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Psalm 34:21-22

Published by S.M. Wibberley on May 16, 2021
 
Psalm 34:21 “Evil will slay the wicked;”
[we cannot play with evil and win. In the end it will devour those who indulge in it. The devil always destroys his own, of that we can be certain.]
In contrast, “the foes of the righteous will be condemned.”
[The righteous will be vindicated and their foes–those who oppose righteousness, including Satan and his minions as well as those humans who reject good and love evil, who refuse to bow before Jesus as God, Savior and Lord–they will be judged, condemned and sent to the holding place of wickedness, locked up forever.
Praise you, Lord, for your just and right hatred of evil, for your not allowing it into Heaven. You are purely good and only what is good will be allowed into the new Heaven and earth, continuing for eternity.
Praise you that you made the way to eliminate evil from our nature, to free us from both the essence and penalty of sin, to transform us from enemies into emissaries of your Kingdom, from being condemned criminals to cherished children.]
 
Psalm 34:22 “The LORD redeems his servants;”
[In you, Lord Jesus, we, your beloved servants, have been bought back from the kingdom of darkness, from dwelling in the land of the dead, from blind stumbling through life and we have been ushered into the Kingdom of light and life.
I praise you for your faithfulness in following through on your promises given in the Garden, Father, to provide a Savior and salvation for all. I praise you for holding open the gate of grace to every human being, continually offering eternal life to all, and bestowing it on who are willing to come, bow before you and receive your forgiveness.]
“no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.”
[You, Lord Jesus, are the true and mighty Rock of refuge, the Place of protection and pardon, the Fortress of favor and forgiveness. Praise be to you for your lavish Love, your persistent Power, you gracious Grace and your great Goodness as you seek to bring all into your Kingdom, even though you know all will not come.
Your unending Love is so Great, so Mighty, so Eternal, so All-embracing, always flowing on and on in spite of what we are and do. You are worthy of our love and adoration, our fear and obedience, our worship and exaltation.
Lord, today may you be glorified in my life because you are worthy. May you be lifted high in my being, exalted in my words, extolled in my thoughts, honored in my actions and magnified in my motives. To you belongs honor; may it flow bountifully to you today. Amen.
May be an image of nature, sky, tree, twilight and lake
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Post-wedding Adventures

Published by S.M. Wibberley on May 15, 2021
After the wedding we drove to His Mansion in the car that had belonged to my mother’s parents. They were too feeble to come, but this gave them a part in the wedding as well.
 
The reception was crowded and full of great conversations. By the time we got to the refreshment table, however, there wasn’t much left. But we did get enough of the great wedding cake my aunt Ruthie had made for us.
 
Barbara had suggested we take her mother with us on our honeymoon. “Poor mama, she won’t have anyone to speak German with for a whole week!”
 
“She’ll make out just fine,” I said. “We are not taking her!”
 
We went to Schroon Lake, the headquarters for Word of Life where Barbara had worked the first two years she was in the States. We stayed with one of her old friends who ran a motel with cabins.
 
Mrs. Spinelli’s husband had had a stroke and couldn’t talk, so she was lonely and wanted to visit. She invited us for supper at 5 pm and talked to us non-stop for over three hours. It was 9 pm before we finally got back to our cabin.
 
“I don’t know if I can take a whole week of this!” I said.
Then the Lord brought something to mind: “Didn’t you marry so you could serve others better together? Here’s your first opportunity to serve as a couple!”
 
“Yes, Lord, you are right. Ok, we will serve this lady in any way we can.”
 
The next morning when we went for breakfast, Mrs Spinelli told us that her mother had died during the night, a long expected event as she had been in a coma for considerable time. Mrs. Spinelli had to go to New Jersey for the rest of the week. Would we mind?
 
I had to chuckle. The Lord has a way of testing us, bringing us to surrender, and then giving us the desires of our hearts.
 
Barbara had a good time introducing me to all her friends. We went to the gas station and tanked up, but the owner not only didn’t take any money for the gas, instead he gave us a $20 bill as a present! The Word of Life folks gave us a little reception. It was a nice time.
 
We wanted to hike up a mountain while we were there, and the evening before we drove out to the base of it in my van, planning to sleep there so we could get an early start. Just as we were getting into bed I remembered that the lock on the side door didn’t work. Someone could easily come right in during the night! My old companion, fear, gripped my heart.
 
