A huge chunk of a glacier detached and raced down the mountain

No one ever knows what could possibly happen in our lives. We can have enormously happy and busy lives, and then all of a sudden things can change dramatically.

In the Nepal landslide disaster, 1287 lives were lost in total, and 5000 remain unaccounted for, including 41 Australians; also, 12,000 people have been rescued by emergency response teams. The mountain is on the border between Nepal and Tibet. In Tibet, 21 of their people have been killed, and 540 more people are missing across the border. 

It was just past 8am on the morning of 26th August 2026 when a huge chunk of a glacier detached and raced down the mountain for at least 1 kilometer. As it raced down, it began to melt, and huge amounts of water accumulated, adding to the volume as it then raced down the mountainside for 168 kilometers.

The disaster occurred right on the Nepal-Tibet border. It's a small river, the Lend Cola, on the border that flows into a larger river, the Bote Koshi, at a place called Rasuagardi. There are only two road crossings between Nepal and China, so there are a lot of people there.

The border between the two countries is a really busy place: border security, trucks coming and going, people everywhere, police and Nepali soldiers at the checkpoint between the two places. We can only imagine what happened. It was a total disaster. As the water rushed down the huge mountainside, it accumulated tons and tons of mud, earth, vegetation, and as it neared the crossings and the cities, it just got faster and faster and hugely heavier.

In Nepal, there were hundreds of workers building hydroelectric dams up and down the entire place - huge jobs and hundreds of workers, and also so many people living and working there. There were hundreds of people there,  Chinese, Nepali, South Koreans, and many pilgrims as well. It is the overland route towards Mount Kyash, where lots of people worship Hinduism and Buddhism. Several hundred pilgrims were on the move.

As the huge water cascade streamed so fast down the mountainside, it collected everything: huge rocks and, of course, mud and what was left of the ice from the top of the mountain. With all of that mixture together, it formed something like concrete. That is exactly what hit the population, who were all so busy, the buildings, and, in fact, everything there. It was a huge mountain of water, rocks, and mud, forming like concrete, demolishing buildings and anything in its path.

Timur had more than one hundred houses, and after the disaster hit, only one or two were left standing. It went on and on, and by 4pm that afternoon, the mud, rocks, and the huge wave hit Devghat around 170 kilometres from the actual mountain. The whole mud and rocks, etc raised 9 metres up, approximately the same size as a three-story building.

No words can capture this devastation in Nepal.

It is incredibly devastating. None of us ever knows what can happen in just a "twinkling of an eye"; all of a sudden, our lives can be totally changed forever. I can't even imagine what those people are going through.

In the Bible, things changed so dramatically all of the time.

When Jesus was here physically on earth, he performed so many miracles; it was totally amazing. In the Bible, in Matthew chapter 8: 16-17, Jesus healed the sick and helped them so much. He wasn't a trained doctor as such, but he is God, and he was on earth to do just that: to heal the sick and get through to many just how important it is to give your life to him and let him lead you.

After reading about the total disaster in Nepal and how many people must be suffering, it is just so important that we must be alert not only about things that can happen so dramatically, just like the disaster that hit Nepal and took so many lives, but also to be alert as to what is going to happen when Jesus comes back, which could be sooner than anyone thinks.

We must be ready. How do we become ready? By giving our lives over to the one who sacrificed his own life to pay for all of our sins. He did this so that when we finally have to face our Creator God, all of our sins are forgotten and forgiven, which to me is totally amazing and totally undeserved. 

Jesus paid for our sins on that cruel cross on Calvary all those years ago, and then he rose again to spend eternity in heaven, preparing a place in paradise for all who decide to give their lives entirely over to him. 

Do we all just naturally go to heaven when we die? Unfortunately, no, certainly not. If we live our lives just cruising along and having virtually nothing to do with God at all, then we will have to pay the price in hell. It is entirely up to us to make that decision. Give our hearts and lives to God and make him first place in our lives, or pay the price at the end.

Listening and looking at the total disaster of what happened in Nepal, it was devastating and so, so horrible. None of us will even know the time or place when our lives will be over, maybe cut short and completely unexpected, or dragged on at the end somehow. Ask God to lead you, leading your life in everything you do and everywhere you go.

Let God lead you and enter your life. Put God ahead of you in everything you do, everywhere you go, and in everyone you meet.

God bless you this week, and I hope to see you next time.

Heroes

Where would we be without heroes in our world? They are amazing and wonderful.

They remind me so much of Jesus and what he went through here on earth. He died so horribly, and yet he rose again and is now in heaven or paradise, depending on how you relate to heaven, and he is there to welcome you and me.

There are definitely heroes in our world, as this lady would completely agree. Here she was, walking down the street with her three children. She is a 46-year-old mother, and her children are aged 10, 11, and 16.

They really had no idea what was about to happen to them as a family. They obviously had a plan for the day, and little did they know that that plan was about to go in reverse. None of us can possibly know in advance what is going to happen to each of us day by day.

This family was visiting Melbourne from Phillip Island - such a beautiful place - and they had no idea at all that they would end up being taken to Melbourne hospital with severe but non-threatening injuries.

The family was just walking down Spencer Street in Melbourne, just outside the police headquarters, when a man approached them; he then very randomly punched the 10-year-old hard in the stomach and then seemed to keep on walking, but then he grabbed the lad's mother in a headlock and kept on stabbing her in the back with a pair of scissors. 

The guy seemingly kept on walking by after he had punched the boy, but then turned, grabbed the lady, and then continued to stab her. The poor lady has suffered horrible injuries. 

Jesus himself suffered inexplicable injuries when he was arrested by the Pharisees, and then the Roman soldiers continually beat him, punching him severely in the face, whipping him, and the crown of large and sharp thorns was jammed on his head. Half naked, blood pouring out of him, huge blood-soaked eyes, no skin on his back, and then dragging a huge, splintery cross on his naked back up to Calvary!

When the family in Melbourne was attacked, there was a hero bystander who saw the guy attack the family and then ran over and tackled the offending guy to the ground halfway through his violent attack on the lady. If that hero hadn't tackled the guy and wrestled him off the lady, I hate to think what the outcome would have been for that family.

More guys quickly jumped on the offender and held him down until the police got there and arrested the guy, handcuffed him, and whacked him in a prison cell, and he will be facing court soon. He was a 27-year-old man, obviously with loads of problems himself, but it really makes you wonder why these sorts of things happen.

When you see something like what happened to the family on Spencer Street, it just gives you a small taste of what is happening in the world today, and of what happened years ago when Jesus went through hell himself. It's certainly an eye-opener.

Melbourne Police superintendent Dunstan praised the guy who jumped on the offender and dragged him off the woman. So fortunate our hero did that; I hate to think what the outcome might have been if he hadn't. Supt. Dunstan said, "Without a doubt, and without their intervention, it could have been a lot worse, so we are so grateful for their assistance."

Others also helped the hero, and they all ended up being heroes. They held him down until the police arrived. Well done!

Jesus was a HERO; he gave his life. Why? Because that is exactly how he paid for all of our sins, every single one of them. But if we don't come to God and accept the very fact that our sins are paid for by the excruciating death that Jesus went through, then we will never see heaven and will pay for our sins in hell.

All we have to do while we are alive here on earth is to come to God and ask His forgiveness for all the sins we have committed, asking Him to lead our lives, and make Him our priority. 

I love this verse in the Bible, in Romans chapter twelve and verse two (in my words only); it says not to virtually jump into conformity to what the world's pattern for life may be. In J.B. Phillips translation of this verse, he says, "Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its mould."

In other words, don't get swayed by some earthly things happening in the world around us and falling into some sort of pattern and doing what everyone else does just to conform. Leaving God as some sort of whimsical feeling and a funny sort of mystic. 

God is real, and if you turn to him, he will change your life, giving you a true meaning and purpose.

Regardless of what is happening with each of us, even though things may go haywire when we are living in this very confusing place called Earth, giving our lives over to God and making him the very first in our lives will certainly get us to meet God in Heaven. 

That to me is incredibly marvelous and extraordinary. Jesus is definitely my HERO. Without him, life will just get worse, and we will get carried away, just living day to day, coping with this and that, solving life's problems as best we can.

With Jesus at the helm, he guides our thoughts and lives, and even when things go wrong, he is there, and we totally rely on him in everything we do, and everywhere we go, and whatever comes along.

God's huge blessings to you this week. Contact me through here if you have any questions at all.

The LANSA flight

Jesus was amazing - If you read all of the miracles he did while he was here with us, then it just reinforces the very fact that he is indeed the very Son of God.

In the bible in Matthew 8, here was Peter's Mother-In-Law lying in bed with a fever. Jesus must have come into the home and was told about the poor lady who was so ill. Jesus went in and touched her hand, and immediately the fever left her; she got up and began to wait on them. How amazing.

Throughout the Bible, we see many miracles. 

Often, we are absolutely amazed by the things that happen to us on our everyday walk through life. Some of the things leave us with a WOW! because they are absolutely spell-binding.

Juliane Koepcke's story is absolutely spell-binding, and it's about how she survived an enormous plane crash. Juliane fell approximately 3.05 kilometres, or around 10,000 feet, still strapped to her seat. It was Christmas Eve, and she was returning to Lima, Peru, where she had been born.

Both her parents were working at Lima's Museum of Natural History, and Julianne had been born there. Her parents set about to establish a research station in the Amazon Forest. It was during this time that she had to learn survival skills, which in turn proved to be the very things that saved her life.

It was Christmas Eve, and Julianne and her mother were returning from Panguana after Juliane had graduated from university. They were on a LANSA flight, which they had booked after all the other flights were completely booked out.

The LANSA flight was finally booked out, and the flight began. Mid-flight, the plane was struck by lightning, immediately disintegrated, and then plummeted to the ground. Juliane found herself falling. Now that would be totally horrible and yet amazing. She was still strapped to her row of seats and plunged into the Amazon Rainforest.

She was amazingly alive, there in the dense Peruvian jungle. The seat where she had been sitting had maybe saved her life. She was left in the jungle, seriously hurt but still alive. The crash left her with a broken collarbone and many deep gashes. She couldn't find her mother, and many other people were unconscious but still alive and very, very injured.

Alone, totally scared and in huge amounts of pain and being near-sighted, she spent the next eleven days struggling through the dense undergrowth of the Amazon. Her dad had taught her to "follow the water," and struggling onward, she struggled into a small logging camp where the lumberjacks were shocked to see her but really helped her as much as they could.

They poured gasoline onto her wounds, which was the only thing they had, and canoed her for eleven hours to another remote area, and then she was able to be airlifted to a main hospital.

She was recovering slowly, but she helped the rescuers to locate the wreck, and many had died, including her mother, whom she located on 12th January 1972.

That was a fair while ago; Juliane is now 71 years of age.

What an amazing life Juliane has lived, and she is now working hard and married. She was the sole survivor of that horrible crash.

I related this miracle to the miracle Jesus did when he saved Peter's Mother-in-law that day; the lady was obviously dying there in the home just as Jesus and his disciples arrived. He miraculously saved her that day, just like Juliane was miraculously saved after that disastrous plane crash.

Jesus died pretty horribly on Calvary, and being the very Son of God, he knew exactly what was going to happen to him, and yet he went through with it just for you and just for me and just for anyone else in the vast world of ours who wants to enter the very kingdom of God.

Why did Jesus have to die? Jesus had to die to pay for your sins and my sins and all of the world's sins. All of our sins go way back to the very first couple on earth. Adam and Eve. Their sins created such a mess, and every single one of us since then has been born into sin, and if we don't do anything about that, then we are destined to spend eternity in the depths of hell.

Jesus came to earth as a baby and grew up knowing that he was to pay for the world's sins, which he did, and all we have to do is accept that and ask him into our lives. Making him first in every situation. That sometimes can be hard, but when we know that he is there with us, all we can do is ask him to lead us everywhere we go, and in everything we do,

Jesus actually was crucified on a cross and died; he was placed in a sepulcher but wondrously rose again in just three days from his crucifixion. He spent a few days here on earth with his disciples and friends, and is now in heaven waiting for us to come to him and asking him to lead us through life.

