Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Ooh. Gotta Hope He's Right!

Remainers have blown the EU elections, and increased the chance of a no-deal Brexit

Teaching Impartially? - Pah!

British law might well require teaching to be impartial – but if EU law insists upon bias, then bias it must be.

24th April 2019/
As a former teacher, I used to know the GCSE syllabus inside-out. Every couple of years, some bright-spark politician would change everything – teachers had to attempt to become experts in a new specification or a new syllabus. I can’t recommend teaching as a career choice at present: too much paperwork, too much bureaucracy, fear of inspections, not enough spontaneity, not enough focus on actually transforming young people’s lives.
I started teaching a few years after the 1996 Education Act came into force – which specifically forbids (Section 406) the promotion of partisan political views in schools. I genuinely, and naively, believed our education system to be overall reasonably impartial. I put the fact that younger people are more likely to be pro-EU, and older people more likely to be anti-EU, down to the old differences between idealism and experience. The quote “a man who is not a liberal at 16 has no heart, and a man who is not a conservative at 60 has no head” dates back centuries and the words are popped into the mouths of almost every famous statesman of the 18th and 19th centuries; who truly knows who used it first?
Then, when reading the GCSE specifications that I was teaching, I spotted something strange: every single one contained a reference to a ‘European dimension’ in the curriculum. In Maths, it didn’t mean so much. It’s quite a precise subject. There were a disproportionate number of examination questions featuring the euro, but nothing particularly egregious. That ‘European Dimension’ is a requirement in every single subject. Google “European Dimension” and any examination board, and it’s mentioned throughout. In subjects like Mathematics, solving a quadratic equation is still solving a quadratic equation. But in artistic subjects, in modern foreign languages, in literature and others, such pro-EU bias is far more wide-reaching. Some teachers manage this quite well: in order to avoid promoting any one partisan view, I’ve known schools invite a range of politicians to address Y10/Y11 assemblies or sixth-form politics groups. That way, children hear the full range of views and have the chance to challenge for themselves. Comprehensive treatment of all sides of the debate at every stage is the exception rather than the norm though.
The ‘European dimension’ in education dates back to a May 24th 1988 resolution of the European Council, which requires schools to make young people ‘aware of’ the ‘advantages’ of the European Union [Community].  It required countries, and this is a direct quote, “to include the European dimension explicitly in their school curricula in all appropriate disciplines, for example literature, languages, history, geography, social sciences, economics and the arts” – and “to make arrangements so that teaching material takes account of the common objective of promoting the European dimension”. Examples such as schools celebrating ‘Europe Day’, and a European dimension in teacher training, push the same agenda. But doesn’t that breach the 1996 Education Act, I hear you ask? Well, yes and no. It’s an established principle that EU law overrides UK law. British law might well require teaching to be impartial – but if EU law insists upon bias, then bias it must be.
Don’t get me wrong, this is all quite understated in schools on a day-to-day basis. If I claimed that schools were force-feeding our children pro-EU propaganda every single day of their lives until they come out totally brainwashed, I’d be ruining my case by exaggeration. It’s more of a gentle drip-drip-drip, with pro-EU cases being made whilst there’s very little if any space for anti-EU ones. If anything, any bias within schooling is substantially smaller than that which exists at our universities: the European Union pays 1,500 ‘Monnet Professor’ academics to promote the EU. If I say something critical of the EU on Twitter, a Monnet Professor will often pop up to disagree. I’d be astonished if, within a few days of this article’s publication, a taxpayer-funded reply doesn’t appear in the letters page.
Is it really experience alone that explains why older people tend to be more eurosceptic, or is it the education system gently nudging younger people towards a pro-EU stance which takes years to erode? Jonathan Arnott MEP.

Shortest Verse In The Bible.

                The Maker of the universe wept over a friend.

Gambling.

Christian advocacy group CARE has welcomed plans to tackle the harm caused by gambling but says the Government still needs to do more.
The Gambling Commission launched its new three-year nationwide strategy to reduce gambling harms on Thursday. 
It is the first time that health bodies, charities, regulators and businesses will work together in a joined up effort to address problem gambling. 
The strategy will take a two-pronged approach to improve prevention and education about the dangers of gambling on the one hand, while also working to provide "truly national treatment and support options". 
At present, there is only a single specialist gambling addiction clinic in the country, based in London. 
William Moyes, chairman of the Gambling Commission, said: "Everyone has a role to play to combat gambling harms and I'm delighted that the health sector, charities and businesses are showing their commitment to get behind the strategy and make it a success. Christian Today.
They can start with the wall-to-wall gambling ads on Sky Sport Channels. They are an infestation!

