Why is the joker leading the pack?

To the despair of my wife and me, our middle daughter, when she was at primary school, used to invite all the naughty boys in her class to her birthday party. We took all necessary precautions of removing vulnerable artefacts but they were usually riotous events! We survived these birthday celebrations with minimum damage (apart from the odd broken window) and usually the household returned to normality after an intensive clear-up.

Reflecting upon these annual hijinks I became convinced that there is something in our human nature that likes living dangerously – flirting with risk, enjoying adventure tinged with the threat of the unknown.

It’s what I now call the ‘Boris Factor’, because I believe it accounts for the popularity of the front-runner in the Conservative Party’s race for our next Prime Minister – Boris Johnson. His popularity in the country, despite his well-publicised imperfections, is quite remarkable.

Promises, Promises

I cannot claim to know Boris very well, although I have met him a few times. On one occasion when he was canvassing support for his first term as Mayor of London, I spent two hours alone with him. His team had been chasing me around London for several months, keen to exploit my links with African-Caribbean community and church leaders. They coveted the black vote in inner-city boroughs, but I was not keen to be involved in a political campaign.

And then there were six: the Tory leadership hopefuls. Photo: AP/Press Association ImagesEventually I agreed to a meeting with Boris, provided I could talk about the special needs in these communities. We had a very good and frank conversation, particularly on what he would do with issues such as guns, drugs and knife crime. I was even able to quiz him on his personal faith (with dubious results!). After receiving a lot of promises I subsequently helped to bring some 80 leaders to meet with him, although I have to say that he did not keep his promises once he was in power.

I was nevertheless impressed by the way he addressed the black leaders using a mixture of humour and serious social policy strategy, while also acknowledging their particular community needs. He is an excellent communicator which probably accounts for his popularity in the country across widely different communities. But it is still surprising that so many are willing to overlook his blunders and alleged moral deficiencies and take the risk of making him Prime Minister.

There is something in our human nature that likes living dangerously – flirting with risk, enjoying adventure tinged with the threat of the unknown.

No Discernment

Why is this? Is it like the childhood fascination with the naughty boy? Do we like to take a risk and go for the charisma factor rather than the drab, boring, safe, pinstripe type of politician? The country certainly fell in love with Tony Blair as an exciting contrast to John Major, though the Blair factor only lasted a few years.

Public opinion, of course, is notoriously fickle, but it is surely surprising that there are some characters whose misbehaviours will be overlooked and who will be supported even though people know it is a risk. There is a telling statement made by the Prophet Jeremiah during the reign of the notoriously immoral King Jehoiakim in Jerusalem in the late 6^th Century BC. Jeremiah was having one of his prayer-time conversations with God and reporting on the state of the nation. He said “A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land! The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way” (Jer 5:30-31).

Jeremiah was used to false prophets promising “Peace! Peace!” when the Lord was saying “There is no Peace!”. He was constantly countering the lies of these popular prophets who told the people there was nothing to worry about in the rumours that the Babylonian army was on the march. They said that no enemy would ever get into Jerusalem, because God would defend the city.

The priests confirmed the lies of the prophets and instead of rightly teaching the people and giving judgments in accord with the teaching given by God to Moses, they made up their own rules and their own interpretations of the word of God. Sadly, the people had no discernment; they loved things as they were – lies and deception were quite acceptable to them.

In Jeremiah’s day, the people had no discernment; lies and deception were quite acceptable to them.

Self-interest vs. Righteousness

Once the word of God is discarded, anything becomes acceptable. This is the situation in Britain today. The public are disgusted with the antics of the politicians in recent months: they have lost trust in their MPs, who have been seen on TV day after day arguing but never agreeing on anything. The business of governing the country seems to have been grossly neglected while Brexit issues have dominated everything. People of all political leanings want resolution. They also want a leader who will tell them what they want to hear, to make them feel comfortable, just like the people in Jeremiah’s day before disaster befell Jerusalem!

The public are looking for a strong leader and there are few outstanding characters on either side of the House. This is why Boris is very likely to be chosen as the next Prime Minister, despite the reservations of discerning people.

Conservative MPs are well aware of the unpopularity that their Party has suffered through three years of weak leadership under Theresa May, whose stubbornness was not matched with political skill. This is where the ‘Boris Factor’ may influence those MPs who have no love for him, but are still willing to vote for him: he is widely regarded as the only one who can both hold Nigel Farage at bay and defeat Jeremy Corbyn. Under these circumstances self-interest takes precedence over righteousness, especially when MPs know that the public have long ago discarded values of righteousness.

People want a strong leader who will tell them what they want to hear, to make them feel comfortable.

