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.

But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. Genesis 40:14 (NIV)

“Locked away in prison, Joseph had every right to lose hope and become bitter. Instead, he lived with integrity. Eventually, a dream given to Pharaoh reminded the royal cupbearer of how Joseph had helped him. The Lord proved Himself faithful to Joseph even after men had failed.”

Keep your eyes on Jesus – not man, and you will never be disappointed. I had to learn years ago this when I became so enmeshed into a renowned Minister and Bible teacher.  The reason was she opened my eyes and heart to the Word of God.  But she was human, as I, with “clay feet”.  I was so disappointed when I realized her humanity – I wanted to cry.  “As the scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in Him will never be disappointed.”  That means Jesus not man.

I will always appreciate what I learned under her tutelage, but I now understand the dictum my mother used to say “eat the meat, and spit out bones”. It was a hard lesson to learn, but a very good one. 

Just a thought by coppi

““My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”

‭‭John‬ ‭17‬:‭20‬-‭21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 17 is a chapter which I felt was given to me years ago when I was in     Albuquerque, NM, studying a new technique in art.  I usually did not get home until late.  I would immediately go take my bath and go to bed. But, before going to sleep I would read a chapter in my Bible. John 17 was the the one that I was impressed to read.  I do not know about you, but,myself, I always wanted to know I was loved as much as God loved the Jewish people as well as he love the chosen disciplines.  Even though I knew He sent His son, Jesus, to be the lamb slain before the foundation of earth.  He, Jesus, was sent to earth to become our way back to God.  I knew all of that but I still looked for every scripture in the Bible for reassurance. The above scripture was one of my findings – “Is not for them alone”.  Jesus was sent for mankind.  He was our “ladder” that Jacob saw leading to heaven.  He loves us – all of us.  I am climbing that ladder and by His grace will eventually get to the top.  That’s what the scriptures relate and I believe in them – and that settles it. 

Just a thought by coppi

“After all, what can a first impression tell us about someone we’ve just met for a minute in the lobby of a hotel? Why, no more than a chord can tell us about Beethoven, or a brushstroke about Botticelli. By their very nature, human beings are so capricious, so complex, so delightfully contradictory, that they deserve not only our consideration, but our reconsideration—and our unwavering determination to withhold our opinion until we have engaged with them in every possible setting at every possible hour.”― Amor Towles

Matthew 7:1-5

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you”.

I am guilty!  I have met different ones for the first time, and immediate made an inadequate judgement.  My first gut feelings, I think, were deadly accurate. But it takes me a couple of years to fully understand what implications those perceptions mean for a relationship with that person.  In my days before now, I had heard through the grapevine, I was a snob, which is the most inaccurate opinion of me.  I am much better now, but I was a very shy person. I guess I felt so inadequate about my feelings that it was difficult for me to interact with people.  I took a course labeled  “A-Way-Out”.  it was very helpful and taught me so much .  I had to look at the “whys” and “reasons” I had this problem.  It was painful and I cried a lot, but worth every tear shed.  Now, when I meet someone new, I am very careful in expressing my opinion.  “I do not know where people are coming from – “diversity is differences in racial and ethnic, socioeconomic, geographic, and academic/professional backgrounds. People with different opinions, backgrounds (degrees and social experience), religious beliefs, political beliefs, sexual orientations, heritage, and life experience.” – I am a Christian, so I try to let God be my guide in thoughts and opinions.  He knows the hearts of mankind, and that is sufficient for me. 

Just a thought by coppi

“I will have to remember ‘I am here today to cross the swamp, not to fight all the alligators.’” – Rosamund and Benjamin Zander

“We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭1‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

God is able to help you cross the swamps and fight the alligators in your life whatever they may be – heartache over the loss of someone you love, financial crisis, envy, jealousy, sickness, broken relationships, etc.  I read yesterday in Guidepost of a lady engulfed in fear, she was so crippled by it; she was afraid to do anything.  Not only her fear crippled her from enjoying life, she brought that same fear into the lives of her children. Until one day, as she was praying with her son to have a safe day, she felt something being lifted from her body. She did not know what it was until she realized it must be the fear she had been burdened with her entire life.  Later she tested some of the fears: she walked down into the cellar, she climbed a ladder, she walked to the river, etc – no fear. Now, she is able to fly, swim, etc, and allow the same freedom for her children.   Have you been praying for something in life to be lifted, and you are still hanging on for a miracle?  I have. I end with this note. “Prayer and repeating a glow from reading the Bible or a mediation that jumped off the pages into your heart may become like wings carrying me above the moods and turbulences of the days and weeks.”

