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Little things

Published by S.M. Wibberley on July 7, 2021
There is great power in small things repeated often, for good or bad. For instance, flossing your teeth every day can result in having your teeth the whole of your life. Or, eating extra desserts every day can bring on a multitude of problems.
 
Tonight we had a thunderstorm with some strong winds. Several smaller trees were blown down into our road, although none of them took any lines down.
 
I commented to Barbara that pressures reveal weaknesses in trees and in people. Failure to strengthen ourselves in the small things of life can result in being “blown over” when the winds of difficulty come.
 
On one of our prayer walks (which we do 6 days a week), we saw a tree that had been blown down in a recent storm. The trunk looked healthy, but as we walked along and got to the place where it broke, we could look right into it because the inside was completely rotted, with only a thin shell of bark holding it together (see picture). It didn’t take much to knock it down even though it was a big tree.
 
This illustrates the lives of many believers who faithfully go to church and are involved in activities, but fail to feed themselves spiritually. I know this is so because I ask often, “How’s your quiet time?” And many admit it is sporadic at best. Not spending time with God daily is repeating something that brings harm.
 
In reading through Proverbs I came to Chapter 8 which is about wisdom. In verses 33-36 it says, “Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not disregard it. Blessed are those who LISTEN to me, watching DAILY at my doors, waiting at my doorway.” Note that is watching daily, listening to wisdom’s instruction every day.
 
The result? “For those who find me find life and receive favor from the LORD.”
 
And the opposite is true for those who do not spend time in God’s word, nurturing their first love for Jesus, “But those who fail to find me harm themselves; all who hate me love death.” If we love wisdom we will immerse ourselves in it every day.
 
Guilt is not enough to lead us to a regular quiet time; love of God, finding joy in Him, valuing what he values–these will lead us to daily repetition of delving into His Word, listening to Him, learning to think His thoughts.
 
So, let’s make a commitment to not be like this tree, and instead to nurture our first love for Jesus, to have ongoing revival and to make consistent worldview shifts to line up with His Word.
May be an image of nature and tree
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(Untitled)

Published by S.M. Wibberley on July 6, 2021
More from the Add-on Eskimo.
 
Ayit continued in his telling of the spiritual history of the island. All of what he said actually happened and is documented.
 
“After making his decision, Nungwok said to himself, ‘I must find others to join me in being a Christian.’ So, he went first to his friend Tonkuk and told how he had become a Christian, encouraging him to accept Christ, too.
 
“When Tonkuk also declared he would follow Jesus, the two of them went to a third man, who had at one time declared for Jesus, but then returned to the old ways. He, too, at their urging, surrendered again to Christ.
 
“The three began to meet regularly to pray for others in the village to come to Christ. After a time, they began going from house to house encouraging people to follow Jesus, and many did become Christians.
 
“However, one man, Sigrut, who said he was a Christian, began to teach that he was the one who could forgive sins. He said the people had to make an offering of a snow bunting bird and a baby walrus to him and then he would forgive their sins.
 
“Nungwook rejected this man’s teaching. “‘No,’ he said, ‘I have already become a Christian. I have seen the power of Jesus as he healed my son’s blindness. I know that Jesus is my Savior, he died and rose again so that anyone who believes in him would have eternal life! I do not need someone else to forgive me!’
 
“When Sigrut heard this, he was convicted of his own sinfulness. He began to follow Nungwook around and eventually understood the forgiveness Christ offered and became a genuine Christian.
 
“During this time, another powerful shaman named Tinkit heard about Jesus and His good news but resisted it. He had much power from the spirits and did not want to give this up. Then one night he had a dream in which he was in labor and delivered a baby. But the baby was very dirty, and this bothered him.”
 
“That would certainly bother me!” commented the teacher. Ayit nodded.
 
“So Tinkit went to one of Christian leaders in Sivukuk and told him about the dream.
 
“‘This black baby is your spirit, Tinkit,’ the man told him. ‘It is dirty, unclean, evil. You have had much power from the devil. Now you need to turn to Jesus so he can cleanse you of your evil spirits and sin.’ And Tinkit did just that, giving up his demonic powers for the greater power of Jesus.”
 
“That is simply amazing,” said the teacher, “I’ve never heard of anything like that!”
 
