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Psalm 27:7-8

Published by S.M. Wibberley on May 8, 2019
Psalm 27:7 “Hear my voice when I call, O LORD; be merciful to me and answer me.”
 
[It is wonderful to know that you, LORD, are consistently merciful, and always hear us when we call. You always answer our prayers at the right time and in the right way, whether it be “Yes,” “No,” or “Wait.” You are the great and wonderful God who cares for us richly, positively and powerfully.]
 
Psalm 27:8 “My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’ Your face, LORD, I will seek.”
 
[Yes, Lord, I do want to consistently seek your face, spending time in your Word, opening my heart and my spirit to you and your direction. I want to understand and embrace all that you are and what you have for me.
 
To seek you I must spend time in personal worship, focusing on the wonder of your beautiful character without thinking how that benefits me. “I praise you, Lord God, that you are the Almighty Creator, breathing the stars, giving each a name, setting them in their place. Praise you that you hung the earth on nothing and that nothing can shake it without your permission. On the other end of the scale, you delicately created flowers in their many colors and shapes, giving them beauty and scent. I praise you that you are eternal, all-knowing and all-present. You are truly worthy of exaltation.”
 
To seek you I must lift my soul to you, getting out my thoughts, feelings and desires so you can help me sort through them, judging them from the perspective of your Word, and choosing what you desire.
 
Sometimes this is hard, for I often set my heart on things on the earth which are not so important to you. Then as I seek your will, you help me to set my heart and mind on things above.
 
To seek you I must let go of my myriad plans and projects, surrendering them all to you. Instead, I must hold onto your mercy, your goodness, your wisdom. And then I can rise above the uncertainty around me, the problems before me and my impatience within me.
 
Here on the farm there are so many possible projects before me, like finishing the roofing work, so every day I need to let go of what I’d like to do, hold on to what is possible and wise and thereby be able to rise above all my worry and fear and frustration. Thank you that you always help me with this. Guide me today in seeking your face in all.]
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Psalm 27:5-6

Published by S.M. Wibberley on May 7, 2019
Psalm 27:5 “For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.”
 
[When we seek you, Lord, when we choose to dwell in your presence and trust you, this is what you will do for us: protect and provide, shelter and deliver. My part is to immediately seek you when trouble comes, rather than venture out in my own puny strength and very limited wisdom to attempt my own deliverance—a futile effort.
 
As I seek you, you will hide me from the enemy, you will set me on a high place, giving me both your protection and your perspective. Help me to consistently take shelter in you by offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving in the face of trouble, thereby honoring you and opening the way so you can show me your salvation (Ps. 50:23).]
 
Psalm 27:6 “Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me;”
 
[You will work things out–as I have seen you do so often in my life–you will do what is best in defeating the enemies around me—primarily Satan and his minions—who attack me, who want to bring stress, distress and harm. You will accomplish this deliverance as I follow and trust you in praise, in prayer, in obedience to what I know to be true, keeping on your armor.]
 
“at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD.”
 
[Because of your great Love, your mighty Help, your gracious Goodness, I will rejoice in you, call out praise, exalt you in song. I praise you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, for your constant and good work in my life.
 
Guide me today, Lord, in giving you glory and exaltation that those around me may also rejoice in you. I will give you honor through praise, I will give you glory through obedience.
 
Help me to let go of what is temporal, to hold on to what is eternal, and give me the wisdom to discern which is which. May you be honored in my life today. Amen.]
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Psalm 27:4

Published by S.M. Wibberley on May 6, 2019

Psalm 27:4 “One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,”

[When David wrote this, he was thinking of the tabernacle in Jerusalem. Today this request has come true for every believer because we each are now a temple of God (1 Cor. 6:19) with the Holy Spirit living in us. That is part of the wonder of being your children, Lord: we are ever with you.]

We can continually “…gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.”

[This takes intentionality, it takes focus, surrender and discipline—I must turn my eyes from the distractions of my desires, of the world’s offers and temptations to look instead on the glorious God of creation.

I praise you, Lord Jesus, that you have led me to begin learning to gaze upon your beauty in personal worship. There I can see your greatness, your power, your wisdom, your grace, your wrath against sin, your mighty love demonstrated in redeeming your rebellious creatures, and your great patience in working to bring us to maturity in you.

In teaching me to worship, you are helping me to give you the glory and honor which is due your name for your wonderful and rich character. Then when trouble comes, I can reject my natural tendency to first seek solutions on my own, or from those around me. Instead I can, as my first move, seek you, the only One who can help in every difficulty. More than that, you are the One who delights in helping us in exactly the way we need.

Forgive me for my independent attitude; help me to be fully dependent on you instead. Thank you, Lord, for all that you are, and for revealing some of it to us in your Word, your world and your way–breaking into our lives and dwelling with us, even though we deserve only rejection and punishment.

