Coffee With The Lord

Most of you are aware I’ve run several marathons (including “Hood to Coast,” one of the world’s longest relay races, as part of a team). There are a lot of important spiritual lessons to be learned by running a marathon or a marathon relay.

One of those lessons is that after all the training and preparation (months of it to be precise)… you’re still very grateful to have enough strength and stamina to finish (hopefully with a “kick”)!

Thought of all my “coffee with the Lord” friends this morning who are engaged in “the race of their life” today… and made Apostle Paul’s words mine on your behalf…

“I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus! You were enriched in every way in Him! … The testimony about Christ has been confirmed among you! … You do not lack any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ! He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship with His son, Jesus Christ our Lord!” (from 1 Corinthians 1:4-9 the NET Bible)

Life is a long race! He will provide everything you need! He is faithful! FINISH STRONG!

There will be days for all of us when everyone and everything seems to be against us. King David in the Bible had some days like that. In fact, when your own children are the culprits it seems like a really bad day! The introduction to Psalm 3 says it was “a psalm of David written when he fled from his Son Absalom!” Imagine… a coup led by your own son! That’s a bad day!

Here’s in part what David said on that “bad day!”

“Lord, how numerous are my enemies! Many attack me! Many say about me, ‘God will not deliver him!’ But you, Lord, are a shield that protects me; you are my glory and the one who restores me. To the Lord I cried out, and he answered me… I rested and slept; I awoke, for the Lord protects me… Rise up, Lord! Deliver me, my God! … The Lord delivers! You show favor to your people!” (From Psalm 3 the NET Bible)

So, if you’re having a really bad day… why not make King David’s prayer… and the confession of his heart your own… “To the Lord I cried out, and He answered me!”

I

n my Bible reading during “coffee with the Lord” today I began reading the Psalms again. I don’t know how many times I’ve read Psalm 1 over the years but today it was as fresh and refreshing as any time I can remember…

I’m going to try to capture the wonderful nuances of just the first phrase… Here’s my stab at it…

The NET Bible (a translation done by wonderful scholars and available free online) says this about the word “blessed”: “The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce.”

So you could say something like this… “Oh the wonderful, bountiful blessings that come to the person who… refuse to live by the advice of the wicked, or follow the path of sinners, or hang out with those who mock God and laugh at righteousness… Instead? They find great pleasure in living by God’s word and constantly thinking about the wonderful things it teaches!”

And the imagery to illustrate it… Oh the wonderful imagery! … “That person is like a green, flourishing, fruit tree – heavy with fruit. It never fails to yield a bountiful crop – does it when it should – and does it in spite of difficult circumstances or hot weather. Its roots are deep beside a nourishing stream!”

My paraphrase… But hey, I want to live like that don’t you?! Believe me, I don’t want to be like the other image in the Psalm… “The wicked are not at all like that! They’re like ‘chaff” which the wind drives away!” Look up the word! It’s a farm term for stuff that is thrown or blown away!

Oh, I love God’s word! Don’t you?!