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Blind Folly
The following headline appears in the ‘Belfast Telegraph’. It highlights the blind folly that dominates politics here.
‘My husband is a Sinn Fein member, and I am absolutely not a republican’: Alliance’s newest MLA
From what little I can read of the article for I would not subscribe to that ‘ecumenical’ newspaper in order to avail myself of the full article, the marriage is representative of the folly that dominates Ulster’s political scene.
The following appears on the ‘Belfast Telegraph’ website. “Alliance’s newest MLA laughs at the suggestion that her party wants a beige and bland Northern Ireland that is politically and culturally homogenous.”
“A beige and bland” Northern Ireland is one that is colourless and insipid, in other words utterly without principle or purpose. This MLA may laugh at the suggestion but that is the ‘ecumenical’ thesis that is foundational to her party, the Alliance Party!
The Word of God says: “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” Amos 3:3. The answer of course, is very clear. They cannot!
For a marriage between a Sinn Feiner and an Alliance Party member to work, either one must compromise on their political views. Their publicly stated views are somewhat opposed. Sinn Fein holds that murder and terror are legitimate means of obtaining political power while the Alliance Party would, on paper, differ with that and claim to be ‘anti-violence’!
How could any country exist and prosper, based upon such an ‘unholy’ union! Click to read more…
Posted on 2023-07-31 a 3:48 pm
Editor replies to 'perversion advocate' Gareth Hanna
The following article has appeared in today’s Belfast Telegraph. It is by ‘perversion advocate’, Gareth Hanna.
It is to be noted that it is a rehash of what appeared this time last year in the Belfast Telegraph.
It is to the shame of that newspaper that it is prepared to promote such devilish drivel.
Dear Christian, please understand that God’s Word is being fulfilled before your eyes! I quote a portion of God’s Word that I have often quoted before.
“This know also, that in the last days perilous (fierce – of the devil, Matthew 8:28) times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away,” 2 Timothy 3:1-5.
Gareth Hanna and his ilk are described by many of the terms used, by divine inspiration, by Paul in this portion of his epistle. Hanna is one of those whose ways and views are bringing in the ‘perilous times’ here spoken of by Paul.
I answered the article on July 29th last year and I am repeating that answer here.
Sincerely in Christ’s name,
Ivan Foster
Why it’s time more NI Christians came out as LGBTQ+ affirming
My answer to the above as it was published back on 29th July 2022.
It would appear that the writer (Gareth Hanna) would have us believe that he has some form of connection with ‘Christianity’, but in truth his writings and arguments in the article indicate plainly that he is as ignorant of God’s Word as a ‘sow going to hoke’! Click to read more…
Posted on 2023-07-27 a 5:41 pm
Yet another priest charged with indecent assault!
Just when will ordinary members of the ‘Roman Catholic Church’ realise that there is something very wrong at the heart of that institution to which they appear able to give unquestioning allegiance?
How many clerics of all ranks world-wide have to be exposed, arrested and found guilty of the most heinous immorality, and that primarily against children, before there is a realising that such is the predominant moral feature of their ‘church’ and that for centuries?
Such perverts cannot be considered for one moment to be followers of the Lord Jesus. Christians are commanded, in both the Old and the New Testaments to walk in purity and holiness.
“Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God,” Leviticus 20:7.
“But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy,” 1 Peter 1:15-16.
The following report is from a newspaper, ‘The Irish News’ which chiefly serves a Roman Catholic readership.
May its report raise questions in many hearts! To that end we should earnestly prayer for the Roman Catholic people.
Sincerely in Christ’s name,
Ivan Foster
Co Tyrone priest and former school president charged with indecent assault
Irish News (27/7/23)
A Co Tyrone priest who requested a leave of absence earlier this year while a serious safeguarding investigation was carried out has been charged with indecent assault against two males.
Court papers show Canon Patrick McEntee (69) from Esker Road, Dromore is charged with indecently assaulting a complainant between 1980 and 1981. Click to read more…
Posted on 2023-07-27 a 5:34 pm
A unique miracle that differs from all others
“And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought. And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly. And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town,” Mark 8:22-26.
A feature of the gospel of Mark is the ‘immediacy’ of the Saviour’s responses to the requests for help and mercy that came to Him.
An example of this is seen in the previous chapter. “And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; and looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain,” Mark 7:33-35.
Please note the word ‘straightway’! It is a translation of the Greek word, ‘eutheos’. This word is also translated by the English words ‘immediately’ and ‘forthwith’. The words underline the urgent and immediate response of the Saviour to the needs of men and women. However, in the record of this miracle there is a two-stage working by which the man’s sight was restored.
Now all the actions and words of Christ are written down “for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope,” Romans 15:4. There is divine wisdom behind this change in methodology of the Lord Jesus in healing this man from his blindness.
I. PLEASE NOTE THE KIND HANDS WHICH LED THAT MAN TO THIS MERCIFUL BLESSING
“And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand,” Mark 8:22-23.
