Ross Rennie – Page 8 – Grace Missions UK

What Is Wrong with the Church

12 January, 2016 Ross Rennie Opinions

Greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ

As we enter into 2016 I have had some thoughts recently. I have been a Christian since 1979. I have been in many churches. In my early years I was a member of the old Baptist Union. I was saved in a free evangelical church. I then went into the Assemblies of God. From the Assemblies of God owing to a series of unfortunate events in my Christian life and being baptised in the Holy Spirit while in the pentecostal church I then went into Elim. From there I became an independent pentecostal Christian.

I have seen many things in my life and as many of you know I have travelled to many countries. I have just come back from one of the largest countries in the world with a population of 1.4 billion and I have met many Christians from many denominations here in the UK and also abroad. I have been a pastor in large churches and small churches. I have seen the many miracles that Jesus spoke about, healings from cancers and tinnitus, blind eyes opening, the deaf hearing, hearts being restored spiritually and physically, and I am amazed at the power and the majesty of our Almighty Father.

But like many of you I have longed for true revival. I have seen manifestations of what man believes to be revival but Toronto and other sparks of God’s power I believe have been snuffed out by man. There is a problem in the body of Christ. Many commentators such as Leonard Ravenhill and other great saints of God who have gone on before us have highlighted that the problem with the church in the United Kingdom and across the world is a lack of prayer. The Bible tells us clearly, ‘If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land’ (2 Chronicles 7: 14). I long for a day hopefully in my lifetime when the church of Jesus Christ will get serious about prayer. If we put on a chicken supper or a banquet or a praise and worship night, many churches across London and across this country will be full, but sadly when it comes to prayer the prayer meetings in many churches are empty. I would even suggest in many individuals’ lives their prayer life is barren and they wonder why they do not seem to succeed. Many great women and men of the past such as Müller, Tozer, Whitfield and Wesley understood the power of prayer. So I pray quietly that there will be an enthusiastic return to prayers across our nation: not just once a week for an hour giving God a shopping list but solid intercessory prayer. We have seen it in such places as Seoul Korea where they have prayer mountains.

I am 100% convinced if we in the United Kingdom want to see true revival, the church needs to repent and turn back to the things of God and not clever schemes, not clever programmes, but getting down on our knees and praying for the lost, the widow, the lonely and the downcast, and not just them, but the rich, the powerful, our MPs, our Queen, all strata of society, as I know this will bring revival and restoration for our nation. I hope when you read this you will ponder and seek God for yourself, as you do not need to go to buildings; we just need people across the nation to burst into spontaneous prayer in their communities.

God bless you. My prayer for 2016 is we start to take back that which the devil has stolen: our cities, our towns, our families, our children, our nation. Amen

Wickedness in High Places

29 October, 2015 Ross Rennie Opinions

The Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephesians that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

I wonder if he had in mind the Roman Empire and meant us today to see the wickedness that is gong on in our name in the Mother of all Parliaments. When a nation has no consideration for the poor, the sick and the disabled I believe it has lost its way. When its moral compass has shifted to benefit the rich and not the less well off we have lost the heart of the nation. I would like you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for the leaders of the United Kingdom. They say they were elected on a majority but our electoral system has been manipulated and corrupted over many hundreds of years by the Labour and Conservative parties, as for as long as I can remember they have always been the parties that have been in power. They are like Tweedledum and Tweedledee who went to fight a battle. I think it was over a rattle. But unfortunately these two parties have squabbled since the Second World War on who is right and who is wrong. I am old enough to remember the Winter of Discontent when this country was on a three-day week and we lit our homes with candles. The price of a candle could be anything up to £5, which was a lot of money back in those days. But I have seen another phenomenon, which I believe to be evil, that was brought in by Margaret Thatcher and that was the love of money.

I praise God that the House of Lords has blocked this wicked bill to reform the tax credits, but it would seem now those in power are not happy with the results even though the majority of the country are opposed to these slashing cuts. Yes, we all know we have to live within our means, but unfortunately the politicians have short memories. It was the banks that caused the crash because of their greed and it was us, the public, taxpayers, who baled the banks out. We had the scandal of politicians manipulating their expenses, PPI, corruption at all levels of government, police forces being castigated for their behaviour, and now we see the inhumanity to man regarding people escaping a war zone. My brothers and sisters, I will put this all down to the love of money. Jesus told us we can only serve one master, Him or money.

So I would like us all to seek the Lord, as those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.

