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

Isaiah 43:17-18 – But forget all that – it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness, I will create rivers as in the dry wasteland.

When reading Isaiah 43, I was enthralled how much God loved and put up with the sins of his chosen ones, Israel. He chose them from the beginning of time to keep the articles of God alive until the scriptures were fulfilled in Jesus. “You have been chosen to know me, believe in me, & understand that I alone am God”. He constantly would remind and deliver them from the chaos of their choices. But his love for his people was so great that he always came to their rescue. I loved it when I read “But forget all of that put it behind you, things are about to change…I have already begun – I will make a pathway through the wilderness – I will create rivers as in the dry wasteland”.
Do you feel as though you are in the wasteland and wilderness – look up the God of the Bible knows where you are and nothing can snatch you out of his hand. Your deliver has you in the palm of his hand. How great is that!

Just a thought by coppi

”Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.“

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭62‬:‭5‬-‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I love to read the Psalms.  King David was so vulnerable in them. He would cry out in his anguish and be very joyful in praise and song when happy. He knew where his hope came from.  “Hope is commonly used to mean a wish: its strength is the strength of the person’s desire. But in the Bible hope is the confident expectation of what God has promised and its strength is in His faithfulness.”  A song I have sung many times in my life is:  “I’ve anchored my soul in the Haven of Rest, I’ll sail the wide seas no more; the tempest may sweep over wild, stormy, deep seas. Jesus I’m safe evermore …”  “Being anchored in Him is my refuge, rock, and fortress…” and truly “He is my HOPE!”

Just a thought by coppi

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.“

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭17‬

Billy Graham said, “Patience includes perseverance – the ability to bear up under weariness, strain, and persecution when doing the work of the Lord.” We may face struggles while serving Him, but when we trust Him through those trials, we can claim victory in Jesus through perseverance.”

Winston Churchill Quote “Never Never Never Give Up”.

“Perseverance” is a word that I think I was born with. I watched my mother’s perseverance raising ten children by herself.  I watched as all of us persevered through this time in our life.  It wasn’t easy, but we were blessed with a mother who had faith in Jesus – she knew He would help us and He did every step of the way.  She never, never gave up, but at times I know it was very difficult for her.  Indefatigability and determination to trust and preserve in the knowledge of knowing Jesus would help her in this journey.

I also watched people persevere through sickness, relationships, and difficult times, but they never gave up – they kept their faith and trust in the promises of God.   God did not leave us without hope – ”For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.“. Romans 15:17.

Just a thought by coppi

ust 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.

Just a thought by coppi

Ps147:3 plainly says, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” God longs to meet you at the place of your wounds and provide healing today.

Wounds come in all shapes and forms – health, death of loved ones, old hurts from long ago. loss of assets, divorce, abuse, and whatever is hidden deep within you.  The slightest of a thought can bring it forth or it can happen consciously before your eyes with little warning; wounds that change your life.  BUT Jesus! Scripture says “He heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds”.  I know because I have been there many times in my life and I wondered why my wounds still encapsulate me.  I just know in Ephesians 6:10-18 it says, “… Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”  We live in a fallen world. Ugly happens.  Do I have the answer – nope I do not.  I only look up to Jesus and say “help me”.   He does. 

Just a thought by coppi

”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

”“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.“

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭55‬:‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

My thoughts and ways are often tainted by my emotions, which house previous experiences in my life – good and bad.  Flesh and Spirit.  My flesh sometimes is way out in left field with concern and worry; I reflect God’s ways as my ways. Crazy, 

 but true. “The lifestyle of the flesh flows from a mind oriented to the flesh, whereas the lifestyle of the Spirit comes from a mind oriented to the Spirit. And “the mind of the flesh is death” whereas the “mind of the Spirit [brings] life and peace.”  Releasing control is difficult for me;  I wrestle with untangling myself from its hold;  I know when I do the peace of God will flow.  I remember as a child, my sister & brother shared a rabbit. They were not old in age.  My brother was holding the rabbit, but in his love for it, he squeezed and killed it.  They both were crying, but my sister was outraged with him.  He finally cried out “I killed my half, yours died”.   Control will do the same for me.  So it’s imperative to release people, places, and things to God’s control and trust Him.  Hard for me, but necessary.

”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

 ”And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.“

‭‭1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭16‬-‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

DEVINE love is PERFECT love and that is the love that casts out fear.  Not my love.  When St. John says that fear is driven out by perfect love, he points to a love that comes from God.  The perfect love about which St. John speaks, embraces and transcends all feelings, emotions, and passions. I gleaned this from reading a message of meditation from Henry Nouwen.

“Perfect love cast out all fear”.  I have read this scripture many times in my life, and have always been mentally defeated when I read “perfect love casts out all fear”.  I thought I had to be the one who had to overcome and be victorious. I knew that was an impossible task for me.  What I need to do is focus on God’s love for me, and ground myself in this His love. and not my own love which is swayed by my emotions.  I guess an analogy, for me, is when I pray for someone or something, I need to leave that burden of prayer in the hands of Jesus, and let that perfect-devine love take over. “Take your burdens to the Lord and leave them there” – even the “Perfect love that casts out fear”.  For me, I need to focus on Jesus, who is the epitome of LOVE.

Just a thought by coppi

An elderly professor once said to me, “Son, be kind to everyone, because everyone’s having a hard time.” Everyone you know has reasons to wonder if God loves them.  (Jim Denison quote in First 15)

Interesting quote by Jim Denison’s professor.  We never know what is inside someone’s being, and what they are going through.  I know some people push the belief of what happened in your childhood should not affect you as an adult,  if you do not dwell on it and become effective in this life.  I disagree.  I was in a program years ago where different ones of all ethnicities and levels of plentitude were in a room together where what they said stayed in that room.  We were honest and spoke of our inner child and hurts growing up.  Very well-to-do and impoverished spoke of inner pain.  No one was allowed to give advice or condemn.  You were there to confess what was going on in your inner self to people that cared and understood, because they too were there for the same reason. Acceptance, kindness, and love were keys to healing the pain.  

“Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.”

“Accept each other with love, and make an effort to preserve the unity of the Spirit with the peace that ties you together.” The Good News: Love goes hand-in-hand with things like patience and kindness and being humble”.

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?  Mt 7…..NIV