A wee break!

I forgot to mention that my dear wife and I plan to head off tomorrow morning to the beautiful town of Elgin, for a wee break. As we will be taking our caravan, it is unlikely that we will have any internet access (unless we find a McDonald's!) so no more posts until next Wednesday. However, do keep checking - just in case - and do remember to go to the link on the left-hand side-bar and vote for my interview: every twenty-four hours, if you can be bothered!!

Repentance - or "Sorry I was caught"?

So Mr Gordon Brown thinks that a lady who had the temerity to question him on a range of policies is "a bigoted woman". Oh, I know that once he had discovered that his honest personal opinion had inadvertently been shared with millions via a still-live radio microphone, he made profuse apologies - even referring to himself as a "penitent sinner"!

Unfortunately, for Mr Brown (and, by the way, I listened to him on a radio 'phone-in programme where all but one caller addressed him as either Mr Brown, or Prime Minister; yet he seemed to think that he had the automatic right to address each one by his/her first name!), I suspect that I am not the only member of the electorate who will draw the conclusion that his sorrow was for having been caught. "Bigot", I would suggest, is not the kind of terminology that one uses about someone simply because, as Mr Brown later tried to make out, one isn't sure that one has managed to get one's own point of view across!

"A good tree can't produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can't produce good fruit." said Jesus. "A tree is identified by the kind of fruit it produces. Figs never grow on thornbushes or grapes on bramble bushes. A good person produces good deeds from a good heart, and an evil person produces evil deeds from an evil heart. Whatever is in your heart determines what you say." (Luke 6:43-45; my emphasis)

Not for the first time, Mr Brown's "moral compass" would appear to be pointing in the wrong direction. Being a son of the manse does not automatically make one a son of the Kingdom!

Persecution!

As we, in the U.K., are caught up in the (worthless??) promises of the political parties that are vying for our votes on May 6th, these are the sort of things that are happening in other parts of the world. From Northern Nigeria comes this horrific report:

"Tensions remain high in Jos as an ongoing spate of 'secret murders' has followed the well-publicised massacre of Christians in and around the city last month.

Plateau State Police Commissioner Ikechukwu Aduba told the Associated Press (AP) news agency that police are retrieving corpses 'on a daily basis'. These murders occur, he believes, when Christians and Muslims stray into neighbourhoods beyond their own.

A suspected bomb blast in the Dadin Kuwa area of Jos on April 12 left three young Muslims severely injured – but most of the violence reported has been against Christians.

Two Christian miners were killed last week and three others went missing in an attack by ethnic Fulani Muslims near Rim village, 18 miles south of Jos. Two people were hospitalised with gunshot wounds on the same day when about 20 Fulani men raided the nearby village of Tahoss. Earlier this month, Ishaku Sunday was attacked with a machete while grazing his cattle in the Vom area of Jos – and his friend was killed.

The Nigerian army says that it managed to avert an assault on the mainly Christian village of Bisichi, south of Jos, engaging suspected attackers in a gun battle and killing two of them, after a distress call from villagers. But church and community leaders are becoming increasingly vocal about the perceived inaction of the military amid the continuing violence.

An effort to bring both Christians and Muslims together in prayer in Jos earlier this month ended in bloodshed when 'hoodlums' disrupted an interfaith ceremony and began rioting. Three people died and several others were injured at the event, according to AP.

Meanwhile, in neighbouring Bauchi state, Islamist extremists are alleged to have abducted and killed Pentecostal pastor Ishaya Kadah and his wife Selina in Boto village, Tafawa Balewa district. Their burnt bodies were discovered in the bush on April 12, two days after they went missing, reports the Agence France Presse news agency.

The couple, members of the Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN), had only returned to the area recently after their church was destroyed In January. Islamist extremists are alleged to have burnt down the building to target Christian refugees who had sought refuge in the COCIN compound after fleeing the violence in Jos.

(Sources: AFP, AP, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Compass Direct)"

Quotable Quotes

Well, that's the 10,000 barrier well and truly broken! A few random quotations - just to celebrate!

If you want to feel rich, just count all of the things that you have that money can't buy. - Anon.

In about the same degree as you are helpful, you will be happy. - Karl Reiland

Happiness is a direction, not a place! - Anon.

A real friend is one who walks in, when the rest of the world walks out. - Walter Winchell

The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity; the optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty. - Winston Churchill.

I count him braver who conquers his desires, than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is the victory over self. - Aristotle

God, without man, is still God; man, without God, is lost. - Anon

The proof of spiritual maturity is not how 'pure' you are, but your awareness of your impurity. That very awareness opens the door to God's grace. - Philip Yancey

Bible study is not merely to inform us; it's meant to transform us! - Anon.

What's in a number?

The usual question to be asked is "What's in a name" - followed by a reference to the well-known Shakespearian quotation: "What's in a name? that which we call a rose, By any other name would smell as sweet;" (Romeo & Juliet; Act 2, Sc 2).

My amendment to 'number' is a reference to the fact that, since I added a counter to this blog, to record the number of 'hits' it receives, it has had almost 10,000 visitors (not all of whom stay for very long!). As I type, the number sits at 9,964 and, as my vists are (deliberately) not counted, I am interested to know who visitor 10,000 is!

Perhaps, over the next day or two, every visitor could take a moment to check the counter (it's further down, in the left-hand side-bar) and, if it shows 10,000 that person would be so kind as to leave a comment to this post!

It's not going to be the end of the world if visitor 10,000 doesn't spend more than a couple of seconds here, and doesn't even read this post - but it would be nice if they did!!