SPIN LIKE THE WIND-the blog of Nigel James.

In Holland!

Visiting our friends Wouter and Maaike in the Netherlands. Went on a bike ride today- first time ever for Gill and she only fell off once.

VISITING THE SIN HILLS.

Safely back in the UK now but here's a video of Gary and my trip with Prasad to a tribal village in an area called the Sin Hills:

MR. SIMTH I PRESUME?

Spot the deliberate mistake on the Seethanargam Ignite Church dedication plaque that we unveiled last night!

 

By the way, Gary is doing a better job than me of posting regular updates and video footage of our mission trip, so check them out at www.garyideas.typepad.co.uk

INDIA UPDATE.

I've posted a new photo album from our visit to the Gateway School, and I've also put a rough video edit together as well-

After an 18th month absence I'm back in India visiting Pastor Prasad and his family, to work with them in Gateway ministry, Ignite India and the Gateway School. This time Gary Smith from Ignite is with me on his very first trip to India, complete with a hat and a Yorkshire accent that makes him look and sound like Geoff Boycott. Here's Gary and I travelling on the new school bus back to drop kids off in their villages at the end of the school day:

 

The children have recently changed to a new school uniform, and just before we boarded the bus I was able to play some cricket with a few of the boys. Here's one of them resplendent in his pink outfit:

 

As if Cricket wasn't enough exertion at the end of the school day, the whole school line up for drill, exercise, and to sing the national anthem before they go home:

Last night I spoke at a family birthday party and at the MR PALEM Ignite church, and tonight Gary will be speaking in a village where we may be building a church. 

Thanks to the wonders of iPhone apps, here's a preview of what Pastor Prasad will look like when he's very old and with a grey beard: 

 

After a fallow period when I've been too pre-occupied with writing a dissertation, I thought I'd return to the occasional series about choices I have made. Every choice listed so far, over the last year or so of blogs, has been a positive, good choice. I want to mention now some choices that I made that have caused difficulty, struggle, and pain in my Christian journey.

 Here are the first three:

1.Seeking favour of man rather than God-  For many years as a believer I wanted to be accepted and seen as being worthy, and as a result was often seeking re-assurance, status, affirmation from people around me-especially authority figures. It has taken years for me to learn that the true place of acceptance, favour and value is in the arms of a loving Heavenly Father. Reaching the place of seeking to be a God-pleaser rather than a people-pleaser has been a long journey.

 Acts 5:29 But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than human authority.

2.Succumbing to fleshly desires –I have been a living embodiment of the phrase 'the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak!   I have been fighting a long battle in an attempt to ensure that I don't become dominated by fleshly desires for food, sleep, pleasure, for example. Someone once said that you have to master yourself before your self masters you.

 Gal. 5:19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure,

3.Not protecting my soul from emotional and physical ties- as a teenager and a student I entered into a series of relationships with girls that seemed exciting and appropriate at the time, but actually damaged me and damaged them. I've discovered that if you give your heart to someone outside of a Godly relationship that you then can't give the 'all' to Jesus that he requires. If half of your heart is elsewhere, then no wonder you are half-hearted about your faith!

Prov. 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do

At long last I've completed my Master's degree! Handing the dissertation in earlier this week was the final part of the work towards an M.A. in the study of Pentecostal and Charismatic studies.

My dissertation title was: An examination of the Biblical imagery of Fire in relation to God, and the challenge to contemporary Pentecostalism.

BACK IN INDIA.

After an 18th month absence I'm back in India visiting Pastor Prasad and his family, to work with them in Gateway ministry, Ignite India and the Gateway School. This time Gary Smith from Ignite is with me on his very first trip to India, complete with a hat and a Yorkshire accent that makes him look and sound like Geoff Boycott. Here's Gary and I travelling on the new school bus back to drop kids off in their villages at the end of the school day:

 

The children have recently changed to a new school uniform, and just before we boarded the bus I was able to play some cricket with a few of the boys. Here's one of them resplendent in his pink outfit:

 

As if Cricket wasn't enough exertion at the end of the school day, the whole school line up for drill, exercise, and to sing the national anthem before they go home:

Last night I spoke at a family birthday party and at the MR PALEM Ignite church, and tonight Gary will be speaking in a village where we may be building a church. 

Thanks to the wonders of iPhone apps, here's a preview of what Pastor Prasad will look like when he's very old and with a grey beard: 

 

BAD CHOICES.

After a fallow period when I've been too pre-occupied with writing a dissertation, I thought I'd return to the occasional series about choices I have made. Every choice listed so far, over the last year or so of blogs, has been a positive, good choice. I want to mention now some choices that I made that have caused difficulty, struggle, and pain in my Christian journey.

 Here are the first three:

1.Seeking favour of man rather than God-  For many years as a believer I wanted to be accepted and seen as being worthy, and as a result was often seeking re-assurance, status, affirmation from people around me-especially authority figures. It has taken years for me to learn that the true place of acceptance, favour and value is in the arms of a loving Heavenly Father. Reaching the place of seeking to be a God-pleaser rather than a people-pleaser has been a long journey.

 Acts 5:29 But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than human authority.

2.Succumbing to fleshly desires –I have been a living embodiment of the phrase 'the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak!   I have been fighting a long battle in an attempt to ensure that I don't become dominated by fleshly desires for food, sleep, pleasure, for example. Someone once said that you have to master yourself before your self masters you.

 Gal. 5:19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure,

3.Not protecting my soul from emotional and physical ties- as a teenager and a student I entered into a series of relationships with girls that seemed exciting and appropriate at the time, but actually damaged me and damaged them. I've discovered that if you give your heart to someone outside of a Godly relationship that you then can't give the 'all' to Jesus that he requires. If half of your heart is elsewhere, then no wonder you are half-hearted about your faith!

Prov. 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do

MASTER'S DEGREE COMPLETED.

At long last I've completed my Master's degree! Handing the dissertation in earlier this week was the final part of the work towards an M.A. in the study of Pentecostal and Charismatic studies.

My dissertation title was: An examination of the Biblical imagery of Fire in relation to God, and the challenge to contemporary Pentecostalism.