A song of the hope of God's forgiveness.

Psalm 130 (read it here) was one of the Psalms God's people sang as they traveled the dusty roads to Jerusalem. It is a song of the hope of God's forgiveness.

Someone somewhere said that our best prayers come out of a strong inward necessity. When everything is going well our fervency seems to fade a bit.

"Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD." Out of the depths of sin, shame, guilt. Out of the bondage of habits that bind. Out of the helplessness that overwhelms. Out of the loneliness even in a crowd. Out of the filth of the world around.

It is amazing how much the human spirit can stand. We get so used to the bad and evil that it doesn't seem so awful any more.

We sometimes think we can crawl out of the pit anytime... But we can't. In Psalm 40:2, it says: "He lifted me out of a horrible pit." The psalmist had come to the realization that he was in the pit of despair, and sin. He got in there all by himself and this is a cry for deliverance.

Until we see that truly we too are lost, helpless, and when we see our sin as God sees it, we will never ask for deliverance. Notice that it is while he was in the pit that he prayed for forgiveness. He didn't wait until he worked himself out of it. He didn't wait until he bettered himself. He was still in the pit when he cried out to the Lord.

"Lord hear my voice..." Not Mary praying for me. Not the Church praying for me. Not my mother's prayers for me. Lord hear MY voice.

"If you should write down all our iniquities who would stand?" Each of us have sinned and the list is long.

"But there is forgiveness with Thee." Jesus died in our place on the cross so that God could forgive the sin of the world. The justice of God was satisfied and we by trusting Jesus as our Saviour, our sins can be forever forgiven. There is no forgiveness in the church, no forgiveness in man. Only God can forgive sin. And He will forgive and deliver us out of the pit of despair when we confess that we are truly in the pits, guilty, and our sins burden us down.

I have heard men say, "Yeah, I am a sinner." But it means nothing, they seem to be proud of it. But when the Holy Spirit convinces you of sin and guilt it will drive you either to the cross and Jesus, or you will harden your heart and say "no" to God. God is not a loving Grandfather to give you all you want.

"I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,and in his word I hope;" Here we have the result of confession and repentance and believing by faith.The sin problem has been taken away and now he waits.

What is the Psalmist waiting for?

• Forgiveness... No
• Some great miracle... No

My Soul waits for Jesus, for God. We have a clear mind and heart and a longing just to see His face. I've a longing in my heart for Jesus.

Beloved if you do not have the knowledge of forgiveness you cannot sing this song.You won't long to see His face and you will see the Face of God as your judge not your saviour. Don't you think it's time to trust your soul to Jesus and ask Him to come in and save you?

Psalm 130

A song of ascents.

1. Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!
   
2. O Lord, hear my voice!
   Let your ears be attentive
   to the voice of my pleas for mercy!
   
3. If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
   O Lord, who could stand?
   
4. But with you there is forgiveness,
   that you may be feared.
   
5. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
   and in his word I hope;
   
6. my soul waits for the Lord
   more than watchmen for the morning,
   more than watchmen for the morning.
   
7. O Israel, hope in the Lord!
   For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
   and with him is plentiful redemption.
   
8. And he will redeem Israel
   from all his iniquities.
   

No Help Wanted

The sign in the store window read: NO HELP WANTED. As two men passed by, one said to the other, "You should apply - you'd be great."

~The Flat Tortilla, Winter 1987

Contributed by E. M. Unger

Mowing The Airstrip

Is anything too hard for the Lord?
Genesis 18:14

Gladis Gibson, mowing the airstrip.
Chupientsa, Ecuador, SA 1959

photo by Bill Gibson

Mowing the airstrip with a push mower! This was how my mom got her exercise. Every Saturday afternoon, she was out there mowing.

The airstrip had to be kept level, and well mowed. A pothole, a rock, a large clump of grass in the wrong spot, and the plane could flip and crash.

Each week, my dad walked the length of the airstrip and looked for ant hills. Ant hills very quickly turned into potholes in wet weather. We’d pour kerosene into each hole, and set them on fire.

I always felt bad for the ants, but it had to be done.

Comfort For The Changes Ahead

Changes are inevitable and become more difficult for us as the years go by. Wouldn't it be nice if there were no changes? Isn't it amazing that our God, who never changes, has ordained changes in our lives?


The inevitable changes are not difficult. We seem to enjoy the change from summer to winter or day to night. It seems to be the unexpected changes that bother us. Those changes that we thought would never come, seem to throw us.

In Psalm 55:19b we read, "... Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God." The changes we fear are what draw us to the Lord many times.

David is going through great change as he writes Psalms 42 and 43. In 42:8 he mentions some of the comforts we can count on during the struggle. "Yet the Lord will command his loving-kindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life."

• Loving-kindness in the daytime ... in the sunshine when all is well.
  David mentions the loving-kindness of the Lord many times. Jeremiah in Jer. 31:3 "... with loving-kindness I have drawn thee." Jer. 32:18 "Thou showest loving-kindness to thousands."
  
  Loving-kindness is to be seen in the daytime and enjoyed.
  Loving-kindness is to be shared with others.
  
  The blessings we enjoy today do not come because we have earned or deserved them. They come from the loving heart of God through grace. Therefore, share! Unto whom much is given, much is required.


• Songs in the night ... these are felt in the heart expressions of love and heard with the ear.
  Job 35:10 "...God my maker, who giveth songs in the night;"
  These songs in the night come from God.
  
  It is in the night when we grow spiritually.
  It is in the night when He strengthens us.


• My prayer to the GOD OF MY LIFE
  
  In the day or in the night of change, we ought to pray continually to the God of our life. Remember... He is the God of our life if we know him as Saviour.