Prospects for Britain

Will Britain get a Prime Minister who is able to exercise righteous government? Certainly, mature Christians know that Britain does not deserve godly government and there are many signs that we are a nation already under judgment. But God is merciful and I believe he still has a purpose for Britain. Could he use Boris? Of course he could! God used Cyrus to do his will and bless his people even though Cyrus did not even know the name of the Lord. But is it God’s intention to bless the nation, or to allow us bring judgment upon ourselves?

Boris at least professes a faith in God, but is that enough to provide Britain with a God-fearing Government? If the Conservative Party installs Boris and his partner in No. 10, will he lead a Government that can restore standards of righteousness in the nation?

Murder outside church points to fresh hope for London community

A fatal stabbing took place just outside a north London church only days before I spoke there about Pentecost last Saturday.

The young man’s family had left a floral tribute beside the pavement and were being comforted by passers-by as we came out of church. Barış Küçük had been taken to hospital after an attack in the early hours of 1 June, but had simply lost too much blood. A man has been charged with his murder.

As in the Days of Noah

The harrowing scene was a stark reminder of the suffering Jesus went through in order to bring us life. And our prayer was that life and peace would emerge from the ashes of this terrible tragedy, the latest in a string of such incidents across the capital where knife crime has reached epidemic proportions.

Political activists were quick to blame cuts to policing, but this is a shallow analysis of the situation. We are living in times of violence compared to the days of Noah, which Jesus indicated would be a sign of coming judgment and of his imminent return (Luke 17:26-30).

There are all kinds of reasons for the murderous mayhem we are witnessing, but chief among them is a turning away from God’s laws, which successive governments have encouraged.

Is it surprising that knives are used freely on the streets when doctors and nurses, charged with our care, are engaged in the legal butchering of unborn babies every single day! We are reaping what we have sown. We have also too often allowed the guilty to go free, with murderers serving ridiculously short sentences before returning to our communities to wreak further havoc.

There are all kinds of reasons for the murderous mayhem we are witnessing, but chief among them is a turning away from God’s laws.

Scene of Reconciliation

This latest outrage occurred just a ten-minute walk from the former Haringey Stadium¹ which, in 1954, witnessed the only significant post-war turnaround in the fortunes of the UK Church. Tens of thousands had their lives transformed by the message of American evangelist Billy Graham, including a young Jewish lady, Helen McIntosh, who later guided me through my early Christian discipleship.

Crowds gather for a vigil to mark the untimely death of Barış Küçük, the latest victim of London's knife crime epidemic. Photo: Charles Mugenyi.It was appropriate too, therefore, that the church I visited stands on the edge of Stamford Hill, home to many Jewish people, some of whom came to hear my talk on Shavuot (Pentecost), a thoroughly Jewish feast which empowered the first disciples of Jesus to ‘turn the world upside down’ (Acts 17:6) with God’s commandments written on their hearts and not just on tablets of stone (2 Cor 3:3).

Pentecost is still available to turn this tense and troubled community around, and I pray that my friends at the church will help to bring the resurrection life of Jesus to the streets of Tottenham and Haringey.

It would certainly be the perfect place to witness the reconciliation between Jew and Gentile the Apostle Paul talks about in his letter to the Ephesians (2:14).

In writing to the Romans, he says both groups are steeped in sin and, in quoting the Old Testament, writes: “There is no-one righteous…no-one who seeks God…their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Rom 3:9-18).

A return of the fear of God that people felt at those Billy Graham meetings would bring new hope; I am told they used to arrive on train platforms singing hymns. So what is the remedy? How can such reverential fear be restored to communities that have forsaken God?

75 years ago a vicious enemy threatened our freedoms, but while our soldiers fought on the beaches of Normandy, much of the country fought on their knees as they responded to the King’s call to prayer. We must turn to God once more.

How can a reverential fear of God be restored to communities that have forsaken him?

True Freedom, New Life

Jesus, God’s Son, lived a perfect life on earth and was unjustly crucified. He became a substitute for us – for we have all sinned – and by trusting in his sacrificial blood, we are raised to new life and hope (Rom 3:23f).

Just as 33-year-old Barış bled to death through the cruel hands of his assailant, so Jesus bled, for us – and he was exactly the same age! In doing so, Jesus became the ultimate Passover Lamb, fulfilling the picture of how the enslaved Jews were freed from captivity in Egypt by daubing a lamb’s blood on the doorposts of their homes (as a result of which the angel of death ‘passed over’ them while striking the first-born of the host country who had stubbornly refused to let them go).

Whether you are a Jew or a Gentile, freedom from sin and darkness comes by marking your heart, figuratively speaking, with the blood of Jesus – which shows that you are placing all your trust for escaping God’s judgment and inheriting new life in what Jesus has done for you.

It will surely open up the ‘Red Sea’ and lead you into the Promised Land of peace and purpose. Not just for this life, but forever more.

