Coffee With The Lord

I am sure there is a tremendous sense of fulfillment and elation that comes from being honored in a champions parade… tickertape filling the air, the adulation of the appreciative fans, sitting in the back of a convertible waving at the crowds, lifting high a trophy… the long season behind you, the hours and hours of preparation and training paid off, the championship game over… Winners! Victors! Champions!

In many ways that picture has parallels in passage I read this morning in the Bible about the victorious, overcoming, Christian life (and how to achieve it – how to live it)!

“By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life! We have received all of this by coming to know Him, the one who called us to Himself by means of His marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, He has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. In view of all this, we should make every effort to respond to God’s promises! Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you’re like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ… So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall. Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!” (adapted from 2 Peter 1:3–11 New Living Translation)

I mean it’s all there isn’t it? … He has chosen us and made a part of His team! We’re involved in the training that is necessary for victory! There’s the hope of victory for those who pay the price! And then the grand victory parade for spiritual life-champions! Gotta tell you, I’m “going for gold!” I want the “victor’s wreath!” (Check out 2 Timothy 4:7-8; Revelation 2:10c)

A heartfelt Thanksgiving post prompted by my Bible reading today…
One of the things I’m grateful for is my job! I hear people gripe and complain all of the time about their job. Gotta tell you I’m grateful for mine (and grateful for the people I work for… and with)!
I’m incredibly grateful for the privilege I’ve had over the years to serve as pastor of some wonderful congregations and the people who have been a part of those congregations! I’m also grateful for the privilege of teaching thousands of wonderful students at an excellent Christian university – Southwestern Assemblies of God University (I’ve been priivileged to have an association with the school for 30 years). I’ve also been honored to serve my denomination, the Assemblies of God, in the areas of Christian education and discipleship. Wow! What more could a person ask for – doing what you love to do – teaching God’s word and working with dedicated fellow servants of the Lord! How blessed I have been – I’m overwhelmed with gratitude to those I’ve served, and served with… I’m filled with thanks to God for the opportunity to have done it!
Here’s the passage I read this morning that prompted this expression of thanksgiving… “There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil! This is from the hand of God, for apart from Him who can eat or who can find enjoyment?” (Ecclesiastes 2:24-25)
So today if God has blessed you with a job that you enjoy and work that is fulfilling, you are incredibly blessed – as am I! If not, may I suggest that you can perform your daily duties as unto the Lord (and that changes everything!). (Check out Colossians 3:22-24) And if you do not have a job right now, let me know and I’d be honored to lift your name and situation to the Lord in prayer today and ask my Heavenly Father to provide work for you.
Happy Thanksgiving!!

People serve the Lord in a variety of ways… some reluctantly, halfheartedly, with reservations – others with all their heart, as some have said, “all in!”
A passage I read this morning during “coffee with the Lord” addressed this issue… This is what the Bible says about Amaziah, king of Judah… “Amaziah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, yet not with a whole heart.” (2 Chronicles 25:2)
I remarked to my brother, Wes and his wife Dianne, this morning who are with us for Thanksgiving break, “That is NOT the way to serve the Lord! I do NOT want to serve the Lord that way!”
Interestingly, reports are that football players who play the game cautiously, with self preservation as their motive, and not with abandon are the most susceptible to injury. It’s the same in many ways with discipleship… those who do not sell out to the Lord and serve Him with a whole heart are the most susceptible to temptation, self-occupation, sin and failure! Read the sad story of Amaziah in 2 Chronicles 25… he illustrates the risks and danger.
So I’ve decided once again… I’m “all in!” I don’t want any hidden reserves! I’m not going to serve the Lord half-heartedly – cautiously. To the best of my ability He’s got my all… with all my heart… regardless of the cost.