Who or what is the god of your life?

Bill Gibson
The Flat Tortilla,
Winter 1987,
El Paso Texas

Dear Friends

Yesterday, (August 13) at about 9:30 am, Bill went to be with the Lord.

Yes, we are so very, very sad, but we are also filled to overflowing with gratitude. My daughter Gracie and I were with him for that beautiful last hour, a quiet, peaceful time spent holding his hand, talking to him about his "walk with Jesus through the valley" and expressing so many loving, tender things. After a long struggle with metastatic cancer, through many defeating moments and with so much pain to suffer, he passed ever so gently and sweetly. We can now rejoice in our relief that Bill is in Heaven; picturing him there has given me so much peace.

As always, Bill wanted things to be simple. We will have a private family burial at Ft. Bliss Memorial Cemetery. Then, we will celebrate a memorial service at Grace Chapel, where our friends and family can join us for songs, prayer, a message and some simple remembrance of Bill's life. The date, time and information about that service are listed below.

Bill's life of service to Jesus was important to him to the last. Instead of flowers, food, gifts or the countless thoughtful things that are done in times like these, he asked only that those who are desiring to commemorate him might instead send a donation to Avant Ministries in support of the missionaries we have committed to support over the years.

I am held up during this time by the Grace of the Lord. Your prayers and expressions of love and support are so greatly appreciated, and I know I will be supported in the coming months by continuing work with "The Jesus Team" at the Village Oaks Assisted Living Home, our Tuesday bible class, my nursing duty at the Baptist Clinic, my ministry of cards and letters, and any other opportunity that presents itself to continue the work we were first called to do so many years ago. Please know that I am so very comforted by the love that sustained me and Bill together these past sixty years.

With this letter, you will find one of Bill's messages, (read it here), transcribed faithfully and lovingly by my daughter Shirley who is now on her way to El Paso. I am pleased to be able to share it with you all. God bless you all and thank you for your prayers.

Gladis

Memorial Service for Bill Gibson
Tuesday, August 18, 2009 at 6:30 p.m.
Grace Chapel
7601 Wilcox, El Paso, Texas 79915

He Walks With Jesus

“…I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.”

William R. Gibson, age 90, of El Paso, Texas died Thursday, August 13, 2009 at home. He was born October 1, 1918 in Muskegon, Michigan to William R. (Sr) and Celeste Yanke Gibson, and married Gladis R. Kitchens June 4, 1949.

Bill Gibson delivered telegrams as a young man before enlisting in the U.S. Army. He was a member of the First Infantry Division, the Big Red One, and fought in WWII, notably during the Battle of the Bulge and Liberation of Paris. Because he knew how to play the trumpet, he served as bugler for his company. Suffering from dysentery and hepatitis during the march into Paris, Bill spent months recovering in a Red Cross Hospital in Europe. Later, he served as a military guard to prisoners of the Nuremberg War Crimes trial.

After the war, Bill attended and graduated from Calvary Bible College in Kansas City, Missouri. This is where he met and married his wife of sixty years, Gladis. Together they became missionaries with the Gospel Missionary Union, now Avant Ministries, and in 1950, after missionary orientation and Bill’s ordination, they traveled to Ecuador, S.A. Bill and Gladis served as missionaries to the Shuar people in the eastern Amazonian jungles of Ecuador for 18 years. There, using music to help them communicate God’s message, they helped translate the Bible into the native language, developed churches, schools and provided basic medical and dental care.

In 1968, the Gibson family returned to the U.S., Dunedin, Florida, where Bill completed a year in seminary, earning his BA in Education (Theology). They again traveled to South America, this time serving for three years in Colombia, ministering the people of that country. Bill and Gladis returned to the United States, settling in El Paso, Texas, where Bill served as mission director for the area for 20 years, actively working in Juarez and Chihuahua for ten of those years. During this time, he and Gladis also temporarily relocated to Haines, Alaska, where he served as interim pastor of a church there.

Bill served as co-pastor at Grace Chapel in El Paso since 1990, and he continued to be active with his Jesus Team ministry at Pallisades and later, Village Oaks Assisted Living Centers, and his local Bible Class until a few short weeks before he passed away.

Known for his great sense of humor, his lifelong love of Jesus Christ, his teaching stories and simple messages, Bill was fond of practical jokes and telling tall tales. He published a humorous periodical for their many friends and supporters for many years; The Flat Tortilla was filled with anecdotes and always included a message of faith. A self taught photographer, he took many notable photographs throughout his long missionary career, having learned to develop his own film while stationed in the jungles of Ecuador. He enjoyed traveling, music, nature and wildlife, and he had a daily practice of prayer, Bible study and devotions.

Bill is survived by Gladis, their two daughters, Shirley and Grace, his twin sister Enid (Peggy) Anderson, three grandchildren, three great grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.

A hallmark of Bill’s adventurous life were his long jungle treks, lasting for many days, chopping his way through unmarked territory with a machete, taking the teachings of Jesus Christ to those in need. Even in later years, he was a great walker, striking off happily down roads, trails and railroad tracks, most often alone with his thoughts and his inspirations. No doubt many of his messages were formed during these solitary walks with Jesus, and his marker at Ft. Bliss National Cemetery will be inscribed, He Walks With Jesus, as a way to remember this pastime and envision his new life in Heaven. Bill’s family and his many friends are deeply grateful for his life, a life lived so well and with so much faith, service and devotion; they will remember him in prayer and song at a memorial service at Grace Chapel on August 18, 2009 at 6:30 p.m.

...Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints...