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Motives

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 18, 2019
An entry from EDIFIED! the I especially liked.
 
“…let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
Hebrews 12:1
 
Growth involves motives. Knowing our motives is a significant and integral aspect of our walk with God, for then we can reject the negative and neutral motives, while affirming the positive ones. And one of our positive motives should be wanting to trust and please God.
 
This past week Romans 15:13 was my general prayer for all. It says,
 
“May the God of hope
fill you with all joy and peace
as you trust in him
so that your life may overflow with hope
by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
This verse emphasizes that our responsibility is to trust this God of goodness, wisdom, power, mercy and justice. He will then give us the joy and peace He has prepared for us, plus cause an overflowing abundance of hope in our lives.
Such hope, of course, is not just airy, wishful thinking, but a certainty of what was accomplished at the cross and of what God will bring to pass—protection, provision, power, patience and His presence, to name a few. These promises are guaranteed by the Holy Spirit’s indwelling in our lives.
While meditating on hope, other passages came up in my reading that show further how important it is. Colossians 1:5 speaks of the “faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven….”
 
I’d never noticed so clearly that faith and love flow from our hope. Our faith is based on the certainty of God’s character and on what God has in store for us; then as we focus on our certain hope rather than on earthly things, His love flows from God through us to others.
 
In a further insight, 1 Thessalonians 1:3 shows how this trinity of faith, hope and love should be foundational motives in all we do, especially in our service of obedience to God’s leading. It says, “We continually remember…your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” All we do should flow out of these three.
 
I’m sorry to say that faith, hope and love are many times not the motives I have; mine are more often the desire to feel good, the desire for significance, the desire for the approval and adulation of others. These verses, however, have clarified things as never before and have given a standard to measure my motives.
 
Contrary to the world’s message, the bottom line is not our performance; instead the bottom line is our hope in God, our solid trust in His powerfully faithful, gracious character—all else will flow from that.
 
We need to get to know better our certain hope and all it involves, to understand it and think in terms of it. This comes from knowing God Himself better: spending time in worship, in the study of His Word, in getting our eyes off the trivial distractions of this world and making prayer the foundation of all we do. In nurturing that trust we cooperate with the Holy Spirit to make us overflow with hope.
 
“May the God of hope
fill you with all joy and peace
as you trust in him
so that your life may overflow with hope
by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 15:13).
 
Prayer: “Lord, help me to pray this verse regularly for myself and for others. Help me to live it out, trusting you by obeying what I know to be true out of the motives of faith, hope and love. Help me to do this so that hope will overflow from my life to all those around me, bringing you more glory and them more grace. Amen.”
 
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Safe

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 18, 2019
You, Lord Jesus, are my serene Security, my superb Stability, my unshakable Surety, my supreme Savior. With all that swirls around us in life, we could not make it without you as our powerful Foundation, our strong Anchor, our great Shepherd, our powerful King.
 
Praise you that you are our impenetrable Shield, our impregnable Fortress, our intrepid Defender, our immense Stronghold.
 
In you and your protection there is no gap, no chink, no forgotten loophole for the enemy to come through. You are the great wall protecting us from evil, and you are the great and gracious gateway through which comes all that is profitable, helpful and positive.
 
Praise you that you protect and provide through your wide wisdom, your complete knowledge, your rich love and your perfect patience.
 
You are the One to be trusted, Lord God, Triune and Holy God. I praise you for what you will bring today in your wisdom and love, your purpose and plan. Help us to follow you well, joining you in what you desire to accomplish today–in, through and around us. May you be honored in all we do.
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Fall out

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 16, 2019
There was a lot of “fall-out” from this event of arrests. On one hand, Harry lost his job and Orin experienced increasing pressure at work. On the other hand, this event surprisingly opened the hearts of some who were previously closed to the Gospel. Terry, whose husband, Tom, may have been a believer, was really touched with pity for those arrested, and when we next visited them, she asked to see the Jesus film again.
 
Questions remained. What would those who denied the Lord do now? How would we handle our relationship with them? And as a fellowship, where should we go from here?
One part of the answer was in a report we workers commissioned from a top lawyer who did research into our legal rights and privileges as believers. The report turned out to be a powerful paper, stating what we believe, explaining the implications that stem from our beliefs, particularly emphasizing their non-political nature, and then giving a clear statement about what the law says concerning religious freedom here. At the end of the paper were answers to a number of specific questions.
 
