Monthly Archives: December 2023

Morning Musings

Our Helmet of Hope.

Leave a comment

     David, the man who wrote the book of Psalms in the Bible, could say… “For You are my hope, O Lord GOD: You are my trust from my youth” (Psalm 71:5).

 I was listening to a preacher the other day who was talking about hope. Not hope with the thought of it may or may not happen, but hope as a confidence and certainty. Where God is concerned, His Word is Truth and it will stand firm. We can have every confidence that what He says will happen, WILL happen! He will do it, He always keeps His Word.

    There is another verse in the Bible where it says to put on the helmet of the hope of salvation (1 Thessalonians 5:8). Once we have this helmet firmly on our head, no matter how many darts of doubt and fear Satan fires at us, we can overcome them.

    The law in New Zealand says that it is compulsory for every cyclist to wear a helmet while riding their bike on the road. It is no use carrying it on the handlebars of the bike, because that won’t keep us safe if we have an accident. We have to have it on our head  to be safe  and protected. Every time we have an impact, we have to adjust it and wear it properly again.

   So it is when troubles hit us on our ride through life, we have to adjust our helmet of hope in God and His Word, and get on our bike and go on again. Every negative thought that Satan gives us, we have to counteract with our helmet of hope, and count our many blessings.

  It is no use counting our blessings on our fingers and our troubles on the calculator, we are to do it the other way around. Every new morning we are to put on our helmet of hope and count our blessings; then we are to firmly fasten it with thanksgiving to God, and to resist negative thoughts which come from the evil one. We will then be able to face the New Year next week with a positive and confident “hope” as we continue with our summer holidays or go to school or work which ever applies to us.

Life Lessons

Lessons to Learn from Fishing…..

Leave a comment

    Summer is here!  It’s the time of the year again, when one’s thoughts turn towards fishing.  Over the years we have been able to do this, and as with so many of our activities, there are lessons we can learn from this pastime.  It’s wonderfully relaxing to be able to be on the water unless there are no fish around in which case one can feel rather frustrated. However, if it is a nice day, just being there is relaxation in itself, and if nothing else, we can enjoy God’s wonderful creation.

     When the fish are biting well, and one or two come into the boat, all the trouble seems worthwhile. That reminds us that nothing worthwhile in life just happens without some effort. Nothing tried is nothing gained, just as in other phases of life.     Sometimes only undersized fish get caught. This is when one has to just throw them back to grow some more We have to be honest in this and not keep them. If one is caught by the inspector, a  heavy fine and sometimes even the confiscation of the boat is likely to follow.     Other times, a big one might get on and be brought right up to the side of the boat, only to have it give a final flick of the head  and get away. At times like this it doesn’t seem fair…..after all that effort to have it get away! That reminds us that life isn’t always fair. At times it is grossly unfair. But this is how we learn to cope with disappointments…..things won’t always go our way!

    Another lesson to learn is to kill the fish immediately they are brought into the boat. It is not fair to let creatures suffer unnecessarily, and to die of  slow suffocation is anything but kind.     Learning to cast with the rod doesn’t just come naturally. As with most things, there is a certain knack to learn to get the line far enough out. The same principle applies here as with other things….practice makes perfect! If at first you don’t succeed, try again as the old saying goes.     Last but not least, is that time spent with family or friends is never time wasted. Let’s make sure we take the time to enjoy the things that God has given us to freely enjoy. It would be sad indeed to have to face Him one day and hear Him say, “ I  made all that beauty for you to experience, and you never took the time to enjoy it!”

Morning Musings

Chip Gone Wrong!

Leave a comment

    Our motor home let us down badly last weekend. We were all set for a great weekend of fun and fellowship with like minded people, but it all ended up very differently to what we had planned. Just as the old saying goes, “Man proposes, but God disposes!”

    We were nearly at the village where the venue was, when our motorhome gave a few jerks and grunts and then refused to go any further! We finally managed to limp our way out of the surrounding traffic, and then try to figure out what to do next.  We had had this problem before, of the letter “F” coming up on our dashboard, and had found out then, that it stood for “Fault”. That time, it had needed the chip in the computer system replaced and all was well.                            So it could be a simple problem again this time, or it could be something more serious. Whichever way it was, the fault had to be found and fixed before we could move again under our own steam.

    This little incident reminded me of  our prayer life when our connection with our Heavenly Father seems to be broken. Or perhaps, we have never ever been connected to Him in a personal relationship at all. There are many times in our life, when we feel as though God is far away and not hearing our prayers. The trouble is a broken chip between us and God, and it is not until we get it seen to,  that the power of God flows back into our life, and our fellowship with Him is restored. Let’s look at some of these broken “chips” that can cut our fellowship with God…..

    One of these is having a right relationship with our spouse or other members of our families. This is one of the main causes of a broken “chip”, and we are told that husbands in particular, are to treat their wives right or their prayers will be hindered  (1 Peter 3:7 ).     Another one is having a bad attitude towards others, and unconfessed sin….King David said, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me!” (Psalm 66:18 ) Wrong attitude to our money….it is not our own, but only what God has given us, so it is only reasonable to give Him His share of it. Habitual and continuous disobedience will block our communion with God. Cherished continual sin in our hearts…..is there something that we know displeases the Lord but we don’t want to give it up? This is a broken “chip” cutting the communication between us and God. The prophet Isaiah said, “Your sins have come between you and God like a thick cloud!”   (Isaiah 52:1)

   So after thinking about these things, let’s fix these “broken chips” in our life, and have our communion with God restored again!

Morning Musings

Solution!

Leave a comment

      We read and hear about the war going on between Gaza and Israel at present, but this is nothing new. Conflicts like this have been going on for the last four thousand years!

    At one stage, the Philistines were in a real dilemma! They had taken this Ark (box) of the God of Israel out of its place, and tried to add it to their collection of idols. But it had miraculous powers, and disaster came on each place where it was taken to.  Plagues of mice over-ran the place and people became ill and died as a result. What to do?

    The people felt they had no option but to get it back to where it had come from, but the big question was, how? At last they had a bright idea….”We have to send a gift for this God of Israel, so let’s put it onto a new cart with golden models of mice and the sores that we have been plagued with, in another box,” they said, “the cart can be pulled by two cows that have just calved and if they go on their own along the road without their calves, we’ll know that there’s something in the God of Israel that goes against nature!”

   So this is what they did. They loaded the cart up, and followed along behind it to see what happened. To their utter amazement, the cows quietly went along towing the cart, and calling for their calves as they went. Not only that, but they took the right road to the land of Israel, and didn’t stop until they got there! The Philistines had to admit that the God of Israel was real after all!

   But the people of the place where it stopped looked on it merely as a curiosity and all those who tried to look into it were struck dead on the spot. In fact, the disease flew through the countryside, and over 50,000 people died. “Take it away!” the people cried, “Tell the people of  Kirjath-jearim where it came from, to come and get it and take it away!”

   This story shows us that we cannot play fast and loose with God, or treat His things lightly. We must treat His things with respect and reverence . For us today, this shows us how careful we must be in this matter….those who treat the things of God, or talk about Him in a disrespectful manner or use His Name as a swear word, will pay the price one day.

When God speaks, it pays to hear, To listen and  obey, If we do not have holy fear, Worse will come one day!

  You can read this story in the Bible in the  book of 1st Samuel chapter 6, verses 1-6