Coffee With The Lord

Just an incredible “sip” today from God’s Word!

“I pray that from God’s glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit!  That Christ will make His home in your heart as you trust in Him. That your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.  And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is!  May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully! Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God!”  (Ephesians 3:14–19 NLT)

We love to hear the stories of fellow “pilgrims” in the “faith-walk” we call the Christian life! They inspire and encourage us! We find ourselves uplifted, reinvigorated, instructed, and experiencing confident hope as we hear what God has done in and through the crises of their lives. Stories of God’s faithfulness… Stories of God’s steadfast love… Stories of His power… Stories of His provision… Stories of His protection… Stories of deliverance… Stories of His guidance and leadership… Stories! Stories!! Stories!!!

The Bible is filled with them – but hang around some Christ followers awhile and you’ll hear some more stories that reinforce and expand on the ones in the Bible. Stories of God active in the lives and experiences of people TODAY!

Today during “coffee with the Lord” I read a Psalm jam-packed with stories like that! Psalm 107 – I call it the “testimony service of the Old Testament” (It used to be, we’d have entire portions of church services dedicated to the stories of what God had done and was doing in our lives – we called them “Testimony services” – not a bad idea!) Although I don’t know the exact circumstances of all the stories in Psalm 107, while reading it over today, in my imagination it told the story…

• of a homeless person who finally found a home;
• of a rebellious youth whose bad choices almost destroyed his life, but he turned to the Lord and found deliverance;
• of a drug addict that experienced freedom from her bondage
• of a sailor who almost perished in a storm but was miraculously rescued

The Psalmist opens the “testimony service” with these words…

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Let the redeemed of the Lord say so…

Then each of the stories is told… each of the situations and stories I’ve referred to above. Oh how I love the repeated refrains… over and over the following words are repeated (four time – four different situations)!…

“They cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress! … Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!

Then the finale…

“Let them extol Him in the congregation of the people, and praise Him in the assembly of the elders… Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord!” (From Psalm 107 ESV)

Sometime soon, perhaps even today, an opportunity is going to arise for you to honor God with one of your stories. Seize it! Take hold of the opportunity and use it to build, bless and encourage someone else to trust God in their situation!

A little more than just a “sip” today from my Bible reading… but very good!

“This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you, and it is not beyond your reach.  It is not kept in heaven, so distant that you must ask, ‘Who will go up to heaven and bring it down so we can hear it and obey?’  It is not kept beyond the sea, so far away that you must ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to bring it to us so we can hear it and obey?’  No, the message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it.  

“Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster.  For I command you this day to love the Lord your God and to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways. If you do this, you will live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy.”  Deuteronomy 30:11–16 NLT)