Thursday, 11 September 2014

Rattled Salmond launches rant at the BBC after it revealed Royal Bank of SCOTLAND will quit country after 'Yes' vote. Daily Mail

First Minister Alex Salmond launched into a rant aimed at the BBC after it first reported how Royal Bank of Scotland would relocate its headquarters if voters back independence

  First Minister lashes out at broadcaster to deflect row over threat by banks
  RBS one of four major banks to turn its back on independent Scotland
  John Lewis, Waitrose and Asda say prices will rise if there is a Yes victory 
  SNP leader was accused of lying about oil reserves by industry members
  He calls for official inquiry into Treasury source who leaked RBS story 
  Insurance giant Standard Life said it would move south days after Yes vote

Alex Salmond today launched an extraordinary rant at the BBC after the broadcaster reported how even the Royal Bank of Scotland planned to relocate to England in the event of independence.

In a bizarre press conference he launched a series of petulant attacks on the BBC, Westminster leaders and the Australian prime minister.

And he revealed he has called for an official inquiry into the Treasury's 'deliberate attempt to cause uncertainty in the financial markets' by leaking details of RBS's fears about the break up of the Union.

The First Minister presided over an astonishing press conference for the world's press corps in which he was tetchy, rattled and – according to several observers – 'losing the plot'.

Another observer suggested this was Mr Salmond's 'Sheffield rally', a reference to Neil Kinnock's ill-fated cry of 'We're alright!' before he went on to lose the 1992 General Election.

At one point there was an ugly clash between the SNP leader and BBC political editor Nick Robinson over the fate of Scotland's banks if there is a Yes vote in next week's referendum.

Now the Union strikes back: Poll puts No campaign in the lead as Scottish separatists suffer a series of hammer blows on Salmond's Black Wednesday. Daily Mail

An emotional David Cameron urged Scots not to see the vote as a chance to give the ¿effing Tories a kick¿

  SNP leader was accused of lying about oil reserves by industry members 
  Insurance giant Standard Life said it would move south days after Yes vote 
  Poll found 53% of Scots would vote against splitting up the United Kingdom
  Will ease panic on Sunday that put the Yes campaign ahead  
  Leading oilman also dismissed Mr Salmond's energy-rich future as 'fantasy'

Scottish separatists suffered a series of hammer blows yesterday in the battle for the future of Britain.

On what was being dubbed Alex Salmond’s Black Wednesday, the SNP leader was accused of lying about oil reserves, a poll put the No camp back in the lead and big firms admitted they were considering moving to England.

The poll found 53 per cent of Scots would say No in next week’s referendum on independence. The Survation survey put the Yes camp on 47 per cent. One in ten are yet to decide.


Mr Salmond’s vision of an energy-rich future was dismissed as a fantasy by a leading Scottish oilman and BP and Shell also came out against independence.

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney piled on the pressure by warning that Edinburgh would have to set aside around £130billion to guarantee savers’ bank deposits.


Exposed, Alex Salmond's great oil wealth fantasy: Experts attack claims that an independent Scotland could become rich on its oil and gas resources


Alex Salmond’s biggest lie, that an independent Scotland could float onward and upward on the strength its oil and gas resources, has finally been nailed.

The greatest authority on Scottish oil, Sir Ian Wood – together with the bosses of BP and Shell – has exposed it as pure fantasy.

Wood, founder of Scotland’s world-leading oil services firm Wood Group, has accused the Scottish Nationalists of misleading voters with ‘highly inaccurate forecasts, false promises and misleading information’.

His intervention, along with that of Bob Dudley of BP and Ben van Beurden of Shell, delivers a devastating blow to claims being made by Salmond and his acolytes that North Sea oil, augmented by unexploited opportunities using relatively new ‘fracking’ techniques, could turn Scotland into the next Norway.

The slogan ‘It’s Scotland’s Oil’ has, in the four decades since the first North Sea crude was brought ashore, been the most powerful weapon in the armoury of the SNP.

