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Basking in the Beauty of Jesus

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 22, 2019

You, Lord Jesus, are the King of glory, the God of goodness, the Prince of peace, the Shepherd of supply, the Lord of Love, the Light of life and the Bride-groom of beauty, reflected in the beauty of the flowers in the picture below.

You are the Creator of All, the Sovereign of Eternity, the Shield of your sheep, the Stronghold of safety, the Fortress of faith, the Rock of reliability, the Arm of our armor, the Source of support, the Giver of grace, the Provider of power, the Widener of ways and the Protector of all who take refuge in you.

Praise you, Lord Jesus, Savior of the universe, Redeemer of all people, Transformer of all who believe. You are active, powerful and on time in answering the cry of all who submit to your leadership.

You are deeply caring, wisely working, godly in guiding, persistent in protecting. You are the only One we can trust–all others and all else are shifting sands.

Praise be to you for your lavish love, your gracious goodness, your wise work, your firm faithfulness, your cherishing in chastening, your reasonable rebuking, your taking us through trials, your shepherding through suffering, your working through our weakness, your maturing us through miserable times.

You are marvelous, Lord Jesus, you are majestic, you are mighty, you are magnificent, you are worthy of worship and deserving of dedication. “I call to the Lord who is worthy of praise and I am saved from my enemies” (Psa. 18:3).

Praise be to you, Lord Jesus, gracious God, King of glory. May you be honored in my life today through faith, obedience, kindness, patience, wisdom and grace. Amen.

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The Wisdom of God’s Chastening

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 21, 2019
As Barbara and I pass through the valley of the shadow of her depression, we can rest in God, knowing that “…the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son” (Heb. 12:6). This present suffering has brought out wrong thinking and values from my wife’s past so they can be corrected. This is proof that you, Lord, love us by taking the time to discipline us for our good.
 
I praise you, Lord, for your loving work in us, on us and through us, pointing out sin, wrong thinking, negative attitudes and unbiblical beliefs that keep us from really living: “…we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and [really] live!” (Heb. 12:9).
Thank you for chastening us through difficulties so that we might share in your holiness. Thank you for correcting us, even though it may be painful, so that we might respond with faith, confession, surrender and obedience, thereby receiving the fruit of peace and righteousness (Heb. 12:9-11).
 
Praise you, Lord, for your care, your consistency, your chastening to bring patience and power, fullness and fruitfulness, maturation and more (James 1:2-4). Truly you are the perfect Father: wise, loving, good, firm, persistent and forgiving.
 
I praise you that you are wonderously full-orbed in ability, perfectly rounded in personality, flawlessly balanced in your characteristics and wholly complete in your holiness. In your rich wisdom, you leave out nothing good when working in our lives–all that is needed comes: pressure and pleasure, loss and love, defeat and delight, wrenching and rest.
 
I praise you for what you allow, for what you send, for what you bring. You are wise, you are good, you are loving, so we can trust you fully, praise you consistently, obey you whole-heartedly.
 
Today I want to praise you persistently, Lord, through rain and shine for your wonderful work in my life. May I glorify you by cooperating with you, joining you, obeying you all through this day.
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Psalm: 24:9-10

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 20, 2019
 
Psalm 24:9 Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.”
 
[The repetition here from verse 7 shows how important it is to open the way for God’s entrance into our lives. And why would anyone not want to open up to the King of glory? Well, unfortunately, in our selfish and deluded desire to be independent and in control, many refuse to open up so that the Lord of glory may come in.
 
How foolish! For you, Lord God, bring only what is good, only what is a blessing, only what gives true freedom (from sin, self and Satan), only what brings joy and grace in the end.
 
Therefore, we choose to open our hearts, our lives, our wills to you, as widely as the amphitheater in the picture here. We commit ourselves to giving you praise, to giving you the glory due your name, lifting you up by obeying your Word, resting in your goodness, thanking you in all.]
 
