Paul Long's Ramblings

Sunday, January 20, 2013 Saudi Arabia Sent Death Row Inmates to Fight in Syria in Lieu of Execution By Dan Wooding Founder of ASSIST Ministries SAUDI ARABIA   (ANS)  --  A top secret memo sent by the Ministry of Interior in Saudi Arabia has revealed the Saudi Kingdom sent death-row inmates, sentenced to execution by decapitation, to Syria to fight Jihad against the Syrian government in exchange for commuting their sentences. A clandestine picture taken of a beheading about to take place in Saudi Arabia According to the memo, dated April 17, 2012, which was reported by the Assyrian International News Agency ( www.aina.org ) the Saudi Kingdom negotiated with a total of 1239 inmates, offering them a full pardon and a monthly salary for their families, who were to remain in the Kingdom, in exchange for "...training for the sake of sending to the Jihad in Syria." The memo was signed by Abdullah bin Ali al-Rmezan, the "Director of follow up in Ministry of Inter...

2012 has flown by pretty quickly and 2013 is already here. 2012 did not end too well .... sick most of the days I was on leave and it followed through into 2013. Pretty miserable and plans to take off for a short summer holiday did not materialize. Anyway, I was sort of (and still am) "holding the fort" - someone needed to be around to lead worship, dispense communion, preach etc during the long Christmas to New Year summer break. But the quieter period even though busy for me personally has also been positive. Had a lot more time for reflection. For example I realized that there was a clear pattern of my physically "crashing" very often on my off days and when I take leave. So while I have been trying to be diligent in taking rest and time off, it has not been working out well. Often too much spills over (in my mind) on Mondays and I end up sorting these things out (and it eats into my off day). Also I suspect that when I try to switch off and enforce rest my adren...

For the 23 Dec 2012 bulletin This carol is the closing hymn for this Sunday’s sermon.  I hope having the lyrics on paper will be an encouragement.  I HEARD THE BELLS ON CHRISTMAS DAY Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), 1867 I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day Their old familiar carols play, And wild and sweet the words repeat Of peace on earth, good will to men. I thought how, as the day had come, The belfries of all Christendom Had rolled along the unbroken song Of peace on earth, good will to men. And in despair I bowed my head: "There is no peace on earth," I said, "For hate is strong and mocks the song Of peace on earth, good will to men." Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: "God is not dead, nor doth he sleep; The wrong shall fail, the right prevail, With peace on earth, good will to men." Till, ringing singing, on its way, The world revolved from night to day, A voice, a chime, a ...

Pastor's notes for the 9th Dec 2012 bulletin To read click HERE

pastor's notes for the 2 Dec 2012 bulletin To read, click  HERE

Pastor's notes for the 25 Nov 2012 bulletin To read click HERE

another excellent piece by Tawfik Hamid Analysis of the Gaza Clash By Tawfik Hamid www.tawfikhamid.com The recent military confrontation between Israel and Hamas organization in Gaza raises several concerns. One of these concerns is:  Who is behind this escalation & why have they occurred at this particular time? Some Palestinian leaders such as Saeb Erekat have accused [i] Prime Minister Netanyahu of plotting the conflict for political gain, suggesting that the conflict will help Netanyahu's party in the coming Israeli elections. These accusations are somewhat illogical as the conflict is more likely to put the Israeli government in a serious Catch-22: accepting a cease fire will not satisfy those Israelis who support an invasion of Gaza , whereas invading Gaza may displease  a significant percentage  of the Israeli population. Hamas is indisputably part of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB ) [ii] (according both to the second item of the  Hamas ...