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Psalm 36:8-9

Published by S.M. Wibberley on July 11, 2021
Psalm 36:8 “…the high and low among men…feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights.’
[Even in the midst of difficulty, we can eat and drink of your marvelous provisions—but we must choose to do so. You offer us so much on the spiritual side (love, joy, peace, grace, goodness, hope, purpose, wisdom and power), on the relational side (family, church family, friends) and the physical side (bodies that work pretty well, home, food, bed, warmth, water). You call on us to open wide and receive your gifts, to note and give thanks for them. You are our Source of all, you are the Provider of all. Praise you that you are the abundant, loving, giving God, the reason for all our delight.]
Psalm 36:9 “For with you is the fountain of life;”
[Without you there is only death, destruction, damage and decay. As we come to you and surrender, we are made alive, brought into a river of vibrant life that flows from the fountain of your grace and the well of your Word.
This life continually grows ever more rich, deep, wonderful and abundant as we see more and more of your great and gracious character. This leads us to love you more and more in response to knowing your love that surpasses knowledge as we note God sightings, offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving and dwell in your Word.
“in your light we see light.”
[To know you is to begin to really see, and the more we walk into the light of your presence and power through worship and obedience, the more we can know and understand. “The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining on ever more brightly til the full light of day” (Prov. 4:18).
You are the Revealer, the Teacher, the Guide and Protector. From you flows all revelation and insight. With you we are continually seeing more and more treasures in your Word, in your work, in your way. Praise you for the clarity, the vision, the insight and understanding you bring.]
I praise you, Lord God, my Heavenly Father, that you are so loving to us, taking us now (2010) through this team conflict, a difficult, hard, trying, painful, unpleasant, distressing time. On the human side, it is because of the stubbornness of those involved; on the spiritual side, it is because you are bringing pressure to bear on all of us to grow and deepen, to trust and offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving.
I praise you now for how you are going to work this out, for you are the Fountain of life, the Light of wisdom and the God of abundant grace. Therefore, we choose to trust you, praise you and submit to you with all our hearts. Guide us today in living disciplined and wise lives so that more and more honor may flow from us to you. Amen.
 
May be an image of African daisy and nature
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More from my autobio

Published by S.M. Wibberley on July 10, 2021
Chapter 41  Return Home
 
At the end of the summer the last members of the team piled into the VW bus and we headed back to Belgium. Our bus was much the worse for wear and its starter had given out, so we had to push it to get it going.
 
We drove through the night because trip was a slow one for, by OM’s safety rules, we were not allowed to go over 80 kilometers an hour (50 miles an hour), even on the Autobahn, where there is no speed limit. We reached Cologne early in the morning and went to the train station to drop off several of our team members. At this point I was the only male in the group, besides Josh, and was the only driver left.
 
When we got ready to leave the train station, all the girls were out pushing the bus to start it while I sat in the driver’s seat. I assure you that the looks I got from the Germans were not approving ones!
 
As we approached our base in Belgium, the van’s motor began running more and more roughly, and just as we pulled into the yard it quit! We were so thankful the Lord brought us back safely.  Another God sighting!
 
After the rest of the teams had gathered from all over Europe, we Americans were taken to the airport and put on our charter flight back to JFK. Here God had two important conversations awaiting us during the trip.
 
I was pleased to find that the person assigned the seat next to me was one of my roommates from the training session, one who had gone to the country on our hearts for the summer. It was no accident that out of over three hundred passengers, this fellow was given the seat next to me. God was at work.
 
My seatmate told me tales of midnight distribution of tracts on doorsteps, of their van rolling over, of a poor farmer who was so eager to get a New Testament, of the spiritual poverty and the strong opposition.
 
 I was deeply impressed by all that he was sharing, especially with it coming on the heels of my encounter with the Middle Eastern woman who had refused a book, along with having received the indication that we would be on the field in three years.
 
Another passenger on the plane was a former classmate of Barbara’s from her Bible school. This woman was returning from Iran with her new American husband to join a group and return to Iran. She told Barbara all about this group, IMI, that worked in the ME,. and gave her the address.
 
 When we arrived in Canterbury, we were exhausted from all of the pressures and difficulties of the summer, the lack of sleep and the long trip back. One nice welcome home gift was that as soon as we put little Josh into his own bed, he slept through the night. It was good to be home!
 
We took our next steps right away, contacting IMI and made a trip down to their office in New Jersey.  We learned that they didn’t have a team in the country on our hearts, (which we will call”Narnia”), but that it would be possible to join the a team in a neighboring country and work with Narnians living in Western part. So we made that our goal. Over the next months we completed our application for IMI and began reading more about Narnia and the neighboring country.

Picture: Josh helping me sell books in Austria

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Psalm 37:6c

Published by S.M. Wibberley on July 9, 2021
 
“…he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.” Psalm 36:7c
 
[Lord, help me to stay spiritually nimble, to be able to move ahead, to climb these intimidating heights, to be obedient to the Truth that you have given us. May you be our Ruler in the difficult situation before me. Answer my pleas according to your righteousness, according to your wisdom, according to your graciousness and your Love.
For the sake of your Name, for the sake of your church, for the sake of your glory, please intervene. Bring us all to our knees, to see our sin, to be humble before you, to be broken, to stop trusting in ourselves and to start listening to you.
 
Bring the breakthroughs needed, Lord. And I thank you now for what you will do. Help me to leave this with you, to rest in you, to be content in you, Lord.
Praise be to you, Lord, for your consistent guidance and direction. I praise you, Heavenly Father, that you are my Rock and Refuge, that you, Lord Jesus, are my Shepherd and Salvation, that you, Holy Spirit, are my Tutor and Teacher. I praise you that, according to your plan, you will lead me through this disquieting, distressing time.
Praise you, Lord Jesus that you are the Way, the Truth and the Life, that you are the Light of my life, that you are unswervingly, unendingly, unchangingly at work drawing us on to do what is right and good and positive.
 
Please move us all forward through this time of trouble. I praise you, Lord, for what you are doing and what you will do, you who are my Fortress, my Salvation, and my Stronghold.
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Psalm 36:7b

Published by S.M. Wibberley on July 8, 2021
 
Psalm 36:7b “Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings.”
[Lord, I come to you to find refuge in the midst of the difficult interpersonal conflict going on among my fellow workers (written in 2010). I come to find hope and help in the shadow of your mighty, protecting Wings.
 
In every situation I choose with Habakkuk to, “rejoice in the LORD, to be joyful in God my Savior” (3:18). There is no other source of help, there is no other refuge, there is no other way.
“The Sovereign LORD is my strength;”
[You, Lord, are awesomely powerful, while I am appallingly weak–powerless and frustrated in many situations. I cannot get people to budge from their destructive, self-defensive delusions. Only you can do this Lord; you are my strength, making up for my lack. And I chose to join your strength through prayer.]
“…he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.”
[Lord, help me to stay spiritually nimble, to be able to move ahead, to climb these intimidating heights, to be obedient to the Truth that you have given us.
 
May you be my over Ruler in the difficult situation before me. Answer my pleas according to your righteousness, according to your wisdom, according to your graciousness and your Love. As only you can do. I praise you now for how you will help me in all this.
 
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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.
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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.”
 
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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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