Just a thought by coppi

Just a thought by coppi – written in 2015

A light house does not blow fog horns but it only shines.  

When I read the above I thought of our walk as Christians.  Does our life reflect the light  of Jesus.  St Mark 4:21: and he said unto them, is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? And not to be set on a candlestick?  A candle beams its flickering light so we may find our way in the dark as does the Lighthouse.  As Christians we should let our light shine & walk in the light of Christ.  We need not blow fog horns but just shine & let the Holy Spirit beam through us.  Proverbs 20:27 The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord……i grew up in a very legalistic religion & if we did have a little light, it was totally blown out with dos & don’ts & lots of fear. 1 John 4:7: Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God….10: herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us & sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 1 John 4 is filled with scriptures of love.  The pendulum swings both ways but should be in balance.  I guess my desire is not to be a fog horn but a flickering light for our Lord.

Just a thought by coppi

“In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:

‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!’

And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: ‘Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!’

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.’” Isaiah 6:1-7

I had a dear friend, she is dead now, but this was one of her favorite scriptures.  She loved the part where it says “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”  I think we all carry guilt from the past and wish we could have a retake, but that part is in the past and not to not retrieved: guilt will raise its ugly head and the regret is overwhelming for me.  My theory is journaling the wrong and going back to the source with forgiveness, if possible,  and for sure going to the Lord asking Him to forgive for the sin.  He does not touch my lips with a coal but he removes the guilt  and my wrong/sin is atoned for.  

Quote from Matthew Henry’s commentary: “A glimpse of heavenly glory is enough to convince us that all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. Nor is there a man that would dare to speak to the Lord, if he saw the justice, holiness, and majesty of God, without discerning his glorious mercy and grace in Jesus Christ. The live coal may denote the assurance given to the prophet, of pardon, and acceptance in his work, through the atonement of Christ. Nothing is powerful to cleanse and comfort the soul, but what is taken from Christ’s satisfaction and intercession. 

Jesus is our Jacob’s latter to God.  We are now able to come before him with our filthy rags – sin – and ask for forgiveness and he will atone all our filthiness into “clean filthy rags”.

“Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.  John 21:6 – NIV version

I remember many years ago I was facing a test that I was frightened to have because I feared it was cancer.  I opened my Bible to see if I could find a scripture to ease my fear.  I don’t know why but the above scripture seemed to give me peace.  The disciples were fishing and their nets were empty.  They were about to give up when they heard Jesus say “cast your nets on the right side of the boat and you will find some”.   They did and their nets were filled to the brim.  I kept saying to myself, ‘Jesus cares about all things in my life’.  If He cared abut the disciples having empty nets after fishing all day, He cares about my fears – everyone of them.  Even the fear I have for this test tomorrow.  I went into the hospital the next morning  to have my test with my basket empty but when I awakened from the test, I found it wasn’t empty but filled with many ‘fish’, named hope, peace, joy, and love.  I was fine.  

“I really want to ask you to practice prayer as a practice of the presence of God. You don’t have to say many words. You don’t have to have deep thoughts. You don’t have to worry about how to think. You can just be where you are and say, “I love you. I love you. I know you love me and I love you. I don’t have any big things to say. I don’t have any profound words to express, but I am here and I want you to be with me and I want to be with you.” It is that simple. It is a very simple thing. Prayer is not complicated. It is not difficult. If people ask you how you pray just tell them, “Sit down and say, ‘Lord, here I am.’” (Henri Nouven)

Prayer can move the hand of God.  I need to pray more…

On the cross, Jesus has shown us how far God’s love goes. It’s a love that embraces even those who crucified him. When Jesus is hanging nailed to the cross, totally broken and stripped of everything, he still prays for his executioners: “Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing.”

I think of all the suicides that happen in the world, and I know many are causes by drugs but many are from intense pain inside them. My youngest brother was one. He was only 42 when he decided alcohol and Valium could not cover his emotional pain.  He opted to take his life rather than deal with it. Of course, my family was devastated as we had no idea that was an option for him.  I remember the day, after this tragic loss of my brother, a letter came in the mail from a dear minister, he was the father of a very dear friend of mind, and in it were uplifting words but the what stood out in the letter was this “Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing.”  He then went on to say “Do you think your brother knew what he was doing….no, I believe the pain he was in emotionally overtook any rational decisions.” It was a beautiful written letter, which I will forever be grateful to have received.

God is love.  He loved us so much that He sent His son to die for us that we may live eternally with Him.  Grace, wonderful grace.  We don’t have to earn it.  It is a gift.

Easter, we celebrate the resurrection of this gift, Jesus.  What a gift of unconditional love; It’s the best gift one could find wrapped under a Christmas tree,  because inside this gift we find the path of choices inside.

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

 “With God life is an endless hope.  Without God life is a hopeless end”.  Bill Bright

Bring your deepest hopes before God trusting that His answers come in His perfect time and way.

Engage in conversation with God. Ask him how he feels about you. Come before him with anything that is weighing you down and lay your burdens at his feet. Rest in the peace that comes from his presence. (Greg Denison)

I cannot tell you how many times I’ve been in closets, on my knees  by my bed, or in bed praying.  I believe in prayer, but my problem is I have a hard time leaving my requests with Jesus. I want immediate answers from Him.   I have had to wait years for some of my answers. And I am still waiting on some to be answered.  I have had to learn patience and trust in believing that His timing is perfect and that He will fulfill His promises in ways beyond my imagination.  Yes, I have had hardships in my walk with Jesus. It still hurts if I allow myself to return to that time of lifetime.  I have to throw them in my imaginary black-trash bags.  I want to live in the moment, because the moment is all have to live in.  Trust, pray, and believe even though sometimes my faith seems miles away.  There are three voices I hear;  Mine,  satan, and God’s.  I have to be careful with the one I heed. Maybe that is one of the reasons I spend so much time in the closet, and on my knees praying for His guidance and direction to stay in the moment with Him.  