Perfect Peace

As well as Pentecost, I also led a session on Job who, in spite of terrible trials, refused to relinquish his integrity and trust in God. One dear woman in the audience confirmed the reality of Job’s experience in her own life. Tragically, she had lost three sons – all in their twenties – and yet, through her faith in Jesus, she had managed to maintain perfect peace through all her troubles!

The Prophet Isaiah wrote: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusts in Thee” (Isa 26:3 KJV).

Notes

1 Now a shopping centre, accommodating the new religion.

Further evidence of Britain’s betrayal of the Jews

Shortly after my harrowing visit to north London (see Life from the Dead), my thoughts once again return to the capital in response to news of a massive UK terror plot uncovered four years ago, but only now revealed to the public.

It involved Iran-sponsored terror group Hezbollah, who were reportedly stockpiling more than three tons of explosives (ammonium nitrate) in north-west London but were foiled thanks to a tip-off by Israel’s national intelligence agency Mossad.¹ It is suspected that the incident was kept under wraps in order not to interrupt the Iranian nuclear deal being negotiated at the time.

Kept in the Dark

Christians United for Israel have been warning the British Government for some while, through their Operation Mordecai campaign, of the dangers both to Israel and the UK of Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Their executive director Des Starritt, asking why the public have been kept in the dark about the plot, said: “It is unbelievable that, only months after the UK signed the Iran deal, Britain seemingly ignored this new evidence and continued to support it.”

Further asking why it took the Government another three-and-a-half years to apply an outright ban on Hezbollah, he added: “It meant that it was possible for people within the UK to openly support Hezbollah without any consequence whatsoever…”²

And all this on top of a claim by a former leading official of the International Atomic Energy Agency (referred to last week) that Tehran could be as close as “six months away from an atomic bomb”.³

Quite apart from the obvious danger posed to British citizens by our evident appeasement of Iran, it also amounts to further betrayal of the Jewish people, who have most to lose from a nuclear-armed Iran that has repeatedly trumpeted its intention to wipe Israel off the map.

It is suspected that the 2015 incident was kept under wraps in order not to interrupt the Iran nuclear deal being negotiated at the time.

Wasted Opportunities

As I write, I am aware that today (Wednesday, 12 June) should have been the 90th birthday of Anne Frank, the brave German-born Dutch girl whose life was cut short aged 15 by Nazi butchers, and whose poignant diaries have since helped to keep alive the reality of Jewish suffering.

It was at least two years before her death in early 1945 that news of the mass murder of European Jews had reached the UK and elsewhere, and a poll was taken indicating a clear majority (78%) of public support for the admission of Jewish refugees.

According to my friend, Pastor Mike Fryer of North Wales, “the Nazis had made it clear that should the British and American governments be willing to allow them entry, they would be released from Nazi control”.⁴ But at a meeting to discuss the crisis, a British delegate referred instead to a “vociferous minority” supporting Jewish immigration. And the opportunity to rescue millions of Jews was thus, shamefully, lost.

Has anything changed? Britain today is awash with anti-Semitism. When a Jewish lady attending a Palestine Solidarity Campaign meeting in Liverpool four years ago asked a question, someone turned around and said: “Why don’t you get back to the camps?” She reported this ‘hate crime’ to the police, but nothing was ever done about it.

My friend Mike, a former police officer, said he had attended two Israel Advocacy events during the last two years where demonstrators chanted anti-Semitic abuse. But nothing was done at the time either to record or act upon complaints. Mike also gave evidence to the recent enquiry into anti-Semitism within the Labour Party conducted by Baroness Chakrabarti, but again nothing was done about it.

Replacement Theology

Adding further fuel to the fires of Jew-hatred are so-called Christians who have somehow re-invented Jesus as a ‘Palestinian’ and either removed or ignored Israel from their view of the Bible – quite a task when you consider that Israel is mentioned 2,581 times in the Scriptures.

But the students of Dr Mitri Raheb, a Palestinian Arab Christian lecturer from Bethlehem who recently spoke in North Wales, are led to believe that “Israel is neither a valid scriptural or political entity”, according to Mike.

Has anything changed? Britain today is awash with anti-Semitism.

Ring any bells? It’s what many Western church leaders also seem to believe. But as Mike points out, Dr Raheb and many like him don’t say much about the persecution in the Middle East of their fellow Arab Christians.

So who’s agenda are they following? It is instructive to recall that the Nazis worked closely with Islamists who were committed, like they were, to the destruction of the Jewish race.

It’s time to shine a light on the darkness, to come clean on our history of betrayal and once more become those who bless the seed of Abraham (see Genesis 12:3).

References

1 The Telegraph, 9 June 2019; United with Israel, 11 June 2019.

2 Christians United for Israel, 12 June 2019.

3 World Israel News, 5 June 2019.

4 www.fathershouse.wales – see also Dr Louise London’s book Whitehall and the Jews. 

God’s offer of forgiveness and protection.

“Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem, look around and consider, search through her squares. If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth, I will forgive this city. Although they say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives’, still they are swearing falsely.” (Jeremiah 5:1-2)

This is an amazing statement that must have reminded Jeremiah of Abraham’s pleading with God over Sodom. In that case God would have spared the city if ten righteous men could have been found (Gen 18:32). But here the offer of forgiveness was if Jeremiah could find just one honest citizen who was deeply committed to the truth.

Jerusalem’s Great Corruption

This shows God’s great love for the city of Jerusalem, that he was prepared to forgive the city for the sake of one righteous person. But it also shows the extent of corruption among its citizens at that time.

It is difficult to be precise in dating this pronouncement, but it was clearly made during the reign of Jehoiakim who, unlike his godly father Josiah, lived a life of self-indulgence and set a bad example to the nation. Idolatry, immorality, injustice and corruption were everywhere. Jeremiah said that there were as many altars to foreign gods in the city as there were streets in Jerusalem.

There was plenty of outward show of religion and the people regularly used the name of the God of Israel when making their promises or agreeing business transactions. They were happy to swear their oaths in the name of Yahweh, but this really had no deep spiritual significance and certainly did not show that they were devoted to God, or that they observed the Torah, or even kept the Ten Commandments.

That God was prepared to forgive Jerusalem for the sake of one righteous person shows his great love for the city – but it also shows the extent of its corruption.

From Bottom to Top

Jeremiah duly went up and down the streets of Jerusalem and spent time in the market squares listening to the conversation of housewives and the tales of merchants. He no doubt did his research thoroughly and questioned many people - with disappointing results.

Then he thought; these are only uneducated, poor people who cannot be expected to have a detailed knowledge of the teaching handed down through generations of scribes from the time of Moses. It cannot be right to judge the whole city upon the lifestyles and behaviour of these people. He had to do something else before taking his answer back to the Lord.

He resolved, “These are only the poor; they are foolish, for they do not know the way of the Lord, the requirements of their God. So I will go to the leaders and speak to them; surely they know the way of the Lord, the requirements of their God” (Jer 5:4).

It was at this point that Jeremiah took the decision to widen his enquiries by going to the political and religious leaders of the nation, to see if they were observing the requirements of the covenant with God. That covenant, “I will be your God and you will be my people”, established by God through Moses on the ‘Day of Assembly’ (Deut 4:10), was a guarantee of protection.

But it was conditional upon the nation being faithful to Yahweh, the God of Israel, and having no other god. That was the first and supreme commandment. Obeying the rest of the teaching given to Moses was also important, but the citizens of Jerusalem - including their leaders - were not even keeping the first commandment faithfully.

Tearing Off the Bonds

Jeremiah’s conversations with the leaders shocked him: “with one accord they too had broken off the yoke and torn off the bonds” (Jer 5:5). They were no longer faithful to the God of Israel, the God of their fathers who had brought them out of Egypt, fed them in the desert and brought them into the Promised Land. He had protected the nation and prospered them since the days of David, who had established Jerusalem as his capital and given instructions to his son Solomon for the building of the Temple.

The covenant God made with Israel was a guarantee of protection – but it was conditional upon the nation being faithful to him.

Now, the leaders of the nation were no longer faithful to the God who had done so much for them. They had broken off the link with Yahweh and instead of teaching the people faithfully they even tolerated the worship of idols of wood and stone.

Therefore, God’s protection would be removed from over the nation and they would be subject to the most terrifying forces of destruction. “Why should I forgive you?” was God’s response when Jeremiah reported his findings. “Your children have forsaken me and sworn by gods that are not gods” (Jer 5:7).

God’s Grief

The pathos of this situation was not lost on Jeremiah, who was a great patriot. He loved the nation. He loved the city of Jerusalem; yet he could clearly foresee the judgment that would come upon the land and engulf the people.

In his quiet times, standing in the council of the Lord, Jeremiah also sensed the grief in God’s heart. He heard him saying, “‘I supplied all their needs, yet they committed adultery and thronged to the houses of prostitutes. They are well-fed lusty stallions, neighing for another man’s wife. Should I not punish them for this?’ declares the Lord” (Jer 5:7-8).

God certainly did not want to see the suffering that would inevitably come upon the people through their own wanton behaviour and the evil deeds of their faithless leaders. But God’s love for his people was also based upon righteousness, truth and faithfulness. The very justice of God demanded that he could not ignore the wickedness of the people and the deliberate disobedience of their leaders. He had to remove his cover of protection, with all the terrible consequences that would follow.

Message Today

This is a powerful message of warning to Britain, to Europe and to all the Western nations who have had the truth for hundreds of years but are deliberately turning away from their Judeo-Christian heritage and embracing the gods of the world.

They are no different from the ‘well-fed lusty stallions’ in Jerusalem who brought upon themselves such terrible destruction. But will the people or their leaders today listen to the warnings, any more than the people of Jerusalem did?

This article is part of a series on the ministry and message of the Prophet Jeremiah. Click here to read other instalments.

Charles Gardner reviews ‘A Better Story’ by Glynn Harrison.

The sexual revolution that has caught the Church napping is an opportunity to show that Christians have something infinitely more superior to offer…

…that love and sex is created by God for pleasure and purpose and is all the more enjoyable when following his guidelines. And that it is also a taster and picture of the beautiful intimacy of divine love.

This is the kernel of a thesis ably put forward by Professor Glynn Harrison in his excellent book A Better Story: God, Sex and Human Flourishing (IVP).

Worth Pursuing

Actually, it’s a great read – very well written, not too academic (the author, now retired, used to head the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Bristol), but scholarly nevertheless.

I’ll be honest; due to time constraints, I had intended to simply peek into sample chapters and so started somewhere in the middle. But I was eventually forced to go back to the beginning, and so ended up reading it backwards, in a sense.

But I got the picture. In expanding on an inspiring talk he gave at Keswick in 2016, which I reported on at the time, the professor contends that Christians have been caught off-guard by the revolution which began in the 1960s and which now offers a smorgasbord of sexual options.

Instead of retreating into our holy huddles and pointing fingers, we should have taken the opportunity of demonstrating how exciting, fulfilling and purposeful is traditional marriage – that it’s worth pursuing and waiting for because it is potentially far more rewarding, fruitful and loving than any other sexual liaison.

Instead of retreating into our holy huddles, we should take the opportunity of demonstrating how exciting, fulfilling and purposeful is traditional marriage.

Pride in Biblical Values

As homosexuals have promoted their movement with Gay Pride parades, so Christians should have been taking pride in the biblical call for purity and faithfulness.

As I recall the author saying at Keswick, God doesn’t do one-night stands; he is forever faithful and loves us totally and unconditionally. This is the sort of message married couples need to convey to the watching world – that the union is a beautiful picture of the Gospel, which tells the story of God seeking a bride…of a bridegroom who so loves his wife that he is prepared to die for her.

At the same time, the professor also points out that the sexual revolution has failed in its goal of freeing adherents from the stifling restrictions of earlier generations. For surveys apparently show that people are now actually having less sex.

Meanwhile, we need to prepare for ‘messy church’¹ where people in same-sex relationships, and others who are perhaps transgender, get converted. We will need to pray for a balance of grace and truth as we seek to minister effectively to broken people in these dark days.

The Holy Spirit’s Power

I felt there was something missing in the professor’s analysis, however, in that the book lacks an emphasis on the power of the Holy Spirit to help us live right and witness boldly to the truth, along with the vital need for spiritual warfare in the face of the powers of darkness that blind society (and believers too in some cases).

The Christians of 1^st-Century Rome condemned the debauched culture around them by their uncompromising, godly lifestyles, refusing to swim with the prevailing tide. No matter how many adjustments we make as we reach out to the sexually confused and wayward, at the end of the day we have to stand up to be counted and risk being thrown to wild animals, as our Roman brothers and sisters were.

Having said that, I highly recommend this book. May we not fail in rising to the challenge it presents.

'A Better Story: God, Sex & Human Flourishing' (192pp, Inter-Varsity Press) is available from Amazon in paperback, e-book and audio-book forms. Also available from the Evangelical Bookshop.

Notes

1 Not to be confused with the growing method of informal outreach used by many churches.

Torah Portion: Numbers 1:1-4:20

Bamidbar (‘In the wilderness’)

Bamidbar, ‘In the wilderness’, is an appropriate name for what we know as Numbers, as well as this Torah portion, since the book describes the Lord leading His people for 40 years in the wilderness. It was a time when the Lord refined Israel and instilled in them – individually and collectively - a sense of His order and plan.

God’s Holy Order

Moses was commanded to take a census of the whole community, ordered in clans and families. Within those, every man able to serve in the army was listed by name, one by one: a total of 603,550. With the women and children, this was a vast number to camp and move through the desert. Order was vital.

The tabernacle, the place of God’s presence, was in the heart of the camp with its own intricate order for construction and use. The Levites were set apart for duties in the tabernacle and so were counted separately and in a different way. They were allocated places nearest the tabernacle, then around them each of the other tribes had its place to camp and its turn to move, each under its own banner.

The Levites were placed closest to the tabernacle because they were to be responsible for caring for it. This was also a protection against others approaching too close to the Holy presence and losing their lives. The tabernacle was a holy place, filled with God’s presence. And yet, Paul reminds us that God, who made the world and everything in it, does not live in man-made temples. As believers in Yeshua, we live and move and have our being in God as we, corporately and individually, are His temple, with His Holy Spirit dwelling within us.

