We are constantly being told in the United Kingdom that we are the fifth richest economy in the world. Indeed like many other countries the covid-19 pandemic has had a serious effect on our economic well-being and on people’s lives and on people’s jobs and livelihoods, but it is the poor who are disproportionately affected. It is the poor who are affected by lower life expectancy and so many other things.
The poor generally have no one to speak for them and I thank God for these two ministers whose Ministry to the poor is the difference between life and death for many in their local area
It has been some time since I have written on this blog for that I apologise.
The Reverend Martin Luther King civil rights leader in America gave a speech in which he said "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character".
I have always tried to live my life not by judging people by outward appearances but by the content of their character. When I was a police officer I could always tell the good from the bad and that hasn’t changed since I retired. Good is good and bad is bad. Is it possible for the bad to become good, yes it is, through the redemptive nature of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, does it work on everyone well I’m trying still to work out the answer one side of me says yes and the other side of me says no.
I know that there are individuals who are predicated to committing evil deeds whereas there are those who are probably in the majority who do not commit evil deeds but rather commit good deeds. But are good deeds enough without faith or do these things work in tandem with each other or is it that works are seen acting through our faith.
In Romans 4: 1-25 Paul lays out his case on being justified by faith. And then he adds this in chapter 5: 1-2
“Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.”
No so whilst Paul is saying that we are justified by faith James on the other hand you cannot have faith without work and you cannot have work without faith. What is it that is written in James 2: 14- 26
14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters,[e] if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? 17 So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder. 20 Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith apart from works is barren? 21 Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was brought to completion by the works. 23 Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 Likewise, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another road? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead”.
So we have Paul saying that we are Justified by Faith alone and we have James saying no because we have to be justified not only through our faith but through our works which arise out of our faith. So we see the contradiction between Paul and James. The question now to be answered is who is right and who is wrong. Well I leave that one there for you to work out and a very good night to you and may God bless you wherever you are.
We were gathered in the room, lost in our thoughts, then you came like a flame. Spirit, Holy Spirit , Spirit of the living God come to us this day, Spirit, Holy Spirit, Spirit of the living God come to us we pray
Touching all our hearts and touching all our tongues changing us within and without. Spirit, Holy Spirit , Spirit of the living God come to us this day, Spirit, Holy Spirit, Spirit of the living God come to us we pray
Come into our hearts , come into our minds, infuse us with your love. Spirit, Holy Spirit , Spirit of the living God come to us this day, Spirit, Holy Spirit, Spirit of the living God come to us we pray
repeat
We were gathered in the room, lost in our thoughts, then you came like a flame. Spirit, Holy Spirit , Spirit of the living God come to us this day, Spirit, Holy Spirit, Spirit of the living God come to us we pray
Touching all our hearts and touching all our tongues changing us within and without. Spirit, Holy Spirit , Spirit of the living God come to us this day, Spirit, Holy Spirit, Spirit of the living God come to us we pray.
Come into our hearts , come into our minds, infuse us with your love.Spirit, Holy Spirit , Spirit of the living God come to us this day, Spirit, Holy Spirit, Spirit of the living God come to us we pray
Spirit, Holy Spirit , Spirit of the living God come to us this day, Spirit, Holy Spirit, Spirit of the living God come to us we pray.
Yesterday was Ascension Day and I was thinking about the wholeness of the event when I wrote these words whilst looking out into the garden. Might need a little bit more work done on them what do you think.
We lift our voice to thee in praise on this Ascension Day Remembering what you did for us, thank you we pray You took the debt upon yourself , the burden of our sins So we lift our voice to thee in praise on this Ascension Day
We lift our voice to thee in praise on this Ascension Day We magnify your holy name and in this we pray You gave to us the gift of life that great salvation plan So we lift our voice to thee in praise on this Ascension Day
It’s Good Friday but in truth what is good about Good Friday.
