Saturday, June 30, 2018

Pray For Ken.

Early yesterday morning, Mrs Blogger and I were enjoying a lovely walk through local woods and had begun to follow a path which was running parallel to a very busy road.
A gentleman walking in the opposite direction warned us of a drunk who had slept rough overnight after being kicked out of the house by his girlfriend. He had showed concern and had briefly tried to help but was in a hurry.
Mrs Blogger and I found the man just before a pleasant lady with a dog turned up.
Ken, as he was called, was threatening to launch himself into the busy traffic on the nearby road. He was barely coherent and repeated a desire to take his own life.
As my wife and the lady spoke to him, I rang 999. The dog lady recognised Ken and knew where he lived and persuaded him to go back to his house with us.
I was repeatedly in contact with the police who were slow to deliver a patrol car and ambulance responder. I estimate that we were a good 25 minutes keeping him talking after first ringing for help. In the meantime, he had failed to gain entry to his house.
Eventually, help did arrive.
I had spent much of the 'dead time' praying whilst the two ladies continued to talk to him.
He repeated his desire to end his life to the para medic and the police officers but agreed to be taken to hospital - still extremely drunk.
Please pray into this situation. I do not know what we can pray for too specifically - other than Ken seeing that life really is worth living and praying too that he can perhaps find solace in The Saviour.

PRAYING FOR PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS.

In many countries, Christians are harassed, discriminated against, slandered, unjustly accused, summarily arrested and sometimes imprisoned, beaten, exiled or killed. Violence comes both from governments and religious extremists. Your prayers can focus on four groups.

Individuals – Pray that they:

  • remain strong in faith and trust despite physical and psychological abuse
  • will be able to forgive those who persecute them or who fail to support them
  • will experience and know love, joy and peace from God (Romans 8:28-39)
  • will walk humbly in their identification with Christ’s sufferings
  • will be fruitful witnesses to others
  • will be able to balance standing up for their rights, yet responding in grace and love

Spouses – Pray that they:

  • cope with the sense of loss and isolation
  • cope with caring and providing for children alone
  • remain full of faith and hope
  • overcome any intimidation from police or other aggressors

Children – Pray that they:

  • are protected from long term psychological/emotional harm and bitterness
  • are protected from abduction or the “corrective teaching” some States try to impose
  • might know and experience the love of God

Converts – Pray that they:

  • receive help to grow spiritually
  • are protected and provided for should their family or community turn against them
  • will have the courage to lead others to know Christ

Suggested Prayers

Sovereign God, we worship you and acknowledge that you know all of those who suffer in your name. We remember those who are imprisoned for their faith and ask that they would join with the Apostle Paul to see that even though they remain captive, their chains have furthered the gospel, not frustrated it. May they inspire and embolden their fellow believers to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.
God of all comfort, for those who are tortured both in body and mind, give them the grace to endure and to see their suffering as part of following in Christ’s footsteps.
Merciful God, for those asked to pay the ultimate price; who are martyred because of their love for you, may they truly know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.
Father God, for those who are widowed and orphaned may they know the comfort that comes from your promised presence even when they walk through the valley. May they be strengthened by your Spirit, enabling them to rejoice with the psalmist as they proclaim that the LORD will not abandon them in death.
Heavenly Father, we ask that you would make us ever mindful of our brothers and sisters around the world who need us to stand with them1 as they suffer in your name. Teach us what it means to overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony; we pray that we would not love our lives so much as to shrink from death.
O Lord, hear our prayer.
1. Romans 5:3, Romans 8:17-18, 1 Corinthians 12:26, 2 Corinthians 1:5-11
2. Hebrews 13:3, Colossians 4:18
3. Philippians 1:12-13
4. Philippians 1:14
5. Romans 15:5-6, 2 Thessalonians 1:4-5, 11-12
6. Philippians 3:10
7. Deuteronomy 31:8, Matthew 28:20, Hebrews 13:5
8. Psalm 23:4
9. Psalm 16:10
10. Hebrews 13:3
11. Revelation 12:11
Almighty God, who has taught us through your Son Jesus Christ that those who follow Him may be persecuted; strengthen, comfort and encourage all those who suffer harassment, violence, imprisonment and even death for being followers of Jesus. We pray for those who persecute your people; may their hearts be turned towards you through the faithful witness of those they persecute. Protect members of the families and church communities of those who are persecuted and bless the work and ministry of Release International and its partners as we support those who are suffering and seek to be a voice of persecuted Christians.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Release International.

Zephaniah.


In What Asylum Are Modern Liberals Bringing Us Better Morality?

One of the most common objections I hear to biblical morality is short, succinct, and to the point: "It's 2018!" In other words, "How can you believe in such outdated values in this day and age?" But do morals change the way technology changes? Or could it be that, when it comes to moral values, the older is sometimes better?
In our new animated video, "What Does It Mean to Be a Conservative?", I made the case that a true conservative would not believe in the redefinition of marriage or the fluidity of gender. In response, one viewer commented, "Politically it means you're 100 years behind the times and you don't understand public policy or economic policy that works."

1642 Repeated By Leftist Zealots And Ultra-Bigots.

Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter is set in 1642. Three hundred and seventy five years later, the political left is publicly shaming those who don't publicly align with the new Puritanism of the political left.
"Anger and division in American politics are creating a rising phenomenon: the public shaming and shunning of political figures while they are going about their private lives," the Washington Post reports. To what is Mary Jordan referring? On Friday evening, White House Press Secretary and several members of her family were refused service and asked to leave the Red Hen restaurant in Virginia. Their offense? She works for the President and the manager doesn't like his politics.
While unquestionably inhospitable, uncivil and unkind, is it illegal? Good question, and according to the article, "Few laws expressly prohibit a business from refusing service to a customer because of political views."
"Civil rights lawyers said that while there have been many cases in recent history involving establishments barring black people, women or members of the LGBT community, shunning people for their political ideology or affiliation" remains largely untested in the courts.
But those tests have begun, often framed as limitations on expression (speech) or religion.

Social media magnifies these events, further deepening the partisan divides and fueling the fires of incivility. I won't quote the things being said on Twitter from either side because none of it is edifying. But within hours of Sarah Huckabee Sanders' experience on Friday evening, millions of Americans knew what happened and they learned about it from social media.
Remember the guy at the bar with the MAGA hat? Or the guy with the "Please I.D. me" t-shirt in Minnesota? Or the kid with the "Border Wall Construction Company" t-shirt in Oregon? Or the kid with the gun rights t-shirt in Nevada? But what if a business refuses to print your t-shirt? Are they protected? What if a guy named Jack refuses to bake a particular cake? Yes, you see where this is going.
Former President Obama's ethics chief, Walter Shaub, began stirring the proverbial partisan pot by publicly declaring Sarah Sanders' use of her official White House Twitter account to respond to employees at the restaurant having already made the incident public, was not only a violation of White House ethics' rules but actually illegal.
The experience of the White House Press Secretary and her family is part of what appears to be a growing trend. A tactic of cultural warriors who cannot see the hypocrisy in standing on both sides of the argument about whether or not a private business should serve a customer with whose views the owner disagrees.
Pam Bondi, the Florida attorney general who is aligned with President Trump, was shouted down at a movie screening of Mister Rogers' Won't You Be My Neighbor? in Tampa on Friday. The hecklers were so disruptive that Attorney General Bondi was forced to leave without seeing the movie.
Last week protesters ambushed Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen at a D.C. restaurant chanting, "Shame! If they don't eat in peace, you don't eat in peace!" How do you sleep at night? Aren't you a mother too? Can't you hear the babies crying?" After 10 minutes the U.S. Cabinet Secretary and the colleague with whom she was attempting to share a meal, left.
Anyone notice that in all three of these cases we are talking about publicly shaming Trump allies who are women? Is being pro-Trump the new Scarlet Letter in America?
(As an aside, I think we might all benefit from re-reading Nathaniel Hawthorne's masterwork. Remember Hester and Pearl? Do you recall that Hester's sexual sin is committed with the pastor who is the father of Pearl? Or that Hester is incarcerated with her child? Does the bullying of Pearl sear your conscience today? What about the threat to remove the child from her mother and the appeal of the adulterous pastor to the legal authorities of the day to keep them together? The themes of our conversations have not changed in three hundred years, just the characters themselves.)
Jon Meacham (author of The Soul of America: The Battle for our Better Angels, 2018) told the Washington Post that he cannot recall a "similarly tribal moment" in recent history: "We're kind of back to the Colonial era in terms of public shaming, with virtual and symbolic stocks in the public square rather than literal ones."
And who thinks it's okay? Well, Democratic Congresswoman Maxine Waters for one. This weekend on MSNBC and via Twitter she encouraged harassment of Trump officials. "If you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd and you push back on them, and you tell them they're not welcome anymore, anywhere".
What exactly does that mean? What does it mean to say that members of the opposing view are not welcome anymore, anywhere in the conversation? Not welcome to live freely and go about their daily lives with their families? Does that sound like the America you want to live in? Does that sound like liberty, freedom or justice?

Low Wage Britain And Some Of The Reasons Why!

http://www.theenglishchannel.uk/2018/06/01/book-review-hired-six-months-undercover-in-low-wage-britain/

Butterfly.


Is Merkel Going To Get Away With All The Mayhem She Has Caused?

The German Chancellor had been given an ultimatum from her hardline coalition partners to find a Europe-wide solution to the migration crisis during the summit in Brussels. Mail.

Friday, June 29, 2018

Note The Unsubtle Linking Of 'Populists' and 'Extremists'!

'The main objective of Thursday's summit in Brussels will be to agree on new measures to reduce illegal migration, in order to help Angela Merkel at home and fight populists and extremists across the bloc.'EU Observer.

Rob Bell - Where Do You Stand?

https://www.christiantoday.com/article/rob-bells-holy-shift-its-preaching-but-not-as-we-know-itexecute1/129832.htm

Christians Killed.

'Heartbreaking' Nigeria violence sees hundreds of Christians killed

'HEARTBREAKING' NIGERIA VIOLENCE SEES HUNDREDS OF CHRISTIANS KILLED.

Days of violence between mainly Christian farmers and Muslim Fulani herdsmen in central Nigeria have cost scores of lives and led to accusations that the government has lost control of the situation.

Free Speech?

The government is consulting on draft guidance for Independent Schools which threatens to prevent teachers from saying that they disagree with same-sex ‘marriage’.
The draft guidance says (in paragraph 20):
The standard will not be met if, for example, the PSHE curriculum:

c. suggests that same-sex marriages or civil partnerships should not be recognised as being lawful unions under civil law;
A plain reading of this wording would restrict the free speech of teachers in schools so that they can not suggest that same-sex ‘marriage’ should not be legal. It is possible that the government intends another meaning, but if so the government needs to tighten the wording of this clause. Christian Concern.

French To Reintroduce National Service?

http://www.ladbible.com/news/news-france-to-bring-back-national-service-for-all-16-year-olds-20180628

Butterfly.


Most Urgent Prayer Request.

Please pray for Sarah who is very dangerously ill.

Blessings.


118 Ripoffs From The Same EU Which Immorally Claimed To Have Given Us Better Value Mobile Deals.

£11+ for a 90-second phone call to 118 numbers? Turns out it's EU Directive 2002/77/EC that caused this mess, then the Commission said 'we didn't force 118 on you' - meaning we could've chosen 117 or 119 if we preferred. Retweet to spread the word!

T-Rex.


Thursday, June 28, 2018

Unbelievable!

Cricket collapse: Peterborough Town take seven High Wycombe wickets in 11 balls


Before and after: Peterborough players Danyaal Malik and Kieran Jones with the scoreboard
Before and after: Peterborough players Danyaal Malik and Kieran Jones with the scoreboard

Surreal. Incredible. Embarrassing. Some of the descriptions for a remarkable cricket turnaround.
Needing just three runs to win off the final two overs, at 186-3, High Wycombe were easing to victory and the last 16 of the National Club Championship.
But a spectacular collapse ensued - all out for 187, losing seven wickets in 11 balls to opponents Peterborough Town.
A four-wicket maiden was followed by three more dismissals in the final over, courtesy of the sixth-choice bowler, an off-spinner aged 16.
"It was quite incredible. It didn't really sink in for a while. All the lads couldn't really believe it," winning Peterborough captain David Clarke, 29, told BBC Sport.

Richard Wurmbrand: Tortured For Christ.

On February 29, 1948, Romanian pastor Richard Wurmbrand was arrested on his way to a church service. His 'crimes' were leading Christian worship and witnessing to his faith, both of which were illegal under the Communist regime. He was to spend 14 years in prison, undergoing torture and abuse. His wife Sabina was also imprisoned and brutally treated. This is a second extract from an inspiring new biography.
On a night in 1948 in the Calea Rahovei prison, at 10 pm, three guards burst into Richard's cell and demanded he get dressed. One of the guards named Appel strapped blacked-out goggles over Richard's face and led him through a long corridor to a room containing a table and a spotlighted chair.
As Appel removed the blindfold, Richard squinted into the light. The silhouette of a man across the table came into focus. Seconds later his face materialized, and Richard recognized him as Moravetz, a former police inspector who had recently been promoted to conducting interrogations.
Voice of the MartyrsRichard Wurmbrand
'You'll find paper and pen on that desk,' Moravetz said. Take your chair over and write about your activities and your life.'
Richard complied.
'As a priest,' the inspector continued, 'you've heard any number of confessions. We've brought you here to confess to us.'
For the better part of an hour, Richard scribbled down his story, covering the major milestones of his spiritual biography. Like his interrogators, Richard also had once been an atheist before his heart was changed.
After numerous similar interrogations, Richard soon learned his captors' methods and strategy. Instead of using police tactics that capitalized on the shock of arrest to glean confessions, the Communists preferred a much more patient approach – the prisoner must ripen first. The goal was to create enough guilt and anxiety to extract information gradually. Prisoners were rarely told why they were arrested, which threw them into a state of self-examination and uncertainty. Endless tricks created tension, doubt, and fear in their minds. Fake trials were scheduled and then postponed at the last minute. Firing squads were simulated in the courtyard outside the prisoners' cells. Tape-recorded screams and random shouts were played throughout the night.
After weeks of psychological games, resistance became more challenging. The mind began to break. Exhausted and guilt-ridden, the prisoner made false judgments, and one slip of the tongue became two. Names were given, friends betrayed. Before long, the interrogator had extracted the confidential information he sought.
Just before the mental breakdown, the interrogator switched his attitude and grew sympathetic to the prisoner's plight. Intimidation morphed into mercy. Promises were made to end the suffering, but only if the prisoner admitted guilt and confessed to his crimes.
'What were your connections with Mr Teodorescu?' Appel asked casually.
'Teodorescu? That's a fairly common name. Which one do you mean?'
Appel didn't explain but quickly switched topics, asking questions about the Bible and the prophecies of Isaiah about the Messiah. He acted interested in Richard's perspective, nodding and raising his eyebrows. Then, at random and without warning, Appel inquired about the names of those who assisted Richard in distributing Christian literature to Soviet soldiers. Had they heard about the prophecies of Isaiah? Appel listened politely, more interested in Richard's reactions than his words.
Richard hesitated, careful and selective in the names he listed.
'Don't pick and choose,' Vasilu snapped. 'I said everyone.'
Richard included names of Communist members of parliament and every random traveller he knew. If he accidentally surrendered the names of Christian ministers, their families would be arrested and savagely beaten.
Richard looked into Vasilu's eyes. 'What am I accused of?'
Vasilu slammed his fist on the table. 'You know what you've done! Get it off your chest. Start by telling us about your contacts with your Orthodox colleague Father Grigoriu and what you think of him. Just write, and keep writing!'
Richard reeled off as many chapters from his spiritual biography as the interrogators liked. On other matters, he revealed as little as possible.
Richard was interrogated for weeks with little sleep. At night he calmed his conscience by repeating Scripture verses embedded in his memory.
God also sent small encouragements, like the barber who whispered that Sabina was doing well and was continuing the ministry work. Knowing his wife was okay provided double doses of strength. Richard could endure the interrogations, but the thought of Sabina being questioned and tortured was too much for any husband to bear. If Sabina were arrested, what would happen to their son
Mihai? Countless children had already suffered that fate. He'd be orphaned and forced to live on the streets.
On one evening as he was trying to doze, the sound of a woman's sobbing voice emerged from a nearby cell. 'No, no!' she pleaded. 'Please don't beat me. Not again! I can't take it!' The corridor echoed with shrieks as the guards beat the woman senseless.
Richard listened intently until his eyes widened in horror. It was Sabina's voice! She had been captured and brought to Calea Rahovei. Richard spent the night weeping and crying out to her in the darkness. Could she hear him? What were they doing to her?
Richard later learned that the woman's voice was not Sabina's but only a tape recording that was played for every prisoner, each thinking the sound belonged to his wife, girlfriend, or mother.
* * * * *
The promise Richard had made to Sabina – that he would kill himself before betraying his friends –occupied his mind night after night. He remembered reading about a woman in the early church who had killed herself rather than lose her virginity to the barbarians who pillaged her monastery. If the church had canonised her, God could forgive Richard if his suicide rescued others from being slaughtered.
But the prison had confiscated his shoelaces. His cell was frequently checked for glass shards, cords and razor blades. The doctors gave him one sleeping pill every evening, but the guards always checked Richard's mouth to make sure he had swallowed it. Perhaps if he could hide the pill under his tongue, though, he could amass a small collection. To hide the salvaged pills, Richard stored them in the straw mattress, tearing a few stitches to open it. Within a month, Richard had collected thirty pills – more than enough to make him sleep forever.
Suicide gave Richard power over his adversaries, but the sounds of the city begged him to reconsider: a young girl singing, a tram car squealing around the corner. Richard had dedicated his life to serving God. Was it wise to end it?
The interrogators shined lamps in prisoners' eyes to unsettle them, but God had his own lights too. One evening Richard peered into the midnight sky and saw a single star burning in the blackness. The light of the star had travelled across the whole universe to console him. Perhaps his life could also travel great distances to reach future prisoners suffering for the Saviour. The star begged him to keep living, but Richard was still unsure. Maybe his death would do more good than his life.
The next morning the guards raided his cell and took the straw pallet to another prisoner. Richard's plans for suicide were suddenly thwarted. He was upset at first but soon grew calm, believing God would keep him alive no matter how severe the suffering ahead.
Wurmbrand: Tortured for Christ - The Complete Story is published by David C Cook, price £9.99. Christianity Today.

Butterfly.


Alcohol: The Other Side Of The Argument.

While biblical scholars debate whether it is biblically OK to drink alcohol, there is a widespread perception that it is good to drink alcohol for health reasons. Drinking red wine in moderation, and more recently alcohol, in general, has been advanced as something that can improve one's health. The constant messaging from the alcohol industry has people feeling they must drink two glasses of wine a day to feel healthy. This is a dangerous myth.
Read more: https://www.christianpost.com/voice/dont-believe-the-lie-alcohol-is-not-a-health-food.html

Now England CRUSH The Aussies In One Off T20 Match.

Jos Buttler.
Well, now. The Aussies were roundly beaten by 28 runs at Edgbaston last night with England firing on all four cylinders. A blistering, record-breaking half century from Jos Buttler and some mean hitting from Jason Roy led the way to England making a phenomenal 221.
28 runs is a large margin in this form of the game and the Aussies had opener Aaron Finch to thank that the gap between the sides had not become a chasm.
White ball cricket against the visiting Indian side will be much tougher but England are certainly looking world class in both T20 and ODI cricket. (The embarrassment in Edinburgh now seems a long time ago.)
The worries come in the more important form of the game, Test Matches, where England look badly undercooked. Buttler has successfully straddled the different types of cricket but far too many others seem incapable of doing so.

Believe It Then Live It If You Want The Reality.


Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, Generations X and Y?

I despise these catch-all terms because: they are without definition; they mean different things to different people; the dates are so fluid as to be wholly guesswork. Utterly pointless!
If you should ever find me writing in this vein or using such expressions - please assume that there is, somewhere, a tongue firmly wedged in cheek! Sunglasses

The Undemocratic Abomination Which Is The House Of Lords.

