Waiting for Mummy to come home

The ability of human beings to live a purposeful, worthwhile life under the most difficult of circumstances is amazing.

Unborn babies are aborted because of trivial physical handicaps - yet a young girl with three limbs amputated - after meningitis, as I recall - was playing happily a few months later as though nothing had happened.

One of the most difficult conditions to cope with must be locked-in syndrome, where people are mentally aware but unable to speak or move, in chronic cases, except to blink their eyes. French journalist Jean-Dominique Bauby, who was able to move just one eye, dictated a book a letter at a time by blinking to indicate the letter he wanted as friends recited the alphabet. The book, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, received rave reviews.

A recent survey of chronic locked-in patients in France - 65 of them - showed that seven per cent were interested in euthanasia. Ninety-three per cent were not. Only 28 per cent were unhappy.

The Daily Mail found a 27-year-old locked-in patient near Stockport. Michelle Wheatley, who has two young children with her partner Rick Blease, was feeding one of the children breakfast two-and-a-half years ago when she started to scream with pain and have fits. She was taken to intensive care and put into an induced coma.

A neurologist diagnosed a brain stem stroke, decided the damage was irreversible and said Michelle would die. She is in a nursing home, fed by a tube into her stomach and fitted with a tracheotomy tube to drain fluid from her chest.

She opens her eyes for "yes" and closes them for "no," and "speaks," like the Frenchman, by blinking to choose a letter at a time. Asked if she is happy, she opens her eyes wide. Yes, she's happy. Asked if she has ever wanted to die, she closes her eyes tight. Never? She closes her eyes again.

"Nobody should say that another person's life isn't worth living," she spells out. "You don't know, until it happens to you, how you'll feel.

"I do feel happy most of the time. I enjoy music, films, seeing the children. Most of the time, life is good. We all have our off days, don't we?"

"She's determined to get well again," says Rick. "And already we are seeing massive improvements. Right from the start I refused to accept she would die. I knew she'd improve and she has. The children know their mummy is very poorly - but they also know she'll come home."

A life well lived

Maxine Hargreaves, wife of the Rev George Hargreaves, leader of the Christian Party, has died, aged 50, after several years of serious illness.

She had stood as a Christian Party candidate for a local council, the Greater London Assembly, Westminster and the European Parliament, sometimes while seriously ill, believing that she had to stand for Christ "no matter what."

Andrea Williams wrote on her blog at Christian Concern shortly after attending the funeral service:

At the service we heard a recording from her saying 'The type of Christianity that Jesus died for wants our blood, our everything.' I knew Maxine a little. I wish I had known her more. There were 1,000 people at the service. Her life and her ministry changed a community. She modelled how to live and how to die. She modelled that we, Christ's followers, must pour ourselves into His service and that from such obedience will follow transformed lives and communities because of Him, the source of life and joy.

What was the message from the service? 'Precious to the Lord is the death of His saints.' In this context, precious means excellent, worthy and honourable. It is hard to fathom why Maxine died so young. But her good friend who spoke at the service, Celia Collins, said 'Follow this God with faith or reason Him out with doubt. We walk by faith and not by sight. Maxine is in a better place.'

Maxine started Hephzibah Ministries. . . this ministry reached out to the community in Hackney, providing food, shelter, counsel, internet cafe. She pastored a church with George. She started the East London Christian School. . . The children from the school sang and recited poetry. They were a great testimony to the work of Maxine.

Over and over again people spoke of her love and obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ, her stand for truth, her courage and determination, her thirst for righteousness. Her challenge was 'You're not here on earth just to be blessed by God, you've got business to do. Don't compromise truth. Get ready because you do not know the moment you will die. God wants us to think like Him, not how we think.'

I am moved. I am humbled. I am in awe and stand amazed at a life well lived. She was a hero.

I didn't know Maxine Hargreaves. But as I read Andrea's tribute, I had tears in my eyes.

The world could do with a few more people willing to live for Jesus like that.

We've been suckered

A 14-year-old Bangladeshi girl named Hena Begum was raped by a 40-year-old married man. She was sentenced to 100 lashes for having engaged in an "affair." After 80 lashes, she fell unconscious and was taken to hospital, where she died.

A 23-year-old Saudi woman who was gang raped by five men was sentenced to 100 lashes and a year in jail. Also in Saudi Arabia, a 19-year-old girl gang raped by seven men was sentenced to 200 lashes and six months in jail.

That's sharia, Islamic law - cruel, barbaric, inhumane.

Radical (and not-so-radical) Islamists want to impose sharia law worldwide. Islamist expansionists are not content to see Islam sit alongside other religions. Islam must dominate.

The way Islam is taking over in the United States, in Britain, in Europe, is not by accident. We've been being prepared for it for years, and we haven't noticed.

We've been suckered.

In a remarkably perceptive piece, David Kupelian, managing editor of WorldNetDaily.com, explains how it's happened. Using a brilliant two-pronged strategy. . . No, I mustn't say more. He explains it best.

Do read the article. It's a must read. You owe it to yourself to read it.

You can see the whole thing by clicking here.

A tale of a mother's love

It's a sad, sad world. A world full of bad news. So here's some good news for a change.

Victoria Webster, from Birmingham, who is 33 years old, had a routine blood test when she was 21 weeks pregnant. She was found to have chronic myeloid leukaemia, or cancer of the blood.

Doctors said she had a good chance of recovery because they had caught the disease early, and wanted her to start chemotherapy immediately. There was a problem. Chemotherapy would kill her unborn daughter.

"To me, there was no decision to make," she said. "I had already bonded with my baby while she was growing inside me and as a mum, I had to protect her. Doctors kept telling me I should have a termination, but I had made up my mind. My husband supported me."

Mrs Webster opted for a less aggressive treatment. During the last three months of her pregnancy, her blood was drained from her body each week, "washed" by machine and replaced. "I was terrified," she said, "that even my milder treatment would have harmed Jessica."

But when her daughter was born, she was perfect. "We bonded straight away. Holding her in my arms was truly an amazing moment."

Mrs Webster, who also has a four-year-old son, began chemotherapy after the birth. She is responding well, and hopes soon to be in full remission.

"It's the best decision I have ever made," she said. "I can't imagine life without my daughter. I might have risked my life for her, but she was worth it."

Now: making a mockery of marriage

Marriage is wonderful, because God invented it.

Way back in Genesis, He laid down how it works. One man, one woman, one new family, one faithful, lifelong relationship.

