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.

Just a thought by coppi

Analogy: football & prayer

Think of prayer as a football game. The quarterback is receiving the football from the center. He is now staring at all these giants coming toward him. He has two wide receivers that have a connection with him. He can trust them completely & he really needs to as these giants charge him. Think of prayer that way. When the mighty rivers of worry, anxiety, fear, etc are attacking you, imagine taking a football of prayer and throwing it to Jesus & leaving in his hands…….He is a Mighty receiver & He can handled all your worries, concerns, etc…..trust your Receiver.

Matthew 7:15-16

“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?”

Luke 6:43-45

For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit. For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush. The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.

This morning I became intrigued by scriptures on grapes.  There are so very many in the old and New Testaments.  The reason I was delving in these scriptures is because yesterday as I stood in line in the grocery store to get a receipt for my transaction, I was behind a man who needed more money than one purchase would allow.  If you buy one thing then you are allowed to get cash back of $100.00.  He wanted more cash.  In his hand he had a bag of grapes he was going to purchase   But since he could only get $100.00 for one transaction and he needed more money, the clerk allowed him to buy one grape at a time.  I could not believe my eyes when I saw the clerk weigh one grape and then give him money for the purchase of the grape.  I seem to always choose a line where a customer has trouble making a transaction but never one that was buying one grape at a time so he can get money! I do not know how much money he wanted to accumulate, but as I stood, waited, and watched, he bought many one “grapes” until I decided to move to another cashier.

“A little leaven leavens the whole lump is a metaphor the apostle Paul uses to compare the effects of false teaching in the church to the results of yeast in bread dough (Galatians 5:9). Just as a small amount of yeast will make a whole loaf of bread rise, a little bit of legalistic teaching will quickly spread, infiltrating the hearts and minds of individual believers until the entire church is contaminated.” 

Good and evil – dark and light are in our world. Galatians 5:19-21:  When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these”.   As I have said before,  a little leaven allowed in your life is like buying one grape at a time.  It will probably bring much happiness at first, but what will be the end results.  “Grapes are not gather from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles.” Are they?

Just a thought by coppi

“For anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, ‘”Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’”

– Ephesians 5:14

“Before we can experience this fullness of life available to us, we must allow him to open our eyes. We must allow him into the darkest places of our past, thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. We must allow his light to illuminate our darkest of sins in order that those which cause us the most shame might be healed and broken off of our lives.  (Greg Denison Nov 5, 2018)

“Love as an action is more powerful than words, and love in the face of evil gives others hope. It demonstrates humanity. It reaffirms why we’re all here.”  (Ari Mahler, a Jew, and who was the nurse who treated Robert Bowers when he was brought into Allegheny General Hospital after he went on a rampage on a Jewish Synagogue killing eleven Jews.  Mr. Mahler decided to illuminate light and love in lieu of darkness).

He existed in the beginning with God. 3 God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. 4 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. (‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭2-5‬ NLT)

When one is indoctrinated with hate or when there is so much darkness in their past, if not dealt with, will be expressed in someway.  If stuffed feelings are not expressed in a healthy way and brought before the light for healing, they are going to come out with ‘ugly’.  I know, because I stuffed feelings of hurt and pain, and the way I dealt with my feelings was to cover up the pain with buying lots of things, doing  too much – running running.  I thought I had to excel in everything or I was a failure.  I often used the comment “if I run real fast I will not hurt” as I rushed around.  But I still had me tucked inside of a very busy body.  I am a Christian, so my salvation was prayer.  I was honest before Him; the light that takes away darkness, and He lead me step by step out of darkness to His great light.  He is that light that shines in darkness and cannot be extinguished.  I am so grateful.

Just a thought by coppi

Prayer of reflection.  I was reading about prayer this morning & different ways to pray & the prayer of reflexion spoke to me.  I will share what I gleaned:

“I need to listen for the prayer of God that is rising in my heart, perhaps for the prayer that I should be praying rather than the one that I am praying.  (Robert Benson)

Prayer is a dialogue, not a monologue recited by men in God’s presence. 

Prayer of reflection doesn’t happen by accident, or even on the way to anyplace else.  It happens in silent moments.  After reading sometimes, or while listening to a birdsong.  The prayer of reflection may look suspiciously like a daze or like daydreaming or even napping.

Author Avery Brooks expresses it well:

“contemplation is something that we may experience either in church, in those blessed pauses between words, or in quiet times alone when we cease our words of prayer, put down our Bibles, & realize that God is both very near & familiar & yet beyond all knowing.  We feel that we would like to know God so well that we could sit still for an hour in silent companionship with an old friend”.

If you experienced the prayer of reflection you know what she means.  If not, you are in for a wonderful treat, a sublime discovery……take time enter the quiet place of your own heart & mind & sit with God for a few minutes, praying the prayer of reflection.”

I am aware we all have our way to pray. A friend told me “Coppi you pray about everything.  Don’t you think God has enough to do without you bothering Him all the time”.  My answer was “No I don’t.  God is all mighty.  He is omnipresent, He is all love & is a caring God.  He is our creator & certainly can handle my prayers”.  Prayer is laying hold of God’s willingness not His reluctance.  I believe that so prayer is part of my life and Jesus is my constant companion. A favorite song of mine is “And he walks with me, and He talks to me, and He tells me I am His own…..”.

Just a thought by coppi

7 It was Moses’ practice to take the Tent of Meeting and set it up some distance from the camp. Everyone who wanted to make a request of the Lord would go to the Tent of Meeting outside the camp. 8 Whenever Moses went out to the Tent of Meeting, all the people would get up and stand in the entrances of their own tents. They would all watch Moses until he disappeared inside. 9 As he went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and hover at its entrance while the Lord spoke with Moses. 10 When the people saw the cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, they would stand and bow down in front of their own tents. 11 Inside the Tent of Meeting, the Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Afterward Moses would return to the camp, but the young man who assisted him, Joshua son of Nun, would remain behind in the Tent of Meeting. (‭Exodus‬ ‭33‬:‭7-11‬ NLT)

Picture the Tabernacle in the Wilderness with all the twelve tribes of Israel surrounding it in their “tents”.  However, Moses decided there should be another tent, the Tent of Meeting, where anyone who wanted to make a request of the Lord could go there.  Whenever Moses went to pray inside the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and hover at the entrance.  Therein the Lord would speak to Moses as a friend.  Today, our bodies are the tents God dwells in because of Jesus becoming the perfect sacrifice and our way back to the Lord. Now, We can meet with him all through the day and night.  However, for myself, I have added a very special tent meeting with the Lord – early in the morning is our time.  And, whenever, i miss this time, I truly miss “my friend” and our time together.

Just a thought by coppi 

Believe in the One who has redeemed you.  And in that, step out in freedom from all those things that kept you in chains.  (John 8:36 – so if the Son sets you free, you are truly free).

I can remember years ago saying to our Lord “set me free so I can free others”.  Now, you must remember I grew up in a very legalistic church & was chained in the dos & don’ts of man-made religion.  It will suffocate you from the joy of the Lord.  John 10:10 says “I have come to give you life, & give it to you more abundantly” & life isn’t being chained – but redeemed.  The pendulum swings both ways – my prayer is to stay centered in Jesus and walk in the wisdom of His word.  (Ps 43:3 – send out your light & truth; let them guide me).

“Being in a hurry. Getting to the next thing without fully entering the thing in front of me. I cannot think of a single advantage I’ve ever gained from being in a hurry. But a thousand broken and missed things, tens of thousands, lie in the wake of all the rushing…. Through all that haste I thought I was making up time. It turns out I was throwing it away.” – Ann Voskamp

I love this because my life has been in a rushing mode it seems forever.  I thought I had to accomplish so much to be loved.  As I have said many times before, it wasn’t until everything around me seemed to crash in one night.  I never felt so alone, afraid, fearful, and everything that goes along with “why”.  It happened when my marriage of thirty-two years was over, leaving a residue of side affects that would fill the Grand Canyon.  At least I thought so.  It’s many years past now, but at times I still feel the awful pain and disappointment of that time.  When I put my head down at night, one of my prayers is “May I never forget what you have done for me Jesus”.  I depended on my faith and trust in the words and promises in the Bible (I still do) as I never want to forget what He did for me.  It did not happen overnight and I did have wonderful people put in my life along the way which was a blessing, but my constant companion was the God of my childhood.  Why am I writing about this again? But as I stated above sometimes the memory of that time creeps in my emotions and I feel the pain.  Feelings……When you think you have dealt with them and they are gone, surprise you when they creep back in.  Maybe just maybe that is why my life has always been “doing and not being”……doing keeps emotions ‘abey’.  

A cosmic game of hide and seek is often how many view the search for God. “Where are you?” is the question that echoes throughout the ages as human beings seek for God in a vast universe often filled with inexplicable mystery- Margaret a Manning Oct 19, 2020

Have you ever wondered where God was when the storms of life blow into your life.  I did.  And, as I read the scriptures in the Bible I note that the Apostles did too. Not only the Apostles, but the prophets, Kings, and the Israelites.   No one is exempt from problems.  Why God do you hide your face from me when I am in need?  Where are you?  How long before you answer my prayer?  These are just a few questions thrown toward God.  His answers are not always the way we want, but He will answer your prayer.  It may seem like forever before you see a glimmer of the answer, but it will come.  I went from different training periods in my life before I realized the importance of my answered prayers.  Yes, training is difficult, but the end results is the catalyst God is after.  He wants you to know Him and His love.  He wants a relationship with you.

In order to protect our hearts from the pain and wounds of the world we both consciously and subconsciously build walls. These walls take all sorts of forms. Some walls are built for appearance so that outward beauty covers up inward brokenness. Some walls are built to be strong and tough so that pride and strength cover up inward vulnerability and self-consciousness. Some walls are built in order to blend in so that people pass us by altogether and never try to know us. Whatever wall we choose to build, one thing’s for certain: the walls might guard us from harm, but they also keep us from ever experiencing true life.  Greg Denison First 15 April 11, 2018

I looked up the definition of walls and found there were many kinds of walls – load-bearing walls, non-bearing walls, a high thick masonry structure forming a long rampart or an enclosure chiefly for defense, a mass of people or things formed in such a way that you cannot get through or past them, etc etc; but the walls I was interested in are the walls we build around us to protect people knowing our real self.

I liked Greg Denison analysis of walls we build around ourselves to keep disappointment, hurt, pain, etc from creeping into our souls.  Maybe you are one of the blessed that have not had to deal with hiding behind walls but I have.  I can remember every hurt I endured through life, I would say “not again” and up went a wall.  I can remember one time in Dallas, Texas, when I was trying to be accepted and please the world, I prayed; “Jesus, what do you want me to do and be”? Deep within I heard “Be yourself”.  It took many years to finally realize that is who He created me to be – ‘myself’.  In Ps 139:14-15 God talks about how he knew us before we were born and how wonderful his workmanship was in creating us to be exactly how he wanted us to be.  “Be yourself”.  If that is enough for God, I guess it’s enough for me.

He gives us strength to turn our messes into momentum and our battles into victories.(Robert Morgan).

His strength, His guidance, and His love is a rock I heavily lean on.  In all my “messes” I have created, if I will totally surrender to him, He is faithful to walk me through from the valley to the mountain top.   In the tabernacle study, on the day of atonement, the altar was the place for burning animal sacrifices. It showed the Israelites that the first step for sinful man to approach a holy God was to be cleansed by the blood of an innocent creature. For a sin offering, a person had to bring an animal — a male one without blemish or defect from the flock or herd.  Do you think for one moment, an animal sacrifice went to the altar without kicking. I don’t think so.  As, Jesus told, the apostle Paul (then known as Saul) on his way to Damascus to persecute the Christians, “Paul, Paul, it is hard for you to kick against the pricks”, which is a Greek proverb, but it was also familiar to the Jews and anyone who made a living in agriculture. An ox goad was a stick with a pointed piece of iron on its tip used to prod the oxen when plowing. The farmer would prick the animal to steer it in the right direction. Sometimes the animal would rebel by kicking out at the prick, and this would result in the prick being driven even further into its flesh. In essence, the more an ox rebelled, the more it suffered.  The same analogy can be for us.  When we kick against God’s guidance and do our own thing, we incur a mess.  Only when we totally surrender, can God intervene and lead us to the mountain top.  I have asked myself many times, why do I kick against God’s will – I presume, I think I know what is best for me, and if I insist on following my will, hoping God will eventually agree with me, I usually find myself in a “boiling pot” cooking with stress.  It’s only when I truly surrender and stop kicking do I find peace, love, joy, and out of the stress-boiling water pot to the fresh springs on the mountain top.  I know I need to stop “kicking” and start believing that my Abba Father wants more for me than I want for myself – will I ever learn, I ask?