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.

”Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.“

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭23‬:‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

My husband and I were saying our prayers last night for different ones, who asked us to pray for them regarding illness, relationships, loneliness, etc.  Many ones are walking through a very dark valley.  I told my husband, “I wish I had a magic wand, I would wave it over all these requests and make all wellness, etc., happen.  But, I don’t have a magic wand, my wand is Jesus, and we wave it over all prayer requests, and leave them with Him.  The prayers that are answered, are deleted from our list: The unanswered ones stay and we continue praying for them.  Prayer is laying hold of Jesus’ willingness, not His reluctance – He is our Shepherd and is with us. His rod and staff comfort us. 

Just a thought by coppi

“And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. “Who touched me?” Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.” But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.””

‭‭Luke‬ ‭8‬:‭42‬-‭46‬ ‭NIV‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/111/luk.8.46.NIV

“Who touched me”.  

“Shackled by a heavy burden

‘Neath a load of guilt and shame

Then the hand of Jesus touched me

And now I am no longer the same”

The women with the issue of blood was crushed among the crowds of people wanting to get to Jesus for healing, she did not give up— she kept crawling through the drove of people saying to herself “if I can only touch the hem of his garment, I will be healed”.  She had great faith in the power of this man, Jesus, the Son of God.  Finally she reached him and reached to touch Him but was only able to touch the hem of His garment.  Jesus stopped and said “Who touched me”!!!  Fear probably rose within this frail women but she knew something happened to her.  The healing power of Jesus touched her and she was healed. When Jesus proclaimed “Who touched me”, and with all the people pushing against him, Peter tried to convince him that it was impossible for him to think a touch would awaken Him of such a thing as a touch’.  But, no, Jesus proclaimed again “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone from me”!  He then noticed this small fearful women who was healed looking up to him with gratitude, and said “your faith has made you whole”.  

He touched me…..among multitudes of people pressing in on Him; a small touch on the hem of His garment laced with much faith, she was healed.  “Hebrews 11:1 – “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” From this particular passage we see that the central feature of faith is confidence or trust. In the Bible, the object of faith is God and his promises.”

Reach out to Him in faith….even small faith….and touch the edge of His cloak.  

Just a thought by coppi

Just a thought by coppi

“Prayer is thus connected with the blessing to show us the value of it. If we had the blessings without asking for them, we should think them common things; but prayer makes our mercies more precious than diamonds. The things we ask for are precious, but we do not realize their preciousness until we have sought for them earnestly.” 

“Prayer makes the darken’d cloud withdraw;

Prayer climbs the ladder Jacob saw;

Gives exercise to faith and love;

Brings every blessing from above.”   (Charles Spurgeon)

I have said several times before I believe when we get to heaven we will be sorry we did not pray more.  I don’t know why but it seems to always happen when I pray the phone will ring, someone rings my doorbell, my mind wonders off to mundane things that I need to do, etc etc.  I have found what I have to do is go inside my closet and shut the door to pray.  It works for me. Also,- “You may be mighty in Prayer alone, but you can be mightier with someone joining you.  The Bible says that “…one will put one thousand to flight (meaning demons), but two will put ten thousand to flight.”  [Leviticus 26:8; Deuteronomy 32:30].”  I am blessed to have several people I can call and say, “would you please pray for me or __________and then I give them the request.  I have a list of ones I am praying for and when the answer comes, I will strike off their name and add thank you Jesus.  Prayer – I need to pray more.

Today I imagined my inner self as a place crowded with pins and needles. How could I receive anyone in my prayer when there is no place for them to be free and relaxed? When I am still so full of preoccupations, jealousies, angry feelings, anyone who enters will get hurt. I had a very vivid realization that I must create some free space in my innermost self so that I may indeed invite others to enter and be healed. To pray for others means to offer others a hospitable place where I can really listen to their needs and pains. Compassion, therefore, calls for a self-scrutiny that can lead to inner gentleness.  Henri Nouwen

Just a thought by coppi (written in 2017)

And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, Yahweh [the LORD], in your presence. – Exodus 33:19

“what you think about God will shape your destiny in life”.

“Who is this “God” we love, hate, worship, blaspheme, trust, fear, believe in, doubt, cuss in the name of, bow to, make jokes about, and most of the time just ignore? 

I would argue that how you answer this question will define you.”  (John Mark Comer -“God has a name”.

In my opinion, a lot of the above statement rings true.  I grew up in a very legalistic religion–God was always chasing me with a big stick.  He was a very angry God.  Everything fun was labeled “sin”.  So my quest in life was to find the love of God and to know this God of love.  A pendulum can often swing too much in the wrong direction and growing up, I believe my pendulum got stuck way far to the left.  I came to be the ambassador of the world and wore myself out trying to be a good employee for God.  One time I was reading and meditating on what my purpose was to do and deep within I heard, ” I want you to love me with all your heart and love the people I put in your life” – “I can to do that Lord, because I genuinely love people – that’s easy”.  Gee, I felt a weight lifted from me and I was able to give up my ambassadorship title and take on the label of servanthood.  I like that title better.