If we don't, then we are destined for hell. So where are you with Jesus? Do you know him at all, or is he just a story to tell others?

You can ask him into your life, and he will lead you in everything you do and everywhere you go. You will continue to make mistakes, but the amazing thing is that God is always there with you, and he will guide you if you put your trust in him in everything you do.

God bless you this week, and I hope to see you next time.

 

Shipwreck - The DUNBAR!

So many of us in today's world never even think about Jesus and what he did for us on the cross all those years ago. None of us ever knows when our lives will be cut short, and none of us ever knows what lies ahead of us.

WOW! Just reading about what happened on the night of Thursday, 20th August 1857.

After spending 81 days at sea, the beautiful ship THE DUNBAR arrived off Sydney Heads. I live in Newcastle, NSW, and we are just 168 kilometres, or around 103 miles, from Sydney Heads.

The DUNBAR, named after its owner, the wealthy Duncan Dunbar, was the largest ship ever built at that time at the Sunderland Shipyard in England. It was completed in 1854 and started off on its voyage to Sydney, Australia in 1856.

After 81 days at sea, she arrived off Sydney Heads, captained by James Green. It was a horrendous night, blowing a gale, and the waves and sea were treacherous. It was pitch black, with heavy rain squalls making all vision pretty impossible.

The cliffs around Sydney were obscure, and Captain Green believed he was approaching North Head; instead, he was kilometres/miles off and ordered the crew to straighten the ship and run for Sydney. He mistakenly drove the ship into what is known today as THE GAP, thinking it was the port's entrance.

There were 63 passengers on board as well as 59 crew members, including himself. The night was ghastly and cruel, with a wild storm in the pitch black. The ship crashed into the cliff face and the many rocks forming a reef around its base, known today as South Head. The ship immediately started to break up. The passengers and crew were all thrown into the water, the huge waves, and the rugged and jagged rocks surrounding the base of the mighty cliff face.

The gale was gigantic, and all but one on board were tragically and horribly killed on the fateful and disastrous night.

Those on board certainly wouldn't have been expecting that! Their whole lives would have been totally consumed by the huge effort of leaving their homes and starting a new life in the Australian colony.

Every bit of their lives was consumed with hope, love, and desire for their new start, which was to commence so soon in the vast colony, so far away from their homeland. Their hearts would be totally in awe of Australia and what it could offer them; they really had no idea, none of them at all, of what was about to happen.

Our lives can be so consumed by everyday living, making do with what we have, and just getting on with life in general. None of us, other than anything planned, will ever know the time or date when our life here on earth will be over, finished and done with. It's quite a remarkable eye-opener when you think about it. Life can be so so busy and full, and then suddenly it can be cut so short.

Jesus tells us that we should make sure that we give God first place in our lives and be prepared for whatever happens in our lives, and also to be prepared for Christ's eventual return as well. In the Bible, in John chapter three and verse sixteen, it says, "For God so loved the World (that's you and me) that he gave his only son, that whoever (that's you and me) believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life."

That certainly means that God is offering eternal life to anyone at all who trusts in him! Pretty straightforward. In the Bible, in John 5:24, Jesus said, and I quote: "Truly, truly, I say to you, He that hears my word, and believes on him that sent me, has everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death to life." Couldn't be any plainer than that.

Are you ready to ask Christ into your life? Maybe there would have been some board that had actually asked Christ to lead their lives, but I think many of them would have had no idea about what Jesus could be offering them. Unfortunately, just like so many today.

In the horrible accident of THE DUNBAR, the bodies and the wreckage actually filled the harbour - how horrible would that have been - and a huge funeral would have been held in Sydney. There were seven hearses and four other coaches and a long procession of carriages. The whole city closed down.

The only person surviving was found clinging to rocks as huge waves swept over him. How he did that is amazing and incredible. He managed to cling to a rock at the bottom of the huge cliff, being constantly pummelled and crashing into the cliff face by huge waves for 48 hours before he was finally rescued.

How James Johnson survived and ended up being a lighthouse keeper here in Newcastle many years later is beyond our minds.  He was an amazing man. He passed away in 1915. The whole episode is hard to imagine today.

James Johnson helped rescue Frederick Hedges, the only one to survive when the paddle steamer he was on foundered near Newcastle harbour in 1866.

Reading all of this and trying to take it in has been a real eye-opener for me. I knew about it, but I didn't realise just how it had such an impact on Newcastle and Sydney. All those people died so tragically.

We never know when our time comes to die - it is always there, no matter how we live, who we work for, how many in our family, and what we do with our lives. There it always is. Sooner or later we are all going to have to face the certainty of giving up our lives.

We certainly have to make sure about how we live and what is going to happen to us after death. Jesus Christ knew what was going to happen. He knew there was a heaven and there was a hell. Any of us coming to Christ and asking him to take over our lives, and making sure we put him first in everything, we can guarantee that when the time comes, we will live eternally with the one who guides our lives, Jesus, while we are here on earth.

Where are you with Jesus? That's a great question. Are you anywhere at all with Jesus? Do you even know him or even think about him?

You can give your life to him just by asking him to lead you in every situation in which you find yourself. Putting him first makes everything else fall into place. Of course, life will still throw you lots of curveballs, and yet knowing that Jesus is leading you in all situations certainly steers you in all the right places and definitely helps you cope with whatever comes your way.

Ask Him to come into your life to lead you in everything you do and everywhere you go.

God bless you this week - hoping to see you soon

Horrible Wildfires and Horrible Car Tragedies

In British Columbia in western Canada, there has been a deadly and horrible wildfire.

20,000 people have had to leave their homes, and a poor 80-year-old lady was fatally killed. Life can be truly horrible at times.

We have been stunned here to see all sorts of things happening, either here in Australia or in countries throughout the world.

The fire that has consumed so much of western Canada has brought about 193 firefighters from all sorts of places to join the mammoth effort. They have worked around the clock to organise the control lines and to evacuate people.

Another 10,000 people have been told to be ready to flee on short notice. More than 100 wildfires are burning across the province, and it is so hot and dry that any lightning could spark yet more fires in the interior.

So many horrible and nasty things are happening in our world. The following happened just so recently as well.

