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.

“He knew from the beginning of time we would develop hundreds of ways to run ourselves ragged, as my grandmother used to say about folks never stopping to enjoy their blessings”.

In his book The Promised Land, the Scottish minister John MacDuff made this profound statement: “when you can’t trace God’s hand, trust his heart”. Let us do the same.

I will reiterate again “enjoy the moment.  I think I am the one who needs to “stop”and smell the roses”.  I thought I learned to be still when I journey through my heartaches, but I think running is in my DNA.   I need to stop and focus this coming year on my commitment to be closer to God, and to enjoy the moment I am in.  It’s a good thought, a very good one, and I hope to be sure to follow it. 

I am a cancer patient, but am blessed that I am in remission.  Grateful does not cover my emotions of joy and happiness for this blessing.  However, I have to go every 3 months to the cancer center to be checked to see if any reoccurrence has developed.  As I sit in the waiting room, I am aware of the many ones who come in who are fighting the big “C”.  Their skin reflects a grayish color, and are usually pushed in by a family member.  I wish I had a magic wand to wave the big “C” out-of-space, but I don’t- my wand is prayer, and so I pray to committing all the pain and suffering to Jesus.  I am only His ambassador of prayer, and at the Cancer Center prayer is a tool of needed use to all who enter with the hope of healing, and freedom from the big “C”.   I know, because I am one of them. 

Luke 19:1 – Jesus & Zacchaeus

Today, I was reading about Jesus & Zacchaeus.  Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector who cheated people on their taxes thus becoming a very rich man.  He had heard that Jesus was passing his way – he hurriedly made his way to see him, but being very short, the only way to get a glimpse of Jesus, he had to climb a Sycamore-fig tree.  Very small in statue & sitting in a tree, he could not hide from Jesus.  Jesus said to him “Zacchaeus, come down from there – I am going to be a guest in your home tonight”. The religious ones tongues started wagging because He was having dinner with, in their eyes, a horrible person who made his living by cheating people on their taxes.  Jesus said I have come for the lost not the pious ones.  Amazing being in the presence of Jesus, Zacchaeus heart was changed & he became a new person – giving back all that he unlawfully took from people.  I am so happy that when Jesus passed my way, I climbed down from my lofty loft to follow Him.  It was the best decision I made.

Just a thought by coppi

“The truths of God’s never-failing faithfulness, that are contained in His redemptive plan for Israel are equally pertinent for the Church today. He will satisfy our hunger and thirst for righteousness. He will continually guide us in the way we should go, and teach us all things, through the power of the indwelling Spirit. He has gone to prepare a place for us and is coming back to take us to be with Himself and like Israel, we will be like a watered garden, from whom will flow rivers of living water.  In Christ, we will be like a spring of water whose waters never fail.”  Isaiah 58:11

“Our loving heavenly Father has not only promised to lead us sometimes, or ofttimes, or even many times, or most times. He has promised to lead us and to guide us at ALL times and in ALL ways, through ALL places and throughout ALL the circumstances of life.”

“I don’t want your sacrifices—I want your love; I don’t want your offerings—I want you to know me.  Hosea 6:6

God doesn’t want anything from us, but He wants us to know Him and His love.  We can’t earn His love and grace  – it’s free.  Most of my life was doing and not being.  I worked hard to please God by works.  I think back at that time in my life and just thinking about it makes me tired.  In reading Isaiah 58, the Israelites were complaining to God that He did not answer their prayers.  God- we are fasting, etc., and you have ignored us.   God responded: “Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry,” meaning fasting and then paying fast offerings. If you would do that, he promised, “Then shalt thou call and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am.”  Motivation is important to God.  Why are we doing it.  I tried to earn God’s love and forgiveness so many of my ‘ works’ were for that reason.  “Stop it”.  I heard within – stop and check the why you are doing this.  I did and then I had to stop and check my reasonings.  God loves us and if we will submit to His guidance, not only will we do good works, but we will be doing the works God has set out for us to do and not be running in circles trying to be the world’s ambassador.  This may not be your problem, but it was something I had to deal with and did.

“who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭103:4-5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

What pit are you in?  One of God’s promises is He will redeem you from any “pit” you are in.  He is faithful to his promises.  Joseph, when his brothers because of their jealousy threw him in a pit to die.  Ironically, the hostile brothers’ plan to throw Joseph into a pit and then “see what will become of his dreams” (Genesis 37:20) ultimately serves God’s plan to bring fulfillment to those very dreams (50:20).  Sometimes our pits are God’s opportunities;  Trust him even if you are sure He has forgotten you.  I speak for myself, I have been in many situations through my life, which have caused me much sorrow.  I thought Jesus had forgotten me, because it took years before I crawled out from under the rubbish.  Keep hanging on, keep trusting.  He is faithful to his promises.  You will be renewed like the eagle!

“On the same day, when evening had come, He [Jesus] said to them, ‘Let us cross over to the other side.’ Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, ‘Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?’ Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace, be still!’ And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, ‘Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?’ And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, ‘Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!’” (Mark 4:35-41)

what got my attention was the words “Who could this be”!

The disciples saw the many miracles Jesus did and yet when he stopped the wind from sinking their ship, they questioned the miracle performed right before their eyes. “Who is this that even the wind and sea obey him”.  In my many years of walking on this earth, I too have seen the miraculous happen, but I too questioned some of them.  Why?  I guess I thought this could not happen in our world today – could it?  Yes, it could because the scripture says in “Both Malachi 3:6 and Hebrews 13:8 declare that God is the same always and never ever changes. He is always good, always loving, always all-powerful. No matter how this world changes around us, we can trust that God is consistent. “He is the same yesterday, today, and Forever!”  However, the fact is we have to believe.  If we doubt His existence or what is written in the Word, we are left with only what the world of unbelief feed us.  It’s a choice, I made many years ago when the God of my childhood entered my heart and I choose to follow Him.  All I can offer is that I know I made the right choice as the many times I needed Him, He was by my side.  He never left me, He carried me through the storms of my life and brought me through them to the other side.

What a challenge it is, Lord, for me to let you take over.

I read this today and thought “yes, that is a true statement for me”.  I remember as a child reading about the little train plugging along to climb a very steep hill  – “I can do it, I can do it”, it kept repeating until it reached the top.  There is truth in “I can do it” but the reverse side is ‘I don’t need any bodies help, I can do it myself”.  It was when I totally faltered at being the administrator of the world that I said Jesus I can’t but you can, i turn this headache, problem, difficulty, etc over to you & I will trust you to take care of it.  As the words in song & scripture says “take your burdens to the Lord & leave them there…..leave them there……..leave them there.

”Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.“

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭23‬:‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

My husband and I were saying our prayers last night for different ones, who asked us to pray for them regarding illness, relationships, loneliness, etc.  Many ones are walking through a very dark valley.  I told my husband, “I wish I had a magic wand, I would wave it over all these requests and make all wellness, etc., happen.  But, I don’t have a magic wand, my wand is Jesus, and we wave it over all prayer requests, and leave them with Him.  The prayers that are answered, are deleted from our list: The unanswered ones stay and we continue praying for them.  Prayer is laying hold of Jesus’ willingness, not His reluctance – He is our Shepherd and is with us. His rod and staff comfort us. 

But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. Genesis 40:14 (NIV)

“Locked away in prison, Joseph had every right to lose hope and become bitter. Instead, he lived with integrity. Eventually, a dream given to Pharaoh reminded the royal cupbearer of how Joseph had helped him. The Lord proved Himself faithful to Joseph even after men had failed.”

Keep your eyes on Jesus – not man, and you will never be disappointed. I had to learn years ago this when I became so enmeshed into a renowned Minister and Bible teacher.  The reason was she opened my eyes and heart to the Word of God.  But she was human, as I, with “clay feet”.  I was so disappointed when I realized her humanity – I wanted to cry.  “As the scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in Him will never be disappointed.”  That means Jesus not man.

I will always appreciate what I learned under her tutelage, but I now understand the dictum my mother used to say “eat the meat, and spit out bones”. It was a hard lesson to learn, but a very good one. 

Just a thought by coppi

But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. Genesis 40:14 (NIV)

“Locked away in prison, Joseph had every right to lose hope and become bitter. Instead, he lived with integrity. Eventually, a dream given to Pharaoh reminded the royal cupbearer of how Joseph had helped him. The Lord proved Himself faithful to Joseph even after men had failed.”

Keep your eyes on Jesus – not man, and you will never be disappointed. I had to learn years ago this when I became so enmeshed into a renowned Minister and Bible teacher.  The reason was she opened my eyes and heart to the Word of God.  But she was human, as I, with “clay feet”.  I was so disappointed when I realized her humanity – I wanted to cry.  “As the scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in Him will never be disappointed.”  That means Jesus not man.

I will always appreciate what I learned under her tutelage, but I now understand the dictum my mother used to say “eat the meat, and spit out bones”. It was a hard lesson to learn, but a very good one.