Psalm 24:10 “Who is he, this King of glory? The LORD Almighty—he is the King of glory.”
 
[You, O Yahweh, are the Lord of Power, the God of Might, the Ruler of Majesty, the Commander of all the hosts of Heaven. There is nothing good you cannot do, there is nothing wise you will not do, there is nothing evil you can ever do.
 
To you belongs all glory, for you are Creator and King, Ruler and Redeemer, Lord and Leader of all who will come to you. Therefore, to you I bow down today and submit myself in obedience to your Word, to your Spirit, to your Way so that you may have more glory.
 
I proclaim your power and your strength, your goodness and your grace, your wisdom and your holiness, your purity and love. To you be rich and deep glory, ever expanding honor, and endless praise. May only positives flow from my life like a great fountain to you today, giving you ever increasing exaltation, pleasure and joy, my Lord and King. Amen.”
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Psalm 92:12-13

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 19, 2019
“The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God.” Psalm 92:12,13
Praise be to you, Yahweh, the great I AM, the self-existent, eternal, unchanging, holy and perfect One—and paradoxically, the Lover of sinners. While your qualities of righteousness, holiness and justice dictated the necessity of judgment, condemnation and punishment, you chose, through your own suffering, to have mercy triumph over justice, to have grace trump punishment, to have love overrule wrath. You called us rebels to yourself, cleansed us, transformed us into new creatures and adopted us into your family, making us righteous in Christ.
 
You planted us in your courtyard, making us flourish, sprouting lush, green leaves of praise to shade those around us, and succulent, delicious fruit of the Spirit for others to taste.
 
You make it possible for us to get our roots deep down into the wonderful water of your Word so even in drought we can remain green, bearing our fruit in its season, and being successful in whatever you call us to do (Psalm 1:3).
 
You are the great Giver of good, supplying what is needed to keep your children growing, maturing, bearing more and more good fruit. You have provided all that is necessary for living a godly life and for overcoming the evil of the world (2 Peter 1:3).
 
In your wisdom and grace, your great patience and kindness, you leave it to us, your children, to draw this living water up through our roots by reading, studying, meditating on your Word, to remain in your courts, to abide in the vine and to bear your fruit.
 
To those of your children who keep their roots growing down into the water of the Word, you promise: “They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green…” (Ps. 92:14). As we grow old, lose our physical abilities, have less strength, hear and see less, and may seem to dry up on the outside, we will still bear good, rich, delicious fruit for those around us: the fruit of the Spirit, the fruit of the sacrifice of praise, the fruit of good works, the fruit of people coming to Christ—which is just the opposite of what happens if we live naturally rather than supernaturally. And you cause us to remain fruitful so that we can declare “the LORD is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him” (Ps. 92:15).
 
To you, O God, be honor and glory and praise. To you be worship, adoration and magnification. To you be power, might and exaltation. You are worthy, you are glorious, you are Elohim, the triune God, the Creator and Sustainer of all.
 
Prayer: “I bow before you, Heavenly Father in admiration; I rise up in enthusiasm; I go forth to wholeheartedly worship you through obedience. May your name be honored today in all I think, say and do, my beloved God. Amen.”
–from EDIFIED!
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Romans 15:13

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 18, 2019
 
Thoughts on Romans 15:13: “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.”
 
Let’s look at each aspect of this verse.
 
“May the God of hope”
 
[Our God is the source of all we hope for, the spring of all positive possibilities, the well of all goodness, the fountain of hope. We should look to no other, put our hope in no other.]
 
May He “Fill you with all joy and peace”
 
[Joy and peace are what we all long and strive for, but fail to get on our own. Our heavenly Father, however, stands ready with ALL joy and peace, eager to pour them into our lives, if we will only join Him in the process, as the next phrase tells us.]
 
“As you trust in Him”
 
[This is our part: if we trust, we are given joy and peace; but conversely, failure to trust equals no joy or peace. If we don’t trust Him, we are, in our pride, trusting in ourselves. This means we are cutting ourselves off from His grace. “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). But if we humble ourselves and trust in Him, rather than trusting in ourselves, or some leader, or the goverment to supply what we need, then He has many blessings for us beyond joy and peace, as the last phrase tells us.
 