Birdie.


Optional? - Good Grief!

Tasmania has made gender 'optional' on birth certificates!

Monday, April 29, 2019

Don't Fly Ryanair!

Ryanair have excelled themselves. A fifteen year old boy, travelling from Alicante, who happens to have severe autism and a low mental age was informed by staff that his small comforter doll had to be reclassed as 'hand luggage' - and paid for. Not too unsurprisingly, he went into total meltdown and was refused passage on the plane.
Police were even called.

Interestingly, the carer - who had not even refused to pay Ryanair's wicked extra charge - popped over to the Jet2 desk, booked a flight with ease and the superb ground staff and cabin crew lent him non-stop care, affection and support throughout his flight. (Naturally, when told in advance that the boy needed special care, Ryanair officials had stated knowledgeably that he did not!)

He then travelled uneventfully to his destination.

Do you wanna know why I constantly urge people to boycott Michael O Leary's wretched airline?

BTW - I really rate Jet2 too.

Don't Know How To Vote In Local Elections?

Unless you have an active pro-Brexit candidate on the ballot paper, here is how to vote:
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES vote Lib/Lab/Con/Greens. These are the people who must be stopped - however 'nice' their candidate may be.
If Brexit Party is on the list - excellent! By far your best choice.
Only if there is No BP - which there may well not be, you can consider voting Ukip or preferably, Brexit-supporting Independent.
In the absence of all the above, please spoil the paper with a demand for democracy and Brexit scrawled all over it!

Normally, local issues must take precedence - but the locals give a chance to send an unforgettable message to the political elite.
Let them begin to panic about what the EU elections would bring!
Fear is the key!

I fully understand that there are those who will feel unable to vote Ukip. On Saturday, I heard a recording of the worst heap of racist bile and venom from a highly-ranked candidate. This is not the old - 'a Ukip member has told an Irish joke - bring out the snowflakes.' This was evil.

Me? - I'd spoil the ballot, in preference. Gerard needs to take control of this but cannot. He has let the genie out of the bottle. The party is turning into the new BNP - except it may well get considerably worse. Trouble is - I think Gerard actually means well.

Pray & Give Thanks.

I know somebody well who has come to me in desperation and asking for prayer into two dire situations.
God answered her quite remarkably in both.
She gives Him neither credit nor thanks.
I am greatly saddened.

Smokers At Notre Dame?

https://www.christiantoday.com/article/notre-dame-roofing-contractor-admits-workers-broke-rules-on-smoking/132291.htm

Birdie.


Doug Is Spot On.

"To smash the two-party system the Brexit Party will have to learn from Ukip's mistakes."

  • DOUGLAS CARSWELL. 28/04/19. ST.

  • ONE OF THE GREATER MISTAKES MADE BY NIGEL, WHEN UKIP WAS ON A ROLL, WAS TO ALIENATE THE EXCELLENT DOUGLAS CARSWELL.
  • DOUG DID PRECIOUS LITTLE WRONG WHEN A UKIP MP OTHER THAN TO DARE TO STAND UP TO NIGEL OCCASIONALLY - but THAT WAS NOT PERMISSIBLE, of course.
  • THIS WAS NOT IN ANY AGGRESSIVE manner - He is not that sort of guy - BUT SIMPLY CHALLENGING NIGEL IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM COULD NEVER BE TOLERATED WITHOUT BEING CLASSED AS TOTAL DISLOYALTY.
  • THIS UNNECESSARILY-CREATED SCHISM WAS ONE OF THE PRINCIPLE REASONS WHY UKIP IMPLODED.
  • NIGEL MUST LEARN TO EASE UP ON DEDICATED ALLIES AND SUPPORTERS.
  • IF THosE LESSONS HAVE BEEN LEARNED - AND THEY REALLY MUST Be - THEN THE SKY MIGHT YET BE THE LIMIT FOR THE BP.
  • Nigel has a presence which draws many voters. he is a gifted orator, possesses political integrity and can never be ignored.
  • THE BLOGGER.

Sunday, April 28, 2019

A Meaningless, Anodyne Utterance.

'EXTREMISM IN ALL ITS FORMS MUST BE DEFEATED,' SAYS PRINCE WILLIAM

The Duke of Cambridge said that a "warped ideology that knows no boundaries" is fuelling acts of violence around the world as he called on people to united against extremism. Christian Today.

