Coffee With The Lord

Just finished my Bible reading this morning during “coffee with the Lord”…  Listen, In the troubled, violence-ridden, evil world in which we live it is encouraging to have God’s promise of a wonderful future day for God’s people…  Read the following passage and revel in its encouragement and promises!

“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;  then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters 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…  No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but 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)

Christian maturity and Christlike love… How are those things expressed in relationship to others?

I’ve encountered fellow Christians who reveled in, and insisted upon, their so called “freedom.”  They declare they’ve been set free from an old, outdated, “legalism” and are now enjoying dressing, participating in, and indulging in things they say they weren’t able to in the past!  I’ve even heard a few make this statement in so many words… “No one is going to tell me what I can and cannot do!”  They emphatically declare, “If the Bible doesn’t explicitly forbid it, I’m going to do it!”  Fact is, for some of them there is no discernable difference between their lifestyle and the lifestyle and values of the broader pagan culture.

Now I acknowledge that “freedom in Christ” and the Gospel message negate salvation by works.  I’m pretty aware that Apostle Paul was not at all pleased with believers who simply turned salvation by grace alone into just a list of rules (check out Galatians)!

Interestingly though, the position of the Apostle Paul was not “I’ll enjoy my freedom at all costs” …  His approach to Christian maturity and Christlike love instead urged believers to limit their “freedom” for the benefit of fellow Christians.  He warned them to avoid trampling upon the convictions and personal scruples of fellow followers of Christ.

Here it is from my Bible reading today during my time of “coffee with the Lord”…

“Decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a [fellow Christian]! … If [fellow Christians] are grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love.  By what you eat do not destroy the one for whom Christ died.  So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil… Let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.  Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God.  Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong to make another stumble… It is good not to do anything that causes fellow Christians to stumble… We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.  Let each of us please our neighbor for their good, to build them up.  For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, ‘the reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.’”.  (Adapted from Romans 14:13 – 15:7)

Let me put it this way… I’m grateful for my freedom in Christ – that I am not saved by my works.  But I want to follow in the footsteps of “the One who did not please Himself” but gave Himself for us all!  Because of that, I never want to be guilty of flaunting my freedom!  Instead I want to be willing to limit my freedom for the spiritual benefit and welfare of fellow Christians!

Being in debt… in debt “over your head” – NOT usually a good thing except perhaps in the case of what I read about in my Bible during “coffee with the Lord” this morning…

“Owe nothing to anyone—EXCEPT FOR YOUR OBLIGATION TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER! If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. For the commandments say, ‘You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.’ These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself!’ Love does no wrong to others, so LOVE FULFILLS THE REQUIREMENTS OF GOD’S LAW!” (From Romans 13:8–10 NLT)

Oh, and the level of our “love indebtedness?” …

“This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, SINCE GOD LOVED US THAT MUCH, WE SURELY OUGHT TO LOVE EACH OTHER.” (1 John 4:10-11 NLT)

“Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do [now that’s a tall order!], because you are His dear children. Live a life filled with love, FOLLOWING THE EXAMPLE OF CHRIST. HE LOVED US AND OFFERED HIMSELF AS A SACRIFICE FOR US, a pleasing aroma to God.” (Ephesians 5:1–2 NLT)

You know what? I have a feeling that is one debt I’ll never completely pay… Just say’n! But I’m working on it!