Dear praying friends,
Writing to believers in Thessalonica Paul told of how they had “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God” [1:9]. This obviously brought great joy to his heart. I fear that if Paul were to look at professing Christianity in the British Isles today his heart would be grieved and his spirit would be once more “stirred [provoked] in him” just as in Athens [Acts 17:16]. On 8th October Prince Philip opened a new wing at the Anglican Walsingham Shrine where each year a statue of Mary is paraded through the town. Next year, the one who promotes the idolatry of the Roman Catholic Mass, the Pope, is scheduled to visit Great Britain and rumour has it that he may stay at Buckingham Palace.
In September the Vatican announced that ‘the next International Eucharistic Congress, to focus on the Eucharist as communion with Christ’ would be held in Dublin, Ireland in 2012. On 20th October Rome announced formal plans to accept disenchanted Anglican clergy. Our lead article will highlight the march of Roman idolatry in the UK and the capitulation to it of the Church of England. God’s Word is short and simple “flee from idolatry” [1 Corinthians 10:14]. Locally in October that very subject evoked differing responses from an evangelical politician, the ‘culture minister,’ and a currently prominent evangelical ‘clerical minister’. The former quite rightly would not countenance attending a Mass under any circumstances whereas disappointingly the latter would. The politician was right – he realised that God’s glory ‘trumps’ community relations. John MacArthur summed such situations up perfectly when he wrote in his latest book ‘The Jesus You Can’t Ignore’ (p 70) “Jesus knew something evangelicals today often forget. Truth doesn’t defeat error by waging a public relations campaign”.