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Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 1, 2019
 
Here we are on April 1st, with a new beginning: a new day, a new week, a new month. All is filled with positive potential as we look to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. Let us run with Him into the future, leaving behind every weight and sin that entangles us, running with endurance, with joy, with purpose.
 
As I write this (on a summer day some years ago), I am enjoying a perfect, absolutely gorgeous day: pleasantly hazy and sunny, in the 70s with a slight breeze, giving the air a refreshingly cool touch.
 
Praise be to you, Lord, for such a foretaste of Heaven and the New Earth, where all will be perfect every day. There we won’t need the challenges of weather or the news to keep us occupied. Your presence and personality, filling all the universe, will be far more than enough to keep us fascinated and focused.
 
And there are hints that you will have lots of engaging work for us to do there for you. You are such a creative God: there will be no end to the new things you will bring out of your infinite mind and heart.
 
You, the One and Only True God, are perfect, immutable, lovely, wise, powerful, just, pure, kind, forgiving, gracious and good. You are worthy of our whole-hearted worship, of continual and complete follower-ship, of full obedience, absolute surrender and total trust.
 
You are far better than anything we could imagine, for in you there is no flaw—we have never experienced anything like that here on earth, where everything has weaknesses, problems, faults and lacks.
 
But in you there is no lack, no end of supply, no failure, no loss. You are all that is good; you are void of what is bad. I praise you that you cannot sin, you cannot lie, you cannot be tempted with evil, you can do no wrong–for these are the opposite of your beautiful nature.
 
You are unchangingly pure, consistently positive, absolutely powerful and unceasingly persistent in protection. Therefore, we can call you our Rock, our Fortress, our Defender, our Shield, our Strength, our Stronghold.
 
You are glorious beyond our conception, you are great beyond comprehension, you are good beyond understanding and you are gracious beyond measure.
 
In you is found all we desire, for we were made to live in you, with you, by you, for you. In you we are complete, with you we are protected, by you we are empowered, for you we can live and work, love and die. Help us to do that today, running in the light of your lavish love.
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1982

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 31, 2019
 
In the spring of 1982 we left for a short furlough, making the long drive to Europe again. We spent two months in Germany and four in the US, visiting our supporters.
 
By the time we returned to our country of service in the fall, Josh had turned seven and was ready to begin school with Dan and Nancy’s two children. A teacher from Connecticut had come to teach our kids for two years.
 
We also moved down the hill to a more central place so it was easier to get around. Our new apartment was located at the end of a bus line, had a small corner grocery, a green grocer and a butcher on our block, and one block down was our “own” mosque.
 
There was also a large dirt yard behind our building with garages along the back wall. It was a great place for the boys to play and get to know the local children. An older boy who lived across the street became a good friend and visited us often.
We put Nat into the German school Kindergarten so he could solidify his grasp of German. When picking him up one day, I chatted with the father of another child. He asked me where I worked. When I told him that I was out of work at the moment, he suggested I apply to an English medium university in town from which he had graduated. “They always need teachers,” he said.
 
It would be good to have a job; people always asked where I worked and it was awkward to have no real answer. You could see people distance themselves from me when I didn’t fit into one of their positive pigeon holes. In their minds an unemployed American probably worked for the CIA, which, of course, I was not.
I remembered the lawyer’s pessimistic prediction that I’d never get another work and residence permit, but after praying about it and talking it over with Barbara, I decided to put in an application at the university anyway. And after several months, I was hired.
 
This time the school did all the work for the residence permit so I didn’t have to exit the country. When my permit finally arrived, Barbara pointed out that it had the same number I’d had before being expelled! The lawyer was wrong. God overrules the ways of men!
 
This teaching position remained my job for the next five years; it ended only when I was again arrested for sharing my faith.
 
While I was happy to have a work place so I could answer questions about my employment, the boys were not too happy about it, because our residence permit ended the need for exit trips to Cyprus for new visas! One nice benefit of my new job was that there was a service bus for university teachers leaving from right near our house. I began to use the forty-five minute ride as part of my prayer time. So in one sense my new job actually gave me more focused time on my most important work!
That first year of teaching was challenging. Budget problems at the school meant there was no heat in the classrooms, so we all kept our coats, hats, scarfs and gloves on. I began bringing a hot water bottle with me and wore it under my coat for added warmth.
 
I was assigned one group of twenty-five students per semester and had them for four classes each morning. This was excellent for developing relationships. I was not allowed to speak about politics or religion in my teaching, but the Lord gave me all kinds of ideas to inject truth and to stir the curiosity of the students.
 
