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.

The brindle cow would have lived til now:

If only she’d saved her breath.

But she feared that her hay wouldn’t last all day:

And she worried herself to death.

We can either trust God or worry.  I don’t know why it’s so easy for us to worry, and so hard to trust; I wish it were the other way around. If you find yourself falling into this rut, remember that God is faithful.  He never fails,and He is never late.  As the old hymn says:

If you trust and never doubt, 

He will surely bring you out.

Take your burdens to the Lord,

And leave them there.

I read this today, it rang a bell in my heart:  Why?  I guess I find worry is easier than trust. 

Just a thought by coppi

Just a thought by coppi

“Until we meet again I will cling to my Father in heaven. He will carry me through every second, every minute, every hour of every day.” She continues to say of God, “He has got this.”  (Kayla Stoeckin blogged a remarkable tribute to her husband, Andrew, after he took his life. – she ended blog with this statement)

Pastor and author Max Lucado was asked why suicide rates are rising and so many people are feeling anxious. He replied: “My hunch on this is that we are seeing the fruits of a secular society. When we raise up a generation of people and tell them that all of life is just what they can see, what they can touch and what they can hear—in other words—there’s no transcending power, there’s no good God overseeing the affairs of mankind—you remove that from society—my feeling is that creates a discouraged society.”

He added that “secularism sucks hope out of a society.”

I cannot imagine living without hope.  I can remember when everything crashed around me and “hope” is what I held onto.  Hope that there would be a brighter time in my life – Hope as Kyla put it “He, God, has got this” – He would bring me through.  In Hebrew 1, “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.”Hebrews 11:1 NLT.  The entire chapter of Hebrew 11 is noted as the faith (hope) chapter.  Max Lucado covers the subject very well in the above paragraph, and my mother’s simple answer (when she was living) would be “If you take God out of our country, it will fall”.  I agree with both opinions.

Just a thought by coppi

Ravi Zacharias: “Beginning well is a momentary thing; finishing well is a lifelong thing.”

Luke 8:43-44 King James Version (KJV)

“And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stopped.”

Twelve years is a long time spent with a malady but with one touch of Jesus’s garment she was healed.  Dealing with anything, maybe not an illness but a bothersome aggravation of your heart, is also a sickness.  I have said about the disease of cancer that it was like un-forgiveness.  It destroys your joy of living.  I have found it is much better to forgive.  If you can’t find it in your heart to ask forgiveness ask the Jesus in you to help you.  Corrie ten Boon had to do that when she encountered the German officer who killed her sister. She was teaching on forgiveness & when she had the alter call, who would be making his way down the isle but the German officer. That is when she said “I can’t but the Jesus in me can” and she greeted him with forgiveness.  Forgiveness is not easy but neither is harboring the anguish you have to deal with in your heart.  “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.”  There is power in Jesus but I ask myself “How do I touch that power?” I wish I could give a concrete answer but I don’t know one.  All I know is that I have walked through a lot of “uglies” in my life and I know for a fact He brought me to the mountain top from the valley of sorrow.  He is my shepherd even though I never touched the hem of his garment.

Just a thought by coppi

“I will bless the Lord who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me. I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.”

Psalms 16:7-8 NLT

You will show me the joy of your presence and the pleasure of living with you forever.  Psalms 16:11

The presence of God is real, but to encounter his presence you have to set aside time to seek him.  In Jeremiah 29:13 it says you will find me if you seek me with your whole heart.  And, in Revelation 3:20  – Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.  I spent most of my life seeking to know God – not just about him.  It was only in my great need that I finally came into his presence.  I had to know he was real today not just someone I read about in the Bible. I ask myself, “why does it usually take a need in your life before you turn yourself over to ‘knowing’ the reality of God.”. For me, I guess the only way I can explain it is what Luke shared with Theophilus “Many people have set out to write accounts about the events that have been fulfilled among us. They used the eyewitness reports circulating among us from the early disciples. Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to write an accurate account for you, most honorable Theophilus, so you can be certain of the truth of everything you were taught.” Luke 1:1-4 NLT.  “You can be certain of the truth you were taught”.  Those words spoken  by Luke to Theophilus spoke to me many years ago as I too wanted to know if the truth spoken in the Bible was as valid today as it was some 2000 years ago.  Today, I try to spend time daily with Jesus – reading, praying, and worshipping him and knowing him.  I never want to forget what He has done for me.  Ask, seek and you will find……would I give you a stone if you asked for bread…….or would I give you a snake if you asked for a fish (Mt 7:7-

Just a thought by coppi 

Lord Jesus, a new day, a clean page of my life, is drawing.  Write your will on it.

