Saturday 27 December 2014
The 10 People Nobody Can Help by Joseph Mattera
1. Those
who do not take responsibility for themselves.
The first step
toward self-improvement is to remove all excuses for mediocrity or failure.
Those that continually blame other people for their failures will never go to
the next level.
Leaders can
complain about their spouses, the income level of their congregations, the lack
of staff, etc., but I have learned that within every challenge is the seed of
opportunity for success, which requires the creativity of problem solving.
2. Those who do not have a heart to seek God.
The Bible teaches
us that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10).
Those who do not
respect God enough to seek Him and study His word so they can make wise
decisions in life are violating Scripture (Joshua 1:8-9) and cannot be helped
either by myself or any other leader or minister.
Those who do not
obey what God requires for success have decided to try to be successful in life
without God’s blessings!
3. Those who create distance so they are not accountable.
There are
certain people I have met in our church who only let others get so close before
cutting off the relationship. Many go from one church to the next because they
fear becoming too close to a leader who will hold them accountable.
Often,
some will attempt to attend a megachurch where they will be able to hear the
word of God in the context of a large crowd so that no one will really know who
they are.
Whether it
is fear or rebellion, those who live like this have put a low ceiling on their
lives and will not grow past the infant stage concerning their potential in
life.
Friday 26 December 2014
6 Deadly Lies We Believe About Church, By Nicole Cottrell
“One
hundred religious persons knit into a unity by careful organization do not
constitute a church any more than eleven dead men make a football team. The
first requisite is life, always.” – A. W. Tozer
1.
Church is optional.
Ah,
the lone believer, hell-bent on staying out of a church community for one
reason or another.
They
were burned, chastised or mistreated.
And
I get it. I, too, was a solo “Christian” trying to call a five-minute quiet
time and a snippet of Scripture “church.” I know what it is to be
community-less and long for (but never actually believe it could happen) a
spiritual family, where brethren would lay down their life for one
another—reminiscent of the book of Acts.
Oh
yeah, but then, through a series of painful life-altering events (another post
for another time), I came to see church was not optional because, I was, in
fact, the church.
When
scripture refers to the church as “the house of God,” “the Body of Christ,”
“Christ’s bride,” it is referencing a people. The ekklesia, in Greek. It is not
a place or a building, which leads me to …
10 Troubling Statements Pastors Make
10 Troubling Statements Pastors Make
If you want your church to move toward a slow yet certain death, make certain your church leadership and membership affirms most of these 10 statements. They are troubling statements. Indeed, they are proclamations that virtually assure your
church's decline and probable demise.
church's decline and probable demise.
What is troubling is that these statements are not uncommon. They are articulated by both staff and lay leaders at times. See if you have ever heard any of these
10:
10:
1.
We hire our pastors and staff to do that. "That" can be evangelism.
Or discipleship. Or caring for others. Or visiting people in the hospital. Some
lay leaders view pastors and staff as hired hands to do ministry they should be
doing themselves.
We hire our pastors and staff to do that. "That" can be evangelism.
Or discipleship. Or caring for others. Or visiting people in the hospital. Some
lay leaders view pastors and staff as hired hands to do ministry they should be
doing themselves.
2.
We have enough churches in our community. I rarely see a community that is
really "overchurched." The number of unchurched people in any one
community is typically increasing, not decreasing. This comment usually comes
from church leaders who view new churches as competition.
We have enough churches in our community. I rarely see a community that is
really "overchurched." The number of unchurched people in any one
community is typically increasing, not decreasing. This comment usually comes
from church leaders who view new churches as competition.
3.
We are a discipleship church. Or an evangelism church. Or a ministry church.
Church leaders who say their churches are focused on only one area of ministry
are offering excuses not to be obedient in other areas.
We are a discipleship church. Or an evangelism church. Or a ministry church.
Church leaders who say their churches are focused on only one area of ministry
are offering excuses not to be obedient in other areas.
4.
We have never done it that way before. Yes, it's cliché. But it's still a very
pervasive attitude among change-resistant people in the church.
We have never done it that way before. Yes, it's cliché. But it's still a very
pervasive attitude among change-resistant people in the church.
Under-10s in Scots hospitals for illegal drug use, The Scotsman Newspaper
A
SOARING number of children are being hospitalised in Scotland as a result of
drug-taking, official figures have revealed. Some youngsters under the age of
ten have been treated by doctors in Scottish wards in the past year.