Don't Mention The Var.

Germany crash out of the World Cup in the initial stages for the first time since 1938.
Well done to South Korea!

Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Socialism DESTROYED By Ben Shapiro.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxobrPbVS2M

New Evangelism Tool.

The Church isn't serious about evangelism. But this new tool is bringing hundreds to faith.

Don't outsource evangelism to the 'experts', says Jeremy Marshall
In 1914 Britain was completely unprepared for a major land war.
A tiny British Expeditionary Force (BEF) of six infantry divisions was cobbled together at the last minute and sent to France to try and stop the mighty German steamroller sweeping west. Fortunately, a French army of roughly comparable size to the Germans was able to halt the German advance.
But by the time the decisive victory was achieved in 1918 the British Army had over 6 million men under arms. Britain had finally mobilised its resources and achieved victory, albeit at a huge cost. 
We face a similar challenge regarding evangelism in our country to that of Britain in 1914. We are trying to carry out the Great Commission but we are simply not serious. We are only using a tiny fraction of our God given resources. Many Christians feel its wrong or hopeless to share our faith and even those who are trying to carry it out often don’t know how.
Let’s be honest, how much of their time do our full time church workers put into evangelism? Their time tends to be more internally focused. Yes, they may run courses such as Alpha and Christianity Explored. They may also preach evangelistic messages, but how many non Christians actually hear them?
The burden of evangelism instead falls onto our BEF - a tiny handful of overworked evangelists to whom we have effectively outsourced the Great Commission. Yet Jesus’ orders are to all of us, not just the professionals. 
18 months ago I discovered a wonderful new tool which has proved incredibly effective in helping me to be equipped to share my faith. I believe it could be a game-changer for us in the battle to save souls. It's called The Word One to Oneand the concept is very simple.
You begin by simply inviting your friend to have a chat about the Bible. If they agree, you find a convenient location, sit down with a copy of The Word One to One notes, open John's gospel and off you go. I have found it an amazingly powerful tool which has been transformational for many of my friends. I've had 15 friends join me in this process of studying the Bible over the past 18 months. 
One friend of mine invited someone to look at John's gospel because he thought it would be comforting after the death of his friend’s wife. The man eagerly accepted, without saying that his daughter, living 4000 miles away, was doing the same thing with another Christian and had just said to her father that she was finding it very comforting! 
The use of Word One to One has spread like wildfire throughout the world and it’s been used in countless churches. It mobilises potentially every Christian, but it works most of all because it’s Gods appointed means to reach lost humanity. John himself told us “These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (20:31)
The Bible itself is full of one to one Bible work - Philip with the Ethiopian eunuch and the Lord himself on the road to Emmaus.
When our friends read the Bible something supernatural happens - God himself steps off the page. When they read John they read about a series of encounters the Lord has with men and women and how they come to believe that he is the Saviour of the world. By the power of the Holy Spirit the same thing happens.
A friend of mine led someone to faith using the notes and asked him what it was that he had said that impacted him. “To be honest“, came the reply, “I can’t remember a single thing you said, but John had me at ‘In the beginning was the word’. I suddenly thought to myself ‘You are a fool. Dawkins is wrong, there has to be a beginning. John went on to tell me who that Word was and what he had come to do. It was nothing you said, it was the Word.”
It also works because it’s a low threshold for our friends to step over. In a biblically ignorant age, asking our friends to come to church is a high hurdle to climb over. A professional that they don’t know, speaking in a place where they feel very uncomfortable, surrounded by unknown people singing songs they don’t know, at a time that may not suit them, can be a high barrier. But The Word One to One takes a person through the gospel at his or her own pace and builds knowledge of God slowly and surely. 
God calls each of us to stand up, be mobilised and share our faith. We are not all Bible teachers but we are called to be Bible sharers.
Jeremy Marshall is a banker, charity trustee, Watford FC fan, blogger and speaker 
For more information about The Word One to One visit theword121.com

House Of Lords MUST Go.

