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Archive for the ‘Just Stuff’ Category

Here’s a view looking out from the back of where we now live. This was about 6.00 in the morning. It’s a field of Rape Seed and soon it will be bright yellow. Seed time and harvest – Praise God! God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!

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Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!

Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore Thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,
Who was, and is, and evermore shall be.

Holy, holy, holy! though the darkness hide Thee,
Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see;
Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee,
Perfect in power, in love, and purity.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All Thy works shall praise Thy Name, in earth, and sky, and sea;
Holy, holy, holy; merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!

Words: Re­gi­nald He­ber, 1826. Heber wrote this hymn for Trin­i­ty Sun­day while he was Vi­car of Hod­net, Shrop­shire, Eng­land.

ref: Cyber Hymnal

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Just had the following email come through from Colin Hart – Coalition for Marriage.

 

LORDS COULD VOTE DOWN MARRIAGE BILL ON 3 JUNE

Dear marriage supporter,

Lord Dear, an independent cross-bench Peer and respected former police Chief Constable, will lead a vote against the Government’s same-sex marriage Bill at Second Reading in the House of Lords on Monday 3 June.

If he wins, the Bill will be defeated outright. It will be a decisive blow for the Government’s undemocratic plans to redefine marriage. But don’t worry if Lord Dear doesn’t achieve a majority. There will still be other opportunities to defeat the Government at later stages in the Lords.

Opposition to the Bill is growing. Last night on BBC Question Time, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said the plans to redefine marriage had “upset vast numbers of people” and generated a “real sense of anger” among voters.

He said: “I have just never felt that this is what we should be focusing on. This change does redefine marriage. For millions and millions of people who are married, the meaning of marriage changes. There is a real sense of anger among many people who are married that any government thinks it has the ability to change the definition of an institution like marriage.”

WATCH the video

The Government is in disarray. Today they’ve announced another U-turn on the Bill. They will hold a review to decide whether heterosexual couples should be allowed to opt for a civil partnership rather than marriage. That would cost the nation between £3bn and £4bn in public service pensions alone.

We’ve been right all along. This Bill is about unravelling the place of marriage in our society, regardless of the social or financial cost. While the rest of us struggle to pay our bills, the political elite are unpicking marriage rather than sorting out the economy.

That’s why the Lords vote on Monday 3 June is a big day for the nation and for our campaign.

Before the Bill gets to the Lords, MPs in the House of Commons get the chance to vote on amendments to the Bill on Monday and Tuesday. At the end of Tuesday’s debate they’ll have a chance to vote once more on the Bill as a whole at Third Reading. We will keep you posted with the latest news.

We are shifting the debate, and we believe it is possible to win in the Lords. So let’s keep going. Together we can keep the real meaning of marriage.

 

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We are moving!

On Sunday we had the last service in the building as it is now. The Church has prayed for a couple of years now about either moving or altering the current building. We are doing the latter, as there seems to be no suitable plot or building available. The reason is we have simply outgrown the current building and our current facilities, to be frank, are pretty useless. Though a fairly small Church by US standards, over here it’s encouraging and a privilege to be part of a growing and thriving Church. A considerable amount of money has been collected to fund the project and this has involved some sacrificial giving in order to achieve the £900,000 approx that’s needed. At the current exchange rate for US readers that’s $1,373,485.97.

We are expecting to be out of the building for about 9 months. During this time we will be meeting at two venues across the city (Coventry). Hillfields Evangelical Church and Durbar Avenue Evangelical Church both offered their buildings for our use over the course of the alterations.

There’s no doubt it will be a challenging time for us all. The morning service(s) will take place at Hillfields with ministry being shared between our two Pastors and two Pastors from Hillfields. The majority of our people will gather at the 9.30 service and the lazy ones – I include students – will meet later at 11:15. From what I understand Hillfields have a different worship style and this could be problematic for some. Having said that, Hillfields are making a considerable sacrifice for the Gospel in order to accommodate us for the next 9 months and this act of fellowship and love in Christ is very much appreciated. Durbar Avenue normally meet in the afternoon and so our evening services will be as normal, albeit in a different location.

I’m hoping to post about our progress and should have some pictures. We have to clear the building, and we’ll be doing this over the next couple of weeks before handing it over to the builders. Part of our building is going to be demolished so I might even manage a bit of video.

To be continued….

 

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Moving House

The last few weeks have been pretty hectic as we have been in the process of moving house. And it’s not something I intend on doing very often. It’s taken us about a year to get it all sorted. Only just got the internet on again so I hope to get a couple of posts in soon.

I must have packed nearly 40 boxes of books and I don’t think I’ll be seeing any of them for a while.

We moved into our last house nearly 30 years ago as newly weds but I’m staggered at just how much ‘stuff’ we have accumulated.

In a funny sort of way I’m really grateful that on my final move out of this earthly life I won’t have to pack and take it with me. We came into the world with nothing and that’s what we’ll take with us when we leave.