A Gift You Are Offered.

Birdie? - No. Probably Not.


Post-Easter Assessment of Being A Christian.

(Photo: Reuters)A man works at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris following a fire.
This week we watched as Notre Dame was ravaged by fire. A country that has all but banned God from the public square mourned the destruction of a place of worship. Yet on Monday night Paris stopped and people spontaneously sang hymns and prayed as the fire burned. Since 1905 Notre Dame, like all cathedrals in France, has been owned by the French state. The French state had tried to avoid paying for repairs for years, but now President Macron is calling on the nation to rebuild Notre Dame together. France's devotion to la laïcité, its extreme form of secularism, seems to have been suspended as the country searches for its Christian roots.
In the UK, apparently only 46% of Christians believe that Jesus died on the cross to forgive sins according to a recent ComRes poll. The number rises to 82% among 'active' Christians. Let me make things even clearer - 100% of Christians believe that Jesus died on the cross to forgive sins, it is essential to being a Christian.
Sadly, there are Christians who don't know what they believe. At the same time, those that do are condemned. Look at Billy Vunipola who refused to bow the knee at the idol of sexual idolatry. He, and a number other pacific islanders, stood up to the new 'progressive' colonialism, which seeks to enforce the West's new sexual licence on others. In response, commentators rushed to mock their beliefs as an "imaginary construct" or a "fabrication".
We live in strange times. Secular France mourns the damage caused to its most famous, and neglected, cathedral. Rugby players are accused of bringing the game into disrepute for supporting marriage while commentators can mock religion with impunity. And some people think they are Christians even though they don't believe Jesus died on the cross to forgive sins.
We live in a world were people buy Easter eggs without any sense of the new birth that they represent. On Easter Sunday many will feast on chocolate but will have skipped Lent and the associated fasting. Our culture is living off the fruits of Christianity while simultaneously taking an axe to the roots of the tree.
That every human being is a divine image bearer and therefore equal is a Christian idea. The same is true of freedom of religion and the free speech being used to criticise the rugby players. France wants to repair a cathedral designed to worship a God it no longer believes in. And people want to call themselves Christians while denying the cross.
But none of that matters if Easter isn't true. As the theologian Tom Wright puts it, "The whole point of Christianity is the it offers a story which is a story of the whole world. It is public truth."
And that truth centres on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. No serious historian doubts the existence of historical figure called Jesus and his claims to be God are well documented.
CS Lewis surveys the options:
"A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse."
If Easter isn't true then Israel Folau has given up his rugby career for nothing. If Easter isn't true, Notre Dame is just a nice building with a hole in the roof. If Easter isn't true about a third of the world are following a delusion. But if it is true, everything changes and the question becomes - what will you do with Jesus?
Peter Lynas is Director of the Evangelical Alliance Northern Ireland. Christian Today.

Sri Lanka- Culture of Impunity.

https://www.christiantoday.com/article/it-was-a-culture-of-impunity-that-enabled-the-easter-sunday-attacks-in-sri-lanka/132273.htm

Saturday, April 27, 2019

Please Feel Free To Burgle!

Theresa May
The Conservative parliamentary party still gives no real sign of understanding the magnitude of this betrayal CREDIT: BOB.

Bless Them.

https://www.christianpost.com/news/minutes-after-sunday-school-class-said-they-would-die-for-christ-half-killed-in-sri-lankan-bomb-blast.html

Hull - The UK's Jobseeker Capital? - Only The Tip of An Horrendous Social Nightmare.

If ever there was a depressing TV programme, then this three year old presentation was surely it. Listening to endless numbers of people who have NEVER worked - grandparents even - made me feel queasy. There were just so many 100% healthy bodies who had been allowed to make the antisocial life choice to be unemployed.

Many said that they wanted to work but the evidence seemed to be wholly against that.
Do not get me started on 'benefits babies'.

The sense of entitlement was an absurdity.

Naturally, many of these good folk did apparently want work but did not seem to be busting a gut to find any. To those of us who have worked extremely hard for wages, in many cases, much fewer than their benefits for over 40 years - it is an insult. Some of the incomes mentioned were inexplicable.

Amongst all of these were the 100% genuine, of course. 

Labour will thwart every scheme to get people into work which has the alternative of benefits being threatened and will not even consider any workfare equivalent. The social damage of this mindset is incalculable.

