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Psalm 19:1-4

Published by S.M. Wibberley on December 8, 2018
Psalm 19
 
Praise you, Lord, that you are the God of communication, laying out before all mankind the message of your existence: the Almighty One who is there. As it says in Psalm 19:1,
 
“The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”
 
[Even in its fallen and twisted state, all creation shouts out that there is a good and wise Creator. Anyone honestly looking at the way things are has to see that they are intentionally designed–made, not the result of chance. The beauty, the complexity, the rhythms of life, the power, the expanse—all speak of a Creator.
 
Psalm 19:2 “Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.”
 
[We are constantly surrounded with the message of the skies and stars, of birds and butterflies, ants and elephants, blooms and babies. Plan and purpose are everywhere, beauty abounds, colors bring joy–the happy yellow of a daffodil, the royal purple of a an iris, the bright blue of the sky all shout, “There is a Creator and He is wise and wonderful, powerful and present!”]
 
Psalm 19:3,4 “There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”
 
[I think of my 78 year old Eskimo friend who grew up on the Eastern shore of Siberia at the end of the earth. As a teen, looking at the beauty of the animals, sea and mountains, he came to the conclusion that the demons they worshiped, who did such ugly things, could never have created all this beauty. “There must be a good creator God,” he thought. And, at 18, God brought him into contact with a follower of Jesus, who opened the Bible for him, and he was ready to believe. He had heard the message of creation and understood it, and has now been a follower of Jesus for 60 years!
 
Paul echoes this same truth in the New Testament, “…what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse” (Rom. 1:19,20).
 
You, Lord, have revealed yourself to all through creation, giving all a chance to see and understand that there is a good Creator God. You give them enough light to make them think, and if they want to know more, you will bring further light into their life.
 
Praise be to you for your great love for your rebellious creatures, your marvelous grace and your persistent pursuit of sinners, saving all who are willing. You are the One we can trust, if we will just look around us! Open our eyes so we may delight in your love of beauty, that our faith may deepen every day!]
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Peace in the Midst of Turmoil

Published by S.M. Wibberley on December 7, 2018
 
“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you.” Psalm 143:8
 
While in a difficult situation recently, someone asked me how I could be so cheerful. The answer is a Scripture-based phrase that I often use to give myself perspective: “God is moving history to a conclusion and is taking us with Him!” Whatever the present event, it is part of God’s plan to finish history and move us into eternity. He is in control; I can trust Him.
 
This perspective is found throughout Scripture. Colossians 3:2-4 expresses it well: “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” This gives us the wider, God-focused perspective.
 
“For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” We can leave behind our old culturally-based, performance-oriented, comfort-focused value system. Instead we can choose to rest in the security we have in Christ.
 
“When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” He WILL appear, and He WILL bring us with Him, and He WILL give us a place in His glory—we can focus on this long-term truth rather than our short-term accomplishments or failures!
 
This understanding gives us a wide and long view of what’s happening. This view can change our goal from being comfortable and safe, to joining God in what He’s doing, to embracing the adventures He’s prepared for us.
 
If, from a human perspective, my whole life collapses around me (illness, accident, loss, poverty, persecution, injustice, war), I can look at it within the bigger picture of God’s glory, greatness and grace, knowing that He is doing something significant through it; therefore, I can praise and trust Him in it. My favorite verse sums it up: “My soul finds rest in God alone” (Ps. 62:1).
 
This is a huge shift from “normal” human thinking. And we can cooperate with God in making this shift by internalizing Scripture, then putting it into practice in little every day events. Disappointments, delays, little hurts and small losses then all become opportunities to offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving (Ps. 50:23) and honor God.
 
In giving thanks, we affirm that God is good, that God is in control, that God is at work using each irritation to expose my sin, to transform me, to give me opportunity to be a light to those around me, to give Him glory before the unseen hosts. Truly, knowing Jesus is enough for joy, period! Let’s join Him today in living in this truth!
 
Prayer: “Lord Jesus, you are enough. Help me to walk with you through this day in your power, giving you glory in each decision, trusting you rather than myself. Praise be to you for what you will do in me today. Amen.”
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Is God Fair? Part Three

Published by S.M. Wibberley on December 6, 2018
Is God Fair? Part 3
 
In answering the question, “Is God fair?” (meaning, in today’s thinking, “Does He give everyone the same things?”), we have looked at the first two parts of the answer: “No” and “Yes.”
 
The third answer to this question is another, “No.” In His dealings with us, in what He gives to His creatures in general and His beloved children in specific, God, humanly speaking, is divinely, magnificently and magnanimously unfair.
 
God loves diversity and we see this in how He works in our lives. He is able to take the negative effects of the Fall, where all creation was twisted, and use them for good in us. In this scheme of things each gets what he or she needs to come to know Him and then to serve Him.
 
–Some people He creates with great intelligence, others with simple minds.
 
–Some are born beautiful, others plain, the rest are somewhere in between.
 
–Some are born healthy , others with birth defects or serious illnesses.
 
–Some grow up strong and live long, some die as babies, others die in between.
 
–Some grow up with many opportunities, some with few, others with none.
 
–Some have wonderful parents, some are totally neglected and abused, most have average ones.
 
–Some live in wealth, some in poverty, some in middle class income.
 
–Some have prominent spiritual gifts, like teaching, or leading, while others have gifts used in the background, like mercy or service.
 
Humanly speaking God is unfair in this, but divinely speaking, we know that He is wise and has a purpose for each in what He gives and allows; we can trust Him to do and give what is best for each.
 
He knows what challenges each person requires to see his or her need for a Savior, and then to grow spiritually. He does what is best for each, individually tailoring circumstances and events.
 
This is very “unfair” from the politically correct perspective, but very loving and wise from God’s perspective of Truth, Wisdom, and his ultimate goal to eliminate evil, to save all who are willing and to bring in a new and perfect heaven and earth.
 
God has also distributed roles as He sees fit, much to the consternation of many today. This includes roles in the spiritual (gifts), intellectual, physical and relational realms. Here are some very obvious, yet in our society, often rejected examples of the roles He’s given to men and women.
 
–Men are to procreate. Women are to bear and nurse babies.
 
–Men are to voluntarily, wholeheartedly love, be understanding, nurture & encourage their wives. Women are to voluntarily respect and follow their husbands.
 
–Men are to lead their families. Wives are to be helpers to their husbands. Men are to listen to women’s perspectives and take them into account in making decisions.
 
–Men are to teach and lead mixed groups in the Kingdom. Women are to teach and lead women and children in the Kingdom.
 
In this “unfair” distribution of roles, God knows and does what is best. We can trust Him in His wisdom, love, grace and sovereignty to give to each person what that one needs to come to Him, to live a useful and meaningful life, to develop in a healthy and effective way.
 
So is God fair? “No,” “Yes,” and “No.” Does God have the right to be so? Absolutely: He is the Creator of all, the Most High, the Almighty, the Beginner and Ender of time. There is no one who can challenge Him (as Job found in chapters 38-41 of his book), for the Lord God is perfect in every way.
 
No human could think up such a wonderful God whose character is multifacetedly perfect and beyond comprehension in His Wisdom, Power, Grace and Love. He is totally independent of His creation, he has no need of us; for in His triuneness there is perfect community, love and completeness, which have existed from eternity. This is the God who knows what He’s doing and I choose to trust Him! How about you?
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Is God Fair? Part Two

Published by S.M. Wibberley on December 5, 2018
Is God fair? Part 2
 
As stated in part one, fairness, as defined in our age of tolerance, is that everyone should to get the same thing. In light of this, we have to answer the question, “Is God fair” with “No,” “Yes” and “No.” We looked at the first “No” in part one–God is not fair, in that He doesn’t give us what we deserve, rather He gives us mercy. Now we will look at this from another perspective.
 
“Yes, God is fair.” As you know, He has provided a way of salvation , and in this we see His “fairness:” He gives the same potential to everyone. Here are several points of this fairness.
 
–In creating all human beings in His image, God bequeathed to all the same worth and possibility of relationships (Gen. 1:26,27).
 
–Jesus confirmed this worth when He died and provided the potential for salvation for all who have ever lived and ever will live. “Christ Jesus…gave himself as a ransom for all people.” (1 Tim 2:6, as well as 1John 2:2, Heb. 2:9, 4:10)
 
–We can only be saved by faith; this is true for everyone, no matter what his or her age, intelligence, education, religion, status, wealth, health, strength, home or family. It’s the same for all. (Eph. 2:8, Rom. 1:17)
 
–The Holy Spirit works in the life of every person in the whole world to convince each one of his or her need for Jesus as Savior. The Spirit “will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment…” (John 16:7-11).
 
