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Paradoxes Resolved

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 7, 2020
“’Because he loves me,’ says the LORD, ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.’ “
Psalm 91:14
 
You, Lord Jesus, are a wonder, able in your incarnation to combine the unimaginable: you were both God and man, heavenly and earthly, infinite and finite, all-knowing and in need of teaching, perfect and learning obedience. No one else could have been these mutually exclusive opposites!
 
I exalt you for your wisdom, your insight, your ability to put together things that we cannot unite even in our farthest imagination. You are the complete One, the perfect One, the holy One, the worthy One.
 
You also put together things in our lives that seem opposites. Psalm 91 says, “Because You have made the LORD Your dwelling place—the Most High, who is my refuge— no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent” (Ps. 91:9-10 ESV). But then I think of Job, a man who made you his refuge, yet he suffered great tragedy, heartache, sickness, pain and then, in addition, had problems both with his wife and his “friends.”
 
This is hard for us to understand. We must turn to you, Lord Jesus, as you have a bigger and better view of things. Your understanding of harm or evil is different than ours. Evil or harm is not what makes us uncomfortable or disappointed or gives pain. No, evil and harm are what damage us spiritually, what drive us away from you.
As we make you our refuge, you are always there to protect us from spiritual harm, “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him” (Ps. 91:14,15 ESV). And so you did for Job, Abraham, Joseph, David, Daniel and Paul.
 
Praise be to You, Lord Jesus, that you reveal to us wisdom, understanding and knowledge so we may join you in what you are doing by offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving in each happening, no matter how painful or problematical it may be.
 
Praise you that you have given us the armor to wear so that we may avoid spiritual harm in whatever you bring us through. You are faithful to deal with evil, to protect us, to give needed grace, to carry us along, to deliver us at the right time, to work out your purposes in our lives. Glory be to you. You are worthy of worship, honor, praise and exaltation. I bow before you now in amazed worship, and I rise up in wholehearted praise to live in joyful obedience to you throughout today.
 
Prayer: “Lord, help me to think as you do, to view difficulties with your eyes, as opportunities to join you in what you are doing, to honor you, to demonstrate your grace to those around me.
 
Help me to see the fires of affliction as a means of burning away the dross in my life. Help me to take up your grace, to move into and through suffering and pain with endurance, to learn from it the lessons you have for me. May I consistently honor you in trust demonstrated through praise. Amen.”
 
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The Dead Shall Live

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 6, 2020
Written in 1981
 
Be strong in the Lord and the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you might be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”
Ephesians 6:10
 
My disciple leaned towards me, his face very serious, “You know that lesson on spiritual warfare? Let’s do that again next week. It’s too important to cover just once!”
 
It was a joy to hear such a statement from a fellow who had never really been interested in reading or studying the Word. The lessons of Ephesians 6:10-18 have been very useful for my disciples—and for me. Knowing who the enemy is, how God has equipped us and how to use these weapons has clarified a lot for all of us.
 
We have had plenty of opportunity to apply this knowledge because spiritual warfare is an everyday reality, especially here. When we were expelled from our adopted country twenty-two months ago, I began praying Psalm 86:17, “Give me a sign of your goodness so that my enemies [Satan and his forces] may see it and be put to shame, for you, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me.”
 
This week God answered mightily, giving such a sign, showing us His power in a miracle almost as startling as the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead! In fact the authorities and lawyers had told us after our expulsion that our chances of getting a new residence permit were as good as a dead man coming to life. And yet a couple of days ago, new permits were granted and we have them in our hands! In the history of the work here in this difficult country, only one other expelled worker has ever gotten a new permit and we get to join him!
 
Fighting the true enemy with prayer and praise, with truth and trust, with wholeheartedness and obedience is the only way to true victory. This adventure of the last two years with expulsion, return, staying in the midst of uncertainty, applying for a visa knowing it could mean another perhaps permanent expulsion–all of this has been confirmation of the importance of waiting on God in prayer and faith and not giving up. In the spiritual battle, he who persists in the power of God wins.
 
