Clarkson 'must go' after racism ruling, Daily Express

Regulator Ofcom found the BBC breached the broadcasting code when Clarkson used a derogatory term for people of Asian descent in a Top Gear show filmed in Burma and screened in March.

Lawyers for complainant Somi Guha, an Asian-born actress, said Clarkson should be fired.

Lawrence Davies, of law firm Equal Justice, yesterday said: “When it comes to racism, Clarkson is a serial offender. He is already on a final written warning and must be immediately disciplined.”

Three months ago Clarkson was given a final warning by the BBC for apparently using the “n-word” in unaired Top Gear footage.

Read more here:

Read more about Somi Guha

Read more about Equal Justice

 Comment:

 Although we all know that Jeremy Clarkson and his fellow presenters, James May and Richard Hammond can say some stupid and ill-thought out  remakes, and due to unscrupulous lawyers and people who believe that they should receive compensation for “ perceived “  insults will always take advantage hoping for the big payout

Words for the Wise, The Christian's Status, We are Complete in Christ. Colossians 2

Colossians 2 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

You Are Built Up in Christ

2 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at Laodicea, and for all those who have not [a]personally seen my face, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth [b]that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument. 5 For even though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing [c]to see [d]your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ.

6 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so [e]walk in Him, 7 having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established [f]in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing [g]with gratitude.

8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, [h]rather than according to Christ. 9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, 10 and in Him you have been made [i]complete, and He is the head [j]over all rule and authority; 11 and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; 12 having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 When you were dead [k]in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, 14 having cancelled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 When He had [l]disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through [m]Him.

16 Therefore no one is to [n]act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath [o]day— 17 things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the [p]substance [q]belongs to Christ. 18 Let no one keep [r]defrauding you of your prize by delighting in [s]self-abasement and the worship of the angels, [t]taking his stand on visions he has seen, [u]inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, 19 and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and [v]ligaments, grows with a growth [w]which is from God.

20 If you have died with Christ [x]to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, 21 “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” 22 (which all refer to things destined to perish [y]with use)—in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? 23 These are matters which have, to be sure, the [z]appearance of wisdom in [aa]self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.

Colossians 2

V 1–5: ENCOURAGED Paul wants to encourage the hearts both of the Colossians and the Laodiceans so that each fellowship of Christians will increase in love to one another, with assurance and understanding of God’s message. That assurance concerns what God has done in Christ, and is the basis of all our wisdom and knowledge. His ‘great conflict’ is his concern that they should not be deceived by anybody. He encourages them by rejoicing at their good order and their steadfast faith in the Lord Jesus

. V 6–7: ESTABLISHED His desire is to see them established like a well-rooted tree or a building with good foundations. As they have received Christ, so they must walk in Him with faith and thanksgiving.

V 8–10: EMPTINESS People seeking to persuade them through worldly philosophy and deceit are empty and have nothing to offer from this world. It is only in Jesus Christ that all the Godhead dwells bodily and therefore it is only in Him that each Christian is complete. Jesus is over all and more powerful than all.

V 11–19: EMANCIPATED Christ has put off the sins of those who trust in Him, by spiritual circumcision. Baptism reminds them of a new life through death to the old sinful life and benefiting from the eternal life given by the resurrected Christ. There is no power in claiming that they must now keep to man-made ordinances. They have been emancipated from that by the risen Christ. Thus man-made laws are not to enslave them, whether in the form of dietary laws, man-made festivals, or additional sabbath days. Any man-made system of worship, including angel worship, comes from false humility and a proud mind. Our freedom depends upon being under the headship of Christ, over the body of the church. Each Christian is part of that body and takes his directions from Christ.

 V 20–23: EXHORTED Paul now exhorts the Colossians to avoid legalistic man-made rules which will perish along with every other man-made commandment and teaching. They may have an attraction of organised religion, false humility, and abstaining from things, but can do nothing to forgive sins or combat the inward pull of the old nature. Only Christ can do that.

