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.

John 17. The Prayer of Jesus –

…..just as you sent them into the world….I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message ……Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am.  Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began….I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.  Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began.

John 17 became very meaningful to me years ago.  I remember being in Albuquerque, NM, years ago studying a new technique in art.   After a very long day that extended into the night, I would come back to where I was staying, take a bath & crawl into bed.  Before I turned the light out, I would pick up my Bible & read.  John 17, the prayer of Jesus, was the chapter that captured my heart.  Jesus was with the Father before the world began as was the Holy Spirit.  Both were sent into the world through a plan designed way before time.  Jesus was sent to redeem mankind through His death & resurrection; the Holy Spirit was sent in the world to teach, direct, guide & comfort us in our journey toward our Heavenly home.  It was a plan designed before time by our Father, Jesus, & The Holy Spirit, the three in one.  I would read & re-read John 17 – I so wanted to know & understand what Jesus was saying in this prayer.  “Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world…I am praying not only for THESE disciples but also for ALL (I was on His mind) who will ever believe in me through their message ……the message is laid out in the Bible – it is for our taking.

Ps 92:5-Lord, you have done such great things!  How deep are your thoughts……

Just a thought by coppi

 I’m reading “I Am: A 60-Day Journey to Knowing Who You Are because of Who He Is” by Michele Cushatt and wanted to share this quote with you.

Just a thought by coppi

“To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything. It liberates us from pretense, humbles us out of our self-righteousness, and fortifies us for any difficulty life can throw at us  (Timothy T. Keller, The Meaning of Marriage)..

Being “unreal” is a tasking job.  If you have never read The Velveteen Rabbit, I recommend it.  It’s a children’s book but reveals a truth of life, being “loved for who you are, warts and all”…

Just a thought by coppi  

Just a thought by coppi

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart.  Lean not unto thy own understanding..

In all your ways acknowledge me and I will direct your path. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Let your expectations come from me and not man.  

If you put your trust and expectations in man, disappointment will surely come.  I have done this in my life.  I trusted someone that I thought would never disappoint me.  He told me many times “why would I want to hurt you” and yet as he spoke those words, he had already started the downfall of our marriage.  Yes, you guessed it, it was my husband of many years.  I have no idea why anyone would intentionally lie and do wrong and think they can escape the consequences of sin, but they do.  The Bible is full of men who put their trust in themselves and not God – a few examples are Abraham, Moses, Sampson, David, etc.  they all had to come to their end and repent of their misdoings before restoration of their souls came about.  Today, the news is filled with “stuff” that take place in people who put their trust in gods of the world and  not the God of the Bible.  Yes, we read about them and the wrongs committed but we have no idea the wave of hurt that is encountered by the innocent connected to their wrong behavior.  I wish not to stand in judgement over anyone as we all have to stand before the judgment seat of Christ….(2 Cor 5:10).  In my opinion, this life is a book of my learning to keep my focus on Christ and to let my expectation come from Him and not man.  If I do I will not be disappointed, but I will repeat “it’s a book of learning & trusting”….not easy but obtainable.

Just a thought by coppi

Just a thought by coppi

Lord, end my winter, and let my spring begin. I cannot with all my longings raise my soul out of her death and dulness, but all things are possible with thee. (Charles Spurgeon)

I receive Charles Spurgeon’s sermons daily.  When reading today’s sermon, the above excerpt lit up in neon lights.  I am sure we all have endured happenings in our lives that felt dark and dirty.  I have but the joy I felt after after the winter of pain & suffering ended and the light of spring began causing a beam of light to shoot through the constellations & give me hope.  I couldn’t help myself from bursting forth in the following song.

I SAW THE LIGHT 
(Hank Williams)

I saw the light, I saw the light 
No more darkness, no more nights, 
No more pain, misery and strife. 
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord 
Praise the Lord, I saw the light.

Jeremiah 29:13-14:  “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord.” 

Rev: 3:20 – “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me”.

If you will seek me – behold I stand at the door and knock, you will find me.  I remember a painting I saw of Jesus standing at a door knocking that impressed me.  I wonder how long he had to knock before someone opened the door.  Doors are mentioned many times in the Bible.  One occurrence is when the resurrection had occurred, a glorious promise of God before the world begun (1 Cor 2:7 (NLT). Jesus had risen from the grave and was alive.  What did the disciples do, they ran and huddled behind closed doors because they were fearful of Jewish authorities. (John 20:19).  Even though the door was locked Jesus appeared before them.  Now, back to the painting – Jesus knocks at our heart, not a door as depicted in the painting, asking us to let Him come in.  We have a free wills, so it’s up to us to let him in.  And, as He said to the disciples “peace I give you”, He will say the same to us.  “Peace, peace, wonderful peace. coming down from the Father above!  Sweep over my spirit I pray in fathomless billows of love! (Lyrics: Warren D. Cornell).  Peace isn’t that what we all want……