Every day I wrote a proverb in English on the board, most of which were from a “Middle Eastern philosopher” whose name I never mentioned: King Solomon. My students diligently wrote these down in their notebooks, unknowingly imbibing biblical truth.
 
Each semester we had discussions on love, on marriage, on purity. During these interactions, I would write 1 Corinthians 13 on the board and we would discuss it. Some of the students called it “stupid love” because it did nothing to protect self and its honor. Such love was way outside their cultural norm.
 
Later, many students told me I was the only adult that ever talked with them about marriage, including the positive role of sex, and they were thankful for my input.
Each semester we would have all my students over for tea. In the picture is one student holding Nat.
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Psalm 25:4-5

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 30, 2019
 
Psalm 25:4 “Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths;”
 
[Praise be to you, Lord Jehovah, the holy One who loves to reveal your ways to us. I thank you for what you have shown us through your Word, for what you will show us through your Spirit, and for how you will faithfully shepherd us in paths of righteousness for your name’s sake.]
 
Psalm 25:5 “guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior,”
 
[Praise you that you have made yourself our God and our Savior. As such, you desire to keep us in your way, showing us your truth through your Word, giving us the needed input so we can obey you.
 
You are Elohim, the mighty and faithful One who has provided salvation through your powerful and personal suffering, and have shown your faithfulness by bringing us to yourself and then guiding and protecting us. Having paid the highest price possible, you will certainly follow through in the small acts of applying that salvation to our lives every day. You are worthy of worship! You are worthy of obedience!]
 
“and my hope is in you all day long.”
 
[In what else, in whom else can we hope? There is no one else powerful enough, big enough, loving enough, wise enough, long-lived enough to hope in. And there is no one else who is faithful, gracious, good and great like you, who cares for your sheep, protects your lambs, leads your flock.
 
You are the God of hope who desires to fill us with all joy and peace, if we will only trust in you. Then our lives will overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Rom. 15:13)
 
I praise you, Lord Jesus, for what you will do in this day, in the large situations before me as well as the small details. I praise you that you will do this in your goodness and grace, in your wisdom and love. I praise you for the need to wait, for the opportunity to trust before seeing your help, for the chance to give the sacrifice of thanksgiving, for the privilege of giving you honor by responding in faith rather than in fear.
 
You are worthy of our trust, our worship, our obedience, our praise. May you be exalted in my life today, O Lord God, King of glory, Ruler of all.
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Psalm 25:1-3

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 29, 2019
Written several years ago in the midst of a difficult situation. And this week have a difficult conversation coming up. Please pray that it will go well.
 
Psalm 25:1 “To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul;”
 
[It is wonderful that I can freely, transparently tell you, Lord, everything I am thinking, wanting and feeling. You know it all anyway; nothing shocks you; and you are “good and ready to forgive, and plenteous in mercy and truth to all those who call upon you” (Ps. 86:5). I don’t need to fear being transparent, for you are not out to punish but to protect, to nurture, mature and guide. You are the God of Goodness, so I can be fully open to you.]
 
Psalm 25:2 “in you I trust, O my God.”
 
[Your Character, your Word and your Acts all give far more than ample reason for trusting you. You are perfect in Mercy and Justice; you are Lavish in Love and Kindness; you are consistent in Goodness and Grace, you are unwavering in Presence and in Power.
 
Your Word is living and strong, shining the light of wisdom on our way. Your actions, both in history and in the present, show your careful planning, persistent follow-though and sacrificial love in dealing with us. You are utterly trustable, and to trust you is a great opportunity to give you glory; you are totally worthy of our confidence in you.]
 
“Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me.”
 
[Yes, Lord, this is what I pray concerning the difficult issue before me. In your goodness work out what is best. May you be honored and we edified by how you bring things to a conclusion.
 
Psalm 25:3 “No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame,”
 
[My hope must be in you, for what else can I do? My feeble arguments, my weak communication, my inability to reach everyone involved are all woefully inadequate. But you are able to do these things. You are able to work all out. May this difficulty conclude in a way that will bring you glory and honor and exaltation.]
 
“but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse.”
 
[May the real enemies–Satan and his helpers–be put to shame. May those who have put culture above the Word be put to shame. May those who mishandle your Word be put to shame.
 
May all of your followers come together under the umbrella of your revealed Truth; may we exalt above all things your Name and your Word. I praise you now for what you will do. Amen.]
 
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Anxiety and Fear

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 28, 2019
I seemed to have startled many with my “hospital picture” yesterday. This is an old one from the last time I was in the hospital in the Fall. It was intended to be an illustration of how we can praise in all circumstances. My apologies. Now for today’s entry.
 
Psalm 18, one of my favorites, helps me to deal with the anxiety and fear that so often grip me –and all of us at times. It shows me the way to defeat fear and anxiety, which is using the sword of the Spirit.
 
Psalm 18:1-3 “I love you, O LORD, my strength.” [my weakness is both real and irrelevant, for His strength is everything.]
 
“The LORD” [the holy, sinless, completely other One, who rules with indisputable might]
 
“is my rock,” [my unshakable stability]
 
“my fortress” [my sure safety]
 
“and my deliverer” [my ever-present protection];
 
“my God” [the powerfully creative and utterly faithful One who has claimed me as His own]
 
“is my rock” [He has made Himself the place of stability, safety and security for me, more strong and immovable than the mountain in this picture],
 
“in whom I take refuge” [this is my part, fleeing to Him in praise and persistence, thanksgiving and trust when difficulties, disappointment and seeming defeat come].
 
“He is my shield” [my personal, portable protection, shielding my head in every moment of the daily battle]
 
“for all who take refuge in him” (v 30) [Again, here is my part in the process: I must run to Him, think His Truth, trust Him—for He is the only place of safety and I must choose to stay in His Way.]
 
“and the horn of my salvation” [His power at work is what will save me, not my feeble effort],
 
“my stronghold” [the impregnable, impenetrable, undefeatable One who is my place of safety.]
 
“I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise,” [only You, O God are worthy, only you are the One who can help]
 
“and I am saved from my enemies.” [simple, clear and true, but often not visible at the moment.]
 
As I call upon the Great One, the Holy One, the Ruler and Judge of all the universe, I am saved—not necessarily in the way or time I want but saved in the way He, who sees and understands all, knows is best.
 
He wants to save me first from my fears, then from my troubles (Psalm 34:4-6). I can praise Him now for what He will do, and my anxiety and fear will be defeated by His grace! (Phil 4:6-7)]
 
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God is Good, All the Time

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 27, 2019
Praise be to you, Lord, for your goodness to us, of which there are two kinds. First there is that praise which we commonly express after we get what we want. We, “God is good!” We can easily see His goodness when He gives us the pleasant, the preferred, the prayer answers we wanted and the protection that we crave.
 
Then there is God’s unwanted goodness: the trials, chastening and challenges He sends or allows, like my unwanted trips to the hospital this year, the unanswered prayers (actually, the answer is “no” or “wait”), the protection withheld, healing not given and problems unsolved. These all are also your goodness, as you have higher, deeper, longer and wider reasons for them.
 
It was your goodness, Lord, that sent Joseph to Egypt as a slave, that sent him to prison for doing what was right, and that in the end made him the Prime Minister of Egypt so he could save his family, the Egyptians, many from surrounding countries–and eventually us, as his work preserved the life of his brother Judah from whence came the Messiah.
 
All of this was your goodness, although much of it did not look, feel or smell like it to Joseph at the time. But he, by faith, declared his suffering and trials good, as he said to his brothers concerning their selling him as a slave, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good, to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Gen. 50:20).
 
Paul, too, knew the goodness of God in his difficulties and chose in faith to embrace his weakness. When Paul prayed to have his thorn removed God said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul’s response was, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weakness so that the power of Christ may rest on me!” (2 Cor. 12:9,10).
 
What if Paul had sat in prison, sulking and feeling sorry for himself, angry at his captors and God? We wouldn’t have two thirds of the New Testament, for it was in the quietness of prison that Paul had the time to write all those letters.
 
The truth is, “God is good, all the time!” and “All the time God is good!” We need to expand our vision of who He is, so that when things don’t go the way we want, we can, by faith, declare and embrace His undesired goodness. We need to grasp that He has a plan and will work it out. We need to comprehend that for each disappointment He has a sequel.
 
As it says in Hebrews 12:1&2, He has laid out a race for us, He goes before us and is working on maturing and completing our faith in the process. He calls us to run the race, looking to Jesus, not at our circumstances, comfort or the crowd.
 
As it says in Psalm 23, He calls us to live in the truth that He, as our good Shepherd, knows where He’s going (in paths of righteousness) and we can follow Him with confidence, through beauty and past beasts, through light and darkness, through green pastures and valleys of shadow.
 
We can choose to measure things by our own very limited, self-centered human wisdom, complaining when we don’t get our way, and living in discontent, self-pity and shallow faith. Or we can choose to be confident in God’s all-encompassing goodness and wisdom, embracing whatever He brings, finding our rest in Him alone, remembering that our Hope comes from Him (Ps. 62:5).
 