In Ireland, five teenage boys died instantly when the car, in which they were speeding on the wrong side of the road, hit the other vehicle carrying four other people, including a child.

The horrible accident happened on the M9 Northbound at Junction 3. The young child has been rushed off to the Children's Health at Crumlin and is sadly in a very serious condition.

The bodies of the five teenage boys were also taken to Naas General Hospital, where post-mortems will be carried out.

In the other car, the lady driver and her friend in the front seat have been rushed to Tallaght University Hospital, and both of the ladies are in a very serious condition.

The other young lass in the back seat alongside the child has been rushed to St. Luke's General Hospital and is also in a very serious condition.

The Garda Commissioner, Justin Kelly, said: "Those injured in the crash are all family members who were travelling along innocently when they were struck by the car driving on the wrong side of the motorway." He also mentioned that it was a "horrific incident" and "irresponsible and dangerous driving."

He also mentioned that "Gardai are put in a really challenging situation dealing with such incidents."

That's so amazingly sad. I truly can't imagine what all those families are going through. Not only those who have been so sadly affected by the horrific car collision but also the fires. Being trapped by fires or anything else must be a truly horrible way to die.

All of us are going to meet our end at one point in our lives, but to be struck down so violently and so horribly, it really blows our minds.

So, where are you when you even consider what can happen to you when we meet our end? I know for years I personally just went along in life working away and paying off this and that, raising the kids and making all sorts of decisions, many of them way out of context, not even thinking about what could possibly happen to me.

Then, something happens so suddenly, like the two horrible things I mentioned above, and then it hits me again and again. Life can go along well, and then suddenly it all can stop violently and completely unexpectedly.

All of this can certainly change our lives in an instant. So where are we when we think of all of the above? I know, when I think of it all personally, I realise just how much Jesus paid on that cross all those years ago for you and for me.

Jesus took those lives of ours, and he paid the price for us. All of our sins and all of the unexpected in life, he paid for with his own life. All we have to do is come to him, ask him to come into our lives, accept his love for us, and let him lead us in every situation in which we find ourselves.

So many times in the past, I have been overwhelmed in life in general, the passing of family and friends, struggling financially, and trying to come to terms with all sorts of problems in life in general. I know that since I have given my life to him, he leads me in everything that happens. 

God is amazing! He leads us and is constantly by our side. Life goes on, tragedies happen, and many things just smash into our lives over and over again. Still, the amazing and beautiful thing is that he is there with you right by your side in every possible situation in which we find ourselves.

Not only is he beside us through life, but he has guaranteed us eternal life with him, regardless of how or when we leave this earthly life. He is there with you if you ask him to be in your life while you are here.

Jesus paid the price for our sins on the cross all those years ago, and all we have to do is accept his great love for us, ask him to come into our lives and lead us, and make him first place in our lives. Your life will change, with Jesus being first place. Sure, life will still have its bad times, but with Jesus by our side, we will have his support and love, and the assurance of eternal life with him.

It puts life in the right order with him; he is eternally with us. His love and constant presence with us gives us more confidence and adaptability to meet this earthly life of ours full on.

You can give your life to God through the precious life that Jesus paid on that cross all those years ago. You can ask him into your life to lead and comfort you no matter what comes your way. All you have to do is pray a simple prayer of acceptance and ask him to lead your life. 

God bless you this week, and I hope to see you next time.

There is Heaven and there is Hell

Looking at the news the other day, I was staggered yet again when I saw the tremendous earthquake that happened in Colombia. The death toll had risen to 224 people, and 600 people were injured. A 7.4 earthquake was suddenly upon them, and it made the rescue efforts extremely difficult.

The whole of Colombia was in a state of emergency, which is totally understandable. The President was only in his position for just a couple of days when the earthquake hit, so he was certainly thrown in and had to deal with it as best he could, as he had to face his first major crisis.

There were many collapsed buildings, and the rescue teams were hoping to find survivors. It is truly a horrible time. The area of Cali was one of the worst areas that was hit by the earthquake. There are heaps of buildings with huge cracks and smashed windows. 

Seeing the buildings come screaming down, and the people fleeing for their lives, was truly a horrible sight and a shocking thing to have happened. There are many, many people there looking for loved ones, and they have been told to be as completely silent as possible so that rescuers could hear people under the rubble.

It has been labeled the worst earthquake in Colombia. In Cali, they really do rely on their coffee growing, and they have been totally destroyed. All of the residents are in deep shock, especially so early in the morning after a long weekend. 

There was also an earthquake in Venezuela, and many in Colombia felt it before because they share a border. 

There are at least 300 people reported missing, and they are expecting many more. In the city of Cali alone, at least 30 buildings have collapsed, and of course there are many others that are now completely vulnerable and dangerously close to collapse. Many hospitals, schools, and so many others have suffered significant damage.

The very thought of those poor people suffering so badly makes your heart ache. All those people missing I can't imagine what those families are going through. Watching the news, there are so many families waiting on site looking out for their loved ones. They must be so horrendously upset - it's hard to get your head around it.

What has come home to me yet again is that none of us ever will know when our time has come, regardless of how carefully we live our lives. The only one I can think of, other than suicides. is the Lord Jesus; He knew what was in store for him when he came to earth. 

He knew that his time here would end quickly and pretty awfully, yet, being the holy Son of God, he knew he was going to pay the price for our sins, and he also knew just how he would do that. 

He paid his life for all of us so that our sins would be abolished. He did that because he was a perfect person and also the perfect Son of God. He rose again after his crucifixion and is now reigning in Heaven. He did all this to pay for our sins, and all we have to do is acknowledge that he is indeed our God and King. We have to ask him to lead our lives in everything we do. He also has to become first in everything we do, everything we say, and in fact everything.

What happens if you decide you want nothing to do with him at all? You just need to live your life as you want to and have nothing to do with the eternal God at all?

Actually, it just does not end there at all. There is indeed a heaven awaiting all of us if we decide we need to put God first in our lives and, in fact, first in everything.

If we decide on the opposite that there is no God at all or if we decide there may be a God but don't want anything to do with him, then there is a place after we leave this life of ours. It's called hell, and it is eternal torment that never ends.