Barbara said she could feel the fear come right into the van. Her response was to laugh. She thought to herself, “Here I married this big guy to protect me but he’s afraid and I’m not!”
 
We prayed and stayed. But this was another manifestation of that irrational demonic fear flowing from the monster movie. I’d seen as a child. It would continue to plague me for years to come. The Lord was not yet done with what He wanted to accomplish through it in my life.
 
We got back home on Sunday evening and found Barbara’s mother none the worse for having had no German speakers for a week. Mom was a very gracious hostess and they had communicated with “hands and feet,” as the Germans say.
 
The next day at 7am there came a knock on our bedroom door. “Zeit zum aufstehen!” commanded my mother-in-law. “Time to get up!”
 
I glared at Barbara. “What does she think she’s doing?” I asked. “I’m the boss in this house and in the business, too. My workplace is fifty feet from the house. I can go out there whenever I am ready to!”
 
This was to be the first of many challenging encounters I would have with the German culture of my mother-in-law. Several days later after we put Barbara’s mother onto the plane back to Germany, I thought things would naturally settle into a nice harmony between us; instead there was a constant stream of new things to deal with.
 
For one thing, Barbara began to order me around. “Get up.” “Do this.” “Do that.” We had a talk about this and it turned out that she was just translating into English what were to her normal requests in German. What was somewhat polite in German turned into something pretty pushy in English!
 
Then when my birthday came at the end of May, Barbara handed me a big bouquet of flowers as her present. I was amazed–and insulted: flowers for a man!??? This certainly went against everything I’d absorbed from Dad about being masculine—values I had stored away long ago on a hidden emotional level. Receiving flowers as a gift from my wife pushed all my negative buttons!
 
I looked at the flowers, tossed them over my shoulder and said, “So where’s my real present?” Now Barbara was shocked. Her father would have loved to get flowers for his birthday. She could not understand why I reacted so negatively. We both had a lot of things to adjust to!
 
Picture: My mother was very happy I was married
 May be an image of 2 people and indoor
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Psalm 34:19-20

Published by S.M. Wibberley on May 14, 2021
Psalm 34:19 “A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all….”
 
[Being righteous in you, LORD, does not protect us from trouble–I think of Job and his trials, of Daniel and the multiple life-threatening crises he experienced. But as you were clearly with each of them, so you are with each of us in every challenge and will properly deliver us from every difficulty when the proper time comes.
 
You may deliver us at the moment, or in a while, or years later or at death; you know the best timing and we can trust you in it. I think of Abraham waiting for a son, of Joseph waiting to get out of prison, of Elisha’s flood of difficulties, of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Jesus in what they suffered. You were with each and delivered them at the right time and in the right way. Praise you for this promise which I personally can trust, even as my wife is in the midst of a distressing illness with no end in sight. (she is now well)].
 
Psalm 34:20 ‘he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.”
 
[Here is a clear reference to how you protected Jesus in His beatings, crucifixion, anguish and death. In spite of all the physical abuse he took, you kept his bones whole–every single one. You are the God of detail, of power, of total awareness.
And so you also work in our lives. I think of the many times you have spared me in driving, times when I should have had an accident because of my own poor choices, but you sovereignly intervened and kept us safe.
 
You are God, you are King, you are wise and you are powerful. You are worthy of our trust. I surrender myself to you this day, willingly giving my life into your hands again.
 
Fill me anew with your Spirit, may He overflow onto to all whom I meet today. May you be honored and exalted in what I think, say, do and accomplish. May I praise you in and for all things. May your name be lifted up by my responses to whatever comes. I praise you for the privilege of exalting you in the midst of suffering. Amen.
May be an image of nature and tree
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Psalm 34:18