1. It was the kind hands of those who desired God’s blessing for this man that led him to the Saviour. Doubtless, it was the man’s family and friends that acted so. The Saviour had been in Bethsaida before and the people were aware of His mercy and power to heal and to bless. The disciples had been earlier directed by the Lord to sail over to Bethsaida. “And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people,” Mark 6:45. That followed the miraculous feeding of the five thousand, verses 37-44. The disciples did sail across, experiencing the mighty power of Christ to save them from the power of a storm, verses 47-51. Click to read more…
Posted on 2023-07-27 a 8:00 am
Latest update from Pilgrims Covenant Church
We share with you the latest report on the gospel literature outreach of Pilgrims Covenant Church in Monroe, Wisconsin, USA.
I have in the past had the opportunity of ministering in this church and sharing the pulpit with a faithful preacher and contender for the faith, Pastor Ralph Ovadal.
He and his helpers set a wonderful example of what it is to be an earnest, stedfast and abounding in the work of the Lord.
I trust you are encouraged by this report and I would ask you to pray for this faithful gospel witness.
Sincerely in Christ’s name,
Ivan Foster
Pilgrims Covenant Church Public Ministries Update
July 22, 2023
Dear Friends,
With this summary on our gospel witness in the world, we pick up where we left off with our last quarterly report. I want to begin by thanking those who pray for us as we labor for the Master and, I trust, with a heart for His honor and glory and then for the perishing. We also wish to express our appreciation for those who help in a financial way our small church labor for the Lord by way of our gospel witness. For instance, we have just put in another order for 35,000 of our PCC gospel tracts, specifically our Christ Jesus Came into the World to Save Sinners tract. But of course above all, we thank the Lord for the means, the health, and the many opportunities He has provided to share the glorious gospel of Christ with multitudes of men, women, and young people spiritually and legally “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1).
Below is a very brief summary of our gospel labors at public gatherings these past three months. Generally speaking, during each gospel witness, we have many interactions with all sorts and kinds of individuals. It is not unusual to meet with a certain amount of animosity from surly men and women, old, young, and in-between, who would no doubt be in favor of making the sharing of the gospel – at least a faithful gospel – unlawful. But at the same time, we regularly, not always but regularly, meet individuals who surely seem to be born-again brethren who rejoice to see the gospel of Christ being shared with all and everyone present. Among those just mentioned are, here and there, on-duty police officers who, having been offered one of our gospel tracts, warmly respond to us and announce that they too are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. The great, vast majority of persons with whom we interact are unbelievers – some with no religion, some in apostate churches, and some of religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, or Islam. Most individuals are polite, and many even thank us for the gospel tract they receive. No doubt, a good many are thankful that someone showed such concern for them.
But, to sum up, every ministry outing we undertake results in a full range of interactions and responses which, if we were to detail in a report such as this, it would turn from a summary to a small book. So we content ourselves with mostly sharing some essential facts concerning each outreach and comfort ourselves with the thought that in each case we are sure that the Lord did so much more than even we were aware of at the time. Ephesians 3:20-21: “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” Click to read more…
Posted on 2023-07-26 a 5:55 pm
Men who lap water like a dog!
“So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands. And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon,” Judges 7:19-20.
The reason why every man who lapped water with his tongue, as a dog laps, verse 5, were chosen by the Lord as those by whom He would deliver Israel under Gideon’s leadership, is very simple to understand when we consider their posture and that of the others who were rejected. The majority of those who rallied to Gideon’s call drank in a manner described in verse 5. They boweth down upon their knees to drink.
The majority bowed right down with their mouth to the water. In that position, they displayed that their sole intent at that moment was to satisfy their thirst. On the other hand the three hundred scooped up water in their hand and “putting their hand to their mouth”, drank.
The latter group remained on watch, conscious of the nearness of the enemy while the larger group ignored the enemy and gave themselves to drinking. It was this distinction that decided the Lord’s choice. God wants those who are totally occupied with the purpose for which we have been called by Him. There is only a minority of the ‘Israelites’ who answered the call, who have this character and it is them the Lord uses in the battle!
What an honour was bestowed upon these three hundred! Doubtless, there would have been those who felt they demeaned themselves by adopting the posture of a dog, a creature deemed unclean in Israel. Likewise those who have the spirit of the three hundred are ‘looked down’ on today, indeed have alway been considered so! You cannot stand for Christ without “bearing His reproach”, Hebrews 13:13. Such has been the view taken by the world of the Saviour and His chiefest servants. As Paul said of himself and all of his spirit: “We are fools for Christ’s sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised. Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace; And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day,” 1 Corinthians 4:10-13.
Yes, others joined in when the final rout of the Midianites and their allies took place, but the three hundred had the eternal honour of being to the fore in the great victory. Click to read more…
Posted on 2023-07-25 a 3:41 pm
Children taught 'pornography'
The following article from today’s ‘Daily Mail’ about what is being taught in a ‘Church of England school’, should be compulsory reading for every Christian parent who shamefully sends their child to a state school where ‘Relationship and sexuality education (RSE)’ is taught.
Sadly, I fear that many will simply ‘hide their heads in the sand’ and pretend that it is not a threat to their offspring!
