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.

Howard Rutledge came to appreciate his time as a POW in Vietnam. He wrote, “After twenty-eight days of torture, I could remember I had children but not how many. I prayed for strength. During long periods of enforced reflection, it became so much easier to separate the important from the trivial. My hunger for spiritual food soon outdid my hunger for steak. It took prison to show me how empty life is without God.

I read the above this morning and wondered why sometimes it takes hardship to realize life without God is empty.  In Hebrews chapter 11, I read about the faith of so many of the apostles, prophets and people of faith and how they stood strong when they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword; they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And why would they endure such suffering,  I presume like Howard Rutledge, they had found that life without God would be empty so in faith they believed that God would do what he promised….and, he did with the coming of the Messiah, Jesus.

Ezekiel 47:12 

“And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.”

And their leaves for healing…were words that stood out like sentries in the above scriptures.  Why?  Because I have been reading about friends who are like leaves in my life.  They stood by me when everything around me seemed to be falling to pieces.  I remember a time in my life that I was surround with friends – I thought, but when an unexpected storm blew into my life with betrayal from a husband of thirty-two years and attached to it were-lies, etc.  I looked for friends in the many I had and only found a very few.  The few were like leaves of healing.  They shaded my crumbling heart with love and encouragement.  Their leaves never withered but they stood like sentries guarding me against the crippling gossip that was thrown my way.  It took several years before truth availed and all the gossip the carriers enjoyed went to naught as the wind blew it into the sea of nothingness.  True friends are special and I was and am blessed with them.  I call them my leaves – they shade me with love, encouragement, joy, etc. they never wither but stay constant in their love.

2022

Ps 34:4 I sought the Lord, and he heard me & delivered me from all my fears

Confidence is a word that alludes me.  My life growing up was lacking self confidence.  I stuttered & shook if I had to say anything in front of people.   School was not a good time in my life. I was haunted by fear.  It was my constant companion.  Competing in anything gave me indigestion….terrible time to say the least. I clung to my belief that I could do all things through the power of Jesus Christ.  Later in life, I pushed myself to do what I thought was impossible.  I also took a course on “a way out” which was very helpful.  Anything that would propel me through fear – lack or whatever you might label it, I was enrolled.  Through the years, every step I took to conquer the taunting darkness of fear brightened my life.  I read: “as long as you run from darkness, it will follow you – turn around and confront it by a power greater than evil…you will be amazed at what will happen.”

2022

Romans 2:29…….and true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a changed of heart  produced by the spirit & a person with a a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from man.

As I read this scripture written by Paul, who used to be Saul.  A devout Jew who was out to destroy the people of the way…followers of Jesus.  But it was not until he met this Jesus on the road to Damascus whom he was out to destroy did he have a heart change produced by the Spirit so much so that the rest of his days, he spent spreading the good news of the Kingdom.  When I try to make changes in my life by natural means, it is nothing but hard work with no results….it is not until I come to Jesus & say “I can’t but you can – I turn it over to you.” Relinquishment is what I think it’s called.

Just a thought by coppi

“Life is not a straight line, it is filled with highs & lows & looking back never moves us forward”.

“Moving forward in faith is about trusting God to make a path in desolate places”.

My friend told me before she married her husband, she started to tell him all the “uglies” that occurred in her past.  He stopped her and said, “all of those things that happened in your past made you who you are today and that is whom I love”.  

Jesus said the same thing about us in 2 Cor 5:17 – therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come.  The old has gone, the new is here!

Let’s move forward knowing that we are new creatures in Christ…leaving the past behind & trusting God to make all things new.

Henri Nouwen was right: “The great spiritual task facing me is to so fully trust that I belong to God, and that I can be free in the world—free to speak even when my words are not received; free to act when my actions are criticized, ridiculed, or considered useless; free also to receive love from people and to be grateful for all the signs of God’s presence in the world. I am convinced that I will truly be able to love the world when I fully believe that I am loved far beyond its boundaries.”

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4:6-7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Prayer is laying hold of God’s willingness – not his reluctance. This scripture was given to me years ago. I was going through a trying time. My marriage of 32 years had fallen apart. It happened so quickly, I didn’t have time to do anything but think ‘why’. Back then I really didn’t know if God loved me or not. I grew up in a church that preached too much hell and damnation and not enough love. So fear and anxiety became my companions. I was in Corpus Christi, Tx at my sister-in-law’s home standing in their family room when the post person arrived. We received letter from someone I knew of but did not know. As I read it, the above words stood out “prayer is laying hold of God’s willingness- not His reluctance”. God was willing to help me. He would be willing to lead me through this mess if I would surrender it to Him. Prayer became my companion. It was not easy. In fact at times I thought He had forgotten me. It was years before I crawled out from underneath the circumstances, but when I did the things I thought were so important were not. I guess one would say “I changed”. It was not easy – it was difficult – but I did learn to pray and hold on to God’s willingness to bring me out from under all the debris. Prayer, trust, faith, love are great companions much better than fear and anxiety.

