Criminalise Criticism of Abortion Policy? - Looks Like I'm On My Way To Prison!

https://christianconcern.com/news/politician-attempts-to-criminalise-criticism-of-abortion-policies/

Sadly - Just So True.

Birdie

Trade Negotiations With EU - Game-Changer!

"What we have now is the UK Government who basically does not want a comprehensive agreement with the EU, and I fear it is taking some time for the EU to realise that is a game-changer."

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been clamouring for a new trade agreement mimicking the commercial deal Brussels struck with Canada in 2017 after seven years of negotiations.

Ms González Durántez continued: "A Canada-style deal is a basic, what we call a bare-bone deal. Express.

Blogger: Maybe, just maybe, Boris is approaching the talks with real intent. When did an English PM last take no rubbish from Brussels - if ever? Even Margaret Thatcher's approach was pretty patchy! Don't get too excited yet, but ...

Dust To Dust.

https://www.breakpoint.org/you-are-but-dust-and-to-dust-you-shall-return/

One God.

Four Faces of The Left - But They Can Overlap.

Some are kind and gentle people who are often do-gooders, wiffly-waffly sorts who live with head in the clouds. Their beliefs are based on wishful thinking and an absence of understanding of the structure of society. Sadly, too many of these are Christians.

Others come from homes which have been Labour/socialist  since Adam was a lad. Their roots in what Labour used to be 70+ years ago are a sort of family tradition. These will vote right of centre but never Tory. Ironically, these are the self-same voters who ensured a Tory victory when they saw through Corbyn and co and a significant proportion did vote for Boris!

The most sinister are the self-identified 'true socialists': dogmatic, intolerant, marxist, embittered, hate-filled ideologues. Quite prepared to kill and destroy democracy. So hard line their bile is extreme. They are destructive apparatchiks who recognise the social damage they do and continue to do it anyway.

The most recent group, also found in all Greens and most Lib Dems are the extreme liberals. These are the equivalent of the US Democrats. Objectionable and immoral - they actually despise Christianity as much as do the marxists. Socially these are incredibly dangerous people who will not respond to logic. (See recent piece on postmodernism.) 

They too are only prepared to accept the democratic voice if it aligns with their own opinions.

All four groups: have learned nothing from History and are thus condemned to repeat the mistakes thereof. Almost all believe that "taxing the rich 'til the pips squeak" would actually work but in essence, they are so filled with scorn for the rich they cannot see the consequences of their 'thinking'. Punishing the rich is actually the most important part of their 'logic'. This is known as 'the politics of envy'.
Balance is lacking. They are incapable of learning a thing from all the failed economies where their ideas have been applied from Albania to Venezuela - and scores of others, to boot.

You will find that 'the magic money tree' is seemingly part of their belief system.

So very many, whether middle class or working class, manage their household budgets immaculately but fail to see that a similar approach must be taken nationally.

Blood On The Doorposts.

Genesis 1:1.

Lepra Needs Your Support.

2020 is a leap year, so we get a whole additional day this month where we can make great changes! This February, you can 'Leap for Lepra' by signing up to one of our incredible challenge events, making a donation or simply raising awareness via our social media platforms. You can help change someone's life today. Meet Manikyamma Manikyamma grew up in a leprosy colony in India. Her parents were diagnosed and treated for leprosy and she grew up understanding that it was curable. In 2000 she was diagnosed with leprosy. She had developed a pale patch of skin on her hand and was diagnosed immediately. She started on multi drug therapy and followed Lepra’s advice on self-care and prevention of disabilities.    After being cured, Manikyamma became a lab attendant at the Blue Peter Public Health Centre and then trained to become a lab assistant. She has worked there ever since. Manikyama says "I am happy that I can share my experience of leprosy with others and that I can make people more comfortable about their diagnosis." Click the button below to read more about Manikyamma's story. Manikyamma's story International Women's Day Just £3, the price of a cup of tea and a biscuit, could send a Community Champion to teach a woman affected by leprosy how to care for her body and prevent disabilities. To receive your free Life-Changing Tea pack please click this link.