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Took this picture on the way home after work last evening. The sinking sun made me think of the hymn below:

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When this passing world is done,
When has sunk yon glaring sun,
When we stand with Christ on high,
Looking o’er life’s history;
Then, Lord, shall I fully know,
Not till then, how much I owe.

Robert Murray McCheyne
1813-1843

Source: http://www.hymnal.net/hymn.php/h/545#ixzz2NQuCFW1y

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View of the House of Lords Chamber in the Pala...

View of the House of Lords Chamber in the Palace of Westminster, London, looking from the galleries towards the Throne (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The second reading of the Same-Sex Marriage bill was passed a couple of weeks ago but I wrote most of this on the day of the vote but for some reason didn’t post it – so here it is!

Will this vote see the end of Free Speech. It should concern any lover of Democracy, that the freedom to disagree with the Same-Sex legislation will end. I believe it will see the beginning of a Witch-Hunt to find and root out ‘deniers’ of Same-Sex Marriage.

Stonewall and other ideological lobby groups will over time entrap unsuspecting believers (Christians)  into saying something that will force a prosecution. This is already happening. Stonewall, I suggest, will not rest until everyone sees Homosexual & Lesbian practice and therefore Same-Sex Marriage as normal.

I haven’t heard or read (please correct me) about any protection for individuals in the work place or any other place for that matter that disagrees or believes that not only same-sex marriages but homosexuality & lesbianism is sinful according to the Bible. There looks to be only protection for Individual Ministers & Religious Organisations (if it happens) but nothing for the ordinary individual Christian, e.g. in the workplace. Not just Christians, but anyone that agrees with the phrase ”I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it” (attributed to Voltaire) ought to be concerned. I’ll certainly be writing to my MP (and PM) again about this.

With Martin Luther then we must surely say:

“Unless I am convinced by proofs from Scriptures or by plain and clear reasons and arguments, I can and will not retract, for it is neither safe nor wise to do anything against conscience. Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen.”

Where this leaves the Bible in all this will be interesting to see because the Bible teaches the very opposite of what could soon be enshrined in UK Law.

Will the Bible be outlawed? Will some passages of the Bible be outlawed and will those that believe those passages and indeed all the Bible be outlawed?

Where to now? The Bill now passes through to the House of Lords and to further scrutiny by Parliament  There is then – I think – a third reading before it becomes law. The Bill will come under intense critical reading as it moves through the Parliamentary process.  Whether this will be the opportunity to build into legislation protection for those that disagree I can’t say. But to not prosecute ‘deniers’ raises the question about what it was all about in the first place. It seems to me prosecutions will follow.

I do not believe the majority are for this change - but what is more likely to be true is that the majority just can’t be bothered. Apathy.

There is another possible alternative for the Church to think about. Go here to read about it – but basically the Church itself re-defines marriage and calls it Holy Matrimony.

I only heard snippets from the speeches but was struck that some MP’s said or at least implied something like: ‘I don’t believe God would be against same-sex marriage’ or ‘a God of love would not allow same-sex couples in loving relationships to be barred from marriage’ or similar sentiments. But how can anyone presume to speak for God when He has already spoken plainly in His Word the Bible.

Why anyone would want to claim the name of Christian or follower of Jesus and yet completely ignore what He has to say can only be explained by the words of the Apostle Paul as follows:

2 Timothy 3:1-9

1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

6 They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 7 always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. 9 But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.

2 Timothy 4:3, 8 & 9

New International Version (NIV)
3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

8 We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. 9 We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10 for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine 11 that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.

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Here’s a picture of Pitsford Water Park taken from off The Causeway as the sun was going down this afternoon.

Sunset at Pitsford

Sunset at Pitsford

 

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European Union

European Union (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The US commented last week on the UK leaving the European Union. So this is just a brief comment to any American friends that may have wondered what this is – if it registered at all over there.

Look at it this way; how would American friends like all major American decisions to be made in Toronto or in Lima, Peru or some other city on the continent. I don’t think this would go down well. Well being governed by Brussels to a very large extent, and growing, might be a good comparison. Many of us want the promised referendum so we can say ‘no to the EU’ and get back to governing ourselves.

Since starting this post (last week) President Obama has weighed in on the issue and I was pleased to hear a member of the Question Time audience last night talk some sense. That is, get out. There is talk of ‘Drifting towards the exit’ or ‘Sleepwalking towards the exit’ but let’s ‘March towards the exit’.

Not sure we’ll be allowed to though.

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Frozen Tree

Took this on the way to work this morning – beautiful!

Frozen Tree

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Citroën C3

Citroën C3 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Had a somewhat inconvenient situation this morning. A drive to Heathrow meant moving a couple of cars and I had to move my little Citroen C3 out of the garage. It’s the car I use for work. As I attempted to drive it out a terrible noise greeted me from somewhere under the front of the car. At first I thought it was a result of some work done on the car a few days ago. I took the car round to where the work was done and asked them to put it up on the ramp. The guys from Autolec couldn’t have been more helpful. This was after a 5 mph drive round the corner. Upon inspection both front springs had collapsed! O none side the spring had almost punctured the tyre and I could smell burning rubber as I limped along.

