Preparing for the General Election

The nation awaits --- with bated breath --- the forthcoming announcement of the date for the General Election here in the United Kingdom. It's a great opportunity for members of the current ruling party to share with the electorate all the plans that they have for keeping everyone happy. No doubt there will be statements about improvements planned for the National Health system, for increasing Law & Order and, of course, for boosting the Education system.

Ministers will 'talk up' every issue which they feel will benefit the people and be vote winners, and 'talk down' every issue that they think might be vote losers.

There will be many thousands of people in the country --- in fact it will most likely number in the hundreds of thousands --- who choose to believe all the good things that they are told. Why? Simply because we live in a Society where people have been led along the pathway of delusion that has been created by successive politicians.

Some people may be tempted to vote to retain the current party simply because they work on the principal of 'Better the devil you know', but is that really an option? Of course, nobody knows for certain how a new party might actually rule. After all, the recent 'Expenses' scandal was a cross-party scandal, with MPs from all the main parties involved in filching from the public purse by fiddling their expenses, quite apart from the ones who were blatantly dishonest and caught out thieving from the taxpayers.

It would be understandable if the nation decided en bloc to refrain from voting, unable to trust anyone with their vote, but that would achieve nothing at all. That leaves us with what is probably the best decision, and that is to vote out the current party and vote a new one in. Given that there are probably relatively few MPs who you would trust to buy a new car from, it will be very important to ensure that those who can demonstrate that they are actually worth being voted in are the only ones that we vote for. Once they are in power, it is then incumbent on every voter to keep on their MP's backs to ensure that what they promised will be delivered.

It will be a long and painful process to return this country to any semblance of financial stability, and that is something which we all have to take on board. The 'Gravy Train' not only carries Members of Parliament, it also has countless thousands of voters on board as well. These are the voters who want to ensure that their lifestyle of free handouts will not suffer adversely by a change of Government, yet these people are also a major part of the cause of our national woes.

It is no secret that when people get something for nothing then they are careless with it. Things that are obtained for free are usually held in little value. We have become a nation with a sub-culture of free-loaders who despise the work ethic. There is a generation that has grown up in some cases with no-one in the family either working or having any interest or intention to work, and yet it is the work ethic that is so important in giving people a reason to live. Without it then people become like rudderless ships. They float around aimlessly in the ocean of life with few interests beyond supporting a football team or a pop star's antics, drifting occasionally into port where there finances are replenished, and finally arriving at an early grave.

What a pity that life, the greatest gift imaginable, can be so blatantly wasted by some!

It's time for politicians to take the bull by the horns and do what needs to be done for the good of the nation and its people. Of course, such politicians will never win the popularity vote, but they will eventually earn a respected place in the nation's history, just as many have done in the past from across the different parties. So what should they do to change things? Here are a few suggestions:

• Education: Stop dumbing down the system. Return to guiding children by telling them they are wrong and praising them when they are right. 'Nearly Right' means WRONG, so why not say it in the beginning. Misleading a child about their ability and/or potential is not a useful thing, and is generally counter-productive. Far better to recognise the true potential and then help the child to realise it. Making examinations easier in order to create the (false) impression of a good education system is bordering on the insane and certain immoral.
• Welfare: The welfare/benefits system is a wonderful thing when it is applied correctly for the benefit of those who are unable to work for health reasons or who are temporarily unemployed through no fault of their own. However, it should never be regarded, as it certainly appears to be by hundreds of thousands of people, as an alternative to working. For those who choose a life-style that does not include work then that is a perfectly acceptable choice, provided that they can fund it themselves and not accept to be milk-fed by the taxpaying populace.
• Immigration: Sometimes it appears to me that the Government fail to understand that when you live on an island there is a finite amount of land available for people to settle upon. Equally, because of the limitations imposed by that fact, there are a finite amount of resources available as well. These facts mean that immigration needs to be controlled very carefully. It appears that the current government has allowed unchecked immigration as a means of importing voters who will rush to their support, and such behaviour is both abominable and unacceptable. It's great to increase the diversity of culture with a nation, and when correctly controlled is of benefit to the nation concerned, but it goes against the nation when their is a bias involved that allows the culture of the nation to become threatened, and that has been allowed to happen in the United Kingdom.

Well, dear reader, there's a few interesting comments and thoughts of my chest. Will it do any good? Maybe or maybe not, but if it helps even a little to get this once-great nation back on its feet then it will have been worthwhile.