The Bible also says that Jesus is the Head of the church, so we are the shoulders. That would intimate to me that we are the government or the governing power on this earth. So therefore we have a say in the affairs of man through the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. The solution to this country’s problems is simple. Well paid work that pays to go to work, investment in our industry as Germany has done, affordable housing whether rented or bought. That would mean the rich being taxed, companies paying their fair share such as Amazon, Starbucks, and the list goes on. I think it was Mr Cameron who once said we are all in this together, but unfortunately his party only benefits the rich and the powerful. They still treat us like public schoolboys and throw us a few crumbs when they choose to when they want our vote. So I hope in four years’ time, if this government survives, you will remember what they did at the beginning and punish them, as nowhere in their manifesto did the Tory party ever say they were going to attack tax credits. As the press has borne out, these tax credits are a safety net to many lower paid families who did get off their backs and go to work, and I am sure you know many and so do I. As for the minimum wage, many employers will never pay that, as many companies now are reducing staff to reduce their pay bills, which will mean that their existing workers will end up doing more for less, which is always the case. The bottom line, as many of us in business understand, is if you do not speculate you do not accumulate, and this present government seems to have no understanding that selling off the family silver and emptying the cupboards is unsustainable. Austerity never works; it just puts more money in the pockets of the mega rich. The only way for a country to grow is inward investment: building small businesses which then can become larger, as Germany has done in the past twenty years. As for Cameron, he has already stated he does not intend to see this parliament out and he will do the damage before he goes. When I look at the political elite unfortunately I do not see any leaders, and that is a sad state for our nation.
So, my brothers and sisters, if you live in the United Kingdom pray like you have never prayed before. If you are reading this from across the world please pray for us, as the only answer to this country’s problems is if this nation turns back to Jesus and the values of our forefathers.

What can you do? Lobby your MP about your disgust at the way the poor, the needy and those who need help are being treated.

God bless you as you read this thoughtfully.

Ross Rennie

2 Comments Politics, Tax Credits

Another Company Not To Trade With

15 September, 2015 Ross Rennie Information, Opinions

Warning

If you are travelling anywhere in the world and you go on to a comparison web site such as Skyscanner which is a very useful comparison site for flights as we have found, beware of this company Netflights.

As some of you know, I am making a very important trip over the Christmas period. I cannot tell you where I am going as it would endanger the people I will meet, except I am going to east Asia. My experience of this company has been their internal policy is not very professional when booking a flight. I found myself losing £552 which is now to be recovered by the credit card company. I cannot give a recommendation to this company as I have found they are a company lacking in grace. When I first booked my ticket with this company we went on their web site, we followed their procedures, but their web site did not work. We were then given a number to contact which cost 10.5p per minute which unfortunately they take so long to answer this will cost you money. When they do answer on the first trip was quite smooth. My problem came when I had to change the dates owing to events beyond my control. I then contacted the company again which took me a considerable amount of time. I ended up paying £4.50 for the privilege and when I did finally get through they charged me £137.50 for the change of the ticket which is normal practice. I felt everything at that point was OK but here is the rub. The minute you book with this company you have no recourse. It is like playing Russian roulette. On arriving home to see the confirmation the same day I found out they had booked me not for December but November. On seeing the mistake I contacted the company and was told they believed I had asked for November and not December. The problem with this, as many of you know who travel, most reputable companies give you 24 hours to check your paperwork.

This company I believe is a bucket shop. Their only interest is to extend their bank account and not look after their customers as they have no procedure for you to check your confirmation, which is a common practice with reputable companies. On seeing the mistake I contacted the company by two emails, asked them to contact me and they did not even bother. I gave them reasonable time to respond and then contacted them. I was then told there was nothing they could do and my flight was booked for November and a dispute ensued. To say their attitude was aggressive would be an understatement and it seems that once they had my money they were not interested. So I found myself with a ticket to a land that I need to go to on the wrong dates and then they told me if I wanted to change the flight again it would cost me another £137 to change the tickets, but to add insult to injury I would lose the first flight and I would have to pay another £152 to change my flight again. That would be the price of the flight and the £137 admin charge.

I think a few hundred years ago there was man called Dick Turpin and he was a highway robbery man, as some of you know from history. So I would say this company Netflights (remember their name) are bandits. And therefore like Vodafone, TalkTalk, Tesco, I am afraid they go into God’s hall of shame. We may not be watchdog but we serve one who is more powerful than any human organisation, the Almighty God, and He says, ‘Vengeance is mine, says the Lord’.

So, my brothers and sisters, please share this with your friends and family and your Facebook, Twitter, etc, as we need to be aware of these companies and their underhand tactics.

We have also found this company was first owned by Thomas Cook. In February 2014 the company was acquired by Dubai-based air service provider dnata, whose CEO is Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum. So if you do have any disputes with this company I cannot see you getting much redress, as there seems to be nowhere to write to except the London office, which, as I have already said, I believe is just a bucket shop.

