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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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Anniversary

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 27, 2019

Today is our 45th wedding anniversary. A good start! In the picture Barbara is saying to me, “Slow down!”

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Schooling for the boys

Published by S.M. Wibberley on April 27, 2019
In Germany we bought a used car to drive back to our country, a somewhat beat up yellow VW station wagon. On the return trip we left Dan’s car with a mutual friend who had worked in our country for many years. We spent only fifteen minutes there, but they were life-changing minutes–a definite God sighting.
 
“So, what are you doing about education for your boys?” our friend asked.
 
“We are planning on putting them into the German school,” I replied. “We’ve learned how easy it is to be expelled from our country and since our ‘plan B’ is to move to Germany, if the boys are already in the German system, they could easily fit in here.”
 
“In that case,” said our friend, “I have some advice for you. Have your older boy repeat the third grade. That way he’ll only have to adjust to the language, not the material. That’s what we did with our children when we moved to Germany and it was very helpful for them.”
 
I thanked him for his advice while thinking, “Have my boy repeat a grade? No way!” What an insult that would be to our family and to my boy’s intelligence! No one in our family had ever stayed back a grade, only skipped them.
 
The Lord, however, kept working on me, bringing to mind the fact that in our family we all were slow bloomers, especially emotionally, that staying back would make Josh’s adjustment much easier.
 
By the time we got back home, the Lord had convinced us to follow our friend’s advice. It was the best move we ever made for Josh. Later we realized one side benefit of having Josh repeat the third grade was that he would have one more year with us as a family.
 
And later, when Nat was struggling academically, we had him repeat the seventh grade. It put both boys right where they should be both academically and emotionally and made them much more successful in their learning.
 
After our return, Nat started first grade. Having been in the German Kindergarten for three years, he had no difficulties with the language. However he had other problems. In February his teacher called us to say that Nat was sleeping in class.
 
“What do you mean, ‘sleeping in class?’ ” I asked.
 
“He lies down on the floor and goes to sleep,” the teacher replied.
 
“And what have you done about this?” I asked.
 
“We don’t know what to do. The headmaster doesn’t know either. We just let him sleep.”
 
“And how long has this been going on?” I asked.
 
“Since October,” replied the teacher.
 
“Hmm, I’ll take care of this,” I assured him.
 
That evening Nat and I had a little chat. He told me he slept because the classes were boring. I told him that was not an acceptable reason and that he was to pay attention and not sleep.
 
“If you sleep in class again, Nat,” I said, “You and ‘uncle spoon’ (our code name for the wooden spoon we used for spankings) are going to have a chat.”
 
The next day the teacher called again to report that Nat hadn’t slept in class. “What did you do to solve that?” He asked.
 
When I explained about the threat of spanking, the teacher was appalled; spanking is highly frowned upon in European circles. But the lack of wise, biblical, gracious, loving discipline also brought lots of problems into those families.
After starting school, Nat developed a fear. Whenever we went anywhere as a family, he was like a little sheep dog, trying to herd us all together. He didn’t want any separation. As we talked with him about his concern, the reason came out: a number of his classmates’ parents were divorced, so he thought it might come to our family, too.
 
We assured him that as we were followers of Jesus, we wanted to please Him in every way and we would never divorce; it was not an option for us. We helped him see that the lack of biblical values in these families led to their many problems. It was an effective means of showing the difference between true belief and following your own ideas.
Most of the boys’ classmates were from well-to-do families; some came to school in chauffeured Mercedes; all had the latest designer clothes as well as the latest electronic gizmos. One day the boys came home complaining that we were poor.
“What makes you say that?” I asked.
 
“Everything we have is used. Our car is old and clunky, even a lot of our clothes are hand-me-downs. Why can’t we have new and nice things like our classmates?” they whined.
 
“Let’s think about this,” I responded. “Do we lack anything? Do we have a TV, a VCR, a computer, a camera, a car?”
 
“Yes.”
 
“Do they all function properly? Does our car get us to where we need to go? Does our TV show us movies? Does our computer work?
 
“Yes.”
 
“And what about our family life; what’s it like compared to your class mates’ families?”
 
The lights began to come on for the boys. “They have lousy families. And they are unhappy people.”
 
“Right. So what’s more important, having new things and a poor family life, or having old but working things with a good family life?”
 
“We like our family better,” they both said. That ended the whining.
Josh and Nat were ostracized at school for other reasons than being poor. First, they were not “pure German,” but were “the Americans,” despite the fact that they had German citizenship. Then when he was in the fourth grade, Josh befriended a new student who was a bit slow. This student was quickly labeled as an outsider and “socially unacceptable;” so because Josh was kind and spent time with him, he was also branded an outsider. That label remained throughout the next six years of Josh’s time there.
 
In grammar school both Josh and Nat performed poorly academically. They were bright enough, but were lazy, more interested in play and writing comic books than homework. Finally Josh “caught fire” academically in the last grade and went from last in his class to missing first place by a 1/100th of a point. Nat was to follow in his footsteps.
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