Coffee With The Lord

I LIKE CHRISTIANS WHO EXHIBIT SOME “SPIRITUAL SPUNK” – SOME “GODLY GUSTO” – SOME “ANOINTED ATTITUDE”!! 

Now I know there is a risk… It’s incredibly easy to slip out of the spiritual and godly into the self-serving and carnal. 

I’m a farm boy and we were around horses a lot… I’ll take a horse any day with a bit of “spirit” over one that you had to spur and give a whip to go anywhere.  If you’ve got a good cutting horse there are times you really don’t know if the horse is “in charge” or the “rider” (in fact it’s a marvel and delight to watch one work in a herd of cattle).

I think young David, in the Goliath story, exhibited a bit of “Spiritual spunk” – “Godly gusto” – and “anointed attitude” …  See what you think…

When David heard Goliath taunt the armies of Israel this was his response… “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine the he should defy the armies of the Living God?!”

After volunteering to fight this frightening, intimidating champion of the Philistines (and having his motives challenged and being “put down” by his brother, Eliab), he responded, “Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like on of them, because he has defied the armies of the Living God!  The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine!”

When Goliath ridiculed David’s audacity to challenge him, “David said to the Philistine, ‘You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.  This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.  All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.’”

“As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.  Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.  So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.”  (All of this from 1 Samuel 17 … you ought to read it for yourself today!)

Gotta tell you… I like that kind of spunk!  I like that kind of faith!  And I like the fact that David’s personal ego did not get in the way of honoring God for the victory!  His overarching concern was the honor and reputation of the Lord.  GOD GIVE US MORE PEOPLE WITH “SPIRITUAL SPUNK” – “GODLY GUSTO” AND “ANOINTED ATTITUDE”!!  (I want to be that kind of person!)

An apostolic prayer for fellow Christians facing rough times…

“To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 1:11–12 ESV)

An interesting (and significant) feature of quality Biblical interpretation is to always examine the relationship of passages that are adjacent to one another (context matters!).  Often that relationship is purposeful and clearly the Biblical writer, inspired by the Holy Spirit, had a purpose or agenda.  Significant truths are taught and significant insights gained from context!

There are many examples of this that could be cited.  Today in my Bible reading I encountered one, that in the past I have overlooked (probably because it bridges a chapter boundary) …

I think all of us are impressed by a person we’d call “the real deal” – a person who expresses authenticity, consistency, character and integrity.  They practice what they preach.  Their Christianity is genuine!  There is not a fiber of hypocrisy in their personhood!

So, here’s what I read today… “And in the hearing of all the people He said to his disciples,  ‘Beware of [those] who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.” (Luke 20:45–47 ESV)

I wrote this in the margin of my Bible… “Beware of these kinds of people!  They are NOT ‘the real deal!’”

Then in the very next passage (at the beginning of the next chapter – an unfortunate chapter boundary marker, I must say) I noticed these words… “Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, ‘Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them.  For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.’” (Luke 21:1–4 ESV)

What a contrast!  What a powerful truth!  The ostentatious, the self-righteous, the proud, the attention seeking, the spiritual bigots are NOT ‘the real deal’!  They are the hypocritical – they will be the condemned!  On the other hand, the sincere, the simple believer, the humble, the generous, the consistently righteous (and often the unnoticed and overlooked), ARE ‘the real deal!”

Don’t know about you… but I WANT TO BE “THE REAL DEAL!”