As it says in Psalm 68:6 “…he leads out the prisoners with singing (those who follow Him in trust out of the dominion of darkness into the Kingdom of light); but the rebellious (those who do not trust Him) live in a sun-scorched land (where there is no peace, no joy, no hope).
 
“So that your life may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
 
[As we trust God, we can then join Him in a new dimension, becoming “carriers of hope,” to all around us. We can be people of hope, just as He is the God of all hope–a hope that will splash over on all those around us. We will be “hope empowered” by the Holy Spirit, becoming more and more like Jesus, the God of all hope.
 
So let’s trust our eternal living God, follow Jesus, offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving in each situation and thereby become infused with joy and peace. Then we can become springs of hope, rivers of hope, carriers of hope to all we meet today and every day.
 
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More 1981 Adventures

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 17, 2019
 
We left Adam’s house that afternoon a lot later than we had planned, and it wasn’t long before it was dark. I wanted to press on as long as we could, but the Lord had other plans.
 
Along a lonely stretch of road, my headlights picked up two large sheep dogs, their tails curled over their backs, iron spiked collars on their necks to protect them from wolves. I slowed down, as you can never tell what animals may do.
 
They were off on the left hand side of the road, but just as I got to them, one crossed over in front of us and I was unable to avoid him. After the car struck him, he rolled off to the side of the road.
 
I felt bad about hitting him and wondered if he would survive but wasn’t about to stop and get out in the dark with a large wounded animal. Those dogs can be very fierce. Besides, I had something else to contend with. The impact had rearranged the front of the car and my headlights were now refocused: one shone off up in the air to the right, the other down and off the road to the left. We were not going to get very far that night!
 
I drove slowly to the next town, praising God that nothing worse had happened. We found a hotel and got some rest. The next day we made it back home before darkness came.
 
Shortly after our return from the east, I ate a overly ripe peach and got really sick with diarrhea, vomiting and a high fever. Just after I became ill, two single German women came to visit and set the scene for a cultural clash between Barbara and me.
 
For Germans, any guest has definite priority over family. In addition, in Barbara’s family culture if family members got sick, they were tolerated, but it was clearly communicated that they were being a bother, so they’d better hurry up and get well.
 
In my family culture, however, if you were sick, you were waited on hand and foot and treated like royalty. These contrasting viewpoints had not been much of a problem before now but the arrival of the guests caused Barbara to slip back into German mode, bringing on a conflict.
 
Barbara was busy being a good German hostess, taking care of every need of our guests, while I, from my point of view, was hovering on the edge of death in the bedroom. I was unable to eat, wracked with chills, barely able to crawl to the bathroom when the need arose, as it did often and violently. I was thirsty, but my hand was shaking so much from my chills and fever, that before I could bring a glass of water to my mouth, most of the water sloshed out onto the floor.
 
Every few hours Barbara would come in to poke the pile of blankets and make sure I was still alive underneath them.
During those two or three days I lost so much weight that I looked like a walking skeleton. My wedding ring fell off my emaciated finger and I didn’t even notice it.
 
When the guests finally left and I got well enough to have a coherent conversation, we had a little chat about priorities. Barbara had been sincerely unaware of neglecting me, and was very sorry. Being a good listener and teachable wife, that never happened again.
 
Shortly afterwards it was my turn to be the host. My parents wrote to say that they would come to visit in September as Dad was going to Paris to run in a half marathon. He had given up motocross at age sixty-three and had found more attention and admiration in the runners’ circles.
 
He told us that after Paris they’d come to see us for a couple of days. A couple of days! I understood Dad’s love of moving on quickly, but to come all that way and stay only a couple of days?
 