The work ethic been destroyed by this present system into which we have blindly wandered.
I do not understand why Labour find this acceptable - except that it wins them shedloads of votes amongst people on benefits. That is not the Labour Party my grandad fought for!

Why would Labour not want to give people dignity? Why should working people often have less income than those on benefits?

The problem is beyond my level of intelligence to solve. It cannot be solved without good will from all political parties to search for a just solution. Leftist 'social justice' is NO alternative. It simply cements people into a negative system.

Think what the many hundreds of billions of pounds, effectively wasted down this endless sinkhole, could do to rebuild a better UK for us all.

I state this knowing that as my grandchildren grow up, automation is going to reduce available jobs by horrific amounts. 'Idle hands are the devil's workshop' as the old adage would have it.

To highlight the enormity of the problem, I know someone who recently visited a fair sized factory.
It had two workers - a cleaner and a fork lift truck driver. Everything else came from a room with three or four people working computers.

This is a real mix of social problems which all need resolution.
Sorry - but I have no answers.

The Murder of Jill Dando.

I find five things rather interesting about the acquittal of Barry George after the shooting of broadcaster Jill Dando:
1) He apparently did not qualify for compensation after spending time incarcerated. Whyever not, if he were deemed 'innocent'?
2) The police seemingly made few efforts to find another killer. Why so?
3) George had a shocking criminal history.
4) Conspiracy theories blaming Serbia were highly dubious and heavily sensationalised by the media.
5) Having seen George being interviewed on TV - it is clear that he is far from being the dimwit suggested by those promoting his case.

I am not questioning the eventual acquittal. The evidence against him would not have had me voting for a conviction in the first place, had I been on the jury.
Had it been a decision 'on the balance of probabilities' - a conviction would, IMHO, have been a certainty.
However, in the UK, we rely on 'beyond reasonable doubt' and for me, that would have been a step too far.

He died For Us.

This awesome fact should be a constant and ongoing part of every day for every believer.
It certainly helps us to get a proper perspective on life if we do.
If only I could manage to bring the Christ more to the fore on a daily basis.

Curmudgeons Are Grumps.

'Engaging and humorous?'
Sorry, but I think Mr Winokur is in error.

Birdie.


The Big Bang Theory - Series.

There was a time when I credited this comedy with being the best ever on American TV.
As we labour ponderously towards the end of the twelfth and final season - I am almost looking forward to not having to watch it any more.
The spark, the brilliance and the humour itself are now all but fond and distant memories but should we be surprised?
Okay, Frasier somehow managed to buck the trend - but even that gentle piece of genius had its lamentable moments when the esteemed Anthony Lapaglia disgraced himself with a cockney accent all the way from Manchester. ??? Quoi?
If that weren't enough - scripting for him was shocking and the acting worse still.
Frasier , however, recovered and at least 240/264 episodes were simply superb and a dozen or more brought us some of the greatest comedy in all of history.
Generally, all dramas and all comedies which go beyond their sell-by date simply turn into soaps. When main characters start having babies that is often a good clue that the writers have run out of material and ideas.
BBT - I offer you thanks for the dozens of programmes which were simply comedic perfection but - bye bye.

Friday, April 26, 2019

Three Reasons Why Socialism Is Inherently Wrong.

Wallenrock / (Shutterstock.com) Wallenrock / (Shutterstock.com)
Sterling Terrell September 20th 2014

I am tired of telling people why redistributive or “socialist” economic policies are wrong. But let me start from the beginning once more and come at it from a different angle—or, really, three different angles.
Socialism is bad because it is condescendinginefficient, and immoral.
Webster defines “socialism ” as:
…any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods.
The idea under socialism is that everyone pays taxes and the government, in an equitable way, provides its citizens with the things that they need. While it appeals to many people, socialism is wrong.
As famed French economist Frederic Bastiat put it:
The [socialist] state is the great fictitious entity by which everyone seeks to live at the expense of everyone else.

1. Socialism is bad because it is condescending.

When people work and produce they have the means to buy what they wish—monetary payments for work are merely a means of exchange for people to trade goods and services. If you provide a good or service that few people value, you are paid less. Conversely, people who provide goods and services that are highly valued are paid more. The more that one produces the more they are naturally entitled to the production of others.
In this process, as people spend their earnings, they automatically buy what they want the most first. How does socialism fit in? Let’s look at it.
Pretend someone wishes to spend their earnings on food, clothing, shelter, music, and alcohol—from highest order to lowest. Under a socialist regime, this may be impossible. After taxes, the individual may only be able to afford food, clothing, and shelter—while being provided with government transportation, health-care, and a public park—all of which they may or may not care about.
Simply put, socialism takes away the liberty to decide how you wish to spend your money; it presupposes you are not smart enough to decide what you need. Your income was yours to spend as you wish. Now it is the government’s, and it will provide for you what it thinks you need.

