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.

Who is writing the songs?

Had this thought the other day. Who is writing the songs? What I mean is this...Great men come, and great men go. Some have been immortalised in song, but not many. Who writes songs for Adolph? Who writes songs for Stalin? These men lived within the last 100 years and though not forgotten, they are fading away with the years...No songs, at least, no new songs.

Contrast that with Jesus Christ: Lived some 2000 years ago, and every day, hundreds if not thousands of songs are being written for Him or about Him. Just about every language you can name has songs to Him. What does that say about a humble carpenter who died in His early thirties? What an impact He has had on this world, and is still having. Unlike those who are fading away with time, Jesus Christ's influence is increasing. He is still inspiring human kind to write songs about Him, but then, what else would you expect from the Son of God.

Down the Tubes.

I'm an English man living in England and more than a little concerned at the rate my society is degrading. Things that were truly horrific when I was a child, are now common place and being used as entertainment in TV, computer games and the movies.

Our government and the opposition both verbally agree that the family is the unit on which our society is built, yet they pass laws that directly undermine that unit. How does it help to say the family is important and then pass a law that gives exactly the same rights to common law couples? How does that help the family unit? Or is it that our perception of family has been eroded too? Surely, a family consists of a mum and a dad who have the same surname and have taken vows to be faithful to each other. A couple who have made a life long commitment. How can that extend to a common law couple...Different names, no vows and no commitment.

We are going down the tubes fast. When will we wake up and do something about it?

Change is here to stay

Some bright spark said, "Change is here to stay." Probably true, but mostly, change is gradual. Not so for me right now; I find myself at a crossroads, and it's scary!

You see, for the last 15 years or so, I've been attending a church in Worcester...But I live in Malvern and my heart is here, not there. Well, something new has opened up; a church plant here in Malvern, and I'm a part of it. Just a rag tag bunch of believers, who have a heart for Malvern, coming together to form a new church.
We had our first prayer meeting last Friday, and already we have a building to meet in...Took me by surprise it happened so fast.

So, change is here to stay, and once again I find myself having to say good-bye to friends I've worshipped with for a long time. It has been my experience that saying good-bye to friends is one of the hardest things you have to do as a Christian. It's sadness on the one hand, but excitement on the other at the new things God is going to do in the months ahead.

Change may be here to stay, but we are not, and sometimes, that hurts.

The price we pay...

Here I am at 5am sat up in bed typing. Makes no sense, but none the less, here I am. You see, I went out for a curry last night and it's keeping me awake. Happens sometimes, though not all.

So, why do we do such things? Most of us curry eaters know that this can happen but we still go and do it. For me it's like this: I really enjoy a good curry, and close to me there is a really great Indian restaurant . Add to that the fact that I went with two special friends and it becomes a no brainer. Good food and good company...Some prices are worth paying.

Now as for council tax...Don't get me started!

It still amazes me that God was willing to pay the price of His own Son for such as me. Yes...Even for Him, some prices are worth paying.

Have you ever felt real terror?

The real stuff I mean, not just hiding your eyes from something on the TV. Well I have. It happened almost 20 years ago at night as I lay in bed. I awoke from a bad dream which I can't remember. I was shaking and in a cold sweat. I find it hard to describe the actual feeling other than to say I was truly terrified.

So what was the source of my terror? I felt lost. Lost? But I was at home in my own bed, how could I be lost? I knew I was lost because I had wandered away from my Saviour; left Him behind to go into the pop music world. Bad mistake.

You see, I know my Bible, and it states clearly that Jesus is coming back to claim His own, and I knew that if He came at that instant I would be left behind...Lost forever in an eternity without Him. We call it Hell. Say what you like, it terrified me. Almost by instinct, I said, "Welcome back Lord," and invited Him back into my life. Well, what a contrast. A surge of love hit me like warm sticky goo. The shaking stopped. I went from abject terror to absolute peace in a matter os seconds. I knew in my heart that I was no longer lost. He had found me again. Now, when He does eventually come back, I know I'll be going with Him.

The Bible says, "There is no fear in love," and it's right. When you are loved by the creator of the universe, what's to be scared of?

Liberal Lunacy

There are those in the more traditional side of church who advocate that we, "Re interpret" the Bible in light of today's culture. They say, "Times have changed, people have changed, therefore we must change God's word to accommodate the sin of today's society."

