Tag Archives: certainty

Morning Musings

Our Helmet of Hope.

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     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.

Random Devotional Thoughts

Thoughts for the New Year.

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     As we enter this new year of 2022, many thoughts come to mind. The main one being that the only certainty for this year is the uncertainty that we finished up with last year! Plans for this year can’t be made with any certainty, as we don’t know when what freedom we have, will be clamped down on again. Our clubs and gatherings that we have worked so hard to start and keep going are now in limbo. Rules are being put in place constantly changing things that we thought we knew we might be able to do. We hear of things happening in other countries, and know with a sinking heart that it will only be a matter of time before we too, will be bound by the same things.   

      But all is not lost! The sun will still rise each morning, giving us a brilliant promise of another day! Plants in the garden will still grow and flower,  amazing us with their brilliance and beauty. God is still on His throne, and His promises still stand….He said, “I am the Lord, I change not!” His Word, the Bible, still stands true and nothing can alter that. His people can still look back on their experiences in life, and see how He has worked for them….nothing can change those memories! So let’s remember these things and look upwards instead of downwards and take heart to keep going.

    If we do not have these memories,  remember it is never too late to start our journey with the Lord on our side…all we have to do is to ask Him. He has said, “Those who seek Me will find Me!”, and He will never turn down a sincere and repentant person. Once we have done this, then all the rest of this life’s uncertainties that we face this year, will fade into insignificance, and we will be able to go forward into 2022 with confidence!!

Life Lessons

What Sort of Legacy are we Leaving?

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   For nearly every month  this year so far there has been at least one funeral, sometimes two or three for us to attend. Each service has been so different,  depending on the family members responsible for organizing them!

Some have been  full of the confidence of seeing the loved one again in a time to come, but others have remained strangely silent on that outlook, even when it was widely known that the deceased  had been actively involved in  Christian work. I couldn’t help thinking about the legacy that is being  left for the family…..there’s nothing sadder than standing around an open grave and hearing some of the family of the deceased talking about the life of their dearly departed without expressing this certainty.  Whether we like it or not, this is going to happen to each one of us sooner or later. What will our family be able to say about us? Will they know without a doubt that the real “us” is in the presence of God? Or will they just vaguely hope we are there?

It’s not enough to like a certain hymn or to have given our spouse an inspirational book once (both examples of which I have heard given). Let’s make sure that our family KNOW without a doubt that our faith is in God and His Son Jesus Christ. This is the best legacy we can leave them.