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.

““For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭55‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I awaken this morning with fear hanging over my shoulder, because I had a bad dream that pushed joy out of my heart and filled me with fear.  When that happens to me I go to my recliner and with a cup of coffee and pick up a pen and pencil and journalize my dream and fear that have engulfed me. I then pick up my Bible for comfort – there is where I find a scripture that lights up my life.   My life is tainted by my past experiences and sometimes the buried thoughts come forth in dreams.  “My thoughts are not your thoughts” says the Lord – I recommend reading the entire chapter of Isaiah 55, you will find joy and healing in His word. I did. 

Just a thought by coppi

www.google.com/gasearch

Just a thought by coppi

There is a battle for your thoughts happening every moment. But greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4). 

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5

We have many thoughts tucked in our memory bank – some radiant with joy, others sad and painful.  In Ps: 23 it states that our Shepherd, Jesus, “will restore our souls as He leadeth us in the path of righteousness.” And, in Romans 12:2 it states “ Do not conform to the pattern of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Yes, the devil uses our thoughts to torment us.  But, he is a defeated fallen angel, and we are redeemed by the blood of Jesus, who is greater than the devil’s tormenting thoughts.  It’s hard to fight within oneself, but remember we are not alone.  We have a mighty force within us who will help us.  Trust Him.  He loves you.

I like this quote….will send again.

Just a thought by coppi

It takes courage to swim upstream. Against the current. Do it!

enough said…….

Just a thought by coppi

Isaiah 42:16

“And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them.”

I will lead you in paths you do not know

And in paths that you have not known

I will guide you

I will turn the darkness before you into light

The rough places into level ground

Because these are the things I do and I will not forsake you.

I enjoy personalizing scriptures – it makes them more meaningful to me.  Also, it helps me in my memorization of scriptures.  Lots of times during the night I awaken and cannot go back to sleep; I will start quoting the scriptures I have committed to memory.  Before I am finished with them I go to sleep.  I like this scripture because of the way it ends “Because these are the things I do and I will not forsake you”.  

“These are the things I do for you Coppi”

“I will not forsake you Coppi”.

Just a thought by coppi

Just a thought by coppi

“Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth. ”John 1:51

“That by the angels of God ascending and descending, is to be understood, that a perpetual intercourse should now be opened between heaven and earth, through the medium of Christ, who was God manifested in the flesh.”

Jacob’s  ladder is a ladder leading to heaven that was featured in a dream the biblical Patriarch Jacobhad during his flight from his brother Esau in the Book of Genesis (chapter 28).

“Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran. At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night. Jacob found a stone to rest his head against and lay down to sleep. As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and Jacob said, “What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭28:17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven.  The very gateway to heaven.”and “The Son of man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth.”  Reading both these quotes from scriptures –  one from the Old Testament and the other from the New Testament, I became excited over both scriptures speaking about the ladder to-heaven.  I have seen different artist’s paintings depicting Jesus as the ladder to heaven and always was intrigued by them.  And when I read John 1:50 I immediately related the scripture to Jacobs ladder in Genesis 20 and the reality of the scriptures became alive in my heart of hearts.  God leaves nothing unsaid in scriptures.  What the prophet Isaiah prophetically proclaimed in the Old Testament (Isaiah 53) regarding Jesus is probably the most famous example claimed by Christians to be a messianic prophecy fulfilled by Jesus. It speaks of one known as the “suffering servant,” who suffers because of the sins of others. Jesus is said to fulfill this prophecy through his death on the cross.  He, Jesus, is our ladder to heaven and Jacob saw that ladder years before that prophecy was fulfilled in Jesus.  In my simple and humble belief that excites me.

Just a thought by coppi

Just a thought by coppi

“But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭5:11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jeremiah draws a direct connection between faith and peace. He says, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is in the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought” (Jeremiah 17:7-8 NKJV).

Justin Bieber to Simone Biles through InstagramI when she withdrew from Tokyo Olympic’s due to her mental health – “it’s as simple as—“what does it mean to gain the whole world but forfeit your soul. Sometimes our no’s are more powerful than our yes’s. When what you normally love starts to steal your joy it’s important we take a step back to evaluate why.”

It was very difficult for me to say “no” to anything I was asked to do or what I wanted to accomplish.  I can remember at one time, I was taking voice, piano, art. golf, etc lessons.  I was running in every direction trying to be something that people would love me – not for me but what I could do.  “No” was not in my vocabulary.  I thought I had to be the Wonder Woman doing and not being.  It was a hard lesson to learn, because when the bottom was “knocked out” of my world I created, where were the many “yes’s” that I thought was the answer to “love”.  Everything became a vacuum.  Where were these people whom I thought liked me – “nowhere”?  Painful – yes.  However, out of the pain and hurt, I learned to be me and I learned to slow down and smell the roses.  And, my “no’s, and “yes’s” were selective to “what’s the motivation behind them… “evaluate the why”.

 Just a thought by coppi

Ps32:7:  for you are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble – you surround with songs of victory

…..And, He walks with me & He talks with me & He tells me I am His own…..a song I sung as a child in the little country church I attended.  It’s funny, I am now years past that little child tucked inside my heart, but this morning I found myself singing that song.  All the past years…..all the storms of life, He walked with me, talked with me & told me I was His own.  You ask me how I survived….that is how.

“Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your justice like the great deep. You, Lord, preserve both people and animals. How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭36‬:‭5‬-‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.36.9.NIV

“Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your justice like the great deep. You, Lord, preserve both people and animals. How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭36‬:‭5‬-‭

“Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your justice like the great deep. You, Lord, preserve both people and animals. How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭36‬:‭5‬-‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Allow God’s faithfulness to wash away any fear or anxiety you struggle with. Allow his amazing character to fill you with hope, joy, and peace. (Craig Denison)

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭6

Now in my golden years, I look back over the journey of my life – through the many valleys and mountain tops, all I know He, Jesus, was my constant companion. He was faithful even when I felt blinded by the storms washing over me.  

“Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your justice like the great deep.”  He was faithful!

Just a thought by coppi