Published by S.M. Wibberley on May 13, 2021
Written in 2014
Psalm 34:18 “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
[You, Lord, know the heart of each person; you see when we are wounded and overwhelmed, cringing and crushed by the pains of life. And you are there with us, working in us, drawing us to yourself, comforting and supporting us.
We are by nature stubborn and independent, rebellious and stiff-necked, so we often selfishly refuse to come to you, thinking we have the answers to the questions of life. Surrender often comes only when we are crushed and broken by circumstances (often of our own making) and our inability to cope. It is then, in that trauma, that we see our true state of total weakness, of dependence on you, see our sinfulness and rebellion, our need for forgiveness and salvation. You pin us down to help us face reality.
This is exactly what you did in me to bring the initial surrender, shutting me into a corner at the end of the earth on an island off the coast of Siberia. There I was powerless to escape–and I praise you for it, for with that dark experience you ushered me into the Kingdom of Light.
Lord, do continue to bring whatever breaking is needed so that we may surrender to you more deeply and be a more useful instrument in your gracious, powerful hands.
I thank you for what we are going through winter path of Barbara’s illness and depression [since resolved] and for how you will use it for good. Your path leads us somewhere for you are trustable, you are gracious, and you are wise.
Therefore, we can rest in your love, offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving every day, thereby honoring you and opening the way for you to show us the salvation of the Lord. This salvation could be giving us grace to endure this cross, or it may be bringing healing. Whatever it is, we praise you for it now, for your way is always good.]
 
Epilogue: as you know, after six years of struggling through chronic Lymes disease and depression, Barbara is now much much better.
May be an image of tree, snow and nature
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Conflict and Col 3

Published by S.M. Wibberley on May 12, 2021
From Edified, written many years ago
 
“And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power….”
Colossians 2:10 (KJV)
 
In thinking about some conflicts we’ve been dealing with, and in meditating on scripture, the following insight surfaced. One of the deepest themes running through conflicts seems to be the struggle for significance. Lucifer wanted more significance, to be like God. Eve was tempted to be more significant in knowing good and evil, independently of God. Cain wanted his idea of a sacrifice to accepted and to be significant on his own terms rather than God’s. The builders of the tower of Babel wanted to make a name for themselves by their achievement, rejecting God’s command to spread out and fill the earth.
 
So it goes through all of Scripture and all of life. I see this in myself, being hurt and angry when someone does something to rob me of my dignity; striving for accomplishment to feel and look more significant.
 
What brought this out clearly was meditating on Colossians 3:12-14, “Therefore as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved….” Here in this verse is all the significance that anyone will ever need. We are chosen before the foundation of the world to be a child of the Most High. We are made holy: forgiven, purified and commissioned for significant work. And we are dearly loved: sought out by the intense and pure desire of God the Ruler of all, unconditionally accepted, whole-heartedly adopted, deeply cared for and delighted in.
 
If we could just grasp this on a “whole person level” –that is, not just intellectually but also volitionally and emotionally–what a difference it would make. In fact, I think that is the whole point of the next part of the sentence in verse 12: since you are chosen, holy and dearly loved, “Therefore clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness [also translatable as being ‘sweetly reasonable’] and patience.” When we are secure in Christ and all He has given us, then we can put on these qualities that He has already supplied for us (2 Pet. 1:1-4) and stop fighting with others for significance.
 
When we can begin grasping this, conflicts can immediately lessen. But we can only understand these truths with the power of God–it cannot be done in human wisdom, insight or strength. In Ephesians 3:18 Paul prays that God will give the believers POWER so they can understand the greatness of the love of God, to know the love that surpasses knowledge, and the result is “that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
 
So we are thrown back on prayer, which is dependence on God. May we avail ourselves through prayer, praise and faith in His Power of all that our loving Father has prepared and presented to us.
 
Prayer: “Lord God, grant us the power to grasp ‘how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ’ so that we may reject the human struggle for significance, and rest in who we are in Christ, clothing ourselves with the qualities you have bought for us. Amen.”
 
May be an image of flower, grass and nature
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MORE FROM THE ADD-ON ESKIMO

Published by S.M. Wibberley on May 11, 2021
One day when they remained at home to rest, Okfagit put on his snowshoes and went out to check for game. He crossed an area he knew had a valley, but it seemed to be completely filled in with snow, leaving a flat level surface.
 
He confidently moved across it, but suddenly felt the snow give way under his feet and he fell into a deep hole. The sides were steep, and it was over ten feet to the top. The snow had filled in the valley except for this spot in the very middle, then the drifting snow had covered it over, leaving this pit.
 
He sat a while, getting over the shock of his fall, and then prayed, “Lord Jesus, here I am without help. No one knows where I am, so I turn to you. You are my boat captain, help me.” As he sat thinking he looked up and there was the shaman looking down at him.
 
