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Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 24, 2022
Day one of my retirement—written in 2015  The Dawn of a new day like in the picture below!
 
Praise you, Lord, for this, the first real day of my retirement from Christar. At this point it is primarily a financial change, as I plan to keep on doing all the things I did before (teaching, counseling, writing, and traveling to speak as opportunities come), I just won’t get paid for them!
 
So, this will be a financial adventure, too, seeing how you, Lord, provide beyond social security. One thing we know for sure is that the Lord is our Shepherd and therefore we will not want.
 
A second way that retirement will change me is in attitude. I now feel free to do spontaneous things, like going out to breakfast with the guys after men’s prayer meeting on Friday mornings. I don’t want to become less disciplined in how I use the time left, but want to be less focused on work and more on people.
 
This retirement coincides with my turning 70 this year. In the past, I’ve found that decadal milestones often bring changes in focus and responsibilities. I expect this to be a bigger one than previous “big O” years.
 
Hebrews 12:1-17 is my map. It certainly is a pleasure to walk with Jesus into the future, knowing that He has the course laid out for us, calling us to join Him in the adventure of the rest of our lives. I want to obey His command to lay aside every weight and sin that can so easily entangle, and to run with patience and perseverance the race He has set out before me.
 
It will require patience, for as we move into the future, I’m going to be losing things: strength, endurance, hearing and other physical abilities. Truly, old age is the process of losing things, but maturity is letting them go and using these losses to focus on what God has for us. I suspect that worship and intercessory prayer will become the primary focus, with discipleship and counseling being the second.
 
Whatever it is, I can take my cue from Jesus, fixing my eyes on Him who, “for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross (for me that’s old age), despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
 
Truly, to know Him is to have hope, to have peace and joy as we trust in Him, so we can move into the future with His presence, provision and protection. I look forward to living this out on a new level!
May be an image of lake, tree, twilight, nature, sky and grass
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More on Psalm 15:4-5

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 23, 2022
More on Jesus in Psalm 15
 
“who keeps his oath even when it hurts,”
[You are the One who always keeps your Word—you kept your Word to be a Savior who could only redeem through intense, infinite suffering. And you, Lord Jesus, in your faithfulness followed through by submitting yourself to anguish, pain and an unjust punishment of death. Praise you for your faithfulness.]
Psalm 15:5 “who lends his money without usury”
[You are generous and gracious, pouring out your riches on us without thought of profit.]
“and does not accept a bribe against the innocent.”
[You are absolutely just, you cannot be swayed by any deal. No one can bribe you to move against your children. And we believers can’t get you to change your mind with our “good works,” our fasting or self-denial; we can’t twist your cosmic arm, to “make” you answer our selfish prayers. Praise be to you for your unbending goodness and purity.
Lord, help us to live like you, to follow your example in each of these wonderful qualities and thereby bring honor to your name by showing your glory to all those around us.
May be an image of nature and tree
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Psalm 15:3-4

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 22, 2022
 
Psalm 15:3 He “has no slander on his tongue,”
[When you judge, Lord Jesus, it is correct, it is spoken to the right person with the right motive at the right time in the right way. There is no malice, selfishness, evil motive or wrong desire in your speech. Instead, you speak correctly to convict, to bring repentance, to restore and lead, giving light, love and life.]
“who does his neighbor no wrong”
[You only do what is positive and pure, helpful and good. To live with you is to experience the light of your goodness, the power of your purity and the provision of your positiveness.]
“and casts no slur on his fellowman,”
[You never speak unjustly, you never maliciously cut people down, or try to put them in a bad light. In fact, as the good Shepherd, you will work to protect people rather than expose them to ridicule. You always first nudge us towards repentance before having someone come and confront us.]
Psalm 15:4 “who despises a vile man”
[You see all, so nothing is hidden from you; you know what is vile and rightly reject it. In righteousness you despise what is unrighteous, while somehow still loving every sinner and seeking to bring them, into your Forgiveness, into your Family, into your Kingdom.]
“but honors those who fear the LORD,”
[You are able to discern what really motivates a man: fear of people or fear of God (Psalm 34:11-14). And you will give glory and honor to those who walk in your ways because they love you and trust you.]
May be an image of flower and nature
 
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Further thoughts on Psalm 15:1-5

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 21, 2022

Jesus is the perfect Paragon of excellence, the sinless Savior and supreme Shepherd, the marvelous and majestic Maker and Master of our faith. As we read through Psalm 15, every quality the LORD requires for dwelling in His sanctuary is found in Jesus.

