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Something to Nurture your first love

Published by S.M. Wibberley on February 9, 2020
 
“…to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.”
Psalm 86:4b,5 (NKJV)
 
Praise be to you, Jesus, my Lord, Adonai, the One who has the right to expect from us complete obedience and gives complete provision, empowering us to do so. I give you glory for your merciful and gracious heart.
 
I thank you that we can lift our souls to you, telling you what we are thinking, wanting and feeling–being completely honest and transparent before you, knowing that in your Omniscience and Love, you desire our full honesty with you.
 
You aren’t shocked by what we confess—you already know it all! You don’t condemn us for our openness, you are delighted by it, and through it you give us joy in the light of your presence. You pour out your forgiveness on us! You give us mercy! You give us goodness! (Ps. 86:4,5).
 
You, O Lord Jesus, are wonderful to your rebellious creatures, showing your grace in giving unearned, undeserved mercy. This flows from your beautiful character, for you are majestically glorious in your mercy, even though it is uncalled for, undeserved and unexpected—it is the opposite of what even the angels thought would happen. But such goodness flows from you, O Lord Jesus, because you are Love, you are Light, you are Life. You are Holy, completely other than your creation. You are fully good, wholeheartedly giving, and totally gracious.
 
At the same time you are also purely righteous, fully just and faithfully true. No one who refuses your offer of pardon will escape your power to judge and you will judge correctly. Praise you for your umbrella of mercy you have provided for all who will believe, to protect them from your coming wrath, which must fall on all sin.
 
For these great truths, I give you praise and honor in my heart, in my thoughts, in my words, and in my obedience. You, Lord Jesus, are the Perfect One, the Trustable One, the Powerful One, the Eternal One. You are worthy of our obedience, our worship, our trust, our submission. To you belongs all praise and I bow before you, desiring to bring you such exaltation in my life today.
 
Prayer: “May I obey you out of love this day, Lord Jesus, bringing glory to your name. I want to be transparent before you, letting your light shine down into my soul and then out of me to others. Protect me, O Lord, from myself and my tendency to sin. I want to bring you joy today through obedience. Help me to follow you alone and I praise you now for how you will answer. Amen.”
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Another Wedding

Published by S.M. Wibberley on February 8, 2020
More from my Autobio, another marriage
It had taken Josh about five years after meeting Sarah to come to the point of commitment. With Nat, things progressed a bit faster.
 
He had a girlfriend in the States before he left for Turkey, but because she was not interested in or equipped to work in a difficult, overseas environment, Nat eventually ended the relationship.
 
At the end of July in 2007 he called me on the phone. “You know, Dad,” he said, “I’ve always wanted a ‘sports car kind of wife,’ more of a movie star type, like Mom. But now I realize that what I need is an ‘SUV wife,’ one that can go off road with me into difficult places.”
 
“Good!” I said, “I’ve got the girl for you. She will be coming to Ankara in two weeks. Her name is Abby. Take her out and get to know her!”
 
Abby was a great match for Nat. Like Sarah, she was a vibrant believer and was already part of our group. She had spent three years in the country with a different group, so she already spoke the language and knew the culture. And she was fully supported in her ministry by her own church and individual contacts.
 
Unbeknownst to me, others were also thinking about the possible matchup of Nat and Abby. So when she got back to our country of service, her friends also encouraged Nat to get to know her.
 
Nat took her out, enjoyed the time, and sensed a nudge from the Lord that he should get together with her again. On their second date, Abby’s purse was stolen in the restaurant where they were having supper. Abby told us later that she had no idea what to do such a situation, but Nat did. First he called her cell phone– the thief answered but immediately hung up; then he talked to the waiters to get their input and finally he took Abby to the local police station to make a report.
 
Abby told us that In the midst of this she said to herself, “If this is what it’s like being married, I think I’d really like that!”
 
A week later Nat took Abby out for the third time and said to her, “I think we should talk about our future together.”
 
“Great!” said Abby, “The tension has been killing me!” So two weeks after meeting they were planning their marriage.
Nat’s birthday is May 27th, so this number is special to him: his email address is 27, he signs his drawings with a 27, his prayer letter was called 27, and Psalm 27 was his theme. And, it turned out that Abby was 27 when they met! That clinched it for Nat!
 
