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.

Laying hold of God’s willingness not his reluctance ….written in year 2014

Something happened to me this month, I lost my car keys.  It wasn’t an ordinary key but one that electronically does everything & to replace it would cost lots of dollars.  I lost it at the scene of an accident.  I was there helping a friend, who was in the accident, remove all belongings from his car to mine.  My keys were in my pocket & somehow they must have fallen from my pocket into his car, street, or some hidden place.  I prayed but I also did my part in trying to locate it by calling adjustor to search car for a lost key, walked around the premises of scene of accident, called everyone who I could think of that was involved at the accident to see if they found an unwanted key.  But, mostly I prayed.  My friend said “Coppi you pray about everything, don’t you think God has more to do them find keys”….my response, “God is omnipotent, omnipresent, Mighty & cares about all our concerns, big & little”.  A week past & no keys.  Yesterday 7 o’clock in the morning the phone ring, a voice on the other end said do you drive a RSX red Cadillac & if so, I have a set of keys to it.  He was from Haul-Away vehicles & happened to find my key.  Yes, he & the Lord heard my praises, thankfulness, & gratitude for an answer to a simple prayer…..a lost set of keys.

Laying hold of God’s willingness not his reluctance ….written in year 2014

Something happened to me this month, I lost my car keys.  It wasn’t an ordinary key but one that electronically does everything & to replace it would cost lots of dollars.  I lost it at the scene of an accident.  I was there helping a friend, who was in the accident, remove all belongings from his car to mine.  My keys were in my pocket & somehow they must have fallen from my pocket into his car, street, or some hidden place.  I prayed but I also did my part in trying to locate it by calling adjustor to search car for a lost key, walked around the premises of scene of accident, called everyone who I could think of that was involved at the accident to see if they found an unwanted key.  But, mostly I prayed.  My friend said “Coppi you pray about everything, don’t you think God has more to do them find keys”….my response, “God is omnipotent, omnipresent, Mighty & cares about all our concerns, big & little”.  A week past & no keys.  Yesterday 7 o’clock in the morning the phone ring, a voice on the other end said do you drive a RSX red Cadillac & if so, I have a set of keys to it.  He was from Haul-Away vehicles & happened to find my key.  Yes, he & the Lord heard my praises, thankfulness, & gratitude for an answer to a simple prayer…..a lost set of keys.

“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. 

Strong Christians see God in both the good & the bad.  The mature believer sees God not only in pleasures & palaces, but also in the barnyards & stables of life. (John Maxwell)

Just a thought by coppi

Wise men follow the star but the star did not lead them to a palace but a barnyard.  I have often wondered why bad things happen to good people but it does.  I, myself, have walked through many barnyard experiences and wondered why but being a Christian or good person does not eliminate me from the pain of living.  Mt 5:45 – for he makes his sun to rise on the evil & the good, and: sends rain on the just & the unjust.  Let us never become exclusive by imaging ourselves the only recipients of grace.  How could grace include everyone without losing its essential meaning?  Yes, we will have barnyard undergoes – I call them them the valleys but I also know there is mountain top experiences too.  I have encountered them both but when i reached the top of the mountain, I realized I was carried by the Savior who was born in a manager, a barnyard, but became the Savior of the world.

I read the following today by Roberta Rogers – as I read I thought of a friend who lost her son tragically & will be buried today:

“But in the losses & worries, we began to find treasures…..the greatest of them were people, both known & unknown to us, who would pray us all the way through to calmer waters….thank you, Lord, for the living strength of prayer & the love that sustains us in times of crisis, I think of_______who desperately needs your touch right now.

Just a thought

“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

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 

In his book The Furious Longing of God, Brennan Manning describes a method of prayer that has helped me greatly in learning what it is to enter into God’s presence. He says to pray this simple prayer: “Abba, I belong to you.” As you inhale, pray the word “Abba.” As you exhale, pray, “I belong to you.” This idea of breathing and praying is an incredible depiction of what it is to receive the presence of God. He is nearer to us than the very breath that fills our lungs, and he will always respond to our desire to be filled with him. May this practice of God’s presence fill you with a greater awareness of how real and near your God is to you today. (First 15 – Sept 22,2017)

He never moves——we do

Just a thought by coppi

“Then I went into your sanctuary, O God, and I finally understood ……..

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭73:16-17—NLT‬‬

Then I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was all torn up inside……

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭73:21—NLT‬‬

When I have exhausted every source of my own and still have rumblings in my soul, I go into the sanctuary of God and I finally understand the reason.  Sometimes it’s my own heart that needs to be operated on.  If I am harboring bitterness, un-forgiveness, jealousy, strife, etc, I must confess the sin, and if needed make amends.  David learned how to repent before the Lord after his sin with Bathsheba and Uriah. Two penitential psalms show great insights about confession, repentance, and forgiveness. (Ps 32 & 51)

“Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty! When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭32:2-5‬ ‭NLT‬‬”

God’s wonderful grace and love covers all our ‘rumblings’.  He is a good God and wants to help us get through the difficulties of our soul.  Acknowledging and confessing the sin is the catalyst to freedom.  Jesus has acted on your behalf.  Jesus has risen to your defense.  Hebrews 10:22 says, “…let us come near to God with a sincere heart and a sure faith, because we have been made free from a guilty conscience.”  Not just for our past mistakes but also for our future ones.”

God has limitless, powerful grace for you today. Run to him with your sin. Run to him with your failures and struggles. Run to him with the pain of others’ words that he might speak his healing truth over you. (Greg Denison First 15 12/27/18

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3

“’Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,’ says the Lord, who has compassion on you.” –Isaiah 54: 10

Sometimes I allow my own emotions and feelings be related to who God is.  “God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” Numbers 23:19:  If the God of the Bible truly exists, then he exists regardless of my/your feelings about him. My opinion will not change the reality of who God is.  There is so many opinions of belief and unbelief – questions on top of questions.  Always has been.  I used to think I had to have an answer for anything I was asked about the reality of God.  Not anymore.  I believe the Bible and its words of inspiration and truth.  They have guided my life down in the valley and up to the mountain top.  I don’t have to be God’s Ambassador to the world – and what a relief that is.  God is bigger enough to handle it.  I know what I believe and that settles it for me.