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Christmas Day

Published by S.M. Wibberley on December 25, 2016
 
December 25, 2011 Christmas Day, the remembrance of the Savior’s entrance into the world clothed in human flesh.
 
As I look at my little grandson standing here beside the couch and see his weakness, his vulnerability, his need for help and protection, I think of you, Lord Jesus. You were willing to come in this ultimate form of weakness, into a dangerous, sin-warped world, to put yourself into the hands of faulty, selfish and sinful parents, who might not obey what the Father commanded. You were willing to be weak so that, in you, we might be strong.
 
And you, Heavenly Father, were willing to send Jesus into such a situation, to be attacked, chased from Bethlehem to Egypt and to Nazareth. He lived in the midst of disease, danger and distress, surrounded by the dreadful effects of sin in the lives of all those he met. Yet you were willing to send Him.
 
Praise you, Holy Spirit for accompanying Him, guiding the human Jesus with your divine wisdom, empowering Him at the right moments for suffering, healing many and a dreadful death.
 
We praise you that Christmas is also the ultimate in demonstrating your faithfulness, O Lord God, as you fulfilled your promises, made first in the garden of a coming Savior; you had already made all the plans and preparations and were ready to go.
 
Then over the thousands of years you carried through, working through the seed of Adam, the descendants of Abraham and the line of David, bringing together Joseph and Mary at the right time. Praise you, O Lord, for your wonderful, powerful, trustable and gracious faithfulness.
 
Praise you that in sending Jesus, you opened the way for a cascade of gifts to be poured into the undeserving lives of your rebellious, twisted, ugly creatures. the ones whom you knew would believe that Jesus is the Christ.
 
The first gifts are, becoming your beloved children, being in your family, being indwelled with the Holy Spirit and led by our Great Shepherd. Through these we have eternal life with you, we are equipped with the full armor to stand against the world, the flesh and the devil, working in a partnership with you.
 
You also give meaning and direction, guidance and greatness. You give peace, patience, protection and power. You provide growth, insight, wisdom and joy.
 
Being in the Lord Jesus we lack nothing–we have an abundance of goodness flowing from the glorious riches of your Kingdom. Praise be to you, Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus and Holy Spirit, for your wonderful, rich provision and presence.
 
I give you glory and honor and praise for the length, the breadth, the height and depth of your great and enduring love, demonstrated so clearly on Christmas day
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Psalm 37:4b

Published by S.M. Wibberley on December 24, 2016
Psalm 37:4b [“Delight yourself in the LORD,”] “and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
 
[When we delight in you, Lord, we are giving you first place in our hearts. You become truly our God, our final authority; you are the Mighty Lord, ruler of our hearts; you are our first Love, the most important One in our lives.
 
Therefore, you can safely give us other things, knowing that they will not become idols for us. Whatever you give us will be a tool, not a temple, it will be a help, not a hindrance.
 
There is also a second meaning to this phrase, I believe. As I praise you, Lord, as I focus on you, delighting in you, worshiping you in all, you will put the right desires into my heart and then fulfill them in whatever way and time you know is best.
 
This means there will be a shift in my desires from self-centered and temporary goals, to loftier and more eternal ones. I will go from wanting God help me in my vision to wanting to join Him in His great plans.
 
For example, I will go from focusing on success and fulfillment to wanting God to have as much glory as possible. I will go from wanting to be comfortable and safe to wanting as many people as possible to come into the Kingdom. I will go from assuming my goals line up with His, to asking for Him to show me His goals. I will go from assuming my motives are correct, to letting Him guide me in examining my motives so I can reject the negative and neutral ones, and act out of godly ones.
 
As I delight in Him, there will be successive worldview shifts, for the light of His presence will expose where I am unconsciously acting out of my natural, western worldview. For example, delighting in Him leads me away from highly valuing comfort to delighting in “weakness, insults, hardships, persecution and difficulties.” It will lead to to grasping and internalizing the uncomfortable truth that, “…when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:10)
 
Delighting in Him is what led us to leave everything in 1979 to live in the challenging and uncomfortable environment of the Middle East. Delighting in Him is what led us to each subsequent and difficult decision: leaving the Middle East to return to the US in 1993; returning to the Middle East in 1999; leaving again in 2008 to live in Germany. None of these moves were what I preferred, but delighting in Him made me want His plans more than my preferences. Obeying Him was the only viable option—the best and wisest one.
 
