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Safe in Jesus

Published by S.M. Wibberley on July 3, 2017
From EDIFIED! the devotional book
 
“He remembers his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations….”
Psalm 105:8
 
This morning I woke up late, have a headache and a scratchy throat, had disturbing dreams and am groggy. This is a great chance to praise you, Lord Jesus, for your unchanging, ongoing, immutable, eternal faithfulness, your consistent character and beautiful being.
 
I change, vacillate, fail and am fickle, but you, Lord Jesus, are rock-solid, reliable, never wavering, fully faithful, always true, reliably righteous, ever the same, ever perfect.
 
My ups and downs become an impetus to praise you, Lord Jesus, as they highlight the unwavering majesty of your mighty and magnificent character. You are the perfect One, whose plans stand firm forever and whose purposes continue through all generations. You promise, you follow through, you fulfill–always.
 
I think of the time gaps between the giving of prophesies in the Old Testament and the fulfillment in the New: the promise given in the Garden of Eden of your coming as the Deliverer from the curse; the promises to Abraham some 2000 years before your coming; the Psalm 22 prophetic poem of David, written 1000 years before your incarnation, detailing your death on the cross long before crucifixion was known; the clear declaration in Isaiah 53 of the details of your work of salvation, written 700 years before you accomplished them. So sure was the carrying out of your plan that you are called the Lamb of God, sacrificed before the foundation of the world.
 
Today, as we see the increase in earthquakes, in political turmoil, in immorality, in rampant self-centeredness, in the coldness of believers—all prophesied in your Word—we remember how faithful you are in fulfilling what you promised as you carry us on towards the conclusion of history.
 
In our daily life you, in your faithfulness, prepare, protect and propel us forward in our walk with you. Whatever comes, whatever happens, whatever failures, problems, difficulties, insults, weaknesses, persecutions, sicknesses, hurts, losses or tragedies may come, you are there.
 
You are our Refuge and Strength, an ever-present Help in trouble (Ps. 46:1). You are our Shepherd and Shield (Ps. 18:1-4), leading us forward, fulfilling our needs, giving us rest, restoring our souls, protecting us from the enemy, providing peace, giving grace, manifesting mercy—all out of your faithful and sure character.
 
As I go into this day with a headache, I want to praise you, Lord God, for you are worthy of worship, glory, honor and obedience at all times, in all circumstances. You are to be lifted up, exalted and honored and I commit myself to do that today.
 
Prayer: “You are great and glorious, Lord Jesus; may my love for you today also be great, demonstrated in obedience and praise when I don’t feel like it. Amen.”
 
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Fresh Starts

Published by S.M. Wibberley on July 3, 2017
Written July 1, 2017
 
A new day, a new month, a new beginning of things. Praise you, Lord, for a fresh start every day, every time we sin, every time we mess up. You forgive us, so we can forgive ourselves and we can ask forgiveness of others.
 
Praise be to you, Lord, for your great goodness to us! What a joy to know you, to walk with you, to be your child, your friend, your co-worker, your partner, and in the end, your bride.
 
I praise you, Lord, that you are the good God of gracious gifts, gorgeous in glory and gigantic in greatness. To you belongs honor, submission, obedience and praise. May I give you all of those throughout today as you bring the change, the challenges, the help, the guidance we need.
 
I thank you now for whatever you will do with those who are bringing trouble to me. Bless them, do good to them, and guide me in doing the same.
 
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Psalm 18:28

Published by S.M. Wibberley on July 1, 2017

Psalm 18:28 “You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.”

[You are light itself, Lord, shining brilliantly across the eons of time, shining long before the sun and stars were created.

And now you are the source of light for our lives—physical light as well as the light of wisdom, insight, guidance and warning. You actively grant direction when we have no idea what to do. I praise you for your faithful, sure, constant presence, your leading us on in the challenges of life in this dark world.

You are the One, Lord Jesus, who brought us out of the dominion of darkness into your Kingdom of Light. As it says in Proverbs 4:18,19, “The way of the wicked (as we were) is like deep darkness, they do not know what makes them stumble.”