Such an evil classroom subject, is according the Government, compulsory. “The teaching of relationship and sexuality education (RSE) is mandatory for all pupils of compulsory school age.” (https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/articles/relationship-and-sexuality-education-rse)
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland recently forced this vile teaching upon state schools here.
The article in the ‘Daily Mail’ contains offensive terminology as it deals with what is nothing short of what I consider, pornographic material set before primary school children, so be warned.
Christian father removes his nine-year-old daughter from school after being horrified by what she was being taught in compulsory sex education lessons
I can only say SHAME on any Christian parents who persists in exposing their offspring to the danger of such material and who defy the Lord’s command: “And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up,” Deuteronomy 6:5-7.
Sincerely in Christ’s name,
Ivan Foster.
Posted on 2023-07-22 a 9:42 pm
The wheels coming off
“And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, and took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians,” Exodus 14:24-25.
When the wheels came off Pharaoh’s war chariots, I am sure that he and his generals began to utter loud imprecations against those in the ranks of the army whose duty it was to keep the chariots in good mechanical order!
They were blind to God, even though before their eyes there was a wonderful and glorious manifestation of God’s presence. “The LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud.”
In like manner, man today has an equally glorious and visible evidence of the existence of God.
“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof,” Psalm 19:1-6.
“Because that which may be known of God is manifest in (to) them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse,” Romans 1:19-20.
There is most certainly a series of utterances being expressed amongst the nations today, which I imagine are but an echo of the Egyptian complaints in the wake of the strange behaviour of their war chariots, as almost universally today the ‘chariot wheels’ of good government, international diplomacy, agricultural production and the expected social behaviour of the peoples of the nations.
Everywhere, there are scenes of the fabric of society, which before functioned with a large degree of routine normality, crumbling and collapsing. The wheels of an orderly functioning by the natural course of events that we have long taken for granted, have most certainly come off. Click to read more…
Posted on 2023-07-22 a 8:00 am
No country has ever welcomed the Gospel message!
The article from the ‘Telegraph’ of July 18th makes informative reading. I believe I must commend the writer for her challenging of her readers.
However, the article must be viewed through the ‘lens’ of God’s Word. It is very obvious to the student of the Word of God that there are widespread assumptions, that are unwarranted, made and held by many Christians regarding the ‘Christianity’ of certain nations. In truth, Bible Christianity has never been welcomed in ANY NATION on this earth at ANY TIME!
Whatever endorsements governments may have appeared to give to God’s Word in the past, were entirely false and spurious on the part of the majority of the members of such governments. God’s Word been defied and disobeyed by the many in governments everywhere. It was the influence of a few that ever brought about such an endorsement in the first place!
The present arrangement within the ‘state church’ here in the UK, is a clear illustration of that. King Charles III was recently crowned. During the ceremony he publicly vowed to uphold the truth of God. Were he to do that he would immediately put away his present ‘wife’, with whom he presently lives in an adulterous relationship.
We all know that will not happen and furthermore, the majority of clerics in the land would never seek for that to happen!
Such is illustrative of the present ‘allegiance’ of the land to God’s Word!
Speaking of himself and the other apostles, Paul says this: “For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised. Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace; and labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day,” 1 Corinthians 4:9-13.
When the ‘chief’ of Christians were so treated as they brought the glorious message of mercy and salvation, we lesser Christians should expect nothing better from the world when we endeavour to walk faithfully in their footsteps! Click to read more…
Posted on 2023-07-21 a 3:55 pm
Dogs allowed inside Canterbury Cathedral for the first time
Cathedrals in Worcester and Chichester are also joining the trial scheme, which comes as church officials try to attract more visitors
The ungodly reasoning behind such a scheme flies in the face of God. It illustrates just how far away from the mind, will and thinking of the Lord the leaders of the apostasy are!!
“Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you,” Matthew 7:6.
“Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without (outside) are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie,” Revelation 22:14-15.
Sincerely in Christ’s name,
Ivan Foster
Part of the article reads as follows.
“All creatures great and small are not usually allowed through the doors of Canterbury Cathedral – but an exception is now being made for dogs.
The seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, has joined a growing number of cathedrals in welcoming faithful four-legged companions inside.
Dogs are being allowed in as part of an effort to develop “community and connection” and to act as an “ice breaker” for churchgoers.
However, only guide dogs and other types of assistance pets, which have long been allowed inside, will be permitted to attend services.
It is one of three cathedrals holding trial schemes this summer in a move that may become permanent.”
Posted on 2023-07-18 a 10:58 pm
“Courage brother, do not stumble!"
“Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left,” Joshua 23:6.
Courage (the word carries the meaning, ‘lay hold of strongly and firmly) is often urged upon those who are required to obey the commands of God.
The great John Bunyan captured the meaning of these words in his famous hymn.
Who would true valour see,
Let him come hither;
One here will constant be,
Come wind, come weather
There’s no discouragement
Shall make him once relent
His first avowed intent
To be a pilgrim.