They wanted to marry on the 27th, and were talking about January in the States. I suggested to Nat that they have a civil wedding in Turkey on December 27, which would make the year of their wedding also contain both a 2 and 7: 2007. However, the cost of doing this was prohibitive, so that idea got scratched.
 
In the end they married in the States on January 27, 2008 in Virginia. Then, like Josh and Sarah, they also had a reception in Connecticut and one in Ankara when they returned. Their wedding was well celebrated!
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Psalm 9:10

Published by S.M. Wibberley on February 8, 2020
Psalm 9:10 “Those who know your name will trust in you,”
 
Your name, Elohim (God), means the powerful and faithful One. You have shown your power in your vast and varied creation and your faithfulness in following through on your promise to provide salvation through Christ for all who will believe.
Your name, Adonai (Lord), means the powerful Authority who has the right to demand full obedience, and along with that, promises complete provision of all we need to live for and obey you.
Your name Yahweh (LORD), means the holy One who is utterly independent of your creation and utterly committed to caring for it. You are the Hater of sin, the Judge of evil and the Lover of your sinful creatures.
 
You are the great I AM, with no beginning and no end, ever existent, ever powerful, ever present. You are absolutely, utterly, completely, eternally trustable. To not trust in you is a great sin, denigrating your mighty, majestic, magnificent Names.]
 
“for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.”
[The record speaks! You have come to the rescue of all who have called upon you: Adam, Able, Abraham, Moses, the Children of Israel (many, many, times), the Judges of Israel, David, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, the Apostles, Paul–and us.
 
As we seek you, call out to you, you are faithful to answer. As it says in Psalm 34:4-8, “I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.
 
“Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles.
 
“The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.
 
“Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”
 
So let us hide ourselves in the Almighty One who will never forsake us and helps all those who take refuge in Him.]
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Psalm 9:9

Published by S.M. Wibberley on February 7, 2020
Psalm 9:9 “The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed,”
 
[Praise you, Yahweh, the great I AM, Creator and Sustainer of the heavens and earth, the sea and all that is in it. You who, while filling the whole universe, are aware of each of the oppressed and calls every one of us to yourself for refuge.
 
People are oppressed first and foremost by the devil as he keeps them enslaved by fear of death, by desire and deception, by division and distraction. And he oppresses through evil people, evil persuasions, evil purposes. Then we are also oppressed by our own old nature where selfishness, pride, lust and greed consistently seek to rule us.
 
But you, Lord Jesus, have opened a door out of this miserable morass of darkness and despair into the Kingdom of Light and Love, where you are our very personal refuge and strength, not just for our comfort but also so we may give you ever increasing glory.]
 
The Lord is “a stronghold in times of trouble.”
 
[In you we are safe during the destructive attacks of the enemy, able to turn these assaults into opportunities for growth and helping others. In you we can find comfort and rest, salvation and protection. In you we find love and grace, goodness and help. In you we find forgiveness and pardon, cleansing and transformation.
 
In you there is loving chastening, firm correction and certainty of rebuke when needed. In you there is deliverance from deception, lust, selfishness and stubborn, destructive independence. You are our protector in all troubles, as long as we dwell in your shelter.
 
As it says in Psalm 91:1-4 “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’
 
Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.” ]
 
Lord, help me to willfully take shelter in you in each moment and event of today, in You my mighty Rock and my Refuge.
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Provision of Patience

Published by S.M. Wibberley on February 6, 2020
From EDIFIED! Written in 2010
 
“Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him…”
Psalm 37:5a
 
You, Lord God, are great and strong, wise and firm as you wonderfully guide and direct all for us. Thank you for your careful, precise, powerful and loving ordering of things in our lives.
 
Praise you, Lord for your great work in my life so that last Sunday morning when I missed our exit on our way to speak in a church, my reaction was one of grace: no impatience, no complaining, no grouchiness, just a quiet rest in your grace!
This is your doing in my life, teaching me to take up the patience you have provided for me. (“His divine power has given us all things necessary for Life and Godliness.” 2 Pet. 1:3). Living in your patience is exactly the opposite of what is natural for me!
 
And you showed yourself faithful to orchestrate things for us in this. After driving the 10 miles to the next exit, turning around and coming back, we got to the church at the same time as the church leader who unlocked the door for us! Right on time.
 
Then I found I’d forgotten the power cord for my computer, even though, just before leaving home I’d prayed, “Lord help me to remember anything else I should take.” Nothing had come to mind.
 
