In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

John McCrae (1872-1918)

Another evening round Dave’s for a game of Risk. It appeared to be a rematch, with the same opponents as before. With this in mind, I attempted to knock Ally out of the game fairly early, thereby ensuring the outcome would be different. Somehow, she survived my multiple merciless onslaughts, rising as if out of nowhere and completed her mission. They always say you should be careful of the quiet ones…

There’s a new cafe in the high street called Benjy’s which I noticed a week or so ago. It sells hot food which is perfect for Autumn, and I ended up having a Full English Breakfast – egg, bacon, sausages, baked beans and toast – for lunch. It was a good warming lunch, although I think I suffered later on the football pitch. I couldn’t run all that much, and had a slightly bloated feeling! Slightly odd as you’d have thought all those calories would’ve been useful for burning off later. Still scored a goal or two though.
Finished the day round Sarah’s watching old episodes of Fawlty Towers. 🙂

When the disciples met on the first Sunday after the crucifixion, Thomas wasn’t with them. Rather than going up to him saying “Why weren’t you with us on Sunday?” or “Where were you?”, they instead told him “We have seen the Lord!” Thomas had missed out on God’s blessing because of his absence.

The following Sunday, the disciples met up again and this time Thomas was with them. Again, Jesus appeared to the disciples, and Thomas finally saw his Lord. He was able to see and worship his Lord.

Similarly for us. If we are followers of Christ, we receive much blessing through meeting up with fellow believers to meet with our Lord. We may not see the Lord physically, but Jesus has promised to be with his people in a special way when two or three are gathered in his name.

As Christians, we should need no prompting to attend church services, to listen to our Lord that we might benefit, for when we miss them it is our loss. We may miss them because of many reasons, but it would be folly to miss them because of lame excuse.

It’s been a while since I last used my walking boots for walking! (Rather than just as suitably rugged footwear in Wales and Kenya!) So today’s jaunt around Windsor Great Park was an invigorating return to walking. Despite the rather wet weather forecast, not a drop of rain fell during the ramble, and the sun even made an appearance, giving ample opportunity to take photos. It was good just to get away from the usual hustle and bustle of city life and get some fresh air.

In the evening, the usual suspets gathered in Victoria for some food, and then we wandered down to Battersea Park to watch a huge fireworks display. After spending most of the day walking, I was a little worse for wear and was content to just watch the impressive sequence of bangs and flashes.

A good, if rather exhausting day!

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

His dying crimson, like a robe,
Spreads o’er His body on the tree;
Then I am dead to all the globe,
And all the globe is dead to me.

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

Isaac Watts

Yesterday evening saw a Risk rematch, with Ally, Dave, Dave, Sam and myself vying for victory. There were allusions to the previous time the lads lost – to a girl, so this match was buzzing. This was also the first match in which we used the “Golden Cavalry”, which modified how reinforcements were determined, and with four-part mission cards. The game took a decidedly silly turn when the two Davids weakened themselves so much that Ally overcame both of them and seized their Risk cards. A little tussling ensued and I relieved Sam of his Risk cards, thinking my mission was one step away and victory would be mine. Before we knew it, the game was over as Ally completed her mission, occupying three continents as her final step. I’m beginning to think that her previous victory wasn’t a fluke at all, but that might actually be a formidable foe…

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Mt 5:10

A few days ago I received several texts from well-meaning Christians regarding Ferdie Flores, a missionary in East Timor. The body of all the texts alleged he was about to be executed, by beating, in the next day or so and asked for prayer. These were evidently ultimately forwarded from a single point, as the message was consistent, and had my friends and relatives concerned for this man.

Being the sceptic I am, I wasn’t so willing to believe the content of the text. I rummaged around the web, and found the web site of Baptist International Missions, Inc., a missionary organisation which is supporting Ferdie Flores – no mention of his pending execution at all though. Surely, if this man was to be executed, something would’ve appeared on their site? Rather than make my thoughts public though, I quietly passed on my sceptical views to those who had forwarded these texts to me. After all, it would’ve been awful if these texts were true and I’d publicly rubbished them without concrete proof.

As it turns out, it was a hoax. Ferdie Flores is alive and well. Reliable accounts are now being indexed in the search engines, such as this one, and BIMI has also issued a statement.

This is not to say that Christians are not persecuted, nor am I trying to say we shouldn’t pray for those who are persecuted. Ferdie Flores should be prayed for, as he does suffer persecution, while he continues to do a very difficult work for God.

However, as Christians we should be careful to test everything which is said to see if it is true.

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 1 Jn 4:1

We have very little excuse when we have ready access to information and organisations like Christian Solidarity Worldwide do all the hard work for us.

I am rather irrited that a hoax can occupy so much time, energy and resources of Christians, especially when it means that real persecution is overlooked and goes unnoticed.

A few days ago, Andy brought Nation States to my attention. Iniitially I thought this would be a pointless waste of time, but created a nation anyway, due to persistent pestering. After a couple of days of making decisions and seeing how my nation – The Kingdom of Plebbus – is developing, it’s becoming quite addictive. Whilst it is based on current political theory, which may or may not be accurate, the way decisions affect the general populace are sometimes a little unexpected! A good way to make politics interesting.