Tag: Jesus

Miscarriages of Justice

Tips for Life

By Alan Bailey

Every now and then we hear of someone being released from prison after wrongfully serving part of a lengthy sentence. It is a sad situation when an innocent man suffers the indignity, the pain and the loss of reputation that goes with being declared guilty and then locked away. It is hard to imagine how you would feel in that situation; grieved, frustrated, angry? And what of those who are put to death, only to be found innocent after all?

There are many reasons why these events occur. Sometimes it is a wicked plot and a web of lies that secures a man’s conviction. Sometimes an unfortunate set of coincidences that incriminate, even convincing judge and jury. Then a drawn-out process can take years to bring the truth to light and set the prisoner free.Continue reading

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THE PLANET’S CELESTIAL VISITOR

Tips for Life
by ALAN BAILEY

UFOs and aliens are back in the news, perhaps more than ever. People in high places are giving a good deal of credit to alleged sightings and reports of alien activity at nuclear and military establishments. Are we being visited by completely unknown creatures? Are they going to do us good or harm? Or is it all hocus-pocus?

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What’s the point to all this?

Tips for Life

by Alan Bailey

Why do we endure such stress and pressure?
For most of us, life’s a struggle. Work can mean endless hassles and even holidays can bring on more struggle. Men, women and children are working and playing their way through life. But after all the perspiration and the parties, the question persists: What’s the point?

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Finding a bargain


Tips for Life

by Alan Bailey

After the Christmas rush comes another rush: the New Year sales. Doorbusters as they are often called. I don’t go to them but I see hundreds of people on the TV news literally breaking down doors and almost trampling others underfoot to get at bargains inside some department store.

Once in there, the frenzy is on in earnest. People push and shove and fight and struggle to snatch up clothing, grab household goods and line up to pay for them. Some items are torn or damaged in the fray. Some people are even hurt. Clearly, people love bargains.Continue reading

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Benefits of saying goodbye

by Andrew Lansdown

A fortnight ago I conducted a funeral for a friend. It was a graveside service and I stood at a lectern at the head of the coffin in which my friend’s body lay. The coffin rested on three chromed bars bridging the two-metre drop of the grave.

At the conclusion of the service, I spoke the words of committal: “Forasmuch as it has pleased almighty God in His great mercy to take out of this world the soul of our dear brother … we therefore commit his body to the elements, earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust …” As I spoke these words, the six pallbearers lowered the coffin into the grave and out of sight.

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What price for a life?

Tips for Life

by Alan Bailey

Youth suicide appears to be dropping, but self-harm is taking over.

Most of us simply can’t keep abreast of all that is happening around the world. News spreads rapidly and much of it is hard to come to terms with, so we tend to give up. We just do our best to survive. That’s the formula these days.

But have you noted this? Trends show that world-wide, young people are losing their sense of the worth of life. Suicide is still chillingly common, but now self-harm is taking over. In numbers of countries, those in teen years in particular, are being driven to attack their own bodies. They deliberately harm themselves out of frustration, anger, sadness or just to get attention.

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Sons laid down their lives

by Andrew Lansdown

Something heartbreaking happened to a family at Black Point one Easter.

Black Point is an isolated place, accessible only by four-wheel-drive, on the south coast of Western Australia, and the Stallard family travelled there to fish.

The parents, Ron and Debbie, lived in the south-west of the state, but their two sons, 25-year-old Paul and 19-year-old Andrew, lived in Perth. So the fishing trip was something of a family reunion, too.

But it all went terribly wrong that Easter Saturday while the family was fishing from the rocks.

Debbie slipped and fell into the sea, and a wave swept her out.

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Looking through a window at the world

Tips for Life

by Alan Bailey

You can see a great deal from a window. At times, things you are not meant to see. It is a means of spying on others. But then, a better use of a window is to look at the natural world around you and appreciate it. A pleasant view is worth a lot.

From where I sit the view is pleasant indeed with brilliant flowers grow profusely. Wide variety and rich colour are on every hand. Masses of red Bougainvillea seem to set the place alight. Then swathes of green reach to folded hills that lead up to towering blue mountains. Above the mountains huge plumes of shining white cloud sit, reaching way up to the heavens. Yes, a very pleasant view.Continue reading

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We can’t live without it

Tips for Life

by Alan Bailey

Every day of our lives we use it. In fact, we are mostly made of it. I believe elephants consist of 70% of it. Yes, we are talking about water. Where it’s plentiful, we wash everything including ourselves in it, drink it, and grow our crops with it. And you can think of many other uses we make of water.

Where it is not plentiful, life is made harder. In fact, as we all know, without water we die. Earth has plenty, considering the size of the oceans. Other planets that we know of don’t seem to have any.

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What we eat

by Andrew Lansdown

 

Some time ago I worked as a journalist on a country newspaper. One of the numerous articles I wrote was titled “A taste for rats!” It began:
In many schools they dissect rats, but at the X High School the students eat them! Indeed such is the students’ taste for the rodents that they consumed over 200 during one lunch period last week.

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