Let us live in the light His beautiful character: God is good, all the time; all the time, God is good.
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The Path of Peace

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 26, 2019

Zechariah continues in Luke 1, declaring that Jesus will come, “to guide our feet into the path of peace,” as in this picture leading us ever closer to the light of your love.

How wonderful you are, Lord Jesus, to call us to the path of peace: peace with you, peace with ourselves, peace with others. You, as the King of Peace, have bought this peace with your death and resurrection.

We praise you for this marvelous gift to us, which we must reach out and take by trusting you: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace AS YOU TRUST IN HIM, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom 15:13).

And we can trust in you because you are our Sovereign Lord who has redeemed us, saved us, has a plan for our lives and will carry us through with you to the end of history, on into eternity.

Praise you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, that you have made this known to us through the revelation of your written Word, through Jesus, the living Word, and through the Spirit using the convicting Word in our lives.

We could never have known peace without your revealing the way of faith to us–salvation through the forgiveness of sins apart from the law, fully dependent on your finished work.

Praise be to you that we can today walk in peace–peace in our thoughts, will, emotions and relationships–because you, Lord Jesus, are our Prince of Peace, our King of Peace, our Presence of Peace.

Praise you that as we rest in you, accepting your forgiveness, forgiving ourselves and forgiving others, we can be channels of peace to those around us, letting your light of grace and mercy shine out of us. Help us to so brightly shine today that there will be more and more glory for you in our lives!

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The Lord of Light

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 25, 2019
Here is a beautiful message in Luke 1, spoken by Zechariah, addressing his son, John the Baptist:
 
“you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,”
 
[and so John did, sent by God for stirring up the people’s desire for righteousness.]
 
Luke 1:77 “to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins,”
 
[This was a new truth, for the Jews thought that through the keeping of the law they could be saved. However, as it says in Romans 3, “But now a righteousness from God, apart from the law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.” This is a mystery revealed in Christ; it is the perspective of God, different from the tradition of the Jews.]
 
Luke 1:78 “because of the tender mercy of our God,”
 
[And this new way, the costly way of Jesus, is opened because our God is gracious, tender and merciful towards His enemies. We exalt you, O Lord, our God, for your kindness, your grace, your loving goodness towards us when we deserve the opposite.]
 
“by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven”
 
[Praise you, Lord Jesus, that you, as the Son and the Sun, the Dayspring and Morning Star, came down to us from heaven to be with us in our desperate, depraved and deceived state.]
 
Luke 1:79 “to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death,”
 
[We are born into the devil’s kingdom of darkness, unable to find our way without revelation. We were under the curse of death, living in the land of the dying, walking in fear, stumbling through life, unable to understand, for: “…the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble” (Prov. 4:19). But then you, Lord Jesus, the bright and shining Son, came to open our eyes. You are “The true light that gives light to every man….” (John 1:19).
 
Now, because you have come, Lord Jesus, “The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day” (Prov. 4:18).
 
You have given us sight, and we can choose to use it or not. As we walk with you, you give us more light every day, for “Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O LORD” (Ps. 89:15). Help us to walk in the light of your gracious and good presence today, Lord, that we may be light carriers to all those around us.
 
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Trip to Syria, 1981

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 24, 2019
 
Our little ministry team of six began to meet together regularly. Dan and Nancy and Betty and Dolly were still in full time language study while Barbara and I were very involved in the work of the foundation with nationals Charles and Henry.
One big positive in this situation was that I was not teaching English anymore. When I was expelled, I’d lost my job, my work visa and my residence permit, so we now stayed on tourist visas.
 
I talked with the foundation’s lawyer about getting another job but he told me that it would be impossible, because the government would never give another work and residence permit to someone who had been expelled. However, he did not know the Sovereign Lord we served.
 
For the time being we just made an exit every three months to renew our visas. This was the boys’ favorite time of our stay in our country, as we often made our exits to Cyprus and had to “suffer for Jesus” on the beach for a few days!
 
At the end of December in 1981 we decided to make our next visa renewal exit to Syria. We got our visas from the Syrian embassy in and set off in our faithful little VW down toward the Mediterranean coast. There we turned towards the East and followed the coast towards the biblical city of Antioch and then into Syria.
 
It took us two days to reach the border, the last part being through a mountainous area where we were stopped several times by soldiers who searched the car, counted our money and asked lots of questions. We found out later that this was an area known for smuggling as well as for terrorist activities.
 
