Monday PrayerCast 16th May 2022
News and Prayer Update.
It’s Monday morning, 16th May 2022, and this is the regular Monday PrayerCast on the Semper Reformata Podcast, – it’s our weekly News and Prayer Update from NI with a Christian worldview.
Let’s talk politics.
Local politics. Our local Assembly election was held on May 5th. An incident at two polling stations in South Antrim saw a leading politician verbally abuse Christians who were holding placards reminding voters of his party’s voting record on abortion issues. The result was disappointing, with cultural marxist, socially liberal abortionist parties making significant gains. While the overall nationalist-unionist split hasn’t changed, the largest party in the new assembly will be Sinn Fein with 27 seats, the political party historically and intrinsically linked with the murderous terrorist organisation, the IRA, so their anti-life stance is no surprise. They actively promote the culture of death of the pro-abortion lobby, and in the last mandate of the Assembly, they were one of the parties, who passed a law permitting abortion with no gestational limits (in other words up to birth) for babies with disabilities, like Downe’s Syndrome, supported by other so called ‘progressive’ parties, like the Alliance party, SDLP, and Greens.
Overall, the number of pro-life MLA’s has dropped from 29 to 27. That’s just 27 out of a total of 90. Last mandate, I referred to this bloodstained legislature as ‘The Assembly of the Wicked.’ I can’t see how this has changed. A Twitter video amply demonstrated the low moral calibre of some of these people. One of the new MLA’s making lewd homosexual innuendos, referencing his desire for male body parts.
So watch out for more pressure on gender issues, transgenderism, euthanasia, and much more. On Wednesday 11th May, the Newsletter, one of our local papers carried a report that the proposed ‘Gay Conversion Therapy Ban’ would not extend to NI, but the report referenced a debate in Stormont in April last year, when UUP leader Doug Beattie tabled a motion calling for “the Minister for Communities to commit to bringing forward legislation before the end of the current Assembly mandate to ban conversion therapy in all its forms” The motion passed 59 to24, with the DUP and TUV voting against. According to the Newsletter, during that debate, Mr Beattie repeatedly referred to both sexuality and gender identity too, suggesting that both will each be included in any ban drawn up locally. Mr Beattie was re-elected to the Assembly on May 5th, getting in on the final count, by the skin of his teeth. John Calvin said, “When God punishes a nation, he gives it wicked rulers.” We are most certainly under the severe judgment of God here in NI.
Still, we are to pray for these people, – pray that God will arrest them on their road to wickedness, as he did with Saul of Tarsus, on the road to Damascus, and turn them from their hard-hearted pursuit of evil, and bring them under the crushing weight of the Law of God, so that they repent of their wicked ways and turn from them. We are to pray for them, at the same time being aware that when their diktats conflict with God’s law, we must obey God rather than man.
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Let’s talk about MONEY. Inflation continues apace. The Office for National Statistics website, alleges that the level of inflation is 6.2% as of March this year, the Bank of England predicting 10% later this year – I think that’s a conservative estimate. We know that inflation is raging in this country when we fill our cars with fuel, or when we order home heating oil, or visit a grocery shop. A vast amount of artificial fertiliser comes from Russia and Ukraine and by September the shortage of food crops, caused by fertiliser shortages will cause further huge price hikes in the food markets, with one pundit predicting that the price of bread could rise to around 5 times its current price by the end of the year, with road fuels sitting at around £5 per litre. The sanctions imposed by the West upon Russia are crippling western economies far more than they are hurting Russia.
It would be easy to blame Putin for our government’s economic mismanagement. But the amount of quantitive easing – literally printing money that we don’t have – during the Covid pandemic was astronomical; used to provide furlough money, to buy shiploads of PPE, – some of which wasn’t even suitable, – and we are paying for that government waste and squander now, through this hyper-inflation which will rob us all. Inflation is a tax, – it is our own governments, paying for their profligacy by emptying your bank account.