“So, Okfagit,” he said, “you have abandoned the old way and now the spirits have punished you. I cannot help you or I would be working against the spirits, and I cannot do that. You are doomed and I leave you to your death by freezing!”
Okfagit called after him, “This may be from the spirits, but my Jesus is more powerful than the spirits. You will see how he will help me.” Then to himself Okfagit said, “And I wonder how he is going to do that!”
 
Then an idea came. He took off a snowshoe and using it as a shovel began to tunnel into his snowwalled prison. As he dug, he angled the tunnel upward. After half an hour’s work he stopped to rest. He knew he had to be careful not to sweat.
In another hour of digging through the windpacked snow, he broke out on the surface. He climbed out, sat down to put on his snowshoes and stood to praise Jesus for giving him the idea. Then he set off for home.
 
The next day as he went out into the village, he was greeted with surprise by everyone he saw. The first person he met informed him that the shaman had told them all that the spirits had trapped and killed Okfagit because he had abandoned the old way and had gone off after Jesus.
 
To each person, Okfagit briefly related how he had prayed to Jesus and had gotten the idea to dig a slanted tunnel out of the pit, something no one had ever done before. Most people saw this as the power of Jesus to protect and provide.
Okfagit could see how more and more people were considering the new way. When he talked with his family about it, Ayit said, “Yes, father, as you have added endurance to your obedience, you are showing the power of God. And with this I see that you are now adding is godliness, reacting like Jesus. You did not condemn the shaman or curse him. You didn’t even accuse him. You understood why he said and believed what he did. Your godliness will help people see the goodness of Jesus!”
 
“Ayit,” said Okfagit, “I believe you are adding godliness yourself. Thank you for sharing those thoughts. We will continue to endure and try to be godly.”
 
A week had not gone by when one of the elders came to visit Okfagit and his sons. After drinking tea with them and discussing hunting, the elder said, “The people are talking about you, about how this Jesus, the son of Apa, is helping you and protecting you, providing for you.”
 
Then the elder sighed and said, “But I must also tell you that the shaman has put a curse on you. He is calling the spirits to attack you in some way. I hope your Jesus is strong enough to protect you.”
 
Okfagit smiled a gentle smile. “This Jesus is the one who created the sun and moon, the seas and the mountains, the whale and the fox. He already defeated the spirits when he rose from the dead. I will not fear them even if they attack me. I will take shelter in his love and power.
 
“In his message to us, Jesus tells us that even if we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, he will be with us, he will protect us, and we need not fear. This protection is what I experienced in the valley where I fell through the snow and faced death. And it is what I will experience in the future!”
 
The elder sighed again and smiled. “May your God be stronger than ours,” he said as he got up to go.

Picture: Home made Eskimo snowshoes and hunting bag from Okfagit’s people.

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Psalm 34:17

Published by S.M. Wibberley on May 10, 2021
Psalm 34:17 “The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.”
[Praise be to you, the Sovereign, Infinite and Powerful God, who hears every prayer of every one of your children and answers every one in the best way (yes, no or wait). Praise you that you act at the right time to deliver us from all our troubles–the timing may be very different than we’d like, but we can be confident that you will act just when we need it.
In sending Jesus to suffer, die and rise again, you have delivered us from the most fundamental of our troubles: rescuing us from the dominion of darkness, from the dominance of sin, from the danger of eternal death, from the devil’s deceit and distortions.
We stand now as your beloved children, free of shame, of condemnation, of hopelessness, of meaninglessness. We stand in your presence, in your light, in your love, in the new life you have given us. We stand equipped for the battle, able to be more than conquerors in whatever comes to us, as we stand firm in the armor you have provided.
You have supplied us with wisdom, patience, love and grace. You have made your Holy Spirit dwell within us. You have given us your wonderful Word. And we live in the certainty that you will triumph in all as you carry us on with you to the end of history, giving us each a significant role to play in your glorious plan.
You have saved us from all the great troubles we were born into in our original sin. And you will save us out of all the myriad of troubles that plague us in this warped world of woe, using each one to mature and mold us into the image of Christ–as we respond with praise and trust in all.]
Yes, you, Lord God, the faithful Father, the delightful Deliverer, the lavish Lover of our souls, are bringing us out from all our troubles at just the right pace. To you be honor and glory today as we live in the light of your Grace, rejoice in the goodness of your Love and rest in the certainty of your Promises.
Keep our eyes on the Truth, Lord; help us to keep on the armor, to keep up the shield of faith, to keep on being people of truth and trust because we know you, the Lord of love and life, the God of goodness and grace. May you be exalted in all that I do today.
May be an image of flower and nature
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Our Glorious God