Delighting in Him is also the means of moving through the present difficulties of Barbara’s illness. His desire for our growth and our ability to give Him glory through offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving over and over, is far more important than our comfort or ease. His plans become much more important than ours.
 
Delighting in you, Lord, is the way to freedom from self, sin and Satan; it opens the way so you can place in our hearts your desires; it is the way to a healthy and happy dependence on you; it the way to the fierce and fine joy that you want to share with us.
 
Help us, Lord, to continually delight in you, to find our primary pleasure, our joy, our satisfaction in you, so that we may bring to you every day, honor and joy, praise and pleasure, glory and greatness. Amen.
 
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Psalm 37:4

Published by S.M. Wibberley on December 23, 2016
Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself in the LORD,”
 
[What an easy command to obey, if we are willing. There is so much in you to delight in, Lord. You are the loving and gracious One, full of kindness, goodness and thoughtfulness. You are richly generous, wisely firm, powerfully active and eternally faithful.
 
You are the good Shepherd, leading us well; you are the mighty Warrior, protecting us from the enemy; you are the Hater of sin, moving to eliminate it from the universe; you are the majestic Savior, providing a door of escape in the wall of condemnation; and you are the Bringer of righteousness, sharing your purity with those who will accept it.
 
You see all, know all, provide all that is good. You are all-present, all-seeing, all-knowing. You are always with us, protecting from true harm, leading us through deserts and dark valleys, bringing us out into wide pastures. You provide all the grace, refuge and wisdom we need.
 
You are the Creator, the Sustainer and the Ender of all. You are the Savior, the Sanctifier, our Supervisor. You are the wise One, the wonderful One, the winning One.
 
You hate sin but love the sinner. You perform the impossible in keeping your law while making a way to redeem us criminals.
 
You live outside of time, so you know the future. You are never late, always know exactly how to help and give us far more than we need. You give us constant God sightings, providing, protecting and helping us just when we need it. You thereby deepen our understanding of your love and develop our faith, if we are just willing to notice your often subtle work.
 
You are the King, the Ruler, the Sovereign, our Lord. You are worthy of worship, praise, glory and honor. To delight in you is not hard! Help us to actively do that through this day, giving you honor, bringing joy to us, and deepening our first love for you.
 
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Steady, Sure, Secure

Published by S.M. Wibberley on December 22, 2016
From EDIFIED!
 
“…I am poor and needy; come quickly to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay.” Psalm 70:5
 
Praise you, Lord for your steady presence. As I think on you and your unswerving faithfulness to your Character of love and purity, goodness and forgiveness, faithfulness and grace, I find answering echoes in my own being—a rest in you, a growing trust, a desire to obey you, a lessening of the pendulum swing of my emotions. In you is safety, in you is security, in you is peace.
 
When I make a mistake, when I sin, you don’t jump on me or condemn me or reject me. You put the arm of your Spirit around me, draw me to yourself, tell me of your love, and graciously talk with me about what I have done wrong. You lead me into confession and repentance, reminding me of your purchasing pardon, assuring me of your faithful forgiveness, encouraging me to make right choices from here on. You are a gracious Father, a forgiving Lord, a loving Brother. In my relationship with you I am safe.
 
I praise you for your Spirit’s work of conviction, guidance, teaching and revelation. He shows us what we could never discover with our meager minds, our tiny thoughts, our rebellious research.
Praise you for your positive provision and your continuous care, your fine heart and your gracious intent. With you we have life, with you we have peace, with you we have hope, with you we can choose for joy. These we find nowhere else.
 
Thank you that you draw me on in this relationship with you, encouraging me to spend time with you, to think your Word, to see as you see. I praise you for your great patience with me, correcting me over and over again, teaching me over and over again, slowly moving me upward on the steps of life while willingly enduring the pain I cause you in my wrong choices.
 
You are the well-spring of all good; without you life is a desert: dry, hostile, threatening, dangerous and in the end, deadly. With you, life even in the desert of this world is lush, green, growing, refreshing, secure and joyful. You help us get our roots down deep into the water of your Word, you make us fruitful, you keep our life leaves green, you protect us in the midst of danger and make us successful in service to you.
 
