| Healed at last |
 A jilted husband with murder in his heart found God after forgiving his enemies, and now has a life beyond all expectation – despite suffering a rare and incurable heart and lung condition.
Sixty-year-old Derek Batham, of Dudley, West Midlands, believes he’s living on God’s extended time after being diagnosed with cardiac sarcoidosis back in 2002.
A lung specialist informed him that he would be dead within two years as his last-hope treatment had failed and there was no
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| What's a Bible Worth? |
 Six years’ savings and a 28-mile walk, writes Richard Franklin It’s a cold, crisp morning. Bright sunshine reflects on the lake below me, the water still frozen in places.
As I pause by a tree on the steep climb from a cottage below, this place is so quiet that just for a moment I can imagine she might appear over the brow of the hill; a 15-year-old girl returning home, carrying what for her is the most precious thing in the world: a Bible she could read in her own language.
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| Smelling the coffee |
 Everywhere I looked, there were Christians. I began to have doubts – maybe God did exist.
I’d been attending my church for high days and holidays for quite a while now, but until recently I never believed in God. It didn’t seem logical for God to exist and it was really quite foolish to think that he did. And if he didn’t exist, there was little hope for his son.
When I was about 15 or so, my best friend at school was a Christian and we took O-level Religious Inst
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| Lambeth Treasures |
It’s usually only open one day a year – but the Great Hall of Lambeth Palace, the home of the Archbishop of  Canterbury, is hosting an astonishing exhibition from May to July.
Treasures of Lambeth Palace Library marks 400 years of the Library’s existence. Since 1610 it’s been accumulating rare and precious books and papers, including the execution warrant for Mary Queen of Scots and beautiful mediaeval prayer books.
It runs from May 17 – July 23, Monday to Sa
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| Christian Bushcraft |
 First there was Ray Mears, then Bear Grylls. Now the ranks of the bushcraft masters have been joined by Jim Rutherford, from Bangor in Northern Ireland.
He’s just launched a venture offering bespoke programmes for church youth groups and for Christians of all ages on the shores of Strangford Lough.
On his courses participants will learn skills like the correct use of cutting tools, how to build individual and group shelters, fire-making (without matches!) and backwoods cooking.
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| Real Life - Jack the Lad |
By Dave Winfield
Jack died suddenly a couple of weeks ago.
He was buried a hundred miles away. So Lola – his ex partner – arranged a local memorial service for him.
Half the Harbour Inn was there. After all, it’s a good pub like that. If a regular dies we like to give him a decent send-off.
The service started with typical Harbour Inn banter. When the Reverend spoke, someone heckled him – only to get it back as good as he gave. Then Kev got up.
He said ...
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| An hour to change your life |
Times are hard for family life in the UK today. With many people working longer hours than ever before, families are  finding it increasingly difficult to spend quality time together, with predictable results: one in three unmarried couples and one in 12 married couples separate by the time their first child starts school. While some go on to make a success of raising their children together, it’s not what anyone wants – or imagines will happen when they first begin a family.
Now ...
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| Tell me more |
How do new Christians find answers to the questions they’re really asking? Mark Woods asks Peter Graystone 
“People are honest with computers in a way they wouldn’t be with ministers,” says Peter Graystone. “And they’re used to being anonymous – that’s the way the internet works. They’d rather go online to ask questions than ask a person.”
Straightforward It’s pretty straightforward, when you think of it, but it led Peter t
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| Week 1, Day 1 |
 Making sense of life This is the start of an exploration of what difference it makes to be a Christian. It’s the faith that two billion people across the globe consider themselves part of. That’s one third of the world’s population – so this is important!
The series lasts for five weeks, and each day there will be a short chapter to read. It will always include an extract from the Bible – the book that Christians respect as the foundation of all they believe and...
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| Chasing the Dragon |
 Until it was pulled down, the Walled City was Hong Kong’s darkest place.
A lawless area ruled by the Triads, where drug-smuggling, addiction and prostitution flourished, the police hesitated to enter it and the people who lived there were seen as beyond help.
But a young English-woman went there in 1966 and made it her life’s work to offer new life and hope in the name of Jesus.
Jackie Pullinger wrote a classic account of her life and ministry, ‘Chasing the Dragon&r
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| Chelase Flower Power |
 It’s that gardening time of year again – but whether you’re naturally green-fingered or not, there are the usual terrific shows from the Royal Horticultural Society.
The Cardiff show has just been and gone, but the Malvern Spring Gardening Show takes place on May 6-9. It’s been delighting the crowds for 25 years now, and organisers are gearing up for one of the best yet. Among the 16 show gardens are a disused Welsh railway crossing, the Morgan Motor Company’s w...
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| ASK Y |
 ASK Y?
Where God-questions are put to the test
This month’s question…
Couldn’t Jesus just be a legend – like Robin Hood with a halo?
That’s a very reasonable question. Couldn’t Jesus – and all that people claim to know about him – be no more than a sophisticated fairy tale? Could it all be exaggeration, confusion and myth? Have things just got changed and exaggerated over time?
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| Christians Against Poverty |
Debt can have a dramatic impact on people’s lives, as Emma and Chris found. Emma shares their first-hand experiences  of poverty, and how they found hope and a solution.
I had to stop working due to postnatal depression. We had a number of loans but there simply wasn’t enough money by the end of the month.
When we tried moving money around on different credit cards it just got us deeper in debt. It just felt like the end was nigh. Some days there were up to 45 phone calls an h...
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| When your friend lets you down |
It’s great to have friends, whether we’re single or married. People we can laugh and cry with; people we know will be  there for us when we need them; people we trust and love. But what happens when that trust has been broken – when you feel a friend has let you down?
Communication is the key If the friendship is one you value, then you’ll long to sort things out. You may feel so desperately hurt that you’re unwilling even to approach your friend – but comm
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| Twenty10 - World Cup stories - Lucio |
I remember being at home in 1994 when Brazil won the World Cup. 
Even though it was far off, I imagined what it would be like to win. In Brazil, everyone dreams of this.
In 2002, I had the opportunity to be a World Cup winner and without a doubt, it was a special moment.
It was a time when I could see the hand of God in every day. I believe that God has kept me on the Brazilian National Team and has kept me involved in great competitions.
It was a very special moment! Once again,
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| Action Adventure - and Christian |
 A way out
Your life’s a mess. You feel as if you’re on a one-way trip to somewhere you’d rather not go. But you don’t feel able to stop the ride.
What if someone offers you a way out? Will you grab it with both hands – or not? Is it really possible to live a new, changed life?
That’s the ongoing question in Watchers, a trilogy of novels set in the near future. The last in the series, Watchers 3: Countdown, has just been published by Verité CM
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| Culturewatch DVD Review |
 Sherlock Holmes (released 17 May 2010)
Sherlock Holmes is such an iconic character that he’s a byword for brilliant investigation and razor-sharp logical deduction. Many people have a very fixed idea of what he’s like, probably from Jeremy Brett’s portrayal of him in the ITV series from the 80s and 90s, or from Sidney Paget’s original illustrations. It was Paget who gave Holmes the familiar dearstalker hat and cape.
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| Football's Coming Home |
 The FA Cup Final is back at its true home, the new Wembley.
For six years it was held in Cardiff while the Twin Towers were being transformed into the giant arch which is the trademark of the new stadium.
There’s an old Tottenham celebration of Ossie Ardiles leading them to a Cup Final in the ‘80s which goes, “Ossie’s on his way to Wembley; his knees have gone all trembley.” It encapsulates all the magic of our greatest sporting venue.
Wembley Cup Finals
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