Uncategorized

Uncategorized

Psalm 35:11-16

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 29, 2018
Today we look at a darker part of Psalm 35 where David lifts his soul to God in distress, seeking relief in the attacks coming against him.
 
Psalm 35:11-13 “Ruthless witnesses come forward; they question me on things I know nothing about. They repay me evil for good and leave my soul forlorn. Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth and humbled myself with fasting.”
 
In the daily spiritual battle, Satan often uses those around us to attack and accuse us. Those we have done good to now stand and oppose us, accuse and blame us.
 
This can be disorienting, as two versions of the past collide, perhaps causing us to question our own sanity. David needed a touchstone of reality, so he remembered how he had been so kind and concerned for those who were now attacking him:
 
Psalm 35:13b, 14 “When my prayers [for them] returned to me unanswered, I went about mourning as though for my friend or brother. I bowed my head in grief as though weeping for my mother.”
 
[But these same people had just the opposite response when David was down:]
 
Psalm 35:15,16 “But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee; attackers gathered against me when I was unaware. They slandered me without ceasing. Like the ungodly they maliciously mocked, they gnashed their teeth at me.”
 
[Note that these were “like the ungodly” meaning they were probably believers, people who had been close to David.
 
So we, too, can experience injustice and evil from fellow believers who are pursuing their own agendas rather than God’s. And, like David, we must look to Jesus for help.]
 
Psalm 35:17-18 “O Lord, how long will you look on? Rescue my life from their ravages, my precious life from these lions. I will give you thanks in the great assembly; among the throngs I will praise you.”
 
[Your timing, O Lord, is right, but to us suffering always seems to go on too long. Thinking of my wife’s illness of depression, I cry out, “Act, Lord, and bring the changes, bring the deliverance that is needed.”
 
And then, “Lord, help us to wait through well, learning what is necessary, giving you glory in praise through it all. Answer for the sake of your Name, for the sake of your Glory, O Lord.
 
“I can and will praise you now, Lord, for how and when you will respond. For you are wise and good and gracious, making us lie down in the green pastures of depression so we can grow and be more useful instruments in your hands. May you be glorified in our lives.”]
Image may contain: plant, tree, outdoor and nature      Image may contain: 1 person, smiling, eyeglasses
Filed under:

For Your Edification,

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 28, 2018
 
 Here are fifty-seven spiritual reasons to give thanks in any and all situations.
 
God is real.
He is eternal.
He is holy with no sin, evil or negatives.
He is perfect.
He is wise beyond comprehension.
His ways and thoughts are far higher than ours.
He knows everything.
He understands everything.
He created everything ,giving each thing its complexity and superb design and did so just by speaking!
He is present everywhere, all the time.
He is Sovereign.
He is powerful beyond conception.
He is beautiful in perfect and full-orbedness.
He loves beauty and shares it with us in His creation.
He is love.
He is light
He is life
He inexplicably loves His enemies.
He desired to buy us back from the kingdom of darkness.
He rescued us from Satan, sin and self.
He has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in the Kingdom of light.
He chose us before the foundation of the world to be His children.
He then predestined us to hear the gospel.
He convicted us of sin and righteousness and judgment.
He revealed Himself to us through the means each of us needed.
He sent people to share the good news with us.
He pinned us down to listen and consider.
He gave us faith and repentance.
He is our Shepherd.
He has made His Spirit dwell in us.
We have become the temple of the Living God.
He has made us members of the church universal.
He has given us a church local.
He has given us purpose and meaning.
He has a plan for our lives, laid out in detail.
He is running with us in the race He has set out before us.
Nothing comes to us randomly.
Every bit of suffering has meaning and purpose.
He helps us in every weakness.
He chastens us when we need it (which is much of the time).
He is tender, gracious, loving and kind.
He will make us into the Bride of Christ.
When we die we will go to be with Him.
There will be no sorrow and suffering, no tears or terror.
He has given us peace and joy here and now.
He calls us to trust Him so our lives can overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
He invites us to join Him in His great plans.
He has given us the gift of prayer.
We can enter His presence any time.
He has made us His ambassadors.
He has promised to never leave us or forsake us.
He has given us the three things all human beings long for: belonging, worth and competence.
He gives us rest for our souls, if we seek refuge in Him.
Jesus loves us as the Father loves Him.
He has given us all the significance and security we could ever need.
Because He is always good, we can always give thanks to Him in all things.
And the list could go on and on. What a wonderful God we have, far better than we could ever have thought up. Let us be in awe, fall before Him in worship and live lives that bring Him both joy and honor.
Image may contain: sky, cloud, tree, plant, outdoor, nature and water
Filed under:

No End to Renewal

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 27, 2018
We praise you, Lord God, Father in Heaven, for your great love in disciplining us–your stubborn, rebellious, lazy and self-centered children. You are so patient, so kind, so firm, so persistent in teaching us over and over again the same lessons. Praise you that you never tire of this, and with great patience, continue to the end.
 