You, O Lord God, are worthy of worship, of following, of obeying, for great is your heart, pure is your mind, eternal is your being, good is your intent.
 
Prayer: “I love you, Lord Jesus, I praise you, I bow before you, honor you, give you my life, my day, my all. Help me to live worthy of the
privilege of being your child. Amen.”
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Gifts

Published by S.M. Wibberley on December 21, 2016
Yesterday the Lord gave us two wonderful gifts. First my sister, Andrea, and her husband, Jerry, came by from Pennsylvania to visit us. Their brief time with us was very supportive and helpful, both emotionally and practically. Just before they came, the bathroom door broke and with Jerry’s help I was able to replace it immediately. Their coming was just what I needed, and gave Barbara some pleasure as we all played a game from her childhood.
Second was help with Barbara’s situation. She has been descending into confusion and memory loss (couldn’t remember how to wash up or do her hair or get dressed or cook), but this was not related to sodium loss as it had been before (her sodium levels, as tested on Friday, are fine).
So yesterday we decided to skip taking her antidepressant for a day (at a pharmacist’s suggestion), and by the late afternoon she was much better, almost normal! We hope this is the answer to why she’s had these distressing difficulties added to her depression itself.
Please pray with us for wisdom and God’s help as we continue on this dark and challenging journey. God has a plan, and He will work it out, so I choose to find my rest in Him. He only is our stability.
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Psalm 37:5

Published by S.M. Wibberley on December 21, 2016
Psalm 37:5 “Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.”
 
[Again, Lord Jesus, you call us to a partnership of dependence. Committing our way to you involves two things: first, to surrender to you all our plans and desires; second, to give you the right to decide the outcomes.
 
This should not be hard, knowing how good and powerful, wise and caring you are. However, we resist because we tend to trust ourselves more than we trust you.
 
In our old nature, we are rebellious, stubborn, proud and selfish, hanging onto our little tattered shreds of self-fulfillment and self-importance. In the end this always leads to emptiness and frustration. Forgive us, Lord, for trying to be independent; help us to surrender to you consistently, continually committing our way to you.
Then comes the second command: to trust in you. To surrender is one thing, to leave our future with you is another. This requires wisdom, understanding what is cooperation and what is selfish ambition; it requires discernment, knowing when to wait and when to act.
 
Abraham had to learn this, and made some big mistakes along the way, acting according to culture or others’ advice; but in the end he trusted, being immediately willing to sacrifice his son when you spoke.
 
I praise you, Lord, that you are worthy of trust, for you are fully faithful, gloriously good and completely compassionate. You have demonstrated this over and over in history, and multiple times in our lives. Every God sighting is another proof that you are trustable.
 
Then comes the promise, “He will act.” This is a certainty. Lord, you will definitely do what is necessary, at the right time, in the right way, and for the right purposes.
 
I praise you for your great faithfulness, always acting in line with your character and according to your wisdom, not mine. You are always able to do what is best because you can see the whole picture, knowing all the possible outcomes.
 
As someone said, if we had all the facts, we would always immediately submit to God’s will; but we never know all, while He does, so we must and can trust Him to always make the best possible decision.
 
I praise you that you, Lord God, always act wisely, perfectly, powerfully, positively and persistently. Praise you that you will act today to bring to pass what is necessary, what is good, what is glorifying to you.
 
As we continue to wade through the troubled waters of my wife’s illness, help me to continually commit my way to you, to trust in you and to wait in faith for your timing, for your good provision, for your deliverance, whether it be by healing or death. And may thereby you have more glory and honor. Praise be to you for whatever you will do. Amen.
 
 
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Psalm 37:3

Published by S.M. Wibberley on December 19, 2016

Psalm 37:3 “Fret not because of evil doers….Trust in the LORD, and do good;”
 
[What wonderful commands: to look away from the turmoil around us, to look to you in trust, to be like you, to return good for evil, as you do. 
 
I praise you, Lord Jesus, that we can fully trust you, for you have clearly and powerfully proved your faithfulness in saving us for eternity–therefore we can trust you to continue saving us in the every day events that you allow into our lives.
 
You are the One who created all, who redeemed all, who conquered death and now rules in righteousness–so we can definitely trust you with all our little problems and pains. I praise you that in trusting you, we can do good in the face of evil.
 
