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

“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.

When death is near, when life is unfair, and our hearts break within us, God is not any less on the throne. Where darkness consumes, where it serves to discourage, where it threatens hope and life, the promises of God and the certainty of light will not be mastered. For in Christ is life and that life is the light of humankind. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness will not overcome it.  (Jill Carattini is managing editor of A Slice of Infinity at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.)

“He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”

John 1:2-5 NLT

I looked up the definition of darkness and found synonyms of darkness – they are as follows:

“The forces of darkness”

synonyms:’

evil, wickedness, sin, iniquity, immorality; devilry, the Devil, 

dark, blackness, gloom, dimness, murkiness, shadow.

I now understand fully why I do not like darkness because just reading the synonyms of the word gives me the ‘shakes’.  I enjoy lights on in my home, I enjoy the bright sunshine, and I enjoy everything that brings light into my soul such as encouraging words, laughter, hugs, love, a smile are only a few.  When I read the Bible and a word or passage lights up brightly, I hold it closely to my being and thank Jesus for this light.  And, I love the passage in John 1:5 – “The light shines in darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it”. 

Just a thought by coppi

God loves you simply because he loves you. You don’t have to work for his affection. You don’t have to set yourself straight before God can pour out his love over you. The father in the prodigal son story ran out to meet his son before anything had ever been set right. He didn’t know his son was there to apologize. He didn’t care. He simply wanted to love his child. Your heavenly Father feels the same way about you. He longs to love you right where you are, as you are. He longs to fill you with love to overflowing. He longs for us to experience this love and oneness just as Jesus did when he walked the earth.

As you enter into guided prayer, open up your heart and allow God’s grace to settle in. Allow him to free you from works-based religion and guide you to a lifestyle of relationship. God is not an angry taskmaster who shows affection only when you succeed. He is a loving Father who will always love you no matter what. Take time to receive the depth of his love for you today. Allow his love to heal you, transform you, free you, and lead you to the abundant life he has always longed to give.

“God makes an amazing promise to us in Philippians 4:6-7. Scripture says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” How incredible! If we will make our requests known to God in prayer, giving our burdens and anxieties over to him, then he will swap those burdens for a guarding peace that surpasses all understanding. How much do you need his peace today? What areas of your life feel burdened? What do you feel anxious about?” (Craig Denison 2/3/19- First 15)

When I read above scripture this morning my mind raced back to the year 2011.  That year was filled with sorrow. I had lost my husband, I faced two surgeries, and was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma.  I was lying on the couch in my home writing scriptures of healing, hope, peace, and love on a sheet of paper.  I still have those scriptures and have encased them in a plastic cover.  Every night before I go to sleep, I read them.  The first scripture on the list is Philippians 4:6-7.  I made requests – lots of them, and still do.  God was my source and still is.  Tom, my husband of now, tells me I need to re-type all those scriptures on a clean sheet of paper so they will not deteriorate, but I say “no”.  I pinned them by hand every time I found a scripture that spoke to my heart.  The page of scriptures is yellow, areas covered in tear stains, and edges are torn, but each and every stain are a reminder of a time in my life that I leaned heavily on Jesus and the promises in the Bible.  I still do.  He is my anchor amidst the storms of life.

Just a thought by coppi 

The deep fear behind every loss is that we have been abandoned by the God who should have saved us. The transforming moment in Christian conversion comes when we realize that even God has left us. We then discover it was not God, but our image of God that abandoned us…. Only then is change possible.” (Margaret Manning Shull is a member of the speaking and writing team at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Bellingham, Washington.)

Oh my-when I read this, the words that soaked into my being was “the deep fear behind every loss is that we have been abandoned by God who should have saved us”.  And then I read “it was not God but our image of God that abandoned us” and my image of God was a God sitting on a throne with a big stick ready to “pop” me if I did anything wrong. Children are very malleable and if you tell them the moon is made of blue cheese, they just might believe you.  I was a very pliable child and set under a minister that taught a lot about hell, fire, and damnation.  As a result, my God became a very angry God.  To find the love of God became my quest and it was a tedious and long struggle.  I began to read the Bible for myself and not listen to a lot of hell, fire, and damnation ministers.  I prayed to know the love of God and gradually that God sitting on a throne with a big stick became a God who loved me and sacrificed his son, Jesus, on that stick (the cross).  “Jesus loves me! This I know, for the Bible tells me so.

Mary believed

Luke 1:45. Elizabeth to Mary – “you are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said” – 

“How” is my first response when I hear God’s still small voice saying “you won’t have to” in answer to a prayer I have been praying diligently about.  Zechariah uttered how when the angel Gabriel came to him with the Good News that Elizabeth was going to become pregnant with John the Baptist. How will God ever do that – impossible – but hopeful, yes indeed.  I look back at all the how’s in my life that our Lord marvelously moved in my life – circumstances that I thought impossible. God doesn’t need our reasonings on “how” but “yes, Lord I will believe & trust you”…..”you are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said”……….and He did!

Lord Almighty.” 2 Corinthians 6:18

My father died when I was very young.  I don’t remember anything about him.  My older sister, Ruth, will often tell me about him since she wants me to remember something about his character and love for his children.  Her words are nice, and I appreciate her effort in trying to relate to me something of my father to remember, but it doesn’t resonate in my heart of hearts.  They are only words.  I think all my life I searched for a father’s love.  Many times over I would read about God’s love for me and that He would be a father to me.  They were words to me for years, but only lately have they become to mean that He, God, will be and is my father and that He loves me.  I think I wrote about it before but it’s worth repeating – I was sitting on my bed praying when a very soft feeling of wind moved across the bed and I heard within my being “would I give you a stone if you asked for bread”.  If you read the entire chapter it will be talking about your earthly father not giving his children a stone if they asked for something.  These soft words I heard have brought tears to my eyes many times as they have given me the love of a father that I have searched for all my life.  God is faithful and he does hear the cry of our hearts.

Mt 7:12- Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you.  This is the essence of all that is taught in the law & the prophets.

Mt 7:1-do not judge others, & you will not be judged.  For you will be treated as you treat others.  The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.

The standards in the Bible sometimes are difficult to do & my flesh rebels.  Yet again, as I read & re-read the above scriptures, I did note the dos that is required of me, but I also noted they were put there for my good.  If I do to others what I would like them to do for me, that’s for my benefit.  As, if I do not judge others & treat others with disgust, I will will not be judged in the same way.  In the Bible there are standards to live by – some, I will say to myself, I don’t like –  I will throw it out.  But, no, all are there for my benefit – the flesh says I will do it my way; the spirit says yes, Lord, I know your way is right & for my good, I will follow.  Life is full of choices.  Believe me, I have reaped from wrong choices I made; but thank God I have a redeemer, Jesus, who has & will lead me out/through them.  Lord, give me wisdom & knowledge to make the right choices in life.  Thank you for the Bible & it’s directives.

Just a thought by coppi

Many of us grow up doubting the love of God because of the relationships we have with others. Broken relationships, hurt from others, or even our own bad choices and cause us to doubt why God would choose to love us. Sometimes well-meaning churches even misguide us into thinking that we need to earn God’s love by behaving or acting “good enough”. God demonstrated the greatest act of love when Jesus Christ died on the cross for us. We no longer have to work toward being love, it is given freely for all. (Asheritah Ciucui)

As I read the above, I had just finished writing a note to Jesus (I do this whenever I am dealing with something and need him to straighten the crooked thoughts with His wisdom and knowledge.). I grew up in a religion of misguided teachings. Too much fear of dos and don’ts. I am a very sensitive person and I do love Jesus. But I am also a human being and not God. It would be impossible to live the way I was taught without being a monk. Anyway, I was writing all of this in my letter to Jesus when I was nudged to go to the Internet and pull up scriptures on the love of God, and scriptures of how Jesus loved the outcasts, sinners, and how he argued with the Pharisees over their rules, regulations, and righteousness. All I can say, it does help me to journalize feelings, because it causes me to become fully aware of facts that may or may not be true, and it allows the wisdom of God to direct me to the truths of His teaching and not man’s.

“Come now, insignificant man, fly for a moment from your affairs, escape for a little while from the tumult of your thoughts. Put aside now your weighty cares and leave your wearisome toils. Abandon yourself for a little to God and rest for a little in him.” ― Anselm

When you  expect good things from God, you  get good things from God! The psalmist prays “Teach us to number our days so we can have a wise heart” (Psalm 90:12). Every day is a gift from God; celebrate it.

Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you.  Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. Ps 143:8

When we don’t understand something about God, some people are tempted to discredit him completely. My friend Andy Stanley said, “You don’t have to understand everything to believe in something.” (Craig Groeschel)

Do I understand everything about God.  No.  But I do know, I don’t know what I would do if I did not believe in Him.  He has been my constant companion for as long as I can remember.  Even when I did not understand the whys in my life or the happenings in this world…..I chose to believe in Him.