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From my worship journal

Published by S.M. Wibberley on August 3, 2017

I praise you, Lord, for what will come today: the planned and the unexpected, the accomplishments and the interruptions, the painful and the pleasant. You, Lord God, are my shield, my strength and my stronghold, always there to protect, provide and carry me through whatever challenges you allow. You are the light, shining into my life. You are all I need for today.

You will do what is best in your faithfulness, in your goodness, in your wisdom, in your love, in your righteousness, in your grace and in your power.

[This devotional (written years ago) is especially appropriate for me today, as I am sending it from my hospital bed after having an incident of “Atrial Flutter,”  another adventure with God. This caused my blood pressure to go way down and my pulse way up, resulting in a trip to the emergency room. There I got an infusion of drugs that corrected the destructive rhythms, which could have caused blood clots resulting in a stroke or worse. They don’t know what caused it, but said i “lucked out” in having it straighten out so quickly. But no luck involved, only our gracious God answering prayer. Will be taking some meds to prevent it again.]

I praise you, Lord, for the privilege of being weak, of resting in your might—there is so much out of my control, while all is within yours. You know what you are doing, you have a plan, you are moving all to a conclusion, bringing it down to an end, from which all will then expand into eternity, filling the universe with good, righteous, godly and gracious beings, acts, and events. Because you are the Almighty One, no one can stop you, no one can thwart you.

I praise you for your Word and for the wonder of meditating on it, having it trickle down into my being to bring cleansing, insight, transformation and joy, for you are the infinite One, always having more to reveal to us of your Great and Gracious character.

I praise you now for what you will show today, do today, provide today. May I give you glory all through this day, Lord, by choosing to obey what I know to be true, by trusting you, praising you in and for all things, delighting in my weaknesses, rejoicing in your strength and exalting in your righteousness, wisdom and power.

I bow before you now in worship, I will rise up in surrender, wanting to walk with you in obedience and godly fear, desiring to bring you glory before the seen and unseen hosts. Help me to do this consistently through the day, choosing in each event to trust you by offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving in all that comes. Amen.

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Psalm 19:14

Published by S.M. Wibberley on August 2, 2017
 
Psalm 19:14 “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight,”
Yes, Lord, may both my inner and outer speech please you, for out of the heart flow the words of my mouth. Lord, bring the continual transformation I need to please you in my thought life, so my public life may honor you before others.
 
May my impatience, selfishness, pride and ambition be replaced with patience, Christ-centeredness, humility and contentment.
Help me to consistently meditate on your Word, to think your thoughts, to respond with your wisdom and to speak your Truth. And may you be greatly pleased with that obedience growing in my being, the result of your good work.]
“O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.”
[You are my unmovable Rock, my LORD–that is, Yahweh, Jehovah, the Holy God, pure and sinless, separate and other, who hates sin and will judge it, while somehow you love sinners and therefore provided for us a way of escape from your just wrath.
You are the God of wondrous qualities, of gracious goodness, of lavish love and of seeming paradoxes, able to join together what looks contradictory from our limited perspective: justice and mercy, truth and grace, judgment and love.
As my Rock, you are the stability of my life, the only solid source of rest, of shade, of protection, of hope. In you alone I can take refuge, for you will never be shaken, changed, fail or be defeated.
You are my Redeemer, the purchaser of trash so you can turn it into treasure. You are the One who could take upon yourself the sins of the whole world because you want each person in creation to come to you, to believe, to become your child, to be dearly loved, deeply cared for, eternally doted on, doubly cherished and delighted in.
You, the great Savior, have brought us out into a spacious place, before your throne, before your face, before the hosts of Heaven, and there you delight in us, your unfinished and cherished children.
Praise be to you for your long-lasting love, your wild wisdom, your glorious grace. You are worthy of our worship today and throughout all eternity. I bow before you now, O King of the universe, Lord of time, Ruler of all creation. To you be honor, glory, praise and exaltation in my life today. Amen.]
 
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Psalm 19:12-13

Published by S.M. Wibberley on August 1, 2017
 
Psalm 19:12 “Who can discern his errors?”
 
[My inner being is, to a large part, inscrutable and opaque to me–below my consciousness. In there I unknowingly sin with wrong motives, wrong attitudes and wrong desires. These sins are from my flesh, from the inherited residue of sin from past generations, from the subtle working of the devil, from input from the world–and from my giving in to them. These sins are there—but their penalty has been paid in Christ’s death and resurrection, praise be to you.
 
