Coffee With The Lord

Some things you never outgrow… the nutritious benefits of milk!  Especially spiritual milk!

Peter wrote to exiled believers in the ancient world and reminded them of something important…

“So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander!  Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation – if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.”

I know of ill-informed spiritual pseudo-nutritionists who actually advocate the abandonment of spiritual milk.  They argue it isn’t needed anymore… “weaning” for them means avoid the basics, ignore the fundamentals, move on to more tasty stuff!  What a mistake!  Every Christian needs the “Christ-centered calcium” that “spiritual milk” provides as well as the basic nutrients of God’s word, fellowship, prayer, worship and Christian service that are found there.  So don’t say goodby to “spiritual milk” – keep it in your diet!

But something is wrong if “spiritual milk” constitutes your entire spiritual diet!  Milk is good, and should be a part of an ongoing balanced diet, but it should not be the only thing!  Spiritual meat is also needed and to neglect it is a sign of spiritual disease, malnourishment, and immaturity! (Hebrews 5:11-14)  But don’t abandon the milk!

Living for Jesus Christ – following Him with devotion and integrity in our world – is a big challenge! I’m teaching a class at the church I attend – a study on 1 & 2 Thessalonians – I’ve entitled it “Living for Christ in the Last Days.” We’ve just begun the study… Today, however, in my devotions I came across a passage that addresses that same issue in another epistle in the Bible… 1 Peter. I was so impressed by the challenge of its message I’ve decided to include it here…

“So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, ‘You must be holy because I am holy.’ … So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time as ‘foreigners in the land.’ For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God… You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart. For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.” (from 1 Peter 1:13-23 New Living Translation)

Gotta tell you, I want to live that way until He returns! Don’t you? I want to live the awareness of what Christ accomplished when he offered Himself for my sin on the Cross and what His purposes are for my life! I want to be “Holy” (separated from sin and separated to Him – I want to be His alone, in a very special way). I want to live ready for His return!

Part of my Bible reading this morning included a wonderful passage that affirms God’s wonderful promises and ultimate purposes for His people! It ought to give every one of us confidence as we face the future (regardless of how uncertain and frightening things may seem now! As I read it today, I was reminded of this verse in 2 Corinthians 1:20… “All the promises of God find their ‘YES!’ in Him (that is in Jesus)! That is why it is through Him that we utter our ‘AMEN!’ to God for His glory!”

Here’s a taste of wonderful passage I was talking about…

“For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call upon the name of the Lord and serve him with one accord! … On that day you shall not be put to shame because of the deeds by which you have rebelled against me; for then I will remove from your midst your proudly exultant ones… But I will leave in your midst a people humble and lowly. They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord… They shall do no injustice and speak no lies, nor shall there be found in their mouth a deceitful tongue… On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: ‘Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. You will no longer suffer reproach. Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth!’” (from Zephaniah 3:9–19 ESV)

Wow! God is good and God is faithful! You watch and see… It’s going to happen!