Sounds like it makes sense, especially in today's climate of so called tolerance where we must by law, accept everyone for what they are regardless of any violence or depravity associated with them...With 2 notable exceptions: Christians and Pedophiles.

Christians are the most maligned minority group in this or any country. Here in the UK, our government actively bans our national religion. Just try tuning in to a Christian radio station. You can get just about everything else but not Christian.

And what about Pedophiles? Well, they are criminals aren't they, but only because we chose to make them so. Take a case in point: A man has sex with a 14 year old boy and he's branded a Pedophile and hated by everyone, except the Christians. That same man has sex with a 16 year old boy and we are forced by law to accept that as, "An acceptable life style." Heck, they want it taught in our schools as such. Can I hear anyone saying, "Bigot" here? One is a criminal to be reviled, the other gets a round of applause and a pat on the back. Christians treat both equally and get called bigots. what a world we live in!

So, should we re interpret the Bible and make allowances for sin? NEVER. Hey, should we re write the highway code to allow for all those who want to speed, or make shoplifting legal because so many people do it? You judge.

Old Life For New.

Our throw away society has reached new heights of selfishness and new lows in ethics. For a long time now we have had a throw away mentality, but it is gaining momentum.

It started out with packaging and cheap plastic razors and pens, things that are used and then discarded, but it has graduated to people. Yes, we live in a society where we throw away people. Don't believe me? Look up the abortion figures and weep. Every number on that list is a human life thrown away. Simply because a baby hasn't been born yet doesn't make it any less human.

As if that weren't enough, we now create babies to extract stem cells from them so that older humans can live longer. I know the diseases are terrible, but how can it be right that a baby is killed so that another human can live?

The Bible says: "Greater love has no man than he lay down his life for his friend." But that's a reasoned choice. Babies are in no position to make that choice for themselves. How dare we make it for them.

Abortion, Stem cell research, Euthanasia. We are throwing people away!

Who speaks for the innocents?

This is something that has really been on my heart for some time now, let me explain.

In my nation we have a hastily passed law that makes it illegal to say no to homosexuals. That's what it amounts to. They call it an anti discrimination law, but in truth, it's a license for homosexuals to rule the roost, and believe me, they will.

The point in question is the adoption of innocent children by homosexual couples. It came to light because Roman Catholic orphanages complained that such adoptions would be against their principals. Well bully for them. At least they had the bottle to stand up for their principals. Pity about the rest of us who have remained shamefully silent.

For decades heterosexual couples have been turned down for adoption for various reasons. Adoption agencies have been rigourous in their pursuit of good couples to give homes to the kids in their charge. But now, thanks to a bunch of wimps we call our government, who crumple at the first protest from the vociferous minority called the, "Gay Lobby," or any other lobby for that matter, adoption agencies now have no chance of saying no to such wholly unsuitable couples without them crying discrimination. And guess who'll win the argument...

What we have here is a minority group with a loud voice, a religious group with a voice and the government with a pathetic whimper of submission...BUT WHO SPEAKS FOR THE INNOCENTS? The one part of this equation that has no say in its future is the poor kid who gets lumbered with a life with such a couple. What kind of a life can that kid expect? And will they give a little boy to homosexual men? This has to be child abuse.

I believe it was Abraham Lincoln who said, "For evil to prosper, it only requires that good men do nothing." We reap what we sow.

Stuck in the queue.

It had been a great weekend, everything had been just about perfect; until the drive home that is...I chose to drive back on the Sunday thinking the traffic would be easier, and in the main it was. The sun was shining and I was fair flying along when I caught sight of one of those motorway signs telling me of impending 'queage' ahead. Junctions 12 and 13 it said, but I was sure I came off at 12 so I carried on regardless.

Saw the same warning several times as I shot along the M40, then, suddenly, there was a knot of cars ahead and lots of brake lights. "Bother," I said out loud, and I was right. We all came to a grinding halt well short of junction 12.

From then on it was 200 yards every hour or so. Funny thing was, just after I hit the queue, the news came on to say the Motorway was closed in both directions. "Blumin typical." Said I.

Seems that some poor bloke had been shot and the police had set up a murder enquiry. The sun was still shining, and my 3 hour drive took almost 7, but hey, at least I did get home in one piece.