S.M. Wibberley’s Blog

“…set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.” Colossians 3:1b

Ever since first memorizing Colossians 3, I have been thinking about the phrase “…set your affections [or heart] on things above….” Just what are those things?

Lately the Lord has granted a bit of insight on this question. All my life I’ve set my heart on schedules, outcomes, completion of projects and reaching of goals. Most of these are necessary and good things: getting to work on time, doing my homework and praying regularly for people.

However, there are only two possible outcomes from such a focus.  You reach the goal and experience a fleeting sense of accomplishment followed by a new emptiness that needs to be filled.  Or you don’t reach your goal and are frustrated!

Certainly, this is not the abundant life Christ spoke of. Now slowly it has become clear that I have set these good things ahead of the “things above.” And what are those? Simply put: obedience to Christ.

Setting my heart on responding like Christ, no matter what the outcome of the particular situation may be, this is setting my heart on things above. Responding with praise for whatever outcome He allows or sends. Responding to those around me with Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-control.

In a temporal sense, whether some goal is reached or not, OUR RESPONSE  is what makes us useful for God—and, as a side benefit, brings the fulfillment that success can’t.

As Jesus said, “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full” (John 15:10,11).

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“The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is just. The law of his God is in his heart; his feet do not slip.” Psalm 37:30,31

Praise be to you this morning, Lord God, for your wonderful Word: living, powerful, deep, transforming and encouraging. It is life-giving, guiding, convicting, protecting.

Ps 94:18,19 says, “When I said, ‘My foot is slipping,’ your love, O Lord, supported me.” This is so true; when I have felt abandoned, a failure, useless, unloved or attacked, you Lord, in love, used your Word to support me. Your Spirit brought to mind passages of power, sections on strength and towers of Truth to flee to for help and protection.

When attacked by others, Psalm 37 is my favorite fortress, providing powerful protection: “Fret not yourself because of evildoers…for they shall be cut down like the grass and wither as the green herb” (verse 1). This Psalm is a beacon of Light, giving perspective and guidance: “Trust in the Lord and do good, so shall you dwell in the land and be fed” (verse 3). It is the high and protecting wall of Hope: “Delight yourself in the Lord and he shall give you the desires of your heart” (verse 4).

I praise and thank you, Lord Jesus for sending the Holy Spirit to open my eyes to your love in your Word. I praise you for keeping my foot from slipping—and how often, how faithfully you have done that. “When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul” (Ps. 94:19). Praise you that with your Word you combat the worry in my soul and its debilitating cousin, anxiety. You not only defeat them, you replace them with that joy of jubilation in the worship of you. Thank you that you do this so often and so lovingly. You are worthy of worship!

“I will bless the Lord at all times.” Psalm 34:1

I had it all planned out as a Valentine’s treat for Barb: a relaxed Sunday followed by supper at a pleasant Middle Eastern restaurant and then a Brahms concert by the local Symphony Orchestra.

However, in mid-afternoon came a miscommunication with someone—actually it was not too serious, as I was able to adjust things to meet another’s expectations—but I was bothered by it, and as time went on my dissatisfaction grew.

So, before going out for the evening, I took some time alone with the Lord, putting down on paper how I was feeling; that was helpful in regaining enough balance for moving positively into our date. And we had a good, enjoyable evening with pleasant memories to tuck away for further savoring in the future. However, there was still a heaviness, a negativeness that clung to my spirit like a cobweb of lead.

The next morning, just as I waking up, it came to me: in the midst of the disappointment I had not given praise. Yes, that was it! I had failed to praise God in and for the miscommunication and the discomfort it brought. Since praise is how we lift the shield of faith to extinguish the fiery darts of Satan, I had left myself without defense and had been hit again by the dart of self-pity: “Poor me, no one understands! I can’t do anything right!”

The next thought was: “How could I have forgotten that? I even wrote about getting up the shield of faith in one of our recent prayer letters and here I am making the same mistake again!”

Well, that was another thing to praise God for. My failure illustrates our dependency on Him—we never learn anything once for all in the spiritual realm and we need the Holy Spirit to give us constant guidance. In fact, my failure to praise was not just a single event, but the result of a downward slide in being unthankful.

As I thought more on the whole incident, there was much positive to be thankful for: I hadn’t blown up at the other person, we did have a nice evening, and this time it only took a few hours for the Holy Spirit to get through to me instead of the several days it had taken the last time!

Pure Worship:

“Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song” (Ps. 95:2).

You, Lord Jesus, are worthy of worship, you who, in providing salvation for your enemies, suffered so deeply in agape love, denying self, enduring the ripping of your soul, the rending of your heavenly relationships, the wrenchingly repulsive role of becoming sin.

Through all this agony you continued on and conquered. You rose resoundingly out of death, ascending far above all and have returned to your rightful reign from the throne of Heaven.

You are glorious in your goodness,

wondrous in your wisdom,

magnificent in your majesty,

powerful in your presence,

lovely in light, pure in personality,

and exalted in excellence.

In you there is no fault, no twistedness, no darkness. You, Lord Jesus, deserve all worship, you are worthy of all exaltation, all adoration, all praise. And today we exalt you because you are the everlasting God, the All powerful Creator and the ever-present Shepherd. May you be honored in our lives today.

“…let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation” (Ps. 95:1b).

You, Jehovah,  have made yourself our Rock, the unchanging, unshakable, undefeatable, strong, great and powerful One.

You are faithful, gracious, patient, wise, persistent and firm–the all-good, all-knowing, all-present God.

We exalt you, O Triune Lord, Creator of all good and Sustainer of the universe, even though it is sin-twisted and injured.

You are the Redeemer, Rescuer, Restorer of your rebellious creatures.

What a wonder it is to be taken

from darkness into the light,

from prison to pardon,

from slavery to sonship,

from despair to the dawn of hope,

from evil to eternity, from blindness to beauty, f

rom a stunted life to superlative growth with You!

“We bow down before you, Lord Jesus, in worship and wonder; we rise up to love you in obedience and joy, for you, Lord Jesus, are worthy.

“Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;” Psalm 95:1

You, O LORD, are the great I AM: holy, utterly other, completely contained in yourself. You need no one, are dependent on no one, stand alone, fully self-sufficient.

You are the triune One, completed and complimented in each person of the Trinity. Within your triuneness all is perfectly shared: all love, all communion, all relationship, all balance, all plans, all honor, all glory.

You never lack anything. From eternity to eternity you have always had perfect peace within, with no sin, no conflict, no strife, no negativeness. Among the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is everlasting harmony, trust, goodness and joy.

And this is the joy you desire to share with all who believe, your former enemies. You came to them, making yourself known and offering to rescue them from the dominion of darkness, from slavery to sin, self and Satan.

And You offer us joy, sharing it with us, pouring it out upon us, filling us with it and completing us in it. “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete” (John 15:11).

This is not just joy, it is the eternal, infinite joy of Jesus! Let us embrace it, revel in it, rest in it, live and love  in it.  Knowing Jesus is truly enough for JOY!

“Blessed…O LORD, is the man you teach from your law….” Psalm 94:12

What joy there is for you and for us as we learn from your Word to trust, to praise in all, to obey without seeing or understanding all.

What power there is to rejoice in you when all seems dark, to learn and live in the truth that knowing Jesus is enough for joy, period. That is truly walking in the freedom you have bought for us.

We thank you, we praise you, we lift up your name: the mighty Creator God, who is good and gracious, glorious and great, gripping and grand, deserving praise and pomp, worship and wonder, our submission and surrender through all eternity.

Prayer:” We give you glory and praise, Lord Jesus, for all that will come today. We commit ourselves to lift up your name on high by doing what we know is right. We want to praise you in all and make prayer the foundation of all we do. Help us in your power to do so. Amen”

“Blessed is the man you discipline, O LORD, the man you teach from your law….” Psalm 94:12

How true this is, Lord: there is much joy in learning from your Word—the rich, deep, powerful, transforming, enlightening, convicting, guiding Word of God. Thank you that you apply this to our lives by your wise and persistent Holy Spirit.

Praise you, Lord God, Father in Heaven, for your great love in disciplining us–your stubborn, rebellious, lazy and self-centered children. You are so patient, so kind, so firm, so persistent in teaching us over and over again the same lessons. Praise you that you never tire of this, and with great patience, continue to the end.

Praise be to you for giving us your Word:

powerful,

perfect,

revealing your marvelous character,

instructing us in your ways.

Praise you that you preserved it down through the ages, had it translated and made available to us. Praise you that your Spirit uses it to transform us as we read, study and meditate on it. As Colossians 3:10 says, we “have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” And that knowledge comes only from your Word.

“Trust in the Lord and do good…commit your way to the Lord, trust in Him and He will bring it to pass.” Psalm 37:2

Here is more on how the Lord taught me to graciously deal with each situation and individual effectively, one at a time.

For three years I’ve been working with an older believer who has not wanted to come to the fellowship. He has had lots of excuses. During these three years, the Lord has given opportunities to graciously teach on this point and this man is really convicted now from the Word to obey God and has begun attending the meetings. This is so much better than his going because I wanted him to.

God’s work is much deeper and more effective than our little solutions. What a wise God we have, and what a privilege to spend the time preparing the ground with prayer first. When we appeal to the “God of Glory” who “thunders over the mighty waters…whose voice breaks the cedars…and shakes the desert…” (Ps. 29:3), He works powerfully to resolve things in ways far better than ours.

Prayer: “Lord, help me to recognize my anger, frustration and impatience for what they are: selfishness, wanting things my way and idol worship. Help me to do things your way, with prayer, with patience, with wisdom and with grace. May you be honored in my life today. Amen.”