Ayit smiled and went on, “Another shaman, Ayaktan, was strongly opposed to Christianity, but Nungwook and the others of the prayer band shared with him, even when he refused to listen. His son, however, became a believer, and when a missionary from the mainland came to baptize the believers, he asked his father to also be baptized.
 
“Aykatan agreed, not understanding what this meant and was baptized. But, for the next two nights, he was restless, unable to sleep, thinking about his baptism.
 
“The third day Nungwook went to visit him and found him with a Bible open on his lap and the pages were glowing.
 
“‘Please read this to me,’ he asked, ‘I don’t know how to read.’ Nungwook read him some passages for which Ayaktan was thankful.
“A few days later he came to visit Nungwook and told him of a dream in which he also had had a baby and the baby was very dirty. “‘What does this mean, Nunwook?’
 
“‘This baby is your spirit, Ayaktan, it is dirty. God can never accept it. You must throw away this baby and accept Jesus in its place. He will cleanse you and forgive you.’ Ayaktan was very thoughtful after hearing this. He did not submit to Jesus right away, but later went to Nungwook to tell him that he had become a Christian.
 
“So, these people carried on the faith and God moved supernaturally to empower their efforts. They added to their faith knowledge, as some of the Bible was now translated into their language. They added self-control, meeting regularly, praying for the village, sharing about Jesus.
 
“They also added endurance, as some strongly rejected their witness. They just kept on praying and sharing. They also added godliness, thinking in biblical terms in their difficulties. They added brotherly kindness, serving as examples of generosity and helpfulness. And they added God’s love in continuing to reach out to neighbors like Ayaktan. They were following in Okfagit’s eample of being “Add-on Eskimos.”

Picture: Ayit’s wife, Tianna in 1968; Ayit is in the background

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(Untitled)

Published by S.M. Wibberley on July 5, 2021
“Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice!”
Psalm 105:3
 
These are commands, giving us opportunities to choose between obedience in praise, or rebellion in complaining. And we can obey in praise, not because of our situations, our strength of will or our freedom of choice, but because of who YOU are, Lord Jesus:
the God of Glory,
the King of kindness,
Potentate of power,
Lord of Love,
Ruler of Righteousness,
Paragon of Perfection,
Judge of Justice,
Light of life,
Wonder of the world
and Savior of sinners, especially of all those who believe.
 
You are the Focus of eternity, the Fulfiller of prophecy, the Finisher of time, the Final Solution to sin and evil.
 
In you all comes together, all holds together, all works together. In spite of its twisted and cursed condition, the universe continues to operate as you hold the stars in their places, the planets in their orbits, the atoms in their makeup, the details of our lives in line, the timing of events in sequence and the tide of evil in check.
 
You are the One to rejoice in, the One to glory in, the One to rest in. What a privilege, what a possibility, what a power, to be able to choose to praise you in and for all, to glorify you, thank you and revel in you at all times.
 
You, Lord Jesus, are truly worthy of worship, of glory, of honor. We exalt you today by choosing to prolifically praise you, to seek your strength to seek you in persistent prayer, to practice your presence in our thoughts and attitudes, to honor you in our words and work.
 
Prayer: “May you be richly, powerfully, visibly exalted in my life today as I choose to live for your glory by praising you in all. Amen.”
 
May be an image of goose and nature
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Glorious Headache!

Published by S.M. Wibberley on July 4, 2021
“He remembers his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations….”
Psalm 105:8
 
This morning I woke up late, have a headache and a scratchy throat, had disturbing dreams and am groggy. This is a great chance to praise you, Lord Jesus, for your unchanging, ongoing, immutable, eternal faithfulness, your consistent character and beautiful being.
 
I change, vacillate, fail and am fickle, but you, Lord Jesus, are rock-solid, reliable, never wavering, fully faithful, always true, reliably righteous, ever the same, ever perfect.
 
My ups and downs become an impetus to praise you, Lord Jesus, as they highlight the unwavering majesty of your mighty and magnificent character. You are the perfect One, whose plans stand firm forever and whose purposes continue through all generations. You promise, you follow through, you fulfill–always.
 
I think of the time gaps between the giving of prophesies in the Old Testament and the fulfillment in the New:
–the promise given in the Garden of Eden of your coming as the Deliverer from the curse;
–the promises to Abraham some 2000 years before your coming;
–the Psalm 22 prophetic poem of David, written 1000 years before your incarnation, detailing your death on the cross long before crucifixion was known;
–the clear declaration in Isaiah 53 of the details of your work of salvation, written 700 years before you accomplished them.
 