We reached the Syrian border in the evening and passed through the first formalities without any problem. However, on the Syrian side the policeman looked at our passports and shook his head. “There is a problem,” he said. “You have a tourist visit, but your wife has a transit visa.”
 
“What does that mean?” I asked.
 
“You can re-enter your country, but your wife must go to another country first.”
 
I took the passports and looked at the visas. “They both look the same to me,” I said.
 
The policeman pointed to the Arabic script on the page, “Look here, see this little mark on yours; it is not on your wife’s. That’s the difference.”
 
We could not go back to our country without getting entry and exit stamps to Syria, and if we went into Syria how would Barbara get back? I went out and told Barbara about it.
We took it to the Lord and began by praising Him for the situation, thanking Him for what He would do and asking for guidance. As we were praying, a man came and told me to come back inside.
 
The policeman asked for our passports again, “I will help you,” he said. “But you must go to the police in the city where you will stay and have this transit visa changed. Ok?”
 
“OK!” I said, and praised God for His quick answer.
We passed through the border and drove to the nearest city. Syria had earlier been under French control, so many people spoke French. I was looking forward to having Barbara make use of her considerable French studies to be our interpreter here.
 
However, when we came to a hotel, Barbara could not remember one word of French! Her newly learned other language had covered it over! So I had to make arrangements for a room using pantomime.
 
The next day we went to the police and were not surprised to find several other foreigners there, also having their transit visas changed to tourist visas. It seems it was part of an agreement between the embassy and the border in an attempt to get bribes. But the Lord had used that merciful policeman to protect us from having to give any.
 
That day we went to a small coastal town and rented a summer cabin right on the beach for the week. It had a kerosene water heater, which blew up the first time we used it, spraying black soot all over the bathroom!
 
We noticed that there were a lot of small spots on the wall and wondered what they were. In the evening we found out, for after we turned out the lights, the mosquito hordes came out of now where and we had a long battle to deal with them all, adding more spots to the wall.
One interesting thing about this trip was the great difference we saw between the culture of our country and Arab culture. Our nationals are curious, ask lots of questions and are quick to offer help and hospitality to strangers. The Arabs simply ignored us. It was like we were invisible!
 
We were approached by only one local, an Armenian nominal Christian. He took us under his wing and dragged us to a number of places. One was to a farm where the owner gave us a nice meal and in the evening we drank tea around a big, roaring fire. It was wild and romantic.
 
On the way home our headlights picked up a man standing beside the road. He had a beard and long hair, was dressed in shabby jeans and held a machine gun. He waved for us to stop. I stepped on the gas and kept going.
 
Our local “friend” said, “You should have stopped, that was a policeman.” Could have fooled me! I was not going to take a chance on a lonely dark road in the middle of nowhere with someone holding a big machine gun!
 
On our trip back into our country we went through a Syrian police check and all of the men had beards, long hair, and shabby blue jeans, both pants and jackets. Our guide had probably been right.
 
It was a real pleasure to come to the our country’s border and pull up to the customs man, to hear him say, “Welcome, we found your coming pleasant!” We were back to the land of hospitality and visibility!
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Wow, What a God!

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 23, 2019
As I face the unknowns of this coming day, I praise you, Lord Jesus, for what you will lead me through, and for what you will allow. I praise you that I can rest in you, in your wonderful, marvelous, majestic and mighty Character, sparkling in holiness, shining in purity, glowing in love, radiating forgiveness.
 
You are perfect, wise, absolute, gracious and righteous. You are trustable, loving, firm and good. You are the One and Only to be exalted and worshiped. In you there is no evil, no fault, no wrong, no error. In you there is only goodness, righteousness, purity and holiness.
 
Therefore, to you belongs praise, to you belongs trust, to you belongs obedience. I bow before you now, surrendering myself and my desires to you in worship, I lay them on the altar of your love, and ask that you will do what you desire with each one. Fulfill what is good, deny what is not.
 
Guide me in joining you in what you are doing. One way I can do this is by “boasting in my weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9) so that the power of Christ can come upon me. Another way is by offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving in and for whatever comes (Ps. 50:23), keeping up the shield of faith.
 
I give you glory and honor, Lord, praise and exaltation for what you are doing in all the uncertainty and uncomfortable situations before me, for how you will use them for your glory, for how you will defeat the powers of Satan and carry us on into the glory of your coming return.
 
Help me to rest in these Truths and in your goodness. I thank you for the continued unsettledness within, flowing from the uncertainties without, for this reminds me further that my trust must be in you, not in outcomes.
 
May I have “clean hands and a pure heart” throughout this day, and thereby give you glory before all those around me. Praise be to you in all. Amen.
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