Every person has the revelation of God’s character in creation “…what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse” (Rom. 1″19,20).
 
–God watches over each person, is aware of the heart condition of each, and loves each with the same great love. (Psalm 33:13-15, Psalm 145:10-16,)
 
–God has the same desire for everyone: that all be saved, although because of their unbelief, many will refuse His salvation. “God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” (1 Tim 2:4, also 2 Peter 3:9, John 1:7)
 
–God will condemn all sin, and anyone who clings to it rather than accepting His offer of grace and protection, will condemn themselves, along with the sin they chose and loved. (John 3:18)
 
In this non-exhaustive list of Scriptural points, God offers to all the same possibility of having eternal life, of becoming His child, of entering His Kingdom and Family and of receiving the same gifts and privileges He has for them. And the way to accept them is the same for all: by faith, a gift He also offers to all.
 
In His mercy God is fair in offering salvation to all, and I am thankful for it! This is the God we can trust wholeheartedly. Help us to do so today, Lord!
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Is God Fair? Part 1

Published by S.M. Wibberley on December 4, 2018
 
Is God fair? Part 1
 
Fairness, as defined in our age of “tolerance,” is that everyone should get the same thing, be given “what we deserve.” In light of this, when we ask the question, “Is God fair?” we have to answer the question, with “No,” “Yes” and “No.” We’ll look at the first answer today.
 
So, is God fair? “No!” If God were fully fair and gave us what we actually and naturally deserved, all people, as sin-twisted rebels, would immediately be sent to Hell. As the Word says, we are by nature children of wrath (Eph. 2:3), and in our natural selves there dwells no good thing (Rom 7:18).
 
Since God is righteous, He must punish sin–if He did not punish it, there would be no justice, with no hope of change for the good, and no solution to the problem of evil. Before a just God, we would naturally all go to Hell right now–if He acted only from fairness.
 
However, praise God, His character is not limited to the low and simplistic standard of being fair. He is also merciful, loving and full of grace. Therefore, in this area, He chooses to not be fair; that is, He does not give us what we deserve, but instead offers the possibility of pardon.
 
An entry in my worship journal expands on this.
 
You, Lord Jesus are faithful–faithful to Your righteousness, to your holiness, to your justice, to perfect judgment of evil. And you, Heavenly Father, being love itself, are faithful to your hatred of sin, of evil, of anything contrary to your character.
 
In your love, you judge sin, rebellion, and all that does not measure up to your perfect righteousness; if you didn’t judge them, you would not be love, for love that is righteous, pure and perfect cannot abide with anything that is tainted by anti-love: selfishness, pride and evil.
 
I praise you, O Lord God, that you rise far above our ability to comprehend. How could One who hates sin so profoundly, provide–against all logic we know–a pardon for your creatures who are so thoroughly sinful, selfish, evil and rebellious–so contrary to you?
 
Yet, in your wonderful, rich grace, you refused to be fair and instead opened the way, at great personal expense, to provide reconciliation through crushing your Son without mercy, that mercy might flow to all your enemies, giving us the potential for redemption, reconciliation, transformation, and eternal life with you.
 
Praise you that you are forcefully faithful to your character—that you are Light, you are Love and you are Life itself. You are altogether lovely. In this, you have not been fair, but merciful and gracious; you have given us the opposite of what we deserve—the very definition of grace–and we praise you for it!
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Warm and Powerful Agape Love

Published by S.M. Wibberley on December 3, 2018
Day 136
 
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for your kind and constant working when I am not faithful, for your unceasing love and goodness in spite of my rebellion and unbelief. I praise you that you never give up on us and will pursue us to the end.
 
Thank you for your wide, comprehensive and complete plan for our lives: you miss no detail, your timing is perfect and your grace is more than sufficient.
 
Thank you for the powerful and perceptive work of your Spirit in and for us: teaching, convicting, rebuking and leading. Help us to be more and more wholeheartedly obedient to the Spirit’s leading.
 
To you belongs all honor and glory, Lord Jesus. Your great and deep love, shared with the Father and Spirit, is now shared with us. It is so good to be in your kingdom, in your family, in your warm embrace.
 
I praise you for the power of your affection–that you can and do love all those who are your enemies, who seek to bring you harm, who are destructive and dangerous to your cause.
 
I thank you that you love me, naturally a man of unbelief, of fear, of rebellion, of selfishness and laziness, of pride and criticalness–in spite of what I am, you love me. Your love is beyond comprehension, flowing without regard to the response or lack of it in the objects of your love.
 
