THE MUSIC OF SALVATION - On how my guitar is like God's blessed gift of salvation.



          It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen and I knew if I could get my hands on it, I wouldn’t stop practicing until I could play it well.  My lucky big brother had gotten a new guitar for his 16^th birthday and I wanted it – bad.  But of course, it was new and exciting to him too so he disappeared into his bedroom and played it for hours.  Sometimes I watched him and it didn’t seem that hard; push the strings down at one end and strum them on the other.  How tough could that be?

          Life went on and my brother got busy living the life of a popular high school age boy with friends and sports and cars – but his guitar stayed home – with ME.  With his permission, I could use it if I tuned it and put it back away when I was done.  And play it I did.

          When you’re learning to play the guitar it sounds absolutely horrible. It takes time for your fingertips to toughen up and until they do, it’s quite painful.  You have to develop strength in your hands to compress the strings so they ring clearly.  Until then they just produce a dull thud.

          From my brother’s birthday in September that year I played whenever I got the chance.  I played my fingertips off – literally.  I played until my fingers bled and then played more.

          When Christmas morning came that year, we all went out to see what Santa had left for us and I can remember like it was yesterday.  There was a beautiful black guitar case behind the tree with a bow and MY name on it!  I could hardly breathe as I opened it and inside was the most beautiful full size guitar I’d ever seen.  You could just have thrown away any other gifts that year because all I wanted to do was go to my room and play. I kissed my mom and dad profusely and at the first opportunity I found a place to bond with my new beauty.

          I played for anybody that asked.  I played and sang.  I wrote songs; funny songs, happy songs, sad songs, love songs.  Every emotion I felt, I expressed in my music.  And let’s face it; an 11 year-old’s musical pallet is not too sophisticated.  But it was all me.

 

          I was thinking today that the gift of salvation is a bit like that guitar.  The instrument called Salvation is in itself beautiful and it is given by God to us as a free gift.  The potential to enjoy it fully is all there but it must be pulled out of its case and carefully, systematically practiced.  It takes time, knowledge about how it’s supposed to be played, and joyful discipline as something crude and rough at the beginning slowly develops into what the instrument was designed to sound like.

          I have a friend who is a piano teacher and she says, “It’s not ‘Practice makes perfect.’ It’s “Perfect practice makes perfect.’”

          As we grow in love for and knowledge of our blessed Redeemer and we move forward in following His ways more truly each day, we begin to produce the lovely music God intended when he gave us the gift.  Often the process is painful and trying but the music is growing sweeter and more beautiful than we ever could have imagined!  Until one day, when the music that we sought to practice perfectly in our lives will indeed BE perfectly played with all the saints and angels in eternity!

 

          And what a day of rejoicing that will be!!

 

NIKKI THE STUBBORN DOG - and a lesson she taught me.

 

      She was thin as a rail and as pitiful as could be.  She was a blue-tick hound that nobody wanted.  A guy that worked with my husband found her wandering in the mountains.  He guesstimated her to be about a year old.  When my husband saw the picture of her it broke his compassionate heart and he immediately responded by claiming her as our family dog and naming her Nikki.

   We got her home and her shortcomings became immediately apparent.  Because she’d gone without regular feedings she was voracious at her food bowl.  She jammed her face into the food and tossed it back into her throat with violent thrusts of her head.  She didn’t even bother chewing.  Her dog bowl was empty in a matter of seconds.  This behavior never altered for the 15 plus years we had her.

     She was every bit the hound-dog hunter, even in our back yard in the city.  She would lie patiently on the lawn as still as could be and waited for birds to land.  She silently watched as the birds pulled worms or seeds out of the grass and when they got close enough, she pounced.  More often than not, she got her bird and proudly hauled it into the house through her doggie-door.  Her hunting instincts were amazing.

     When we went camping, if she got off a leash or rope, she trailed off into the woods with her nose to the ground tracking whatever creature had left the scent.  I can’t even remember all the small critters she stalked and killed.

     Now you can’t really blame a dog for manifesting the very behaviors they were bred to perform, so all of this, while somewhat irritating, was not the main problem we had with Nikki.

     No, the biggest defect with this dog was her detachment from us.  We think that because she hadn’t really experienced human contact for the first year of her life, she really had no use for us.  She would do whatever tricks we trained her to do in order to get her precious food but other than that rarely came to sit by us or even acknowledge us until the last 5 years of her life.

