e-holiness

bill johnson visit

on 27th april bill johnson from bethel church is the visiting speaker at st andrews chorleywood and whilst the church aren't encouraging us all to turn up and overwhelm them i would recommend a visit to hear bill speak. i have recently signed up to his weekly sermons on itunes which have been very inspiring. he is also speaking at new wine this year, which will be great for those who are attending.

unfortunately i will be in south africa over that weekend (well it's not unfortunate really as we will be taking possession of the small holding in grabouw when i am over so i am very excited but you know what i mean) and i am not expecting to attend new wine this year so i won't be able to make either!

stories of hope (imatter)

it was good to spend sometime wandering around aylesbury last friday (good friday) to look at ways in which the local churches had come together to put on the first 'hope '08' event of the year. i am sure that many other towns and villages around the country will be getting involved in this outreach as we seek to show the world that there is a God who loves them.

the reason for this post is to highlight the hope '08 web site which is a great resource to those looking to run and 'event' and as part of that i would point you to the imatter film, that our good friend trefor was involved in putting together. the film seeks to show 'normal people' sharing their day to day stories with the hope that people will start to look deeper into why we are here on earth....

have a look and share this with those that you know who are looking for something more in their lives...and that's not more duties, more meetings, more stress when they become members of organised church' i mean more to the meaning of life!

it's true....

God is big

i can confirm that our God is a BIG God, last night after many many months of pray and steps of faith, with little more than two weeks to go before we needed to send the money over for the village of hope,  a friend phoned to say that he had put aside some money to place into a hedge fund and shares but hadn't felt at peace about it.......God told him not to invest in the world but into His kingdom, therefore the phone call was to confirm that he wanted to donate £150K to thembalitsha uk to purchase the land which will become the village of hope.....

.... i had no doubt that God was going to provide but this came at the end of another rollacoaster ride with Him....praise God for His provision and all of you who have stood with us in this step of faith...

as the song goes, our God is a great BIG God!

i am the way

for those of you who visit jonny bakers blog this won't be new, but i have been enjoying the short holy week reflections from lifewords. have a look at todays and if you haven't seen them take a look back at the previous reflections and fill your mind with thoughts about Jesus ultimate sacrifice for all mankind.

thembalitsha uk update

UPDATE UPDATE..

yesterday we received an amazing one off donation of £150K which has enabled us to realise our initial vision to buy the land in south africa were we will be setting up the village of hope, we praise God for his amazing provision and remaining faithful as we stepped out in faith for this money.

please continue to pray for us and if you are able to make a donation (either as a one off or as a monthly commitment) then please print off the pdf from as below and become part of this wonderful work.

as you maybe aware thembalitsha uk have received their charitable status and now the push is on to have the £150K in the bank by mid april to pay for the land, to be known as 'the village of hope', outright. i have drawn up a pdf leaflet with some info on the charity and our vision to see the lives of hundreds of children with HIV AIDS being changed. if you feel you could support this great work please print off the file and return to the address as detailed on that form. please please consider making a donation, if we all pull together we can make a difference.

Download thembalitsha_newsletter_and_gift_aid_form_march_08.pdf

 

relax

i'm not one to give anyone undue publicity, however after spending a wonderful weekend in bath with maz (no kids, just us) i would recommend a visit to the city of bath , which is not only full of ancient history but is also home to thermae bath spa, which takes it's lead from the roman baths which are still found in the city. we spent a couple of hours relaxing in the spa baths, enjoying the views towards the cathedral from the roof top pool and pampering ourselves in the aroma-theory steam rooms (one of which is filled with frankincense)....if you have a chance take a visit, ensure you turn up early and make the most of all they have to offer.

the weekend provided us a chance to meet up with some old friends including clare harper (nee porter) and her husband hugh who live in a wonderful house overlooking bath city, we also popped in to see mal and chriscell calladine and saw the amazing new property they taken on....more to follow on that at a later date. overall a great weekend and one that i would recommend for all!

the passion on the beeb

no posts for days and then two on the same day, it's a bit like waiting for a bus at e-holiness....

just thought that i'd better highlight the bbc drama that will be starting this sunday, the passion will run for 4 episodes showing this sunday and monday with the final two on good friday and easter sunday, not sure what these will be like but they have defo spent some money on these with an all star cast headed up by James Nesbitt as pilate......lets have a watch and see, perhaps we can comment further after sundays first episode.

i'm alright jack

how many of us really understand what it means to be a Christian?.......so much of our focus in our journey with Jesus is around us and how we feel, be that on a sunday morning as we get upset that the worship band hasn't played our favourite song, or in fact would they know how to play it even if they knew it?, or for the rest of the week as we battle between with our own time and that which we have to give to God, going out to home group on a wednesday or relaxing in front of the tv after another stressful day in the office, is God really calling me to do that?....such hardships..!

what we often fail to see is the fact that many of our Christian brothers and sisters around the world who are being persecuted for their faith in God....yesterday i read about the archbishop of mosul in iraq who lost his life because of his beliefs, he along with many other iraqi Christians have suffered the same fate since the beginning of the gulf war.....please visit the barnabas fund's web site for further info on these and the plight of many other Christians around the world.

lets take time today to think of the issues our fellow believers have to face as the live their lives under oppression and persecution, and lets put our concerns about God into prospective!

day eight a time to build..

with all my recent travelling i have had plenty of time at airports and on the road, time at hotel rooms both here and abroad, much of this time has been wasted but i have managed to get through a couple of books and also had the opportunity to listen to some teaching....

...following on from some teaching i have heard i want to encourage you today to press into all that 2008 holds for you, these thoughts come from a few talks i have heard by todd bentley, a canadian revivalist, who heads up the fresh fire ministries over there.

it's hard to put down into words all that i have heard, especially as i have so much else to do this morning, however a point that i have really focused on is that 2008 is a year of new beginnings, a year of starting over, a year of open doors and a year to build. all this sits so well with my spirit as we look to set up the village of hope in south africa for thembalitsha and we have already seen this year as all those things. however we can't just take what todd says as gospel, we must look to God's word to back this up.

i have never really been into the numbers way of thinking but as we look at 2008 we see the number 8, there are so many scriptures that back up the fact that eight is a starting day/year, God made the world in 6 days, man being the last to come to the party, the 7th day he rested, and from a time of rest things started over, man got going and the world took shape...in genesis we are told we should plant and harvest for 6 years and leave the 7th year fallow and on the 8th, yep plant again, start a new, build build build....there are many many more but i just wanted to highlight a couple that have encouraged me.

there are many seasons in our lives and there is so much more i could say about what i have heard, so much that todd has said has spoken to my spirit but as i share these limited thoughts with you please take time to think and pray about 2008 being a year of new starts of new beginnings of a time to build, to see God's breakthroughs in your lives as you extend his kingdom here on earth....