Will you join our Peak - Clique?   Team Lepra are taking on not one, but two '3 peaks' challenges this summer! We will be scaling the dizzy heights of the National 3 Peaks and the Yorkshire 3 Peaks - will you join us for one, or even both of these incredible challenges?   For more information on joining Team Lepra email Lucy Fenna on events@lepra.org.uk or call 0757901301

Labour's Continuous Downward Spiral With Transgender 'Thinking'.

https://christianconcern.com/comment/labour-candidates-pipped-by-tony-blairs-hypocrisy/

Birdie.

Bibles To India.

In India, Hindu nationalists have been open and violent in opposing the church. Several pastors have been murdered, others beaten. Churches and their congregations have been attacked or threatened.

More recently, persecution of Christians has been particularly intense in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka states in the south. Pastors of independent churches in rural places – a significant area for church growth – have been a particular target.

Groups such as the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have also used political means to try to stem the spread of religions such as Christianity. The BJP’s landslide win in the May 2014 general elections raised concerns among Christians and other minority groups that religious persecution might increase.

Seven Indian states have now passed anti-conversion laws – though in two of these they are yet to be implemented. This legislation imposes fines or imprisonment on anyone using force, inducement or ‘any fraudulent means’ to convert another – loosely defined terms wide open to abuse.

Christians say that such laws are being used to curtail church activities, including social programmes. Church leaders are regularly attacked by Hindu extremists and then accused of ‘forcible conversion’ – even in states where such laws are not in place.

In this context Release partners in India seek to serve and support persecuted Christians and to actively spread God's message of love in the most sensitive and highly persecuted areas of the country. One of the ways our partners do this is by providing Bibles to pastors working in these threatened states.

A PRAYER FOR INDIA

Heavenly Father, we ask you to build and strengthen Your church in India amid mounting intolerance and hostility towards non-Hindus.

We pray that the Government in India will take a firm stand against the religious intolerance which appears to be growing in the country. Release Int.

Exalt Him!

Certainly The French Are Disgusting - But Are We Any Better?

A third of French people don’t wash their hands after going to the toilet and less than half before eating, while a fifth of Frenchmen change their underwear twice a week at best.

These are some of the unsavoury findings of a new study into personal hygiene in France, which researchers and Gallic doctors say leaves a lot to be desired. The findings stand to reinforce stereotypes that the French take a laissez-faire approach to cleanliness.

The survey by pollster Ifop found the French continued to display “ignorance of basic sanitary rules, despite public health messages and the current [coronavirus] context." DT.

Ancient Secret Passage In The House of Commons.

Secret doorway rediscovered in the House of Commons

26 February 2020

A secret doorway, created for the procession to the Coronation banquet of Charles II, has been rediscovered in the House of Commons.

Historical doorway rediscovered

For centuries, the entrance would have been used by great political luminaries, such as the diarist Samuel Pepys, the first de facto Prime Minister of Great Britain – Robert Walpole – and arch-rivals Charles James Fox and William Pitt the younger. 

While a brass plate marks where the doorway had once been in Westminster Hall, historians believed it had been filled-in following reconstruction work after the palace was bombed during the Second World War.

However, following recent investigative work by Parliament’s Architecture and Heritage Team working on research for the Palace of Westminster’s Restor

Declaration of Faith By GOT QUESTIONS.

Statement of Faith.

Section 1: The Bible
We believe the Bible, comprised of the Old and New Testaments, to be the inspired, infallible, and authoritative Word of God (Matthew 5:18; 2 Timothy 3:16-17). In faith we hold the Bible to be inerrant in the original writings, God-breathed, and the complete and final authority for faith and practice (2 Timothy 3:16-17). While still using the individual writing styles of the human authors, the Holy Spirit perfectly guided them to ensure they wrote precisely what He wanted written, without error or omission (2 Peter 1:21).

Section 2: God
We believe in one God, who is Creator of all (Deuteronomy 6:4; Colossians 1:16), who has revealed Himself in three distinct Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 13:14), yet who is one in being, essence, and glory (John 10:30). God is eternal (Psalm 90:2), infinite (1 Timothy 1:17), and sovereign (Psalm 93:1). God is omniscient (Psalm 139:1-6), omnipresent (Psalm 139:7-13), omnipotent (Revelation 19:6), and unchanging (Malachi 3:6). God is holy (Isaiah 6:3), just (Deuteronomy 32:4), and righteous (Exodus 9:27). God is love (1 John 4:8), gracious (Ephesians 2:8), merciful (1 Peter 1:3), and good (Romans 8:28).

