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Psalm 5:8

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 10, 2017
 
Psalm 5:8 “Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies—make straight your way before me.”
 
[Praise be to you, Lord Jesus, for you are my Shepherd, who faithfully, consistently, without fail, leads me. Praise you that you guide me in your righteousness, meaning that you never make a mistake or a wrong turn, never get lost, are always correct.
 
And in your leadership you are sinless and pure, your motives are right, your purposes are right, your plans are right, your decisions are right. You are the One to be trusted.
And I do desperately need your leadership, because I am the opposite of these qualities: I am small, ignorant and sinful; I have mixed motives, have no control over the future and do not know what is best.
 
Plus I am faced with powerful spiritual enemies who desire to bring me down. As it says in Psalm 62: 2,3, “How long will you assault me? Would all of you throw me down— this leaning wall, this tottering fence? Surely they intend to topple me from my lofty place….”
 
The devil and his demons want to defeat God’s plans by destroying my spiritual life, my witness, my marriage, my family, my future. Alone I am helpless against them, lost before the battle begins.
 
But you, Lord Jesus, are the mighty Victor. You have conquered Satan and his forces, and I must flee to you for protection: “My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge” (Ps. 62:7).
 
You, Lord, equip me, empower me, employ me in your grace and might against the forces of evil, and in your armor and strength I can “resist the devil and he will flee” from me. (James 4).
 
Help me follow you as you lead, Lord Jesus, to be strong in you and the power of your might, to keep on and use your full armor through each day. Help me to fight the right enemy with the right weapons so that I may join you in what you are doing, and that you may be honored in my life today.
 
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Psalm 5:6,7

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 9, 2017
 
Psalm 5:6 ‘You destroy those who tell lies;’
 
[To lie is to reject truth, to reject you, Lord Jesus, for you are the Way, the Truth and the Life. To lie is to rely on self, elevating my intellect over your Word; it is to take the short-term, easy way out.
 
To lie is to be the opposite of God, who cannot lie–it is impossible for you, Lord, to go against what you are: Truth itself! What a wonder to know that your truthfulness, Lord, is not superficial conformance, but what permeates your whole being: it is part of your essence, your essentialness, your heart.
 
You will eliminate the evil of lying by destroying what is the opposite of your character. Lies automatically destroy those who use them, leading them away from reality into a web of delusion and insanity where the devil keeps them captive. You faithfully and graciously shine your Truth on them to show them the way, but they run from the light and die in the clutches of darkness and deception.]
 
“bloodthirsty and deceitful men the LORD abhors.”
 
[This is far more than just disliking—you are repulsed, repelled by murderous men who lightly take the lives of others, who live in deceit, using, hurting others for their own personal benefit.
 
Today’s human traffickers come to mind; they are modern slave traders, living off the brief and miserable lives of others they have essentially condemned to death. ISIS is a more urgent example: men who seem to enjoy killing and try to deceive others into thinking this is good. Khomeini, Saddam Huseyin, the leaders of Sudan and Egypt, China and Russia also come to mind. In such leaders and their brutal followers there is no stability, no goodness, no redeeming factors. They are the opposite of what you are, Lord, and you abhor them.]
 
Psalm 5:7 “But I, by your great mercy, will come into your house;”
 
[Before you called us into your family, each of us was one of the abhorred: liars mired in evil and deception. We all had the potential to be blatantly what these blood thirsty murderous and deceitful men were, we just didn’t have the gall or opportunity to act it out.
 
I praise you that you abhorred what we were in our natural state, but at the same time loved us, redeemed and transformed us by your great mercy.
 
We do not deserve to come into your house, but you have pardoned, transformed and wholeheartedly adopted us into your family where we will live in security and significance for eternity!
 
This is nn unbelievably wonderful and great turning of the tables, an incredible reality, far beyond what any human being could imagine or create. You are a wonder, O Lord of love, God of goodness, King of kindness!
 
“in reverence will I bow down toward your holy temple.”
 
[What other response could there be than worshiping before you, in awe, in adoration, in thankfulness, in joy, in peace, in submission, in belief, in willing, wholehearted, obedience. You are God, you are Great, you are Good, and therefore right now I bow before you. May you be glorified in my life today in each decision, each word, each thought, each response, for you are entirely worthy of this honor and much more!]
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From the book EDIFIED!