So sure was the carrying out of your plan that you are called the Lamb of God, sacrificed before the foundation of the world.
 
Today, as we see the increase in earthquakes, in political turmoil, in immorality, in rampant self-centeredness, in the coldness of believers—all prophesied in your Word—we remember how faithful you are in fulfilling what you promised as you carry us on towards the conclusion of history.
 
In our daily life you, in your faithfulness, prepare, protect and propel us forward in our walk with you. Whatever comes, whatever happens, whatever failures, problems, difficulties you are there.
–You are our Refuge and Strength,
–an ever-present Help in trouble (Ps. 46:1).
–You are our Shepherd and Shield (Ps. 18:1-4),
–leading us forward,
–fulfilling our needs,
–giving us rest, restoring our souls,
–protecting us from the enemy,
–providing peace,
–giving grace,
–manifesting mercy
—all out of your faithful and sure character.
 
As I go into this day with a headache, I want to praise you, Lord God, for you are worthy of worship, glory, honor and obedience at all times, in all circumstances. You are to be lifted up, exalted and honored and I commit myself to do that today.
 
Prayer: “You are great and glorious, Lord Jesus; may my love for you today also be great, demonstrated in obedience and praise when I don’t feel like it. Amen.”

Picture: God’s grace always gives us a way to move ahead

May be an image of lake, tree and nature
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More from my autobio

Published by S.M. Wibberley on July 4, 2021
 
Sunday Morning. Well, we never made it to Ohio for our family gathering. We went to the airport a second time on Friday, but found that our schedule had been changed to Sunday, so we lost our seats. Another chance to praise God in trust and accept what He allowed. So here we are at home still. He knows what is best. More now from my autobio.
 
At the end of the training conference in Belgium, our team piled into an old Volkswagen bus and we headed off to Austria. On our way south, we stopped in Bad Hersfeld to pick up Barbara and Josh.
 
Barbara’s parents were willing to have the team sleep over, so everyone got out their sleeping bags and spread them out in the living room.
 
The next day we headed further south, leaving the hot weather of Germany behind as we drove past Salzburg and entered the mountains of Austria, arriving at the little town of Litzen.
 
Although there were some sunny days during our time in Austria, it rained a lot in the mountains and temperatures were cool, if not cold, most of the time. Our team leader had rented a three-story house which was built into a hillside, meaning it would be even more cold and damp.
 
There was no evangelical church in this town. Austria is heavily Catholic, although most Austrians are pretty nominal in their faith. At one house when I asked if they had a Bible, they brought me a hymnbook instead. They didn’t even know what a Bible was!
 
We brought boxes of books with us and were told to sell the books by going door to door, and to use the money earned to buy our food. What a great incentive to pray and trust God, along working hard at selling!
 
We were the only couple on the team and our main function was to be chaperons. Along with that Barbara did a lot of the cooking and shopping for food, while I joined the team’s booksellers.
 
We were also the base for two traveling ministry teams that showed films in the towns around. The first time one team came and stayed overnight, one of their members went into our only bathroom in the morning and stayed in there for two hours.
He took a nice long bath, used up all the hot water for the day, and left the other twenty-four of us waiting outside the bathroom door. There were some unhappy campers. When he finally came out, he was amazed to find people angry with him! Such are the lessons of team life.
 
Josh was the team “pet.” Everyone wanted to hold him. After one young fellow was done playing with him, he set nine-month-old Josh down on the floor and was very surprised that he fell over.
“Can’t he stand yet?” he asked, having no idea that many children don’t walk until they are a year old.
 
During our time in Austria, Josh cried almost every night from about 1 to 4 am. I walked him back and forth, up and down, but to no avail. As I became more and more worn out over the weeks, I had an urge to throw him out the third story window! Of course it was one that I wholeheartedly rejected. “But,” I said to myself, “now I can understand where some cases of child abuse come from.”
 
Barbara’s parents came down by train to visit us, and we were allowed to take them out with the team van. We went to a café where they bought us cake and tea, which was a nice treat during a summer of frugal living.
 
I went out with the other team members each day, going door to door to sell books. This was not something I naturally enjoyed, but as we were called to it, I joined in. Besides we all wanted to eat: no sales, no food.
 
