Thinking about tomorrow!

So, Mr Darling has given us a preview of the way in which he sees the U.K. finally dragging itself out of the current economic situation over the coming years! I watched some of his delivery of the pre-Budget Report - and was astounded at the glib way in which he spoke of what the (present) government would be doing. I also watched the Shadow Chancellor, George Osborne, give as good a response as I have heard from him. I was particularly pleased that he was able to pick up some "sleight-of-hand" on the part of Mr Darling when he apparently compared different sets of figures as if they were the same!

I was reminded of the inspired words of James, in his letter to the Church at large. "Look here, you people who say, 'Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.' How do you know what will happen tomorrow? For your life is like the morning fog--it's here a little while, then it's gone. What you ought to say is, 'If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.' Otherwise you will be boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil." (4:13-16)

All the indications continue to suggest that the Labour Party will lose the General Election - that must take place within the next six months - and what the Chancellor has done is to leave something of a "poisoned chalice" for his successor, whoever that may be. Indeed, as I listened to all of the "difficult choices" that had had to be made, and noticed that they wouldn't take effect until after the election, I had the almost perverse desire that Labour would win another term in office, so that the British people would see the true extent of their mismanagement, and that they might inherit their own 'scorched earth'!

At times like this, I take refuge in the Sovereignty of Almighty God. I believe, firmly, that He is in ultimate control. It's the belief that sustains members of the persecuted church - to whom what we in the U.K. endure would be a pleasant picnic on a beautiful summer's day, in comparison with their suffering. May I suggest that you follow the link

http://www.freegao.com/index.html?refnum=

watch the re-enactment (top right of page), and discover something of what has happened to just one Chinese lawyer? It makes me very grateful that I have not, as yet, been called upon to pay that sort of price. Let those of us who claim to be disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ be faithful in our support of our brothers and sisters who, so constantly, bear in their bodies, the marks of the Jesus.

Martyrdom - then and now!

I have just received an e-mail from my friend Mark, directing me to the following website that shows an act of reconciliation between the inhabitants of a South Sea island, and the descendants of a Christian missionary who was murdered, and eaten, by the islanders' ancestors. Named "Martyrs' Island" by Presbytarian Missionaries at the beginning of the 19th Century, Erromango (second island from the bottom!) never quite lost its reputation as a dangerous destination. Please click on the link!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8398562.stm

Sadly, the murder of disciples of Jesus continues to this day. On Nov. 14, according to Compass Direct News, the body of a 23-year-old Christian convert, Mumin Abdikarim Yusuf, was discovered in the Yaqshid district of Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. On Oct. 28, members of al-Shabaab, an Islamic extremist group, detained Yusuf and searched his home for Christian materials. A 15-year-old Muslim boy had accused Yusuf of trying to convert him to Christianity.

In an attempt to gain evidence against Yusuf and to gain information about other Somali Christians, the extremists knocked out all of Yusuf's front teeth and broke several of his fingers. They then shot him twice in the head and dumped his body on an empty residential street. Since it is unknown whether Yusuf revealed information about other Christians during his torture, the 'underground' Christians who knew him have relocated for their safety. Yusuf's Muslim family members are also in danger, as extremists have accused them of failing to report his conversion to Christianity.

Of course, this is just one more instance of people being murdered for no other reason than their confessing that Jesus is their Lord. I am always challenged at the price that these dear people pay for their faith - a price that I am unlikely ever to have to even consider. May it be that, one day soon, their descendants will contact the descendants of these modern martyrs, and seek reconciliation in the Name of that same Jesus, Whose advent we are remembering at this time.

P.S. Don't forget to check out today's Advent Video!

Letter to the Editor

The following is a letter that was published (with some editing!) in The Herald newspaper on Saturday.

Dear Sir,

So the Board of RSB is threatening to resign if they are not allowed to dish out some £1.5 billion in bonuses! Now, there’s a surprise! However, I would wish to add my voice to that of Mr Vince Cable (apparently the only current politician with a modicum of common-sense, and a grasp of finance that goes beyond the ability of a basic pocket calculator!), and encourage the government to call their bluff. It would be interesting to see exactly how many would be willing to put ‘principle’ above their 7-digit salaries, and the gold-plated pension packages that go along with them.

As a tax-payer – who therefore owns, jointly with my fellow tax-payers, a whopping 70% of the bank (soon, apparently, to rise to over 80%) – I was particularly incensed by the reported comment of one of the Board members, that not too much notice should be taken of “only one shareholder” i.e. the government. If this person does not have the financial nous to understand that ‘the government’ doesn’t have a penny-piece of its own, but (all too) freely disburses the hard-earned taxes of a fair proportion of the British public, then he should not even be in the banking industry! Indeed, I will happily this person's place – and do so for a lower salary – as I truly believe that anyone who has lived in the real world, and who has successfully managed his personal finances could not do any worse a job than these people have done; and might even manage to do a slightly better one!

I am informed that at least 5,000 bankers will earn more than £1million this year, meaning that they will be earning more in one year than the average tax-payer earns in a lifetime. The old adage reminds us that “He who pays the piper, calls the tune”. Let Mr Brown, and Mr Darling, as those who represent the piper, insist that these Board members be told exactly where to get off, and offered a brief guide to claiming unemployment benefit!

Yours faithfully,

C.Brian Ross (Rev)

Yesterday, in Calderhead-Erskine Parish Church (both Shotts and Allanton), I made reference to the happiness of the true disciple of Jesus. For so many in our contemporary society, 'happiness' is dependant upon material possessions - how much money is in the bank account(s); how big a car is being driven; how expensive, and fashionable, the clothing and furniture are; how large a bonus is received. But these things may be lost, or stolen - and they will, eventually, disappear! The happiness of the disciple of Jesus comes from the indwelling presence of God the Holy Spirit, and that happiness is totally independant of external circumstances. This is the testimony of those on the persecuted church, who bear in their own bodies "the marks of Jesus." (see Gal.6:17).

Perhaps more of us should try that happiness that is real joy - a joy that is deep in the heart.

Catch-up video!!

Once again, the Christian organisation Damaris has kindly provided a series of brief videos for Advent. They started on Monday - while I was still offline - so we start with No.4. Be blessed.

I have now realised that Damaris (clever folk that they are!) are automatically changing the video clip each day. I will try to keep this post at the top - but I am not as clever as they are!! Do log in every day throughout the Advent season to watch and listen. You know that it beats the average Advent calendar (and it is completely free of calories!!!)

Okay! Final message on this post! I have now managed to place the Advent videos (reduced in size, but you should be able to access a button at the bottom right, that will give you a full-screen view!) to the side-bar at the left - right above the Ross Clan Badge. The average length is only a minute, so do make use of them.

Parental responsibility.

Well, here we go again! A couple of hours after having regained my internet connection last week, I lost it again. We are ‘up and running’ again and, hopefully, will have no further problems!

Two items of news have caught my eye over the past day or two. The first concerned the ‘guilty’ verdict returned on 18-year-old Stewart Blackburn for the horrific murder of his girlfriend, 17-year-old Jessica McCagh, by deliberately setting fire to her.

The other news item concerned a serious sexual assault on a 13-year-old girl as she walked home in Edinburgh. It is alleged that two youths approached her, on BMX bicycles, and took her into a nearby street where they committed the offence – sometime between 10.00 p.m. and 11.00 p.m. last Friday.

Without in any way wishing to detract from the seriousness of both crimes, and acknowledging that the McCagh family have suffered a great loss, I found myself asking a very simple question (or, if you wish, two questions!). What on earth were Jessica’s family thinking when they allowed her to move in, at seventeen, with a boy who appears to have already given some indication of a violent character; and what was a thirteen-year-old doing, walking alone on the streets of a major city, at that time on a Friday night? What was her family thinking that she was allowed to do so? (I guess that that is now three questions!).

The Psalmist reminds us that our “Children are a gift from YHWH; they are a reward from Him.” (Ps.127:1); while Paul tells us that we should raise our children “… with the discipline and instruction approved by the Lord.” (Eph.6:4)

Perhaps if more parents were to recognise their children as gifts, rather than as, at best, mini-extensions of themselves and, at worst, encumbrances with whom they are stuck, then the sort of news items to which I have referred would be much rarer that they currently seem to be. I trust that the next British government will do something to restore the concept of family, based on genuinely Christian principles, lest another generation be largely lost through lack of parental responsibility!