In contrast, “The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever more brightly until the full light of day.” Help us, Lord, not to look back on the darkness, but to look ahead at your guiding light, moving ever more into it’s full strength so that we may see and void what can make us stumble.

I praise you that darkness cannot hide anything from you, Lord, for you see all and you let us know what is necessary, giving us enough light so that we can move ahead with you, doing what is best. Help us to live in the light with you, Lord, joining you in what you are doing, thereby bringing you glory.]

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Psalm 18:27

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 30, 2017
Psalm 18:27 “You save the humble”
 
This, Lord, is your requirement for salvation: humility. It can be defined as “seeing ourselves as you see us.”
 
As we stand before you, the Mighty and Eternal One, the Star-breather, the Galaxy-maker, the History-ender, the Pure and Powerful One, what can we do but see our sinfulness, our unworthiness, our puniness–and see the immense contrast between our shriveled, rebellious hearts and the stunning beauty of your Holiness.
 
To you we must bow in humility, accepting your view of our situation. Somehow you work with our will to bring the desire and the decision to surrender, to reject the illusion of independence for the reality of total healthy dependence on you.
 
Reality is that you are the One in charge, who holds together the nucleus of every atom in the universe, who keeps every star in place, who brings the dawn, gives the rain, provides our food—we are totally dependent on you in every area without knowing it! And you give us the added privilege of completing that dependency by willfully embracing it in belief and submission, giving you all that we had been holding back, including our future.
 
Praise be to you for working in the heart of each one whom you know will believe, bringing the wise and persistent pressure that will lead to the break-through, giving the understanding, the desire to know you, to live for you, to walk in the light, to bring you glory. What a high calling you give us, what a privileged position, what an existence of ongoing, ever growing joy you offer.
 
You give us the exact opposite of what we deserve, at great cost to yourself and at great profit to us, your thankless enemies. You are a marvel, a mystery: majestic and mighty in your provision of rich, unending agape love. Such Truth leads us to wholeheartedly and joyfully bow before you and shout, “Glory!”
 
“but [you] bring low those whose eyes are haughty.”
 
[This you also do in your love: you humble those who live in the darkness of self-delusion, thinking they are good enough to get to heaven, thinking they are better than those around them.
 
Lord, how easily I get caught up in that same sin, thinking negative, critical thoughts of others, comparing myself to them rather than you.The truth is that the negative I see in them is also potential in me, if not actual; I could easily do the same things I proudly condemn in them. I blithely underestimate the evil of my old nature.
 
Yes, Lord, keep us in the light of your revelation and bring us quickly low when we are proud so that we may immediately repent and be raised up to living in the luster of your love rather than the darkness of our deception.
 
Praise be to you, for your gracious and patient, continual and deep working in us to bring transformation in our mind, will and emotions so that we might walk on ever higher levels with you. Keep our spirits open to your conviction, direction and protection, remembering that “You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.”
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Psalm 18:25-26

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 29, 2017
 
Psalm 18:25,26 “To the faithful you show yourself faithful,
to the blameless you show yourself blameless, to the pure you show yourself pure,”
 
[we can only have these qualities, Lord Jesus, as your Holy Spirit produces them in us. As we cooperate with you in the process of transformation, willfully wanting to be faithful, blameless and pure, you reveal your marvelous qualities to us more and more, giving us greater ground for surrender, worship and wonder,–which then bring more transformation.
 
As it says in 2 Corinthians 3:18, “And we all, who with unveiled faces, contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” A gracious cycle of your goodness poured out more and more on those who are willing to join you in what you are doing.]
 
“but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.”
 
[On the negative side, you interact with rebels in a way that is meaningful to them, a way that gets their attention, a case in point being Jacob. From the beginning he was crooked in his dealings, manipulating and using people all through his life. And he brought on himself the same treatment. Your shrewdness in thus dealing with him brought him, in the end, on his death bed, to surrender before you.
 
You know how to work with people, you are never at a loss, never confused on how to proceed, never without wisdom. Praise be to you for your patience, persistence and perception in the process of wooing every single person in the world, as the Holy Spirit convicts everyone of sin, righteousness and judgment (John 16:8-11).
 