     It’s wasn’t really a problem for us to have a dog that didn’t absolutely “adore” us.  The problem came that whenever we called her to come or when we gave her an order.  She didn’t even acknowledge any commands.  “Come,” “Sit,” “Roll-Over,” “Down.”  I swear if that dog could speak she would have been telling us to go fly a kite.

     One day we thought it would be fun to drive out to the desert and let her run free for a while to get some exercise.  We got out to the open wilderness, opened up the back of the truck and off she went.  We laughed at her ears flopping behind her and tail wagging as she went crazy with the freedom there.  Then her nose caught a scent and off she went tracking something with steely determination.  What focus!  What single-minded attention in following her own nose.  We marveled at how the happy dog became all business so instantly. 

     And then we noticed something else.  She was wandering - very far from us.  My husband called her, “Nikki.”  No response.  Maybe she couldn’t hear.  He whistled loudly and called her.  “Nikki!”  Nothing.  Now we could only see the tail over the top of the brush.  “Nikki Come!!”  He whistled and clapped his hands a few times.  We were both yelling, clapping, whistling and she was just getting smaller and smaller on the horizon.  He hollered to me, “Get in the truck!  We’ve gotta go get her!  Dumb Dog!!”

     I hopped in and off we went bumping and honking across the desert, tracking this stupid dog who was tracking some stupid animal.

   Anyway, we managed to track her down and get her into the truck but decided she couldn’t be trusted with freedom and needed to be on leash if we went out on adventures ever again.

     Because Nikki had never properly bonded to us, she felt no urgency to listen to our voices.   She had no sense of loyalty or appreciation for the ones who gave her a nice life.  In fact she really could have cared less what we were saying unless it was, “Time to feed the dog.”  Then she was right there to do our bidding.  Her hearing was just fine.  It was her LISTENING that was the problem.

 

     I have a listening problem and probably you do too.  It’s not that I can’t hear what God wants me to do, I just don’t listen to Him sometimes.  It’s that I hear it and keep doing what I want to do.  I hear Him say, “Give so-and-so a call to see how she’s doing.”  And I tell myself, “Let me just  finish what I’m doing and if I remember...”  And I never seem to have time later.   I may be having a conversation with my husband and I hear the Spirit say, “Finish listening and don’t speak words that will discourage him.” And then I say whatever I darn-well please, injuring my husband and our marriage.  I get a call from a believer asking me if I can help out with such and such at church.  Then I hear the Lord say, “Focus in on the few things I want you to do well.”  So I say to my friend who’s calling, “Sure I’ll do it since there’s nobody else to do it.”  And then I neglect the things I KNOW the Lord wants me to do.

     If I stay busy enough, I don’t have to listen when the Spirit speaks.  I can do what I want, when I want.  I’ll be so busy “serving” that people will think I’m awesome.  But I will have NO peace because I’m quenching and grieving the Spirit at every turn in my day-to-day life.  I become like Nikki.  I’ll do the tricks that are necessary to get what I want from God but I can continue along, defiant to God’s voice.  And you know the longer you refuse to listen, the farther you get from His voice; just like Nikki in the desert.  If you get far enough away, you don’t have to hear it anymore.

 

     So what’s the solution? 

 

1.     Be bonded to your Father in Heaven.  James 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

2.     Listen when the Holy Spirit prompts you.  Jesus said in John 16:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

3.     Don’t quench the Spirit by refusing His direction in your daily life.  1 Thes. 5:19 Do not quench the Holy Spirit.

4.     Abide in Christ’s love.   John 15 says Abide in Me, and I in you.  And further down in the passage He explains, If you keep My commandments you will abide in My love…

5.     When you blow it (and you will) acknowledge and confess it to God and anyone you’ve sinned against.  Without confession, you will NEVER grow in hearing God’s direction in your life.  Psalms 51

  Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;
According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.
Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being,
And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹ Do not cast me away from Your presence
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
¹³ Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners will be converted to You.

6.     Moment by moment set your mind on things above.  Col. 3:1-3  If then you have been raised up with Christ keep on seeking the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on things above, not on the things that are on the earth.  For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

RECOGNIZING THE DANGER

I was out on my walk this morning enjoying the fall colors here in the mountains.  Occasionally, I stopped to take a picture with my camera-phone.

