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Psalm 34:13,14

Published by S.M. Wibberley on September 20, 2021
Written many years ago, but still valid today!
“Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.” Psalm 34:13,14
 
“You don’t tell me as many things as you used to,” Barbara observed as we drove along.
 
I was silent for a minute, and then replied, “That’s because I’m editing out most of my negative comments!”
 
That was a startling thought: probably fifty percent of what I used to say was negative! Much of it was just observations, like: “What an ugly coat;” “Look how crooked the windows are in that building;” “I’d never get a haircut like that!”
 
Others were judgmental, such as: “Where did that idiot get his driver’s license?” “That’s the worst job of painting I’ve ever seen;” “Who’d ever want to buy something like that?”
 
None of these comments were necessary. Even correct comments, like how society is going downhill, often end up dragging us down with them.
Think of all the time, breath, energy and brain cell-space I’m saving by eliminating those unnecessary, unhelpful utterances! And just by being quiet on those points I am influencing people positively, eliminating another unedifying force in their lives.
This is not to say that we should never utter anything negative; there are definite times to point out, judge and condemn what is wrong, such as this statement: “Being negative about your wife is not going to help you love her more! Rather than dwell on what you don’t like about her, make a list of her positives and your own negatives that she has to deal with!” We need to be positively sure that a negative statement is constructive in nature and intent.
 
It is necessary to consistently remind myself to not give vent to negative statements, and the Holy Spirit certainly prompts me to edit them out—if I am open to His leading.
 
Memorizing and meditating on Scripture helps. Right now, I’m working on 1 John 3, which starts with: “How great is the love the Father lavishes on us that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are!” There is beauty, edification, joy and stimulating truth all wrapped up in two short sentences.
Let’s cooperate with the Spirit and continually move towards Truth, which is twinkling on the pathway ahead. As the Word says, “The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever more brightly until the full light of day” (Pro. 4:18).
 
Prayer: “Lord, make us sensitive to the leading of the Spirit in avoiding speaking and thinking negative, destructive, selfish, judgmental statements that lead us and others away from the light. Amen.”
May be an image of tree, body of water and nature
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More Autobio

Published by S.M. Wibberley on September 18, 2021
 
Continuing our trip to the south right after Christmas
 
We descended the steep and winding roads through the mountains, dropping again to sea level, and arrived in Tarsus in late afternoon.
 
We went first to the home of a local friend of John’s whom we called Charles. John wanted to talk with him about setting up a foundation to use as a legal basis for outreach.
 
This was our first visit to a village type home. Every aspect of family life was different from ours: take off your shoes at the door, sit on the floor, eat from a common dish on a large tray on the floor, drink tea from diminutive glasses, use a “squat” toilet.
 
It was primitive and charming at the same time. We were definitely in the “tourist stage” of adjustment to a new culture., enjoying every new adventure.
 
Later we drove on to the next big city and stayed with other workers. In contrast to the freezing temperatures in Ankara, here on the Mediterranean shore we were fighting mosquitoes!
 
After returning to our city, we sat down with John to make plans. In order to stay In Turkey long term, I needed a job. My best bet was teaching English, so I went to one of the many private tutoring schools in the city and was hired.
 
However, before I could begin work, I had to have a work visa. And to get the necessary work visa, I had to go to an Embassy outside of the country and get a stamp in my passport.
 
John wanted to buy a car from Germany, so he and I decided to fly there, get a car for him, a visa for me and then drive back together.
 
In order to leave the country, I had to put my car into customs in because it was written into my passport. This proved to be a difficult, convoluted process, requiring the collection of signatures from a variety of offices in different places in the city.
 
Much later I realized that each step in the process was designed to thwart a particular form of evasion of the law. The folks here are masters at finding ways around the intricate and omnipresent bureaucracy in their country, and each evasion that was uncovered produced a new step in the process.
 
At the same time, I found this work with customs was very educational, with opportunities for language learning, gaining cultural insights, and recognizing appointments with “angels.” Often some local in an office would take me under his wing and usher me through that part of the process. Each incident was another God sighting.
 
Barbara and the boys moved in with John’s wife while we were gone. Everything went well for us, and our trip back from Germany was faster than our first one, even though it was snowy and cold.
 
