Coffee With The Lord

“Just a sip?”  No, I think more than that … a whole cup to be read, relished, and responded to!!! …  Here’s what Jesus said… “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I WILL ASK THE FATHER, AND HE WILL GIVE YOU ANOTHER HELPER, TO BE WITH YOU FOREVER, EVEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you… These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 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 have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid!” (From John 14:15-27 ESV)

Way back In the days of plastic “phonograph records”… (We’ve come a long way since then… cassettes, compact disks (CDs), and now MP3’s, etc.) … Back then sometimes you’d get a scratch in one of the groves of the recording.  While you were playing the recording the needle would jump back to one of the previous groove of the recording and you would hear a phrase of the song played over and over again endlessly (wish I could reproduce the effect for you right now :-).  It could “drive you crazy!” (I know.. I’ve just REALLY dated myself!! 🙂

Thought of this as I read these words this morning during “coffee with the Lord”… “So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again!  Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding… And so, God willing, we will move forward to further understanding.” (Hebrews 6.1-2 from the New Living Translation)

It’s so easy to get stuck on something!  We can let an issue, or a truth, become the BIG thing and ignore the rest of what God is saying in His Word.  Those around us often realize it before we do … it becomes annoying … like the marred recording.  Way back “in the dark ages” when that would happen, a temporary solution was to “nudge” the recording arm of the “record player”, forcing the recording to move on (sometimes I think God does that to us).  Sometimes, the recording had to be discarded or replaced (I certainly don’t want that to happen if I get stuck on something!  God help me to respond to His “nudge” and move on!!)  Better yet, the Lord can do something that was almost impossible to do with an damaged “record” … He can repair and restore it!!  To that I say, “Praise the Lord”!!

Part of my Bible reading today during “Coffee with the Lord!” … And I JUST FELT I SHOULD RECOMMEND THESE VERSES FOR MEMORIZATION by Christians (especially given the kind of world in which we are called upon to live the Christian life today)!

“The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives IN THE PRESENT AGE, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works.” (Titus 2:11–14 ESV)

Com’on take a little time and do it! You’ll be glad you did!!