The EU - what we aren't told!

As the European elections draw ever closer, I was interested to come across the following five important facts about the EU which the mainstream media and press appear to have deliberately ignored.

1..........This week a damning report by Civitas (an independent 'think-tank') has proved what many of us have known all along: Britain’s membership of the EU does not enhance our volume of trade with EU countries. In fact the proportion of trade Britain conducts with the EU has fallen since we joined the Common Market in 1973! So much for ‘insider advantages’. They have been proven to be imaginary.

2.........The EU has chosen to celebrate its own existence with pomp. It is spending €2 million (app. £1.66 billion!) of taxpayers' money to ensure Europe Day (today) is celebrated around the world in countries like Venezuela, Mozambique and Swaziland - obviously integral parts of Europe!!!!

3..........Last night on the BBC's Question Time, the panellists tried to shout down Nigel Farage as he pointed out that neither our politicians nor the shareholders of AstraZeneca (a UK-based pharmaceutical drug company) have any ability to block Pfizer’s (a similar company in the USA) recent take-over bid. After Farage was mocked by the Shadow Business Secretary Chukka Umunna, Reuters confirmed the truth. The European Commission has the final say and will probably block any attempt by the Government to intervene in the merger.  Of course,  the Hansard entry from the Commons statement (on the proposed merger) this week is clear.  John Redwood (Con. Euro-sceptic)) put it to Vincent Cable (Lib. Dumb Business Secretary), in 'Parliamentary speak', that “this is a concentration that falls to be determined by Brussels regulation”.  Cable acknowledged that “the main position is exactly as he described it”. The establishment is caught out deceiving the public again.

4..........We’ve seen the European Court of Justice recently ignore the British Government’s appeal against the ‘Tobin’ Tax which, as the Mayor of London Boris Johnson pointed out, will stamp on growth and drive business away from Britain. This demonstrates just how weak Britain’s influence is in Europe and will remain so as long as we are members of the EU.

5...........Earlier this week Herman “damp rag” van Rompuy said openly he doesn't know if the European public support EU expansion, but ‘we do it anyway’. He clearly considers democracy an obstacle to overcome, as he pursues his own personal agenda to reshape a federalist Europe.  I am reminded of some of the 'consultations' of recent years - not least with reference to the redefinition of marriage at both Westminster and Holyrood levels.  The 'powers that be' went ahead with their proposals regardless of the overwhelming opposition to them at grass roots level.

Of course, all of the above also has a bearing on another important voting occasion, later in the year.  On Sept.18th, Scotland will vote in a referendum.  There are many issues to be considered, but one of the major ones is, surely, the future of Scotland vis-à-vis the EU.  As far as I can see, if the 'Yes' vote wins, then it will certainly be the aim of the SNP to be an integral part of the EU - although I consider "Independence in Europe" to be one of the greatest oxymorons of recorded history!  Does any right-minded person truly want to be a part of the most discredited, disingenuous, disastrous, political entity of the past fifty years?  If not, then a vote for the 'No' camp in the referendum will at least allow for the possibility of a departure from it as part of a continuing United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

I doubt that there will be a Ukip candidate in my part of the world in the Euro election - but if there was, I suspect that (s)he would be getting my vote (A Scottish Christian Party candidate would also be a distinct possibility as, to the best of my knowledge, that Party is also opposed to the EU).

By the way, lest anyone construe my opposition to the European Union as anti-Europe, I would point out that I am posting this in France, and have just responded to a message from a very dear Dutch friend!  :-)

Murder most foul.

A young woman, named Emily Letts, has caused something of a sensation by having herself filmed as she underwent an abortion procedure.  The video has been posted on YouTube, and has gone viral.

This young woman discovered that she was pregnant!  Wow - I wonder how that might have happened?! She obviously felt it unnecessary to take any precautions when she was sexually active - or, perhaps, she simply didn't care.  For her, abortion was a simple choice.  Towards the end of the video (which, significantly, does not show the procedure itself!), she comments: "I feel in awe that I can make a baby.  I can make a life."

Actually, she can not "make a life" - certainly not unaided!   A male also had to be involved and, for many of us, it is Almighty God Who causes that life to commence when the male sperm penetrates the female ova.  What Miss Letts fails to mention is that she can also (again, with assistance) end a life - a human life with untold potential!