Do you need that? Believing and giving our lives to God is what Jesus did for us all those years ago, and all we have to do is ask Him to come into our lives and live for him. Putting Him first in everything we do.

All you have to do is pray an earnest prayer, asking God to enter your life and then to live for him. Putting Him above everything else. Of course, that doesn't stop our problems, but giving our problems to God helps us to achieve an amazing life of fullness in Christ.

God bless you this week. Hope to see you next time.

 

Harold Holt Australia's Prime Minister - Gone! Never to be seen again

Where are you with your workday world? I know I am still 'on the go' and staying busy. It's a good thing as long as whatever it is doesn't just take over your life. When Jesus came into the world, he was certainly a busy young man. His father Joseph was a carpenter, and in those days it was a special job with lots going on, and I guess Jesus, being the eldest son in the family, was always on the go.

Giving Jesus first place in your life, which is amazing, sort of puts everything in order; it's really quite spectacular.

I was reading lately about our former Prime Minister, Harold Holt. he loved getting everything in order and keeping it in that state. He certainly made sure that happened in his job. He felt he was first being PM.  Harold Holt was an agnostic, i.e., a person who believes that God really doesn't exist or basically is unknown. A tad confusing! 

He was a Liberal frontbencher in the parliament, and took over the reins after Robert Menzies retired. Originally he had been in the liberal Party for quite a few years. 

He made things happen quickly and, if you like, efficiently. The Vietnam War was a dominant feature of Holt's reign as Prime Minister here in Australia. The War had begun in 1962, and he, being PM, made it his mission to support the USA in the war in Vietnam.

He introduced National Service for all of us young men at the time, and so many of us were called up to serve in the army and be in Vietnam during this pretty hostile war. Ghastly situation for so many. He justified being there in Vietnam by saying that "Australia was morally obliged to resist communist subversion and aggression and defend the right of every people to choose their own social and economic order." Well, there you have it. Many of us went to war.

There were 4,500 army troops and also 1,500 National Servicemen. So many of the army and National Service people were killed during this time - it was a very nasty war. Holt romped in after this and won the next election so easily. It was called the "Khaki Election", a reference, of course, to the colour of the uniforms of all our personnel including the National servicemen.

So the war went on and on, and Harold Holt's personality was zooming ahead in the polls. Holt loved the ocean, particularly spearfishing, and on 17th December, 1967, he talked his fellow parliamentarian into going snorkelling with him at Cheviot Beach, which is in Point Nepean National Park near Portsea on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria.

It is a beautiful spot and was at that time pretty isolated. There is a picture of the beach on the right.  It is a remote beach. Harold spearfished there many times, and he loved that area so much. Alan Stewart, his fellow parliamentarian, went with him snorkelling. Alan Stewart kept close to the shore while Harold Holt ventured out into the deeper water. 

Not sure what happened, but the thought is that he got caught in a rip and, much to Alan's horror, disappeared from sight, never to be seen again. One witness described him being carried out as "like a leaf being taken out so quick and final."

So ended the reign of Harold Holt as Australia's Prime Minister. What a horrible experience. He was never seen again. His body was never discovered. His disappearance sparked one of the biggest operations in Australian history, but no trace of his body was ever found.

Our lives can change so much in an instant. None of us ever know what is in store for us. The unexpected, the unforeseen, the out of the blue, the unanticipated, and certainly the unpredicted!

In the Bible, in Matthew 24:42, it says, "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day on which your Lord will come," and again in Mark 13:33, "Be on your guard, stay alert, for you do not know when the appointed time is."

What is the appointed time? It simply means none of us know when our time has come when we leave this earth of ours and get to spend eternity elsewhere. Where is eternity for you?

Do you even think about eternity? What is eternity? It is simply a never-ending, continual, and never-changing life. Something we don't even think about. But Jesus, while he was here on earth with us, certainly told us about eternity and warned us that if we didn't hand our lives over to God, then eternity in hell is the alternative.

What does it mean to "hand our life over to God?" It simply means just that! Believe in God, the Creator of the universe. That he has eternal life and that he really wants you to accept him and ask him into your life.

By asking God into your life, he then takes control of your life. He becomes the number one person in everything you ever do. Life continues as before, but the only thing is that God is there, changing you and guiding you. 

Asking God to control your life gives you assurance of eternal life with him. Knowing that when we die, we will go and be with him for eternity. Prayer is an amazing experience, and one where we become closer and closer to God. 

God's richest blessings to you and yours this week, and I hope to see you next time.

4 million people died!

Around 800,000 up to almost 4 million people died in what we now know as Bangladesh from starvation and a multitude of other diseases. This was back in 1943 during World War 2. 

It's hard to imagine what these poor people went through, having to live in hugely unsanitary conditions, aggravated by malnutrition caused by wartime policies and absolutely no health care at all. It was triggered by a man-made food crisis during the war, which ravaged not only the country but the whole population.

Millions of other people were suddenly and horribly impoverished, and they had no help given at all. Children and many others were horribly sick, and many hundreds were dying. Families were hugely disrupted, and they had awful experiences. I really can't imagine what these poor people were going through.

England was there, and they were in the middle of World War 2. Everything was happening.

Mrinalini and her husband Bahadur lived a quiet and unassuming life. Bahadur worked hard, labouring and toting many barrels and heavy items at the docks. They had two boys, Bajrangbali and Balasubramanian. They were only youngsters and didn't go to school, not that there was any where they lived,  but Mrinalini taught them as best she could.

They were surrounded by immense love for the family, and Bahadur worked so hard, coming home each night so late to their very humble dwelling. Mrinalini tried to get some sort of employment, but the children were so young, and she really didn't want to leave them in the care of someone else. Everyone she knew was struggling financially and trying hard to make ends meet.

Even though things were tough financially, Mrinalini and Bahadur loved their children, and they tried to make life as easy as possible. Things were tough, but Mrinalini knew Bahadur was trying so hard to keep everything they had. he was an extremely hard worker, and he loved those boys.

Bajrangbali and Balasubramanian were great kids. Balasubramanian was the youngest, but he tried his best to achieve what his big brother was doing, and that really made Mrinalini smile so much to herself.