Yours in His Christ

Because of His Mercy

Blair Humphreys

29th July 2014

'Homes for votes deal in council election fix': Petition claims polling for mayor in London's Tower Hamlets was fraudulent. Daily Mail

Mayor Lutfur Rahman

  Islamic voters allegedly told to be 'good Muslims' by electing Lutfur Rahman

  His supporters handed out lollipops to the children of voters, it is claimed

  Mr Rahman, serving a second term as borough mayor, won by 3,000 votes

Voters were promised council houses if they re-elected their mayor, a court heard yesterday.

Islamic sections of the electorate were told they should be ‘good Muslims’ by voting for Mayor Lutfur Rahman, it was said.

In a further bid to win votes, supporters of Mr Rahman allegedly handed out lollipops to the children of voters in Tower Hamlets, East London.

A petition brought before the High Court claims the re-election of the mayor in May was fraudulent ‘in a variety of forms’.

It alleges that council officers were bullied into ‘securing a certain number of votes’ and were threatened with the sack if they refused.

Read more here:

Further reading

His memoirs, serialised in the Mail, convulsed Westminster. Now Gordon Brown's spin doctor gives his withering verdict on the two Eds: Paranoid, confused, and their policies are a great, steaming pile of fudge Daily Mail

Ed Miliband and Ed Balls.

  Damian McBride claims Miliband and Balls run 'dysfunctional' Labour Party

  They're confused, lacking clear policies and a target audience, he claims 

  Says Labour could win by treating election like a Gordon Brown-era Budget 

Just nine months before the next General Election, the Labour Party has no positive messages to communicate to anyone about why they should vote for them. It has no policies which will persuade them, and no clear idea who its target audience is. And it’s being run in a totally dysfunctional way.

So how do the two Eds - Miliband and Balls - do it? How do they overcome historical precedent, a hostile media, a sceptical public and a nervous Party, and return Labour to power in 2015?

To my mind, it’s simple: the two Eds have to stop thinking of next year in terms of an election, and start thinking of it like one of those Gordon Brown Budgets they used to work on together.

I cannot recall one Labour policy announcement over the past year that performs those feats. Ed Miliband’s measures - rent controls or an energy price freeze - are usually populist enough but rarely stand up to scrutiny. Ed Balls’ announcements (such as his national infrastructure commission) usually pass the FT test but go entirely unnoticed in the pub.

Read more here:

Further Reading here:

Parking cowboys hit cancer victims: Now scandal of 'disgraceful' fines spreads to NHS hospitals Daily Mail

A legitimate Penalty Charge Notice: Rogue parking firms hand out cynically similar 'Parking Charge Notices' which do not have the same standing as official fines, but are followed up with letters threatening court action

  Rogue wardens have allegedly been told to focus efforts on cancer wards 

  Whistleblower claims he was told to 'give tickets regardless of any illness'

  Politicians and campaigners call for crackdown on rogue parking firms

Cancer patients undergoing life-saving chemotherapy are being targeted by ‘cowboy’ parking squads at NHS hospitals, it was claimed last night.

Rogue wardens working on hospital grounds have allegedly been ordered to focus on cancer wards because patients are likely to be distracted – and therefore late returning to their cars.

Hospitals were last night accused of encouraging the ‘disgraceful’ tactic, with some trusts even taking a cut of up to 10 per cent of the parking firms’ huge profits.

Read more here:

Follow this link for a similar story

Further Reading

 

'No clear idea' and a 'steaming pile of fudge': Ed Miliband under extraordinary attack from Gordon Brown's key aide who warns Labour election plan is 'totally dysfunctional' Daily Mail

Ed Miliband

·        Labour leader failing to communicate with voters, Damian McBride claims

·        Former spin doctor says Mr Miliband has no persuasive policies

·        Also attacked Labour's refusal to apologise for its record in office

·        Today's attack comes in updated version of McBride's tell-all memoirs

·        He was spin doctor for Gordon Brown but quit over a plot to smear Tories

  Ed Miliband’s ‘totally dysfunctional’ leadership tonight comes under extraordinary attack from former Labour spin doctor Damian McBride.

