Ashok June 27th, 2010
Here is a PDF version of this post: PHD- Part 1
Biblical Foundations
Jesus is our model for life and ministry
- Divine Love, Divine Wisdom, Divine Power
- Don’t let the devil, the church or fearfulness rob you (Rev 3:7-13)
Supernatural gifts are a celebration of Christ’s victory
- Gifts are a sign of Christ’s victory (Ephesians 4:7-14)
- The Holy Spirit’s outpouring is a sign of Christ’s ascension (Acts 2:29-33)
- The judgment of the god of this world is revealed through the supernatural (John 12:27-32; John 16:7-11; Matt 12:22-32; Acts 10:38)
The NT Church, a prophetic people
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Ashok June 21st, 2010
We are a planet of orphans; each of us was born with an orphan heart. We were not born into this world with a intuitive connection, a consciousness of our Heavenly Father, the God who created us and loves us with an incomparable, inexhaustible love.
Daddy God, Orphan Heart
A central truth that Jesus brought to the world was that God is “our Heavenly Father”, filled with great longing to reconcile us to himself. It is not enough for God that we be forgiven – he desires that we receive the Spirit of Adoption and so be restored into full sonship, and relate to him as “Abba” (Galatians 4:6; Romans 8:15).
This word does not refer to the formal “title” of a father, but the tender, intimate name that probably best translates to “Daddy”, “Papa” or “Dad” in our modern context. Salvation is the restoration of both “sonship rights” and “sonship intimacy” – and he desires us to experience this right now, in this life.
Though we receive Christ and in him the power to become the children of God, we can persist in “orphan thinking”. In our heart, we have not fully embraced our place in the family of God. We are sons who still live out of an orphan heart.
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belindaloo April 11th, 2010
People often ask me “Why is it so difficult to enter into worship?” As a worship leader, how often have I looked into the faces of the congregation, staring back at me like animals trapped in my headlights and I hear myself saying, “Let’s get excited about God today.” I want people to realize that there is a battle around worship – reasons why it is hard to praise, give thanks or even to focus upon God.
Several years ago, on a summer mission outreach in Prague, Czech Republic with a worship team, the unseen resistance became very visible…
Our team’s purpose was to lift up the name of Jesus in the city and so we began each day by asking God to show us how to do that.
One sunny afternoon the 19 of us started at the “Powder Tower” and zigzagged through the old city streets towards the Prague Castle. Because it wasn’t our aim to draw attention to ourselves, we sang and prayed softly on our journey. Crossing the St.Charles Bridge, filled with its musicians and artists’ kiosks, we blended in with hundreds of tourists. As I led our group, flanked by the four young children in our team, I suddenly remembered a very dark character on that bridge: an artist who painted himself as the devil into each of his landscapes. He was loud, unpredictable and often smeared red paint onto his bare chest, wearing devil’s horns on his head and sticking out his tongue rudely. I was concerned for the children, imagining the fright they could get from this man, especially if he heard Whom we were singing about.
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Ashok March 29th, 2010
Recently I shared a few thoughts on worship on a Sunday morning — here is a slightly expanded version of the same…
Life as Worship & The Act of Worship
Worship is presented to us in two broad contexts: Worship as a lifestyle (Rom 12:1-2) and Worship as the act of adoration (the primary words in Hebrew & Greek, I am told, mean to “to bow down, prostrate oneself”).
The first is the understanding that all of life is to be lived as an offering to God. My vocation, washing dishes, cleaning my home, parenting, leisure – all of life I lift up to God as an offering, saying “God, may what I am doing now please your heart”. Paul exhorts us saying: “And whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God through him” (Col 3:17).
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heatherfulk February 21st, 2010
Today we had a great discussion on the topic of sexuality. We took questions from the audience, but we didn’t have time to answer all of them. We’ve decided to continue the conversation on our Facebook fan page because it is easier to interact using the “Discussions” tool there.
If you do not have a free Facebook account, you can still read the questions and responses by clicking on the link below. If you want to comment, respond, or ask more questions, you will need to sign in with a Facebook account, which can be created for free. Be sure to become a fan of the Sojourn page if you haven’t already!