Help us to continually “gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek you in your temple,” ever praising you, the Great and Glorious One who stoops down to see and help us in our weakness and need.]

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Sickness

Published by S.M. Wibberley on May 5, 2019
 
Our home at this time (mid 1980s) had one big drawback: air pollution. We were further down in the bowl of mountains, and smoke-filled air tended to settle there. There were also the buses standing across the street at their last stop and they often had their engines running continually, spewing diesel fumes out into the air.
 
In addition, at least once a winter there would be an inversion, where a cold air front came over the mountains and trapped the warmer, exhaust-filled air down in the city. The pollution then just kept building up.
 
When this happened, at times the air was literally a green fog that made it impossible to see more than a few yards. Then the heating of homes would be forbidden. Driving was restricted according to license plates: the odd numbered ones could drive on odd days, and even on even days.
 
This pollution was a major factor in my having severe sinusitis attacks several times each winter. I had high fevers, weeks of weakness, and took lots of antibiotics. Through this I learned that if you are sick as a teacher, you still have to go out to the university, visit the clinic there and get confirmation that you are actually unable to work. Then you can get a day off. Since this process takes several hours, you don’t have much chance to get well in a day! This system, like many others, is in place because of basic dishonesty of the society.
 
One winter I was feeling so bad that I decided to try another doctor. The new specialist put me on a different antibiotic. After a week, however, I was no better, and went back to see him again.
 
This time he had me sit in a chair like a dentist’s and told me to lean my head back. He sprayed something into my nose and went away. Shortly he came back with a huge spike in one hand and a hammer in the other.
 
Without giving any explanation, he put the spike up my nose and began to hit it with the hammer! Once, twice, three times. “My, your bones are really hard,” he said as he gave it a fourth and bigger whack. The nail broke through into one of my sinus cavities, and out came a whole flood of poison.
Once I got over the shock of that treatment, with my sinuses now able to drain, I recovered quickly and went back to work. That was not the end of my bouts with sinusitis, but they came less often.
 
As time went on, the Lord began to show me other causes of my frequent illnesses. The first was that I was doing too much. My dear wife pointed this out a good number of times before I caught on. “Why do you have to do a Bible study with him every week? Try it every other week!” she would say. But I was here to do outreach and I wanted to do more, not less! However I didn’t take into account the fact that I had three full time jobs: teaching, church planting and my position as field leader .
 
Eventually the Lord got through to me with the message that I should pray more and do less, that I should work smarter, not harder. That definitely helped as I expended less energy and got more rest.
 
A second factor to improving my health was learning the importance of keeping hydrated. The heating system in most homes makes the air really dry in the winter. Then that dry air sucks the moisture out of our respiratory systems, making us much more vulnerable to all the germs floating around. After grasping this truth, I began drinking lots more water, even though I didn’t feel thirsty. This helped a great deal. Now I am convinced that the most I can do for my overall physical health is to keep hydrated.
 
The last health factor i needed to do something about was the increased air pollution at our present location. In 1986 we finally moved to a cleaner section of town, and from then on I was rarely sick with sinusitis. In my x-rays doctors could still see it sitting there in my sinuses, but unless I got very tired or really stressed, it did not come out to get me.
 
So the Lord freed me from my self-imposed illnesses and in the process taught me to value prayer over activity.
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Acceptance by God and by me.

Published by S.M. Wibberley on May 4, 2019

In the daily practice of praying on the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18), there has been a significant solidification of my emotional state, giving a growing stability that is very encouraging.

This is not a self-centered focus but is believing and accepting what God says about us; it is living in the light of His love rather than in self-condemnation, in vague shame and the natural negative self-thoughts that Satan wants me to dwell on. I have always been critical of and dissatisfied with myself, never believing I can measure up, but this is fading as I see more and more of God’s total forgiveness and love.

In this, the Lord is building in me an emotionally healthy independence from others—I no longer feel obligated to be influenced and controlled by others negative emotions. And He is also developing an emotionally healthy, deeper dependence on Himself. The growing grasp of His unshifting character, manifested in His love, acceptance and graciousness, is the rock upon which I can rest. In the light of this, I actually like myself now!

Following is part of what I pray in putting on the belt of truth and breastplate of righteousness. In this, I do not just say the words, I seek to enter into the truths emotionally, letting myself feel both sides (negative and positive) and choose to rest in the warm and rich goodness of His love for me. Try it yourself, praying this each day for a month and see what a difference it makes for you!

“Help me, Lord, to stand today having on the belt of truth. On one side is the truth that all I deserve as a sinner is failure, frustration, depression, despair, hopelessness, punishment, suffering and death.

