Coffee With The Lord

You may be facing what seems to be an impossible situation or task… You have no idea what to do or how to approach it. The resources you have are limited at best – or non-existent. The issue may be financial, physical, emotional or relational… But the facts are, it just seems impossible!!

That’s the way things seemed for Zerubbabel, the governor, who faced the challenge of mobilizing the handful of people who had returned from exile in Bablyon to rebuild the temple. They faced a seemingly impossible task! There’s nothing harder than rebuilding! All that was left to work with was a pile of rubble… a pile of junk that had been there for 70 long years after the Babylonians had destroyed the temple and Jerusalem. And then there were the adversaries… people who had occupied the land during that period who didn’t want to see God’s people, Israel, succeed at the task! I tell you, Zerubabbel (and his colleague, Joshua, the high priest) faced an incredible challenge!

In the midst of the challenge, the resistance, the discouraging situation came this prophetic word from Zechariah the prophet…

“This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: NOT BY MIGHT, NOR BY POWER, BUT BY MY SPIRIT, SAYS THE LORD OF HOSTS. Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’  The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it! Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel!” (Zechariah 4:6–10 ESV)

Listen! Someone who is facing an impossible challenge (perhaps a “rebuilding challenge”) needs to hear this today… Things that seem impossible can be achieved through the power of the Holy Spirit… He’s “the Helper” and He can empower you and guide you! If God’s in it, rest assured the Holy Spirit is at work!!!

I’ve come to the conclusion that the saying, “Sometimes we are our own worst enemy,” is true. Don’t know about you but I battle inclinations, impulses, desires, and thoughts on occasion that are anything but pleasing to God. They’re evil inclinations! destructive impulses! sinful desires and alarming thoughts! They just rise up from within my mind and heart and I have to do battle with them… and I’m a Christian – I’ve dedicated my life to following Jesus and have experienced the life-transforming power of the Holy Spirit! There, the truth is out! I acknowledge it!

Do you ever battle this stuff?

This morning during “coffee with the Lord” I read a helpful word of caution… (Note: I’ve included a few personal observations in brackets 🙂

“Dear friends, I warn you as ‘temporary residents and foreigners’ [because that’s what we truly are as Christians – heaven is our ‘real’ home] to keep away from worldly desire [literally ‘fleshly desires’ – in other words the desires and inclinations of our natural self under the control of sin] that wage war against your very souls. Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.” (1 Peter 2:11–12 NLT)

I affirm what Apostle Peter advises here… “keep away from” these desires – “abstain from” them – as some versions translate the phrase.

But I think there is also something even more decisive and determinative that we can do… we can take the issue to the cross and identify fully with what Jesus did there on our behalf! Here’s how Apostle Paul put it in Romans… “You must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus! Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.” (Romans 6:11-13 ESV)

Why do I need to do that on as often as necessary? Not only for my personal spiritual victory… but as Peter says, for the benefit of my witness before my unbelieving neighbor! Help me Lord!!

Have to admit it… I’m in awe!  I’ve experienced God’s grace! mercy! favor! acceptance! inclusion!  …because of what Jesus Christ, my Savior and Lord did on my behalf (and yours)!  This morning in my Bible reading I was “blown away” once again because of who we are (as undeserving sinners) “in Christ Jesus!”

This is what Apostle Peter said to a bunch of scattered, persecuted, gentile Christians, who in the natural, given Old Testament covenant realities, would have had no standing at all for covenant blessing…

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10 ESV)

And as I thought of that wonderful passage another came to mind, reinforcing it for Gentile Christians…

“Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called ‘the uncircumcision’ by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands – remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.  But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ! … So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone… The ‘mystery’ (i.e. ‘the mystery of Christ’) is that Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakes of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel!”  (Ephesians 2:11–20; 3:4-6 ESV)

I’m just so very grateful!  In fact, there’s an old, old worship song that captures it for me… “Jesus included me!  Yes, He included me!  When the Lord said, ‘whosoever’ He included me! (And God included YOU as well in His wonderful provision for salvation through Christ!)