The Lord used this document in several ways. First, it gave a clear statement of what a born-again Christian is and explained about the unity among believers.
 
Second, it sought to debunk the negative and mistaken ideas locals had about Christians. It laid this out clearly in everyday language that any person or official could understand. This document could be given to the police as a defense or as an aid to their investigation.
 
Third, it gave us a clear legal opinion on what our rights and limitations were. This helped the local believers to be confident in their beliefs and rights.
 
Fourth, it led to some significant changes, such as meeting more openly without the need to fear what the neighbors would think, or what the police could do to us. It made clear that we did not need permission from the police to meet, but could just inform the authorities where we were meeting and they had to allow that.
 
The report also pointed out that we workers could not be legally expelled for religious reasons. We are guaranteed a court case and if the reasons for expulsion are religious in nature, the law provided that we must be granted entry again and given another residence permit.
 
Precedents, such as the arrests that had just occurred, served to educate the authorities as well as the public about what the law says and to open the way for greater implementation. The Lord was not long in bringing us more such opportunities.
 
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Psalm 30:4-5

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 15, 2019
 
 
Psalm 30:4 “Sing to the LORD, you saints of his; praise his holy name.”
 
[YES! This must be our response to you, Lord, singing and praising you for your marvelous character, which is displayed in your holy name, Yahweh. You are sinless, separate, and strong; you are glorious, gracious, and great; you are worthy of worship, worthy of praise, worthy of our surrender, love and obedience. To you be honor in song, glory in praise, exaltation in thanksgiving.]
 
Psalm 30:5 “For his anger lasts only a moment,”
 
[Praise you that you are angry with sin, that you move to justly judge and properly punish, that you don’t draw back from chastening us. And that your anger ends when your desire is accomplished.]
 
“but his favor lasts a lifetime;”
 
[You are the God of forgiveness, of grace and of goodness, pouring out your undeserved favor on us forever. As it says in Psalm 18:19, “He brought me out into a spacious place. He rescued me because he delighted in me.”
 
Praise be to you that you can delight in your redeemed but still crooked children. We rejoice in your favor, we exalt in your goodness, we revel in your love, we bask in your grace. You are wonderful, you are marvelous, you are incredibly, unbelievably, beyond-conception-good!]
 
“weeping may remain for a night,”
 
[You do take us through loss, disappointment, difficulty and heartbreak, but for good and wise reasons. Some of them are to mature us, to shape us, to deepen us that we may be more useful for you, share more in your glory and earn a greater reward in heaven.]
 
“but rejoicing comes in the morning.”
 
[Weeping in the night, especially the weeping of repentance, is followed by joy in the morning as we see what you have done, how you have forgiven, how you embrace, accept and love us. As we move out of the darkness of our limited understanding into the light of your deep and broad wisdom, we are able to comprehend more of your great and marvelous mind.
 
To you be glory, O Lord, to you be honor, to you be trust, praise and thanksgiving, for you are worthy of worship at all times, in all circumstances, in all outcomes. May you be honored today in my heart, my mind, my soul and my strength. Amen.
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Psalm 30:2-3

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 14, 2019
 
Psalm 30:2 “O LORD my God, I called to you for help and you healed me.”
 
[You, O Triune God, are revealed in your names: you, Yahweh, are the final authority; you, Elohim, are the infinitely Powerful One; you, Adonai, are the absolutely Faithful One.
 
To you I can call in my distress, for I know that in your authority, power and faithfulness you answer in wisdom, goodness, and grace. Although I don’t deserve it, in your wisdom you answer, you act, you help, you heal—immediately, or in time, or in eternity. Praise you that you are real, you are loving, you are present and you are powerful. I can trust you in all.]
 
Psalm 30:3 “O LORD, you brought me up from the grave; you spared me from going down into the pit.”
 
[You can heal when all hope is lost, you can restore when no possibility remains, you can give life when death is imminent. I praise you for your grace in preserving us when we deserve destruction. And you can take us to be with you when the right time comes.
 
To know you is to have a rich life, a full life, eternal life; to trust you is freedom from worry, fear and anxiety; to rest in you brings true, lasting and powerful peace.
 
I give you glory for your goodness to me, Lord, for the certainty of your activity in my life, and for the joy of a future with you. I am so blessed, so filled with your goodness, so gifted with joy and knowledge and experience with you, so privileged to be able to join you through prayer in what you are doing.
 
