24-hour drink fuels “massive” crime problem says Cameron (from www.christian.org.uk)

24-hour drink fuels ‘massive’
crime problem says Cameron

Wednesday, 19 August 2009

Conservative Party leader David Cameron has said the availability of cheap alcohol is fuelling crime, and that 24-hour drinking is making the problem worse.

Mr Cameron made the comments after joining police in Hull on a late night patrol to witness the effects of alcohol-related crime.

He blamed the Government’s 2003 Licensing Act for exacerbating the problem, and said “serious changes” were needed if the situation is to improve.

“Drink-related violence and drink-related crime are a massive problem in our country,” he said.

“We need to look at the unbelievable availability of very cheap drink, getting three litres of cider for £1.99, at all hours of day and night.

“We’ve got to do something about this and I’m exploring what we can do to deal with the drink that’s fuelling so much of the crime in our country.”

When the Licensing Act 2003 introduced 24-hour drinking the Government promised it would foster a continental-style café culture.

But police chiefs say the change simply forced alcohol-related incidents further back into the early hours of the morning.

In the first three years after the law came into force public order offences rose by 136 per cent.

Last year a survey by the Local Government Association found that seven in ten police authorities, Primary Care Trusts and councils said 24-hour drinking had increased or failed to change levels of alcohol-related incidents.

The Government has defended the Licensing Act, claiming that it has not led to increased crime and disorder.

But Mr Cameron’s Conservative Party accuse them of being “in denial” about the law’s impact.

School Nurse Dismissed for Smacking Son Loses Appeal (from www.christian.org.uk)

School nurse dismissed for
smacking son, loses appeal

Thursday, 20 August 2009

A woman who was sacked as a school nurse after smacking her child at home has lost a claim for unfair dismissal.

Susan Pope disciplined her son after he swore at her but when his older brother reported it to the police, she was taken into a cell and questioned on abuse charges.

A judge threw out the case against Mrs Pope but her children were nonetheless placed on the Child Protection Register.

Mrs Pope was suspended from her job because the school said it was reluctant to allow unsupervised contact with pupils who might be vulnerable.

Susan Pope was “horrified” at losing her case of unfair dismissal, which came to light only recently.

Mrs Pope’s ordeal began in 2007 when her sons, aged eleven and 16, started misbehaving.

She said “We were having quite serious teenage rebellion problems with our eldest son and our middle son started swearing at me.”

“I warned him that I would smack him and he did not stop swearing at me so, I smacked him.”

When the boys later reported their mother to the police, both Susan and her husband were arrested for abuse and put in a police cell.

Their eldest son, Oliver, has said he was wrong to call the police.

He said: “It made me feel bad about what I did because everyone had to suffer.”

The family are now back living together.

Social services said the parents would not be allowed to see their children, but the ruling was later thrown out by a judge.

However, with the children placed on the Child Protection Register, the school suspended Mrs Pope.

After losing the tribunal case, Mrs Pope said: “I am horrified. I feel let down by the school and social services and now I have been let down by the employment tribunal.

“They wrecked my career. People in social services and others don’t understand that their wild accusations can ruin people’s lives.

“My children are suffering from financial deprivation as a result of this madness. I am doing a shop job and not the professional career I had before.”

Richard O’Hagan, writing for the Daily Mail, said: “She committed no crime and was never even charged with one. The connection between her act and her work appears to be tenuous at best.”

Adrian Davies, the present bursar of Malvern St James, said: “The unanimous judgment of the tribunal to dismiss Mrs Pope’s unfair dismissal claim against Malvern St James is welcome in that it brings to an end a difficult period for both Mrs Pope and the school.”

The Spirit of Life (Rod Parsley)

The Spirit of Life

Monday, 17 August 2009 12:00 AM EDT
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For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. —Romans 8:2

John Lake was a missionary in Central Africa when an epidemic broke out. Thousands of people were dying. One of the doctors sent by the local government asked him what he used to inoculate himself with against the virus.

Lake directed the doctor to put a sample of the living virus under a microscope, and view the masses of living germs. He then took the sample in his hand for a moment and then returned it to the microscope. To the doctor’s amazement the germs were dead.

“That is the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus,” he declared. “As long as I keep my soul in contact with the living God-.-.-.-no germ can attach itself to me. My spirit and body are so filled with the blessed presence of God, it even oozes from my pores.”