The Lord supplied help for me in this uncomfortable venture through Josh. Whenever possible, I took him along in a backpack carrier. When I rang the doorbell, I’d put a book into his little hand and after my little speech about selling good Christian books, he’d hold it out to the person that answered the door. For some reason we sold more books than anyone else!
 
One door I knocked on was opened by a woman in the headscarf and the baggy “shalvar pants” of a Middle Eastern villager. She spoke no German, and of course I couldn’t speak any of her language. I held out the book to her, but she just shook her head, backed into the house and closed the door.
 
I stood there, struck by my inability to communicate and by the woman’s refusal to even look at the book. “So this is what it’s like for Middle Easterners,” I thought, “no understanding, no desire, no openness. How will they hear? How will they understand?” I turned away with a heart that was becoming more and more burdened for these people.
 
Later, as I was praying about this encounter, it was as if the Lord said to me, “In three years you will be on the field telling these people about me.” This was an experience similar to when He told me that I would be married when I was twenty-eight and it had come true: we had married one month before my 28th birthday. So this new date and message He gave me needed to be taken seriously. I tucked it all away in my mind.
 
Throughout the summer we sold thousands of books, hung hundreds of posters advertising the evangelical radio station, and held lots of evening meetings. There were no visible results at the time, but today there is an evangelical church there, born out of those efforts and the people who stayed to follow up on our Summer’s work.
 
May be an image of 2 people, child, people standing and outdoors
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Psalm 36:5-7

Published by S.M. Wibberley on July 2, 2021
Psalm 36:5 “Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.”
[Praise you that there is no limit to your love, no frontier to your faithfulness, no end to your endurance. Your wonderful grace flows from you nonstop–so your love is always present, ever persistent and all pervasive. We praise you that in your love and faithfulness you are eternally good, ever positive, unendingly wonderful.]
Psalm 36:6 “Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep.
[Thank you that your Love encompasses righteousness and justice. You are fully faithful to your Word, to your Ways, to your Wonderous Character. You are faithful in the midst of whatever you allow into our lives, be it pleasant or painful.
Thank you that your every action is righteousness and every decision is just. And I thank you even more that you, in your wisdom and goodness have caused mercy to triumph over justice. I give you honor and glory for the protection you provide as you act righteously and exercise justice. Help us, too, to be righteous and just.]
“O LORD, you preserve both man and beast.”
[You are the One who keeps us alive, giving us breath, food, water and protection. Without you we would perish immediately, for we, in our old nature, deserve to be immediately snuffed out, with no recourse.
But, in your inscrutable love, you keep us alive, watch over us and invite us into your plans in spite of our inabilities and liabilities. May we remember our weakness and thereby be humble and obedient before you.]
Psalm 36:7 “How priceless is your unfailing love!
[It is not only the outstanding, fundamental quality of your being, Lord God, but more deeply, unfailing love is what you are. You are Love itself, therefore you can never not love. Praise you for this powerful, unending Truth which influences every aspect of our existence.
Living in this love is the basic desire of our hearts, for you created us to exist in such a relationship with you. And through Christ you have restored us to it, rescuing us from exile, from extinction, from extermination, while bringing us into your wonderful presence, your warm embrace, your wide-ranging plan. In this you will restore the whole of creation to its original pristine and perfect condition.
Help us ever be in awe of your unfailing love, to remain in your lavish love, loving you back well. “This is love for God: to keep his commandments, and his commands are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3]
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Fear of God

Published by S.M. Wibberley on July 1, 2021
Tonight we drove to the airport for our flight to Columbus Ohio, but the first leg was delayed making it impossible to make our connecting flight. So instead of staying all night in the Philly airport, we came home and will try again tomorrow. Prayers appreciated.
Psalm 36:4 “he [the wicked man] has ceased to be wise and to do good. Even on his bed he plots evil; he commits himself to a sinful course and does not reject what is wrong.”
 
[This can also be true of believers–those who at one time committed themselves to be followers of Jesus, but now follow their own way. I think of an acquaintance in ministry who has run roughshod over a multitude of relationships, and has been confronted about this by multiple people, but refuses to admit any wrongdoing. He sees no sin in himself, even though he has ceased to do what is wise and good. He has committed himself to a sinful, self-protecting and self-promoting course.
 
