| Time for change |
Christians are making a difference writes Mark Woods 
Caroline Williams can’t change the world – but she can change a small part of it.
The 40-year-old from St Albans was encouraged to think about the plight of poor people by Micah Challenge, the church-led anti-poverty campaign.
One of its effects on her was to change the way she shops, so that now she always asks the question, “Does this item help or hurt the poor?”
“I’ve started to put this i...
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| Back from the dead |
L indsay Shaw writes of how a former atheist was set on a different path by a near-death experience
Twenty-two years ago Igor Mikhaelov came back from the dead in a Minsk hospital recovery room. Today this former Communist party member is a transformed man, heading up Bible Society’s work in Belarus, one of the new states founded when the Soviet Union finally fell apart in 1991.
He has good reason to remember vividly the night in 1988 when he was admitted to hospital for an appendix
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| Junkie meets Jesus |
Is it really possible to find God in a moment, and have your life turned round? James Hastings finds one man who did  rise from the dead
Colin Garnett knew he had finally met God – crouched down in a wheelie bin.
The hardened drug user and career criminal had only gone to the service in the prison chapel because he was bored.
As he sat in his chair, handcuffed to a lifer, Colin hoped there would at least be a cup of tea and some chocolate biscuits at the end of the morning.
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| Prayer Corner |
God, sometimes I have hard days. There are times when I feel that people don’t understand me or appreciate me. I work hard, but don’t get any credit for it. I feel unsatisfied and lonely, and I wonder what my life is about.
I know that some of this is because I’m tired, and need a break – though I don’t know when I’ll next get one. But I wonder how I can feel better, and wake up looking forward to the day ahead rather than dreading it.
Please give me strength, and help me to cope.
‘T
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| News in Brief |
Skateboarding Priest
Priests are supposed to be very grave and reverend figures – but Hungarian Father Zoltan Lendvai became a YouTube hit thanks to his amazing skateboarding skills.
The video shows Fr Lendvai, 45, giving a talk to young people in his parish while skateboarding. The video has gained more than 90,000 views, while other videos of the same event in Hungarian have been watched more than 350,000 times.
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| Learning the love of God |
Michelle Chambers fought battle after battle for her two disabled children, and was spiritually exhausted and  dissatisfied. Then a friend prayed for her.
From a small child I remember always believing in God as the creator of everything. However, it has only been the last two years that I have truly trusted God and have felt a real relationship with him.
I attended church for much of my life, but over the years I became discontented and began to question – particularly why I did not
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| Now a Christian |
A question that is often asked by people who feel they are now a Christian is this: “Is it possible to be a follower of Jesus by yourself, without having to go to church?” And the answer is unequivocally yes. No question!
But if you choose to do that, you risk losing nearly all the good things that an active relationship with God can bring.
After Luke wrote a biography of Jesus, he went on to compile a sequel about what his followers did after his resurrection. He wrote that this is wh
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| Slavery Today |
T wo hundred years after the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade, an estimated 12 million people are still in slavery.
Some, including children, are trafficked for the sex trade; others, in India, for example, are forced to work to pay off debts inherited from their parents or grandparents.
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| Transformed - Mandy's Story |
I come from a very dysfunctional family. My Mum was a child prostitute and drug addict/alcoholic; my grandmother was  a prostitute, and my mum used to have my grandmother’s clients. My dad was a punter. When I was very young I was abused at my mum’s house in Yorkshire.
Many secrets were kept in that dark house. I’d see other kids getting picked up from school by their parents, and hate them: it was something I didn’t have and so wanted deep down – love. My teache
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| Betting on Jesus |
A man who had everything still found he needed God, writes James Hastings
David Fortune was the gambler who took a chance on God – and ended up a winner.
The former professional card sharp and horse fancier used to live every punter’s dream.
He stayed in plush hotels, drove a top-of-the-range car and had more girlfriends than lucky charms.
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| ASK Y |
Where God-questions are put to the test
This month’s question…
Of all the symbols they could use, why do Christians choose a cross?
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| Christians Against Poverty |
By Marianne Clough
Days are getting shorter, winter is a stone’s throw away and for many it can be a depressing time – but it needn’t be.
Half term is around the corner, conkers are on the trees and if we greet it rather than just mourn the summer, October can be fun!
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| Telling Tourists |
If you’ve walked through the streets of London or another of our big cities and noticed a crowd gathered around a  sketchboard, the chances are that it belongs to Open Air Campaigners (OAC).
OAC workers use it as a way of explaining Christian truth in a way that’s clear and understandable, and holds people’s attention.
During the summer months they’re particularly active, with Tell-A-Tourist campaigns in London and elsewhere contacting some of the hundreds of thous
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| Calling all snappers |
 Religion gets a bad press in some quarters today. But people of faith often play a huge part in their local communities – and a leading church insurance company is aiming to prove it.
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| A Jewel in his crown |
Ian White hears how a silversmith is using her gifts for God
It proved a gem of a Bible study for Norma Murrain.
She was instructing a women’s group that God’s plan for their lives was often shown in a hidden talent, and that they should all take a step of faith that very day.
Then her theory turned startlingly into practice, and events unfolded that were to lead to her giving up her lecturing job to start her own business in Birmingham’s famous Jewellery Quarter.
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| Jesus Heals a Man |
 Matthew 8: 1-4
1 As Jesus came down the mountain, he was followed by large crowds. 2 Suddenly a man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus. He said, “Lord, you have the power to make me well, if only you wanted to.” 3 Jesus put his hand on the man and said, “I want to! Now you are well.” At once the man’s leprosy disappeared. 4 Jesus told him, “Don’t tell anyone about this, but go and show the priest that you are well. Then take a gift to the t
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| Culture Watch DVD Review - Iron Man 2 |
More than just an action fantasy, this sequel raises issues of identity and integrity, writes Holly Price 
“I am Iron Man.” With these few words Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey Jr) ego skyrockets. But there is one family that does not applaud the inventor’s televised confession. When Anton Vanko (Yevgeni Lazarev), exiled co-creator of Iron Man’s energy source, tells his son Ivan (Mickey Rourke) “That should be you,” a supervillain is born.
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| Counting on Kaka |
 Injured but still a star – Kaka is a great sportsman and a great Christian, writes Stuart Weir
REAL MADRID’S Kaka had a knee operation in August that was expected to stop him playing for up to four months.
At a stroke, the club lost its mainstay. But Kaka has known lows as well as highs during his career.
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