Whoso beset him round
With dismal stories,
Do but themselves confound;
His strength the more is.
No lion can him fright,
He’ll with a giant fight,
But he will have a right
To be a pilgrim.
Hobgoblin, nor foul fiend,
Can daunt his spirit;
He knows he at the end
Shall life inherit.
Then fancies fly away,
He’ll fear not what men say,
He’ll labour night and day
To be a pilgrim.
Here are some examples of the usage of the word among the many that are recorded in the Bible.
“Therefore shall ye keep all the commandments which I command you this day, that ye may be strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go to possess it,” Deuteronomy 11:8.
“Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the LORD hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it,” Deuteronomy 31:6-7.
“And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I sware unto them: and I will be with thee,” Deuteronomy 31:23.
“Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them,” Joshua 1:6. Click to read more…
Posted on 2023-07-18 a 6:13 pm
Psalm-singing Ironsides
“Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand; to execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people; to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; to execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD,” Psalm 149:6-9.
One old saintly soldier of Christ made this comment on these words of the Psalmist.
“Cromwell’s Ironsides were sneeringly called Psalm singers; but God’s Psalm singers are always Ironsides. He who has a ‘new song in his mouth’ is ever stronger, both to suffer and to labour, than the man who has a dumb spirit and a hymnless heart. When he sings at his work, he will both do more and do it better than he would without his song. Hence, we need not be surprised that all through its history the Church of God has travelled ‘along the line of music’.” —William Taylor.
Cromwell’s ‘Ironsides’ were providentially used to overthrow and punish the wickedness of Charles I and his evil regime.
Sadly the people of England preferred the degenerate ways of the Stuarts to the more devout ways of Oliver Cromwell. Consequently, after the death of the ‘Lord Protector’, at 59 years of age, in 1658, the people of the ‘ruling classes’ of England brought back the Stuart rule and Charles II, if anything a more wicked version of his father, was placed upon the throne!
So ended a very important era in the history of these Isles. The causes Oliver Cromwell espoused, dissenting preachers and their message, were virtually outlawed under Charles II. It was during his reign that the ‘Great Ejection’ took place!
The ‘Great Ejection’ followed the Act of Uniformity in 1662 in England. Several thousand Puritan ministers were forced out of their positions in the Church of England. It was largely a consequence of the ‘Savoy Conference’ of 1661.
That Conference was convened by Gilbert Sheldon, in his lodgings at the Savoy Hospital in London. The Conference sessions began on 15 April 1661, and continued for around four months. By June, a deadlock became apparent.
The conference was attended by commissioners: 12 Anglican bishops, and 12 representative ministers of the Puritan and Presbyterian groups. Each side also had nine deputies (called assistants or coadjutors). The nominal chairman was Accepted Frewen, the Archbishop of York.
The object was to revise the Book of Common Prayer. Richard Baxter for the Presbyterian side presented a new liturgy, but this was not accepted. As a result the Church of England retained internal tensions about governance and theology, while a significant number of dissenters left its structure and created non-conformist groups retaining Puritan theological commitments.
In 1662 the Act of Uniformity followed, mandating the usage of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer and spurring the Great Ejection.
The Act of Uniformity prescribed that any minister who refused to conform to the 1662 Book of Common Prayer by St Bartholomew’s Day (24 August) 1662, should be ejected from the Church of England. This date became known as ‘Black Bartholomew’s Day’ among Dissenters, a reference to the fact that it occurred on the same day as the St Bartholomew’s Day massacre of 1572.
Oliver Heywood estimated the number of ministers ejected at 2,500. This group included Richard Baxter, Edmund Calamy the Elder, Simeon Ashe, Thomas Case, John Flavel, William Jenkyn, Joseph Caryl, Benjamin Needler, Thomas Brooks, Thomas Manton, William Sclater, Thomas Doolittle and Thomas Watson. Biographical details of ejected ministers and their fates were later collected by the historian Edmund Calamy, grandson of the elder Calamy.
Although there had already been ministers outside the established church, the Great Ejection created an abiding concept of non-conformity. Strict religious tests of the ‘Clarendon Code’ and other ‘Penal Laws’ left a substantial section of English society excluded from public affairs, and also university degrees, for a century and a half. Click to read more…
Posted on 2023-07-15 a 7:46 pm
Questions for Carla Lockhart, MP
I am compelled to send out this article in response to what is reported in the ‘Belfast Newsletter’ today!
I have two questions for Carla Lockhart, a Free Presbyterian, as a result of what she is here reported to have said.
“Wherein was she ‘honoured’ to escort the man guilty of forcing upon the children attending state schools here, the abominable, ungodly and perverted ‘Statutory guidance on relationships education, relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education’ and did she, as a professed follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, while she had ‘some very direct conversations with him in recent days about a perceived lack of understanding of Unionism and our culture’, take time to rebuke him for his defiance of God and his lack of understanding of His Holy Law by his action on RSE?”.
Praise for Twelfth and Thirteenth displays in Lurgan, Loughbrickland, Banbridge, Portadown and Scarva
DUP MP Carla Lockhart said she was honoured to bring the Secretary of State to Lurgan for the Twelfth and give him a “baptism of culture”.