Nationalists like to compare Scotland to Norway because the Nordic nation has become rich on its oil and gas revenues, and has built up investment funds of more than £460billion on the back of its energy bonanza.


But the bitter truth is that an independent Scottish economy based on North Sea oil riches is a canard. Even on the most optimistic projections, with the exploration companies using the most modern techniques to frack for oil and gas deep below the oceans, the UK and Scotland’s energy boom is over.

Wednesday, 10 September 2014

Scotland’s fateful choice The case for union is overwhelming. The path of separation is a fool’s errand, The Financial Times






The United Kingdom ranks as one of the most successful marriages in history. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have survived ancient hatreds, tribal rivalry and war. Each nation has been enriched by a journey of enlightenment, empire, shared energy and enterprise.

In eight days’ time, this splendid mess of a union, to quote Simon Schama, the British historian, risks being separated into its national parts. Scotland will vote in a referendum to decide whether to stay in the UK or sunder bonds stretching back to 1707. Opinion polls suggest the result is too close to call, a prospect which has alarmed financial markets, wrongfooted allies and sent a complacent coalition government scrambling to find a last-minute sweetener to win over the Scots.

Empires and nation states are not immune to break-up, but there is little precedent for a hitherto stable modern democracy splitting apart in peacetime, in the middle of an economic recovery. This is not the time for recrimination. For the moment, it is enough for this newspaper to declare that the path of separation is a fool’s errand, one fraught with danger and uncertainty.

Scotland is a proud and vibrant nation. Scots have contributed disproportionately to the union. They have played a leading role in arts, commerce, literature, the military, politics and sport. But a vote in favour of secession would be an irreversible act with profound consequences, not merely for 5m Scots but also for the other 58m citizens of England, Wales and Northern Ireland (including 750,000 Scots living and working outside Scotland who under the terms of the referendum have no say on the future of their country).

The act of separation would diminish the UK in every international body, notably the EU. It would raise complex – and still unanswered – questions about the common defence of the British Isles, the future of the currency and political arrangements for the rest of the UK. Above all, a Yes vote would ignore the lessons of the 20th century, a chapter in European history indelibly scarred by narrow nationalism.


Watch the ELIM100 Centenary Film Teaser of the film coming this Autumn. #Elim100 @Elim100org

Watch the ELIM100 Centenary Film Teaser of the film coming this Autumn. #Elim100 @Elim100org: Celebrate 100 Years of Elim at www.elim100.org

Ann McKechin: Alex Salmond and the SNP's tax policies will create more inequality in an independent Scotland, Daily Record



Sep 09, 2014 11:238 OPINION BY ANNMCKECHIN

ANN McKECHIN puts forward her view that the economic policies of the SNP will only drive an even greater divide between the have and have-nots should Scotland vote Yes.

SCOTLAND'S future will be decided in just a few days’ time when voters across the country go to the polls.

It’s clear that voters want change – they want to see more jobs paying decent wages and offering security; they want affordable housing; they want a social care system that is fit for purpose; and they want an energy market that works for consumers not the profits of big energy.

The Scottish National Party has been keen to persuade voters that breaking off from the rest of the UK would create a ‘northern light’ for social justice – a Scotland that is more just, more humane and more socially democratic. But their message is deliberately high in emotion but lacking in substance.

However, a Scotland which followed the policies outlined in the SNP’s white paper and ended the system of pooling and sharing resources across the UK would quickly find income and wealth would be more unequally distributed than in the country they wish to break up. SNP tax policies will astonish all those used to hearing the claim that, from the day after independence, it would recreate the social democratic state that London has left behind.

Let’s look at the recent evidence. The SNP has refused to commit an independent Scotland to Labour’s proposal for a 50p top rate of tax. It has also refused to support a new top band of council tax. The First Minister keeps telling top business leaders that he is not planning to change the rates of income tax or business from those that apply currently across the UK.