How much more, then, ought we to allow God to order and arrange our own lives in a manner that pleases Him! And while following the Lord’s direction for ourselves, we should also seek His order for the nations around us, whose set times and locations are determined in Heaven (Acts 17:24-28).

The Blessing of Abundance

As we read the numbers contained in these chapters, we are also reminded of how the Lord had been blessing His people since He promised Abraham that his descendants would be as the stars in the heavens (Gen 15:5). When Jacob entered Egypt, 70 of his direct descendants settled there (Gen 46:26-27). After 430 years they had multiplied to be a threat to the Egyptians, resulting in their oppression. But this did not stop their growth; it was about 600,000 men who left with their families.

There are different estimates for the world Jewish population today but it may be about 15 million, still lower than before the Holocaust. Hosea looked ahead to even greater numbers in the time when the people of Judah and Israel will be reunited, when the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore which cannot be measured or counted (Hos 1:10-11).

Surely these abundant numbers also hint at the inclusion of Gentiles in God’s people through faith in Yeshua, growing the commonwealth of Israel into “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages” (Rev 7:9).

Since we are of this multitude, this abundant number of children born of the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit, staying within His order as we walk in the way that He has prepared for us (Gal 5:25; Eph 2:10).

Author: Catharine Pakington

There is no panacea for those who refuse to face up to the truth

75 years after the D-Day landings paved the way for Europe’s salvation from tyranny, its nations have once more become enslaved to godless ideologies our heroes gave their lives to defeat.

At the same time, wars and rumours of wars dominate the headlines as the world shakes amid fierce political, social and spiritual storms, at the epicentre of which stands Israel where a couple of real earthquakes (4.5 and 4.6 on the Richter scale) have struck in recent days.

Threats and Uncertainty

Having vowed consistently to wipe Israel off the map, Iran is now feared to be just six months away from developing a nuclear bomb. In the aftermath of its announcement that it has begun violating the 2015 nuclear accord with world powers, a former leading official in the International Atomic Energy Agency is warning that Tehran could be as close as “six months away from an atomic bomb”. In an interview with IDF Radio, Olli Heinonen said that “Israelis need to be worried, and the Gulf states also have reason for concern.”¹

Meanwhile, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has thanked Iran for providing the rockets his terror group used to strike deep into Israel and warned the Jewish state that Tel Aviv would be struck again in response to any offensive against the Gaza Strip.²

And as President Trump sweeps through London to howls of protest, his Mideast ‘Deal of the Century’ looks in jeopardy as the uncertainty surrounding Britain’s future is replicated in Jerusalem, where Benjamin Netanyahu has been forced to hold another election after failing to form a coalition. We do not know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future.

Having vowed consistently to wipe Israel off the map, Iran is now feared to be just six months away from developing a nuclear bomb.

Jews and Christians Targeted

Meanwhile, as the once-Judeo-Christian nations of the West have turned away from God, so Jew-hatred is on the increase, much of it thinly veiled as ‘legitimate’ criticism of Israel.

Jerusalem, still at the epicentre of political storms as residents celebrate its reunification in 1967. Picture: Charles GardnerAs the Nazis successfully brainwashed the German people to believe the lie that the Jews were behind all the world’s troubles, so much of today’s liberal Western media repeatedly questions the status and legitimacy of Israel, not to mention the civilisation built upon the scriptures the Jewish people gave us.

We now hear that British Jews have been forced to close their businesses as a result of the aggression of a pro-Palestine group supported by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. The Palestine Solidarity Campaign, of which Mr Corbyn is patron, targeted shops selling Israeli products in Brighton, London and Manchester, forcing two businesses to fold.³ And this comes as Labour became the only party after the ultra-right BNP to be formally investigated for racism by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission.⁴

Meanwhile Israelis are this week celebrating the reunification of Jerusalem, after nearly 2,000 years in Gentile hands, through the 1967 Six-Day War. But Palestinians have predictably responded with riots on the Temple Mount, refusing to acknowledge Jewish claims to the city and its holy sites.

The Truth About Human Nature

I was fascinated by the film Goodbye Christopher Robin, which focuses on the regrets of children’s author A. A. Milne.

Plagued by flashbacks of his traumatic time in the World War I trenches, Milne sets about writing of his hopes for a world without war, before getting distracted by a wonderful world of carefree play with his young son.

His initial determination to make some sense of all the carnage with his call for peace is perfectly understandable – my own grandfather was profoundly shell-shocked at the Battle of the Somme and subsequently sent to Africa to recuperate. But Milne’s dream was as naïve as that of the Ban the Bomb campaigners which followed decades later. For it failed to grasp the reality of man’s basic propensity for evil so clearly spelt out in the Bible.

Until the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ, returns to earth as promised, there will be no ultimate peace, though we should nevertheless strive for peace-making whenever possible, as our Lord urges us (Matt 5:9).