The “law of the Spirit of life” is the regulating, activating power, and life of the Holy Spirit that has set us free from the power of sin, hell, and the grave.

Fill me Lord with Your Spirit of life.
Empower me to overcome the
power of sin, hell, and the
grave in Your mighty
Name. Amen.

The Sprinkling of the Blood (by C H Spurgeon)

The Sprinkling Of Blood

by C.H. Spurgeon

“WE ARE COME TO THE blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.”-Hebrews 12:24.

Reader, have you come to the blood of sprinkling? The question is not whether you have come to a knowledge of doctrine, or an observance of ceremonies, or to a certain form of experience, but have you come to the blood of Jesus? The blood of Jesus is the life of all vital godliness. If you have truly come to Jesus, we know how you came-the Holy Spirit sweetly brought you there. You came to the blood of sprinkling with no merits of your own. Guilty, lost, and helpless, you came to take that blood, and that blood alone, as your everlasting hope. You came to the cross of Christ, with a trembling and an aching heart; and oh! what a precious sound it was to you to hear the voice of the blood of Jesus!

The dropping of His blood is as the music of heaven to the penitent sons of earth.

We are full of sin, but the Saviour bids us lift our eyes to Him, and as we gaze upon His streaming wounds, each drop of blood, as it falls, cries, “It is finished; I have made an end of sin; I have brought in everlasting righteousness.”

Oh! sweet language of the precious blood of Jesus! If you have come to that blood once, you will come to it constantly. Your life will be “Looking unto Jesus.” Your whole conduct will be epitomized in this-”To whom coming.” Not to whom I have come, but to whom I am always coming. If thou hast ever come to the blood of sprinkling, thou wilt feel thy need of coming to it every day. He who does not desire to wash in it every day, has never washed in it at all. The believer ever feels it to be his joy and privilege that there is still a fountain opened. Past experiences are doubtful food for Christians; a present coming to Christ alone can give us joy and comfort.

This day let us sprinkle our door-post fresh with blood, and then feast upon the Lamb, assured that the destroying angel must pass us by.

Love The Secret to Your Success (by Gloria Copeland)

Love. You hear heaps about it. But, the reality is, few People actually know what it is. For most, it’s an Emotional ghost that appears then vanishes Without any warning. Illusive. Undefinable. Forever
Sought, but infrequently found.

Even believers seem to be confused about it at Times. But they don’t need to be. The Word of God Discovers obviously what love truly is. Look at two John six : And what this love consists in is this : that we live and walk as agreed by and steered by His commandments ( His orders, ordinances, Precepts, teaching. ) This is the commandment, as You’ve heard from the beginning, that you Continue to walk in love [guided by it and following It] ( The Amplified Bible ).

Quite simply, God claims love is keeping His
Commandments. That brings love out of the indefinite into something explicit. But God has done Even more than outline love for you. He’s’s given you instructions so you can know how To like as he likes. By giving you His Word, God Has given you His love manual in black and white!

All you’ve got to do is follow it, and you’ll be walking In love. If you’ve made Jesus Christ the Lord of your life, You’ve already taken step one of obedience. The love of God has been born inside you. But, Unless you’re taking action, that love will remain hidden Within you. Love works in pretty much the same way as the force of faith. Faith is born into you when you’re begotten Of God, but till you start to act on God’s Word, That powerful force lies dormant. The same is true
Concerning the love of God. You can have the love of God abiding within you and still be unable to allow it to work through you to reach other folks.

Like religion, love becomes active thru data
Of the Word. That’s why the Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Philippi exclaiming, And this I pray, that your love may
Abound yet more and more in data and in all
Judgment ( Philippians nineteen ).

The love of God is released in your life by acting on the knowledge of God’s Word. Without revelation knowledge followed by action, love lies undeveloped And selfishness continues to reign supreme in you even though you’re a new creature.

But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the Love of God perfected : hereby know we that we Are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought Himself also so to walk, even as he walked ( 1 John 2:5-6 ). As you act on God’s Word, the love of God will be Perfected in you. That’s’s when love will begin to Flow from you to others.

About Gloria Copeland

With a passion for Scripture and a determination to see the Church experience freedom and truth, Gloria Copeland has been teaching about the life-changing power of God’s Word for more than 40 years. She’s the founder of Kenneth Copeland Ministriesdeclaring Jesus Is Lord!and writer of several best-selling books, including concealed Treasures and Hearing From Heaven.