Parts of my suspension. The left spring exploded, taking all the bits with it.

Parts of my suspension. The left spring exploded, taking all the bits with it.

I discovered this at 5.30 in the morning and it couldn’t have been more convenient to say the least. Though at the time I had no idea what the problem was. As it turns out the connection or correlation I made between the problem and the cause (previous work on the car) was entirely wrong. We need to be careful about jumping to wrong conclusions because of a false correlation.

The other thing I had reinforced upon my mind and spirit was that if this had happened while driving to work – as it so easily could have – I probably wouldn’t be writing this now. The accident it could have caused would most likely have been fatal.

Atheists and skeptics may scoff – I care not – but I see in this the hand of my heavenly Father who for reasons only known to Him preserved my life, and actually has done so on many occasions. Thank you Lord Jesus.

And so as William Cowper (1731 – 1800) writes:

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

Go Here for the full hymn.

BTW, I drove to Heathrow in another car.

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We just stopped off to pick a few things up from where my son and his family live and while in the house I heard the car horn honking. I thought what’s that. Went out the front door and my wife pointed across the fields. I grabbed my camera as quickly as possible and took these pictures before it faded. This is the view from their house across the valley.

View across the valley

View across the valley

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Question Time (TV series)

Once again we see so clearly demonstrated the bias of the BBC on Question Time last evening. As usual Peter Hitchens is the lone voice ‘crying in the wilderness’ for the rest of the panel to ‘tut tut’ at. There are a lot of us out here that really do appreciate his public stand on these issues – and I think they know it. He’s not so alone as the BBC and other overbearing commentators like to make out. One example on this is the EU – where’s the Referendum I was promised! The Government would lose and so we can’t have a vote!

I slightly disagreed with Peter’s view on the status of the Gay Marriage issue – though it’s not really about that it’s about authority. It’s either our own ‘autonomous authority’ as superbly demonstrated by Will Self or God’s. Gay Marriage is a huge issue because it represents a quickly growing and already very powerful anti-Christian mindset. This is what we have seen in the US. But beware, there’s always a trade off. Once Christian standards have gone what will be left?

Will Self last night seemed to be saying that it doesn’t matter what you believe, so on his own worldview it’s perfectly acceptable to disagree with him. But when you do disagree he doesn’t like it. Yet he doesn’t have a leg to stand on and neither did any of the others whose whole ethos is summed up by being ‘nice’ yet actually believing in nothing.

I can’t understand how Will Self can be professor of ‘Contemporary Thought’ at Brunel University – well actually I can. Contemporary thought is to just call anyone that disagrees with you as either  Homophobic or Racist, but usually both. Maybe a Bigot as well. All three if you are a Christian. This is what Will Self so blatantly did last night to Peter within the space of about 10 minutes called him a ‘Homophobe’ and a ‘Racist’ and not a complaint from anyone on the totally ‘balanced’ panel or from the esteemed Dimbleby.

Peter painted a gloomy picture of where this country is heading with regards to the persecution of Christians to cackles and laughter of both panel and the majority of the audience. There was one brave lady in the audience that presented an opposing Christian perspective and I was surprised by the clapping of the audience but there was no support for her from the panel (apart from Peter). It’s the Establishment that want the perception of morality without the objective standards that only the Bible can bring.

Peter also demonstrated why voting Conservative now is no longer an option. I think we have a good MP but he belongs to a party that has seriously lost its way.

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Drove the Church Mini-Bus to the famed Luton Airport this morning for a group to fly out to Romania. Up at 2.15 to get ready. My daughter took the picture below at 5.38 as we saw the control tower in the distance. Man what a place. It’s like the whole world converges on one small roundabout for the airport and town centre – which bright spark thought that one up! Where did all the traffic come from? Anyways, all safely dropped off. Didn’t see inside, the car-park was enough!

Sunrise at Luton Airport

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My Mother-in-law had an episode yesterday morning and was unconscious for just over a minute. My wife phoned the doctor and before she had put the phone down a Paramedic was knocking at the door. He came in with his equipment to run some tests and before he had finished there came another knock at the door and an Ambulance crew had arrived. See picture.

This is our National Health Service at its best and I would like to acknowledge it. She was taken to Walsgrave Hospital, Coventry where they were able to monitor her overnight. We picked her up earlier this evening and she is now back with us and seems fine. Thank God for our dedicated Emergency Services.

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Out and about in Coventry earlier today and saw a massive plume of smoke on the other side of the city. It turned out to be a huge warehouse fire on or near the site Baginton Airport. Here’s a couple of pictures taken with my phone. As far as I know – no-one was injured.

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