Coffee With The Lord

If I may, I’d like to suggest that you memorize Romans 6:1-14 in your Bible (or at least spend some significant and focused time prayerfully reflecting on its message)! Why would I say that? Well, if you’re serious about living in spiritual victory over sin as a Christian, that passage holds the secret for you!

Here it is… The Secret of Living in Spiritual Victory over Sin is Realizing the Reality of your Baptism!

According to Apostle Paul these are the core elements of that truth…

 “When we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we (in a real sense) join him in His death.” (vs. 3)

 “We died and were buried with Christ in our baptism” (vs. 4)

 And then “just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of God, the Father, now we can live new lives… We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives.” (vss. 5-6)

 “So you should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus! Do not let sin control the way you live – do not give in to sinful desires!”(vss. 11-12)

 And the result of identifying fully, day by day – moment by moment – with Christ; with the reality of your baptism? “Sin is no longer your master” (vs. 14) – you have no obligation whatever to do what it entices you to do – you are “alive with Christ” and his resurrection power is at work in your life! (Taken from Romans 6:1-14 The New Living Translation)

Here is a way of thinking about it that I think will help. It’s a bit like your old self dying (with Christ, of course), being buried, and then through Christ’s resurrection power being resurrected to live a new live… AND THERE YOU ARE, STANDING THERE ALIVE, LOOKING AT YOUR OWN TOMBSTONE AND GRAVE!

My response? Praise the Lord! Thank you Jesus, for Your death, burial and resurrection! I’m really glad for the reality baptism depicts! (Oh, and as an aside… If you have put your faith in Christ to forgive you and give you new life – you really MUST be baptized!)

Often just letting God’s word speak for itself is the best course of action! I read these words during my time of “coffee with the Lord” and felt they were appropriate at the beginning of this new year as we face the challenges it brings (they’re from Isaiah 8, as God’s people faced a threatening Assyrian invasion) …

The Lord’s message to the enemies of God’s people…

“Huddle together, you nations – listen, all you distant lands! Prepare for battle, but you will be crushed! Call your councils of war, but they will be worthless! Develop your strategies, but they will not succeed!”

Why?…

“Immanuel! – For God is with us!”

Then Lord’s message to His own people…

“Don’t think like everyone else does! Don’t call everything a conspiracy, like they do, and don’t live in dread of what frightens them! Make the Lord of heaven’s armies holy in your life! He is the One you should fear [or reverence]!”

God’s word must have priority for God’s people!

“Preserve the teaching of God! Entrust His instructions to those who follow Him! Wait for the Lord! Put your hope in Him! … Someone may say to you, ‘Let’s ask the mediums and those who consult the spirits of the dead. With their whisperings and mutterings they will tell us what to do.’ But shouldn’t God’s people ask God for guidance? … Look to God’s instructions and teachings! People who contradict His word are completely in the dark!” (adapted from Isaiah 8 – the New Living Translation)

Let me tell you, as I move into 2020 and the challenges it brings, that is going to be my strategy! I purpose to listen and heed what God’s word says – not what “the Enemy” says! How about you?

Gayle Phillips, a member of the Coffee with the Lord group reposted this from 2017… I had just finished reading Romans 5 today and was moved by its message of “How to get ‘right with God'” and re-read what I had written earlier… Decided to repost as Gayle had. It is a needed message today, believe me!

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How do you get “right with God?” What does it take to gain the righteousness that God requires… that’s right – not the righteousness that impresses your neighbor, your parents, the people you go to church with, or even your pastor or other religious leader. How do you gain the righteousness that is acceptable to God?

People try to get it in different ways… Some try good works – they think God will be impressed by that and say they’re ok with Him. Others try very hard to keep a list of religious rules … they really are working on a score of 98 or above on the “righteousness test” (and hoping God will accept a score of 75 on that exam). Some depend on church attendance or church membership. Others believe participation in significant religious rituals will win them God’s acceptance. Others could care less… they believe “a loving God” would NEVER withhold His approval – what they really think is that almost EVERYONE ends up being accepted by God! None of those things will work!

Getting right with God – being acceptable to Him and being righteous – is really not that difficult! Yet there is only one way to gain it according to the Bible… Are you ready for this? It’s “BY FAITH!” I read about it in my Bible reading this morning. Here it is…

Abraham was given a promise by God – what seemed to be an impossible promise. God promised something incredible to Abraham when he and his wife Sarah were far past the age of being able to have a child! And the Bible says, “In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told… He did not weaken in faith when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised. THAT IS WHY HIS FAITH WAS ‘COUNTED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.’ BUT THE WORDS ‘IT WAS COUNTED TO HIM’ WERE NOT WRITTEN FOR HIS SAKE ALONE, BUT FOR OURS ALSO! IT WILL BE COUNTED TO US WHO BELIEVE IN HIM WHO RAISED FROM THE DEAD JESUS OUR LORD, WHO WAS DELIVERED UP FOR OUR TRESPASSES [OUR SIN] AND RAISED FOR OUR JUSTIFICATION [i.e. to make us ‘right with God’]! (From Romans 5:18-25)

That’s how you get “right with God!” That’s the ONLY way God will consider you a “righteous person!” You’ve got put your trust in Jesus! You’ve got to believe that God will do what He said He would do because of what Christ did on our behalf! I’m so glad I did that! Hope you have as well!