What is Maundy Thursday about?

Maundy Thursday - also called Holy Thursday is the feast or holy day on the Thursday before Easter that commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles.

The Last Supper
On this day, Christians remember the Last Supper. During the meal Jesus took bread and wine and shared them with his disciples. Christians continue to share bread and wine as part of their worship in church.

The Last Supper was probably a Passover meal – the meal which Jewish people share together to celebrate the time when God delivered Moses and the people from slavery in Egypt.

The night of Maundy Thursday is the night on which Jesus was betrayed by Judas in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Maundy Thursday is the day before Good Friday. It is one of the lesser known days of the Christian calendar.
The name 'Maundy' is derived from the Latin word “mandatum”, meaning a commandment. Jesus Christ, at the Last Supper, commanded:

'And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.' John 15:12

Maundy Thursday Ceremony
In Britain today, the Queen follows a very traditional role of giving Maundy Money to a group of pensioners. The tradition of the Sovereign giving money to the poor dates from the 13th century, from the reign of Edward I.

At one time recipients were required to be of the same sex as the Sovereign, but since the eighteenth century they have numbered as many men and women as the Sovereign has years of age.

Every year on this day, the Queen attends a Royal Maundy service in one of the many cathedrals throughout the country. 'Maundy money' is distributed to male and female pensioners from local communities near the Cathedral where the Service takes place.

The Service
Yeomen of the Guards carry the Maundy Money in white and red leather purses on golden alms trays on their heads.

From the fifteenth century, the amount of Maundy Money handed out, and the number of people receiving the coins, is related to the years of the Sovereign’s life.

In 2008, the white leather purse contained silver Maundy coins matching the Queen's age in pence - 82p, while the red purse contains ordinary money.

In 2009, each recipient will be given two purses – a red purse containing a £5 coin celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Accession of Henry VIII and a 50p coin to mark the founding of Kew Gardens, and a white purse containing 83p in Maundy coins because the Queen is 83 years old this year.
The men and women who receive the coins are all retired pensioners recommended by clergy and ministers of all denominations, in recognition of service to the Church and to the community.

What is Maundy Money?
Maundy coins are specially minted for the occasion and are legal tender and, as they are produced in such limited numbers, they are much sought after by collectors.

(Acknowledgements to Woodlands Junior School in Kent (UK)who always have a lot of interesting information on their website.)

Gospel Service on Maundy Thursday

As you can see from the picture above, there will be a Gospel Service at St John's Presbyterian Church in Runcorn, Cheshire (UK) on Maundy Thursday, which is April 1st this year. The guest soloist this year is Gary Cordice, an excellent singer who will be travelling up from South East England for the occasion. Gary has sung professionally in many of the musicals staged in London's West End, including Starlight Express, Jesus Christ Superstar and Cats. The message will be given by Rev Colin Gordon-Farleigh and there will be a retiring collection in aid of the work of Young Life, Runcorn, a mission to the young people of the town led by Luke and Jenny Wilkinson.

If you live near enough, you will be welcome to join with us in worshipping God and fellowshipping together.

Emynau Cymraeg

PYSGOTWR POBL

Gwna fi’n bysgotwr i’r deyrnas,

Taflu fy rhwyd ger y lli.

Rhannu’r newyddion am Geidwad,

Bu farw i’n hachub ni.

Rho imi’r geiriau sy’n denu,

Gad imi wybod y man

Lle gallaf dystio i’r cariad

Gadwodd y truan a’r gwan.

Ein golchi ym mhur waed yr Oen,

I ryddid fe’m prynwyd gan Dduw.

Glanhawyd, maddeuwyd fy mai.

I’r Arglwydd byddaf fi byw.

© 2006 Colin Gordon-Farleigh

Cyf. © 2010 Eirlys Gruffydd

Hymn for today . . .

My Prayer 7.7.7.7.
Tune: Gaelic Lullaby

Father, hear me as I pray,
Jesus take my sins away;
Help me pass the darkest night,
Praise His glory in the Light.
Keep me, my Saviour,
Yes, keep me my Lord;
Keep me forever,
As promised in Your Word!

Though in sin I bow in shame,
Help me call upon His name;
Teach me how I should forgive,
As each day in Christ I live.
Keep me, my Saviour, . . .

Seeking always as I walk
Christ the Truth, the Life, the Way;
Serving Jesus in this world,
Praise Him always every day.
Keep me, my Saviour, . . .

