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

Phil 4:6-7:  do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer & petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And, the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts & minds in Christ Jesus.

In my readings this morning, I came across a quote that “rang my bell” & I could not quit thinking about it….”worry is temporary atheism”….funny how a simple quote could result in an overwhelming flood of conviction.

I have a grateful list & bring them to Jesus in my morning prayers.  Now I am adding another list titled “my worry list”.   I penned my worries, listed them one by one ( big worry list) then I got out of bed & got on my knees & gave them to Jesus.  I also, named & said them out loud.  But, I asked Him to deposit peace & joy in the empty space that my worry left behind.

“Jesus, thank you for the truth of your word and for the reward that comes when I live out those truths”.

“I don’t know about you, but I don’t always feel like a beloved child of God.

Life throws us curve-balls and sometimes anxiety gets the best of us. It’s not easy to feel especially loved, safe, or protected when we are facing uncertainty and fear nips at our heels.”

  “I am weak but Thou art strong,” the first line of the old hymn “Just a Closer Walk with Thee,” describes how I’ve often felt in the past three years. I’ve learned to make this admission to Jesus without shame or apology because it’s absolutely true. Apart from His presence and power at work within me, I am weak and woefully
inadequate when it comes to knowing how to pray, love and forgive others, and persevere under pressure. (Grace Fox)

We are created for direct connection with our heavenly Father. Experiencing him is meant to be our lifeblood. Walking and talking with him is the absolute most important part of life. From this type of relationship with God comes purpose, ability, grace, and love for others. This connection is what fuels us to live life here fulfilled, satisfied, empowered, and open to the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Fight for your relationship with God above all else. Let nothing come before time spent with your heavenly Father in experiencing his goodness. May you live, breathe, move, and work in the presence of God today. CRAIG DENISON)

“Leaning on the ever lasting arms – I am weak but He is strong”…….(“Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.”)

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭84‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Just a thought by coppi

Just a thought by Coppi

“I choose to trust what I don’t understand to the God who does.”

Truly, I have had to say the above quote many times in my life because I do not understand the many goings-on in my surroundings. My mother used to say to us when we would ask about something we did not understand and why a good God would allow that to happen – “God is weaving a pattern, and you will understand it in the great by and by”. As I watch the news and see all the tragedies that I do not grasp and probably will not in this lifetime, I remember what my mother said and the scripture in Isaiah 29:16 – “How foolish can you be? He is the Potter, and he is certainly greater than you, the clay! Should the created thing say of the one who made it, “He didn’t make me”? Does a jar ever say, “The potter who made me is stupid”? (NLT). So to sum it up, i guess I will know and understand when my life is over and I stand before our creator and view the entire pattern he has woven. Until then I choose to trust what I don’t understand to the God who does.

Grace is a gift most of us don’t know how to receive. We’ve been so inundated with the earthly systems of give-and-get and work-and-earn that grace is a concept few ever fully grasp. Yet it’s grace alone that has the power to transform lives. (Craig Denison)

“When thinking of what grace is in the Bible, it can be easiest to sum it up with the words of author Paul Zahl: “Grace is unconditional love toward a person who does not deserve it.”

“Grace gives us a new life which is not condemned by God. Through God’s grace we are forgiven, transforming our thinking, resulting in the renewal of our mind and heart. Through grace we live the kind of life God would like every one of His children to experience.”

It was very hard for me to understand the Grace of God.  “Me, yes me and you, don’t have to work to receive His love and redemption “.  It’s a free gift.  I have worked hard most of my life to earn love and acceptance.  I worked hard for the love and acceptance of people as well as God.  God loves me and I don’t have to do anything but accept His love and forgiveness – that’s too easy when I was programmed another way.  I would read and re-read passages in the Bible on Grace especially Romans 8.  Then I would read scriptures on God’s love and forgiveness.  I really don’t have to live in a monastery and be a monk – all God wants from me is to love Him and listen to His guidance of wisdom and enjoy this beautiful creation He created and the people He puts in my life.  “It’s grace alone that has the power to transform lives” – God transforms my life ….I don’t have to.  I only have to be willing to let Him do the work.

Just a thought by coppi

“We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭1:8-10‬ ‭NLT‬

‬Commit to surrendering everything to him today. Hand over control of your plans, relationships, finances, and emotions to the one who will guide you daily into the abundant life he died to give you.  (Craig Denison 7/23/19)

Surrender is hard to do, because fear will raise its ugly head and remind me “God is invisible and you are trusting a shadow –  will He truly guide you – is He really wanting the abundant life for you – on and on negative thoughts flood my mind like bees surrounding a bee hive.  Then I think of the quote I have put to memory “Those who trust in God will be radiant with joy”.  Trust and go back over your life and remember all the “uglies” that God carried you through.  The devil is a tormentor, and he loves to use his time on earth to torment people with negative thoughts and defeat.  Romans 12:2 – says “Do not conform to the pattern of this word, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.” I am sure the Apostle Paul faced the devil’s evils; he had to learn this truth.  Paul, I thank you for all of the writings on your journey so we sojourners could glean our way through your help.  Thank you.

“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭1‬:‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

He does not change like shifting shadows….‘

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalms 100:5 NIV

The phrase “unfailing love” appears 39 times in the New International Version of the Bible, and all references are to God. The Bible also mentions trust almost 100 times.

Unfailing love expresses deep gratitude to a God who never fails to fulfill His promise. God’s love will endure forever. 

God is faithful not because of our trite sentiments, but rather because His Word says He is. God is pure and, therefore, His faithfulness is pure and true. God’s faithfulness means that He can never act against His nature and character.

“But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭13‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Unfailing faithfulness is found in God –  in my life, I thought at times,  He forgot me, but so did King David.  David wilded “whys”  at God,but then he switched to praising God for His faithfulness.  I am glad God is faithful, patient, loving, and definitely cares about His wayward children. 

Just a thought by coppi

Writing is a process in which we discover what lives in us. The writing itself reveals to us what is alive in us. The deepest satisfaction of writing is precisely that it opens up new spaces within us of which we were not aware before we started to write. To write is to embark on a journey whose final destination we do not know. Thus, writing requires a real act of trust. We have to say to ourselves: “I do not yet know what I carry in my heart, but I trust that it will emerge as I write.” Writing is like giving away the few loaves and fishes one has, trusting that they will multiply in the giving. Once we dare to “give away” on paper the few thoughts that come to us, we start discovering how much is hidden underneath these thoughts and gradually come in touch with our own riches.  (Henri Nouwen)

I am one that journalizes if I have a hurt or if something is causing me angst. I write about each incident being very truthful; I then take the note, tear into tiny pieces,and say “Help me Jesus to be an overcomer”.

I started writing ‘Just a Thought by Coppi’ in Dallas, Tx. many years ago.  I thought If I would be vulnerable about the “uglies” that happened to me and how I got through them by my faith in Jesus, I could help someone else. I started my journey in writing at that time, and have continued until the present.  My prayer is that ‘Just a thought by Coppi’ might help another person plowing through ditches in their life.  I leave the results to Jesus; I only keep writing.

Just a thought Coppi

Just a thought by coppi

Mother Teresa said, “Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition, and listening to His voice in the depth of our hearts.”

Brother Lawrence said, “There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful than that of a continual conversation with God.” Meeting with God consistently is the foundation of everything God desires to give you in this life. All of the abundant life stems from a place of intimate and continuous encounters with your heavenly Father. May your ears and heart be opened to receiving the knowledge of your Father’s love, grace, and purpose for your life. May you experience to greater levels the joy of intimacy with the God of love. And may your heart come alive in the stillness of meeting with the God who dwells in all of eternity.

When we begin our days, prayers, worship, reading, and fellowship with a heart of thanksgiving, we live out of a place of faith and reality found in the kingdom of God come to earth. Greg Denison, First 15, September 19, 2017

enough said.

We enter into solitude first of all to meet our Lord and to be with him and him alone. Our primary task in solitude, therefore, is not to pay undue attention to the many faces that assail us, but to keep the eyes of our mind and heart on him who is our divine savior. Only in the context of grace can we face our sin; only in the place of healing do we dare to show our wounds; only with a single-minded attention to Christ can we give up our clinging fears and face our own true nature. As we come to realize that it is not we who live, but Christ who lives in us, that he is our true self, we can slowly let our compulsions melt away and begin to experience the freedom of the children of God. And then we can look back with a smile and realize that we aren’t even angry or greedy anymore (Henri Nouwen)

8

“Only with a single-minded attention to  Christ can we give up our clinging fears and face our own true nature. As we come to realize that it is not we who live, but Christ who lives in us, that he is our true self, …….”

I have read and re-read above quote from Henri Nouwen and finally realized that Henri Nouwen knew how to be in silent with God. So, I said to myself “coppi, you have to learn how to be in silence with God”.  “I am going to give this another try”, I said.  I have attempted many times before, but my efforts were futile.  My problem is I cannot shut my mind off.  I crawl into bed, make myself very comfortable, and close my eyes and say “be silent” – my silence lasts for seconds; I give it another try and after several endeavors, I give up and just pray.  If Christ is myself why do I still have fears and faces that assail me?  Finally and after much thought I come to the conclusion, I am still in my earthly body, I am saved by grace, I am a new person in Christ, it is not I who lives, but Christ lives within me and guides me (if I let him), I am still alive, and when I leave this earth to be with Him – “I stand perfect in His love and grace – Amen”.

Just a thought by coppi

“Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭103‬:‭1‬-‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I love to read Psalms 103.  This Psalm was given to me years ago when I was treading through deep waters of sorrow.  The above scripture I would quote every morning to push me through the day.  It was a balm for my grieving heart. That time in life is past history, but not forgotten, as I move forward in the present with Jesus guiding me.  Today is a brighter time.  I am presently in Sugar Mountain, NC,  sitting outside on the patio embellishing all of God’s creation and creatures.  I am relishing every moment of this blessing.   The past is history, tomorrow is an unknown, the present is where I am now.  Jesus thank you for this moment to be present with you, your grace, and love. 

Just a thought by coppi