Coffee With The Lord

I’m encouraged by my Facebook friends who are participating in “DAYS OF THANKSGIVING” this year! I am uplifted by their FB posts expressing thanksgiving and gratitude!

It’s a tragic thing when “Thanksgiving Day” becomes simply one day out of the year… even more tragic when it is secularized to become “Turkey Day”!! It ought to at least be a “season” … no, better yet it needs to become a “life attitude” and practice Thanksgiving EVERY day of the year!!

This morning part of my Bible reading was 1 Chronicles 29.10-13… Part of David’s prayer after personally giving generously for the construction of the temple and also urging the people he led to give generously for the project his son Solomon would carry to completion… I read his words and decided I want to make them my mantra this Thanksgiving season…

“Praise be to you Lord…from everlasting to everlasting! Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor! Everything in heaven and earth is Yours! … You are exalted as Head over all! Wealth and honor come from You; You are ruler of all things! In Your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give You thanks and praise Your glorious name!”

Following this David simply acknowledged “Everything comes from You, and we have given You only what comes from Your hand!” He went to pray, “I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity! All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have see with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to You… Keep these desires and thought in the hearts of Your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to You!” (From 1 Chronicles 29.14-20 NIV)

What a noble attitude! What a wonderful desire! I want it to be mine! I want it to captivate my heart and carry me from Thanksgiving to Christmas, then on up to the New Year and through the rest of my life!! Don’t you!

The past several days my Bible reading during “coffee with the Lord” has included the inspired prophetic message of Habakkuk.  Habakkuk is known for several well-known passages… One of the best known is…

“THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH!” (Habakkuk 2.4)  Watchword of the Reformation and favorite theme of Apostle Paul (check out Romans 1.17; Galatians 3.11; and also Hebrews 11.38).  The phrase was used in those passages to describe how a person is “justified” (or how they become “right with God”).  An important, essential, God-inspired truth to be sure!

But what about the original context?  What was the significance to the first audience?

I’d like to suggest that the message delivered to Habakkuk was a very practical one for a righteous person who had a lot of questions… The force of the message to Habakkuk?  “Hang in there!  Trust God when you don’t understand!  Live every day of your live by faith!  God will work everything out in the end!”

Here’s how the train of thought develops in Habakkuk…

Habakkuk, the prophet, cries out… “How long, Lord must I call for help but You do not listen?  I cry out to You, ‘Violence!’ but You do not save!  Why do you make me look at injustice?  Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? …

“Lord are You not from everlasting?  My God, my Holy One, You will never die! … Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; You cannot tolerate wrongdoing.  Why then do You tolerate the treacherous?  Why are You silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?! …

“Then the Lord replied to Habakkuk:  ‘Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.  For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false.  Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay!  See the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright – BUT THE RIGHTEOUS PERSON WILL LIVE BY HIS FAITH!’” (Habakkuk 1.2-3, 12-13; 2.1-4)

Hey, that’s the message of Hebrews 11 all over again!  Faith sustains!  Faith in God has the power to support you and help you when you don’t understand what is happening… when things don’t seem fair… when the “heavens seem brass” and God hasn’t acted yet!  There are a lot of things today I don’t understand… Things that don’t seem fair… THINK I’M GOING TO CONTINUE TO TRUST GOD!!

A “BOLD WITNESS” … do you desire to be one? I’m not talking about inappropriate obnoxiousness in the Lord’s name – I’m talking about unashamed, unapologetic, witness (and ministry) to others as a devoted, obedient follower of Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit! I read about it today in my Bible reading during my time of “coffee with the Lord!”

You’ve got to follow the story line…

Jesus had been crucified, buried, and supernaturally risen from the dead. In His post-resurrection appearances He had “order his disciples not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father” assuring them, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth!” (Acts 1:4, and 

And on the “Day of Pentecost” it happened! “They were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting… And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance!” (Acts 2:1-4)

With that empowering experience came “BOLDNESS!” … The desire and willingness to share the wonderful gospel message with anyone as the Spirit led and there was opportunity.

As an example, Peter and John were going into the temple at the hour of prayer… They saw a “man lame from birth” who was there begging for “alms” … Peter looked at him, urged the man to look his way, and prompted by the Holy Spirit said to him, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk!” Peter took him by the hand, helped the man up, and “immediately his feet and ankles were made strong! Leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and leap, and praise God!” (Acts 3:1-8)

People heard the commotion, a crowd quickly gathered, and Peter had a sudden opportunity to witness about the “risen Christ” and invite them to turn from their sin and put their faith Christ! Here’s some of what he said, “And Jesus’ name – by faith in His name – has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith this is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health inn the presence of you all! … Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may com from the presence of the Lord!” (From Acts 3:11-21)

This caused quite a stir! The religious leaders in Jerusalem were threatened by the response! “They were greatly annoyed because Peter and John “were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.” So they arrested them… Next day a trial. They questioned them, “By what power or by shoes name did you do this?”

“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them… “Let it be known to all of you…that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead – by Him this man is standing before you well! … There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved!” (From Acts 4:1-12)

Pretty tough to refute and deny an evident miracle! So they threatened them and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus! HOLY SPIRIT INSPIRED BOLDNESS SET IN… “Peter and John answered them, ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge! We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard!” So after threatening them further, they let them go. (From Acts 4:13-21)

Just think about it all! What gave these two disciples of Jesus the power and THE BOLDNESS to act in Jesus’ name – to powerfully bear witness to the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus – and to respond with GODLY BOLDNESS in the face of persecution and threat? The Holy Spirit who empowered them, guided them, and flowed through their lives!

Gotta tell you… I WANT THAT KIND OF BOLDNESS! And I’m convinced the power of the Holy Spirit will produce it in our lives! I know He’s done it (and is doing it) in mine!