We now hear that British Jews have been forced to close their businesses as a result of the aggression of a pro-Palestine group supported by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Moral Inversions

But as long as godless dictators rule with evil intent, they must be challenged and brought to book. In this respect, President Trump is right to pull no punches with the Ayatollahs of Iran, and he was right to criticise London Mayor Sadiq Khan for saying he (Trump) was a ‘global threat’.

It’s Mr Trump, almost alone among world leaders, who is willing to call out those who really are a threat to world stability. But we are living in days spoken of by Isaiah when we are plagued by the voices of those “who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter” (Isa 5:20).

A woman interviewed about Mr Trump as she stood among the crowds outside Buckingham Palace said she was opposed to him because “he has no respect for life”. And yet this is the President who has presided over the introduction of a wave of anti-abortion laws across America. He actually believes life is sacred – even in the womb.

The Only Solution

As the culture wars rage on in the US, Britain and elsewhere, we must remember that only Jesus, who came to give us “life that is truly life” (1 Tim 6:19), can bring true peace to men’s hearts.

And when both Jew and Arab discover this truth, as we are witnessing on an ever-increasing scale in Israel today, reconciliation is the result. As the Apostle Paul wrote: “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility…” (Eph 2:14)

So why are we not hearing more about this solution to war and violence? The enemy of souls does not want you to know about God’s rescue plan. And the mainstream media and liberal elites are colluding with his evil scheme, while much of the general population voluntarily stop up their ears.

Isaiah himself, when called by God to preach, was told he would be a failure (Isa 6:9)! The people as a whole would not listen to him. But he was urged to preach the message anyway so that those who did have ears to hear and eyes to see could turn to the Lord and be healed.

Don’t allow the enemy to cloud your vision. Hear instead the word of Isaiah: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light…For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isa 9:2, 6).

References

1 World Israel News, 5 June 2019.

2 Jerusalem News Network, 5 June 2019, quoting Times of Israel.

3 Daily Mail, 31 May 2019.

4 Ibid.

Royal address reveals what the nation has lost in 75 years.

As the nation pauses this week to mark 75 years since the Normandy landings, remembering the enormous sacrifice and great courage of so many thousands in order to secure the freedom of so many more, it is fitting to revisit the address made to the nation on 6 June 1944 by Britain’s monarch, King George VI.

His speech, from which both the Queen and Prince William quoted during their addresses this week, did not shy from acknowledging the help and providence of God, and the importance of humble, nation-wide prayer. It illuminates something of the faith that suffused Britain at that time, and reveals something of what we have lost in the years since.

King George VI’s address to the nation

6 June, 1944

“Four years ago, our Nation and Empire stood alone against an overwhelming enemy, with our backs to the wall. Tested as never before in our history, in God's providence we survived that test; the spirit of the people, resolute, dedicated, burned like a bright flame, lit surely from those unseen fires which nothing can quench.

Now once more a supreme test has to be faced. This time, the challenge is not to fight to survive but to fight to win the final victory for the good cause. Once again what is demanded from us all is something more than courage and endurance; we need a revival of spirit, a new unconquerable resolve. After nearly five years of toil and suffering, we must renew that crusading impulse on which we entered the war and met its darkest hour. We and our Allies are sure that our fight is against evil and for a world in which goodness and honour may be the foundation of the life of men in every land.

That we may be worthily matched with this new summons of destiny, I desire solemnly to call my people to prayer and dedication. We are not unmindful of our own shortcomings, past and present. We shall ask not that God may do our will, but that we may be enabled to do the will of God: and we dare to believe that God has used our Nation and Empire as an instrument for fulfilling his high purpose.

I hope that throughout the present crisis of the liberation of Europe there may be offered up earnest, continuous and widespread prayer. We who remain in this land can most effectively enter into the sufferings of subjugated Europe by prayer, whereby we can fortify the determination of our sailors, soldiers and airmen who go forth to set the captives free.

The Queen joins with me in sending you this message. She well understands the anxieties and cares of our womenfolk at this time and she knows that many of them will find, as she does herself, fresh strength and comfort in such waiting upon God. She feels that many women will be glad in this way to keep vigil with their menfolk as they man the ships, storm the beaches and fill the skies.

At this historic moment surely not one of us is too busy, too young or too old to play a part in a nationwide, perchance a worldwide, vigil of prayer as the great crusade sets forth. If from every place of worship, from home and factory, from men and women of all ages and many races and occupations, our intercessions rise, then, please God, both now and in a future not remote, the predictions of an ancient Psalm may be fulfilled: "The Lord will give strength unto his people: the Lord will give his people the blessing of peace."”

D-Day and the fight for Britain's future.

The old adage “A week in politics is a long time” should be altered from a ‘week’ to a ‘day’, with the current rate of change being so rapid. By any standard the events of the past week have been remarkable.