So beware. The Bible says we have to be as crafty as serpents and as gentle as doves; therefore I have left this matter in the hands of the Lord. Yes, I have lost £552 but, as many of you know, I live by faith and have done for many years. They have not stolen from me; they have stolen from the Almighty God. If this company Netflights had behaved in a respectable manner and looked at some way of recompense they would not find themselves in God’s hall of shame.

So if you know of other companies such as these please let me know, as we live in perilous times, and I will be pleased to publish it if is supported by evidence and truth.

God bless you

Rev Ross Rennie

One comment Business, Hall of Shame

Is Sunday Really the Most Miserable Day of the Week?

14 July, 2015 Ross Rennie Opinions

Minister of State (Minister for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise) for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Rt Hon Anna Soubry declared to listeners of the BBC Radio 4 Today programme that prior to the introduction of Sunday trading, Sundays had been ‘the most miserable day of the week’.

Rt Hon Anna Soubry MP

Ms Soubry added, “The only thing to look forward to was Sing Something Simple on the radio. Goodness me, if that didn’t sum up a miserable Sunday.”

How sad! One can imagine Ms Soubry pacing restlessly up and down in the front parlour in the early 1990s, the only sound the ticking of the grandfather clock and a bluebottle buzzing at the window, endlessly repeating, “I can’t take much more of this! If only it were Monday. I’m desperate for a fix from Woolworths.”

Ms Soubry is not satisfied with the six hours of ‘retail therapy’ she has been able get at the temple of Mammon since 1994. She is now supporting Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne’s plan to hand responsibility for Sunday trading laws in England and Wales to towns and cities, allowing them to decide how long shops can stay open.

Rev Ross Rennie writes:

It is a sad day when a politician says Sunday is the most miserable day of the week.
There are many instances in the Bible that show how man has done that which is right in his own eyes, such as when Abraham tried to help God by taking Hagar. We know the result: Ishmael.

There is also the account of Abraham pleading for just ten righteous people in Sodom (Genesis 18: 23-33).

But there is a passage that is seldom read in our churches about what happened to Lot and his two daughters (Genesis19: 30-38). I suggest you read it for yourself and see the depths of depravity that man can descend to.

Last year we saw the unravelling of marriage as we know it. Some may say it is good thing, but I as a fundamental Christian know that it is not, and what mankind sows that shall he reap: a harvest of destruction. I understand grace, that God forgives us our sins through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, but I do know to my own cost there is a consequence to sin. As Jesus said, we become slaves to sin, and if sin is our master then it is a terrible master and it can destroy Christian and non-Christian alike. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14: 6).

We now have so-called ministers of the gospel debating on what Jesus said.

Many years ago I was a member like many of us of Keep Sunday Special. It was only the power of the multi-nationals and I would say the corruption of politicians allegedly that overturned the most sacred day of the week. Life now, as many of us know, is so pressured. Families do not even sit down for one meal in the week. They are glued to the television, their tablets or their smartphones, and even in some households they are playing on their phones while eating their meals.

This, I believe, is the start of the new order. George Bush first spoke about it many years ago and many politicians have spoken about it since. Our dear brother Barry Smith, who has gone to be with the Lord, spoke about this and people laughed at him and ridiculed him, but some of us listened.

Now we have a government minister saying that prior to the introduction of Sunday trading, Sunday was the most miserable day of the week. I would say the problem was not with Sunday but with the person, as God’s creation has never changed. The beauty of walking with your family or your friends in the countryside or by the sea or even in a park has all been wiped away by commercialism.

Unfortunately, whether you believe it or not, this is part of Satan’s master pan to homogenise the world into a one-world government and a one-world religion.

But as Isaac said (Genesis 22: 7) when his father took him up the mountain, “Where is the lamb?” There is only one Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world and His name is Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God.

So, my brothers and sisters, I will pray for your countries and your leaders, that they turn back to God, as unless they do they are leading mankind to destruction. John Bunyan wrote about this in the 17th century. I suggest you read the book The Pilgrim’s Progress.

I would also ask, where are the leaders of the body of Christ? The Bible also says even the elect will be led astray (Matthew 24: 24). So, my brothers and sisters, we need to watch and pray as the Lord will be back soon to take us all home.

God bless you all

Rev Ross Rennie

Leave a comment Business, Politics, Sunday

Beware Scammers!

4 September, 2014 Ross Rennie News

I received a telephone call today from someone purporting to be from a company offering to make a claim for compensation for mis-selling by my bank. He knew my address and my bank sort code and asked me for my bank account number. He claimed that the company was authorised by the OFT.

Beware! This is an attempt to obtain your bank account details and/or persuade you to part with money up front for a service that will never be provided.

Update: Another Scam!

Today I received another telephone call, this time from someone masquerading as Microsoft Technical Support, who attempted to mislead me into installing some malware on my computer.