When there's a picture in the paper of a toothless old couple, all smiles and hugs as they celebrate 70 years of marriage and tell how they've loved one other and always been faithful to each other, why do people say "Ah"? Because it's right, that's why.

The UK Government announced four days ago (along with an announcement that it will permit same-sex civil partnership ceremonies to be conducted in places of worship) that it is to "formally look" at redefining marriage so that homosexual couples can be married and get the same marriage certificate as a married man and woman.

Liberal Democrat Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone wrote to supporters that she was "so pleased," "delighted" and "thrilled" that the Government was taking this action.

It is not the general public who asked for this - but just some homosexuals who want to destroy the family and redesign society. According to Government figures, one per cent in total of the population is homosexual (and 0.5 per cent bisexual). And the Government is bending over backwards, as usual, to accede to their every ideological fancy.

Conservative MP Edward Leigh said he was "astonished and disappointed" that the Government intended to do away with traditional marriage.

The right of homosexual couples to get on with their lives, he said, "does not extend to mangling the language of marriage so that, for the sake of a tiny number of gay people who prefer marriage to civil partnership, everyone else in society must have the definition of their own marriage altered forever.

"Once we have departed from the universally understood framework of marriage, there is no logical reason why the new alternative institution should be limited to two people. Why not three? Or 33?

"Same-sex couples already have all the rights of marriage in the form of civil partnership. Why must they also have the language of marriage? No doubt because it is an important symbol to them.

"But it is also an important symbol to many other people. Must the religious and cultural heritage of the whole nation be overturned to suit the demands of a minority even of the gay community itself?"

Wrote Melanie Phillips: "We are fast reaching the stage where upholding Biblical sexual standards will become the morality that dare not speak its name.

"We have to wonder at the way in which a politically motivated faction within a tiny minority of the population - for many gay people do not approve of this ideological gay rights agenda - is now running public policy.

"Cameron's latest idea proposes to make a mockery of marriage."

Redefining marriage from biblical marriage to a marriage crafted to suit homosexual ideology by politicians mad on "equality," if it succeeds, will be the biggest social engineering experiment, and one of the most disastrous, since who knows when.

So here's the question: Will the Christian church fight this issue, or will it sit silent in a self-induced daze?

A 'bizarre' attack on Christian GP

After Dr Hans-Christian Raabe - I wrote about him here - was appointed by the Home Office to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, people outside the Home Office realised he was a committed Christian who did not minimise the effects of illegal drug use, but believed in promoting drug abstinence.

A month later, before he had attended his first meeting with the council, he received a letter from the Home Office cancelling his appointment.

The reason given was that he had failed to disclose that he had co-authored a report in 2005 - nothing to do with drugs - expressing concern that paedophiles, according to research, included a disproportionate number of homosexuals. The report was freely available on the internet.

Peter Saunders points out that Dr Raabe was not alone in his concern. There have been a number of articles in peer-reviewed journals expressing similar views.

It now turns out that one of these was cited approvingly by the Home Office in 1998. In other words, Dr Raabe was sacked from the council for expressing a view that the Home Office had itself expressed.

"This is quite hypocritical and very bizarre indeed," said Dr Raabe. "I volunteered for unpaid public service and feel as though my personal and professional reputation has been shamefully destroyed by the Government for saying something it says itself."

According to the Independent, anti-drugs campaigners are calling on the Home Secretary, Theresa May, to apologise for "an unjustifiable personal and professional attack by her ministry."

David Raynes, of the National Drug Prevention Alliance, described the sacking as "a vicious and personal witchhunt orchestrated by pro-drugs campaigners." He added: "There remains a cabal of people on the committee who are sympathetic to the legalisation of all drugs. It can ill afford to lose people who act as a balance against this view."

A statement by the Home Office said Dr Raabe's failure to disclose the report raised concerns about his credibility to provide balanced advice on drug misuse issues and "impacts on the smooth running of the ACMD."

That last phrase perhaps gives a clue to the whole episode.

Elderly dying in NHS for lack of care

The National Health Service was once Britain's pride and joy. It is now a national disgrace.

Reports during the last 18 months tell of patients left in beds in corridors, offices, storage areas, kitchens, bathrooms and mop cupboards. Inspectors found filthy wards, blood-spattered walls, mouldy bathrooms and soiled furniture.

Up to 1,200 patients died needlessly in mid-Staffordshire, in part through "appalling" standards of hygiene. Up to 400 patients died in another hospital trust area because of an "appalling" lack of care. It was estimated that more than 3,000 patients could be dying needlessly every year.

Dehydration is said to contribute to the deaths of more than 800 hospital patients every year. Many succumb to malnutrition because of unappetising food, food left on tables out of reach of patients and nurses being too busy to help frail or elderly patients to eat.

It is not claimed that these things are standard in every hospital or with every patient: but the fact that they happen at all is bad enough.

A report by the Health Service Ombudsman published this week, scathing in its description of NHS care for the elderly, gives details of 10 of the large number of cases investigated by the ombudsman in a 12-month period.

One man with advanced stomach cancer was left for hours in agonising pain, without water, without toilet facilities, unable to summon help and so dehydrated he couldn't speak.

One woman was not given a bath or a shower during 13 weeks in hospital, did not have her wound dressings changed and was denied food and drink.

As a result of their suffering in the care of the NHS, the 10 had been transformed from alert and able individuals to people who were dehydrated, malnourished or unable to communicate. In many cases, their suffering was ignored. Nine of the 10 died while in NHS care or soon afterwards.

Said the ombudsman, Ann Abraham: "The findings of my investigations reveal an attitude - both personal and institutional - which fails to recognise the humanity and individuality of the people concerned and to respond to them with sensitivity, compassion and professionalism. . .

"These accounts present a picture of NHS provision that is failing to meet the most basic standards of care."

Michelle Mitchell, charity director of Age UK, said the inhumane treatment described in the report was "sickening."

Experts brought in to television studios to discuss the report spoke of the need for more training. But it doesn't need training to know that patients need food and water and need to be clean and comfortable.

The NHS budget has tripled in a decade and there are now almost more managers than beds. So will things improve?

Evidently not. This week's report says extra resources would not help because of the "casual indifference" of staff and their "bewildering disregard" for people's needs.

A health correspondent said on television the trouble is the culture in the NHS.

What does that mean? I can't do anything single handed, so there's no point trying? No one else bothers, so why should I? Whatever's wrong, it's somebody else's fault?

