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.

Exodus 33:14 – The Lord replied, “I will personally go with you, Moses, & I will give you rest.  Everything will be fine for you.

Mt 11:28-29 – Come to me all who are weary & carry heavy burdens, & I will give you rest – take my yoke upon you.  Let me teach you, because I am humble & gentle at heart, & you will find rest for your souls.

Learn to relate to others through my love rather than yours.

Let my love envelope your outreach to other people 

Take time to rest in the Love-Light of my presence

Have you ever been so tired of doing & not being.  I have.  I remember years ago in Dallas, Tx trying to do everything in my own strength – no balance.  I tried to achieve & be the ambassador of the Universe for myself & others.  I was a “Jack-of-all-trades – Master of-None!”  I burned out.  I heard way down deep in my spirit “stop it”.   Hard to do but for me it was my salvation.  I was tired & weary.  I am of that nature to push & be, but now I try to “let go & let God” be the Captain of my being.

“Take courage!  Royal feet have left a blood-red track upon the road, & consecrated the thorny path forever.

Temptation, pain, disappointment, weakness, weariness, poverty—he knows them all, for he has felt all.  However, difficult, & painful thy road; it is marked by footsteps of the Savior, & even when thou reachest the dark valley of the shadow of death, & deep waters of swelling Jordan, thou will find his footprints there.  In all places we go, he has been our forerunner; each burden we have to carry, has once been laid on the shoulders of Immanuel”.

I will not add much of anything to above writings of Charles Spurgeon, as he says much in two paragraphs.  The two scriptures that stood out in my mind as I read above were Mt 11:28 – Come to me, all you who are weary & heavy laden, & I will give you rest..and Jeremiah 3:25 – I will refresh the weary & satisfy the faint.  There are many other encouraging scriptures that are refuges for the weary; remember Jesus was the forerunner for us & he left his footprints in the scriptures to help us on our journey.  Weary & heavy laden – Come to him.

Just a thought by coppi

Luke 24:11 – On the road to Emmaus

Two of Jesus followers walking along the road to Emmaus with downcast hearts & faces.  What happened to our Savior, the one who was sent from above who expounded love, healing & forgiveness.  Only two but Jesus appeared & walked with them listening as they told Him about their grief & heartache.  There were only two but that made no difference to Jesus because He never needed the crowds or fame to stop & listen to the heart of mankind.  The women with the issue of blood, the blind man, the demon possessed man, etc, he listened, touched & healed them.  And, He will hear your prayer too – open up your heart to Him & tell Him the deepest sorrows, hurts, desires hidden in your soul.  He will walk with you, listen, & carry you through darkness to the light.  He doesn’t need a crowd – He only wants to be with you.  You are never alone – ever.

“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God” – Corrie Ten Boon

The key word in this statement is “known”.  One must know that the God of the Bible is real to them & that He loves them unconditionally.  If not, there is no way you can trust the “unknown”. The known God is love and if that love does not fill your heart, trust will be an unknown.  Following are three parables of how deep God’s love is for you.  1 – the Shepherd leaving the flock to search for one stray sheep. 2 – lost Pearl – a women has ten silver coins & loses one – how she lights a lamp, sweeps the house & searches carefully until she finds it.  3- the prodigal son who lost his inheritance to wild living & was living in a pig pen when he came to his senses and returned to his father and how his father saw him afar off & ran to meet him with a hug & kiss.  These are great parables of great love in the bible amidst many others.  I quote Ps 143:8 when I awake in the mornings.  I break it down as follows:  Allow:  let the mornings bring me word of your unfailing love.  Why:  for I put my trust in you.  How:  show me the way I should go.  Why: for to you I entrust my life.  Corrie Ten Boon who wrote “the Hiding Place” could have never gone through the atrocities of the Holocaust if she had not been able to trust an unknown future to a known God.

Just a thought by coppi

Job 8:11 -Can the Rush grow up with out mire

Chameleons – most chameleons change from brown to green & back, but some can turn almost any color.  A change can occur in as little as 20 seconds.