Fear of God brings the opposite: humility and a teachable spirit. This is in stark contrast to this believer’s independent, self-justifying attitude, manifesting itself in pride and rebellion.
 
The outcome of failure to fear God is described in James 3:16: “For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.” Not a pretty picture, and, unfortunately, what often happens in individuals and churches who fail to fear God. It brings the fires of conflict like in the picture below.
 
In contrast is the picture James 3:18 gives us: “Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.” And we can become peacemakers by fearing God as is described in James 3:17, “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”
 
As it says in Psalm 34:12, “Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days,” fear the Lord, for it is the beginning of wisdom.
 
So let’s check ourselves regularly: are we caring deeply what God says, standing in awe of His wisdom and submitting ourselves to His Word? Or are we going by our own twisted hearts, convincing ourselves that we know best? Big consequences flow from each course!
 
May be an image of fire
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Psalm 36:3

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 30, 2021
Psalm 36:3, “The words of his [the wicked man’s] mouth are wicked and deceitful;”
[Such a person deceives himself, as well as others. He is good at giving a positive spin on whatever he desires to do. Just as Satan deceived Eve by making himself look good while implying that God was withholding something good from her (“when you eat of it…you will be like God, knowing good and evil” Gen 3:5), so a person without fear of God can convince himself that, doing the opposite of what God commands, is good.
We see this every day around us, as people attempt to use Scripture to support abortions, unbiblical forms of marriage, living together, or putting unqualified people into church leadership–to name a few of many such examples. They are actually using culture as their measure rather than God’s Word. Their desire to fit in and be accepted, to be up-to-date and sophisticated deceives them into rejecting God’s wisdom for that of the world.
In contrast stands the one who fears God, spends time in His Word, learns to think God’s thoughts and puts them into practice. He knows that God’s perspectives are consistently the opposite of our natural ones (“Love your enemies.” “Do good to those who persecute you.” “Forgive as you have been forgiven”). We could never come up with such beautiful and supernatural ideas on our own. Each command is God protecting us from unnecessary negatives and uncalled for harm, such as bitterness, worry, anger and fear.
A “God fearer” will check his desires and plans before God and in relation to His Word, rather than trust in his own devious heart. “Whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do” (James 1:25).
One way to do this is to wait on making a decision, taking time to think it through, asking God for wisdom, looking for direction in His Word, listing out the pros and cons., getting advice from godly believers.
George Mueller described “God fearing” as bringing his heart to the place where receiving a “yes” or a “no” to his prayer was the same to him, for he wanted God’s will, not his own.
Fearing God is standing in awe of His majestic power, His marvelous wisdom and His mighty goodness. It is caring deeply what He thinks about each thing in our life, leading us to join Him in His values, thoughts and commands.
Fearing God will protect us from the deception of the world, the devil and our own heart; it will bring wisdom and open the way to His greater working in and through us. Why would anyone ever want to reject such an offer?
 
Every day we have the opportunity to relive Eden, to choose to fear God rather than give in to the siren call of all around us, which will only lead us off into the swamp of despair, depression and death, instead of the wide place and green pastures God has for us.
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More from the Add-on Eskimo

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 29, 2021
Chapter 20 God Continues His Work
 
It was the year 1968 in mid-September when a small, two-engine plane descended to the airstrip at Savoonga, its wheels touching lightly down on the crushed lava surface. A new, young teacher climbed out and peered around at the Eskimos gathered for the plane’s arrival. He looked more like fourteen than his twenty-three years but in spite of this had been hired by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to teach in this village.
 
The pilot and some Eskimos unloaded the cargo, a good bit of which belonged to the new teacher, for he had been told to buy enough food for a year!
 
The principal, Jim, was there to meet him and arranged for his goods to be brought to the little house where he would be living.
“This is your new home,” Jim said, opening the door to the fifteen by twenty foot structure. “This little kerosene stove is both to heat and to cook on. Over here in the corner is your
‘honey bucket’ toilet.” He pointed to a five gallon can with Pine-
sol covering the bottom.
 
“That Pinesol keeps the smell to a minimum. When it’s full, you’ll have to take it to the sea and dump it in. Your bed is in the attic. We insulated it well, so it should be fine, even when it hits 50 below zero!
 
“You get settled in and tomorrow we’ll talk about your teaching assignment.”
 