The beginning of the week saw the arrival of President Trump with his message of celebrating the special relationship between the USA and Britain. The next day we had the unseemly sight of protesters flying an insulting inflatable representation of the President. He was the Queen’s guest on an official state visit: this was NOT a very flattering view of British hospitality presented to the world via the media. Whatever has happened to the nation I knew in my youth where politeness and courtesy were part of the national character?

Owen Humphreys/PA Wire/PA ImagesOn Wednesday the scene moved to Portsmouth beginning the commemorations of the 75^th anniversary of the Normandy landings. Yesterday we were remembering the 150,000 men who took part in the D-Day operations on 6 June 1944 and the 4,000 British young men who died on that first day, plus thousands of French civilians caught up in the fighting, the bombing and the naval shelling. Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Macron together laid a wreath at the newly installed memorial to the 22,442 men who died in the Normandy campaign during the invasion.

The Price of Freedom

Throughout this weekend the D-Day commemorations will continue with many opportunities for the veterans, now in their 90s, to remember the events of those incredible days that changed the history of the world. The D-Day landings, in which some 5,300 ships and 12,000 planes took part, together formed the greatest seaborne operation ever to take place, but they were terribly expensive in terms of human life.

No-one knows exactly how many died on that first day, but estimates put fatalities between 14,000 and 19,000. These included Allied forces, German soldiers and French civilians.

The D-Day landings together formed the greatest seaborne operation in history, but they were terribly expensive in terms of human life.

Inevitably, historians have spent the last 75 years poring over the events of that day and several films have been made. Military strategists have assessed the tactics used in the landings, which included airborne troops aiming to take strategic bridges and crossing points inland and meet up with those coming off the beaches.

Big questions still remain, especially about the advisability of sending men straight off the landing barges into a withering storm of machine gun fire sweeping the beaches. But no-one questions the rightness of the invasion to begin the liberation of Europe from Nazi occupation. It is this major objective that should be the focal point for all the commemorations at this time.

A Nation Deceived

No right-minded person would want to glorify war and the terrible loss of life and disruption to whole nations that took place from 1939 to 1945, but now, 75 years later, we have a generation that knows nothing of the reality of the Nazi occupation of most of Europe, or the horrors of the death camps which some people even dare to question. It is therefore right, not only to remember the Allied military conquest that brought victory, but also the cause for which so many young men died.

It always amazes me that virtually the whole population of Germany were groomed into supporting the Nazi philosophy of Aryan superiority and hatred of the Jews. It is highly enlightening to watch footage of the ‘night of broken glass’ (9-10 November 1938) when Jewish homes, shops and synagogues were looted by civilian mobs, as well as footage of vast German crowds listening approvingly to Hitler’s maniacal speeches. It shows how easily human beings can be led astray by powerfully persuasive individuals and collectively be driven by an evil spirit to commit or support unspeakable atrocities.

The German people were highly educated and their civilisation was considered the most advanced in the Western world, but there were very few like Bonhoeffer and Martin Niemoller who publicly opposed the Nazi regime. The majority of the population simply accepted it; which shows how easy it is to brainwash a whole nation.

Nazi Germany shows how easily human beings can be led astray by powerfully persuasive individuals and led to commit or support unspeakable atrocities.

Searching Questions

The 75^th anniversary of the Normandy landings with its enormous cost in the lives of young men should make us ask some fundamental questions about our own political and social philosophy today. 75 years ago, the vast majority of the British population believed in God and were linked, either actively or nominally, with a Christian church. They shared values learned from the Bible – unselfish love, truthfulness, faithfulness, integrity, loyalty and service. They gave their lives for these values.

Ray Tang/Zuma Press/PA ImagesLooking at our nation today one has to ask: did they give their lives in vain? On the TV news earlier this week I looked at the faces of some of the people taking part in the protests against the visit of Donald Trump and saw the hatred expressed there. I found it profoundly disturbing and the fact that senior politicians took part in addressing the crowd was a national disgrace.

On the same day as these demonstrations were taking place, I read a report of research carried out by Manchester University showing that one in five girls aged 16 to 24 are self-harming.¹ This is widely thought to be due to the destructive effect of social media amplifying the concern of girls for the shape of their bodies. The problem is said to be increasing at an alarming rate and putting extra strain on the health services, which are already struggling to deal with the increase of mental health problems across the nation.

Most of these problems stem from the loss of Christian faith in the nation, the turning away from our spiritual heritage and the values that once guided our personal relationships as well as our corporate behaviour. This has left the nation at the mercy of those who have deliberately introduced false values for commercial gain, or to advance their own secular humanist philosophy and social agenda.

The majority of the population no longer believe in God. We are rapidly becoming a nation deceived and driven by evil spirits of hatred and violence, propagated by social media and lobby groups. Was this really what 4,000 young men gave their lives for on D-Day 75 years ago?

References

1 Read more here.