Coffee With The Lord

Do you have any friends or family that have “gone astray” from the Lord? They were once followers of Jesus and walked closely with Him, but something happened – they were hurt by a fellow Christian, they became disillusioned by the church they attended, they experienced a disappointment or a trial they just couldn’t get past, or they stumbled and fell because of a temptation and never recovered… Your heart aches when you see them lost and wandering around, struggling without purpose and direction, heading down dangerous pathways of life!

What should you do as a fellow Christian? What action can you take to help them as their friend?

Yesterday in my Bible reading I was deeply challenged by the inspired encouragement…

“My brothers [fellow Christians]… If anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him (or her) back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his (or her) soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” (James 5:19-20)

James doesn’t tell us what to do or how to do it – but he DOES urge us to try! Listen, I’m convinced of several things… I’m convinced the Heavenly Father is working in their lives – He will go after them by His Spirit! (He has NOT abandoned them like a irresponsible parent)! I’m convinced he will hear our prayers and give us wisdom about how to approach them and what to say or do! I’m convinced of we pray the Lord will provide opportunities for us to approach them and help them return to the Lord!

I know you care! I know you love them! I know you want them desperately to begin following the Lord again! And I know you understand… Why do I know that…?

Because… “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned – everyone – to his own way; and the Lord has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all!” (Isaiah 53:6)

Habakkuk 3 in the Bible begins like this… “A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth.” The meaning of that ancient word is uncertain and most believe it describes a musical style. Some have described it as wild, passionate, and loud. Some would love it (perhaps others dislike it). If the meaning is accurate though, it fits the content of Habakkuk 3… the passionate, prayerful expression of a prophet deeply concerned about the welfare of his nation and God’s wrathful judgment upon the wicked!

The point is this… There is a time to pray like that! A time to sing like that! And a time to pour out your heart to God like that!

Here’s a taste of Habakkuk’s prayer…

“I have heard all about you, Lord. I am filled with awe by your amazing works. In this time of our deep need, help us again as you did in years gone by! In your anger, remember your mercy! I see You moving across the deserts from Edom, the Holy One coming from Mount Paran. Your brilliant splendor fills the heavens, and the earth is filled with Your praise. Your coming is as brilliant as the sunrise. Rays of light flash from Your hands, where Your awesome power is hidden… You marched across the land in anger and trampled the nations in your fury. You went out to rescue your chosen people, to save your anointed ones. You crushed the heads of the wicked and stripped their bones from head to toe…

“Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.” (From Habakkuk 3 NLT)

Just let me say… There is a time to pray like that! And a time to praise the Lord like that! Perhaps that time is NOW!

What a contrast – a lifeless idol or the Living God!

Idolatry, however, is more than simply a pagan concept. Idolatry involves anything that displaces the Living God as an object of practical worship! Idolatry could consist of any or all of one’s possessions, money, position, power, pleasure, reputation, clothing, personal appearance, even a spouse, ones family or another human being. It doesn’t just have to be a graven, carved, or cast object of worship.

I mean, take your pick… the worship of a lifeless thing (whatever that may be) or even the veneration of a fallible, temporal, perishable being… or the eternal, Living God…

This morning during “Coffee with the Lord” I read these words from Habakkuk…

“What good is an idol carved by man, or a cast image that deceives you? How foolish to trust in your own creation— a god that can’t even talk! What sorrow awaits you who say to wooden idols, ‘Wake up and save us!’ To speechless stone images you say, ‘Rise up and teach us!’ Can an idol tell you what to do? They may be overlaid with gold and silver, but they are lifeless inside. But the LORD is in his holy Temple. Let all the earth be silent before him!” (Habakkuk 2:18–20 NLT)

I’m so glad that one day I heard the gospel and “turned away from idols to serve the living and true God!” And as a result, I feel an obligation – yes, even a compulsion – to persuade as many as I can to do the very same thing! There’s no comparison… the Living God is a superior option!