2. Socialism is inefficient because it makes economic calculation impossible.

This fact is really common sense (thanks to economist Ludwig von Mises). With a central government owning all (or any) means of production and distribution there can be no competition, profits, losses, market prices—or market, for that matter.
However, profits, losses, and prices serve to guide scarce resources to their most highly valued means. The fact that socialism is inefficient compared to free-market capitalism can be seen as the answer to an empirical question. Clearly, history has answered this question. Nations such as the former USSR, Vietnam, Cuba, and North Korea are great examples (these nations were not communist—communism, by its own definition, has never completely existed).

3. Socialism is bad because it is immoral.

Others can make this point better than I can. Frederic Bastiat said it best (cited from here and here):
It is impossible to introduce into society a greater change and a greater evil than this: the conversion of the law into an instrument of plunder. … But how is this legal plunder to be identified? Quite simply. See if the law takes from some persons what belongs to them, and gives it to other persons to whom it does not belong. See if the law benefits one citizen at the expense of another by doing what the citizen himself cannot do without committing a crime.
Here, Bastiat points out how the law becomes inconsistent. If done in a group an act can be lawful; if done by an individual, it is suddenly a crime. In the end, this amounts to nothing more than “tyranny of the majority” and compulsory servitude.
Economist Walter Williams takes it a step further:
Can a moral case be made for taking the rightful property of one American and giving it to another to whom it does not belong? I think not. That’s why socialism is evil. It uses evil means (coercion) to achieve what are seen as good ends (helping people). We might also note that an act that is inherently evil does not become moral simply because there’s a majority consensus.
I wish I had said that. Blogger.

CSW Says.

2 powerful ways to speak for young people of faith
Firstly, please join us in a prayer vigil on Tuesday 14 May to mark the 16th birthday of Leah Sharibu. You can join us at the Nigerian High Commission in London, or pray wherever you are. 
Let’s show those in power in Nigeria that we haven’t forgotten Leah, Alice Ngaddah, and all those still being held by Boko Haram.
Secondly, in two weeks’ time we have an important meeting in Mexico City. We’re bringing together government officials and young people who are unable to go to school because of their faith. 
Help make a noise that the Mexican authorities can’t ignore.
Together let’s ensure every child can have Faith and a Future.

Birdie.


Labour Anti-Semitism Is Not New - But Attacks On Blair Are Interesting.

The American magazine Vanity Fair reported Tam Dalyell MP indirectly as having said that Prime Minister Tony Blair was unduly influenced by a "cabal of Jewish advisers". He specifically named Lord Levy, who was Blair's official representative in the Middle East, and Labour politicians Peter Mandelson (whose father was Jewish) and Jack Straw (whose great-grandfather was Jewish). Mandelson said that "apart from the fact that I am not actually Jewish, I wear my father's parentage with pride". Dalyell denied accusations that the remarks were anti-Semitic.
In March 2003, regarding the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Dalyell accused Blair of being a war criminal. He stated that "since Mr Blair is going ahead with his support for a US attack without unambiguous UN authorisation, he should be branded as a war criminal and sent to The Hague". Wiki.

The Resurrection Had A Purpose.


Thursday, April 25, 2019

No, NO and Thrice, NO!!

Bethany Christian Services will place children in LGBT families as part of Michigan settlement.

Bethany Christian Services announced that it will start placing children with LGBT families as part of a settlement with the state. 
https://www.christianpost.com/news/bethany-christian-services-will-place-children-in-lgbt-families-as-part-of-michigan-settlement.html

Birdie.


Let's Spell It Out - Staying In The Customs Union Effectively Means Staying In The EU!

'That’s what LEAVE means' - Labour peer dismantles Corbyn plan to keep UK in customs union

LABOUR Brexiteer Lord Glasman called on his party leader Jeremy Corbyn to abandon his plan to keep the UK shackled to a customs union arrangement with the EU post-Brexit in favour of a clean no deal break from the Brussels bloc. Speaking to Express.co.uk, the Labour peer, founder of Blue Labour and staunch supporter of Jeremy Corbyn, argued the democratic decision to leave the EU in the 2016 Brexit referendum meant freeing the UK from all its core institutions - including the single market and the customs union. Asked whether he believed Jeremy Corbyn's plan to agree to a customs union arrangement with the EU and a close relationship with the single market would be the optimal solution to the Brexit impasse, Lord Glasman argued that there is a much more "straight forward" alternative to his leader's plan. He said: “It’s really quite straight forward. To leave, when we voted to leave, we voted to leave the sovereignty of the European Court of Justice.

