Coffee With The Lord

It may be a visit to the doctor and a diagnosis that you (or someone dear to you) received… It may be a letter you received from an attorney, a bill collector, or the IRS that is lying on your desk that concerns you… It may be the troubling telephone call you just received or a conversation that didn’t turn out right… Or something else that filled you with anxiety, dread, and deep concern.

There’s a Psalm for that!  In fact this morning I read these words as the traditional introduction to Psalm 102 in my Bible:  “A prayer of one afflicted when faint and they pour out their complaint before the Lord.”

Psalm 102 is an earnest prayer from someone facing a crisis!  My advice?  If you a facing any of the situations that I described at the beginning of this devotional reflection… turn the words of Psalm 102 into your prayer!  Here’s a few verses from the Psalm I think may be appropriate:

“Hear my prayer, O Lord!

Let my cry come to You!

Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress!

Incline your ear to me!

Answer me speedily in the day when I call!” (Psalm 102:1-2 ESV)

That’s just the introduction to the Psalm!  Check out the rest of it (and use whatever is applicable to your crisis and concern as your prayer).  You can’t beat “praying the words of Scripture!”  They’re inspired by the Holy Spirit!

Christians… Christ followers, are called to live counter-intuitive lives in a corrupt world!  Try this one on for size…

Jesus said, “But I say to you who hear, ‘Love your enemies, do good to those who hate, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you… If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.  And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same… But love your enemies and do good… and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for He is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.  Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” (I read this during “coffee with the Lord” this morning in Luke 6:27-36)

Believe me, I know it’s difficult!  It doesn’t come naturally!  It is counter-intuitive!  But it is the very thing that makes Christ-followers distinctive and gives their life and witness impact in our world! 

O Lord, help me live this way!  Help me move beyond what comes naturally and display your very character!  I want to make a difference in my world!  Help me! … Give me the grace I need to reveal Your character and values in my world!  Heavenly Father, I pray this in the name of Jesus, Amen!

Ever hear someone say something uplifting, even profound, and find yourself saying under your breath or quietly within… “That’s for me!  That’s good!  Me too!  Count me in on that one!”

Well that happened to me this morning as I read these words from Psalm 101 in the Bible…

“I WILL WALK WITH INTEGRITY OF HEART WITHIN MY HOUSE; I WILL NOT SET BEFORE MY EYES ANYTHING THAT IS WORTHLESS!  I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me!  A perverse heart shall be far from me; I will know nothing of evil” (From Psalm 101:1-4 ESV)

What a life commitment to live by in our culture!  My heart is drawn to these words!  I want to make them my own.  How about you?