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Psalm 12:7

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 8, 2022
Psalm 12:7 “O LORD, you will keep us safe and protect us from such people [oppressors and liars] forever.”
[Praise you for this certainty, Lord, both now and in eternity. And a major means of protecting us is your Word as you warn us, guide us and set us free of our natural worldview. “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).
For a time, we may have to suffer the negative effects of liars (those who deny you, your Word and your values) who appear to win. But their seeming successes cannot affect the core of our stability–our relationship with you, nurtured through your Word.
You, Lord God, are our peace and joy, our hope and rest which last forever, for they are bound up in you and your eternal and unchanging character, revealed to us through your Word.
Your Word tells us that all we own, all that we value here on earth is expendable and temporary. Knowing this we can let it all go, releasing it all to you. Then we can hold on to what is eternal–which is primarily our relationship with you, nurtured by your Word, from whence flows all goodness. Then, with your given grace and strength, we can rise above all the difficulties, problems and losses of this world, remembering that you, Lord, are all that really counts.]
To you be glory this day, Lord, in all I have to do and say. May I spot and reject lying and selfishness in myself as well as in others and conform instead to your pure and positive Word.
May you, the Holy and Eternal One, our Great God and Glorious King, be lifted up and exalted before the world today in my thoughts, motives, words, actions and attitudes. Amen.
May be an image of belladonna lily and nature
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The Gift of Pain

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 7, 2022
The Gift of Pain
 
A short post. Just got discharged from the hospital this afternoon after a small inpatient operation which was painful. The pain, however was good as it alerted me to the problem and got me to the ER where I could offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving during the looong hour I had to wait.
 
But God had a plan. Part of it was for opportunities to share from the Word with some of the staff.
 
Now, other than residual pain and the need to move slowly for a while, I am fine. Barbara handled the whole thing well, for which I am thankful. Prayers for speedy recovery appreciated.
 
Picture: in my hospital “uniform”
May be an image of 1 person, beard, eyeglasses and indoor
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The Flawless Word

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 5, 2022
The Gift of God’s Flawless Word
Psalm 12:6 “And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times.”
[Praise you, Lord God, the King of Glory, the Creator of only good, for you are Truth itself; therefore, your words are flawless and pure as newly opened flowers, for you cannot lie. You have revealed your words to your prophets, had them written down and preserved through the ages, bringing them to us as a bright light in deep darkness.
With your words you protect us, guide, teach, correct, rebuke, comfort and encourage us. As you are flawless, so are your words. Therefore they are worthy of trust, of praise, and honor through obedience.
 
As it says in Pslam 33:5-9 “For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.” We can be sure that He will always do the right thing.
 
“By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.” The power of His Word is incredible, monumental and marvelous.
 
Therefore, “Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him. For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.”
 
In Him we are secure, in Him we can trust, in Him we are safe for His Word is true, powerful and good. Let us therefore cultivate an attitude of gratitude for all He is and Speaks.
May be an image of flower and nature
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More Autobio

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 4, 2022
On March 12, the authorities again came to our house while I was at school and left a message for me to come to their headquarters.
 
When I got home from teaching, we gathered up any papers the authorities might consider incriminating (even though they weren’t) and put them into a brief case. I told Barbara to take it and go to someone else’s house just in case they came to search ours. Then I went to the headquarters.
 
I was surprised to see my coworker Jules there, too. The authorities took down our identity information and then led us out to a van and drove to my house. I was not concerned about this since we’d already made our preparations.
 
However, when we arrived and went in, I was shocked and then angry to find that Barbara was still there! She remained calm, however, and after letting us in, while the authorities were busy looking through the apartment, she picked up the brief case and walked out. And no one stopped or questioned her! I was relieved. A three-star God sighting.
 
After going to Jules house for the same routine, we returned to the headquarters where they put us in a large cell. Again we were surprised: there was my disciple Orin!
 
For most of us who were rounded up that day, this was the first time to be taken into custody and be put in a cell. There was a lot of uncertainty, and therefore fear. Since we all knew what could happen, we were apprehensive.
 
The fellow who placed us in the cell pointed to a man standing in the middle of the room. “Do not talk with him; he is to stand there for twenty-four hours so he will come to himself and tell us what he knows!”
 
I thought to myself, “Is that just a command, or are you really telling us what will happen to us if we don’t give you the information you expect to get from us?”
As the evening wore on, they brought in more believers, including Elly and my former student, Sam. The women were kept on the outside of the cell bars and were given chairs to sit on.
 
Our cell was sparsely furnished: just one park bench. If they kept us for the night, we would obviously have to sleep on the cement floor.
 
