Coffee With The Lord

As a Christian, have you ever failed the Lord and fallen into sin? I have! What should you do when that happens (and the Holy Spirit “convicts” (or convinces) you of your sin… 1 John 1:9 is a brief and direct answer to that question: “If we confess our sin [acknowledge our sin and ask God to forgive us], He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS!

But how to pray… what to say? This morning, during my time of “Coffee with the Lord” I read a psalm of David that I believe can help provide the words for such a prayer… Here it is… My advice? When you’ve fallen into sin and failed God, make these words your own in prayer!…

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“To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in You I trust; let me not be put to shame! Let not my enemies exult over me! Indeed, none who wait for You shall be put to shame! … Make me to know Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You I wait all the day long.

“Remember Your mercy, O Lord, and Your steadfast love! … Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions! According to Your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of Your goodness, O Lord!

“Good and upright are You Lord; therefore You instruct those who have sinned in Your way.! You lead the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble Your way. All Your paths are steadfast love and faithfulness…

“For your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my guilt, for it is great! Who is the person who fears the Lord? You will instruct him in the way that he should choose. His soul shall abide in well-being… Your friendship is for those who fear him, and You make known to him Your covenant.

“My eyes are ever toward You O Lord, for You will pluck my feet out of the net! Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart are enlarged; bring me out of my distresses. Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins… Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me! Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in You. May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for You! Redeem me O God, out of all of my troubles!”

Adapted for personal prayer from Psalm 25 (a psalm of David)

A SHEPHERD … Think about it – What does a shepherd do?

That came to mind as I read Psalm 23 this morning during my time of “Coffee with the Lord”

In the time of David, Old Testament King of Israel, who before becoming king, served as “shepherd” for his father Jesse, shepherding was done differently than it is often done today! It wasn’t done from the back of a horse or an ATV! You didn’t “drive” sheep. You didn’t simply “put in your hours” with them and then go home to sleep. You didn’t herd them into a corral and close the gate behind the flock to keep them from dangerous animals. You really lived among them in the Judean countryside…

Think about it… That kind of shepherd protected his sheep, defended them, helped them, provided for them, guided them, led them, sought them if they strayed, and even corrected them if they were in danger of straying… I mean read over Psalm 23 and reflect on it! That’s what David, the Psalmist described the Lord doing for him – in his life, everyday!

This morning I was so powerfully struck by these words in the Psalm… The Lord is MY SHEPHERD! I’m part of a “flock” but it’s personal! He knows my name – He knows my strengths, my weaknesses, and my tendencies. What He does in my life is not quite the same as what He does in yours (and yet it is the same in general terms).

Believe me, I want Him to be MY SHEPHERD! I need Him to be MY SHEPHERD! I’ll honor Him as MY SHEPHERD! If He’s MY SHEPHERD I’m confident everything will be OK!

When it comes to Spiritual leadership there isn’t a position much higher than “apostleship.” That term is thrown around pretty easily in some circles these days. Some of these self-styled “apostles” drive very expensive cars, jet “first class” or in private jets around the world, live in opulent homes, wear the finest clothes and enjoy cuisine at the finest restaurants. Their message is “prosperity” and “blessing” (culturally defined of course).

The big question, however, is… are they REALLY “apostles” … I mean the Biblical kind (I’m always concerned when the term becomes a capital “A” in front of their name)? Or are they what the Bible calls “false apostles” (check that out in 2 Corinthians 11.13-15… interesting!)

I’ve been around long enough to know that the glossy, glamorous cover on a magazine or brochure is the product of marketers and may not give you the whole picture of the reality of a thing… you have to dig down a bit to discover the raw actuality. In my Bible reading this morning “Apostle Paul” addressed the real truth of what that level of Spiritual leadership cost him and his apostolic colleagues…

“For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings. We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment.” (1 Corinthians 4:9–13 NIV – You might also want to check out what Paul had to say about it in 2 Corinthians 10-12)

So it seems to me we need to be very careful about how we throw around the term “apostle.” We need to use it very carefully, sparingly and Biblically (and we especially need to be careful about using the term with a capital “A”)! It’s interesting to me that Apostle Paul preferred the terms “bond servant” or “slave” to refer to himself. I’ll join him in that… I’ll settle for just being “a bond servant of Christ”!