Tag Archives: safety

Daily Devotionals

Helmet of Hope.

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David, the Psalmist 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. 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 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; 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 day with a positive and confident “hope” as we go to school or work.

Morning Musings

How Careful Are You?

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Maile 2 - CopySummer is drawing to a close in the Southern Hemisphere. In New Zealand this is the season of sun, sand and fun on the water. But our weather in these islands of New Zealand tends to be very changeable and variable. Especially in the northern part of the country. The land is long and narrow and sandwiched between two large oceans….the Pacific Ocean on the east, and the Tasman Sea on the west which is said to be one of the roughest and most treacherous seas in the world.

Most people living in Northland have some association with the sea, if not commercially, then recreationally. When the weather is good everyone who has a boat takes to the water, and on good days, little boats dot the wide open bays as far as one can see.

My great-grandfather’s family came from an area in England that was inland and as far as we know, had never had any association with the sea. When they emigrated to New Zealand in 1861, they had a four month ocean voyage ahead of them, and then a short coastal trip from Auckland to the Bay of Islands. From then on, their lives were inextricably tied up in the sea. All travel was done by sea; all their goods were transported by coastal scows; one son became a sea captain of sailing ships, another son turned to boat building. The sea was their very life blood, and their descendents have this love of the sea in their veins.

But like a lot of things, while the sea can be a good servant if used wisely, it can be a bad master when carelessly taken for granted. Treat it carefully and it will repay you a hundred-fold, but ignore the signs and one may even pay for it with one’s life!

This summer season many people have lost their lives due to carelessness and taking the sea for granted. Going out in boats that are too small for the conditions, or diving into river pools without being too sure how deep they are. Even when proper precautions are taken, the unexpected can happen.

An acquaintance of ours was recently body boarding with his young son when a wave caught them and the father came off the board hitting his head with some force on the sand. His neck was broken but fortunately for him, his spinal cord wasn’t snapped. He has been told that he is very fortunate to be alive, but that it will be many months before he can lead a normal life again. How prepared are we for a sudden calamity like this? How would we feel in the face of such a change of life style as this calamity has caused?

We have to remember that God has even these things under control, and can bring some good out of ALL things that happen to those who love Him. We cannot blame Him for things that are the results of our own actions, but we CAN look to Him for help and strength in the consequences of things that we do.