“dwell in the land”
 
[We shouldn’t run away because of difficulties, because of opposition, persecution and evil events. Like the Syrian Christians who chose to stay during that terrible civil war so they could witness to their Muslim neighbors, so we should stay put until you clearly call us somewhere else.]
 
“and find safe pasture, feeding on faithfulness.” (ESV)
 
[If we are faithful to you, trusting you, doing what is right, then we can enjoy your faithfulness, experiencing it in protection, provision and having a heavenly perspective.
 
What this requires is looking away from our irritations to you, seeing your goodness, power and presence, choosing to trust you in the midst of distress. And then choosing to be like you in our words and actions. Praise you for this call to a volitional worldview shift, away from fretting and fear to living in truth and trust.
 
So as I look away to you, Lord Jesus. I want to praise you for being our Shepherd, for your wonderful, faithful care which we so often take for granted, many times failing to give thanks.
 
Praise you for each breath, for each step we can take, for every safe return home, for all we can see, hear, taste, smell and touch. Praise you for hands to grasp, feet that walk, legs that support us and brains that function, to one degree or another. Praise you for your gracious goodness poured out upon us every day.
 
You, Lord, are faithful and good, so generous and kind, patient and persistent, firm and positive. I praise you for your chastening, your correction, your punishment when necessary to get our attention. Help us to be very alert to your direction so we don’t force you to be stronger than necessary in getting us to listen and obey.
 
I praise you, Father, for your wonderful working every day and give you glory now for what you will do today. Help us to trust you and do good, to dwell with and in your goodness, so that we may bring much glory to you.]
 
“
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Ongoing Salvation

Published by S.M. Wibberley on December 18, 2016

As I awoke, there was a tightness in my spirit, a worry because of the email I sent on Saturday. I was afraid of what the person would think. This was fear of man, not trusting God, while trying to find my security in others’ reactions.

I praise you, Lord God, because in reality, my security is in you. If the person is upset by my letter, then it is an opportunity to demonstrate a positive response on my part, to show how to work through such an issue. It is an opportunity to deepen a relationship, to work more on the issue of motives. It is a chance to lower a burden before you in praise and have it become the next step up in my relationship with you and potentially in my relationship with him.

Psalm 124 speaks of a much more intense and dangerous situation and how you actively involved yourself: “If the LORD had not been on our side,” Praise you, LORD, Yahweh, the Holy and faithful One, that you are on our side, that you are intensely, consistently, actively protecting, helping and guiding us.

“…let Israel say— if the LORD had not been on our side when men attacked us, when their anger flared against us, they would have swallowed us alive.” Lord, we recognize your holding back the tide of evil. You are always there, you are good, you are active, you are powerfully gracious.

“…the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us, the raging waters would have swept us away.” The forces surrounding us are much more powerful than we are; our strength is totally inadequate to deal with them, but you are able and utterly willing to help us stand, commanding us to, “Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand in the evil day, and having done all to stand” (Eph. 6:13).

“Praise be to the LORD, who has not let us be torn by their teeth. We have escaped like a bird out of the fowler’s snare; the snare has been broken, and we have escaped.” We have gotten away from the power of sin and Satan, not by our own strength or cleverness, but because you, Lord God, our good Shepherd, have broken the trap too strong for us, you made a way out through your own sacrifice, released us, led us to safety.

“Our help is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Our eyes are on you, Yahweh, the Holy One whose glory is in His holiness, who hates sin and will punish it, but has made a way out of the trap of sin for sinners.

Your help is astounding, immense, expansive, expensive, wonderful beyond conception and powerful beyond understanding. No person, no angel, no created being would have, could have thought up such a salvation.

Praise be to you, the awesome, exalted, immensely powerful and entirely good God who is at work delivering your quarrelsome, troublesome children from daily harm and eternal condemnation.

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God Is A Haiku

Published by S.M. Wibberley on December 17, 2016
From the devotional book, EDIFIED! A good one for me!
 
“For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, ‘In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.’”
Isaiah 30:15
 
God, I think, is like a Haiku. Haiku is a form of Japanese poetry: 17 syllables in four lines usually involving an unexpected twist at the end. For instance:
 
Spring has come
The snow melts
The village is flooded
With children.
 
We expected damage from water and end up with happy kids! So it is with God; except that instead of twisting, He untwists things. For instance, to make a Haiku out of my experience,
 
Unjustly jailed
Put on trial
Prosecutor stood firm
To defend me!
 
