Coffee With The Lord

When we foul up or fail as Christians, the temptation is to go into a “funk,” think that God has rejected us, that He won’t hear our prayers, and will exclude us from all of His blessings! That way of thinking often boils down to a view that we somehow “earn” His blessing – that they are somehow the payoff for perfection (or at least a pretty high passing score).

What a mistake! None of us merit the blessing of God! All of us “fall short” of His glorious ideal (Romans 3:23)! Without his mercy and grace we are all washed up! The good news is that God in His goodness, “graces” and blesses imperfect people! (He better, or I’m in deep trouble! How about you?)

This morning during my time of “coffee with the Lord” I read a wonderful story in the Bible that reinforced this truth!

Jacob (his name actually implies “he cheats”), had taken advantage of his “older” brother, Esau, in a weak moment and had bargained for the special benefits reserved for a firstborn son (it’s called the “birthright”). Then when Isaac, his father, was very old and blind, he plotted with his mother to take advantage of his father’s condition, and by deception steal the firstborn blessing that Jacob intended to give to Esau, his brother. (In the process he not only deceived his father, he also told a terrible lie… When his father asked “How is it that you have found game so quickly, my son?” He answered, “Because THE LORD, your God, granted me success.) His deception and cheating, on that occasion, angered his brother Esau so much that he determined to kill Jacob after his father Isaac died. As a result, Jacob had to flee for his life!

Lonely and guilty that night in the wilderness, fearful of his brother’s rage, aware of his father’s disapproval of his actions, and struggling with a sense of deep guilt before God, Jacob found a place to bed down for the night. He found a rock for a pillow and fell into a fitful sleep… Unworthy! Unworthy!!

But God showed up during the night! … Jacob dreamed of a ladder on earth reaching up into the heavenlies! Angels ascended and descended on it! And the Lord stood above it and spoke directly to Jacob (the “cheater”)… And this is what He said: “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring! Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go! I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you!” (From Genesis 28:13–15 ESV)

Was Jacob (the “cheater”) worthy of that blessing? No, he certainly was not! But worthy or not, God blessed him, made promises about His future, and had a purpose for His life! God’s grace and mercy led Jacob to sanctify that moment and that place! He vowed and said, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go…then the Lord shall be my God, and this stone (that he had slept on) which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that You (the Lord) give me I will give a full tenth (a tithe) to You!” (verses 20-22)

Oh, here is my prayer! … May the undeserved blessing and grace of the Lord that I have received lead me to gratefully commit my life – my ALL – to my Heavenly Father every day! I’m just a sinner, saved by God’s grace!

“What goes around…comes around” … Ever hear that saying?

Read a warning in the Bible, given especially to “religious” people… A serious warning worth heeding…

“Judge not, that you be not judged!  For with the judgment you pronounce [on others] it will be measured to you.”  (Matthew 7:1-2)

After reading that this morning I jotted this in the margin of my Bible:  “Be careful what you say about others – you’re setting the standard that you’ll be judged by!”

Oh, Lord help to show the mercy and grace to others that I’m in need of receiving from you!

The redemptive purposes and provision of God in Jesus Christ are for all peoples of the world! …. “For God so loved the WORLD that He gave His only begotten Son that WHOSOEVER believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life!  (John 3:16)  Apostle Paul declared that the “Mystery of the Gospel” was that “the Gentiles [all who are not Jews] are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakes of the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.” (Read the entire passage – Ephesians 2:11 – 3:13!)  This should make us rejoice… The message of the Gospel is for all!  All can experience the life-transforming grace of God in Christ!  It is offered to all  – Jesus died for the sins of all mankind!  (Check out Romans 3:21-25!)

So this morning during my devotions I read a wonderful prophecy in the Bible!  A prophecy that some have tried to find partially fulfilled in the past, but admittedly never completely fulfilled to the degree described in the Bible!  I am convinced God intends a complete fulfillment – a miraculous, wonderful  fulfillment!  Here is what Isaiah, prompted by the Holy Spirit, prophesied…

“IN THAT DAY there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord of Hosts…

“IN THAT DAY there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord at its border.  It will be a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry to the Lord because of oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and deliver them.  And the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the Lord in that day and worship with sacrifice and offering, and they will make vows to the Lord and perform them.  And the Lord will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the Lord, and He will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them.

“IN THAT DAY there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.

“IN THAT DAY Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, ‘Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.’”  (From Isaiah 19:18–25 ESV)

That’s right… Israel, and also Egypt and Assyria!  Two historic Biblical nations that embrace an area that today is occupied by Israel’s arch adversaries – enemies bent on her destruction!  This prophecy will be fulfilled “IN THAT DAY!” – A future day in God’s great redemptive plan!  A wonderful day!  A glorious  day!  I don’t have the precise day of fulfillment circled on my calendar, (only God knows that day), but I have it in my heart!  Although it may seem absolutely impossible right now, one day it will be fulfilled – It’s part of God’s great redemptive plan in Christ Jesus!  If you really embrace and love the truth of John 3:16, Isaiah’s prophecy ought to make you want to dance with joy! … And pray earnestly for its complete fulfillment!