Dear Friends,

There has been concern expressed recently by Christian groups of the new Racial and Religious Hatred Bill that is being put to the House of Lords on 11th October. The concern is that if the Bill is passed, “freedom to preach the full Gospel of Jesus Christ may be significantly curbed for years to come. Despite Government reassurances the wording on the face of the Bill may mean that preaching directly from the Bible could become a criminal offence punishable with a jail sentence of up to 7 years.” On the other hand, there are Christian groups, such as The Salvation Army, whose official position is to be generally supportive of the bill; so it is an issue requiring thought and prayer.

We need to pray for those in authority in Government that they will have wisdom and guidance in their policy making decisions for they can have far reaching implications at times.

Whilst we do not know what the outcome of the vote in the House of Lords will be history shows us that it is a fact that there will always be attempts in one form or another to stop the Christian message being told. After all it’s nothing new really, for was not Jesus Himself crucified on a Cross by those trying to keep Him quiet? Yet, look what happened – Jesus rose alive from the grave and the message of a new life in Jesus Christ has spread to so many places around the world.

So what can we do about it? Let us show the world that Christianity is about God’s love, compassion, forgiveness and that far from being a dangerous message, it is one of love, hope both now and in the future. Let us put our faith and trust in our Lord whatever the outcome of the vote for one thing we can be certain of is that whilst we might not know what the future holds, we know Who holds the future!

May God bless you.
Paul Wood
Captain