Day Off Week 48 2025

Nearly a week gone by since my day off but I do want to record it. I won't really be having one this week. Four things - 1. Reading. I read a large chunk of Dianarama, a new book about the infamous interview and the facts surrounding it. Finished that now. 2/3. Watching. First, the new Frankenstein on Netflix, which I enjoyed. Director Guillermo Del Toro takes the Mary Shelley idea and does his own take. It's a great film (apart from some of the cgi) but misses a few tricks that a Christian worldview might provide help in. Great pre-Christmas film with all that snow. (I now recall that I have also seen his Shape of Water but not his Pinocchio, which I met get on to). Second, a couple of episodes of Prisoner 951 (there are four altogether). It is interesting becasue the family whose story is related lives nearby (I have met her) and we have a lot of Iranians in the church. 4. Eleri came home with a coat for me, from Costco. She's so kind.

Grace Baptist Assembly 2025 Day 1/02

Our second session was a report session on the work of the gospel in Iran and among Iranians. Our speaker was Pooyan Mehrshahi, the pastor of Providence Baptist Chapel in Cheltenham. He gave a brief but illuminating history of Iran and the inroads the gospel is currently making among Persian people. He sought to give a balanced assessment of the apparent growth in numbers.

A Busy Monday

Monday was a very full day. Things start quite early these days. There were other things to do in the morning as well and then at 1 pm we had the next Evangelical Library lunch time lecture from Nick Needham on Robert L Dabney. An excellent piece of work. I will give a full report soon. I am sorry not more were able to hear it. After that we had a committee meeting and that was worthwhile. Finance continues to be an issue. Things are healthy enough at the moment but on current trends, it won't be long before we are in trouble. Current trends are making it difficult. Then after that I met up with a pastor friends of mine from West London and we visited a home in Golders Green where a couple are troubled about recent phenomena in the home. It turned out that Ihad met the lady before in another connection. We talked and then we prayed |(me in English, my friend in the family tongue). They kindly gave us gifts even though we were there only a short time/ I hope this will lead to further contact and a spiritual blessing on the famiily. It was nice too to have a coffee and catch up with my friend who I first met years ago through EMF

As I walked home through the park, there was a glorious sunset. My mother used to tell me that God was too good to me (she feared I would take it for granted). God certainly is very good. Then after tea I had a Bible study on salvation with two Iranian kurd refugees who come to the church. One of them has recently been transferred to Luton nd had caught the train to Cricklewood. I am encouraging hiom to attend a church in Luton but he like us, he says. anyone I was able to pass on part of the gift I'd just received to hm to cover his significant costs. The Bible study was okay bit all in translation. Their English is not great and my Farsi non-existent.

I then relaxed watching University Challenge (Cardiff beat St Andrews - not a Celt in either team!). We also watched a bit of TV - DI Ray and the ITV News.

Day Off Week 20 2024

Day off this week was mostly reading as ever. I made a good start on the book on revival by Michael Haykin. Full of good things. I rarely buy a newspaper these days but I sometimes look and see what obituaries appear and that can sway me. On Tuesday the combination of Frank Ifield and Ebrahim Raisi of Iran made me buy (we have an Iranian couple staying with us at the moment). We had Ifield's She taught me to yodel and one or two others at home when I was growing up so it was interesting to read about him. The Times artile was keen to tie him to The Beatles and was able to do that in various ways. I also headed out for lunch and in The Works I saw three books I fancied and bought them plus a collection of dog portraits in a book in a charity shop, which I bought. 

10 Nuclear Powers

1. United States
2. Russia (formerly part of the Soviet Union)
3. United Kingdom
4. France
5. China
6. India
7. Pakistan
8. North Korea

9. Israel (so they say)

10. We don't know who else - Iran?

Silk Roads

Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan is over 600 pages long and I am not very good at reading long books. One of my sons and his wife gave it to me as a present, however (last birthday maybe even Xmas 2016?) so I felt under some obligation, thankfully. The book is subtitled A new historoy of the world and so it has been worth wading through in order to fill up several gaps in my knowledge. It also takes a middle eastern and central asain viewpoint in the main and so is new in that sense also. It is good to eb reminded how much on the edge we are out here in Britain. Iwas slightly surprised to be reminded how involved Britain and then the USA has been in thhat part of the world. I have already forgotten much of the detail of fairly recent events in Afghanistan, Iran, etc. Do geta hold of it if you like big books or if you just like history.

10 oldest countries in the world

This is highly debatable I suppose but here's a stab.

