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.

On the cross, Jesus has shown us how far God’s love goes. It’s a love that embraces even those who crucified him. When Jesus is hanging nailed to the cross, totally broken and stripped of everything, he still prays for his executioners: “Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing.”

I think of all the suicides that happen in the world, and I know many are causes by drugs but many are from intense pain inside them. My youngest brother was one. He was only 42 when he decided alcohol and Valium could not cover his emotional pain.  He opted to take his life rather than deal with it. Of course, my family was devastated as we had no idea that was an option for him.  I remember the day, after this tragic loss of my brother, a letter came in the mail from a dear minister, he was the father of a very dear friend of mind, and in it were uplifting words but the what stood out in the letter was this “Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing.”  He then went on to say “Do you think your brother knew what he was doing….no, I believe the pain he was in emotionally overtook any rational decisions.” It was a beautiful written letter, which I will forever be grateful to have received.

God is love.  He loved us so much that He sent His son to die for us that we may live eternally with Him.  Grace, wonderful grace.  We don’t have to earn it.  It is a gift.

Easter, we celebrate the resurrection of this gift, Jesus.  What a gift of unconditional love; It’s the best gift one could find wrapped under a Christmas tree,  because inside this gift we find the path of choices inside.

Just a thought by coppi

Just a thought by coppi

2 Cor 1:9 – In fact, we went through in the province of Asia.  We were crushed & 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 & learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead.  And, he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again.  We have placed our confidence in Him, and he will continue to rescue us.

When I read the above scripture the words “learned to rely on God who raises the dead”,  and “He did rescue us”, and “we have placed our confidence in Him”, I have to ask myself, why does it take me so long to get to the point of turning my worries over to God and trusting Him.  Jesus says over and over take your burdens to me and leave them there, but no, I have to fret and stew in a boiling pot of concerns before I finally come to the point of releasing and letting go. And, as Paul learned Jesus did rescue him which soared his confidence to know he could trust in the promises of God.  Yes, when I do let go and let God and truly believe in the Word of God, he will rescue me and thus my confidence, as Paul came to realize, will build & I will learn that I can stand on His promises in the Word.  Believe, believe, believe only believe is the key.

Just a thought by coppi

Crown Jesus as Lord of your life. Commit to surrendering everything to him today. Hand over control of your plans, relationships, finances, and emotions to the one who will guide you daily into the abundant life he died to give you.

Just a thought by coppi

“Now, every time I witness a strong person, I want to know: What dark did you conquer in your story? Mountains do not rise without earthquakes.” – Katherine MacKenett

“If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man’s life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.” – Henry W. Longfellow

“Life throws daunting challenges our way that makes us feel trapped.  For such desperate times, hope is the only remedy.  We need genuine, meaningful hope.  Hope that holds real promise and substance.  Erik Erickson, a 20th century Danish-American psychologist, said “Hope is both the earliest and the most indispensable virtue inherent in the state of being alive.  If life is to be sustained, hope must remain, even where confidence is wounded, thrust impaired.”

“This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil.”

Paul compares the anchor of the ship which holds it firm to ride out the storms,instead of being tossed about, like wise hope gives strength to ride out the hardships of life, and keep one spiritually, mentally and emotionally staple,Therefore Christians must strive hard to keep hope alive, because this hope cannot be seen. (Hebrews 6:19 (NASB)

All I have to say is in my own life when the storms swirled around me, I held tight to hope even when my confidence was wounded and my trust impaired.  I wanted life; and without hope life would be without substance and promise.  Life would be dead.

Just a thought by coppi

I wrote this a long time ago……

“Every man’s life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another.” – Ernest Hemingway

“Reach for the moon—even if you miss you’ll land among the stars.”