This could not possibly have happened 60 years ago.

Might I be permitted to suggest a deeper, more fundamental cause? This nation is a nation away from God, and a nation away from God breeds an uncaring people.

People who really care should be praying for the day this nation turns back to its Maker.

But what about the babies?

A few days ago I wrote that Conservative MP Nadine Dorries had complained of a lack of support she had had from the churches for what she had done in Parliament regarding abortion.

There are many church leaders who never mention abortion in their churches for fear of upsetting some in their congregations. There are committed Christians in Bible-believing churches who, for lack of teaching, have no idea where they stand on the issue of abortion as far as the Bible is concerned. There are, I believe, born-again Christians who have abortions because they believe it is purely a social issue on which they are free to choose.

The Evangelical Alliance has published the first of a series of reports on the beliefs and habits of evangelical Christians in the UK. It is based on a survey of more that 17,000 Christians who are, it claims, as representative as possible of evangelical Christians in the UK in the 21st century. (You can read the details of the survey here.)

The report turns up some interesting figures. Ninety-six per cent attend a church service at least once a week. Ninety-three per cent strongly agree that the Bible is the inspired word of God and 91 per cent strongly agree that Jesus is the only way to God. Eighty-eight per cent strongly agree that their faith is the most important thing in their life.

Ninety-six per cent pray at least a few times a week; 77 per cent pray daily. (Only 77 per cent?) Eighty-three per cent strongly agree that the miraculous gifts of the Spirit did not come to an end in the first century.

But when it comes to belief on the matter of abortion, there is a significant change in the figures. Asked if they believed that abortion can never be justified, 20 per cent agreed a lot, and 17 per cent agreed a little. That leaves at least 63 per cent who presumably are prepared to allow abortion.

Perhaps it was the phrase about never being justified. Perhaps some would allow abortion in the event of suspected disability, or in the event of rape.

If you believe in abortion for suspected disability, let me ask you to do something. Seriously. Next time you see someone who is disabled, ask them if they would rather be dead. Ask if they would rather someone had taken their life rather than allow them to live. See what they say.

And abortion in the case of rape? It is unusual for women to conceive in the event of rape. But it does happen.

Women who have been raped have suffered a terrible, horrific experience. They deserve all the love, all the care and all the help they can get.

What they do not need is the additional trauma of having the baby torn from their body. Once a woman is pregnant, the most natural thing in the world is for the baby to come to term. A most unnatural thing is for the baby to be suddenly removed.

Abortion is the deliberate taking of human life. Even people in favour of abortion admit that. Abortion does not just make a woman unpregnant. It makes her the mother of a dead baby.

The woman did not want to be pregnant, certainly under such circumstances. To be sure, half the baby is the father's. But remember: half of the baby is hers. Given time, she can come to love that baby.

One more thing. That baby did not ask to be conceived in such circumstances. Why should an innocent baby have to die because of its father's sin?

I have been criticised - by some Christians - for the stand that I take on abortion. Our job, I have been told, is to preach the gospel. When people come to Christ, things like abortion will sort themselves out.

There is one thing wrong with that. Six hundred unborn babies in the UK will die by abortion today. Another 600 will die tomorrow. And a further 600 the day after that.

Knowing that abortion claims the lives of 200,000 babies in the UK each year - and that apart from the number of early abortions caused by the morning-after pill - am I to say nothing about it? Not even to offer women positive help at the most vulnerable time in their lives?

Another victory for the PC Brigade?

The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, appointed to advise the Government on drugs issues, has long been criticised for its soft approach to drugs abuse.

Its chairman, Professor David Nutt, who said that cannabis, ecstasy and LSD are less harmful than alcohol and tobacco, was sacked in 2009. There was a suspicion then the council might resign en masse. In fact, only a handful left.

A month ago, the Government invited GP Hans-Christian Raabe to an unpaid post on the council. When others discovered that he was a committed Christian, favoured drug prevention as well as harm reduction and believed that strong family life could help in the battle against drug addiction, it appears their fury knew no bounds.

They delved into his background and discovered that he had signed a report with six other medical professionals six years ago which pointed out that according to research paedophiles included a disproportionate number of homosexuals, which, the report's authors said, was a matter for concern.

All that was said and done behind the scenes after that is not clear, but the Home Office has now written to Dr Raabe cancelling his appointment.

Labour's Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said Labour had warned Dr Raabe was an unsuitable candidate. It is not clear what she meant by "unsuitable."

Dr Peter Saunders, chief executive officer of the Christian Medical Fellowship, points out that Dr Raabe was sacked from his role as a drugs adviser because of a completely unrelated issue.

"The fact that the data he quoted [in the report he signed six years ago] were actually derived from peer-reviewed scientific articles, and on a matter where experts agreed there is a diversity of learned opinion, makes his dismissal both outrageous and inexcusable.

"In bowing to political pressure on the matter the Home Office has demonstrated intolerance, ignorance, cowardice and an unwillingness to investigate complaints properly."

Dr Raabe said he had been the target of "vicious, hate-filled personal abuse." He had been discriminated against because of his opinions and beliefs, which were in keeping with the teaching of the major churches. He had, he said, been sacrificed on the altar of political correctness.

I confess a particular interest in the matter. Dr Raabe is a personal friend. He and I have worked together on a number of Christian events.

Hans-Christian Raabe is not only a committed Christian. He is a man of integrity who works tirelessly for the public good, often at considerable expense to himself.

Having his appointment revoked by the Home Office says more about the Home Office than it does about him.

The church: 'weak, cowardly' and 'pathetic'

Two stories about abortion made the news recently.

The first was about an Australian couple who have three sons. The couple underwent IVF because they wanted a daughter. The wife became pregnant with twins, but both were male, so the couple aborted both babies so they could have another try.

Some people were shocked. But if abortion is acceptable under some circumstances, under what circumstances is it not acceptable?

A professor of medicine said they should be allowed to select the gender of their child (gender selection during IVF is currently unlawful in Australia). "I can't see how it could possibly hurt anyone," he said.

What about the two babies who were aborted?

The second story concerned the arrest of Kermit Gosnell, an American abortionist who is said to have made millions of dollars from late term abortions. His abortion clinic was apparently replete with bloodstained furniture, unsterilised instruments and bags of aborted babies.

With six, seven and eight-month pregnancies, Gosnell is alleged to have induced the births, then killed the live babies by stabbing them in the neck with scissors and snipping their spinal cords. He has been charged with eight counts of murder.