How you must grieve at those who stubbornly refuse to bow their knee to Truth, to Wisdom, to Reality, and instead rush headlong down the slope of self will, away from goodness, forgiveness, grace and light. In the end they go over the edge of time, falling into the pit of separation, darkness and desperation, sealed off from all good, getting what they wanted: full independence from you.
 
Praise you, Lord, that you go to great lengths to give them full opportunity to embrace Truth, even though you know they will not accept it. It is wonderful that you are not fair, for then we would all end up in hell. Instead, you are full of grace, offering us freely the opposite of what we deserve: forgiveness, cleansing, transformation, acceptance, belonging, worth, purpose, protection, provision, hope and a certain future with you.
 
Help me to focus today on the wonder of who you are, Lord Jesus, not the minuscule disappointments of life that seek to grab my attention. Thank you for how you are going to guide me today in joining you, exalting you, living for you.
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Psalm 18:20-24

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 28, 2017
Psalm 18:20 “The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness;”
 
[O Lord, praise you that you deal with us according to your imputed righteousness, not our own–for I have none; you would have to condemn me instantly to Hell if my goodness were the measure. But praise be to your glorious name that you have made me to stand before you in your all-cleansing righteousness: forgiven, transformed, accepted, adopted, beloved!]
 
“according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.”
 
[My sin-stained hands are now washed in your blood, cleansed of guilt, purified in forgiveness and empowered for good. Praise you, Lord Jesus, that you see me as your dearly loved child, delighted in, cherished and deeply cared for. The cleanness is there because of your great work.]
 
Psalm 18:21 “For I have kept the ways of the LORD; I have not done evil by turning from my God.”
 
[By your grace, by your power, by your obedience, Lord Jesus, I am counted as having kept your ways. What my old nature could not do in that it is weak, you did in your power. And you, Heavenly Father, in spite of what I am, have qualified me to be a partaker in the inheritance of the saints in the Kingdom of Light.]
 
Psalm 18:22,23 “All his laws are before me; I have not turned away from his decrees. I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin.”
 
[Again, I cannot say any of this for myself; I continue to be blameworthy, struggling with the sinful, selfish ways of my old nature—but you, Holy Spirit, also continue in transformation, in love and grace. So, I stand before you, Lord Jesus, blameless in your love, made a new creature, dearly loved, doted on and deeply cared for. Praise be to you!
 
You are our hope, our holiness, our purity, our power. In you is goodness, grace and glory, all of which you generously, whole-heartedly share with us, unconditionally, contra-conditionally, graciously. Praise be to you!]
 
Psalm 18:24 “The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.”
 
[It is wonderful that you have rewarded me, Lord, not according to my righteousness, but according to the righteousness of Christ, according to the cleanness of His hands, for in your sight I am in Christ, I am cleansed, claimed and commissioned as your dearly beloved child.
 
Praise you, Lord Jesus, for your great and, humanly speaking, impossible, unspeakable work, far beyond what any created being could do. You reward your enemies! You pour out on your foes, who come to you, eternal life, eternal relationship, eternal love and unending goodness–when we deserve the opposite! Praise be to you.
 
Help us to revel in your love, to bask in your grace, to rejoice in your forgiveness—and to forgive and accept ourselves as you have us. May we each day grasp more of the greatness of your love, which surpasses knowledge, so that we might be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God (Eph. 3:19).]
 
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Living in the Son Shine

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 27, 2017
Praise you, Lord, that with you, every day is a sunny one, for your light of love and life shines continually on us, giving us encouragement, perspective, purpose, power and joy: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you,” said Jesus, and then “These thing I have spoken to you that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full” (John 15:9,11).
 
There is a condition to receiving this joy: trust. As it says in Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you will all joy and peace AS YOU TRUST IN HIM, so that your lives may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Trusting God involves submitting to Him, to His description of reality, to His Word, to His leadership, to His purpose and meaning.
 
We can’t walk in the light while keeping our eyes closed, living just in the tiny world in our head. We have to open our eyes wide to the wonderful, awesome, expansive and beautiful reality of God’s Kingdom.
 
Here we own nothing, but are given everything we need. We are called to hold all with an open hand, telling our gracious and kind, good and wise Heavenly Father, “Take what you want, leave what you want, give what you want. I trust you to do what is best.”
 
Holding all with an open hand is, on one side, scary at first, because there are plenty of things we don’t want to give up (health, relationships, income, security, savings, etc.).
 
But as we come to know more and more of God’s beautiful and wise character, our fear lessens (perfect love casts out fear), and is replaced by a sense of security (safety is not the absence of danger, but the presence of Jesus), and a sense of adventure (every day is a battle with spiritual enemies who use people against us; but as we keep on the armor and fight the right enemies, there is a continual string of victories). We begin to understand what it means to be more than conquerors in the midst of challenges (Romans 8:37).
 
As we develop a greater dependence on our Shepherd, Jesus, there comes a healthy emotional independence from those around us. Their ups and downs, cutting comments and negative attitudes don’t affect us as much, for we are finding our rest in God alone (Ps. 62:1) and we live in the truth that God is “our rock, our fortress and our deliverer” (Ps. 18:2). We cease to live for the approval of those around us, because we have the approval of the only One who counts.
 
Living this way entails a fundamental change, a worldview shift from our natural thinking to God’s thinking. We no longer live in a world where most things around us are out of control (certainly out of our control), but in a world where all is in God’s control, where whatever comes to us comes with His wise permission, for His expansive purpose, in His great love for us.
 
What a difference it makes to live in this new Kingdom where we have multiple opportunities daily to offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving, sacrificing our perspective for His, rising above the natural to live in the supernatural, the eternal.
 
What a God we have, what a life He gives us, what a future He’s prepared! To live in the wonder of getting the opposite of what we deserve, to revel in His unconditional love, to bask in His unending goodness (instead of thinking all the natural negative thoughts the devil throws at us)–this is part of the joy He desires for us. Why not embrace it?
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Psalm 18:16-19

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 26, 2017
Psalm 18:16 “He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.”
 
[Ours is a God who is not too busy to stoop down and help any of His children; He pays close attention to each one and acts to help at the right time. David was sinking in deep danger, he needed help right away and God answered.]
 
Psalm 18:17 “He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me.”
 
[You, Lord, are such a personal God; you reach down into time and history to save, protect and deliver us from the great power of our enemy, the devil, his forces and his pawns. They are far too strong for us, but you are immensely more powerful than they are and have no problem overcoming their plans.
 
In the midst of our difficulties, we can be certain that you, Lord Jesus, will act in the best way, at the best time, with the best means to sustain us and to give help in the right measure. Praise be to you for your faithfulness and goodness.]
 
Psalm 18:18 “They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support.”
 
[When all seems lost, when our demise seems certain, you, Lord come in and rescue. As it says in Psalm 46:5, “God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.”]
 
Psalm 18:19 “He brought me out into a spacious place;”
 
[You don’t just rescue us, you bring us into a positive position, a superior situation, a wide and pleasant place with you. You are the giver of great good and abundant grace.]
 
“he rescued me because he delighted in me.”
 
[This statement, in my opinion, is the most important one in this passage. You, Lord, do not act just out of pity or obligation, but because you delight in us! What an amazing, encouraging, faith-building, wonderful statement!
 
You are powerfully pleased that we belong to you, that we cry out to you, our Abba Father. You are not bothered, irritated or agitated by our coming to you. No, you are richly pleased, mightily happy, deeply delighted, for you have inexplicably made us the objects of your unending, deep and rich love. You have made us the apple of your eye, the delight of your heart, the object of your continual affection.
 
We do not deserve this–which is all the more reason to praise you for your wonderful, eternal, infinite forgiveness, your unlimited, ever flowing grace and all-encompassing, deep love that gives us the opposite of what we should get.
 
I will praise you now, today, and forever because you are worthy of all honor, exaltation and glory. You are the God who loves His enemies, who rescues those who deserve condemnation, who saves those who deserve defeat.
 
May your name be exalted in my life today and forever through surrender, faith, obedience and thanksgiving. Amen.]
 