The
increase is causing “real damage” to Scotland’s younger generation say
opposition
parties, who are demanding government action to address the rise.
Cannabis
is the most common type of drug offered to teenagers, followed by stimulants
such as cocaine and speed, then psychedelics including LSD and magic mushrooms.
It
has now emerged that the number of times youngsters were admitted to hospital
after taking illegal substances has increased by more than a third in two
years, according to statistics obtained by the Scottish Liberal Democrats.
There
were 119 incidents where youngsters aged between ten and 18 required hospital
attention after taking drugs in 2013.
The
figures, uncovered using freedom of information legislation, revealed an
increase of 35 per cent on 2011, when the total across Scotland was 88.
Awareness
of the dangers of drug-taking also appears to be falling among teenagers, a
recent report found.
Not called!' did you say? 'Not heard the call,' I think you should say.
Put your ear down to the Bible, and hear him bid you go and pull sinners out of
the fire of sin. Put your ear down to the burdened, agonized heart of humanity,
and listen to its pitiful wail for help. Go stand by the gates of hell, and
hear the damned entreat you to go to their father's house and bid their
brothers and sisters, and servants and masters not to come there. And then look
Christ in the face, whose mercy you have professed to obey, and tell him
whether you will join heart and soul and body and circumstances in the march to
publish his mercy to the world."
William Booth.
“While women weep, as they do now,
I'll fight
While little children go hungry, as they do now,
I'll fight
While men go to prison, in and out, in and out, as they do now,
I'll fight
While there is a drunkard left,
While there is a poor lost girl upon the streets,
While there remains one dark soul without the light of God,
I'll fight-I'll fight to the very end!”
William Booth
Thursday 25 December 2014
16 Christmas presents every Welsh person will get – at least once | South Wales Evening Post
16 Christmas presents every Welsh person will get – at least once | South Wales Evening Post
Read more: http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/16-Christmas-presents-Welsh-person-8211/story-25222846-detail/story.html#ixzz3MwZJsNDK
Follow us: @SWEveningPost on Twitter | SWEveningPost on Facebook
THERE are some presents under the tree you can guess straight off.
You don’t need to feel them, shake them or smell them – they just stick out like a sore thumb.
They are the presents every Welsh person will receive, at least once, and possibly more.
Here’s a few of them (some of which you might not get if you live outside south west Wales!):
Read more: http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/16-Christmas-presents-Welsh-person-8211/story-25222846-detail/story.html#ixzz3MwZJsNDK
Follow us: @SWEveningPost on Twitter | SWEveningPost on Facebook
Wednesday 24 December 2014
YEAR IN REVIEW: 5 of the Fastest-Growing Churches You’ve Never Heard Of
YEAR IN REVIEW: 5 of the Fastest-Growing Churches You’ve Never Heard Of
Other Christian magazines annually report on the "fastest-growing churches in America." Churches like New Spring in Anderson, South Carolina; Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, Alabama; Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California; Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas; and Citylife Church in Tampa, Florida, have all received their just due for packing 'em in every Sunday and winning souls for the kingdom.
But what about those church plants—ones that you might not quite be familiar with—that Jesus has blessed with phenomenal growth in a short period of time?
One of those churches "fearlessly" meets in a nightclub in downtown Los Angeles—complete with, dare we say it, stripper poles. Another started out in a laundromat, with members putting quarters in machines and paying for other people's laundry, and wound up in an Irish pub.
In a society when many churches are either on the decline or have shut down, these churches certainly have hit on a godly formula to attract the unchurched.
Unique Growth
Words for The Wise, Living a Life without Limits
Living a Life without
Limits.
I’m
going to ask you to think about this question and I would like you to pray about
your answer and see what God will speak to you about? The question is what is
limiting and/or restricting your life reaching its full God ordained and
significant potential?
Seriously
what is holding you back?, is it circumstances, disappointment, previous or
existing rejection, the fear of rejection, fear of failure, or are you just
scared etc., etc., this list could be almost endless but hey I can’t ask you
what is holding your back only you can ask yourself that question?, I would
like to clarify that God’s morals and ethics aren’t what is holding you because
they aren’t negotiable
In
some ways it’s the easiest thing to do, sitting either reminiscing about what
has happened in the past or even day dreaming of what could happen in the
future, but in both cases we’re letting life was all its fulfilment pass us by
because we’re too busy reminiscing about the past or day dreaming about the
future, yesterday isn’t today and today isn’t tomorrow!