“So ultimately, in our politics, we can’t do anything because the European court says that we can’t.
“And that’s basically in the Lisbon Treaty, which is based on the four freedoms, movement of people, money, goods and services.
“So you can’t interfere with the market. It’s effectively illegal to oppose capitalism. So I support leaving the EU sovereignty of the ECJ, leaving the customs union, and leaving the single market.

The Gift of God To You - If You Choose To Accept It.


Ooh. Looks Who Languishing Fifth In The Polls, Chuck.

The Brexit Party's rise has been remarkable, vaulting soon after Nigel Farage took over in March from third place in the polls for the elections to the European Parliament to a comfortable second, if not first. 
By contrast, Chuka Umunna's breakaway group - despite the week of sympathetic coverage it earned when it emerged in February as pundits breathlessly debated whether it would herald a radical political realignment - is floundering in fifth place. Some polls suggest it is even further behind in the share of the vote it can expect to pick up. Telegraph. Blush

Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Taking Part In EU Elections Is Just One More Part of The Betrayal!


Please Can We Go Back To 'Integration' and Abandon So-Called Multiculturalism?

Have you noticed how cultural relativists have started to attack the conquistadores who drove human sacrifice out of the Aztec Empire?
Just what is the matter with these people?

The SPLC - If You Want A REAL Hate Group ...

https://www.melaniephillips.com/anti-hate-groups-real-voices-hate/

On Those Occasions We Do This Right - It Works!


I Support Uber Driver Not Wanting To Be Complicit In Murder.

https://www.aol.co.uk/news/2019/04/20/uber-driver-dumps-woman-out-of-car-for-getting-an-abortion/?ncid=webmail

Wisdom.


Birdie.


Even George ...

Galloway reveals KEY reason support for Farage's Brexit Party is SOARING - 'crush Ukip!'

FORMER Labour MP George Galloway has insisted support for Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party is soaring across the UK due to British people across the nation wanting to support the new Eurosceptic group in protest against the Remainer elite’s push to stop Brexit. The newly-formed Brexit Party could be in for a shock win in May’s European elections, with a polling expert revealing the eurosceptic group being already just one percentage point behind the Conservative Party. Speaking to RT, George Galloway outlined why support for the Brexit Party has soared and said: “I will predict to you now that Nigel Farage's Brexit Party is going to win the European elections hands down, sweep the boards, crush Ukip, rout out the Remainer parties. The working class are going to vote for Nigel Farage. You can mark your card on that.

Butterfly.





Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Tempus Fugit.

Sometimes, I take stock of an occurrence from a few years ago and find myself horrified to discover that it had actually happened twenty+ years ago.
It is now some nineteen years since I last preached; fifteen since the death of my father; forty four since I got my first teaching post. And so it goes.
For myself, I am not too bothered - life is short and our two prayer groups have deepened our knowledge and walk with the Saviour; understanding has increased and we have had so many remarkable answers to prayer.

At this point, I look at the many people I know who have no grasp of the fact that they are plunging into a lost eternity. This is one of the many reasons why I produce this Blog. I must do something.
When I look at so many friends, erstwhile colleagues, neighbours et al who have no concept of where their life is ultimately headed - I grieve.

I try to take every God-offered opportunity to witness to the lost but I am not a natural in this. As a consequence, I have tried 'other means' and my three books in print all have this as a goal - the one currently in the pipeline, rather less so.

This morning at 6-30am, you will find me in the village of Aston where Early Birds (that's us, BTW) meet to pray for; the persecuted, the lost, the ailing, the misdirected, the backsliders, the dying and so very many more.

Amongst this group, there are three people who all possess a mighty gifting in being able to strike up conversations with anybody and everybody and to smoothly engage them in talk about Jesus. Phenomenal.

The older I get, comfortable in my own salvation - I am desperate to see others find their welcoming, open-armed Saviour. 

Age and Easter certainly help to put things in a true perspective.

Christian women are standing firm in the face of persecution.

How Christian women are standing firm in the face of persecution. Anita Laryea    12 March 2024. The Tears of Gold exhibition by Hannah Rose...