From Carolyn...

Yesterday I engaged Our Father God with a request and a question.

The request was—
“Dear Lord, I believe I will see You in this day!”

“I am dependent on You to keep me alert and aware of Your presence and the ways in which You will show up this very day.  I desire to be able to say, ‘I spy You’ during the day and certainly at the day’s end. For You are a Living God.”

Below are some of the ways I can say I spied God yesterday. I reflected with thanksgiving this morning as I again talked with my Father.

1. I saw God yesterday when He called Home our dear and very good friend Neil Smith.

Neil and his wife Melanie were like our children. We met Melanie when she was in high-school in Palo Alto and David met Neil when Neil was a student at San Jose State. They were interns in the college ministry, learning from and teaching David. David married them and later Neil was on staff at Peninsula Bible Church after attending Dallas Theological Seminary. They were often in our home and always in our hearts. Before we left California Neil and Melanie moved to Sequim Washington where they pioneered a church and saw it thrive. When our son Brian and his family moved to Sequim Neil was their pastor. Brian says he was humble and loving. Neil was also a careful student of Scripture, a caring shepherd and one who loved deeply Melanie, his two sons and all his family. When he was treated badly we never saw any resentment in Neil or Melanie. They trusted the Lord. Melanie was a ministry partner all the way, using her own special gifts to augment Neil’s gifts. God called Neil out of the pastoral ministry and he and Melanie began OPM, Olympic Peninsula Ministries to serve pastors and their wives in their area and similar to IMM. Neil invested eagerly in the lives of many there on the Olympic Peninsula often driving long distances to have lunch with pastors in isolated areas. These last years were difficult years as Neil had renal failure, which lead to a kidney transplant, followed later by Alzheimer’s. Then recently Neil had a hard fall which left him in excruciating pain with no surgery options. Last Saturday Melanie was able to bring Neil to their home and with the help of his sister, a retired nurse who moved in with them, loved Neil and cared for him. Early Thursday morning Melanie and his sister were with him, holding his hand when his breathing slowed and stopped. God said “Come Home.”

2. I saw God show up in Melanie yesterday as she said she was “smiling through tears” knowing Neil had been “promoted to Glory.” I saw this dear one’s unwavering hope, because of her faith and trust in the God they had followed together for so many years.

3. I saw God show up as my friend Kathy, who had been praying for Neil and Melanie, told me yesterday that on Wednesday she had thought of the song, “Lead Gently Home.” And God did that on Thursday for Neil.

4. I saw God show up though the kindnesses of friends. Some wrote, some prayed. To one I mentioned an errand our sons were not available to do. Bob said, “I have been wanted to know how to help you two! I want to do this for you.” And he did. His generous cheerful spirit of wanting to help was a touch of kindness from God. And an incentive to me. I know why “God loves a cheerful giver!” He gives cheerfully and wants me to do the same. (Actually the errand was part of a mistake I made the day before, so even that was God’s way of protecting us from a small disappointment. Well, it wasdisappointing but God turned it into an opportunity!)

I would really love to hear how God shows up in your life today, if that is something you want to consider.

Today I will continue to watch and see how God shows up, and as I start my day i will also ask—

God, what do You have in mind for me today?
Hmmm. I wonder how His plans for me will play out? I can think of a few things He has in mind but I will save that for tomorrow!

With love and prayers to the One who has called us to a Living Hope,
Carolyn

My remarks about Neil and Melanie Smith don’t begin to touch the surface of what a godly, uncomplaining and loving couple they were. Or how much we love and care for them. Or how much love they have offered us and our family. We are forever thankful for Neil and Melanie. We sorrow but with sure hope because of Jesus and his love for them and for us.

Carolyn Roper

On His Shoulders

“Let the beloved of the Lord rest on him (God), for he (God) shelters him all day long, because he (the beloved) has found a resting place, riding on his (God’s) shoulders" (Deuteronomy 33:12).

I remember days when our boys were small and their little legs would grow weary when we were out walking. They would hold up their hands, and ask, “Hey, Dad, can I have a ride?” I readily picked them up and carried them home on my shoulders. 

I woke up this morning feeling “thin and stretched” like the old Hobbit Frodo, facing a long, weary day. Then I read this verse and saw what I must do. I held up my hands and asked. “Hey, Lord, can I have a ride?”

“This is your resting place today,” he replied, "riding on my shoulders.”

David Roper

4.26.20

Undoing the Deeds of the Devil

Surely He has borne our sickness

And carried our pain… (Isaiah 53:4a). 

Is there healing in the atonement? Of course there is. Jesus bore our sickness on the Cross and carried away our pain. 

But the healing is not necessarily in the here and now. 

Certainly God heals in the present through medicine and the medical arts, by the healing properties in our own bodies, and by occasional acts of direct healing.

But our ultimate healing will be in Heaven—what ancient spiritual writers called athanasias pharmakon (the medicine of immortality), the final cure for all that ails us. There, God himself will wipe every tear from our eyes; there will be no more sickness or sorrow; there will be no more pain (see Revelation 21:4). 

In the meantime, while we wait for our healing, a bit of sickness and pain can do us some good. John Piper writes, “I dare say the greatest earthly blessing that God can give to any of us is health, with the exception of sickness… If some men that I know of could only be favored with a month of rheumatism, it would, by God's grace mellow them marvelously.”

David Roper

4.22.20

Covid–19 and the Wrath of God

Someone asked me the other day if Covid-19 is the wrath of God against sinners. The question reminded me of another man who sat across the table from me one morning and asked if 9/11 was the wrath of God against gays.” Both questions sent me to a situation Luke mentions in his Gospel. 