God is the great Transformer, the great Surpriser. He can and does take the most painful and difficult happenings and tenderly turns them into our good and His glory. Think of the death of Lazarus; of the blindness of men Christ healed; and of His own suffering.
Old age is an example of God’s transformation powers.
I recently visited a 98-year-old friend. He can no longer walk, but is clear-minded. When I asked him how he is doing he replied, “I have so much to be thankful for! I just can’t understand why God is so good to me. I’m such a sinner; I certainly don’t deserve it!”
It is clear that, as he has aged, he has grown in his understanding of his depravity, as well as of how much God has forgiven and loves him, and how much God is blessing him.
Old age may be the process of losing things, but maturity is the willingness to let them go. In knowing what God has in store for us in the new heaven and earth, we can let go of what we cannot keep anyway.
As a second example of how we can trust God to untwist things, take a mother whose 15-year-old daughter had a skiing accident with severe head trauma, ending in a coma. Doctors had to remove much of the girl’s skull and did not hold much hope for any recovery. What was the mother’s response?
 
“We are so reminded to be at peace and not to look forward in fear . . . but to look forward with full hope. . . . Do not fear what may happen tomorrow, the same everlasting Father who cares for you today will take care of you then and every day….
“God . . . You are the Provider of our lives. We are so empty, so grief filled, so tired, so weary of this complicated confusing unwanted journey that has devastated our lives . . . yet we continue forward in hope, watching You show up every day, every moment, providing what we need to care for Jessie, to take the next step, to get up every morning and face the day, to get up every night and care for Jess, to know that this season will change one day, . . . We wait upon You . . . . Thank you for loving and caring for us . . . amen and amen. . . .”
 
This woman knows God well; she knows, without seeing any results, that God is at work transforming this tragedy into something for His glory and for the family’s good. And she is certainly cooperating, being His “flashlight of praise” in her dark world. She does not know whether God will make her daughter well by healing her or taking her, but she knows God will do what is best.
So, as we face difficulties, let us look to our living Haiku, the Lord God Almighty, the Creator, Sustainer and Ender of all. He will carry us through as we come to Him in our weakness and needs, submitting to Him. He always has a sequel, and it will be good.
 
Prayer: “Lord help me to know you better in the light so that when I must walk in the dark, I will trust you fully and give you glory whether I see any answers or not. Help me to live in the truth that you are good, all the time. Amen.”
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Psalm 37:1,2

Published by S.M. Wibberley on December 16, 2016
Psalm 37:1 Of David. “Fret not yourself because of evildoers;”
 
[Praise you, Lord, for your clear commands which steer us away from our natural, selfish reactions and towards your wonderful ways.
 
It is so easy to get worked up about evildoers: selfish political leaders here and abroad, unjust actions, destructive organizations and brutal attacks. But you in your great wisdom and knowledge of the future, have reasons for allowing them. You will use them to open people’s eyes to truth and bring many into your Kingdom while maturing your children. Therefore we can rest in you and pray for and about them, rather than wasting energy and time in fretting.
 
It was wonderful to do that in this past election, knowing that you would bring to pass what was best. I could just rest in you, the One who takes down and sets up rulers.]
 
“be not envious of wrongdoers!”
 
[It is so easy to envy their power, the effectiveness of their ways and thereby imitate their methods, desiring to use them, of course, for good. But the good is then tainted and negated by the world’s wily ways.
 
“Be not!” I praise you for this command that moves us towards a supernatural view of things, freeing us from what is natural. Then we can live and act out of your thoughts and understanding: loving our enemies, praying for those who persecute us, forgiving those who harm us. Praise you for the possibility of letting go of temporary values, of holding on to what is eternal and rising above our difficult situations.]
Psalm 37:2 “For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb.”
 
Here’s the freeing perspective you give us: these evil doers won’t be around for too long. You will cause them to fail and fade (think of Stalin, Hitler and Mao), while your children still stand, because you are the preserver and protector of the righteous.
 
Praise you that you can see into the future, that you know all to come and that we can trust you to work out what is best, guiding us in joining you in the process.
 
To obey worldly ways brings death. To obey you brings eternal fruit. Help us to choose your ways throughout this day so we can honor you before all.
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