By Graeme Cousins
Published 14th Jul 2023
The Belfast Newsletter
The Upper Bann representative believes that the region excelled over the past few days in terms of Orange Order and Royal Black Preceptory parades.
She said: “What a display of culture – Lurgan, Loughbrickland, Portadown, Scarva, Banbridge and every town and village in between excelled.
“It was an honour to host the Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris at the Co Armagh parade in Lurgan. With over 50,000 spectators, 70 bands and hundreds of Orangemen he got a baptism of culture .
Carla Lockhart gave Chris Heaton-Harris a tour of Brownlow House during the Co Armagh Twelfth in Lurgan
“We have had some very direct conversations with him in recent days about a perceived lack of understanding of Unionism and our culture. Yesterday was a great opportunity for him to see first hand the rich fabric of pageantry, colour and faith that makes our Twelfth of July so special. Click to read more…
Posted on 2023-07-14 a 9:13 pm
A very compelling letter
“The Irish Republic is not, and never has been, a friendly neighbour”
(Belfast Newsletter, 14th July 2023)
A letter from Tom Ferguson, Ballymoney
I read Tom Cooper’s letter on bonfire hatred with great interest, particularly his assertion that the Irish Republic is a ‘peaceful neighbouring state’ (‘Letter: Incitement to hatred has been allowed to become part of unionist culture,’ July 13, see link below).
Would this by any chance be the state that in 1925 signed up to a solemn international treaty to respect the current border between it and Northern Ireland? And then in 1937, in shocking bad faith, reneged on its solemn word and laid claim to Northern Ireland, thus providing a quasi legal justification for subsequent IRA terror campaigns? Hardly the actions of a friendly neighbour.
Would this be the state that had prominent government and establishment figures that gave assistance to the establishment of the Provisional IRA, and therefore the subsequent decades of bloodshed and mayhem? And allowed its territory to be used as a safe haven from which to organise atrocities like Kingsmills, Tullyvallen, Darkley, and other sectarian atrocities in Northern Ireland? Hardly the actions of a friendly neighbour.
Would this be the state that for decades refused to extradite murderers of policemen and soldiers, on the grounds that such murders were ‘political’? And when an extradition treaty of sorts was agreed, used nit-picking details like a comma in the wrong place, to ensure that it was as ineffective as possible? Hardly the actions of a friendly neighbour.
Would this be the state that, (admittedly partly due to the ineptitude of some unionist politicians), ganged up with their masters in the European Union, to ensure that there would be a hard border in the Irish Sea between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK? Hardly the act of a friendly neighbour.
In short, in the eyes of the unionist community, the Irish Republic is not, and never has been, a friendly neighbour. At the present time it is actively working, with a treacherous, supine British establishment, to annex Northern Ireland, and is therefore our bitter enemy, and it is hardly surprising that its IRA inspired tricolour is consequently treated with such loathing and contempt.
Should the day ever dawn when the the Irish Republic publicly apologises to all the people that have been wronged and maimed, and the families of those who have been murdered due to their past policies. And also gives up their insistence on the current hard border in the Irish Sea, then, and only then, would any self – respecting unionist feel obliged to treat their flag with anything other than contempt.
Tom Ferguson, Ballymoney
Posted on 2023-07-14 a 9:08 pm
A warrior to his fingertips!
“Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight,” Psalm 144:1.
David was a warrior. He was engaged in WAR all his days and that most successfully. In that he was a type of the Lord Jesus. This world has a very perverted view of Christ, mislead chiefly by the ‘pansied’ notions of liberal preachers. This world will one day see Him as He is. “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war,” Revelation 19:11.
Please note from our text, read on the Sabbath past as part of my daily Bible readings, that:
I. THERE IS A WAR THAT IS HOLY AND RIGHTEOUS.
1. The wars of men are rarely if ever born of anything other than fleshly desires.There have been wars that are termed ‘just’. Evil dictators and aggressors have been opposed by those whose liberties and wellbeing they threaten. But even such are attended by wickedness and cruelty. The battlefield has very been a place where fleshly lusts have reared their head. The worst of crimes have marred the most honourable attempts to curtail and bring to justice those whose whole desire is to afflict and harm their neighbours.
In living memory, Adolf Hitler is an example of the tyrant who it was right to go to war to overthrow. None can deny however, that wrong was wrought by soldiers in the allied armies during that honourable crusade.
2. In more recent times we have seen tyrants warring against their weaker neighbours. In Iraq, Syria, North Korea, and at the present time, the evil attack of Putin’s Russia upon Ukraine, are all examples of the actions of tyrants. Many have sought to aid Ukraine’s struggle against her tyrannical neighbour, believing her cause to be just. Yet, we would be foolish to think that every action of Ukraine’s armies was untainted by wrongdoing! Man’s ‘rules of war’ are rarely kept on the battlefield. Human rage and revenge are frequently yielded to!
