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.

Hebrews 4:7. God announced through David, today when you hear His voice, don’t harden your hearts…

Have you ever heard God’s voice?  Do you want to?  I certainly did & tried every facet I could think of to hear His voice.  I would read the different ways ministers & people heard him speak to them…..being the person I am, I would do exactly what they said they did.  Nothing.  One example I shall share with you….Ruth Carter Stapleton (Our past President’s sister), had purchased a piece of land & built a beautiful lodge thereon near Dallas, Tx, where I lived.  It was to be a place where people gathered to work out deep seeded areas of pain in their life. Oh yes, I definitely signed up but I did not want to stay in places near the lodge.  I was  going to rent a room in a motel…be by myself & really seek God & try to hear His voice.  I did.  I sat in that room nightly all alone while everyone else was mingling with others.  I prayed. I mediated, & sat still, which is very hard for me to do.  Nothing.  The gathering was nice but I left without the reason I was going for….to hear God’s voice.  Years later and many tough goings & being terribly weary, I found myself with my head on my desk praying about something I did not want to do….I heard “you won’t have to”…I jotted the date down & reason I was praying. Sure enough it never happened.  Then I sat & thought about my journey in life – yes, I was guided by a very quite & still voice starting at the age 7 when I heard standing in a room in our old farm house…”go kneel & pray by your bed & I will filled you with my Holy Spirit”….I obeyed & it happened.  I guess sometimes the Mighty Lord does move in the miraculous but for me, it’s in the unexpected times, I feel this urging in my being…..I am here guiding you…..don’t harden your heart….listen sometimes I speak very low……..listen.  

Ecclesiastic 11:5…As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the maker of all things.

The wind blows where it wishes, & you do not know where it comes from or where it is going.  So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.  John 3:8

“I will bless the Lord who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me. I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.”  

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭16:7-8‬ ‭NLT‬‬ 

Keep me safe, O God, for I have come to you for refuge.” Psalms 16:1 NLT

“Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me.” Psalms‬ ‭103:1-2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I was on the island of Kona in Hawaii years ago and one of the sights recommended for me to see was the the City of Refuge.  It wasn’t easy to get to but I wanted to see where the distraught people of Hawaii went to for refuge.  I was rather disappointed in what I saw – a barren place of nothingness.  Our island of Refuge is our Lord and Savior, nothing barren about the greatest of our God.  He offers us so very much – safety, guidance, closeness, and he even instructs us when we are asleep, and what does he ask for in return – to praise him and to love him with all our heart.  Oh my goodness, may I never forget what the Lord has done for me.  He has been a Refuge throughout my life.

JOY…Jesus first, Others second, and You last.  

Wise men follow the star.

How do I find contentment and peace in my life – is when I practice the above quotes.  Just as a sheep cannot find food, shelter, or water without abiding in the help of a shepherd, we are in immense need of our Good Shepherd.  (Greg Denison-First 15) “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing”. (I John 15:5).  In the church I went to as a child, I remember we had to memorize Psalms 23 – The Lord is my Shepherd…….and, to this day I can still close my eyes and see us (there was only three) standing before the small congregation quoting Psalms 23.  I also believe  at that time, I made Jesus my Shepherd and tried to follow him all the days of my life.  That was a long time ago and I have never regretted my decision because He has been my constant companion in the valley as well as on the mountain top.

“If we weren’t ever shattered we’d never know the glorious touch of the Potter making something glorious out of dust, out of us.” – Lysa Terkeurst.

“I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.”

– Jeremiah 24:7

“As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man.” Proverbs 27:19

Tom, my husband, and I spent most of the day yesterday poking in and around Thrift Stores. I see all these beautiful pieces up for sale since the person who bought them died or didn’t have a need for them anymore. I presume the children did not want them, but preferred the monies they will bring.  I know from my past, and I hope I learned, that things bought only brings temporary highs but it doesn’t last.  I would need to buy something else for another high.  I also know that when life throws you a lemon and you experience all your treasures being taken out of your life, you are left with a fragrance of them; that it is a crushing feeling.  I. also believe, that our Lord does not mind if we have all the things the world can offer, but not that those “things” have our heart.   God said in Matthew 9:13 (NIV) “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice”.  Enjoy your life, enjoy the beauty God has given you and be blessed.  But in my case, I had to be shattered, so I would know the glorious touch of the Potter.  

So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem: for he did eat continually at the king’s table; and was lame on both his feet.”
2 Samuel 9:13

Mephibosheth was no great ornament to a royal table, yet he had a continual place at David’s board, because the king could see in his face the features of the beloved Jonathan. Like Mephibosheth, we may cry unto the King of Glory, “What is thy servant, that thou shouldst look upon such a dead dog as I am?” but still the Lord indulges us with most familiar intercourse with himself, because he sees in our countenances the remembrance of his dearly-beloved Jesus”.  (Charles Spurgeon)

Aren’t we blessed!  God looks at us through Jesus.  Our deformity shall not rob us of our privileges.  Lameness is no bar to sonship.  Let’s come to the king’s table with our lameness  – it’s a hiding-place for all our inadequacies.  Come.

Romans 4:13  Clearly, God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham & his descendants was not based on his obedience to God’s law, but on a right relationship with God that comes by faith.

Can you put yourself back in time and imagine Paul, a devout Jew steeped in the law sitting hunched over writing/dictating an explanation to the Jews & Gentiles that they just have to believe in Jesus & do not have to obey every tittle of the law to be saved.  We don’t have to do anything to earn salvation, we only have to have a right relationship with God that comes through faith.  In my imagination, I can visualize this little Jewish man who had this miraculous revelation of Jesus on his way to Damascus with an order from the High Priest to arrest any followers of the way (Christians) & bring them back to Jerusalem in chains.  He was even present when Stephen, a saintly man, was stoned to death.  Now, he was sold out to this Jesus he miraculous met & dedicated the rest of his days to bring the Good News to all. He was a fugitive, stoned & left to die, shipwrecked, thrown into a cold ugly dungeon, etc but once he met Jesus (Acts 9) nothing would prevent him from spreading the Good News, and what is the Good News, ‘Jesus died for you/me and rose from the grave so we may have eternal life’, and we do not have to earn it but only have to have faith & a right relationship with Him. Grace, is the word for it….wonderful grace.  Yes, simple – difficult if you feel you must earn it.  Grace vs Law made simple by the death & resurrection of Jesus.  “Only Believe   – only believe, all things are possible, if you only believe”……one of my deceased husband’s favorites.

“To love is to be vulnerable.”

—C. S. Lewis

“a study conducted by the American Journal of Preventative Medicine concluded that social media is both our greatest opportunity for social connection and our greatest source of loneliness.” 

It’s hard to be vulnerable.  It’s hard to allow anyone in your walls of protection.  I heard someone say once when they were asked to give a speech “I am three persons – one who I want you to believe I am – one who you think I am – one who I really am.  I will tell you now that being up here getting ready to speak, I am the last person.  I am nervous, fearful, and afraid.”   Vulnerable and honesty is hard as you want people to love you, and if they see flaws they just might not.  My dear friend, used to say to me “Coppi, everybody has clay (easy to fall apart) feet- no one is perfect”.  Over the years of my life, I have tried hard to be who I am realizing we all come from different backgrounds and are individuals reflecting hurts and pains from happenings in life.  But, to be real, one has to be vulnerable.  Not an easy task but necessary to become you.  

after years of silence, i started painting again. Following is first after the this period which was a long time……coppi

Whom have I in heaven but you?

And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart

and my portion forever. . . .(Psalm 73:25–26)

Enough said…………………..

Is 54:10. The mountains may depart & the hills may be removed, but the Covenant of my love shall not depart from thee.

Mt 24:25. Heaven & earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

Definition of Covenant: an agreement made between God & His people.  A contract, promise, & bond.

“The Bible is the Word of God & it is powerful & life changing.  The promises of God start with 2 Tim 3:16 when God tells us that all scriptures in the Bible are inspired by God. With this promise of God in hand we can then be assured that what we learn in the Bible comes from Him.”

In the little country church I grew up in, we would sing the ole’ gospel hymns;  one being “Standing on the Promises, I cannot fall, listening every moment to the Spirit’s call, resting in my Savior as my all in all, standing on the promises of God”. Yes, I would sing but at that time in my life they were just words.  It wasn’t until later in life, I really understood that God through song was telling me to trust & to stand firmly on His promises in the Bible.   Do I trust & believe all the time – “nope”, I waver, doubt & wonder, but thank God, He is steadfast, unchanging, & mighty powerful & what He says is “Yes & Amen”.  

Are you standing on the Promises of God today? Is God your all in all?