Author Archives: Becky Pliego

About Becky Pliego

I am grateful because God, in His grace, called me out of darkness and into his admirable light. When I did not look for Him, He found me. When I was in a pit of sin, He rescued me. I am not walking this road alone, my family is always with me, and we love Him, because He loved us first.

Sunday Psalm, a Psalm to Sing -Psalm 46-

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Covenant blessings are not meant to be looked at only, but to be appropriated. Even our Lord Jesus is given to us for our present use. Believer, thou dost not make use of Christ as thou oughtest to do.

When thou art in trouble, why dost thou not tell Him all thy grief? Has He not a sympathizing heart, and can He not comfort and relieve thee? No, thou art going about to all thy friends, save thy best Friend, and telling thy tale everywhere except into the bosom of thy Lord.

Art thou burdened with this day’s sins? Here is a fountain filled with blood: use it, saint, use it.

Has a sense of guilt returned upon thee? The pardoning grace of Jesus may be proved again and again. Come to Him at once for cleansing.

Dost thou deplore thy weakness? He is thy strength: why not lean upon Him?

Dost thou feel naked? Come hither, soul; put on the robe of Jesus’ righteousness. Stand not looking at it, but wear it. Strip off thine own righteousness, and thine own fears too: put on the fair white linen, for it was meant to wear.

Dost thou feel thyself sick? Pull the night-bell of prayer, and call up the Beloved Physician! He will give the cordial that will revive thee. Thou art poor, but then thou hast “a kinsman, a mighty man of wealth.” What! wilt thou not go to Him, and ask Him to give thee of His abundance, when He has given thee this promise, that thou shalt be joint heir with Him, and has made over all that He is and all that He has to be thine?

There is nothing Christ dislikes more than for His people to make a show-thing of Him, and not to use Him. He loves to be employed by us. The more burdens we put on His shoulders, the more precious will He be to us.

“Let us be simple with Him, then,
Not backward, stiff, or cold,
As though our Bethlehem could be
What Sinai was of old.”

C.H. Spurgeon

Becky

Hope in the Midst of the Consequences of Our Sin

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Annie Pliego Photography

My children and I are reading together Ezra after lunch and most of the times, with a bowl of ice cream out in our back yard.

Yesterday we came to Ezra 9, this is the passage in which Ezra gets the news that “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with their abominations, from the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. For they have taken some of their daughters to be wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands.”

Ezra’s response to the sin of his people was like the one Jesus talked about on the Sermon of the Mountain, “Blessed are those who mourn…”  Ezra tore his cloak and even pulled hair from his head and beard in great distress. Ezra fasted as he mourned, and when the evening came, he fell on his knees and prayed spreading out his hands to God.

The faithlessness of the people, their sin had been great, and Ezra knew it. He confessed their great sin before a Holy God. No excuses, nothing else to add, it was but the cry of a repentant heart. A mourner.

“O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. From the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt.”

Ezra keeps crying on his knees to God, he knows that all the affliction that has come upon them has been a consequence of their great sin. And then these words come out of his mouth, and it was here where I found myself reading aloud with a lump on my throat:

“For we are slaves. Yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to grant us some reviving to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us protection in Judea and Jerusalem.”

Even in the midst of the terrible consequences of our sin, we can find hope. Even there we find His grace. His grace towards his people never ceases. His mercies are new every morning. His steadfast love reaches to His own even when we have sinned.  He repairs what we have torn down. He revives our broken hearts. He frees us from the slavery. He protects us.

“And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, seeing that you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a remnant as this, shall we break your commandments again and intermarry with the peoples who practice these abominations? Would you not be angry with us until you consumed us, so that there should be no remnant, nor any to escape? O Lord, the God of Israel, you are just, for we are left a remnant that has escaped, as it is today. Behold, we are before you in our guilt, for none can stand before you because of this.””

Ezra did not see the end of the story then. Jesus came and took our guilt, our punishment on his body on the cross. All the suffering that we deserved he bore in our place.

David knew this as well when he said,

“He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.” Psalm 103:10

“Behold, we are before you in our guilt, for none can stand before you because of this.” Certainly we cannot stand before a holy God if we have not seen our desperate need for Him and have not repented from our great sins. We do not have hope to stand before God and not be consumed, apart from Jesus who came and died and rose again, and is now sited at the right hand of God interceding for us. He is the Way, the Truth, the Life.

Because of His great love towards His people, we have eternal hope even in the midst of the consequences of our great sins: We will indeed be comforted. The night will be gone and the day will arise. Our tears will be dried out, the fighting will be over. He will give us “beauty instead of ashes, oil of gladness instead of mourning, a garment of praise instead of a faint spirit” (Is. 61)

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

Becky

Waking up to New Mercies

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Annie Pliego Photography

 

“Because of the Lord’s mercies, we are not consumed — for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!” Lamentations 3:22-23

Oh, to wake up every morning to new mercies!  To open the windows and let the sun in, to open the Word and let it warm our hearts, speak to us, satisfy us.

“New mercies flow in upon you every morning — yes, every moment! Every friend is a mercy. Every morsel of provision. Every hour’s sleep. Every kind word. Every moment’s freedom from racking pain. Medicine is a mercy. A house is a mercy. You are therefore surrounded by mercies. But look at spiritual things — to know God, to have the revelation of His mind, will, and purpose, to have a throne of grace, an advocate in Heaven, a good hope beyond the grave, the prospect of a glorious resurrection! Here are mercies heaped upon mercies, and favors heaped upon favors. Mercies that would fill us with wonder, admiration, and gratitude, if our hearts were not like adamant, harder than a flint!”  James Smith, 1842

Let us be aware today of His many mercies, all undeserved, all grace.

 

Becky

Praying the Psalms -Psalm 15-

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©Shiloh Photography*

 

Psalm 15

O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent?
Who shall dwell on your holy hill?

He who walks blamelessly
and does what is right
and speaks truth in his heart;
who does not slander with his tongue;
and does no evil to his neighbor,
nor takes up a reproach against his friend;
in whose eyes a vile person is despised,
but who honors those who fear the Lord;
who swears to his own hurt and does not change;
who does not put out his money at interest and does not take a bribe against the innocent.

He who does these things shall never be moved.

O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? 
Who shall dwell on your holy hill? 
 
You know my ways, O Lord,
You know that I am not blameless.
You know my heart and discern my thoughts.
How I have sinned against you,
when many, many times I don’t do
what I know is right;
What you have demanded from me.
My sins of omission are many, O Lord.

From my mouth not only sweet water drips,
but bitter one, like the one in Marah;
water that doesn’t heal but brings death.
My words do not always build those whom I love,
many times with my words I them bring down.
The words of my mouth are a fire;
a world of unrighteousness.
They stain my whole body,
and set on fire the entire course of my life.
So hard to tame this tongue,
this small member who boasts of great things.

The thoughts of my heart are not always according to Truth;
I sin when I entertain thoughts that encourage
fear and doubts.
I sin when I set my mind on earthly things;
when I think on what is not honorable,
on what is unjust,
when my thoughts are not on the things that are pure,
when my my mind is busy thinking on all those things
that are not driven by love,
that are not excellent,
and not worthy of praise.

O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? 
Who shall dwell on your holy hill? 

I like to tell myself that I do not evil to my neighbor,
but in my omission,
in my passing by and not stretching my hand out towards her,
in my neglecting him,
am I not sinning?
Am I not guilty of not doing evil against him,
when I remain blind to his needs?

O Lord, so many friends you have given me,
and I am not always a godly influence.
I do not always pray fervently for them,
I do not always give them wise words.
I do not always love them without reproach.

O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? 
Who shall dwell on your holy hill? 

Father, I have said that I honor those who fear you,
but have forgotten what someone just reminded me,
that “honor must start in the heart, but if it ends there,
it isn’t honor.
Honor must be expressed through words,
symbols, actions, or gestures.
Honor is among the most incarnational of the virtues.
It must have feet and hands.”