We can pray, along with David, “Forgive my hidden faults” and know that we are forgiven.
 
As I spend time in worship (giving you, Lord, honor for who you are), you are slowly increasing the depth of understanding of what’s in my inner being–showing me more and more of these hidden faults. Then I can knowingly confess and reject them and instead obey you in these areas. Praise you for your persistent, patient and powerful work in my life.]
 
Psalm 19:13 “Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me.”
 
[This is where I am fully responsible and where I very much need your grace, your help and guidance, Lord Jesus, my great Shepherd. I thank you that you have prepared me for this struggle, as it says in 2 Peter 1:3, “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” I have to learn to take up and use what you have provided.
 
Praise you for the continual upward progress of your transformational work in us, which I see daily within and without, as the Holy Spirit warns me, giving conviction, insight and protection. You make it possible to stand against the pressures that push me towards personal sin. As I obey, you are making supernatural responses (praise, denying self, patience and mercy) more “natural” for me.
 
You are at work: you are my Rock, my Fortress, my Deliverer, my Shield, my Strength, my Stronghold. In you alone is the needed help in the battle with sin, self and Satan, with you alone is there hope, power and victory.]
 
“Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression.”
 
[Only in you, Lord, only in you is there the possibility of being blameless, without reproach, innocent of great sin. Praise be to you for your unwarranted desire to help, your unearned love, your undeserved grace.
 
You are marvelous in your Might, great in your Grace and wonderful in your Wisdom as you usher us farther up and further into the freedom, growth and goodness of your Kingdom. Glory be to you. Help us today to follow you wholeheartedly in this journey into the light of transformation.]
 
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Psalm 19:9-11

Published by S.M. Wibberley on July 31, 2017
Psalm 19:9b “The ordinances of the LORD are sure”
 
[There is no doubt, no shakiness, no uncertainty in your Word, Lord. What You command and reveal is absolutely true, fully trustable and entirely correct. We can have confidence in, rely on and rest in all that you reveal to us by your Word.]
 
“and altogether righteous.”
 
[There is no sin, no wrong motive, no dark side, no hidden evil, no selfishness, no imbalance in your ordinances, Lord. They are purely, positively, powerfully right. We can always bank on them, for you promise is to “lead me in paths of righteousness for your name’s sake” (Ps. 23:3).]
 
Psalm 19:10 “They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold;”
 
[Your ordinances are better than gold, for they last forever. Plus they are perfect, they are pure, they cannot perish, their value is immeasurable, and they are vast beyond conception. Much greater in value than gold—and much easier to transport from one situation to another!]
 
“they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.”
 
[In revealing Truth, your ordinances bring to us the sweetness of life, the nectar of joy and a taste of heaven.]
 
Psa 19:11 “By them is your servant warned;”
 
[They reveal danger, show us how to avoid evil and protect us from our own wrong desires. We must pay attention to your warnings, for it is up to us to obey what you have revealed.]
 
“in keeping them there is great reward.”
 
[Not just preservation from danger and disaster, but immense rewards come from obeying your commands, Lord. These rewards are both for now and forever: peace, joy, strength, wisdom, grace, love, positive relationships, fulfilling significance and purpose, security both for today and for eternity, continual growth and many others–an ongoing stream of your goodness being poured out on your children who love you with all their heart and strength and mind and soul.]
 
Today, Lord, help me to care deeply about what you think in all my decisions. Guide me in doing what will last forever, making plans based upon your perfect and pristine Word, rather than on my own feeble and faulty reasoning.
 
May I wholeheartedly, consistently, confidently, humbly exalt and obey your Word in every area, every situation, every thought of my life so that I may constantly give you an ongoing flow of glory and honor, O Lord Jesus, my Shepherd and King.
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Another excerpt from Canterbury Characters

Published by S.M. Wibberley on July 30, 2017
 
 
Recently I visited Rick, a fellow I’ve known from his youth, now 40 years old. Humanly speaking he is in bad shape, and has been for years. Having severe genetic diabetes (even though he is not at all overweight), he has had parts of both legs amputated, first below the knees, then above them, as well as some fingers; his kidneys have failed so he is on dialysis 3 times a week; his arms are one mass of scars from infections from plastic inserts to deal with dialysis; he has continual reflux and scaring on his esophagus, partly from severe vomiting when he was poisoned by infections in his legs; in addition, he has experienced heart attacks and insulin attacks and could die at any time.
 
