e-holiness

books and more books

i have just finished an amazing book by tim butcher called blood river, tim is a journalist with the daily telegraph and set out on a one man journey to follow in the footsteps of one of the most well known african explorers, a certain h.m. stanley, and someone who also wrote for that famous newspaper.

the book follows tim's experiences as he follows the congo westward towards the atlantic ocean and picks up on the history of this huge nation which sits in the middle of africa. stories of warring factions that are operating within the country as we speak are placed against a backdrop of colonial rule first by the portuguese and then the belgians. it's clear to see how such countries who have been raped and pillaged by 'the west' are now struggling to gain stability under their own rule, this could be said of rwanda, burundi and the current crisis in zimbabwe.

tomorrow i will post on another book that i have just started to read which looks at the current worries and conflicts in this world, as seen in the book blood river, against the rule of God's kingdom and what Jesus came to set in place through us......

kings and beggars

over the last couple of weeks my life has been so busy, not that it's quiet normally, however after a trip to croatia last week and a planned trip to portugal next week this week has found me in the company of the rich and famous. wednesday i had the pleasure of visiting wimbledon to see the tennis championships, with tickets to both the centre and no. 1 courts, where i saw the number 1 seeds in both the mens and womens draw (roger federer and ann ivanovic for those not up to speed)...that evening i attended a black tie do in london where i was able to meet up with john mcenroe and tim henman, to hear these two wonderful men speak of their tennis careers was great but as i sat amongst some of the most wealthy people in the world my mind was on the plight of the millions of people living in dire conditions around the world.

i am so grateful to God that he has enabled me to experience both sides of life, mixing with the haves and the have nots but what i am most mindful of is that whether people are rich or poor, black or white, european or african, without God they are lost and in need of a saviour, and as 'followers of Christ' it is for us to show them that He is the way into truth and life eternal.

p.s. john wasserman was once again on top form last night and i am so looking forward to charile robinson's visit next weekend, more of which will follow next week!!

john wasserman

just a short note to say that john wasserman from airport christian fellowhip in south africa will be visiting the vale of aylesbury vineyard this coming thursday (25th june) we will be meeting at the aylesbury grammar school on walton way, we have been so blessed by johns teaching over the last few years and would urge you to come and listen to this amazing teacher, all welcome.....looking at their address i can't believe how close i was for a visit when i was over in april....perhaps we will make a trip up from cape town when we move over in october!

pursue a life of holiness....

tonight the hoodies meet again, it's been a while and since the last 'meeting' we should have been reading through the book of hebrews, to be honest i have been so busy that i haven't had time to really get into this challenging book however one verse that jumps out at me is the call to be holy.

hebrews 12:14 reads, 'make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy, without holiness no one will see the Lord'.....wow a heavy verse hey?.....this says nothing about salvation, perhaps as the book of hebrews was written to people who were already Christians then that expectation was a given. however this is a big warning for all of us, are we Christians who can accept forgiveness all too easily without wanting to change our lives to become holy....holiness will cost us...are we prepared to become holy because only through holiness we will see God!

what does holiness look like to you?

it gets worse...

sorry for the lack of posts this week, it's been manic what with a trip to croatia on monday, tuesday and wednesday....what a wonderful country that is....and then blitzing around our green a pleasant land on thursday and friday i don't seem to have stopped.....i can't believe that the euro 2008 football championships are now into the quarter final stages and i haven't seen one game....but hopefully tonight i will catch croatia beating turkey, come on....

with such busy lives it's so easy to forget the pressing needs of this world, but the situation in south africa continues, a report in this weeks helderberg district mail has highlighted that the camp set up to house thousands of displaced people from the townships of zola and lwandle have been hit by storms this week, this is the camp that everynation somerset west are helping to support......lets not forget that there is a needy world out there as we busy ourselves in our own little world...

amazing joseph....

last night we were joined by our good friends, ross and lizzie and pete and rachel, the only two couples who could spare a friday night not only to see the most amazing joseph arthur but spend a night with us as we ventured to b'ham to see jospeh for the last time before we make our trek to south africa......shame!...my only prayer is that he will perform in the uk one more time before we move out in october, but that i would imagine would be a miracle!

anyways the man was a great as ever performing some of his newer work in an acoustic set, joseph played to an crowd of around 100 fans in the small studio at the glee club, again some of his lyrics really challenge me to wonder where his faith is....this is a man who is certainly seeking the truth that our great God only provides...to see what i continue to rave about please visit this link to a couple of new videos, including one of my most fav songs 'she paints me gold'....

just giving for thembalitsha uk

thembalitsha uk have just received their justgiving registration, this means that you can now donate on-line to support the work of this charity. please follow this link to their justgiving thembalitsha uk site....and if you would rather sponsor via myself and maz then follow this link to our justgiving site which donates to thembalitsha uk as well.

...who will be the first to donate?

you can make a difference

i have just been sent this link from my good friend simon guillebaud, the video, part of a series that simon has just shot, calls for us to pick up that famous starfish and start to make a difference.

whilst simon is speaking about little babies in central africa and i will harp on about similar little black babies with HIV AIDS in south africa, what we can't ignore is God calls each and everyone of us to step out, pick up a starfish, whoever that might be and start to show His love for this dying world....

yes it might cost you your secure western life, coming home after a hard days work to sit in watch your favourite tv show or spend time with your family, all of which is very important and yes what if you do step out you might end up in burundi, or south africa, or china or peru, or even london, oxford or glasgow but God died to save you, and me and your next-door neighbour but if he gave up everything to give you life doesn't he call you to give up yours to save others?......

mountain biking for themba!

we just wanted to say a big thank you to dave of 'mountain blog rider' for completing the '10 under the ben' ride where he raised funds for thembalitsha....many thanks dave you're a top man and come on the rest of you, is there anything you can do to help fund this amazing work? 

listen to me?!

not that i really want to listen to it myself but if you would like to hear me share about my last trip to south africa and see some of the photos as i share then please follow this link into the winslow christian fellowship web site, where i spoke at last sunday morning...the guys at this church are so cool we value their support so much....