Glorious, Gorgeous, Magnificant artwork by my wonderful Creator!  He didn't create in black and white.  He didn't make food all one flavor.  He added fragrance and breezes.  He went abundantly beyond the "necessary" and lavished His creation with delicious, wonderful pleasures! 

As I saw these colorful trees and bushes, I was thinking that maybe we could plant some of these varieties within eyeshot of our living room windows - like the trees we have already aren't enough!?!

I came across this one and wondered, if I break off some clippings maybe they'll take root in water so we could plant them in the spring.



As I came close to choose a cluster to take home, I noticed that they had leaves of three.  That means one thing up here.  It's poison oak.  The plants that I recognize so easily in the spring and summer became deceptively beautiful in the fall; so much so that I nearly wanted them for my home.

My husband spends much of the spring trying to kill off any of this stuff that grows where our grandchildren might play or hike,  He sprays it and hacks at it and burns it - and here I am, going out and bringing it home!

How very much like sin!!

What we recognize clearly and reject in one season of our lives suddenly becomes attractive to us in another when we aren't preceptive enough to recognize its latest new presentation.

Knowing the shape of the leaf this morning saved me from a whole lot of grief and aggravation.

Knowing the deceptive nature of sin (and the one who tempts us) will help us recognize it's appearance in all its forms.  This knowledge or skill is developed by prayerfully renewing our minds in the Word and practicing restraint when the bait is dangled in front of us.

Hebrews 3:12-14

Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.  But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.  For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end



I AM EVE - Seeing myself in the women I've come to know in the Bible

 

 

I Am Eve

I am Eve:  I defy the One Who created me.  I choose to do the very things that separate me from living in oneness with Him.

I am Rahab:  I seek satisfaction in things and people that bring no fulfillment.

I am Bathsheba:  Breaking my promises.

I am Sarai:  I have trouble believing that God can keep his promises.

I am Naomi:  Feeling at times abandoned.

I am Ruth: Seeing that there is one true God and He is to be followed no matter what the cost.

I am Esther:  Pleading before my Heavenly Father’s throne for strength and guidance when my actions will impact others.

I am Sarah:  Following my husband to a new land knowing God has a wonderful, but unknown plan for us there.

I am Mary:  Astonished that God chose me to be a vessel through which He would do His work.

I am Martha:  Getting distracted with all the busy activities and missing what really matters.

I am Sally:  Lost, Blind, Found, Saved, Doubting, Struggling, Faithless, Faithful, Prayerless, Prayerful, Astonished, Distracted, Transformed, Hopeful, Growing, God’s Woman – Eternally!



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



A LITTLE PRESPECTIVE - Seeing what matters

   As a little girl, I can remember one summer playing on the front lawn when something on the sidewalk caught my eye.  There was a trail of ants marching dutifully in a line across the pavement.  Some were heading one way and some coming the other.  Some had cumbersome loads of useful bits of leaves and dead bug carcasses that they were hauling into their little ant kingdom down a hole in a crack in the cement.

   So busy … so constructive … so focused.

  They were completely unaware that this little seven year old girl would spend the next half hour trying to make the trip a little more challenging for them.  First I placed my little pink clip-clop in their way.  They seemed a bit distressed but soon found their way around the sides and continued their trek.  Then there was a garden hose, a leaf and finally a little water.

   Very determined little creatures, ants are!

   Never could they begin to understand the complexities of my world.  Ants think that bringing treasures to their queen is all that matters.

 

   We are ants.  No.  Not the bug kind of ants.  The little earthly creatures that hustle about thinking what we’re doing is so very important.  But God looks down and wants us to understand Him.  He wants us to acknowledge Him as Master and Creator.

   Sometimes, I look up.  And I begin to understand HIS world.  It’s huge and amazing.  It’s wonderful … mostly because …

  He loves this little silly ant; this worthless, pitiful   …and busy ant.

 

Colossians 3:1-3 Reminds me –

   Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Click HERE to hear us sing it (may take a few minutes to load) 

I SURRENDER ALL - with a new bridge and chord arrangement

Click https://valleybible.net/MusicMinistry/Music/Audio/ISurrenderAll.mp3 
to hear us singing it at Valley Bible Church

All to Jesus I surrender, All to Him I freely give

I will ever love and trust Him, In His presence daily live.

