Challenge Literature Fellowship - AfricaBy Alan Bailey
Getting married is still fairly popular but not as popular as simply living together. We have husbands, wives and partners. And who should question it? After all, what people do in relationship is their business.
Well now, if the de facto position is defensible, why should it all be a taboo subject? Let’s take a quick look at two sides of the question.
Tips for Life
by Alan Bailey
EVERY now and then we hear of expectant mothers rushing to hospital for delivery but not getting there in time. So many gripping stories are told of how a policeman helped deliver the baby on the side of the road, or perhaps a taxi driver. Sometimes a husband is left with no alternative but to do what he would never choose to do.
However, under more normal conditions, a woman would never call a policeman or a taxi driver to do the work of a mid-wife or a doctor. Nor would any of us ring a plumber if we had a medical problem. If the car plays up we would not think of getting anyone but a mechanic to fix it.
Simple. Special knowledge is required for certain tasks. At times, a word of authority is needed, not just something instinctive. This is especially so when a good deal is at stake. No point in taking risks when it’s unnecessary. Nevertheless, we all have opinions and we like to express them. How often we hear people begin with “I like to think of it this way…” or “In my humble opinion…..” and they are talking about the big questions of life! Such as; Is there a God? What is He like? What is my relationship with Him? Will I meet Him when I die?
Of course we are all entitled to have and express opinions. But these questions call for some word of authority, not uninformed speculation. We must find truth we can trust. Which really means someone we can trust. Opinions are not enough.
Someone has given us answers to the above questions and many more. No, we don’t have answers to all the questions but we have enough to meet our needs in this life. There has been no greater authority on Earth than Jesus Christ. He gave us great truths and insights, telling us that “Heaven and Earth may pass away but My words shall never pass away”.
Further, He showed by His life that He was more than just a man, more than just a religious leader. He claimed to be equal with God the Father, to be the Saviour of the world and its final judge. On one occasion God spoke from heaven saying “This is my beloved Son; listen to Him.”
It pays to listen. And to realize that He gave His life on a cross in order to pay sin’s price and make a way for us to be in a right relationship with God. It pays to be certain. ●
Tips for Life
By Alan Bailey
WHAT a great range of stories we read in this paper! The life journey of people varies so much depending on where you were born, what kind of upbringing you had and a host of other factors. So failure and success, happiness and sadness, wealth and poverty, acceptance and rejection all have a part in the fabric of ordinary lives. What is common to all is the desire to find contentment, an answer to the questions and problems we face as individuals and communities.
Those who read these pages regularly will know that the solutions people have found over and over again have been in a new relationship, finding Jesus as Lord and Saviour and friend. Past mistakes have been wiped out and a new strength experienced. Lives have been turned right around.
The cry is often heard that this is just religion which takes various forms. It is popular to believe that all religions say much the same thing and that they are equally unbelievable. But is this a true assessment?
A GREAT DIFFERENCE
An honest examination of even elementary things will show that Christianity is very different from all other faiths. To deny this is to show lack of understanding. Here are three truths that reveal a huge contrast.
ONE: Religion is the result of mankind seeking God (or some equivalent). This has resulted in the invention of deities and their rules and demands, which are then laid on the backs of devotees. Christianity is based solely on what God has revealed. He gave the Ten Commandments; He became man and lived among us to teach us truth. So Christianity is God seeking mankind.
TWO: The message of all religions and cults is summed up in the word ”do.” The individual must save himself or herself. All destinies rest on performance. Only when you pass the tests will you have any hope at all. Sink or swim. It’s all up to you. Your good must outweigh the bad.
The Christian Gospel is summed up in the word “done.” At the centre of the message is Christ on the cross. He cried before He died: “It is finished.” The price was paid for sin, the door into God’s presence and favour was opened. Jesus rose from death and is able to save all who come to Him in faith. The good news is that the work is done; what we do is receive the benefit. The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life. (Romans 6:23)
How can He be compared to the various religious leaders? He is utterly beyond them.
THREE: Followers of religion have no certainty about their status. The teachings themselves disallow any assurance that they are right on track to some future heaven. All that can be done is to keep trying, hoping and inevitably doubting.
Christians can rest on the promises of God’s Word. God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. (1John 5:11-12) No wonder Jesus could say “I am the way, the truth and the life.” ●
Tips or Life
By Alan Bailey
HAVE you ever wondered why so many people are bored, lonely and dissatisfied? We hear about this problem even with young folk who seem to have everything. Surrounded by good things to enjoy and people to share with, and yet feeling empty. In their hearts is the unsaid question, “What’s the use?”
It must be because they are looking in the wrong place for what truly satisfies their deepest longings. Nothing new about that. It is as old as the human race.
Where do we most commonly look? Four main places come to mind.Continue reading
Tips for Life
By Alan Bailey
JUMPING off the top of a cliff or a bridge with a long piece of rubber around one ankle is not my idea of fun. Bungy jumpers, as they are called, seem to like it. You’ve seen them on TV undoubtedly, and they scare the daylights out of me.
They plunge downwards, then, like a yo-yo suddenly change direction. Of course, the tether is anchored up there somewhere and they know before they jump that all will be well; they won’t hit the ground but will live to tell the tale.Continue reading
Tips for Life
by Alan Bailey
AMONG the news reports of earthquakes, wars, floods and fires, there is sure to be a solid segment of the latest sporting events won and lost. Then, a run-down on all the up-coming contests for trophies and glory.
It’s big. See the procession of parents following their children to the playing fields, the netball and tennis courts, the swimming pools, the gymnasiums and so on. Witness the people who run, climb, bat, kick, throw, swing, dive, drive, pedal, dance, skate, ski, wrestle, box — and more.
For some, it’s an interest, a pastime. For others it’s an essential ingredient of life. For yet others it is a passion, a driving force, a religion calling for supreme dedication. Those who view sport but don’t play it fall into exactly the same categories.
By Alan bailey
MORE and more our way of life seems to be centred around things. To possess a good house, furniture, clothes, cars and a growing array of consumer items is what life is all about, so it seems. The ever-active world of advertising keeps these alluring goods in front of us. There they are, glittering silverware, plush floor coverings, thrilling sound systems and endless electronic gadgetry.
Then added luxuries like a pool table, a caravan or cabin cruiser, are for some like a tempting bait dangling before their eyes.
Desire rules, OK?
Tips for Life
By Alan Bailey
It’s a bit disconcerting to realise that the thing we trust most to deliver truth, that is science, can be wrong. Indeed, history is full of examples of things once believed but now thrown out. Sure, it’s all part of the development of knowledge, but alas, lies and half-truths are in the mix and are embraced even by the masses, who are then unwilling to let them go.
By Alan Bailey
ON an average day, you and I use a staggering 450 litres of it. Yes, it could only be water— and we take it for granted. It’s just there at the turning of a tap. We not only drink it, we wash our dishes, ourselves and our clothes with it, water our gardens and flush our toilets. Not to mention washing the car and filling the pool.
Tips for Life
By Alan Bailey
THERE are many definitions of optimists and pessimists. I heard that an optimist is a man who, having fallen off a 20 storey building, was heard to say as he passed the window of the second level, “I’m OK so far.” A pessimist is a man who wears a belt, and braces too.
So the optimist is the person who looks on the bright side, feeling that better things are up ahead. The pessimist is afraid that things will turn out badly.