Praise be to you for giving us your Word: powerful, perfect, revealing your marvelous character, instructing us in your ways. Praise you that you preserved it down through the ages, had it translated and made available to us. Praise you that your Spirit uses it to transform us as we read, study and meditate on it. As Colossians 3:10 says, we “have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” Which means that all through our lives, as we are in the Word, seeing God sightings, listening to the Spirit, we will be being renewed.
 
What joy there is for you and for us as we learn from your Word to trust, to praise in all, to obey without seeing or understanding all. What power there is to rejoice in you when all seems dark, to learn and live in the truth that knowing Jesus is enough for joy, period. That is truly walking in the freedom you have bought for us.
 
We thank you, we praise you, we lift up your name: the mighty Creator God, who is good and gracious, glorious and great, gripping and grand, deserving praise and pomp, worship and wonder, our submission and surrender through all eternity.
 
Prayer:” We give you glory and praise, Lord Jesus, for all that will come today. We commit ourselves to lift up your name on high by doing what we know is right. We want to praise you in all and make prayer the foundation of all we do. Help us in your power to do so. Amen” –from Edified
Image may contain: sky, tree, snow, plant, outdoor and nature
Filed under:

Psalm 35:5-10

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 26, 2018

 

Psalm 35:5,6 “May [those who seek my life] be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the LORD driving them away; may their path be dark and slippery, with the angel of the LORD pursuing them.”
 
[May you, Lord, deal with those who oppose us because we are yours. May you powerfully work to make them unsuccessful and fruitless in their pursuit of your children’s death and destruction, as in the picture below where Hindus attack a Christian’s home. Send your angels to frustrate them, and bring them to a realization of their error, to a vision of your righteousness, Lord Jesus, and come to know you.]
 
Psalm 35:7,8 “Since they hid their net for me without cause and without cause dug a pit for me, may ruin overtake them by surprise—may the net they hid entangle them, may they fall into the pit, to their ruin.”
 
[Yes, may they be caught in their own traps, and see the error of their ways. I praise you for how you did this to the Al Quaeda cell in the Middle Eastern city where we lived. They had planned to kill pastors and bomb churches in the city, and had their lists and addresses ready, their weapons prepared—but were caught before they could carry out their attacks. Thank you for your protection, Lord.]
 
Psalm 35:9,10 “Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD and delight in his salvation. My whole being will exclaim, ‘Who is like you, O LORD?’”
 
[Yes, Lord, we praise and exalt you with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, for you have given help and protection—and will continue to do so. There is no one like you, Lord God, who knows all, sees all and is able to protect from all true harm.
 
Sometimes you do allow hurt—believers are persecuted, beaten, driven from their homes and killed–but even in that you have a greater purpose for their lives and deaths in the over-arching and magnificent scheme of your plans. You give them opportunity to be a powerful witness to their persecutors; they give you honor before the whole universe; they earn eternal rewards; and will receive honor, glory and praise before the hosts of Heave when they enter your presence.
 
You are our Salvation, our Rock, our Fortress and our high Tower in whatever may come. You are the One we can trust.]
“You rescue the poor from those too strong for them, the poor and needy from those who rob them.”
 
[And this you have done for us, the poor and needy, in rescuing us from the devil’s kingdom of darkness, bringing us out into your Kingdom of Light. And you rescue us every day from the schemes of Satan, self and sin, you protect us from those who oppose you.
 
You have also equipped us to join you in this rescue plan: “This is the victory that HAS OVERCOME the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God” (1 John 5:4b,5).
“Put on the whole armor of God that you MAY BE ABLE to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Eph. 6:11). “…he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, SO THAT CHRIST’S POWER MAY REST ON ME” 2 Cor. 12:9).
 
Help us Lord, to join you daily in the great battle against self, sin and Satan, to cooperate with you in your plans to rescue us from evil and harm, to take up your provision of faith and armor, to obey you in what we know to be right.]

Filed under:

Tough Day, God’s Promises

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 25, 2018
Yesterday was a tough day for Barbara, with lots of fear, self-condemnation, and speaking words of wounding to herself. It was distressing to see her regress into passivity and confusion after a couple of good days in the week.
 