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And what about Ukraine? In what must seem to many to be a deliberate policy of wrecking our economy to the point of destruction, the government, under Boris Johnston is pouring billions of pounds of military aid into the proxy war that NATO is pursuing against Russia in Ukraine. Money that could be used to feed starving millions in Africa, who are suffering greatly because of the sanctions on Russia. Money that, in essence is being spent enriching the global armaments industry. It’s not often I agree with the Pope, but Francis caused a media scandal when he gave an interview with an Italian paper, and said that NATO had facilitated the war in Ukraine, by, “Barking at Russia’s door.” A rare chink of geopolitical truth emanating from the Vatican.
Back to the financial costs, though. On 20th March, Sky News reported that, “The average UK household will experience a £2,553 drop in income this year, half of which is as a result of the invasion of Ukraine, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research.” It’s wasted money, for it’s a war that no-one will win; the likelihood is that the military aid being supplied will be misused, or end up in the wrong hands. Meanwhile, nobody seems to care about the actual suffering civilian population of the Ukraine itself. In a recent Friday meeting of the UN Security Council in New York: a session on Ukraine lasted 2 minutes. “The Chairperson simply said, “There are no registered speakers on the list of speakers. The meeting is adjourned.” There was no-one interested enough to actually speak up for the ordinary people of Ukraine. There’s a link to a YouTube Video of the meeting that you can access through the episode notes.
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Well, if the pope has been bold enough to go against the official narrative in Ukraine, – we certainly can’t find similar courage among the local main church leaders here in NI, who have been less than vocal in support of the life of the unborn child. And across the water in Scotland the rot continues. The Church of Scotland is looking forward to its General Assembly, later this spring, and it seems that a motion will be passed to permit same sex ‘weddings’ in their churches. A majority of presbyteries have already indicated how they will vote on the issue and most will support it. The church of John Knox has gone a long way from its early roots. A long way from the Bible too. The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. Surely the Kirk should be calling upon sinners to repent of their sins and be forgiven, and bear the fruits of repentance, rather than endorsing their sinful lifestyle? There is hope for LGBT people, but like all of us, it is in Christ alone. Paul again, in the same passage, 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. There’s an article on the Christian Institute’s Website where you can find out more.
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Links to all these stories are available so you can read and research them for yourself. Follow the weblink in the episode notes to www dot Semper hyphen Reformata dot com to do more research.
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Todays Grace Gem is from J R Millar’s Year Book:-
“Weeping may endure for a night—but joy comes in the morning.” The night may grow very dark—but the morning will break. “We must through much tribulation enter the kingdom of God;” but notice the word “through.” “The valley of the shadow of death” lies in the path; but we are to pass through it, and beyond comes, “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever!” After Egypt and its bondage—comes the “good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey.” So it is always. After winter, with its death and desolation, comes spring with its flowers, fruits, harvests, and life. After earth with its sorrows, comes heaven, where joy shall be eternal! Find more inspirational quotes on Gracegems.org.
Let’s pray…
Our Heavenly Father, we thank you that it is you who ultimately rules this world and everything in it. But you appoint men and women to sit in governance over us. We pray for such people, and we ask that you would turn their hearts away from their wicked ways and bring them to a saving relationship with your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave His own life for sinners at the cross. Help us in these times of difficulty, when people are finding it difficult to make ends meet. Provide for those who are starving, when this world has plenty, restrain those who are disrupting food supplies, care for those who are homeless, and penniless, while money that could house them is being wasted on warmongering. Bring revival to the visible church we pray, so that it will rise up, in these last days and boldly proclaim the truth of the Gospel. Amen.
That’s all for now! Catechism class is tomorrow – Tuesday at 1pm, and there should be a sermon podcast on Saturday.
Don’t give up, – lift up your head! Don’t be discouraged, – let’s keep watching, and keep praying, and keep believing in our Sovereign Lord, who overrules everything in the universe he created.
The Salty Scrivener 