesus in Acts 1 are vital:
"But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8

If we are genuine followers of Jesus then we’ll be prepared to be witnesses to Jesus in our own locality, in the country we live, in neighbouring areas and anywhere in the world. Throughout the centuries one sign of a life dedicated to serving Jesus has been a willingness to commit to spreading the gospel amongst unreached people in far away places. Nowadays, mission is much more seen as a couple of weeks in the summer, rather than a life given over. Short-term missions can be life transforming for those who go on them and for those they come into contact with, but sometimes we can compartmentalise mission and evangelism into a two-week trip and forget about it for the remainder of the year. The fact is that even in the Western world many unreached people live on our doorstep.
Perhaps the modern day tendency to be pre-occupied with ourselves and with our consumer lifestyles has dampened the urgency for mission, but with world travel being as easy and accessible as it is we should be living in a generation of limitless mission opportunities.
However, we’ll only take advantage of those opportunities if we have the same passion for lost people as Jesus had:
A vast crowd was there as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he taught them many things. Mark 6:34

If we aren’t concerned that people face a lost eternity without Jesus then our passion for evangelism and mission will always be luke-warm.
My friend Vinod from India always says: “There are many lost souls in India, please come and save many souls in the name of Jesus.”
There is a growing trend in churches around the world that I am very excited about – and it’s the concept of working trans-locally. They make an impact in their own locality and they help make an impact in another local situation which could be thousands of mile away.
Take Ignite, the ministry I’m involved with, for example. We have a significant impact in Cardiff and Wales, but we also partner with other Christians in specific places around the world long-term. Our friendship with Gateway ministry in Rajahmundry, India is one such trans-local relationship. Ignite will never be a massive, world-wide ministry but we can have significant Kingdom impact in a few places. However, I passionately want to see revival come to Wales where I live.
Another thing I’ve learnt is that through long-term child sponsorship agencies such as COMPASSION you can have an impact on the mission field without ever leaving home. A small monthly amount can help transform the life of a child. As a family, we’ve been sponsoring children for 16 years and currently sponsor three including Claudy who I met in Haiti 4 years ago.
Responding to God’s call to go and share the message of Jesus is still of the most urgency:
For “Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?
And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” Romans 10.13-15

A common misconception is that to be a missionary you have to go abroad, but as a famous evangelist once said:
“A missionary isn’t someone who crosses the sea, a missionary is someone who sees the cross.”

If you genuinely understand the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross you'll be as concerned about the people down your street as you are about unreached people the other side of the world.

MIDDLE EAST MATTERS

If like me you struggle to know how to respond to the growing troubles in Israel and the Lebanon then these pointers might help you. They were written by Pastor Chris Cartwright in our church bulletin today.
1. Remember that God loves all the peoples of the Middle East and longs for Israeli, Lebanese and Palestinian alike to turn to Him.
2. Remember the call in Psalm 122 to 'pray for the peace of Jerusalem' and to seek the Lord on behalf of the nation of Israel that they might be saved (Romans 10.1)
3. Remember that the call to prayer is paramount- it doesn't mean we have to agree with every political decision or action.
4. Remember we are called to look with 'spiritual eyes' at the situation- Ephesians 6 reminds us we don't wrestle against people but against spiritual principalities and powers.
5. Remember that praying for peace is a powerful response- but recognise too that God's end time plan revolves around the Middle East. It will remain in the spotlight of world history.

Thefaithfulpixel.com

If you haven't checked out Thefaithfulpixel.com, listed on my favourite links, then you really should. It's a great site that showcases Christian ministries, websites, events and people. You'll be amazed at the variety of stuff on display and it's a great place to discover what God is up to at the moment. You could even advertise on it yourself! It's run by my old mate Carl Brettle and he's always open for more ministries to take advantage of it. Why not click on my picture to bring you through to this site!!

TOUGH QUESTION No.2

This week I had another email from Josh Baker in the USA. Here's his next tough question, which I'll attempt to answer in a few days:Why are some Christians so excited about the thought of going overseas to spread the gospel to the far regions of the world when we ignore mission opportunities on our doorstep?.... He continues.. "I admit too that the thought of going into pure, hungry hearts is an incredible opportunity and one that the Lord has called us to, I get excited, but why is it that we are so interested in this type of work and ministry that the ones that are right here under our noses are dying and we think about remote parts of Africa? We almost seem to romaticize the idea and think of the blessings that the Lord has for us going through such hardships for the unheard ears, yet we seem to be oblivious to even our families." Another tough question that I'll do my best to answer soon.