In an updated version of his sensational tell-all memoirs, Mr McBride warns Labour has ‘no clear idea’ of who it is trying to appeal to and a ‘great, steaming pile of fudge’ instead of key policies.

He says Mr Miliband, with whom he worked for years in the Treasury, has ‘managed to blend the worst of Tony Blair’s “me against the world” isolation with the worst of Gordon Brown’s “they’re out to get me” paranoia.’

In an apparent swipe at Ed Balls, another former ally, he says Labour has yet to persuade voters that ‘we’ve learnt our lesson’ by admitting where ‘the last government screwed up’.

The shadow Chancellor has resisted all advice to concede Labour’s mistakes during its 13 years in power.

Mr McBride concludes: ‘Labour currently has no clear idea who its target audience is, no positive messages to communicate to anyone about why they should vote for the party, no policies which will persuade them, and is being run in a totally dysfunctional way.’

Read more here:

'Most people are worse off under the Tories': Britons have experienced their biggest fall in earnings since 1874, claims Labour's Ed Balls

Labour revives plans for 15% death tax for estates of the deceased, provoking outcry from Tories who claim 'pensioners deserve better' 

'Thought Police' Target NFL Super Bowl-Winning Coach for 'Intolerance', Charisma Magazine

Tony Dungy.

Former Super Bowl-winning coach and current NBC football analyst Tony Dungy became the latest target for the "Thought Police" last week, when he said he wouldn't have drafted openly gay player Michael Sam because of the distractions it would cause for the team.

Said Dungy, "I wouldn't have [drafted] him. Not because I don't believe Michael Sam should have a chance to play, but I wouldn't want to deal with all of it. It's not going to be totally smooth ... things will happen."

And for his innocuous comments, Dungy was dubbed the "World's Worst Person in Sports" by ESPN's Keith Olbermann, and other swift attacks on Dungy came from all over.

Read more here

Further Reading

Equal Marriage,  Just plain wrong

What we talk about when we talk about evangelism, Christian Today, Justin Welby

Evangelism is such a word. For Christians, it's the name for an activity that some love and others hate – it's a passion for some and an embarrassment for others. For non-Christians, it's a word that can send them running to the hills, feeling they are in danger of having something 'done' to them. (I wonder which of these descriptions fits you – and what you've experienced in the name of evangelism to make you feel this way?)

Given all this controversy around the word, it was no surprise that when, on taking office last year, I declared evangelism as one of the three priorities for my ministry.  Some people thought I was profoundly misguided, while others jumped for joy.

However, it's my belief that if only we truly 'got' evangelism, we, the Church would live to show what it meant. And to 'get' it means to receive it, and to give it. Continually. And if we lived what we spoke of, and spoke of what we lived, no-one would have to point at the Church and wonder what it was for.

Please click here to read more:

Further Reading

                    1)     Kingdom Evangelism

2)   The Church, God’s Agent of Transformation

3)    Some thoughts on Evangelism and Mission

                    4) A View on the Church

Universalism Is Next for the Soft Love Crowd

Universalism Is Next for the Soft Love Crowd

According to Steve Chalke, the traditional teaching of God's wrath being poured out on His Son on the cross "stands in total contradiction to the statement 'God is love.'"

But couldn't it be just as easily argued that any type of future punishment for the lost, especially if it does not result in their ultimate salvation, "stands in total contradiction to the statement 'God is love'"?

After all, why would a loving God punish someone or judge someone when there's no hope of their redemption? Wouldn't that be utterly cruel?

And what about all the nice people who don't believe just as we do? Are they eternally lost? And let's not forget all the "gay Christians" (by which I mean those who claim to follow Jesus and practice homosexuality at the same time). Surely a loving God would not condemn nice people like them.

Make Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson gay lovers, fans urge BBC , Daily Mail

• 
• 
  
• ·         Co-creator Mark Gatiss admitted receiving explicit plotlines and drawings
• 
  
  ·        It comes ahead of the release of series four, which is due late next year
  
  
  ·        Landlady Mrs Hudson often makes references about the pair's sexuality
  
  
  ·        Gatiss says they took inspiration from Billy Wilder's 1970s film on detective
  
  
  The creator of BBC TV series Sherlock has been inundated with fan mail urging him to make the detective and Dr Watson gay lovers.
  
  
  Mark Gatiss admitted he had been overwhelmed with explicit drawings and plotline ideas ahead of the new series starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, due late next year.
  
  
  It follows a running joke in the show which hints the pair might be closer than friends, especially by landlady Mrs Hudson, played by Una Stubbs, 77, who often makes references to their sexuality.
  
  
  Read more here
  
  
  Further reading

Words for the Wise, Jesus Teaches at the Feast. John 7 Nasb

John 7 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Jesus Teaches at the Feast

7 After these things Jesus was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him. 2 Now the feast of the Jews, the Feast of Booths, was near. 3 Therefore His brothers said to Him, “Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples also may see Your works which You are doing. 4 For no one does anything in secret [a]when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” 5 For not even His brothers were believing in Him. 6 So Jesus *said to them, “My time is not yet here, but your time is always opportune. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil. 8 Go up to the feast yourselves; I do not go up to this feast because My time has not yet fully come.” 9 Having said these things to them, He stayed in Galilee.

10 But when His brothers had gone up to the feast, then He Himself also went up, not publicly, but as if, in secret. 11 So the Jews were seeking Him at the feast and were saying, “Where is He?” 12 There was much grumbling among the crowds concerning Him; some were saying, “He is a good man”; others were saying, “No, on the contrary, He leads the people astray.” 13 Yet no one was speaking openly of Him for fear of the Jews.

14 But when it was now the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and began to teach. 15 The Jews then were astonished, saying, “How has this man become learned, having never been educated?” 16 So Jesus answered them and said, “My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me. 17 If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself. 18 He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

19 “Did not Moses give you the Law, and yet none of you carries out the Law? Why do you seek to kill Me?” 20 The crowd answered, “You have a demon! Who seeks to kill You?” 21 Jesus answered them, “I did one [b]deed, and you all marvel. 22 For this reason Moses has given you circumcision (not because it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and on the Sabbath you circumcise a man. 23 If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath so that the Law of Moses will not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made an entire man well on the Sabbath? 24 Do not judge according to appearance, but [c]judge with righteous judgment.”

25 So some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, “Is this not the man whom they are seeking to kill? 26 Look, He is speaking publicly, and they are saying nothing to Him. The rulers do not really know that this is [d]the Christ, do they? 27 However, we know where this man is from; but whenever the Christ may come, no one knows where He is from.” 28 Then Jesus cried out in the temple, teaching and saying, “You both know Me and know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know. 29 I know Him, because I am from Him, and He sent Me.” 30 So they were seeking to seize Him; and no man laid his hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come. 31 But many of the crowd believed in Him; and they were saying, “When [e]the Christ comes, He will not perform more [f]signs than those which this man has, will He?”

32 The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about Him, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers to seize Him. 33 Therefore Jesus said, “For a little while longer I am with you, then I go to Him who sent Me. 34 You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come.” 35 The Jews then said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find Him? He is not intending to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks, is He? 36 What is this statement that He said, ‘You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come’?”

37 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “[g]If anyone is thirsty, [h]let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From [i]his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Division of People over Jesus

40 Some of the people therefore, when they heard these words, were saying, “This certainly is the Prophet.” 41 Others were saying, “This is [j]the Christ.” Still others were saying, “Surely [k]the Christ is not going to come from Galilee, is He? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the descendants of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” 43 So a division occurred in the crowd because of Him. 44 Some of them wanted to seize Him, but no one laid hands on Him.

