Coffee With The Lord

I hate to admit it, but might as well… I’ve had to make David’s prayer in Psalm 51 my prayer more often than I’d like to acknowledge.   Covering up sin doesn’t help…  “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” (Proverbs 28:13 ESV)  Acknowledging my sin to God and asking Him to forgive me has been the only effective solution to deal with guilt that I’m aware of… (“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess (acknowledge) our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive our sin and purify us from all unrighteousness.” – 1 John 1.8-9)

So here are David’s words from Psalm 51 that I read again this morning (words, I’ve had to make my own on more occasions than I’d like to admit).  …Word’s you might want to keep handy, if you’re at all like me …Words, that if you pray them sincerely from your heart, God has promised to honor and heed!!

^“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.  For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.  Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight… Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me… You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”  (From Psalm 51)

You’ve got to picture this… The guy was plain scary!  Possessed and controlled by, not one, but a host of demons!  When he was asked his name, the demons inside him answered in a distorted voice… “Legion,” they said, “for we are many.”  And violent – uncontrolled!  Any attempt to control this person’s destructive and violent behavior had failed… they tried to chain him, and he tore off the chains apart and broke the shackles.  He lived out in a graveyard.  During the day and late at night you could hear his eerie screams (scared the kids half to death!).  Self-destructive – continually cut himself with sharp stones – a total societal misfit!  Helpless, hopeless, completely out of control!

He showed up just as Jesus got off the boat when He arrived in the Gerasenes.  The guy came screaming out of the tombs and with multiple, creepy, demonically produced voices screamed, “What have You to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?  I adjure you by God, do not torment me!”  Imagine it!  What a welcoming committee, eh?

But Jesus spoke to the demons with a divine word of authority… “Come out, you unclean spirit!”  The demons in the man began to beg not to be disembodied and instead asked to be sent into a nearby heard of pigs.  The destructive character of demonic power is clearly revealed in the fact that when Jesus gave them permission to enter the pigs, they rushed down a steep bank and drowned themselves in the sea, nearby. 

But the man was delivered – obviously cured and set free!  When people come up to see him he was sane, clothed, sitting down, listening to Jesus in total mental, physical and emotional control!

As Jesus got into the boat, ready to leave the region, the man begged to go along with Jesus.  But Jesus urged him instead, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you!”  In other words, He told him, “Go share your testimony with others!”  And the Bible says, he did, and “began to proclaim in the entire region how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.” (From Mark 5:1-20)

Your story may – or may not – be as dramatic as this story in the Bible.  However, it is significant!  Share it!  Step out in faith as you have opportunities and tell others what the Lord has done for you!  Your faith will grow and the lives of others will be transformed as they are encouraged to trust God to help them with the seemingly impossible challenges in their lives… DO IT – TELL YOUR STORY!  It will help someone!!

Materialism is a trap – a delusion.  We think we “can take it with us” … fact is, we can’t.  We think wealth proves we’re wise… but it doesn’t.  The only thing that really matters is what endures beyond the grave – eternal values!!  In fact, I’ve heard incredibly wealthy people pontificate about things as though they were the fount of wisdom for everything.  It appeared as though they felt their wealth had purchased for them a level of influence that should be unquestioned.  They exuded confidence and arrogance… I’m not at all sure however, that their views were accurate and truly characterized by wisdom.

I was reminded of that display of arrogance and confidence this morning as I read Psalm 49 in my Bible…

“Why should I be afraid in times of trouble, when the sinful deeds of deceptive men threaten to overwhelm me?  They trust in their wealth and boast in their great riches…They name their lands after themselves, but, despite their wealth, people do not last… Do not be afraid when a man becomes rich and his wealth multiplies!  For he will take nothing with him when he dies; his wealth will not follow him down into the grave.  He pronounces this blessing on himself while he is alive: ‘May men praise you for you have done well for yourself!’ But wealthy people do not understand they are like animals that perish.”

Now there is nothing wrong with being rich – if the rich person lives in the “fear (or reverence) of the Lord and understands their responsibility for the wise management of what God has allowed them to have.  Here is what Apostle Paul had to say on that subject:  “Command those who are rich in this world’s goods not to be haughty or to set their hope on riches, which are uncertain, but on God who richly provides us with all things for our enjoyment.  Tell them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, to be generous givers, sharing with others.  In this way they will save up a treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the future and so lay hold of what is truly life.” (1 Timothy 6:17-19)

My prayer today?  Lord help me to keep things in proper perspective and understand that true wisdom and lasting influence do not come from wealth – they are instead sourced in humility and “the fear [reverence] of the Lord!”