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Savoring the Savior

Published by S.M. Wibberley on December 22, 2020
Praise you, Lord God, for a new day, a fresh gift from your hand, toasty warm with grace, steaming with potential, deliciously spiced with your presence. As someone said, every day is a gift, that’s why we call it “the present!”
I praise you, Lord Jesus, my Good and Great Shepherd, for all that you will give today: your provision, protection, presence and preparation in all that will come.
Praise you for the privilege of nurturing my first love for you, worshiping you, praising you, focusing on you, accompanying you through the day, joining you in what you are doing and checking in with you on what my role is.
May there be no sneakiness on my part, doing what I’m not sure you would want, instead of looking to you for guidance. I confess my sin of doing that, of ignoring you in making decisions, of setting my heart on gaudy baubles of pleasure rather than on your kind eyes of wisdom. I confess my double-mindedness, my half-heartedness, my rebellion and unbelief.
 
Forgive me for these serious, glory-stealing sins. It is not worth it to try and do things I’d like without checking in with you; I only end up with a mouthful of gravel! Help me instead to be open to you in all things, so that I may live in the light of your presence, of your Truth, of your wisdom, of your grace.
Praise be to you, Lord Jesus, for your eternally efficacious sacrifice, your great, effective forgiveness, your powerful, deep cleansing, your consistent, wise application of discipline, and your persistent patience with me in my failures.
 
You are Great, you are Good, you are Gracious and thereby worthy of praise, honor, worship and obedience both today and forever. May you be honored in all I do today. Amen.
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Psalm 28:3-5

Published by S.M. Wibberley on December 21, 2020

Psalm 28:3 “Do not drag me away with the wicked, with those who do evil, who speak cordially with their neighbors but harbor malice in their hearts.”

[This is not what most people think of as evil—appearing to be cordial–but would label as goodness! Yet you, Lord, look beyond appearances to the motives, at the intent of the heart and label this fake cordialness as sin. Lord, help us to also be intent on seeing our sins as you view them, and being harsh with the evil in our motives, rejecting it and living instead with love and grace in our hearts towards our neighbors.]

Psalm 28:4 “Repay them for their deeds and for their evil work; repay them for what their hands have done and bring back upon them what they deserve.”

[You, Lord God are a righteous and loving God, therefore you deal with what is evil. You, Lord Jesus, will come as judge and bring clear, just, right condemnation on those who have refused to believe in you, on those who refuse the truth and live according to their own ideas.

Praise you, Heavenly Father, that you do not allow evil to go unchecked now and unjudged in the future. I can trust you fully to do what is righteous and merciful, as you have made it possible for everyone to have their record of evil wiped clean with the blood of Christ–if only they will believe in Him.]

Psalm 28:5 “Since they show no regard for the works of the LORD and what his hands have done,”

[This is a description of selfish independence from God, a rejection of His values, His work, His Word. They do not acknowledge Truth, God, His divinity or His marvelous accomplishments. All is natural, all is science, all is man-centered. And all who live so will fail.]

“he will tear them down and never build them up again.”

[They are fighting God, and it is futile. He will win in the end in righteousness. They will fail in rebellion. They will fail both in this world and in the judgment to come, because you, Lord God, are sovereign, the One to be obeyed, revered, glorified and honored. I praise you for your goodness and purity, your hatred of evil and love of righteousness. In you we can trust!

As you have, in your mercy and grace, clothed me in the righteousness of Christ, may, by your power, my life be the opposite of those described above, so that you may be honored in my words, revered in my actions, exalted in my reactions, and praised in my relationships.]

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(Untitled)

Published by S.M. Wibberley on December 20, 2020
More from the book “The Add-on Eskimo
 
Good News
 
Sixty miles East of Ayit’s village on the island of Sivukuk, the whaling captain stepped out of his boat onto the gravel beach of the village of Sivukuk. The Eskimos had seen his ship anchored offshore and had already gathered on the beach with ivory carvings, seal and fox skins and baleen to trade.
 
The Captain looked for his contact, Woolunga. In previous visits the captain had taught him some English and was now able to bargain with his help.
 