First Minister reportedly taunted the Westminster government over whether an independent Scotland should take on its share of the national debt, saying: “What are they going to do – invade?”


Why don't we tell the Scots to shove off! In a personal view (which the Mail disagrees with) SIMON HEFFER says what we fear many English people think, Daily Mail

Alex Salmond's offensive comparison of Scots voting for independence to the ending of apartheid and blacks being given the vote in South Africa took the nationalists¿ campaign to a new low yesterday

Alex Salmond's offensive comparison of Scots voting for independence to the ending of apartheid and blacks being given the vote in South Africa took the rank dishonesty of the nationalists’ campaign to a new low yesterday.

Mandela went to prison for his beliefs, something that doesn’t appear to have happened to any Scottish Nationalists.

And, far from being victims of a cruel and unjust system, they have been encouraged to participate in the political process, and to live in a Union replete with opportunities — unlike millions in South Africa who were excluded from politics and advancement simply because they were the wrong race.

It was equally offensive to see Mr Salmond embracing immigrants from Eastern Europe and telling them that their intention to vote ‘Yes’ would be the culmination of their own long walk to freedom.

They chose to come to Scotland not because independence promises an extra layer of liberty, but because of the hard won, wide-ranging freedoms already available throughout the UK, and bestowed upon the Scots as they are bestowed upon every other Briton. 

Enough, frankly, is enough. We have long tolerated Mr Salmond’s mendacity, and his twisted loathing of the English, largely because many felt he would be the loser of this fight and should be indulged.

So when he dropped hints that the NHS would be privatised if there wasn’t a ‘Yes’ vote, or made up the rules about Scotland’s continuing membership of the EU as he went along, or exaggerated the wealth from Scottish oil revenues, we felt slightly patronising towards the old rogue, assuring ourselves of his inevitable humiliation in the September 18 vote.

Now that humiliation appears less certain, and the arrogant dishonesty is so overwhelming, it is time to tell him what some of us really think.

Don't rip our family apart': At last, the PM gets passionate about the Union and warns there will be NO going back if Yes vote wins. Daily Mail

Heartfelt: Writing in the Daily Mail today, the Prime Minister tells Scots that the rest of the UK ¿desperately wants you to stay¿ and warns there will be no second chances after next week¿s referendum

  EXCLUSIVE: PM issues rallying cry for the 'special alchemy of the UK'
  Together, he says, the nation fills the rest of the world with 'awe and envy'
  Plea came after heated debate as just eight days remain before polls open
  Three banks warned of calamity as Bank of England rejected plan for sterling
  Alex Salmond prompted anger with comparisons to post-Apartheid vote


David Cameron today issues a highly personal plea to the people of Scotland not to ‘rip apart’ the United Kingdom.

Writing in the Daily Mail, the Prime Minister tells Scots that the rest of the UK ‘desperately wants you to stay’.

But he warns there will be no second chances after next week’s referendum: ‘If the UK breaks apart, it breaks apart for ever.’

With opinion polls suggesting the referendum is now too close to call, Mr Salmond dismissed Westminster’s promises about more powers. ‘This is the day the No campaign finally disintegrated and fell apart at the seams,’ the first minister said. ‘Together, David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg are the most distrusted Westminster politicians ever – and their collective presence in Scotland will be another massive boost for the Yes campaign.

‘The message of this extraordinary, last-minute reaction is that the Westminster elite are in a state of absolute panic as the ground in Scotland shifts under their feet.’

Tuesday, 9 September 2014

What bright spark thought bullying and patronising us Scots was the way to win our votes? Daily Mail


'Alex Salmond¿s cocky smirk spreads ever wider and there¿s an arrogance to the separatists that manifests itself in withering contempt for the views, arguments and emotions of the many people like me who want to stay British'

These are dark times to be a Scot, a Unionist and a ‘No’ voter. After the referendum polls finally flipped in favour of a ‘Yes’ vote at the weekend, we should be in no doubt: it’s a real possibility that in just nine days’ time the United Kingdom will be voted out of existence.

As that sad prospect grows more likely, Alex Salmond’s cocky smirk spreads ever wider and there’s an arrogance to the separatists that manifests itself in withering contempt for the views, arguments and emotions of the many people like me who want to stay British. There’s an extra chill in the Scottish air this autumn.

At times, I feel like a stranger in a strange land. In Stirling — my peaceful, semi-rural hometown, which sits halfway between Edinburgh and Glasgow — posters put up by the Better Together campaign have had the word ‘Scum’ scrawled across them, or been ripped down altogether.

Relationships with friends, colleagues, even family members, have become strained in this bruising climate.

It’s one thing to have to tolerate abuse from the other side — the organised mobbing, hectoring and egg-throwing that forced the former Labour Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy to call off his tour making the case for a united Britain was only the most visible example.

Equally, there’s no point denying the SNP-led Yes campaign has done its job well, mixing energy and passion with cynical but effective attacks on all aspects of Britain and, especially, Westminster.

What’s harder to take than any of this is the feeling that the campaign to save the Union — probably the most important political fight of our lifetimes — has been a lame, misjudged and overly negative affair.

Take last week, when Better Together launched a series of posters aimed at persuading the 10 per cent or so of voters who remain undecided to stick with the UK.



Monday, 8 September 2014

How to Release Creative People for Effective Ministry

How to Release Creative People for Effective Ministry



Creative people



It's impossible to have a healthy church that experiences multi-dimensional growth without trusting people enough to delegate leadership to them. Having said that, this remains one of the greatest bottlenecks to growth for thousands of churches. And delegation remains one of the hardest challenges for pastors and church staff members.
One of the reasons we fail to delegate leadership is our fear of wildfire. We're afraid things will get out of control—and indeed they will—but limiting control is actually what often fuels growth. We often encumber leaders with too much red tape. Policies and procedures have their place, but we can easily add so much structure that people don't feel free to lead and make decisions.
- See more at: http://ministriestoday.com/index.php/ministry-life/relationships/21187-how-to-release-creative-people-for-effective-ministry-creative#sthash.xBUK4QIx.dpuf

SIMON HEFFER: Ten burning questions if Scotland votes yes. Daily Mail

It is unclear what Scotland's currency would be in an independent country - Scotland could choose to use the pound in the way that some Caribbean islands use the U.S. dollar despite being outside America

1)     Would the Queen remain Queen of Scotland?

The Queen will be Queen of Scotland even after independence, just as she is Queen of Australia or Canada, since the Union of the Crowns of 1603 — when James VI of Scotland also became James I of England — precedes even the Union of the nations of 1707. However, the Scots could, as a sovereign nation, choose to become a republic, inside or outside the Commonwealth.

A third alternative, though less likely, is that they could choose to ignore the ‘Glorious Revolution’ of 1688, which saw King James II of England (who was also James VII of Scotland) deposed in favour of William of Orange.

If they did so, they could invite the man regarded by some as James’s legitimate heir, the ‘Stuart Pretender’, to replace the English Queen. That would mean the present Duke of Bavaria becoming King Francis II of Scotland. However, Duke Franz claims to be perfectly content where he is.

Queen's fear over break up of Britain: Poll puts Scottish separatists in lead as Westminster convulses. Daily Mail

The Queen, pictured at the Braemar Gathering in Scotland, is thought to be strongly in favour of the Union and will be in Scotland on September 18 ¿ the day it could vote to break away from the rest of the UK

1.      The Queen has held talks with David Cameron after poll put separatists ahead
2.    Said to be 'great concern' at Buckingham Palace over 300-year-old Union
3.     Her Majesty is thought to be strongly in favour of Scotland remaining in UK
4.    Will be in Scotland at Balmoral on day of the vote as a sign of 'continuity'
5.     SNP say Queen will stay as head of state if country votes for independence
6.     But SNP's James Mason is calling for a referendum to replace the monarch

The Queen held talks with David Cameron yesterday amid panic at the prospect of the end of the 300-year-old Union.