Section 3: Jesus Christ
We believe in the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is God incarnate, God in human form, the expressed image of the Father, who, without ceasing to be God, became man in order that He might demonstrate who God is and provide the means of salvation for humanity (Matthew 1:21; John 1:18; Colossians 1:15).

We believe that Jesus Christ was conceived of the Holy Spirit and was born of the virgin Mary (Matthew 1:23); that He is truly fully God and truly fully man (John 1:1,14); that He lived a perfect, sinless life (1 John 3:5); that all His teachings are true (John 14:6). We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross for all humanity (1 John 2:2) as a substitutionary sacrifice (Isaiah 53:5-6). We hold that His death is sufficient to provide salvation for all who receive Him as Savior (John 1:12; Acts 16:31); that our justification is grounded in the shedding of His blood (Romans 5:9; Ephesians 1:7); and that it is attested by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead (Matthew 28:6; 1 Peter 1:3).

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven in His glorified body (Acts 1:9-10) and is now seated at the right hand of God as our High Priest and Advocate (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25).

Section 4: The Holy Spirit
We believe in the deity and personality of the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3-4). He regenerates sinners (Titus 3:5) and indwells believers (Romans 8:9). He is the agent by whom Christ baptizes all believers into His body (1 Corinthians 12:12-14). He is the seal by whom the Father guarantees the salvation of believers unto the day of redemption (Ephesians 1:13-14). He is the Divine Teacher who illumines believers' hearts and minds as they study the Word of God (1 Corinthians 2:9-12).

We believe that the Holy Spirit is ultimately sovereign in the distribution of spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:11). We believe that the miraculous gifts of the Spirit, while by no means outside of the Spirit’s ability to empower, no longer function to the same degree they did in the early development of the church (1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 2 Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 2:20; 4:7-12).

Section 5: Angels and Demons
We believe in the reality and personality of angels. We believe that God created the angels to be His servants and messengers (Nehemiah 9:6; Psalm 148:2; Hebrews 1:14).

We believe in the existence and personality of Satan and demons. Satan is a fallen angel who led a group of angels in rebellion against God (Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezekiel 28:12-15). He is the great enemy of God and man, and the demons are his servants in evil. He and his demons will be eternally punished in the lake of fire (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10).

Section 6: Humanity
We believe that humanity came into existence by direct creation of God and that humanity is uniquely made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27). We believe that all humanity, because of Adam’s fall, has inherited a sinful nature, that all human beings choose to sin (Romans 3:23), and that all sin is exceedingly offensive to God (Romans 6:23). Humanity is utterly unable to remedy this fallen state (Ephesians 2:1-5,12).

Section 7: Salvation
We believe that salvation is a gift of God’s grace through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross (Ephesians 2:8-9). Christ’s death fully accomplished justification through faith and redemption from sin. Christ died in our place (Romans 5:8-9) and bore our sins in His own body (1 Peter 2:24). On the third day after His death, Jesus physically rose again, demonstrating His victory over sin and death (Romans 14:9).

We believe salvation is received by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Good works and obedience are results of salvation, not requirements for salvation. Due to the greatness, sufficiency, and perfection of Christ’s sacrifice, all those who have truly received Christ as Savior are eternally secure in salvation, kept by God’s power, secured and sealed in Christ forever (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; Ephesians 1:13-14; 1 Peter 1:5; Jude 24). Just as salvation cannot be earned by good works, neither does it need good works to be maintained or sustained. Good works and changed lives are the inevitable results of salvation (James 2).