While driving through the night in Yugoslavia, a large elk bounded up the bank beside the road and stopped, his great head of antlers hanging over the road. It happened so fast that I didn’t have time to swerve, but just before I hit him, the elk turned his head away and we slipped by. Another of the many God sightings on this trip.
 
After our return to our new city, I went through the process of getting my car out of customs. Finally at the last step, the woman behind the counter held up my passport, just out of my reach and said, “Ok, I did my part, now you have to give me a present!” Here was another new experience for me in this new culture, my first encounter with bribes. I pulled out a $10 bill and held it out.
 
“That’s not enough,” she said, pullling back my passport. I tried $20. She hesitated, then accepted it. I walked away relieved that it hadn’t cost me more.
 
Some things would take more getting used to than others. It became my practice to not pay bribes if at all possible, but in this situation, there was no way around –but it was the only time I had to do this in all the years we lived there.
 
Upon examining my passport, Barbara found that the customs people had made a mistake and given me only a two month visa, not the customary three that Barbara and the boys had gotten, meaning I would have to make an early exit by myself to renew my visa if my work permit didn’t come through in time. Little did we know that this bureaucratic mistake would nearly cost me my life.
 
Picture: a charming meal in a village home
May be an image of 3 people, people standing and people sitting
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Psalm 115:3 God does whatever pleases Him

Published by S.M. Wibberley on September 17, 2021
“Why do the nations say, ‘Where is their God?’ Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him” (Ps. 115:3).
 
You, O Lord God, are the final authority—no one can tell you what to do; you can, literally and truly, do whatever pleases you–and all that pleases you is good, pure, positive and holy. You are never tempted to do anything wrong, anything selfish, sinful or negative.
 
All that is evil is totally repulsive to you; you are incapable of doing what is unholy, impure, unloving or ungracious.
No, what pleases you is always
lovely,
true,
noble,
right,
pure,
admirable,
excellent
and praiseworthy (Phil 4:8).
 
It is according to your character, to your name, to your being, to your essence. You are Love itself, you are Life itself, you are Light itself–you are literally lovely in every aspect of your being.
What pleases you is going to please us, too, in the long run. Your will is what we would want if we had all the facts, which we never do, but we can trust you to have them and act accordingly.
What a joy to be your child. You have given us great privileges: to look to you,
to behold your beauty,
to revel in your holy highness,
to rejoice in your graceful goodness,
to marvel at your glorious greatness,
to rest in your full faithfulness,
to bow before your pristine purity,
to obey in your power,
to act in your graciousness—these are the great riches of your children.
Therefore I lift you up, exalt you, honor you and praise you, my God, King of Glory, Lord of Love, Ruler of Light, Redeemer of rebels.
 
Prayer: “In all I do, say, think and desire today, may I direct all glory to you, Lord Jesus. May I live the fact that you are my mighty Rock and my Refuge. Amen.”
May be an image of 1 person and nature
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Jesus Loves us rebels

Published by S.M. Wibberley on September 16, 2021
“Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory,”Psalm 115:1a
 
What a privilege: to reject the desire to gain glory for ourselves and to give it instead to you, Lord Jesus–to be the vehicle to carry honor to you, to be the sign post pointing to you.
 
You are the Source of all that we have: all the abilities we possess, all the insight, wisdom, creativity and energy we have—every bit of it comes from you, belongs to you, is to be used for you.
 
However, as human beings, it is so easy to live in the illusion that what we do comes from our own abilities and drive, that what we possess is the result of our own efforts.
 
The truth is that without you we can do nothing of any significance. When we act without you, we are producing wood, hay and stubble, we are standing on unstable ground, deep mud, on quicksand. Our choices apart from you are uninformed, weak, self-centered and destructive
 
But in you, Lord Jesus, we have guidance, wisdom and power to do what is right. This is “because of your love and faithfulness” (Ps. 115:1b). You do not abandon your children in spite of our rebellion and unbelief; instead, your Spirit works unceasingly in us
to teach and direct,
break and reshape,
transform and empower.
 
It is a seeming paradox but a great truth that the more we embrace our weakness and depend on you, the more we are empowered.
 
I praise you for your great love, Lord Jesus, as you pour out on our rebel souls your grace, goodness and guidance, patiently correcting, disciplining and leading.
 