Click here to join the online discussion!
belindaloo August 28th, 2009
At the pyramids
Hello Sojourners,
Soon I’ll be going back to the land in Isaiah19 and this time for an international conference for our Ymission. Unfortunately because we are such a large group, security is quite intense. Also, there was a recent arrest of one of our friends and alot of info was shared that shouldn’t have been.
I had hoped to post a newsletter before this event but now will have to wait until afterwards. But I do want to ask for your prayers as I return, with many others, to gather, worship and pray. I’ll be there for 2 weeks because I’m also meeting with our college faculty for planning meetings.
At the moment I can’t say more, but I feel an urgent need for prayers to cover me and this trip for such a time as this. It’s the special and holy fasting season for our local friends in this country (as it is around the world) and therefore much more intense than usual.
I hope you get this message and pass the word to my church family there. I’ll be going on Sept. 6th and returning on Sept.19th. Please pray. More later… thanks! I’ll be checking if there are any responses to this message. If you email me, please be discreet during the days of my trip there. Thanks.
Belinda
Ashok August 2nd, 2009
‘The Weary’, with our very own Justin Lansdowne are on iTunes!
Look Down On Us, The Weary
heatherfulk May 13th, 2009
Current Needs
Knee replacement surgery – Violet Johnson is in need of knee replacement surgery. In order for her to have this surgery, she needs to obtain $3600. $3000 covers her medical expenses that are not covered by insurance and $600 covers the pay lost during recovery. Violet is such a blessing to Sojourn. If you feel led to help Violet with this need, please let us know.
Fans/air conditioner window unit – Jon & Heather Fulk are in need of fans and/or a window air conditioner unit. If you or someone you know has one they would like to give away, please let us know.
Window repair & sound equipment – Sojourn is in need of a window repair and sound equipment. Unfortunately, our budget is not large enough to cover these expenses. If you feel led to give to either of these needs, please make a check out to Sojourn and designate what need you are giving to in the memo.
Belinda van de Loo – Belinda is in need of prayer and financial provision as she serves on the mission field in Holland. For more details on specific needs, please email theinterchange4@gmail.com
Ashok March 3rd, 2009
On Sunday as we discussed “The Fasted Life” I had referenced the Campus Journey Staff Blog. In case you’ve not taken a look at it, we have a new Campus Journey Chi Alpha website and blog with lots of interesting articles. Here are the links, if you want to check them out:
www.cjxa.org : The new Campus Journey Chi Alpha Website
staff.cjxa.org : The Staff blog
Some articles related to ‘The Fasted Life’:
The Prize of a Fasted Life – Mike Newland
God Has Been Setting Us Up For Huge Things! by Chris Manthey
Come out of her, My people. by Mike Newland
A Fasted Life in Babylon by Ashok
Enjoy, and please enrich us by sharing your thoughts and comments!
Ashok January 28th, 2009
I went to Columbia to visit Esneyder. I ended up meeting God. I knew that this trip was going to be different than any other vacation that I’ve been on. What I didn’t realize was that the trip would change my life.
Going to Bogota was, to be honest, a little bit scary. Especially reading the US Sate Department warnings about getting robbed or kidnapped or worse. The more sane people I talked with (several either lived in Bogota or had been there) assured me that it was mostly hype and I’d be just fine. Still, my “little faith” led me to talk with just one more person from Ecolab (the company I work for) who had flown into Bogota to get some advice and reassurance from him. He didn’t call back until I was already in Atlanta waiting to get on the flight to Columbia. As he talked about the fact the he never, ever took a taxi from the Bogota airport but always (emphasis on always) had someone he knew and trusted pick him up (due to safety concerns — and yes, I was going to take a taxi from the aiport) — and as he further talked about someone he knew getting kidnapped and dragged around by robbers and thieves for half a day until they stole all the money they could get from him — I really was not re-assured at all. I guess this was God’s way of letting me know that He is the only one I can really trust.
On my first day there (and no, I did not get robbed or kidnapped or threatened by anyone on the entire trip), I took a day trip to the highest point in Bogota — Monserrate. Continue Reading »