To know you, Father God, King of Glory, Lord of the Universe, to be your child, to be given a place at your table, in your family, in your Kingdom, to have instant access to your heart and attention, to be called to join you in your work—these are great and powerful privileges, undeserved, totally from grace, wonderfully bestowed, gratefully received.
 
Lord Jesus, may you be exalted in my life today; Heavenly Father, may you be pleased with my life today; Holy Spirit, may you be honored through obedience in my life today.
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Psalm 30:1b

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 13, 2019
 
Psalm 30:1b You “did not let my enemies gloat over me.”
[I praise you, Lord Jesus, that you do not want my enemies–primarily Satan and his forces–to gloat over me, so you are consistently at work to deliver me at the right moment. You will, at times, allow me to suffer enough to learn the lessons I need, but it will certainly be far less suffering than I deserve!
You, Lord Jesus, are the Great and Powerful One, the Mighty and Wise One, my Rock, my Fortress and my Defender. You persistently reach down into this world of sin and evil to protect your children. I praise you that in the day of trouble you will keep me safe in your dwelling, you will set me high upon a rock and exalt my head above the enemies that surround me (Ps. 27).
I praise you that as I commit my way to you and trust also in you, you will bring the best to pass, you will bring forth the righteousness you’ve given me as the light and my judgment in your forgiveness as the noon day sun (Ps. 37).
I praise you that you give us your Shield of Victory, that you support us with your Powerful Right Arm, that you stoop down from your Throne to make us great as your children (Ps. 18).
To you be glory and honor and praise, O Lord God, the Triune One, the Perfect One, the Powerful One, the Most High Ruler of all. To you I bow down today, for you I rise up to live in obedience so that you may be honored. Give me the direction and wisdom you know I need for this day, O Lord, and I praise you now for what you will do.
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Psalm 30:1

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 12, 2019
 
Psalm 30:1 A song. For the dedication of the temple. Of David.
 
“I will exalt you, O LORD, for you lifted me out of the depths….”
 
You, O Triune God, have lifted us out of the deep depths of the dominion of darkness where despair, depression and discouragement reign, out of death, out of the dungeon of our evil desires and selfish rebellion. You have brought us out into your Light, into your Love and into your rich, eternal Life where we will live forever. You have made us your children, your partners, your friends.
 
So I exalt you, Lord Jesus, for you are a majestic marvel, a magnificent wonder–too good to be true, yet you are Truth itself. I exalt you for cleansing us in your blood, washing us with the water of the Word and lifting us above the waters of the nations, setting us high upon the Rock.
 
You are worthy of praise for bringing us out from the darkness of death into the light of your love, into the warmth of your delight, the acceptance of your grace and the wonder of your goodness.
 
You brought us out into a spacious place because you delighted in us, even before we believed in you; you did this because of your great love that works against all reason, against all odds, against all human idea of justice.
 
You are worthy of exaltation, Jesus, for you are the LORD Yahweh, the King of glory, Savior of the world, Shepherd of the redeemed and Leader of all who will follow.
 
Help us this day, this week, this month, this year, Lord, to live in the light of your goodness, to be your disciples by denying our natural selfishness so we can live in otherness. And by obeying your Word, taking up our cross daily and following you with all our hearts, may we run with endurance the race you have set before us, looking to you so that you may finish our faith and glorify yourself in the process.
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Strength in Weakness

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 11, 2019
 
Here’s an entry in my worship journal from several years ago during a difficult time of my life:
 
Lord, we are weak; in ourselves we are defenseless against the wiles of the enemy. You are the only One to whom we turn, for you are our Rock, our Fortress, our Defender. You are our Shelter, our Shield, our Strength and our Stronghold. Help us to quickly seek refuge in you when trouble comes, to trust you, to join you in what you are doing and to be more than conquerors in you.
 
Lord, there are a number of difficult situations going on around me now that weigh on my heart:
–A previously successful team has been torn apart by internal conflicts
–A newly married wife has left her husband.
–A leader is under great pressure personally, in his work and in his leading.
–A disciple is being hit with multiple disappointments and injustice.
 