You persist as we resist:
when you call us to the light, we naturally turn to darkness;
when you beckon us to good, we turn to selfishness;
when you point us to obedience, we turn to rebellion.
 
But in your firm faithfulness,
you consistently
convict,
convince,
and bring to contrition.
 
You are a marvel in your majestic, mighty patience. You are the One to exalt by submission to your will and obedience to your Word. May we do so today.

Picture: some yielded 100 fold; may we be in such an elegant manner

May be an image of nature

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More from the cowboy with heavenly wisdom.

Published by S.M. Wibberley on September 15, 2021
More from the cowboy with heavenly wisdom.
 
John looked down at his plate and then asked, “You said we all had mixed motives. What does that mean?”
 
Cody finished his mouthful of bread. “Well, as we mentioned while we were talking outside, you had one bad motive for dealing with Dodge: kill them all to get rid of them. That could be called revenge or fear; but whatever it is, it’s not a good motive, partly because it would like you to fight the right enemy.
 
“The positive motive of trying to get everyone to get along is a healthy and noble one. It requires more than just drawing and shooting.”
 
“And then there are what I call neutral motives, like wanting to be comfortable; that isn’t a bad motive, but it is a self-centered motive and can lead to poor choices. I never act out of such as that. Positive motives are much better.
 
“After we’ve taken the time to discern our motives, then we can compare them to what God has to say in His Word. You do read that, don’t you?” he asked looking at John.
 
“Well, once in a while we’ll read a bit.”
 
“If you don’t mind my saying, in my opinion once in a while don’t cut it.” Cody said. “Sorry to be so direct, but how often do you check your gun or clean it? Each day, right? And how long do you wait after firing it to reload it? Right away, I’m sure. You have to be ready all the time in country like this, with Indians and bad honchos around and no law to protect you.”
 
Sam spoke up, “What’s that got to do with reading the
Bible?”
 
“Well son, the Bible is called our sword, our weapon. If we don’t read it regularly, we won’t be ready to use it when we need it.
“See this gun?” Cody shucked his gun faster than the eye could follow. “You know why I’m so fast? Practice–combined with natural reflexes. If I hadn’t practiced all these years, I wouldn’t be ready for the attacks that come.
 
“Like last week a drunk cowboy in town drew on me for no reason, but I got there first; his gun didn’t even clear leather.
Didn’t kill him, just shot his gun out of his hand. He may remember that lesson.”
 
“The point is, we need to practice using the Word of God by reading it every day. Then it becomes second nature to think God’s thoughts instead of natural human ones.
 
“Reading regularly is important and it’s simple–just read a chapter in the New Testament each morning. That takes only about eight minutes—everyone has eight minutes. Start in Matthew and in nine months you’ll have read the whole New Testament. It’s just a matter of deciding to do it.
 
“One old friend of mine made a commitment, ‘No Bible, no breakfast.’ That worked to motivate him.”
 
“So, Mr. Cody, how does this tie in with Heavenly Wisdom,” asked Amanda.
 
“Let me first tell you more about it. It’s found in the book of James, in the New Testament, in chapter 3, verses 17 and 18 where it says this: Heavenly wisdom is first of all pure, then peace loving, then sweetly reasonable–sometimes translated as gentle—then approachable and submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”
 
“That’s a beautiful list; I like it!” said Amanda.
 
“Yes, it is beautiful, both in word and application. If we follow this wisdom, it is possible to resolve many conflicts before they escalate.”
 
Picture: Cody’s values (from internet)
May be an image of boots
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Conditional Grace

Published by S.M. Wibberley on September 14, 2021
Yes God greatly desires to give us all joy and peace, but there is a firm condition in this: we can only recieve this joy and peace, “as [we] trust in him….”
 
Yes, Lord, our part is to believe you, to live in the truth of what you are. As we look away from the aggravations, disappointments and difficulties of life to you, it is clear that we can trust you, the Great Shepherd.
 
In trust we can respond with praise, no matter how painful the situation is, because you, in your wisdom, grace and mercy have allowed this for good in our lives and for glory in yours.
 
Forgive us for the many times each day we trust ourselves instead of you. Help us to ever grow in our trust as we see you in the Word, in your work, in the world.
 
Trusting then brings more grace from you for us to live in and to pass on to others: “trust…so that your lives may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
 
Here is your plan: the more we know you, the more we can trust you; the more we trust you, the more joy and peace you give us, and the more hope we can have.
 
This hope is the certainty of your goodness, power, wisdom and love surrounding us,
guiding us,
protecting us,
filtering all that comes to us,
carrying us through to the end
and then will come our translation into your presence.
 
As we trust, the Holy Spirit will, by His great, all-present, immeasurable power cause this hope to overflow from us onto those around us!
 
When we trust in you, Lord, we become the source of hope, the spring of hope, the stream of hope, the river of hope to everyone we meet, for it will flow out in our attitude, in our words, in our actions, in our reactions.
 
Those around us are thirsty for hope, and we can bring it to them by trusting in you. Glory be to you, O Great and Powerful One, our Wise and Loving, Just and Merciful Lord and God, for you accomplish exactly what this verse says so that we may give you ever increasing glory before the world!
 
Prayer: “Forgive us, Lord Jesus, for being busy here and there with this and that, and not spending time with you. Help us to be daily in the Word, in personal worship, in prayer, in confession, living in the light of your presence all through the day. May we trust in you so that all peace and joy and hope may overflow from our lives onto those around us, giving you growing glory. Amen.”
 
May be an image of flower and nature
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Joy, Peace and Hope

Published by S.M. Wibberley on September 13, 2021
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him so that your lives may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13
 
Praise you, Lord God! You, like the sun, are there every day, shining in perfection, in power, in wisdom and goodness. You are empty of negatives, full of positives, perfect in character, overflowing with promises.
 
Praise you for your Word, always ready to pour its riches on us and into us as we delve into it every day.
 
Praise you for your Spirit who stands ready to teach us what we need today, guiding, warning, encouraging and protecting us.
 
Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of Hope….” and that is what you are, Lord, the God who is the source of hope, who offers hope to all, who calls us to hope.
 
And your hope is not a “maybe,” “perhaps,” or ‘I wish it were so” uncertainty. It is a rock-solid surety—you promise, you carry through, you deliver, always.
 
You desire to fill your children “with all joy and peace….” This says so much about you, my Lord God. You desire good for us, to give us the joy and peace that every person longs for.
 
We desire a joy that is unquenchable, undefeatable by the difficulties, tragedies and suffering of life; and we can have it because you, the unchanging God, are its source. You don’t do things half way: you don’t offer just some joy but ALL joy.
 
You give us a purchased peace: sure and sound, deep and dynamic, restful and responsible on three levels. First we can have peace with you by eagerly confessing our sin and sins, then receiving your rich, healing forgiveness.
 
Then we can have peace with ourselves by forgiving ourselves as you have forgiven us.
 
And third, we can have peace with others by forgiving them as we have been forgiven.
 
These are true pieces of peace, vibrant peace, renewable peace, for each time we sin, it can be restored.
 
But, there is a condition for having this joy and peace, and we’ll look at that tomorrow
May be an image of tree and nature
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Our God towers over all

Published by S.M. Wibberley on September 12, 2021
You, Lord Jesus are the Rock in our lives, never shifting, never changing, never shaking.
 
You are our Salvation:
from sin,
from ourselves,
from harm,
from evil,
from fears,
from frivolity,
from negatives,
from human thinking,
from complaining,
from idol worship,
from laziness,
from overwork, burn out, selfishness, pride, manipulation and greed–to name a few.
 
You are the mighty Tower: strong and sure, standing high over the dangers and demons of this world. You are our ever-effective Refuge and Redeemer.
 
As our high Tower, it is as if you lift us up, set us on your shoulder, make us safe, give us a wider view, bring us understanding, hold us near your heart, and give us wisdom and advice.
 
With you, in you, by you, all is good. We can rejoice, we are protected, our future is secure, we are set free to obey you with joy, to worship you with all our hearts, to love you with all our mind, strength and will.
 
When we look to you and truly see you in your beauty and glory, your greatness and goodness, we are dizzy with delight, for you are beyond what we could possibly have thought up in our limited imaginations.
 