Helping others in His name,
Find salvation through the Son;
Till we stand in heaven’s light
Praising Him for battles won!
Keep me, my Saviour, . . .
© Colin Gordon-Farleigh, 2007

Emynau Cymraeg: MAE O YN FY YMYL

MAE O YN FY YMYL

Ysbryd Duw sy’n symud yn fy enaid i,

Cefais fywyd newydd drwy aberth Calfarî.

Ysbryd Duw sy’n symud yn fy enaid i

Drwy aberth Calfarî.

Cytgan:

Mae o yn fy ymyl,

Pob eiliad o bob dydd,

Mae o yn fy ymyl,

Yn fy nysgu’n ffordd y ffydd.

Yn fy ymyl, yn fy ymyl,

Yn fy ymyl bob dydd.

Fe ddaw Crist i’m harwain ar bob cam o’r daith.

Wrth i’m dystio iddo mewn gweddi ac mewn gwaith.

Fe ddaw Crist i’m harwain ar bob cam o’r daith,

Mewn gweddi ac mewn gwaith.

Cytgan:

Iddo beunydd tystiaf a’i wasnaethu’n daer,

Addo wnaf bob amser i fyw yn ôl ei Air

Iddo beunydd tystiaf a’i wasnaethu’n daer

A byw yn ôl ei Air.

Cytgan:

Colin Gordon-Farleigh © 2009

Cyf. Eirlys Gruffydd © 2009

Poems for Today about Devon and Wiltshire

Here are two poems from my book Flight of a Bee, published by Gazebo Books in 1978 and again by Voice Publications in 2006. They reflect on two areas of the United Kingdom where natural beauty and man-made beauty abounds, Devon and Wiltshire. I hope you enjoy them dear reader.

Wiltshire Memories

Green trees look down in regal splendour

upon the lushness of prolific summer;

the gentle sweep of grassy slopes

echoing the soft lullaby of Nature.

Whispering leaves above the cricket’s chorus,

calling onward to the pink flush of sunset,

looking back with fond reflection

upon those pleasant Wiltshire summers

when life had just begun.

Rolling fields of golden corn

stretching far beyond the country Inn.

a place where farmhands rested tired feet,

and stopped to quaff a jug of English Ale.

Where the lustre of red-gold sunset

hangs deep into the velvet night,

carried onward into tomorrow

by the gentle breezes of the summer evening,

scented sweet by the new-mown swathes.

In the distance, past the sloping Downs,

where chalk beats watch the closing day,

as the last fading rays of sunlight fall,

bringing the cool of silvered moon,

Then I will rest, safe till dawn breaks.

I’ll sleep sound, wrapped by dry stone walls,

the ancient stones supporting musty thatch,

dreaming of West Country life,

Where man can pleasant moments snatch.

Copyright 2006 Colin Gordon-Farleigh

Devonshire Memories

I shall walk again through winding lanes,

Past greening fields; where cattle low

In soft unison to some hidden brook;

Where blackbird sings, and echoes sweet

The memory of Nature’s full parade.

The gate with the lichen-covered slats

where once we rested, whispering, dreaming

our distant dreams and thoughts of love.

Paying fleeting visits to far-off places

that held us once in the long ago.

On, past the rustic’s cob and thatch

with painted walls of blushing dawn;

tall hollyhocks that outstretch man,

reaching skyward in tumultuous profusion,

with colourful, pristine abandonment.

See the distant viaduct of ancient stone

passing by the lake of Burrator,

where heathered moorland stretches wide,

showing the unseen artist’s hand

that wove the sky, the gorse, and me.

Dear Devon — do you ever stop awhile

to think of me, as I still think of you?

In the morning’s golden hour of dawn,

where the plaintive cuckoo’s call

echoes his trespass of some small domain.

Copyright 2006 Colin Gordon-Farleigh

Great Spring Days!

As soon as I saw snowdrops peeping through the Winter snow I knew that Spring would not be far away.

One of the great beauties of Springtime is the picture painted in a bluebell wood. It takes your breath away!

What better than a brisk walk in the countryside, especially if you are fortunate enough to have hills and --- even better --- mountains, to tread the pathway to God, experiencing the wonders of the natural world that He has created for you to enjoy.

Opposite my house there are several flowering cherry trees which have already started to burst into bud. Soon they will look just like this one which I photographed last year in a local park. These are the sort of sights that stir the poet's soul when Spring bursts onto the scene!