I am an advocate of going back into my soul and rooting out any “leftover’s” of hurt still lingering there.  I am big in journalizing , going to Jesus in prayer, and talking to a trusted friend about a lingering hurt in my life.  It was many years ago and I had returned to Dallas after spending a year In Oklahoma to try and face the demons I left in Dallas  and start over.  At that messy time my then husband had completely destroyed my life with his scam, leaving me with an over-the-top shame and with ‘who I thought were friends’ (that delighted in blaming me for his felonious actions). Plus, the repercussions of bankruptcy produced angry creditors, etc.  It was a total disaster, but I had to return to the city I loved and face the influx of shame of a situation I had no idea about, but was swept into because he was my husband.  I returned and found a wonderful job at Adams Golf.  The employees at Adams Golf became my family.  My immediate family had nothing to do with me, or if they did, I never heard from them.  I was alone.  I divorced my husband who was a pathological liar, which I could not live with, and found it hard to think he would cause such trauma for mankind including me.  Several years later I re-married and thought maybe my life would take a turn for the better, but the sad thing was the man I married was not who I thought he was.  Life was difficult being married to him, but I remember my mother made a comment to me one time “If you make a bed, you must now live in it”.  I did.  Joe became ill and was put in the hospital not expected to live.  I had gone up to see him after work and I guess all the pressure I was under caused me to break down.  I stood in the corridor of the hospital, and I could not stop crying;  During this breakdown I heard one of the nurses say “doesn’t she have anyone”?  I was alone except my special friends at Adams Golf.  I will never forget them-ever.  Anyway, I say all this because I thought I had dealt with all that pain and hurt, but I find a root is still inflamed in my soul.  To uproot something, I must dig it up by talking about it, praying, journalizing, to not let this bit of past darkness put out the light brightly shining in my life today.

Thank you for listening.

Just a thought by coppi

Just a thought by coppi

Crown Jesus as Lord of your life. Commit to surrendering everything to him today. Hand over control of your plans, relationships, finances, and emotions to the one who will guide you daily into the abundant life he died to give you

Of course, our secular culture disagrees. As David noted, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses” (Psalm 20:7a). What are our “chariots” and “horses” today? 

Our culture thinks our times are in our hands. Wise people place their times in God’s hands. James Denison 1/4/22

“Resentment always hurts you more than it does the person you resent. While your offender has probably forgotten the offense and gone on with life, you continue to stew in your pain, perpetuating the past. Listen: those who hurt you in the past cannot continue to hurt you now unless you hold on to the pain through resentment.” – Rick Warren

Proverbs 26:20 says, “For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases.”

Proverbs 15:4 says, “A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.”

Matthew 15:11″It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” 

James 3:2. Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.”

Here’s the point: Satan will seldom tempt us to do something we know is as deadly as a rattlesnake’s bite. But he will tempt us every day to choose sins we think we can commit without consequences.

We can confess our sins after we commit them and claim his forgiving grace (1 John 1:9; Psalm 51:7). However, the damage done to others and the world by our sins remains.  (Dr James Denison)

Dr Denison was talking about how Satan gets to us.  He does not come as a rattlesnake because we would recognize him but comes as a cream puff that is tasty and yummy but the sugar content in a cream puff is very harmful to our health.  A whisperer causes quarreling and grief.  I don’t know if you have come under the effect of gossip that was not truthful; I have several times in my life. It hurts and there is not much you can do but stay the course, because if you try to defend yourself it only makes matters worse.  What works for me is reading scriptures of “waiting on the Lord”.  He will fight our battle for us if we stay calm and wait.  It’s not easy but it does work.  Psalm 27:14. “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord”.

Just a thought by coppi 

The Bible is not God. It is designed to act as a guide to knowing its Author. It is designed to give us a desire and understanding about this God who is living, active, and near to us.  (Greg Denison 9/21/18)

The future of Israel was in jeopardy. A massive Midianite army numbering 135,000 troops (Judges 8:10) was ready to annihilate the Jewish forces. Gideon mustered 32,000 soldiers, but the Lord led him to dismiss all but three hundred (Judges 7:2-8). God’s purpose was to show the Israelites that their deliverance came from the Lord and not from their hand.  (James Denison 9/21/18)

God is a mighty God.  Do we believe that?  I read where Gideon had only 300 soldiers facing a massive Midianite army numbering 135,000 troops depending & believing God’s word that their deliverance would come from Him and not from their hand.  That took faith and belief.  Do I have that kind of faith?  No I don’t, but I do know that when I look back on my life, I see the hand of God’s leading and directing. I read somewhere that “we should attempt something so big that if God is not in it, it will fail”. Gideon really put that to a test; a big test, but God wanted Gideon, and us. to believe that deliverance comes from Him and not us.  

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-