An official investigation turned up the fact that for political reasons - pro-abortion political reasons, that is - his abortion premises had not been inspected by the department of health since 1993.

In the UK, Conservative MP Nadine Dorries says she has been suffering vitriolic attacks on blogs and on Twitter because of her stand on abortion. "The only controversial issue I've ever taken up is abortion," she says, "and that's the only hook to hang it on."

And Mrs Dorries is not pro-life: she is not opposed to abortion under all circumstances, although she has campaigned for a reduction in the upper age limit for abortion and she is campaigning for women contemplating abortion to be given adequate information.

She says she needs the churches to be more involved. "The churches have been pathetic during the abortion debate in their support for what I was trying to do.

"The Church of England was the worst, and the only person in the Catholic Church who made any comment was Cardinal O'Brien. Everybody was silent because the churches were weak and cowardly in their position.

"I was even told by one envoy from the Church [of England] that Psalm 139 was 'just poetry.' Weeks later they timidly came out and squeaked their words of support, which were no use to me at this point."

Abortion is the deliberate taking of human life. If the church isn't going to stand up on abortion, who is?

Tumultuous times

Egypt is in turmoil. Its regime, it appears, is coming rapidly to an end. The danger is that a new regime could be worse than the last.

As concerned as anyone is little Israel, already with enemies sworn to its destruction at its borders. The peace negotiated by the then Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egypt's then President Anwar Sadat has been a cold peace, but peace nevertheless. A new regime in Egypt could tear up the peace agreement.

David Horovitz, editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post, writes in the Telegraph:

Despite the general excitement, the outcome could be a grim one for Israel, and for the West more generally.

In the past few weeks, we have seen a president ousted in Tunisia. We've seen protests in Yemen. We've seen Iran essentially take control of Lebanon, where its proxy, Hizbollah, has ousted a relatively pro-Western prime minister and inserted its own candidate. We've seen the King of Jordan rush to sack his Cabinet amid escalating protests. We've seen reports that similar demonstrations are planned for Syria, where the president, Bashar Assad, will find it far harder to get away with gunning down the crowds than his father did in 1982. And most dramatically, we are seeing the regime in Egypt - the largest, most important Arab country - totter, as President Mubarak faces unprecedented popular protest, and the likelihood that he will have to step down sooner rather than later.

It is tempting to be smug. Egypt's blink-of-an-eye descent into instability underlines afresh the uniqueness of Israel, that embattled sliver of enlightened land in a largely dictatorial region. Those who like to characterise it as the root of all the Middle East's problems look particularly foolish: the people on the streets aren't enraged by Israel, but because their countries are so unlike Israel, so lacking in the freedoms and economic opportunities that both Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs take for granted.

Yet the country is deeply concerned. The main worry is over a repeat of the events in Iran a little over 30 years ago, when popular protest ousted the Shah, only to see him replaced by a far more dangerous, corrupt, misogynist and intolerant regime. Iran is plainly delighted by what is unfolding. With peerless hypocrisy, a government that mowed down its own people less than two years ago is encouraging the same spirit of protest in Egypt. Its allies in the Moslem Brotherhood are well placed to fill any leadership vacuum - and, for all the group's dubious claims to be relatively moderate, it embraces leadership figures deeply hostile to Israel and the West. The Muslim Brotherhood, it should not be forgotten, gave birth to Hamas, the terrorist group which now runs Gaza, after killing hundreds in its takeover.

The danger for the Egyptians is that, when the protests are over, their brave efforts will have replaced Mubarak not with a leadership more committed to freedom and democracy, but quite the reverse. Yet for Israelis, it underlines the challenges we face when it comes to peacemaking.

Our country, it is often forgotten, is 1/800th of the size of the Arab world, only nine miles wide at its narrowest point. We are not some territorial superpower that can afford not to care if there is hostility all around: we desperately need normalised relations with our neighbours. But if we do a lousy deal with a regime that is either unstable or not genuinely committed to reconciliation, the consequences could be fatal. . .

You can read the rest of the article here.

Telling it like it is

Margaret Forrester is the NHS employee in the London borough of Camden who got into serious trouble with her employer because she discussed her views on abortion with a colleague. I wrote about her here.

During an informal conversation about abortion - not with a client, but with a colleague - she gave the colleague a booklet giving examples of post-abortion syndrome suffered by five women from Taunton, Somerset. She did so, she said, because she was concerned that women contemplating abortion were not given enough information about the risks involved.

She was later sent home on special leave with full pay, ordered not to see any patients and to stay away from any NHS site while an investigation was carried out, and called before an internal disciplinary committee accused of "distributing materials some people may find offensive."

The decision of the disciplinary committee has now been announced. Miss Forrester was apparently not censured, and has been offered a better job.

Just a question: Would she have escaped censure and would she have been offered a better job if her case had not had nationwide publicity?

Claire Murdoch, chief executive of Central and North-west London NHS Foundation Trust - Miss Forrester's employer - said "The booklet Miss Forrester distributed offers a seriously unbalanced and one-sided view of abortion. . . The booklet implies that abortion can lead to alcohol and drug abuse, suicidal thoughts and increased risk of cancer."

There is something I would like to point out to Ms Murdoch.

Abortion can lead to drug and alcohol abuse and suicidal thoughts and can - and sometimes does - lead to cancer.

If anyone needs proof of that, there is ample evidence available.

End times: The third question

Jesus' disciples asked Him when Jerusalem and the Temple would be destroyed, what would be the sign of the end of the age, and what would be the sign of His coming (Matt 24:1 - 3).

We have talked about the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple and the sign of the end of the age. So what will be the sign of His coming?

The sign of His coming will be the appearance of the shechinah glory. The shechinah glory is the visible manifestation of the presence of God.

In the tabernacle the Israelites constructed in the wilderness, the outer court was illuminated by natural daylight. The holy place, where the priests went to minister, was illuminated by the golden lampstand. The most holy place, where only the high priest was allowed to enter on one day each year and where God dwelt above the mercy seat, had no artificial illumination. The illumination would be provided by the glory of God.

On the Mount of Transfiguration, where Christ's glory was manifested,

His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light (Matt 17:2).

When the New Jerusalem comes down out of heaven, it will have no need of illumination:

And the city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it, and the Lamb is its light (Rev 21:23).

Christ's coming too will be accompanied by the manifestation of His glory:

For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be (Matt 24:27).