Section 8: The Church
We believe that the Church, the Body of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all believers of this present age (1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 1:22-23, 5:25-27). We believe in the ordinances of believer’s water baptism by immersion as a testimony to Christ and identification with Him, and the Lord’s Supper as a remembrance of Christ’s death and shed blood (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42, 18:8; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26). Through the church, believers are to be taught to obey the Lord and to testify concerning their faith in Christ as Savior and to honor Him by holy living. We believe in the Great Commission as the primary mission of the Church. It is the obligation of all believers to witness, by word and life, to the truths of God’s Word. The gospel of the grace of God is to be preached to all the world (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 5:19-20).

Section 9: Things to Come
We believe in the blessed hope (Titus 2:13), the personal and imminent coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to rapture His saints (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). We believe in the visible and bodily return of Christ to the earth with His saints to establish His promised millennial kingdom (Zechariah 14:4-11; 1 Thessalonians 3:13; Revelation 3:10, 19:11-16, 20:1-6). We believe in the physical resurrection of all human beings—the saints to everlasting joy and bliss on the New Earth, and the wicked to eternal punishment in the lake of fire (Matthew 25:46; John 5:28-29; Revelation 20:5-6, 12-13).

We believe that the souls of believers are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where they await their resurrection when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord (Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23, 3:21; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious misery until their resurrection when, with soul and body reunited, they shall appear at the Great White Throne judgment and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire to suffer everlasting punishment (Matthew 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Revelation 20:11-15).

Islamisation of Prisoners.

Tim Dieppe, Head of Public Policy at Christian Concern, comments on the rise of Islamic extremism in UK prisons.   https://christianconcern.com/comment/how-to-tackle-the-islamisation-of-prisons/

Sassenachs.

As this is a word invented purely as a derogatory term for the English by Scots, may we reasonably assume that any usage of it will be classed as 'a racist hate crime?'
If not, why not?
Our leftist friends who would go ape were the English to affectionately use Jock, Paddy or Taffy, would undoubtedly turn to the English and accuse us of hypersensitivity in the presence of a word designed to denigrate and create offence.
Of course it can be used jovially but, by and large, it isn't.
As an NEHGS, (New English Half Gibraltarian Snowflake) I want people to know that its usage leaves me crying within. I am left in a mental turmoil. I am off my food and feel belittled. Nobody knows the trouble I've seen and suffered. Worse still - nobody cares!

Priti, Please May We Have More Criminals Arrested and Put Out of The Way of The People They Currently Harm?

Priti Patel has told police chiefs there will be "no excuses" if they fail to reduce crime and make streets safer after the Government’s pledge to fund 20,000 extra officers.

Speaking at the annual summit for the National Police Chiefs' Council and the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners in London, the Home Secretary said the investment in police numbers "must deliver the crime cuts that [the public] so desperately want".

Job Understood.

NHS Trusts and Transgender Lunacy Dealing With Children.

Carys Moseley comments on the news that several NHS trusts have approved a guide on using puberty blockers on children to start ‘transgender treatment’.

The Sunday Times has revealed that three NHS trusts in the west of England have approved a guide on puberty blockers for children called ‘Supporting Trans People’. Its main author is a transgender activist, a male-to-female who runs an organisation called the Diversity Trust. These are Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (BNSSG CCG), North Bristol NHS Trust and Devon Partnership NHS Trust.

This has come just at a time when a former psychiatric nurse at the Tavistock Clinic and a woman who is de-transitioning from living as a ‘man’ are taking the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust to the High Court over the administration of puberty blockers to minors. Read more ...

https://christianconcern.com/comment/time-for-nhs-trusts-to-stop-peddling-transgender-quackery/

Celebrating Lent In The US.

https://www.christianpost.com/news/what-christian-leaders-other-americans-are-doing-to-observe-lent.html

Birdies.

Please Pray For Pastor Raymond Koh and His Family.

On February 13, 2017 Pastor Raymond Koh was abducted
off the streets of Malaysia. He hasn’t been seen or heard from
since, and his car has never been found.

One Body, One Spirit.

Hallelujah.

The United Kingdom is expected to drop planned changes to the Gender Recognition Act that would have made it easier for children to change their gender.

A government consultation launched by former prime minister Theresa May in 2018 that would have allowed people to change their gender by ‘identifying’ as another, has reportedly been scrapped over fears that it would negatively impact children who lack the “decision-making capabilities” to make such a transition for themselves. Breitbart.

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