So when I noticed that the cord was missing and thoughts of worry began to come (“Will the battery hold out for both the computer and projector?”), I could reprove myself by saying, “No, the Lord guided and He will provide. It will last as long as is needed.”
 
Peace came and in the end, the computer’s battery lasted the whole time, no problem. Praise be to you, Lord, for what you gave: the direction, the peace, the power and the good outcome. To remember your goodness and to trust in you is good!
 
Prayer: “Lord, today things will come which I won’t like. Help me to greet them with praise and thanksgiving, to lay down my understanding of things and to embrace the truth of your love and power being at work in the situation, remembering that you have a plan and will work it out well. Amen.”
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Psalm 9:5-8

Published by S.M. Wibberley on February 5, 2020
 
 
Psalm 9:5-6 “You have rebuked the nations and destroyed
the wicked; you have blotted out their name for ever and ever. Endless ruin has overtaken the enemy, you have uprooted their cities; even the memory of them has perished.”
 
[It is your intent to cleanse the universe of rebellion, so you justly punish wickedness and those who refuse the forgiveness and cleansing you offer.
 
You first rebuke and give opportunity for repentance, just as you did with all the nations in the promised land. You gave them 400 years to repent, but they didn’t. Rahab is the example of what could have happened with each one of them if they had responded with faith. But when they refused to come to you, they remained under judgment and were destroyed. You are just, you are consistent, you are righteous.]
 
Psalm 9:7 “The LORD reigns forever;”
 
[Praise be to you, the forever One, who has no beginning and no end. Being eternal, you are able to follow through on your promises, your plans, your purposes because you never tire, never flag, never fade. You are the everlasting I AM, ever pure, ever holy, ever triune.]
 
Psalm 9:7b-8 “he has established his throne for judgment. He will judge the world in righteousness; he will govern the peoples with justice.”
 
[Praise you that in you alone there is true justice and righteousness. They are certainly found nowhere else in this world. We long for them, but fear them at the same time, for we know innately that we are guilty and are found wanting in ourselves.
 
Praise you for your great mercy towards us, that in Christ we stand cleansed, forgiven, transformed, adopted and dearly loved.
 
We bow before you now, O Lord, exalting your name, your Word, your grace, your goodness. You are totally worthy of love, of obedience, of thanksgiving, of praise.
 
Therefore, we rise up from our worship to enter this day as your children, desirous of living a life worthy of you and of pleasing you in every way. May your Spirit fill us and overflow from us into the lives of those around us, bringing you more and more honor.]
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Worship in Woe

Published by S.M. Wibberley on February 4, 2020
[Note: This occurred many months ago; I am now fully recovered.]
 
Writing from the hospital where they are working on blood clots in my right lung and leg, and on my A-fib condition (irregular and very fast pulse, high blood pressure). Another chance to live in the truth of God’s Sovereignty, the truth that He has a plan and will work this out for the best.
 
So I wrote this in my worship journal.
 
Praise be to you, Lord God, that yours is a full-orbed character, shining brightly into our lives, illuminating our path, enlightening our understanding.
 
On one side you are love itself, while on the other you hate what is evil. I praise you for your rejection of evil, for your anger at injustice and your wrath against sin, for these make salvation possible; your insistence on justice makes restoration possible; your hatred of wrong makes a sinless new Heaven and new Earth possible.
 
I praise you, Lord Jesus, that you took the wrath of the Father fully upon yourself, so that all who choose to believe in you might be saved in your goodness, sheltered in your love, protected in your grace and transformed in your power.
 
Thank you that you have given us life through your suffering, love from your heart and light from your Truth. Praise you for qualifying us to enter your Kingdom, for adopting us into your family and giving us purpose, meaning, hope and a sure future, along with joy, peace and power to live a godly life.
 
But thank you most of all for giving us a rich, real and righteous relationship with you. Thank you for loving us unconditionally, wholeheartedly, joyfully, enthusiastically, eternally.
 
And in this wonderful relationship with you, you give us all we need: forgiveness, cleansing, acceptance, affirmation, attention, love and grace. I am thankful for these, but they are not to be the focus: You are.
 
Therefore, I worship you as the Lord of love, the Giver of good and the God of grace. the God who will carry me through my present trials, bringing me out into a wide and pleasant place, either through healing, through grace to endure, or through death. I praise you now for whatever you will do. To you be glory and honor in all my life today. Amen.
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Psalm 9:2-4

Published by S.M. Wibberley on February 2, 2020
 
Psalm 9:2 “I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.”
 
[Yes, I will rejoice in you, my Most High God, for you are wonderfully worthy, graciously good, powerfully persistent, righteously just, lovingly strong and readily forgiving. Praise is your due, praise is our privilege.
 
How can I not praise you in and for all things—pleasant or painful, nice or negative—when, in your magnificent, pristine, and perfect triune character, you are weaving all events together for good? Glory be to you now, today and forever, for you are worthy!]
 
Psalm 9:3-4 “My enemies turn back; they stumble and perish before you. For you have upheld my right and my cause;”
 
[Praise be to you, O warrior God, who fights for your children. You fight against Satan and sinners, selfishness and sin as they attack your children. Such help is not our right but a powerful privilege.
 
In myself I am not right, but your Word is right, you will is right and you Son is right—and you have made me righteous in Him. I praise you that out of your grace you fight for me, for us, for your Word, for all that is right.
 
As I “commit my way to the Lord, I will trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass, He shall bring forth my righteousness as the light and my judgment as the noon day sun” (Ps. 37:5-6). As I delight in and meditate on your word, according to your promise, I “will prosper in whatever [I] do.” (Ps. 1:3).
 
So, I can rest in what you will do in the pressing debates before me concerning how to biblically proceed with our work, for you are faithful. Things may not work out the way I desire, but I know that you will do what is right.
 
“you have sat on your throne, judging righteously.”
 
[We may be unsure, have only part of the information, be prejudiced by our preferences and preconceptions, but you have none of these restrictions. You, Heavenly Father, see all perfectly, you have every detail of information, you even understand our motives and the intents of our hearts. You know Truth totally and you will judge in full Righteousness.
 
Praise be to you, Lord God, for your goodness and graciousness, your greatness and glory. I praise you today, bowing before you, accepting whole-heartedly whatever results you bring out of the conflicts around me.]
 
Epilogue: in the debates mentioned above, neither side “won.” Instead, our conflicting ideas were woven into the policies in a way that bridges that gap between our viewpoints and I think will prevent us from being unbiblical in our work.
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Ministry and Marriage

Published by S.M. Wibberley on February 2, 2020
More from my autobiography, “From Canterbury to then Ends of the Earth and Back”
 
During these years of our ministry in our country both our boys, J and N believed the Lord was calling them to come back to our country to serve Him there. They were uniquely equipped for this, having grown up in the culture and speaking the language like natives without any foreign accent. They were truly “international people,” having firsthand experience of living in multiple cultures.
 
The local believers agreed that the boys were a “new breed” of worker. One local believer introduced N to a friend, saying, “This is my American friend, but he’s not a foreigner!”
 
We thought for sure that with their great qualifications both boys would be able to raise support easily and quickly. Churches would surely see them as a great “investment,” since they could step off the plane and immediately be actively engaged in ministry, needing very little cultural or language training.
 
However, the Lord had other plans for them. He knew that they needed time to mature and He knew how to accomplish that, in part by the ministry he had for them in the States.
 
Both boys spent time living on the farm in CT, where they willingly helped my sister Andrea with the care of my aging father and mother.
 
For one year J came to our country to work as a teacher in the MK (mis-nary kid) school our group ran. During that time he was unjustly arrested and expelled. This action was an attempt by the government to force workers out of the country by shutting down the MK schools.
 
It was a traumatic experience for J to be escorted by a policeman right to the door of the plane where the stewardess has to sign for him, and then to be flown out of the country, not knowing if he would ever be allowed to return. But return he did, several years later.
 
As both of our sons were rapidly approaching their thirties with no potential wives in sight, Barbara and I continued to pray for the Lord to provide spouses for them. We’d actually started praying specifically for this before the boys were born and had confidence that He would provide for them in His perfect timing—if His design for them were marriage.
 
J had had two relationships that hadn’t worked out; then a third girl had declined his offer to pursue a relationship with him. So he was now “gun shy.”
 
We knew a girl who, in our minds at least, seemed just right for him. S was a young friend of Barbara’s whom we considered as our “adopted” daughter, a part of the family already. I suggested to J that he consider a relationship with her, and she had all the qualities he had told us he wanted in a wife. She was a committed and growing believer, had already worked in the country for several years, knew the language well, was involved in ministry, was a member of our group and was fully supported. But he was reluctant, fearful of another rejection.
 