Prayer: “Lord, help us to take up and use your spiritual armor every day. Guide us in fighting the true enemy with your truth and praise. Help us to join you in what you desire to accomplish in our lives today. Amen.”
Picture: Barbara in the early 80s
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Nurturing Your First Love for Jesus

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 5, 2020
 
“I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy.” Psalm 116:1
 
O Lord God, you are the great I Am, wonderful in your ways, in your mercy, in your patience, goodness and grace. You display your glory in great acts of salvation (Israel from Egypt, David from Saul, Paul from his enemies, us from the dominion of darkness) and are therefore worthy of worship and wonder, of honor and exaltation, of praise and adoration.
You are the One who provides all that your children need. You have poured out upon us worth: created us in your image, redeemed us by the blood of the Lamb, chose us to be your sons and daughters, commissioned and equipped us for meaningful and specific service, and you crown us every day with loving kindness.
You call us to belong to you and in that you become our glory and strength. And in this belonging you give gifts to us out of your glorious riches, calling us to share in your holiness, to share in your righteousness, in your divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4), and in your strength.
You call us to be more than conquerors, to be kings and priests, and to be effective instruments in your hands. In our belonging to you, your glory comes upon us and we participate in it by obeying you, praising in problems, exalting in you, rejoicing in who you are, seeing you more and more through worship and the Word and being transformed into your likeness (2 Cor. 3:18).
You, Lord God, are more than we could have hoped for, more than we could imagine, far more than we can know. We get just a glimpse of your greatness in this verse: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace, as you trust in Him, so that Your lives may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 15:13). What more could we ask for in life than overflowing Joy, Peace and Hope from you and with you?
You who are our rock, our strength and our salvation, you are with us in trouble, you will save us through it and out of it. To you be Glory and Honor, Praise and Power, Majesty and Might, Exaltation and Obedience now and forever.
 
Prayer: “Lord, for your honor I want to walk in the light of who you are today: the Mighty, Majestic, Magnificent and Munificent Creator and Sustainer of all. May I live in the light of your presence, finding my joy, strength, wisdom and help in you. Amen.”
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Psalm 23:6

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 4, 2020
 
Psalm 23:6 “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life;”
 
[You, Lord, constantly pour out goodness and mercy on your children; it is a certainty that in each situation you are providing these in our lives. Very often we cannot see them at the moment– but when we can look back at a difficult situation, there they are: goodness and mercy were following us!
 
An example is the disappointment I had recently. After waiting two weeks for an overhead door installer to come, he only did half the job and then left, saying, “I’ll be back in about two weeks!” I could see no goodness and mercy in that! But, the next day while talking to one of my disciples, I found that he had worked as a door installer and he offered to come and finish the job for me.
 
We both profited: he needed some extra income, I needed the help; plus he knew where to get the springs I needed at a very reasonable price. We both saw God’s goodness and mercy in the first man not finishing the job.
 
This pattern has been and will be true throughout the whole of our lives with you, Lord Jesus. You are always faithful, you are consistently good and you are deeply merciful– whether we can see it at the moment or not. Praise be to you my wonderful Shepherd!]
 
“And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.”
 
[What a hope for the future: I WILL be in your presence for eternity, a place of beauty and color. Therefore, death need hold no fear, the shortness of life no panic, the uncertainty of future no threat. We dwell in hope as we press on to what you have for us in this life, and more so in the next.
 
You, Lord Jesus, are the One we yearn for, live for, hope for. And our hope is as certain as your Love, as your Word, your Power, and your present Presence! Glory and honor are due your wonderful Name, Lord Jesus. May my life give you that honor today as I trust you through praise and thanksgiving in and for all—even before I see your goodness and mercy yet.
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Psalm 23:5b