3. However, there is an ongoing war which is virtuous in ever detail, though sadly, it must be confessed that those engaged in this holy war have often marred its testimony by breaching the rules laid down for its conduct.
I am referring to that war the Lord started and has maintained against sin and the devil. The beginning of that war is recorded in Genesis. “And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel,” Genesis 3:14-15. Click to read more…
Posted on 2023-07-13 a 5:27 pm
A coming 'Golden Age' with a world-wide royal gathering breaking forth in song
“All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O LORD, when they hear the words of thy mouth. Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the LORD: for great is the glory of the LORD,” Psalm 138:4-5.
We sang the metrical version of this psalm in the morning prayer meeting last Lord’s Day. The above appears in this form in the metrical version.
All kings upon the earth that are
shall give thee praise, O Lord,
When as they from thy mouth shall hear
thy true and faithful word.
Yea, in the righteous ways of God
with gladness they shall sing:
For great’s the glory of the Lord;
who doth for ever reign.
As I joined in the singing, I was thrilled to note yet again in God’s Word, a reference to a wonderful future time when the present attitude of men, royal or otherwise, will be very different indeed.
I acknowledge that my eye seems to ‘home in’ on such references in the Bible whenever I am reading it. Often times it is to see the significance of the reference for the first time but at other times it is to peruse again with joy a familiar portion.
That there is a coming ‘golden age’ has ever been in the minds of men. It originated with the Greeks. The term ‘golden age’ comes from ancient Greek mythology and refers to a mythical time when all people lived in peace, prosperity, and happiness without having to work. Men have long looked for a re-birth of such a time.
THE BIBLE
Though Greek philosophers are credited with such a notion, in truth it is from the Bible that the hope of such an age is born! The prophet Isaiah spoke of a time on the earth when men “shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more,” Isaiah 2:4.
He speaks again of this wonderful time in chapter 11:6-9.
“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.”
Though mankind has lost its contact with the Word of God, as once the nations knew it in ages past, it has retained something of this longed for dream of an age utterly in contrast with the present turbulence, misery and death! Click to read more…
Posted on 2023-07-11 a 5:28 pm
Yet further evidence of the utter departure from God and His truth within the Church of England
Here is how one newspaper headlined a report of a recent display of downright ignorance, irreverence and blasphemy by the ‘Archbishop of York’. This was no spokesman for the ‘anti-Bible league’ but the second most senior cleric in the Church of England.
Archbishop of York Rev Stephen Cottrell says that starting the Lord’s Prayer with ‘Our Father’ is problematic
What he says beggars belief for its illogical and unjustifiable ‘reasoning’.
He says that ‘victims of abusive parents’ would find this a problem. Surely the whole desire of the victim of an abusive father would be that he had had a loving father, just like our heavenly Father, rather than the cruel parent he suffered under.
It is impossible to fathom the depths of this man’s folly! If this is what it is like at the top of Episcopalianism, one can only imagine what its core is like!
Our Heavenly Father is one to Whom we ought to delight in coming to Him and having the privilege of calling Him ‘Father’. Of course, many who recite the prayer the Archbishop refers to, have no right to call God their Father. Millions upon millions, myself included for a time before my conversion, go through the process of repeating these sacred words and yet have no actual knowledge of or living relationship with God!
The Lord Jesus said: “If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me,” John 8:42.
God is not the ‘Father’ of those who do not believe in and who do not love Christ as their Saviour. Click to read more…
Posted on 2023-07-10 a 5:09 pm
A dear sister and servant of God remembered
A tribute to Miss Edna Weir, 1937 – 2003.
Given by Rev. Ivan Foster at her funeral service in Bethel Free Presbyterian Church, 12th May 2003.
“I truly count it a privilege to pay this tribute to Edna and to exalt the grace of God in her life. Edna was a dear Christian, beloved of many, especially in this area of our land. I must state that anything I say about Edna will, in truth, fall far short of an adequate tribute to her labours in the cause of Christ, the main reason for that being that few know the full extent of her labours for Christ, and the degree of dedication and love that reigned in her heart.
Edna was converted when she was 17 under the ministry of Rev. Tom Butler in Darling Street Methodist Church, Enniskillen. She was immediately involved
in Sunday School work both in Lisbellaw Methodist Church and in Gola Methodist Hall. She felt the call of God to prepare herself for the work of God and attended Emmaus Bible College in Hollywood in the mid-sixties.
Upon returning home to Lisbellaw, she joined Lisbellaw Free Presbyterian Church. It was typical of Edna that once she saw an issue that required her to take a stand for the Saviour, then she, irrespective of the price that had to be paid or the reproach borne, would obey her Saviour. She felt that there was a departure from the old ways of the gospel taking place and that she should stand with those who were resisting such trends and seeking to preach the old gospel message.