Shortly before His coming, there will be darkness on the earth:

Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken (Matt 24:29).

But then. . .

The sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory (Matt 24:30).

A brilliant light will shine from heaven and every eye will see Him as He comes to earth to destroy His enemies and set up His millennial kingdom.

Are you prepared for the things that are coming on the earth?

End times: the second question

A few days before Jesus was crucified, His disciples asked Him three questions: When would Jerusalem and the Temple be destroyed, what would be the sign of the end of the age, and what would be the sign of His coming?

Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed in AD70. So what will be the sign of the end of the age?

The Jews spoke of "this age," referring to the age in which they were living, and "the age to come," meaning the messianic age. Christians would call the age in which we live the church age, which extends from Christ's resurrection and the the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to Christ's Second Coming.

So what did Jesus say would be the sign of the end of this age?

"Take heed that no one deceives you.

"For many will come in my name, saying 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.

"And you will hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that you are not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet (Matt 24:4 - 6).

So there will be false messiahs and there will be wars, but these are not signs that the age is coming to an end.

Then Jesus comes to what is the sign of the end of the age:

"For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.

"All these are the beginning of sorrows" (Matt 24:7, 8).

To the Jews, "nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom" would signify world war. We had the first world wars - two of them - in the 20th century.

These, along with famines, pestilences and earthquakes in various places, are "the beginning of sorrows." The Greek word used for "sorrows" there is the word used to describe labour pains.

These are signs that the world is in travail, preparing for the birth of the messianic age.

End times: The first question

The first three verses of Matthew 24 tell how Jesus and His disciples were in the Temple just a few days before His crucifixion:

Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and his disciples came to him to show him the buildings of the temple.

And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."

Now as he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?"

Really, this is not one question. This is three questions. First - in the order in which the events were to occur - when will these things be (referring to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple)? Second, what will be the sign of the end of the age? Third, what will be the sign of Your coming?

Jesus proceeded to answer their questions. Concerning the destruction of Jerusalem:

"But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near.

"Then let those in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her.

"For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.

"But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing mothers in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people.

"And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive unto all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled (Luke 21:20 - 24).

In AD 66, the Jews rebelled against the Romans. Roman soldiers, led by Cestius Gallus, legate of Syria, came and besieged Jerusalem. Jerusalem was surrounded by armies, as Jesus had prophesied - but the believers in Jesus could not leave the city because of the siege.

Then Cestius Gallus inexplicably withdrew. The Jewish believers left the city and set up a Christian community at Pella, in what is now Jordan.

More Roman forces arrived under the Roman general Vespasian and his son Titus and laid seige to Jerusalem. When the city fell in AD70, a million Jews were massacred and Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed.

It is said of the Jewish believers, who followed Jesus' instruction to leave the city, that not one was killed.

More soon.

Is the Bible true?

Is the Bible true? Is Jesus the Person the Bible says He is?

Matt 1:1-11 refers to the genealogy of Jesus. Dr Chuck Missler points out that in those 11 verses in Greek - the language in which the New Testament was originally written - the number of words is divisible by seven; the number of letters is divisible by seven; the number of vowels and the number of consonants are both divisible by seven; the number of words that begin with a vowel and the number of words that begin with a consonant are both divisible by seven; the number of words that occur more than once can be divided by seven; the number of words that occur in more than one form is divisible by seven; the number of words that occur in only one form can be divided by seven; the number of male names can be divided by seven; and the number of generations is divisible by seven.

No man could have engineered that. The chance of those verses conforming to all the above by chance is one in 40,353,607.

Just for fun (4)

One in five people in the world is Chinese.

There are five people in my family, so it must be one of them. It's either Mum or Dad or my older brother Colin or my younger brother Ho Chi Chou.

I think it's Colin.

- Tommy Cooper.

Getting ready for Big Brother

One of the last things the last Labour Government did during the dying days of its administration was push through the Equality Act in an attempt to ensure people conformed to its "diversity" and "equality" agendas.

The new Coalition Government is now seeing that the requirements of the act are observed.

Public sector employers are required to "eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation" on grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy, race, religion, sex and sexual orientation.

To this end, organisations employing more than 150 people - that's 27,000 of them, including Government departments, councils, hospitals and schools - will be required to provide information each year, beginning this summer, about their employees.

The information, regarding millions of people in total, will include details of how many come from minority groups and details of salary.

In order to obtain information, staff will be asked to fill in questionnaires stating whether or not they are homosexual, whether or not they are in the process of changing gender, what religion they adhere to, and what disabilities they have.

Although answers are not compulsory, employees will be told they will help prevent bullying and pay gaps.

The resulting data will not be scrutinised by the Government, but by individuals and voluntary bodies of David Cameron's "Big Society."

Guidance by the Equality and Human Rights Commission warns public bodies not to identify individuals by publishing detailed figures on small offices, but says they must do all they can to obtain accurate data on the make-up of their staff, despite fears about intrusion, preferably through "routine monitoring."

All this extra work is required from public sector employers at a time when they are required to make massive savings. What's more, it seems likely the requirement will cause as many problems as it solves.

According to the Daily Mail, the guidance says complying with the requirements of the act "may involve treating some people better than others, as far as this is allowed by discrimination law."

Mrs Hazelmary Bull, who with her husband was ordered to pay thousands of pounds to a homosexual couple this week for refusing to allow them to share a double bed in their home, which doubles as a bed and breakfast establishment, said after the case: "I do feel that Christianity is being marginalised in Britain. . . Much is said about equality and diversity, but it seems that some people are more equal than others."

Whatever one's views on the Bulls' case, with so much information about employees to be handed over to who knows who, can Big Brother be far behind?

'Our little hero'

Sometimes in the reports of national disasters individual stories get overlooked.

Last Monday Donna Rice went shopping with her 13-year-old son Jordan for a new school uniform. He was to start in high school in two weeks' time. Jordan's younger brother, 10-year-old Blake, went along.

As they were driving back to their home in the Australian town of Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, floodwater met them. Their car stalled, and wouldn't restart. Donna used her mobile phone to telephone triple zero - the number for Australia's emergency services - but the water was rising faster than the emergency services could reach them.

The mother and the two boys climbed on to the roof of the car. A lorry driver with a rope tied round him managed to reach the car and attempted to rescue Jordan. Although Jordan could not swim and was terrified of water, he insisted the man rescue his younger brother and his mother first.

The man got Blake to safety. Donna and Jordan were holding on to a rope, but before the man could get back, the rope broke and they floated away.