O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? 
Who shall dwell on your holy hill? 

O God, I hold tight to the anchor of my life,
to the Word of Life,
and yet hard winds come,
and temptations arise against me,
and I do not always remain unchanged,
unmoved;
the seams of my robe are torn,
and I feel undone; not longer of one piece.

He who does these things shall never be moved. 
 
O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? 
Who shall dwell on your holy hill? 

But God, even though I am a broken vessel,
I will sojourn in your tent.
I will dwell on your holy hill.
Not because of my deeds which are filthy,
but because of my Jesus,
my Savior,
my Redeemer.

He has done all these things.
He shall never be moved.
It has pleased Him to forgive me,
and call me his own.

He  took the penalty of my sins,
my guilt he bore on the cross.
His righteousness is my mine.
In my place He stood,
and now I live.

O Father,
to be able to call you Father!

Thank you for Jesus,
for the forgiveness of my sins,
and the hope of eternal life.

Amen

Becky

*used with permission

Avoiding Controversies and Quarrels -Titus 3: 8-11-

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©Katie Lloyd Photography

 

“The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.” Titus 3:8-11 ESV

Some more thoughts on Titus (I am sure you don’t mind, right?), but I have just been thinking on these words a lot.

“We struggle with these commands to ‘avoid…. arguments’ because we know there are things worth disputing, and because it seems divisive to separate from divisive people… there is a difference between needing to divide and loving to divide. A divisive person loves to fight. The differences are usually observable. A person who loves the peace and purity of the church may be forced into division, but it is not his character. He enters arguments regrettably and infrequently. When forced to argue, he remains fair, truthful, and loving in his responses. He grieves to have to disagree with a brother. Those who are divisive by nature lust for the fray, incite its onset, and delight in being able to conquer another person. For them victory means everything. so in an argument they twist words, call names, threaten, manipulate procedures, and attempt to extend the debate as long as possible and along as many fronts as possible.

Divisive persons frequent the debates of the church. As a result the same voices and personalities tend to appear over and over again, even though the issues change. Paul’s words caution us about the seriousness of being ‘divisive.’ Though ego and entertainment may be served by argument, such engagement damages the church and should be avoided unless it is absolutely necessary.

At times we must fight (1:9). But if we love the fight, we must question if we are following God’s priorities. Do we really want to devote our lives to quarreling, criticism, and argument? The man of God must not strive (2 Timothy 2:24. 25). He is by nature peaceable and gentle (Titus 1:7; 2:1; 3:2). He stands where he must, but he takes no delight in debates among brethren and does not make them the priorities of his ministry. Nothing other than grace must be the priority of the gospel-centered church.”

 Bryan Chapell



Only God our Father can help us find the balance which is much needed today.

 

Becky

Grateful for God’s Infinite Liberality

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“However many blessings we expect from God, His infinite liberality will always exceed all our wishes and our thoughts.”  John Calvin

#1490- 1509

A week away with my Beloved.

Tulips in bloom

Having lunch with a dear friend of our family, a godly young man we love very much.

 

Meeting with friends we hadn’t seen in almost 13 years! What a blessing it was to share a meal, good laughs; talk about our children, our memories, our plans, and our love for our God.

Our little one visiting with a beautiful family. How many memories to treasure!

This smile.

Spending time with wonderful friends and enjoying a great meal.

Telly.

Tears in the car and and a lump in the throat.

Hope.

Sunlight coming through the window. Beautiful.

My Beloved and I holding hands in the plane.

My little one falling a sleep on my lap.

Books that make me think and others that make me cry.

A big embrace from our children back at home.

Grandparents loving our kids.

The Word of God, my anchor in life.

The Holy Spirit, drawing me to the Father.

The Father, hearing my pleas.

The Son, interceding for me.

May we always have a grateful heart,

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” I Thessalonians 5:18

Becky