Uncategorized

Uncategorized

A Glorious Resurrection Day to You!

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 12, 2020
A Glorious Resurrection Day to You.
 
If you want to watch a tremendous presentation of the life of Jesus, watch this Sight and Sound production, free today only on your device. We watched it and were blessed and impressed with the Love and Sacrifice of Jesus.
 
Copy and paste this address and watch.
 

https://watch.tbn.org/sight-sound-theatres-presents-jesus?utm_source=jesus_event&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=TBN

Filed under:

Psalm 16:6

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 11, 2020

Psalm 16:6 “The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;”

[Where you have placed us, Lord, is more than pleasant: we are within the Kingdom of Light, under the Lordship of the Great Shepherd, within the Family of God, on the right way to Heaven, in the company of the saints, equipped and assigned to a specific area of service to you, my beloved King.

This Truth is a wonder, a joy, a pleasure, an ever- increasing realization of the undeserved, unearned privilege of walking on the pathway of the Creator of all, the Ruler of all, the Restorer of all. In my opinion, “pleasant” is far too mild a word for this state of ever-growing joy!]

“surely I have a delightful inheritance.”

[Out of your glorious treasures you have prepared a rich inheritance for your undeserving children. As it says in Ephesians 1:3, you have blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus—every possible spiritual blessing will be ours. As you are infinite and all-powerful, Lord, so these blessings will be unending, uncountable, incomprehensible.

These will include a sinless life, total security and significance, sweet fellowship with all, ever increasing joy, and living in the light of your presence. In addition, you have made us fellow heirs with Jesus, meaning that whatever He inherits, we will get also!

This will include an infinite future, an unending walk with you, an unlimited growth in knowledge of your character, having fulfilling, positive challenges of service for you, and rich, uninterrupted fellowship with all other beings in Heaven. It will include living in your glory: “When Christ, who is our life, appears, then we also will appear with him in glory” (Col 3:4).

It will include mostly and most importantly, the ability to gaze uninterruptedly on your face, Lord Jesus, being in the full presence of our Bridegroom, the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Ruler of all, the Holy, Pure, Powerful, Wise and Good God of all. That will be far more wonderful than we can imagine!]

Lord, help me to walk in the knowledge of the riches of your goodness and all the pleasantness you have for stored up for us. Help me to see where I let the small (very small!) things in life take my focus off of you, to steal my joy, to trap me in the dust and dirt of a natural worldview.

Help me instead to let go of the temporary, hold on to what is eternal and rise above everyday hassles in the shining knowledge of you and who you are. May I think truth, keep on the armor and be able to stand no matter what comes, thereby bringing more honor and glory to you.

Image may contain: sky, grass, cloud, tree, outdoor and nature

Filed under:

Psalm 16:3-5

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 11, 2020
Psalm 16:3 “As for the saints who are in the land, they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight.”
 
[You, Heavenly Father, made us saints when you caused us to be born again. You qualified us to be partakers in the Kingdom of Light, you rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of your beloved Son. And you have made us glorious in Jesus, giving us His righteousness. Therefore, you delight in us, despite what we were naturally—rebellious, unbelieving, selfish and proud.
 
You have made us new creations in Christ, welcomed with joy into your presence where we are delighted in, rejoiced over, cherished and treasured. In you we can rest securely, knowing that you have accepted us fully, finally, faithfully. In you alone we are safe, for safety is not the absence of danger but the presence of Jesus.]
 
Psalm 16:4 “The sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods.”
 
[Every other god is false–the gods of every religion, along with the gods of comfort, power, materialism, politics and business, sex and entertainment, getting my way and controlling others.
 
Each one is an illusion and leads only to disappointment, bondage, oppression and darkness—the opposite of what you bring, Lord, for you are Light, Love and Life, you bring freedom, joy and peace as well as grace, greatness and goodness. You are the opposite of all other gods, you are the only One worthy of worship.]
 
“I will not pour out their libations of blood or take up their names on my lips.”
 
[I must avoid involvement in any way with these other gods, not offering them any acknowledgement or worship, time or affection; I must not put any hope in them. I must not give them any credence or credit, but look only to you, Lord Jesus, the Creator, Sustainer and Ender of all, the only true Hope there is.]
 
Psalm 16:5 “LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup;”
 
[All I have comes from you, O Holy God: my position, my provision, my protection, my portion. And what you give is good. This includes my body, my brains, my boundaries, my bonds, my bounty; whatever they appear to be from a human perspective, they are good and I will praise you for them.]
 
“you have made my lot secure.”
 
[You, Lord, are the God of power and authority. Only you can give security: whatever you choose to protect will be untouched by the enemy; whenever you allow an attack, it will be used for good, no matter how unpleasant it may be.
 
I can rest in your glorious and endless perfection, knowing you will weave all into your great plan for the end of sin, evil and time, sweeping as many as possible into your Kingdom.
 
To you be glory and honor today, Lord. May praise and thanksgiving continually well up in my mind and spill off my lips. May the light of your love shine from my being, may you be lifted up in my actions and reactions, my attitude and speech. May praise be the keynote of my life today, may the darkness of complaining and discontent, grumbling and negativeness be swept away in the brightness of your presence so that you may have more glory before both the invisible hosts and visible folks.]
Image may contain: plant, tree, outdoor and nature
Filed under:

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.
Image may contain: sky, tree, plant, cloud, outdoor and nature
Filed under:

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.
Image may contain: sky, cloud, tree, outdoor, nature and water
Filed under:

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.
Image may contain: sky, cloud, tree, twilight, outdoor and nature
Filed under:

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!
Image may contain: plant, flower, tree, outdoor and nature
Filed under:

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.
 
Image may contain: sky, cloud, outdoor, nature and water
Filed under:

(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.
Image may contain: plant, flower, nature and outdoor
Filed under:

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!
Image may contain: sky, tree, outdoor and nature
Filed under: