The Train Now Arriving At Platform 60!

No, it's not a big station, it's a big birthday! I've been riding this train for 6 decades now, and there's still a long way to go. I'm old enough now to not look back. There's a lot of stuff there that's best left behind. That's one of the real joys of being a Christian, you can look ahead. You probably won't see exactly what's coming, but you know that something exciting is on the way. That little word 'hope' is wonderful, "We have a hope that is steadfast and certain."

So, the tannoy announces, "The train now arriving at platform 60 is coming in on time and in one piece!" I praise my God daily for good health and the home He has provided for me over the years. He truly is faithful to His own and has been to me since I came to know Him aged 12. Even through the dark times and wilderness years He was always there, even though I didn't see Him...Wasn't looking, but He was there none the less.

And so, on to the future, whatever that might hold. One thing I can be sure of, we'll ride the rails together, my Lord and me, right on to eternity.

To Him be the glory,
Colin. Aged 59 and 9.999 tenths!

Blair's Eyes.

Around ten years ago just before the general election that brought Tony Blair to power, there was a poster showing Blair with demonic eyes. There was quite an outcry as I remember and it was taken down. The thing is, it has turned out to be prophetically correct. Someone somewhere saw something in Blair that the rest of us didn't see until many years later.

Smiling all the way and professing Christianity he bent over backwards to further the cause of those who practice perversion. Even to the point of trying to get it taught in schools as an acceptable life style. This flies directly in the face of God's word which states clearly that homosexuality is an abomination. Seems that God isn't afraid to call a spade a spade.

Recently Blair made the news again but this time for his conversion to Roman Catholicism. No true Christian would ever do such a thing: swap relationship for ritual, truth for error...But Tony has. Another scripture, "By their fruit you shall know them." Now we can all see Tony Blair's fruit, and this conversion is just another rotten piece along the way. No doubt he was under pressure to convert from his wife. Brings to mind the first time a man allowed his wife to lead him astray, and look where that got us!

Tell it to a child.

Daddy why do we have Christmas?
Well son it's like this. Every year you have a birthday and you receive presents. We give you presents because you are very special to us and we want to celebrate the day you were born. Well, Christmas marks the birthday of another child who is very special to all of us so we give each other presents to celebrate His birthday.

And what is the child's name daddy?
His name is Jesus Christ son He was born 2000 years ago, and that's why we call it Christmas.

Me and Jack

This actually happened to me on Tuesday 11th of December 07

Some background: My Ex wife Carol lives in the next road to me, almost 150 yards away! She has a son named Jack. Now Jack and I are great friends even though he's only 5 and I'm a bit older. He goes to school now and often calls in on me on his way home, usually with his little friend Johnny.

Well the day before (Monday) he had had a bit of a bad tummy so his mom kept him off school. About 3 in the afternoon my phone went and it was Jack inviting me round to his house for tea. He often invites me round and I always go because time with Jack is precious.

I set off and he was waiting for me in the walk way between our roads. He very clearly explained that he was off school because he had a bad tummy. I should think everyone in the street heard him.

We went into the house and immediately Jack suggested that we play ball. He's a great one for football and we have spent many a happy hour in the walkway playing football together. As always, he starts gentle and ends up throwing the ball at 200 miles per hour, usually managing to hit things like the TV or glass candle holders etc. which brings a sharp response from Carol about such things.

So, we are playing ball and as usual he has me scrabbling on the floor, under the table and chairs etc. I'm blessed that at my tender time of life I can still do all this stuff, though not as gracefully as Jack.

After half an hour or so of us getting more and more boisterous, Carol finally pipes up, "Jack, go easy on Colin." To which Jack replies without any hesitation, "But mommy, I'm exercising him!"

Oh the mind of a child, which reminds me of another child...

Do have a brilliant and God filled Christmas.

Every blessing,
Thoroughly exercised Colin.

It's Christmas Time Again.

Yes, it's that time of year we call Christmas, and as usual, the world is going loopy whilst the atheists/secularists shout and scream about all the religion. Also as usual, the government wants to capitulate and take Christ out of Christmas for 'fear' of offending somebody somewhere. Funny isn't it that no one ever thinks twice about offending Christians.

So, they want to take all the nativity scenes down, and call it winter season or just season. Some shops won't allow their staff to say, "Happy Christmas." They won't get any of my money this year.

Problem is, if you take Christ out of Christmas, there's nothing to celebrate, and what else is Christmas about if not celebration? What will they celebrate in His place? How about shoppingmas, or profitmas; or maybe merrymas or presentmas? No, if you take Christ out of Christmas you are left with mas, and what is mas? Millions of Ants Shopping!

God is for life, not just for Christmas, and, Jesus is the reason for the season.

What's in a name?

The recent activity in Sudan has had the sane world reeling in incredulity. An English woman out there teaching allowed the kids in the class to name a teddy after the Islamic prophet. Someone snitched and she was arrested and jailed. On hearing the jail sentence there was a demonstration calling for her execution. One can only ask, what kind of people are these? The answer is, devoted. They are devoted to their religion. Whatever your opinion of their religion, you have to agree that they are devoted to it.

Contrast that with Christianity. Surely the most maligned, defamed and blasphemed name ever is Jesus Christ. Imagine the ridicule if someone like me were to go to a police station and complain that the name of our prophet had been blasphemed on the TV, or in the movies. I'd be laughed at. After all, the name of my Saviour, the Son of God, Jesus Christ is blasphemed openly every day and no one cares. Well, Christians don't take to the streets crying for blood do they? We don't protest or threaten violence...We don't have to because the Bible says, "At the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow." and, "Vengeance is mine," says the Lord, "I will repay." Blasphemers beware.

One of the big questions

There are some questions that Christians are asked with monotonous regularity. One of them is: "Why does God allow tragedies?" There is, of course, no one answer that fits all, but let's take one case in point and see where it leads us.

A few years ago there was a terribly tragedy, Tsunamis hit several coast lines and many hundreds of thousands of people were killed. We were all glued to the news at the time sympathising with the victims and their families. Everyone was moved deeply at the immensity of the disaster. God's heart is always the first to break at such things, but he still gets the blame.

So why does He allow it? It's like this: God sees the bigger picture, we don't. To stop the waves He would have had to stop the earthquake, because the quake caused the waves. To stop the earthquake He would have had to stop the movement of the tectonic plates, because earthquakes are caused by the plates grinding against each other under tremendous pressure. To stop the plates moving He would have had to stop the volcanic action beneath the earth's crust which forms the plates and pushes them apart. To stop the volcanic action He would have had to get rid of the heat that melts the rocks before they are squirted up and onto the sea floor. To get rid of the heat He would have to cool the earth's core so that it did not produce heat. This effectively kills the planet which effectively kills every thing on it, which means all of us. Now aren't you glad He didn't intervene.

Our earth is like a machine, tinker with one part of it and the consequences will almost always be catastrophic.