Category: Alan Bailey

Our most serious disease

Tips for Life

by Alan Bailey

The cry of the present day seems to be “Get outta my way!”

You see the grimace on the face of the man or woman who was beaten to the parking bay at the supermarket. At times it will be heard in the impatient blowing of the car horn or the shouted insult. At least in the western world, considering oneself first has become the rule of life. Individualism has gone mad. Richard Dawkins blames what he calls the ’selfish gene’. It strikes me that it has much more to do with the conscious choices we make.

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Are you hanging by a thread?

Tips for Life

by Alan Bailey

How scary is that! I saw it on television just the other day. A young couple suspended over a huge ravine in New Zealand, meant to be experiencing a bungy jump—but something was going very wrong.

The two were supposed to be seated, held by a kind of harness. But the girl’s had broken and she was barely hanging on. Her boyfriend grasped a piece of the gear hoping to prevent her from falling. Down below, a long, long, way was a river bed. After what seemed an age the operators pulled them back to safety. The lady was too traumatised to speak.

Maybe it sounds a bit far-fetched, but isn’t this where we all are—hanging by a thin thread? I mean, our lives are not bullet-proof; there is no guarantee that we are safe and secure.

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Having Healthy Relationships

Tips for Life

by Alan Bailey

So much of life seems to be a network of relationships. Apparently we are built to relate to others around us. It is part of being human. It means so much to have a friend, a sister, a brother, a mother, a father, a wife or a husband. Happy is the person who can experience the nearness of others who have an interest in them and even a stake in their lives. Happy is the person who can say that the relationships in their lives, especially the close ones, are healthy and well maintained. Love given and love received is a great recipe for happiness.

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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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NO-ONE CARES FOR ME!

Tips for Life

By Alan Bailey

I think it is fair to say that life can be described as a struggle. Survival seems to be the name of the game. People appear to look after themselves as best they can, leaving everyone else to find their own way.

Protecting oneself and one’s belongings is all important, for theft and violence abound. So, many barricade themselves in, to keep the world around them out.

We can’t live in isolation

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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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Being blissfully unaware

Tips for Life

by Alan Bailey

Peoples’ lives are often violently interrupted. News has gone around the world in recent days of earthquakes and a tsunami which have caused many deaths and huge devastation. We almost get used to hearing such reports.

In certain places, calamities are bound to happen. Cities are built on fault lines. Large populations live on low ground subject to flooding. Tornadoes often occur in a known strip across a country. To live there is like sitting on a time bomb. Sooner or later it will explode. Yet, life goes on in these places, daily cares being the focal point. The people are largely unconscious of potential dangers.Continue reading

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Being a great dad

Tips for Life

by Alan Bailey

“What dads leave in life is more significant than what they leave in death.”

When the word ‘father’ is mentioned, a concept comes to mind which is strongly influenced by one’s personal experience. For those who have a dad, or can remember, a set of impressions emerge. A few common ones would go like this:

The man I feared. I could never please him, never gain his approval. A sour memory.
The man who made my mother’s life miserable.
The distant, often absent man I wish I had known better.
The warm, thoughtful man who did so much to shape my life. I’m thankful for him.
What’s it all about?

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Happiness — A universal hope

Tips for Life

by Alan Bailey

Happiness is something everybody looks for. I can’t imagine anyone climbing out of bed in the morning saying to themselves, ‘I hope today turns out to be unhappy.’

A recent survey of a cross-section of Australians showed that about two thirds claimed to be relatively happy. They also felt satisfied with their health. As both happiness and health have the habit of wavering and are subject to total change, the figures are not all that decisive. The one third left are a considerable crowd of people putting up with their lot in life.Continue reading

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The proof of the pudding


Tips for Life
by Alan Bailey

Yes, the pudding may look good, even smell good, but the proof of what it promises to be is found by eating it. The one who partakes uses his taste buds and then gives an assessment.

We follow this procedure with many issues day by day. Advertising surrounds us. Claims for this and that product appeal for our attention and our money. Much of the time we have little or no idea of the truth of the claims that are made until we try for ourselves — until we taste and see.

A challenge that needs an answer
Right now, all around the world, we are experiencing an onslaught against the claims of the Christian gospel. Many voices are joined in a chorus of doubt and scepticism meant to unsettle those who believe. But there is one area where it seems little or no consideration is being given; the matter of Christian experience.Continue reading

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