Back in the Library!

Had our first regular service in the library today.  Met a new lady who had heard about us from someone who came to the crusade and intends to come regularly, but could not come tonight.

Also another pastor came to hear the Word.  That is a blessing to me when Pastors come because they appreciate what I am preaching.

If you want to hear the sermon or download it on mp3, it is available here.

I just sense we are on the verge of something wonderful.  I am just praying for strength to carry through until it breaks and we see a Spirit-filled Word of Faith multi-ethnic cell church in London and Essex.

Blessings to you all,

Benjamin

Romans 1.7

To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul is the classic preacher – he takes 7 verses to actually get to his introduction. As we have seen, the first 6 verses are packed with revelation and information.

And even Paul’s introduction is packed with revelation.

Do you see where it says “called to be saints”, in the King James Bible that the to be is in italics. This means that it is not in the original Greek: Romans 1.7 says that you are called a saint.

“Called” is the Greek word kletos which literally means “invited to a banquet with the king by the king”. You are invited to a royal dinner – to dine at the king’s table by the living God.

And this is not just any royal dinner: this is a royal dinner for saints. The Greek word for saints is hagios, which means the most holy something can be. You are the most holy place.

In the Old Testament, the presence of God dwelled in the most holy place. Most people realize that the Most Holy Place (the Holy of Holies) was called that because of the presence of God. They realize that God did not look at all the tents in Israel and go: oh, that one is the Holy of Holies that is where I shall live. No – God dwelt there so it was called the Most Holy Place.

Let me say it like this: God didn’t live there because it was holy, it was holy because God lived there.

God does not live inside you because you are holy – you are holy because God lives inside you. In the New Testament you are the most Holy Place, you are the Holy of Holies, you are the temple of God (1 Cor. 6.19). You are called to a royal banquet because you are holy. In fact you are the most Holy. You are where God lives. Now act like it! Now enjoy it! Now love it.

So many Christians are striving to be something they already are! Just relax – God lives in you and you are holy.

The Bible says to be holy as He is holy (1 Peter 1.21). How is God holy? Do you think God gets up every morning and spends time dedicating Himself to holiness and to being good and do you think God does the right thing through gritted teeth or do you think being holy comes naturally to God?

That is how you should be holy – aware that you are holy and just flowing in what you are.

Paul then, after pointing out that we are the most precious thing to God on the planet (holy simply means precious to God, and you are most holy) – then tells us grace and peace to us.

That is an apostolic impartation of grace and peace. Grace is the power of God to work everything positive in your life – health and wealth, joy, love, right relationships, success at work. Receive it now – it is yours. You deserve it – not based on your merit but based on the merit of Christ.

Peace means according to Strong’s: harmony, security, safety, prosperity, felicity. That is yours because of what Christ has done for you. Receive it now – an apostolic impartation of harmony, of security, safety, prosperity and felicity (felicity means great happiness). You do not have to do anything to earn it, because Jesus Christ purchased it for you – all you have to do is believe it is for you and receive it from the living God.

Today is going to be the most secure, most safe, most prosperous and most happy day of your life! Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

Romans 1.6

Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:

This is a great little verse: you are “among whom”. What does that mean? Well, in verse 5, Paul tells that his mission is to go to the nations and bring people to obedience to the faith. In verse 6, Paul tells you that you are in that group of people: you are obedient to the faith.

The Amplified says it like this:

5It is through Him that we have received grace (God’s unmerited favor) and [our] apostleship to promote obedience to the faith and make disciples for His name’s sake among all the nations, 6And this includes you, called of Jesus Christ and invited [as you are] to belong to Him.

So many Christians put themselves outside everything that God is doing.

Pastor Superman can pray for the sick, but that is not me.

Richard Rich can prosper and succeed – but that doesn’t mean me.

Elder Shundai can speak in tongues – but I can’t get the Holy Spirit.

Mrs Loveall can forgive from her heart and enjoy peace and joy – but that doesn’t mean I can.

Other people can live in victory, not me.

But Paul is talking to the church in Rome and he is saying that his mission is to bring people in obedience to faith and make them disciples of Jesus – mountain moving, tongue talking, happy, healthy, wealthy disciples.

I can imagine as this letter was read in Rome, that people would be thinking just what Christians think today: the promises are for someone else, not me.

