Coffee With The Lord

As I was reading my Bible this morning I thought of a car I once purchased. Nice car, new model, great customer satisfaction reports. But I began to have trouble with it the very first week. It would run fine until I hit a bump, went over a railroad track, or experienced anything that would jar it in any way. Then the motor would begin to cough, begin to die, I’d have to pull it over to the side of the road and have it towed. Over 40 hours of shop time (thank God it was under warranty)!! They tried everything! Couldn’t find the problem, examined everything imaginable, took this off and then that, replaced this and then that, one day I came into the shop to discover they had removed the entire dash assembly trying to find the problem. Finally they discovered the difficulty… a faulty tiny computer microchip smaller than a dime that was “shorting out” (actually a minuscule sliver of metal that shorted the microchip in the dash)…

Although the examples given in Scripture aren’t the same as mine, the truth they teach are the same…

“If we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way! We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. A tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.” (James 3:2-6 NLT)

Little things can have a big impact! Help me Lord! “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight!” (Psalm 19:14)

I looked at PJ, my son… something was wrong, I could tell it… it was written all over his face!  I asked him, “What’s wrong PJ?  Tell me what’s wrong!” 

Nothing’s wrong Daddy!  Nothing’s wrong!” as he held his hand with his other hand.

“Let me look at your hand PJ!” I insisted, “Let me look at your hand!”  And finally… reluctantly he let me look at his hand… A sliver and a deep one as well!  “PJ, let Daddy take out that sliver!”

“No! No! No!” he cried as he yanked his hand away!  There was no way he was going to let me touch that hand!

I warned him, “Son, if I don’t take out that sliver, it will become infected and very painful!  Now is the time to take out the sliver… it will be better if I do!”  But He wouldn’t let me touch it…

His dad was right…

Thought of that episode in the experience of parenting (an episode many parents – and children – remember vividly and identify with) as I read this verse as part of my Bible reading today…

“Whoever conceals his (or her) transgressions WILL NOT PROSPER!  But he who confesses (i.e. acknowledges) and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” (Proverbs 28:13)

It’s painful to acknowledge your failure and sin!  It’s embarrassing!  Feeling shame is no fun… but neither is what happens when you fail to deal with sin in your life!  Take it from me… It doesn’t get any better… In fact, things get worse!  You try to hide it, you refuse to acknowledge it… and guilt piles up… deceptive techniques become a way of life… and instead of going away, sinful practices multiply and spin out of control!

Why not acknowledge it to the Heavenly Father, accept his forgiveness, and seek the help of fellow “recovering sinners” who will accept you, love you, support you and hold you accountable?

Here’s a wonderful promise… “If we confess (i.e. acknowledge) our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness!” (1 John 1:9)  How do I know?  I’ve had to do that on more than one occasion!

As I reflected on Acts 4.32-34 today it prompted this prayer in my heart…

“Oh Lord, help the Church return to its pristine and primitive roots!  May its original practice and dynamic be restored through the dynamic, life-transforming power of the Holy Spirit!  May the community of faith depend less on government and more on grace-filled generosity!  May the truth that we “love one another” and others be so distinctive that it opens doors for the gospel and hearts to its truth so that multitudes are attracted to you!  Through the power of the Holy Spirit may we overcome timidity and fear so that regardless of the cultural climate we “testify powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.”  May we live in such a way that “God’s great blessing is upon us all”!!

You ask, “Now what prompted all of that!?  These words from Scripture…

^“All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them all. There were no needy people among them…”  (Acts 4:32-34 NLT)