Psalm 15:1-2 “LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? He whose walk is blameless”

[I praise you, Lord Jesus, that you are blameless. In you there is no sin, no evil, no slipping into error, no darkness, no injustice or rebellion; you are without blame, without accusation, without sin. Praise you for your perfection, your purity, your pristineness, that you are the summation of all virtues.]

“and who does what is righteous,”

[All you have done and will do is right, Lord Jesus, there is no error in your ways, no wrong, no fault, no unrighteousness. Therefore, you are absolutely trustable and believable in your faithfulness and goodness.]

“who speaks the truth from his heart”

[You are Truth itself and therefore speak only Truth from the center of your being. All you say is true, right, correct, positive and good.]

A Truth-teller who is also Love! What a wonderful combination, Uniting two opposites into a rich, tasty treat in life with. you, Lord Jesus, the one we can trust.

 

May be an image of body of water and nature

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More from Psalm 15.

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 21, 2022
You, Heavenly Father, have imputed the qualities of Christ to us and have made us qualified to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the Kingdom of light! You have given us the undeserved privilege of “…dwelling in your sanctuary…of “living on your holy hill.” (Ps. 14:2) This is against all logic, all normal justice, all human reasoning and contrary to even the heavenly expectations of angels.
This grace–giving us the opposite of what we deserve–is more than marvelous. It is the demonstration of your infinitely loving, lovely and lustrous Character at work in mysterious and majestic ways, moving us from hopelessness and despair to certainty and safety.
I praise you for the great and transforming truth of your total commitment to save all who are willing. You are a beautiful God! Therefore, we can trust you totally, rest in you fully and follow you wholeheartedly.
May we honor you today by resting in your goodness, obeying in your power and living as carriers of light and hope to all around us. Praise you for what you will do today!
May be an image of flower, nature and grass
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Psalm 15:1-4

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 19, 2022
Psalm 15:1 “LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill?”
[Praise be to you, Lord God, the High and Holy One, who invites us into your sanctuary, to live with you on your holy hill–through believing on the risen Jesus.
This possibility is a delightful demonstration of your deep delight in sharing your glorious grace and your generous goodness with us, offering us life and love even while we were still dead in sins. This is your pure and positive Character at work in the midst of a broken, twisted and destructive world.
Psalm 15:2-4 “…who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? The one whose walk is BLAMELESS, who does what is RIGHTEOUS, who speaks the TRUTH from their heart; whose tongue utters NO SLANDER, who does NO WRONG to a neighbor, and CASTS NO SLUR on others; who despises a vile person but HONORS those who fear the LORD; who KEEPS AN OATH even when it hurts, and DOES NOT CHANGE their mind….”
Each of these conditions for living in close relationship with you, Lord, is unreachable for us in our own strength; our sinful flesh prevents this, even when our spirit is willing.
But, in the face of our inability, you, Lord God, in your rich and powerful, persistent and active agape love have, through the sacrifice of Christ Jesus, provided these qualities for all who believe. “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (2 Pet. 1:3). May we live in the light of this truth.
May be an image of 1 person, mountain and nature
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Psalm 14:7

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 18, 2022

Psalm 14:7 “Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!”

[And it did come from Israel, from Judah, brought by Jesus, who was a Jew! This was written 1000 years before Jesus was born.]

“When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!”

[Yes, the first believers, who were all Jewish, as well as we gentiles who are your children, have rejoiced and will rejoice in our salvation!

And we can continue to rejoice in your ongoing practical protection and salvation, Lord Jesus, as you lead us out of our personal prisons, out of the sun scorched land, then further up and further into your glorious Kingdom. You are active in our lives on a daily basis, giving us frequent God sightings.