Sam and I had had an appointment for a discipleship lesson that evening, so we sat on the park bench and did our study right there. We were not allowed any personal possessions like a Bible, but this didn’t hamper us at all. Sam’s assignment had been to memorize half a chapter in the NT and we just did our lesson out of memory on that chapter.
 
Around 10 pm I decided to lay down and get what sleep I could. I had never slept directly on a cement floor before, and I was not surprised at how uncomfortable it was. This was accentuated by not having any pillow.
 
I also discovered that lying on my side was the most uncomfortable position, because the seam of my blue jeans cut into my leg.
 
After a while the Lord gave me the idea to take off my shoes, put them together and use them for a pillow. Then, lying on my back and putting my arm over my eyes to shut out the bright lights, I was finally able to fall asleep.
 
Picture: my “shoe pillow”
May be an image of footwear
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The Gift of Truth

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 3, 2022
The Gift of Truth
 
Psalm 12:1 “Help, LORD, for the godly are no more; the faithful have vanished from among men.”
 
[In spite of how it appears, I praise you, Lord, that you have always reserved for yourself some who are righteous in Christ. You are quietly at work to keep your children strong, to make them truth-bearers, shining the light in love to all around them, to be yeast, salt, and light in society. Help us be hope, truth and light carriers to all around us; convict us quickly when we are not.]
 
Psalm 12:2 “Everyone lies to his neighbor; their flattering lips speak with deception.”
 
[This is true of so much of what goes on today: lies about what is right and wrong; lies in political correctness; lies of those who claim to be tolerant but are not; lies we tell ourselves.
 
You, Lord God, are the only One we can truly, totally trust to speak Truth. Help us to be truth lovers (loving your Word), truth speakers (especially to ourselves) and truth discerners (in society).]
 
Psalm 12:3 “May the LORD cut off all flattering lips and every boastful tongue that says, ‘We will triumph with our tongues; we own our lips—who is our master?’”
 
[Yes, Lord, show yourself mighty, expose the liars, bring them to justice; show yourself the true Master. May the deceived be brought into the light and grasp truth. May we not be fooled by anything that is put forth by liars, including lies we tell ourselves.]
May be an image of lake, tree, twilight, sky and nature
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The Gift of Protection 2

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 2, 2022
The Gift of Protection 2
 
Psalm 146:10 “The LORD reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations.”
 
[Praise you, Lord Jesus, that you are the eternal King, ruling and over-ruling, inexorably moving history to the conclusion that you desire, the end you have ordained–undeterred by the rebellion of men, the failure of believers, or the resistance of the devil.
As it says in Psalm 33, “The Lord foils the plans of the nations and thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever and the purposes of His heart through all generations.” That is the ultimate in protection!
 
You reign, for you are the sovereign Lord, the all-knowing, all-seeing, all-loving and all-good God, worthy of worship, worthy of honor, worthy of glory, worthy of obedience.
So, Lord Jesus, I bow before you now, I eagerly acknowledge your right to rule in my life. I commit myself to give you glory and honor with my mind and mouth.
 
And I rise up and go forth to obey you this day, with my whole heart, to bring you praise and thanksgiving by doing before men the good deeds you have prepared for me to do. May you be highly honored in my life today. Amen!]
 
May be an image of flower, nature and tree
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Ice Climber

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 1, 2022
 
Another Story from Nancy
 
ICE AXE
 
I was falling. Tired of obeying, tired of believing. In the Destinations Coffee House, in Lincoln, Nebraska, on June 8, 2019, I stopped climbing and went into freefall.
 
On May 20, my car had eased to a halt at our son Chris’ residence in Lincoln. The scene was chaotic. A tornado had ripped through the area two weeks earlier, uprooting things like roof shingles, tree branches, and a small trailer. Inside, it was worse.
 
The owners of the house, with whom Chris had been boarding, had vacated, leaving him and their junk behind – a filthy mattress, old clothes, used toiletries, mismatched pots, and food items.
 
I trudged through the junk and found my son in his bedroom, arm in a cast, neck in a brace, soul in a dark and painful place. One month earlier, Chris had been a passenger in an awful car accident. The car had left the road and rolled several times before coming to a rest in a field. Life-flighted to the hospital, Chris was treated for a crushed wrist, a fractured vertebra, a concussion, and a cracked rib.
 
Shoveling up some of his belongings, we checked into a tasteless hotel room to start putting his life back together. Mother and son exchanging one tornado for another.
 
Like a pair of running shoes in a dryer, Chris and I were tumbling amidst doctors, medical forms, lawyers, drug prescriptions, and fast-food menus. One after the other, over and over, a ribbon of pain threading through them all.
 