45 The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, “Why did you not bring Him?” 46 The officers answered, “Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks.” 47 The Pharisees then answered them, “You have not also been led astray, have you? 48 No one of the rulers or Pharisees has believed in Him, has he? 49 But this crowd which does not know the Law is accursed.” 50 Nicodemus (he who came to Him before, being one of them) *said to them, 51 “Our Law does not judge a man unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing, does it?” 52 They answered him, “You are not also from Galilee, are you? Search, and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee.” 53 [[l]Everyone went to his home.

The Bible Panorama

John 7

V 1–5: REJECTION BY RELATIONS Jesus stays in Galilee, rather than going to Judea. His half-brothers advise Him to go from Galilee to Judea for the Feast of Tabernacles. They challenge Him to do His miracles openly. They do not believe in Him yet, though later they will.

 V 6–13: SENSITIVITY ABOUT SECRECY Jesus knows that if He goes publicly to Judea now, He will unnecessarily speed up the opposition against Him, and He knows that this is not yet the right time for Him to die. He remains in a world that hates Him, because of His testimony about the evil within it. Many want to kill Him. So He goes in secrecy and indeed there is a lot of complaining and mixed opinion about Him. Misunderstanding and murmuring is rife. Fear of the Jews silences those who would like to commend Him.

 V 14–24: TEACHING IN TEMPLE At the middle of the feast, Jesus goes public by teaching in the temple. The Jews cannot understand the source of His teaching. He declares that His doctrine is from God. He asks why they want to kill Him. They respond that this is not so and that He is demon-possessed. He shows the inconsistent hypocrisy of their agreeing to circumcise on the Sabbath, while judging Him for making someone well on the Sabbath. He accuses them of not judging righteously and only with regard to external appearance.

 V 25–31: DIRECTNESS ABOUT DEITY Debate is on every hand about who Jesus is. Some conclude from the rulers’ public silence that they agree that He is the Christ. Jesus makes His claim to Deity clear by saying that He comes from God and has been sent by God. Some seek to kill Him but are unable to do so, because His time has not yet come. Many believe on Him, reasoning that Christ would not do more signs than Jesus has done.

 V 32–36: MURMURING AND MISUNDERSTANDING The Pharisees hear the murmuring of the crowd and, with the chief priest, send officers to take Him. He tells them that He is going to go to God. Although they will seek Him, they will be unable to find Him or to follow Him. The Jews misunderstand His statement and wonder if He is going to go to the Greeks.

V 37–39: GIFT AFTER GLORIFICATION Jesus promises the gift of the Holy Spirit, as rivers of living water, to those who will believe in Him. The Holy Spirit will be given to believers after Jesus has been glorified.

V 40–44: IGNORANT OF IDENTITY Opinions are divided as to the identity of Jesus Christ. Many ignorantly say that if Jesus really is the Christ, He would have come from Bethlehem! They seem ignorant of the fact that Bethlehem is the birthplace of Jesus! Yet again, those wanting to take Him are unable to do so.

V 45–53: CONFUSION ABOUT CHRIST The confusion continues about the identity of Jesus Christ. The officers tell the chief priest and the Pharisees that no one ever spoke like Jesus. The Pharisees criticise them and the crowd. Nicodemus, who earlier came to Jesus by night, tells them that a man should be heard and the facts looked at before he is judged. At this stage their opposition is rationalised because they say that Jesus came from Galilee. They argue that therefore Jesus cannot be a true prophet. They do not realise that Jesus came from Bethlehem, not Galilee, and in any case prophets did come from Galilee, including Jonah and Nahum! Biased opposition seldom stops to look at the facts!

(There is debate whether chapter 7, verse 53 to chapter 8 verse 11 is in the best original manuscripts. As with the very few other occasions where differences of opinion arise concerning the content of the original manuscripts, no doctrine is taken away or added to by the inclusion or exclusion of the particular passage, because God’s Word stands as a whole. It is also true that, after further research, some previously doubted passages are now again given greater credibility than formerly, and we have to be careful not to jump to wrong conclusions. These notes continue as if the passage is in the original.)