Some folks had come to Jesus asking about “certain Galilean Jews whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices” (Luke 13:1). It seems that Pilate’s troops had surrounded and slaughtered a number of visiting Galileans as they were worshipping in the temple. We know nothing about the massacre, but it’s in keeping with what we do know of Pilate’s character. 

Jesus’ answer was wholly unexpected: “Do you think these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish” (Luke 13:2-5).

These folks thought that these tragedies must be God’s wrath on a certain set of god-awful sinners. They perished in their own sins. “No,” Jesus replied, “Unless you repent you toowill perish in your sin.” Jesus’ answer laid their hearts bare. 

We, like the folks who brought this question to Jesus, are fixed on first causes: When folks suffer catastrophe we reckon that they must deserve it. But personal tragedy is no more an indication of wrong-doing then the absence of tragedy is an indication of personal righteousness. Whether our lives are tragic or tranquil we are all, as Martin Luther insisted, “dust and ashes and full of sin.” And all of us are in need of repentance. 

The question, then, is not “What about that sinner over there?” but, “What about me, this sinner under my own hat?” (Cf., Luke 18:9-14). Jesus said, “Unless you repent, you too will perish”

Repentance, In the New Testament, is metanoeo, “to change one’s mind.” The word in the Old Testament is shuv, “to turn around.” It occurs in the Song of Songs to describe the Shulamite’s dance as she twirls around: shuvi, shuvi—"turn around, turn around”( Song 6:13).

In both testaments the word repentance means something like changing one’s mind about the direction you’re going, turning around and going in another direction. As some wag has suggested, repentance is a shuv in the right direction.

Repentance does not require tears, or feelings of sorrow and remorse. It is the simple recognition that we have been going the wrong direction our entire lives and for our own salvation we must turn around and follow another.

And here’s the Good News: When we turn around we find, to our everlasting surprise and joy, that Jesus has been standing there all along, waiting to forgive and receive us with open arms. “He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). 

David Roper

4.20.20

The Little Door

"The one who offers thanksgiving honors me, and establishes a way by which I may show him the salvation of God!” (Psalm 50:23).

Gratitude is one way God brings salvation to us; the means by which He lavishes upon us all he has in mind for us. 

I forget to say, "Thank you" to the One who has graciously given me "all things richly to enjoy”; I’m much too busy complaining about what I don’t have in sequester, in consequence of which I fail to enter into the fullness of God. In fact, if I read Romans 1 right, an ungrateful heart can lead me away from God and into all sorts of god-awful behavior (Romans 1:21-23).

I picked up a copy of Alice in Wonderland the other day and read this: "Alice came upon a low curtain she had not noticed before, and behind it was a little door about fifteen inches high: she tried the little golden key in the lock, and to her great delight it fitted! Alice opened the door and found that it led into a small passage, not much larger than a rat-hole: she knelt down and peeked along the passage into the loveliest garden you ever saw."

Gratitude is the "little door” that leads us into a fabulous place, the means by which we enter into a more complete, intimate relationship with God, the way by which we “more of His saving fullness see; more of His love for you and me.”

"Alice tried to squeeze through the little door, but she was much too large." Humble gratitude is the only way in. You have to become very small. (“Go ask Alice, when she's  ten feet tall.”) 

Footfalls echo in the memory

Down the passage which we did not take

Towards the door we never opened

Into the rose-garden. —T.S. Eliot

David Roper

Sheltering in Peace

 

Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, who walks in his ways!

You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;

You shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house;

your children will be like olive shoots around your table.

Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the LORD.

The LORD bless you from Zion!

May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life!

May you see your children's children!

Peace be upon Israel!  —Psalms 128:1-7

 

This is a picture of a “functional” family, sheltering in place, gathered in peace, sharing God’s blessings around the table and facetiming the grandkids (seeing their “children’s children.”)

 

There are number of things we can do to stay safe these days. Social distancing, personal protective gear, hand washing and other prophylactic measures are necessary precautions for us. But none of these actions can, of themselves, free us from our deepest anxiety. Our only sure protection from fear is the “fear of the Lord.”

 

The “fear of the Lord,” is not craven fear, but worship, devotion, glad adoration and a desire to do God’s will. This is our safety and our peace.

 

Under His wings I am safely abiding.
Tho' the night deepens and tempests are wild,
Still I can trust Him; I know He will keep me.
He has redeemed me, and I am His child.

Under His wings, under His wings,
Who from His love can sever?
Under His wings my soul shall abide,
Safely abide forever. —William Cushing 

David Roper

4.8.20

The Problem of Evil

 

Many years ago, I was slogging through a mosquito-infested meadow with a gaggle of kids when one of them asked me, “Why does God put up with mosquitoes?”

 

I was stumped.

 

The question these days would be, “Why does God put up with Covid-19?

 

I’m still stumped.

 

Both questions go to the problem of evil: If God is both good and all-powerful why does he permit evil to exist? 

The final answer to that question awaits Heaven, but I have it on good authority that “all things work together for good,” a good Paul spells out in the rest of the chapter as the salvation, sanctification and glorification of human souls (Romans 8:28-30).  

 

As theologians put it, everything God does or allows is salvific, i.e., it leads to salvation. He, in jujitsu-fashion, takes the worst that evil can do and turns it into eternal good, though that good is not always revealed, or realized at the time. 

 

The Cross is the best example.

 

David Roper,

4.5.20