Just a thought from coppi

Just a thought by coppi

“Oftentimes we make prayer far more complex than the Lord ever intended. The weight of change does not rest on our shoulders. It’s God alone who heals and transforms.” (Quote from Craig Denison, First 15)

Do you ever feel as though you have to help God in answering a prayer.  I certainly do and it’s a weighty feeling.  I don’t have to be the Ambassador of the world – all God asks me to do is bring my partition to Him and leave it there.  The above quote spoke to me this morning as I was praying and feeling as though I was carrying a heavy load.  (1st Peter 5:7 – take your burdens to the Lord and leave them.  You can’t, but He can. 

Just a thought by coppi

Ps 91…….Those who live in the shelter of the most High will find rest in the shadows of the Almighty this I declare about the Lord.  He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;  He is my God, and I trust Him….

Psalms 91 was my mother’s favorite – I think she made it a practice to read everyday & claim the promises therein.  My mother had great faith & believe me she needed it.  She reared ten children by herself on a small farm located outside of Fredericksburg, Texas.

My father died from lung cancer caused by mustard gas used in World War 1.

I too love Psalm 91 & all the protection God provides in it.  As I was reading it one morning this week, I thought I am going to commit it to memory – so I have started!  My mind swirls around in many directions these days so I find it is not as easy to do as “yesterday’s”….but it’s worth the effort to have all those promises planted in my heart.

David, a shepherd lad and a King, knew where his source of refuge was so he wrote about the God that helped him guard sheep, kill Giants & fight battles so we would know where to go when we too face the battles of our life.   The promises of God we can stand on ….As in my deceased husband’s bible, I noted he had written over Ps 91 “covering”…yes, Standish, we all need God’s grace & covering……….& love.

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭34‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Just a thought by coppi

“Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living.”

(Psalms 27:13 NLT)

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven. (Mt 6:9-10 NIV)

“In the land of the living” and “on earth as it is in heaven” –  I will see the Lord’s goodness in the here and now.  How can I see His goodness when I am covered up with problems, etc. King David must have utter those words as he was fighting for his life when King Saul, in his jealous behavior, was chasing him to kill him, but King David stood on God’s promises that he would see God’s goodness, and in Ps 16:7-8 He utter “Keep me safe, O God for I have come to you for refuge.  I said to the Lord, you are my master!  Every good thing I have comes from you.” (Ps 16:1-2 NLT). Yes, David did see God’s goodness and protective hand in his life, and his words are written in the Bible so we too can learn and glean from the experiences of David as well as all the Prophets and Saints in the Bible.  God is for us.  We are conquerors through him.  He is our refuge and hope and wants us to experience his goodness on earth as well as in heaven.  Commit yourself to the Lord; let Him deliver…(Ps 22:8).

Human withdrawal [for meditation] is a very painful and lonely process, because it forces us to directly face our own condition in all its misery as well as its beauty. But when we are not afraid to enter into our own center and to concentrate on the stirrings of our own souls, we come to know that being alive means being loved. This experience tells us that we can only love because we are born out of love, that we can only give because our life is a gift, and that we can only make others free because we are set free by the One whose heart is greater than ours.

And when we have found the anchor places for our lives in our own center we can be free to let others enter into the space created for them, and allow them to dance their own dance, sing their own song, and speak their own language without fear. Then our presence is no longer threatening and demanding, but inviting and liberating. (Henri Nouwen). 

Henri Nouwen writings are one of my daily mediations. This one I want to share with my Just A Thought readers. Years ago, I used to pray “Lord, free me so I can free others”.  I thought all my wrong teachings were the gospel. I grew up in a very legalistic church, which had me so bound up with dos and don’ts I was miserable. I wanted to dance my own dance,and sing my own song without fear that God would strike me with a big stick (the only stick God has is the cross), and free the ones around me to do the same. I wanted to be liberated. God is faithful – He heard my prayer – I am free to be me, and let you be you.  

Just a thought by coppi

In Isaiah 42:16 God says, “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.”

“God’s specialty is raising dead things to life and making impossible things possible. You don’t have a need that exceeds His power.” – Beth Moore

“These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them”………

American novelist Edith Wharton said, “There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” In our relationship with Jesus, He’s the candle. We are the mirror that reflects His light to the world. The deeper the darkness, the brighter we shine.