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Psalm 16:1-2

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 9, 2020
Psalm 16:1 “Keep me safe, O God,”
 
[And You can easily do this, Lord Jesus, my Good Shepherd, for you are incredibly powerful, deeply wise, all-knowing, all-present and all-seeing, living outside of time. You are passionately loving and whole-heartedly compassionate. I can cry out to you, know that you will hear and that you will answer in the best way. Praise be to you.]
 
“for in you I take refuge.”
 
[This is my part, coming to you, thinking Truth, meditating on Scripture and obeying you: trusting you and, praising before any answer comes. As always, it is a partnership between you, Lord, and your children. I praise you for how you call us to join you in what you are doing, making us responsible, giving us the power of causality, as Pascal said.]
Psalm 16:2 “I said to the LORD, ‘You are my Lord;’”
 
[This is a statement of surrender—you are my Adonai, my Authority, the One I obey, the One who has the right to demand absolute obedience while promising absolute provision. To say “You are my Lord” means, “What you command, I will do.”]
 
“apart from you I have no good thing.”
 
[This is a full focus on Truth—only you, Lord, are truly Good. All else that I have is chaff–temporary and worthless in the long run. As the author of Psalm 73 said, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you!”
 
To live this Truth is freeing, powerful and focusing: “apart from YOU I have no good thing!” All else must be viewed in relation to you, as elements of stewardship, as tools, as means of obeying and glorifying you. It is in you that all comes together.
 
Praise be to you, Lord God–Heavenly Father, King Jesus, Holy Spirit–for you are the reason for our existence, the focal point of life, the eternal and infinite God.
 
Therefore, I choose anew to bow down before you and then to praise you, love you, glory in you, honor you, exalt your name and your Word, rejoice in you, revel in you, and obey you–all for your honor. May you be exalted in my life today.
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Such Patience!

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 8, 2020
Praise be to you, Lord God, for your kind and consistent, detailed and direct involvement in our lives. I exalt you, Lord, for how you are so persistent in pouring pardon into our lives, giving us the opposite of what we deserve. Thank you for your patience with us as we zigzag along, bouncing between arrogant rebellion and abject self-pity. We are so prone to spiritual amnesia! We so quickly forget the most basic spiritual truths:
–that we deserve only condemnation and rejection, but you constantly give us the opposite;
–that we can do nothing without you;
–that you are our Shepherd so we will not lack anything necessary;
–that we can offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving instead of complaining;
–that we can keep on your full armor and effectively fight the devil rather than people.
But in spite of our forgetfulness, you do not give up on us, Lord Jesus. You are gracefully, lovingly consistent in correcting, reminding, protecting and, when necessary, rebuking us.
You, Lord, are a wonder, too good to be true–but are actually even better than that! I thank you so much, Heavenly Father, for the privilege of not just being in your family, but of being able to come, at any minute, directly to you in the throne room of Heaven, and to crawl up in your lap for comfort, encouragement and redirection.
Help us to live in the light of your great goodness, your rich righteousness, your lavish love and your powerful presence. Help us to join you today in your plans, to shed our pride, our selfishness, our lust for significance and security, and instead to find rest in you alone, humbly bowing before you in the fear of God, joyfully accepting all you will bring in your plan for us.
Help us to move by prayer, to work through obedience and to overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit so that you may be honored throughout this day.
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Snuggle with God

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 7, 2020
Praise be to you, Lord, for how faithful and good, wise and powerful you are. We see this in the expanse of the heavens, which you stretched out for billions of, not just miles, but light years. You filled it with stars, (Psalm 33:6) gathered them into galaxies and the arranged the galaxies into formations—and you know the name of each of these trillions of stars (Psalm 147:4); you know their number and you keep them in place.
 
As you are able to administrate all that, so you are certainly able to deal with the small details of my life. Being outside of time, you know every event that will come and can shape them to be useful in our lives, or prevent them if it is best.
 
I think of the many times I’ve had close calls in driving, including one this week: but you prevented an accident each time and kept us safe. And I’m sure there are thousands of times you have protected us in every area over the years that we were not aware of it.
 
You are certainly the Deity of details, the Shepherd of strength, the Lord of lavish love. You are the One we can trust, rest in and rejoice in.
 
Last night when I went to give a discipleship lesson, the couple had just gotten a new little dog. He’d been suddenly taken from his familiar environment where he’d lived all his 3 years and was feeling very unsure and insecure in this new situation. For some reason he would not go to the two females in the house but jumped up on the man’s lap for a bit, then onto mine where he snuggled down and stayed for the whole lesson. Somehow he felt safe there, and enjoyed the scratching I gave him.
 
So it is with us and you, Lord. No matter how challenging our situation or how dangerous and painful the happenings in our life may be, we can snuggle down in your embrace, knowing that you have already prepared a path through whatever is facing us, that you will accompany us along the way and carry us through. You have a plan, you are faithful, you are able to carry it out.
 
The only element we have to add is trust, based on our knowledge of who you are; then you will pour peace, joy and hope into our lives (Rom. 15:13), along with more than enough grace (undeserved help) to move through any circumstance with power. “Trust in Him at all times, O people, pour out your hearts to Him, for He is our refuge.” Psalm 62:
 
I praise you now, Lord Jesus, for the day you have laid out before me. Help me to keep on the full armor you have provided, to trust you by getting up the shield of faith through offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving and to join you in what you are doing so that I may give you more and more honor each day.
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Day 2 of retirement (written in 2015)

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 6, 2020
 
Praise be to you, Lord God, that you were there, waiting for me this morning, after watching over us all night. I praise you for your grace and goodness, your power and provision which you’ve prepared for me for today.
 
Thank you so much for the purpose you give us in life: living for you, joining you in your great plans and giving you glory–which means revealing you to those around us. And how can we do that?
 
First of all, by being people of praise. As we respond to the events swirling around us by offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving in whatever comes, we reveal to others your Sovereignty and Love. We live the truth that you are in control, so whatever comes to us flows with your permission and purpose, from your wisdom and love.
 
As we trust you in the events of our days, you give us joy and peace and make our lives overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 15:13). Then, as you promised (2 Cor. 12:9)), your power will come and you will show us your salvation in the events that face us (Ps. 50;23). As we note your power and salvation and talk about them, we are revealing your faithfulness and power to those around us.
 
Which brings us to another way of giving you glory: seeing the “God-sightings” you bring into our lives daily (when you provide, protect and guide), and then when we share them with those around us. Like yesterday while shopping, I had a question about an electrical item, but there was no store employee to help me. However, as I went around the corner, there was my neighbor who is an electrician and he readily answered my question. God at work. God revealed.
 
Another way of revealing Him to others is to share what we are learning as we read, study, memorize and meditate on Scripture. The insights and understandings He brings are far above human thinking and help us shift from a natural worldview to a biblical one.
 
For instance, in 1 Peter 1, where I am re-memorizing now, it says that trials come to us to test the genuineness of our faith (are we responding with the sacrifice of thanksgiving, trusting God, or do we complain, revealing the falseness of our faith?). Every negative event is a test and a chance to reject our natural response, to trust and grow.
 
But there is a further reason for trials: if we respond with faith, then when Jesus is revealed at the end of time, we will be given praise, honor and glory by God Himself!
 
That’s a worldview shift–moving from the momentary, myopic, me-centered goal of being comfortable, to the wide, high and deep understanding of how this particular discomfort fits into God’s great scheme for ending history and ushering in an eternity where He will share His glory with those who have lived by faith here.
 
This is the call for us to fix our eyes on Jesus, who for the joy that was set before Him—the joy of redeeming all mankind, pleasing the Father, being glorified as the Savior, ending evil and ruling forever in righteousness–endured the cross, despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God (Heb. 12:2).
 
Even in writing this, I am glorifying God, revealing to you, more of His powerful and pristine Character, helping you to worship Him more and better. May we be aware of the everyday opportunities to reveal God’s glory to those around us by praise, by offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving, by noting and sharing God sightings, and by sharing what we are learning at the feet of the Holy Spirit.
 
May we live out the purpose of our existence today, glorifying God in our lives!
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Clogged again

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 4, 2020
Upon returning home after the conferences, although I was feeling fine, I knew the pressures on me had been tremendous, so I decided to go to my cardiologist for a checkup.
 
He did a thorough exam and found some suspicious signs, so he suggested that I have another angiogram. Since I trusted his medical skills and acuity, I agreed to it.
When I was wheeled into the operating room, the technician tried to take my glasses, but I told him that I could not hear without them. “What do your glasses have to do with hearing?” he asked, skepticism written all over his face.
“Because I’m somewhat deaf, I need to read lips.” I explained. “And I am so nearsighted that without my glasses I can’t do that! When the doctor tells me how to move, I need to have my glasses to hear him!”
 
He reluctantly agreed. I was happy with this because now I could also see the pictures on the screen showing the interior of my heart.
 
The doctor worked swiftly, and was soon done. “I have bad news for you,” he said from behind his mask. “Both your bypasses are clogged. We are going to have to put in a stent.”
“Really? That’s pretty amazing that they would clog up in just two years!” I exclaimed.
 
“It is unusual, but it has happened. Look here.” He ran the video for me. “See, here are the bypasses and this dark area is where they are clogged.” He turned to me. “There’s no room left for further bypass surgery. As I told you before you had your surgery, your main coronary artery is blocked 95% which means your risk of a heart attack is very high.
 
“However, to insert a stent is also risky because the blockage is at a fork in the artery. There is the possibility of the stent preventing the flow of blood into the side artery and causing a heart attack. But there’s no other solution.”
 
“OK,” I said, “Let’s do it right now!”
“No, we will have to wait until tomorrow to get the right stent,” he replied. I was disappointed, not wanting to go through another incision on my leg, but had to acquiesce to the only solution possible. Here was another chance to trust God and praise by faith.
 
The next day when I was again taken to the operating room, the doctor was quite nervous, obviously worried about the risks involved. However, I was quite relaxed, confident that the Lord would do what was right and good; He would work through the doctor. If I died, well, it was certain where I was going.
 
He inserted the wire with the stent, pushed in through my artery into the heart, maneuvered it into place and released the stent. I could see him holding his breath as he watched the screen. Then he raised his hands in the air and shouted “Praise be to Allah! It is working!”
 
He jumped up and down and slapped his assistant on the back. “I’m going to show the video of this procedure to all my colleagues!” he declared.
 
I praised God for His protection and guidance in this.
After a day in recovery I was released from the hospital. I expected to be able to launch right back into work. However it took a couple of weeks for my strength to return. At the same time, it sure beat open-heart surgery and the months long recovery that had required!
 
The cost of this procedure was also amazingly low: $4,500 for the whole thing, including three days in the hospital—and over $3,000 of that was the cost of the medicated stent, which was made in America. I was thankful for every aspect as the Lord guided and protected.
 
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(Untitled)

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 4, 2020
Further thoughts on Psalm 15:1-5
 
Jesus is the perfect Paragon of excellence, the sinless Savior and supreme Shepherd, the marvelous and majestic Maker and Master of our faith. As we read through Psalm 15, every quality the LORD requires for dwelling in His sanctuary is found in Jesus.
 
Psalm 15:1-2 “LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? He whose walk is blameless”
 
[I praise you, Lord Jesus, that you are blameless. In you there is no sin, no evil, no slipping into error, no darkness, no injustice or rebellion; you are without blame, without accusation, without sin. Praise you for your perfection, your purity, your pristineness, that you are the summation of all virtues.]
 
“and who does what is righteous,”
 
[All you have done and will do is right, Lord Jesus, there is no error in your ways, no wrong, no fault, no unrighteousness. Therefore, you are absolutely trustable and believable in your faithfulness and goodness.]
 
“who speaks the truth from his heart”
 
[You are Truth itself and therefore speak only Truth from the center of your being. All you say is true, right, correct, positive and good.]
 
Psalm 15:3 He “has no slander on his tongue,”
 
[When you judge, Lord Jesus, it is correct, it is spoken to the right person with the right motive at the right time in the right way. There is no malice, selfishness, evil motive or wrong desire in your speech. Instead you speak correctly to convict, to bring repentance, to restore and lead, giving light, love and life.]
 
“who does his neighbor no wrong”
 
[You only do what is positive and pure, helpful and good. To live with you is to experience the light of your goodness, the power of your purity and the provision of your positiveness.]
 
“and casts no slur on his fellowman,”
 
[You never speak unjustly, you never maliciously cut people down, or try to put them in a bad light. In fact, as the good Shepherd, you will work to protect people rather than expose them to ridicule. You always first nudge us towards repentance before having someone come and confront us.]
 
Psalm 15:4 “who despises a vile man”
 
[You see all, so nothing is hidden from you; you know what is vile and rightly reject it. In righteousness you despise what is unrighteous, while somehow still loving every sinner and seeking to bring them, into your Forgiveness, into your Family, into your Kingdom.]
 
“but honors those who fear the LORD,”
 
[You are able to discern what really motivates a man: fear of people or fear of God (Psalm 34:11-14). And you will give glory and honor to those who walk in your ways because they love you and trust you.]
 
“who keeps his oath even when it hurts,”
 
[You are the One who always keeps your Word—you kept your Word to be a Savior who could only redeem through intense, infinite suffering, and you, Lord Jesus, followed through by submitting yourself to anguish, pain and an unjust punishment of death. Praise you for your faithfulness.]
 
Psalm 15:5 “who lends his money without usury”
 
[You are generous and gracious, pouring out your riches on us without thought of profit.]
 
“and does not accept a bribe against the innocent.”
 
[You are absolutely just, you cannot be swayed by any bribe. No one can bribe you to move against your children. And we believers can’t get you to change your mind with our “good works,” our fasting or self-denial; we can’t twist your cosmic arm, to “make” you answer our selfish prayers. Praise be to you for your unbending goodness and purity.
 
Lord, help us to live like you, to follow your example in each of these wonderful qualities and thereby bring honor to your name by showing your glory to all those around us.
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Psalm 15:1-4

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 3, 2020
Psalm 15:1 “LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill?”
[Praise be to you, Lord God, the High and Holy One, who invites us into your sanctuary, to live with you on your holy hill–through believing on the risen Jesus.
This possibility is a delightful demonstration of your deep delight in sharing your glorious grace and your generous goodness with us, offering us life and love even while we were still dead in sins. This is your pure and positive Character at work in the midst of a broken, twisted and destructive world.
Psalm 15:2-4 “…who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? The one whose walk is BLAMELESS, who does what is RIGHTEOUS, who speaks the TRUTH from their heart; whose tongue utters NO SLANDER, who does NO WRONG to a neighbor, and CASTS NO SLUR on others; who despises a vile person but HONORS those who fear the LORD; who KEEPS AN OATH even when it hurts, and DOES NOT CHANGE their mind….”
Each of these conditions for living in close relationship with you, Lord, is unreachable for us in our own strength; our sinful flesh prevents this, even when our spirit is willing.
But, in the face of our inability, you, Lord God, in your rich and powerful, persistent and active agape love have, through the sacrifice of Christ Jesus, provided these qualities for all who believe. “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (2 Pet. 1:3).
You have imputed the qualities of Christ to us and have made us qualified to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the Kingdom of light! This is against all logic, all normal justice, all human reasoning and contrary to even the heavenly expectations of angels.
This grace–giving us the opposite of what we deserve–is more than marvelous. It is the demonstration of your infinitely loving, lovely and lustrous Character at work in mysterious and majestic ways, moving us from hopelessness and despair to certainty and safety.
I praise you for the great and transforming truth of your total commitment to save all who are willing. Therefore, we can trust you totally, rest in you fully and follow you wholeheartedly.
May we honor you today by resting in your goodness, obeying in your power and living as carriers of light and hope to all around us. Praise you for what you will do today!
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Psalm 14:4-7

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 2, 2020
Psalm 14:4 “Will evildoers never learn—”
 
[Lord, this means you are consistently working at teaching all rebels the error of their ways by letting them suffer the consequences of their destructive choices as you, in your faithfulness and love, are calling them to repentance and surrender–but they are not listening!]
 
“those who devour my people as men eat bread and who do not call on the LORD?”
 
[These rebels commit two evils: they abuse people and they trust in themselves, rather than you, Lord. They delusively believe they are in control, able to handle life on their own as they bully all those around them.]
 
Psalm 14:5 “But there they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous.”
 
[In spite of their bravado, inside they have dread because they sense God’s presence among believers. That’s why they so viciously attack those who call themselves followers of Jesus Christ. This has happened repeatedly all down through history and we see this today as Isl.amic ter.roists and leaders try to wipe out all Christians in their territory.
 
Such evildoers are afraid of death. They may be aware of the coming judgment, and that because of their stubborn selfishness they are set apart from the righteous–those have surrendered to Christ–but in spite of this they do not repent.]
 
Psalm 14:6 “You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the LORD is their refuge.”
 
[Ungodly people prey on the poor instead of praying to God. But when the poor turn to you, Lord, you are their help and protection. You are faithful, you are good and you are powerful. As it says in Psalm 68:6, “God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.”]
 
Psalm 14:7 “Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!”
 
[And it did come from Israel, from Judah, brought by Jesus, who was a Jew!]
 
“When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!”
 
[Yes, the first believers, who were all Jewish, as well as we gentiles who are your children, have rejoiced and will rejoice in our salvation!
 
And we can continue to rejoice in your daily ongoing practical protection and salvation, Lord Jesus, as you lead us out of our personal prisons, further up and further into your glorious Kingdom. Truly, you are our Good Shepherd and we will not lack anything we need, as we follow you in the ups and downs of life.]
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Psalm 14:1-3

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 1, 2020
Psalm 14:1 “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’”
 
[This is a clear definition of a fool: one with no spiritual discernment or interest, who rejects truth in favor of his own unfounded opinion.
 
The statement “there is no God” is so far from reality, so entirely limited to this tiny earth, this moment; it is a view that it is a sorry position, void of hope, truth, goodness, meaning and a future. I pity the person who believes this, as he is caught in his own delusion and ends up in the darkness of a meaningless, hopeless existence.]
 
“They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.”
 
[We are all by nature fools, making ourselves our own god until we meet Jesus, the true and living God. In our natural selves there is no good, no ability to do true good, for all we do is corrupted by our selfishness.
 
This is reality, this is why we desperately need you, Lord Jesus, you who are goodness itself and desire to give all people a new heart filled with righteousness, joy and peace so we can do the good works you have prepared for us (Eph. 2:10).]
 
Psalm 14:2 “The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.”
 
[This means, Lord, that you look into the heart of every single person, you weigh their thoughts, you are concerned for them. Only an infinite God could be in such close contact with 6 billion people all at the same time! And in doing so, you love all of them, wanting each to come to you, giving each multiple chances to enter your Family, your Kingdom, your Eternity with you. You are a wonder!]
 
Psalm 14:3 “All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.”
 
[This is the sad truth: not one single person in the whole world, in the whole of history since the Fall, ever sought you out on their own. Not one naturally followed you in the right way. We all turned away from you, we were all corrupt. And as sinners, any good that we did was tainted with selfishness, pride and deceit; we futilely tried to convince ourselves we are good.
 
What a hopeless situation! In ourselves we are unable to alter it. But praise you, Lord Jesus, that you have entered history, paid the great price and made it possible for us to be released from the trap of the enemy and our own wickedness so we can come into your Kingdom of Light and Life and Love! Like in this picture below, you bring life and beauty out of what is dead and decaying.
 
May we be ever thankful for your unwarranted grace, undeserved goodness and unending love. May my life, being focused on you, reflect your love and light to all around me today.]
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Psalm 13:3-6

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 31, 2020
The Gift of God’s Faithfulness
 
Psalm 13:3 “Look on me and answer, O LORD my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;”
 
[Thank you that we can cry to you in our desperation, as David did here, O Lord. We can always appeal to you, knowing that your faithfulness will flow into our lives like a stream forever. As it says in Psalm 86:7 “In the day of my trouble I will call upon you: for you WILL answer me.”]
 
Psalm 13:4 “my enemy will say, ‘I have overcome him,’ and my foes will rejoice when I fall.”
 
[Even if we fall, we can stand again, firm in your faithful power, with you as our persistent Shield and Defender. I praise you, Lord Jesus, that you are our unshakable Rock, our faithful Fortress, our high Tower, our almighty Shepherd who can never to be defeated.]
 
Psalm 13:5 “But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.”
 
[Yes, I look away to you, Lord, and look down the long history of your unfailing love where you–in faithfulness–answered, acted, protected, and guided your people: Abraham, Joseph, David, Daniel, Jesus and Paul. And so you will do with us.]
 
Psalm 13:6 “I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me.”
 
[David here still did not have an answer, he was still in danger, but this is a declaration of his trust in God to answer and save–based on his past experience of God’s help.
 
We also can sing now in praise and thanksgiving to you, Lord, before you act in our troubles, knowing that you will come and work things out, to rescue and save, to empower and carry us through–just as you have helped us in the past, always acting out of your pristine character and your powerful faithfulness to your Word.
 
It is in this certainty that, while still in trouble, we can sing in praise for the help you will bring. Help us to persistently praise you in every difficulty, Lord God, before we see any answers, resting and reveling in your full faithfulness. May you thereby be glorified before the people and the spiritual powers around us today.
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