The two managed to catch hold of a tree until Jordan could hold on no longer. When he let go, his mother let go to try to save him. Both were swept away to their deaths.

Said Jordan's father, John Tyson: "Jordan can't swim and is terrified of water. But when the man went to rescue him, he said 'Save my brother first.' I can only imagine what was going on inside to give up his life to save his brother, even though he was petrified of water. He is our little hero."

Jordan's older brother Kyle said Jordan was really shy with people outside the family and wouldn't say a word to them - "but when it came to the rest of his family, well, he'd do anything for them."

That evening, Donna was due to make a birthday meal for the children's father.

Political correctness strikes again

I wrote here 10 days ago that just a little bit of sanity is returning to our politically correct society. The smug, self-satisfied practitioners of political correctness have not finished yet, however.

Margaret Forrester is a mental health worker employed by the NHS in London. She had an informal conversation with colleagues in the office - not with a patient, notice, but with colleagues in the office - about abortion. She gave a colleague a booklet describing the problems some women had had after abortion.

It referred to women who had experienced post-abortion syndrome, including depression, relationship issues and suicidal feelings, as well as fertility problems.

Miss Forrester was concerned, she said, that women contemplating abortion were not given enough information about the risks involved.

A few days later her manager told her she was being sent home on special leave with full pay. She was ordered not to see any patients and to stay away from any NHS site while an investigation was carried out. She was then told to return to work, but not allowed to do her normal job.

She was called before an internal disciplinary committee accused of "distributing materials some people may find offensive." As far as I am able to ascertain, the decision of the committee has not yet been announced.

"I felt physically sickened by their bullying," she said. She was eventually signed off sick and has not since returned to work.

There is something I would like Miss Forrester to know. I feel sickened, too.

There is something else I would like her to know. She has my full support. Not only that: she should have the full support of every right-thinking person in the country.

I think she is being persecuted for daring to question the accepted abortion culture. If the booklet had said what a wonderful thing it was to have the abortion service we have in the UK, would she have been persecuted? I think not.

More troubles ahead

We live in a dangerous world.

There is the constant threat of Islamic terrorism in the West. The present stand-off between North and South Korea could lead to a major war. Pakistan's government is in danger: its failure could give radical Islam access to Pakistan's nuclear arsenal.

Hezbollah has 40,000 missiles lined up against Israel. Hamas is still firing rockets into Israel from Gaza.

Just a short time ago, the greatest threat to Israel was from Iran, who had threatened to wipe Israel off the map and was just a short time away from acquiring nuclear weapons. No one outside Israel appeared able or willing to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions, which meant Israel would need to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities to ensure Israel's continued survival, with the possibility of terrible retaliation.

But then there were rumours of mysterious explosions at an Iranian nuclear facility. There was the assassination of a leading Iranian nuclear scientist and the near assassination of another. A powerful computer virus named Stuxnet infected more than 30,000 Iranian computers and brought the Iranians' enrichment of uranium almost to a standstill.

Meir Dagan, who has just retired as head of Mossad, Israel's external intelligence agency, told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee that a series of events had put Iran's nuclear weapons programme back by several years. He did not think that Iran would now have a nuclear bomb before 2015 - and Israel has still not had to bomb Iran.

But the net around Israel is tightening. The Palestinians are now talking about declaring a sovereign, Jew-free Palestinian state in the summer of 2011 without Israel's agreement.

Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay and Turkey have spoken of their intention of recognising such a state. French and Spanish foreign ministers are talking about recognition, and are urging the European Union to recognise such a state also.

Caroline Glick, of the Jerusalem Post, says a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Jerusalem would leave Israel without defensible borders. Since no Palestinian leadership will accept Israel's right to exist, this would invite a war that Israel would be hard-pressed to survive.

"The 'two-state solution' policy paradigm is delusional," she says. "It is not a policy paradigm. It is a fantasy. A debate about the two-state solution is not a policy debate, but a debate about the attractiveness of a pipe dream."

Meanwhile, the Israeli armed forces have announced the formation of a military battalion to deal with a non-conventional attack. The unit has been trained to respond to a potential nuclear, biological or chemical missile assault.

Bible believers need to be concerned about what is happening to Israel. For a variety of reasons, what affects Israel affects us all.

"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee" (Psa 122:6).

Parents, prepare to be horrified

The last Labour Government fought hard to have sex education in schools made compulsory by law for children from five years old and upwards. Eventually the proposed legislation was ditched because there was insufficient time to pass it into law before the General Election.

There are still people fighting hard to have sex education in schools made compulsory for children from five years old. (Sex education in primary schools is currently at the discretion of school governors and the head teacher.)

The Christian Institute has published a booklet called Too much, too young: Exposing primary school sex education materials. On the booklet's front cover it says "WARNING: This booklet contains explicit material not suitable for children." Quite right too.

The booklet shows extracts from publications - including explicit descriptions and graphic illustrations of sexual intercourse - already approved by some local authorities for use with young primary school children.

Some parents might conclude people producing such material for little ones do not do so out of a real concern for young children, but rather out of a desire to destroy marriage and family and educate children to be sexually promiscuous.

There is a place for sex education. But this sort of stuff used in classes for children of five and upwards is not it.

Some parents are blissfully unaware of what is taught, or likely to be taught to their children in school.

If you have children, ask about their school's sex education policy. Ask to see materials that will be used. Ask who will present the material. If you have concerns, talk with the children's head teacher or some of the school governors. If you are not satisfied, contact a local councillor or your MP.

For further information, contact the Christian Institute. Details are on their website at www.christian.org.uk.

There is a big difference between sex education in schools and the legalisation of assisted suicide - but the same principle applies. If you're not aware of what's happening, legislation could be pushed past you which would appal you if you knew what it involved.

Lord Falconer's Commission on Assisted Dying is already taking evidence from interested parties. It sounds an imposing body. In fact, it was the idea of Dignity in Dying - formerly the Voluntary Euthanasia Society - who also helped set it up.

Lord Falconer has battled to have the law on assisted suicide relaxed. He appears to have chosen the 12 members of the commission. Nine of them are in favour of legalising assisted suicide; the other three are not known to have opposed it.

Of 11 people or organisations invited to give evidence to the commission, six have declined - presumably because they don't want to give the commission credibility.

Anyone hearing of the commission might assume it was an officially established body whose recommendations ought to be given serious consideration.

Forewarned is forearmed.

A step in the right direction

Just a little bit of sanity is returning to our politically correct society.

Anthony Rollins, a Christian street preacher who suffers from Asperger's syndrome, quoted from a Bible verse on the subject of homosexuality while preaching in Birmingham city centre.

He was arrested by police, handcuffed, held in a police cell and charged under Section 5 of the Public Order Act. The charge was later dropped. A complaint to the Independent Police Complaints Commission about his treatment was rejected.

When he sued the police at Birmingham County Court, his complaints of wrongful arrest, unlawful imprisonment, assault and battery and infringements of his human rights were upheld. He was awarded £4,250 damages.

Dale Mcalpine, who preaches in the shopping precinct at Workington in Cumbria - I wrote about him here and here - didn't mention homosexuality while preaching, but said in conversation that the Bible says homosexual behaviour is a sin.

He was arrested, placed in a police cell for seven hours and charged under the Public Order Act. The case was later dropped.

Mr Mcalpine sued the police for wrongful arrest, unlawful imprisonment and breach of his human rights. He was awarded £7,000 damages. Police were ordered to pay costs.

Section 5 of the Public Order Act criminalises "threatening, abusive or insulting" words or behaviour which are likely to cause "harassment, alarm or distress." There is now a move afoot to have Parliament remove the word "insulting" from the act.

"We may have gone too far when the act was introduced," said one MP.

A survey of 1,000 adults sponsored by Christian Concern showed that

* 87 per cent felt it was wrong for healthcare workers to be punished for offering to pray for a patient;

* 72 per cent felt Christians should be free to follow their conscience at work without fear of disciplinary action;

* 73 per cent believed the right to wear a Christian symbol in the workplace should be protected by law.

The way courts have interpreted the law on these issues in recent times has hardly been in line with public opinion.

Following the star

"Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying 'Where is he who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East and have come to worship him'" (Matt 2:1, 2).

First, the Bible doesn't say they were kings. Neither does it say there were three of them. There were three kinds of gifts, but there could have been any number of wise men.

The Bible calls them magi. The magi were a class of Persian wise men, soothsayers and interpreters of signs, particularly in astrology. They became powerful and influential; not so much kings as kingmakers.

They came from the part of the world where Daniel had lived years before. Daniel had introduced many to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Perhaps he had spoken of the One who was to come.

The star was no ordinary star. It seems to have appeared and disappeared. It moved before them, and finally stood still over where the young child was. When they first saw it, somehow they understood it spoke of the birth of a king of the Jews. And somehow they understood He was no ordinary king, for they came to worship Him.

God used a star to lead them to Christ because stars were what they were into.

It would have been no use using a star to lead me to Christ; I wouldn't have noticed. God used my job to lead me to Christ, because that was what I was into.

Whatever God uses to bring you to Christ, be sure to come. He is the most important person ever to have lived on the planet. He is alive today. God wants you to make his acquaintance. To have a personal relationship with Him is the most important thing that can happen to you, ever.

May you have a wonderful Christmas and a blessed, purposeful and fruitful New Year. And as Tiny Tim used to say, "God bless us, every one!"

Bully for the BBC

The BBC has been heavily criticised for extravagance, for anti-Israel bias, for left-wing bias, for slashing religious programming and for bias against Christianity. Not without cause.

But credit where credit's due.

This coming year is the 400th anniversary of the publication of the Authorised Version of the Bible, also known as the King James Version. It was in 1611 that the 54 scholars brought together at the instigation of King James I to produce a new English translation completed "the noblest monument of English prose." The King James Version has not only provided inspiration and spiritual instruction for four centuries, but has left its mark on the English language like no other book.

The BBC is to devote Radio 4 on Sunday, January 9, to readings from the King James Bible, between 6am and midnight. Space will be found for the most popular Radio 4 programmes, like the Archers and Gardeners' Question Time, but in between will be a total of seven hours' Bible reading in 28 portions of 15 minutes.

Introductions will be by people as diverse as Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, Simon Schama and Will Self; the readings by actors like Samuel West, Hugh Bonneville, Emilia Fox and Niamh Cusack.

There is a suspicion that the BBC is looking not so much to the King James' spiritual content as to its influence on the literary life of the nation, but the BBC's decision will please the church.

The secular humanists, as you may imagine, are somewhat peeved.

Like Terry Sanderson, president of the National Secular Society. "It is fair enough," he said, "to have a programme devoted to it, but the coverage is so excessive it beggars belief. The BBC is supposed to be for everybody, not just Christians, so to devote a whole day to a minority, which is what Christians now are, is unfair to other listeners who may want something different."

(There are, of course, other BBC radio channels.)

Said the BBC: "The King James Version of the Bible remains one of the most widely published texts in the English language and it has been recognised for centuries as both a religious and literary classic.

"It is also generally accepted to have had a significant impact on our language, the arts and music and the wider cultural impact of the King James Bible cannot be overestimated."

Good for the BBC.

Dangerous times

Others will have seen, as I did, a video on the TV news which showed a man in a school board meeting in Florida paint a "V" (for vendetta) on the wall, then pull out a gun and begin shooting at members of the board.

A security guard came in, the two exchanged fire and the gunman went down. The gunman then used his gun to take his own life. No one was hurt but the gunman.

What British TV didn't show was a subsequent interview with school superintendent Bill Husfelt, the first man to be shot at.

"Right before he pulled that trigger, I knew he was going to pull the trigger," he said.

"There was a miracle that I wasn't shot. He literally had the gun pointed right at me. I was very confident that I was going to get shot. I was ready if that was going to happen. I knew where I would go. . .

"God was standing in front of me. I believe that with all my heart."

The cost of being a Christian

Pope Benedict XVI pointed out in his message for World Peace Day on January 1, released at the Vatican on Thursday, that Christians suffer more from persecution on account of their faith than any other religious group.

He referred to the persecution of Christian communities in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, and made special mention of violence against Christians in Iraq.

In Western countries, he said, there were more sophisticated forms of hostility to religion, often expressed by a denial of its Christian roots and the rejection of religious symbols which reflected the identity and culture of the majority of its citizens.

He urged world leaders to act promptly to end every injustice against Christians in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, pleaded with Western countries to end their hostility and prejudice against Christians, and urged Europe to become reconciled with its Christian roots, which were indispensable for promoting justice and peace.

Civil society, he said, must acknowledge and make room for the right of believers to have their voice heard in the public realm.

Monsignor Anthony Frontiero, of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, said that of all people discriminated against, hurt, killed or persecuted for religious reasons, 75 per cent worldwide were Christian.

A conservative estimate of the number of Christians killed for their faith each year was around 150,000. Between 200 million and 230 million faced daily threats of murder, beating, imprisonment and torture, and a further 350 to 400 million encountered discrimination in areas such as jobs and housing.

Nigel Evans, MP for Ribble Valley and a Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, is "coming out" as a homosexual this weekend. He is to host the launch of a new taxpayer-funded support group for lesbian, homosexual, bisexual and transgendered people in Parliament (how many lesbian, homosexual, bisexual and transgendered people are there in Parliament?) at the Speaker's official residence on Monday.

Blogger Archbishop Cranmer, who wants to know if the Speaker will be hosting a reception for Parliament's "support network" for Christians, says it is more difficult to be "out" as a Christian in Parliament than it is to be lesbian, homosexual, bisexual or transgendered.

A devout and committed Christian that is, "who might wish to support the institution of marriage as a union between one man and one woman; who might define certain behaviour as 'sin'; who might wish to abolish abortion or at least mitigate the abuse by a reduction in the upper limit; who might wish to retain bishops in the House of Lords; who might wish to retain prayers to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob before each session of Parliament; who vigorously supports church schools and educational autonomy; who might defend the Establishment of the Church of England, and retain the XXXIX Articles of Religion and the Act of Settlement."

What are we coming to?

Think about it.

Where Christians live in fear

An organisation calling itself the Islamic State of Iraq, responsible for the deaths of 60 people attending a church service in Baghdad recently, later warned that "all Christian centres, organisations and institutions, leaders and followers" were legitimate targets, however they could be reached.

Barnabas Fund this week published on its website a message from a senior church official responsible for helping Christian refugees from Iraq in Syria. It tells about conditions for Christians in Iraq:

Their conditions are no longer bearable. The people are living behind locked doors, they are compelled to take long leaves of absence from work, in Mosul and other cities, as a result of the dangers they face at work.

The universities are almost empty of Christian students, as are the schools. In some of the cities even the streets are almost empty of Christians.

It is as if they are in prison: without work, without study, without Church meetings. Fear rules over all situations and in all places.

Threats and insults are daily occurrences, and offensive graffiti is daubed on the walls of the homes of these innocent people.

There is no getting around this problem nor is there a solution to it. The people are deprived of everything that could bring security to their lives: all they can do is depend on God's mercy or leave for the north. However, travelling to the north requires great financial means for paying the very high rent of homes there, and meeting the cost of living.

If a Christian wishes to rent out his house and leave, the terrorists will force the person renting the house to pay the rent to them, because according to them this house is theirs by right. And, if he dared to sell it they would threaten the person who bought it, so in the end all the money would go to the terrorists.

Here are some examples of people's stories:

A family in the north received a knock at their door at night, and the head of the household went to the door, and found a bird, slain, nailed to the door. The message was clear: you will be slain like this bird.

Saad and Raad, two young men working in the industrial area in Mosul as blacksmiths, used to pay 300,000 Iraqi Dinars a month to the terrorists in order to be spared their lives. This however, in the end, did not prevent them from being killed in their workshop, leaving eleven people unsupported.

A 26-year-old man, who was working in a Mini Market, had his shop entered by terrorists demanding some items. He was fired upon and killed, without warning. This took place in broad daylight in Mosul, at the beginning of this month (December 2010).

Many are thinking of leaving these tragic circumstances, but without any means of doing so. . .

There are many other horrific stories of tragedy, which could fill pages and pages. They tell of terrorism, fear, unbearable living conditions and children being threatened, having their very lives coloured with deep blackness.

Pray with us for them.

Dr Patrick Sookhdeo, international director of Barnabas Aid, called for immediate international intervention to help Iraq's Christians, and for prayer on their behalf:

"This Christmas the Christians in Iraq face an unfolding tragedy. The past seven years of war have seen their community devastated. Now they face a wave of attacks that has reduced many of them not just to abject poverty, but also to terrible fear.

"A senior Iraqi Christian leader recently asked if the time has now come to evacuate the entire Christian community from Iraq. Others have suggested that its only future lies in an independent homeland.

"What is crystal clear is that the international community cannot wash its hands of this beleaguered minority. Intervention must happen urgently. Intervention should be now."

The Bible says that if a man repents of his sin and accepts Christ as his Lord and Saviour, he becomes a new creature. He enters a new kingdom; becomes part of a new family. To be a Christian and to be concerned only about our own natural family and members of our local church will not do. Those who like us have found God's forgiveness are our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Action, please.

Does God answer prayer?

Have you ever prayed and felt like God didn't answer prayer any more? Bill Courtemanche was like that.

He had had a faith as a youngster, but had had a problem with alcohol, and had drifted away. One day a gun went off near his ear. He became completely deaf in one ear and lost 40 per cent of his hearing in the other. He learned to lip read, but still had problems.

He rededicated his life to Christ, and felt his faith had grown strong over the years since. But then there were problems in his local church. A 36-year-old mother died of cancer. Things continued to go wrong.

Bill knelt at the front of the church, pouring out his heart to God. "Lord, what is going on? Why do we have all this suffering? Do you even hear our prayers?" Suddenly he felt a terrible burning in his ears.

"I felt like my head was on fire, like it was about to explode," he said. He went home and slept for a while. When he woke up, the burning and nausea were gone. Then he noticed. After 17 years, he could hear with both ears.

He went to an audiologist, who told him there was nothing wrong with his ears.

You can read the full story here.

Later, Bill's mother was found dead in her bathroom. Paramedics worked on her and took her to hospital, where her heart stopped a second time. She was placed on life support.

Bill sat by her bed, praying for her, reading to her and "doing the things you do when you don't know what to do."

He explained his dilemma to a chaplain. His mother was technically brain dead. He did not want to say yes to removing her life support and let her die, but she was only alive because she was hooked up to machines.

The chaplain said life support machines were man-made and only God could terminate a life. If she was meant to go home she would die, and if she wasn't, she wouldn't.

They fixed Saturday to remove her life support. On Saturday, they told Bill to kiss her goodbye. When he did, she woke up. The doctor said it was a miracle.

It turned out that although she was supposed to be brain dead, she had still managed to hear.

She told Bill "You know the most annoying thing? You know how hard it is to sleep when someone sits there all night reading to you?"

God loves to answer prayer. Don't limit Him.