Wars and Rumours of Wars

This year commemorates the centenary of World War 1, which began on July 28^th. 1914 and ended on November 11th 1918.  Wikipedia says ‘In the United Kingdom, the Imperial War Museum is leading a national programme of commemorative events and is planning new galleries for the occasion In May 2010 the museum launched its First World War Centenary Partnership Programme. Partner organisations receive access to IWM collections objects and expertise, and to digital resources, branding and a collaborative extranet. By November 2011, 330 national and international organisations had become partners.The museum will also open a new permanent First World War exhibition at its London branch, as part of a £35 million redevelopment of the building. In November 2011 it was announced that Prime Minister David Cameron had appointed Andrew Murrison MP as his special representative for First World War centenary commemorations.^[On 11 October 2012, Cameron announced £50 million to fund national centenary commemorations. The anniversaries of Britain's declaration of war on Germany, the opening of the Battle of the Somme, the Battle of Jutland, and the November 1918 Armistice will be marked by national commemorations. The redevelopment of the Imperial War Museum, where Cameron delivered his speech, will be supported by an additional £5 million. A further £5.3 million will fund visits to Western Front battlefields by pupils from English schools. The Heritage Lottery Fund will provide £15 million to community projects, led by young people, to conserve local heritage associated with the war. In addition the preservation of the former Royal Navy light cruiser HMS Caroline, which served at the Battle of Jutland, will be supported by a grant of up to a million pounds.The Heritage Lottery Fund is providing funding to educational projects in fields such as local history, online access to museums and archives, youth heritage projects, family history, the preservation of war memorials, and the conservation of historic artefacts.

The BBC is planning a First World War centenary season of around 2,500 hours of television, radio and online programming over four years. The programming will include documentaries, drama, arts and music, commemorative programmes and programmes for children and schools.’

World War 11 began in September 1939 when Germany invaded Poland. Hitler’s scheme was to defeat all the European countries and Russia, then with Italy and Japan as Axis power, to conquer the Middle East and the Far East. His big mistake was the Hollocaust, to kill all Jews, this was the root of his downfall and ultimate death in Berlin. It is said that he was responsible for the death of six million Jews, one and a half million of them were children. The manner by which many of those people died was horrific, the concentration camps and gas chambers were of hellish proportions.

God said to Abraham in Genesis 12:2, “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” When Cain murdered his brother Abel and God pronounced His jugement upon him, he said, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.” To be banished from the presence of God in Hell for all eternity would be unbearable, Hitler’s millions of murders would take him to the lowest Hell, for ever and ever.

On July 17^th. all 298 people on board a Malaysia Airlines plane, Flight MH17 died, after the airliner crashed in eastern Ukraine, close to the border with Russia. Eighty of those that died were children. It is alleged that it was shot down by rockets fired from within Russia. Whoever is responsible for this act of violence against a civillian aircraft, jugement should fall upon the hand/s of those responsible, as it.is nothing less than an act of war. This was not an act of agression of one sovereign state aginst another sovereign state, it was one sovereign state aginst people from international countries. There can be no excuse for this criminal action for it could trigger World War 111? Those aggresors should be tried at the Hague and face the appropriate punishment. Malaysia Airlines must wonder if they are being targetted  having lost Flight MH 370 in March over the Indian Ocean.

Matthew 24:3 reads, “And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.”  The end of the world does not mean the end of the planet earth, the word ‘world’ is ‘aion’ which means ‘age’. Jesus told His disciples what the conditions in the world would be just prior to His return to earth to reign for a thousand years as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, a wonderful new age where peace reigns.

Will you be there in that coming kingdom on earth? Remember what Jesus said to Nicodemas in John 3:3, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”  And again in v.7, “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.” The moment a soul repents to God, confessing their sin and believes that Christ died for them on the cross to obtain their salvation, that soul is saved, they are born again. Can I ask you? Are you born again? If not, WHY NOT?

Be saved! Stop warring against God and let the peace of God rule in your heart. “He has made peace through the blood of His cross”  Trust Him now with your soul, ask Christ to save you, and may the Lord bless you.

Written by a guest blogger for FTMP. 

Please visit www.seekthetruth.org.uk for more information. 

Business on the Up!

The Retail Think Tank produced this on-line report about the health of the UK’s retail business. 

“The health of UK retail has shown some signs of improvement over the past quarter and the outlook is looking more encouraging than it has done for some time, particularly as the nation heads into the Christmas season feeling better about itself.  

Following its quarterly meeting in October, the KPMG/Ipsos Retail Think Tank (RTT) upgraded its Retail Health Index to 79 and its panel of retail experts forecasted that this could improve to 81 in quarter four.  This would not only mark the highest level since Quarter Three 2011, but the strongest quarter-on-quarter leap for four years. 

Two of the three key drivers of retail health – demand and margin - were more positive in quarter three than in the previous quarter, and cost factors over the period were largely neutral. It is the first time for three years that both demand and margins have contributed positively to the improvement of retail health….The RTT predicts an even more promising outlook for UK retail over the next quarter, not only because it’s the Christmas trading period; consumer confidence appears to be on the increase, the housing market is more buoyant and economic conditions are generally improving.   

One important consequence, the RTT believes, is that as people become less nervous at losing their jobs and interest rates remain low, they are less intent on saving and becoming more comfortable to spend. And if people do start shopping more, they may be inclined to ‘trade up’ to premium goods, particularly over Christmas.”

The UK’s economy having experienced a double-dip recession plunged many a business into an unhealthy state, so this news from the RTT will put some colour back into the cheeks of boardroom members, and brighten the eyes of their shareholders.

People generally are feeling upbeat about their job security and prospects and are more confident to spend some of their disposable income instead of saving it for a time of possible unemployment.

The construction industry is often first to feel the effects of recession and last to benefit from any recovery, so it is good to hear that business is on the up in that sector with contracts being placed that previously had been put on hold until better days.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Jesus told a parable about a farmer whose business was on the up. Luke 12:16 reads, “The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:  And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”  

His business plan would have pleased any bank-manager; he was an expansionist and was prepared to invest his potential profits in building new bigger barns. The man may have been good with numbers but he made the great error of neglecting No.1. Many years ago when I was trading as a small jobbing builder, I was a bit run-down and consulted my doctor. He advised me to ease up, saying, “You are your most important asset in your business”. I never forgot that! In my case it was physical and temporary, but in the farmers case it was terminal and spiritual, it concerned his soul.

There is a great danger in making provision for the body and neglecting the soul, the body is not permanent but the soul is.  The big question is - Where will one’s soul be in eternity? A bank-manager might have considered the farmer’s business plan as prudent, but the Lord said that he was a fool to go after the transitory material things at the expense of his soul’s eternal need. What about you my dear reader? A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. ‘To lose one’s wealth is much, to lose one’s health is more, to lose one’s soul in Hell is such that nothing can restore.’

When Christ was born, the Inn Keeper at Bethlehem must have thought that his business was on the up when Caesar commissioned a census and taxation of everyone in the known world. It meant for him that Bethlehem would be inundated with people needing accommodation, and he was right. When the time came every room in his establishment was booked solid, business was booming. To be confronted by a young couple seeking a room, and her being heavily pregnant was something he could do without. There was no consideration on his part about Mary’s condition, no compassion to move him to offer his room for the birth of the Son of God. 

One might say that he did not know, he was ignorant about Micah 5:2, “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”  

The Inn Keeper missed his opportunity to be involved in the birth of Jesus, for him, the outside place of a stable would be his level of interest in this amazing event of the incarnation of the Son of God.

In 1878 Daniel Whittle adapted the hymn, ‘Have you any room for Jesus’, one verse reads 

Room for pleasure, room for business, 

But for Christ the crucified, 

Not a place that He could enter, 

In the Heart for which He died.

The busyness of business, whether on the up, or on the down, can rob a person of the most important decision that a person has to face, that of, what shall I do with Jesus which is called the Christ?

Why not put the Lord in the first place in your life this Christmas, no longer outside but inside directing the future path of your life, and say with Paul, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain”. 

The life will be altogether on the up!

Written by a Guest Blogger for FTMP.