For his mother, for his friends there was nothing good about Good Friday
They had to watch as he carried his Cross, how did it come to this only a few days ago he was welcomed as a hero and then them same people who so welcomed him turned on him.
Then Pilate offered them a choice, he who did no wrong or he who had done much wrong.
A shout from the crowd , “free Barabas” then one voice became two voices and two voices became three voices before long the whole crowd were shouting free Barabas.
Barabas who had killed innocents versus the man from Galilee who had killed no one.
Pilate gave in to the crowd and said what should I do and they said “crucify him”. Pilate replied “so be it” and then washed his hands of the whole affair.
The soldiers took him, mocked him, scourged him and laid the cross upon him. Oh how the agony as he made that walk to Golgotha.
Arriving at the skull they stretched out his hands and drove the nails in, the scream of agony was ear piercing. Then they drove the nails into his feet.
Blood everywhere his blood , the blood of forgiveness.
He looked down at his mother and his friend and said Woman behold thy son and to his friend and he said behold thy mother.
His eyes were eyes of compassion there was no hatred in him. We cried when he said “Father Forgive Them For they know not what they do” even then his thoughts were not of himself but of others.
He shouted out I thirst I was given a sponge that had been immersed in vinegar oh what a bitter brew
And then he managed to raise his head to Heaven saying father “why has thou forsaken me”
Then the Light of Day turned into the Dark of night a streak of lightning hit the temple.
We heard him say “father into thy hands I commend my spirit” and as he took his last breath he said “it is finished”
We looked at each other not believing what we were seeing.
It is finished but little did we know it was only beginning
I’m not sure if I can accept the main premise of this person’s argument. Prisons should exist mainly to house the most dangerous in Society particularly those sentenced for violent crime. But should we send a person to prison because their only crime is that they are poor and they have committed a theft in order to put bread on the table.
The key test for any civilised Society is how we treat the most marginalised, the downtrodden and the dispossessed. Do we punish them because of the state that they are in or are they being punished enough just being in that state.
I never thought I would be in favour of prison reform but I guess thats comes with getting older and perhaps getting wiser. We do need serious dialogue about prison reform in this country.
To meet the demands of those with sometimes the loudest voices often take actions without thinking of the long-term consequences that taken those actions will have.
My dear friends I ask you this question what would be worse depriving a wealthy person of a little of their wealth or depriving a poor person of everything that they have.
I tell you the truth that for someone who is convicted of depriving a wealthy person all the little of their wealth then have no doubt that person would be incarcerated for a number of years whereas depriving a poor person that person may not receive a sentence of incarceration.
In the society we live in we pay scant regard to the wants, to the needs, to the hopes of the poor person but when it comes to the wealthy person our thought processes are entirely different. Whereas we don’t want to look after the poor when it comes to the wealthy we have to look after them. Maybe that is what is wrong with our Society.
Everyone has to think about ways they can help to transform attitudes so that women and girls who have survived rape in deadly conflict are treated with dignity and respect by society, like other war veterans
London is a city full of statues, statues to the great and the good in the end they fade into the landscape.
For something to have lasting effect it must have the ability to be passed down each generation that is why it is so important that we collate the stories of survivors of conflict related sexual violence so that they form a body of knowledge.
And with that body of knowledge a programme of learning can evole. A programme of learning that can challenge us in how we think about these issues.
First we take one story then we add to it another and then another then another thousands of stories from women and girls who have suffered in this awful manner.
Yes yes we may erect a statue but if we do that without doing anything else what will we have achieved ?
I tell you my friends for something to be a testament it must give rise to the truth and the truth is that as human beings we have often been inhumane to each other.
And women and girls who have suffered grievously as a result of conflict and war and being raped or subject to sexual violence, they have suffered the greatest inumanity. So for a testament to have purpose it must challenge us to change our ways of thinking because if it does not do that then it is not a testament.