From tubby smoker to record-breaking runner: Former 20-a-day man Steve Way finishes 10th in Commonwealth Games marathon, breaking 35-year British record Daily Mail

Steve Way.

  Way finished 10th for England in the marathon at Glasgow 2014 

  He promised to celebrate with his first pint of lager in three months

  Shortly after the race he tweeted with the hashtag #BestDayEver

  He once weighed more than 16st and smoked 20 cigarettes a day

  He changed his lifestyle and now runs 130 miles a week

  The 40-year was the fourth man home at the London marathon

Seven years ago, he was an overweight smoker who feasted on chocolate and takeaways.

But yesterday, Steve Way finished tenth in the Commonwealth Games marathon, breaking a 35-year-old  British record. And the 40-year-old  celebrated his feat by drinking his first pint of lager for three months.

The bank worker finished in two hours, 15 minutes and 16 seconds, beating Ron Hill’s 1979 best for the over-40s. Mr Way, from Bournemouth, weighed sixteen and a half stone and smoked 20 cigarettes a day when he decided to get fit at the age of 33.

Read more on this Inspirational Story

Views, Visions and Values.: To boldly go, where no-one has gone before !

Views, Visions and Values.: To boldly go, where no-one has gone before !: When I was growing up, my parents and grandparents would take me and my two sisters on holidays to Ifracombe on the North Devon ...



Some of us in coming days, He will ask to be Pioneers, and to go where no-one has gone before or for some time, to break into new territory or to go and re-claim territory. I'm now going to share some Scriptures with you, and my Prayer is that God will use these Scriptures to challenge you for the first time or to challenge for you for the thousandth time, and follow his direction, which will not only impact your own live, but impact the lives of others, those who is sending you to.

God’s Purpose or Mine? My Uttermost for His Highest Oswald Chambers, Daily Devotionals

Oswald Chambers

God’s Purpose or Mine?

He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side . . . —Mark 6:45

We tend to think that if Jesus Christ compels us to do something and we are obedient to Him, He will lead us to great success. We should never have the thought that our dreams of success are God’s purpose for us. In fact, His purpose may be exactly the opposite. We have the idea that God is leading us toward a particular end or a desired goal, but He is not. The question of whether or not we arrive at a particular goal is of little importance, and reaching it becomes merely an episode along the way. What we see as only the process of reaching a particular end, God sees as the goal itself.

What is my vision of God’s purpose for me? Whatever it may be, His purpose is for me to depend on Him and on His power now. If I can stay calm, faithful, and unconfused while in the middle of the turmoil of life, the goal of the purpose of God is being accomplished in me. God is not working toward a particular finish— His purpose is the process itself. What He desires for me is that I see “Him walking on the sea” with no shore, no success, nor goal in sight, but simply having the absolute certainty that everything is all right because I see “Him walking on the sea” (Mark 6:49). It is the process, not the outcome, that is glorifying to God.

God’s training is for now, not later. His purpose is for this very minute, not for sometime in the future. We have nothing to do with what will follow our obedience, and we are wrong to concern ourselves with it. What people call preparation, God sees as the goal itself.

God’s purpose is to enable me to see that He can walk on the storms of my life right now. If we have a further goal in mind, we are not paying enough attention to the present time. However, if we realize that moment-by-moment obedience is the goal, then each moment as it comes is precious.

'Referenda are always a gamble': Kenneth Clarke slams David Cameron for allowing Scotland to vote on independence Daily Mail

Ken Clark MP.

Kenneth Clarke has accused David Cameron of ‘taking a gamble’ with the future of the United Kingdom by allowing Scotland a referendum on independence.

The veteran Tory, who left the Cabinet in this month’s reshuffle, made clear his disapproval of the vote on September 18.

‘Referenda are always a gamble,’ warned Mr Clarke. ‘To have big complicated questions decided by one vote on one day is not as good as a continuous process of parliamentary debate.

‘Having risked the future of the United Kingdom, I trust that the good sense of the Scottish people will keep it together. 