Prayer: “Glory be to you, Lord Jesus, my God and King, for you are worthy of all my wonder and worship! Help me to follow you into the freedom you have prepared for your children. Amen.”
May be an image of tree, nature and sky
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More Autobio

Published by S.M. Wibberley on September 11, 2021
The next day, we set off for the capitol city, a twelve hour drive over narrow, crowded, two lane roads. We climbed from sea level to 2500 feet onto the central plateau.
 
There were hairpin turns galore, steep drop-offs with no guardrails and lots of heavily loaded trucks belching great clouds of diesel exhaust.
 
It was the same game as in Yugoslavia, searching for places to pass the long lines of slow traffic, except there were far fewer places to do so. I was exhausted by the time we got to our next city.
 
We stopped at a bakkal and used the phone to call our team leader, John. He was unable to give us directions, not really knowing where we were, so we were reduced again to asking locals for help but not understanding their answers.
 
However, with the Lord’s protecting hand, we able to arrive at the team leader’s house towards evening. It was December 16, 1979, three years and three months after the Lord told me we’d be on the field in three years. His promise for us was fulfilled again: “(the) the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore” (Ps. 121:8).
 
Beginning our new life
 
John had rented a partially furnished apartment for us, so we could move right in. The only problem was that with a shortage of fuel, there was very little heat.
 
Winter in Ankara is very similar to winter in New England, plus this happened to be the coldest winter in forty years with record-breaking amounts of snow.
 
The government had nationalized the coalfields, forgetting, however, that they had no equipment to mine it. So there was a lack of coal. Other things were also in short supply: fuel oil for heating, propane gas, cooking gas, gasoline, and many food products.
 
Another difficulty for us was the air quality; this city was located in a bowl of mountains, so the exhaust fumes from vehicles and the smoke from furnaces were trapped in the city. That created some serious air pollution.
 
How different this was from our beautiful, clean and green Connecticut. But the Lord graciously reminded us to reject the temptation to compare. Barbara had a friend tell her, “Accept where you are, don’t compare. It will only make you unhappy.” So we set our faces forward, and accepted what the Lord had for us.
 
The day after Christmas, our tenth day in the country, our team leader took us on a seven-hour trip down to Tarsus—the town where the Apostle Paul was born. We were finding out how much biblical history there was in this country.
 
Our home city was the site of the biblical Galatia. In the southwest were the seven churches of Revelation, along with Colossae. In the southeast was Antioch where the believers were first called Christians and Mount Ararat where Noah’s ark may have landed after the flood subsided. And there were many other sites.
 
It had snowed in the night before this trip, and I was thankful that the engine in our car was in the rear to give us traction as we drove up and up and up the Southern rim of the mountains to get out of the city. As we crossed the high plain, the road became more treacherous, in many places covered with ice.
 
Most of the gas stations were closed because of the shortages of fuel, so when we saw one open I decided to stop and gas up. I just touched the brakes and the tires lost traction on the icy road. We began to slide sideways into the gas station, then spun around a couple of times and came to a stop when we hit the gas pump.
 
There was silence for a moment and then from the back of the car came a small voice, “Do it again, Daddy!” We all laughed, but I was shaken.

Picture: our new city in the grip of a cold, snowy winter

May be an image of sky

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The Perfect Priest

Published by S.M. Wibberley on September 10, 2021
“The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind: ‘You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek’” (Ps. 110:4).
 
You, Lord Jesus, are, by virtue of your nature as God and by virtue of your vow and promise, our Priest forever. You are utterly, entirely, totally faithful, so you will never change your mind.
 
“… because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
 
“Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens” (Heb. 7:24-26).
 
You, Lord Jesus, are the One to be exalted, the Most High, the Everlasting One, the Blameless One, Pure in heart, in motive, in thought, in action.
 
All you do is good, and all you will is good. You are the Pinnacle of greatness, the Paragon of goodness, the Prince of graciousness. All must bow before such purity, such holiness, such perfection. You are worthy of praise, of trust, of obedience both now and forever more!
 
Prayer: “We give you glory, Lord God, Yahweh and Adonai. We bow before you and pray that you will help us to exalt you in our thoughts, words and actions. Praise be to you in my life both today and forever and ever! Amen.”
May be an image of flower and nature
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