For me, this is an opportunity to let go of my desires, hold on to the fact that God has a plan here, and to rise above my disappointment, distress and negative feelings. It is an opportunity to offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving and to choose to live the truth that Knowing Jesus is Enough for Joy. Faith flowers in the soil of difficulty.
 
Our Great Shepherd promises to make us lay down in green pastures. Our present pasture looks brown to us, like this picture, but in spite of how it appears, He is going to use it to nurture, deepen and mature us.
 
Please do pray for wisdom for us in how to cooperate with God in what He is doing. Ask that Barbara will reject passivity and words of wounding and to actively speak words of healing to herself instead. Thank you.
Image may contain: tree, sky, plant, grass, outdoor and nature
Filed under:

What is Humility?

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 24, 2018
 
Humility is a word we mention a lot, but it seldom gets defined. One viable definition is this: “Agreeing with God.” In fact, this is what the Greek word translated “confess” means. And the word translated “virtue” in 2 Peter 1:5 also has the idea of agreeing with God.
Pride is the opposite–thinking that we know what is right, choosing to define good and evil ourselves. This is what Adam did in eating the forbidden fruit: he thought he knew better.
Humility is abandoning that self-centered thinking to embrace God’s opinion about everything. In fact, that is what it means to fear God: caring very deeply what He thinks, standing in awe of His wisdom, knowledge and power so much that we obey Him whether we feel like it or not, fearing the consequences of disobeying Him.
The one time Moses failed in his humility was when he reacted as he wanted: instead of speaking to the rock to get water, in anger he struck it, thereby stealing honor from God.
Most of us would like to be humble, but If we are honest, we only selectively agree with what God has to say. The rest of the time we elevate our intellect and emotions above His Word. For instance, how often have I gone ahead and said something negative even after the Spirit has warned me not to! I decide that giving a zinger to someone is more important than obeying God–and thereby steal honor from Him.
There is a point of humility where every single person misses the mark: what we think of ourselves. A finer focus of the definition of humility is this: “seeing ourselves as God sees us, both in our depravity and in our holiness.” Like the tree in this picture, we were born crooked, growing along the ground (our depravity); but then when we came came to Christ, he straightened us out and we can grow straight up (the holiness He gives us).
Those of us who are proud or self-sufficient or self-absorbed, tend to focus on what a good person we are, missing the truth that we have an old nature where we are worthy only of condemnation, rejection, punishment and death.
On the other hand, many of us are dissatisfied with our performance, looks, possessions and position. We focus on our lacks, our failures and negatives, envying those who have more. We are down on ourselves, disappointed in ourselves and talk frequently about what we “should do,” because, in our opinion, we never do enough. We don’t pray enough, read the Word enough, witness enough.
But how does God look at us? He acknowledges the fact that by nature we are depraved, evil and worthy only of condemnation. But He then focuses fully on the fact that we, as born-again believers, are created in His image, chosen before the foundation of the world, fully forgiven, completely cleansed, and joyfully adopted into His family, into His Kingdom, and into His plan.
He loves us richly, deeply, unconditionally and eternally. He delights in us, rejoices in us, sings over us and cherishes us. If we are humble, we will agree with God about both our old nature depravity and our holiness in Him. Then we will focus primarily on how He forgives us, accepts us and loves us–and do the same to ourselves!
When we begin to understand how much we are loved, there will be a transformation in us, as we “know this love that surpasses knowledge so that [we] may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:19). And part of this fullness is viewing ourselves as He does. That is being humble!
So let us repent of our dissatisfaction with ourselves, repent of our focus on performance, possessions and looks, and instead, as a result of Christ’s sacrifice, forgive, accept and love ourselves as God loves us. The resulting fullness of God will lead to a life of greater obedience (loving our neighbor as we love ourselves), holiness, humility and honor for God.
 
Image may contain: tree, plant, outdoor and nature
Filed under:

Psalm 35:1-4

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 23, 2018
As we face problems in life, attacks by Satan through people and circumstances, failures and disappointments, we can come to you, Lord Jesus, and ask for your help, knowing that you will assist and protect us. As David wrote in the Psalms:
 
Psalm 35:1 “Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me.”
 
[Whether those attacking us be ISIS, the neighbor next door, the IRS or the devil himself, they are all too strong for us to personally defeat; we desperately need your help, Lord. And, like David, our first move is to come to you in prayer.]
 
Psalm 35:2,3 “Take up shield and buckler; arise and come to my aid. Brandish spear and javelin against those who pursue me.”
 