Published by S.M. Wibberley on May 9, 2021
 
 
Psalm 34:15 “The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their cry;”
[Praise be to you, Lord, for your rich faithfulness, for your persistent love, for your deep commitment to your children. Praise you that you always watch over us, that you always hear every prayer, every word, every thought. Praise you that you are totally aware of what is going on in our lives.
We can rest in your love which is strong and deep and powerful. We can trust you to hear us whether we sense it or not, and to work out what is best, whether we understand it or not.]
Psalm 34:16 “the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.”
[What a stark contrast: from total acceptance to total separation, from total redemption to total rejection. In your great Love, Lord, you hate evil and will deal with those who choose to live in it.
The greatest evil is to reject Jesus and His offer of forgiveness. Out of that rebellion and pride flow every other evil. You will righteously end the lives of all such rebels and wipe out even the memory of them. Praise you for your rejection of evil so that it may not continue in Heaven.]
Thank you, Lord, for your goodness which defends us in difficulties, permeates our problems and transforms our troubles into the next step up as we praise you for who you are and what you are doing in them–even though we cannot see any good at the moment.
I praise you for allowing the present problems in our lives. I ask that out of your love and wisdom, your righteousness and grace that you give us a fresh “Job experience” (Job 38-42) of seeing your greatness and glory so that we may continually bow before you in humility and confess, “I have nothing to say; you are right Lord, praise you for what you are doing.”
And I praise you now for whatever you will do this day, Lord, for you know what is best and have the wisdom and power to bring it to pass!
May be an image of flower and nature
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(Untitled)

Published by S.M. Wibberley on May 8, 2021
Chapter 35 The Wedding
After praying about it, we chose April 28 for our wedding date. Barbara’s birthday was on the 28th of September, so that meshed nicely. And it was a Sunday. I didn’t want it on Saturday, because then we would have to close the tire shop and lose a whole day’s business.
 
We planned to invite lots of friends, many of them not Christians because we wanted to make the wedding a clear witness of God’s work in our lives and of the gospel. However, when we went to talk with the pastor about our plans, he was shocked.
 
“I plan how the ceremony will go, not you!” he said emphatically. Now we were shocked! This was our wedding, why shouldn’t we be able to plan it? We backed off, prayed about it, asked God for help, and when we talked again with the pastor, we were able to come to a good agreement.
 
Barbara’s father was unable to travel because of his depression, but her mother definitely wanted to be at the wedding. Being a professional seamstress, she also wanted to make Barbara’s wedding dress and would bring it with her.
 
This was right in line with my desires for a simple, inexpensive celebration; we planned for frugality, with the reception being held at His Mansion and the food and wedding cake being made by friends.
 
Instead of renting a tux, I wanted to buy a suit. This, however, proved to be grounds for our first disagreement. I was to find out that Barbara does not like to shop for clothes; her goal in shopping is to get something quickly and come home. It doesn’t matter that it doesn’t fit well, or match what her other clothes.
 
In the first store we visited the salesman pushed me to buy a blue sharkskin suit. I looked like a mafia hit man in it! So I said, “No.” And Barbara cried. I was amazed. What could be wrong in looking for something I liked? In the end we found a nice dark green suit, and I wore it for years. I even still wear the tie occasionally nearly 40 some years later.
 
The day of the wedding dawned warm and clear. We all went to church, had lunch and got ready for the big event. I encouraged Barbara to put her wedding dress on at the church because I could just see my dog, Isaac, jumping up on her with his muddy paws as she came out of the house to get in the car.
 
It was a great idea; however, when Barbara got to the church, one of the guests was fixing herself up in the only ladies’ room there and wouldn’t come out! After a nerve-racking wait Barbara was finally able to get in and get herself ready for her wedding.
 
Meanwhile, I was up in the foyer, having a great time greeting all the guests. But then the pastor came and shooed me and my best man, my brother Sam, up into the little room behind the pulpit. And then the time had come: we stepped out and stood in front.
 