Quote: Shari Smyth

Lord, your love & protection is the one true thing that I can count on.  It’s always ahead of me, guiding my way through all uncertainty.

Quote: Ed Grinnan

Meaningful quotes for me today.

Just a thought by coppi

“Cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you”(1 Peter 5:6-7). Take time to bring before God all that’s bothering you. Lay all your anxieties at his feet, choose to trust that he will take care of them and help you through them, and receive his peace that surpasses all understanding.  First 15 3/22/21

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And  the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

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

“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6:34‬ ‭NLT

“Do not fear tomorrow, God is already there”…..

Much is written in the Bible about not to fear and not to worry but to take your burdens to the Lord and leave them there.  Trust him.  He will help you.  It’s not easy, because in today’s world with the News Media and Internet spreading much negativity –  it’s hard to keep fear and worry away.  One thing I do is avoid as much of the News and negativity I can, but I don’t want to ‘bury my head in the sand’ and just ‘skip around in the Lilly pads”.  I am aware of what’s going on.  As I said before, prayer is my secret weapon – the weapon I have used and still do in my life.  Throughout the Bible, you will find that it records all happenings – good and bad, but the good report is our God wins.  He is a mighty God, He lives within me, He delights in me, He calms all my fears with His love, and He rejoices over me with joyful songs.  Zephaniah 3:17.  He loves me and calms my fears….That is something to zero in on and put in my/your memory bank.

Just a thought by coppi 

Mary believed

Luke 1:45. Elizabeth to Mary – “you are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said” – 

“How” is my first response when I hear God’s still small voice saying “you won’t have to” in answer to a prayer I have been praying diligently about.  Zechariah uttered how when the angel Gabriel came to him with the Good News that Elizabeth was going to become pregnant with John the Baptist. How will God ever do that – impossible – but hopeful, yes indeed.  I look back at all the how’s in my life that our Lord marvelously moved in my life – circumstances that I thought impossible. God doesn’t need our reasonings on “how” but “yes, Lord I will believe & trust you”…..”you are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said”……….and He did!

Just a thought by coppi

And Hosea says, “I will be delighted to answer your question if you will first answer a question of mine. How can a holy God like this love such a harlotrous people like us?”

The first thing about the nature of God’s relationship with us is that God gives to us a love that we do not deserve. We do not merit it. But not only is the love of God unmerited, it is also a love that grows and is sustained by relationship. The longer we walk with God, the more we understand how much of a gift this love is. (Ravi Zacharias 8-8-19)

Who would ever think that the God of Israel would tell one of his prophets to marry a prostitute but He did – He told Hosea “to go marry a prostitute”. Why? Hosea’s marriage to Gomer, a prostitute, was a example of Israel’s turning from God and worshiping idols. Even when Gomer went back into her lifestyle of prostitution. God told Hosea to go buy her back, which he did. Hosea took a lot of criticism from the the Israelites as to his decision to continue his love for Gomer. However, when they were criticizing him, he came back with “I will be delighted to answer your question if you will first answer a question of mine. How can a holy God like this love such a harlotrous people like us?” Our God is a God of love, and is relentless in gathering us under his wings of protection as a mother hen gathers her chicks under her wings for protection against the storms of life. It is the same way with us, God loves us. And, as Ravi Zacharias states it “God gives us a love that we do not deserve. We do not merit it. But not only is the love of God unmerited, it is also a love that grows and is sustained by relationship. The longer we walk with God, the more we understand how much of a gift this love is.” Relationship, not religious activity, is what God wants. Spending time with him and allowing him to be your constant companion. And, you will find how much this gift of love is.