Coffee With The Lord

“Necessary Food” Bible readings for today: 1 Kings 22:41-53; Proverbs 16:17-25; Joel 2:12-27; John 13:21-30; Hebrews 4:14-16

“A GREAT HIGH PRIEST!” … Just the kind of “top tier” person you need helping you on your Spiritual journey as a follower of Christ! He can help you in any temptation… He’s gone through all kinds of “gut-wrenching” trials… He’s handled the betrayal of friends… He’s navigated the “day-to-day” issues of life… He’s your personal prayer “intercessor” … He even gave up His life on the cross as the perfect sacrifice for your sin! Oh what a Savior! A GREAT HIGH PRIEST! You need no other!! I read about it this morning in the Bible: Hebrews 4:14-16…

“SINCE WE HAVE A GREAT HIGH PRIEST who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need!”

Looking for an interesting, uplifting, and NEW Bible reading plan? The “NECESSARY FOOD” BIBLE READING PLAN is for you!

Perhaps in previous years you’ve gotten bogged down in the “genealogies” of the Bible and given up reading the Bible through. With “NECESSARY FOOD” you have a “balanced Spiritual diet” – you read a passage from each of the following parts of the Bible daily…

· The Old Testament historical books

· Bible Poetry (Psalms, Proverbs, etc.)

· The prophetic books (in the Old Testament and Revelation)

· The New Testament historical books (the gospels and Acts)

· And the epistles

Not only that, the reading plan is “passage driven” – focusing on the natural divisions of Scripture – NOT just a pre-determined number of chapters or verses.

The plan’s name is based upon Job 23:12 in the Bible: Job said, “I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my NECESSARY FOOD!” And the “good news” is… following the “NECESSARY FOOD” Bible reading plan you complete the entire Bible in a year!

Here’s the deal… I’ve had a number of people indicate they’d like the daily readings from “NECESSARY FOOD” posted daily here on “Coffee with the Lord” … after all my daily devotional reflections come from my daily Bible readings. So I’m going to do that… and my devotional reflections (either the longer ones, or the shorter ones – “Just a Sip“) will come from the Bible readings for the day.

Hope that will be a blessing to you! Watch for it! Oh, and if you’d like free pdf copy of the complete Bible reading plan, simply e-mail your request at leroybartel@gmail.com

How does the old television ad go that warns against drunk driving?  “Friends don’t let friends…”

That came to mind as I read Hebrews 3.12-14 this morning…  Friends don’t just encourage one another, they also warn each other when it’s appropriate!  They warn each other about the danger of having “unbelieving hearts that turn them away from the living God”… they warn each other about being deceived by sin and developing “hardness of heart”…  Sinister evil!  Subtle heart drifting!  The danger of developing spiritual callouses!

Here it is right out of Hebrews: “Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. You must warn each other every day, while it is still ‘today,’ so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God.  For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ!” (Hebrews 3:12-14 NLT)