“But you, in your gracious love, have redeemed me, cleansed me, called me into your waiting arms, made me your child, brought me into your family and into your Kingdom of light, of love and of life. You have given me forgiveness, joy and peace. You have given me purpose, protection and provision. You have given me meaning, hope and a future. In you I am chosen, holy and dearly loved (Col. 3:12). I did not choose you, but you chose me because you wanted me! (John 15:16).

“You, Lord Jesus, love me as the Father loves you! (John 15:9): wholeheartedly, unconditionally, enthusiastically, joyfully, eternally! You are glad when I come into your presence in prayer, you laugh with pleasure when we are together and you rejoice in having me as your child. You saved me because you delight in me (Ps. 18:19).

“Help me to put on the breastplate of righteousness. In doing this, I agree to forgive myself as you have forgiven me, to accept myself and to love myself as you do. I choose to bask in your wholehearted approval and acceptance of me; I agree to rejoice in your unceasing love for me; I commit to reveling in your rich and eager embracing of me as your beloved child.

“While eagerly confessing any sin and receiving your forgiveness, I repent of being critical, negative and unaccepting of myself. I exchange these for your garment of approval, your covering of love and your continuous warm, happy, gracious embracing of me as your dear and valued child, chosen before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blame before you in love! (Eph. 1:4).

“What a wonder! I praise you for your great and gracious goodness, your marvelous and magnificent kindness and your unending, undying, eternal love for me. Help me to walk in the light of your warm and wonderful presence throughout today, obeying you in all and loving myself as you love me, so I can better love my neighbor.”

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Accepted, Approved, Embraced

Published by S.M. Wibberley on May 3, 2019
Praise be to you, Father in Heaven, for your perfect love and grace in our lives. You chose us before the foundation of the world, meaning that you wanted us to be your children and knew we would respond to your efforts to draw us to yourself.
 
You purchased us with the blood of the Lamb, paying a huge price to buy us back from the prince of darkness. You predestinated us to the adoption of children through Jesus Christ—“according to the good pleasure of your will” (Eph. 1:5b). It gave you pleasure to make sure that we became your children!
 
We are not just tolerated, we are fully, wonderfully, whole-heartedly embraced and enjoyed by you! We exalt in this, we rejoice in this and praise you, giving thanks from full hearts for the warm and wonderful love that you pour out on us every day.
 
According to Ephesians 1, your attitude towards us, your interaction with us, your words about us are filled with energetically positive and loving thoughts. It is a delight and pleasure to you when we come into your presence in prayer, or worship or thanksgiving or thought. Your response is, “Oh!! It’s you!! I’m so glad you came!!! I am delighted to hear from you!! I was just thinking about you, how much I love you, how you are one of my favorite ones—of course, all my children are my favorites, but that doesn’t diminish my love for you.
 
“I am so glad you are my child; I have no regrets about choosing, calling and adopting you; in fact, every time I think of you I am pleased; I delight in you; you are fully accepted in my heart. It is such a pleasure to have you in our family, to know you, to spend time with you.
“Come to me more often, I enjoy your prayers, your intercession, your praise time, your thoughts of me throughout the day. I look forward to eternity where we can spend unbroken time together in heaven, where you will be continually in my presence spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically. Live now in my love, live in obedience to Truth so that we both may have more pleasure and joy.”
 
And my soul and spirit respond with, “Yes!”
Prayer: “We praise you, Lord, our heavenly Father, for your rich, warm love toward us. Help us to honor and glorify you by reveling in your love, rejoicing in your acceptance, responding to your desire to spend time with us in coming to you each day.
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Psalm 27:2-3

Published by S.M. Wibberley on May 2, 2019
Psalm 27:2 “When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me,”
 
[Note that this is not “if” but “when.” Such attacks will come because we are followers of Jesus, and Satan hates us. So, we should not be surprised when we are attacked by people, problems and political powers. And we should remember that we also know the outcome: ]
 
“they will stumble and fall.”
 
[In the end, they will fail: Nero, Napoleon, Hitler, Stalin, Mao and many others here who oppose you, Lord, and your Word, all fell while you, the Almighty Lord and God, triumphed and will triumph. There is no way that anyone can prevail against the Creator of the Universe.
 
I praise and thank you, Lord, that you will fight for us out of the great goodness of your heart, in the mighty power of your arm, in the expansive width of your wisdom and in the immeasurable depth of your discernment. Nothing is hidden from you, no plan is secret, no power can prevail against you.]
 
Psalm 27:3 “Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.”
 
[Because my trust is in you, the Almighty and the Most High, I can be confident of your help in the most trying of circumstances. I think of Elisha in 2 Kings 6, who awoke to find his city surrounded by a large army; but he also saw the chariots of God surrounding them! And God empowered Elisha to strike the army with blindness and render them harmless.
 
So, I need to ask, “What can men do to me when you are on my side? What can I lose that you cannot replace? What can I suffer that is not worthwhile because you will use it to bring maturity, deepening and a display of your power which I can share with all those around me?”
 
