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.

wings.” – Phillip Brooks

”“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,“

‭‭John‬ ‭17‬:‭20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

”I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.“

‭‭John‬ ‭17‬:‭11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The power of your name. Very powerful statement. I know there were times in my life that the only prayer I could utter was “Jesus””.  “It is the memory and recollection of the entire life of Jesus. The short name of Jesus is meant to represent the entirety of the life and ministry of Jesus — all that he did, all that he said, all that he experienced. To gather, to pray, in the name of Jesus is to re-member the entire life of Jesus.”  I remember years ago in our little country church we were asked to quote scriptures. My brother, Leonard, who was just a lad, was there, and when it came to his time he said “Jesus Wept”. (John 11:35l. Reveals He truly is “touched with the feeling of our infirmities” (Hebrews 4:15). His tears are a reminder that He loves sinners and cares for every soul?  The name of Jesus covers a vast supply of love for us.  He cares, he heals, he comforts, he will never leave us, he weeps with us; the list goes on and on. So, when you are in deep sorrows and are trying to pray and the words are not coming say the name of “Jesus”.  It’s a powerful prayer – and He hears you. 

Even before God became man, it’s clear throughout the Old Testament that God feels sorrow, even weeps for the crushing blows of His people. Psalm 34:18 promises us that “the Lord is close to the brokenhearted”.

Just a thought by coppi. 

Just a thought by coppi

“Each step you take brings you closer to home.  Before you know it, you’ll enter the City.  You’ll hear your name spoken by those who love you.  And maybe, just maybe—in the back, behind the crowds—the One who would rather die than live without you will remove his pierced hands from his heavenly robe and…applaud.”  Max Lucado 6/1/19

Yes, that’s one of our Lord’s promises that we will see our loved ones again.  Not only my beloved family and friends, but also my dear little pets who loved me and I them.  I believe there will be a lot of rejoicing and love among the redeemed – it will be quite a celebration of joy and delight.  But I also want to see Jesus and His nail print hands applauding and hear his voice say “welcome home”.

”Lord Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you.“

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭84‬:‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Enough said.

“If you lack the courage to fail, you will lack the courage to succeed. It is from our worst mistakes that we grow. We learn humility. We discover that you cannot please everyone.” — Rabbi Jonathan Sacks

Self-rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us the “Beloved.” Being the Beloved constitutes the core truth of our existence.  Henri Nouwen

I am tired of fighting all the “self-rejections” of me. I awakened this morning from a dream on this very thing.   When we self-reject, we talk ourselves out of taking action before we even get a chance to try. Usually, self-rejection happens when we’re afraid of failing or afraid of being rejected by someone else. To avoid that pain or embarrassment, we take ourselves out of the situation before it can happen.     Have you been guilty of this?  I have. You can have all the talent in the world, but if you self-reject you and bury yourself  under “fear” and “your existence”, you have given yourself over to the enemy of self-destruction.  In Mt 25:14-18 Jesus speaks of this very thing – “The one who had received the five talents  went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.”  When the master returned he was angry with the one who buried his talent because of fear.  We are God’s beloved – fearfully and wonderfully made. Ps 139:14, then why do I bury myself under rubble?  “Self-rejection cripples talent and speaking for myself, I have dug many holes and buried the talent God gave me.  

Just a thought by coppi

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.“

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭43‬:‭18‬

”See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.“

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭43‬:‭19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

On one of my walks around the Hillsborough river in Seminole Heights Fl, I saw a person whose job was to take care of and protect a park.  He was tucked away in the corner of the park weeping.  I stopped and said “May I help you and why are you crying”?   He responded “I am going to kill myself – I have nothing to live for anymore.  My wife left me and is filing for divorce.  I have two children and she will be awarded them because she is the mother. She is leaving me not for a man, but another woman”.  On and on, he empty himself of all the pain he was experiencing.  Finally, I said “Why kill yourself over something that is causing you excess pain at this time.  Time heals.  You have two children that I am sure loves you and they are not divorcing you, and you really don’t know what the future holds.    

If you kill yourself, you will never know what God can do in any situation.” Are you a believer in God.?  “Oh, yes I am,” he said.  “Okay, great, now why don’t you call upon Him to help you”.   “I said, “Do you mind if I pray for you now”?  We held hands and I prayed that Jesus would guide him through this trial; that he would experience the love of God that passes all understanding, and I prayed every encouraging word along with a few scriptures that would give him hope.  I also encouraged him to go to the church he attended, and talk to the minister or a trusted friend. When I left, I said “Please  don’t kill yourself.  You will get through this.  Trust and believe that the God who created you, will help you”.  I would like to end with I saw him again and everything was fine, but I didn’t.  I could not solve his problem, but I left him in the hands of someone, Jesus, who could. 

Just a thought by coppi

“Of all the liars in the world, sometimes the worst are our own fears.” — Rudyard Kipling

I have been stymied by my own fears most of my life.  Fear was a dark cloud looming behind me.  I told myself as long as I hide behind this darkness and not turn around and face the fear of whatever was holding me captive; light was blocked.  Do you know how hard that is when you live under the circumstances of low self-worth and thinking that accomplishments is the way to acceptance.  If you fail in what ever it is that has a grip on you, devastation moves in like a tsunami and if you succeed, the pain that comes from struggling to learn something hard followed by the delight in knowing that I can still surprise myself through learning is satisfying.  It’s a dichotomy.  “The division of two things that are completely different:   The dichotomy between what people think they are and what they do.”  To simplify me, I had to dig up the root that was choking my life.  Face the reason, acknowledge it, work at uprooting it, (I am a believer in Christ) and asking Jesus to help me move on with Him as my guide and director.  I gave up being the ambassador of my life.  I wanted to walk in light – not darkness.

Just a thought by coppi 

The Lord said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you… .’ (Genesis 12:1-5).

When I married Standish and moved to Florida from Texas, I felt like Abraham.  I moved to a place I knew nothing about. As a child, I can remember my bestest friend in the little country school we attended, we would race outside at recess and  run to a quiet place.  I would pull out a map of Florida, which my brother, who was stationed there sent me.  We would center our attention on the beautiful sandy beaches covered by colorful umbrellas, and the amazing colorful ocean.  I would say to her “someday I will live there.    Years pasted, and I did move to Tampa Florida, (Seminole Heights)  far away from Texas and  my family.  I have always been someone who walked.  I tried daily to walk two miles and I located the Hillsborough river, which had a walking path around it and was close to where we lived. I met many people out there – they would stop me and tell me their woes in life.  Being a  person who prayed, I naturally would pray for them.  I did a lot of praying on my walks along the Hillsborough river.  I prayed for people who were going through a divorce, cancer, sick cats and dogs, estranged children, etc.  Sadness and some joy I encountered in my walks – no sandy beaches or the blue waters of an ocean, but people of all races and cultures who had needs.  I felt like Abraham in a land God sent him to dwell and where he called home.  I am still in Florida, I now live in Temple Terrace, Fl.  Lots has happened since my arrival in 2008.  I am still in Florida.  I have not spent any time on the Sandy beaches or the ocean;  however, it’s on my bucket list.  Florida is my home. I am right where I should be in a land that is no longer foreign to me. 

Just a thought by coppi

”The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.“

‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭19‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

God was not in the fire and not in the earthquake, but God was in that soft little voice.

Speak to me softly and I hear you. Yell at me and I shut down  and do not hear you.  

I was always a highly sensitive child, but I always had a childlike faith. I believed in Jesus. I can remember, I wanted a bunny rabbit. . Growing up on a farm where bunnies rabbits were plentiful, yet I could never catch one.   I was dreaming of finding one, and I thought I heard Jesus whisper “At the end of the field you will find a baby bunny in a nest built by his/her mother”.  I took off running to that location – I knew and believed I heard Jesus’ whisper my baby bunny was there waiting for me.  Nope, nothing there.  I turned and started my walk back.   I knew I heard that whisper, so I turned around and ran back to the spot he/she was to be. Nothing.  Later in life, I learned there were three voices a person can hear. 1:  Jesus voice; 2: The devil’s voice; and 3: your own voice.  I am sure it was my own voice and my own desire I heard, and I let my great imagination take over and made my desire Jesus’ desire.  However, my childlike faith stayed with me. I realized many of my beliefs.  I still do have that kind of faith.  It’s something that dwells deeply in my heart.  And, yes, Jesus does not yell at me.  He speaks softly – He whispers!

Just a thought by coppi

Find a story that will fill you with faith for the problem set before you.  Craig Denison 6/12/19

Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭11:34‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Our hope is not based on something that will happen after our sufferings are over, but on the real presence of God’s healing Spirit in the midst of these sufferings.” Henri Nouwen

We are not alone out there with our heartaches and troubles, but we have the almighty God besides us and in us and his promise “He will never leave us or forsake us”.  (Deuteronomy 31:6)   He is our hope & promise to grasp onto until the morning sunshine of blessings shine through the dark shadows of hopelessness.  Time….how long will I have to wait for this light is my thought & question? There were times I thought God had forgotten me and other times my prayers seemed to have wings of angels carrying them directly to the throne of mercy.  I do not know the answers but I do know “He will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of His presence and the pleasures of living with Him forever.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭16:11 NLT – I must trust Him that He will answer these unanswered prayers in His time and believe that He wants more for me than I do for myself.  I find myself singing the following little song many times…..it speaks to my soul.

“This is my Father’s world: Oh, let me ne’er forget; that though the wrong seems oft so strong; God is the ruler yet.” (Song writer).  

Do your best and leave the results to God. —Dr. Norman Vincent Peale

Happy New Year.