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September, 2023 (Vol.57-No.9) |
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By Billie Marie Zal Love is not a feeling, it is fact. If we Love we do not hate. If we say, “I Love him, BUT..." we do NOT LOVE. If we Love we Love no matter what. We just keep on Loving. Love is a gift - the most precious one according to the Scriptures - but it is seldom manifested because it hurts so much to Love. We shrink from embracing the gift of Love because we instinctively know that it will take away the very center of ourselves which we love so dearly. Love continues even when the one whom we love betrays us and deserts us just when we need him or her the most. Love never even considers retaliation when it is done a wrong. Love controls the tongue. It accepts with quiet humility and resignation all meanness’s heaped upon us. If we love, we do not fight back. Love never presumes to know “what is good for the next person.” Even when advice is given with good intentions, Love never attempts to take over God’s sovereign right to tell someone else what to do with their life. Love prays and intercedes night and day and leaves the results with God. Love never lifts a finger to “pay anyone back” for anything that is done to it, though it may involve tragedies, pain, and heartbreak. Love is not weak, though it may appear to be so. In weakness, God’s Love in our hearts is made perfect. And Love then manifests itself in a “meek and quiet spirit” which, we are told in the Word, is of great price in the sight of God. Love never screams at a child; but Love is strong enough to discipline when limits must be set. Love says “NO” to every protest that a child can muster to Love’s confining embrace. Love itself has no limits, yet it must set limits. Love never gives up. It often is compelled to leave one to oneself, but the fire of hope burns in the heart of Love and can never be extinguished. Love lets go, but never gives up. Love offers itself to everyone. It knows no racial boundaries. It loves the hateful person, the murderer, the immoral and the incorrigibles of society. It draws a circle around these people and refuses to budge so that the circle cannot be broken. Love knows that its strength alone can make these people whole. Love gives without ever expecting any kind of return. It gives of its goods, it’s home, it’s family, and most importantly of all, it gives of itself. Love never counts the cost of seeing a soul through the travail of birth until Christ is formed in that soul. Sometimes it is so painful that if Love had the slightest weakness it would let that soul go. But it never lets go. It never stops praying. It rends the heavens with a heart-cry that reaches the very throne of God. It prays on, and God hears and answers such prayers. Love never feels slighted. It never backbites anyone. It never justifies itself. It never causes another any pain even when that person (in the world’s viewpoint) “deserves” to suffer. Love, when violated, never violates back. It just loves, and that loving overcomes the pain of the violation. Love always gives more than is necessary. Love gives a larger tip after a meal regardless of the service. Love always gives hugs, even when hugs are not given back. Love reaches out to touch the most unlovely, for Love knows that the unlovely are the ones who can be made beautiful by that very touch. Love forgives, no matter what. Its power covers the offended one and makes peace between former enemies. Love never holds a grudge, never complains when ignored, and never thinks evil of anyone. Love lets people go if that is what they want to do. Love never forces itself upon another, but Love holds that one fast and never ceases to Love throughout eternity. Love remembers those who are forgotten - the prisoner, the sick, the lonely ones. Love will never abandon those whom it seeks out. It cannot abandon, for Love is Love. Love never goes unnoticed, for when one is in the presence of Love, its presence cannot be hidden. Love either convicts or blesses wherever it goes. There is no in-between. Love is never in a hurry. It stops to bless a little child. It never hurries its visits to those confined by the infirmities of the flesh or the spirit. It takes time to smile at a stranger, to gather abandoned dogs and cats to its breast, and to open the doors of its heart to anyone who seeks Love. Love writes letters far into the night to those who have no hope. And the recipients suddenly find themselves embracing that Love and find the hope that Love has sent to them. “In the evening of our lives,” it has been written, “we will be examined by LOVE.” May all of us pass the test. ©1987 *************** I remember the day Billie wrote this piece on love. It had been a long hard day with many problems. Someone in the house was misbehaving badly, but Billie seemed not to notice. Her typewriter happened to be sitting on the coffee table in the living room. She sat down on the floor in front of it and in a few minutes she had written this beautiful thing about love. I felt it was inspired by God; no person could think all this so quickly. I have fallen short of these words so many times. it’s a good thing that our God is a God of many chances. According to the dictionary love and charity have the same meaning. True love is not attained by will power; it is the power of God through us. Love has to be an outgrowth of the Spirit of God within us. 1st Corinthians 13 is called the Love chapter. Some Bibles use the word “charity” and others use “love.” The meaning is the same. 1st Corinthians 13: 4-7: “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.” This is the work of God in a willing heart. Billie had ministered to prisoners off and on for years, but in 1986 the call came from God and from then on it consumed her life. It all began with a visit to a county jail. Back then the security was not as it is today. And we were able to bring snacks and visit in the day room. The men we came to know during those visits continued to write to us as they went on to serve their time in prisons. They would pass the word and in time we had a group of prisoners that wanted to learn about God and grow. We have never tried to reach the “multitudes.” This has been a ministry to the individual. When Billie went “Home” I don’t think she thought that we would continue the work. But how could we not? We could not “drop” these friends who had been a part of our family for so many years. None of us can do what Billie did, but we will do our best, for however long Jesus gives us. Margaret May, 2006 (Written 17 years ago)  And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. Mark 12:30 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. John 13:35 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. John 15:13 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:34,35 “Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them. Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.” - Psalm 84:5-6 God allows difficult times to test our faith. Don’t forget, faith is the key. Without faith it is impossible to have victory through our trials. Also, the book of Hebrews tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God. Dr. Scott used to preach a sermon on Psalm 84 at least once a year, sometimes when he was facing difficult circumstances himself. The message was that blessed men go through valleys (tough times), but the key word is “THROUGH.” God does eventually bring us out of the valley. During the last two years (and still today), I have taken a lot of comfort from verses 5 and 6, especially verse 6: “Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.” My Bible has a short explanation of the word “Baca.” It says “not a literal valley, but any place of tears.” We all have been in “places of tears,” for one reason or another. I know people (some in prison) who have been enabled by God to make a spring for others with their own valley experience. God puts us in a circumstance of His will and gives us the capacity to make our life a spring for others. Because as a believer our faith sees beyond the circumstance, no matter how hopeless and seemingly endless that valley may be. So why are there valleys? Why does a good God allow pain and tragedies to come our way? People who ask such questions need to study the Bible. All those questions are answered there. The prophet Jeremiah uses the purification of wine as an example, as to how God works on our soul. In Jeremiah He is speaking of people who settle in with a comfortable sense of “I’m okay, I don’t hurt anybody, I’m a nice person,” etc., but they are not aware of the dregs at the bottom of their self life. “Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed.” Jeremiah 48:11 Dregs are the sediment at the bottom of the container of wine. As the wine is poured back and forth from one vessel to the other the dregs are left behind and discarded. The wine becomes clearer and purer the longer this is done. That’s an example as to what God does to us through sickness, loss of loved ones, loss of finances, and sometimes prison. Peter says “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” 1st Peter 4:12,13 This does not mean that when some terrible sorrow comes into our life we are to jump with joy. Our flesh will rebel. Read Romans 7:15-25 and see that it is common to man for the flesh and the spirit to war against each other. But our spirit should rejoice that God is still dealing with us as His children and finding us worthy to be made more into the image of His Son. This life is a school, a preparation period making us ready for the next life, where we will reign with Jesus. Revelation 20: 4-6 Reading these verses should bring some serious concerns and questions to your mind and heart. The thought that we would reign with Christ is staggering, and how many of us are worthy of that? I’m afraid that none of us are. This month we will have lived here on this mountain for 42 years. As Shirley was moving into the new house, and her and I were sorting thru her belongings, it brought back many memories to us: Days when my son Mark was growing up here, and we raised goats and he showed them at the fairs. We had horses, chickens, rabbits and pigs, lots of chores, and a very busy life. And then there were all those beautiful Dobermans that we raised, and of course later Billie’s wolves. Billie has been gone now almost 9 years and so much has changed. Many old buildings have been torn down. They had become a hazard. And now Shirley’s old mobile home is coming down. Walnut is taking it apart piece by piece and salvaging everything that can be recycled. I think that improving our property is something we should do. This mountain was special from the start. I remember feeling like I had come “home” during that first summer here. Billie has several times told of the lady who lived here before we bought the property. She saw angels one day as she looked toward the woods. They were in the trees and talking to each other. She’s been dead for many years, but we had no reason to question her. I have felt God’s protection here during the years, especially during times when we were attacked by the enemy, which you all should know is the devil. And he is every bit as real as God, though no one talks about him anymore, or even believes that he exists. Most of you were around and will remember the attack from the IRS. There were other attacks on finances, as well. And every one of us has at one time or another gone through a major illness, some more than once. Brian has had three major back surgeries, and a few years ago he fell off a ladder and broke his leg resulting in another surgery. It was a major blow to all of us, not to mention Brian’s suffering and what Gail had to go through. But all this is permitted by God, and as believers we accept it as His will for us and the circumstances He has chosen “to exhibit the all-sufficiency of God’s grace.” Scofield Reference for 2 Corinthians 3:7 I ran across some letters and notes that Billie had written to me, and I realized her life had been a spring for me. She had gone through many valleys and her life had become a spring for others, at the cost of her own, I might add. There is a cost to your self life that is not taught today. But the hardship of the valley should bring about those fruits of the spirit listed by Paul in Galatians: Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. See: Galatians 5:22-23. These fruits of the spirit are what make up a spring. I’m glad we continued what Billie started, and some day from eternity we will look back on today and Baca Mountain, and then we’ll know if anyone found a spring at this place. -Margaret | September, 2023 Wingspread | August, 2023 Wingspread | July, 2023 Wingspread | June, 2023 Wingspread | May, 2023 Wingspread | April, 2023 Wingspread | March, 2023 Wingspread | February, 2023 Wingspread | January, 2023 Wingspread | | Year 2019 Wingspreads | August, 2016 Wingspread | 2016 Wingspreads | 2014 Wingspreads | 2013 Wingspreads | 2012 Wingspreads | 2011 Wingspreads | 2010 Wingspreads | 2009 Wingspreads | 2008 Wingspreads | 2007 Wingspreads | 2006 Wingspreads | 2005 Wingspreads | 2004 Wingspreads | 2003 Wingspreads | 2002 Wingspreads | 2001 Wingspreads | August, 2001 Wingspread | November, 2001 Wingspread | December, 2001 Wingspread | 2000 Wingspreads | 1999 Wingspreads | 2015 Wingspreads | Year 2017 Wingspreads | 2018 Wingspreads | Year 2020 Wingspreads | Year 2021 Wingspreads | Year 2022 Wingspreads | Year 2023 Wingspreads | | Return Home | Current Wingspread | Wingspread Archives | Contact Us | |
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