Coffee With The Lord

Unholy emotions… ever have them?  Ever find yourself saying, “Where did THAT attitude come from?!”  Ever find yourself alarmed that you actually felt an emotion that was not only unholy – it was violent, murderous, jealous, wicked, or just plain vile when you thought about it?  Now here’s a revelation… I HAVE!  Scary eh?

This morning I read an account in the Bible that left me wondering… Did anyone in those situations even bother to ask the question, “Where did that attitude or emotion come from?”  I mean, religious leaders yet… “Pharisees” (scrupulously religious guys) and “scribes” (authoritative interpreters of God’s law) … the kind of people you’d expect to be – how shall we say it – “godly!” (Guess it just goes to show, “religious” and “godly” are NOT synonyms!)  Here’s the story from the Bible…

“On a Sabbath, while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands.  But some of the Pharisees said, ‘Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?’  And Jesus answered them, ‘Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:  how he entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?’ ⁵ And he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.’ (My observation… they had a picky, critical spirit!)

“On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered.  And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him.  But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, ‘Come and stand here.’ And he rose and stood there.  And Jesus said to them, ‘I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?’  And after looking around at them all he said to him, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ And he did so, and his hand was restored!  But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.” (Can you imagine it – actually resenting a wonderful act of compassion and healing… Envy and hatred giving birth to a murderous attitude!)  (Both accounts from Luke 6:1–11 ESV)

Hey, we can all be guilty… I’ve been guilty!  What to do?  Well, a “heart transformation” is a good place to start… My prayer?  Oh Lord deal with the sinfulness within!  Change my heart! And I gotta say, I’m grateful for God’s word!  Reading it every day – allowing it to “reformat” my mind and heart – is a reliable safeguard against such emotions.  Also the activity of the Holy Spirit within my mind and heart is a safeguard.  He often “nudges,” reminds, and convicts me of what displeases the Lord and is contrary to the character of God in my life.  I’m also grateful for godly friends and family to which I am accountable and every authentic Spiritual leader who speaks into my life boldly about the will of God.  Need it all!  Want it all!  Don’t you?

On this “Lord’s day” morning not much more needs to be said… Let’s just do it!

“Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!  Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving!  Let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!  For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.  In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also.  The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.  Oh come, let us worship and bow down!  Let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!  For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.”  (Psalm 95:1–7 ESV)

I wish I could have found a picture to capture it all… couldn’t.  But since I’m a Montana boy with a deep love for the mountains (and spring) this will have to do. 🙂

Mother holding crying son

I don’t know how the evil expressing itself in the world today – in our culture – and even in our nation affects you… I find it deeply troubling! The evil expressed by ISIS/ISIL (whatever identifier is used) is blatant, pathological, rotten and revolting! In our own nation, the budding evil and violent behavior that we are observing in Baltimore could bloom into a toxic weed that would be nearly impossible to control. It’s alarming! What can be done?! How to respond?!

There are many suggestions being offered… some of them merely distorted, flawed human proposals. Don’t know about you, but I’m looking for solutions that have the “ring of divine authority” to them – Biblical solutions! Prophetic solutions!

This morning I read a Psalm that captured what my heart was feeling in all this malaise and trouble. It was therapy for my soul – divine medicine for my spirit! I offer some of its words to you today to sooth your heart, heal your Spirit, and be therapeutic for your emotions…. (I know it was for mine!)

“O LORD, the God who avenges! O God who avenges, reveal your splendor! Rise up, O judge of the earth! Pay back the proud! O LORD, how long will the wicked, how long will the wicked celebrate? They spew out threats and speak defiantly; all the evildoers boast. O LORD, they crush your people; they oppress those who belong to you. They kill the widow and the one residing outside his native land, and they murder the fatherless. Then they say, ‘The LORD does not see this! The God of Jacob does not take notice of it!’

“Take notice of this, you ignorant people! You fools, when will you ever understand? Does the one who makes the human ear not hear? Does the one who forms the human eye not see? Does the one who disciplines the nations not punish? …

“The LORD knows that peoples’ thoughts are morally bankrupt. How blessed is the one whom You instruct, O LORD, the one whom you teach from your law, in order to protect him from times of trouble, until the wicked are destroyed. Certainly the LORD does not forsake his people; he does not abandon those who belong to him! For justice will prevail, and all the morally upright will be vindicated! …

“If I say, ‘My foot is slipping,’ Your loyal love, O LORD, supports me! When worries threaten to overwhelm me, your soothing touch makes me happy! Cruel rulers are not your allies, those who make oppressive laws. They conspire against the blameless, and condemn to death the innocent. But the LORD will protect me, and my God will shelter me! He will pay them back for their sin! He will destroy them because of their evil!” (from Psalm 94:1–23 the NET Bible)