It was about 1971 that she took charge of the children’s work in our Lisbellaw church. She, along with her faithful helper, her sister Barbara, diligently rounded up the children of the area and brought them to the meetings. Many of you here today were among those she reached. It was in the mid-70s apparently on the way to the opening of Coragarry Free Presbyterian Church, when a bus party travelled up from Bethel, that I asked Edna if she would consider taking on the work of a full-time evangelist in the congregation. As a result of her readiness to take on the work, at very little remuneration it should be said, Bethel Children’s Crusade was born. Click to read more…
Posted on 2023-07-07 a 11:17 pm
The pre-millennial return of Christ
(This message was given at the first meeting of 2000 of the Sovereign Grace Advent Testimony in London.)
“And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever” (Daniel 2:44).
When it comes to the study of prophecy, this subject is a very elementary one, yet it is a subject to which many give little thought. Many Christians have a general view of the return of Christ, that it is going to happen, but they are not well versed on what the Bible has to say about that glorious event. That ought not to be. It is a subject with which God’s people should be well acquainted.
It is clear from the Word of God that the Christians in the days of the apostles were very well taught about the return of Christ. Indeed, when Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, he said he needed hardly to write on this subject as they knew about it perfectly (1 Thessalonians 5:2). It could be thought that those early believers would have had to learn so many subjects; that they were to be taught in doctrine of which they never had the slightest knowledge before the gospel came to them. Paul would have had to deal with the doctrine of God, His Person, His power, the mystery of the Trinity, and the inspiration of God’s Word. Although there was so much to teach, the apostle found time to tell those early believers about the second coming of the Lord and of the end times. Many ministers today would speak as if Paul had so much else to proclaim, that teaching about the return of Christ and the doctrine of eschatology could be left to a later generation.
If Paul felt it necessary to explain prophetic facts 2000 years ago, it seems logical that there is an even greater necessity upon God’s servants at the present time to deal with this important subject. There never has been a generation nearer to the Lord’s return than the present one. We are closer to the end times than anyone has been, and you do not have to be a genius to work out that if there is one generation that has ever walked the face of this earth that ought to know about the return of Christ, what it means, and what circumstances will be prevailing when He comes, it is this generation. But I would venture to suggest that there might never have been a generation of God’s people so ignorant of these matters as the present one. Satan is the author of ignorance. He hath blinded minds, and the ignorance that prevails so widely today is of the devil.
God’s people should know that if the devil does not want them to see a thing, it certainly is something they should understand. And if the devil would seek to keep us from giving thought to what the Bible says about the return of Christ, you can be sure that it is an important subject to study. Click to read more…
Posted on 2023-07-06 a 8:06 am
The glory of the LORD rising upon Israel - part 2
(Part 2 of a 2 part study which seeks to refute the notion that the glories spoken of in this chapter refer to the ‘church’ and not to those clearly identified by the Lord in the chapter as the nation of Israel)
“Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee,” Isaiah 60:1.
I recently read with joy Isaiah chapter 60 as part of my daily Bible reading, though I confess that the notes at the beginning of the chapter in my Bible added by men, I found disconcerting and vexing to say the least. These notes are very common in most copies of the Authorised Translation of the Holy Scriptures.
The notes summarise the contents of Isaiah chapter 60 in the following fashion:
1. The glorious access of the Gentiles into the church. 15 The blessings of the church after affliction.
I wish to show in this study that this summary is very wrong. I continue with more reasons why it is wrong to see the ‘church’ rather than ‘Israel’ as the recipient of the glories spoken of in this chapter.
1. Furthermore, There Are References To Past Troubles And Tribulations In This Chapter Which Can Refer Only To Israel
“And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee,” Isaiah 60:10.
“The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee, The city of the LORD, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel. Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations,” Isaiah 60:14-15.
“Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise,” Isaiah 60:18.
The authors of the notes at the beginning of the chapter would have us believe that from verse 15 to the end of the chapter the Lord is speaking of “The blessings of the church after affliction”.
Now the Lord does chasten His church, of that we have no doubt. Paul says in his epistle to the Hebrews, 12:5-11. “And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.” Click to read more…
Posted on 2023-07-04 a 7:33 pm
A very happy ‘Independence Day’ to our USA readers!
A very happy ‘Independence Day’ to our USA readers. May they mediate with wise discernment on the blessings the Lord visited their forefathers with some 247 years ago and on many occasions since.
I am also adding an old poem, published in 1911, which marks the part the immigrants from Ulster played in that deliverance. It was written by William Forbes Marshall, a Presbyterian minister from Sixmilecross, County Tyrone. It asks of Americans that they remember the input and support of immigrants from Ulster on the United States throughout the American Revolution.
Hi Uncle Sam!
When freedom was denied you,
And imperial might defied you,
Who was it stood beside you
At Quebec and Brandywine?
And dared retreats and dangers,
Red-coats and Hessian strangers,
In the lean, long-rifled Rangers,
And the Pennsylvania Line!
Hi! Uncle Sam!
Wherever there was fighting,
Or wrong that needed writing,
An Ulsterman was sighting
His Kentucky gun with care:
All the road to Yorktown,
From Lexington to Yorktown,
From Valley Forge to Yorktown,
That Ulsterman was there!
Hi! Uncle Sam!
Virginia sent her brave men,
The North paraded grave men,
That they might not be slavemen,
But ponder this with calm:
The first to face the Tory,
And the first to lift Old Glory,
Made your war an Ulster story:
Think it over, Uncle Sam!
Sincerely in Christ’s name,
Ivan Foster
Posted on 2023-07-04 a 7:28 pm
Foolish notions are no real alternative to silence!
The following was a title given to a reader’s letter published in the “Belfast Newsletter”
Christians cannot be silent over new sex education guidelines in Northern Ireland schools, we must live out our faith.
Now I would agree 100% with that sentiment.
However, if Christians are going to say something, let it be in complete agreement with the Word of God!
The writer of the letter, who I am not naming for the simple reason that I have no wish to embarrass him, goes on to say, amongst other things, the following:
“And if the parents are Christian, then some of these topics are totally unacceptable because they are against the teachings that are in the Bible, and it will be up to them to explain this.
We are not to let anyone capture us with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. (Colossians 2:7-8).
Now it occurs to me as rather strange that anyone who sees a most serious threat to the moral wellbeing of a child, for the writer obviously does see developments within the state school system as indeed posing such a threat, is content with the action that the writer says he has taken to protect his offspring. Click to read more…
Posted on 2023-07-03 a 9:08 pm
The glory of the LORD rising upon Israel - part 1
(Part 1 of a 2 part study which seeks to refute the notion that the glories spoken of in this chapter refer to the ‘church’ and not to those clearly identified by the Lord in the chapter as the nation of Israel)
“Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee,” Isaiah 60:1.
I recently read with joy Isaiah chapter 60 as part of my daily Bible reading, though I confess that the notes at the beginning of the chapter in my Bible added by men, I found disconcerting and vexing to say the least. These notes are very common in most copies of the Authorised Translation of the Holy Scriptures.
The notes summarise the contents of Isaiah chapter 60 in the following fashion:
1. The glorious access of the Gentiles into the church. 15 The blessings of the church after affliction.
These notes are very misleading. They are just plain wrong! That is because they are written by men who held to an understanding of prophecy which is called ‘A-Millennialism’ or another view, ‘Post-Millennialism’.
Such are erroneous interpretations of Bible prophecy and the headings these spurious opinions have spawned and which appear at the beginning of Old Testament chapters dealing with end-time prophecy, are very wrong and are the cause of much error being believed by the readers of God’s Word.
Here is an example from the comments of a great Bible commentator, Dr John Gill.
“INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 60
As, in the two preceding chapters, the hypocrisy and formality, the profaneness and immorality, that should abound in the latter day, and even among professors of religion, are prophesied of; so, in this, a very ample account is given of latter daylight and glory; of both the spiritual and personal reign of Christ, with the latter of which it concludes. The light and glory of the church, in the spiritual reign, are described, #Isa 60:1-3 the numerous conversions of persons to it from all quarters, east and west particularly, are prophesied of, #Isa 60:4-8, the great usefulness those should be of unto it, in enriching it, and building it up, and in glorifying it, is declared, #Isa 60:9-13, as also the subjection of enemies to it; the favours it should receive from kings, and the fame and renown of it through all nations and ages, #Isa 60:14-16, its riches, prosperity, peace, and safety, #Isa 60:17,18 and the chapter is concluded with an account of the more perfect state of the church in the personal reign of Christ, when there will be a perfection of light and righteousness; and the number of God’s elect will be complete, and they will be all together, #Isa 60:19-22.”
Note that he speaks of the ‘church’ when the prophet is referring to Israel, as I hope to show you.
I value greatly his general Bible comments but must reject His views on eschatology for they sadly are very wrong. His views are but what was altogether common for many centuries amongst the best of men. However, I believe that God in His sovereign mercy drew many back to a true understanding of the Bible’s teaching about the return of Christ and its aftermath in the middle of the 19th century, though there was always a remnant who clung to a right understanding of the Bible’s teaching on eschatology, that is a post-tribulation, pre-millennial return of the Lord Jesus. It is the teaching set forth by the Sovereign Grace Advent Testimony, whose website (www.sgat.org) provides many articles and sermon recordings and publications on this wonderful subject.
Rev Brian McClung’s sermon on the views of the early ‘church fathers’ demonstrates that A-Millennialism and Post-Millennialism were later inventions of men. (Read it here). Also his article on the views of the men who drew up the Westminster Confession of Faith is very helpful and informative. (Read it here)
NOT ALL HEADINGS ARE ERRONEOUS
Now, not all the headings at the beginning of Bible chapters are erroneous. The headings at the beginning of the Bible, in Genesis chapter 1 for instance, are very helpful for anyone coming to the Bible for the first time. But those headings that are tied to prophecies of Israel in the latter-days are sadly anything but helpful, rather they plant the seeds of a false view of what the Lord says about the future times at the end of this age.
I wish to have a look at this chapter and I hope to be able to show that it does not deal with ‘the church’, but rather it deals with God’s ancient people, the nation of ISRAEL and the Lord’s future purpose regarding their conversion and the restoration of them to their position of being the premier nation on the earth. Click to read more…
Posted on 2023-07-01 a 8:22 pm