I took this picture at Lake Vyrnwy a couple of years ago, and love the simplicity of the composition. Some years ago, I was privileged to work as a candle-maker in the Craft Units situated close to this beautiful place. This is a man-made lake, though so beautiful that it creates a sense of awe and wonder.

When is a crime not a crime?

That might seem to be a strange question, but it has an easy answer. A crime is not a crime when it's been committed by an elected member of the UK Parliament. At least, that's what the MPs currently charged with their various crimes linked to the expenses scandal would have us believe.

Now I think we all recognise that MPs are, by and large, invariably strangers to the truth from time to time, some more so than others; and of course we are approaching a General Election, which is a time when all sorts of fairy tales are spread by politicians and labelled as truth. We have long been subjected to distortions of the truth by politicians such as Tony Blair, easily recognisable by his duplicity and hunger for wealth, and the current Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, who lied blatantly when facing the Iraq Inquiry.

However, I think that even by the standards which they apply to themselves, it is stretching it too far to ask us to believe that things such as falsifying accounts by creating receipts for non-existent purchases or claiming for a mortgage that didn't exist are totally honest and above-board things to do.

If they are found not guilty, and remember, we live in an era when it's often demonstrated that there are different levels of law for different people, then will this open the doors for everyone to take part in creative accounting?

If the charges against the three MPs and the Peer involved in this additional scandal were unfounded then the Criminal Prosecution Service would not have allowed them to be brought to the Courts. Therefore it would appear that they are totally founded on truth. The MPs are attempting top claim Parliamentary privilege, but if we have a system that allows criminals to go scot-free by hiding behind the skirts of 'Mother' Parliament then it would indicate that the system is even more corrupt than some people think, and that is something that I would hate to see proven.

No, there can only be one possible outcome to this debacle, and that is that those committing crimes, whether MPs or not, must pay the just penalty for those crimes.

Who cares about the children?

Well, not the people who make up the Government's Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health and HIV, that's for sure. If they did, then they would be targeting children with a campaign to say 'NO' to sex rather than encouraging them by allowing the advertising of condoms on TV prior to the watershed. Not surprising really in a nation that has suffered from declining morals for the last few decades, but also not too late to have a change of heart and start to encourage our children to be children and not mini-adults, complete with adult 'desires' that must be satisfied at all costs.

I believe that when you promote the use of condoms to children under the age of sixteen then you are effectively telling them that sex is okay for them provided that they take precautions to avoid unwanted pregnancy. What a crazy manner to approach the subject!

For many years successive governments have approached the subject of teenage pregnancy in ways which have proven to be abject failures. We still have an abysmally high rate of teenage pregnancies. Of course, the benefit system supports the whole concept by making the State take over the financial responsibilities that should rightfully be those of the families concerned. Surely the financial responsibility of raising a child should be born by the parents of the child or, if they are too young to be able to do it, then the families of the parents.

The responsibility for the education of children is a matter for all of us, for it is all of us who finally pay the price for unwanted or 'accidental' pregnancies, but first of all it is the task of the respective parents to guide their children correctly, and then the task of all of us to ensure by speaking to our MP's, that the Government encourage the parents by making things more difficult in such matters as financial support, not easier.

Some years ago I was impressed by a statement made by the TV host, Montel, in a discussion on the matter of unwanted pregnancy. His advice was quite simple. "If you are not prepared to take full responsibility for the consequences then you should not lie down with someone in the first place." What great advice, and advice that many people, especially children, would do to repeat to themselves first thing every day.

It is good to see the Catholic Church making a stand on the matter, but where are the voices from other Churches?

The new UK Advertising Code for the industry announced yesterday will not only allow condoms to be advertised prior to the watershed, but will also allow the advertising of pornography in the shape of both films and magazines on the subscription adult TV channels. The fact that the channels concerned are 'subscription adult' channels does not, of course, prevent children from accessing them.

Add to everything else the allowing of betting tipsters to advertise on TV, and what we have is a further slide into the amoral morass that increases every parent's difficulties when it comes to raising responsible children who will ultimately form into morally responsible adults.

Emynau Cymraeg

IESU NGWAREDWR
Tôn: Bunessan
Iesu Ngwaredwr,
Geidwad trugarog,
Maddau ein beiau,
Gwir Fab y Tad.
‘Rôl edifeirwch
Duw rydd faddeuant,
Cawn iachawdwriaeth
Drwy’r Iesu mad.