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Psalm 18:6-15

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 25, 2017
 
Psalm 18:6 “In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.”
 
[And when, in faithfulness and love He heard David’s cry, God moved in His might to answer:]
 
Psalm 18:7 “The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry.”
 
[You, Lord God, are a person of passion: when you are aroused, there is no stopping you. You act in justice, you act in love, you act in conviction, you act in power! Praise be to you for your love so displayed.]
 
Psalm 18:8 “Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it.”
 
[You anger is righteous and will not be quenched until there is justice done and wrongs righted. The heat of your heart leads to the rescue of your children in the right way and at the right time. You act in power and swiftness, as this next section so graphically illustrates:]
 
Psalm 18:9 “He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet.
Psalm 18:10 He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind.
Psalm 18:11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him—the dark rain clouds of the sky.
Psalm 18:12 Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning.
Psalm 18:13 The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.
Psalm 18:14 He shot his arrows and scattered the enemies, great bolts of lightning and routed them.
Psalm 18:15 The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of breath from your nostrils.”
 
[What a display of powerful, righteous and compassionate anger! Bigger than any star wars episode! You, Lord God, Breather of the stars, Spinner of the earth and Bringer of the Dawn, bent the elements to your will and acted in passion, bringing a storm at the right time to protect your own.
 
You are the God of wisdom and power, passion and might, mercy and action.
 
As David said in the beginning of this Psalm, you are our Rock, our Fortress and our Deliverer. In you we can trust, no matter how terrible things look. You have a plan to rescue us, you will work it out at the right time and carry us along with you.
 
Help us to demonstrate our belief in you by offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving in all, in turning to you first in our needs and to praise you for your answers before they come.]
 
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Psalm 18:3-6

Published by S.M. Wibberley on June 24, 2017
Psalm 18:3 “I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise,”
 
[You, Lord [Jehovah], are worthy of praise because of your holiness. You are completely other than your creatures: eternal, pure, wise, all powerful, all knowing, all seeing, totally independent of all you have created. In contrast, we are weak, tiny, limited and ignorant–in total need of knowing you, fully dependent on you, whether we know it or not.
 
In your holiness you, LORD, are the One who hates sin and must punish it, while at the same time you love your rebellious creatures and have provided for them a way of escape from condemnation. Truly you are worthy of praise!]
 
“and I am saved from my enemies.”
 
[You hear my prayers and in your power, in your love, in your faithfulness you save me from my enemies.
 
You rescued me from the dominion of darkness, you delivered me from the oppression of the devil, you freed me from the clutches of sin, you brought me out from under the condemnation of the world.
 
You saved me from danger and death, and you continue to save me every day from the attacks of my own sin, selfishness, as well as from Satan and his servants. You are my Superb Savior in whom mercy triumphs over justice. For your incomprehensible love and grace you are worthy of continual praise, honor and glory!]
 
Psalm 18:4,5 “The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me.”
 
[In David’s case, his life was in physical danger as Saul was in hot pursuit of him. This is also the case now for many Christians in Africa and the Middle East as groups like ISIS try to eliminate all followers of Jesus.
 
On another level of danger, we all were entangled by the cords of death, for we lived in the dominion of darkness, in the dark, depressing world of the dying, ensnared by the traps and tricks of the devil. Death was our certain destiny, there was no hope, no light, no escape in our own strength.]
 
Psalm 18:6 “In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.”
 
[But you, LORD God, Jehovah Elohim, were there to hear us when we cried out to you and have delivered us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into your light. You now continually invite us to cry out to you and you hear our cry and act in your undeserved faithfulness and love. Because you are faithful we can be certain that, despite our unworthiness, you will hear and answer.]
 
It is wonderful, comforting and encouraging to know that in all our difficulties we can cry out to you, that you hear us and will answer in what is best and in power.
 
As it says in Psalm 86:7, “In the day of my trouble I will call to you and you will answer me.” May we live in the light and joy of this truth, trusting through thanksgiving before we see any answer, knowing that your timing and wisdom are perfect.
 
To you be honor and glory today in my life as I live in the truth that “my soul finds rest in God alone (Psa. 62:1).
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