But then Paul scuppers all their self pity and all their thinking that God loves everyone but them, that God’s goodness is for everyone but them, that the faith life is for everyone but them by saying:

And this includes you.

Think about these powerful words today whenever you think of God’s church walking in victory, enjoying health, wealth, happiness and peace:

And this includes you.

Look at it from some other translations, just to help this truth flood your soul:

And you also are among [them] (NIV)
You are who you are through this gift and call of Jesus Christ! (MESSAGE)
And this includes you (Amplified)
And you are included (NLT)

You are never on the outside looking in – you are integral to what God is doing across the church.

Glory and faith,
Benjamin

Romans 1.5

By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:

Paul is now being fairly personal about his life: from Jesus he received grace and apostleship.

Paul breaks down what Jesus has given him into two categories: grace and apostleship.

Grace is what Jesus gives to everybody – of his grace we have all received (John 1.16). When Paul talks about receiving grace He means receiving the grace that we all have access to in Him.

Grace means something you are given that you do not deserve. When we are talking about Jesus, His grace is where He gives you what you do not deserve due to His redemptive work. You deserved poverty, but He gave you riches (2 Cor. 9.8). You deserved sickness, but He healed you (Matthew 8.14-16). You deserved death and hell, but He gave you eternal life (Romans 6.23).

Apostleship is what Jesus gave to Paul only – He gave some apostles (Ephesians 4.11). This represents what Jesus gives us as individuals as our destiny – the anointings and giftings that help us assume our place in the body and fulfill our destiny. You are probably not an apostle, but you are a somebody with a destiny and with a special gift from God that no-one else has.

Can you see how wonderful this is? Jesus gives us grace – all the stuff that everyone gets, and then Jesus gives us an equipping, a mantle, a revelation, a gift that is just for us to fulfill our ministry. He is such a good God.

I have received from Christ grace and teachingship. I have got all the stuff every Christian has – health, wealth, righteousness, peace, joy; and I have some stuff only I have – the ability to expound the Word in a way that makes people think and changes lifes, the ability to release people into their destiny, and the ability to refresh an entire church at once through my words.

You have the stuff we all have, and you have stuff only you have. You should know what both those stuffs are. You should be operating in both the stuffs.

However, confusing these two things up: the general grace and the specific gifts of your destiny leads to many Christians leaving stagnant lifes.

I lay hands on the sick and see them recover not because I am a minister but because I am a believer (Mark 16.17). Many believers will never minister healing because they think it goes in the specific gifting category and never realize it is for EVERY Christian. I have been to churches that teach that speaking in tongues is only for some Christians, when it is available for all.

On the other hand, some Christians think they can be a prophet or teacher if they believe and receive. You can only believe and receive what is in the general grace, not what is a specific gift. You cannot make God make you a teacher or a prophet or an apostle. You cannot confess that you are an apostle and make it so. You cannot teach like me – just like I cannot do what you do the way you do it.

You can believe and receive for your healing because that is grace. You cannot believe and receive for an office and role in the body of Christ – you can only discover your office, not decide it.

Notice that Paul’s grace and apostleship (just like your grace and destiny) were not for him to strut about and boast, were not for goosebumps, were not for laughing and happy meetings – no, they were for obedience to faith among all nations. God has given you grace and a destiny for a reason: to make the nations obey the Word. Whatever God has given you to do, go and take that gift to the nations and convince them to obey the Word.

If you do not know your destiny, don’t sit on your backside waiting for God to write on your wall. Go and use your grace and take that to the nation. Paul was called to be an apostle when he was already preaching the gospel to the nations. If you want to know your calling, start doing the stuff every Christian is expected to do: go and heal the sick, cast out demons, preach the gospel and raise the dead. Speak in new tongues, preach the gospel, make disciples of all nations. As you go, God will reveal His specific plans to you.

But don’t expect God to reveal His specific orders to someone not obeying His standing orders!

God has a destiny for you impact the world and glorify His name. If you want to know what it is, start doing all the stuff that you know to do from the Word.

Then you will know that you have grace and a destiny. You too can say with Paul:

By whom I have received grace and [my destiny], for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:

Tame the Beast, or it Will Kill You (Ray Comfort)

Tame the Beast, or it Will Kill You – Ray Comfort

“Ray, if my kid gets sick should I take him to the doctors? Or would that be interfering with the work of your God in his life?” Rauol Rheits

It was the wisdom of Solomon that said that a merry heart does good “like a medicine” (see Proverbs 17:22). So medicines are good.