I pray for each one with these thoughts from Psalm 37 and 2 Corinthians 12:9,10
–May each person involved hear what God is saying and heed Him.
–May they “trust in the Lord and do good.”
–May they “delight themselves in God” so that He may place proper desires in their hearts and then “give them the desires of their hearts.”
–May they “commit their ways to the Lord and trust in Him.”
–May He “bring forth their righteousness as the light, their judgment as the noon day sun.”
–May they delight in their weaknesses so Christ’s power can come on them.
–May they willingly be broken (learning to trust in God, not in themselves).
–May God thwart the plans of Satan in each person’s life.
–May there be repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation on every level.
–May God be glorified rather than shamed by the outcomes.
 
I praise you, Father, that in each case you are there, at work, chastening and protecting, shaping and guiding, exposing and shielding. Lord, help each one to turn to you, to follow hard after you, to embrace their suffering, disappointment and pressure, to take up and use your grace.
 
I praise you that our eyes must be on you, for we know not what to do. To be weak is unpleasant, but it is good when we are driven into your arms, into your truth, into your goodness, into prayer and into your Word. May that be my response and that of each one involved in these difficulties.
 
I praise you now, Lord, for your gracious provision before I see it worked out. You have a plan in each of these problems, and will bring it to pass. Thank you, that you are the Almighty One who breathed the stars, who holds every atom together, who loves your children and answers prayer. To you be glory for what you are doing in each of these people–and in me.
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Psalm 103:1-4

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 10, 2019
From EDIFIED!
 
“Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name!” (Psalm 103:1 NKJV). You, King Jesus, the mighty Ruler, administer a Kingdom of light where blessings flow all the time. You are the One who is to be praised!
Without reservation, all of my being praises you, for you are worthy of total submission, absolute surrender and whole-hearted service: you are grandly good, purely positive and persistently patient. Every part of me – my mind, my will, my emotions, my spirit and my body – rejoices in you, exalts you, extols you, exults in you–for You are worthy of this and far more.
 
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits” (Ps. 103:2). You are to be praised and lifted up for your goodness shown in how you poured out your gifts upon your enemies: you have given us eternal life, eternal comfort, eternal provision, eternal presence, eternal joy.
 
“Who forgives all your iniquities” (Ps. 103:3a); there is not one unforgiven sin left in our lives—you took all our guilt, all our shame, all our condemnation, our full record of wrongs, and nullified their power to condemn us. Forgiveness sets us free, separates us from sin, superimposes your righteousness on our record. We stand in your righteousness before the great Judge who declares, “You are forgiven, enter into my joy!”
 
“Who heals all your diseases…” (Ps. 103:2b). You are the great Physician, the Maker of our bodies. You know just how to heal what you have created, even we creatures who are warped and twisted by sin. You heal some diseases now, some after teaching us, shaping us and changing us, and some you will heal at death. In your wisdom you do what is best.
 
“Who redeems your life from destruction…” (Ps. 103:4a). We lived in destruction, under the power of the destroyer, heading towards eternal devastation, existing only in the living death of time without you, Lord. But you bought us; you snatched us off the disassembly line moving inexorably towards the pit; you translated us into the light of your Kingdom and made us your beloved, cherished children.
 
“Who crowns us with loving kindness and and tender mercies.” You have not only made us your children, but have crowned us a princes and princesses. You are so kind, so lavishly loving, so gracious to us.
 
Your gifts are many, multiple, magnificent, and marvelous. You are the God of promise, of persistence and provision. We lift up your name in praise for your gorgeous heart, your glorious love, your great and good gifts. You alone are worthy of worship, all through today and every day.
 
Prayer: “May you be glorified in my life today as I live consciously in this lavish love of yours, O Lord God Almighty. Amen.”
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Beginnings of Difficulties

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 9, 2019
In January of 1986, the believers in a small church in the south of the country were arrested and kept in jail for a week. Although we had no details, we knew it was the normal practice of the police to torture those arrested. As one of our local friends said, “They have to beat us some to bring us to our senses.”
 
As a result of the arrests and subsequent pressures put on them, those believers were intimidated and the little church fell apart. The police were encouraged by these results.
A year later, the pressure moved closer to home. Early one morning, the police began to arrest the believers in our city, one-by-one.
 
It all actually began with the apprehension of a car thief, whom Ivan had witnessed to. In order to get the attention off himself, the car thief told all he knew about the believers in the city.
 
With their mistaken ideas about Christianity, it sounded to the police like this was an illegal group of political activists, so they began to round them up.
 