With a shock poll putting Scottish separatists ahead for the first time, there was said to be ‘great concern’ at Buckingham Palace.

The Queen, who is thought to strongly favour the Union, will be in Scotland on September 18 – the day it could vote to break away from the rest of the UK.

Pro-Union MPs said her presence at Balmoral would be a sign of continuity.
‘There is a strong anti-monarchy element in the Scottish National Party,’ said former defence secretary Liam Fox.

‘You can bet your bottom dollar as soon as they get independence, their next target is going to be Scotland being a republic.’

13 Characteristics of Men From Dysfunctional Homes

13 Characteristics of Men From Dysfunctional Homes



Dysfunctional home



Families, churches and employers increasingly have to cope with the downstream impact of angry young men who grew up in dysfunctional homes.
And some of these men are not so young anymore. A first step to disciple a man who grew up in a dysfunctional home is to understand what such a home can do to a person. 

Scots, What the Heck? NY Times



Next week Scotland will hold a referendum on whether to leave the United Kingdom. And polling suggests that support for independence has surged over the past few months, largely because pro-independence campaigners have managed to reduce the “fear factor” — that is, concern about the economic risks of going it alone. At this point the outcome looks like a tossup.

Well, I have a message for the Scots: Be afraid, be very afraid. The risks of going it alone are huge. You may think that Scotland can become another Canada, but it’s all too likely that it would end up becoming Spain without the sunshine.

Comparing Scotland with Canada seems, at first, pretty reasonable. After all, Canada, like Scotland, is a relatively small economy that does most of its trade with a much larger neighbor. Also like Scotland, it is politically to the left of that giant neighbor. And what the Canadian example shows is that this can work. Canada is prosperous, economically stable (although I worry about high household debt and what looks like a major housing bubble) and has successfully pursued policies well to the left of those south of the border: single-payer health insurance, more generous aid to the poor, higher overall taxation.

Does Canada pay any price for independence? Probably. Labor productivity is only about three-quarters as high as it is in the United States, and some of the gap may reflect the small size of the Canadian market (yes, we have a free-trade agreement, but a lot of evidence shows that borders discourage trade all the same). Still, you can argue that Canada is doing O.K.


Sunday, 7 September 2014

The final push for Alex Salmond’s land of fantasy, Telegraph

Alex Salmond, Scotland's First Minister, on the campaign trail in Buchannan Street, Glasgow

It is Thursday morning on Buchanan Street, Glasgow’s busiest shopping thoroughfare, and Scotland’s First Minister is doing what he does best: smirking.

Working his way through a boisterous crowd of placard-wielding Yes supporters, Alex Salmond revels in the adoration of his fans and poses for countless “selfies” with starstruck Nationalists out to pay homage on the 10th anniversary of his return as leader of the Scottish National Party.

The choice of location for this event, right in the middle of Glasgow, is very deliberate. With less than a fortnight until Scots vote on whether to leave the United Kingdom, Scotland’s largest city has turned into the front line in the referendum battle. To win, the Nationalists need to convert voters in the west of Scotland, where Labour has traditionally been strong.

Mr Salmond, a gambler and racing-loving punter who relishes the thrill of the chase, is confident he has Labour and the Better Together pro-Union campaign on the run. “The ground is shifting below their feet,” he says.
The race has certainly tightened. Last week, a poll by YouGov showed the No lead narrowing sharply to only six points (53 to 47 per cent when don’t knows are stripped out).

It prompted concern at Westminster, and in the City the markets were spooked. Investors who had presumed there was no chance of a Yes vote sold off shares in companies that trade on both sides of the border between England and Scotland. Polls this weekend are expected to show Yes getting even closer.