It turned out that his work was teaching the sixth, seventh and eighth grades of the school, all in one classroom. He had no training in teaching, no experience and very little support, but was willing to plunge in.
 
He found out that the abilities of the his students ranged from first grade through eleventh grade! Some couldn’t speak English at all, while others were fluent. It was, to say the least, a challenge to teach such a wide range of abilities.
His classroom was an old Quonset hut, the local National Guard Armory. He had to prepare 18 lessons each night, covering every subject three times. School was from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., a grueling schedule.
One way the new teacher decompressed from all this pressure was to visit some of the older Eskimos to learn more about the culture and history. One evening he went to visit Ayit and his wife.
 
In the course of the visit, he asked Ayit how he had become a believer in Christ. Ayit told the teacher of his time in Siberia, his understanding that there had to be a good Creator God, and about meeting Kalowi and accepting Christ as his Savior.
He also told about the pressures he and his family had had when they decided to follow Jesus. Then he went on to tell the continued story of God’s work on the island.
“Mr. Campbell and his wife left the village of Sivukuk for good in 1912 and they were replaced by less experienced teachers who stayed only for a year.
 
“In the next years, the commitment of Christians dwindled, with some going back to the old ways.”
 
“That’s too bad,” said the teacher.
 
“But,” Ayit continued, “God was not done and began to work with power in the lives of men who were influential in their families.”
 
“A man named Nungwok, a leader in Sivukuk, had a son who at age eight went blind. he had attended some church services with his son and had learned some about Jesus.
 
“As Nungwok was considering whether to follow Jesus or the old way, he heard at church how Jesus had healed the sick and blind. Instead of calling the shaman, he decided to pray to Jesus for his son.
 
“He went up on the mountain behind the village and, following the tradition of his people, he prayed, ‘O Jesus, my great-great-grandfather, I ask you to give my son his sight back. I don’t know what else to pray.’ And he went home to find his son seeing!
“Experiencing the powerful loving hand of God in answering his prayers led Nungwok to whole-heartedly embrace the Way of Jesus.”
 
“My goodness,” said the teacher, “that is amazing!”
 
“Yes,” replied Ayit, “it is, and it was only the first of many such miraculous things the Lord did to draw people to himself.”
 
picture: The Quonset hut where the teacher had his classes.
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Psalm 36:1-2

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 28, 2021
 
Psalm 36:1 “An oracle is within my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear of God before his eyes.”
[To fear God means, among other things, to care deeply what God has to say, which leads us to obeying Him. In the words of Psalm 34,13,14, fearing God means to “keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. Depart from evil and do good. Seek peace and pursue it.” This is the practical outworking of valuing His Word above anything else.
In contrast, the wicked person elevates his own intellect above God’s Word, deciding what is right and wrong himself. This is a dangerous and destructive practice, for we were created to follow God’s correct definition of what is right and wrong–and thereby be protected from much harm.]
Psalm 36:2 “For in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin.”
[Two acquaintances of mine died within two weeks of each other. Both of them had heard the gospel from me and others multiple times, but both felt they were just fine on their own, rejecting the offer of eternal life through Jesus. One said, “My conscience is clear.” That can only be so if you have very low standards of right and wrong.
This reminds me of the rich young ruler in Luke 18:18-21, who came to Jesus and asked, “What must I do to obtain eternal life?”
Jesus answered, “You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’
“All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said.
What!!!??? Who is he kidding? He thinks he never lied, never was disobedient to his parents (dishonoring them), never looked at a woman with lust, never stole anything? In order to convince himself of this, he had to have exceedingly low standards, rejecting God’s measure for his own to justify himself. No fear of God here.
The reality is that when measured by God’s holy standards, every single person is guilty before Him. To flatter ourselves by thinking we are fine on our own has only one result: entering an eternity without God, separated from all good forever.
How much better it is to lay aside our pride and self-centered thoughts, bowing to God’s beautiful, bountiful and protective ways, living in the light of His Word, in the warmth of His love and in the joy of receiving true life, eternal life.
To fear God is to be teachable, humble and wise, leading only to what is good. Let’s all cultivate our fearing of God. Praying daily, “Lord, I give you my will and take yours in its place,” along with memorizing and frequently praying the definition of fearing God found in Psalm 34:12-14 would be a good start. And let us teach this to our children and grandchildren]
Picture: Barbara with two of her grandchildren
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