Coffee With The Lord

It’s as old as Eden – Adam and Eve engaged in it! Excuses! Excuses! Excuses! for our own neglect and behavior. The “blame game” when we want to shift the responsibility we have for our own mistakes and irresponsibility. I read about it in my Bible reading this morning…

“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God moving about in the orchard at the breezy time of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the orchard. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’ The man replied, ‘I heard you moving about in the orchard, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.’ And the Lord God said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?’ The man said, ‘The woman whom you gave me, she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it.’ So the Lord God said to the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’ And the woman replied, ‘The serpent tricked me, and I ate.’ (Genesis 3:8–13 NET)

Now I’m a happily married man and I have a wonderful, loving wife… but I admit it, I’ve been guilty a time or two (or more). And I’ve done my fair share of marriage counseling and I can tell you this issue is the cause of countless marriage difficulties. No one wants to take responsibility for their actions! The problem surfaces in all kinds of human relations – business, politics, education, simple friendships – and its always destructive! I don’t want to live that way!

I had a coach in high school with a pretty healthy philosophy of life that he applied to competitive sports but could be applied to most any area of life… Here it is…“No excuses!” 1 John 1:8-9 has the remedy… “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness!” And another one… “Confess (i.e. acknowledge) your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” (James 5:16)

Oh, and in marriage – the relationship as old as Eden – This recommendation from the Bible seems like a good one… “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do the Lord… And husbands love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” (from Ephesians 5:21-33). Excuses and “the blame game” don’t solve any problems… they just complicate things.

Gonna, try to live that way at the outset of this New Year!

Just got back home from a wonderful time with friends and family over the Christmas-New Year’s holiday. Always enjoy those times… especially when we have the opportunity to move past superficial conversations and “small talk” and share with each other at a genuine “heart level” about the things of the Lord. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy having simple, pleasant, wholesome conversation with friends (and I hope I’m not “so heavenly minded that I’m no earthly good!). But there is something incredibly uplifting about “heart-to-heart conversations” about the things of the Lord!
Even Apostle Paul craved this kind of mutual interchange… This is what he said, “I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world. God, whom I serve in my spirit…is my witness that I continually remember you and I always ask in my prayers, if perhaps now at last I may succeed in visiting you according to the will of God. I long to see you, so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you, this is, that we may be mutually comforted by one another’s faith, both yours and mine.” (Romans 1:8-12 The NET Bible)
It takes a little effort, some risk and vulnerability, but why not move a conversation with a Christian friend (or better, a non-Christian seeker) beyond the surface level of just interests, hobbies, restaurants, favorite foods (or even diets) to the things of the Lord? (A conversation can begin with those things – but certainly with fellow Christians they shouldn’t get stuck there!)
Give it a try and I think you’ll discover what Apostle Paul discovered (and so have I)… You’ll have an opportunity to “impart some spiritual gift to strengthen them – and you’ll be mutually comforted by each others faith – both yours and theirs.”

At the beginning of this New Year part of my Bible reading included Romans 1:1-7. In that passage Apostle Paul speaks of “the gospel” (the message that brings “good news” about Jesus Christ). In it Paul declares that “gospel” includes me, a gentile. For that I am eternally grateful! That message, and the Person behind that message, transformed my life! He has made my life worth living and given me forgiveness and eternal life! I’m so glad I have been called “to belong to Jesus Christ!” I owe Him my all! I intend to live for Him with all my heart in 2015 (and beyond). Should He return this year, I’m ready!!

Here’s what I read and Apostle Paul declared…

“From Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God. This gospel He promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning his Son who was a descendant of David with reference to the flesh, and who was appointed the ‘Son-of-God-in-power’ according to the Holy Spirit by His resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. Through Him we have received grace and our apostleship TO BRING ABOUT THE OBEDIENCE OF FAITH AMONG ALL THE GENTILES on behalf of his name. YOU ALSO ARE AMONG THEM, CALLED TO BELONG TO JESUS CHRIST.” (Romans 1:1–6 NET)