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 3, 2020
Psalm 23: 5b, “You anoint my head with oil;”
[Shepherds put oil on the heads of their sheep to keep away pesky insects, to heal wounds, to refresh and so that when the sheep butt heads, they will slide by and not be badly injured.
Oil here can represent many things for us: the Holy Spirit, protection, blessing and healing. You, Lord, provide for us all these blessings and more in your gracious giving, pouring out continually from your unending, inexhaustible store of riches.
As it says in Ephesians 1:2 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who HAS blessed us with All spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians goes on to detail some of these blessings:
–He chose us before the foundation of the world.
–He has made us holy and without blame before Him in love.
–He predestined us to be adopted as His children.
–It was His good pleasure to adopt us.
–We are accepted in the Beloved, Christ.
–In Him we have redemption through His blood.
–We have the forgiveness of our sins according to the riches of His endless grace.
— And in 1 Peter 1:3 it says, “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life….” ]
Truly, “My cup runs over.”
[You, Lord, give us what we need–and far more. What I actually need is air, water, food, clothing, shelter and love. But when I look at all you have given me, it is way beyond that, much more than what I need spiritually, intellectually, emotionally, physically, socially, financially and in every other realm.
Now it is my privilege and responsibility to share these gifts with others, to let your blessings flow through me to those around me. For example, the joy you give me should bring joy to others as, in your grace and to your credit, I am kind, thoughtful, positive and helpful to them, whether I feel like it or not.
The material provisions you’ve given I should be sharing around. The spiritual riches you give I should also be passing along, for, in your Kingdom, getting and hoarding is not the norm, but receiving and giving.
So, when we go to church on Sunday, we can go filled with the Lord’s riches and grace as well as insights from our quiet times during the week, ready to give to others as they have need, as well as to receive what the Lord may have for us.
 
May we continually overflow with the wonder of our walk with our Great and Good Shepherd, Jesus, bringing encouragement, hope and perspective to all around us.]
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Good Pasture from the Good Shepherd

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 2, 2020
 
“I will fear no evil for You are with me….” Psalm 23:4b
 
You, Lord God, are ever present, ever with us, your little lambs. If there is evil threatening, enemies approaching, you are there, watching, providing, protecting in whatever way you deem best.
 
Often we are living in limbo, uncertain of what is going to happen, in fear of possible danger or disappointment, and when the doors to the future open, we have no idea what is on the other side. But there is one thing we can be sure of: that you are there on the other side of that door, waiting to greet us with your planned path prepared.
 
As you announce in Jeremiah 29:11, “I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” In you we can rest.
 
“Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
 
The shepherd’s rod is a stout club to beat off attackers. Your rod is powerful, effective, more than sufficient to protect us from whatever Satan can bring against us–for you are invincible, undefeatable and all powerful. You have already won every battle at the cross.
 
And then there is your staff, the shepherd’s crook used to guide and correct your sheep as we stray. You are faithful to warn us when we wander willfully out of the way: you tap us on the shoulder, or you pull us back, or if necessary, give us a whack to get our attention. You guide us persistently, even when we insist on rebelling, trusting in ourselves rather than you.
 
You are absolutely faithful, fully wise and eternally good. Praise you that your pristine and positive character assures us of your perpetual protection and provision, all shown in the next phrase:
 
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.”
 
As our good Shepherd, you bring us into positive places to graze. On the edges of the pasture may lurk wolves, bears, lions, or the great serpent, Satan. Their presence, however, does not need to disturb us, for you are our all-powerful protector. No one can skirt you, no one can thwart your plans or purposes. Therefore we can ignore the threats of the enemy and quietly, peacefully feed on what you have given, resting in your goodness, greatness and glory.
 
You are our good Shepherd, our great Guide, our Warrior King who has already defeated the enemy. As we remain in the shelter of your Word, your Way, your Wisdom, praising you in and for all, we are safe from true harm. You may lead us through many challenges, but in these you will protect and carry us through as we follow you. Help us, your little lambs, to do so today.
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Shepherds

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 1, 2020

It’s Sunday, time for another installment in my life’s story.

As Light Fellowship continued to develop, we gave more and more of the leadership over to the Turks. At one point we wanted them to select a leader and an assistant from among the five potential leaders. We called the leader a “shepherd” rather than pastor or elder, for these young men were not ready for such a weighty role, and this immediately became clear.

They were very reluctant to choose a shepherd from among themselves, and asked if we would continue our leadership while giving them more training.

My teammates and I agreed; they and the Turks then decided that I would be the “direct leader” for six weeks. In this way I could model for them how to lead the fellowship and how to navigate the difficulties that arose.

Even after the six weeks, they were unwilling to choose two leaders from among themselves, so we agreed to choose the leaders for them.

I was ready to pick Freedom, until one of my teammates pointed out to me that he was dating an unbeliever, thereby disqualifying himself biblically. I was so close to the situation that I hadn’t realized that I wasn’t being biblical in my choice. So we picked Robert as the shepherd and Carl as his assistant.

As time went on, there was attrition in our little group. As mentioned, we lost two to the Catholics and then Freedom married and went to Germany. Robert and Sam remained the stable ones, with Robert being chosen as the first official elder.

As this leadership developed, Barbara and I withdrew to give them room to operate without looking (over their shoulders) TO US for approval. Later we withdrew entirely from the fellowship when we went on furlough.

In the summer of 2005 while we were in the States, the pastor in my home church in Connecticut, challenged me to begin praying for revival, both for myself and for the church. I took up his challenge and added this to my prayer list.

The word “revival,” brings to mind exciting times of growth and expansion: changed lives, better relationships, spiritual passion, people coming to the Lord, church growth.

However, as I began to pray about revival and to look at instances in Scripture, it began to dawn on me that revival was more about the revelation of sin, repentance and making things right with God, with myself and with others. This was not an experience that was warm and fuzzy, exciting or pleasant. But it was good, powerful and transforming.

In Isaiah 6:1-8 is a description of a personal revival. All the elements are laid out for us to see: “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:
‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.’ At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.”

Revival begins with a deeper revelation of God’s holiness. Seeing more of His purity, His greatness, His glory, His immensity brings a whole new shift in our perspective. We see this in Isaiah’s response, as he is brought to his knees:

“’Woe to me!’ I cried. ‘I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.’”

Seeing more of God’s holiness results in becoming more aware of our own sinfulness. The light of His presence shines brightly to expose the darkness of sin in our old nature: in our thoughts, our motives, our actions.

This new clarity brings to the heart and mind not just a mild response: “Sure I’m a sinner,” but a deep realization of the horribleness of our rebellion against a holy God. We begin to grasp the terror of being a sinful person in the presence of the GOD Almighty who will judge our sin.

So revival also has to do with having God expose our sins in powerful, overwhelming ways to bring us down on our faces before Him. Such awareness of God’s holiness will “undo” us—tearing away the natural, faulty perception we have of ourselves and moving us further into the realm of spiritual Truth.

But this is not the end; there is one more step in the process of personal revival:
 “Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, ‘See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.’ ”

This third aspect of revival is the process of grasping on both a deeper and higher level how much we are forgiven. The exposure of how horrific our sin actually is, means we can more clearly see the greatness of God’s forgiveness.

Such full forgiveness flies in the face of all logic, all legal understanding, all human thought and emotion. God has every right to condemn us—we are his enemies because of our sin. Yet, He chooses to redeem and forgive us at great personal cost.

In a revival, the revelation of God’s holiness and our sinfulness enables us to grasp these great truths emotionally as well as intellectually. In the midst of this deeper understanding of how much we are loved and forgiven, we are “redone,” transformed to be a more useful instrument in God’s hand. We can see this in Isaiah’s response to God’s call.

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’
And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’ ”

Revival brings a deeper surrender, a greater usefulness, an increased spiritual stamina. Isaiah’s revival helped him join God and move through a whole lifetime of great difficulties and trials.

I believe that this was just the beginning for him; I believe that Isaiah had an ongoing revival, starting with this initial encounter with God.

I also believe that God intends that for each of us, to have a life of ongoing revival as we cultivate our relationship with Him and nurture our first love for Jesus. And so it’s been in my life, an ongoing upward trajectory as God carries me onward in our relationship!

Picture of us in the bookstore where Light Fellowship met; it is from about the time of the above events.

 

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Psalm 23:4

Published by S.M. Wibberley on February 29, 2020
Psalm 23:4 “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil;”
 
[At least one of the paths of righteousness you will lead me on, Lord, goes through this dark valley. It may be a time of dying to a desire, to my will, to a possession or it may be physical danger and sickness or death of a loved one or myself. Whatever it is, I do not need to fear that evil will triumph.
 