   Just a thought by coppi

   He is Real

“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow.  It empties today of its strength.”  (Corrie Ten Boom)

Have you ever worried about something and it never happened?  I have.  All that energy wasted for nothing.  One can’t help but worry when the storms of life engulf them.  Yet, Jesus said to trust Him and have faith.  I think of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus, when everything was fine in his world, he loudly proclaimed Jesus was the Son of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, but when John was sitting in a dismal and dark dungeon waiting to be executed, he sent his disciples out to find Jesus and ask Him if He was the Son of God or if they should look elsewhere.  Jesus told John’s disciples to go back and tell John that dead are being raised, sick are being healed and the Kingdom of God is being proclaimed throughout the region.  ‘Faith, unseen faith’.  Hope that Jesus is in control and all will be well is indeed difficult to believe as John, the disciples, and you and me will experience through life.  But our hope must be in Jesus, our Redeemer, and His promises. 

Just a thought by Coppi

Just a thought by coppi

God loves to take the very circumstance that seemed insurmountable and use it to reveal to you the reality of his power and love. He loves to take the walls of Jericho that seem to stand between you and your dreams and cast down the enemy that you couldn’t defeat on your own.  Craig Denison

There are many ideas as to how the walls of Jericho came down. Both Garstang and Kenyon found evidence of earthquake activity at the time the city met its end. If God did use an earthquake to accomplish His purposes that day, it was still a miracle since it happened at precisely the right moment, and was manifested in such a way as to protect Rahab’s house. No matter what agency God used, it was ultimately He who, through the faith of the Israelites, brought the walls down. After the people had marched around them for seven days, it was “by faith the walls of Jericho fell down” (Hebrews 11:30).

As well as showing us how vital it is not to discount the Bible because of some apparent conflict with secular scholarship, Jericho is a wonderful spiritual lesson for God’s people yet today. There are times when we find ourselves facing enormous “walls” that are impossible to break down by human strength. If we put our faith in God and follow His commandments, He will perform “great and mighty things” (Jeremiah 33:3) and give us the victory.

I started my journey with belief in the word of God when I was very young.  I have seen walls fall around me many times in my life. I could not have made the journey in life without my faith that Jesus would somehow – somewhere destroy the “enormous” walls that were impossible to break down by me.  Some of these walls in my life did not fall immediately, I had to trust, believe, the promises laid out in the word of God.  God is faithful, but it’s up to us to make the choice to believe in Him to do great and mighty things and give us victory. I made that choice!

God loves to take the very circumstance that seemed insurmountable and use it to reveal to you the reality of his power and love. He loves to take the walls of Jericho that seem to stand between you and your dreams and cast down the enemy that you couldn’t defeat on your own.  Craig Denison

There are many ideas as to how the walls of Jericho came down. Both Garstang and Kenyon found evidence of earthquake activity at the time the city met its end. If God did use an earthquake to accomplish His purposes that day, it was still a miracle since it happened at precisely the right moment, and was manifested in such a way as to protect Rahab’s house. No matter what agency God used, it was ultimately He who, through the faith of the Israelites, brought the walls down. After the people had marched around them for seven days, it was “by faith the walls of Jericho fell down” (Hebrews 11:30).

As well as showing us how vital it is not to discount the Bible because of some apparent conflict with secular scholarship, Jericho is a wonderful spiritual lesson for God’s people yet today. There are times when we find ourselves facing enormous “walls” that are impossible to break down by human strength. If we put our faith in God and follow His commandments, He will perform “great and mighty things” (Jeremiah 33:3) and give us the victory.

I started my journey with belief in the word of God when I was very young.  I have seen walls fall around me many times in my life. I could not have made the journey in life without my faith that Jesus would somehow – somewhere destroy the “enormous” walls that were impossible to break down by me.  Some of these walls in my life did not fall immediately, I had to trust, believe, the promises laid out in the word of God.  God is faithful, but it’s up to us to make the choice to believe in Him to do great and mighty things and give us victory. I made that choice!

 “Oh God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you, my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.” Ps 63:1-3

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭4‬:‭18‬

Highly sensitive people (HSP)  are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14 NIV). They do not need to be treated for HSP, because it is not a disorder. 

“No one is more influential in your life than you are, because no one talks to you as much as you talk to yourself.” – Paul 

David Tripp

Sensitivity has many shades of meaning but most relate to your response to your environment — either physical or emotional. Sensitivity to cold means you’re quick to notice the slightest chill — in the air or in another person’s actions.

Because HSP are so in touch with their own emotions, they can sense emotions in others. They often sense the deeper emotions in someone else that the average person may overlook.

For example, an HSP may look at body language, tone of voice, and mannerisms to sense that someone else is hurting. Though the other person may be trying to hide their hurt, an HSP has an uncanny ability to notice the details and identify with their feelings.

Since HSPs place such a high value on relationships, they are at risk of disappointment when others don’t reciprocate or worse, criticize the HSP for being too sensitive. They need to keep striving to connect with people who accept them for who they are.

I am one of those categorized  as HSP.   I prefer not to be – I would prefer to have skin as as tough as pigskin.  I know the scripture Romans 12:2 says and means – interpreting life through the lens of God’s Word and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, rather than through the lens of your experience, woundedness, trauma, preferences, or the opinions of others.  And, I also know that scripture was recorded in the Bible for our good –  “interpreting life through the lens of God’s word, rather than my experience and woundedness, etc”, and that is where I need to focus on the lens of God through His word in lieu of my past hurts.  Focus- focus.  Lol

Just a thought by coppi

”fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. 

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12‬:‭2‬

One of my meditation today directed me to read Heb 12.  I have read Heb 12 many times, so before I started to read again, I asked Jesus to light up a verse which would stand out in blazing neon lights even if it be only one word.  The above is my luminous light. Yes, it is Jesus, whose Devine and  Perfect love, who will be the perfecter of our faith. All we have to do is fix our eyes on Him and trust Him.

Just a thought by coppi