Iesu ddaeth atom
O nef y Duwdod,
Ganddo mae’r ateb
I gyflwr dyn.
Angau yw cyflog
Pechod , ond talodd
Ein holl ddyledion
Â’i waed ei hun.

Deuwn, addolwn,
Gweision y deyrnas,
Tystion ei gariad
I ddynolryw;
Nawr a’n dragwyddol,
Nes gweld ei wyneb,
Caria’r colledig
Deillion a briw.

Nawr gorfoleddwn
Caed iachawdwriaeth
Drwy Iesu’r prynwr
Ddaeth oddi fry.
Ef yw ein Ceidwd,
Mab y goruchaf,
Bendith ei gariad
Roddwyd i ni.

Dyrchafwn foliant
I nef y nefoedd;
Fe ddaw’r diwrnod
Cawn weld ei wedd.

Canau’r angylion
Glod ei ogoniant
Ef yw’r Meseia,
Awdur ein hedd.
© Colin Gordon-Farleigh
Cyf. Eirlys Grufydd

It was very different then . . .

The older that I get, so the greater the difference seems to be between the way the world is now and the way it was then. There are many differences that are for the better, as least as far as the individual is concerned, but I wonder about many more of them in more general terms.

I'm sure that lots of things are similar, but we live in an age where even young children are sexualised to a degree. Government decrees that children of a very tender age are to be taught about sexual matters, yet laugh at the suggestion that children of any age be taught to say 'NO'. Even adverts for children's clothing show us apparel that is quite unsuitable. This is so different from the world in which I grew up in, and I cannot think, even for a minute, that it's better in any way.

Then, at the local dance, boys would line up on one side of the hall and girls on the other, each side eyeing up the other and commenting to their friends the reasons that they would or would not like to dance with a particular person, yet often doing little about it. The real reasons were simple. The boys wanted to appear 'big' in front of their mates, yet the fear of rejection held them back. For the girls, the fear of being labelled 'too forward' was never too far away, and so held them back.

Life was so different in many ways. If a girl became pregnant then a hasty marriage would be arranged to avoid the stigma of an illegitimate child being brought into the world. Nowadays, it would appear that there is more stigma attached to those who decide to wait until they are married to have children. It's a sort of volte face situation.

When I was a boy, taking drugs meant having an aspirin for a headache. By the time I was well into my teens and taking in the local dance and coffee bar scene, although I heard about drug-taking amongst pop stars I never came across anything to do with drugs myself. It was about as far away from my life as travel to the moon was.

Nowadays we hear and read much about the problems of obesity, but when I was growing up there was never enough food going spare to allow people to become obese. Not only that, but we walked to our friends' houses. If they were too far to walk then we either cycled or got on a bus. Either way, the result was that we were healthier and fitter for it. Our bedrooms were places in which we went to sleep, not, as so often nowadays, places where we lived separate lives from our parents and siblings. Meals were not plated and taken to our rooms but rather shared around the dining-table with the rest of the family.

Take a family with three children and it's not unusual for each one to have a different meal and even eat at a different time. As a boy, growing up in post-war Britain, the choice was quite clear when it came to mealtimes. You either ate what was put in front of you or went without. If you left half your meal on the plate then it would be likely to be served up for you at the next meal-time.

There were no ready meals then, at least if you discounted the one that ran around the farmyard until it was caught, butchered and cooked! Continental foods, usually referred to by our elders as 'that foreign muck', were certainly not visitors to our meal tables. Curries were, by and large, meals that were eaten in far-off India, and pasta in distant Italy. Children drank Tizer or some similar drink on the rare occasion when the adults had wine with their meals. I recall how grown-up I felt when I was allowed, aged about fourteen, to have a small glass of sweet cider with my Christmas meal.

There were, generally speaking, no thoughts about cohabiting instead of getting married. Many young people of both sexes, despite claims to the contrary, were often virgins when they married at twenty-one or twenty-two, although it seems hard to believe that now in the over-sexed climate that today's youngsters grow up in. It was not that you never wanted to find things out for yourself, more that you were too scared of the possible consequences! We had the most effective contraceptive of all handed to us constantly --- FEAR!

Getting married and looking for a new home meant finding a flat that you could afford, furnished, more often than not, by the hand-me-down furniture of relatives. Certainly, with credit so difficult to obtain, there was not too much new furniture to be had. That was something to save up for and gradually acquire, and it was all the more appreciated because of it. Actually buying a house was not even on the radar, particularly in an age where more people lived in rented property than owned their own homes. Before the wedding girls would have been saving up bed-linen and so on in their 'bottom drawer', thus ensuring that they had at least got fresh new bedlinen for their new status in life.