My intent in visiting him was to give him some encouragement and perspective. How wrong I was! I came away so encouraged! Sitting there in his wheelchair, Rick was cheerful, upbeat and positive. He said that he is still alive because God has a purpose for his life. He believes that his job is to pray, so he intercedes about everything: what he sees on the news, what he hears from others, the people he has met in his medical world.
 
He may be handicapped humanly speaking, but he is focused spiritually on what God has for him. He has allowed these difficulties to drive him into the arms of Jesus, not into the swamp of despair and bitterness. I’m sure that he has had his times of discouragement and self-pity, but he has moved out of them into the light of God’s continual presence.
 
I thought to myself, “If I were in Rick’s place, would I think positively like that?” The answer is, humanly speaking, “No!” But if, like Rick, any one of us took up the grace of God and let these difficulties drive us into the Word and into a deeper dependence on God, we, too, could be joyfully useful in His hand.
Hebrews 12:15 says, “Take heed lest any man fail of the grace of God [meaning we fail to take up and use the grace that God offers], lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you and many thereby be defiled.”
 
Rick is a living example of obeying this verse and principle. He takes up the grace of God every day and rejects the temptation of self-pity and selfish thinking, instead praising God in and for all. Therefore, he is not bitter, and does not spread the poison of discontent to others; instead he is sweet, bringing help and joy to all he meets. May we who have much easier lives, be and do the same.
 
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Psalm 19:9

Published by S.M. Wibberley on July 30, 2017

Psalm 19:9 “The fear of the LORD is pure,”

[To obey you, Lord, out of reverence, awe and fear takes us in the direction of genuine holiness, away from the pollution of the world, our old nature and the devil. To obey you moves us towards fearing you–that is, caring deeply what you think about our issues and actions, our thoughts and words–while helping us fear the negative consequences of following our own reasoning.

To fear God, not man, to obey you while rejecting the fear of man–this leads to purity. The “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe” (Prov. 29:25).]

“The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever.”

[What we do out of our great reverence for you will be pure and positive, as well as lasting forever. To obey Truth because we love you is something that will have significance for all eternity. Even if it is a tiny, one second act (rejecting grumbling and instead offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving ; or rejecting self-pity and instead thinking truth ), it has eternal consequences.

Every decision is potentially a glory-giving, grace-displaying, goodness-granting opportunity–even if it’s internal and no one else knows about it but God. It is a possibility in which we can fulfill the purpose for which we were created: to bring honor to Him. This perspective can change our motives from wanting to do what is natural, to bringing glory to God by revealing Him to those around us through our actions and reactions.

Help us, Lord, to make multiple “pure and enduring forever” decisions today, based on our awe and fear of you, and thereby bringing more and more honor to you!]

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Psalm 19:8

Published by S.M. Wibberley on July 29, 2017
Psalm 19:8 “The precepts of the LORD are right,”
 
[You, Lord, make the lines clear: this is right, that is wrong. And praise you that you do it as much in principles as in particulars, like, “honor your father and mother,” which can be lived out differently in different cultures.
 
Then you present us with the wisdom to know how to apply these principles in various situations in our lives, giving us guidance in the grey areas. “If any man lacks wisdom, let him ask of God….” (James 1:5)]
 
“giving joy to the heart.”
 
[Knowing what is right and wrong brings security, for having clear boundaries lessens the stress of decision making. Knowing truth brings joy, one of the pleasures you desire for us to have in growing amounts.
 
As you, Lord Jesus, said in John 15:11, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” Joy is there, offered to us for the taking–we just need to take your Word seriously, reject the tendency to complain and choose to live the truth that knowing Jesus is enough for joy.
 
Such joy does not come from circumstances (as happiness does) but from our relationship with you, which will never be altered from your side–meaning joy is always available, no matter how we may feel.]
 
“The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.”
 
[Your Word shines like the noon day sun, showing us the way, illuminating what is right and wrong, falling on our path so we can know what can cause us to stumble, where to step and what to reject]
 
I can know what to avoid: do not lie; do not steal; do not commit adultery. And what to do: be faithful; be kind; forgive; love by obeying Truth; find your delight in God; do what is best; pray all the time.
 
There is no question about many things. And where it is not so clear and simple, you wholeheartedly give wisdom to discern and live in integrity.
 
Help us to walk in your light today, seeing and circumventing the traps that the world, the flesh and the devil have set for us. May we, living in the light of your Word, be more than conquerors with you.]
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Psalm 19:7

Published by S.M. Wibberley on July 27, 2017
Psalm 19:7 “The law of the LORD is perfect,”
 
[You make no mistakes, Lord–what you revealed is exactly right, perfectly presented, totally trustable. Your law is without flaw, without error, without lack. It is the one thing in this world that we can fully lean on. It is like an open door, beckoning us into the garden of your delights.]
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“reviving the soul.”
 
[To learn your law, to obey your ordinances brings life, refreshment, growth and strength to our souls; that is, to our minds, our wills and our emotions. In learning to think your thoughts, our soul is brought more in line with what you originally intended—giving us a tiny taste of pre-fall goodness, a tangible touch of eternity. Praise you for putting it within our grasp by putting perfection within your Word.]
 
“The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,”
 
[Your revelations are absolutely right, fully true, totally correct and therefore we can rest in them. Even if people take some verses out of context and twist them to their own purposes, that does not negate the genuine wisdom stored up in your statues for those who handle and understand the Word of God correctly, taking it at face value and in full context.]
 
“making wise the simple.”
 
[We are all foolish in our natural, fallen selves, and in the light of your deep and wide, full and powerful wisdom. In comparison with you, Lord, we are all very simple. Especially in the light of your complexity, your creativity, your designing all aspects of the universe with deep detail–just think of the structure of a cell, as complex as any city, complete with systems of communication, transportation and manufacturing.
 
And who can understand the power that holds together the positive protons in the nucleus of an atom? Who can know the paths of the stars? Who can know what is right in every situation? Only you, Lord God–and you have graciously revealed a portion of that wisdom with us in your Word.
 
Praise you for your generosity in sharing some of your deep, wide and powerful thoughts with us! Help us today to admit our simplistic approach to life and to embrace instead your rich wisdom, submitting ourselves to your Way, your Word, your Wonderful love–doing good to our enemies, praying for those who persecute us, blessing those who harm us, giving thanks in all things.]
 
 
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Psalm 19:4b-6

Published by S.M. Wibberley on July 26, 2017
Psalm 19:4b-6 “In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun, which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat.”
 
You, Lord, in your wisdom, goodness and might created the sun, making it exactly the right size, burning at preciously the right temperature. Then you placed the earth in just the right orbit around it, not too far, not too close, providing exactly the right amount of heat, light and energy for carbon-based life. The sun speaks to us of your provision and love, your wisdom and power.
 
When simple observation shows us the exactness and wisdom of your design, with so many factors being preciously what is needed, why do so many not believe?
 
Your Word tells us that they have a veil over their faces, put there by Satan and held there by our sin and selfishness. Only as we turn to you is it taken away (2 Cor. 3:15, 4:3,4).
 
Praise be to you, Lord, that you call all to turn to you, even though you know that all will not believe. Like the sun, you constantly shine out on us your warm love, your light giving grace and your energy providing goodness.
 
You are the God of undying, unending kindness, of supremely positive provision, of ever-flowing grace and goodness. And, in spite of what we are in our nature, you are good to us, because it is your nature do so: you are Love, you are Light, you are Life. And you will go on doing good to your creatures no matter how they respond.
 
I praise you for your graciousness, for your righteousness, for your holiness, for your loveliness. I praise you that you have caused your face to shine upon us, that you in your great love, you have equipped us for life and godliness, that you protect us from true evil, that you call us to partnership with you in the great plans you have for the conclusion of the world, for the sweeping of many into your Kingdom, and for the ending of evil in the universe.
 
You are completely worthy of all worship, you are supremely worthy of honor and praise, you are richly worthy of all exaltation and obedience.
 
I bow now before you this morning, Lord; help me to rise up to give you glory and honor and praise by walking in the light of your Word, living an obedient life worthy of you, doing what I know pleases you. I praise you now for your provision to do this.]
 
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news

Published by S.M. Wibberley on July 25, 2017

Going this morning for a radio interview for my new book. Pray for it to go well and produce many sales!

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