Finally S herself suggested they pursue a friendship and one of the things they decided to do was to read together the book, “Boy Meets Girl” by Josh Harris. They slowly worked their way through it, using it as a stimulus to discuss important issues and to get to know each other.
In the last chapter they were instructed to ask someone older for advice about taking the next step of commitment, so they came to me. My advice was for each of them to take a piece of paper and draw a line down the middle. On one side they were to write all the positive reasons for their getting married and on the other, the negatives. They both came back with a long list of positives, while each had only one reason against marrying,a financial one.
 
“Well, that issue is easily resolvable,” I said, and helped them see how they could work out a solution. It still took J a while to work up his courage to pop the question, but when he finally did, S didn’t have to think twice before saying, “Yes!”
 
Having friends and family in three widely dispersed places, they decided to have three wedding celebrations! The first one was held in Connecticut at our home church. It was a very nice time, attended by many friends and family members. One highlight for us was that Dr. Goodell, who had given us advice at our wedding, read the same advice to J and S.
 
The actual legal wedding took place in S’s home church in Maine, another very nice event with family and friends from both sides coming to celebrate with Josh and Sarah. The ceremony was a joyful one, filled with lots of uplifting songs and words of encouragement .
 
When they returned to our country as a married couple, we had the third celebration of their marriage at the International Church in our city. For us, it was actually the most special celebration because all the people we’d worked with over the last twenty- plus years were there to celebrate with us as our extended family. It was a wonderful time
Picture J&S’s Maine (main) wedding
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Cooperation through Praise

Published by S.M. Wibberley on February 1, 2020
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;” Proverbs 3:5
 
Proverbs 3:7 says, “Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil.” Sometimes we find ourselves frustrated in all our plans with none of the things we’d like to see happen getting accomplished.
 
In this I have to remind myself that my main purpose as a Christian is not productivity, but knowing and worshiping our Lord Jesus Christ. We are to be ever drawing closer to Him. We may be successful in the eyes of the world because of our accomplishments, but if we aren’t close to Him, it’s all a mirage.
 
The Lord has been stressing to us again and again the importance of getting closer to Him by praising, and recently gave me a new insight about this. When we praise God for each thing that comes to us, whether it seems good or bad from our perspective, we are surrendering to God at that particular moment, reaffirming our trust in Him. In such praise we are declaring His goodness and His power to all those around us. We are getting up the shield of faith and quenching the fiery darts of the devil (worry, fear, anger or resentment). We are proclaiming God’s intent to bring to us only what is for our good and His glory.
Conversely, failure to praise (complaining) is resisting God’s working in our lives. It is a form of rebellion. This is declared in Psalm 106:24-26, which tells of the Israelites’ response to the report of the spies after they had seen the promised land.
 
“Then they despised the pleasant land; they did not believe his promise. [They failed to praise, to trust, to submit to God’s leadership] They grumbled in their tents and did not obey the LORD. [Instead of praising, they complained, rebelling against what the Lord was giving them.] So he swore to them with uplifted hand that he would make them fall in the desert.” [So the Lord did not give them the good things He had offered and waited till all those grumblers had died before bringing the Israelites into the land].
 
In contrast, we should follow David’s example in Psalm 34:1-2. “I will extol the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be on my lips.” [We can always say, “Thank you, Lord God, that in every happening there is potential growth in my focus on you and a platform upon which I can demonstrate your grace to the world.”]
 
“My soul will boast in the Lord.” [Thank you, Lord, for the continual reminder that in myself I can do nothing and that the thrust of my life is to give glory to you, not to me!]
“The afflicted hear and rejoice.” [How good that we can encourage others by praise, helping them also to praise, as we lead the way in extolling God.]
It is so good to look at all things through the purifying lens of God’s Word and to keep up the shield of faith with words of praise. We thank God that He is patiently teaching us to praise, even though we are slow learners!
 
Prayer: “Lord, help me to remember in each disappointment, difficulty and discomfort, as well as in the positive and pleasant, to respond with praise, surrendering to the Truth of your being God, the final Authority, the all wise One. Help me to affirm my trust in you by praising when I feel like complaining, by giving thanks when I feel like rebelling. May you be exalted in my life today through praise and thanksgiving. Amen.”
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