Even when mortgages became easier to obtain you still needed a twenty-five percent deposit in order to splash out against a new home costing £1500 to £2500, and that deposit had to be scraped together by going without other things. Often families would not be started until the young couple were finally settled into their own new home.

Of course there was no need to worry over-much about the cost of petrol because travel was usually either on a bike, bus or train. Holidays were still taken at home or else, if you could afford it, at a destination in the UK. Not for us in those days the luxury of waiting around at an airport for several hours before travelling for another two or three hours in order to sit on a crowded beach somewhere in the sun, plagued by flies, tummy-bugs or sharks trying to sell you Time-Share apartments that might not even exist, and, even if they did, you either couldn't afford them or didn't really want them.

Of course there are many things that are better nowadays, even if we don't really know how to keep them all in perspective. Computers, once the subject of science fiction films, are now found in almost every home. They can be great aids to modern living, but they also have a dark side that sucks people into traps that destroy lives. Children have too much freedom, creating a sort of anarchic existence for many of them, an existence which we see and hear the results of every time we turn on the News and hear about another teenage killing or tragedy. Many adults fear going out at night because of what is perceived to be poor policing of their streets. The streets themselves are often litter-strewn, or at least spoiled by the white blobs of discarded gum that ruin so many of our pavements.

It is claimed that we live in a Society where the rule of law has broken down, yet is the truth more that Society itself has broken down? Over the decades of my life I have witnessed a Society where general individual wealth has far exceeded the wildest dreams of many, and yet where that very excess has caused people to turn their backs on God, believing that their salvation lies either in a corrupt government or in themselves. The brokenness of the world around us will only be mended when people learn once more to respect their Creator.

Have I finally turned into a 'Grumpy Old Man'? Probably! Yet, like others of my ilk, it's just my way of expressing great sadness when I see the opportunities that are missed and the demise of a once-promising nation.

Joanne Lowe's Meditations

DID YOU EVER WONDER

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

Genesis 1:1 (King James Version)

There are only ten words in our Scripture verse for today but these ten words are the most powerful words in the world because they describe the heart of our Heavenly Father. Did you ever wonder why God, our loving compassionate Heavenly Father, created us when He knew that His beloved Son would have to be crucified on a cross of horror and excruciating pain for our sins?

That didn’t make any sense to me at all because not only does God give unconditional love, His very nature is love! I wondered about that many times so one day I asked Him. I said “God, You are a loving compassionate Heavenly Father. Please tell me why You created us when You knew that Your precious and beloved Son would be crucified, tortured and beaten beyond recognition for us?”

He spoke to my heart and said “I am God. I don’t need anybody or anything. However, I desired fellowship and that is why I created you”. When He told me that I cried, because none of us, including myself, fellowship with Him like we should. If we will listen with our hearts, we will hear the heart of our Heavenly Father saying to us “I miss you. It’s been a long time since we fellowshipped together. Do you have time for Me today”?

We read in the Bible “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7). When God formed man, it was the start of His dream, the beginning of His desire that we would fellowship with Him. How we must hurt Him and break His heart when we don’t fellowship with Him!

How important is fellowship? It is the most important thing in the world to God. He desires us to fellowship with Him and with one another. What a sad commentary it is on those of us who claim to be Christians that we don’t take the time to fellowship with Him and with one another. Why don’t we fellowship with Him and with each other more than we do? I believe it is because there are times when we sit and watch television hour after hour instead of fellowshipping with our Heavenly Father and with one another.

Will you respond to the cry from our Heavenly Father’s heart and fellowship with Him? Spending time with Him does not mean just our quiet times with Him or the prayers we say for others. It means an ongoing fellowship with Him that never ends even in the midst of our daily activities. I started a prayer to Him on January 24, 2005, the day that He entrusted me with and gave me the ministries of encouraging pastors and writing devotions. I have never said Amen to that prayer.

I don’t do a lot of talking to Him. I listen so He can talk to me and tell me what He wants me to do. Many times when I want to pray for someone, I just say the person’s name. God knows a lot better than I do what the person needs. There are times when we hinder God working in the hearts of people by what we say in our prayers. I heard a man say one time when he was praying “Father, my son has to go to this college I want him to attend. Make him go there”.