As the Captain pushed through the little crowd to greet Woolunga, his men unloaded some boxes and opened them, displaying knives, ax heads, cloth goods, ammunition and most importantly, the highly prized blue glass beads. Also, unfortunately, there were some bottles of whisky. The Eskimos knew and loved it, but had very little tolerance for it, quickly getting very drunk.
 
“Hello Captain,” said Woolunga as he shook the Captain’s hand in the way he’d learned in previous visits. “Welcome. You bring goods? We have skins.”
 
“Yes,” replied the captain, “come and see what we have.” They walked together to the boxes laid out on the sand, the other Eskimos crowding around.
 
“Look here,” said the Captain, lifting a few items out of the boxes, “I’ve brought you good and useful things.”
 
“Yes, useful,” said Woolunga as he held a new knife and an iron ax. “We also have useful things for you, seal skins, fox skins, baleen and some ivory work.” He pointed to the piles on the beach.
 
The captain’s eyes gleamed, especially when he saw the beautiful and realistically carved ivory statues of birds, seals and walrus. He thought to himself, These primitive people are so talented. Too bad they couldn’t produce more. I can sell these items at a very good profit.
“Well, Woolunga, what will you give me for that nice, sharp knife?” asked the Captain and the bargaining began. Woolunga traded with his own goods, then translated for the others. In the end the captain went away happy with his load of skins, carvings and other items. The Eskimos felt they’d gotten the better of the deal with new knives, axes, iron pipes and ammunition for their guns, as well as the blue beads and whisky. They’d also gotten some sugar, tea and salt.
 
But most of all, the Eskimos, like Woolunga, got a better grasp of English. Each year twenty to thirty whaling ships sailed by and some stopped. Once or twice a ship had wintered at the village, caught in the ice. That gave some of the villagers time to learn more English. And the sailors didn’t mind spending time there, as they were included in the Eskimo custom of sharing wives. The learning of English was going to prove very important for the next great change on the Island.
picture: seal carved from a walrus tusk
 
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Hunting Walrus

Published by S.M. Wibberley on December 19, 2020
For New Year’s the BIA flew all their teachers to Anchorage for a conference. We stayed in a hotel for a week, had seminars; it was a great break from the isolation of village life.
 
At the desk in the hotel was a sign for a “Christian Banquet” and I decided to go. Only two others turned up for it, but it was a success in my eyes. The fellowship, the encouragement and the biblical input were what I needed. The organizer, Leo Powell, became a life-long friend and supporter. The Lord was building things for the future.
 
My trip back to Savoonga was hampered by the aftermath of a huge blizzard that had dumped five feet of snow on Savoonga. The airstrip there was unusable, so I had to wait in Nome for a few days until the Eskimos could clear it off with their old bulldozer.
 
This delay was actually good because I had gotten sick in Anchorage and by the time I got to Nome I had pneumonia. There I was able to get some antibiotics and was on the way to recovery by the time I arrived back on the Island.
 
When my plane touched down in Savoonga, it was like landing in a tunnel with great piles of snow on either side of the strip. I found that my students had dug out my home for me. The drifts were up over the eaves.
 
We later had another blizzard which added an additional three feet of snow. The next morning after I dug my way of my house, I had to dig down to find the Quonset hut school!
 
During a later storm, when it was time to go from our Quonset hut to the school building for lunch, I had to have all the students hold onto a rope as I led the way through a virtual whiteout. It was a real Alaskan winter, and it lasted a long time, with snow on the ground up to the end of June.
 
So much snow gave opportunity for snowshoe hikes on the weekend up in the small volcanic mountains. A great change from teaching.
 
As we slogged through classes for the rest of the winter and into spring, I was looking forward to the end of school. One thing that helped bring some excitement into the grind was walrus hunting on the weekend.
 
“Stop lifting up on the boat and you won’t keep falling through the ice,” said the Eskimo next to me. “Just push it gently forward.”
 
Ten of us, along with four dogs, were pushing and pulling a fifteen foot skin boat across a patch of new ice to the next open water, looking for walrus (or is it walri?).
 
Walrus live on clams, and after filling their stomachs on the ocean bottom, they climb onto an ice floe and sleep. We hoped to find such a resting herd.
 