SCRAP THE LORDS: It’s time to STOP peers 'thwarting the will of the British people.'

CALLS to replace or scrap the House of Lords have intensified amid ongoing attempts by some peers to derail Brexit. Senior Labour MP Frank Field tabled a Bill in the House of Commons calling for the Upper House to be replaced by a much smaller "senate" with limited powers to delay or amend legislation.

Butterfly.


Psalm 138:3


Bernard Ingham Spot On.

Bernard Ingham. 20.6.18
LET me first apologise if I depress you on the eve of my birthday. But, as I near 86, I really do wonder why I have come to live in such in such a guilt-ridden and endlessly emoting country that is irrationally going to the dogs. Where have we put our self-confidence, common sense and stiff upper lip? Of course, Sir Vince Cable, leader of the Liberal Democrats, will say that I have lost my marbles – if only because I voted wholeheartedly for Brexit. But what is so wrong with wanting to govern ourselves instead of losing our identity and being sunk forever in some undemocratic European lump? What is so wonderful about the EU? Why do some people feel guilty about leaving it? After two world wars and a proud Cold War role, we owe mainland Europe nothing. They owe us – and the Americans – their liberty. Iceland & Land of the Northern Lights £988 Promoted by iglucruise.com You would not think that from the persistent denial by Remainers of the very logic of their position – that they are the EU’s fifth column trying to block the expressed will of the people. It would serve them right if, post-Brexit, they were banned for life from public office. After all, they are destroying the Mother of Parliaments. Why should anyone bother to vote any more since our much-vaunted Westminster democracy has been usurped by Brussels? Then there is immigration, which has the capacity to end our – and Europe’s – liberal culture. We are now, it seems, to admit more skilled workers at a time when most people think immigration has gone too far and has left us with severe problems – in housing, education and health resources, our security and our identity. You may well argue that we should admit those who would help to drive the economy. I find it difficult to disagree with that, even though it is clear that some Britons won’t soil their hands with dirty jobs. But we have only the vaguest idea of the true level of immigration since we do not know how many illegal immigrants remain within our borders. And why do we need to admit more foreign doctors when the latest figures show that four out of 10 of our own doctors quit after five years, either to serve as well-paid locums, ply their trade overseas or wash their hands of medicine? I am not surprised. Our long 10-year training and exploitation of young doctors is not calculated to keep them in the NHS, which is now to get a £380m a week 70th birthday Brexit bonus without a clear plan for drastic reform. That is just throwing good money after bad at a time when giants of industry such as Rolls-Royce are thinning out their managerial layer. Why doesn’t the NHS decimate (at least) its over-paid executive deadweight, bearing in mind its continuing crises over bed-blocking and waiting lists and such scandals as hospital car park charges? And then, to cap it all, we have the Church of England about to debate – again – whether we should have a nuclear deterrent. Why do they feel so guilty about spending money on the one thing that has kept world peace for well over 70 years? After all, Vladimir Putin has recently acknowledged that a nuclear war would bring the end of civilisation, assuming he knows what it is. Recognising that, he is not likely to chuck nuclear bombs about. He wants a future even if the bishops and archbishops don’t. But that brings us back to guilt. Because of our elite’s bad conscience over our condition and history, they are no doubt at one with those who want to destroy many, if not all, vestiges of our glorious past. Yet, in the process, this guilt will see the end of formal Christianity in Britain, the very foundation of our liberal democracy. It is not enough to say that Europe
as a whole suffers from these potentially fatal notions. It would be surprising if they didn’t, given that our Europhiles want to remain within the Brussels 
fold. The 2016 referendum was, at root, a demonstration that the ordinary men and women of this country think it is high time our politicians put their guilt, wetness and capacity for caving in behind them and started acting in the country’s interests. The best birthday present they could give me would be to stop, think where their wetness is leading us and take a hard-headed approach to our many societal ills, instead of committing suicide. Action this day, Mrs May.

Read more at: https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/opinion/bernard-ingham-tories-must-stop-committing-political-suicide-over-brexit-1-9213636

God’s Love and Ours. 1 John 4.

God’s Love and Ours. 7)  Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows G...