Coffee With The Lord

Take heart… Find encouragement in the wonderful future God has promised for those who trust and serve Him!  I realize 2020 has been a very difficult year… and for some 2021 hasn’t gotten much better.  This morning Isaiah 35 was part of my Bible reading… I read it, then I went back and read it again… then I went back and read it again slowly, reflecting on the wonderful message of hope it provides! Then I jotted these words in the margin of my Bible: “What a wonderful future day God promises His people!”

Here, I’ve provided it for your reading and reflection… soak it up!!!

“The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad!  The desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing… They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God.  

“Strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble knees.  Say to those who have an anxious heart, ‘Be strong – fear not! Behold, your God will come… He will come and save you!’  Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will sing for joy!  Waters will break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water. 

“And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way…  The redeemed shall walk there.  And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”  (From Isaiah 35:1–10 ESV)

Someone one needed the tonic that this wonderful passage provides today!

Having served as the pastor of several congregations over the years I can tell you of some of the painful divisions and disagreements that can occur among God’s people – that group Apostle Paul refers to as “the body of Christ!”  Those divisions and that divisiveness grieve the heart of God and drive caring pastors to their knees in prayer!  Perhaps your church (or one you are aware of) is experiencing such division right now…

So this morning, during my time of “coffee with the Lord” I read these words in Romans 15:5-7 and turned them into my prayer (and the vision of my heart) for every congregation worshipping together on this “Lord’s Day” morning…

“May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! …  Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you for the glory of God!”

That’s God’s desire for the congregation you’re a part of!  That’s my prayer today!  That is the vision I hold dear today for every Christ-centered, Bible-believing, Holy Spirit empowered congregation!

(Oh, and I’m aware the pic that I used to illustrate this prayer and vision is not sensitive to the reality during the scourge of COVID-19, and the need for “social distancing” and health precautions required… But one day, with God’s help and healing, it will!)

Radical Discipleship: Living as if no one and nothing mattered MORE than loving, serving, and following Jesus!

The challenge of Jesus: “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.“ (Matthew 10:37–39 ESV)

I know it’s radical… But I’ve chosen to live that way!