Please click here to read more

Menace of the new parking cowboys: Drivers 'fined' £100 for overstaying by minutes at fast food chains and shops , Daily Mail

  Tickets doled out  private firms do not have official legal status

  Many are in fact issued unfairly and without the proper legal authority

  AA president Edmund King says many use 'scare tactics and bullying' 

  Drivers cannot be compelled to pay unless a court order is granted 

‘Cowboy’ parking squads hired by High Street firms are hitting hundreds of thousands of drivers with £100 ‘fines’ and using threats to make them pay up.

The companies – employed by fast food chains, retailers and railway operators – issue what appear to be official penalty notices, similar to those used by council traffic wardens. They then extract huge sums from drivers who are sometimes just a few minutes late in returning to their cars.

However, the tickets do not have the same legal standing as official fines.

Many are being issued unfairly and – in some cases – without proper legal authority.

Please click here to read more

Additional Story on Parking

Scotland could run out of cash just like Greece, Scottish Sunday Express

S

cotland would need to severely downsize its financial sector in order to avoid a major economic crisis if the country votes to break away from the rest of Britain.

According to former Scottish Government economist Florian Baier and former Bank of England economist Erik Britton, an independent Scotland would be left over-reliant on its financial sector and North Sea oil.

The economists’ upcoming paper for Fathom Consulting estimates the country’s banking assets as potential liabilities would be 1,100 per cent of GDP, similar to the liabiities that caused an economic crisis in Iceland in which its government took over three of its largest banks in 2008.

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Dog owner to sue council because her spaniel slipped a disc in GRASS and she cannot afford to pay the £5,000 vet bill Daily Mail

A

 dog owner plans to sue a council for thousands of pounds after her pet slipped a disc in grass while chasing a cat.

Scooby, a three-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, was injured after getting his leg caught in long grass on council-owned land in Brighton, East Sussex.

His disabled owner Rebecca Richardson, 48, claims that she now faces a £5,000 veterinary bill which she cannot afford to pay as she lives on benefits.

Campaigners criticised Mrs Richardson and her husband Steven, 49, for their claim and said it was yet another example of the ‘compensation culture gone mad’.

But Mrs Richardson said Brighton and Hove City Council, which owns her house and the land outside it, was negligent and ‘completely responsible’ for what happened to her pet. 

She claimed that she and other neighbours had been asking for the long grass outside their homes to be cut for a month before the accident. 

  Scooby the spaniel slipped a disc after getting his leg caught in long grass

  Disabled owner Rebecca Richardson, 48, says she now faces £5,000 vet bill

  Claims she cannot afford to pay it as she lives on benefits at Brighton home

  Believes city council is 'responsible' for fall because it failed to cut the grass

  But campaigners deem claim an example of 'compensation culture gone mad'

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Rebecca Richardson

Clegg in royal row after saying Prince Charles living a 'nightmare' waiting to be King, Daily Express

The Deputy Prime Minister found himself in hot water after commenting on the debate about whether the Queen should abdicate the throne.

The Queen, 88, will become Britain's longest serving monarch next year when she overtakes Queen Victoria's reign of 63 years and seven months.

Prince Charles has been heir to the throne for 62 years.

Clegg was overheard stepping into the debate by saying: "I've always quite liked him [Charles] actually. It must be a nightmare just being in this ante-room for decades."

His comments caused backlash among Tories who believe ministers should not comment on royal affairs.

Stuart Andrew, MP for Pudsey in West Yorkshire, told the Mail on Sunday: "Given that next year the Queen will become our longest-serving monarch, Nick Clegg's remarks are as untimely as they are disrespectful.

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EXCLUSIVE: Calais lorry drivers BEG for aid as migrants turn VIOLENT, Daily Express

They say French police have given up trying to deal with gangs of up to 100 migrants who surround lorries and demand passage across the ­Channel under threat of violence.

The situation is so bad they want the British Army to be called in to help protect the drivers.

Many have been verbally abused or physically attacked and one needed hospital treatment after being kicked and punched by an angry mob.

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