1. Egypt 3,150 – 3,500 BC King Menes started this country and also started a reign of pharaohs that ruled the country for over three thousand years. The great Pyramids and the Sphinx remain as testament to this country’s ancient history.

2. India 3,000 BC This country was established by a civilization that started in the Indus valley and has since expanded to be today, the seventh biggest by area and the second biggest by population. In its history, India has given the world calculus and other mathematical formulae.

3. Ethiopia 2,500 – 3,000 BC This country is famous for its wilderness but evidence shows from ancient Egyptian texts, that it was one of its biggest trading partners and actually names the country. 

4. China 2,100 – 1,600 BC It is believed that the Xia Dynasty was the first in China as there is no evidence of an earlier one. Some of this country’s history can be seen by a visit to The Great Wall of China or The Forbidden City in Beijing.

5. Iran 625 – 559 BC This country that would later become the birth place of the Persian Empire was started by the unification of the local tribes by Medes. Some historical sites are Qom and Persepolis.

6. San Marino 301 AD This city state may be one of the smallest countries in the world but that does not mean that it is not also one of the oldest. It was established by St Marinus who settled there to avoid persecution. Some of itshistory can be witnessed by looking at the old Walls of San Marino.

7. France 486 AD There are many historical sites in this country which has had such an influence on the rest of Europe. It was first established by a unification made by Clovis the first king of France.

8. Bulgaria 632 AD The first Bulgarian Empire was established with Pliska as its capital by Asparukh. Some of its historical sites include the Rila monastery and the Kazanuk Tomb. It has more recently been linked with the invention of the first electrical computer. 

9. Japan 660 AD The Japanese nation is said to have been started by its first Emperor, Jimmu. The country is rich in history and perhaps the best place to witness some of that history is at Himeji Castle.

10. Turkey 900 AD This country was established on the sight of the Trojan War by the Seljuk dynasty of Turks as they migrated and later became the birth place of the Ottoman Empire.

(Greece is not here because it was split between Macedonia and Greek city states. Hungary adn Armenia are sometimes listed.)

Good news from Iran

An Iranian pastor sentenced to death for apostasy has been acquitted and released, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide.

CSW, which supports the persecuted church, has been informed that Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani has been freed from prison and is now at home with his family.

Pastor Nadarkhani made an appearance in court today during which the apostasy charges against him were dropped.

However, he was found guilty of evangelising Muslims and sentenced to three years in prison.

He was released immediately because he had already served this time in prison, after being held behind bars since the apostasy charges were first levelled against him in 2009.

Pastor Nadarkhani was arrested in his home city of Rasht after he questioned the Muslim monopoly of religious instruction for children, which he felt was unconstitutional.

He was sentenced to death for apostasy the following year. Then in 2011, the Supreme Court said the charges would be dropped if he converted to Islam, something Pastor Nadarkhani refused to do.

CSW had expected the pastor to face new charges in court today for unspecified crimes, but he was instead released.

CSW’s Chief Executive, Mervyn Thomas said he was delighted over Pastor Nadarkhani's release.

"We commend the Iranian judiciary for this step, which is a triumph for justice and the rule of law," he said.

"While we rejoice at this wonderful news, we do not forget hundreds of others who are harassed or unjustly detained on account of their faith, and CSW is committed to continue campaigning until all of Iran's religious minorities are able to enjoy religious freedom as guaranteed under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is party.”

Youcef Nadarkhani

Continue to pray for Iranian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, who was sentenced to death for apostasy in November 2010. At the time of writing, his case had been referred to Iran's supreme leader for a decision. This unusual move indicates how much is at stake for both Pastor Nadarkhani and the country, which has been criticised on the international stage over his death sentence. The church leader has repeatedly refused opportunities to renounce his faith in order to secure an annulment of the charge. Thank God for Pastor Nadarkhani’s courage, and pray that the international pressure on Iran will result in his acquittal and freedom.

(Barnabas fund)

Good news from Iran

I haven't really followed this story but I read here

The news that we have been waiting for for so long has now come. What an answer to prayer!

Maryam and Marzieh have been released from prison in Tehran. The conditions of release are not yet fully known but I expect we will hear more soon. These two young women refused to deny God, despite this meaning they could have faced a death sentence. Their story has impacted Christians across the globe and brought a new level of boldness and determination as we share the gospel.

This is just the beginning of another episode. Both Maryam and Marzieh have suffered physically and have incurred enormous legal costs. I expect the cost of defending themselves will have been high, and as both Maryam and Marzieh have suffered physically they will probably need expensive expert medical help over the coming months. I expect various organisations will launch appeals soon to allow Christians to give.