Thank you that you are the God of all wisdom who, even in the mistakes I make, can and will work out all for good. Help me to let go of my natural tendencies to worry and fret, to hold all you have granted me with an open hand, and to trust you to give and take as you see best.
 
Help me to let go of my emotional perceptions, to hold onto your great promises and rise above whatever challenges come. Help me to rest in you now, knowing that you are the good and great One whom I can totally trust. May you be honored in all I do today.]
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Want Joy?

Published by S.M. Wibberley on May 1, 2019
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you…This is my command, that you love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:9,12).
 
Recipe for Healthy, Loving Living Leading to Joy.
–author unknown
 
Start with a base of faith.
Add One heart full of love,
Two heaping cups of patience,
Two handfuls of generosity,
A dash of laughter,
And one head full of understanding.
Sprinkle generously with kindness
Add plenty of goodness and mix well
Spread over a period of a life time
And serve to everyone you meet.
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Psalm 27:1b

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 30, 2019
Psalm 27:1b “The LORD is the stronghold of my life—“
 
[in the midst of uncertainty I can praise you, Lord God, for you are the safe Place, the generous Giver, the good Guide, the Rock and Stability of my existence. When things look bleak and unhappy like the picture below, you are my Shelter, my Joy, my Strength.
 
You have revealed your beautiful character in your promises to provide what is needed, to give what is best, to protect me and sustain me with your right hand, to be my shield and enabler. And you faithfully follow through on every promise.
 
As my stronghold, you are the One who protects me in the hurts and harm of life. To you I can retreat and find safety, comfort, encouragement and joy when all else is bleak, broken, sad and dangerous.
 
Living in the power of your promises, I praise you now for what you will do today, this week, next month, next year. I praise you that each day is a new adventure with you, as you have laid out the race for me to run and are constantly helping me to see and lay aside the weights and sins that so easily entangle. I am so glad to be able to follow you.]
 
“of whom shall I be afraid?”
 
[Since you are the Almighty, the Most High, the Great King above all, who can contravene what you deem right? Who can overrule the desires of your great overarching plans? Who can condemn when you forgive? Who can harm us spiritually when you are there?
 
There is no one else I should fear but you, O Lord God, King of Glory. Help me to move every day away from fearing those around me to fearing you, away from fearing what others think of me to caring deeply what you think about me, about what I do and think, wear and say.
 
You are worthy of respect, honor and fear, for you are Awesome, Almighty and Eternal, while all others are not. Therefore, I choose to believe you, to fear you, to live in the light of your grace.. Help me this day to consistently take refuge in you, thereby honoring You, your Name and your Word before all those around me.]
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Psalm 27:1

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 29, 2019
Thank you to all who send us congratulations on our 45th anniversary. We had a good time celebrating with friends.
                             ———————
Psalm 27:1 Of David. “The LORD is my light and my salvation—“
 
[You, Lord Jesus, are the light Giver, the Sonshine of life, the Illuminator of our path, the One who shines on us. You show us the way, you reveal dangerous sins and snares so we can avoid them, you give insight and understanding, you help us to make the right choices.
 
Because of you, “The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining on ever more brightly till the full light of day” (Prov. 4:18). We no longer have to live in “the way of the wicked which is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble” (Prov. 4:19).
 
You have rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of Light where you protect us from the devil, from death, and in danger and difficulties.
You are actively working every moment to counter the attacks of the enemy, to shield us from his deceptions and help us stand against temptation. You also protect us from ourselves, from our old and evil nature.
 
Praise be to you that no attack, no opposition, no enemy is too fast, too great or too strong for you: you can counter all that comes, protecting and providing, keeping out what will harm while allowing in the things that make us effective. In your light we are safe.]
 
“whom shall I fear?”
 
[Who is greater than you? Who can defeat you? Who can fool you? Who is stronger than you? No one! You are the Almighty, the Most High, the Eternal One, dwelling outside of time, knowing and seeing all. “From His dwelling place the Lord looks down and watches all who live on the earth…He considers all that they do” (Psalm 33:14.15).
 
You are aware of every thought, every intent, every plan. “There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD” (Prov. 21:30). You have the power to counteract the devil’s every desire and duplicity.
 
Yes, whom should I fear, of whom should I stand in awe? Why should I fear the words and thoughts of others? You are the One who gives us significance, you declare us righteous in Christ, chosen and beloved. You have replaced our shame with honor, while those around us often seek their own honor by shaming us.
 
Forgive me for elevating the opinions of others over your truth, Lord. Help me to fear you, to respect you, to care what you think, not what others think, value or say. You are the measure of all, your Word rules, your estimation is supreme. Help me today to live in the light of this Truth, Lord.]
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