Why am I comparing Rush to Chameleons because in my readings the thought occurred to me that am I a Chameleon that can change colors to each situation I am in.     I don’t think so now, but in my growing years, acceptance was important & I did change colors when the situation arose.  I think young adults have a tendency to want to be loved, accepted & be a part of the flow.  I think ISIS uses issues as such to brainwash their followers which can & will cause destructive behavior.  Charles Spurgeon in one of his meditation wrote “the rush cannot grow without mire, but plants of the Lord’s right hand planting can & do flourish even in the year of drought.  He who follow Christ for his bag is a Judas; they who follow for loaves & fishes are children of the devil; but they who attend him out of love to himself are his own beloved ones.  Lord let me find my life in thee, & not in the mire of this world’s favor or gain”.

my prayer for me is Jesus help me to be me….the person you created me to be. To stand for truth & not waver when the wind moves in another direction.  Rush is spongy & hollow so is the hypocrite/chameleon- there is no substance or stability in him.  The rush by nature lives in water & owes its very existence to the mire & moisture wherein it has taken root; but let the mire become dry, & the rush withers very quickly.  It’s greenness is absolutely dependent upon circumstances.  Is this my case?  Do I only serve God when I am in good company, or when my faith is profitable & respectable?  I do not wish that to be me.  Your word says in 2 Cor 12:10….. “when I am weak, you are strong” – There is a saying that goes “You’ve got to stand for something, or you will fall for anything”.  A good motto is, “I shall not be moved, I shall stand in your strength”.

Ps 84:6:  who passing through the Valley of Baca make a well.

 “The rain travelers have been delighted to see the footprint of a man on a barren shore, & we love to see way marks of pilgrims while passing through a vale of tears”.  Charles Spurgeon

The Bible is full of way marks of pilgrims who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to follow God.  They have dug wells as reminders for followers that their God met them in the valley of weeping, and that it became a place of refreshing springs.  I cannot tell you how many times that I have met personally or read a testimony of a life that dug a well & filled it with the hard aches they endured but how those “aches” became refreshing springs. Their footprint on the shore or dug well was a message of hope to me when I was traveling a difficult road.  It gave me encouragement along with hope that my God would get me through the valley to the mountain top.  Psalms 30:5: Weeping is only for the night but joy comes in the morning. 

When my ears are open to the world around me there’s no telling what I may hear – perhaps even the voice of God.   Ruth Howes

Just a thought by coppi

I see the tapestry of my life from the underside now.  It’s a jumble of threads, random and absurd.  But one day, I”ll see the top.  I will gasp in wonder at its beauty and grace, and declare I wouldn’t change a thing.  Until then, dear God, I lay my disappointment at the foot of the Cross, and trust in the love You showed me there.

In my Savior’s love, amen…..Bill Giovannetti

When I read the above, my thoughts drifted back to a time when my mother was alive & if i had any difficulties I always sought out my mother’s advice.  She had two quotes: God is weaving a pattern & you will understand it in the great bye & bye & there is a silver lining in every gray cloud.  Did I want to hear that wisdom….no.  I wanted to hear everything will be okay in an hour – not when I die.  Immediacy – hurry & get me through whatever was bothering me.  Funny I don’t even remember many of the difficulties; Mamma was right there was a silver lining in every gray cloud.  God’s timing not mine.

Just a thought by coppi

Ps 27:4:  one thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek……to gaze on the beauty of the Lord….

Quote:  “It is said that the camera does not lie.  Yet when you see a fine nature photo, you, can hardly believe that there is such beauty.  This surprise comes to us because we see so little when our minds are occupied with other thoughts.  We overlook the beauty & detail of the natural world around us.”  Paul Krebil

Prayer – “Oh light of God, shine in my world, illumine its beauty, brighten the faces & lives of others, make me aware of your presence & show me myself in a new way.”  Paul Krebil

I can’t say it better…..coppi

John 8:36:  So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.

“Believe in the One who has redeemed you.  And in that, step out in freedom from all those things that kept you in chains.”  Jonathan Cahn

I was held in chains to my past & still today, but not much,  I work on freedom.  Whenever I experience a tug of pain,  I remind myself of God’s promises, one in particular II Corinthians 5:17. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.  Quote Norman Vincent Peale “never be discouraged about yourself.  You may have tried all your life long to rid yourself of your weaknesses, your obsessions, jealousies, sins, inferiorities, without success.    Your failure is probably that you have been trying to make yourself over.  That is a long, tedious, & essentially impossible project.  But it can be done in no time at all by Christ. All you need do is to say to Him simply, “Lord, I do not want to be this way anymore,” and mean it.  He will do for you what you cannot do for yourself…..effect a lasting change in you”.   Ask Him to change you”.