An hour later the boat captain shut off the outboard motor and pointed. There on an ice floe were about twenty walrus, all laying in a row. The big bull on the end of the line was the only one looking around; the rest seemed to be sleeping.
 
The watchman bull nudged the one next to him, who looked up at us, then nudged the next, until all of them were staring at us.
The Eskimos were getting their guns out of the skin scabbards while the boat captain was looking over the herd. When all were ready, he pointed out the two he wanted killed.
 
The skull of a walrus is so thick that the only vulnerable spot is the temple, a very small place to hit, especially when we were in a boat bobbing up and down on the waves, while the walrus were constantly moving their heads from side to side on their ice flow, which was also bobbing up and down in the swells. And yet, when the shots rang out, the two chosen walrus slumped down, dead on the spot. The others all scooted off the ice and disappeared with great splashes in the waves.
 
The captain started the engine and brought the boat alongside the floe and held it so we could get out. The Eskimos immediately fell to cutting up the dead walrus.
 
I was amazed at how big they were: two to three tons each the Eskimos said. I was busy taking pictures, and backed up towards the edge of the ice to get a better shot.
 
Suddenly behind me I heard a loud blowing sound, then a snort and I was enveloped in a cloud of mist. I jumped and turned around just in time to see a big bull walrus pull his head below the surface. I don’t know which of us was more startled!
 
The Eskimos worked quickly, as the weather situation could change suddenly. But when they got down to the stomach of the walrus, they took time to eat some of the clams they found there: pre-chewed and marinated. I declined the ones offered.
After packing the meat into large strips of skin and tying them into packets, they pushed the bones off into the sea, loaded everything into the boat and shoved off.
 
We were sitting really low in the water now and it was obvious why they didn’t want to be caught in a spring squall.
 
When we reached the shore ice, the boat was unloaded and pulled up on the ice. The dogs were hitched to it, and the rest of us each got a packet of meat, over 50 pounds, to pull behind us on the two mile trek to land.
 
I was exhausted by the time we got there, and the others weren’t much better. The cold, the excitement, the exertion all took it out of us.
 
As I was about to go home, the boat captain gave me a big chunk of walrus liver. I’d heard that it was some of the best, most tender liver there is, and this proved to be true. Good thing the average walrus liver weighs about a hundred pounds; that made plenty to go around. I also got a strip of walrus hide with meat. Now I had to learn to cook it!

Picture: Eskimos cutting up the walrus

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Feelings

Published by S.M. Wibberley on December 18, 2020
I awoke with somewhat negative feelings this morning, perhaps from thinking too much about my books and or on the problems I’m having with my workers.
 
However, my feelings are not the measure of reality. You, Lord, are the measure. So, instead focusing on these very temporary matters, I want to be thinking on you, Lord Jesus, to be rejoicing in you and who you are throughout the day.
And who are you? You are the eternal One, always there; the Righteous One, always doing what is best; the Holy One, always working from right motives; the Mighty One, towering over every creature; the Glorious One, doing mighty and magnificent works; and the Beautiful One, infusing your creation with your stunning beauty.
Therefore You only deserve our love, our devotion, our worship, our obedience, our fervor, our focus.
I praise you that you consistently work to lift our eyes from the temporary to the Timeless, from the minuscule to the Majestic, from the created to the Creator.
You are the One to be worshiped and I repent of thinking so much about sales and success., the lies and laziness around me.
Help me today to keep my eyes on you, my head in the Book and my feet on the ground.
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Haikus

Published by S.M. Wibberley on December 17, 2020
“For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, ‘In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.’”
Isaiah 30:15
 
God, I think, is like a Haiku. Haiku is a form of Japanese poetry: 17 syllables in four lines usually involving an unexpected twist at the end. For instance:
 
Spring has come
The snow melts
The village is flooded
With children.
 
We expected damage from water and end up with happy kids! So it is with God; except that instead of twisting, He untwists things. For instance, to make a Haiku out of my experience,
 
Unjustly jailed
Put on trial
Prosecutor stood firm
To defend me!
 
God is the great Transformer, the great Surpriser. He can and does take the most painful and difficult happenings and tenderly turns them into our good and His glory. Think of the death of Lazarus; of the blindness of men Christ healed; and of His own suffering.
 
Old age is an example of God’s transforming powers. Aging is the process of losing things, going from competent, self-sufficient, productive people to helpless, dependent, and in the eyes of some, useless people. However, those who walk with God may be helpless physically or mentally but can still be mighty warriors in prayer and example.
 
 
Old age may be the process of losing things, but maturity is the willingness to let them go. In knowing God, we can have the bigger, longer range picture of what He is doing, as well as what He has in store for us in the new heaven and earth. So we can know that it’s ok to let go of what we cannot keep anyway and reach out to what more He has for us!
 
Here’s an old age Haiku:
 
Weak and old
memory gone
body powerless
more time to pray
 
So, as we face difficulties, let us look to our Haiku, the Lord God Almighty, the Creator, Sustainer and Ender of all.
 
society collapses
downward spiral
darkness closes in
God shines on!
 
He will carry us through as we come to Him in our weakness and needs, submitting to Him. He always has a sequel, and it will be good.
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Lovable God

Published by S.M. Wibberley on December 16, 2020
 
You, O God, are the Lord of lavishness, full of Love and Life, Laughter and Light.
I praise you for your wise working in us in very practical ways, dealing with all the details, right down to the subatomic level, keeping everything humming along, keeping it all together—”He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Col. 1:17). You care for us wonderfully, persistently, lovingly and graciously.
It is especially warming to think of your loving care for us in contrast to what we deserve. I give you honor and glory for your personnel and powerful, persistent and perfect agape Love.
Thank you, Heavenly Father, for what lies before us today: on our part partially planned but truly unknown, while on your part it is fully planned and fully known. What an amazing thought: you have gone through the day of each one of your children—hundreds of millions of them–preparing things in detail, planning personalized lessons, readying guidance, protection, chastening, blessing and provision.
And you do the same for the non-elect, pouring out your goodness and attention on those whom you know will never believe. “…your Father in heaven…causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matt. 5:45).
You are truly the God of Grace, the God of Goodness, the God of Giving. To you belongs all glory and honor, all praise and applause, all worship and exaltation, all obedience and reverence, all fear and love. Such care, such compassion, such cherishing, such comprehensive love is found in no one else.
We fall to our knees in wonder, we bow down in awe, we rise up to surrender, to give you honor in belief and obedience. May you be exalted in our lives today.
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Psalm 28:2-3

Published by S.M. Wibberley on December 16, 2020
 
Psalm 28:2 “Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help,”
[Where else can I look for mercy and help but you, O Lord? , You are the Source of all help, you are the Spring of all mercy. In the midst of raging wars, stricken refugees and political upheaval, in the midst of suffering, sickness and sadness, you hear our cry for help.
As we look away from the negatives to the goodness and beauty here on the earth–the green of Spring, the fruitfulness of Summer. the colors of Fall, and the white blanket of Winter–this all is but a reflection of your great, faithful and wonderful character, guiding things in history, reminding me that I can trust you to hear, to answer, to protect and guide.]
“Hear…as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place.”
[To focus on you, the One who dwells in the Most Holy Place of Heaven—and also within me–is the right thing to do, for there is no real help in any other place. You are the one who is moving History to a conclusion and taking us with you.
You are the Holy One who knows what is good and edifying for us, whether it be relief or regret, what is peasant or difficult. I can trust you to bring, in your mercy, what is needed. In you I can hope and therefore I can praise you before there is any sign of your working.]
Psalm 28:3 “Do not drag me away with the wicked, with those who do evil,”
[Lord, keep me from joining the wicked, from doing evil whether in thought, word or deed. Help me to live according to the position you have given me, being a son of the Most High, a child of the mighty King and an appointed ambassador of Jesus. Help me to live in your power, to be filled with your Spirit, to be obedient and diligent in doing what is good.
I praise you that you help me every day, guiding me in deciding ahead of time to be gracious, kind, helpful, servant-hearted, and then, when the moment comes, to immediately respond with those qualities, along with thanksgiving and gladness.
I praise you for how you are changing me in this way instead of dragging me away with the wicked; for, in my old nature I do deserve to be cast out, rejected, judged and condemned.
However, in you, Lord Jesus, I am forgiven, cleansed, loved, helped, guided and protected. I am being transformed, growing, deepening and changing through your working in me in your mercy, strength and love. Praise be to you for your gracious and great provision; may you be exalted in my life today.]
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Psalm 28:1b

Published by S.M. Wibberley on December 14, 2020
Psalm 28:1b “For if you remain silent, I will be like those who have gone down to the pit.”
 