By Sunday they had arrested several believers, including Harry, Ivan, Orin and Mr. Smith, plus some people who had merely shown interest in the gospel. They also visited the home of one worker, hoping to arrest him also, but he was away at the time.
 
We had to piece the story together from the newspaper articles and from what scant information we could get from distraught relatives. Much of what was in the papers was quite distorted and made those arrested sound like a group of terrorists.
 
We knew that it was very possible for us workers to be taken next, so I made preparations. Although I was very willing to go, I asked the Lord if I might just finish out the week of teaching, since it was the end of the semester; He graciously granted that desire.
 
On Thursday evening we got a call from a joyous believer, saying that all but one had been released and all charges had been dropped. The one person left in police custody was not a believer, but was someone who had been witnessed to. However, earlier, he actually had been involved in a terrorist group so was being investigated further. We praised the Lord that the authorities were able to see him as separate from the rest.
In the days that followed, I interviewed each one who had been arrested in order to put the whole story together and to be prepared for the next attack.
 
We knew from previous events that Satan would, after this frontal attack, try to attack from within by getting those who had been arrested to accuse each other. This was not long in coming; two had denied their faith and were very angry with those who had been so open in what they told the police.
 
We arranged a gathering for all those involved, giving them the opportunity to talk through their differences . It was a “hot” time, especially for Harry. Ivan, the first to be taken in, had given very little information, even when some “discomfort” was applied; he was a tough character, able to take the pressure the police put on him.
 
Harry, however, decided to be open right from the beginning, for he felt he had nothing to hide. He was helped along in this by the fact that the police found his address book with the names of most of the believers and workers, and he had to explain who all the people were.
 
We had asked Harry not to keep such a record of names and addresses, but he hadn’t listened. We, as workers, often did not even know each other’s last names or actual addresses so that when pressed by the authorities, we could say truthfully we didn’t know.
 
At first the police didn’t believe that Harry was leveling with them and applied a bit of “pressure:” hanging him handcuffed from a pipe, spraying him with cold water and applying an electric cattle prod to sensitive areas to encourage him to be truthful. However, when they saw that he was truly aboveboard in his responses, they abandoned that tactic.
 
Harry took the police to the homes of four believers, and gave full details about the fellowship and the situation there, including our names and addresses. In the eyes of some, this was betrayal, especially according to those who had denied their faith or had lied.
 
However, the final outcome was an acquittal of Harry’s approach. The prosecuting attorney wrote a powerful defense of our freedom of religion, including the right to meet, witness, and spread our faith. The authorities who dealt with the four who stood firm saw clearly that they were people who had done nothing wrong. From this standpoint the net result was a victory.
 
Those who had denied their faith, or lied, however, failed the test. This, in and of itself, was not bad, for only when our faith is tested can we see whether it is real or not. We hoped that those who failed would truly repent, as the Apostle Peter did and press on with the Lord.
 
We talked together as a fellowship about what the Lord was doing through this, uncomfortable as it was. We had to take our cue from Scripture: “…we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Rom. 5:3-4 – emphasis added). But in the end, for some, that hope did not materialize.
Ivan, who was already under church discipline, expected to be welcomed back in because he didn’t deny Christ or “betray” anyone. However, he failed to see that his lack of obedience and discretion had unnecessarily precipitated the whole event. Everyone else saw this and said so.
 
Ivan was very surprised at this reaction, and tried to defend himself. When we stood firm, he threatened us. Later on, though, after several encounters, he stated that he saw how bad his actions had been and wanted to change. I wish that had been true.
The person who emerged from this as the spiritual one was Orin. His love of Scripture and his persistence in memorizing and meditating had prepared him for just such an event, and he shone.
 
He was not at all the hero type, being such a shy man and a complete gentleman. He just quietly – and I may say, joyfully – answered most of the questions put to him by quoting appropriate verses.
 
For instance, when asked what he thought of Islam, he replied with I Thessalonians 5:16-22: “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.”
 
What could the police do with that? They just diligently wrote down everything he said!
 
When he returned home, however, his wife really gave it to him for all the trouble and shame he’d brought on his family. He quietly waited three days and then politely told her to stop haranguing him and she did! We hoped that she would carefully read the prosecuting attorney’s report and see how Orin did what was right before God and before the law.
Barbara and a local friend
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