How dare you and I pray to a Holy God and demand anything from Him? He knows what we need and what is best for us. We need to stop praying so selfishly, get out of His way and stop telling Him what to do. I think sometimes we forget that we are the clay and He is our potter. “But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand” (Isaiah 64:8).

“Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way! Thou art the Potter, I am the clay. Mold me and make me after Thy will, While I am waiting, yielded and still.” If these words of this beautiful inspiring song are not the cry of your heart, ask God to give you a heart checkup because something is very wrong! It is a lot more important that you allow God to check your spiritual heart than it is to go to the doctor so he or she can check your physical heart.

Heavenly Father, we have heard the cry from the depths of Your heart for us to fellowship with You. Please have mercy on us and forgive us for hurting You by not spending more time with You than we do. May we always remember that You created us to fellowship with You and that fellowship is very important. You have told us that not only do You desire us to spend time with You, but we also need to spend time with each other.

Please forgive us for being selfish at times and help us to realize the importance and urgency of turning off the television set and reaching out to one another and loving each other with Your unconditional love. Please plant a desire deep in the heart of every one of us to get out of our comfort zones and spend time with You and with one another as You desire us to do. Amen.

Joanne Lowe

joannelowe8@cox.net

www.joanne-ourprecioussaviour.blogspot.com

Poem for Today

Love Flowed Freely

.
When love flowed freely from the Cross,
Man’s richest gain was Heaven’s loss.

When love flowed freely on that day
It washed the darkest sin away.

The Saviour paid the price for sin,
Repentant hearts can enter in.

Love flowing freely from His side,
The bridegroom waits His spotless bride.

When freed from sin, from toil, from pain,
Our joyful praise is Heaven’s gain.

In service now, our arms we raise,
To Him in everlasting praise.
© 2010 Colin Gordon-Farleigh

Bring back any memories for you?

Someone asked the other day, 'What was your favourite 'fast food' when you were growing up?' 'We didn't have fast food when I was growing up,' I informed him.
'All the food was slow.'

'C'mon, seriously.. Where did you eat?' 'It was a place called 'home,'' I explained. 'Mum cooked every day, and when Dad got home from work we sat down together at the dining-room table, and if I didn't like what she put on my plate, I was allowed to sit there until I did like it.'

By this time, the lad was laughing so hard I was afraid he was going to suffer serious internal damage, so I didn't tell him the part about how I had to have permission to leave the table.

But here are some other things I would have told him about my childhood if I'd figured his system could have handled it:

Some parents NEVER owned their own house, wore jeans, set foot on a golf course, travelled out of the country or had a credit card.

My parents never drove me to school. I had a bicycle that weighed probably 50 pounds, and only had one speed, (slow).

We didn't have a television in our house until I was 10.
It was, of course, black and white, and the station went off the air at 10 pm, after playing the national anthem and epilogue; it came back on the air at about 6 a.m. and there was usually a locally produced news and farm show on, featuring local people...

I never had a telephone in my room. The only phone was on a party line. Before you could dial, you had to listen and make sure some people you didn't know weren't already using the line.

Pizzas were not delivered to our home... But milk was.

All newspapers were delivered by boys and all boys delivered newspapers --My brother delivered a newspaper, seven days a week. He had to get up at 6AM every morning.

Film stars kissed with their mouths shut. At least, they did in the films. There were no movie ratings because all movies were responsibly produced for everyone to enjoy viewing, without profanity or violence or almost anything offensive.

If you grew up in a generation before there was fast food, you may want to share some of these memories with your children or grandchildren. Just don't blame me if they bust a gut laughing.

Growing up isn't what it used to be, is it?

MEMORIES from a friend:
My Dad is cleaning out my grandmother's house (she died in December) and he brought me an old Royal Crown Cola bottle. In the bottle top was a stopper with a bunch of holes in it... I knew immediately what it was, but my daughter had no idea. She thought they had tried to make it a salt shaker or something. I knew it as the bottle that sat on the end of the ironing board to 'sprinkle' clothes with because we didn't have steam irons. Man, I am old.

How many do you remember?
Headlight dip-switches on the floor of the car.
Ignition switches on the dashboard.
Trouser leg clips for bicycles without chain guards.
Soldering irons you heated on a gas burner.
Using hand signals for cars without turn indicators.

Older Than Dirt Quiz:
Count all the ones that you remember, not the ones you were told about.
Ratings at the bottom.