[When David wrote this, he stood in physical danger; we, more often, are in spiritual danger, being attacked with temptations, problems and difficulties which push us to act without faith. But more and more there will be actual attacks on those who follow you, Lord, as laws, government agencies and groups seek to still our voices and try to force us to conform to their worldview.]
 
Say to my soul, ‘I am your salvation.'”
 
[I need this reminder daily, for it is easy to forget, in the jumble and rush of events, that you only are my salvation, Lord Jesus. You are the mighty One, who delivered me from the kingdom of darkness, from the oppression of the devil, from the deceit and destruction of this world. And you fight for us now, for we are your beloved children: you protect us from true harm, you stand with us in our troubles, you carry us through our difficulties. Praise be to you.]
 
Psalm 35:4 “May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame; may those who plot my ruin be turned back in dismay.”
 
[On a human level there are those who seek the lives of Christians–Jihadists for sure, and others. May they be disgraced in their wrong thinking and evil intent. May they fail, be exposed, be dismayed and chastened that they may see the error of their ways and repent.]
 
Praise be to you, the God of Power, the Lord of glory, the King of victory, for keeping us safe, preventing Satan’s triumph and evil people’s victories. Instead, in the midst of suffering and difficulty, we are safe in you, Lord: empowered, protected, sheltered and helped. We praise you for your love demonstrated, your power displayed and your goodness proven. To you be glory and honor today. Amen.
Image may contain: food
 
Filed under:

Wonder!

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 22, 2018
Praise be to you, Lord, O Wise and Wonderful God, my heavenly Father, my resurrected Brother, my indwelling Spirit. You have given me a new day, fresh from your hand, ready to be used for good. I praise you for the wonderful privilege of waking up to find you there, waiting for me, ready to carry me through all that you have planned.
 
I praise you, Lord, for your love, your wisdom, your power and your goodness, for including me in your plans, for giving each of your children an important part in all you are doing.
 
It is you who have made me yours–against all logic, all reason, all expectation, you called me out to be your son. You desired to have me in your family and you have reserved for me a place of honor and responsibility in your Kingdom. Why? Not for any reason found in me, but because you are the Lord of love, the God of grace, the Father of forgiveness.
 
You are also the God of Justice and Righteousness, meaning you must judge and punish sin–which is wonderful, because if you weren’t and didn’t, there would be no hope for a solution to evil. Along with being the just Judge, in your merciful majesty you have provided the way for all human beings to avoid judgment by taking that punishment on yourself.
 
Praise be to you, Lord Jesus, for your willingness to enter the land of darkness and death, to shine your light of love on those who hate you. Thank you that you were willing to be rejected, abused, beaten, crucified and defeated in the eyes of men. You did this so that every person may have the possibility of being forgiven, of being snatched from the jaws of the dragon and transformed into a child of light and love and laughter.
 
The wonder of it grows as you give me a greater grasp of where I was: under your wrath, in the kingdom of darkness, on the path to destruction, in the host of the condemned, filled with evil, and controlled by rebellion. There was no reason for you to choose me, save me, adopt me, love me.
 
But you yourself are the reason you have done the marvelous, brought about the magnificent and provided a majestic salvation for all your human enemies. You are way beyond amazing!
 
We must stand in awe of your strong love, your infinite grace, your deep patience, your rich goodness, your mighty mercy.
You are the One who should fill our vision, absorb our attention and attract our thoughts. Forgive us for being distracted by the tinsel of this world, the worthless fascinations of our hearts and the destructive temptations of our environment.
 
These all fade into the background when we turn our attention to your beautiful character, your infinite power, your unending love, your eternal goodness, your limitless grace. As we see these more and more, we are brought to our knees in worship, surrender and praise Then before you we rise up to live in the light of your presence, looking only to you, Lord Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.
 
Fill us so full of your Spirit that He may overflow into the lives of all we meet today. Help us to daily run the race you have set before us with the endurance and patience you offer, that we may be a light of truth and comfort to all around us, opening the way for them to believe, to follow, to trust you, to know you in all your beauty and goodness, that there may be more worshipers in eternity.
Image may contain: tree, sky, outdoor and nature
Filed under:

Words of Wounding, Words of Healing

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 21, 2018
In a recent conversation with my brother, Sam, he talked about Proverbs 18:21: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue….” Proverbs 15:4 expands on this truth: “A soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.”
As I thought on these verses, the Spirit brought to mind how often Barbara, in her depression, speaks “words of death,” and “words of crushing” to herself: “There is no hope for me. I will never get well. I am useless. I can’t do anything right. I can’t remember anything. I’m ugly.”
These are all lies which crush her spirit. We’ve been working a long time with the concept of recognizing these lies, which rise out of her childhood and her negative feelings, and replacing them with truth. But she was not making much progress with it.
Now with these verses from Proverbs, new terms came to my mind: we can speak words of healing, or we can speak words of wounding and hurt. These terms seem to resonate with Barbara more powerfully, and she seems to be applying them.
This concept is true for all of us, as we can easily wound ourselves with negative, condemning statements. These may have some truth in them, but are usually broad, generalized pronouncements that are more lie than truth. “I can’t do anything right!” “I’m such a loser.” “I’m no good!” “No matter what I do, I can’t win.” “I’m such a fool.”
Or, we can speak words of healing, which are more specific, biblical and true. “I feel like a fool, but you don’t love me because I’m perfect, Lord, you love me because you are love itself! As you have forgiven, embraced and loved me, so I choose to forgive, accept and embrace myself. Guide me now in making wise decisions.”
“I feel hopeless, but you, Lord, are the God of hope who has a plan and you are carrying us forward whether I can sense it or not.”
“I feel ugly; but even if that were fully true, I am your child, chosen, accepted, adopted, embraced and dearly loved. And in your love I am made beautiful.”
Then along with speaking words of healing, we can take positive steps to correct what triggered such words of wounding. If I feel ugly, I can get dressed up. If I feel everything is a mess, I can straighten some things up. If I feel useless, I can choose a constructive project and work on it. If I feel abandoned, I can reach out to others who are lonely.
So I encourage you to speak words of healing, words of pure truth to yourself, to stop wounding yourself (which is joining Satan in his work as Accuser of the Brethren!), and to experience the healing touch of the God who offers us abundant love, life and light.
Image may contain: 1 person, smiling, tree, outdoor, closeup and nature
 
Filed under:

Rising Above

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 20, 2018
While living in Germany in 2011, most of my ministry was done over the internet. At one point we lost our subscription and had to wait weeks to be reconnected. I tried another route, using an “internet stick” that connected through cell phone signals, and with great expectation went through the process of buying and setting it up, only to have it be so slow as to be useless. The following is what I wrote as I processed this disappointment by lifting my soul to God–letting go, holding on and rising above.
 
Thank you, Lord, for the disappointment with the internet stick yesterday-after spending 1.5 hours in the Vodafone shop, to come home and have it be so slow was a shock. Thank you for this new adventure you have laid before me.
 
Here is a case of setting my heart on something, on a solution, and then having it fail. Thank you for this, Lord, another chance to praise you by faith, to look away from my solutions to yours, to rest in you in the midst of difficulties–and just a minor, simple inconveniences, really.
 
One factor is that I fear missing out on something like an important, time-sensitive email,  by not having connection to the internet. But that is fear, not faith. I can trust you to get me on when it is needed, Lord, to give me wisdom and direction, protection and help.
 
Thank you for another chance to give you glory and honor through trust rather than lapse into complaining and self-pity. And I do choose to praise, to offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving for what I don’t like, so that you may have more glory and honor, Lord.
 
Thank you again, Lord, for the opportunity to deny self, to reject the input of my feelings, to get up the shield of faith and quench those fiery darts of self-pity, discouragement, negative thinking and complaining.
 
You, Lord God, are the King of glory whom we can trust to bring about what is good and best and wise. So I praise you for your gracious kindness which you have stored up for us today. “…as it is written: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him’ ” (1 Corinthians 2:9).
 
I praise you, Lord Jesus, my Great Shepherd, that you have purposes for this disappointment. At the very least it is taking my eyes off of the small, temporary and unimportant aspects of life and shifting them to the eternal and powerful truths you want me to live in.
 
I thank you that you are directing me away from continually looking at things on line rather than spending my time on better things. Thank you for this discipline which will lead to greater freedom.
 
To know you is all I need; forgive me for trying to draw my happiness, my security, my sense of control from such temporary, unimportant things in life. My purpose is to live for you, to be obedient to your Word and Spirit, to dwell in your Word rather than in my feelings and to praise you for your grace and goodness, Lord.
 
Today may I live for you with all my heart, being filled with your Spirit and doing what is right, honoring to you. Help me to praise you in all things, to reject complaining and negativeness and instead to rejoice in the great privilege of knowing you, Lord. Amen.
Image may contain: night, sky, tree and outdoor
Filed under: