Coffee With The Lord

Our culture honors and awards entrepreneurs! Probably you’ve heard someone say, “I tell you what I’m going to do…!” and then identify a “glorious plan” they intend to fulfill in the future.

The tragedy is, often the element of God’s will and direction are missing from many of those conversations! It’s often only about “my will” – “my dreams” – “my effort and initiative!”

This morning during my time of “coffee with the Lord” I read an account in Scripture that highlights an early attempt at “doing something big” without taking God into account… It’s the story in Genesis of “the Tower of Babel” (Genesis 11:1-9)

These verses reveal the independent human response to God’s command in Genesis 9: 7 following the flood when God said, “Be fruitful and multiply, increase greatly on the earth and multiply in it!”

The human inclination was to “build” and “make a name for ourselves!” The entrepreneurial impulse – the expression of human initiative – can run counter to God’s direction and often issues from pride. At Babel It was motivated by mere human reasoning… “lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”

We must beware when human initiative and aspiration are self-focused rather than an obedient response to God’s will!

In James 4:13-15 the sad results of this attitude are directly addressed!

“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. INSTEAD YOU OUGHT TO SAY, “IF THE LORD WILLS, WE WILL LIVE AND DO THIS OR THAT.”

Initiative and an entrepreneurial spirit are to be valued! But to use the imagery of my ranch background, the “wild horse” of an entrepreneurial impulse must learn to “take the bridle” of God’s will or its is dangerous! I’ve got to remember God can mess up my best laid plans if they ignore His will and purposes! I’ve got to remember what happened at Babel!

This morning I read one powerful passage in the Bible during my time of “Coffee with the Lord – Romans 3:9-20!

In it Apostle Paul, a Pharisee and Old Testament scholar, pulls together a large quantity of Old Testament texts (Psalm 51:4; 14:1-3; 53:1-3; Ecclesiastes 7:20; Psalm 5:9; 140:3; 10:7; Isaiah 59:7-8; and Psalm 36:1) to make an important and irrefutable point… “Both Jews and Greeks” (if you please, ALL OF US – ALL HUMANKIND) ARE SINNERS in need of a Savior!  Here’s what he said, inspired by the Holy Spirit… “That every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God!”  Not encouraging… quite an indictment – but absolutely true and accurate!  Creates a huge dilemma!  What can be done?  We can’t save ourselves – we can’t make ourselves “righteous” (self-righteousness is a sin of terrible pride)!

But praise God for the very next passage!!!  Since “There is no difference; and all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (…ALL CAN BE) JUSTIFIED [MADE RIGHT WITH GOD] FREELY BY GOD’S GRACE THROUGH THE REDEMPTION THAT IS IN CHRIST JESUS!” (3:23-24) Praise the Lord!

My reflection and response to Matthew 4:1-11

I used to tell every student of mine at SAGU where I taught for over 35 years… “Write this in the flyleaf of every Bible you own: “THIS BOOK IS MY ALL-SUFFICIENT GUIDE FOR FAITH AND DAILY LIVING!’”

In this passage that addresses Satan’s temptation of our Savior (on 3 different occasions – typical situations) Jesus modeled how to overcome the temptations by utilizing and applying the truth of God’s Word!

May I always follow His example!