Chris and I tumbled into each other too, world views and generations crashing and banging. Bible Truth whacked into psychology, chilling out wrapped itself around having a plan. I felt like a bull in a china shop. Trying to be wise but coming off as pushy, awkward, and dated.
 
The body of Christ was astonishingly kind to us in those days. It was the parts of us that they couldn’t touch that festered and ached. The things that surface when families are flung together in trouble or pain.
 
On June 8, in the Destinations Coffee House, waves of pain from a stomach bug pulsed in me, and dark thoughts played in my mind. An amateur caregiver, I felt under-appreciated, misunderstood, and drained.
 
I pushed my coffee mug away and left the shop. Slumping into my car in the parking lot, I let discouragement and anger have their way. Like an ice climber who suddenly gives up, I fell, spiraling down.
 
Terrified, I swung my axe overhead into the ice, choking out the words, “The. Lord. Is. My. Shepherd.” Jamming my toe spikes into the mountain, I declared, “I. Shall. Not. Want.” Precariously suspended, I had stopped falling.
 
I bumped out of the parking lot to pick up Chris from work, Psalm 23, word by word, like a battle cry thundering from my heart. Upheld in the palm of His hand, I continued my journey up in victory.
 
 
“taking up the shield of faith
 
with which you will be able to extinguish
 
all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
 
17 And take…the sword of the Spirit,
 
which is the word of God.”
 
(Ephesians 6:16,17 nasb)

Picture: the ice climber

May be an image of 1 person

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The Gift of Protection

Published by S.M. Wibberley on May 31, 2022
The Gift of Protection
 
Psalm 146:9 “The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow,”
[You, O Lord, not only see, but act on behalf those who are weak, those whom men are so willing to plunder. You protect, provide and guide the vulnerable, the hurting, the defenseless. I praise you for your graciousness in doing so, for it shows your mercy and love, your justice, your compassion at work in wonderful ways.]
“but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.”
[Praise be to you, Lord, that you actively intervene to block the desires of the evil one as he seeks to work through evil people. You seem to let them prosper for a while–as Hitler did for twelve years–but then you bring them low.
Lord, act quickly against such evil desires and evil men; foil the plans of the nations and thwart the purposes of the people; bring instead your desires to pass.]
May be an image of flower, tree and nature
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(Untitled)

Published by S.M. Wibberley on May 30, 2022
The Gift of Sight 2
Psalm 146:8 “…the LORD gives sight to the blind,. the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down,”
[You, Lord, in your tender love, reach out to all those who are depressed, discouraged and disheartened by the burdens by life as Satan, along with sin and its consequences, beat them up, beat them down, bring them low.
But you, Lord Jesus, offer them hope, grace, love, forgiveness, encouragement, guidance, strength, and protection. You offer–but they have to accept. Sadly, many continue to choose being bowed down because they refuse to bow before you, preferring bondage to your marvelous message of mercy and love.]
“the LORD loves the righteous.”
[You love the world and all in it (John 3:16). And you especially love the righteous, those who have accepted your offer of pardon, who then receive the righteousness of Christ, imputed through your mercy and grace.
You delight in your children–stubborn and rebellious as we often are. You see us standing in Christ, sinless, forgiven, pure and complete. Your vision of what we are going to be is what fills your thoughts; your great love for us never ceases as you move us towards maturity in Christ.
So, in the midst of the turmoil of life, in you we can rest, because of your rich, ever-flowing love. And out of that love we can serve you and others, needing nothing in the line of recognition or acclaim, for what we have in your love is enough.
May we delight your heart today, Lord Jesus, in faith, obedience and praise, shining the light of your love to all those around us who are frozen in the grip of sin.]
May be an image of snow, ski slope, sky, tree and nature
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The Gift of Sight

Published by S.M. Wibberley on May 29, 2022
Psalm 146:8 “…the LORD gives sight to the blind….”
[Praise you, Lord, that this is true both physically and spiritually. Spiritual sight is by far the more important one, for if we can see spiritual Truth now, even though our physical eyes are blind, we will see physically in heaven.
Praise you that your desire is to take away the natural veil over each person’s eyes (2 Cor. 3:13-16), to allow them to see the spiritual reality of being sinners, of being under condemnation and of standing before you, the Righteous One, without hope of relief from their own efforts.
Then you give them the bright dawn of hope in your provision of pardon and release, of cleansing and transformation so they can become your beloved children! That’s really eye-opening truth!
I love John’s comment about this in 1 John 3:1 “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! AND THAT IS WHAT WE ARE!”] What more could we want???!!!
May be an image of tree and nature
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