You loved all in the world so much that you took upon yourself every sin of every person from the beginning of creation to the end of history (“He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” 1 John 2:2)—even though you knew that the majority would not choose for you! That is agape love: full, faithful, unlimited, ever flowing, unquenchable and unending.
 
I praise you, Lord Jesus, for the great privilege of being one whom you love, to live in the warmth and protection, the goodness and grace of your compassion which surpasses understanding. Thank you that we don’t have to understand your love to live in it.
 
We can bask in it, revel in it, rejoice in it and rest in it–while being transformed by it. “As we gaze upon him with unveiled faces, we are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (2 Cor. 3:18)
 
What a wonder: you call us to your love, you give us joy in it, and as we see more and more of it, we are being changed to be like you—able to love the unlovely, to be wise and useful for you, to bring you more and more honor.
 
I praise you, Lord Jesus, for your great and wonderful grace, your rich and deep character, your persistent and patient working in our lives. You are more wonderful than anyone can adequately express. Truly you are the One “who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,” (Eph 3:20). To you be honor and glory in my life today, as you shine the light of your love on us.
 
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(Untitled)

Published by S.M. Wibberley on December 2, 2018
Howie helped us carry all of our stuff up to his small apartment, and then said, “Let’s go out to the bakkal and get some food for supper.” He was speaking what we came to call “Loc/Eng:” inserting local words into English sentences. We learned that a “bakkal” was a small corner grocery store.
 
Howie and I went down the three flights of stairs and out onto the street where I was startled to hear gunshots. I looked to the left and saw two men with pistols shooting at each other. Fortunately both seemed to be bad shots, but Howie didn’t seem interested in waiting around to see the outcome.
 
“Let’s go around this way,” he said calmly, like this was something normal. And it turned out that it was normal. Tur.key was in the midst of a civil war and thirty or more people were shot on the streets every day in fights like the one we witnessed.
 
It was the leftists against the rightists, Islamists against Communists, conservatives against liberals. We learned that in the university classrooms there were usually soldiers with loaded rifles sitting in the middle row from front to back. The leftist students then sat on the left and the rightists on the right of the soldiers. That was the only way to keep them from literally killing each other in the classrooms.
 
It was a brutal, dangerous time. We had stepped out of beautiful and peaceful Connecticut into a war zone. And anarchy, we found, was not limited to politics. Traffic rules were ignored by most drivers and pedestrians. Traffic lights were considered decorations, sidewalks were for parking, not walking and the pedestrians walked in the streets.
 
When we came to one intersection where the traffic did stop for a red light, the cars were lined up six abreast. When the light turned green, the car on the far right turned left, cutting across everyone else’s path. But the Tu.rks seemed used to this, letting the car pass in front of them and then going on their way. One had to be always on alert for the unexpected.
 
The next day, we set off for Ank.ara, a twelve hour drive over narrow, crowded, two lane roads. We climbed from sea level to 2500 feet onto the Anatolian plateau. There were hairpin turns galore, steep drop-offs with no guardrails and lots of heavily loaded trucks belching great clouds of diesel exhaust.
 
It was the same game as in Yugoslavia, searching for places to pass the long lines of slow traffic, except there were far fewer places to do so. I was exhausted by the time we got to Ank.ara.
 
We stopped at a bakkal and used the phone to call our team leader, John. He was unable to give us directions, not really knowing where we were, so we were reduced again to asking locals for help but not understanding their answers.
 
However, with the Lord’s protecting hand, we able to arrive at the team leader’s house towards evening. It was December 16, 1979, three years and three months after the Lord told me we’d be on the field in three years. His promise for us was fulfilled again: “(the) the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore” (Ps. 121:8).
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Psalm 18:50

Published by S.M. Wibberley on December 1, 2018
Psalm 18:50 “He gives his king great victories;”
 
[You, Lord, give us opportunity to participate in your victories each day, in every temptation, every stress, every desire to grumble–each an opportunity to take up your grace and glorify you with the sacrifice of thanksgiving.
 
You help us in each situation, making it possible to deny self and obey Truth, to let go of what is temporary, to hold on to what is eternal and to rise above the frustrations, disappointments and problems of life.
 
And in so doing you help us fulfill the purpose of our lives: honoring you, revealing you to those around us by our trusting you in every circumstance. You are sufficient, you are powerful and you are loving, fully worthy of our complete obedience.]
 
“he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed,”
 
[Your faithfulness endures forever, your grace flows endlessly, your goodness never fails. In your kindness you are ever the trustable One, always carrying us through the battle as we rest in you and, as we keep on your armor, you carry us onto the heights and to new victories beyond.]
 
“to David and his descendants forever.”
 
[And so you have proved faithful in protecting the line of David down through the ages, from Abraham to Joseph and Mary. You brought the promised Savior at just the right time, confirming your unfailing kindness to all people, both Jews and Gentiles. You are the Lover of the twisted ones, Redeemer of the rebels, Savior of your evil enemies and Shepherd of the scattered flock.
 
Praise be to you for your, humanly speaking, unreasonable Love, your illogical grace, your outrageous kindness, your amazing goodness–all poured out upon us day by day when we actually deserve the opposite. Glory be to you, the Great and Good God!
 
Help us to walk in the light of these shining Truths every day.]
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Psalm 18:46-49

Published by S.M. Wibberley on November 30, 2018
As Psalm 18:46,47 tell us, in the midst of his battles, David could shout:
 
“The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior! He is the God who avenges me, who subdues nations under me,”
 
[As far as we know, David was never defeated in battle and never was seriously wounded because God protected him. “The LORD is my rock…my deliverer… my shield” (Psalm 18:2). And David remembered this, giving God the credit.]
 
Psalm 18:48 “He is the God…who saves me from my enemies.”
 
[Yes, O Lord God, it is true that when “I call to you, who are worthy to be praised…I am saved from my enemies…You reach down from on high, you take hold of me, you draw me out of deep waters” (Ps. 18:3,16). You are the faithful One who constantly watches over me, not primarily for my comfort, but for my being able to give you glory before the nations.]
 
“You exalted me above my foes;”
 
[Yes, Lord, “You rescue me from my strong enemies, from my foes who are too strong for me.” (Psalm 18:17)]
 
“from violent men you rescued me.”
 
[They “confronted me on the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support. He brought me out into a spacious place. He rescued me because he delighted in me” (Ps. 18:18,19).]
 
Psalm 18:49 “Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O LORD; I will sing praises to your name.”
 
[You, Lord, the God who fights for us, are worthy of glory and honor and exaltation and praise, for you are the Savior of all, especially of those who believe in you. You are worthy of being lifted up among the nations. You are the Most High, you are Lord, you are Sovereign, you are Good, all the time.
 
In every circumstance I can trust you, bow before you, follow your Word and know that you will work it all out. To you be glory and honor today as I willingly submit my will to yours.]
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Psalm 18:37-45

Published by S.M. Wibberley on November 29, 2018
As King David wrote Psalm 18, he faced human foes; we more often face the unseen ones of the devil and his troops. However, the reality of the battle is the same and the One who vanquishes the enemy is also the same.
 
As we follow you, Lord Jesus, our Warrior King, I praise you that in the spiritual battle before us, our true enemies, Satan and His hordes, will be defeated as we submit to and trust in you, joining you in what you are doing. Then we can say with David,
 
Psalm 18:37 [By keeping on the armor of God] “I pursued my enemies [Satan and his demons] and overtook them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed [by praise, prayer and persistence in obedience].
 
18:38 I crushed them [with the Word of God] so that they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet” [because I joined God in what He is doing].
 
[This is possible, Lord Jesus, because]
18:39-41 “You armed me with strength for battle; you made my adversaries bow at my feet. You made my [spiritual] enemies turn their backs in flight, and [in your power] I destroyed my foes [Satan’s servants]. They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—to the LORD, but he did not answer [for they had rejected Him and His ways].
 
18:42 “I beat them as fine as dust borne on the wind; I poured them out like mud in the streets.” [This is your doing, Lord Jesus, for you are my shield and strength].
 
18:43-45 [David could say in his situation] “You have delivered me from the attacks of the people; you have made me the head of nations; people I did not know are subject to me. As soon as they hear me, they obey me; foreigners cringe before me. They all lose heart; they come trembling from their strongholds.”
 
[Your power, Lord Jesus, triumphs in the end. Praise be to you, O Triune God, for you are faithful to protect, provide and lead us through our daily battles.
 
Help us to keep on your armor and use well the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit, so that Satan may be defeated and you be honored today.]
 
Picture of us in 1980, engaging in the battle for the souls of Mus.lims.
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