There may be loss and suffering, but in the end, evil will not win because Jesus is already the Victor and I belong to Him.
Think of Paul in his shipwreck described in Acts 27. In the midst of a great storm there were days and nights of uncertainty where Paul was cold, wet and hungry; and then the smashing of the ship into a sandbar and everyone having to swim to shore through crashing surf.
 
There was evil: the soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners, Paul included, so they couldn’t escape, but that was prevented. Then the viper bit Paul, but God protected him and no harm was done.
 
It was a dark valley, but in it, the witness of Paul shone brighter in his faith, in his declaration of God’s sovereignty, in his prediction (all possessions will be lost, all people will be saved), and in his being protected. Without that dark, the light would have not been seen so clearly.
 
As we take refuge in His love, power and truth, God does not always protect us from what will harm us physically, but from what would harm us spiritually. Then we can shine in the darkness of this world as a burning fire for those seeking Truth.
 
The valley of the shadow of death is not a threat but an opportunity to fulfill the purpose of our lives: honoring the One who walked this road before us and will walk with us through it again. So, let us look to Jesus, “who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:2).
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Psalm 23:1-2

Published by S.M. Wibberley on February 28, 2020
Psalm 23:1, 2 “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures.”
 
You, Lord Jesus, as my Shepherd, MAKE me to lie down in green pastures—you don’t ask what I think or want. You select the pasture I need now and keep me there as long as is necessary so I can grow and deepen, mature and develop to become more like Christ, a better instrument in your hand.
 
Joseph in the Old Testament didn’t particularly want to be a slave, or go to prison, but those were the green pastures you had for him. And there he learned to deny self, to live for you and to be a good administrator. This made him fit to save many others, including his family, the Egyptians, and the line of Jesus–so the Messiah could be born and eventually save us!
 
When finding ourselves in green pastures that aren’t pleasant (sickness, time in the hospital as I just had, loss, disappointment, heartache or failure, to name a few), we can follow this advice: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you KNOW that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:2-4).
 
In the hand of our Shepherd, difficulties are directive, problems are providential and heartaches can be healing if we cooperate with Him, continuing to lie down in the green pastures He selects.
 
A key aspect here is to embrace what He brings with thanksgiving rather than just suffering through with discontent and complaining. To embrace is to receive grace, to complain is to reject it: “God resists the proud [who reveal their pride by complaining] but gives grace to the humble [who accept with thanksgiving what He brings]” (James 4:6).
 
So, Lord, help us to trust you to know what for us is a green pasture and join you in what you are doing in and through it, in and through us.
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Partaking of the Divine Nature

Published by S.M. Wibberley on February 27, 2020
I praise you, Lord Jesus, that as I awoke this morning, you were there–my God, my Shepherd, my elder Brother, my King. I praise you that this day I shall not lack anything I need, for you in your wisdom, your riches and your power have already provided all that is necessary and much more.
 
As it says in 2 Peter 1:3,4 “[Your] divine power HAS GIVEN us EVERYTHING we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of [you] who called us by [your] own glory and goodness.”
 
We just need to learn to take up your provision and use it—to get to know you more and more, to be filled with your Spirit, to put on the whole armor of God daily, to lift our souls to the Father and off-load our junk stress, to meditate on your Word and to flee temptation, taking refuge in you.
 
Because you have given us all we need for life and godliness, we don’t need to pray for patience, you have already given it to us! (There is nowhere in Scripture where we are told to pray for patience). We just have to pray, “Lord, I lay down my poor puny patience, and take up your great and glorious Patience, remembering that my times are in your hands, and you will move things along at the right pace as I trust in you.”
 
In addition, through your glory and goodness, Lord Jesus, you have “given us [your] very great and precious promises, so that through them [we] MAY PARTICIPATE IN THE DIVINE NATURE and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”
 
Wow! We are able to participate in YOUR divine nature! What a gift, to be your children and to have the Holy Spirit indwell us, as He did David, Isaiah and Daniel. We are truly different from all other creatures and peoples because, as your born-again children, your divine nature dwells in us!
 
As John wrote in astonishment, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1).
 
Help us, Lord Jesus, to live today in the reality of your personal indwelling and powerful provision. Help us to take up and use all that you have given us so we can live godly lives, bringing you honor, while shining your light and hope on all those around us, including my grand-kids in the picture below.
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