1. Sweet cigarettes
2. Coffee shops with juke boxes
3. Home milk delivery in glass bottles
4. Party lines on the telephone
5. Newsreels before the movie
6. TV test patterns that came on at night after the last show and were there until TV shows started again in the morning.. (There were only 2 channels [if you were fortunate])
7. Peashooters
8. 33 rpm records
9. 45 RPM records
10. Hi-fi's
11. Metal ice trays with levers
12. Blue flashbulb
13. Cork popguns
14. Wash tub wringers

If you remembered 0-3 = You’re still young
If you remembered 3-6 = You are getting older
If you remembered 7-10 = Don't tell your age
If you remembered 11-14 = You're positively ancient!

I must be 'positively ancient' but those memories are some of the best parts of my life.

Don't forget to share this with others, especially with all your really OLD friends!

Latest issue of 'The Voice Christian News & Views' is out!

The latest edition of The Voice Christian News & Views magazine is out, and is packed with interesting articles, features and much more. In this issue we have the first instalment of K P Yohannan's book, Revolution in World Missions, which is a must read for every Christian. There is a great article by J Lee Grady and also one from Carter Conlon of Times Square Church in New York. Add a good dash of humour and features such as the one on the hymn-writer Philip P Bliss, and you have a really good read, and it's all for FREE! All you need to do is email me your postal details and you will be added to the Mailing List. The magazine is sent out every two months free-of-charge to subscribers across the world. Why not join them yourself!

“Prayer Can Cut Crime”

I found this on my friend Andy Rogers' blog and thought it was well worth sharing with you, dear reader. There is nothing more powerful than the believer's prayer in the hands of someone committed to serving God's purpose.

“Prayer Can Cut Crime” – The Independent.

January 30, 2010

A policing group which believes that the power of prayer can catch criminals and keep officers safe from harm has been awarded a £10,000 grant from the Home Office

A Christian policing group which believes that the power of prayer can catch criminals and keep officers safe from harm has been awarded a £10,000 grant from the Home Office to widen its involvement with local church groups.

The Christian Police Association (CPA) wants members of the public to “adopt a cop” by praying for the safety of local officers as they ply their beats. Subjects that the association says congregations should be encouraged to pray for include “helping officers make on-the-spot decisions” and encouraging them to “resist corruption”.

The nationwide organisation, which boasts 2,000 members, claims that there is “circumstantial evidence” to suggest that regular prayer sessions can help reduce crime rates and encourage criminals to make a new start to their lives.

This week they are launching a new initiative called “CoAct”, which is partly funded by a £10,000 Home Office grant, to improve links between local church groups and police officers and encourage congregations to act as “peacemakers” in areas where gang violence and antisocial behaviour is high.

Don Axcell, a retired Metropolitan Police sergeant who heads the CPA, told Police Review: “We want people to pray for the police, for example in solving crimes or protecting officers. We want to see the Christian community fully interacting with the service. I think it will break down barriers.”

Mr Axcell said two incidents from his own career had made him believe that prayer really could help apprehend suspects. “One officer was investigating an incident but had not been able to apprehend a suspect,” he said. “He encouraged a church to pray for him and within days a suspect had been charged. Another officer encouraged churches to pray about domestic burglary and over the year it came down by 30 per cent. We do not discount good police work, which is why we call it circumstantial evidence.”

Les Isaacs, the founder of the influential Street Pastors movement, which patrols more than 70 cities across the country helping drunken revellers and diffusing gang tensions, says church groups already play a strong role in tackling antisocial behaviour.

“The approach has to be both pragmatic and spiritual,” he said. “Prayer makes a tangible difference, we see it every day. If you pray for the well-being of the community around you will see people physically become less aggressive.”

But Terry Sanderson, president of the National Secular Society, said the Government should not be funding religious-oriented police organisations which he believes have helped factionalise officers into competing camps.

“I have no objection to a local congregation praying for their community but the Government should not be funding these sorts of sectarian police groups,” he said. “If there’s one institution that should be avowedly secular, it is the police force. Yet we have Christian, Muslim and Jewish police associations all battling for greater recognition and government funding.”

Matt Baggott, chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and president of the Christian Police Association, said CoAct would be a “great way of giving police officers the support, care and encouragement that they need and value”.

A Home Office spokesman added: “We have given the Christian Police Association a one-off grant of £10,000 to support its ongoing work to improve community safety, tackle antisocial behaviour and reduce violence.”

via independent.co.uk