Earlier
today, I had an email but unlike every email I’ve had today, this was
prophetic, yet it wasn’t from a prophet or any other church leader, it was a
job advert, to look at the email initially it looked boring and I didn’t pay it
much attention, however when I took another look at, and thought’s it’s only an
advert from the Royal Navy but the title caught my attention, “ Live a Life
without Limits”, this title caught my attention and lead to chain of thought
and I asked myself this question if serving in the Royal Navy is Living a Life without Limits, how much more
then should the Christian Life be Living a Life without Limits ?
In
some ways we’ve contained ourselves by our present circumstances and situations
we hold onto things than aren’t relevant or helpful or indeed beneficial for us to do any longer, whatever that may
be, instead of life in glorious hd we’ve settled for a monochrome lifestyle, a
life devolved of power, passion, praise and purpose because of what happened in
our past we try to find fulfilment in our yesterday when we need to find that fulfilment
in today and we hope and pray for our better tomorrow however that tomorrow is
actually today. We become seemingly
paralysed by the fear of failure and indecision, too afraid to make a move in
case we make a mistake! If this sounds familiar stop for moment, pray and ask
the Lord to show you what you do? however I’m going to give you a clue in involves movement on your part !
Life
was never meant to be dull and dusty, predictable and pain free, however we
like the safety net of predictably, comfort and familiarity! It’s time to live our Lives without our
self-imposed Limitations.
It
says in Ephesians 3:20-21 ESV
20
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think,
according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and
in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.
I’ve
been thinking a lot recently about what does it mean to be a Christian Believer
or Disciple in 2014/2015, and for an example is it any different from being a
Believer a hundred years ago?, The world and society have changed a great deal
in the last 100 years, the World has seen two World Wars, we have seen the rise
and fall of political, economic & social systems, we've seen an increase of the advance of
technology and we’re reaping in many ways both the benefits and disadvantages
of that technology!
We
face both challenges and opportunities, persecution and praises, but then did
the Church of the 1st Century AD, the Christian Life was never meant to be
boring, predictable and dull. Our Lord
Jesus says in John 10:10b “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly”
I
give my life to Jesus in 1981, and have been a Jesus Follower or Disciple since
then, my background is Welsh Pentecostal, and I was part of a great Christian
Fellowship called The Apostolic Church (Apostolic not as in Oneness Gospel,
They’re Trinitarian) for the early part of my Christian Walk, and in many ways
Welsh Pentecostalism is closely related to the Welsh Chapel or Non-Conformist
Culture, although in some ways has strong Evangelical roots. I’m not criticising or condemning that Culture,
I grew up in it and it’s my history. However for most of the last 20 years I've
been part of Restoration/New Church/House Church stream or movement
and have recently after much prayer and waiting on the Lord , I have returned to my Pentecostal roots
because I’ve seen something in the Pentecostal movement that has re-ignited my
heart for the Church and it’s mission.
In
many ways, History can be positive, negative or neutral. All of us have a
History that includes a combination of various factors including good, bad and
neither good or bad, we’ve all made mistakes and errors, but there have been
times when we’ve done things well and are proud of what we’ve done and there
times we regret, or are ashamed or embarrassed/disappointed about, we’ve all
disappointed and hurt others and we’ve all been disappointed and hurt by
others, sometimes unintentionally and if we’re honest intentionally too! It’s
time to forgive ourselves and forgive others, for many of us unforgiveness is
holding us back!
Matthew
6:14-15
14 For if you forgive others their trespasses,
your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others
their trespasses neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Colossians
3:12-17
12
Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts,
kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if
one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has
forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love,
which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of
Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be
thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and
admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual
songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word
or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the
Father through him.
1
John 1:5-10
5
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is
light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with
him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practise the truth. 7 But if
we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one
another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say
we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we
confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse
us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a
liar, and his word is not in us.
Many
of us need to break free of our History, or the version of our History we
believe or the version of our History that others have told us, our history has little bearing or relevance
to our present or a future, our present
and future isn't a or no longer a
case of history repeating itself and its
time to realise that for ourselves both on an individual or collective basis,
our history isn’t our present or indeed our future, for too long we’ve lived in
the present and looked to our future and
they for various reasons have become a continuation of our history, today it’s time to stop and break that cycle.
We
can no longer live in our history, wishing tomorrow, tomorrow I love you
tomorrow, which is our present and future, then continue to live today as if
was yesterday or indeed expect tomorrow to be like our yesterday, we can't
travel back in time to change our yesterday, we can only live for today and
pray, plan and prepare for tomorrow!
