Contemplations

believe it is good to write down your thoughts. Elizabeth Elliot said "If we don't journal we don't really know what we are thinking." Here are some thoughts from my journal. Some of these are quotes from others that met a need in my life. Oswald Chambers said "Those who serve the Lord are not even aware of it. They are so occupied with Him that they don't see how He is using them in His work." We must reverse Adam's choice, we must choose God over Eve. We must take our ache to Him, for only in God will we find the healing of the wound. "The gospel can be canceled out by the way we live." Henry Blackaby A wise person will exchange things of lesser value for things of greater value. Discontentment makes rich men poor, while contentment makes poor men rich. Unless a man has to do more than he can do, he will not do all that he can do. Four d's of decision making. 1. Don't, if it's the responsibility of others let them do it. 2. Delay, if it can be done at a better time, wait. 3. Delegate, if other can it better, let them. 4. Do, it if none of the above apply. The Church has no authority to decide questions of personal liberty in things not expressly forbidden in Scripture. Early success in life does not determine long lasting significance. One who judges condemns publicly. As a seed must die before bearing fruit, so God brings "Death of a vision" to test our endurance and then rewards us with supernatural fulfillment. Giving forgiveness is a gift to yourself. Receiving forgiveness is a gift to the offender. There can be the right idea, but the wrong execution. The great leader is the servant of the dream, the bearer of the vision. "It is the idea (vision) that unites people in the common effort, not the charisma of the leader."Optimal performance rests on the existence of a powerful shared vision that evolves through wide participation to which the key leader contributes, but which the use of authority cannot shape. The test of greatness of a dream is that it has energy to lift people out of their moribund ways to a level of being and relation from which the future can be faced with more hope than most of us can summon today. To be halfhearted is to get the worst of both worlds. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

The Purah Factor

"If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp" (Judges 7:11). For seven years the Children of Israel had done evil in the sight of the Lord. For seven years He gave them into the hands of the Midianites. Bondage to the Midianites was so terrible they held up in shelters made in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. In absolute desperation they began to cry out to God. He heard their prayers and sent a man to deliver them from their oppression. The man he choose was an unknown farmer named Gideon. An angel sent from the Lord showed up and called Gideon "Mighty Warrior" which was by any means a real stretch of characterization from Gideon's perspective. Gideon is not the Lone Ranger in this experience. We all can relate to his insecurity concerning an assignment from God. To add to his bewilderment the Lord reduced his troop size from 22,000 to 300 men. The Lord left no doubt where the victory would come from. Because Gideon was not convinced of victory in this battle God did a couple of things to help ease his anxiety. He told Gideon to go to the enemy camp and listen to what their soldiers were saying. What Gideon will hear will be an encouragement to him. Naturally Gideon is terrified by this idea. Thus the Lord takes another step and sends a trusted friend and soldier named Purah with him. Purah was a trusted person that Gideon could confide in. Purah would prove to be the needed witness of what Gideon would hear the Midianites say. He would be the second witness to what they hear and report to the troops. Several things stand out about Purah. He was older than Gideon. He was more experienced. He was loyal. And He was comfortable with Gideon taking all the credit. Purah was willing to turn success into a legacy to Gideon instead of a monument to himself. We all need "Purahs" in our lives. We need people who will take risks and who can be used by God to bring our faith up to a level of being able to do mighty things in God's Kingdom. Has God called you to such an assignment? Perhaps He has also placed a "Purah" in your life to encourage you. Maybe He is calling you to be a "Purah" in someones life. Don't miss His opportunity to be a "Purah" to another. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

What Do You Reflect

"John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light" (John 5:35). The beauty of the moon on a clear night is a beautiful sight to behold. Yet the moon is only a reflection of the sun. The moon in and of itself has no light, it can only reflect light. Take away the sun and we would never see the moon. The moon would simply be an dark object in the sky. Like wise a diamond only reflects light. A fine cut diamond does a very good job of reflecting light, yet is bears no light of itself. I have been told there is no cut that measures the quality of a diamond, but rather there are a number of measurements taken as to how it reflects light. How well it reflects light, (as well as size) determines its value. Much like the moon our lives are dark until we meet Jesus. With out Him our lives are dulled by the sin created by Adam and passed on to us. Paul said "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23-24). Our Lord contrasted in many parables those who allow His life to live in them to those who choose to live amidst darkness. Jesus in the heart is the Light that is shining upon our life in order to reflect the glory of God's Son through us. The workplace is a really good place to reflect His glory. We must ask ourselves how well are we reflecting the Light of His glory and grace into a dark and fallen world. Its always proper to ask the Lord to make your life a continual reflection of His light to others. DR. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

Staying Out of Harms Way

“It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him" (Deuteronomy 13:4). Upon entering the promise land the children of Israel faced a powerful foe. That enemy was idolatry, which Moses had strongly cautioned his followers against. Every foreign land has idols and the Canaanites worshiped, among other gods, Baal, he was the favorite god among the Canaanites (the people who lived in the land of Palestine). Some of the Israelites became Baal worshipers, including King Ahab, under the influence of his wicked, Baal worshiping wife, Jezebel. The false god Baal was believed to be the storm god. The farmers looked to Baal to give them success in growing crops. They believed he controlled the weather. When the children of Israel moved into the promised land, they lived among the Canaanites, and some became Baal worshipers. In a conversation over the back fence, a Canaanite might have advised his Israelite neighbor "You had better offer sacrifices to Baal, or your seed might be bad or you might not get rain this season." There is never a good time to listen to the counsel of the ungodly. The problem with idol worship is the glory that belongs to the Lord is given to a false god. Who is the One who is really in charge of the rain, seed germination and storms? The true and living God is in charge and He must receive the credit due Him. Because God is sovereign over all His creation and He is in absolute control, all glory goes to the Almighty. Moses also cautions against the idolatry that could rise among themselves. That is why we need to be well acquainted with the truths and precepts of the Scriptures. For we can expect to be tested by temptations of evil that come under the appearance of good, and we will face error that comes in the guise of truth. God's Word will equip us with the discernment needed to rightly oppose such temptations. One way we demonstrate our love for the Lord is by rejecting that which is false and pretentious and clinging to that which is true and right. We are not only to reject the temptation but we are not even to give the temptation a hearing. We must plug our ears and reject such details with disdain. We may even have to utter "Get behind me Satan." Some temptation is so vile that we are not to debate about it or allow our minds to ponder it. Keeping out of harms way works best when we are walking with the Lord. That is why we are to "Hold fast to the Lord." Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

Discernment

"The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned" (I Corinthians 2:14). Did you know Satan is a expert when it comes to fooling us. This is one reason why we need discernment. We need Holy Spirit given discernment. One of my favorite commentators is Paul Harvey. Notice when he speaks you really don't have the whole picture until he gives you the rest of the story. How many times do we have huge decisions to make and we desperately wish we had the rest of the story, that is the whole picture. Every day we make decisions on what we can see, knowing full well there is so much we don't see. This is another reason why we need discernment. Each of my children made a commitment to Jesus Christ as a child. Likewise, each one has updated and reconfirmed that decision as an adult. A child's commitment to Jesus can be very real. In fact, Jesus didn't say children had to believe with adult like faith. He said adults need to come to Him with faith like a little child. I believe a re commitment as an adult shows wisdom and discernment. A wise person makes certain, their relationship with the King of Kings. I have been praying about the subject of discernment. I need discernment in my personal life. The Holy Spirit of God gives wisdom and discernment to those who are seeking the Lord. Have you ever watched an eagle soar? They do so with so little effort and for so long. The eagle waits to see where the wind is blowing and he goes with it. That is how you and I are to make our decisions and forge our plans, waiting to see where the wind of God is blowing in a particular situation and then going with it. This is how "They who wait upon the Lord will mount up with wings as eagles." We need to take care that we are not guilty of spiritual sleepwalking. That is why Jesus told His disciples to "Watch and pray." Being led by the Spirit is for those who are wide awake, and in tune with Him. If we are doing a spiritual sleepwalk we may well stumble into a swamp of crocodiles. The Word of God is a Lamp unto our feet and a Light unto our path, and it will keep us out of the swamp. My friends we live in desperate times. But our Lord is Lord over all seasons of life. When I was in Bible College we sang a timely song that went like this, "In times like these we need a Savior, in times like these we need an anchor." The song then asked the questions "Will your anchor hold in the storms of life?" It is my prayer that a lost and dying world might wake up and realize its our Anchor, Jesus, who has the answers, in desperate times like these. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.