[This is true: if we had no access to you, Lord, how would we be different from those who don’t believe, who live in the land of darkness and death, from those who have already died?
 
In you, Lord Jesus we are given access to light, life, love, as well as lasting goodness—for that is what you are. And you are always there in our lives.
 
Praise you that your Word ever speaks to us, that you are active to bring us through each valley, through each dark night, through each difficulty and danger, for you are our great Shepherd who speaks and is not silent.]
 
Lord, today I lay my life before you on the altar of obedience. I praise you now for what you will bring, for how you will guide, for how you will protect.
 
Because you are only good, I can trust you to do what is right, to bring what is best, to lead in what is wise.
 
May you be glorified in my life today, Lord God–honored, lifted up and exalted in my thoughts, motives, words and actions.
 
Protect me from the evil one and evil men; protect me from myself; protect me for your own glory. I praise you now for all you will do in this day. Amen.]
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Hope?

Published by S.M. Wibberley on December 13, 2020
The next morning at breakfast Ayit asked his father, “Is there no hope to escape the evil that the spirits bring on us?”
 
“All we can do is to appease them, to carefully avoid angering them. And we should be careful to not dishonor any older people either because, as I said, after they die, their spirits can come back and take revenge on those who failed to show proper respect.”
 
“So, there is no way out of this?” Ayit asked, looking sadly at his father, who smiled at his inquisitive son.
 
“No, this is the world we were born into and we have no other possibility,” Okfagit said, his face becoming sad. Then he brightened, “However, many seasons ago there was a shaman on the island of Sivukuk who made a prophecy. It is said that he would set up poles and sing around them at night.
 
“In the morning there would be ropes and cloth on them, like on the whaling ships that we see sometimes off the coast. This shaman prophesied that an outsider would come to the island to bring good news. Maybe this will happen and set us free from the tyranny of the spirits.”
 
Ayit looked hopefully at his father. His eyes now had some light in them at this news.
 
After breakfast Ayit and his brother hitched the dogs to the sled and set out to the freshwater spring three miles from the village. When they arrived, they stamped the sled’s anchor into the snow and took several seal-skin pokes to the spring.
 
While Ayit held a poke, his brother dipped water into it with a wooden scoop. When the poke was full, they tied the neck and stood it on the sled. After the six pokes were filled, they lashed them down and headed back home, going slowly, being careful not to let any of the pokes tip over and spill the precious water. This water was for drinking and cooking only, but even so it went quickly.
 
That night the children again asked their father to tell them a story. He was quiet for a while, sighed and said, “Along with the spirits is the god, ‘Apa.’ He is much more powerful than the spirits, but he is far from us, he does not enter our lives. It is said that he has a helper, his son, who is also powerful, but we cannot know him either. Apa and his son do not protect us from the evil spirits.”
 
“Why is Apa so distant?” asked one of the girls.
 
“He doesn’t want to bother with us. We people do many wrong things, so he and his son don’t want to be near us.”
 
“What happens to us when we die?” one of the sons asked.
 
“We go back to the earth. We come to an end. Our spirits may roam the earth, but they will have no rest,” replied Okfagit.
 
“Is there no hope for us?” asked Ayit.
 
“We are at the mercy of the spirits, then when we die, that is the end. Life is hard and brutal, then we die.”
 
He paused, thinking, then continued, “As I said to Ayit this morning, there is one possible help for us. A powerful shaman on Sivukuk island made a prophecy many, many seasons ago, long before my grandfather was born. He said that someday men who were not Eskimos would come to the island and bring us good news. Maybe that is our hope.”
 
Unknown to Okfagit and those in his village, 60 miles to the west on the Island of Sivukuk, developments were taking place that would fulfill this prophecy and powerfully, positively affect them and their way of life.
Picture: relaxing in the inner tent where Okfagit talked with his children
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