Lockdown (Page 4)
Day 34 The Lock-Down. Bringing Hope to Confined Circumstance
“One plants…” New Zealand went from Level 4 to Level 3 Lock-Down today. The fast-food drive-thrus, Pizza delivery and Uber Eats are doing a roaring trade. Some Kiwis even ordered two deliveries to their door to celebrate reunions. There are still strict rules for social distancing in place, but how much they will be adhered to, we may never know. There is no talk of returning to places of worship within the next few weeks, we can only pray that…
Day 33 The Lock-Down. Bringing Hope to Confined Circumstance
“I’ll start with myself…” Do not be eager in your heart to be angry, For anger resides in the bosom of fools (Ecclesiastes 7:9). You didn’t have to live very long before witnessing outbursts of anger, did you? In fact, you may have had a few yourself—early on, I mean. The older you get the more you realize that these things don’t just go away, and that anger, in all its forms, is something best dealt with before it deals…
Day 32 The Lock-Down. Bringing Hope to Confined Circumstance
“Praise the Lord!” And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).I thought I would try to come up with a few things about which to ‘Praise the Lord’ during this time of confinement. I have come up with a dozen. The list would have been much longer if I had included the many personal blessings that have been unique…
Day 31 The Lock-Down. Bringing Hope to Confined Circumstance
“Pick a Day.” Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed” (Proverbs 15:22).If I asked you to write down the names of the 7 most likely people that you would call during a personal crisis, who would be on that list? Why them? My guess is that mutual trust would be high on the list of reasons why. Further analysis may reveal why you might even call one person over another. Some problems are huge. They…
Day 30 The Lock-Down. Bringing Hope to Confined Circumstance
“How good is that?” If you could count all the sins committed on any given day on earth, and represent each one by tossing a tennis ball into those big freight train carriages, how many miles long do you think that train would be by days end? Some would insist, “‘Not that long. Only despots and moral deviants sin. Everything else is either poor judgement or accidental.” People typically react to sin in very simple terms: They Protect themselves. Denial…
Day 29 The Lock-Down. Bringing Hope to Confined Circumstance
“A few words, please?” There is a list of people to whom I am eternally grateful. Their beautiful images are indelibly imprinted on my heart. I have stored none but good memories of them and am always glad to hear that they are doing well. Some I have known most of my days, some come and go from my life, and some I met but once. The thing that they all hold in common is the impact that their encouraging…
Day 28 The Lock-Down. Bringing Hope to Confined Circumstance
“My time to Shine.” Back in the days where everyone knew who could actually play rugby and the rest of us formed the ‘B’-Team, I was shuffled out on to the field with the rest of my sports-challenged comrades to see what might happen. I spent my time trying to look as if I knew what I was doing, but, with my compatriots, proved with every move that I did not have a clue. Invariably a tackle was made, the…
Day 27 The Lock-Down. Bringing Hope to Confined Circumstance
“Poor people can’t afford cheap things.” It’s because cheap things tend to be short-lived. Low quality or limited usefulness will turn a short-term blessing into a long-term curse. It is desperation that drives these unwise purchases. Thus, knowledge is key, and a good old fashion cast iron resolve is the only way to prepare for such times. Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt.5:3). The first step to be taken on…
Day 26 The Lock-Down. Bringing Hope to Confined Circumstance
Snake Oil Peddlers The Old Wild West movies would sometimes feature a Medicine Show. The Medicine Man was your consummate salesman. Proclaiming loudly from his soapbox the miraculous virtues of his latest cure-all elixir. Amongst the gathering townsfolk he often employed the services of a man (a shill) to swear to the efficacy of his Snake Oil product. These Medicine Shows existed. Ointments and potions claiming to contain snake oil were very popular. Of course, when tested, they were found…
Day 25 The Lock-Down. Bringing Hope to Confined Circumstance
Is it Personal? This is a story about 3 men. The first being an old preacher who went on a well-deserved holiday with his lovely wife; the second being a young preacher who came to house-sit; and the third, a man who was having an awfully bad day. The phone rang and our house-sitting preacher-boy answered it with his characteristically bright, cheery voice. It was our third man, and yes, his day was bad, and yes, he was about to…