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 8, 2017
 
“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”
Jeremiah 29:11
 
Playing games has never been an enjoyable experience for me. In fact, I can very honestly say that I dislike playing almost any kind of game. Part of the reason for this is that life for me is a serious matter, not to be frittered away in pretend things that create unnecessary stress.
A second reason for this intense aversion stems from the fact that I don’t like to lose! Well, true, no one likes to lose, but not many like it less than I do.
However, most of our teammates love to play games and I was being called upon to participate with alarming regularity. And in the process was performing very well my function of keeping anyone else from being in last place! But in this God had a purpose: He was very patiently and gently working to show me three great truths from a new angle.
First, about security. Losing is a great a threat when you’re already insecure. It just reinforces the negative ideas I already had about myself. However, Ephesians 1 doesn’t say we are “accepted in the Beloved” because we are winning at UNO! Losing is a good reminder that we must operate by faith, knowing that we are “more than conquerors in Christ,” accepted no matter what. A good dose of meditation in Ephesians 1 helped me here.
Second, about obedience. Psalm 50:12 and 23 in the NIV both point out that when we give thanks, especially for things we don’t like, we open the door for God’s help. There I was, playing UNO again with a score of minus 25, in last place and feeling very sorry for myself, when those verses popped into my mind. “OK, I’ll believe you, Lord and thank you that I’m in last place!”
You may not believe it, but I won the next 4 hands and was up to plus 10! I quit at that point while I was no longer in last place, but was very impressed with the faithfulness of the Lord to His Word.
Now, I don’t take that to mean that I’ll win every game if I give thanks for being in last place, because our Lord is not a Santa Claus, but a God who wants us to live by His Word, even when things don’t work out as we’d like.
Third, about God’s view of things. In rememorizing Colossians 3, verse 4 leapt out with new meaning: “When Christ, who is your life appears, then shall you also appear with him in glory.” That means that we are definitely going to win in the long run. That is an obvious truth which I had grasped intellectually, but not emotionally. For one who is over-familiar with the emotions of losing, this truth about the outcome of my life and the positive emotions associated with it, are a great release from being trapped in the momentary and the unimportant losses in life.
All this points to the words of Christ: “You shall know the Truth and the Truth shall set you free” (John 8:32).
 
Prayer: “Lord, I praise you that in your love we are all valued, cared for and deeply loved. Help me to live in this truth intellectually, volitionally and emotionally, thereby giving you honor. Amen.”
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Psalm 5:4,5

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 7, 2017
Psalm 5:4” You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil;”
[Praise be to you, Yahweh, for you are holy and wholly good: you hate evil, you abhor wickedness, you are repulsed by sinfulness and will punish it.
 
It is wonderful that You, O Lord, are the opposite of evil, being pure, pristine, kind, loving, gracious, righteous, forgiving, merciful and positive. You do no evil, wish no evil, promote no evil. You are good through and through.]
 
“with you the wicked cannot dwell.”
 
[In your holy presence, in your blinding, shining light of purity, the wicked are excluded, unable to stand before you. This is a marvelous truth, because it means that in heaven and the new earth there will be no wickedness!
 
Even in this world, those who choose to remain wicked– rejecting your offer of forgiveness in Jesus and cleansing from sin, followed by receiving the righteousness of Christ–cannot live with you. They cannot be in your family, they cannot dwell in your light, they cannot live in your joy because they choose not to do so. “Light has come into the world, but men love darkness instead of light because their deeds are evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” (John 3:19,20).
 
The wicked don’t want to dwell with you, and you cannot accept them. I praise you, God, that with you there is righteousness and justice to deal with the problem of evil and eliminate it. You offer your righteousness to all who will come, for we are all wicked in natural ourselves; we desperately need your forgiveness which brings the righteousness of Christ into our lives.]
 
Psalm 5:5 “The arrogant cannot stand in your presence; you hate all who do wrong.”
 
[The proud, trusting in themselves, in their own power, wisdom, work and worth, think they can make it on their own. You do love the sinner, but if they reject your great salvation and remain wrapped in their sin, they will, by their own choice, be hated along with wickedness.
 
They think they know better than you and reject your counsel, your wisdom, your way (Lord show me when I have such an attitude so I may repent!). They cannot enter your sanctuary and in the end they will be cast out because, in their pride, they have rejected your Son and chosen to get justice (what they deserve) over receiving mercy and grace (the opposite of what they deserve).
 
Praise be to you, Lord God, for you take no pleasure in evil, but have great joy in forgiving, cleansing, adopting and loving those who come to you through the blood of Jesus! May our wonder at your great and gracious heart ever grow and deepen, leading us to new depths of surrender and heights of worship.]
 
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Incarnated

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 7, 2017
I was reading in John about your incarnation, Lord Jesus, where you became Emmanuel, God with us, the Holy One, out of love dwelling with sinful mankind.
 
In this reading, a startling thought came to me: there are actually two divine incarnations. Yours, of course, where you came to earth and took on a body to live as a human being here. The second one is when the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in the bodies of those who bow before you in repentance and belief and rise up as sons and daughters of God.
 
The truth is, we participate in an incarnation almost as astounding as yours, Lord Jesus. As you indwelt your prepared body, so we participate in the divine nature as your Spirit indwells our bodies, living with us, working through us, drawing us into Your great Plan of redemption, rebirth and recreation. We are walking Emmanuels, carrying God within us, bringing God with us into all our relationships, activities and actions.
 
The question is, are we letting the Spirit rule as you let the Father rule in your earthly life? Are we joining the Father in what He is doing? Are we thinking about being Emmanuel to all those around us?
 
These thoughts have brought me another worldview shift: understanding more deeply the greatness of the work you have given us. As we are indwelt by the Spirit, we are to live with the purpose that Jesus had, to let the light of His presence, the power of His divinity and the goodness of His grace shine continually out of our lives–instead of just living for ourselves, for the moment, for our plans, for our pleasure.
 
It is, to me, Lord, a sobering, exhilarating, exciting shift in thinking. It leads me to live more consciously in the unseen world, in the expanse of your marvelous plan to give us great purpose and a part in your desire to reach the unreached, to usher in a re-creation of the world, of heaven, of the universe, eliminating evil and ensuring eternal joy.
 
What a privilege to live as a little Christ, carrying the presence of God for all those around us. Help us to live worthy of this calling, Lord, to be that shining light you desire us to be to the world frozen in sin.
 
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How Awesome is our Lord!

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 5, 2017

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Psalm 5:1

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 4, 2017
 
Psalm 5:1 “Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my sighing.”
 
[Praise you, LORD Yahweh, for you are the prayer-hearing God: you listen to my sighing, and are willing and glad to hear about my being burdened, my unrest, my fears, my disappointments, my tiredness. You hear my words and understand them fully. You know my needs and have prepared provision for me, for you are loving and faithful: “The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving towards all he has made” (Psa. 145:13b).]
 
“Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray.”
 
[You, Lord God, are the One we can come to; prayer is our greatest recourse, our first step, our wonderfully great privilege, the most we can do.
 
You are my King—the Ruler of all, Lord of my life, Commander-in-Chief of the hosts of heaven, Protector and Sovereign One–able and willing to listen and hear and answer. “The Lord is near to those who call upon him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them” (Psa. 145:18-19).
 
You are my God–that is, my final authority, the decider of what is right and wrong. You call us every day to play out a repetition of the Garden of Eden: will we choose to obey you, or to rebel? Will we choose to believe you or to listen to the siren call of the flesh, the world and the devil? Will we choose to make you the One to decide what is good and what is evil in our lives or do it ourselves? Will we just respond to what is around us, or will we be proactive early on in following your lead ?
 
Think what would have happened if Adam had spoken up right away in that conversation with Satan,telling Satan to talk to him, not Eve, telling Eve to stop listening, leading Eve away from that temptation, forbidding her to take the fruit, pointing out the fallacies and inaccuracies that Satan was subtly inserting into her mind.
 
If Adam had kept God as his final authority, he would not have fallen; that was a very real possibility and is one that I also have now. Each day I will choose many times: will God be my final authority, deciding for me what is right and wrong, or will I usurp His right and lead myself down the path of the first Adam? I can actually make the right choice right now, ahead of time, before any temptation comes.
 
When I follow you, my King and my God, then I will give you glory. I will honor you before the hosts of heaven, exalt you before the hordes of hell, lift you up before the hearts of men. May I do that, Lord: with your grace and guidance may I give you honor and praise, glory and exaltation in the choices I make. Help me to surrender to you every day, especially today, in every moment, so you may be lifted up in the glory you deserve.]
 
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Psalm 4:8

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

Psalm 4:8 “I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.”

[In you ALONE, Lord, is security!  There is no true safety anywhere else!  Nor in anyone else!  You are the True God, the Only Creator, the One and Only Savior.

There is no one like you, no one else who is fully Holy, completely Good, eternally Existent, entirely Self-sufficient.  There is no one else who is perfectly balanced, who brings together paradoxical characteristics in perfect harmony: Love and Justice, Grace and Truth, Pardon and Judgment, Patience and Wrath, Hatred for sin and Love for sinners.

You, Lord Jesus, are our great Shepherd, our patient Brother, our majestic King, our powerful Savior, our wise Leader, our great Navigator, our ever-present Guide, our loving Rebuker, our eternal Priest.

With you we can dwell in safety, knowing we are fully forgiven, absolutely accepted, warmly welcomed into your Kingdom of power and glory. We can sleep in peace, we can rest in security, we can dwell in joy, we can interact with others in love—all because you watch over us.

I bow before you in wonder, praising you with all my heart, all my strength, all my mind, all my soul, for you are worthy of this and much more.  You are the perfect, shining, beautiful, good, wonderful God who has made yourself my Citadel, my Refuge, my Shepherd, my King.

To you be glory and honor today as I focus the spotlight of praise on you so that others may turn to you and enter the light of your presence!

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be continually pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my mighty Rock and my Refuge.]

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Psalm 4:7

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 2, 2017
Psalm 4:7 “You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound.”
 
[Having wealth, security and provision bring joy to the natural heart. However, Lord, you desire to give our hearts much more joy than anything in this world can offer.
 
This is clear in our undeserved and rich relationship with you, in your unbelievably great provision which is personal, pleasant, powerful and profound. “These things I have told you so that my joy might remain in you and your joy might be full” (John 15:11). Truly, to know you is enough for joy!
 
To be your child and to walk with you opens our eyes to see more and more of the unseen, enables us to praise you in the midst of failure, rejection, hurt and pain–for your greatness, goodness and glory continue to be poured out upon us during such times. In fact, the flow may increase during these times as we exercise the privilege of praise when we don’t want to, offering the sacrifice of our lips, the sacrifice of thanksgiving. Help me, Lord, to do this consistently as we ride the unpredictable roller coaster of Barbara’s depression.
 
Oh, that we would learn this, that we would practice this all the time, for then we will rise through the levels of growth to greater and greater intimacy with you, to more and more understanding of your Love, to a deeper and deeper grasp of your greatness, to a wider and higher vision of who you are.
 
There is no end to our ever-expanding wonder at your beautiful Character, your loving Heart and your mighty Strength, for you, Lord God are infinite in every aspect and are constantly at work in our lives, giving us God sightings daily. I praise you for your care, protection and provision for us every minute. You only, O Triune Lord God, are worthy of our worship.]
 
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Psalm 4:6

Published by S.M. Wibberley on March 1, 2017
 
Psalm 4:6 “Many are asking, ‘Who can show us any good?’”
 
[This is because many are willfully blind to or continually distracted from the constant flow of life-giving goodness you pour out on us every day, Lord: your unending provision, your wonderful protection, the great attention from your heart to the details of our lives.
 
Many choose not to see your light, even though they have it: “The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind” (John 1:9,4). The people of the world prefer darkness because their deeds are evil: the light of Christ makes unbelievers uncomfortable.
 
You knew, Lord Jesus, that you would have this massive rejection when you came to live in the world as a man; you knew that from a human standpoint your time on earth would appear to be a failure, but you came anyway because you always know what is best, and do it irrelevant of what people think.
 
You keep on giving everyone light through the Spirit, your Word, creation, events and believers (conviction, insight, wisdom, guidance and direction) and providing good (sun and moon, clouds and rain, seasons and years, crops and animals) even though people take it for granted, or complain about it.
 
There is so much goodness that we cannot begin to count it all! From your keeping the stars in place to holding together every atom in the universe, you are doing what is spiritually beneficial for all human beings on every level, in every situation. You are marvelous, you are majestic, you are forever good–powerfully, patiently, persistently, paternally so, and we praise you for it.]
 
“Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD.”
[And so you do every day, Lord, every minute without ceasing, with love and grace and goodness. We praise you for the privilege of having you as our Heavenly Father.
 
Help us to see all the God sightings you give us, to live in the light of your face, to walk in the light of your Word, to rejoice in the light of your presence, seeing all that you provide every day, and giving you honor for your generous, gracious and good heart.]
 
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