Kevin Maguire: I'm willing you to vote for us all in Britain instead of Salmond, who wants to be King of Scotland, Daily Record



I’D be gutted, absolutely gutted, if Scotland dumps me. We rub along pretty well and you want to end 300 years of history?

Come on, you can’t be serious.

I’m British and don’t want to be a foreigner when I come to Scotland any more than I want Scots to be foreigners when they go to England or Wales.

We’ve so many ties and been through a lot together so it seems daft to divorce so Alex Salmond can play the big man.

We Geordies have more in common with you Scots than we do with the Surrey stockbroker belt.

I hail from South Shields on Tyneside and grew up reading The Broons and Oor Wullie annuals at Christmas.

I flicked little plastic Subbuteo football players in Celtic and Rangers strips.

I cheered when Archie Gemmill scored that 1978 World Cup goal with that lovely mazy run and gorgeous left-footed finish against Holland.

I wasn’t so happy a few years later, it’s true, narrowly escaping a beating at Wembley by the Tartan Army’s militarised wing.

But we’ll let that pass. Newcastle hoolies chased this Sunderland fan a fair few times so it matters little whether the pursuers were in kilts or black and white stripes.

And I’ll confess when I bumped into Gary McAllister on a train last week I fondly recalled his missed penalty the day England beat Scotland at Wembley in Euro '96.

I’m an England football supporter – though that’s not easy with Roy Hodgson’s dreary excuse for a team – but I still want Scotland to beat Germany tomorrow with Steven Fletcher scoring the winner.


So don’t let Alex Salmond con you into believing us lot don’t care or want to be shot of Scotland.



Surge in support for independence sparks 'great deal of concern' in Buckingham Palace amid fears over Queen's role in a separate Scotland Daily Mail

The Queen, Prince Philip and Prince Charles attended the Scottish Highland Games yesterday

  Palace aides concerned the monarch will face a constitutional crisis after poll
  Queen may appoint an Australian-style 'governor general' to rule in her name
  Experts fear independence could throw up divided loyalties for the Queen 
  In 1977 the Queen said: 'I was crowned Queen of the United Kingdom'

The growing prospect of Scotland voting to leave the United Kingdom has sparked a ‘great deal of concern’ in Buckingham Palace, sources close to the Queen have revealed.

Senior palace aides are increasingly concerned that the Queen will be thrown into the centre of a constitutional crisis in the event of a ‘Yes’ vote on September 18.

Experts have suggested she may be forced to appoint an Australian-style ‘governor general’ to rule in her name.

Prime Minister David Cameron is in Balmoral, Aberdeenshire, with the Queen today and is expected to hold talks over the crisis. Mr Cameron has travelled alone without his wife Samantha.


The Queen has not intervened in the debate on independence, but has previously publicly praised the union.

In a speech she gave to MPs on her Silver Jubilee in 1977 she said: ‘I number kings and queens of England and of Scotland, and princes of Wales among my ancestors and so I can readily understand these aspirations.

‘But I cannot forget that I was crowned Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

‘Perhaps this jubilee is a time to remind ourselves of the benefits which union has conferred, at home and in our international dealings, on the inhabitants of all parts of this United Kingdom.’

Constitutional experts fear independence could throw up divided loyalties for the Queen if there was a clash between Scotland and the rump-UK in the future.


Saturday, 6 September 2014

Words for the Wise, Psalm 122 The Voice (VOICE)

Psalm 122

A song [of David][a] for those journeying to worship.

 

This is a Davidic psalm celebrating the grandeur and significance of Jerusalem and its temple. It is ironic that Jerusalem means “city of peace” since more battles have been fought over it than over any other city.