Here’s what we would do when our kids were young and became sick. We would pray for them, and take them to the doctor if it was more than a minor complaint. If the doctor saw fit to put him in the hospital, we would pray even more–that God would give wisdom to the doctors, because hospitals have become very dangerous places. Around 40,000 people die on roads in the United States each year. However, a massive 200,000 people die in hospitals because of medical mistakes and infections. That means that in ten years two million people die while in the care of our medical professionals. That’s frightening.

One way to keep out of hospitals is to control our appetite (see Proverbs 23:2), to cultivate the virtue of self control (see 2 Peter 1:5-7). There are many serious complications and terrible diseases that result in an untimely death, that come with obesity. An incredible 58 million Americans are overweight, while 40 million are obese, and three million morbidly obese. No wonder our health care system is overloaded.

By the way, obesity is not caused genetically as some maintain. Neither is it a disease (although some medical conditions cause weight gain). When the Americans liberated those who were in concentration camps in 1945, there were no obese people. They were all skinny. Obesity is caused by self-indulgence–by eating too much food or by eating the wrong food. A good rule to live by for healthy living, is: “If God created it (vegetables, fruit, etc.), eat it. If man has messed with it, read the label, carefully.”

Another key to staying out of hospitals is to realize that you should cleanse yourself (particularly your hands) under running water, to keep free from diseases. This is what the Bible instructed the Jews to do thousands of years before science discovered its importance (see Leviticus 15:13). It’s God’s instruction book on how to live this life, and how to get to the next. Don’t ignore it.

The Pleasures of Sin

“Regardless of whether you believe Jesus or you believe Ray, people who had never heard the gospel are burning in Hell [and] that makes your God evil.” Ryk

You are presuming that people go to Hell because they have never heard the gospel, and then, upon that erroneous presumption, say, “Therefore God is unjust.” However, people go to Hell for murder, rape, adultery, lying, stealing, hatred, evil imaginations, blasphemy, etc. God owes no one mercy. All He owes us in justice. Equity is His moral obligation.

Like most atheists, you have a wrong understanding of the nature of God. This is because atheists create a god who has no sense of right or wrong, justice or truth. Their god is an unloving and merciless tyrant. But (as I have said many times) the concept of the god they don’t believe in, doesn’t exist. He is a figment of their imagination (the place of imagery). The creation of a false god is called “idolatry,” and it’s a violation of the First and the Second of the Ten Commandments.

There is a short-term payoff with idolatry. Not only can you spit out blasphemy against God and feel justified, but it also gives you a temporary license to sin your heart out without any fear of having to answer to Him for your actions. Idolatry opens wide the door to the joys of pornography, fornication, lust, adultery and any other darling sin you wish to name. There is short term pleasure, but an eternal consequences. However, that is your choice. It’s not mine, and because I care about you I will do all I can to warn you that you will eternally regret your decision.

Look at what the Bible says about Moses and the joys of sin:

“By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward” (Hebrews 11:24-26).

You have that same choice. You can enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, or

It’s a Bit of a Gamble…

“Repent of your sins and accept Jesus! As long as you do it before you die you should be fine, so have fun while you’re young and become saved later in life. It’s a bit of a gamble, but then again so is choosing from the thousands of religions that say they are right. Christianity, the religion that allows you to live your life however you want and get saved right before dying, it’s awesome!” Nathan

These are the words of someone who is deluded enough into thinking that God is a fool. He thinks that he will play the ultimate bait and switch. However, death-bed conversions are few and far between. More than 40,000 people are killed each year in car accidents. I wonder how many thought that they would have an opportunity to give God their leftovers, but didn’t, and instead will be justly damned for their sins. Those who think that they can fool God should read the last verses of Matthew 23, and see the fate of all who suffer from the same delusion.

My guess (from the language you use) is that you have been duped by those who think that becoming a Christian is a matter of “accepting Jesus.” Neither does salvation come from “asking Jesus into your heart.” You won’t find either of those two popular phrases in the Bible. Salvation comes though repentance and trust in Jesus alone. No other way.

Keep in mind that in the next 24 hours 150,000 people (many of whom were planning for a future on earth) are going to pass into eternity. Today may be the day God loses patience with you (see Luke 12:20). Please, make sure it doesn’t come to that.

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By Ray Comfort

Email: email@livingwaters.com

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