I think more and more of those great metaphysical questions that we sometimes ask ourselves “Who am I” “Why am I here” ” Is there something I must do”. Being a person of faith I know that death is a transition from one state of existence to another, from a physical state to a spiritual state and a different dimension . I cannot say anything more for we must all experience it and we will. Each of us have our own allotted time, we cannot change it, it is the nature of things. All the honours that we have amassed during our lives are of little value when the physical cessation of our lives occur. Perhaps the words from scripture are most apt ” Vanity, vanity all is vanity. Some people seek fame and glory for themselves but that should never be, if we are to have it then it must be used to improve the lives of others.
Former Secretary of State James Baker once said, “Someone asked me what was the most important thing I had learned since being in Washington. I replied that it was the fact that temporal power is fleeting.” Baker went on to observe that once driving through the White House gates he saw a man walking alone on Pennsylvania Avenue and recognized him as having been Secretary of State in a previous administration. “There he was alone – no reporters, no security, no adoring public, no trappings of power. Just one solitary man alone with his thoughts. And that mental picture continually serves to remind me of the impermanence of power and the impermanence of place.”
My friends especially those in Parliament the word’s of James Baker should constantly ring in your ear’s. All the things I have read they are the most profound.
“Don’t get consumed in one thing so that everything and everyone around you becomes invisible”
We can be in roles which can be demanding, so much so that we put 100% of ourselves into them. And because there are times when we have not been able to finish our work at work we take it home with us and we try to finish it at home because we are either on tight deadlines or we are are trying to give quick answers to people’s questions (because everybody wants a quick answer).
We focus our attentions on trying to meet those tight deadlines or trying to to expedite things quickly so that people will get the answers when they want the answers.
And what tends to happens is that we often neglect the people around us whether they be our friends or our families and it is generally our families that are more affected by our disconnect.
I can speak about these things because I was there and I did exactly what I’m talking about. When I was a serving police officer investigating crime I would take the job home with me. I would become grumpy if I wasn’t meeting the deadlines or if I wasn’t able to provide the answers that people were looking for.
And there are those times when you become so frustrated that you just explode and it is generally those around you those whom you care for the most who get it in the neck is it any wonder why there is such a high divorce rate in certain professions..
I would just say to people now having learnt the lesson don’t become so consumed in your work that those around you become invisible, allow time for your families.
If your manager’s are pressurizing you to get it done, get it done, get it done I would advise you to just turn to your manager’s and politely tell them to back off because at the end your life outside work is far more important than your life inside work.
Those whom you love the most are more important than those whom you don’t not know.
Don’t allow the stranger’s needs to come before the needs of your family. because it can have fatal consequences.
My dear friends I have had two experiences of God one experience was an angelic experience and the other was when God spoke to me in a vision.
I want to today concentrate on the second experience. I have this friend I hope he is still my friend named Jeremy and it would be true to say that he is not a spring chicken indeed he is 70 years old.
I had become increasingly concerned about my friend particularly about his spiritual health so much so that I bought him a book call the imitation of Christ and presented it to him September last year.
But I had been in constant prayer worrying about his eternal soul and what would happen if he was to die outside God’s grace.
Now in December I was working at the local mail centre and I was sitting at my work station and had momentarily closed my eyes when I opened my eyes again I could not see anything it was like I was in a mist trapped in fog. A voice came through the Fog asking me to ask my question
I said which question, the one you’ve been asking for 6-months him The Voice replied. So I asked my question what happens to a man’s soul if he dies outside the grace of God. Now I was expecting a pretty straightforward answer but that is not the answer I got.
The answer I got was this ” a man must be laid down before he can be risen up” this answer totally confused me because it was not what I was expecting. I said what and the voice said a man must be laid down before he can be risen up. Then it all became clear we had just had a general election and my friend had been served to his enemies and had been laid down not in a physical sense but in a spiritual sense.
I believe the almighty has tasked me with bringing this person to a knowledge of him before it is too late. The question to be asked is will this person be receptive to my words which are indeed not my words but the words of the almighty spoken through me.