I was so happy when my fellow pilgrims said,
    “Let’s go to the house of the Eternal!”
We have made the journey, and now we are standing
    within your gates, O Jerusalem.
Jerusalem! What a magnificent city!
    Buildings so close together, so compact.
God’s people belong here. Every tribe of the Eternal
    makes its way to Jerusalem
Just as God decreed for Israel
    to come together and give thanks to the Eternal.
In Jerusalem, justice is the order of the day because there sit the judges
    and kings, the descendants of David.
Ask heaven to grant peace to Jerusalem:
    “May those who love you prosper.
O Jerusalem, may His peace fill this entire city!
    May this citadel be quiet and at ease!”
It’s because of people—my family, friends, and acquaintances
    that I say, “May peace permeate you.”
And because the house of Eternal One, our God, is here, know this:
    I will always seek your good!

Matthew Henry's Commentary
Chapter 122
This psalm seems to have been penned by David for the use of the people of Israel, when they came up to Jerusalem to worship at the three solemn feasts. It was in David’s time that Jerusalem was first chosen to be the city where God would record his name. It being a new thing, this, among other means, was used to bring the people to be in love with Jerusalem, as the holy city, though it was but the other day in the hands of the Jebusites. Observe, I. The joy with which they were to go up to Jerusalem, Ps. 122:1, 2. II. The great esteem they were to have of Jerusalem, Ps. 122:3-5. III. The great concern they were to have for Jerusalem, and the prayers they were to put up for its welfare, Ps. 122:6-9. In singing this psalm we must have an eye to the gospel church, which is called the “Jerusalem that is from above.”

The Bible Panorama

Psalm 122


V 1–2: GLAD TO GO David is glad to go to the temple in Jerusalem to praise God.

 V 3–5: TESTIMONY OF TRIBES The tribes of Israel go there to thank the Lord, who Himself is the ‘Testimony of Israel’. 

V 6–9: PRAY FOR PEACE David urges that prayer for the peace of Jerusalem be made.



Brian Wilson: Border costs post-independence, The Scotsman

Sending a letter first class to Ireland will quadruple after independence. Picture: Getty

SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE: Sending a letter is just one of the many things a border will make a great deal more expensive, writes Brian Wilson

It’s an old trick to ask if a politician knows the price of a pint of milk. I tried a variation of the same theme this week while debating with a luminary of Scottish nationalism.

A questioner asked about postal charges between Scotland and England in the event of independence. As usual, the Nat response was that life would go on as before. I asked if he knew what it costs to post a letter from the UK to the Republic of Ireland, even just a few hundred yards between north and south.

He didn’t, which seemed as careless as not knowing the price of a pint of milk. The answer is that, because Ireland is treated by Royal Mail as an international destination (as Scotland would become), the cost of postage is between twice and four times greater than the cost of a first-class stamp, for delivery within five days.

Consider the plea of a local politician in County Tyrone who paid £2.38 for a stamp that would have cost, at most, 62p if the letter had stayed within the UK. “It’s crazy,” she complained. “It is very expensive and nobody can understand it”. To which one might reasonably have replied: “It’s the border, stupid”.

In more rational times, quadrupled postal charges would represent quite an important issue and also an illustration of an under-stated truth – that borders are indeed very expensive and the costs are paid in money and jobs. I am not naïve enough to expect this to concern Nationalists but those who would be forced to pay their price might take note.


Oswald Chambers, My Uttermost for His Highest



The Far-Reaching Rivers of Life
He who believes in Me . . . out of his heart will flow rivers of living water —John 7:38
A river reaches places which its source never knows. And Jesus said that, if we have received His fullness, “rivers of living water” will flow out of us, reaching in blessing even “to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8) regardless of how small the visible effects of our lives may appear to be. We have nothing to do with the outflow— “This is the work of God, that you believe. . .” (John 6:29). God rarely allows a person to see how great a blessing he is to others.
 John 7:38-40 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From [a]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.
Acts 1:8 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
John 6:26-30 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Words to the People

26 Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.” 28 Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” 30 So they said to Him, “What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform?

Today's post

Jesus Christ, The Same Yesterday, Today and Forever

I had the privilege to be raised in a Christian Home and had the input of my parents and grandparents into my life, they were ...