S.M. Wibberley’s Blog

“The Lord reigns; Let the peoples tremble! He dwells between the cherubim; Let the earth be moved!” Psalm 99:1

Praise be to you, Lord God, the holy One, our sovereign King.

Praise you that I can give thanks in all things, knowing that you reign, allowing/bringing to us what is good.

Thank you for

last night’s interrupted sleep,

the restless legs,

disturbing dreams,

waking up often,

being dried out

and the resulting grogginess this morning.

All this reminds me of my weakness, my inability to regulate even how well I sleep.

In reality there is not much that I can control,

just a tiny sphere of “power” where I can make decisions,

but not fully determine their outcomes.

I can choose to go to bed early,

but what comes afterwards is not in my hands.

To be weak is good, it is honorable because it brings honor to you:

“My power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9).

It is something to rejoice in,

to delight in,

to praise about (talk about supernatural thinking!).

It is a chance to give you glory,

to live by faith,

to be a channel of power,

a spring of grace,

a beacon of hope,

a demonstration of goodness,

a witness of the One true God to all those around us.

Let us join Paul in consistently saying,

“I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses,

so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” 2 Cor, 12:9

While walking across a field I came upon this dandelion.

Its perfectly symmetrical shape called me to look closer,

and I noted the intricate pattern made of the filaments. Look at it in  the picture.

God just loves beauty and He has hidden it everywhere for us to find.

But God is not  only the Creator of beauty, He is also very practical:

the filaments making up that beautiful pattern are also little helicopters,

just waiting for the next breeze to launch them into the sky, each carrying a seed of new life to a new place.

This dandelion reminds me of the body of Christ: formed out of the miracle of Chrst’s resurrection,

beautifully interlinked to make a striking global pattern,

while remaining responsive to outside forces,

being willing to fly away to new places to reproduce itself as it falls on fertile ground.

We just need to be willing let Him carry us to the places that need more seeds obeying Jesus’ command: “….go and make disciples of all nations…”

Our God is astounding, amazing and totally loving, as this verse declares:

“God our Saviour…Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” 1 Tim 2:3,4

He goes to great lengths to give people knowledge of their need for forgiveness and salvation,

as we saw last night in the near death experiences where people went to heaven, met Jesus and returned as believers.

It seems that others need more convincing and they end up arriving in Hell, which is a terrible place.

They tell of people beating, tearing, torturing each other, in darkness and anguish.

One atheist upon arriving on the edge of hell, immediatly cried “Jesus, save me!”

God in these cases not only gives them a taste of eternal condemnation,

He sends some back to live again as believers, to serve Him as effective witnesses.

This is not a “second chance” after death, it is a further chance in life.

Picture: “Jesus, save me!”

Most people have only a vague idea of what Heaven or Hell are like. There are hints in Scripture, but these are not very complete.

As it says in Colossians 2:10 (KJV), “…you are COMPLETE in Him, which is the head of all principality and power….”

When we begin to understand who we are in Christ, we can go onto verse 12, which says,

“therefore” (since you are chosen, holy and dearly loved),

“clothe yourselves with compassion,

kindness,

humility,

gentleness [“sweet reasonableness”]

and patience.”

Wouldn’t you like to be around people like that?!!!

And that is what we can be for others when we live out the Truth

of who we are in Christ. and stop fighting with others.

In Ephesians 2:18 Paul prays the God will give the believers POWER

so they can understand the greatness of the love of God,

to know the love that surpasses knowledge, (to experience His love in God sightings)

and the result is “that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

To know His love empowers us to rise above conflicts

to bring grace to others and bring joy to God!

Prayer: “Lord God, grant us the power to grasp

‘how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ’

so that we may reject the human struggle for significance,

rest in who we are in Christ

and clothe ourselves with the qualities you have bought for us. Amen.”

Picture: God gives us power so we may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God

In thinking about the growing level of conflicts in relationships, the question is, “What is the source of these conflicts?”

One of the deepest themes running through conflicts seems to be the struggle for significance:

**Lucifer wanted more significance, to be like God.

**Eve was tempted to be more significant in knowing good and evil independently of God.

**Cain wanted his sacrifice to accepted and to be significant on his own terms rather than God’s.

**The builders of the tower of Babel wanted to make a name for themselves by their achievement, rejecting God’s command to spread out and fill the earth.

So it goes through all of scripture and all of life. I see this in myself,

being hurt and angry when someone does something to rob me of my dignity;

striving for accomplishment to feel and look more significant.

The resolution of  this root of conflict is stated in Colossians 3:12-14, “Therefore as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved….”

Here in this verse is all the significance that anyone will ever need.

We are created in the image of God.

We are chosen before the foundation of the world to be a child of the Most High.

We are made holy: forgiven, purified and commissioned for significant work.

And we are dearly loved: sought out by the intense and pure desire of God the Ruler of all,

We are unconditionally accepted, whole-heartedly adopted, deeply cared for and delighted in.

As it says in Colossians 2:10 (KJV), “And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power….”

If we could just grasp this on a “whole person level,”

(that is, not just intellectually but also volitionally and emotionally),

what a difference that would make in  us and all those around us.

And this is possible.

Tomorrow I will tell you more about bringing that difference to pass in your life.

Picture: I am chosen by the Creator of the universe

Follow up on yesterday’s post on “tent caterpillar sins” of:

This afternoon we went for a walk along the road and I noticed the nests of tent caterpillars in the bushes.

“Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his holy mountain, for the LORD our God is holy.” Psalm 99:9

As part of your holiness, Lord, you are completely other than your creation:

• We are physical, you are spirit.
• We are limited to one place, you fill the universe.
• We must eat and sleep, you are never hungry or tired.
• We are mortal, you are eternal.
• We are sinful and sinners, you are pure and holy.
• We so easily sin, you are unable to sin.
• We are of the earth, you are of heaven.
• We create from materials, you create from nothing.
• We are human, you are the most High.
• We are creatures, you are the Creator.
• We are your children, you are our Heavenly Father.
• We live in time, you are outside of time.
• We don’t know what will happen in the next second, you know all that will happen in every second for all history.
• We can’t control more than a few details of our lives, you are the sovereign God who has the power to control every event and detail in the lives of billions at the same time.
• We can focus on only a few events around us, you are intimately involved in the lives of every living person.

So, why do we so ofen not trust you?

Forgive us, we surrender to you,

the Great and Mighty One, Ruler of all!

Picture: each point of light is not a star but a galaxy made3of billions of stars.