Coffee With The Lord

Conversations with fellow Christians, and Biblically informed spiritual leaders as well as my own study of Scripture have convinced me we are living “in the last days” just before the “coming of the Lord!”  The challenge?  Staying spiritually alert and ready!

Yet to my dismay many who claim the name of Christ (i.e. those who call themselves “Christians”) do not heed the exhortation and admonishment of this passage! They have become spiritually sleepy and have allowed the broader pagan culture to influence their lives and have compromised!

Paul urges instead, “Cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light! Walk properly as in the broad daylight!” The things he mentions to “put off” (read them… “cast of the works of darkness, revelry, drunkenness, lewdness, lust, strife, and envy”) should have no place in a “watchful” believer’s life! Instead Apostle Paul challenges us to “put on the armor of light, to walk properly,” and most importantly, “put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts!” (From Romans 13:11-14)

With God’s help and the Holy Spirit’s “nudging” and reminders, I intend to heed Apostle Paul’s exhortation!! Hey, “Salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed!”

Neighbors!  What a pain!!  Their dog dirties on my lawn and barks at every passing person and car!  Their kids yell and scream all the time and throw stuff over the fence into our yard… And their music! … Blaring all the time… and their wild parties!!!  And you should hear the husband… quarreling with his “wife?” all the time.  And that’s not all…!!!

Hey, it’s a conversation I’ve heard from Christians about their “neighbors”!!! (And to my shame it’s a conversation I’ve participated in a time or two… or three!

Then I read Apostle Paul’s God-inspired words today in Romans 13:8-10… Felt VERY CONVICTED!!!

“Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,’ and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”

God’s law: Summarized in two core commandments:  I’m supposed to love God wholeheartedly… AND LOVE MY “NEIGHBOR” AS I LOVE MYSELF! (check out Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18 along with Matthew 22:34-40; Luke 10:25-37).

Here Apostle Paul urges us NEVER to feel like we have repaid the 2nd great commandment! In fact, he informs us that if we succeed in “loving one another” (i.e. our “neighbor) we have fulfilled God’s law! Oh Lord, help me to do a good job of BOTH – Loving God and loving my neighbor! …And love as a verb, not simply an emotion!

Perhaps you, like me, are going to have to do some serious work on that “neighbor” thing!

Ouch!!!

After reading, reflecting on and weighing the implications of Romans 13:1-7  first of all, for ME – then for US (as fellow Christians) and the socio-political situation we’re in right now compared to the one in Apostle Paul’s day (which, believe me was no better than ours now)… I WAS CALLED TO REPENT OF MY SIN!!!

“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.  Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment… For the authorities are God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid… For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.  Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience.  For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing.  Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.” (From Romans 13:1-7 ESV)

Hey, It is so easy to “idolize” our freedoms as Americans (appreciation is one thing – idolatry is another), and ignore the teaching of clear passages like this one.

I must trust God, seek to influence my “neighbors” with the Gospel and my life, and be a “Kingdom citizen” in a pagan world. My responsibility is to be “salt and light” (Matthew 5:13-16) and pray for those in authority (1 Timothy 2:1-4).

I purpose to fulfill those responsibilities! Assuredly, there is a time to resist the commands of godless leaders – and that time is when I would have to violate the clear directive of God’s law… Even then, however may the Biblical examples of Jesus, Joseph and Daniel (and others) guide me… They understood the power of an “appeal” to authority (and were willing, when necessary, to pay the price for respectful resistance when there was no other alternative.

Oh, and the Lord DID forgive me for my SIN this morning (1 John 1:8-10) – He promised to!!!