Those who support a woman's right to have an abortion refer to that right as "pro-choice". However, I have never read, or heard, of any of them referring to the total lack of choice given to the unborn child!   

As this young woman gave her commentary on the lethal operation, she showed her own totally selfish, and self-centred, attitude: "I knew that what I was going to do was right ... because it was right for me."!   I don't know which of the various methods of abortion was used in her child's case, but it would appear that it was the one in which the little body - and it is a little body, not a bunch of impersonal cells - is literally cut up, and extracted from the womb, which is then scraped to ensure that no 'foreign body' had been left behind!  One could say that it was anything but right for that little life, so casually, and cruelly, destroyed.

She maintains that she feels no guilt.  I am not in a position to argue with that claim. However, I do know that, in the cases in which I have dealt with young woman who have gone through a similar procedure, they have certainly felt guilt!  The very first such occasion left me with nothing to say!  The young woman, sitting opposite me (a relatively young, and certainly inexperienced, parish minister) in her own living room, sobbed as she said "Mr Ross, I murdered my baby".  The reason why I was unable to make an immediate response was simply that I agreed with her!

I trust that this young woman will, eventually, repent of her action; seek the forgiveness of God; and put out another video encouraging others, in the same situation, to do the same.  In the meantime, she might want to watch another YouTube film called The Silent Scream.  She might just begin to understand the enormity of her recent action!

Polite request!

I have recently been looking at ways in which to increase the number of 'hits' on this blog, as I am given to understand that Search Engines grade sites by that means.  The number of folk who do access the blog is not bad - for someone who is not a 'celebrity' - but it could be increased.

I am aware of a number of folk who have set up RSS (Rich Site Summary) feeds.  Subscribing to a website RSS removes the need for the user to manually check the web site for new content. Instead, their browser constantly monitors the site and informs the user of any updates. The browser can also be commanded to automatically download the new data for the user.  Unfortunately, such feeds are not counted as 'hits'!

My Google+ contacts also receive each post, automatically but, again, these are not counted as individual 'hits'.

So my polite request is to all of those who receive the posts by either of these means, that you would be so kind as to then access the blog itself - and maybe spend a minute there!  That access would be counted, and the blog would move up the Google Search Engine ratings at least a little higher.

If you think that even some of what I post is useful/helpful/interesting, please increase the blog's potential circulation by taking that simple step.  I average about fourteen posts per month, so not a lot of your time would be required!

Of course, if you don't fall into either of the above categories, please access the blog on a daily basis - just to check if a new post has been published.  That, too, will help.

Thank you, all, in anticipation of your assistance!  :-)

Christ in you!

A good morning at L'Église Evangelique Libre (Free Evangelical Church) in Bergerac.  This was my first invitation to bring the Word to the fellowship and I was, to say the least, just a little bit nervous.  However, by the time I had made a few introductory comments, and prayed, in French, I was feeling a bit better!  The message was then preached in the English language, with Lucie Bardiau translating.

We looked at just three words from Paul's letter to the early disciples in Jesus in Colossae.  They are found in the first chapter, and the twenty-seventh verse: "Christ in you".  That is, of course, a very succinct description of a Christian!   We were reminded that the whole of the Christian experience has to do with the life that Christ begins in an individual.  This involves an enslavement to sin; to society; to the satan himself; that Jesus wants to break.  However, there is also an enrichment that He wants to bring - "I have come that they may have life - in all its fulness." (Jn.10:10).  
There is also a love that the Lord want to beget in us.  Part of the wonder of the Christian life is that the Christ seeks, not only to enter our lives, but also to act in them!   Conversion is, in itself, just a beginning; a 'first step'.  Marriage is a good analogy.  When, all of those years ago, my fiancée and I took our marriage vows, we became, in the sight of God, husband and wife.  However, that wasn't, and isn't, all that there is to marriage.  Over the years, we have been drawn ever closer to one another, as we have shared our lives, and so many experiences.  It's the same when we invite Jesus into our lives.  As we share all that we are, and have, with Him, we are drawn ever closer to Him, in an ever-deepening love.

This relationship brings a correction to our thinking.  We discover that true happiness lies, not on what we get, but in what we give.  Paul shares an otherwise unrecorded saying of Jesus: "Happiness lies more in giving than in receiving." (Acts 20:35, NEB).   Of course, there is also a compulsion that this love - this agape love - brings to our living.  It compels us to live in a certain way.  "The very spring of our actions [what gives them power] is the love of Christ." (II Cor.5:14).

One more thing is involved if we would have Christ in us, and that concerns the Lord He wants to become in us.  This, of course, is why more people do not become His disciples - they do not want to surrender control of their lives to Him!  Yet that is His condition!  There is a control that He would assume.  He comes in as the invited Guest; He must be acknowledged as the undisputed Host.  However, there is also a consent He must await.  As Sovereign Lord of the universe, He could force us to be His obedient subjects.  But He will not take over my life - or yours - without our consent, and invitation.

As fallen human beings, we will fall; we will fail; we will let Him down.  But if we have made that initial commitment to Him, He will help us to grow more like Him.  How do we do so?  By confessing that we are sinners on the sight of Almighty God; by repenting of our sin - turning away from it, and turning towards Jesus; by trusting that He is both willing, and able, to save us.  It's a life-changing decision - but it's one you will never regret, however difficult the way may be.

If you would like further help, at a personal level, please feel free to contact me at author@minister.com

Withstanding pressure.

I had a cuppa Cuppa Soup for lunch, to day.  It was vegetable soup.  As  I tried to cool it down enough for me to drink, I stirred it with some force.  The liquid swirled around in the cup.  One by one, the little pieces of vegetable, and croutons, sunk under the pressure.  Except for one little piece of vegetable.  No matter how hard I stirred, it simply refused to go under.  Eventually, I pushed it under with the spoon.

As I watched it, I saw it as an analogy - an analogy of the persecuted church.  Disciples of Jesus in some fifty countries suffer for their faith in Him.  They are subjected to pressure that we, in the relatively safe 'West', cannot even begin to imagine.  But, like that one little piece of vegetable, these dear brothers and sisters maintain their trust in the Sovereign Lord of all that is.  

One of the countries in which I maintain a particular interest, is Nigeria.  The atrocities that have been committed in that country over recent months are almost beyond belief.  In February, Islamic militants stormed a Nigerian secondary school campus early Tuesday, locked a boys' dormitory and set it on fire, killing those who tried to flee and burning the rest alive.  News accounts report that suspected Boko Haram militants killed at least 43 young men during the pre-dawn attack at the school at Buni Yadi, in the north-eastern state of Yobe. A Christian charity active in Nigeria said its sources expect the death toll to rise to 100 or more.  "I heard the cries of some people outside the school even before they invaded the school," said a student who managed to escape, as quoted by Open Doors International (see link, below), which provides aid to Christians who live under pressure because of their faith.

On April 14th, at around 10.00 pm, suspected members of Boko Haram swooped into Chibok, northern Nigeria, in seven Toyota pick-ups. Some of the attackers set government and other buildings ablaze, but others went to the senior secondary school where they overpowered the security guards before herding around 230 of the female students - all between the ages of 16 and 20 - into trucks. They then drove the girls deep into the nearby Sambisa forest. Some 40 of the girls have escaped, but the remainder are still missing.  "Almost every house has a child in this school," said an Open Doors worker. "Cries of parents could be heard all over the town as they prayed for God's intervention."  The abducted girls will probably be responsible for cooking and cleaning for the insurgents. But there is every possibility that these young girls would be forcefully converted to Islam and married off to members of the group or other Muslim men, or simply used as 'sex-slaves' for the 'pleasure' of group members.  Christians in Chibok spoke to Open Doors following the abduction.  "I am not sure of what our daughters are passing through," said Elder Emma, a church leader in the town. "Please help us to pray and seek the face of the Lord on this situation and that the good Lord will reunite us with our beloved children."

Villages have been attacked; homes destroyed; church buildings set on fire - with members inside, and those who tried to escape, shot.  But, like that little piece of vegetable in my soup, these dear people maintain a faith that shames many in the 'West'.  

Of course, there are occasions when the might of the state, or the extremists, or whoever is responsible for the persecution, is too much.  People are swamped, and 'go under'.  However, this is usually by death, and they are assured of a martyr's crown.

Please pray for the persecuted church.  If you are a disciple of Jesus, you are, with them, part of the one body.  We may not experience their physical, and emotional, pain and sorrow.  But let us stand with them, as much as we can.  You will find much more information by following the appropriate links towards the bottom of this page.  Thank you for your support.