We finally convinced them to stay for a week, and it was a good time. Dad went out running each day on the streets of our city and usually ended up with a crowd of little kids tagging along behind him—very few people in our country were runners back then.
 
We took a trip down to some of the many biblical sites to give them a taste of the rich history of the area. They were duly impressed and were very glad that they’d come.
Pictures: Dad in Paris, Dad and Nat, all of us in front of our house. Note how skinny I am after my sickness
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Psalm 24:7-8

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 16, 2019
Psalm 24:7 “Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.”
 
[As the gates in those ancient cities where cranked upwards to allow entrance, so may the doors of our hearts, our thoughts, our souls be lifted up to allow you, Lord Jesus, entrance into every aspect of our lives, giving you the honor and glory you deserve.
 
May we be in submission to the reality that we were created to be dependent on you, to walk in obedience and trust, so that your power may be made perfect in our weakness, that honor may flow to you out of every situation, and that we may appear with you in glory when you come again.
 
You alone are the great King of Glory. Help us to live in the truth that what you are, what you do, and what you say all flow out of your glorious being and serve to bring you the exaltation you deserve before all the created hosts of the universe.]
 
Psalm 24:8 “Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.”
 
[This is you, Yahweh, the Holy One: completely other than your creation, totally complete in yourself, needing nothing, being both One and fully self-sufficient as the Trinity.
 
You are the Powerful One, the Warrior King, undefeatable and ever triumphant. You fight and win against every enemy–those who oppose what is good. You, Lord Jesus, came to destroy the works of the devil, freeing us from the fear he has used so effectively against us.
 
You have also defeated death and hell, sin and evil, rebellion and shame. You have replaced all these with love and light, with life and joy, with peace and hope. You are the mighty One, triumphing in your strength, wisdom and power.
 
So, we give you praise, honor and exaltation, for in your might, you are also the Pure and Sinless One, making no mistakes; you are the Just and Righteous One, bringing proper judgment on sin; you are the Gracious and Loving One, bringing forgiveness for all, especially to those who believe.
 
You are worthy of praise and we bow before you in worship, we open the gates of our hearts to your Kingly Presence and we rise up to go out with you out into the battle of today, knowing that you, the mighty One, will lead us safely through whatever will come. ]
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Psalm 24:5-6

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 15, 2019
Written several years ago. Psalm 24:5, speaking of the person “who has clean hands and a pure heart,” goes on to say,
 
“He will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God his Savior.”
 
[Thank you for this assurance, Lord, that you, my Vindicator, have saved me and will bless me by helping me live for you. At the moment, I do not see much blessing, with two difficult situations before me–but I can trust that you have a plan and will do what is best. I chose to run with endurance the race you have set before me. To you be glory both now and forever. Amen.]
 
Psalm 24:6 “Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob.”
 
[When we seek you, you grant us clean hands and a pure heart through the finished work of Jesus Christ; then you lead us aright, guiding us into obedience as we seek your face.
 
May we seek you first and always, O Lord, rather than pursuing being comfortable, or possessions, or success, or our own desires. Instead may we seek you, the King of Glory, the God of Jacob—the Pure One who is willing to identify with those like Jacob and us who are by nature selfish, manipulative, stubborn, untrusting and proud.
 
Praise you for your patience in drawing us along into the warm and transforming embrace of your love. Praise you that you do whatever it takes to bring us to surrender in yourself, as you did with Jacob, taking away everything he valued, so he would face his need for you. And finally, in his old age, at 147, he surrendered: “Israel worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff” (Gen. 47:31 NIV).
 
And so it is with us–you do whatever it takes to help us seek you first, so that you can bless us with a life in and with you: a new life, an eternal life, an abundant life, a pure life, a serving and productive life.
 
Help us to surrender to you quickly so you don’t have to take drastic measures as you did with Jacob. May we seek your face daily, so we can be useful instruments in your hands, bringing you honor now, not waiting until later in life.]
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The Wonder of Knowing Jesus

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 14, 2019
 
 
Praise be to you, Jesus, my Lord and God, for the privilege of waking up and knowing that I am at peace with you, that our relationship is grace-filled, good and gloriously positive.
 