Can
you imagine that you live in a rickety
old house that is falling down all around you, and there cobwebs and dust
everywhere, there are no modern conveniences like running water or electricity,
but you like it because it’s familiar and in way it feels safe and comfortable,
suddenly there is knock on your front door and Jesus is standing there, and he
asks you why are you living in your old house that doesn’t suit you when he has
a better house for you, and just behind Jesus, you see a fantastic house, your heart says wow, but your head says no,
and you say thank you, Lord but I like my house and you close the door on
Jesus, you go and sit on your broken
chair, and think I like my house it’s familiar then there is another knock on
your door, and Jesus is standing there again, and again he shows the new house,
and you think to yourself, I will visit this new house, and you walk inside and
it just blows you away, it’s your dream
house, but you keep looking back at your old house, and say you to yourself, this new house is fantastic but my old house
is familiar and go thank you Lord for showing me this new house but I still
rather live in my old house, and close the door of the new house behind you,
thinking this new house is too good for me and I don’t deserve it, you go back
to your old house and you sit there and the rain comes and wind blows, and you
think to yourself I can patch up this old house it wouldn’t be as nice as the
new house, but it would be better than before, then there is another knock on
your door and your answer it and it’s Jesus again, and you tell him your plans
for your old house and he smiles and says to you, why continue to live in this
old house when I’ve given this new house which is better for you and you do
deserve it because I’ve forgiven you and because you’re in me and I’m in you.
Then you
suddenly find yourself walking
towards the new house, you start to get excited and start running towards it,
and you say to yourself, it’s mine. You
sit in your new house on a comfortable sofa and Jesus is there with you, and
you get up and to say thank you, you make Jesus a cup of tea, and through the
kitchen window you see your old house and think to yourself why did I live
there so long! When I could have lived here instead.
The
old house is your history, and when Jesus shows us our new house which is our
present and future, but because of we’re familiar with our history and because
of our history we feel we don’t deserve our possible present and future, so we
decide to patch up our history, but Jesus has better plans for us than to patch
up our past he has a far better present and future that we think we deserve
because of our history!
It
says in Isaiah 43:18-19
“Remember
not the former things,
nor consider the things of old.
19
Behold, I am doing a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive
it?
It
also says in Jeremiah 29:11-14a
11
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare[b]
and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon
me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find
me, when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, declares
the Lord
Yours
because of His Grace and Mercy
Words for the Wise, The Lord's Prayer, The Importance of Prayer, Matthew 6 New American Standard Bible
Matthew
6 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Giving to the Poor and
Prayer
6
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them;
otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.
2
“So when you [a]give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the
hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored
by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 3 But when you
[b]give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is
doing, 4 so that your [c]giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees
what is done in secret will reward you.
5
“When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand
and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners [d]so that they may be
seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6 But you,
when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father
who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward
you.
7
“And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles
do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. 8 So do not
be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
9 “Pray, then, in this
way:
‘Our Father who is in
heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 ‘Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in
heaven.
11 ‘Give us this day
[e]our daily bread.
12 ‘And forgive us our
debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 ‘And do not lead us
into temptation, but deliver us from [f]evil. [g][For Yours is the kingdom and
the power and the glory forever. Amen.’]
14
For if you forgive [h]others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father
will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive [i]others, then your Father
will not forgive your transgressions.
Fasting; The True
Treasure; Wealth (Mammon)
16
“Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they
[j]neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are
fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 17 But you, when
you fast, anoint your head and wash your face 18 so that your fasting will not
be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who
sees what is done in secret will reward you.
19
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust
destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do
not break in or steal; 21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be
also.
22
“The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is [k]clear, your whole
body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is [l]bad, your whole body will
be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is
the darkness!
24
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the
other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God
and [m]wealth.
The Cure for Anxiety
25 “For this reason I
say to you, [n]do not be worried about your [o]life, as to what you will eat or
what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life
more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the
[p]air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your
heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27 And who
of you by being worried can add a single [q]hour to his [r]life? 28 And why are
you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not
toil nor do they spin, 29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his
glory clothed himself like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of
the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will
He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 31 Do not worry then, saying,
‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for
clothing?’ 32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly
Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But [s]seek first [t]His
kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be [u]added to you.
34 “So do not worry
about tomorrow; for tomorrow will [v]care for itself. [w]Each day has enough
trouble of its own.