I surrender all, I surrender all

All to Thee my blessed Savior,

I surrender all

All to Jesus I surrender, Humbly at His feet I bow

Worldly pleasures all forsaken;

take me Jesus, take me now.

All to Jesus I surrender, Make me Savior wholly Thine.

Let me feel the Holy Spirit, Truly know that Thou art mine.

Is there anything I wouldn't do, if You asked me to?

Is there anyplace I wouldn't go? Tell me if it's so.

All to Jesus I surrender, Lord, I give myself to Thee;Fill me with Thy love and power, Let Thy blessing fall on me.

I MET WITH YOU - Rejoicing in the privilege of casting all my cares on HIM!

I met with You alone in wakeful hours last night

Just a bit discouraged at my unworthy fight

Again as ever always You welled up deep within

My heart laid bare before You and You forgave again

I met with You this morning; came to worship with the saints

The children sang Your praises in full voice without restraints

They wriggled, danced and lifted hands in such abandoned way

It nearly broke my heart in two to hear you loved that way

I met with You today as my shepherd taught Your Word

He faithfully etched into me the truths I read and heard

Unfolding wondrous mysteries; enlightening corners dark

The hating world - the loving Lord; the contrast ever stark

I met with You this afternoon while praying for those I love

A growing peace seemed to increase I’m so unworthy of

The lost, the sick, the weak, the blind weigh heavy on my heart

Your yoke is easy; weight is light if shared right from the start

I’ll meet with You this evening when day turns into night

Prepare a meal, relax and heal but always keeping sight

Of why I love to live a life that’s set on honoring You

For late last night I feared the fight.  I’m glad I met with You!

THE GATE - a story based on Matthew 7:13-14

The Gate - Matthew 7:13-14

Sally Bentley

                               

                You know when you're not quite awake and yet you are certainly not asleep and thoughts fill your mind.  Images of people and places cross the scene set there.  I was in such a state this morning and a vivid scene played out before me.  I saw myself walking down this huge highway that was packed with what must have been millions of other people walking along it.  Have you ever been to Disneyland when it's so crowded that you really have no choice as to where you were going?  This road was like that.  Everyone was just moving along in mass packed in like cattle and I'm certain that everyone, like myself wondered where we were all headed.  I also had a vague sense that something was making this walk terribly difficult. It was then that I realized that I was carrying this huge bundle of stuff that, for some reason, I don't really know what, I considered to be extremely valuable.  Everyone else was carrying their huge treasure as well.  The sad thing was that often times, someone would collapse under their load and although the rest of us felt sorry for him, we could not afford to loosen the grasp on our own bundles long enough to help the misfortunate person.  So eventually he was trampled under the feet of the throng who were pressed along, almost as if against their own wills, in the inevitable movement forward. (Amos 2:7)

                As I walked along, relieved that it was not I who fell, I noticed a fork in the road ahead.  Well, it wasn't a fork really - there was just sort of a path that diverged from the main road.  No one else seemed to notice it at all.  Several yards down the path there was some sort of unusual gate and standing beside it was a man unlike any I've ever met. 

                There wasn't anything particularly unusual about his appearance but there was something about his demeanor and his eyes that fascinated me.  As I was briefly studying him, suddenly I realized that his eyes were locked onto ME.  I saw his lips move but I couldn't quite be sure what he was saying and then somehow through the din of the crowd I heard it as plain as day.  It was only a whisper but somehow it broke through and I heard it.  He called MY name. (John 10:27)  I was drawn to him and I desperately fought to make it to the side of the highway where the path cut off before we passed it.  I barely made it there in time to see another person stumble and crushed by the crowd.  Then I turned my eyes back to the man at the gate and he was now reaching a hand out toward me as if he wanted me to come.  The nearer I came to him the more I noticed his hands.  They were healing from some horrible wounds.  As I approached, I had to ask him about them. 

                "Sir, how did you get these injuries?" 

                His voice came back, "I received them when I was building this gate for you." (Isa. 53:5)

                "For me?"  I said.  "You don't even know me."

                "I knew you and I chose you before the creation of the world." He replied.  (Eph1:4)

                "Chose me  - for what?"

                "To be my disciple.  Come follow me along this narrow path. (Matt. 11:28-30) The wide highway that you have been traveling on leads to a cliff over which everyone who travels it will fall and die.  It's a far easier road to take but it leads to death and destruction.  This gate opens onto a very narrow and treacherous path but it leads you right into the Father's loving arms. Come and we'll walk it together."

                "Who is the Father and why would he want to love me?" I asked.

                "He is the One who made all things and He has sent me here to bring you to Him.  We love you because we have chosen to do so and our reasons are beyond your understanding. (John 15:16) The question is - Will you enter through the gate?"

                I thought for a moment.  Who wouldn't want to go through it?  The path may be hard but the highway would only lead to death.  "Yes - Yes I want to come through!" I answered with joy. 

                I walked up to the gate and tried to pass through but I couldn't seem to fit.  All of the things I was holding onto made me too large to enter.  No matter how I struggled, turned and twisted I simply couldn't get through the opening with all my stuff.  I looked up in frustration at the man who smiled patiently at me. 

                "You must leave all of that behind." He said.  (Matt. 6:19-21)

                "But it's mine.  I've worked for years to acquire all of this.  How can I just leave it?" 

                "If you want to come through the gate you must lay it all down." He replied. (Mark 8:36)

                Just then I thought of a great idea.  Maybe I can fit part of it through.  I looked carefully at my treasures and decided that maybe I could do without a couple of them.  I selected a few of the least precious ones and dropped them on the ground.  First I picked one that was labeled MONEY and then I thought I'd really sacrifice and I laid down two more labeled CAR and HOUSE. (Matt. 6:24) Then I tightened my grip on everything else and tried again.  No luck.  The man looked at me wistfully and said "You've got to let go of everything."  So I looked again at my precious bundles and couldn't decide which would go next.  I even considered just walking back and getting on the main highway with everyone else but somehow I was drawn to go through the narrow gate down the small path. 

                "Here sir," I said, "This is a large parcel." and I laid down one called PRIDE.  "And how about these?"  and I let go of PLEASURE and SELF INDULGENCE.  (Mark 8:34-35)  I now only had a few precious packages left and I really couldn't believe he would want me to leave these behind.  I pressed on the gate.  I squeezed and strained but no matter what I did I couldn't fit through.  

                I looked up at this man who had called me out from the rest of the world.  I looked into his eyes - his beautiful loving eyes and I realized that nothing I had was more precious than walking through the narrow gate and down the rugged path with this man.  I suddenly wanted to run into the Father's arms more than anything I had ever desired in life.  (Phlp 3:8)

                I dropped the last two parcels that I was holding onto.  The packages labeled HUSBAND and CHILDREN dropped from my hands (Luke 14:26) but I couldn't help but ask the man if he would call them to walk down the path after me one day too.  "They will hear my voice and they must choose to follow for themselves." 

                I turned toward the gate and the man placed his hand on my shoulder to stop me.  "My hands are empty sir.  I should be able to fit through now." 

                "One thing more" He said.  "Look at the clothes you're wearing." 

                I looked down.  "I made this outfit myself!  What's wrong with it?" I asked.  "These are the rags of SELF RIGHTEOUSNESS" He replied. (Isa. 64:6) "They cannot be worn on the other side of the gate.  I have made for you a very special robe called THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST.(Isa. 61:10)  As soon as you pass through the gate I will place it on you and so my Father can accept you into His Holy Presence."

                The thought of leaving behind these garments that I had worked so methodically to piece together frightened me and yet I knew in my heart that the robe now offered to me was beyond comparing to the meager clothes I was wearing.  It was by far the most humbling thing I have ever done but I dropped my clothes there and the kind and gentle man opened the gate before me.  Trembling with joy mixed with a little fear I passed through the gate easily.  And as I crossed over the threshold, my new loving friend placed a robe on my shoulders that was the most radiant and glorious garment I have ever seen!  I stood there beyond the gate with a heart of gratitude for being saved from certain death and for being relieved of my heavy burdens. 

                And so began the adventure down the path that will one day lead to untold riches in the Everlasting Kingdom of Light. (Isa. 35:8-10)                           

THE BEGINNING!