When the music played and Barbara came walking down the aisle, my heart sank. At the rehearsal the night before she had been all smiles; now she looked grim and unhappy. Had she changed her mind? Was something wrong?
 
She told me later that her mother had told her not to smile, that it was improper to be so happy as a bride! Strange but very German advice. However, Barbara only heeded it until she had made her way to the altar. When she got to the front and looked up at me, she couldn’t help but smile!
 
The wedding had roles for all our friends. The youth group sang; one fellow who had become a believer through the coffee house ministry composed a piece of music for trombone, trumpet and piano and Dad played the trumpet part. The kids from His Mansion sang, as did an African friend of Barbara’s.
 
Our good friends Dr. Ralph Goodell, Stan Farmer and Pastor Carpenter each gave us advice. Both Barbara and I gave our testimonies and the pastor, at our request, gave a very clear gospel message. It was a long and wonderful wedding!
 
At the end, the pastor had us turn and face the audience, saying, “I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Steve Wibberley!”
 
As we started down the aisle, Barbara pulled on my arm, and said, “Slow down!” This was the first of many times she would say that in our marriage. We operated at very different speeds and it would take much effort to bring us to a good partnership in that.
 
As my friend Pastor Carpenter said, it is often the weaknesses of our wives rather than their strengths that God uses to shape us more into the image of Christ. I was fast at everything. Barbara was slow, thorough, careful and didn’t have a lot of physical strength. This is what God used to move my eyes and heart off the goal of getting things done as quickly as possible and onto doing things for God’s glory instead. That meant doing them as quickly as was feasible, but more thoroughly, more carefully.
 
Picture: “Slow down!” Note the prophetic words behind us: “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel.”
 
May be an image of 1 person, standing and wedding
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Fearing God Benefits

Published by S.M. Wibberley on May 7, 2021
Psalm 34:11b, 12 “I will teach you the fear of the LORD. Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days,”
[Here are the results of fearing the Lord: we will live longer (less stress, less broken relationships, less worry, less harmful lifestyle practices), and we will have many days where we have lots of good flowing into our lives. Who doesn’t want that? God definitely wants to such goodness for us. He works to motivate us to desire to fear Him, so that more goodness will flow to us. Fearing Him is caring deeply what He thinks and obeying Him in awe of His marvelous might and majesty.]
Psalm 34:13 “keep your tongue from evil”
[The first element of the fear of the Lord is not speaking what is evil. No complaining (a big evil in God’s eyes because we are saying He’s not always good), no critical condemning statements, no gossip, no negatives, no cutting others down, no manipulation, no sarcasm, and no selfish boasting–to name a few common to all of us.]
“and [keep] your lips from speaking lies.”
[Only truth. No more telling ourselves lies (“Poor me,” “Everything is terrible,” “No one loves me,” “Nothing ever goes right.” “I can never win,” “Whatever I do, it’s wrong.”). No more telling others lies, no matter how polite they seem (“I’m fine” when I’m not. Instead of saying, “I’m having a difficult time, but am trusting God in it,” which is an honest answer that brings glory to Him and may open up meaningful conversation). And definitely no intentional lies to protect self or gain advantage.]
Psalm 34:14 “Turn from evil and do good;”
[Reject darkness and live in the light. I must measure my motives, thoughts, words and actions by Scripture, by what Jesus did and commanded. I must avoid evil at all costs, spotting it early on and rejecting it in favor of doing what God deems good. Confessing ahead forearms and forewarns me; I need God’s help to see evil in every area–before it becomes thought and then action–so I can bring Him glory.]
“seek peace and pursue it.”
 
[Not just seek to avoid conflict, protecting myself, but to wholeheartedly run after true peace, push to get peace, beginning with forgiving those who have hurt us, returning good for evil, blessing those who persecute us, and being loving to those who are obstinate. Lord give me wisdom in how to do this well.]
Praise you, Heavenly Father, for sending your Spirit to give us your Word: clear, deep, rich, refreshing and transforming. Help me to walk in the light of your Word, in the fear of the Lord today, taking your Word as the measure of what is right and wrong. Alert me to when I am not doing so, and help me to get back onto the path immediately. I praise you now for how you will help me today.]
May be an image of flower, tree and nature
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