The Bible Panorama
Matthew 6
V
1–18: SECRECY Secrecy in giving (verses 1 to 4), praying (verses 5 to 8), and
fasting (verses 16 to 18) is taught by Jesus. It is in this context that the
pattern of the Lord’s Prayer (verses 9 to 15) is given. This contrasts with the
hypocrisy of men, which is encountered in this chapter.
V
19–23: SIMPLICITY Our attitude to wealth should be such that we are not seeking
to live to gain money. Our heart is where our treasure is, and that should be
in spiritual things. We also need simplicity to look honestly at the darkness
inside us and have it dealt with by the Light of the world.
V 24: SINGULARITY The Christian must be
single-minded in serving God and not ‘mammon’. Mammon stands for being
dominated by money and materialistic considerations.
V 25–34: SERENITY Nature tells us that God
cares even for birds and flowers. Those with a special relationship with God
should not worry, therefore, about provision of needs, now or in the future,
but seek to please God first by seeking as a priority His kingdom and His
righteousness. (This is not to encourage laziness but to underline the need for
faith and trust.)
NIV Application Commentary
The proper priority (6:33). Jesus’ reasoning culminates in the famous directive, “But seek
first his kingdom and his righteousness.” This climactic admonition draws the
listeners back to the key verse of the sermon, where Jesus declared, “Unless
your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law,
you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven” (5:20).
The use of the imperative “seek” does not mean to look for something not
present, for Jesus has already announced the arrival of the kingdom. In this
context it means that his disciples are to make the kingdom of heaven the
center of their continual, daily priorities. They have already entered the
kingdom of heaven and are to live with that reality, drawing on God’s ordering
of their daily lives. In doing so they will “seek … his righteousness.”
The conjunction of righteousness and
the kingdom maintains a special theme in the SM (5:6, 10, 20; 6:1).
It does not mean to pursue salvation, because the disciples’ entrance to the
kingdom secured them that kind of “imputed” righteousness (5:20).
It means that they are to pursue their experiential growth of “imparted”
righteousness, which is to pursue the increasing perfection of the Father (5:48)
through their practice of “acts of righteousness” (6:1).
The theological articulation of these themes becomes a major focus of the early
church, especially Paul. But their foundation is laid in Jesus’ teaching here.
When his disciples pursue God’s kingdom and his righteousness in their daily
priorities and activities, they will have all of their needs met by their
ever-caring, ever-watching heavenly Father—“and all these things will be given
to you as well.”
Eliminating
worry (6:34). Having given the
climactic imperative to guide every area of the disciples’ lives, Jesus returns
to the specific issue—worry about God’s daily care for their needs. If God’s
ordering of the disciples’ lives includes his provision for all of their daily
needs, “therefore” one certainly should not worry about tomorrow. Learned reliance
on God’s care for present needs will cause his disciples to develop trust in
him for their future needs. The two expressions in this verse, “for tomorrow
will worry about itself” and “each day has enough trouble of its own,”
reiterate the same basic truth. All the worry in the world today can do nothing
about the cares and problems of tomorrow. As disciples learn to let God care
for them today, When the firing stopped, The Christmas Truce: The Story of Karl and Arthur.
It’s
Christmas Eve 1915 and in small village
in Alsace, Germany, Karl looks at the photo’s placed above the open hearth, and sees a
photo of 4 young friends smiling as they go off to War, Karl looks at the photo and sees himself, and
his 3 boyhood friends, Bernhard, Dieter and Konrad and he remembers they are
no longer there, they lay dead and discarded
in an open grave on a forgotten battlefield,
he looks at the next photo and sees his wife Lilli and their two young
children, Johann and Agatha he looks at
the last photo of him and his English friend Arthur and remembers their friendship
formed on a makeshift football field in the middle of a mud filled battlefield
as the soldiers of grey and khaki put aside their differences and shared cigarettes
and chocolates and forged a peace in a time of war.
Silent Night in German, "Stille Nacht"
Lilli
passes him his guitar and he starts to sing Silent Night , Holy Night and then
he tells his wife and children the story of how a year ago, that the soldiers of khaki and grey laid aside
their arms of war, and made peace instead of war and has the fighting stopped
along the trenches then the Generals and Politicians came to their senses and had realised their follies and decided to end their terrible war and finally the sounds of peace could be heard once more across many lands
and the soldiers of khaki and grey came home to their families.
He then picks up his guitar once more and teaches his wife and children, the carol his English Friend, Arthur had taught him, While Shepherds watched their Flocks,and as he sings he hears the sound of thunder, and has he sighs, a hand touches his shoulder, he says “ Lilli” and hears a sound of laughter.
He hears the orders of the officers and sergeants as they tell him and the others to get ready and advance because it’s time to attack the English Enemy, they tell them the artillery have dislodged the tommies and they are now defeated, as he rises up, and walks across the forgotten football field, and wonders to himself when he will join his fallen friends, and thinks he sees his English Friend, Arthur, he is sure that this friend has died or is injured in the tommies’ trenches, he hears the sound of rifle fire, and feels an immense terrible pain and sees his jacket of grey suddenly changes colour to red, and he falls and lays like a discarded and broken toy of the god of war, and has he dies, his last word is “Lilli”
He then picks up his guitar once more and teaches his wife and children, the carol his English Friend, Arthur had taught him, While Shepherds watched their Flocks,and as he sings he hears the sound of thunder, and has he sighs, a hand touches his shoulder, he says “ Lilli” and hears a sound of laughter.
He hears the orders of the officers and sergeants as they tell him and the others to get ready and advance because it’s time to attack the English Enemy, they tell them the artillery have dislodged the tommies and they are now defeated, as he rises up, and walks across the forgotten football field, and wonders to himself when he will join his fallen friends, and thinks he sees his English Friend, Arthur, he is sure that this friend has died or is injured in the tommies’ trenches, he hears the sound of rifle fire, and feels an immense terrible pain and sees his jacket of grey suddenly changes colour to red, and he falls and lays like a discarded and broken toy of the god of war, and has he dies, his last word is “Lilli”
Arthur
looks across the crater filled and shattered former football field, and sees
the advancing men of grey and he turns to his boyhood friends, Albert, George
and Harry and he sees that they lay dead and dying on the wet and muddy ground, and has the hun artillery finished their seemingly
unending barrage they fell where they stood,
he steps up to the firing step and makes his stand , he steadies himself
and takes aim and has he fires and sees the soldiers of grey as they fall one
by one, and inspired by his courage His brothers in arms, fellow men of khaki fire into the thinning ranks of grey, and when the firing
stopped Arthur looks out to the blood soaked former football field and wonders if his
German Friend, Karl is among the fallen, he knows he has had revenged his
boyhood friend’s too soon deaths, and that the enemy advance has been
halted for at least for another day.
The Victoria Cross, "The Cross of Bronze with a Crimson Ribbon, from this story. "
The Victoria Cross, "The Cross of Bronze with a Crimson Ribbon, from this story. "
It’s
Christmas Eve, 1964, and in quiet village in Devon, England, Arthur sits in
front of an open fire, and he readies himself and his wife Lilly asks him if he
is ready, he sees some old photos that
hold so many memories , of four young
boyhood friends, who are smiling as they go off to war, Arthur, Albert, George
and Harry, he looks at the next photo
and sees his wife Lilly and their children John and Agatha and he looks at the
next photo of a soldier of grey and a soldier of khaki, shaking hands and
smiling as they share chocolates and cigarettes
after a special game of football, Lilly
passes him an unopened box and asked him
if he is wearing his medals , he opens the box and stares at those medals, so many memories and so much pain, his hand
shakes as he sees a cross of bronze with a crimson ribbon, Lilly steads his
hand with her hand, and she tells them their
grandson is ready to take him to tell the story of the Christmas Truce to their
friends at Church and has he
leaves that night, he hears Silent Night, Holy Night playing on the radio, as they drive to Church, he asks his grandson
to stop as they pass by the war memorial,
and he gets out of the car, he
stands for a moment and silently salutes his fallen friends, as he sees their names, Albert , George and Harry he remembers their smiling
faces as they went off to war and last but not least he remembers his fallen
German friend Karl.
Arthur
feeling his advanced years, is helped by grandson Carl, and has he enters the
Church he has lead for so many years, they congregation start to sing While
Shepherds watched their Flocks by Night,
when the singing stops, he stands
and tells his friends, The story of the
Christmas Truce, and he continues to tell the story of Arthur and Lilly and their
family, he looks at the cross of bronze with the crimson ribbon pinned on his
chest by his wonderful wife Lilly, and tells the story of his Beloved Saviour
who came as a baby and paid the price and who died a terrible, agonizing death to set man free and forgiven from the power of Sin.
While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
The Pipes of Peace, Paul McCartney
Military Voices 1914 The Carol of Christmas
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