WE have all been deeply shocked and saddened by the events of the last few weeks taking place in the major cities of our land.

Like me, I feel sure there have been times when you have felt angry, horrified, distressed and even ashamed to be British.

Riots in our nation are not new. We still remember Toxteth, Handsworth and Broadwater Farm.

It is the senselessness of these recent riots that has thrown us – the greed and wantonness, the blatant disregard for property and for life.

Our politicians have been quick to condemn as they rightly must, but they have been less clear in suggesting a political solution.

Some have strayed into the arena of morality and ethics, calling for a return to “traditional family values” as though this were a mantra to apply to all our ills.

I would be in dereliction of my own duty or false to the belief system I follow, and the Saviour I serve, if I were not to tell you that application of the moral code in our society without a return to the God of our fathers just will not work. A nation that stops believing in something doesn’t end up believing in nothing. It ends up believing in anything, even trusting the likes of EastEnders, X Factor and Big Brother to direct the course of your life!

Claiming rights without responsibilities will only lead to more riots, more arson and, yes, more deaths.

What the media has failed to report so widely, however, is the fightback that is taking place in our so-called broken communities.

Often (though not always) led by local churches, people are coming together to restore, repair and unite once more.

My prayer is for unity amongst our people and a return to the ways of the living God.

United – for the Kingdom! – JOHN.