Just a thought by coppi

1922

“Then Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.””

‭‭Luke‬ ‭6‬:‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The Pharisees were angry with Jesus for eating on the Sabbath and healing the sick on the Sabbath – the Sabbath was a day of doing nothing even if it was doing something good.  They condemned him mercilessly for whatever He did and that’s when Jesus said “The Son of Man is Lord of the  Sabbath”.

I grew up in a pharisaical church.  Sunday was a “nothing” day.  However my mother and father grew up in other denominations and did not see it that way.  We were allowed to live and do, and were condemned for being human.  My mother would say “God looks at your heart – not what man says to do”.  It was not easy to go to that church and listen to the minister’s message on being a Jezebel because my mother allowed us to wear makeup, jeans, go to movies, be cheerleaders (wearing those cute short skirts) and anything else under the umbrella they name deemed as sin.  But, we went every Wednesday night and all day Sunday. We lived on a farm and had to drive a distance to go to church. My mother packed our lunch and dinner every Sunday.  Those memories are still locked in my soul and I thank God for a mother who wasn’t pharisaical but understood the meaning of Jesus being the Son of the Sabbath. 

Just a thought by coppi

In Isaiah 6:1-6, Isaiah’s encounter with the living God speaks to the truth of transformation through experience. In response to seeing “the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up” and hearing the Seraphim calling to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory,” Isaiah’s natural response was, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” And upon declaring the truth of his depravity a seraphim touches his lips with a burning coal and says, “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” Isaiah was transformed through experiencing God.  Craig Denison 9/27/21

“Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭32:5‬ ‭NIV‬‬”00

Honesty and having a contrite spirit is what God wants from me/us.  In the above scriptures, it wasn’t until Isaiah and David admitted their sin and came to God openly and confessed truthfully their wrongs did God remove the guilt they were hiding.  God already knows what we have tried to cover up, but what He wants from us is a feeling of regret and sorrow for our sins or offenses; especially for our own actions; apologetic.  Of course, through my long life I have done shameful actions and like David “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.” Ps 32:3-5.   Do not carry a bundle of guilt around, go to God with a honest heart and talk to him about the guilt you are carrying.  He will answer you/I and the freedom you/I will have when we are transformed through experiencing the presence of God is a welcoming and wonderful experience.

!

2022

“Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.  John 21:6 – NIV version

I remember many years ago I was facing a test that I was frightened to have because I feared it was cancer.  I opened my Bible to see if I could find a scripture to ease my fear.  I don’t know why but the above scripture seemed to give me peace.  The disciples were fishing and their nets were empty.  They were about to give up when they heard Jesus say “cast your nets on the right side of the boat and you will find some”.   They did and their nets were filled to the brim.  I kept saying to myself, ‘Jesus cares about all things in my life’.  If He cared abut the disciples having empty nets after fishing all day, He cares about my fears – everyone of them.  Even the fear I have for this test tomorrow.  I went into the hospital the next morning  to have my test with my basket empty but when I awakened from the test, I found it wasn’t empty but filled with many ‘fish’, named hope, peace, joy, and love.  I was fine.  

Just a thought by coppi – July 1917 written.

There are miracles all around us all the time, yet it’s so easy to find something to complain about in the midst of those miracles. The simple act of reading involves millions of impulses firing across billions of synapses. While you’re reading, your heart goes about its business circulating five quarts of blood through a hundred thousand miles of veins, arteries, and capillaries. And it’s amazing you can even concentrate, given the fact that you’re on a planet that is traveling 67,000 miles per hour through space while spinning around its axis at a speed of 1,000 miles per hour. But we take those manna miracles, the miracles that happen day in, day out, for granted. (Gleaned from Circle Maker by Mark Batterson.)

Reading the above and gratefully thinking about all the miracles that have occurred in my long life makes me stand in awe in the presence of a Mighty God. The children of Israel delivered from Pharaoh’s horrible regime became tired of manna and started complaining they wanted “beef” in lieu of “bread” forgetting all the torture they endured in Egypt. Human nature is to forget and complain. My New Years resolution is to meditate on the word “grateful” in lieu of resolutions. “Lord may I never forget what you have done for me in this life”…and then I go back through time and start listing the many times He walked no carried me through life. I have a whole year to think and be grateful. May I never forget!

Just a thought by coppi