Thank you for your wonderful unmerited love, ever flowing to me, over me, through me, and around me, as well as going before me.
 
Therefore, I can rest in your gentle grace, your positive power, your marvelous majesty, your wide and wonderful wisdom. I can rest in your great plans, your deep purposes, your plenteous provision. You are the glorious God of goodness, the majestic Lord of meaning, the strong King of hope. In you I have a future with stability and purpose.
 
These are all wonderful, but they are actually only the by-products of your much more significant gift to us: a wonderful relationship with you which is rich, warm, enthusiastic, filled with your delight, love and joy.
 
Peace reigns as I rest in you. Grace flows as I embrace my place of submission with humility. Joy deepens as I move forward in eager surrender to your wisdom, to your Word and to your ways.
 
Praise be to you, Lord Jehovah, Yahweh, the great Triune God, marvelous in majesty, glorious in grace and caring in compassion. You have made yourself my Father, my Savior, my King and my Shepherd. In you alone is rest, in you alone is peace and joy, for we were made to live in surrender in your embrace of love.
 
Help me to be in submission and sync with you all through this day, Lord, living in the light of your Word, in the direction of your Spirit and in the wisdom of your understanding, waiting for your timing in all. I praise you now for what you will do, for how you will use me, for all that you will bring into my life today.
PIcture: a view of An.kara, where the Lord led us and blessed us with much hardship and joy
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Psalm 24:3-4

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 13, 2019
 
Psalm 24:3 “Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place?”
 
[Not just anyone may ascend and stand before you, Lord, for you are holy and pure, and have conditions that we must meet first.
 
I praise you that you did not bend your standards to let just any uncleansed sinner come, but you met your own demands for holiness in the sacrifice of Christ so that we can come before you forgiven, cleansed and accepted.
 
Praise you that you will not allow sin to enter Heaven, that you will definitely eliminate wickedness from the New Heaven and Earth, while saving those who trust in you. This is a wonderful part of our hope in you, Lord God.]
 
Psalm 24:4 “Who may ascend…He who has clean hands and a pure heart,”
 
[These we can have only in you, Lord Jesus. There is no way we can purify ourselves of all the sinful tendencies and drives which are an innate part of our natural hearts,or clean our hands from all the wrong things we have done.
 
David did so much wrong with his hands and heart, killing women and children in his raids, having so many wives, committing adultery and murder–yet you, Lord Jesus, provided cleansing and purity for him as he repented, and then you gave these to us. You are the One who paid the penalty so we can have cleansed hands, and a new, pure heart. Praise be to you!]
 
“who does not lift up his soul to an idol,”
 
[Here is our part, to worship you alone, Lord Jesus. Praise you, Lord, that you are showing me the many idols in my heart, that is, whatever I demand, apart from you, to be happy. And these are exposed any time I complain: for then I am seeking happiness in getting my way.
 
I praise you that you have exposed so many idols and continually help me to reject them. remembering that you, O Lord God, are the only one worth lifting our souls to. I commit myself to do that. Help me to quickly spot my idols and reject them.]
 
“or swear by what is false.”
 
[To put value on what is false is a serious sin. In the world beauty, wealth, power and position are the predominate and false values. But the truth is, only what you, Lord, value is worth our time and energy. I praise you that in you we can be free from what is false, for you are Truth itself and the truth sets us free.
 
You know all things, therefore your measure of truth is the one we should use. I praise and thank you, Lord Jesus, for shepherding us into freedom FROM falsehood, and into freedom IN Truth.
 
You are the wise God who, through your Word and Spirit, reveals to us what we cannot possibly discover with our feeble intellect. You are the great and wonderful God whom we can worship because you have opened the way into a rich and rousing relationship with you. Help me to walk with you closely through the whole of this day, rejecting idols and obeying what I know to be true, honoring you.
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