“We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭1:8-9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Have you ever come to the end of yourself and thought “I can’t handle this trial/suffering/heartache anymore” then you are among the many prophets in the Bible. Example:  I was reading about Gideon this morning and his struggles of inadequacies, “When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, & said, ‘The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.”  (Judges 6:12).  Gideon didn’t think he was a “mighty anything” but the Lord was not looking at Gideon’s inferiorities but what he could do through Gideon if he would turn his fears, etc over to the Lord and let him handle it.  When Gideon finally relinquished it to the Lord, he became the mighty warrior, the name given by the Lord.  

“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

2 Corinthians 5:21 KJV

“That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:”

Ephesians 2:7-8 KJV

My prayer this morning after reading about the sacrifice of Jesus was as follows:

“Dear Jesus, when I read about God sending you, his Son, to die for me it overwhelmed me.  I cannot grasp in my finite mind just how that can be done. I know from reading the Bible it was always the sacrificing of something, sheep, doves, etc for sins before they, the followers of the law, sins were atoned for, and it was foretold many times in the Old Testament that the perfect sacrifice was coming, You, because the blood of animals and turtle doves could never take away our sins.  Finally. you were sent to finalize the promise before the foundation of time, you, Jesus, would be the perfect sacrifice.  Amazing and very hard for me to understand and accept what you offered in your sacrifice…forgiveness of my many sins, healing, plenty, love and grace.  What a gift.  Help me to  grab the significance of this gift.  Give me understanding and wisdom of the truths in the Bible.”

It was a simple prayer but from my heart.  

Just a thought by coppi

Just a thought by coppi

Stretcher friends…

Mark 2:4 – They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head.  Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus…….when Jesus saw their faith….after a confrontation with the scribes, He said to the man “arise & take up thy bed & walk…..he did and was healed!

Whenever I visit my friend in Vero Beach, we have a time of gathering on their back porch.  One time we were privilege to have her uncle visiting, who is a Methodist minister, speak on different topics of interest, I would jot down any that pulled my heart strings.  One in particular really jolted my being….”stretcher friends”.  He said they were your friends who stood by you no matter what debris the winds of life blew in.  They prayed, encouraged, listened & extended a helping hand.  He said if you have five or less, you are mightily blessed.  Yes, I do.  These friends have been with me through many storms & also rejoiced with me in the brightness of the sun.  I would label them “the hands, feet, ears, mouth, etc of Jesus” – God is a spirit & the body of Christ is his way of spreading his unconditional love. 

C.S. Lewis wrote in The Weight of Glory, “We live, in fact, in a world starved for solitude, silence, and private: and therefore starved for meditation and true friendship.” 

“My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, Lord, I am coming.”

Psalms 27:8 NLT

You can know that you need solitude for one reason—Jesus needed it. All over the New Testament we see examples of Jesus going off on his own to pray. One example, Mark 1:35, tells us that Jesus, “rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark . . . departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.  Greg Denison First 15 2/10/18

15 2/10/18

Richard J. Foster said, “Loneliness is inner emptiness. Solitude is inner fulfillment.

Being still is something that alludes me.  My engine starts churning early in the morning with “you gotta  – you gotta” and out comes my list of “you gottas”. Then I think ‘you didn’t take time to be still, read, pray, and listen’.  I stop.  Put my list away and start my daily devotions.  My list is put away, but my mind will not let me forget my list of what I have to do that day.  I pray “Lord, how can I stop this habit and be with you the time needed.  I know my day is much better when I do”.  Now, what I try to do is arise very early in the morning before the day starts.  I take my reading materials and prayer list and find a quit spot to be still and alone with Jesus.  I need that time.  It’s important to me.  If Jesus needed to be alone with God, I certainly need to be alone with Him. (Ps 46:10)

Just a thought by coppi

He that demands mercy, & shows none, ruins the bridge over which he himself is to pass.  Thomas Adams

A state of mind that sees God in everything is evidence of growth in grace & a thankful heart.  Charles G Finney

We all struggle with our humanity, with our soulishness, but cleansing is not found in the shadows; it is found in the burning light.  It is hard to show mercy, grace, or to see God in everything if we stay in the shadows.  John 8:12. Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the World; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”  John 1:4. In Him was life, & that life was the light of all mankind.  Many years ago, as a young child, I experienced this Light” & through the rest of my life, even when times were over-shadowed with dark times, I depended on Him, who is the Light, to carry & guide me through the tunnel of darkness to the light of day.  I, still do today.