Truly, you are our Good Shepherd, Lord Jesus, active, caring and loving. With you we will not lack anything we need, as we follow you in the ups and downs of life. We need to choose each day to run the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.]

May be an image of nature, tree and road

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Psalm 14:4

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 16, 2022

Psalm 14:4 “Will evildoers never learn—”

[Lord, this means you are consistently working at teaching all rebels the error of their ways by letting them suffer the consequences of their destructive choices. In this you, in your faithfulness and love, are calling them to repentance and surrender–but they are not listening!]
“those who devour my people as men eat bread and who do not call on the LORD?”
[These rebels commit two evils: they abuse people and they trust in themselves, rather than you, Lord. They delusively believe they are in control, able to handle life on their own as they bully all those around them.]
Psalm 14:5 “But there they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous.”
[In spite of their bravado, inside they have dread because they sense God’s presence among believers. That’s why they so viciously attack those who call themselves followers of Jesus Christ. This has happened repeatedly all down through history and we see this today as religious terrorists and leaders try to wipe out all Christians in their territory.
 
Such evildoers are afraid of death. They may be aware of the coming judgment, and that because of their stubborn selfishness they are set apart from the righteous–those have surrendered to Christ–but in spite of this they do not repent.]
Psalm 14:6 “You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the LORD is their refuge.”
[Ungodly people prey on the poor instead of praying to God. But when the poor turn to you, Lord, you are their help and protection. You are faithful, you are good and you are powerful. As it says in Psalm 68:6, “God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.”
 
I have been both a rebel in the desert, and experienced His leading me out of my self-imposed prison in His lush, green valley. i certainly prefer the second!
May be an image of 1 person and outdoors
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Psalm 14:2

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 15, 2022
Psalm 14:2 “The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.”
[This means, Lord, that you look into the heart of every single person, you weigh their thoughts, you are concerned for them. Only an infinite God could be in such close contact with 6 billion people all at the same time! And in doing so, you love all of them, wanting each to come to you, giving each multiple chances to enter your Family, your Kingdom, your Eternity with you. You are a wonder!]
Psalm 14:3 “All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.”
[This is the sad truth: not one single person in the whole world, in the whole of history since the Fall, has ever sought you out on their own. Not one naturally followed you in the right way. We all turned away from you, we were all corrupt. And as sinners, any good that we did was tainted with selfishness, pride and deceit, but we futilely tried to convince ourselves we are good.
What a hopeless situation! In ourselves we are unable to alter it. But praise you, Lord Jesus, that you have entered history, paid the great price making it possible for us to be released from the trap of the enemy and our own wickedness. Then we could come into your Kingdom of Light and Life and Love! Like in this picture below, you bring life and beauty out of what is dead and decaying.
May we be ever thankful for your unwarranted grace, undeserved goodness and unending love. May my life, being focused on you, reflect your love and light to all around me today.]
May be an image of flower and nature
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Psalm 14:1

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 14, 2022

Palm 14:1 “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’”

[This is a clear definition of a fool: one with no spiritual discernment or interest, who rejects truth in favor of his own unfounded opinion.

The statement “there is no God” is so far from reality, so entirely limited to this tiny earth, this moment; it is a view that it is a sorry position, void of hope, truth, goodness, meaning and a future. I pity the person who believes this, as he is caught in his own delusion and ends up in the darkness of a meaningless, hopeless existence.]

“They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.”

[We are all by nature fools, making ourselves our own god until we meet Jesus, the true and living God. In our natural selves there is no good, no ability to do true good, for all we do is corrupted by our selfishness.

This is reality, this is why we desperately need you, Lord Jesus, you who are goodness itself and desire to give all people a new heart filled with righteousness, joy and peace so we can do the good works you have prepared for us (Eph. 2:10).]

“…the path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining on ever more brightly until full light of day.” Proverbs 4:18. Let us walk in that light today!

May be an image of lake, tree, nature and sky





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