Towards the end of 1943, things were plodding along ok for the family, but many of her neighbours were going hungry, and malaria was rampant in the village where they lived. Many were starving, and many others were so sick, and there was actually nowhere to turn for any help at all. Things were deteriorating very, very fast.

Time went on. Bahadur was so busy at work; more and more of the employees were off sick, and many more were struggling with their health but came to work anyway. After all, it was their only source of income. Bahadur was working away one day when his workmate Ujan suddenly and very unexpectedly collapsed. Bahadur rushed over to help him, and Ujan was completely unconscious.

That next morning in the early hours, Bahadur heard that Ujan had passed away. He was devastated. Bahadur had to go to work; his family depended on him. he left early, but it was on his way there that he started to feel completely unwell. His skin was completely yellow, his eyes were blotchy and sore, and he started to have trouble breathing.

That night he became unconscious, and in the early hours he passed away. Was it malaria? We will never know. So sadly the next night young Balasubramanian came down with a fever and was lying in bed with his brother. Two days later Balasubramanian too passed away, and then his brother Bajrangbali came down with the same symptoms. 

Bajrangbali lasted a few more days, and totally devastated, Mrinalini was utterly alone and bereft of all her family. Nowhere to go, no one to turn to, she had to leave the boys and slowly walk away with so many others, making her way to Calcutta in search of some sort of relief. She was not alone, but so many others were bereft of their families and loved ones.

Such a sad outcome: the government at that time, plus the British government, declared a state of famine existed, and any aid given to those affected was totally ineffective through months and months of total crisis.

How do we come to terms with something like this? Great question, and one where I personally do query so many times, and then I was reading the following about Jesus' miraculous ministry while he was here on the crazy world of ours in Mark chapter 1 (the New English Translation)

Jesus was teaching in the Synagogue when a man with an unclean spirit cried out, "Leave us alone, Jesus of Nazareth! Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are - the Holy One of God!" But Jesus rebuked him. "Silence! Come out of him!" After throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him. They were all amazed so that they asked each other, "What is this? A new teaching with authority! he even commands the unclean spirits, and they obey him."

That was quite a miracle that Jesus performed all those years ago, and I can guess that's why the Pharisees felt quite a bit uneasy with the whole thing. Here was this guy teaching the poor people and those in real need of the amazing things of God and how they could come to Him. 

Those in the crowd who were really well-off financially and always put themselves way ahead of the others were astounded that here was this Jesus talking and listening and what?? Performing miracles??!! To the poor of the city instead of to them.

Like what happened all those years ago in Bangladesh, the poor were needy and relied on many others but were not given anything. They were desperate and certainly needed assistance and help in everything. 

When Jesus performed that miracle in the Synagogue, it was with a poor and needy man, possessed by Satan, and Jesus was so prepared to help and assist him. 

So many others in Bangladesh certainly needed help in so many ways, and they did not get any at all. So many died horribly. Nothing was done there; just like in our story of the poor man that Jesus healed. Many, many people living in Bangladesh evacuated the city and tried desperately to escape the plague that was pursuing them. 

Jesus continued to help and assist so many people suffering horribly, and the rich and famous of the city didn't want anything to do with Jesus at all. So similar to what happened in Bangladesh. The rich and politically correct in the city were so consumed with the war and trying to gain as much as possible that they had no compassion or even the slightest help for the poor and needy.

Jesus loved the people, and He still does. He was prepared to give his life for them. Even after only three years of bringing the amazing word of God, he gave his life to pay for everyone's sin. At just 33 years of age, he was nailed to a wooden cross, and he actually took all the sins of the world on his shoulders and paid the price. Amazingly, after just three days, he rose again, and all we have to do is accept his love for us and ask him to lead our lives.

Are you prepared to ask him into your life? God does not have favourites, but it really does depend on your willingness to have a deep and personal relationship with him. Every single person has been given the same invitation. In the Bible, in Hebrews 4:16, it says that you can come to draw near to God,  fearlessly and confidently and even boldly. That's amazing and so personal for all of us.

God bless you this week and hope to see you next time.

A total Tragedy for Caleb T.

In the Bible, in Luke chapter 5, verses 1 to 11, ordinary fishermen were having a normal day when everything changed. 

Everything certainly changed for all of us while we were at school one day!

Caleb T. went to high school with me. We weren't really mates, but we were sort of friends. That was a normal relationship back then.

He was certainly one of the many who were involved in sports, just like we all were. There was everything there, from swimming to tennis to football to hockey; you name it, our school was fanatical about urging all of us pupils to get into a sport of any sort.

Caleb T. was into soccer and swimming, and that's probably where he and I met most of all; in the pool. He was a great guy, and we got along ok. Probably not the very best of friends, but we were in a sort of boyish friendship.

We were in Year 9 at the time, maybe around 15 to 16 years old, and it was a co-ed school, just like it is today. Back then it was a tad different in that most girls went to an all-girls high school, and the boys went to an all-boys school. But Cook's Hill High School was unique in lots of ways. It was a co-ed school, and a lot of boys had girlfriends, holding hands at lunchtime and spending time together when they could.

Caleb and Eva were certainly good friends; they spent most of their lunchtimes together and also sat together in the classes that they shared - not that there were many, but they obviously enjoyed those odd lessons.  

Jesus was the same with the guys he met who he decided would be his disciples. They were certainly different to him, but Jesus knew just what the future held for them all. He called them to follow him, and he taught them lots of things. He was their friend and teacher, Leader and cohort. Like Caleb and Eva, he was close friends with them, and he also was their teacher.

Jesus was a miracle worker, and on the day he met his disciples for the first time, he performed a miracle: the guys had been fishing all night and had caught nothing. They saw this Jesus person on the beach, and they had a whinge to him about no fish - Jesus told them to put their net down in the deep water, and you will catch fish. So they did, and they certainly did catch fish. Now that was a miracle.

Caleb T. and Eva were at school, enjoying what they could but really enjoying each other's company. Then the Newcastle Show came around. A very special time of the year for us Novocastrians. Caleb got into his good clothes and so did Eva, and he called around to her home and picked her up and together went to the showground.

All seemed well until they came to go home, and Caleb started to walk Eva home to her house. They walked along, and then the conversation took a turn for the worse for Caleb. Eva started to tell him that she was feeling like they should break up. Caleb was astonished! He asked her why, and she apparently told him that her leaving certificate was on the way next year and she felt they needed to concentrate on that rather than on each other.

The fishermen in the Bible passage that we read earlier were astonished at what Jesus did. They were totally amazed and couldn't quite work out what he did and what he meant. But what they did do was what Jesus told them to do, and they went out into the deep water, put down their nets, and caught so many fish they could have sunk their boat.

Caleb T. was so hurt that night. He couldn't understand what Eva had meant. To break up with him? he loved her so much, and she said she loved him too. Why break up? He felt he had come to the end of his life.

He dropped her at her house and stumbled home to his place. He was so distraught and so hurt; he couldn't cope at all with what she had just said.

Caleb went into his parents' garage, organised to commit suicide, and he did just that. So sad, really! We were all so shocked on the following Monday when we were all told at a school assembly about what Caleb had done, and we all noticed as well that Eva was not there, and she never ever did come back to the school. How terribly sad.

Why did that happen? Caleb was so distraught that night; he really felt his life was over. You know, when things like that happen, we must keep in mind exactly what Jesus said when the new disciples said to him that he should leave them because we are sinful men, and we don't deserve your help, love, and promises.

If Caleb T. had thought just a little longer, gone to bed that night, maybe even cried his eyes out, he might have reconsidered what he did that night. But after what had happened, he really felt he had no other options.

Yes, just like Peter said to Jesus, we are all sinful people, and none of us really should come to him at all. None of us deserve to come to Jesus Christ and ask his forgiveness, but that is exactly what Jesus said and what he meant when he said to them, " Do not be afraid; come and follow me".

When we follow Jesus, we can be sure that everything Jesus said in the Bible, all the stories that he told, and all the miracles he did just reinforce exactly why Jesus was here on earth. He was here to bring us to a knowledge and love for him. His eternal life was there right from the beginning.

He paid for our sins, and he rose again after his crucifixion and is in heaven preparing a place for those of us who decide to give our lives over to him. 

If we decide that we have absolutely nothing to do with God at all, then we will have to pay the price when our life is over. There is a heaven waiting for us if we give our lives to God, but there is also a hell.  Where are you in all of this? Have you even considered who Jesus is and why he came to earth at all? 

Our lives here on earth can often be so exhausting and so sad, but giving our lives over to God and asking him to lead us and always putting him first in everything changes how we look at life. It puts everything into perspective, knowing that God is there with us and relying totally on him. I still feel sad about my school friend Caleb T. and his family.

Give your life over to God by placing him first in everything you do. Of course, life will still bring its problems and insecurities, but God will always be there for us. It's truly amazing knowing he is right with you in every single thing you do and every single place you go.

God's richest blessings to you, and I hope to see you next time.

Aberfan disaster

Bryn and Fflur Bowen were twins in the Welsh town of Aberfan that was built over a natural spring of water. They were the apple of Carwyn, their dad's eye, and he thought he was the blest of all dads. Here he was working in the colliery near Merthyr Tydfil, and he and his gorgeous wife Carys had built their home - well, not literally, but had bought an old home, and he was so busy doing it up.

Their home was at the base of the mountain that had been created by the mine where Carwyn worked so hard each day.

The children, twins of all things, were born to them in 1959, and he couldn't believe it. Both Carys and he adored them so much, and he really felt so blessed to have them. He and Carys both gave their lives to Jesus, and they were both in the choir at the church, and their children loved going to church with them every single Sunday.

Off to school they went: Mum stayed home, and Dad took off to work on the 21st October, 1966. He was working hard that day on the colliery spoil tip that was created on the mountain slope above their village. Even though it was pouring with rain. 

It was pouring so hard that there was apparently a build-up of water within the tip, which at the time of the disaster was 34 metres high or 111 feet. The water built up and built up so much that it caused a huge and sudden slide down the hill, causing a gigantic slurry. 

The huge slurry gained momentum as it cascaded down the mountainside and hit a row of houses and totally engulfed them and the Pantglas Junior School. Lessons had just begun at the Junior School, and 5 teachers and 109 children were killed. The total number of people killed in the disaster was 116 children and 28 adults. What a horrible disaster!

Carys was busy at home when she heard the rumble of the mountain, and that was obviously the very last thing she would have remembered, as their home was destroyed instantly by the huge fall. Carys would have been killed horribly that day, as were both the twins at school, Bryn and Fflur.

Their dad, Carwyn, was working on the mountain, and he survived to see his family completely wiped out. How disastrous would that have been? It's hard to put into words how you would feel.

Many others living in the village at that time developed medical problems as a result, and many have had post-traumatic stress disorder. As did Carwyn. he left the village and never really got over the trauma of the whole thing.

How do you possibly get over something like that? My mind goes to what Jesus went through when he was here on earth with us. He went through all sorts of trauma and all sorts of heartache. I know he would have suffered so badly, and yet he loved us so much that he gave his life for all of us.

Jesus was amazing while he was here on earth. He performed many miracles, of which this one below was the very first.

In the Bible, in John chapter 2 1-11, Jesus did a miracle in the town of Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, and he and his followers were invited to a wedding. The following is what happened, and this is the New Century version in the Bible:-

Suddenly all the wine at the wedding was gone. Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine." Jesus answered, "Dear mother, why come to me? My time has not yet come. His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you to do."

In that place there were six stone water jars that the Jews used in the washing ceremony. Each jar held about twenty or thirty gallons, or around 113 litres. Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water." So they did, right to the top.

Then he said to them, "Now take some out and give it to the master of the feast." So they took the water to the master. When he tasted it. the water had become wine. He did not know where the wine came from, but the servants who brought the water knew. The master of the wedding called the bridegroom and said to him, "People always serve the best wine first. Later, after the guests have been drinking a while, they serve the cheaper wine. But you have saved the best wine till now."

The followers of Jesus at this time would have been amazed at the miracle, and it would have just reinforced their brand new thought that Jesus was indeed the very Son of God. 

