Coffee With The Lord

Ever have a nightmare?  They’re usually really scary stuff – and they seem so real!  Sometimes you wake up in a cold sweat and have to take a little time and calm down!  As a child I had a few nightmares that made me sleep with my head under the covers for “protection.”  Moms and dads of small children have often had to respond to screams in the middle of the night and give a lot of loving comfort.

Nightmares rarely turn out positive! …  But there’s one “dream-vision” (a “nightmare”) that Daniel had recorded in Daniel 7 in the Bible that did turn out positive!  After seeing four absolutely frightening beasts in his dream-vision, representing four different world empires with some vicious and oppressive dictators, Daniel saw something else – something wonderful, something positive, something filled with hope…

“I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man [a clear prophetic reference to the “Son of Man, Jesus Christ, the Messiah].  And He came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.  And to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him; His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed!”

Gotta tell you, I am grateful that Daniel’s “nightmare” ended that way!  Worldly kings and kingdoms will come and go before Jesus returns.  Some of them will be oppressive, evil and frightening.  Prophecy indicates things in our world will get a lot worse before things get better!  The Bible predicts a frightening future in many ways… But there is another king and kingdom to come – God’s kingdom, the Kingdom of Heaven… Listen, I’ll take a “nightmare” (in this case a prophetic reality) that ends that way any day!

Just sitting here reflecting after reading some great advice this morning – a reminder actually – from Proverbs 6:20-35.  Thinking about the great advice my dad and mom, Ewalt and Vera Bartel gave me as a young man… advice about a lot of different subjects, all grounded in reverence for the Lord, and anchored to the clear teaching of God’s word.  I’m much older now, but looking back on what they told me, it has stood me in good stead for the challenges and temptations I’ve faced! 

If you’ve had parents who gave you godly instruction, you are blessed indeed!  And if you didn’t have biological parents who instructed you, but had adoptive parents who did it – or even “spiritual parents” who mentored and taught you, praise the Lord!  My advice today?  Recall, reflect on, and relish some of that instruction!  It will bring back sweet memories, engender deep appreciation, and probably help you in something you’re facing right now!

Here’s how the writer of Proverbs expressed it:

“My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching!  Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck.  When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you.  For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life.”   (Proverbs 6:20–23 ESV)

Oh, and then what follows is some great advice and guidance (and warning) about moral purity… teaching that I would say, is pretty important in our culture today!

No fear!  Not ashamed!  Bold – not intimidated!  These need to be more than just bumper sticker slogans!

That’s the kind of people God wants, and the Holy Spirit produces, in a culture that is increasingly anti-Christian and a world where followers of Christ who openly live out and share their faith are persecuted!

I know you’ve seen them… wounded people, cowering souls, who almost seem ashamed of themselves – afraid of almost everything, reluctant to look up, fearful of speaking up and terrified of getting involved in any cause…

God’s presence and transforming influence in a life doesn’t produce that kind of person!  His grace is at work within lives, where He is invited, to produce wholeness, health, integrity, love, joy, peace, and hope… and confidence!

I just read it this morning… “The Spirit God gives us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.  So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner [Apostle Paul speaking to Timothy].  Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God… This is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day!” (From 2 Timothy 1.7-12 NIV)

In another place Apostle Paul put it this way… “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes!”  (Romans 1.16)

ARROGANCE IS SIN!  BUT A CONFIDENT, BOLD CHRISTIAN, WITH A HEALTHY SELF-CONCEPT IN CHRIST IS A GOOD THING!  We need to be Spirit-filled, grace transformed, oozing love, walking in faith, and living out the mandate of Christ to take the gospel to all people – all nations!  Lord work within me by your Spirit to become that kind of Christian!