Talk to God openly, trusting that He listens and cares deeply for you.

Charles Spurgeon particularly loved the scripture John 3:16 (“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”) since that encapsulates the vastness of God’s love, a central theme in his preaching; he also frequently referenced 1 John 4:19 (“We love him, because he first loved us”) highlighting the reciprocal nature of love with God. 

The story about Charles Spurgeon often recounted is that when a man on a ship was panicking during a storm at sea, Spurgeon said, “No, I will go pray because I believe and you don’t.” This highlights Spurgeon’s strong conviction in faith, even amidst a crisis.

Spurgeon believed the cross was the place where Christ was exalted and the message that could change the hearts of people enslaved to sin.

I have been reading about some of the men of faith in the past, who unwaveringly believed in Jesus Christ, the crucifixion and the risen resurrection of Jesus.  The faith of Charles Spurgeon is one of the most powerful examples in the belief in prayer.  He prayed, believed, listened, and knew Jesus would answer the prayers.  I read about these great men of faith, and I am in awe of their dedication to the cause of their faith in Christ and his death and resurrection.  I know that I can never muster up the power of their faith, but I believe in the Lord Jesus, who died and rose from the grave for my sins if I will repent of them and believe in him.  Comparison – no!  Belief- yes!

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“We are saved by grace through faith” is a Christian belief that God saves people through faith in Jesus Christ, not through their own efforts or works. This belief is based on the Bible verse Ephesians 2:8-9, which states, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast”. 

Jesus, may Your gift of compassion wiggle its way into my heart. (Lynne Hartke

“God enters by a private door into each individual.”—Ralph Waldo Emerson

My husband and I watched John Wesley’s life story on television last night, and we both gleaned “nuggets” from the story.  John Wesley had a hard time accepting that we are saved by grace and not works.  The turning point of his acceptance of grace is when he realizes the thief on the cross next to Jesus repented of his sins. The Bible verse about the “thief on the cross” is in Luke 23:39-43. This passage tells the story of a criminal crucified alongside Jesus who repents and asks Jesus to remember him when he enters his kingdom, to which Jesus replies that he will be with him in Paradise that day was accepted immediately into paradise when he died. John Wesley realizes that the thief on the cross would not have time to do anything (works) to enter Paradise.  He was accepted when he repented and asked Jesus to remember him when he enters his kingdom.  We are saved by grace not works – works will follow grace, because our love to please our Savior, who died for us without us doing anything to earn our salvation.  It’s a gift to us to receive through faith and repentance.  We are blessed to receive it freely, and not have to earn our salvation.

Just a thought by coppi

My father Billy Graham once said, “A prayerless Christian is a powerless Christian.” He also called prayer “the Christian’s greatest weapon.” I couldn’t agree more. The most important thing we can do is come to God and ask Him for help and direction. He’s the only hope for this world, and that’s why I pray in the mighty Name of Jesus Christ on this National Day of Prayer. “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).  (Franklin Graham)

I re-read this today and once again it spoke to my heart. I have repeated this often:  “ I believe when we get to heaven, we will be sorry we did pray more” – I know I will.  My prayers are sometimes written by me on a piece of paper. It’s my greatest weapon against my up-and-down emotions.  I pour out my requests on that piece of paper, and then I tear it up and throw it in the trash and say “it’s yours now Jesus; I trust you to handle”.  I cannot tell you how many times those prayers have been answered – a great/good many of times.  I am so very greatful for the weapon of prayer. 

Just a thought by coppi

May we experience the freedom that comes with a true revelation of God’s unceasing love for us. 

God loves you with an unconditional love. To know God is to know love in its truest form, because he is love. Love isn’t just something he gives. It isn’t just something that he feels. It is who he is. God’s love for you is limitless and has the power to set you free from every wound, thought, sin, and broken relationship that causes you to live anything less than a joyful and content life. ( Craig Denison)

“The discipline of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy.” — Henri Nouwen

Enough said 

“Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.””

‭‭John‬ ‭4‬:‭42‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

It doesn’t matter what the minister said about Jesus being the Savior of the world nor what you read, even in the Bible, if you have not heard Him yourself and know He, Jesus, is the Savior of the world then consider your choice of knowing Him.  I grew up with a very angry God who was chasing me with a stick (the only stick Jesus has is the cross) and it has been a long journey finding the love of God.   I was stuck in fear of doing anything that could be wrong, and causing me to anger Him. I have a long list of scriptures that are written in the Bible on the love of God. The list is worn and tattered by me, and read by me over the years.  The most well-known scripture reference to a “two-edged sword” is found in Hebrews 4:12, which states: “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”.  The “two-edged sword” represents the power of God’s word, which can penetrate deeply into a person’s life, exposing their thoughts and motives.“. I am a witness to this fact, and I know the power of God’s word, because my reading scriptures of the love of God propelled me out of fear into the love of God.  Long journey, but one I will never regret for traveling.

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