Looking at this miracle and the very fact all those years ago, long before what happened in Wales that befell those poor people in the tragedy as mentioned above, it just reinforced to me that Jesus knew in detail what was going to happen to him and the price he would have to pay for the sins of the world.

That tragedy in Wales back in the 50's was a huge reminder to me personally just how fragile our lives can be. These people had no idea what was going to happen to them. Carys was a perfect example, as were her two children, Bryn and Fflur.

They had what seemed a perfect life in a perfect spot, and yet all of a sudden their lives were completed, finished, and ended, suddenly and horribly.

None of us know when this may happen. Anything could happen to any of us at any time. Sadly, in today's news, a young lady's life ended suddenly and horribly. Why? We will never know, but when we give our lives to Christ and when we look at how he lived his life and the miracles he performed just to show the world out there that he was indeed God, then all we have to do is accept his love for us and give our lives to him.

The very miracles of Jesus were just a 'pointing sign' if you like, showing us just how miraculous Jesus's life was and is. How Jesus, God in person, came to earth here as a baby born in a dirty old stable and lying in a dirty old manger, living in poverty and dying horribly, all to pay for my sins and yours.

Yes. It was truly sad and horrible what happened in Wales in the 50's, but they didn't know, and none of us know exactly what is going to happen to us. When or how. The thing is that we, all of us, have to come to the realisation that Jesus gave his life for us to actually pay for our sins.

All we have to do is accept his love for us and also how he rose again to welcome us into Heaven if we come to that point in our lives where we accept what he did for each of us personally.

Are you ready to give your life to Jesus and make him first in everything you do? You can ask him into your life to lead you, right now if you wish.

Thank you so much, and I really hope to see you next time.

God allows U-Turns

Bevan Fletcher is a fantastic guy - He gave his life to Christ after a tumultuous life and living what he thought was the very best life he could ever have.

He was brave and forthright and lived his life for himself, making heaps of money and taking what he could, even if it meant putting anyone down who got in his way - he was an angry guy who had lived his life for himself and was making and achieving lots of money and what he thought was life!

One day in his anger, he was driving his Porsche through Sydney's main street, angry at the last guy he met who couldn't afford the money Bevan was due, when he stopped at a set of traffic lights. There were so many of them. Sydney never allowed U-Turns and looked over at a church which had a sign out front that read "God allows U-Turns."

He was suddenly struck! He suddenly found himself praying, and there in the car at the traffic lights he asked Christ to lead him. 

He was completely in awe of what had just happened, did a U-Turn in life, and found himself talking to the minister of that church, who actually advised him to get himself to a Bible college because, knowing Bevan's past, the minister thought he would achieve so much.

That is exactly what Bevan did. He became a full-time minister of the word of God and put himself in God's will, and years later found himself in Syria right in the middle of the overthrow of the Bashar al-Assad regime. There was sectarian violence and a huge and severe humanitarian crisis.

Bevan also found himself in the middle of clashes with Kurdish Forces over control of where he actually was in the northeastern territories. He was in the middle of fighting between traditional government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian democratic Forces.

Stuck in the middle, Bevan couldn't come home, and he couldn't leave this place - he was so helping all sorts of people as best he could. The resources were dwindling quickly, and he had to really make up his mind about what he was going to do.

In the morning he started his journey to the airport, hoping beyond hope he could get some sort of transport out of here and back to Australia. He prayed a lot, and after three full days of trudging along with heaps of other migrants, he found himself at the airport.

He was so aware that he was probably unable to leave because he was in the middle of an active war zone. He prayed a lot, and amazingly, he was bundled with a lot of others on one of the last flights out of the country and taken to the USA of all places.

He was totally broke, not only of money; his passport was gone, he had no other clothes, and he was totally isolated from everyone and everything. Life went on in the USA, and fortunately he found himself with so much help at the Australian Embassy.

A long story cut short, he was soon back in Australia. He was an amazing man, and the USA was fantastic in assisting him back to Australia. He plans to go back once again.

God is great regardless of what we are going through. My mind nearly always goes back to Jesus and what he went through and the age of only 30 years. He gave his life for us, and he rose again to show us what eternity could be like if we even take a quick look.

Jesus once again told a parable to the crowd, especially aimed at the Pharisees and all the others there who were putting themselves way ahead of the poor and needy, who made up the masses who came to see and hear Jesus.

Jesus' parables had real meaning, and this one was trying to get through to the rich and to those of us who think we are pretty good and cruising through life. The following story that Jesus told is found in the Bible in Luke 8: 10-14, and it goes like this in the Good News translation.

"Once there were two men who went up to the temple to pray: one was a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood apart by himself and prayed, Í thank you, God, that I am not greedy, dishonest, or an adulterer, like everybody else. I thank you that I am not like that tax collector over there. I fast two days a week, and I give you one tenth of all my income. 'But the tax collector stood at a distance and would not even raise his face to heaven, but beat on his breast and said, 'God, have pity on me a sinner!' I tell you," said Jesus, "the tax collector, and not the Pharisee, was in the right with God when he went home. For those who make themselves great will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be made great."

WOW! I reckon that was quite a parable that Jesus told, and self-righteousness certainly was not on Jesus' agenda at all. Thinking highly of ourselves was the crux of this parable, and that is certainly something that Jesus was telling us is a danger! 

It is certainly something we should all take on board. Jesus wanted to communicate to all of us how important it is not to put ourselves ahead of others at all. Something I personally have to come to terms with.

Putting ourselves ahead of others can have all sorts of repercussions. Even driving along the roads, there are so many people wanting to get ahead of others and pushing themselves. I'm afraid I am like this also, and even though we are driving cars in today's world, pushing ourselves ahead is certainly a sign that we feel we are better than others.

That is exactly what Jesus was trying to get through to us in this parable. He was making a firm point that putting others ahead of ourselves is good and the right thing to do, regardless of where we are or what we are doing.

This whole parable has been a huge lesson for me personally, and I truly hope that it will be the same for you.

Jesus was amazing when he was physically here on earth, and he is still amazing right now. He really wants you to come to him, asking him to lead your life and give him the honour and glory.

Are you ready to give your life to Jesus and ask him to lead you in everything you do?  God bless you this week, and I hope to see you next time.